They took the backdoor; their colleagues were in sight no more. Alessandro grabbed his phone and Chiara thought he was texting them.
“He’s walking,” said she shortly.
“I saw, Pilati,” replied he same way.
“You are a bit unlikely, call me Chiara at least… Ale!” He jumped out and nodded.
“You’re right, Chiara, you caught me off guard” His voice was full of sorrow, but was he honest? Maybe he was faking it?
She didn’t reply, it was not worth it. She didn’t trust him. Probably, he didn’t like to have external meddling while he was working, like many cops, or maybe he was really corrupted.
The saw the man heading to a side path and were watching him out when he turned back to them. Alessandro make Chiara spin and covered her with his body; he grabbed her lips with his. She stood for a second and opened her mouth. A weird glow showed up in Jamal’s eyes as if he… The Chiara lost her mind.
Alessandro knew how to kiss, that was sure. Though he was keeping his control, she felt his lips getting softer and his tongue slipping in her own mouth. His breath changed and his hand, those were motionless till few ago, started to move barely on hers. Alessandro touched her hands and wrists in a soft fondle, while his lips and his tongue lingered to hers.
It lasted a few seconds, unforgettable in Chiara’s mind. They looked each other and followed the man again, detaching.
“Stop, this way! “Chiara didn’t know that place and was forced to come after Alessandro in an alley. After few minutes, she found out that something was wrong. She veered:
“Why are we here?”
He seized his phone:
“We suspended the action, guys, too much risk. He was about to see us!”
Chiara grinded. Her doubts grew up. Jamal’s eyes had blinked and that sudden stop was suspect. She glared at Alessandro: his feisty jaw, his cool eyes, he stared back at her, inscrutable.
“You are supposed to ask me!” She was upset again; her hands were closed in fists and her eyes were flashing.
“The squad is mine, this investigation is mine, I can’t see why, and also you don’t know these places or our reality. Trust me!” Chiara nodded, inscrutable as he had been. “I don’t trust him, indeed” she thought.
Alessandro studied her: she was rabid, though she was trying to conceal. He looked at his guys: they appeared puzzled. Claudia mostly was staring at them; her look went from him to her and back.
“Ale, you could have try and go on a bit, we could have reach you and replace you!” Claudia showed her perplexity.
“It was too risky, what if we had wasted this chance? We dare not risk ever going further. Now, we have another name, we can look for something. It was not a total stumble!”
Chiara kept quiet, she had nothing to say. She wasn’t able to say anything because she didn’t want to make the guys suspicious. She could perceive that Ferrari was closing himself off.
“We give you a lift!” Carlo smiled and got closer.
“Thanks, I didn’t need it.”
“I insist… You’re not from around here, I don’t want you to lose your way!” He had a large smile on his face and his eyes blinked cunning.
Alessandro glared at them, Chiara first and then Carlo, then her again and finally looked back at him and his brilliant look.
“Fine Carlo, go with her! Claudia and I are going to report!” He veered. Chiara tried to complain with scarce result.
Chapter 6
“So, Carlo, you are from Veneto?”
“Yes, I am. An original one. Are you enjoying your time here?” They were walking side by side.
“Yes, I am… You people from here are really friendly, maybe too! What do your girlfriends say about that?” She smiled and steered the conversation to get the point she needed to reach.
“I am divorced. Amina, my wife, I mean my former wife, is Tunisian. She never liked this side of my nature, if you want me to speak sincerely”.
Chiara smiled, then she faked a sad face and lowered her eyes. She murmured with sorrow:
“Excuse me, I didn’t know!”
“Don’t worry. It was a quiet divorce; moreover, our cultures are really different, though she integrated very well, I must admit it!” Carlo smiled; his typically local cadence was really marked.
Chiara already knew he had divorced; now, she knew also with whom he had married. That casted a dark shadow on his past and present though Alessandro was still in pole position in the suspect list. They would have been able to follow that Jamal but he had stopped her. She couldn’t figure why. And why Jamal gave them that odd look, like as if he had recognized Alessandro? A thousand questions were flooding her mind.
“Detective, I’m not flirting, I am just answering your questions!”
Chiara burst out laughing:
“God forbid, we just met!”
“We can fix it if that’s question!”
She laughed again pulling her head back.
“Okay, that’s my stop! Lucky it is or you would have been reported by your boss!”
“Who, Ferrari? His bark is worse than his bite!”
Chiara said nothing, then shook her head and greeted him.
She went to her room: she needed to write some notes and start her investigation about the two suspects. She rubbed her temples with two fingers. She was so tired: the jogging, the tailing, the adrenaline, the tension had worn her out. And she couldn’t deny that feeling Alessandro’s hands on hers, his lips on her mouth, had been a shocking discovery. Though he had kept his ice-cold behaviour, he had lowered his guard for a few and the warm that had invaded her soul had been astonishing and… a bit alarming. The physical reaction he had unleashed in her was powerful.
Chiara grabbed her phone and rang Mia, her sister: she needed a friendly voice and she clearly could never call her boss. She wasn’t still able to give him any information about the inquiry and did not want to expose anyone for now. After having a good chat with her sister she felt in peace; she had to sleep on her problem, she thought.
Alessandro was compiling his report; while writing, he kept on thinking to Detective Pilati. He drummed on the sheet with a pen, he observed Claudia writing her one then he started to work again. Chiara wasn’t telling him the truth: it didn’t make any sense. When he had seen her running, he was tempted to ignore her. She was just a source of troubles.
She was sweaty wet, her face all red, her hair black and shiny and he would gladly have ignored her. But Carlo and Claudia had insisted then she had purposed to leak in. When Jamal had turned in the alley and had seen him, Alessandro had followed the spur of the moment. He had kept himself cool: years of training to hide his emotions had left their mark. But when he had kissed her he had surrendered for a few, he had let his feeling go and cross the subtle limit that had always kept him safe.
It was not going to happen anymore: his decision to suspend the action abruptly had been very hazardous, but Chiara was too curious.
Alessandro went out and headed home: he just wanted his couch, a movie, pizza and relax.
“Ale?”
It couldn’t be. Alessandro turned back:
“Antonella, hey. How are you?”
“I’m fine and you? Did you call it a day?”
They had a romance, short, intense and over. Such a shame she was inclined to forget that part and tried to revive the flame. He sniggered:
“I did. Sorry, I’m hurry, I have a date!”
She narrowed her eyes; she didn’t trust him.
“With whom?”
“Chiara, a workmate. Sorry, Anto, I’m gonna go, I don’t want to be late!”
“Yes, I know you hate being late!” He had been taken with a dig. Alessandro shook his head and did not reply. He walked away quickly, wandering why he had said Chiara’s name. Probably he had written her name so many times compiling the report that it had crept in his mind or maybe he was disturber by her curiosity and her piercing eyes.
She wasn’t tel
ling it all; he’d better stay wide berth from her, she was dangerous! Alessandro sighed and inserted the key in the hole. Once he entered the room, he threw his jacket on the couch and […]. He glanced up at his phone: it was blinking. Someone had texted him; Alessandro read the message and deleted it with gritted teeth. Many times he had said he didn’t want to be contacted by phone, but he had been texted with a coded message.
Chapter 7
Chiara was absorbed in comparing the data about the shifts of the policemen during the days the anonymous report had been put in Torres’ mailbox when her phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Detective, it’s Torres. We’ve been warned about a possible connection between our cases and the robbery you were involved in. I’m sending Roma 31 squad. Want to join?”
“Sure. I’m coming!” Chiara put the pen down and closed her files in the strongbox. Though her notes were coded and no one would have been able to decrypt it, she’d better have kept them safe.
Half an hour later she was in the meeting room: the whole three squads were there. Chiara entered hold her coffee and smiled to Claudia, who was calling for her to seat at her side. Torres started talking:
“Here we are!”
Several pairs of eyes pointed to her. Chiara sighed and watched at Carlo smiling her tense; Alessandro, indeed, didn’t smile at all. Clearly he respected her as a teacher, while he was afraid of her as a colleague. Chiara wondered why: her suspicions were growing of intensity. She narrowed her eyes when the lights dimmed:
“Fine, guys. We got several reports about the robbery at the service station. Among the theories we analysed, the most reliable one comes from the flying squad. The suspects took the highway one hour ago. A flying car kept them in sight for a bit; in this moment, another car is replacing them. We must run as soon as they leave the highway”.
While the pictures passed on the screen, Torres gave them a file. Chiara opened it and analysed it quickly. She was a very quick reader. She gave a look to the others: some of them read it slowly; others just chatted with each other. Carlo read the papers distantly, drumming on it with his fingers and tapping his pen against the chair. Claudia listened to Torres; Alessandro indeed read it with his jaw clenched and a dark look in his eyes. His shoulders were contract.
She observed him: his face was well shaved, but he looked tired, as if he had had a bad sleep. A sudden though came to her mind: was he missing sleep because of some pleasant activity? Or maybe… another sequence: Alessandro meeting Jamal and his partner, Alessandro plotting and delivering weapons.
Chiara closed her eyes; when she opened them, she found his eyes pointing to her. She bore his gaze without a blink, aware of his challenge. Alessandro looked at her, his eyes half-closed: why was she staring at him? He smiled nervously and she gave him back an empty grin. Alessandro lowered his gaze on the file and he payed his attention back to Torres. Damn, that man could be so loquacious. Reading the file would have bee enough.
“Guys, we suspect the robbers to be connected with Islamic fundamentalism and with the terrorist cells you heard about these last weeks. I think you all know about the threaten of attacks we received and the weapons storage we found the past week, didn’t you?”
They nodded. Chiara, anyway, felt something wrong in Alessandro. But he have worked there for fourteen months and had an irreprehensible career, except for a couple notes about his unconventional methods. She looked at the monitor again.
“Guys, be prepared. Squad 2 and 3, go and reach the highway”.
Chiara wondered where they were going to be sent. Torres did not talk about them. She analysed the file again, focusing on the path the suspects had took. She had just begun: after a few lines, she heard an alarm bell ringing in her mind. She looked up abruptly, realizing what exactly was wrong, and rose up, going toward Torres.
“Squad 1 will support the Highway Patrol!” he was saying.
“Chief Torres, we have a problem!”
He looked at her. Alessandro cleared up his throat and she turned back to him. She didn’t even realize he was coming after her.
“Today is Tuesday 14th, isn’t it? It isn’t today the armoured van is coming down this same street?”
Torres widened his eyes and looked at the map on the screen.
“The hell… guys, get on the cars. I’m calling the patrols!”
Chapter 8
It was pure adrenaline: they ran to the cars. Excited voices came from the on-board radios, adding one to another. Chiara loved that feeling under her skin; it took her by her throat, stealing her breath away, spreading shivers down her spine, making her heart pounding.
She got in the car with Alessandro; he looked at her and checked his equipment. There was no time to think. He started the car and put his foot down.
“What a poor figure if you are wrong! I hope you are not!” He sounded worried, anxious and full of doubts. His hands were closed around the wheel. He was tense, even if he didn’t want to show it up.
Chiara gritted her teeth and looked at the landscape out of the window. Then she closed her eyes for a moment and replied:
“I hope too, Ferrari”.
“Alessandro, please. Just for now… Alessandro. Okay?”
“Okay”.
They kept in touch with the other cars; they were still in ahead. He drove safe and sure, managing the car among the traffic. He coped with the other vehicles and took a lane and then another; he overtook the other cars without a failure. She felt safe. They reached quickly the armoured van and got in line. Just a car divided them. Chiara looked at the vehicles around, looking for mismatching details. She turned to him:
“You think I’m wrong, don’t you?”
He looked barely at her. She lingered on his eyes: their hazel shade was changing to green. She felt the warmth coming from the, despite of his hostility. She looked at his legs covered with the uniform trousers, at his fine physique barely hidden.
“I don’t know. I’m not a mental. But you’re good at this game, this is undoubted!” Chiara breathed: there was suspicion in his words. He was clever, cautious and distrustful. She had to be careful.
“This is I’m used to. If didn’t do what I teach I’d be a horrible teacher!” replied she, keeping a watch on the van and the vehicles around it.
“Quite so…” answered he low voice. Chiara realized he was laconic because he was evaluating the situation. The same danger feeling she was feeling ran through his body too. That shiver that perks up your ears; that alert sensation you have to recognize because you have been trained to do it.
The van was ahead: Alessandro was up to overtake the last car between them and queue up when a black sedan stepped in, slowing them back.
Alessandro changed down and gritted his teeth. His eyes narrowed and he sensed the upcoming risk at the same time she did. They saw another van beside the armoured truck; a voice from the radio warned them that the suspect’s car was about a pair of vehicles behind.
The sedan had tinted windows. Alessandro saw one of them lowering a bit and the barrel of a gun leaning out. He changed down again, swearing:
“Dammit, it’s a robbery! You were right!” He said while the car ahead was slamming down. Tires creaked out and suddenly there was a pungent smell of burning and smoke.
The black sedan put across the road as the van ahead; the armoured truck was stuck in the middle and so were they.
Chiara drew her gun out; so did Alessandro. They were suspended in time; everything looked frozen, and sounded mute. Chiara felt her heart pounding.
The silence around sounded unreal: Alessandro thought. He could shift into reverse. Then he saw four armed men coming out from the sedan. He listened to their screams; he looked at their eyes and their poses. They were expert. It was a well-trained commando: they knew hot to shoot.
He found out soon there was a car behind them and one in front; there was no time to think. They had to decide quickly; they had to decide together. Alessandro turned at her. In
that moment, they were alone and they were a squad. The life of each one of them depended on other. If Alessandro could have chosen, he wouldn’t have wanted her at his side. He was reading the same feeling in Chiara’s gaze.
In front of the black sedan, from were the robbers had come out, there was the armoured van, and another truck in front of it. Alessandro and Chiara were between stuck in the middle, isolated from all. Alessandro stared at Chiara, with a sigh of relief when he saw her calm and confident. He had changed his mind about her.
Chiara looked into his eyes and nodded slowly:
“Try… try and break the car behind us!”
Was Chiara reading in his mind? They had to try and get out of that situation. They didn’t know how many robbers were there. They couldn’t risk and be caught between stuck in the middle. If she had able to choose, Chiara would never have chosen Alessandro as a misfortune partner. They were at stake.
Chiara didn’t trust him as he didn’t trust her. She stared at him: he was confident and arrogant, inscrutable, even at that time. His hands were clenched. The only way he was showing his tension was by the muscles of his neck. She lingered to stare at his profile: he was handsome. She shook her head. It wasn’t the time to notice his look. She returned her attention to the road.
He nodded and shifted into reverse, while the hooded men were firing the first shots and hitting the car; the sound of shots, the barrels against the bodywork rent the air. Chiara and Alessandro gasped.
“Hold on and stay down!”
His voice was excited, but fearless. He maintained lucidity and cold blood, as finding himself under the enemies fire was an ordinary thing.
Chiara heard the sound of the rev’ up, the car receding quickly, the collision with the car behind them. She expected it, but felt her heart jump into his throat. Alessandro was good. It was pointless beating about the bush. He was formidable: he never panicked. He had hit the nose of the robbers’ car by side trying to move it. He needed space to be able to shunt in and go out of the trap. He failed. Chiara leaned out the window and began to return fire, to open a gate.
UNDER THE CLOAK Page 3