Tweedledum and Tweedledee (4 page)

"The ship is docked. We're in Sorrento."

"Shit." Alberto exclaimed. "Oh my God. My parents are going to kill me! I gotta get back!"

Alberto started running. He blasted the doors to the casino open and stormed out. The bright daylight hit him like a punch to his face and he squinted his eyes so he wouldn’t be blinded. There were people everywhere…walking and chatting. There was music playing from the speakers. It all felt so confusing.

Up. Up. You have to get upstairs to your suite. Maybe they'll still be in there. Maybe they haven't left yet.

"Excuse me," Alberto said and fought his way through the crowd of people walking towards the exit to leave the ship. "Excuse me. Coming through. Sorry sir. Didn't mean to hit you. I'm just trying to get…"

Alberto used his elbows and finally managed to make his way to the elevator. But it took too long for it to arrive and he decided on the stairs instead. He stormed up while hundreds of people were making their way down. He reached the top floor and stormed down the corridor. He grabbed the door handle and tried to open the door to the suite he was sharing with his parents.

It's locked. Crap. And I left my phone in the suite.

Alberto knocked hard on the door. "Mama? Papa?"

No answer. A cabin-boy came towards him. "Can I help you, sir?"

"I locked myself out. I need to get something from inside the suite," Alberto said.

The cabin-boy blushed. "You're Alberto Colombo aren't you? Son of the famous race-driver Alonzo Colombo, right?"

Alberto sighed. He got this a lot. But this time it might be of help. "Yes. Yes I am. Could you please help me?"

"Naturally."

The cabin-boy stepped forward and slid his card through the reader. "There you go, Mr. Colombo."

"Thank you," Alberto said and stormed past him into the suite.

"Mom?" he yelled, but there was no answer. Her purse was gone.

Alberto found his own phone on the table beside his bed. Next to it was a note.

We left. You stay here and think about what you've done. Didn't you think I would find out if you spent ten thousand Euros from my credit card? They called from the bank. We'll find a proper punishment once we get back tonight. Your father isn't happy. Don't leave the room.

Alberto fell backwards onto the bed. This wasn't good. It was worse than the time he had taken one of his father's cars and drove into a light pole in the street. He could tell by the tone of his mother's note. But worst of all was the disappointment in Alberto's mind. He couldn't believe they had just left without him. Weren't they the least bit worried about him? Why hadn't they gone out to look for him?

Stay in the room
, the note said. Alberto looked at the clock. His parents probably weren't going to be back until late in the afternoon. He had a choice now. He could stay and do as he was told and get punished. Or he could not. It didn't matter. He would still get punished either way. He looked at his mother's credit card.

Might as well have some fun while I have the chance.

Alberto got up from the bed and walked towards the door. If he was going to get punished no matter what, it might as well be for something really good.

8

April 2014

H
E HAD KEPT AN
eye on the boy. The man had walked to the top floor early in the morning, watching the family as they left. But the boy hadn't been with the parents when they left the room. For a long time, the man thought they had left the boy inside the room, but then much to his luck, the boy had come storming up the stairs looking tired and red-eyed. He had knocked on the door frantically until a cabin-boy had unlocked the door for him.

Now he was leaving the room again. The man couldn't believe his luck. He followed him closely with his eyes. The boy walked through the hallway towards the stairs. The man followed him a few steps behind. He knew who the boy was. He knew who his father was very well. That the father was a world-famous racecar-driver only made it so much more fun. Spectacular even.

The man followed Alberto Colombo into the casino, where he was almost alone. He watched him throw a credit card on the counter of the bar.

"Your most expensive whiskey, please."

"That'll be the Macallan from 1926," the bartender said, while serving Alberto the glass. "It's three thousand Euros per glass. Enjoy."

The man sat next to him on a stool and ordered a coffee.

Alberto Colombo was looking at his whiskey.

"Aren't you going to drink that?" the man asked without looking at the boy. "Quite an expensive drink to simply let it evaporate."

Alberto scoffed. "I don't even like whiskey."

The man drank from his coffee. "Then why did you order it?"

"I don't know. To get back at my parents, I guess. You know, to be spiteful," Alberto answered with a sigh. "Guess I'm just mad at them. They never care about anything but their money and their things. I don't count. I'm not important."

The man finished his cup. "I know a thing or two about being spiteful," he said. "Maybe there’s a better way. Something a little more fun."  

Alberto looked at him and smiled. "You mean like drugs? You know how to get any?"

The man still didn't look directly at him. He kept staring into the mirror behind the bar where he could study the boy's every move without him noticing it. He liked what he saw. He especially liked the boy's silky smooth olive skin. He shrugged and drank his coffee again.

"Maybe I do. Maybe I don't."

"I have money," Alberto said.

"I noticed."

"So, can you do it? Can you get me something?"

"You really want it, huh?"

"I do. I do. I just want to have fun and forget. I never get to do anything fun. After this trip, I'm going back to my boarding school in France. It's so boring there you wouldn't believe it. I need to have some fun, please. I'll pay you three times the price you usually demand."

The man finally turned his head and looked directly at Alberto.

Fishy, fishy in the brook. Papa caught him on a hook. Mama fried him up at home. Now don't choke on a bone!

"You will now, will you? Well, I think we just might be able to come to an agreement then." The man threw a bill on the counter and emptied his cup. He didn't look at the boy when he spoke to him.

"Meet me downstairs on the lower deck in ten minutes. Come alone. Bring the money."

9

April 1976

T
HE TWINS DIDN'T KNOW
where they were when they opened their eyes. It was dark. They both had a severe headache.

"Where are we?"

"I don't know."

A door soon opened and a flock of men entered. The light was turned on. It was bright and hurt the twin's eyes at first, until they got used to it. The men stared at the boys. They were talking amongst each other while scrutinizing the boys, studying them. A voice resounded in the windowless room. It belonged to a small man with a sweaty face and stubble.

"Gentlemen. I give you the
Spider-boys
!" he yelled.

There was talking amongst the spectators. The voice continued.

"Two heads, three legs and four hands."

"Is it one person or two?" someone asked.

"Yeah, do we have to pay double?" another one yelled.

Then they laughed. A cold sinister laughter that made Tweedledee and Tweedledum shiver in fear. Someone in the crowd raised his hand.

"One million Lire."

"Two," another said.

"Two and a half," a third man said.

"Three," the first said again.

The twins looked, frightened, from one face to another. They were slowly realizing what was going on. They were being sold to the highest bidder.

They looked at each other and started talking between themselves in their own made-up language.

"I'm scared."

"So am I."

Suddenly, another voice resounded from back in the crowd. It cut its way through the cold air. Everybody went quiet.

"Ten million Lire!"

Everyone turned to look. Even the twins stopped talking and looked at who had given this big offer. It was the only woman in the room. She was tall and wide at the shoulders. Her face wore thick layers of make-up to cover up her age. She walked forward with a big smile on her face. Her black hair was covered by a colorful scarf.

"I'll pay ten million Lire for them," she repeated.

"Sold!" the small man said and shook her hand.

The woman looked at the twins. They whimpered in fright. "Good. Bring it to my truck outside."

The twins could hardly manage to protest before a black plastic bag was put over their heads and they felt themselves get lifted up. They were thrown inside the truck and soon it started moving. The twins held each other's hands as they drove.

They sensed the truck come to a halt, then the door was opened and hands were on them once again. They were carried somewhere and thrown on the hard ground. Then everything went quiet. They didn't dare to speak for a long time.

"I don't think anyone is here," Tweedledum said.

"I'm scared," Tweedledee said.

"I'm gonna take off the plastic bag now," Tweedledum said.

"Don't. Maybe they'll be angry and hurt us."

"I want this thing off."

He pulled the plastic bag off, then gasped.

"What?" Tweedledee said.

"Take your bag off as well. It's safe. We're alone."

Tweedledee grabbed his bag as well and pulled it off. "Where are we?" he asked with terror in his voice.

"I don't know. It looks like they put us in a cage."

10

April 2014

I
WAS EXHAUSTED ONCE
we got back to the ship. The entire day we had been traveling by bus, walking up the volcano and walking through the old city of Pompeii. It was every bit as splendid as I remembered it, but a lot for just one day. Especially with my mom and dad, who had been acting like teenagers all day. They were constantly flirting, kissing and sitting on each other's laps. They were giggling and not paying any attention to what the tour guide told us.

I thought Victor would be the one to drive me nuts, but he acted really nice and remained calm during most of the trip. He never threw a fit or screamed because someone touched him. I had feared going out with this many people in public since it was always hard on him, but he had managed it very well and I decided to let him get some ice cream in the room once we got back. We had eaten in a small restaurant close to Pompeii, but there hadn't been time for dessert before we had to get back on the bus.

We walked towards the entrance of the ship, my mom and dad falling behind as usual, when Victor suddenly grabbed my hand. I gasped and looked down at him. He didn't look at me. I drew in a deep breath and enjoyed feeling him close to me. I squeezed his hand gently and closed my eyes for just a second to take in the rare moment. Christoffer kept walking and didn't seem to notice.

"What a great day, huh buddy?" I asked.

Suddenly, he looked at me. He lifted his face and I saw his eyes behind the brown curls.

"Someone is going to die," he said.

"What? What are you saying? Why would you say something like that? Don't say stuff like that, Victor. It scares me."

Victor let go of my hand. My parents caught up with us. "What's going on?" my mom asked cheerfully.

I shook my head and continued to walk. "Nothing. Victor is just acting and talking weird."

"Ah, don't worry. He's a boy. They say strange stuff just to get a reaction from you. It's perfectly normal. He's just playing around."

"Maybe."

"You know you're not doing him any favors by treating him like a baby," my mom said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"You know what I mean," my mom said.

I looked at Victor while we walked. He didn't care that he had upset me. That was part of his condition. He didn't understand what would upset others. I had no idea how to teach him not to say and do stuff that made others feel uncomfortable. They had told me in school they couldn't have him there if he did anything to upset the other students again…like the time when he showed them a PowerPoint presentation of how to decapitate a human head when he was telling about the French Revolution. I talked to him about it over and over again, but it was no use. He simply didn't understand.

We walked up the ramp towards the ship's entrance and walked inside. On the penthouse floor, there was turmoil of some sort. A woman and a man were standing in the corridor, talking to some of the ship's personnel. They seemed upset. I walked with Victor and Christoffer towards our door while listening in on their conversation.

"How could he just disappear? I don't understand this," the woman said. "I told him to stay in the room till we came back. When we got here, the room was empty. His phone is still in there. Where is he?"

"I don't know Signora Colombo," the man in uniform said. "But we’ll make sure to look for him. The ship doesn't leave until tomorrow afternoon. I'm sure he'll turn up. Maybe he’s somewhere on the ship. Maybe he went onshore for a little while. He's fourteen, you say? Well, at that age, they tend to do stuff on their own, right? Let's calm down and wait. He'll probably show up tonight. It's very easy to get lost here on our ship."

Colombo? As in the racecar driver Alonzo Colombo?

I looked at the couple and recognized the man's face. He looked angry.

"I can't believe this. I'm gonna…that boy is…It's all your fault," he said to his wife. "You smother him. I tell you not to. He needs discipline." Alonzo Colombo now looked at the man in uniform. "I tell you, if he doesn't show up tonight, I'll sue your company."

"Surely, Signor Colombo it is not our fault…"

"Well, it's not my fault, is it? It has to be someone's, right? I'm betting it's yours. I'll sue you for everything you've got."