She heard the wail of sirens. Not far away, a line of cars appeared. Blue emergency lights were flashing on their roofs. The police. That’s the one thing that was missing.
She needed to find her Vespa. All around her, young people were running. Someone started screaming, others were smashing into each other recklessly. One young woman on a scooter toppled over just a few yards away. Babi started running. More city police cars braked to a halt all around.
There it was. She saw her Vespa, parked in front of her, just a few yards away. She’d been saved. Suddenly, someone grabbed her by the hair. It was a city traffic cop.
Babi shouted in pain when suddenly, the traffic cop released her. A boot to his belly had folded him in two, loosening his grip on her hair. It was Step.
The cop tried to fight back. Step gave him a violent shove that knocked him to the ground. Then Step helped Babi to her feet, hoisted her onto the motorcycle behind him, and took off at top speed.
The traffic cop recovered, climbed into a car nearby with a fellow cop behind the wheel, and they took off in hot pursuit. Step wove easily through the people and motorcycles that the city traffic cops had pulled over. He passed a number of photographers who had been given advance notice of the roundup and were busy snapping pictures.
Step popped a wheelie and accelerated. He went by another policeman, this one with a red stop paddle, waving for him to pull over. All around them, photographers’ flashbulbs were going off.
Step turned off the lights and bent low over the handlebars. The city traffic squad car with the cop who’d been kicked in the gut veered around the group and, siren wailing, was right behind them. Step shifted and leaned into the curve, racing toward Piazza Irnerio.
Babi held tight to him. She was even more terrified than before. This was worse than being a chamomile. The squad car fishtailed out of control as it tore into the curve. It recovered and started gaining on Step.
When Step reached the top of the slope, he shot the wrong way down a one-way street and veered off to the left, down Via del Casaletto. In the left side mirror, a few seconds later, the flashing blue light appeared again. They were still after him.
“Cover the license plate with your foot.”
“What?”
“Cover the last digit of the license plate with your foot.”
Babi extended her right leg backward, doing her best to cover the license plate. She slipped twice. “I can’t do it.”
“Really? Are you fucking with me?”
“It just so happens that I’ve never tried to run from the police on a motorcycle before. And if I’d had any say in the matter, I’d certainly have avoided the privilege today.”
“Maybe you’d have preferred to have me leave you in the hands of that cop who wanted your scalp?”
Step downshifted and made a right turn. The rear wheel slid slightly, screeching across the asphalt.
Babi held tighter to him and shrieked, “Put on the brakes!”
“Are you joking? If those guys catch us, they’ll confiscate my motorcycle.”
The squad car veered into the narrow street, fishtailing. Step flew down the steep street at 185 kilometers per hour. He could hear the siren echoing in the distance. They were gaining on him.
“Put on the brakes, I’m begging you. I can already imagine what I’m going to read in the papers tomorrow. ‘Young Woman Dies in High-Speed Chase with City Traffic Cops.’”
“But if you’re dead, how are you going to read the newspaper?”
“Step, slow down! I’m scared! Those guys might start shooting at us.”
Step downshifted again and suddenly swerved left. They emerged onto a semideserted country road. There were a few villas with a high wall and a palisade. They had only a few seconds to spare. Step screeched to a halt.
“Hurry up, get off. Wait for me here and don’t move. I’ll come back and get you the minute I manage to shake them off…”
Babi hopped off the motorcycle in a flash, and Step took off at top speed. Babi flattened herself against the wall near the villa’s front gate. And just in the nick of time. The squad car appeared at that exact moment. It went screeching past the villa and tore off in furious pursuit of the motorcycle.
Babi clapped both hands over her ears and shut her eyes to keep out the piercing sound of that siren. The car vanished into the distance, homing in on that tiny red taillight. That was Step’s motorcycle, which, outdistancing all pursuit, was racing along through the dark night.
Chapter 5
Pollo stopped his motorcycle in front of Babi’s apartment building. Pallina got off and went over to the doorman. “Excuse me, but has Babi come home yet?”
Fiore, who’d been half-asleep, had a hard time recognizing her at first. “Ah, ciao, Pallina. No. I saw her go out on her Vespa, but she hasn’t come back yet.”
Pallina went back to Pollo. “Nothing doing.”
“Don’t worry, if she’s with Step, she’s fine. You’ll see, she’ll be home soon. Do you want me to stay with you and keep you company?”
“No, I’ll go up. Maybe she’s in trouble, and she might try calling home. It’ll be better if there’s someone there to answer the phone.”
Pollo started his motorcycle. “The first one who gets any news can call the other.”
Pallina kissed him and hurried off. She ducked under the gate-arm and headed up the ramp to the apartment building. When she was halfway there, she turned around. Pollo waved to her. Pallina blew him a kiss and then turned left, up the steps. Pollo put his bike in first gear and drove away.
Pallina lifted the doormat. The keys were there, as promised. It took her a little while to pick out the one for the front door. She climbed up to the second floor and slowly opened the door. A voice came down the hallway. She recognized it. It was Daniela’s. She was talking on the telephone.
“Dani, where are your folks?”
“Pallina, what are you doing here?”
“Answer my question. Where are they?”
“They’re out.”
“Good! Get off that call, and quick. You need to leave the line free.”
“But I’m talking to Marcello. And where’s Babi? She came looking for you.”
“That’s why I need you to get off the phone. Babi might call. The last time I saw her, she was on the back of Step’s motorcycle being chased by city traffic cops.”
“No!”
“Yes!”
“My sister is just too cool.”
* * *
The dust had slowly settled. Low, gray clouds were floating up above in the moonless sky. Everything around her was silent. Not a single light. Except for a small spotlight in the distance, fastened high on the wall of a house.
Babi stepped away from the wall and crossed the road. It was hard to walk on that uneven old cobblestone surface. She took a few steps.
From a distance came the sounds of the countryside. She caught a strong whiff of manure scattered on the fields. A faint breeze moved the branches of the trees. She felt alone and lost.
She was afraid. If for no other reason than that she really didn’t want to be forced to spend the night in this place.
Who could say where Step was. Had he eluded their pursuit?
Babi headed toward the little spotlight. She was walking slowly along the wall, with her hand flat on the fence, careful where she put her feet, among tufts of tall wild grass. Could there be snakes here? An old memory from her science textbook reassured her. Snakes aren’t out at night.