Friday, May 8, 2009

Shadows Chapter 17
Disappointment



There was a buzz of excitement in the briefing room. During the night there had been a development that would be a blow for the Cappelli family.
“They say that there was a consignment of drugs stopped at the Darksprings airfield. They were a delivery of soft furnishings,” Bill Adams, one of the beat cops told Richard.
“How much was it worth?” Tony Chisholm, one of the detectives, asked.
“Several million,” Bryan Telford, another detective, replied. “It’s rumoured that it can be linked directly back to the Cappelli’s.”





Detective Solarin called the meeting to order and addressed them.
“I know what you’ve been hearing,” he said sombrely. “I’ve heard people saying that this is the end for the Cappelli’s. I’m afraid that’s not true. Last night it looked as if there was a link between the family and the consignment. This morning it appears that this is not the case.”
Disappointed the cops left the meeting and returned to their various jobs. The look of intense calm on Detective Solarin’s face told the cops who had worked with him for the last few years that he was ready to kill. Solarin was not the type to rage and scream.






He called a meeting of the detectives in his office. His brother had joined him and they chatted together, apparently unperturbed until everyone arrived and the door was closed.





“What’s the story? I thought that we had them this time,” Richard began as soon as the door was closed.
“The pilot and the crew were being transferred to the prison early this morning. They were intercepted and killed. Someone let the Cappelli’s know, is my bet,” Sergey frowned.
There was silence in the room. This was the third time in two months they had thought that they had a major chance at the Cappelli’s and then have something like this happen.
“I think someone is leaking information,” Bryan ventured.




“It’s so disheartening,” Angela Madden, one of the beat cops scowled.
Sergey nodded at her. She was one of the small team he was building up, people who had reason to hate the Cappelli’s and who were sick of the way that bribes and corruption had kept the family in power.
It was Angela who had spent long hours studying all of the traffic through Darksprings airfield. It was her work and that of her colleague Mandy Evans that had led to last night’s raid. Angela looked ready to cry.
Mandy came across to comfort her.
“We’ll get them next time, Ang,” she assured her.
“We will,” Sergey said emphatically.



Decisions




Sergey had hoped for an evening alone with Brooke and Ladislaus. He wanted to discuss the day’s disappointments without having to be calm and strong for his colleagues. He wanted to rant and vent his rage and frustration. However, Ladislaus had invited his new girlfriend Diane for dinner and it put a damper on Sergey’s plans.
Not that Sergey had any objections to the girl. She was a similar type to Britt in looks. His son seemed to go for sexy little blondes. Unlike Britt, though, this girl was very likeable with a good sense of humour and an eagerness to please.





She had been quick to help prepare the food and to clean up when the meal was over. She had shown a genuine interest in both his work and Brooke’s. Both Sergey and Brooke took to her at once.





A while after the meal Ladislaus went for his usual evening swim.
Diane insisted that they join him and play pool games. She was fascinated by the fact that he had such easy access to a swimming pool in all weathers.
Brooke smiled at the way the girl made use of their lack of clothing in the pool to flaunt her pretty figure to Ladislaus.




Getting into the fun she decided to do some showing off of her own. She had been in the school swimming and diving team. She climbed up onto the board and took a deep breath. It had been a while....
She bounced on the board, aware of Sergey watching her.
She made a clean, perfect dive. When she cleared the water and came back up the other three applauded, laughing.





Ladislaus left the pool, followed by Diane. Sergey and Brooke moved to the hot tub. Some time alone without the kids, would be nice, Sergey thought. He drew Brooke closer to him and relaxed in the bubbling water, trying to let the irritations of the day fade away.
“This is good. You didn’t show it to anyone else today, sweetie, but I thought you were going to burst a blood vessel when you heard that the Cappelli’s had got away with it again,” Brooke told him.




“You are starting to know me too well,” Sergey smiled, turning her away from him and massaging her shoulders.
She was almost as tense as he was. She and her little team of fact finders, Mandy and Angela, were running through every detail they could find of the Cappelli’s businesses. Hours spent over computers gave them all tense, sore shoulders and frequent headaches.
“You three are doing a great job. Don’t you get disheartened either,” Sergey urged as he pummelled Brooke’s shoulders.
“I’m not. But Angela looked like she was close to tears today,” Brooke said.





“Let’s forget about work for a while,” Sergey suggested, turning her to face him.
Brooke lifted her face to his.
“Sounds very good to me.”
Yes, she thought as he leaned down to kiss her, forgetting work for a while sounded very good.




Diane stood in the lounge listening to the sound of the shower. Ladislaus had headed straight to the bathroom to shower the pool chemicals from his skin. Diane intended to do the same, and the loft had two bathrooms.
Smiling to herself she listened to the sound of water running and tried the bathroom door. The handle turned and the door opened.
“Do you need help washing your back?” She asked teasingly, stripping off her bikini.




Ladislaus half turned and took her hand, pulling her into the shower with him. He brought her round in front of him and kissed her shoulders and neck, gripping her hips lightly and drawing her back towards him.
Diane tipped her hips back towards him, grinding against him. Ladislaus breathed her name, a question.
“Yes, stupid,” she giggled. “I’ve never done it in the shower before.”



“Oh, wow, that is so good,” she gasped, enjoying the sensual feel of the hot water pounding on her body as Ladislaus skin rubbed slickly against hers.
Diane leaned back further and took Ladislaus’ hand, guiding it to her clitoris, encouraging him to add extra stimulus to her pleasure.
Aware that the building had thick walls and that Sergey and Brooke were still downstairs she did not hold back on yelling aloud as she climaxed fiercely. The rapid jerks of Ladislaus’ body behind her and his barely stifled moans told her that he, too, was done.





Wrapped in towels they went back to Ladislaus’ bedroom.
As they dressed Ladislaus gently stroked Diane’s shoulders.
“That was fantastic for me. How about you?” He asked.
Diane closed her eyes, giving herself sensation of the rough skin of his hands on the much softer skin on her shoulders.
“Mmmm, it was fantastic. And that’s good, too,” she sighed.
Ladislaus smiled and kissed her. He loved the way Diane experienced life. Everything was for the moment. Every sensation had to be enjoyed to the full, from eating ice cream to standing in the sunlight to fucking in the shower.





Ladislaus had no illusions about being her only boyfriend, but at least he knew where he stood with her. Nothing of Diane was pretence. She was a sensual creature who focused on what pleased her in that instant. Knowing that her father would be here soon to pick her up, they finished dressing, stopping to kiss each other, making dressing almost as sexy as undressing.
The car horn blared outside. They kissed one last time then Diane broke free of his embrace and ran down the outside stairs, conscious that she did not want to disturb Sergey and Brooke.


Facing Fear





Zara had told him that Irissa was tense eating out, but Sergey had not been prepared for quite how pale she looked when she met him at Bernard’s. He had chosen this restaurant because in summer the folding roofs were left pushed back and the place had a very airy feel.
The waitress brought the starters. Irissa stared at her plate without any obvious interest. Her jaw was clenched and her hands curled into fists.
Sergey stood up and took her hand.
“I want to dance,” he said.





“Dance?” Irissa protested, as he swept her onto the little dance floor between the tables.
“Yup. The birthday girl has to dance. Even if her companion is a clumsy oaf that stands on her feet,”
Irissa laughed, a stilted sound. Sergey put his arms around her and pulled her close, feeling the tension in her body.
“I’ve never known you to be clumsy,” she told him.
“You’ve never seen me dance,” he replied. “My son is the one with the fancy footwork in our house.”
“How is Slava?” She asked.
Sergey felt her relax a little in his arms. He noted her use of his son’s family name.
“Fine. He applied for a number of University scholarships and did pretty well in the awards he’s been granted. He should be starting at College in a few weeks.”





The song finished and they moved back to the table. Involved in conversation now about family, work and school Irissa seemed to have forgotten some of her fear and began to eat her food. Her shoulders had dropped and her eyes looked brighter and more focused.




“I hope you can shoot a gun better than you play darts!” Irissa laughed at how far off the board Sergey’s darts had landed.
“I’m letting you win,” Sergey said, mock serious. “I’m a gentleman.”
It was good to see her laughing that way, he thought. It had been a rare occurrence in the past.
As she took her own darts he asked her more about how she was settling in Silversprings.
“I heard you had a boyfriend,” he commented.
Looking at how much she had grown up in the last few months Sergey could see why the boy Mark had been so hot for her.




“Had. He was a jerk,” Irissa scowled.
Sergey was flattered when she trusted him with the full story.
“Ah, there will be other boyfriends. Better ones,” he told her.
Irissa shrugged, apparently disinterested.
Sergey frowned to himself. Although he thought she was too young for a serious relationship he was concerned that some of her life’s experiences had soured her against men.
Yet she trusted three men for sure. Himself, Richard and Ladislaus. She seemed to regard the three of them almost as father, uncle and brother.





He found himself thinking of the incident Ladislaus had become involved in, when he had helped to save her from the sexual assault at the hands of Ty and his gang. Funny, one of those guys had been called Mark, too.
“Can we use the bubble blower?” Irissa asked suddenly. “I used to love blowing bubbles when I was a kid.”
Sergey laughed and nodded. That had to be a breakthrough that she was choosing to stay in the restaurant.



Leaving Home




“I’ve got my date for heading to College,” Ladislaus told his father. “I’ve been looking for accommodation.”
“You going to stay in a dorm?” Sergey asked.
There was a funny cold ache in his chest. His boy was growing up, leaving home.
“Nah. I’m too used to my privacy and comfort and between my grants and the money I’ve been saving I’ve got enough to rent a pretty good place,” Ladislaus shook his head.





“You weren’t kidding about comforts, Slava,” Sergey commented as he looked around his son’s new home. “Can you afford this all right?”
“I’ve already put out an ad for someone to share. There are two rooms. But yeah, even without help I can afford to live here and to eat. Just. If I need to get a job I will,” Ladislaus assured him.
“I had to have a decent kitchen. I couldn’t have stood dorm food,” Ladislaus grinned.
“Yeah, well the settling in gifts we brought are for the kitchen. A decent coffee maker for one thing,” Sergey told him.





“I checked out your bed. It’s pretty comfortable,” Sergey commented.
“Yeah another reason for not going to a dorm. I don’t know if I could sleep in a single.”
“Me either. I tried out the spare room. If you are renting it out make it just for a couple of years because I’m moving in here when I come to college,” Alexei ordered.
“Sasha, that would be a reason for turning it into a study and getting a job!” Ladislaus cried in mock horror.



Washing his hands in the bathroom Sergey glanced at his reflection in the mirror and thought again how much his son was growing up, and how much like him he looked these days. True, Slava’s features were slightly finer, a little more like his mother’s and his build was still a little slimmer, but Slava was a long way from being his little boy.
A chill touched his heart as he remembered the comment Nikki had made just a few months before. That Stephano Cappelli did not make war on children. Slava was no longer a child.

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