UNDER THE CLOAK

by Lennek, Nicole

  “But?”

  “Nothing. Nothing.”

  Torres cleared his throat, while Alessandro looked up and make a sign to Chiara. She blinked in surprise, but she recovered quickly. She walked into the room. She felt the puzzled and intense look of Carlo and Torres on her back.

  “Francesca, she is Chiara. Talk to her, tell her.” He stumbled in the words. Chiara looked at him. She was puzzled. Suddenly, she realized his discomfort, his hold back emotion, the anger in his fists closed, the fear in his eyes. He wasn’t sure that he could back his emotions. He didn’t want to scare her. He didn’t want to seal her mouth, so he asked for her to help.

  “Francesca, look. In addition of Jamal, who was giving orders?” Chiara sat on the edge of the bed, talking calmly and quietly.

  “I don’t know. He was a man, but I never saw him. He talked to Jamal. I wasn’t allowed to be with them!”

  Chiara grabbed her small and cold hand:

  “Did you hear his voice? Is he Italian?”

  Francesca closed her eyes. She thought and then she nodded:

  “Yes, he is. He’s old…”

  “How old is he?”

  “He’s old, maybe like you, uncle!” He stared at her. He was surprised. Old? He? He would be offended in other circumstances. Chiara let out a hint of a smile, but then she returned to focus. After a few more questions, she realized that the girl was emotionally too proved to go further. She pushed Alessandro out of the room:

  “Ok. That’s enough!”

  “Wait, uncle!” They stopped at the door:

  “Jamal has always insisted on a recommendation. Whatever happened, we always had to keep safe his diary!”

  They came back:

  “Which diary?”

  “We passed it hand by hand, every day each of us had it and hid it. No one, I believe, ever looked into it, or at least I didn’t!”

  “Okay. Where did you hide it?”

  “Each of us had a secret place. Maybe there is something about the boss… uncle, I just wanted… dad is so suffocating, so irritating. He always wants me to do all right, go to school. He seems the only one good at something; everyone’s better than me. He repeated that I have only one duty. I just wanted to feel free!”

  Chiara put her hand on Alessandro’s arm. He breathed. He closed his eyes, stumbling in the words:

  “Franci, I think… I think they’re regular discussions between parents and children. We have had them all!”

  “I don’t know… Jamal was so good with me. He was so handsome!”

  He clenched his jaw, but in his mind he saw them together: they were embracing, entwined. He shuddered:

  “Yes. He was good, and you had almost killed yourself for him. Sleep now. Come on.”

  Carlo walked nervously back and forth. He stared at Alessandro, Chiara, and Torres. He heard voices of doctors and nurses, but he thought only to the fact that Alessandro had withheld details about the survey. He had collaborated with the terrorists. Carlo wanted to throw him against the wall, venting on his face the anger.

  Suddenly, in his mind, it was overlooking the face of Amina, her look of disapproval, her soft tones. He stopped. He couldn’t let it go completely; he approached him.

  “Ale, can I talk to you?”

  Alessandro nodded, following him in a closet:

  “I have not betrayed the uniform, Carlo.”

  “I don’t care. I just want to look you into your eyes.”

  They were stood still, facing each other. Alessandro had proud look. He didn’t lower it, but faced him calmly:

  “I didn’t do anything. I’m just a man, Carlo. Good heavens, I’m a man made of flesh, bones and feelings. It was at stake the life of my niece! I couldn’t do otherwise.”

  “Go to hell, Alessandro! You got blackmail! How far you would have gone?”

  He took a step back, while Alessandro remained still. He wasn’t afraid of Carlo.

  “We’ll never know, because it’s over. I don’t regret what I did. Maybe I’m wrong; maybe I could have managed it in a better way. But we can’t go back in time!”

  He stepped forward, few inches apart from Carlo’s face:

  “You also shagged Pilati, didn’t you?”

  Alessandro clenched his jaw. He raised his hand in a fist:

  “This is offensive against her!”

  Carlo stared at him. He was ironic:

  “Oh, is it? Sure, that you’re a nice couple. You both fooled us.”

  “We were working, Carlo. We were just working. We had orders to respect. Chiara did what she had to do. You can’t blame her!”

  “You have a leg to stand on, haven’t you? You fucked her? How many times? She defends you for that, uh? She helps you.”

  “Carlo, you’re puling the rope!”

  Carlo stared at him. He realized what he was doing, but he couldn’t stop. He read his eyes, full of reading a thousand emotions.

  “Deal with it, Carlo. Talk to Amina, for heaven’s sake. You still love her. Put pride aside and stop being a butterfly!”

  “Why? To let you full scope with Pilati?”

  Alessandro grabbed him by his neck. He growled:

  “Stop it!” He was just shaking him. Then his gaze hardened, becoming ruthless. Carlo shuddered violently. He threw up his hands:

  “Ok, let me go, Ale!” Alessandro let him go, shaking his head. He turned his back on Carlo, and then he turned forward him:

  “Ever thought Amina could be involved?”

  Carlo squinted and twitched forward:

  “What the fuck are you saying? How dare you? How dare you? Here, you were the one who set the terms! Just you. Only you. Don’t dare to talk about her!”

  Alessandro grab Carlo’s arm just before he hit him with a punch.

  “Let me talk, Carlo. You know Amina protects the kids. She might know where the diary is! Maybe she could have seen it! Maybe she could know something!”

  Carlo stopped. He was right. She could know something. The knowledge that she could be in danger snaked along his spine:

  “Damn… for you fault!”

  Carlo punched him. Alessandro dodges his punch. He slammed Carlo against the wall, growling:

  “Think! I‘m not your enemy, okay? I am not!” He kept him nailed to the wall. Their chests were rising and falling in unison:

  “If you’re calm, now, I’ll let you go.”

  Carlo didn’t answer right away, but then he nodded slowly. Alessandro let him go, then he stopped him right after:

  “May I ask why the hell you heat so much about Chiara and me… together?”

  Carlo stared at him.

  “You lied to me even in that. All your attempts were up to send me away from her. Because you were interested in her. You made sex to her, while you told me to leave her alone. You didn’t trust me even for that!”

  “But you don’t care her! Come on, Carlo; admit it, at least to yourself. You’re still in love with Amina. Stop pretending like a virgin!”

  Carlo stared into his eyes. He clenched his jaw:

  “Go away, Ale. If it were up to me, I would kick you out of the State Police.”

  Alessandro stopped for a moment. His harsh words penetrated in his mind. He looked up, leaving him running down the hall. He found himself to make eye contact with her. There was an electric current between them, a game of attraction and repulsion.

  A nurse came up to him; a doctor passed forward. One of his colleagues looked at him, but he didn’t see anything but her, her eyes on him. She had entered in silence within his heart, winding like a snake. All the emotions he had kept inside start to overflow. With long steps, he advanced towards her. Torres stopped between him and her.

  “You owe me an explanation. I spoke to your supervisors.”

  “I guess so, but we have a case to stay on, now!”

  He stopped, staring:

  “If you allow me to be a part of it, I…”

  “I understand. Detective Pilati granted for you. If she t
rusts you, I’ll trust you too. She’s like a pit bull, I am inclined to give her confidence.”

  “Thanks!”

  He turned to look for her, but she was gone. He looked around, lost.

  Chapter 48

  Chiara had taken advantage of Torres to get out. She took the stairs. She went out and breathed deep, leaning against a column. Her legs were trembling. She grabbed the phone, calling her boss:

  “Do you need reinforcements?”

  “No, I don’t. Thanks. When I am supposed to be back in town?”

  She looked up. Alessandro was there. Their time was almost done. She should have been happy. She was about to close another successful case; instead, she felt her chest tightened in a grip.

  But there were no alternatives. So it had to go. She ran a hand through her hair. The terrorists’ leader was still free. She closed her eyes. Where was he? Who was he? He must have heard by now about Jamal’s death, about the arrests. What was he going to do?

  She walked toward some colleagues. She watched their eyes. They had changed. Now, they knew…. They knew that she was there to inquire about them, their colleagues. She was a “spy”. She was to be taken away. She folded her arms, shivering.

  Then she felt him, even before seeing him, even before hearing his voice. He was there. She turned slowly, watching Luigi, Carlo, Torres and Alessandro.

  “We must find who is the boss. Let’s go to interrogate the detainees!”

  The voice of Torres was firm. She nodded, joining them.

  Chiara walked around the corridor of the police station. She had spoken with Torres, explaining her motives. She had seen his eyes. He had understood that there were feelings between Alessandro and her. There was something that… she sighed. Good for him. She had not understood much. But now it wasn’t over. There was still the boss free. There was the diary.

  It was still dangerous. They had to be careful. She jumped, when she saw Carlo. He advanced towards her:

  “Do you want to start the questioning?”

  “We’ll do together. Okay?”

  Her voice was calm, quiet. She was used to keep emotions at bay. She was used to manage the colleagues after revealing her role.

  She wondered where was Alessandro. She figured that he was in Torres’ office, where she had seen entering another man, probably one of Alessandro’s supervisors.

  Amina was still in the room. She had the phone in her hand. She was about to call Carlo. She had the finger on the button when the cold metal of the barrel of a gun on the back of her head made her turn pale. Years of collaboration with the police led her. She made the call to start.

  “I’m sorry. Put the phone. Slowly… I need the kids here. Let’s go!”

  “Who are you?”

  Amina kept her voice neutral.

  “It’s not your business. You don’t have to know. My kids are dead or in jail. I have to recover something. Where are Jamal’s kids? I know they are here!” Amina kicked the diary away. It was the reason because of she was calling Carlo. The diary fell under the couch.

  “I don’t…”

  “No hero stuff, bitch,” shouted the man.

  He pushed her. She stumbled and fell to the ground. She put her hands to the floor, praying that the call was fine and Carlo had responded.

  “Who are you? What do you want from us? Can you lower the gun?”

  “Let me see the kids. I have to talk to them!” Amina observed the other rooms:

  “You won’t see anyone!”

  He clenched his jaw, pulling her hair:

  “Then I’ll kill you and I’ll do by myself!”

  Carlo was beginning to ask the first question when the phone rang. He left a message to Amina, telling to her to call him right away. He wasn’t surprised seeing her name. Once he just pressed the button, he paled, hearing what was going on:

  “Fuck!” They stopped all amazed, watching him:

  “Carlo?”

  “He is there! Jamal’s boss is in Amina’s house!”

  They had a few moments to decide, a few excited moments to arm the gun, put the cars in motion and leave. There wasn’t the time to coordinate. Decisions were taken in a blink. Chiara came quickly to the car. She got aboard; Alessandro was already in:

  “What the hell…” He turned, as she rested a hand on his arm:

  “What are you doing?”

  He stared at her, raising an eyebrow:

  “I am going!”

  “Maybe you didn’t understand. You’re suspended from duty!”

  He stared into her eyes. It was a flashed ruthless, that she returned with fierce frown:

  “No, Chiara. Maybe you didn’t understand. I’m not stepping aside. I want to be there. And you…” He pointed a finger at her chest: “You should be the one that mostly understands me!”

  The car of someone colleagues over beside them:

  “What are you doing? Are you coming or not?” He stared into her eyes, waiting. She dropped her arm and took a step back around the car. She opened the door, without saying a word. He started the car, driving off when she still had to close the door.

  The radio crackled some excited news. Chiara grabbed it:

  “Turn off all sirens by 800 meters from the foster house. Go slowly, we have an element of surprise, it’s important. Remember that. He may have explosives. Some of the kids might decide to stay on his side. We don’t know how many people are in.”

  Alessandro drove in silence. He glanced at her, as he prepared to park behind the car of Carlo. She was furious. She had her hand closed in fists, and she was not looking at him.

  “I know how to do my job!”

  “I never doubted that, Ale. It’s your method I don’t like.”

  “Are you kidding me, Chiara?”

  She turned toward him. She brushed his jaw, instinctively.

  “No, I’m not.”

  He turned, staring into her eyes. Her hand was still on his skin. He felt it burn. He looked into her eyes:

  “It is true. I don’t deny it. I’ll accept the consequences. But today I’ll not let you screw it up!”

  “It’s not me you have to worry about. You have to worry about Carlo! Amina is there. He still loves her!” Her armed the gun.

  “Listen to me, Ale! You not going to make anything crazy, are you?”

  He shook his head, opening the door. She opened hers. He jumped out, slamming it, while she did the same:

  “Chiara, I’ll do everything I have to do!”

  He stared at her back. She felt his gaze but walked away, with her back to him, hiding to him her melancholy look. She knew he was telling the truth.

  There, in those moments, her work was ending. Everything came to an end. She would be back home. It was over. He would no longer have been part of her life. She was lost in her thoughts when he stopped, a few inches behind Carlo, who was wearing the flat jacket.

  “Carlo, you’ll be behind the barricade!”

  “What? No, why? I’m going in. I’m in the squad for action!”

  Chiara stared at Torres. Torres stared at Chiara. She turned to him:

  “I’m sorry, today it’s me on the lead!” She looked at Carlo and Alessandro. She was speaking to them both:

  “Ale, you go to with squad 2. You’ll coordinate with Valerio. Carlo, recede and go behind the car!”

  Chiara turned, without giving him the time to reply, handing the other guys. She stopped, hearing some noise. She turned back; Carlo had reached her:

  “I have to get in!”

  “Because of Amina, Carlo?” He nodded. She clenched his jaw, turning completely to him:

  “Because of Amina, you’ll be out!”

  “Who the fuck you think you are? You came here in disguise. You investigated on us! You made sex to Alessandro, and who knows how many others! Now you come here and lecture to me? Who are you?”

  Chiara had expected an outburst. What she didn’t expect was a personal attack about sex. She lifted her chin. She looked at him an
d hissed:

  “Right now I’m your boss. If you have something to tell me, you can do it after the action, in writing, orally, by email or as you want, but now you go behind the barricades and do your job!”

  Carlo stared at her angrily, grabbing her by the wrist:

  “No!”

  Chiara shook her head and moved away his hand:

  “Carlo, I’m sorry; I know you have the emotional burden on your shoulders, but trust me, it’s the best solution.”

  “You have been fooling us till now. How could you claim to give me orders? You’re nothing to me. Amina is my wife!”

  Alessandro, who had just arrived, opened his mouth, but Chiara silenced him.

  “Carlo, I don’t give a damn about what you think. You’re wasting precious time to me and to the squads. You’re putting at risk Amina’s life! So much for that!”

  She turned away but she saw him holding back. His fists were clenched. She felt her heart beating a thousand. She was sweating, as she gave provisions to the guys on the position to be taken. There was nothing but adrenaline, and the last, precious moments left to capture the boss and bring the hostages safely home. Chiara didn’t move. Her mind was free from every thought. She had one goal in mind. Her jaw was clenched, her hands were cold. She wasn’t a woman. She wasn’t Chiara. She was Detective Pilati. Alessandro saw her metamorphosis: it fascinated him, despite of the anger he felt, though he was still convinced that he could have managed the situation as good as she did. He wore the flat jacket, calling a colleague for help and then he went with his squad toward the door.

  Chiara looked at all of them, nodding imperceptibly when they were in position.

  Chapter 49

  Amina was terrified, but she tried to show it not. His gun was close to her face. His eyes were cold and ruthless. She didn’t know who he was or what he wanted, but she knew that he wouldn’t have hesitated to kill her. She didn’t know if Carlo had heard the call, if he had answered; maybe he was coming. She closed her eyes; she had to try and talk, to take time, but he had grabbed a rope from his pocket:

  “Should I tie you while I look for the kids, shouldn’t I?”

  “I’m here. Who are you?”

  “No, Farouq, no!” Amina turned to the little boy who had emerged from the door. He was one of the oldest: he was fifteen. He had lived in the street, in contact with the ugliness of the world. His eyes were hard, contemptuous; he was the leader of the kids. She wondered what they were doing: