ELEVEN
PALACIO LUDOVISI
ROME
FRIDAY
"I'm still not sure this is a great idea," Kara noted to Ferro as she ran her hand along the front fender of the Titan Grey Bentley Brooklands Coupé. She wore a black wool dress with short sleeves and a scoop neck that fell a bit above the knees over a white long-sleeve turtleneck sweater and black Christian Louboutin dress boots.
"Why can't one of the other handlers…well, handle the driving?"
"We want as much protection in the car for the Chairwoman as possible and you are one of the cyborgs able to drive," Ferro replied. As was her norm, she wore a tailored suit and skirt; black boots instead of her usual pumps her one concession to the cold weather.
"How expensive is this car?"
"Around €300.000, so please try not to wreck it," Ferro replied, causing Kara to feel even more uncomfortable. She wished Michele was with her, but at least he was not spending time with Angelica.
Isabella D'Angelo appeared, her wheel chair pushed by Henrietta. The Chairwoman of the Straight of Messina Bridge Project wore a turquoise day dress with a matching hat, blue leggings and blue leather ankle boots. Henrietta wore a dark wool jacket over a blouse and miniskirt with black leggings and brown mid-calf leather boots.
"You're much prettier than my usual driver," the Chairwoman noted to Kara, who blushed at the compliment.
The first cable between each tower was to be laid the next day and a celebratory event was planned with Chairwoman D'Angelo and other dignitaries present. Due to her physical condition, the Chairwoman needed to be driven to the event and after the attempt to kidnap her the previous year it had been decided to take her new armored Bentley as it could be more easily defended.
Ferro opened the door and settled into the rear right seat. Henrietta helped the Chairwoman into the front passenger seat before going around the back and slipping into the left rear seat.
"This is like sitting in an English palace," Kara muttered as she slipped behind the wheel. Almost every surface, including the roof liner, was covered in the finest leather she had ever touched, mostly in a rich tan with contrasting black piping. The top of the dash and the outer rim of the steering wheel were covered in black leather. The polished dark stained Vavona wood of the center console, instrument binnacle and the tops of the doors glowed under their coating of lacquer. The sterling silver switchgear and chrome surrounds around the buttons and displays gleamed. Kara checked the soles of her boots to make sure they were clean, lest she drag any leaves or dirt inside to stain the grey carpeting of the finest lambswool.
"My late husband was a firm believer in English bespoke automobile craftsmanship," D'Angelo noted. "Yet he was always a Bentley man and not Rolls-Royce. I believe he, too, enjoyed the more sporting nature of Bentleys."
"It's a magnificent looking machine," Kara admitted. She turned the ignition key and pressed the Start Button. The only indication of the engine's presence was the tachometer needle rising from zero as the engine turned over and settled.
"Mobile One to Mobile Two, we're ready," Ferro said into the radio. She waited for a reply, but when none came forth, she tried again, but there was still no response.
"Did you check the batteries?" Henrietta suggested, earning her a silencing glare from Ferro.
Kara chuckled.
"Something funny, Pagani?" Ferro growled.
"No, ma'am. But when Top Gear reviewed this car in 2008, the presenter noted he could not get a signal out of the car on his radio," Kara replied. She'd watched the episode the night before while studying the Owner's Manual to brush up on the vehicle.
Ferro removed a combination earbud/microphone and plugged it in. She then rolled down the rear window and stuck her arm out the window.
"Mobile One to Mobile Two, we're ready," she repeated.
"Acknowledged," she added a moment later.
"Move out," she ordered to Kara.
Kara nodded and put the transmission into Drive. She pressed the throttle pedal and the three metric tons of weight effortlessly accelerated out of the Chairwoman's residence and onto the streets of Rome. Jean and Jose pulled out from their parking place on the street outside and tailed them in the former's Mercedes CL500, Rico in the back seat.
While a coupe, the Brooklands measured over five meters in length and two meters in width, requiring Kara to take extra care as she maneuvered in the tight confines of Rome's streets as they wound their way to the Autostrade network, where they settled into the right lane at a steady 150 km/h. Their destination was Reggio Calabria, a bit over 650km south at the tip of the "boot" of Italy.
"Do you need to rest, Chairwoman?" Ferro asked 90 minutes later as they approached Naples.
"I'm fine, thank you," Isabella replied. Ferro activated the radio. "We're continuing onto the A3."
"Acknowledged," Jose replied. "Remind Kara that the A3 is mostly unimproved, so the PRF might make their move there."
The two vehicles continued through Naples and connected to the A3, which would take them all the way to Reggio Calabria. The drive was mostly through industrial and residential areas through Salerno and on to Polla and then it turned into more rural and agricultural in a valley between the Pollino Mountains. Further on, the road entered the mountains and valleys of the Sila Plateau and then exited out onto the coast down to Pizzo, where it cut back inland.
At Pizzo they stopped to refuel the cars and refresh themselves, and then rejoined the A3. As they passed the Sant'Onofrio-Vibo Valentia interchange, the highway proceeded generally straight for five kilometers before curving right and proceeding on to the great port at Gioia Tauro. Kara remained in the inner lane and as they approached a sweeping right turn, a Lancia Phedra minivan drove past them in the outer lane and then pulled in front of Kara, forcing her to lift off the throttle to fall back and give the car some space. As the Brooklands fell back, a silver mid-1990s Mercedes E420 Estate pulled alongside them on the left. Henrietta observed the windows were tinted so darkly they were nearly opaque and she focused her full attention on the car.
As the cars exited the turn onto a straight stretch of highway, the passenger-side window on the Mercedes lowered and the barrel of a Beretta PM-12S2 submachine gun swung out.
"Gun on the left!" Henrietta said and reached for her pistol. Up front, Kara stomped on the brake pedal with both feet, the Bentley's 356mm Silicon Carbon brake rotors shedding speed. The Mercedes shot past them and a spray of 9x19mm bullets streamed through the space the Bentley's front tire had just a moment before occupied. The gunner attempted to re-position himself, but the Mercedes's driver activated his own brakes and this threw off the aim.
The Phedra activated his brakes, as well, but Kara returned her right boot to the throttle and pushed it into the thick carpeting. The Bentley surged forward on a wave of torque and power from the twin-turbocharged V8 engine. The Phedra attempted to move into the center of the road to block them, but Kara slammed the reinforced front of the car into the back of the minivan, caving it in and knocking the vehicle into the outer lane. Kara floored the throttle again and scraped past the minivan and out into the open. She looked in the rear view mirror to see the Mercedes pass the Phedra and barrel towards them.
"Where the hell is Jean!" Kara yelled as she hit the "Sport" button on the dash and hammered the throttle again, trying to open some distance. The two directions of the A3 bifurcated into two separate roads with a large strip of grassy buffer between them.
"I can't get a signal!" Ferro replied. She lowered the back window and shoved the radio out just as the shooter in the Mercedes opened fire with the PM-12. The bullets fell around the left rear wheel well, but the specially armored tires resisted the bullets. Kara juked to the left and the shooter overcompensated and sprayed the cabin. Fortunately, the bullets literally bounced off the armored rear window, leaving small craters, but one of them impacted with the exposed top of the radio, knocking it out Ferro's hand.
"Are you hurt?" Henrietta exclaimed as Ferro yanked her hand in. She shook her head and showed Henrietta her hand was fine.
One hundred meters back, Jose and Jean both saw the minivan change into Kara's lane, followed moments later by the Mercedes pulling alongside. The Brookland's brake lights glowing as the car abruptly slowed and Jean saw the muzzle flash from the Mercedes, followed by that vehicle's brake lights activating and then the rear of the Brooklands squatting down as it surged forward.
Jean hammered the throttle and the CL's V8 engine propelled the car forward.
"Rico!" he yelled and lowered the left-side windows. Rico pulled her
Sig SG551 carbine from the floor next to her and sprayed the Phedra as they drove past, hitting the driver and causing the car to spear to the right and nose-into the barrier, bouncing back across the road and onto the embankment.
Kara kept her right boot planted against the floor and the Brooklands roared past 250 km/h. By divine providence or just good karma, the road had almost no traffic and Kara started to pull out a lead on the Mercedes. The divided highway came together again and concrete barriers hemmed in both sides of the roadway.
The speedometer needle was touching 275km/h as the Bentley approached the interchange with the SS182. Kara could see cars ahead and had to slow, allowing the Mercedes to close up and start firing again.
Henrietta lowered her own window and returned fire onto the Mercedes, putting four rounds into the radiator and another five into the windshield; however she was unable to hit the driver or the front shooter. She popped back inside and reloaded her own weapon.
"Shit!" Kara exclaimed, as the third in a string of four lorries ahead of her pulled out into the outer lane to start a slow passing maneuver. Kara applied the brakes and the Mercedes closed right up and started firing again, forcing Henrietta to raise the armored window.
Kara swung the Bentley hard left, catching the right front quarter panel of the Mercedes with the left rear quarter panel of the Bentley, pushing it into the concrete.
Jean's Mercedes suddenly appeared and Rico, hanging out of the window, placed a score of rounds into the back and side window of the Mercedes, shredding the two front seats and their occupants. Kara snapped the Bentley back into the inner lane and accelerated away from the Mercedes and the German vehicle veered to the right, slamming into the inner barrier and riding up on it to then flip over onto its roof, coming to rest in a shower of sparks.
Kara slowed down and Jean pulled up beside her. Ferro raised her cellphone and Jose nodded, reaching for his own.
"Is everyone okay?" Ferro asked as she dialed the number. Kara, Isabella and Henrietta all replied they were fine and Ferro reported this to Jose.
"How's the car?" Ferro asked, repeating Jose's question.
"Everything looks normal," Kara said, giving the instruments a quick scan. The lorry ahead finally cleared his brethren and pulled back into the inner lane, allowing Kara to accelerate past. The two cars proceeded south at close to double the posted limit, weaving in and out of traffic until they reached the Mieto-Dinami off-ramp, where they immediately turned into the Polizia Stradale facility.
Kara stepped out and cringed as she saw the damage. The entire left side of the car looked like someone had taken a sandblaster to the paint and the panels were crumpled. The front corner had been buckled in and partially ripped away, the bumper hanging down and the hood partially popped up. Amazingly, the headlights were still intact, though the headlight assembly had been pushed back into the fender well. She walked to the back and saw at least a dozen neat holes in the trunk area and bullet and the left light assembly had been smashed.
"Michele is going to skin me alive," she muttered.
"You saved the Chairwoman's life," Jose said as he walked up, Henrietta at his side. "I think he'll cut you some slack."
"I don't want to know what the body shop bill is going to be," Kara noted.
Kara drove the Bentley into the garage area and the mechanics reconnected the bumper and repositioned and realigned the left headlight. They read the onboard computer, which generated no fault codes, so the decision was made to continue on to Reggio Calabria, 100km south, though now with a Polizia Stradale Alfa 159 escort.
They checked into their hotel and the security detail went into effect, allowing Kara free time, which she mostly spent in her room since Henrietta and Rico were too young to hang out with. After dinner in the hotel restaurant, she walked across the road and train tracks to the beach and watched the stars. Around 22:00 she called her handler, who was with the Prime Minister in Tokyo where the time was 07:00. They talked for about thirty minutes and then she returned to her room and went to sleep.
The already strong security presence at the cable-stringing ceremony was increased even more and when it came time to drive back to Rome, the Bentley was protected by a phalanx of Carabinieri vehicles.
"My god, what happened?" Michele asked as he looked at the torn-up Brooklands. He'd arrived an hour prior on one of the three Airbus A319 CJ VIP transports operated by the 93º Gruppo, 31º Stormo, 1ª Brigata Aerea Operazioni Speciali of the Italian Air Force.
"Somebody tried to jump us on the A3 outside of Sant'Onofrio," Kara replied.
"There must be €50.000 worth of body damage, Kara!" Michele exclaimed.
"Well it's not like I intentionally meant to crash it!" Kara shot back.
"I'm sorry. You clearly did your best and you successfully and safely delivered the Chairwoman to her destination," Michele said.
"Apology accepted," a mollified Kara replied.
"This is a really nice car. You should consider getting one," she added a minute later.
Michele didn't bother responding, but instead merely pinched his nose and shook his head.
"What?" Kara asked.