Chapter 20: When in Rome...
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Tammy wakes up not sure where she was, feeling like she was ran over by a tractor hauling a double trailer and dragged a few hundred miles. She slowly sits up and pushes the blanket off her to her waist, finding herself in her underwear. She looks around finding to be in an unfamiliar bedroom, and yet her things from the Marino's home was there neatly piled up in a corner along with a new bag she did not have before.
She slowly gets up, putting her feet to the ground but still sitting on the bed. She finally gets up and walks to the dresser where the clothes she remembers wearing. There was a folded note on the pile, which she opens and reads.
"Tammy,
Sorry I had to drug you, but I had to up your game. You are currently in Trastevere, a neighborhood in Rome, in a small apartment we own and use when we want to be incognito with the rest of the crowd. It's yours to stay as long as you need in your search of our sister. Trastevere is a rich but tough neighborhood, so put up a tough act and tell anyone who asks that you are a Polancco. It's the only way you are going to survive.
The streets here are very thin, just one car can fit through them and there is no sidewalk. Cars won't be able to turn around if they chase you, but you wont be able to go past them either. The turns are sharp and sudden, and many end up into dead end streets. Learn the area before you go scouting for Bink. It may save your live knowing the area.
I checked through your things, since I did not find a driver's license, I am not leaving the tiny Mercedes for you to drive, there is a map the city and the keys to the place with your laptop in your backpack, the house has Wifi and a printer in the home office which you can print from. The duffle bag has the clothes I bought for you. Dress up for the area. Don't be a bum in this neighborhood. The better clothes you have in your bag will do for every hanging around. Do not wear the jeans and t-shirts in this area. I found some forty thousand euros in your backpack and put it into a bank account for you for safekeeping. There are three credit cards tied to the account and another ten thousand in cash I put in your purse. The account is tied to the family account so it does not go below what was put in no matter how much you withdraw from it. Do not be carrying so much money around like you did. If you got robbed, you would have lost everything. This is for your own safety.
I put the passport with the Polancco name in your purse; use it, and not your Squirrel passport. I put a photoshop a picture of us to help in identifying you, along with a few pieces of Italian ID including a student ID Card from Milan University. Thank Glenda for that. I might hire her for her photoshop skills. I got you a student shoulder bag to make things easier for you to carry your things while riding your bike.
There is food in the kitchen; I restocked everything while you slept. Go eat after you wash up and dress.
Don't waste your time rotting in the house. I have hidden security cameras in every room to check up on you and will be dropping by when I can. Go find Bink.
Love, your sister,
JP (Julietta Polancco)"
Tammy could only look at the clothes for the moment, not realizing the mirror in front of her. She picks up the clothes, seeing something move in front of her and realizes it's a mirror. She looks at it and at herself, looking like she had been through a very rough night. She looks at herself one more time before going back to the clothes and wishing the fog would dissipate from her senses and the two-ton anvil gets removed from her head. Memories of the recent past are flakey at best.
Within one of the suit jacket's pocket, she finds a usb drive which recalls a memory: Julietta walks up to Tammy, Tammy backing up until she is up against the wall by the door. Julietta leans over to her and takes her by the neck and lower jaw, then plants her lips against Tammy, at the some time slips a USB Flash drive between the buttons of her blouse and her breasts. She pulls back away from her, "Sorry I had to do that to you but you'll understand why." Julietta then walks into the house.
Then another: "...Now that USB Drive, watch it at home. But do not scream at what you see happening. It's from the security cameras of the house. I downloaded before the police could get it. It shows who did it, and it shows something interesting.", Julietta explains.
"What?", Tammy asks.
"Someone was in the house trying to save your mother. Don't know who it is, he wore an Italian EMT Jacket. It looks like he as shot as well, but I do not know if he made it out alive or not. I searched all of Italy's EMT bases and no one could identify him. Nor did I find him at a hospital to tend to his injuries. I doubt you will ever find out who it is. But one more thing.", Julietta answers.
"What?", Tammy asks, wiping a tear from her eye.
"We, at least I, know who it is who murdered the family. It's a family friend turned government informant. The drive also has the security video of the murder of our brothers; it was done by little girls with guns...", Julietta tells her.
Tammy looks at herself in the mirror and then at the usb drive. But she puts down the drive and sits back down on the bed. It takes a while for her to get up and leave the room in what little she had on.
The house was a small two-story house with three bedrooms on the second floor with a bathroom at each end of the hall. A stair at the end of the hall leads down stairs to a living room, kitchen, study area and another bathroom. In the basement was a furnished room with a washing machine and dryer, which she does not know about until later on. Tammy goes downstairs, finding the place empty. She eventually finds the kitchen.
The refrigerator is filled to the brim with assorted foods. The nearby counter top has covered breads in a basket. Looking around, she takes a bit of cold cuts and cheese, along with a bread roll and a can of soda to a nearby table. Finding a plate and a sharp knife, she cuts the bread open and stuffs it with the meat and cheese, taking a bite of it. The can of soda is opened and a bit its contents sipped. Though not a complete meal, she takes in what she could from it and feeling a bit better after eating.
Once back up stairs, she opens her bags to check on their contents, spilling them about and making a mess of the room as she did. She takes her favorite cotton underwear and puts them on along with a skirt and white blouse. She cleans up most of the mess, piling it into the bag while still looking for her brush. Sitting on her bed, she gives her hair one hundred strokes of the brush. A quick trip to the bathroom, she takes care of her personal hygiene. She then takes a map and her purse to the kitchen.
Back in the kitchen she looks around at what was at hand as far as cooking utensils and other items to eat a meal. She goes about to make a better and larger meal. With a couple of eggs and a few cut items, she makes an omelet for herself. Another can of soda and a smaller bread roll completes her meal.
With the sugar and caffeine boost from the sodas and the meals made her feel better, but not one hundred percent. She'll take the eighty-five percent she has. Taking out the map, she studies it, looking at the markings somebody has put on it, she believes it was Julietta who marked up the map. The house was labeled at the end of Via dei Riani in Trastevere neighborhood; at the end of a dead end street. There were a couple of food stores circled and the main streets marked off. Being a larger city, Rome has a couple of Tourist districts and several major shopping areas. She sees that she was not too far from a river that runs through the city, at least half a mile or a bit more in distance.
Counting her money in her purse, she finds more than the stated amount in the letter Julietta had left behind. There was the stated amount in large bills, but there was another grand in smaller bills. She takes the keys from the purse, looking them over. They look like they belong to expensive locks. As she looks at them, she builds up the courage to get up and leave the house.
Checking the locks with the keys, she steps out of the house, finding that the last step from the house lead directly to the street. It seems that the step was part of the thin sidewalk as it leads down the street, with fenced off areas in some places. She walks a few dozen yards to the corner, remembering the map she had before taking it. The first store listed on the map was a couple of blocks away, but she finds these blocks to be shorter then they were in Milan. Except for modern changes, the streets and blocks of Trastevere are as they were during the days of Caesar many hundreds of years ago.
Going inside the store, she walks about and picks out a few things to try out for herself: some cheeses, bread rolls, pasta, vegetables, and some fine cuts of beef. The storeowner at the cash register in never seeing her asks questions. The one thing about Trastevere is, those who live in it are very nosey of each other and question everything that seems out of place.
"Who you here with?", he asks as he counts off and bags each item.
"Me?", Tammy asks.
"No, the little old lady behind you. Who you think I'm talking too.", the store owner snaps at her.
"I'm at my sister's place on Via dei Riani.", Tammy answers.
"And who is this sister?", he asks sternly.
"Julietta Polancco.", Tammy answers.
"How that is possible?, You're red squirrel, the Polanccos are grey squirrels.", he tells her.
"I'm their sister from America.", Tammy answers.
"I don't believe you. I'm calling the police.", the store owner tells her.
Tammy pulls out her passport, and finds the picture Julietta had put inside, and the writing on the back. She hands the picture to him. He looks it over, reading the inscription on the back, "To my new stepsister Tammy, may this family be strong."
"So you her stepsister...", the store owner says.
"Yes I am. And I'm staying in Rome for a while. And if you want me to buy from this store again, you better be nice to me.", Tammy tells him as she takes her picture back. "So how much for this?", she then asks.
"Alright. Its... uhm…", he begins to say before punching the total key on the cash register. It rings up twenty-two euros. "Twenty-two euros.", he then says.
Tammy goes through her purse, going through the money in it, eventually pulling out a twenty-five euro bill. She hands him the money and gets three single euro bills back. She takes the bag of store bought items and walks away.
"Hey! How about a thank you!", the store yells at her.
Tammy stops at the door for a second, "When you learn to be nice to me, then I'll say thank you." She leaves through the door and starts her way back home.
She takes her time going home, looking over the scenery and noting certain landmarks in her memory. At the corner was a two-story house with a round tower twice its height. Turning the corner was four houses on the block with fences outlining their territories. Across the street was a long fence that went for the length of the block. The Polanco house has a small fence past an attached garage. She stops by the front of the door and looks around as she retrieves her keys. She manages to open the door in a couple of minutes, closing the door as she enters the house.
She was putting the food items on the table when there was a knock on the door. She walks to the door, taking a peek out the window, seeing a couple of police officers at the door. Checking the chain on the door, she opens the door until the chain catches is from opening any further.
"Can I help you?", Tammy asks.
"We would like to ask you a few questions and see some identification.", the closest officer says.
"And open the door.", the other officer says louder from behind.
Tammy closes and locks the door for a moment as she got her passport from her purse in the kitchen. It takes her a few seconds to trot to the door. She opens it with the chain still on it.
"Uhm... before I hand this to you, I want to see some identification from you both.", Tammy tells her as she holds up her passport to show them.
"We are the police, why do we need to show you identification.", the first officer says.
"I can buy your uniform from the local Halloween store, complete with badge, hat and radio for under two-hundred euros. Now prove to me you are police.", Tammy tells them.
They both look at her as is she was crazy. The second officer takes his radio and calls for supervisory support. It ends up with most of the precinct arriving. With over fifty police officers standing around, some being higher ranking officers, no one makes a move until the captain arrives at the scene.
The captain looks at his two officers at the scene and tells them to leave the area. He then turns to Tammy.
"Miss, can I ask you to open the door?", the captain asks.
"Can I see some identification first?", Tammy asks in kind.
"Can I ask why you want to see my ID?" the captain asks.
"Anyone can buy that uniform from the uniform places in Italy, and the radio at any electronics store. And I'm sure you know what has happened to us Polanccos as of late, so pardon my paranoia.", Tammy explains.
The captain nods and reaches into his pocket, pulling out his wallet and show his identification card to her. Tammy takes a second to read it before unchaining the door.
"Only you can enter.", Tammy says as she opens the door and hands him her passport.
The captain opens the passport and reads it as he enters the place. "Tammy Squirrel Polancco? American? Hmmm.", he says then finds the picture of Julietta and Tammy at the wedding recital. "To my new stepsister Tammy, may this family be strong? OK. I see no problem then. But can I ask what are you doing here instead of America?" as they both sit by the kitchen table.
"I'm looking for my little sister who was lost in the first family massacre.", Tammy explains.
"Wasn't she killed?", the captain asks.
"No. She survived the attack but she was sent from hospital to hospital and then to an orphanage and finally to a hospital. The paperwork there says she was sent to Rome but no reason was stated why she was sent here. Julietta gave me access to the house while I search for her.", Tammy explains.
"I see. Why did you not come to us about this?", the captain asks.
Tammy goes through her purse and pulls out her Rescue Ranger ID, handing it to him, "I have the IRAS and the American Embassy looking for her. Its been a long search.", Tammy asks.
"You're a rescue ranger?", the captain asks.
"I'm not rich like the rest of the Polanccos. And I'm only related by marriage not by blood. I work as a rescue ranger in America.", Tammy explains.
"I see. What do you do in case of building fire?", the captain asks.
"You establish a perimeter, survey the scene, ask witnesses to see if everyone is out, send in the tot-savers and start putting out the fire out by putting water on it from several places. But I'm a medical rescue ranger, not a fire fighter.", Tammy explains.
"I see. What are tot-savers?" the captain replies and asks.
"It's a group of fire fighters who run into a building to find children, babies, elderly and handicap people who might still be in the building. Since their primary goal is to find children and babies first, they are called tot-savers.", Tammy explains.
"Interesting idea. I'll pass it down to the fire department training corps.", the captain says.
"New York has been doing that since a very long time. Longer than I can remember.", Tammy replies.
"Alright. You pass. Now what to do with those idiots waiting outside.", the captain says almost to himself.
"I would not punish them, sir. But I would tell them that if asked for ID, they should show it. It does not have to be publicly known.", Tammy explains.
"Is this done in New York?", the captain asks.
"In fact it is because of a mafia murder years ago involving men dressed as police officers.", Tammy answers.
"Interesting. I may have to have a talk with your police commissioner.", the captain says.
Then he thinks before taking his radio out and dismisses the officers outside except for the two who started it all to wait by the door. He walks to the door seconds after the others had left. He opens the door to the two police officers outside. He curses them out and tells them of the new policy though stating it's an old one about showing identification when requested. He then orders them to walk inside the house and apologize to the famous American Rescue Ranger Tammy Polancco, part of the rich Polancco clan. They look at her in disbelief, the captain nearly shouts out his orders to them again and they follow them before being sent off outside again.
"Well, Ms Polancco...", the captain begins to say.
"Tammy. Its Tammy.", she tells him.
"Very well then, Tammy. Sorry for the intrusion. I'll see that they respect you a bit more.", the captain tells her. Then he pauses. "You have a picture of your missing sister?"
"I only have one of her. Hold on. I think there is a copier in some office somewhere in this house.", Tammy says, thinking about releasing one of her sister. "Give me a moment.", she says before running up stairs.
Tammy searches her things and finds a picture of Bink in a wheelchair with prosthetic limbs and a patch over her eye from the orphanage's report. She steps out of her room and looks for the office on the floor, finding it at the end of the hall by the bathroom there. The copier takes a while to warm up to get ready to copy the picture. Tammy makes a few copies and takes them to the captain down stairs.
"Took you long enough. I was about to leave.", the captain nearly jokes.
"I'm sorry. But here are copies of this photo of her. She's only ten years old.", Tammy tells him as she hands over the copies to him.
He looks over the pictures, seeing the girl in an awful condition in a hospital setting. His expression changes to serious concern as he sees the image on the paper. Then he nods, "I'll get my best men on this."
"I'm not expecting miracles, sir. But I thank you for your help. I believe that she may have had plastic surgery to fix her facial injuries and hid her prosthetics with a rubber skin. Other than that, I don't know. It's been over six months I have been looking for her and this is as far as I got.", Tammy explains.
"It's a little old but I'll see what my men can do. Understand that it will be difficult and like you not get very far, but we will try our best to find her.", the captain tells her, adding, "I do have to go. My men need me."
"Thanks.", Tammy says as she follows him to the door. "Captain Greco?", she then asks as he puts his hand to the doorknob.
"Yes?", the captain answers.
"You should check your ID. It's expired.", Tammy tells him.
"Huh?", the captain responds and then checks his identification. "I'm going to have to make a few phone calls then. Thank you.", he then says before opening the door and leaves.
Tammy sighs as she can hear them walk down the street to a nearby police car and drive away. She then leans against the wall and lets out a sigh. After a second she goes to the kitchen and gets things ready for dinner. Though early, she takes her time with a long over due home made dinner for her self as her mother taught her. She makes several dinners, putting much of it away in the refrigerator and freezer for eating another day. In doing, she relaxes and gets her mind off things and onto herself again.
When done she had completed several days of meals for lunch and dinner. This day's meal is done as well. She serves herself a tiny bit and takes it to the dining table. Beef and vegetables on wide noodles with dark thick gravy complimented everything. She takes a can of soda to drink with her meal.
After washing and putting away the plate, glass and eating utensils, Tammy walks about the house to explore what she has. Besides the two other bedrooms on the second floor with her, she finds two bathrooms on second floor, one bathroom on the first floor, and another bathroom in the basement. She also finds a washer/dryer combination set off to one corner of the basement in a tiny room and the rest of the basement furnished into a game room and entertainment center.
There was little for her to do. Italian TV was nothing but propaganda, news, boring soap operas, and stupid reality shows of merchant sailors being out at sea for way too long. The most she can do is study her map, and access Google map on her tiny laptop to study the city.