Chapter 10

“Then I remembered I’d been here in other dreams.

But usually, there was a water polo game.

And a girl who could talk with her eyes.

And she’d say ‘Can you see what I’m saying?’

Then the horns kicked in.

And my shoes began to squeak.”

-2NU, “Ponderous“

Lady Maria Louisa Francesca de San Finzione paced around her Great-Grandmama’s study. Once Capitan Ortega had brought her and Stavro back to the castle, it was decided that it was the most secure room in the castle since the dungeons were now off limits to all by order of La Contessa.

Ortega and the Ultimados were unaware of the secret passages in the study leading to La Contessa’s bedroom, Jeanne’s quarters, and an ancient escape tunnel, and Maria was seriously considering using the tunnel now.

“Why can I not be with her,” Maria complained to the air. “I am doing nothing in here!”

Stavro stood from the couch and wrapped his arms around her.

“You are doing something, Maria,” he told her. “You are being safe. Everyone needs you to be safe now.”

She looked up at him with eyes ready to flood over at any moment.

“‘Because Great-Grandmama might die.’ That is the thing you and everyone are avoiding saying.”

“Yes, we all avoid to say it because none of us want it to happen. La Contessa, she is a realist. She would want you to be safe too. And to be ready for the worst. You should play that disc.”

Stavro jerked his head toward a stack of twenty Blu-Ray discs on the table. The one on top had a sticky note attached to it that read “Play this one first. (It’s short.)”

Maria stomped her foot.

“No! I know what they are. They are her advice about being Contessa. Important wisdom that I may need one day, but this is not that day! She can tell me herself when she comes home!”

Stavro patted her head as she pressed it into his bicep.

“Maria, Emay Cardia, I am sorry that you must to face so many hard truths in one day, but you have been Contessa Maria de San Finzione since your Great-Grandmama fell unconscious.” Maria looked up at him in surprise; no one having said those words directly to her yet.

From his tone, Maria had expected to receive a look of disappointment back, but instead saw the look of a man who completely believed in her. He continued.

“I hope that you will not need to be for long. And when she returns to us, I think the knowledge that her Great-Granddaughter was up to the task, will raise her spirits and help speed her recovery. I cannot make you do this, we both know what will happen if I try; and the only person who would be able to wake you is in surgery right now, so you must do this, Maria.”

She nodded and loaded the top disc into the player. Stavro slumped back down on the couch. Maria saw sadness in his face and snuggled up next to him.

“Now something is bothering you.” Maria said, taking the remote and turning on the giant TV.

Stavro thought while the TV was powering up before saying it.

“If you become Contessa and you need to marry a king or someone of your station, I will understand.”

Maria laughed at that and gave Stavro a tiny peck on his nose.

“YOU are my king, foolish one.”

She started the disc.

Contessa Helena de San Finzione’s face filled the screen. Maria looked over at the computer on her desk and realized that was where this was filmed.

“Hello, Maria,” Helena said with a soft smile, speaking Italian; the language spoken most around the castle and the one in which she and Maria usually conversed. “If you’re watching this, something has happened or is currently happening to me, and it’s your time to step up. I have every faith in you, Dearest One. However, there are some important matters to discuss first.”

She stood up from her chair and looked directly into the camera.

“To begin with, this thing that my friends and I can do, which I may or may not have been able to teach you by the time you see this. Hopefully, discs 15-18 will tell you all that I know; and you can always call Troy, Julie, or Susan for any help you need. None of us are able to control others over video; which is why we’ve always talked via Skype, so although I cannot command you here, I AM still able to trigger an implanted suggestion. Like this.”

She fixed the camera with a gaze that Maria could feel through the television.

“‘It is time for my Great-Granddaughter to become the woman that she was always meant to be.’ That should release you from the protections I’ve placed in your mind. You no longer need worry about being moved against your will or telling others too many personal things about me. Oh, also, if I’ve met with my end, and 24 hours later, you hear two gunshots coming from the general area of the dungeon, don’t worry about it. The less you know, the better.”

Contessa Helena de San Finzione sat back down and lit a cigarette.

“Now, I’m going to operate on the assumption that you’re watching this within 24 hours of whatever’s happened, so that’s where I’ll start.” She took a drag of her cigarette and looked at it. “God, I hope it wasn’t these that got to me, cause that’ll make the rest of these videos kinda sad. Anyway, let’s begin.”

In the couch in her head, Contessa Helena de San Finzione and Suzy-Q were continuing their discussion.

“Then who was Raymond Chen?” Helen asked.

“Nobody,” Susy-Q said as she slid closer. “A name out of the Hong Kong phone book; there’s probably a couple hundred Raymond Chens. Statistically speaking, with that many, one of them has to be a pedophile or something, so you can take some comfort in the thought that maybe they got the right one.”

“That’s not much. Also, if the Elders wanted to placate me badly enough to commit a random murder, why would they send an assassin a couple hours later, much less one that’s deaf so he couldn’t hear my command?”

“Wish that clue light was still here,” Suzy-Q said, looking around. “So, it’s not the Triad either. But SOMEONE set up the human trafficking stop in San Finzione. Someone who can and would manipulate both you and the Elders into thinking this Raymond Chen was responsible. And the next afternoon, a deaf assassin makes a suicide run for you? That’s altogether too much coincidence for one 12-hour period.”

Helen took in what Suzy-Q was saying. If she really was some part of Susan psychically reaching out to her, she was a damn smart one. And totally hot in the Lara Croft getup.

“Yes. Yes, it is. So, you’re saying someone was smart enough to persuade a bunch of Triad goons to set up a human trafficking way-station in San Finzione and tipped La Policia off. They passed the matter up to me and the Ultimados and we raided the warehouse and shut them down. Then in half a day, they managed to track down a deaf assassin who also happens to be suicidal and got him into striking distance of me. Why do the first part? To frame the Elders for my death?”

Suzy-Q wrinkled her brow and asked a question.

“Wait, who’s Umiwama?”

Helen gave a look of shock and was about to say something before she remembered that however this worked, Suzy-Q seemed to have some kind of access to her thoughts.

“A girl I met in Uongo. Igazi wanted a demonstration of ‘my witchcraft, ‘ so he made me...” A bolt of realization hit her. “That’s why they went to all the trouble! They wanted a demonstration!”

Suzy-Q scooted close enough to touch and gave her an excited look.

“RIGHT! They’ve heard the stories about Contessa Helena de San Finzione being able to control the wills of men, but they needed to know for sure. So, they created a situation that you couldn’t possibly ignore; one where you’d show up in person and definitely make use of The Thing so they could see it for themselves. Did you see any cameras?”

Helen thought about it for a moment. She usually had to do stuff like this herself, and withe the Whatever creatures out of the way, it was new and exciting to have a partner to bounce her thoughts off of; even if she was only an imaginary version of someone Helen wished were this good a friend in real life. She answered.

“No, but then again, I wasn’t looking for any.”

“Right! You were ALWAYS a better criminal than Wade.” That got a smile from Helen. “Setting up a slavery ring and then recording your own evidence of it would be so UNBELIEVABLY stupid that YOU wouldn’t even think of it! Even with La Policia watching the crime scene, people this clever probably managed to get rid of the cameras by now. They watch the video and figure out it’s something to do with your voice, and luckily, they happen to know a deaf killer willing to throw his life away that they can call...”