Nino and his sister lived twelve blocks over from where Michael found him. The boy said that his father’s shop was not too far from the alley. He made a stupid mistake of coming back to the shop, because the money he managed to grub running out, only lasted for so long. He was hopping to get in quickly, take some more from the hiding-place and get out before anyone noticed. Of course it wasn’t that easy, Bruno put his men to watch the place, figuring Nino would come back one day. The rest Michael knew.
It was a small room in the basement. Nino was renting it from an old man, who took pity on a teenage boy with a little sister on his hands and didn’t take much "He let us stay even when rent was due and I didn’t have money. He even fed us. I’m eternally grateful to him."
Nino sister’s name was Sophia. She was a beautiful eight year old girl with light olive skin, long thick dark hair and big innocent dark eyes. She pressed herself against her brother frightened of Michael and Nino’s attempts to convince her he was their friend didn’t work. Michael smiled and squatted to the girl’s level "Hello little one. I’m friend of your brother. Do you love your brother?" when the little girl nodded Michael said "Your brother is very brave and he loves you very much, that is why he asked me to help him to make you safe. I promised I would. So, Sophia, can I be your friend too?"
The little girl let go of her brother and said "You can call me Sophie." Michael smiled "You can call me Michael"
He rose. "All right, Nino. You sit tight and don’t go anywhere. I’ll make some calls and tomorrow we decide what to do. Agreed?"
"Agreed" the boy smiled and his face free of worries revealed his true youth.
When Michael left two kids, he went upstairs to the apartment where, Nino told him, the old man lived. It took him a few minutes of wait and two presses of the doorbell before he heard a voice calling "I’m coming, I’m coming". The door opened and Michael saw a lean tall man in his mid sixties, who gave an impression of once possessing a great strength, which didn’t leave him completely.
"Yes?" he looked at Michael suspiciously.
"I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m a relative of the boy who's renting a room from you."
The man frowned and his eyes narrowed. Michael could see that he was about to make a move on him and despite his combat experience and the fact he faced an old man, Michael wasn’t sure this would be an easy one to handle. To avoid unnecessary conflict he extended his hand. "My name is Michael. I can understand your suspicions of me, but I can assure you I mean no harm. In fact I came to pay the boy’s due."
The old man looked at him for almost a minute completely ignoring Michael's hand and finally gestured with his head to come in. His apartment was only a little better than the room in the basement and that only because it included the kitchen. As for the remaining one room, it was exactly the same size. Without any words, the old man motioned for Michael to sit down.
"Nino told me about your kindness. I’m much obliged." Michael said as he sat.
The old man nodded "It was only my duty as a human being to help two kids in need."
"Not everyone would’ve done it"
"Unfortunately." Old man responded.
Michael waited thinking there was more coming, but old man just looked at him calmly, which clearly showed he has said what he wanted to say and that was that.
Michael cleared his thought "Anyway. How much I owe you?"
"Nothing."
This certainly was a man of few words. Michael started to feel awkward "Money doesn’t come easy in this parts. I know that. I’m sure you could use some extra."
"What for? Besides, I helped those kids because I saw they needed it and now taking money would be as if I gave my help for a loan."
"Can I at least know your name?"
"Mario. Mario Lorenzo. I didn’t catch your last name Michael."
"Gordon."
"You’re not Italian?"
"No. I’m from US. The kids and I are not blood related."
Mario relaxed "Forgive me for my hostility. I figured boy is in some kind of trouble and I thought that you are it."
Michael nodded "Good men are hard to find these days. I’m sure glad that kids met you."
This time Mario received Michael’s gratitude with a warm smile "I suppose you will take them with you."
"Yes."
"I’m relieved to see that kids will be alright now, but almost sorry for them to go."
"You don’t have any kids?"
"No. My wife died of birth and that was the end of my life pretty much."
The old man said nothing else and Michael felt it would be cruel to continue this conversation. He rose. "I better be going. I hope it’s alright with you if the kids stay for one more night. I just need time to take care of official part of the matter."
"Of course. They’re safe here."
As Michael was returning to his hotel he couldn’t stop wondering how drastically his life changed in just a few hours. He arrived in Milan determined to find his answer. To find a dangerous vigilante, who although did him and many others a favour by killing Al Hassani, yet had no business of taking the matter into his own hands. Too often Michael witnessed that such individuals caused more harm than good. But all of this was irrelevant now, believing that professor was right Michael accepted that it was a way of Nature to balance things out. Or whatever it was, he was sure he had no place to interfere. Not to mention that all this talk about eternity, nothingness and fear, made him feel small and insignificant. And now having another problem to fix, a task that was actually up to his standards convinced him that this ‘dark figure’ matter is over.
Loneliness
As soon as Mario closed the door behind Michael he hunched deeper and his eyes lost all it's sharpness and determination, only tiredness remained. He was sixty five and has been through so much pain in his life that he couldn’t remember half of it now. But it did not bring the sweet relief of oblivion, Mario felt drained.
He didn’t lie to Michael, he was truly glad to know that kids had some relative who would take care of them. But as he sat in his chair he sensed the presence of loneliness in this quiet small apartment. And loneliness was a lady hard to get rid off once she let herself in, he knew it too well. It wouldn’t be half as bad if not for the complete uselessness his life represented for the last five years. These kids gave him a reason to get up in the morning and Mario had forgotten how wonderful that feeling was. Actually, the last time he remembered feeling that way was when he was young and his wife was still alive.
She died at the age of eighteen. They both were too young and lived together for too short a time for the loss of her to have such a great impact on Mario. And yet it did. He refused to have a life without her and while depriving himself of all the good things in it, bad ones he left intact. He involved himself in every war and fight he could possibly find. Starting from joining Resistenza14 in 1944 he went through many wars becoming a professional solder. After coming back home he became a private contractor for the police, fighting mafia. His whole life was a constant battle in pursue of someone to lay his rage on.
When he turned fifty five Mario could take no more of such existence. It became so bad he was sure he would go mad if he saw another death. Mario knew he needed change of direction and so he joined social service, helping troubled kids, abused wives, homeless and such. He didn’t do it to redeem himself for those he killed. He did that simply because he needed something to do and apart from becoming a doctor or teacher any other job he considered meaningless. Mario was too old to study medicine and there was nothing he could teach about, so he chose social studies.
The life of the social worker was of course just as ugly as the life of a soldier, in some way even worse. In the army there was at least a sense of brotherhood and although being a loner Mario was never a part of it, yet even to witness others have it, was at least something. The job of the social worker, on the other hand, was a fight that was rarely won.
Nino and Sophia entered his life unexpectedly, like a fresh breeze into a stuffy room. And although Mario was glad to retire from the job where he got to help lots of kids, this was different. They came directly into his life, not through application papers. They didn’t take his help for granted; they took it gratefully warming his heart. He felt alive, even if it was just for a short while. "Back to the pit" Mario said to himself.
He was still in his chair next morning dosing off, when he heard footsteps passing his door. 'Sneaky bastards’ he directed his thought towards his nosy neighbours, going back to dosing off. Not two minutes went by and Mario was on his feet, listening carefully for the repeat of what he thought a girl’s scream. All tiredness had gone from him; there were no remains of an old man in his posture. Almost two meters high he transformed into a scary vision of a very dangerous individual. His hunch reminded not of tiredness any more, but readiness. His eyes narrowed into a vicious stare. He was a solder again, ready to burst into action.
He stood like that for ten seconds and then sprinted into swift movement refusing to wait any longer. The next moment he was already downstairs by the kids’ door, listening for any noise. It didn’t take him long to realize that some strangers were in the apartment. Mario cursed himself for not being on his guard, knowing now that footsteps he heard earlier were not of his nosy neighbours.
He hit the door with the force that ripped it off the hinges and rushed into the room. It took only fraction of a moment to notice two men, one of whom was holding the girl; the boy was no where in sight. Men were so stunned by Mario’s appearing that it gave him enough time to jump on one of the intruders seizing him by the throat with the death grip. Mario’s enormous strength squeezed