The Twelve Zenati

12 Zenati 34

Authors note: Hello everyone. I am sorry for my delay with this chapter. I have been busy returning to work and visiting therapists, which leaves me exhausted, so my writing continues to be considerably slower, for which I apologise. Again, I am grateful to MsSensualiT for her continued help to be my second set of eyes. I hope those of you who enjoy this series continue to do so. ~ellie.

12 Zenati Pt 34.

It was six O'clock when Noah and Marcella took their uneasy truce to meet with the other members of their family, and those of the Gambaro family investigating the package delivery before their early flight home. Marcella was not surprised by the open package put before her. She could logically understand why it had been opened, given her condition when she returned to the hotel and the recent history with a man who had told her that he would come for her at some time.

She could see the looks of trepidation Noah's brothers were giving her, and she considered how much of a harridan she had been not only to Noah, but to all of them since arriving in Darwin to protect her sister. She knew she hadn't made it easy for anyone to like her, especially Noah, after he turned away her advances. Still, surely Vivienne and Olivia knew her well enough to know she could be reasonable about things like this when it was explained to her properly instead of being arbitrarily taken out of her hands. For the first time, she considered that her warrior self might have alienated the people she cared about more than she realised, especially because she had been so horrible to Noah, who had not let her alienate him.

Gideon sat with a man named Lewis, both using android tablets to try and discover if any planes without flight plans were seen in the skies around Perth in the last week. This was how Konrad had travelled in Queensland when Marcella was with him to disguise his movements. It was reasonable, she agreed, for them to assume Konrad would continue to try and fly under the radar. Still, she felt he was more intelligent than to just fly and probably often changed how he travelled, particularly as he hated flying.

"I hate to interrupt," Marcella said mildly, surprising everyone. "Until we work out where he is and what he wants, we can't move forward, so all the talk this morning isn't telling us anything we don't already know. So if it's all the same to you, I will leave you men to do the men's work and go to visit my mother before we leave or she leaves for Adelaide. Thank you all for letting me listen in but seeing as you haven't told me anything, I didn't already know I'd just as soon be somewhere else."

"And there is the Marcie we know," Genesis chuckled and rolled his eyes at Noah good-naturedly.

"She's got a point," Gideon said with a shrug. "We haven't turned up anything out of the ordinary in flights around Perth. Of course, he could have driven here in the time since he was last seen in Adelaide, but would he have taken the gamble we would stop here on our way home?"

"He would have had people in place for several scenarios. He may not be here himself, but could have had several of his men both here and in Darwin depending on which decision we made," Marcella answered Gideon's question. "From the information we have about the package delivery, we can't even be sure he was here himself."

"She's got a point," Lewis said, tossing his tablet onto the table. "Sitting here isn't getting us any closer to Varangian."

"Come on," Noah said to Genesis. "Let's take the girls to see their Mama. Gideon and X can handle this search for us."

"Sounds good," Genesis held his hand out to Olivia, and the four left the room. Half of their security team, including a few of the Gambaro watchers Oscar wouldn't remove; claiming the girls were still Gambaro's and deserved his protection no matter where they were, followed them.

Marcella had never found Genesis so agreeable, and she frowned, wondering why he had ceased his antagonism toward her.

"I think we'll go with them," Gideon said after a quick look at his wife and her disappointed expression.

"Go," Xavier said. "I wouldn't mind checking on Nathanael before we leave. "Let me know when you're close to being done so, we can have Val ready the plane."

*****

Benita Gambaro was being cared for in a quaint little private hospital to Marcella's relief. She had imagined an asylum with nurses and orderlies all dressed in white who had calming injections at the ready like some horror movie. Marcella took a deep breath and shuddered. She wasn't sure her mother would welcome a visit from either herself or Olivia.

"You don't have to do this, Marcie," the calm, quiet voice in her mind spoke for the first time since she had woken.

"You can't think I am going to let you take over again," the harsher of her inner voices hissed. "She needs to be strong and help her mother make the decision to go and help Jessa grow up and take responsibility for herself and those boys."

"I'm the one who needs to take responsibility for the things I do instead of letting you take over," Marcie thought loudly at the two voices.

"You're not strong enough, alone," Marcella hissed.

"She is stronger and more resilient than you will ever be with all your bravado. You don't play well with others, and we don't want to be alone and lonely for the rest of our lives," Chella responded.

"You mean this controlling asshole? We'd be better off alone if you ask me," Marcella said derisively, indicating Noah, who sat beside her.

"You will be fine, Marcie," Noah said as if reading the turmoil in her mind, and he squeezed her hand. "Just remember she has been through a lot and might not be the woman you remember. I won't leave your side unless you ask. I'm pretty sure Genesis feels the same way." He looked at his brother for confirmation.

"Both of you are our priority. Whatever you need to get through this, we will do," Genesis said, making Marcella frowned again at his easy support of her in addition to Olivia.

"What's changed, Genesis?" Marcella pushed forward, ready for an argument. "Why are you suddenly acting like we are friends?"

"Because we are friends, and very soon we will be family as well, Marcella," Genesis said from the front seat. "This isn't a sudden thing. Once you stopped trying to force Olivia to leave and return to Perth, there was no problem between us. So I'm not going to argue with you and cause a rift between us if that's what you're looking for." His words and demeanour were casual, but Marcella narrowed her eyes, hearing a slight edge to his tone.

"Marcie?" Olivia asked quietly. She watched as her sister spun to look at her with fire in her eyes. "I need you with me to face Mama. Papa told her I was dead a while ago, and I am unsure how she will be when she sees me again. So I need Marcie with me." She watched as the fire slowly left her sister's eyes and expression, and she let out a breath. "I think you were right about her being happiest with Jessa. They can help each other heal in ways we couldn't."

Noah said nothing as he watched Genesis and Olivia handle the appearance of Marcella, the warrior who had come forward in her anxiousness about seeing her mother. Now that he was aware of what to look for, he could see the change of expression and how she held herself with each personality that protected the core of who she was. When she turned to look at him again, her eyes had her inner turmoil, and he wanted more than anything to take that away for her and make her feel safe and secure no matter where they were, as long as they were together.

They left the car and walked into the small facility after allowing Gideon and Vivienne to catch up. The closer they got to Benita Gambaro's room, the more Marcella's feet dragged her pace to almost a crawl. Olivia's words of needing her echoed in her mind from the soft-voiced Chella, and she drew a deep breath before marching forward and leading the way into the room. The room was small but nice, with only one bed in which her mother lay propped up and staring out of the large window beside her into a garden.

"That's a nice view you have, Mama," Marcella said quietly when Benita didn't turn to look at them.

"Marcella!" Benita gasped and turned her head finally to take in her daughter. "Your hair! You almost look like Olivia." She gasped as Olivia stepped forward to stand beside Marcella. "No, she said you're dead. It can't be you, but here you are!"

"Papa told you a lot of lies, Mama," Olivia said emphatically.

"And Jessa?" Benita's voice sounded hopeful.

"She is in hospital in Adelaide and could use your help when you feel up to it," Marcella said, reaching out to touch her mother's hand.

"Not dead? You're sure?" Benita clasped Marcella's hand hard as if to wring the truth from her.

"We have just come from Adelaide. She is in hospital and fighting to get back to her children," Marcella said gently. "We thought it might be good for you to go and stay with her and help her look after the boys now."

"Your Papa would never allow it," Benita said quickly, worry and agitation in her eyes. "I need to go home."

"Papa can't tell you what to do anymore. He is in jail, or at least the tables equivalent of it, and so is Severino. You are on your own now, and wouldn't you rather be with Jessa?" Marcella prodded gently again.

"Oh, this is ridiculous," Olivia hissed and stepped forward between her mother and Marcella. "Rip the bandaid off Marcella. She obviously isn't acknowledging the truth of her situation!"

"Olivia!" Marcella gasped in surprise.

"What? You know I'm right! What the hell is wrong with you today?" She turned her hard look on her mother, making sure she had the woman's attention. "Mama. Papa and Severino have been taken away to jail for plotting to kill us all. They will not be coming back, not ever. So, you are alone, and so is Jessa, except she has three small but amazing boys who need someone to care about them. She needs your help, and you need to go to her. There is nothing left for you here in Perth. Marcella and I won't be back either once we leave today. We are marrying into the Zenati Table," she lifted the hand that Genesis still clasped. "This is my fiancé Genesis Zenati, and when Marcie finally admits how she feels, she will marry the man standing beside her, Noah Zenati."

"Olivia!" Marcella exclaimed.

"What? You know it's all true," Olivia said belligerently. "That's an engagement ring you are wearing. Weird as it is."

"Not weird. Unique," Noah countered and smiled at Marcie before turning back to Olivia. "She could have chosen any ring she wanted as long as she wore it on her left ring finger, and I would be happy."

Gideon chuckled at the truth of his brother's words and took stock of the situation. Olivia seemed antagonistic, Marcella was too careful. Noah wouldn't speak up because this was something Marcella needed to do for herself, and Genesis was too abrupt at the best of times. He drew a breath and marshalled his thoughts for a moment before speaking directly to Benita.

"I'm Gideon Zenati, and this is my wife Vivienne," he introduced himself to Benita. "I understand that we've given you a lot of information to think about, but we were under the impression you knew about going to Adelaide to help Jessa recover and look after her boys?"

"Her husband's family won't like that, and I would have to come back, but I would like to see her if she is truly still alive," Benita said softly.

"Mama! We are all alive! Papa lied to you!" Olivia said.

"He didn't lie about Zia Ursula," Benita's lip quivered, and she raised her eyes to Marcella's. "He said if anything ever happened to him, we would all die, including those who tried to help us. You don't know what he was like at the end. He laughed about the murder," she added fearfully.

"Benita, your husband and his brother, as well as Jessa's husband, have all been taken to a Papillo facility. They will have no contact with anyone outside of that facility. So, he cannot harm you or your daughters anymore. The Farnese family are happy for you to go to Adelaide and stay as long as you wish with Jessa and her boys. There will be no further repercussions from her husband's family," Gideon said in a gentle but firm way as if she couldn't argue any further with him.

"The Papillo?" Benita brought the fingers of one hand to her lips. "Not the Battaglia?" She seemed to relax slightly at this news.

"They tried to kill, unsuccessfully, but they did attempt to kill each of your daughters as well as harm you. In addition, Severino shot my brother, who he believed was the reason why Marcella stayed in Darwin and one of my cousins who tried to protect him. They were criminally insane to think there would be no recriminations for such an act, and honestly, they are lucky the Papillo have them now. If Noah had a choice at the time, neither Severino nor your husband would be alive to complain about their treatment," Gideon said solemnly. "They will not be returning to your lives again."

Noah heard the words, and something clicked within him. He needed to talk to X right then, but he hated leaving Marcella while such turmoil was going on. So, in the interests of his promise to be honest with her, because he wanted the same honesty in return, he bent down to whisper.

"I have to call Xavier. Will you come with me for a few minutes, or would you like to stay here with the others?" Noah asked, giving her a choice to know what he was doing.

"Yes, I'll come," Marcella said, hearing the urgency in his voice. "Mama, I'll be back to say goodbye. We just have to do something that can't wait." With that, she turned and led the way from the room. In truth, she had been grateful Gideon had taken over the conversation. She knew if Noah had tried to discuss the issue, she wouldn't have been so content and probably would have accused him of taking over her life again.

"Where can I find a private place to make a call?" Noah asked the first staff member they came across.

"Certainly, this way, Sir," the man said and took them to a private sitting room and slid the plaque on the door to show it was engaged after they entered. Noah immediately called Xavier.

"X, are you with Nathanael?" Noah asked as soon as he answered.

"Yeah," Xavier answered curiously.

"Great can you clear the room and put me on speaker, and if at all possible, could you conference Rick Papillo into our call?" Noah asked, and Marcella raised an eyebrow. It took a few minutes, but was surprisingly fast when Noah heard Rick answer his phone and the echoing hellos from the others telling him he was on speaker so Nathanael could be involved.

"Okay, so if Rick can suspend any doubt he has in what we told him yesterday for this conversation, I think we may have a problem," Noah began.

"Your logic was sound. I have no issue with anything you said yesterday," Rick agreed.

"Great, so going with that logic, Konrad was using Severino and Nunzio to sew discontent between Tables because they were easily manipulated. What if, and you will have to go with me on this; what if he had a way of tracking one or both of these men to the secure facilities of the Papillo that are not any map? What if the breaches to your facilities before the mother's day attacks were not the Suebi, but rather Konrad? What if the Papillo were the target all along, and they have someone in the ghost town that Konrad wants?" Noah let out a large breath as he finished his questions.

"I doubt we would have searched them for internal trackers," Nathanael frowned. "That would be the only way they got one to the Kimberley. At the time, we believed they were behind all the trouble for the three girls."

"They aren't anywhere top secret yet. They are in a high-security facility that runs much like a hard labour prison. There are no visitors allowed, but there's certainly not anything we would be concerned about in that facility," Rick said.

"You might want to double-check the list of inmates, not that we have been aware of who Konrad was in league with at any given time. Look, it's just a hunch, but can you scan them again?" Noah asked.

"Tell me about the feeling?" Nathanael asked. "I wish we would have patched Phil into this conference call."

Noah explained about visiting Benita and how something she said had given him the idea that Konrad had known the two men would mess up and be taken to the Papillo rather than the Battaglia, where they obviously had connections.

"The first breach wasn't bad, and whoever did it didn't get what they wanted," Rick said thoughtfully. "We never did find who, and it was a far more sophisticated attack on the network than we had seen previously from the Suebi. So it makes sense that it could have been the Varangian."

"Looking for internal trackers isn't standard practise for the type of men they were. So maybe we need to upgrade our security a little even if this hunch doesn't pan out," Nathanael said.

"So, you'll check?" Noah asked.

"It's being done as we speak," Rick said. "It would have been done when they arrived, but new tech is coming out all of the time, and if it was Konrad, you can't be too careful. As I said, I trusted the logic of your presentation yesterday. If he wants into the ghost town, I'm afraid he's going to be very disappointed even if he does have a tracker on either of them."

"Can you let me know what the results are?" Noah asked. "I have to go. We're still at the hospital. I'll see you on the plane, X. Shit, wait!" He exclaimed, turning to look at Marcella. "Do you think he'd be tracking Marcie? He did say he would come for her."

Marcella blinked and shook her head. She would have known if he had put a tracker on her. She would have felt it if it were internal. She had no bumps and bruises or mystery lumps on her skin. She'd know if he did anything like that to her, and she was sure he hadn't.

"Probably best to be safe than sorry. I can set up a thorough scan for her before you leave. Xavier can text you the details," Nathanael said.

"I would know if he had, and he didn't," Marcella whispered softly after managing to stay quietly in the background for so long.

"I believe you, Marcella. But when you left the boat, you would have been in shock and at his mercy. You might not remember something from that time, and as Nathanael said, it's better to be safe than sorry. You wouldn't want to be responsible for anyone getting hurt because we missed something so significant, would you?" Xavier asked. "I need to protect my family as much as you need to protect yours. I wouldn't ask you to do this for me, otherwise. Please, Marcella, it won't take long," he added, making it a favour to him rather than something she was being forced into against her will again.

"Okay," Marcella agreed slowly as the warrior raged at Chella for taking over again. She understood protecting those closest to you, but this was asking for much. He should just believe her. "We haven't given him any reason to believe us lately, have we," Chella said softly to the warrior.

"Ally is causing chaos out there because you made her leave the room to have another secret meeting," Oscar chuckled as he entered the room. Then, seeing the serious faces on Xavier and Nathanael, he raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"On that note, I will go. No way am I going to make a little Mama of any table mad," Rick laughed. "I'll text the results.

"I better go too. Let me know where you want us and when," Noah said and ended his side of the call, leaving Xavier to clean up the mess he made at the Gambaro house. "Everything okay?" Noah asked, eyeing Marcella carefully. He had expected at least some fight from her over having to go to yet another hospital or clinic.

"I'm fine. Whatever you think is best is fine," Marcella said and lowered her eyes. The movement told Noah who he was dealing with now, and he swore silently and considered if being here with her mother had made Chella reappear or if being pushed into getting the scan had caused it.