Angel Face

Ricordi

First Ricordi of this book. If you have forgotten what a Ricordi is then here is a brief:

"A Ricordi is a small chapter set in the past. It is narrated in an anonymous perspective whose connection to the main story will be disclosed later."

Unknown POV (Age 12)

My feet plodded across the carpeted floor as I ran through the corridor with my laptop clutched tightly in my hands. Men and women backed away against the walls and rails as they saw me coming through. They knew that if they hurt me even by mistake, there would be severe consequences.

I never understood why they always needed to be on the edge around me. What could a twelve year old boy possibly do to grown-ups like them? Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not some idiot who just likes running around without any reason. I've just done something really amazing and want to show it to the person I love the most in this world. My mother. But the humongous size of this mansion we call home, is getting on my nerves and this stupid corridor doesn't seem to end.

"Ma?" I opened the door to her room and peeked in but it was empty. Disheartened, I close the door and see around to see if I can ask someone her whereabouts. I notice Rodrigo whistling to himself while he typed something on his cell phone.

"Rody!" He stopped and looked up when I called out to him. A smile made its way to his scruffy face as he closed the distance between us. "Hey there, little man. What you upto?" He ruffled my hair, making me scowl.

"Have you seen my mom?" I asked as I brushed my hair back to the way they were. "Your mom?" He quirked an eyebrow "Yeah. She's in the nursery. Why?" He asked curiously.

"I want to show her something." I said and sprinted the towards the staircase, before he could ask me anymore questions. I ran up the stairs to the third floor of the mansion as the maids carrying both dirty and fresh linen moved to the sides, almost dropping the towels and sheets.

I mumbled a quick sorry as I passed them. Usually I would've helped them carry all their stuff but today I happened to be in a hurry. Slowing down as I neared the nursery, I pushed the door open with a big grin. Before I could even take a step inside, I was tackled to the floor dropping the laptop in the process. A groan escaped me when I fell on my back.

I looked up to see the culprit, who was staring at me with her beautiful pair of clear blue eyes. Instantly a smile made its way to my face. "Ciao. Come sta la mia bella sorella, oggi?" I ruffled her long light brown hair before she ran back to her doll house, giggling. I knew how much she loved it when I spoke to her in Italian and seeing her happy always made me happy.

"Val darling, what are you doing here?" I tore my eyes away from my sister when I heard my name. "Are you okay?" Mom eyed me with concern as I remembered why I was here in the first place. I looked at my laptop which was lying next to me and thank god its fall hadn't caused any damage to it.

"I want to show you something." I grinned as I held up my laptop to her. She smiled down lovingly at me while I shuffled back to my feet. I followed her to the love seat in the nursery and sat next to her. "Tell me dear, what is it that you seem so eager to show me?" her blue eyes shone with adoration and pride as she looked at me. I smiled happily as I rebooted my laptop. The display came on to reveal a series of codes.

I turned the screen so that mom could see it. She eyed the screen curiously before giving me a confused look. "Ma, have you heard of the Pentagon?" I asked partly excited about the whole thing and partly anxious about how she would react to it.

"The US headquarter of department of defense?" She questioned to which I nodded in confirmation. "What about it?" she probed.

I pointed at the screen "You see these codes, ma? I was able to disable the Pentagon's entire security system for five whole minutes, using this." shock was written all over her face as she stared at me. "How? You're just a twelve year kid, not even a teenager and they've such high level security systems. How did you even hack into them?" I knew she was going to freak out. "It was an accident, I was just playing around. I think I got one of the codes wrong."

"What if they tracked your IP address?"

"Don't worry, ma. I hid it." I smiled proudly.

"Of course you did, baby. I know how smart you are. So much that it scares me sometimes." she wrapped her hands around me, engulfing me in a safe cocoon. "Why are you scared, ma?"

"Because people are ruthless to people who are gifted, they want to exploit that gift. I don't want someone to manipulate you and use you for their own sick benefits." She whispered to me. "Promise me something, darling."

I looked up at her while she held me close to her. I could do anything for my mother, she was very important to me. "Promise what, ma?"

"Promise me that you'll use your abilities for the people's good and would not let anyone manipulate you, specially your father." I nodded at her. "I promise."

"Promise what?" We jumped apart and looked at the door to see my father standing there. "I think I heard one of you mention me." He glared at my mom while she shrunk away from him, fear clear on her sharp features.

I wish I could do something to change this.