UNDER THE CLOAK

by Lennek, Nicole

  “Are you done?”

  “Hey, boss, shame on you! I could end the evening with a bang!”

  Alessandro gave a bitter smile:

  “Maybe you would have repented!”

  Carlo looked up:

  “Why? She is so sexy; doesn’t she like as good sex?”

  Alessandro approached the distributor of coffee:

  “Probably she is, but what if she decide to bring your problems? Haven’t you had enough problems with colleagues?

  Carlo smiled, lifting his face:

  “But I like Chiara, seriously!”

  He stood up in turn by walking around the perimeter of the room.

  “Ugh, I’m all numb, oh my. In the end, how did Chiara go back to the hotel?”

  “I gave her a ride!”

  He grabbed a piece of chalk, beginning to do jumping in hand. He looked at the photos taken during surveys of the robbery to the van. Then he turned to Carlo:

  “Have you ever thought that Amina is of the same nationality of the alleged terrorists?”

  Carlo snorted to observing him:

  “You too? What the heck, Ale, but how you all got in mind there is a conspiracy? Keep calm!”

  “What are you doing here already?” They whirled and stared at Torres in the doorway.

  “Boss, good morning!” They looked and smiled. Alessandro grinned.

  Chiara was dreaming, tangled in the sheets. She sighed and felt his hands touching her face, her lips. He insinuated a finger in her, walking her inner thigh. He lowered his head to lick her, until he got her most sensitive spot, making her vibrate. She felt him touching her hair with his hands. He was looking for her lips. He kissed her, drawing her into a vortex of feelings. He leaned over her to look for her lips. He went down on her, inexorable, and then he rose up abruptly and grabbed the remote control of a bomb…

  “No!” She woke up screaming. She opened her eyes, falling into reality. She had crossed the border of the dream. She put her hand on her chest. Damn. She had lost the time of the video call. She rushed out of bed. With bare feet, she flew toward the computer. Missed calls flashed on Skype. She sighed, running a hand over her face. She gone to cool off before read and respond. Leaning against the sink, she stared at the mirrors; the night before, she had not even removed her make up. Now, she looked like a panda. She was rinsing when the phone rang. She rushed, grabbing the phone an instant before it stopped ringing:

  “Hello, beautiful!”

  “Gennaro… hi!”

  “Someone told me that you looking for some confidential and personal dossiers. I’m your man!”

  Chiara laughed.

  “Your partner will be happy to know that!”

  “Hum, I guess not. So, we don’t tell to him. No more chatting; do you have a fax number where I can send the files?”

  She looked around. She’d better not receive her mail nor in the hotel, nor at the HQ.

  “I don’t have a fax!”

  “Ok. Then I send them by email. Remember: you never saw it. This is a big, big help that I do to you. They are secret.

  “I know, I know. Don’t worry. I will not tell anyone!” Once she had read it, she would have called Alessandro’s referent. Chiara was no longer in her skin. She was too worried, curious, and nervous. She wanted to know, but she was afraid to know. She watched the screen. She saw the email. She stood sill, her finger stopped before clicking. She breathed sharply, and then she clicked the email.

  She was beginning to read the report: at least, it was true that he was part of counterterrorism. The words flowed: “And Alessandro Ferrari, report number one”. She read it on a breath: there were investigations, interceptions. She narrowed her eyes. She read the second report, the third: at the fourth report, she paused, looking at dates. She jumped directly to the last, reading names and places.

  She paused noticing his name. She squinted, reading the report about the stalking to Jamal. She read it quickly.

  Incomplete… if she had to choose a definition, she would have called it incomplete. It did imply that Jamal was suspicious and he had stopped his surveillance for that reason; that wasn’t true. The reports concluded there. In the past six months, it had been very scarce that the first. There wasn’t a report about the meeting with Jamal at the park; there were no reports about the brown case.

  Maybe he had not yet sent them? She put a hand to her temple and looked up at the mirror.

  “You’re beautiful.” She recalled the words of Carlo. It wasn’t the first time that someone made her compliments, and she remained almost indifferent. Sometimes, at her district, someone had called her tomboy; she had the reputation to put men in the kennel. Actually, she didn’t want a relationship with a colleague. She loved her job; she made at her best. Why her stories did not last? She had never stopped to analyse it. Sometimes, she thought she had seen her mother suffering so much; her mother had lost her mind when her husband died. Maybe that conditioned her. Love was pain; loving a man in uniform meant a lot of troubles; danger was around the corner, more and every day, every hour, every minute, in every place.

  She never allowed to the emotions to involve her in her missions undercover. It had been so many. She had flirted and joked, but she had never reached the point of no return. She returned with her mind to the night before, putting her hand to her face. Good heavens. She was against the wall and he was penetrating her. She shook her head. It wasn’t correct. She had participated. She made sex to him. She couldn’t give all the blame on him, indeed.

  A subtle ring from her laptop, announcing the arrival of the video, distracted her by thoughts, barely decent. She thought back to him hands inside her, his manhood that led her to levels that she had never thought to reach…

  She still panting when she responded to the video call:

  “Pilati, were you trying to give us a heart attack? We had an appointment this morning. We were worried!”

  She was awkward. She panted slightly, inhaling:

  “I’m sorry. I worked late last night.”

  “Okay, okay, Pilati. Tell us where you stand. Are they corrupt?”

  “I don’t know, boss. I have serious suspicions. Ferrari is a double agent and he works with counterterrorism squads. Barbieri has an ex wife who has several ties to suspected terrorists. I also analysed the threats and the decision to postpone the conference for a couple of days was also supported by me!”

  He sighed:

  “In short, you have nothing!”

  “Well, let’s say that I have no tangible proof, boss. I’m here for a little over ten days; I can’t promise any miracle. Last time, I had the evidence in a month. It was also easier. Here are too many blind spots.”

  She mentally frowned. She saw the sandwich nibbled on the desk. She raised an eyebrow:

  “Boss, do you know that your cholesterol does not love that sandwich at this rime, don’t you?”

  “Pilati, my wife just to let me lecturing on about.”

  She smiled:

  “I’m telling it for you.”

  He snorted and put the sandwich away. He smiled. Then, his smile soon faded back in thought to work:

  “Pilati, I’m in your hands!”

  Chapter 25

  Carlo stood still on the patrol car.

  Amina… he looked at her photo. She looked weird. He had stopped her group of friends: they were very different and he didn’t know them. He had heard rumours of recurrent attacks. He had tried to talk her, but she smiled calmly and liquidated his hypothesis. Yet, a bell continued to ring on his mind: she had asked to him about data, questions. Chiara asked questions too and so did the others.

  He began to be troubled. Chiara was coming into the HQ. She fought with all her strength for justice. She wasn’t still disillusioned as he felt in that moment. She wanted to change the world: it was her right to still believe in her dreams. He smiled.

  “Claudia, are you ready?”

  “Hey, what is that face? What are you thinking about?”


  “I’m just tired!”

  Claudia stared at him, puzzled: he wasn’t smiling or joking as he used to do. She felt worried.

  “Seriously, come on, what’s up? I’ve never seen you so serious!”

  “I’m a bit worried!”

  Claudia turned to stare at him. Her face was tilted:

  “For what?”

  “For the conference!”

  The cockpit was filled with tension. Claudia shuddered. She was afraid: joining the Police has been her dream since she was a child; now she had found out it could a nightmare too.

  “I’m afraid too,” she whispered.

  Carlo turned and watched her pale face. Her hazel eyes were wide open; her face was delicate. Her hair was short and dark… She looked like a little elf.

  “Come on, let’s move!” He started the car.

  He had done a few hundred miles when he saw Alessandro. Carlo approached:

  “Boss, what are you doing here? We’re going to check the conference area!”

  Alessandro wasn’t smiling. He held his phone:

  “Okay. Let me a detailed report!”

  Carlo didn’t understand. He was so serious. He had grown more and more serious, closed like a clam, harder to understand. He barely joined them in investigations. When Chiara had arrived he had become inconsistent. Damn. The night before, Carlo had thought Alessandro was going to punch him when he saw Chiara and him together. He acted weird.

  Carlo was so lost in his thoughts he almost didn’t notice he had reached the conference area. The location had been moved to Mestre, but nobody knew. Despite of this, the whole area was under strict control.

  He parked the car. He got out. Some guys were running on their skateboards in the yard. He smiled, turning to Claudia. She came down and started looking around:

  “I go this way. You take the other side, we’ll save time”.

  Claudia nodded:

  “Okay, Carlo.” She walked away.

  Alessandro came to the HQ. He wanted to know what Chiara was doing. He was worried: unleashing her could be risky.

  He wondered if she had tried to verify his story or watch his file. He touched the letter in his pocket and he returned with his mind when he saw Amina putting a letter in the mailbox. He had grabbed it immediately, hoping that she had not made more copies. He didn’t dare to ask her. He breathed. Everything was flowing normally. Sure, postponing the meeting and changing the location were both good ideas, but he knew that it wasn’t enough; there were other subtle textures.

  He sighed, looking at the phone: Jamal did not call. He didn’t know if it was a good sign or not. He went out for air and kicked to the curb cursing from evil:

  “Damn, that hurts!”

  Chiara have been waiting for over ten minutes. She was seriously thinking of hanging up when she finally heard a voice:

  “Excuse me, detective. It was a bit more complicated than we expected. I’m sorry: the supervisor is not here. He is out of the office. He’ll be back next Thursday.”

  “Okay. Can you tell him to call me, please? I leave my cell phone number. Look, it’s very important.”

  She heard the snort of the agent: she could even imagine. She clenched her jaw. She had no desire to sit in the hotel and even less to go shopping. But whom was she trying to kid? She wanted to reach the HQ; she wanted to understand why he had not sent the latest reports. There was no mention of that house, of the brown case. She shook her head.

  “At least, there is no mention of what happened between us!” she told herself. Chiara shook her head. She had to give a rule. She was angry with herself. She was nervous. A long shiver ran through her and she narrowed her eyes. She didn’t bide anything good; something was going to happen.

  She wore jeans, sweater and sneakers. She went to the car. Instinctively, she checked the mirrors: no one followed her. Was she paranoid? Why someone would follow her? She drove to the HQ, absorbed in gloomy thoughts. Once she arrived, she crossed Torres:

  “Oh, detective! What a surprise! I thought you were in your hotel! If I had known you were coming, I would have sent you to inspect the conference location!”

  Chiara smiled:

  “I’m going!” She looked around and saw Alessandro; he was still in the doorway of the HQ, staring at her, his arms folded. His mind ran back to her with her skirt rolled on her waist. He swallowed.

  “I can drive you, detective. I’ve done with my reports. They are on your desk, boss!” said Alessandro.

  Torres turned to stare at him:

  “Go, go! The more the merrier!”

  Alessandro approached and stopped close to her. She whispered:

  “Today, am I going well in plan clothes?” She raised an eyebrow, ironic, leaning to the car: she had to tease him; maybe because she lost control more easily than she wanted.

  He walked to her:

  “I’m not in uniform too, as you can see…”

  She looked down, observing his jeans, and pulled the shirt on the chest: he was so close she could perceive his scent: old spice and coffee. She looked up, quite wrapped by the fire burning in his eyes.

  “How are your tests?” He whispered against her lips. She paused to staring at them. She shrugged:

  “Okay…”

  “Um, guys, you fallen asleep?” They jumped, turning to Torres. He had a puzzled look on his face:

  “No, boss. We’re going. Can we take the black car?”

  “Yes, go and give a hand to your colleagues!”

  “Alessandro, how often do you report?” He didn’t even turn, keeping an eye on the road.

  “What about you?” Alessandro was hot. He needed air; she was approaching at the point.

  Her perfume… her questions… and her.

  Nor that he was a saint. He had had his stories; he had even been engaged with a beautiful girl who he still was in touch with. Yet, he had never felt that anger, that enthusiasm and that attraction, that led him to lose control with her. Damn. The night before, he had behaved like an animal. He had lost the control: it wasn’t the rule. He parked the car close to Claudia and Carlo’s, though he couldn’t see them. In return, he observed some kids. Chiara instead was observing him; he noticed the laying still neck.

  “I’m calling Carlo.”

  “Okay. I look around.” She moved with grace, as agile as a panther. She moved around lithe, making her own considerations. The outer perimeter was great, large; it gave a few points for possible snipers.

  She needed to look at the area in peace. Alessandro stiffened when he looked at the kids. She thought it was a gesture of annoyance due to the extreme confusion; her instincts, however, had warned her. She couldn’t understand what, but something had made sound a warning bell in her brain.

  She saw Carlo: he was just ahead, looking at the corridors he had prepared; the doors of the conference room were marked with a sign.

  “Hey!” She called him. He turned to her:

  “My favourite detective!” Chiara laughed, shaking her head:

  “Good heavens, Carlo, you never change! How is going the watch?”

  “Well. All right! We’ll have done in a little. Did you see that beautiful room? It’s almost better than the original location!”

  They walked side by side. She looked at him. She had received the information about him. She went on and checked the bathroom and hallways with him.

  “Ok, girl, for my great sorrow, I have to leave you. I look for my colleague and then we go away. What about you?”

  Chiara smiled, grabbing the radio:

  “Carlo e Claudia are done!”

  “I know, I’m with Claudia. I would like to do another round if that’s all right!”

  “No problem. I continue this way!”

  Silence.

  What struck her was the silence. She raised her eyes, looking at the domed ceiling glass: the light that came from it and the silence around were a wonderful set. Chiara looked up, inhaling, and walked slowly. She saw him in front of
her:

  “You okay?”

  “Yes. Let’s go back to the car.”

  He shook his head:

  “Chiara…”

  She shook her head, moving slowly towards him.

  “Don’t tell anything, please, anything. Just go away!”

  Chapter 26

  Alessandro and Chiara didn’t know that something was happening within walking distance of their car. Carlo and Claudia had seen a boy with Middle Eastern look approaching to the location, when they reached their vehicle. They had not minded that so much; they were laughing and joking:

  “Carlo, my goodness, you flirt all the time!”

  He laughed in response:

  “Sure. What should I do? I’m always surrounded by beautiful women!”

  They had observed the boy: he stopped and went back when he had noticed them and Carlo had seen a bulge on his belt. He had a gun. Carlo had put his hand to his gun. However, the guy hadn’t reacted: he just stepped back, he pulled out a phone and made a call.

  “Okay,” he exclaimed, close enough to shouting. “I don’t mind if you’re late! I’m reaching you! Bye, honey!”

  “Carlo?”

  “I don’t know. Look, just to be thorough… let’s give him a bit of advantage. We can follow him and see what he’s going to do.”

  Claudia nodded and got in the car.

  “Shouldn’t we call the HQ?”

  “Just a moment.”

  Carlo repented of his decision some minutes after.

  The guy was getting in a suspect van. Then, in an instant, someone saw them. The van slammed on the brakes and someone shot a long hail of bullets. Carlo and Claudia rolled out from the car while the shots coming from the van blew the glass apart.

  Carlo shot back. They had been caught off guard. They were not expecting an attack, not there! It was to be only an ordinary check they had to do on a suspect.

  He grabbed the phone:

  “We’re in trouble! We’re under attack!”

  “Where are you, Carlo?”

  Alessandro got in the car with Chiara. When he had seen Carlo’s name on the screen, he though he had forgotten something during his shift; it wouldn’t have been the first time. Carlo used to be lost in his thoughts. Then he heard his voice and the noise of bullets, he had sworn. Chiara was next to him. She had heard everything; he had grown pale, then he had started the car and push hard on the accelerator.