“Vito, I know you are going through a lot right now, but this is important.” Tiyana said with one hand on his arm and one on his shoulder. “Where was your brother’s ship going?”
“I was trying to get a car. There are so many left abandoned in the streets…” Vito’s voice trailed off. “There was a man with me. He lost his son. We were going to go to Imperia together.”
Vito’s emotional state was still raw.
Tiyana encouraged him to continue talking, “Imperia? Is that where the ship went?”
Vito nodded his head affirmatively and went on, “We found keys. There was a car that they fit in, but as we opened the doors, they came marching down the street. I ran and hid in the building, but the other man… he started shooting at them. We could have waited for them to pass and gotten in the car. I could have been on the way to Imperia right now… I could have saved her.”
Tiyana said, “Vito, you never would have gotten a car out of those streets. They were completely crowded with abandoned vehicles. Vito, we have a car. It is just far enough outside of town that we could get it on the road.”
“It is?” Vito’s face lit up.
The color came back into his cheeks. He wiped the snot and tears from his face onto his sleeve. His emotional state stabilized somewhat.
“We, we have to go. We go now. You, you, you take me. You take me there. Take me, please?” His English broke down as his excitement level rose.
“Hunter?” Tiyana looked at her husband.
“The action is here. I don’t think we should leave right now.” Hunter said.“What about you Hongo?”
“We could use a guide.” Hongo said cautiously. “Virgil?”
Virgil did not answer at first. He seemed deep in thought.
When he started, he spoke in deliberate, measured tones, “I do not like the sound of this ship incident. Ghaelvord’s advances are rarely predictable, or forthright. Genoa may be a decoy. It is a popular place with rich history. Its fall will cause great commotion. It would not surprise me if his army was defeated here only to come back with a vengeance from an unsuspected location.”
Hongo asked, “Are you saying that he lied on television when he said that he would build his headquarters here?”
“Possibly, yes. It would not surprise me.” Virgil responded. “He did say that his true target is France. Imperia is much closer to France, not that he could not have lied about that either.”
“Then this ship may be headed to his true destination.” Hongo said.
“I think that the ship will go on its business unnoticed amidst the chaos.” Virgil responded. “And that makes it a dangerous unknown variable.”
Hongo interjected, “We cannot fight this whole army by ourselves. Our fighting here would only raise questions. We do not need to be taken prisoner or interrogated by the European army. If the Europeans do take the city back, I do not want Hunter getting taken along with Ghaelvord and Malacoda and the rest.”
“Right, our help should be behind the scenes, in the shadows.” Tiyana added.
“So, there’s only one course?” Hunter asked.
“We go to Imperia and we take Vito with us.” Tiyana concluded.
Tiyana felt a great deal of sympathy for the man. The logic of their decision to leave Genoa was sound. Even if it had not made sense, though, she still would have wanted to help Vito. He seemed so desperate. Also, he had quite possibly saved her life.
• • •
The drive to Imperia was uneventful. The entire country’s attention was drawn to Genoa. The five travelers could hardly have attracted less attention. Upon arrival, they had checked the docks, the local transport authority, the shipping logs, the news, and every other source of information that they could think of to check. They had found out that the Sorelle Gemelle did land in Imperia. It unloaded its cargo. Then, it left. In the hotel lobby after the first day, they discussed their findings.
“Did you notice how hesitant they were to show us any information about the ground transport?” Tiyana asked.
“I don’t know Tiyana, we didn’t have much of an excuse to dig into that.” Hunter added.
“Still.” Tiyana said. “They knew that that ship came from Genoa. They knew that it left for Imperia after the city was taken. They had to be curious. That ship had to have been practically a celebrity. I just didn’t get a sense of buzz or excitement or curiosity or anything. Their attitudes weren’t right. I mean, yes, we didn’t really have a good reason to be snooping around, but it’s understandable that we were, given the circumstances, and they didn’t seem to care. Why wouldn’t they care?”
Hongo added, “Not everyone would know about the shipping schedule, only those handling it. If the press knew…”
Tiyana stepped in, “If we tip the press off, then they might get somewhere or at least, make waves. We can do that.”
“The press, yeah, they would have a good reason to want to know about the ship.” Hunter added.
“What do you think, Vito?” Tiyana asked.
Vito had done most of the talking at the shipyards that day since he was the only one who spoke Italian fluently.
Vito answered, “Gossip goes on around the docks. Rumors, small talk, whatever. I was surprised at how little they had to say. They seemed almost surprised when we asked them about the Sorelle Gemelle, as if we were reminding them that it came from Genoa, but they had to have known. They sounded confused. They seemed to remember the ship coming in and remembered logging information about it, but they just seemed, I don’t know, confused about it.”
“Brainwashed more likely.” Virgil said. “If it seems odd, then it probably is odd. I predict that if we investigate this, whether by tipping off the press or by pushing forward our own inquiries, that we will find a perfectly plausible explanation.”
“Plausible…” Hunter muttered.
Virgil went on, “Plausible enough to satisfy all but the most skeptical inquirer. We must find where the goods on board that ship went. We must find them and see them for ourselves. We can assume that the memories of those involved are tainted. We can assume that the records are doctored.”
“We could be here awhile.” Tiyana said.
“How long before the retaliation hits Genoa?” Hunter asked generally to the group.
“Not long.” Tiyana said.
“It will happen while we are here, Hunter.” Hongo said. “Can you stand being away from the action?”
“I’ll make do.” Hunter replied. “If we’re going to be stuck here doing drudge work, then I’m going to get a drink. Anyone want to join me?”