"Kotov Syndrome"
The air temperature outside of the Piaggio P.180 as it cruised at 12,500m hovered around -55°C, but the mood inside the cabin felt even colder.
Even with the control the government held over the media, they couldn't keep a lid on the story. Thousands witnessed the Polizia di Stato helicopter being shot out of the sky and the assault on the campanile. Also, as one of the tallest buildings in Venice, it housed multiple radio transmitters. Dante successfully hijacked the RAI Radio 1 stream to broadcast his manifesto. As the government's news station, many Venetians were turned into it for information about the Aqua Alta. And the Internet allowed video and pictures taken by witnesses to these events to be distributed around the world where they were picked up by foreign news services which launched "Breaking News" reports.
While Dante didn't mention the Agency or it's cyborgs, with all the professional and amateur media directed at Venice, Director Lorenzo ordered Michele to fly the surviving girls to Rome under Ferro's supervision. They boarded a Carabinieri boat and sailed across to the Lido, exiting covered in blankets to obscure their features. They rushed into the plane and Michele activated the electrochromatic shades to make the windows opaque. They quickly started the engines and lifted off towards Rome.
At the front of the cabin, Kara poured hot water into two cups on saucers at the cabinet to the left of the entry door, stirring the hot cocoa. She then took the two cups forward to the cockpit.
Michele looked up as Kara entered with the cups and saucers. "Thank you," he noted as he took one. Beside him in the co-pilot seat, Ferro accepted hers with thanks.
"How are things back there?" Michele asked.
"Quiet," Kara noted.
Michele held up his hand and flipped down the boom microphone. "134.875. India-Whiskey-Oscar-Lima-Foxtrot," he said into his headset. He reached down and tuned the radio to the new frequency. "Bologna ATIS this is India-Whiskey-Oscar-Lima-Foxtrot with you at Flight Level One-Two-Five traveling direct Ciampiano."
He flipped the boom back up. "We'll be on the ground within the hour." Kara nodded and returned to the cabin.
"I'm not looking forward to the next few days," Ferro noted in the cockpit as she looked out her side window at the Adriatic coast kilometers below.
Michele grunted in agreement. "The Croce's vendetta is getting very, very expensive. I wonder how much longer Minister Petris and Director Lorenzo can keep writing checks..."
In the cabin, Petrushka sat on her blanket on the divan across from the door. Barefoot, her clothes had mostly dried out and her boots were to the side of the divan, towels stuffed in to them to keep their shape and help dry out the inside, her socks draped over the tops.
Kara sat down next to her. "We'll be on the ground in about forty minutes."
"This was not a very good day, was it?" Petrushka asked rhetorically and Kara merely shook her head.
The final tally came up a draw: 12 terrorists killed against 2 cyborgs and 10 GIS troopers. St. Mark's would be closed for at least a week for clean-up of the debris, though the campanile would remain closed indefinitely as teams performed surveys and developed repair plans. They recovered Beatrice from under the debris and she and Silvia were placed in body bags for transport back to the compound.
In the aft section of the cabin, Triela, Rico, Henrietta and Chiara sat in the four facing leather recliners. On the folding table in front of Triela and Chiara sat a chocolate torte Michele had secured at a hotel on the Lido along with an electric water kettle.
"Michele referred to it as 'Kotov syndrome'," Chiara responded to Triela's comment about Jean's actions in Venice.
"What's that?" Henrietta asked, spooning more sugar into her tea.
"It's a term in chess, first postulated by Alexander Kotov in 1971. He posited that a player could spend so much time focusing on the goal that they don't properly consider the path to reach that goal and they therefore end up making a rash and terrible move, often ending up costing them the game."
"That explains this mission," Triela noted, sourly.
"What do you think is going to happen?" Henrietta asked.
"I expect heads are going to roll," Triela noted. "Dante escaped. An important tourist site was bombed. We lost a number of people. And with the Olympics only weeks away, there are likely going to be fears about possible terrorism events there, as well."
Thirty minutes later, the P.180 passed over the capital and Michele tuned one of the two radios to 122.1.
"Practica di Mare tower, this is India-Whiskey-Oscar-Lima-Foxtrot requesting approach and landing clearance."
"India-Whiskey-Oscar-Lima-Foxtrot, be advised that Practica di Mare is a military installation and civillian landings are prohibited," came the reply.
"Acknowledged, tower. Please contact Base Operations and inform them that Tennente Collonelo Michele Pagani is aboard. They should be expecting us."
"One moment, India-Whiskey-Oscar-Lima-Foxtrot." A few minutes later the radio crackled. "India-Whiskey-Oscar-Lima-Foxtrot, Practica di Mare tower. You are cleared to land on runway 13L."
Michele acknowledged the clearance and called for Kara, telling her to prepare the cabin for landing. Kara collected everything and placed it in the cabinet while Petrushka pulled on her socks and boots.
The P.180 decended and landed gently on the runway.
"India-Whiskey-Oscar-Lima-Foxtrot, contact Ground on 121.6."
Michele did so and was instructed to take the second turn-off and link with "Follow Me" truck waiting for them past the second runway. They did so and passed a line of Aeritalia G.222's and continued forward to a small parking area. Michele powered down the port engine and feathered the left propeller while setting the starboard engine to minimal power.
An Airman came forward and knocked on the door. Kara rose and unlocked it, opening the upper half while the Airman helped drop the lower section. Nihad appeared and directed the girls to a where a black Fiat Ulysee minivan with deeply-tinted windows parked nearby with both sliding doors opened. Henrietta and Rico climbed into the third row while Triela and Chiara took the second row. Ferro followed after them and she belted herself in the passenger seat while Nihad returned behind the wheel. He started the van and headed off.
The Airman helped Kara seal up the door and she joined Michele in the cockpit. They re-started the port engine and taxied back to the runway. They departed to the south and then performed a 180° loop over the town of Aprilia to line up with Rome Ciampino's runway 33. After landing and parking in their private hangar, they waited for the valet to bring the Gallardo and then they headed for the compound.
Michele found Claes in the music room, watering her herbs.
"Welcome back," she said automatically.
"Claes I...uh...have some bad news..." Michele said, his face grave.
"The Venice mission?"
"Yes...Beatrice and Silvia...didn't make it..."
Claes closed her eyes for a moment, then nodded her acceptance.
"Beatrice died a hero," Michele noted.
"I guess that's the best we can hope for, isn't it?" she said, turning back to her plants. "Thank you for telling me," she added.
Michele took the hint and left the room, silently closing the door behind him.
Triela's words to her sisters on the plane proved prophetically true.
With the XX Olympic Winter Games scheduled to start in under a month, the attack raised hackles and concerns in a number of Italian Ministries, including Foreign Affairs, Economy and Finance, Interior, and Culture. In addition, the Piedmont regional government and Turin city government laid their own siege on the national government, scared that the "Venice Incident" would dampen attendance at the Games. The International Olympic Committee also sent a high-level delegation to meet with the Torino organizers and the Interior and Culture ministers both went up to show their support.
Pressure also came from within the organization as well as from without. Special Operations, Section 1 Director Giulio Draghi and Public Security Chief Reschiglian both saw opportunities to advance their own groups at Section 2's expense. The greatest outrage came from the GIS, who were effectively rendered combat-ineffective as a unit with the loss of all three of their active Sections. They felt they'd been deliberately mislead as to the true situation in Venice and the firepower they'd be facing. A similar incident had occurred in May 1997 and the GIS based their response on that scenario – facing a handful of men armed with pistols – and not planned for hardened militiamen with access to military-grade anti-personnel mines and battle rifles.
In addition to the flack she received from her own juniors, Minister of Defense Petris bore the full brunt of the Prime Minister's displeasure over the debacle. She, in turn, exchanged heated words with Director Lorenzo and Jean Croce, the latter whom then walked around shooting sparks from his eyes. Lorenzo ordered the compound to effectively be in lockdown with the cyborgs restricted to quarters and the handlers forbidden from taking them out without express permission from himself.
"What's going to happen now?" Kara asked as she lay on Michele's bed in his room at the Handler's dorm.
"I don't know," Michele replied from his work desk. "Jean and the Director really screwed up. The GIS is not going to be pleased having lost so many men and Beatrice and Silvia are literally irreplaceable. Your generation of cyborgs are not as effective as shock troops."
"I overheard Hillshire saying that Silvia's handler was leaving the Agency."
"Yes," Michele replied. "They were together for close to three years and he doesn't want to be paired with a new cyborg. He likes training young people, so he's going back to his old unit to instruct new recruits."
"What about Bernardo?"
"He hasn't made a decision, yet. It's possible he may take over Claes from me or he could follow Marco and take on another role within Special Operations."
"When I die, I want you to take another cyborg," Kara noted.
"Kara..." The exasperation in his voice, while subtle, was noticeable.
"I'm serious. When Angelica died, Marco looked so sad. Now Chiara's handler is leaving. And Bernardo no longer offers a ready smile. I don't want you to be sad like the others, so promise me you will find someone to replace me and move on."
"You are my daughter, Kara. If not by blood, then by every other way that matters. I cannot replace you because you are irreplaceable."
Kara rolled off the bed and came up behind him, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder, the two of them seeking mutual comfort from each other's presence.
