The Challenge of the Legion

by Oscar Luis Rigiroli

  "Stop the car there. I'll replace you at the steering wheel.”

  Also following his own habit, the man did what was requested. In fact the routine according to which Lian made her decisions prevail was based on the acquiescence of her partner in obeying them, in a dynamic that the young woman had been imposing from the first moment in which they had met in Beijing. That prevalence of her soft-power was very rewarding for the girl, especially after what she had discovered of her own feelings in the previous dream. Lian had the man she had chosen from the beginning of their relationship, she was certain of her feelings toward him, had no doubt that he reciprocated them, and at last she knew she had the helm in her hands. She had never suspected she would have such a joyful relationship. The woman who had been able to impose her wishes on the rural paternal family by means of both her childhood caprices and tantrums continued to dominate now using her feminine charms.

  Lian took the wheel and continued the ascent to the peaks with a steady hand. This time it was Ivo's turn to sleep and unleash his own feelings.

  ...

  They had already begun to cross areas where the clouds were floating at a lower level than the path. It was not snowing yet, but Lian knew that it would in a little while longer because of the leaden gray sky and the prevailing cold that the car's heating could not attenuate. In addition, the hours of light were being squeezed on the short days of autumn advancing in the mountain range. To their relief the next bend of the narrow route showed a narrow valley just in front of them. The woman drove the vehicle in that direction and slowed it down, leaving it in a gearbox shift to prevent it from involuntarily slipping.

  Ivo woke up with the braking and when he opened his eyes he immediately became aware of the situation.

  "Come on," Said Lian. "Let's place the tent if you do not want to spend the night sitting in the car with the engine off.

  "At least here we are protected from the external cold.”

  "I have sleeping bags in the trunk." Answered Lian. “Besides, I hope you´ll warm me up." As if to confirm her expectation, she planted a kiss on the man's cheek.

  Setting up the tent was not an easy task on the stony ground where they could not drive stakes into the ground, so they had to place it near a rock wall that extended in cantilever to form a kind of roof in order to prevent the night winds and particularly those at dawn to fly it away.

  Ivo lit a small fire at the entrance to the tent where Lian heated the food the innkeeper had prepared for them but still required an additional degree of cooking.

  "You know what just came into my head." She said. "It's the first time I cook for you.”

  "Surely it'll taste delicious. Are you a good cook?”

  "Very good, as I hope to show you when I have more stuff at my disposal. Do you like Chinese food?”

  "In Italy I liked what Chinese restaurants sold us as Chinese food. But I am very demanding, you probably know that the gastronomy in Italy is a very important art.”

  The tent thin fabric still showed the glow of the fire burning in front of it. It also allowed them to hear the roar of the wind that tested the anchorage they had made from the tent to the rock. It had begun to snow half an hour earlier, but the same wind that brought them carried the flakes away from the corner where they had protected their precarious dwelling. They had eaten and drunk and Lian sat on the boy's knees.

  "Now keep me safe from the cold." She said in the feline tone Ivo loved so much.

  "I do not know if I can."

  "What's the use of having a good-looking boyfriend if he cannot have his girl warm?"

  "Boyfriend?" Repeated the young man, smiling, thrusting his hands into her clothes.

  “Oh! Your hands are cold. "The tone was falsely pitiful." And yes, only if you're my boyfriend can you put your hands where you have them now.”

  The next day dawned with a spectacular sky. After the frugal breakfast the young couple crossed the narrow valley and stood on the edge of the precipice. Ivo slipped his arm around the woman's waist and she rested her head on his left shoulder.

  "Do you know what conclusion I've reached?" Lian asked.

  “ No, tell me.”

  “That I love you.”

  The young man smiled looking ahead.

  "Come on!" She urged.

  “What?”

  "Tell me, you love me too."

  “Don´t you know that yet?”

  "Of course I know, but I want to hear it from your mouth."

  Ivo bent his head over her and kissed her lips.

  “I love you.”

  Lian let out a groan of satisfaction. Both youths looked at the magnificent panorama of the wide valley that the clear atmosphere of the morning had revealed to them. The girl was seized by an infinite feeling of happiness as never experienced before. Romantic love is a gift that is not given to everyone and that when it happens is usually fleeting and volatile.

  Chapter 12

  Lian had driven for several hours and after a quick stop to stretch their legs Ivo replaced her at the steering wheel. They knew from the experience of the previous night that they had to take advantage of the few hours of light to advance on their way because with the shadows it was not prudent to drive on the winding path, strewn with rocks of different sizes falling from the tops and obstructing the passage.

  The girl was dozing because they had learned that in that demanding task they should take every opportunity to regain strength. They were coming to a bend and a large stone under the wheels shook the truck waking her up. To the left of the hillside path there was an even narrower trail descending abruptly to the bottom of the canyon, a hundred yards below. Although they were on a moderate upward slope Ivo slowed to take the closed curve since he did not know he could find behind it; this precaution proved providential. Once the vehicle had reached the bend the young man was ready to regain momentum to climb the slope.

  “Stop the car! Brake!” Lian's steady cry and the sudden braking of the car were simultaneous. A second later it would have been too late. A huge log had fallen on the road ahead, blocking it completely. Having struck it would have meant dump and roll along the high ledge toward the bottom of the abyss.

  “Now! Go back at full speed!" The woman shouted again.

  "What the heck ..." The man muttered.

  "Just do it!”

  Without any further hesitation, Ivo began to perform the extremely difficult task of driving backward in an enclosed loop on a narrow mountain trail. For moments the left rear wheel of the car turned in the void and the vehicle trembled on the edge of the precipice. The four-wheel drive took over the situation and was able to get out of the dangerous curve, descending however too fast on the path. With skill the man was able to regain control of the vehicle and go back about twenty meters and then stop.

  "Let's go down there!" Lian's imperious voice again triggered the reflexes of the driver who drove the car in the direction of the narrow path they had seen a minute before descending to the bottom of the narrow valley.

  "But it's a very steep road." It is almost a free fall” Ivo protested while obeying.

  “Do it. If the goats can go downhill, you will.”

  The march for what was no more than an animal trail was terrible. The car was oscillated on both sides with the triple danger of a downshift or a lateral roll left or right. After a few agonizing minutes they reached the final stretch where the track widened leading them into the valley.

  When Ivo was able to stop the vehicle in the background the two occupants were shaking. The boy's head fell on the steering wheel, still gripping it with his trembling hands.

  "Ivo, sweetheart. You're good?”

  "Just let me catch my breath."

  Lian opened the canteen placed between the two front seats and practically forced the boy to drink a sip of water. When she saw that the color of his skin indicated that the blood returned to flow the woman took his hand and said.

  "You have done something almost impossible to ach
ieve. I am proud of your temper. " She let the words of encouragement take effect on the young man and added.

  "But things are not over. Look up there. "As she said it, Lian pointed her right index finger at the far top of one of the mountains that surrounded the canyon. A reflection returned the sunlight.

  "What is that, a metallic glow?"

  “ I don `t think so. It is the reflection of light in binoculars.”

  "Is anyone watching us? Maybe they can come to our aid ... although they are far away.”

  "Maybe they will come but it will not be for our help," Lian said resignedly.

  “What do you mean? Is it an attack against us?”

  "How do you think that huge log came to that curve of the road?" Asked the woman. "Neither in these mountains nor in this valley are there any trees.”

  “Are we in danger? Will they come back for us?”

  "From up there there's nothing they can do to us.”

  "What shall we do then?"

  "Even though my parent’s village cannot be too far away, I do not know these surroundings. Our only chance is to go forward and see where this canyon leads us.”

  Chapter 13

  Fortunately the car still worked despite the jolts suffered in the steep descent to the valley. While Ivo was leading Lian he observed the peaks of the mountains without making any comments. After a while the boy broke the silence.

  “Are they still there?”

  “Yes. The glow is shifting as we move, but there is a crag that will prevent them from continuing. However there may be others placed in other peaks.”

  "I don´t understand who could be interested in killing us? Because if we had crashed through the trunk on the route we would not have done well.”

  The woman hesitated a moment, Ivo urged her to give him an answer.

  "I do not know, maybe thieves, to loot our belongings."

  "For which they should have gone down from there to the bottom of the precipice ... Hum! That possibility is not convincing.”

  "Then I do not know what else to think.”

  At that point the man was convinced that Lian was hiding something, but he preferred to concentrate on the difficult handling and to postpone the clarification of his many doubts for a better moment. The journey continued for another hour, after which the height of the surrounding mountains gradually diminished so that the valley became a relatively open space. Lian watched the outline with a rather obvious uneasiness, which provoked the Italian's curiosity.

  "For now, we're going well, what are you worried about?"

  "People who are hiding in the hills will now be much closer than before."

  “I understand.”

  An idea had suddenly crossed the young woman's mind, somehow clearing the apprehension produced by the situation at that moment.

  “Tell me. Why do you relate the mark I have on my shoulder to that of your ... Venetian lover?" Her tone hid a hint of jealousy.

  “Simply because Federica had done some sort of research at the time, and the result was that there were no marks of similar shape and symmetry outside her enlarged family.”

  "But how can you relate to the same mark in China, thousands of miles away.”

  "You're an anthropologist, you know better than I do about population movements.”

  "I do not know population travel from Venice to China. The Roman legionaries of Liqian are out of the discussion.”

  "It is not a matter of entire populations moving from Europe to China but of isolated travelers coming in the past. I know that among Federica's ancestors there were merchants traveling to the Far East.”

  "What you call the Far East is an ethnocentric name.”

  "You're right ... merchants traveling to China.”

  "It would be a huge coincidence. I find it quite unlikely.”

  The girl assessed the explanation for a while and suddenly let out a typically Chinese chuckle.

  "That would make me a rather strange Chinese girl, with Mongolian and Venetian blood.”

  “The genes of mankind have been mixing for millennia ...”

  The phrase got suddenly interrupted, a dry, strong sound from the windshield left both travelers stunned. A hole in the glass made it clear that they had been shot. Several detonations were heard and a bloody furrow appeared on Ivo's arm.

  “Come! Let's get out of the car. It has become a mousetrap." The woman shouted and then opened the door and threw herself into the dust of the valley. Ivo did the same from the opposite side of the car but when he rolled on the ground he was momentarily disoriented.

  "This way!" The woman's command came from a grassy ditch that was barely visible in the fading light of the autumn afternoon. Guided by her voice, Ivo crawled to her side. Astonished, he saw Lian extracting from her clothes an unsuspected object that proved to be a high-caliber pistol.

  “What the hell! Where did you get that from?”

  "Be silent. I need to hear what happens.”

  Lian looked up, and after a moment she whispered.

  "Look there.”

  Two shadows moved down the hills toward them. The woman took Ivo's head with her left hand and pushed it down. At that moment they heard the unmistakable rattle of an automatic weapon.

  "They're strafing the car before they get close." Lian added in whispers as she crept along the bottom of the ditch.

  "Where are you going?" Asked nervously Ivo.

  "I'm looking for a better shot angle."

  "Shooting angle?" The man repeated unnecessarily, not believing his ears.

  At that moment there were shrieks of Chinese shouting from the shadows that were spreading in the valley. At that moment Ivo, not daring to look out, watched at the woman's position. What he saw froze his blood. Lian suddenly stood with her legs wide open and holding the pistol with both hands made a series of shots aimed at the advancing men. Two agonized cries gave an account of the effectiveness of her action. Amazed the man saw Lian emerging from the ditch, abandoning its protection and moving toward the car, keeping her outstretched arms pointing forward. Ivo was going to shout at the woman not to expose herself but due to the rush of adrenaline he also came out of the trench and followed in her footsteps. The woman stopped and fired two more times at both bodies, one of which stirred in a last rattle. Without looking, she shouted at Ivo.

  "Come to them and take their weapons away."

  The young man obeyed the instructions and advanced with infinite precautions keeping his eyes on the bodies, but they were no longer able to move. He took in his hands the automatic weapons that were a short distance from the men and threw them away from the bodies. Without Lian's warning, he approached with a superstitious fear of the bodies and took out the pistols that were in their holsters on the sides of their waists and took them away from the scene.

  The woman approached in turn and verified that the men were dead. Meanwhile Ivo got into the car and tried to start it without much hope. Surprisingly the engine coughed several times but then started to work. Ivo stepped out of the machine and scoured its outline to see if there were fuel stains on the floor that might indicate that the fuel tank was perforated, but that was not the case. Lian had picked up the automatic weapons from the attackers and watched them.

  "They are the Chinese version of the Russian AK47. Very effective.”

  "Not as much as your pistol."

  "I took them by surprise. ..Now hold on until I can make some calls." She left his weapons inside the vehicle and walked away with the phone Ivo had seen before. The woman spoke for a few moments while the man marveled that she could make contact from the depth of that valley.

  The woman got then into the car and said imperiously.

  "Let's go now."

  The Italian put the vehicle in motion and in a deep tone he expressed.

  "Someone attacks us for no apparent reason, you draw an unsuspected weapon and then kill two men displaying not only gut but also an obvious military preparation. You have a satellite phone wit
h evident advanced technology. Tell me Lian, and answer me without further ambiguity. Who are you really?”

  Chapter 14

  Lian remained silent for a while and the man was about to repeat the question. She was in the middle of a conflict of loyalties and finally made up her mind. She could not keep the man she loved and whose life she was endangering in ignorance of her personality and what was actually happening. Suddenly she began to speak.

  "As I told you the day we met, I am Dr. Zhou Lian, a graduate in Anthropology by the University of Beijing. All the fieldwork I've told you about is also true ... "The woman paused as she looking for the right words to face the difficult part of her explanation." I have not lied to you in anything I said ... " She was silent for a moment.” ... but I am also Lieutenant Zhou Lian of the People's Liberation Army, which as you know is the name of the Chinese army. I am assigned to the Second Division of the Intelligence Department, in an area dedicated to internal intelligence, that is to say collecting information within the territory of the People's Republic of China.”

  "And that's why they're chasing us?"

  Lian did not answer directly but went on with her explanation.

  “My unit is investigating a very intense human beings trafficking from the People's Republic of Mongolia and northern China, through the provinces of Gansu, Qinghai and Tibet. This human trade ends on the one hand in Macao, Shanghai and Hong Kong, but on the other on the Silk Road to Afghanistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and finally in Europe.”

  "What are those people being traded, political refugees?"

  “No. They are basically slave labor to work in China and the Gulf countries. There is a high proportion of women and even girls who are obviously used as sex slaves.”

  "And what is the Chinese army looking for, stopping that traffic?"

  Lian blushed, hesitated once more but finally overcame her reserves and decided to fully trust her man.

  ...

  "Not really ending it but controlling it. Finishing the trade would be impossible because most of these people want to leave Mongolia but then fall into the clutches of human traffickers.”