Why I Hated The Guy From The FBI Ch. 17B

All eyes turned to Celeste. Sarah thought Celeste was looking at her, when she was actually looking past her, straight through a window, at Tony Caruso. He was delivering on a promise to the Castronova brothers, to make them, the preeminent family in New York. Having the FBI constantly harass the other 'Families' would leave them open to spread their influence throughout the city. If he could no longer be king, he felt he might at least be kingmaker.

Celeste said, "The problem with law enforcement is they have to follow the law. If you spread enough money around, to the right people, you can get information about anything, and about anyone. My friends and I have enough power in Congress, that if we felt the need, we could have a bill rammed through it in 60 days. If we have that kind of power over the most powerful country in the world, the mob is nothing. Now it is up to you to make a decision. What are you willing to give up, to give that information to the FBI?"

Sarah read the Non-Disclosure Agreement, as slowly as Ted Nugent read her contract. She was never allowed to disclose where she got this information. No one would ever acknowledge giving her these flash drives. The family names she was never to discuss, besides those families present at the table, were like a Who's Who of the business world; and all the attorneys connected to those families.

None of these people would ever testify in a court of law, and if forced to they would either take the Fifth Amendment or stand mute.

After reading the entire document, Sarah asked, "You do not want a leg or an arm or a lung?"

"No," said Rose. "I wanted you here, safe, with me. This information is our gift to you. As long as you can live with the NDA, you can do with it as you please."

Sarah picked up a pen, signed the NDA, and dated it. She handed it across the table to Antonia, who promptly ripped it up.

Sarah looked around the table at smiles. "What is going on?"

Antonia said, "Did you sign the NDA?"

"Of course, I did, but you just..."

"Everyone here saw you sign the non-disclosure agreement; that is good enough for us, Aunt Sarah. We do not have any file cabinets, yet. We were thinking of buying some, but the treasurer has not gotten around to it yet. Welcome to the Growing Up Corporation, Aunt Sarah."

All the members of the Board of Directors stood up and applauded their "Ombudswoman: Sarah Gianini Appleby."

Rose asked if there was a motion to dismiss.

There was, it was seconded, and passed.

Then she said, "Everyone get away from my sister, we have 36 years to catch up on, and now that I am pregnant, I cannot drink wine. If you think I was grouchy before, you will see where Antonia gets her good nature from."

Every woman at the table ran away screaming in mock horror, except Antonia, who laughed at them all.

"I am going to go home to piss off Frank, ma. I will talk to you tomorrow. Goodbye, Aunt Sarah, I am very happy for both you, and my mother."

"Antonia, it was lovely meeting you. I cannot wait to see you in action. Sophia says it is something to behold."

Rose smiled and said, "Frank calls her 'The Champion.'"

Antonio raised both arms above her head as she walked away.

Rose took Sarah for a walk, in the gardens. They had many years to catch up on, but only one thing they really wanted to talk about now, their father.

"Sarah, I always thought my father was a hypocrite, and you are the proof that he was. At home, here in Italy, he was an absolute tyrant about morals, and our proper behavior at home. We always had to dress appropriately. We were never allowed to be out alone, with the opposite sex. My mother was not allowed to see another man, without a chaperone. Even when he went away on business trips, he would leave one of our uncles with us, to make sure we always obeyed those rules. Now, 36 years later, I find out that I have a sister that my father produced from another woman, in a foreign country. I wish he were still alive, so I could slap him across his face, and tell him what I think of him. He put my mother through hell for no reason at all. She died an early death, because of him. He put his children through hell, while he was a philanderer. You should be pleased that you never had the opportunity to meet him. I hope he treated your mother better than he treated mine."

"Rose, my mother never spoke of how my father treated her physically. She only spoke of how he supported us, before she got married, and then how he paid for my college education. With the exception of those conversations, my knowledge of my father is extremely limited. I never saw a picture of him. I never heard her talk about him to anyone else. I am sorry I cannot shed anymore light onto his behavior while he was in the United States."

"Thank you, Sarah, after I have finished hogging you for a while, we will take a trip, and I will introduce you to the remainder of your brothers and sisters."

"You mean there are more of us?"

"Sarah, have you ever heard of an Italian family, with only one child?"

"No, I guess I have not. How many of us are there?"

"You have two brothers, and three sisters. We are spread all over Italy. Maybe I will just have everyone meet us in Rome, for a holiday."

"I have never been to Rome that would be very exciting."

"I will set it up that way, Sarah. Two weeks in Rome for you and I. A family get-together; it will be a lot of fun."

"How do I thank you for finding me, Rose?"

"I did not find you, Sarah. ' Growing up' did. My friends did. Our family did. Our future together is secure, because of them. I feel complete with you at my side. What language do you want to learn first, sis?"

"I was thinking about taking Italian, and failing it for the rest of my life."

"I like that idea, Sarah, I like it very much."

63. Sunbathing

Charlie and Ann were sunbathing on their boat, "Point Breeze," 10 miles west Monte de Oro State Park, in a beautiful clear day with calm seas. Suddenly their boat was hit by a 25-foot high rogue wave that nearly rolled the boat over. It slammed both Charlie and Ann into the sidewalls of the boat, causing them both a great deal of pain.

Charlie checked Ann to make sure she was all right, and then went to check the status of the boat.

Suddenly, Ann cried, "Charlie, help me, I am bleeding."

Charlie ran down from the bridge to check on his wife's condition. She was bleeding vaginally, and he was scared to death. He brought her inside, got towels, placed in between her thighs and a pillow for her head.

He said, "Ann, I am going to call for help."

"Coast Guard this is Point Breeze, Mayday over."

"Point Breeze, Coast Guard, state your position, and the nature of your problem."

"Point Breeze was hit by a rogue wave that injured my wife, and she is bleeding vaginally. She is nearly 9 months pregnant. We are 9 miles east of Monte de Oro State Park. We request immediate assistance."

"Point Breeze, Coast Guard, we have nothing in your immediate area that can get to you, earlier than you could make it to port. Suggest you head for home top speed. We all have medical help available upon your arrival."

"Roger, Coast Guard, heading home, Point Breese out."

Charlie started the engines, nearly forgetting to haul up the anchor. He pushed the throttles to the maximum; put in the GPS coordinates for home, put the boat on automatic cruise. Then, he went to check on Ann.

When he got back down to her, she said, "Charlie, we have a problem."

"No kidding, Ann. You have a wonderful way of understating the obvious."

"No Charlie, I am in labor."

Charlie was not about to show the panic that he had just entered. So in his calm, normal FBI voice, he said, "Ann, what are you worrying about, I have done this more than a dozen times, during my career. This would be nothing new for me."

"Really, Charlie, you never cease to amaze me."

"I even delivered one of my nephews. I do not remember if it was number seven or eight, and it was a difficult birth, but I got through it, okay."

"I knew you were a keeper, Charlie. I knew it the first time I saw you."

Charlie handed her his watch and told her to keep track of her contractions. He was going to the bridge to watch out for other boats."

Ann closed her eyes, and tried to rest.

Charlie went up to the bridge, put his headset on, and called the Coast Guard.

"Coast Guard, this is point breeze, again. I need instructions on how to deliver the baby."

"Point Breeze, Coast Guard, the first thing you do is get to land immediately. Rescue is waiting for you."

"Coast Guard, this is Point Breeze. What happens if the baby does not want to wait?"

"Charlie, is that you?"

"Yes, whom am I talking to?"

"Commander Richardson, you helped us get that submarine, a while back."

"Hello, commander, I do not have time right now to reminisce, I need help from my wife."

"Charlie, I know this is going to sound crazy, but believe me when I tell you it works. If you have liquor on board this will help. It works like an anesthetic. It can slow or stop the contractions. They used it in the 1950s and 60s, before they had the drugs for women in labor."

"What kind of liquor sir?"

"Vodka is best, Charlie. If you do not have that use Gin."

"Vodka, sir, I have plenty on board."

"Charlie you have to get your wife drunk. Give her two shots of Vodka right away. Then give her one shot every 5 minutes, for half an hour. It should knock her out. If not, give her another shot, every five minutes for another 30 minutes. If she is not unconscious by then; you start drinking, because she is a better person than you or I."

"Commander, somehow I think you are serious. What effects will it have on the baby?"

"When you get to shore, Charlie, they will rush Ann to a hospital. Her blood will either be dialyzed and the alcohol removed or they will force fluids through her to mitigate the alcohol. Her doctors will make the decisions on what to do about the baby, when they look her over."

"Okay, commander, I will give it a try. If this works, you and I are going drinking. This is Point Breeze out."

Ann was moaning as Charlie got back to her. She saw the bottle in his hand, and she laughed. "Not so sure of yourself, Charlie?"

"This is not for me, Ann; this is for you. We are going to use this as an anesthetic. I just talked to Commander Richardson, and they use to use this in the 1950s to slow down, premature births. Baby, I am about to get you drunk. Open your mouth and say 'AHH.'"

Charlie gave Ann two jiggers of vodka, which she swallowed with a grimace on her face. "Charlie, I do not like warm vodka."

"You did not give the very much notice, darling. If I had known we were going to party, I would have put it in the freezer. I will put your next shot of vodka in there, now, so the next one will be cold."

"I have not had a drink in eight months. Now that I am in labor, you are going to get me drunk."

"That is what the commander told me to do. He has more experience than I do, and I am taking his word for it. He has the manual in front of him, and I do not. I am going back up to the bridge. I will be back in four minutes, with more of your medicine."

"This could be fun, Charlie."

"If my son comes out drunk, it will be your fault for going into labor too soon."

"It was not my fault that we got hit by that wave. You parked the boat in the wrong spot."

"Excuse me, wife, you were driving the boat. I was only the deckhand."

"I hate you FBI guys. You always have a way of getting out of trouble."

"I will be back in three minutes, and if you keep talking, I might as well stay here and keep you company."

"Finally, Charlie, you have figured out my plan. I do not want to be left alone, because I am frightened."

"Do not be frightened, my love. You are in the best Hispanic Italian hands known to man. Before the next half-hour is over, you will be asleep, out of pain, and the contractions will have stopped."

"I hope so Charlie. I do not want the baby to be harmed. I have waited too long for this to happen."

"We are going to have many children, Ann. He will only be the first one, and he will be born as healthy as his mother and father. After he drinks his mother's milk, I am going to feed him his first doughnut."

"ONE CHILD CHARLIE, ONE; and if I did not think you were joking, about the donut I would get up from here and kill you."

Charlie backed away from her and said, "Ann, who said I was kidding."

"Charlie, I do not care if the five minutes is up. I need a drink."

Charlie poured another ounce of vodka into a glass and poured it into Ann's mouth. She grimaced, and swallowed it down.

"Charlie put that into the refrigerator to cool it down, please. I hate warm vodka."

"Okay, but I am going up to the bridge and taking a look around. I will be back to give you your next shot."

After her fifth shot of vodka, Ann was singing.

Charlie realized that Ann could not carry a tune. After the sixth shot, she was slurring her words so badly; he wished he had a tape recorder to remind her of what she did to the English language. By the eighth shot, she was unconscious.

Charlie called the Coast Guard and told them to tell Commander Richardson that she made it through 8 ounces of vodka before she succumbed to sleep. The contractions had stopped and he was extremely thankful for their help.

As he pulled into their berth, EMS jumped onto the boat, and went to check on Ann. The police helped him tie up to the wharf.

"What the hell did you do to her," one of the technicians said to Charlie.

"The Coast Guard told me to get her drunk to stop the contractions. I followed their instructions. The contractions stopped, and she fell asleep."

"How much did you give her?"

"I gave her 8 ounces of Vodka."

The technician said, "Shit that would have knocked me out." They hooked Ann up to a saline solution, put her on a gurney, and rushed her to the awaiting ambulance.

Charlie closed down the boat, got into their car, and chased after them.

The EMS people explained everything to the people in the ER while they were on their way to the hospital. They checked Ann's registry for her gynecologist/obstetrician. The doctor was already in the hospital delivering another baby. When she was finished delivering the baby, she came down to see how her other patient was doing. With all the fluids they were pumping through Ann, to rid her system of the alcohol, she was regaining consciousness.

She looked up and saw her doctor staring down at her. "Doctor Swanson, please kill my husband for me. My head is about to explode."

"Ann, the only reason you are still alive is because of your husband's quick thinking. He got you drunk, which saved your life, and potentially saved the life of your baby. You were bleeding profusely, if you had delivered on the boat, you would definitely have died. I think you should reconsider the death penalty."

"Is he here?"

"Where else would he be Ann?"

"Can I see him?"

"I am going to prep you for a C-section. The baby was stressed, because of all you went through today. I do not want to take a chance, and let it go to term. He will be fine, his heartbeat is still strong, and everything still looks good. I would just feel better taking him now, just in case you start bleeding again."

"I want to see Charlie first."

"Charlie can be in the OR with you, if you want."

"Yes, I would like that very much. I will ask him if he would like to be there."

Charlie came walking in and saw Ann, with her doctor. He kissed Doctor Swanson and said, "Who is your patient?"

"Charlie, do not fuck around. You got it backwards. You are supposed to kiss me and say hello to Doctor Swanson."

"Oh, sorry Doc, I must have gotten confused."

Doctor Swanson laughed and said, "I am going to start scrubbing in, I will meet you upstairs and 15 minutes."

"What does she mean scrubbing in, and 15 minutes?"

"I am having a C-section Charlie. She does not want to take a chance, with the baby, after all that is happened today. She is worried if I start to bleed again, it could jeopardize our son. He is fine, but she wants to be safe, instead of sorry later. She also told me, I have you to thank for my life. If you had not gotten me drunk, and the contractions continued I would have died. Thank you Charlie."

"Ann, if I was having a baby, you would have done the same for me."

"Charlie Gomes, you are absolutely incorrigible."

"I know, my love, but what would my life have been without you."

Two nurses walked into the room and told Charlie to get out, while they prepped Ann for surgery. They asked him if he was going in the OR with her.

Ann looked at him and said, "Charlie, please be with me, I am very frightened."

"Would you like me to perform the operation Ann? I have my Swiss Army knife with me."

"Charlie, do not make me laugh. Just stay with me, until this is over. Then you can start changing diapers, and feeding our son."

"I would not be any place else, Ann."

"Mister Gomes, go up to the third floor, tell them you are going to be in the OR, with your wife, and they will get you ready. Do not dawdle, you have 10 minutes."

Charlie kissed Ann, and ran for the elevators. He told the clerk what he was supposed to do, and was directed to a locker room to change into scrubs. When he walked out, moments later, he looked like any other medical professional. A nurse wrapped him in an over garment, put his hands in gloves, and walked him in to the OR, where Ann was already on the table.

He walked over to her and said, "I am here baby, I will be at your side the whole time."

Doctor Swanson came in to the room and said, "Ann, I am going to put you under general anesthetic, instead of an epidural, just in case you start to bleed. I do not want to have to rush and put you under later. Do you understand?"

"Ann nodded her head and said yes." A nurse gave Charlie, a form to sign for her, stating that Ann had understood and consented to general anesthetic.

The anesthesiologist began the procedure and within seconds, Ann was under. Doctor Swanson began her job.

Charlie had seen many autopsies in his day, but never watched a procedure on a live patient. This patient happened to be his wife and he watched with a keen eye, as everyone involved worked with precision. Suddenly, and without fanfare, there was his son.

Doctor Swanson had him cut the umbilical and handed the infant to a nurse to clean and care for the one-month preemie.

Doctor Swanson continued to work, and then said, "Shit, we have a bleeder. Typing cross match for three units and get it up your stat."

Charlie's face went white, with fear. He had a son, who was alive and healthy, but now he could lose his wife in the process. He had not prayed in a long time, he started to pray, quickly, now.

He knelt down by the side of the operating table and whispered into Ann's ear, "Ann, fight, fight hard, we have our son, we will be nothing without you. Don't leave us, Ann. I love you too much. I searched my whole life for you. Please fight, I need you."

The anesthesiologist said, "Blood pressure is dropping, 80/50.

Doctor Swanson said, "Where is the blood, if it is not here soon we are going to lose her.

The door to the OR swung open, and nurse carried in the three units of blood, and started to hang them on a pole.

Doctor Swanson said, "Wide-open force it into her. I cannot get to this damn bleeder. Suction please, suction she is filling up."

To Charlie, seconds seemed like hours, as the doctor worked feverishly trying to save Ann's life. After what seemed like an eternity, Doctor Swanson said, "Got it. Sponge."

The Anesthesiologist said, "Blood pressure is rising, 95/60.

"Let us hang around for a little while, folks, I want to make sure that thing does not pop open. It was a bitch to get to and I do not want to have to open her up again because of it.