Chapter Eight: Missing In Action
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Leonardo and Giovanni Pacelli crouched behind the counter of the flaming café, awaiting their demise. The two young brothers, one of twenty-three and the other just turned eighteen, had climbed through the back window of the café when the bomb went off just behind the salon. They were thrown to the ground and lay unconscious in the storeroom whilst the café was evacuated. They had woken up to find themselves trapped by the fire, and had thought that this day would be the end for both of them.
'Come, Giovanni,' Leonardo said in Italian, his mother tongue. 'Let's grab the money anyway, just in case.'
'In case of what, Leo? Face it, we haven't got a chance,' the younger brother said bitterly, wondering why he always let his brother talk him into such situations. 'You said everything would be fine, and now look!'
'Who knew a bomb would go off when we tried to rob this place,' Leo said, shrugging imperturbably.
'Leo, we're going to die! How can you be so light about this?' Giovanni said, disgusted at his brother's attitude.
'I've got a feeling, Giovanni. We were put on this earth for something,' he said, ready to try and win over his brother with his smooth speech, as he so often did.
'That's what Alfonso said before he was in that car crash,' Giovanni said, reminding them on their late brother. 'After that, Madre said for us to stay out of trouble. Why did I let you drag me into this?'
'Like I said, I have a feeling. The Lord is saving us for something good, something special. I'm sure He wouldn't let us perish here, not now.' It was getting more and more difficult to persuade his maturing younger brother to go along with him, to make him believe that what he said was right.
'He would, if He knew we were going to steal the money,' Giovanni said dryly, wondering if his brother even believed in the Lord, or if he just used it as a way to get to him. 'Alfonso would not have let us die here, he would have thought of a way out.'
'Come on, sit on the floor behind the bar, the smoke is not so thick here,' Leo said, ignoring the previous comment. He had always tried to live up to his oldest brother, even after Alfonso's death.
As Giovanni sat, a loud churning noise blended in with the roar and crackle of the fire. Jets of some kind of liquid flooded into the room, splashing both men.
'What is that?' Giovanni asked in amazement, poking his head over the counter.
'Get down,' Leo said, roughly pulling on his brother's shirt. The great yellow machine rolled past the bar and into the back rooms, tending to the fire in that area. 'We wait until it comes out, and then we leave,' he said, pointing towards the back rooms.
As the machine returned, though, part of the disintegrating floor began to crack under the weight. The two brothers scrambled on top of the bar and watched in horror as the vehicle tumbled eight feet into the basement below.
'Someone could be inside,' Leo said. He jumped deftly down into the chasm, inspecting the vehicle. Giovanni joined him, stumbling as he landed.
Using his jacket to protect his hands from the heat, Leo opened the door to the Firefly, which was half on its side. The interior of the vehicle was a mess, with objects like tools scattered everywhere. Seeing the person inside, Leo jumped in and checked to see whether he had survived the crash.
'Is he alive?' Giovanni asked quietly, watching from outside the vehicle.
'He's okay, just a bump on the head,' Leo said, rolling him over onto his side. As he did, something caught his eye, causing him to grin wickedly. 'Hey, Giovanni, do you want to make some real money?'
'How?' his brother asked suspiciously.
'This man here is a member of International Rescue, and is a very important person. If we take him and 'look after' him for a few days, we'll earn a lot of money. Come on, help me lift him out of here.'
~~
Scott and Virgil exited the building, escorting the last of the victims out and trying to reassure them in their broken Italian. Walking back over to Mobile Control, Virgil said, 'We could have used Alan here, considering he's fluent in Italian.'
'Scott, Virgil,' Tin-Tin said as she saw them approaching. 'John just called and said he was talking to Gordon when there was some kind of rumbling noise a couple of minutes ago. He lost contact and can't regain it. He also said that Gordon called out like he was in pain just before communications broke.'
Flashbacks of his dream flew before Scott's eyes, and his instinct instantly told him that something was very wrong. 'Come on,' he said, running towards the café with Virgil three paces behind him.
'What do you suspect, Scott?' Virgil called as they ran into the building, its walls stained with black smoke.
Once inside, Scott trod carefully, listening intently for any noise. 'I never told you this, even though I said I would, but I had another 'premonition' last night, with the grand finale being Gordon's fall into a huge pit.'
Virgil now understood. 'I can see now, it all adds up, like you jumping on Gordon during the rock shower, and your weird behaviour today.'
'My weird behaviour?' Scott said, slightly offended.
Virgil would have elaborated had he not seen the heart-rending sight before him. Inside a massive crater lay the smoking Firefly, on its side, covered in dirt and dust and looking shocking.
Scott saw Virgil standing stock-still and visibly paling. He then realised what his brother had seen, and too turned a shade whiter. 'Stay here,' he commanded, advancing towards the machine.
He jumped into the hollow and opened the now cooler outer door with a shaky hand. His mouth opened wide after he found that Gordon was nowhere to be found.
'Scott, what is it? Is he all right?' Virgil said anxiously. Although the machine looked relatively unharmed from the outside, apart from the smashed screen at the front, there was no telling of the extent of the damage inside.
'He's not here,' Scott mumbled, unable to comprehend it.
'What?'
'He's not in here,' Scott said in a louder voice, stepping through the scattered objects and poking around the small cabin just to be sure.
'Not in there? How could he be not in there?' Virgil said, his voice tense. 'Where else could he be?'
'Look around the café,' Scott said, climbing out of the Firefly. 'He can't have gone far.'
Virgil began to search the coffee shop frantically. 'Gordon!' he called out, hoping and praying for an answer. An idea came to him, and he tapped his wrist communicator. 'Gordon from Virgil; come in Gordon.'
'That won't be of any help,' Scott said gravely, holding up Gordon's communicator, which he had found next to the door to the Firefly.
'Oh God,' Virgil said to himself.
'We'll find him, I promise,' Scott said firmly, reassuring himself as much as Virgil.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~
Leonardo and Giovanni Pacelli crouched behind the counter of the flaming café, awaiting their demise. The two young brothers, one of twenty-three and the other just turned eighteen, had climbed through the back window of the café when the bomb went off just behind the salon. They were thrown to the ground and lay unconscious in the storeroom whilst the café was evacuated. They had woken up to find themselves trapped by the fire, and had thought that this day would be the end for both of them.
'Come, Giovanni,' Leonardo said in Italian, his mother tongue. 'Let's grab the money anyway, just in case.'
'In case of what, Leo? Face it, we haven't got a chance,' the younger brother said bitterly, wondering why he always let his brother talk him into such situations. 'You said everything would be fine, and now look!'
'Who knew a bomb would go off when we tried to rob this place,' Leo said, shrugging imperturbably.
'Leo, we're going to die! How can you be so light about this?' Giovanni said, disgusted at his brother's attitude.
'I've got a feeling, Giovanni. We were put on this earth for something,' he said, ready to try and win over his brother with his smooth speech, as he so often did.
'That's what Alfonso said before he was in that car crash,' Giovanni said, reminding them on their late brother. 'After that, Madre said for us to stay out of trouble. Why did I let you drag me into this?'
'Like I said, I have a feeling. The Lord is saving us for something good, something special. I'm sure He wouldn't let us perish here, not now.' It was getting more and more difficult to persuade his maturing younger brother to go along with him, to make him believe that what he said was right.
'He would, if He knew we were going to steal the money,' Giovanni said dryly, wondering if his brother even believed in the Lord, or if he just used it as a way to get to him. 'Alfonso would not have let us die here, he would have thought of a way out.'
'Come on, sit on the floor behind the bar, the smoke is not so thick here,' Leo said, ignoring the previous comment. He had always tried to live up to his oldest brother, even after Alfonso's death.
As Giovanni sat, a loud churning noise blended in with the roar and crackle of the fire. Jets of some kind of liquid flooded into the room, splashing both men.
'What is that?' Giovanni asked in amazement, poking his head over the counter.
'Get down,' Leo said, roughly pulling on his brother's shirt. The great yellow machine rolled past the bar and into the back rooms, tending to the fire in that area. 'We wait until it comes out, and then we leave,' he said, pointing towards the back rooms.
As the machine returned, though, part of the disintegrating floor began to crack under the weight. The two brothers scrambled on top of the bar and watched in horror as the vehicle tumbled eight feet into the basement below.
'Someone could be inside,' Leo said. He jumped deftly down into the chasm, inspecting the vehicle. Giovanni joined him, stumbling as he landed.
Using his jacket to protect his hands from the heat, Leo opened the door to the Firefly, which was half on its side. The interior of the vehicle was a mess, with objects like tools scattered everywhere. Seeing the person inside, Leo jumped in and checked to see whether he had survived the crash.
'Is he alive?' Giovanni asked quietly, watching from outside the vehicle.
'He's okay, just a bump on the head,' Leo said, rolling him over onto his side. As he did, something caught his eye, causing him to grin wickedly. 'Hey, Giovanni, do you want to make some real money?'
'How?' his brother asked suspiciously.
'This man here is a member of International Rescue, and is a very important person. If we take him and 'look after' him for a few days, we'll earn a lot of money. Come on, help me lift him out of here.'
~~
Scott and Virgil exited the building, escorting the last of the victims out and trying to reassure them in their broken Italian. Walking back over to Mobile Control, Virgil said, 'We could have used Alan here, considering he's fluent in Italian.'
'Scott, Virgil,' Tin-Tin said as she saw them approaching. 'John just called and said he was talking to Gordon when there was some kind of rumbling noise a couple of minutes ago. He lost contact and can't regain it. He also said that Gordon called out like he was in pain just before communications broke.'
Flashbacks of his dream flew before Scott's eyes, and his instinct instantly told him that something was very wrong. 'Come on,' he said, running towards the café with Virgil three paces behind him.
'What do you suspect, Scott?' Virgil called as they ran into the building, its walls stained with black smoke.
Once inside, Scott trod carefully, listening intently for any noise. 'I never told you this, even though I said I would, but I had another 'premonition' last night, with the grand finale being Gordon's fall into a huge pit.'
Virgil now understood. 'I can see now, it all adds up, like you jumping on Gordon during the rock shower, and your weird behaviour today.'
'My weird behaviour?' Scott said, slightly offended.
Virgil would have elaborated had he not seen the heart-rending sight before him. Inside a massive crater lay the smoking Firefly, on its side, covered in dirt and dust and looking shocking.
Scott saw Virgil standing stock-still and visibly paling. He then realised what his brother had seen, and too turned a shade whiter. 'Stay here,' he commanded, advancing towards the machine.
He jumped into the hollow and opened the now cooler outer door with a shaky hand. His mouth opened wide after he found that Gordon was nowhere to be found.
'Scott, what is it? Is he all right?' Virgil said anxiously. Although the machine looked relatively unharmed from the outside, apart from the smashed screen at the front, there was no telling of the extent of the damage inside.
'He's not here,' Scott mumbled, unable to comprehend it.
'What?'
'He's not in here,' Scott said in a louder voice, stepping through the scattered objects and poking around the small cabin just to be sure.
'Not in there? How could he be not in there?' Virgil said, his voice tense. 'Where else could he be?'
'Look around the café,' Scott said, climbing out of the Firefly. 'He can't have gone far.'
Virgil began to search the coffee shop frantically. 'Gordon!' he called out, hoping and praying for an answer. An idea came to him, and he tapped his wrist communicator. 'Gordon from Virgil; come in Gordon.'
'That won't be of any help,' Scott said gravely, holding up Gordon's communicator, which he had found next to the door to the Firefly.
'Oh God,' Virgil said to himself.
'We'll find him, I promise,' Scott said firmly, reassuring himself as much as Virgil.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~