"Connected Rooks"


Michele sat on the terrace of Caterina's farm in Frascati, watching the sun decline behind the far hills. The folds of the land were full of purple shadows, the hills were touched with gold and bronze and the rooftops of the buildings of the farm shone russet in the glow.

This was his favorite time of day – the hour between day and dusk, when the eye was rested from the harshness of the sun and the spirit was not yet touched my the melancholy of twilight.

On this final Saturday of April, Michele inhaled deeply the scent of Trebbiano, Greco and Malvasia grapes brought to him on a slight breeze. Within a few months it would be time to harvest both and Paula and her husband Dominico would hire a number of hands to help, then next would come the winemaking. Caterina employed a master vintner and he worked magic with the grapes, producing a white wine of incredible vintage.

Michele and Caterina had continued seeing each other after Sicily and both felt the relationship turning serious. They found they got along fabulously together, as they had very similar and strong interests in cars in general and Alfa Romeos in particular. She owned an auto repair shop near Ciampino Airport, though she stated she enjoyed working on older cars more than the new ones and she specialized in vehicles from the 1950s and 1960s, though she could work on everything from a 2006 166 to a 1936 8C 2900.

She'd also been a cart racer in her youth, and she and Michele both swapped stories of their experiences in carting. Like Michele, she'd found she lacked the talent to make a career out of it – doubly so being a woman – and instead turned her love of cars and racing to one of engineering, much as Michele had done.

"Dinner's almost ready," Caterina remarked as she came out onto the terrace, dressed in a robe, a towel wrapped around her hair.

"What culinary delight has Paula created for us this evening?"

"I thought we'd go with a light pasta dish and some vegetables. I have a bottle of 2004 Novello Superiore Frascati that should be at the height of readiness for drinking.

Paula soon appeared with a plate of bucatini all'amatriciana and carciofi alla romana. She also brought out the bottle of wine and the two of them enjoyed a fine meal and fine conversation.


The weekend of the Mille Miglia, Caterina went to Rome to see how Michele and Kara were doing, though she purposely stayed away from the pair, allowing them to experience the event as father and daughter.

She privately smiled when she saw the final rankings with the pair having moved 123rd place at the start to 18th place at the end, mostly evidently due to Kara's determined driving.

She drove the Giulietta back to her farm in Frascati, stopping at a local market. When she exited with her purchases, she saw a tall man dressed in a sweater and jeans leaning against the car and after being together for eight years, she recognized him even with the beard and long hair.

"Franco!" she exclaimed. She set down her purchases and rushed towards him, embracing him.

"Everyone said you were dead!" she exclaimed.

"They said the same about you," Franco echoed.

"We shouldn't just stand here. Let's go back to the farmhouse. Dominico and Paula will be pleased to see you."

"No, I don't want them to know I've been here. Let's just drive around," Franco suggested. Caterina nodded and picked up her groceries, putting them in the trunk. Franco settled into the passenger seat and Caterina drove around the city on the outer loop formed of the SS215 and SS216.

"How did you escape?" Caterina asked.

"Much the same as you did, I imagine. When the car hit, Cristiano and I made our way to shore. We stole a car and drove to his safehouse in Switzerland."

"Cristiano's alive?" Caterina exclaimed.

"He passed away earlier this year from an infection," Franco answered.

"Did Pinocchio make it?" Caterina asked and Franco shook his head. They'd confirmed soon after the escape that he'd died at the house fighting the Agency's child demons.

"Where have you been these past eight months?" Caterina asked.

"Cristiano maintained significant assets that the government never found. He sent me to Africa to meet with Giacomo Dante. I've been funding his operations, including what happened in Venice. We almost killed your boyfriend and his demon in Milan in February."

"My boyfriend?"

"Michele Pagani. He works for the Agency, Franca. His 'daughter' is one of those child assassins."

"What? He's a consultant and Kara is adopted. He's also not my boyfriend."

"He's lying. He was at Venice and so was the girl. The surviving girls piled into his plane and flew back to Rome."

"I thought the Agency was using children. Kara is at least in her late teens, if not early twenties," Caterina observed.

"The Agency evidently is making older ones now. And Kara isn't the only one. We've identified at least two others, also in their late teens. Whatever modifications they are making to them appears to now be adaptable to older girls. We expect the next stage will be adults."

"Modifications? What do you mean?"

"They're not human, Franca. We don't know the specifics, but evidently they take young girls who have severe medical problems or injuries and perform surgeries on them. They're made stronger and faster than adults. And they shrug off bullets like you do a bee sting."

"They sound like zombies or something out of a science fiction or horror movie," Caterina said, shuddering.

"Oh they can die. Dante killed two of them at Venice and he took a third one down in Rome near Christmas."

Franco reached out and touched her shoulder. "Italy isn't safe for you, anymore. It's only a matter of time before Michele sends his assassin after you."

"Franco, we've been seeing each other for months. If he wanted to capture or kill me, he's had plenty of opportunity."

Franco bit down the jealousy that flared inside him. "Franca, his peers tried to kill us in Milan. It's possible he doesn't know who you are, but he's eventually going to find out and when he does he's going to send that…thing…he calls a daughter after you."

"What do you want me to do?" Caterina asked.

"Settle your accounts here in Italy and then come with me to Switzerland. I have a place just over the border. Once you arrive, we can plan our next moves."

"Okay," Caterina nodded. "Are you sure you don't want to come back to the farm?"

"No. It's better if Dominico and Paula don't know I've seen you in case the Agency finds them. They can't betray what they don't know. Just drop me off back at the store. I have a car parked nearby."

After she dropped Franco off, Caterina headed not for the farm, but for the highway. She drove south past Lake Albano and then west towards Pomezia and then on the coast. She drove down the coastal highway, letting the cool evening air clear her thoughts and doubts. She continued on down to Anzio before looking back towards Lake Albano and the farm.