CHAPTER 6 – Accepting Failure
For the first time in his life, Simon slept in. Signor Beppe, decided not to wake him up, but to use the extra time to come up with an action plan. With a hot caffelatte in hand, Beppe sat silently in the office and watched the security monitors. Whilst in the office he also took the liberty of inspecting the books that Kevin had collected over the years. Kevin certainly had an amazing collection of over 400 books, including encyclopaedias and journals. There were also a section of collectable antique books kept in air sealed, and most likely fireproof, bookcases. All of the books were catalogued in a Tablet computer.
Beppe also noted that, although the old building had the latest technology, he could not see any telephones or Internet access points. This place was a black hole in the communication world, making it impossible to be found by online “spy-catcher” software.
When Simon woke up, Beppe had already finished searching the rest of the house. He had found a secret passage in the cellar, with two tunnels leading in different directions. In one tunnel there was an armoury with all the latest weapons, several ‘toys’, most likely developed by MI6 - including the same toys as those in Simon’s possession, escape vehicles, and a ‘uniform’ room. In the uniform room there were outfits for air, desert, snow, night, and water operations.
Simon, although pleased to wake up to a hot breakfast, was not in a talkative mood. He woke up feeling guilty for sleeping in. He felt deflated that he had missed his dad, and aware that there was little time left before he had to go back and say goodbye to his mum. He had intended to send another message to his mum using the device given to him by Inspector Lau. However, he decided not to, as he did not want to risk having the message traced and thus giving away his dad’s hideout.
“Don’t feel bad” stated Beppe, guessing what Simon was thinking.
“A week ago you did not have a father, and now you are in his home.”
“Thank you Signor Beppe. The fact is that despite having slept in his bed, I am no closer to him than I was a week ago,” replied Simon, whilst moving a piece of bacon around the plate as if it was a hockey puck.
“Have you had any thoughts as to what you would like to do next?” asked Beppe, despite having already devised a plan.
“Yes! Firstly we need to lead our pursuers away from here. Secondly, we need to stop continuing on this path, I feel like someone’s puppet. I keep thinking back to our earlier conversation when you highlighted that I could have been led to you. And lastly, we need to devise an exit strategy” Simon summarised confidently.
“Great! I couldn’t agree more. Any ideas?” asked Beppe, feeling proud of his student
“Well, we could get ourselves away from here and then call Steve on 5555 323 525” replied Simon with a big grin.
“Who is Steve?” asked Beppe confused.
“Our young friend who we met back in Treviso.”
“How on earth ….” Beppe started asking, but was not given the opportunity to finish.
“… do I know this? Well, after I knocked him out, I went through his mobile phone and got his name and phone number.” smiled cheekily Simon.
“Well done! However, we shouldn’t waste such useful information to simply lure him away. Right now, if they haven’t done so already, they will be heading this way to see if they can find you. But I think unless they get a good lead, they’ll go back to Treviso and wait for me there.”
“How can you be so sure?” asked Simon, already half knowing what the answer would be.
“I trained Whisper, remember! Anyway, how are you planning to sever the puppet strings?” asked Beppe sheepishly, having guessed Simon’s reply.
“So far I’ve been somewhat predictable. I get news of my mum’s sickness and I run to look for dad. Being a teenager, ‘they’ thought that I needed some guidance, so they channelled me to my dad’s ex-teacher.”
“What about Whisper?”
“I thought long and hard about this. Whoever is the mastermind would never have relied on a mother to send her teenager alone on an adventure around the world. So they sent an experienced operative to give me a jump start by getting me to Europe.”
“By kidnapping you?” asked Beppe, unsure if Simon had completely assessed the situation, but suspected that he had.
“I think the kidnapping attempts here in Italy were by other agents recruited by Whisper. If he wanted to guarantee success, he would have taken matters into his own hands. Also, both attempts occurred in the middle of the day without an apparent getaway. So it would mean that someone would have seen me being carried away.”
“So, how do you think he was going to get you to Europe?”
“He actually asked me.”
“And you think that he was just hoping that you would go along with it?”
“No! He first paid some kids to intimidate me at the beach. Then, when we made contact inside the hospital, he threatened me by quoting the classic cliché “the hard or the easy way”. And then I suspect he came to my house to use my mum’s health as leverage. If he really wanted to kidnap me by force, all he had to do was to strike whilst I was asleep in the middle of the night. He could have stuck me in a van and kept me sedated until a private jet delivered me to a European destination. Instead, by getting me to go willingly, all he needed to worry about were commercial plane tickets.”
“I’m impressed. All we now need to determine is what the motive is,” added Beppe, speaking mostly to himself.
“I gather by the fact that you didn’t add the ‘puppeteer’ to your comments, that you already know who he or she is” added Simon, also confident that he had worked it out.
“Just an educated guess” smiled Beppe.
“I keep coming back to the same conclusion but, as I cannot work out a plausible motive, I abandon the idea,” replied thoughtfully Simon.
“Go on, stick with your gut. I think that you’ve been spot on so far.”
“Well…. you, Whisper, dad, and most likely Steven have all worked for the same agency. So, as you told me not to believe in coincidences, I think that we are all being played by MI6.”
“But?” Beppe asked, in order to encourage Simon to continue with his analysis.
“But why would MI6 want to use me to find my dad when, with the resources available to them, they could achieve the same overnight? Not to mention the fact that he probably still works for them.”
“Yes. And what makes you think he still works for them?”
“Look around you. Does this look like the house of a retired spy?”
“No it doesn’t” replied Beppe with a smile.
“And you said that dad only ever worked for ‘Queen and Country’.”
“Kid, I think you are spot on. This has MI6 written all over it! But, I am struggling to find a motive. What I can tell you is that this has nothing to do with you finding your papa.”
“What then?” asked Simon, looking completely puzzled.
“Leave that to me. So, how do you plan to stop being lead by them?”
“Stop doing what we are doing.”
“Ok, you have now lost me!”
“I‘m heading back to mum. I sent a message to dad and found his home. And yet, he hasn’t shown up. He knew I would turn up here but, with the exception of having my finger prints left at the door, he hasn’t even left a message”.
“Simon, your Papa’ loves you and your Mamma more than anything else. All the sacrifices that he has made have been for you.”
“Really? No offence, but you haven’t seen him since before he met mum. You’re just defending your ex-pupil. Anyway, I’m not angry. I’d just rather spend what time left with mum,” stated Simon sadly.
“I don’t think you should jump to conclusions about your papa. But, I agree that going back to spend time with your mamma is a good idea.”
“I really wanted this. Mum wanted it too.”
“So your plan to stop being led is actually your exit strategy?”
“Yes.”
“Ok, enough said. Let me show you what I’ve found whilst you were playing ‘sleeping beauty’” joked Beppe.
Whisper and Steve decided to have breakfast at a restaurant in one of the San Gimignano piazzas. This would provide them with the opportunity to speak to a group of people who tend to have great observational skills - waiters and waitresses.
Having found little at the first piazza, they moved to the second piazza where they met an Australian waitress.
Kiara was in her early twenties. She was pretty with thick long light brown hair and intelligent hazel eyes. Kiara, was an only child and had been strongly encouraged to study law by both her parents who were both Queen’s Counsels in Australia. However, to their shock and disappointment, after completing a degree in law with honours, had decided to trade in a career as a lawyer, in exchange for a life as a backpacker. She had found a job in San Gimignano and fell in love with the beautiful ancient city and it’s people so decided to live there, and was in no hurry to return to the life that awaited her back in Australia.
Steve instantly took a liking to her rebel spirit. She retained great details about most people that came to the restaurant - including that of an old Italian man who had a Trevisan accent and, as she discovered later, drove a white BMW. Unfortunately, she did not know where the old Trevisan man had gone.
“Should we try to get away?” asked Simon, whilst staring at a portable monitor that they had been carrying around the apartment.
“No need. They will only find out that I was here. Something they already knew from the tracking device. They might also find out that I was asking about the locals.”
“So Kiara, what do Italians look for when they come here? For example, the old Trevisan, what would bring him here?” asked Whisper.
“Just a break! He supposedly heard about this beautiful town and decided to come and see it himself” lied Kiara.
“I see. I hope he was at least luckier than us in finding accommodation in town,” stated Whisper in the hope of gaining some more information.
“I think he left after a stroll around the town. Finding accommodation with such short notice is almost impossible” Kiara lied again.
“Why is she lying?” Simon asked, whilst listening to her voice in the monitor, thanks to a hidden parabolic microphone installed on the roof of the apartment.
“Not sure” Beppe replied in all honesty.
Both Whisper and Steve left a good tip and proceeded to leave the town.
Whisper sensed that the waitress might have been holding back, but he was also grateful for the information that she provided him. Her hesitation in answering his questions was not uncommon as most people were intimidated by his stature. He did not like her.
Steve found himself mesmerised by the waitress. As he walked away, he promised himself that he would try to come back one day and hopefully still find her here. He was surprised that he felt drawn to someone he had just met.
On the drive back to Treviso, both sat quietly contemplating the last 24 hours.
“I think we should lay low for half a day and then take off. They might be waiting in nearby villages, hoping that their lack of presence in town will encourage us out of hiding” directed Beppe.
“I agree. The only dilemma is that I have to find a way to get back to Malaysia.”
“I gather that you don’t trust going back the same way that you came here, as it could alert our ‘puppet’ master.”
“Precisely. I might have to chance it on a commercial flight. Hopefully I will be able to avoid having my face recognised via the security cameras located at the airport.”
“Commercial flight? Why not go on a private jet?” asked Beppe with a big grin.
“Sure, I’ll just go and break my piggy bank!”
“Who said anything about chartering a jet? In fact, we’ll most likely be compensated generously to use the jet!” stated Beppe, already recalling a telephone number he had used previously on several occasions.
“How?”
“Simon, there are plenty of wealthy people who travel to Asia to conduct business. All we need to do is find one that needs personal security, and we have a one-way flight home.”
“We?”
“I promised to help you out, and that’s exactly what I’ll do. Besides, I always wanted to see Penang.”
“I don’t know what to say. You’ve already done so much for me,” replied Simon feeling overwhelmed by Beppe’s generosity and care.
“Simon, helping you gives me more pleasure than you can imagine.”
“Thank you” stated Simon looking down at his hands. He felt embarrassed that a complete stranger should take this much interest in his wellbeing.
“You are welcome. I’m sure that we’ll be able to get on a flight within the next 48 hours” stated Beppe confidently.
“Ok. Meanwhile, how are we going to get to a phone without being seen?” asked Simon.
“Fancy a drive to Florence?”
“Sure. Let’s go and see what is stored in my dad’s garage. After all, your BMW is known and I know that you don’t fancy the idea of travelling as a passenger on a motorbike ” smiled Simon.
The two of them made their way through the tunnel leading to the garage. Along the way they stopped to collect a few ‘toys’ that might come in handy over the next few days.
The garage had multiple cars and motorbikes, even though at first glance only two cars, a motorbike, and the small helicopter were visible. The rest were hidden underground thanks to a Ferris wheel style elevator. To the untrained eye, it seemed that the visible vehicles were simply parked on metal platforms.
“I was thinking of taking the Silver Grey M6 …..”
“….BMW ‘Super coupé’, 380KW, five-litre V10, seven speed sequential SMG transmission, a top speed exceeding 300km/h, and capable of doing 0-100km/h in 4.5 seconds!” interrupted Simon, unable to believe that he was about to be a passenger in his favourite car.
“Ok. I guess you know your cars. Here you go!” called out Beppe whilst throwing the keys to Simon.
“Really?! Although I can drive, my driver’s licence is fake.’
“Well. Consider this as part of your spy driver training module!” smiled Beppe.
Once inside, Simon took a moment to smell the leather, feel the steering wheel, and study the head-up display. Once the car started, the onboard computer system welcomed the new driver and asked to swipe his fingertip on a scanner that appeared out of the dashboard compartment.
Simon complied.
‘Welcome Simon! Your seat and steering wheel position will now adjust in accordance to your height and weight. Please select the suspension and gears setting for your drive” softly stated the female computer voice.
Simon chose ‘Sport’ using the turn-and-push dial located between the driver and passenger seat.
“This is a specially customised version of the M6. Whilst you are driving, would you like me to describe the various features?” asked the computer.
“Yes!” called out Simon still not truly believing he was actually sitting in, and about to drive his favourite car.
Simon, whilst still listening to the computer’s instructions, started driving the car towards the garage sliding door. As the car reached a sensor, the door automatically opened. Simon felt the adrenalin rush through his veins and for an instant forgot all about his problems.
“Not that I’m ungrateful, but why is it that both you and dad lean towards the BMW as your car of choice?”
“Although, performance has always been considered the key feature when selecting a car for the job, the most important aspect is in fact reliability. It is pointless to have a fast car that has a high risk of breaking down. So, although there are numerous fast cars available to us, several of them have delicate engines that require regular maintenance. Over the years the BMW has certainly proven itself as the workhorse of the spy world. Fortunately, as it is also a popular car, it makes it easier for spies to blend
in. Also, as many spies like the BMW, the MI6 Technology and Innovation department has been able to spend a greater amount of funding on this car. Over time they have become experts in the development of gadgets. What I particularly like about this model is that we finally have the performance of top sport cars whilst retaining very high reliability. In my mind, this is the best car ‘issued’ to date.”
“I’d say!! Over 300km/h!”
“Not quite. This model was tweaked to reach 355km/h”
“Great! 355km/h and I find myself driving it in Italy where I believe the top speed is 250km/h!” joked Simon.
“Sure … until you are being chased. Then the speed limit is the last of your concerns.”
For Simon the drive to Florence was too quick. He was completely in love with this car. Whilst on the road he tested a few of the gadgets that did not result in bullets or rockets being fired. He particularly loved the control the vehicle maintained whilst travelling around corners at high speed.
Beppe explained to him that MI6 had asked BMW to reengineer the car to be all wheel drive and all wheel steering.
Another feature that caught Simon’s attention was the night vision system, which would be tested on the way back. According to the onboard computer, at night the front screen was developed to enhance ambient light, so that the driver could drive without headlights. To improve visibility, the car’s headlights would also project infrared light.
Beppe’s favourite feature was the auto drive system where, once a destination was entered into the navigational system, the BMW would drive itself to the destination without the need for driver input.
“You know, if we can’t get a jet to get me to Malaysia, we could drive there!” joked Simon, whilst looking for a car park in central Florence.
It took only a few phone calls from a public phone booth before Beppe had managed to get some bodyguard work. The flight would leave Rome in 2 days and head directly to KL where they would hand over to another team. They would then make their way up to Butterworth via train and bus.
Beppe felt hungry and took Simon to a local restaurant that he used to frequent when he began working as a spy. The restaurant had been managed by four generations of the same family. Beppe liked it because there was no menu and you simply ate whatever was served. Today they found themselves being served sliced Bresaola as their antipasto. Basically, it is air-dried salted beef that has been aged for several months before being served. To add to its addictive taste, the chef also added a touch of cinnamon, juniper berries and pepper. To accompany the beef, olives and Fiandolone bread were also served. The bread was a local speciality made from sweet chestnut flour and strewn with rosemary leaves. Whilst the wine of the day was a complementary glass of Bolgheri - a divine Tuscan red wine made from a blend of several grapes including Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese, and Merlot.
Beppe was surprised and pleased to see the Bresaola, as it was not a local speciality and is traditionally only found in the Italian Alps. Afterwards, for their first course, they were served Beppe’s favourite: “Tagliatelle al sugo di lepre”.
“Simon, the trick is to marinate the hare for 12 hours before cooking it with olive oil and pancetta” Beppe explained, having cooked it on numerous occasions.
“You cook?”
“Only as a hobby” smiled Beppe
For main course, they found themselves staring at a succulent dish of Ossi Buchi.
“Buon pomerriggio professore!’ called out a gentleman whilst approaching from a nearby room wearing a stained apron.
Beppe immediately stood up and met him with a friendly hug.
“Tino, you look amazing!” complimented Beppe in Italian.
“Ahh!!! I am like wine, I get better with age!” joked Tino, who was most likely the chef.
“So, what finally brings you back to Firenze?”
“I decided to take a break and show my young friend here a bit of bella Italia!”
“Hello!” said Tino whilst offering his hand to Simon.
“Pleased to meet you! Eady Simon” replied Simon in Italian whilst shaking the chef’s hand.
“Eady? You are not Italian?” asked the chef, confused as Simon had spoken perfect Italian with a hint of a Trevisan accent.
“No. I’m Australian” replied Simon honestly, despite the fact that he was born in Denmark as a British citizen.
“Ahh, Australia. Beautiful country. I went 5 years ago to visit my brother who moved there when he was 18.”
“Did he go to Australia looking for work?” asked Simon, guessing that his brother might be close in age to the chef and like many other Italians in the 50s, migrated for work.
“No. He ran away from Italy as he did not want to do National Service. Once he got there, he fell in love, married, had kids and never came back.”
“So Tino, what is with all the special cuisine? Last time I came you were basically serving a soup, some basic pasta dish and a thin steak” observed Beppe, whilst admiring the dishes on the table.
“Tourism my friend! They come from overseas with a taste for rich meals. Unfortunately, over the years we started to lose money as many of the regulars passed away and the tourists found our meals too simple.”
“So, how did you manage to keep the prices so low?”
“Father , bless his soul, was always planning for the future. In order to survive, he knew that one day we would have to compete against other restaurants for a share of the tourism market, whilst keeping our prices affordable for the locals. He bought a sizeable farm just outside the city that allows us to grow our own produce. We also opened an up-market restaurant near Il Duomo, which allows us to keep the prices down here for the locals. The irony is that I rotate the chefs between the two restaurants, therefore the meals here are the same as at the other place.”
“I always thought your father was a smart man. Pity he did not like me” joked Beppe.
“Not true! He thought the world of you. He was just worried that you were going to be a bad influence on me” replied Tino whilst slapping Beppe on the back.
“Join us!” offered Simon, seeing that Beppe and Tino were behaving like long lost brothers.
“I don’t know” replied Tino, whilst glancing back in the direction he had come from.
“Mum might get angry if I leave our new apprentice to cook on his own!”
“Your mamma is here?!” Beppe asked excitedly.
“Sure! She’s at the back doing an inventory stocktake!”
A few minutes later, Tino, his mum Maria, his wife Pina, his sons Fabio and Denis, joined Beppe and Simon for lunch, which continued into dinner. By the time they had finished, they had drunk copious amounts of wine and liqueurs and Beppe was barely able to walk back to the car. Simon felt exhausted from all the laughter. Despite repeatedly having been offered to stay at Tino’s home, they decided to head back to San Gimignano. Simon promised the Trassini family that one day he would come back and stay for a few days as their guest.
On the way back, feeling completely drained, Simon engaged the auto driving system in case he fell asleep. To his surprise once he started the car, the computer immediately asked Simon if he wanted the auto driving system to be enabled to take them home. Beppe, in between slurs, mentioned that the computer request was probably triggered by the fact that it was late in the evening.
On the way back, Simon was initially cautious as he feared that the auto driving system might fail. However, ten minutes into the drive, both passengers had completely passed out.
“Simon! Wake up!” Simon heard a distant female voice calling out.
“Five more minutes mum!”
“Simon, Wake up!” he heard again.
“All right!!! I’m awake mum!”
“Master Simon, we have arrived at your final destination. Do you wish to continue your sleep in the car?”
“Master? Final destination? What are you saying mum?” asked Simon, realising that his mum was being very formal for some weird reason.
> “Master Simon, we are at your final destination. Do you wish to continue your sleep in the car?” Simon heard again as he finally managed to open his eyes.
He found himself still sitting in the BMW and staring at the information console. As his eyes started to regain focus, he noticed that he could see graphs showing his heartbeat, brain activity and body heat on the screen. Intrigued by the monitoring system and feeling himself waking up and becoming more alert, Simon noticed that Beppe was also being monitored.
“Thank you. I will get out of the car,” replied Simon, feeling weird talking to a computer.
“Good night!” the car computer called out as it proceeded to shut down the engine and gradually increase the brightness of the interior lights to their full setting.
Beppe was still comatose due to the amount of alcohol that he had consumed during their lunch and dinner. Simon tried without success to wake him so had to carry him to his bed.
Next morning Beppe woke up with the biggest headache. He initially made a real effort to get out of bed and get organised for travelling to Malaysia. However, once he made it to his feet, he felt extremely dizzy and needed to sit back down.
Simon felt excited about the prospect of seeing his mum again, even though he was disappointed that he would return to Malaysia without his dad. He needed to go for a walk. As he was concerned that the apartment might be under surveillance, he decided to use one of the tunnels instead of the front door. A few minutes later he found the entry to the cave. From there he followed a track and made his way around the town. On the eastern side he took a moment to sit and admire the sunrise.
“It’s beautiful!”
Startled, Simon jumped to his feet raised his hands ready to defend himself.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you” apologised the intruder.
“It’s ok. I was daydreaming,” stated Simon, whilst admiring the beautiful girl standing in front of him.
“I’m Kiara.”
“I’m Simon. Pleased to meet you” Simon stated, whilst offering his hand.
“So Simon, just passing through?” asked Kiara, whilst taking up the offer to shake hands.
“Yes. I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“Oh! What brought you here?”
“Visiting family.”
“Family? Signor Squadra?”
“Signor Squadra? What makes you say that?” asked Simon, realising that he didn’t know his dad’s current alias, and there was a small chance that Kiara was referring to someone else.
“Because you have a certain air about you that only one other man in town has - Signor Squadra.”
“Really? I thank you for the compliment. But I think that you might have me confused with someone else” replied Simon, hoping that it was a case of mistaken identity.
“Ok, I lied! I saw you and the older gentleman entering his house” confessed Kiara with a smile.
“I see. Well, I guess that you got me!” Simon smiled back. “So Kiara, do you always approach strangers?”
“Only the interesting ones.”
“Interesting? Me? Really?”
“Well, not really. Signor Squadra is interesting. I found the older gentleman’s interest in Signor Squadra interesting. I found the young man and his intimidating older friend’s curiosity about the two of you interesting. So, you see, by association and your presence here, you are interesting.”
Although Simon should have been alarmed that she knew so much about them, he found himself somewhat disappointed that her interest was not purely about him.
“So, I guess that you are not going to tell me why Signor Squadra, who never speaks of his family, suddenly has two people arrive at his house. One is acting as if he did not know Signor Squadra, whilst the other is referring to him as family.”
“You know Kiara, you should be careful where curiosity takes you.”
“Is that a threat?”
“Certainly! You might end up being disappointed when it turns out to be a boring story,” replied Simon, whilst offering her a big grin.
“Boring? What, when you have two professional guys tailing you?” winked Kiara.
“Well. The truth is quite simple. I am looking for my dad who went missing many years ago. The person who I am travelling with is a retired investigator who I’ve hired. I have come across from Germany and got myself into a bit of trouble along the way. The two people who you refer to as professionals, are in fact themselves hired investigators. They are here to take me back to some underground criminal who I have inadvertently wronged” lied Simon.
“Ha! Ha! That’s a great story. One day I’ll write a book about it. You are lucky that you are so cute, otherwise I would not be so willing to swallow your lie” winked Kiara.
Simon felt excited that she thought he was cute. Until recently, Simon had avoided female friendships, as he knew they would make it harder to relocate. However, in just the last few days, he had twice found himself being attracted to a girl and fantasising about being in a relationship.
“You’re blushing!”
“No I’m not!” defended Simon, realising how immature he had sounded.
“Have you had breakfast yet?”
“No. After the dinner I had last night, I am considering not eating for the next week,” joked Simon.
“Come on, I’ll cook you a great breakfast.”
Simon felt lightheaded by her attention and found himself following her into town.
Over the next hour they shared a delicious hot breakfast at the restaurant where Kiara worked. Simon was delighted that he had all of Kiara’s attention as it was early and the restaurant did not open for another hour.
“So Simon, are you really leaving tomorrow?”
“I am afraid so” replied Simon, matching the disappointment visible in her eyes.
“May I ask why? The truth!”
“The truth? My mum is dying. I was here to find my dad as it is her last wish” replied Simon, fighting back his tears.
“You found him though!”
“No. We got here to late. I don’t know where he went. I have failed.” replied Simon.
“Simon, you have found him! He has simply gone away for a while. But he will come back!” Kiara stated, in an attempt to cheer up Simon
“Thank you. You are lovely. But I do not have the time to stay and wait for him whilst my mum is in hospital alone.” Simon reflected. “I have failed” Simon repeated, accepting the truth.
“You know, there is nothing stopping you bringing your mamma back here and waiting for your papa together. From the sounds of it, there is little that the hospital can do for her now anyway.”
Despite being a great idea, Simon felt unable to accept this as his next step.
“No. My father doesn’t want to be found”. Simon did not want to bring his mum back to Italy just to experience the same disappointed that he had felt in the last few days. His mum was better off enjoying the company of those who truly cared about her -himself, Inspector Lau and Deepa.
“Besides, Florence has one of the best hospitals in the world!”
“Really?”
“Well, at least I think so!” winked Kiara.
“So, enough about my depressing story. What about you?”
“Not much to tell. QC parents, sent to law school, graduated top of the class, and decided to become a full time backpacker instead” confessed Kiara smiling.
“QC? Queens Counsel? You’re from Australia?” asked Simon, feeling impressed.
“Australia? Interesting.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I have told this story to many people, but all of them have assumed my parents were English. That is with the exception of those who were from Canada who assumed my parents were Canadian, those who were from New Zealand assumed my parents were New Zealanders, and those who were from Scotland assumed my parents were Scottish. So Simon, the fact that a supposedly German student who speaks perfect Italian assumes my parents are Austr
alian raises an interesting question” highlighted Kiara, whilst tilting her head slightly and staring upwards in a thinking pose.
“Wow! This morning I can’t seem to keep myself out of trouble!” joked Simon.
“Just as well I’m not your girlfriend. Otherwise I would question if our relationship was built on lies,” joked Kiara.
“Just as well we’re not in a relationship” smiled Simon.
“Good morning professore!” called out Kiara
“Good morning signorina! Is it too early for breakfast?” asked Beppe, glancing at Simon to convey a silent message.
“No problem. What would you like?”
“Something greasy to help me to recover from this terrible hangover.”
“No problem. I’ll get on to it.” And with that Kiara headed for the kitchen.
“So young man, you have managed to get yourself half way around the world whilst being chased by professionals. But as soon as you cross the path of a pretty girl, you fall apart on me.”
“I tried not to give anything away but….”
“…. she is a very bright young lady” continued Beppe.
“Yes!” Simon admitted shamefully
“That’s ok young man. I was no better at your age” reflected Beppe with a smile.
A very long silent moment passed by.
“Simon, Kiara was right.”
“Oh yeah? I forgot that the apartment was equipped with a state of the art listening device” commented Simon, whilst staring across the piazza. “What was she right about?” Simon eventually asked.
“You should consider bringing your mum back here.”
“Out of the question!” Simon instantly revoked.
“Ok. Anyway, I wanted to ask you, how did I get to bed last night?”
“I carried you like a sack of potatoes” laughed Simon.
“Just as well I am a frail old man.”
Beppe enjoyed his greasy breakfast whilst having a lighthearted conversation with Simon and Kiara.
“Signor Beppe. I have failed.”
“Simon. The wonderful aspect about failure is that it provides a definite end to something, and the opportunity to start again with a clean slate. So, forgetting about what you didn’t achieve, what do you now want?”
“I want to make my mum’s last few days comfortable and memorable.”
“So, don’t you think that that could be achieved in San Gimignano? Your mother wanted you to find her husband so that she could be with him one last time. By bringing her here, although he might be elsewhere, she would at least be in his home and surrounded by his things.”
“To be honest, I don’t know what to think.”
“That’s ok. It’s probably time to head off and pack.”
As they stood up, Kiara attempted to entice them to stay a while longer. Beppe thanked Kiara for the great company but insisted that they must depart. Kiara refused their payment for the breakfast and politely excused herself as she had to get back to the other customers. As Simon and Beppe left the restaurant, Kiara called out to wait a moment.
“I forgot to ask, will I see you before you take off tomorrow?” asked Kiara, whilst blushing.
“Not sure” replied Simon, in all honesty.
“You know Simon, if you come back with your mother, you will have the privilege of a regular hot breakfast cooked for you!” joked Kiara, followed by a quick kiss to the cheek before hastily returning to the restaurant.
“Ahh, … and there would be the privilege of regular hot breakfasts!” joked Beppe as Simon had his eyes fixed on Kiara who was now taking an order from an elderly couple.
“Signor Beppe, we had better go upstairs before she comes back and I completely forget to breathe!” joked Simon, as he turned and continued walking towards the apartment.
Beppe spent the rest of the day teaching Simon how to be a bodyguard. They covered entry and exit of buildings, securing rooms, disarming assailants holding knives, evasion and attack tactics when under fire from small arms, travelling in vehicle convoys, body searching, and spotting threats. To practice the protection of clients getting in and out of vehicles, they utilised the garage as their training ground.
That evening they packed their bags, including several ‘toys’ that might come in handy.
“Signor Beppe, I‘m starving! We’ve been going all day and have forgotten to eat lunch.”
“You’re right. I’m also starving! Let’s go and see if we can find something in the kitchen.”
Simon and Beppe found themselves too tired to cook and simply settled for some bread, cheese and a glass of wine. They then headed to bed where they both simply fell asleep still wearing their clothes.
Beppe’s last thought before falling asleep was on how fortunate he was to get a second chance. Simon’s last thought was ‘failure’.