Chapter Text
Nicky sat in the study and read the file one of the valets brought him by order of Giulia. He wrote something on a notepad and turned the page. It was worse than he had thought. His father was not only ill, he was terminally ill and his doctors said he had months, probably just weeks left. The cancer was eating him alive. That’s quite possibly the main reason why he had hurried to bring him, Nicky, back to Genova.
Nicky wiped his face and reached for the cup of coffee to take a long sip. He leaned back in his chair and looked around the room.
These weren’t the rooms he grew up in, these had been Ciccio’s rooms as long as he remembered. But his father had insisted that he moved here. He had told him that this was the suite for the Principe ereditario and so it was his suite now. When Nicky had protested and said that Vittoria, Ciccio’s wife, lived there, the Principe had said that she had left the palace together with the girls, his nieces. They moved to the summer palace in San Rocco.
Nicky had glared at his father but when he went back to his rooms he found that all his stuff - the few things he had brought - were gone already. Giulia had shrugged apologetically.
He took another sip from his coffee and looked around the room he sat in. Nothing, exactly not a single thing here, was something he would’ve picked. The furniture, the carpets, the wallpaper, the tapestries, the art… everything here was much, much older than him.
His eyes fell on one of the paintings, a war scene. A knight, wearing armor with a white wafferock with a red cross on it, was fighting against a muslim warrior with a turban and a scimitar outside of a burning city. More knights and warriors were fighting in the background. Nicky huffed.
He had hated this kind of stuff when he grew up here and he still hated it. Nowadays even more than back then. He had no idea why Cicico could keep this around. Joe’s paintings were way better than this.
Joe… Nicky wiped his face when he thought about the man he loved. He missed him. He missed him so much and there was no safe way to contact him, to tell him that everything would be fine. Soon.
He emptied his cup of coffee before he reached for his phone and texted Giulia if it was possible to meet the Prime Minister. Genova was a constitutional monarchy, mixed with a partial parliamentary democracy. That meant the reigning Prince was the Head of State but he needed the parliament to actually reign. And the Prime Minister was the Head of Government, so it was him he needed to talk to as soon as possible.
His father wanted to force him to take over regency? Fine! But if he had to do this, he would change a few things as fast as possible. He sighed, reached for the cup, found it empty, sighed again and went to get some more.
***
Joe had crossed his hands behind his neck, his face almost lying on his knees. He tried to control his breathing. But when a hand touched his back he almost startled.
“It’s okay, Joe,” Quynh said.
He sat up to look at her disbelievingly.
“Okay?” he asked, his voice high-pitched.
“Bad phrasing,” she said. “What I meant,” she added a few moments later. “Don’t worry about the exhibition. We can put it on hold.”
“For now it’s more important that you get your Nicky back,” Andy added.
“But what can I do?” he threw his hands in the air in frustration. “The cops let them escape and now he’s in Genova and I can’t reach him. His phone is dead and whenever I try to call the palace they terminate the call.”
“Fucking aristocrats,” Andy muttered and when Quynh glared at her - she was a true royalist and adored Queen Elizabeth - she raised both hands and leaned back. “Not your royals,” she said. “These fucking Genoese ones.”
“Do you… do you have an idea already?” Joe asked and looked at Andy now.
“It’s complicated,” she sighed. “Since Great Britain left the European Union we need a visa to get to Genova and I would bet my workshop they will refuse to give one to you.”
Joe huffed a bitter laugh. “Never expected to make it public enemy number one.”
“Well, now you can cross this one off your bucket list,” Andy said and raised a brow when Quynh glared at her. “What?”
“Not helpful,” she said and Andy sighed.
“What we need is a way to get you into fucking Genova without anyone noticing, then to get you into the palace and then we need to find a way to get both of you out again and out of the country,” Andy said, raising her fingers one by one.
“And then we march into the Vatican and steal the pope’s undies while we’re at it,” Joe groused.
“I have no idea what you want with the pope’s undies but…” Andy said and again one of Quynh’s glares stopped her.
“It’s impossible!” Joe said and threw his hands in the air in frustration.
“No, it’s not,” Andy said. “It’s difficult, it’s complicated and it’s dangerous… but not impossible.”
“But how is this going to work if I can’t get even close to the country?” he wanted to know now.
“I have a few ideas,” Andy said. “I still have contact with people from my past, before I met the most wonderful woman in the world. And maybe one or the other owes me a favor.”
“Is that so?” Quynh cocked her head and scrutinized Andy as if she’d never seen them before.
“This is an exceptional situation,” Andy said.
“You have no idea how much this means to me what you are doing, Andy,” Joe said. “Quynh said…”
“It’s okay,” Andy interrupted him. “I wouldn’t do it for anyone, you know that.”
Joe nodded and a small smile appeared on Quynh’s lips. She loved Andy no matter how shady her past had been. And after all, she had left her shady past behind just for her and had opened a motorcycle shop. She loved her bikes almost as much as she loved Quynh.
“What do you have in mind?” Quynh wanted to know.
“First of all,” Andy mused, “we need a new passport for you, Joe.”
“And I guess you know someone who can do that?” Quynh asked. Andy grinned and Quynh rolled her eyes. “Why do I even ask?”
“We get you to Genova, bring you into the palace, you’re going to make a fuss, the guards will come to throw you out while I sneak in and steal your Nicky,” she said. “How does that sound?”
“Weird,” Joe admitted. “Nicky’s not a… a painting or something like that. He’s a person.”
“But in this case he’s the price we want to have, so…” she shrugged.
“And you think this will work?” Joe asked skeptically.
“Well, not on the fly but with a bit of preparation, it shouldn’t be too complicated.”
Quynh raised a brow.
“And then?” she asked.
“We will come back to London,” Andy said.
“Babe, he’s the crown prince. Don’t you think they will come after him if he comes back to London?” Quynh wanted to know. Joe looked from her to Andy and back a few times.
“Maybe he needs to lie low somewhere for a while,” Andy said. “At least until his father is…”
She didn’t finish the sentence but they all knew what she meant. Till Nicky’s father was dead and couldn’t send his goons after him any longer.
He just opened his mouth to complain when his phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and frowned when he saw ‘Unknown caller’ on the display. Maybe it was Chief inspector Fernsby? He pressed the button and then he almost dropped the phone when he immediately recognized the voice on the other end.
“Joe? It’s me, Nicky.”
***
Nicky felt observed when he entered the garden, the one that was for the Principe and his family only. Of course he felt observed because he knew for sure that his father had sent his bloodhounds after him, to take care he wouldn’t run away. He couldn’t hold back a snort. As if he could get away. He knew what was on the stake: Joe’s life. And he wouldn't risk him getting hurt… or worse.
The garden hasn't changed much since he’s been here for the last time. The rotunda was still there, a pavilion with ionic columns and a verdigris-stained copper roof. Ciccio had said their mother loved to sit there and Nicky could understand it. The view from the rotunda out onto the Ligurian sea was spectacular. Hordes of gardeners took care of the garden and everything here was simply perfect. Too perfect for Nicky’s liking.
Slowly he walked along the paths, touched some flowers or bushes and thought about the idea he had had, the idea he wanted to talk to the Prime Minister about.
He just leaned down to smell a beautiful white rose when he heard someone call his name.
“Nico!”
He turned around and saw Glulia coming over to him, a smile on her face.
“I’ve searched for you,” she said and the smile broadened.
“The Prime Minister is on his way here,” Nicky said and Giulia nodded.
“I know,” she said. “I have no idea how you managed to do this without father getting wind of it. But that’s not why I’m here. I have something for you.”
“For me?” Nicky frowned.
“Yes, for you,” she grinned. She opened her purse and pulled out a small parcel in wrapping paper. “Here,” she said and pressed it in Nicky’s hand.
“What’s that?” he asked and Giulia rolled her eyes.
“You have to open it, then you find out. Did you forget how gifts work in London?”
“No, but… it’s not my birthday or…”
“As if I could ever forget your birthday,” Giulia snorted.
“But what…” he started and now Giulia sighed.
“Because you’re my brother and I like you and I’m happy to see you and I want to help you to get at least a bit of happiness, too. And now open the damn gift or I have to hit you with it.”
Nicky looked at it again before he unwrapped it and then his frown deepened.
“A phone? You give me a phone? I already have a phone,” he said when he turned the box around in his hands.
“Yes,” Giulia nodded. “And we both know that father has ordered the Guardia to supervise it to make sure you’re not calling your Joe. This phone…” she pointed at the box in Nicky’s hands, “... is a prepaid phone no one knows about. You can call Joe and father will never know about it.”
Nicky’s eyes went wide.
“You mean…” he blurted and Giulia nodded.
“Yes,” she grinned. “And now call your husband. I’m pretty sure he’s scared out of his mind if only half of the stuff you told me about him is true.”
Nicky grabbed her, wrapped his arms around her and hugged her so tight, it had to hurt her.
“Thank you,” he whispered. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“Call Joe!” Giulia laughed when she had freed herself out of his grip. With shaking hands he opened the box, found the phone fully charged and Joe’s phone number already in the contacts. He dialed, waited and when he heard Joe’s voice he almost dropped it.
“Joe?” he said. “It’s me, Nicky.”