Red Alert (9 page)

the door.

Tm the one with the gun, remember?' She pushed open the door then pivoted around into the allway, Beretta extended. Everything was covered in a hick layer of dust.

'Your contact was right about one thing. Nobody's red here for years.'

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'Including Ubrino,' Calvieri said, joining her in the hallway. 'A wild-goose chase.'

'Or a trap.'

They both heard the noise. It came from above. Sabrina led the way up the wooden staircase, wincing every time she stood on a creaky board. A bronze cross, tarnished from years of neglect, was mounted on the wall at the top of the stairs. Calvieri pointed to the door at the end of the corridor, which was ajar. Sabrina nodded, certain the noise had come from inside the room. She kicked open the door then dropped to one knee, the Beretta trained on the figure crouched in the corner. The boy was no older than ten and his eyes were wide with fear. She. bolstered the Beretta and crossed to where he was huddled; against the wall.

'What's your name?' she asked softly in Italian.

'Marcello,' the boy replied, staring at Calvieri. 'Are you j the police?'

'Ever seen a policeman with one of these?' Calvieril I replied, flicking his ponytail.

Marcello shook his head. 'Are you from the orphanage?'

'No,' Sabrina replied. 'How long have you been here?'|

Marcello shrugged. 'A week. Ten days. I don't know.'j

'How do you live?' she asked.

There are many tourists, even in March. I learned how to pick pockets at the orphanage.'

'How did you get up here?' Calvieri asked.

Marcello led them to a single window, opened it, pointed to the trellis against the side of the house. 'I neve use any other part of the house. That way there's footprints in the dust to give me away.'

'You've certainly got it all worked out,' Sabrina said.1

'I don't want to go back to the orphanage. You wonl tell them where I am, will you?'

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'No,' Calvieri said before Sabrina could answer. 'Has I any one else been here in the last couple of days?'

'Nobody. You're the only people who know about my hideout.'

Calvieri ruffled Marcello's hair. 'Don't worry, your Isecret's safe with us.'

Sabrina took Calvieri out on to the landing and shut |the door. 'How long do you think he'll last on the streets |before the police pick him up?'

'A lot longer than you think. Give him a chance, Sabrina.'

'What chance has he got living like this? He'll probably |have a police record before the year's out.'

'Have you stopped to think why he ran away from the arphanage? I know Brigatisti who grew up in orphanages nd, much as I hate the law, I'd rather see him in a tendon centre than having to put up with the abuse that

went through.'

'You're talking about isolated incidents. The vast ma Mrity of orphanages look after their children.' 'Are you so sure? And are you prepared to take that ance on his behalf?'

Her brow creased with concern. Taking out the Beretta iin she completed the search, by climbing another set ; stairs up to the altana. The bolt on the door at the top E the stairs had rusted with age. She struggled to draw it ck, then pulling the door open, she stepped outside. It covered with weeds. She checked to see if any of the is had been recently disturbed. None had. Calvieri was waiting for her in the hall. 'Find any

ig?'

: shook her head and walked back outside on to the lal path. Calvieri followed her, securing the front door find him.

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'So much for your contact,' she said contemptuously as they made their way back to the canal entrance.

'I'll be taking the matter up with him, you can be sure of that.'

The American had moved the speedboat from the] mouth of the canal and was busy mooring it fifteen yards' away when he saw them approaching. 'You can getj through now!' he said, reaching for the mooring rope in j the back of the boat.

Calvieri was about to reply when he saw the white! speedboat dart out from behind a row of vaporetti moored! at the Riva del Carbon. He couldn't make out the pilot's features but there was no mistaking the stumpy Uzi| clenched in his right hand. He knocked Sabrina to the ground and flung himself after her seconds before a fusilJ lade of bullets peppered the wall behind them. Sabrina was the first to her feet and ran to the blue and whit speedboat.

'What the hell's going on?' the American hissed, staring after the retreating white speedboat.

'I'm taking your boat,' Sabrina said, jumping into dtij speedboat beside him.

'Like hell you are,' the American retorted, stepping ill front of the wheel.

She glanced despairingly at the white speedboat. SI had to catch it before it turned up one of the side canal) There was no time to lose. She unholstered her Here and levelled it at the American. 'Get out!'

'Jesus, you're crazy,' the American stammered in disl lief, his eyes riveted on the Beretta in her hand.

'Out!' she snapped.

The American swallowed nervously then scrambled l on to the jetty. She swung the speedboat round, and head after the fleeing gunman. The Grand Canal was teer

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Fwith an assortment of craft at that time of the afternoon and | the gunman used this to his advantage, weaving in and out } of the traffic with the consummate ease of a seasoned helms[ man. There were vaporetti and tnotoscafi, water taxis, fpacked with sightseers; traghetti, two-man gondolas, ferry feng shoppers from one side of the canal to the other in search lof bargains at the numerous waterside markets; barges I laden with fresh produce destined for the luxury hotels; Ispeedboats of all shapes and sizes, careful to keep within |the strictly enforced speed limits; and the full-size gondolas ransporting the wealthy tourists to and from their hotels irhich lined both sides of the canal. She lost sight of the white speedboat and cut across the aw of an approaching vaporetto - much to the anger of helmsman who shook his fist at her -- to see if the unman was heading for the other side of the canal. He asn't there. She slowed the speedboat to a crawl in order take a closer look around her. Where the hell had the lier boat gone? It had weaved between a couple of ges, then -- nothing. She accelerated until she reached : spot where she thought it had disappeared. She looked lit, then left. Nothing. She looked to her right again, ere was another canal leading off from the Grand anal about twenty yards further on. He could never have ached it in such a short time. Or could he? She slowed the edboat on reaching the offshoot. The white speedboat I't there. She hailed a youth on the pathway who was jading crates of fresh fruit from a barge and asked i whether a white speedboat had passed him in the last aple of minutes. He crouched at the edge of the path, r eyes running the length of her body. *Nice,' he muttered. 'Very nice.' ?Did you see a speedboat or not?' she asked angrily. |He scratched his head. 'Maybe. What's in it for me?'

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'Forget it,' she snapped, turning back to the wheel.

Her path was blocked. The mooring rope holding the stern of the barge had been untied and the barge now stood at a forty-five-degree angle to the canal path. It would be impossible to squeeze the speedboat past it. Another youth appeared, holding a gaff. The first youth jumped into the speedboat but before she could react she felt the tip of a switchblade against her ribs.

'Switch off the engine,' he ordered. 'And don't try to^ reverse.'

She did as she was told.

'I'm sure you're armed,' he said with a sneer, then| reached out a hand to search her.

She raised her hands then brought her elbow up sharply | under his chin, rocking his head backwards. She twisted hisj arm savagely behind his back, disarmed him, then jerked hisl neck back and pressed the blade against his exposed throat,| The second youth approached the speedboat cautiously.

'Throw it into the water,' she shouted, indicating the gaff in his hand.

He hesitated and she pressed the blade into the fir youth's throat. A trickle of blood ran down the side of his neck.

'Do it, Antonio,' the first youth screamed.

Antonio threw the gaff into the water.

'Now move the barge,' she snapped.

Antonio nodded nervously and ran back to the barge^

She tightened her grip on the youth's hair and pres the blade harder against his skin. Another trickle of blc seeped from the wound. *I want some answers. And if j haven't got them by the time your friend's moved barge I'm going to cut your throat. It might make him; little more cooperative.'

'What do you want to know?' the youth gasped.

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'Who hired you?' 'I don't know his name.'

She dug the tip of the blade further into his skin. 'I don't know his name!' he screamed. 'Please believe ne. He approached us in a bar last night and offered us ach half a million lire to make sure he wasn't followed up here today. We were only to frighten you, that's all.' The in particular?' 'No. Whoever followed him in here.' 'Describe him.'

'Tall. Suntanned. Collar-length black hair. And a mole his right cheek.' 'Where does this canal lead to?' 'Back to the Grand Canal. It's U-shaped.' Antonio had managed to manoeuvre the barge against : side of the canal. Sabrina pushed the youth away from er and he immediately scrambled back up on to the path ray. She started up the engine, dropped the switchblade Rto the water and eased the speedboat past the barge. Sudily she smelt petrol. A slick had formed on the water in ant of the speedboat. And the pathway beyond the barge oked like it had been hosed down. A man appeared from ehind a wall at the end of the path, his suntan and black iir corresponding exactly to the teenager's description. All a's senses were instantly alert. He acknowledged her ath a faint smile and a slight inclination of his head. There no sign of the Uzi. He was now holding two lighted cks of rolled-up newspaper in his hands. Her first thought to shoot him. But even if she were to hit him there i still a danger that the fuel would be ignited. And she iildn't have time to escape the flames. She slammed the speedboat into reverse. He tossed one ; the sticks of newspaper into the water then dropped other on to the canal path. A second later he had

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disappeared behind the wall. Flames shot towards thej bow of the speedboat. She managed to reverse into the> Grand Canal, escaping the fire by a matter of feet. Thej barge was ablaze within seconds. There was a piercing] scream from behind the wall of flames. Sabrina felt com| pletely helpless. There was nothing she could do to save! the two youths who must have been caught in the fire.

As she turned her boat round she saw the white speed-i boat shoot out from a side canal two hundred yards upriver. ] i; She unholstered her Beretta, opened the throttle, and gavel Jsf chase. The white speedboat began to weave in and out off p the congested traffic again but this time she kept on its tail.1 |c She heard sirens in the distance and looked round to see a| patrol boat closing in on her. When she turned back to] the wheel the white speedboat had disappeared. She cursed | angrily at herself. Twice she had lost him.

As she passed a vaporetto the white speedboat shot ou from its blind side and the gunman fired a short burst at her with the Uzi, forcing her to duck low as the bullet chewed across the bow. The tourists aboard the vapore screamed in terror and the helmsman immediately heac for the nearest landing stage. She raised the Beretta as th white speedboat drew abreast but it buffeted the side < her boat, causing her to fire wide. The gunman peeled awajl sharply and disappeared behind a passing vaporetto. By t time she had regained control of her boat the gunman ha disappeared. She hit the dashboard angrily with her fist tr glanced behind her at the patrol boat which was now le than a hundred yards away. Then she saw Calvieri signa ling to her from a nearby wharf. She went to pick him upsj

'Let me take the wheel,' he said, climbing into the 1 beside her. 'I know my way around these waters and first thing we have to do is dump the boat in one of' side canals.'

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She gave a resigned nod and switched places with him.

'Are you all right?'

'Sure, apart from my pride.' She shook her head, disgusted with herself. 'I can't believe I let him get the better of me.'

'Come on, Sabrina, don't be so hard on yourself. You're only human --'

'And so is he,' she snapped. 'But why didn't he kill me when he had the chance?'

'I'd say he made a pretty good attempt back there,' Calvieri said, turning the speedboat up the Rio San Polo, one of the largest canals leading off from the Grand Canal.

'He could have shot me when he came out from behind the vaporetto. Instead he fired into the bow. It doesn't r make sense.'

'You should just be glad you're still alive.' Calvieri moored the boat in a narrow canal off the Rio San Polo then pointed to a house with whitewashed walls at the end of the pathway. 'It belongs to a friend of mine. We jean hide there until the police are gone.'

They scrambled up on to the side of the canal.

Tonino?'

He looked round at her in surprise. It was the first time |she had used his first name. 'Tony, please. The last person pwho called me Tonino was my headmaster.'

'Thanks,' she said softly. "

'Strange, isn't it? This time I saved your life. Another \ time it might be me in that boat trying to kill you.'

'Or me trying to kill you,' she replied, holding his stare.

'Sure, why not?' He gave a nervous laugh, then walked Itowards the house.

La Serenissitna. So much for the serenity. Venice would Inever again be the same for her.

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five

Whitlock woke with a splitting headache. He opened his eyes and looked around him slowly. He was lying on a brown leather couch, a pillow under his head, in an aeroplane. A private aeroplane, judging by the plush furnishings. He tried to sit up but a bolt of pain shot through his head. Instead he lay back and massaged his temples gingerly with the tips of his fingers.

Take these. We use them in the army.'

Whitlock saw a pair of black-gloved hands out of the corner of his eye. In one hand were two white tablets, in the other a glass of water. Young had worn black gloves. But the voice was different. Older, more distinguished. And, unlike Young's voice, it wasn't discernibly American. It had to be Wiseman. He took the tablets from the palm of the outstretched hand and put one of them into his mouth. It tasted bitter. The glass was put to his lips. He took a mouthful of water and washed the tablet down, followed by the second tablet with another gulp. He placed the glass on the floor and lay back against the pillow, his eyes closed.