with oak-brown eyes appeared. He looked anywhere between fifty and seventy.
Conrad beckoned me over. ‘Firstly, may I present Karen Brown? Karen, this is my uncle, Quintus Tellus. He’s the imperial chancellor, similar to the American president’s chief of staff.’
I swallowed. ‘Hello, Quintus Tellus.’
‘Good evening, Karen Brown. A pleasure to speak to you. I look forward to seeing you in person.’
I glanced at Conrad and he nodded. I gabbled something polite then retreated to my seat by the window to let Conrad get on with it. Sergia’s gaze swivelled around to me. She stared at me so intensely a red flush spread up my neck to my cheeks, but I refused to drop my eyes.
‘I believe Antonia Sergia would like to speak to you, Chancellor.’ Conrad turned from the screen, bowed ironically to her and extended his arm, inviting her to take the seat in front of the computer.
‘What the hell was all that about?’ I whispered as they talked behind us in Latin.
‘Sergia getting her feathers ruffled. She’s good at what she does, but takes herself far too seriously.’
She logged off, stared at the blank screen for a few moments and then squared her shoulders. She gave Conrad a curt nod then stomped back downstairs. Gianni brought us up some coffee, rich and dark, while we waited an hour to let Sergia get clear.
We went through the farewell motions, including kissing and handshakes, a bottle of wine from Gianni and cries of ‘Come back soon’. Despite the overt friendliness, I wasn’t too sure I wanted to.
XIII
‘ Merda ! They’re boxing us.’
‘What?’
‘The watchers. See those two ahead of us? The one in jeans, next to the one wearing the black fleece? With the two behind, they make a box to contain us.’
My throat tightened. I stared at the men ahead: the first, wavy brown hair, chunky build, and the second, a slim black guy. Both looked fit and alert.
‘There’ll be a car somewhere.’
He linked my arm with his and smiled down at me. He scanned the street of neighbourhood stores without moving his head while we strolled along, seemingly happy and relaxed.
‘I think they’re going to jump us,’ he whispered. ‘When I say run, go like the Furies. Aim for one of the side alleys.’
‘But we haven’t done anything wrong. Why should we run?’
‘Just do what I say. Please.’
The two men ahead of us slowed their pace. We would catch up with them within moments. Conrad stopped suddenly and then, within a split second, dragged me into a 24/7 store. Behind the counter, the clerk looked up with bored eyes.
‘Can we use your restroom?’ Conrad asked, injecting urgency into his voice.
‘No public restrooms,’ the clerk replied in a monotone, and turned back to the magazine she was reading.
‘But my wife’s pregnant,’ Conrad said, throwing me a stern look as my jaw dropped in surprise, ‘and she’s about to throw up. We need a restroom. Right now!’
The clerk’s eyes widened in alarm. I could see her thinking of the cleaning she’d have to do. I coughed hard like I was heaving. She leapt up, darted between the lines of canned food and flung open a door to the storage area. She jabbed her finger at the back corner and retreated. We pushed through the plastic-wrapped pallets and boxes. Left of the restroom door, we found the half-hidden fire door. Conrad threw the trash bags to one side, seized the horizontal bar and rammed it open. We raced out into the alleyway.
At the corner, where it intersected the main street, he pressed me back, side by side with him, against the rough brick wall. My breath came in snatches and I tried to swallow the dryness in my throat. No sound of footsteps behind us, nobody running toward us. In the street in front of us were regular people doing regular things on a regular Saturday. Glancing back once, Conrad laid his arm across my shoulder, his hand gripping the top of my arm, forcing me to slow down to a sauntering pace as we crossed the
Conrad beckoned me over. ‘Firstly, may I present Karen Brown? Karen, this is my uncle, Quintus Tellus. He’s the imperial chancellor, similar to the American president’s chief of staff.’
I swallowed. ‘Hello, Quintus Tellus.’
‘Good evening, Karen Brown. A pleasure to speak to you. I look forward to seeing you in person.’
I glanced at Conrad and he nodded. I gabbled something polite then retreated to my seat by the window to let Conrad get on with it. Sergia’s gaze swivelled around to me. She stared at me so intensely a red flush spread up my neck to my cheeks, but I refused to drop my eyes.
‘I believe Antonia Sergia would like to speak to you, Chancellor.’ Conrad turned from the screen, bowed ironically to her and extended his arm, inviting her to take the seat in front of the computer.
‘What the hell was all that about?’ I whispered as they talked behind us in Latin.
‘Sergia getting her feathers ruffled. She’s good at what she does, but takes herself far too seriously.’
She logged off, stared at the blank screen for a few moments and then squared her shoulders. She gave Conrad a curt nod then stomped back downstairs. Gianni brought us up some coffee, rich and dark, while we waited an hour to let Sergia get clear.
We went through the farewell motions, including kissing and handshakes, a bottle of wine from Gianni and cries of ‘Come back soon’. Despite the overt friendliness, I wasn’t too sure I wanted to.
XIII
‘ Merda ! They’re boxing us.’
‘What?’
‘The watchers. See those two ahead of us? The one in jeans, next to the one wearing the black fleece? With the two behind, they make a box to contain us.’
My throat tightened. I stared at the men ahead: the first, wavy brown hair, chunky build, and the second, a slim black guy. Both looked fit and alert.
‘There’ll be a car somewhere.’
He linked my arm with his and smiled down at me. He scanned the street of neighbourhood stores without moving his head while we strolled along, seemingly happy and relaxed.
‘I think they’re going to jump us,’ he whispered. ‘When I say run, go like the Furies. Aim for one of the side alleys.’
‘But we haven’t done anything wrong. Why should we run?’
‘Just do what I say. Please.’
The two men ahead of us slowed their pace. We would catch up with them within moments. Conrad stopped suddenly and then, within a split second, dragged me into a 24/7 store. Behind the counter, the clerk looked up with bored eyes.
‘Can we use your restroom?’ Conrad asked, injecting urgency into his voice.
‘No public restrooms,’ the clerk replied in a monotone, and turned back to the magazine she was reading.
‘But my wife’s pregnant,’ Conrad said, throwing me a stern look as my jaw dropped in surprise, ‘and she’s about to throw up. We need a restroom. Right now!’
The clerk’s eyes widened in alarm. I could see her thinking of the cleaning she’d have to do. I coughed hard like I was heaving. She leapt up, darted between the lines of canned food and flung open a door to the storage area. She jabbed her finger at the back corner and retreated. We pushed through the plastic-wrapped pallets and boxes. Left of the restroom door, we found the half-hidden fire door. Conrad threw the trash bags to one side, seized the horizontal bar and rammed it open. We raced out into the alleyway.
At the corner, where it intersected the main street, he pressed me back, side by side with him, against the rough brick wall. My breath came in snatches and I tried to swallow the dryness in my throat. No sound of footsteps behind us, nobody running toward us. In the street in front of us were regular people doing regular things on a regular Saturday. Glancing back once, Conrad laid his arm across my shoulder, his hand gripping the top of my arm, forcing me to slow down to a sauntering pace as we crossed the
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