CHAPTER 5 – Flight Or Fight
The Vespa GTS 250 was travelling at its maximum speed of 120 Km/h on the freeway, when Simon first saw the other teenager in his rear-view mirror. He guessed that the other Vespa, which was the same model as his, was catching up, must have undergone some modifications. Simon knew he would be unable to outrun his opponent, so he immediately took the next exit, taking him towards a town called Forlani. When he reached the end of the exit he took two quick turns in an attempt to lose his pursuer. As he travelled down Via Forlani he kept checking in the rear vision mirror. Feeling satisfied that he lost his tail, Simon decided to take the next left, which would allow him to eventually re-enter the freeway further south.
Simon was looking at the oncoming traffic and was shocked to recognise the bike quickly approaching from the opposite direction. Simon instantly veered off the road down a dirt track. Within minutes Steve entered the same track.
The track was still partly covered with snow whilst the rest was mostly mud, with the odd rock or ditch.
Simon managed to keep his bike moving forward at high speeds, whilst utilising the lack of traction to assist in drifting the Vespa around corners. Steve, not having ridden a bike before today, kept driving as fast as he could, but was barely keeping up. Both bikes received several beatings from the snow-covered potholes. As Simon approached a corner, he suddenly noticed that he had arrived at a dead end. Without hesitating he drove off the track into a paddock. Steve, now only seconds behind, reacted to the dead end by instinctively applying the brakes. This was a mistake as the bike slid underneath him. Although the bike fell on its side, Steve managed to stand on its side whilst it slid across the mud with one of the handles acting as a brake. As the bike slid into a natural gutter caused by years of land corrosion, the tyres jammed and caused the bike to jack back up. Steve, holding onto the opposite handlebar and using the upward momentum, landed back on the seat. He then dropped down a gear, which gave the bike a forward push. Steve was satisfied that he had regained control of the bike, but the distance Simon had gained frustrated him. Simon, now back on a sealed road, proceeded to head back to the freeway. Once there, he kept the throttle at maximum speed.
After 30 minutes on the freeway, to Simon’s frustration, he again saw the motorbike in his rear view mirror. It was then that Simon decided that “flight” was not an option when your opponent had a faster motorbike, so quickly decided to find a suitable place to “fight”.
Simon saw the exit to Mestre, an industrial city near Venice. He turned left and travelled down Via Castellana. Once again his pursuer was hot on his tail.
As Simon rode the bike down a set of footpath stairs, he noticed a tiny magnetic disc attached to the rear side panel of his bike. Wasting no time, Simon grabbed what he assumed to be the homing device that was allowing his pursuer to keep track of him. He threw it ahead of him so that he could ride over it and smash it. Twenty kilometres away, Whisper saw the tracking marker disappear from his portable GPS device.
As Simon reached the next junction, Steve appeared from a side street and attempted to knock him off the bike by side swiping him. But Simon was able to use his left foot to push his opponent’s motorbike onto the opposite side of the road and in front of an oncoming tractor. Steve accelerated the Vespa and moved himself to the far left of the road, barely missing the oncoming traffic and scanned the traffic ahead for a gap that would allow him to reengage. Unexpectedly he found himself side swiped by Simon that threw him off balance, forcing him to drive onto the footpath where many locals were walking. At 90 km/h, Steve barely managed to miss the pedestrians, instead hitting vacant chairs outside the cafés.
Whisper, following a tracking device placed on Steve’s motorbike, took the Mestre exit.
Simon knew he could not afford to let his opponent take back the initiative. Spotting a cross junction ahead he took advantage of the fact that there were no obstacles immediately in front of him. He accelerated causing the bike to momentarily go into a ‘mono’. The leap of speed gained an advantage of a couple of metres. Steve, who was still on the footpath, hit an intersection. Simon swiped him again, forcing the both of them to skid left in order to miss a bakery located on the opposite corner. The two riders quickly regained control and found themselves travelling towards a construction site. Both riders maintained a close proximity, whilst attempting to plant blows using both their feet and their fists. As they reached the end of the street, the two Vespas failed to turn at the T-junction and progressed through a gate, which was meant to keep people out of the construction site.
Mestre had recently undergone an industrial boom and its port had been expanded to take additional cargo ships. One of the companies that did well from this economic boom was Teltrec Shipping. The company had offices in several major ports in France, Germany and England. It had recently decided to build its new state of the art European headquarters in Italy. The site chosen was going to be a forty story building near the port of Mestre. Currently the building looked like a coal mine. The foundation covered a hundred metres in diameter and dropped 40 metres below ground level. The foundation was so wide and deep that it had a double lane road spiralling around the perimeter. This allowed easy access for large digging machinery to get to its base.
Steve and Simon, entrenched in their own battle, failed to see the warning signs. They also ignored the site workers who tried to warn them of the danger ahead. The two bikes suddenly disappeared as they dropped into the hole. Fortunately, the sidewalls of the foundation had a 30-degree incline thus preventing the two riders from free falling to the bottom. Both riders panicked, but managed to maintain their balance by leaning back as far as possible on their Vespas. They both travelled at great speed down the dirt walls of the foundation. Within seconds, they recommenced their attack by using the bodies of the bikes to throw each other off balance. As they travelled down, they regularly crossed the access road. As Steve hit the road for the second time, he took the opportunity to gently apply his rear brakes and slide the back of the bike underneath him. The Vespa slid completely to the ground with its left side dragging through the dirt. It slowed down somewhat, but not enough to stop. Steve took advantage of this action by sliding the rear wheel of his Vespa to swipe Simon’s bike from underneath him. Simon instinctively let his bike also slide on its side and placed all of his weight onto his right leg. He then used the handle of the accelerator grip to lift himself up onto the bike into a surfing position. The two bikes along with their two surfing riders, locked together as they slid further down towards the base. Simon and Steve, both balancing on the sides of their bikes, locked into close combat. Each opponent used a mixture of holds, feints, punches, and kicks in an attempt to wear the other down. The bikes found a section of the wall where the angle increased into a short free fall. The bikes disappeared underneath their feet and both fighters held their breath in anticipation for the crash that would follow. When the bikes hit the dirt again, they momentarily stopped in place. The two teenagers, now off balance but still holding onto each other, hit their bikes hard. They cried out in pain as various metal components collided with their ribs and thighs. The force generated by their two bodies colliding with their bikes caused the dirt beneath them to dislodge. They instantly recommenced the fast slide down the steep incline. The boys, now in pain, momentarily let go of each other to grab onto their sliding bikes. They found themselves being dragged. Their bodies suddenly were sliding through the dirt with one arm holding onto their Vespa and the other grabbing their opponent. Not wanting to lose any opportunities, both combatants used their free legs to kick at each other. After a few well-placed kicks, Simon and Steve let go of one another to protect their now much bruised ribs. Using their free hand, they were now able to strike blows using their fists and elbows. The bikes reached the access road once again. The change in angle caused them to bounce off the road twice like a rock being thrown across a lake. This caused both riders to be winded.
The first bounce had lifted
them into the air and, due to the anchoring of their spare arm, they were flipped onto their backs on top of their bikes. Both riders now exhausted from the physical battering lay on their backs and held on for dear life. Simon noticed that the base of the foundation was fast approaching. Steve, also seeing the end approaching, let his body relax in the hope to regain some energy and hopefully have the upper hand once the fight recommenced. Simon, knowing that his body could not sustain the battering much longer, looked for a getaway. As the bikes bounced off the access road for the last time, he swung his foot towards his opponent making Steve duck quickly. Using the moment of distraction, Simon pushed on his other leg to detach himself from the bike. The action proved to be effective as he landed on the access road only centimetres away from the final incline.
Steve’s realised Simon’s intent too late. Hearing the engine of one of the Vespas still running, Steve quickly decided that his best option would be to continue the ride to the bottom, and then use the bike to chase Simon who was now on foot.
Simon quickly jumped to his feet and chased a truck that was slowly making its way up the access road. Within moments Simon had managed to grab onto the truck and climb onto its load of rocks. At the same time, Steve was attempting to regain control of his bike before the sliding came to a stand still. He quickly identified that it was Simon’s bike that still had the motor running. He jumped across to the other bike and put all his weight onto the protruding pedal whilst using all of his strength to pull on the visible handle bar. The action proved to be effective as the bike instantly heaved back up onto its wheels. Steve, with the agility of a gymnast, swung back into the seat and accelerated. The Vespa managed to get a grip on the dirt and sped up the slope. Satisfied that the manoeuvre worked, he accelerated towards the access road in pursuit. Simon, felt somewhat deflated after witnessing his opponent’s skills. Shaking the sense of defeat aside, he quickly again found himself choosing between “fight or flight”. He could wait for his opponent and face another fight, or he could jump into the driver’s cabin in an attempt to gain control of the truck and flee.
“Simon, never show fear to a predator as it will give it the confidence to attack” Simon heard his dad say in his thoughts.
“Great dad! I don’t think this guy knows what fear is!” Simon called out in attempt to lighten his hopeless situation.
Steve kept the bike at full throttle and, having now perfected the art of drifting around the corners of the dirt road, very quickly caught up to the truck. He was surprised to see his opponent standing on top of the gravel waiting for him. Steve was exhilarated by the challenge of overpowering such a persistent opponent. He took a leap from the Vespa, grabbing with both hands onto a sidebar of the truck, and then used his legs to spring onto the back of the truck. Before Steve managed to find his balance on the moving gravel, a rock struck his head knocking him unconscious.
Simon made sure he had not killed him. Satisfied that the opponent was still ok, he climbed to the back of the truck and waited for it to slow down at the exit point, which was only a few metres ahead. Once he jumped off, he ignored the workers yelling at him for trespassing and waved down a taxi.
“Dove?” (Where?) asked the taxi driver.
“La stazione” replied Simon.
Simon arrived at the train station and was glad that he had not lost his backpack during the fight. He decided to take advantage of the 15 minutes before the train for Milan departed to buy himself some new clothes at a nearby shop.
The shop attendant, seeing the teenager covered in dirt and marked by spots of blood, was initially unsure if she should serve the customer or call the police.
Simon, understanding what the shop attendant must have been thinking, quickly explained that he had tried to help a girl being hit by her boyfriend, when suddenly they both turned on him. The girl immediately felt sorry for him and offered the staff bathroom to clean up.
Whisper arrived at the construction site and immediately drove his rented car down the access road. None of the workers were perturbed by the intrusion as they assumed that he was one of the foremen checking up on them. As Whisper drove down he noticed a Vespa leaning on the side. Once he confirmed that there was nobody lying next to it, he continued to the bottom of the foundation that was where the tracking device was indicating Steve and, hopefully, Simon were situated. When he found the other motorbike and failed to see either of the teenagers, he approached a local worker to ask where the motorbike had come from. He was told of the fight that had occurred a few minutes earlier and how the workers had watched the two boys who had ended up on the back of a truck. The workers could not tell if the boys had gotten off at the top of the access road, as they could not see it from the base. Whisper thanked them and, realising that they believed him to be one of their managers, informed them that he would go to the police to report the incident. Whisper was angry and drove back to the entrance at high speed whilst attempting to call Steve on his mobile. Steve was woken by the sound of his mobile ringing.
“Hi” said Steve into his mobile.
“WHERE ARE YOU?” shouted his master.
“On the back of a truck travelling though the centre of Mestre.”
“Get off and call me with a street address. I’m coming to get you!’
Steve didn’t get the chance to respond as Whisper simply hung up.
Steve then proceeded to get the truck driver’s attention.
On the train Simon, feeling somewhat refreshed by the quick “bird-bath” and a set of new clothes, allowed himself to relax.
Simon’s stomach grumbled. He decided to take the opportunity to have a quiet bite in the restaurant carriage and send an update to his mum, Inspector Lau, and Signor Beppe.
After a rushed lunch, Simon received a reply back from his mum informing him that she was still fine and she was very proud of him. He also received a phone call from Signor Beppe, who wanted to know what had happened after the initial confrontation in Treviso. At the time of the call, Signor Beppe was on the E70 heading south.
Although Whisper and Steve were not aware of the phone call between Simon and his mentor, they knew exactly where Beppe was.
“Just as well you thought to place a tracking device on his host’s car” stated Whisper, although still feeling frustrated by his young apprentice.
“When the old man showed his amazing fighting skills, I had the feeling that he was no ordinary host and that he might be helping our friend”, replied Steve, aware of his master’s anger.
“An old man who is able to overpower a younger and stronger fighter. It is hard to believe”, said Whisper to himself.
“And our target somehow has managed to find himself a place at the old guy’s home. Talk about luck!” added Steve.
“My young friend, there is one lesson that you need to learn very fast. In this line of work there are no coincidences and there is no luck. It is simply planning and risk management.”
“What? Are you saying that Simon finding accommodation with a highly skilled pensioner in a country where he has never been, where he knows nobody, was ‘planning’ and not coincidence?” asked Steve bewildered by what he had just heard.
“Absolutely! You are forgetting that although Simon may not have planned it, it may have been part of someone else’s plan.”
And with that, both agents secluded themselves into their own thoughts.
The train arrived in Milan on schedule. Simon was taken by surprise by the beautiful architecture of the old train station - its size, the grandiose overarching cover, and the large fleet of bullet trains left Simon breathless.
Simon walked outside the station and caught a taxi to the nearest motorbike dealer. As the taxi travelled through the city, Simon allowed himself to admire the amazing sites. He felt fortunate that the drive took him by the Duomo and the Galleria. He asked the driver which model motorbike he could rent without a car licence but could provide great speed. The driver suggested a few models and asked where he wan
ted to go. Simon lied and stated that he would use it to travel around Italy for the next two months. The Taxi driver thought about it for a few moments and then offered to sell him an old motorbike that he had in his garage. Although, the motorbike was a Kawasaki 750 purchased in the early 80s, it still had a great engine able to reach over 200 km/h. Simon initially declined as he did not have a car licence and was unable to legally drive such a large motorbike. To Simon’s surprise, the taxi driver replied that he had a friend who for 200 Euros could also provide him a fake licence. An hour later, Simon was once again heading south towards San Gimignano on a metallic dark green bike that was running beautifully and looked well maintained. Contrary to the Vespa that reached a top speed of 122 km/h, the Kawasaki was easily able to travel at the same speed as the rest of the traffic. Although he was now sitting on 140 km/h, he felt safer than on the Vespa, as he no longer had to worry about trucks coming too close to his rear wheel before overtaking him. Simon was exited about the next leg of the trip as he was heading past the famous “Cinque Terre” and the famous sea town of Portofino.
Beppe arrived at San Gimignano first. Unable to drive into town as no vehicles were allowed, he found himself a private car park on the outer perimeter of the town wall. As he walked into the centre he knew that Simon’s father had had plastic surgery since the last time they had seen each other and he would need to rely on other characteristics to recognise him. Beppe was also very excited that after all these years he was finally going to see him. He walked to the centre of the town, randomly dropping into souvenir shops in order to come across as a tourist. He quickly purchased a map and considered possible locations where he would live, if he had to hide in this town. He made a short list of four locations which he would visit using a cover story that he was trying to locate the apartment which he had rented for his holidays.
Firstly, he would have a coffee and get some information about the locals. There was an art to this and Beppe was certainly a master at it. After the first coffee Beppe learned that most of the locals were either retirees or people who worked in town. Of the retirees only one was questionable. This gentleman was a farmer that sold his farm somewhere East, and bought an apartment in town. He also had some land to the south, which he leased to an adjacent farm. This information was freely given by a young waitress called Kiara, who thought Beppe reminded her of her grandfather. Of the information attained, Beppe’s ears pricked up when Kiara described this retiree, as a very attractive and well educated gentleman with well manicured hands. She went on to say that she and the other two waitresses always looked forward to him coming for his morning coffee. His striking blue eyes and friendly smile made him a pleasure to talk to when the opportunity arose. Beppe felt confident that he had found his former pupil, a highly educated farmer with manicured hands did not fit the stereotype Italian farmer. They would usually have a standard education, and their hands would be rough from the years of punishment from working on the land. Beppe laughed at the thought of a retired farmer having rented his land to another farmer, because he had had enough of working on the land, and yet, he still spent a lot of time there helping him.
“Kiara, thank you so much for the lovely company. I might take a walk around the town and have a look at the beautiful countryside. You never know, I might see this retired farmer with the manicured hands” smiled Beppe, as he winked at Kiara and left her a generous tip.
“Thank you. You might be lucky and see him. This morning he was wearing a black woollen jumper” replied Kiara excited by the tip.
“Arrivederci!” And with that Beppe walked to the south side of the town with an extra spring in his step.
Beppe took only a few minutes to arrive at the farm and to his delight he saw two men collecting vine clippings. The older man looked to be the same age as Beppe. His skin was brown and his face was very wrinkled and weathered from working outside, and he had an brisk movement that showed someone who enjoyed his work. The second man was wearing a pair of brown corduroy pants and a black woollen jumper. Although he was also concentrated on his work, he kept casually glancing around at his surroundings.
Beppe knew that he had finally found Simon’s father.
Nicola was in discussions with Silvio about the winter arriving late this year even though it was already snowing up north. Global warming was a topic that the two of them often discussed. Nicola spotted Beppe as soon as he walked towards the garage on the other side of the vineyard. However, it was not until he was 150 meters from them that he recognised him. Nicola instantly felt a joy that he had not experienced since his younger years when he was in training. Although he was excited to see his mentor again, he felt that it was improbable, as his master would never jeopardise Nicola’s hidden identity. Furthermore, Nicola had been taught not to believe in coincidences. Therefore, his master must have found out that his death was fake and that either 'Beta' or Candice had given him a lead to direct him here. As 'Beta' did not know where Nicola was, his master had most likely found out the information from his wife. The only other possibility was that Stefano had given him away.
“Hello!” Beppe called out to the two gentlemen in Italian.
“Good afternoon” both farmers replied.
“Here to offer some help?” asked Silvio with a smile.
“Absolutely. Seeing you at work reminds me of the holidays I used to spend at my grandfather’s farm as a young boy” replied Beppe honestly.
“Well, then feel free to roll up your sleeves and help out. But I will only be able to pay you with a free sampling of my Shiraz!”
“It’s worth it!” added Nicola with a smile and a wink at Beppe
Nicola knew that his master would not be able to recognise his face as the plastic surgeon had done a fantastic job. However, he also knew that his master was the only person in the world who could identify all of the other characteristics that distinguished Nicola from any other man.
Nicola intentionally started collecting clippings that were further away from Silvio. Beppe was in tow.
“How have you been?” asked Beppe.
“I guess that I have been great. Thank you for asking!” replied Nicola acting as if he was answering a complete stranger.
“It’s ok. I’m not bugged and I don’t believe I have been tailed” Beppe added calmly.
Nicola looked up and surveyed the surrounding farmland. Once satisfied that he was not being watched, he turned to his old master and threw his arms around him.
“I missed you, you old fool. How the hell did you find me?”
“It seems that you still can’t fool your old master!” exclaimed Beppe, excited to finally see his student again.
“How did you find me?” asked Nicola
“Nicola, is there somewhere we could speak in private?”
Nicola recognised the look and pointed his teacher in the direction of the garage.
“Silvio, I am just taking a break. Beppe here parked his car at the car park and I thought I’d let him keep some of his pension by parking it on our land.”
“No problem. See you in 10” replied Silvio not really fussed about the departure.
Nicola and his old master walked to the car park to get Beppe’s car. Before getting into the car, Nicola dropped his keys as an excuse to bend down and check the chassis.
“It’s ok, I have long retired and most of my enemies have died of old age. You will only find mud,” Beppe stated jokingly.
“Still, it pays to remain cautious. As I was once told by a wise man, we are never given the luxury of retiring completely” responded Nicola.
“I guess that I have had such a fulfilling life that I would be happy if it all came to a sudden end,” Beppe stated philosophically.
“It’s not a bomb that I am worried about,” stated Nicola as he stood up holding the magnetic tracking device.
“At the fight!” Beppe realised.
“What fight?”
“It’s a long story and we don’t have the time.”
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“You are right, we need to get this device as far away as possible from here.”
“I have been here a few hours and it might already be too late. Please pass me the device, I’ll do my best to get some distance.”
“No! I have a better idea. I’ll drive.”
They both jumped in the BMW and sped up the road to Nicola’s garage. Once at the garage, Nicola pulled a set of keys out of his pocket. On them there was a remote control with a small keypad. Nicola entered the predefined sequence and the garage door opened and they drove in.
“Time for a change” called out Nicola with a smile.
“Good to see that you finally listened to my recommendation” replied Beppe delighted at the sight.
Nicola started the engine and then selected another combination on his key ring and the side wall of the garage lifted, giving way to a downhill track between two vineyard plantations.
The small helicopter rolled forward until it cleared the garage. Once sufficient distance was achieved the garage door closed and the helicopters propellers extended to their full length. Immediately Nicola pulled on the throttle and the rotor started spinning. A few seconds later they were airborne and heading south.
“What do you have in mind?” asked Beppe
“I intend to travel across to the freeway and find a suitable vehicle to attach the tracking device to.”
Within a few minutes they were flying south above the A1 freeway. It didn’t take them long to find a truck with a number plate from Bari – a capital city located at the heel of Italy. Nicola flew low and dropped the magnetic tracking device onto the fuel truck.
Whisper monitored the tracking device with interest. He was somewhat surprised at the distance the driver had travelled in the last 30 minutes. Whisper was about to take the exit for Siena when he had to keep going toward Rome as the vehicle now seemed to be back on the A1. Steve was asleep in an attempt to recoup some of his strength.
Simon was only an hour away from San Gimignano.
“So, what has made you try and find me? And what fight were you referring to?” asked Nicola whilst flying back home.
“Well my friend, a few days ago a young teenager rented a room from me. He turned out to be your son” Beppe began.
“I knew he was in Treviso, but I would never have expected the he would find you.”
“Your wife…”
“I know” interrupted Nicola.
“This afternoon I saw the e-mail sent to me by Simon. I received it yesterday, but initially mistook it as junk mail. I have a flight this evening that will take me from Rome directly to Malaysia. I should be at the hospital within 24 hours.”
“That’s great! What about Simon?”
“He cannot find me. Although I am dead to the world, I cannot chance it that one of my enemies gets to my family.”
“Nicola, Simon has gone to great lengths to find you. Not to mention the fact that someone is already after him.”
“After him?”
“Yes. It’s Whisper and he has a young assistant”.
“Whisper? Is he working for the agency or for one of the others?”
“I don’t know. He doesn’t know that I’m protecting Simon”.
“Maybe I can ask my sources about the teenager that’s with him. That might lead us somewhere”.
“Beppe, I need you to protect him for a while. I have to go and see my wife whilst I have the chance. Once I get back, I’ll work something out.”
“Anything for you Kevin. Sorry, I mean Nicola. Sorry, old habits die hard I guess.”
“That’s ok. I’m also still not used to the new name.”
“So, still working for Queen and Country?”
“No, I just quit.”
“This will not be a good week for 'Beta': loosing two of his best agents” replied Beppe.
“What do you mean?” asked Nicola perplexed.
“I have heard that ‘Shadow’ was killed”.
“Really? I always thought he was simply a cover story used by MI6 to scare their enemies.”
“What should I tell Simon?”
“Tell him that you have found my place, but that you missed me by a few days. Also, suggest that you stake out the apartment as you’ve heard I’d be back within two weeks.”
“Nicola, Simon doesn’t have two weeks. He’s trying to get you back to his mother before….” but Beppe never continued, as he did not want to remind him of the upcoming death of his wife.
“You are right. What about Whisper, can you handle him?”
“I’ll give it my best. I can tell you one thing for sure, the young man with him will certainly think twice before challenging me again,” laughed Beppe.
“I wouldn’t take you on!” joked Nicola
“You know, I‘m glad to have finally met Simon. He’s an amazing young man.”
“Beppe, he’s a very mature young man, but please refrain from telling him anything else about us. I think he has enough to contend with.”
“Ok. But I do look forward to the day when I can fill him in on all the secrets: he deserves to know.”
Over the rest of the flight, Beppe explained to Nicola the events that preceded their meeting that afternoon.
Simon finally arrived at the town and found a parking space for his bike. He then walked into one of the piazzas and decided to call Beppe. However, as he began dialling the number, he found himself staring at his mentor who was holding two ice-creams.
“Hello young man, I’ve got you a gelato from the Gelateria that won the world ice-cream championship in 2005” offered the old master.
“Thank you Signor Beppe. Any luck with my dad?” asked Simon in anticipation.
“Yes and no. I found his apartment, but it appears that he has just left for two weeks.”
“So what do we do?” asked Simon finding it hard not to feel depressed.
“We search his place. Give your body a night’s rest to recover from today’s beating, and then continue with our search for your papa tomorrow.”
“Ok. I also need to check in with mum and provide her an update.”
“Sure, but wait until tomorrow as you look exhausted and right now the call would be difficult for you to deal with emotionally.”
“I agree. I‘m exhausted, exasperated, and in need of some disinfectant and bandages.”
“I agree. Let’s go to your father’s apartment and see what he has in terms of first aid.”
The two walked to the Piazza Della Cisterna and headed directly to the front door.
“The door does not appear to have a lock to pick!”
“I didn’t think your papa would rely on such an insecure locking system” replied Beppe, having already been briefed on the apartment security system.
They both looked at the door for a few minutes, before Beppe spoke again.
“Here, on the wall near the door frame there is a biometric strip.”
Simon looked at the small strip of glass that was approximately the size of a thumb in width, and a quarter of that in length. It was difficult to spot, as the dark glass blended in well with the colour of the wall.
“Great! It means that only my dad is able to get in!” Simon stated exasperated
“Maybe. But if your papa went to all this trouble to set up a way for you to find him, he might have thought of that too.”
Simon, hoping that Beppe was right, brushed his forefinger along the strip of glass. They both stood silently waiting for something to happen. They even tried to turn the door handle to see if it had unlocked.
“Ok, now that we have confirmed that I’m not registered, what do we do?”
“Actually, can you try again and this time use your thumb and your forefinger.”
“Two fingers?”
“Not long ago I heard that new locks required two fingers to fight against a trend, where the owner’s finger was removed from the hand and then later used to gain access to secured sights.”
“Great! Now a new trend
will be started where the whole hand will be removed!” contemplated Simon whilst trying with two fingers.
Once again, there was no sound of bolts unlocking. However, when Beppe tried to use the door handle, to their delight, the door opened.
Once inside, their eyes were immediately drawn to a spiral staircase leading to the second floor. On the ground floor they could also see along a corridor of polished floorboards that led to set of rooms. Directly to the right there were three pushbikes, a coat stand and an umbrella holder.
Beppe, aware that the car tracking device trick might not have fooled Whisper and the teenager, quickly pulled Simon in and closed the door behind them. As soon as the door closed, a hidden panel placed at head height to their right opened, revealing a monitor behind it. To the right of the monitor, there were several touch buttons that carried out various functions. In the centre of the monitor numerous snapshots of the piazza started appearing in sequence. It appeared that a computer was separating photos taken of people outside, and separating them into folders labelled “identity verified safe”, “identity verified unsafe”, “identity unverified – low risk”, and “identity unverified – med/high risk”. Once the sorting was completed, the unsafe folder maximised showing high definition photos taken since the last time the apartment had been accessed. Beppe and Simon had a close look at the “unsafe photos” and noticed that only those of themselves were shown. Next to their photos, it also asked to select one of three buttons: safe, unsafe, and unsure. Simon selected “safe”.
“Great system dad!” stated proudly Simon
“I agree. Particularly handy if someone is following you or watching this building for an extended period. Looking at the unverified photos, it appears the system looks for photos where people are looking at this site for long periods, are taking photos of the building, or were watching us when entering” observed Beppe.
“Signor Beppe, I forgot to ask if you spotted anyone following me.”
“I’m sorry to say that I have slipped up. It appears that our young friend back in Treviso, managed to stick a tracking device to my BMW.”
“Really! When did you find it?”
“Sorry Simon, not until I was here for a little while.”
“What did you do with the device?”
“It is now stuck on a truck heading to the south of Italy. I have also hidden my car just in case.”
“Ok. I guess there is nothing we can do about it right now.”
Simon and Beppe inspected the rest of the house in amazement. It was furnished with beautiful antique furniture and equipped with modern appliances discretely hidden away. They both agreed that the bathroom on the fourth floor was the most impressive room of all. Its floor was covered with white marble. Most of the walls were black shiny tiles with the exception of the walls surrounding the Jacuzzi. To one side, there appeared to be a long window overlooking the surrounding countryside. However, at close inspection they realised that it was a plasma screen that showed the view possibly taken from an external camera. The plasma screen had a frame made from a genuine wooden window. The wall on the other side of the Jacuzzi was a 2 meter high mirror. Even this turned out to be another technological marvel. By touching a small discreet button situated in the Jacuzzi control panel, the bottom half of the mirror sunk a few millimetres and then disappeared into the wall by sliding away from the plasma ‘window’. Instead of the mirror, Simon and Beppe found themselves staring at a minibar, a remote control, two loaded pistols, and a small safe. Simon picked up the remote control and pressed a few buttons to see what else was installed.
“Simon, you’ll find that it will not work until you scan your fingers on the biometric strip that I can see on the back of the remote.”
Simon brushed his fingers and before he could try to use the remote again, the plasma screen was suddenly populated with several framed live images taken from multiple external and internal hidden cameras. The bathroom door also slid closed and locked itself.
Simon and Beppe stood there in amazement.
“What else can the remote do?” asked Beppe feeling like a child in a toy store.
“Well, I think I might have found where the medicine cabinet might be” replied Simon as he pressed a button with a red cross.
Behind them the cupboard doors slid open and an aluminium moulded bench descended from the wall. Along one wall there was a bench with a draining system along its sides. On the other side of the bed another panel opened and a tray extended towards the bed. On the tray lay a selection of surgical and first aid equipment. Beside the head of the bed there was a mini fridge containing numerous types of drugs and medications.
“Wow! This is like a mini operating theatre!” exclaimed Simon marvelled at the ingenuity of the well-equipped room.
“Sadly in our field of work, if wounded, it’s best to avoid hospitals, it’s the first place our enemies will go looking for us.”
Simon suddenly imagined his father lying wounded and alone on top of the bench. He felt a sudden sensation of dread and grief, but quickly promised himself that, when he found his dad, he would always be there for him.
“Ok young man, get your gear off and let’s get you fixed!” called out Beppe as he picked up some cloth wipes and a bottle of disinfectant.
Ten minutes later, Simon and Beppe were again inspecting the remaining sections of the house. They found that the study and the main bedroom both had a similar security monitoring system as the bathroom. The only difference was that, unlike the bathroom, the windows were real and the plasma screen, in addition to being used to view the security cameras, was also a TV. In these two rooms Simon and Beppe found a hidden panel that gave access to a chute. They assumed that they were either used as fire exits, or emergency escapes. They decided to come back after dinner and investigate them further.
For dinner they chose to play it safe and try to find some food in the kitchen. In addition to their safety, Beppe pointed out that venturing outside could lead to the compromise of this hideout. Fortunately the conclusion to “eat in” didn’t turn out to be a sacrifice as the “walk in” fridge was fully stocked with fresh local produce. Beppe decided to treat Simon to a three course meal.
Whisper and Steve arrived at San Gimignano late in the evening. They headed straight to the car park where the tracking device was transmitting from for over an hour that afternoon. They failed to find the white BMW they were looking for, so they proceeded to investigate the only other car park outside of the town. This also led to a fruitless outcome and left them feeling frustrated.
“Well young man, I guess we best head back to Siena” sighed Whisper, resigned to the fact that tonight they were not going to find Simon.
“Couldn’t we sleep in the car and recommence our search early in the morning?” asked the young apprentice feeling exhausted and defeated by the days events, but anxious to take-on Simon again.
“One thing that I have learned is that 1 hour sleep in a proper bed will allow your body to recoup more energy than 4 hours sleep in a car. So driving back to Siena is worth it. We’ll be back tomorrow morning at 5am.”
“Ok” replied Steve frustrated.
“Don’t let it get to you. Firstly, we don’t know if Simon even came here. Secondly, his host could be anywhere by now. And lastly, if we can’t find them in the morning we know where they will eventually go.”
“Treviso.”
“Exactly, back to Treviso!!”
Simon Eady Page 6