Coventina

by Jamie Antonia

  “Was there an accident?” the driver asked as the taxi turned the corner.

  “Yes,” Layla said.

  22

  Returned

  Denise watched Odumnus’ eyes light up when Anna walked out of the bathroom dressed in some of Lucilla’s clothes. She refused to put any makeup on, and confessed that it was going to be hard for her to do so after what the savages who abducted her forced her to do. The remaining bruises on her face, neck and arms a painful reminder of what she meant.

  “Odumnus,” Denise said.

  “Yes Denise.”

  “Would you like to come with us to take Anna back to her family in York?”

  “I would consider it an honor.”

  “Great, we are just about ready.”

  “Everyone is getting their things together to change hotels,” Layla said, entering the room.

  “Lucilla has all she needs?”

  “Affirmative,” Layla smiled.

  “Well, shall we?” Denise said, reaching down to pick up her bag.

  “Please, allow me,” Odumnus said, smiling each time his eyes made contact with Anna.

  Denise stopped by Lucilla’s room. “We’re off baby. Be careful.”

  “I think we will be fine.”

  “Keep Diana under wraps just in case.”

  “I will.”

  Layla was waiting outside the hotel with the Mustang by the time they exited. After loading up the car, she made a U-turn and turned left at Via Conte Verde. In the middle of the first block she threw the car into stealth. “Over the Vatican per your request Anna.”

  “Thank you Layla.”

  Denise simply looked at her and smiled as the Mustang smoothly left the ground. You’re a natural at this too, she said.

  Thank you. You can plot the course back to York if you don’t mind.

  I don’t mind at all.

  “Now there’s a view most tourists do not see,” Anna said, as they slowly approached Vatican City. “Wish I had my camera.”

  “Oh we can snap a few for you,” Denise said. Over St. Peter’s Square Denise started recording images, yet another feature that had been built into the Mustang they discovered in the instructions while learning to fly. Bright flashes seemed to emanate from an empty sky to tourists below.

  “Wow. This sure was a nice gift you received here. You must have done something pretty incredible to receive it,” Anna said.

  “We got lucky,” Denise smiled.

  “Such a beautiful city, I must come back with a bodyguard,” Anna said turning to smile at Odumnus.

  The Mustang started to climb and pick up a little speed. “How soon do you wish to get back to York and your family?” Layla asked.

  “Sooner is best. They must be going bonkers, especially since I turned down an offer for my brothers to come and collect me.”

  “Soon it is.”

  The view beneath them seemed to go by in a subtle blur as they passed over towns, farms, mountains and rivers, invisible borders making it impossible visually to know what country they were above. Within minutes they were crossing the channel, and shortly after that zipping over the lush green patchy landscape of Britain. The Mustang descended and slowed, landing finally roughly a quarter mile from Coventina’s home where both families were gathered.

  Youngest members of Anna’s family were walking around the brick foundation of a large circular birdbath in the middle of the front yard when they turned into the driveway.

  “Erin, they’re here,” Brian shouted, before jumping off the small wall and running to the house.

  The tears did not form in Anna’s eyes until she saw Coventina’s mother walk into the yard.

  Denise and Layla were invited to stay for dinner but declined. “We must get back while the trail for Coventina is fresh. There is not a minute to lose.”

  “I don’t know how to thank you for Anna, and she is not my daughter,” Esther said.

  “We will find your daughter. If she is alive, we will find her,” Denise said.

  “I wish I was twenty years younger and could come with you.”

  “Do not share a thing with the Italian police. Contact us instead.”

  “It’s that bad there?”

  “Worse. I must get my friends. We need to go.”

  Esther now had tears in her eyes. Denise collected Layla and Odumnus, who was surprisingly not down emotionally when it came time to leave. “I cannot wait to find Coventina, so I can return here,” he said.

  “Really? And why would you want to return here?” Layla grinned.

  “I think I’m in love,” he laughed, turning to see Anna watching him as she sang a song with family members.

  “Come on, we’ve got work to do,” Denise said.

  “I’m with you sistah.”

  “Lead the way Denise.”

  After keeping the goodbye’s short, and after one last hug and kiss from Anna thanking Odumnus for saving her, the Mustang pulled out of the driveway and vanished while driving north on Stockton Lane.

  23

  Back

  Denise and Layla returned to find Lucilla had gotten them rooms at the Hotel Raphael. “It was not possible to get family rooms, they were booked up,” Lucilla said.

  “So we are at two per room?” Denise asked.

  “Not quite. There is one double room that four can stay in, then there is a room for you, another for myself & Marcus, and another for Venutius and Diana.”

  “Diana. How is she taking things?” Layla asked.

  “She has had a pretty rough life, even before being taken. She is of Greek ancestry. She buried the last of her family a year ago. Her abduction occurred upon her arrival in Rome for a legitimate job, not a con. She never made it there.”

  “She and Venutius?” Denise asked.

  “I can see them hanging out together for a while,” Lucilla smiled.

  “He can help heal her,” Layla said.

  “They can help heal each other,” Denise smiled.

  “Quintus was hoping to have a word with you.”

  “Sure. Send him over in a few.”

  Layla took the key card from Lucilla and lead Denise by hand to their room.

  “Whatcha thinking?” Denise asked.

  “What I’m usually thinking around you,” Layla said before kissing her deeply.

  They had just plopped on a large soft chair when there was a quiet knock at the door.

  Quintus?

  It is I Denise.

  She slid off Layla to let him in.

  “I won’t take up much of your time,” he said.

  “Don’t worry. We were just going to discuss where to head from here.”

  “I wanted to personally thank you again.”

  “Thank Odumnus. We just drove,” Layla said.

  “No, you have done far more than that.”

  “You’ve something on your mind. Please speak frankly,” Denise said.

  “It is a personal sense of helplessness and the unknown that weighs on me.”

  “Continue, please.”

  “In battle, I knew how to lead my men, to protect them. Here, I feel so helpless in being able to offer anything of value.”

  “Well, this is a battle, and a race, to find a woman who WAS someone you were in love with, indeed are still in love with. There are no clear lines drawn. You cannot look across a field and see your enemy.”

  “And this type of battle is indeed something we came to learn in Britannia. The enemy would hide, vanish, lay in wait and ambush with ferocity. Every day was a mystery, not knowing what would happen, who might be lost.”

  “Quintus, their general, for lack of a better way of putting it, had much of his operation come to a screeching halt yesterday, and you and your men are responsible for the victory.”

  “Fighting and winning a battle is only part of what weighs on me. I think perhaps I have been fooling myself to think that if or when we find Coventina she will understand why I returned for her. I wonder if she will
even care, about me, or any man, after what she is being put through.”

  “Well, that is something you and you alone will need to work out once we find her, and we will find her,” Denise smiled.

  Quintus seemed too emotional to do anything but smile.

  He is weeping, inside, Layla said.

  Yes.

  “What is next? What can I do to help?” Quintus asked.

  “For now, nothing. Layla and I will go out alone tonight. It is easier for us to work quickly alone.”

  “If you and your men are needed we will contact you immediately,” Layla said.

  “I see there is no way I can convince you to take me along.”

  “Not tonight Quintus, unless we summon you,” Denise said.

  “I will take my leave.”

  “Quintus.”

  “Yes Layla.”

  “Don’t worry.”

  “Thank you Layla, I shall try not to.”

  24

  Big Bucks

  Denise handed Layla her cup after getting back into the Mustang and sighed. “I miss lattes, I miss Starbucks.”

  “Me too.”

  “Shall we?”

  “If you wish?”

  “Nervous?” Denise smiled.

  “Nervous, who, me? No. It’s just that 1900 years is a LONG time in case we’re wrong about them.”

  “Let’s do this.”

  Layla threw the Mustang into stealth once they turned the corner, where it left the ground, coming to rest in the Imperial Arena on Palatine hill. They could see the bright beam that encompassed their vehicle and brought it up into the large shuttle vehicle of the ‘Friends of the Ninth’ as Layla called them. To any passing eye nothing would be visible.

  Mys greeted them upon exiting the Mustang. Please follow me. Aya awaits.

  “I wish we could move like that,” Layla whispered as they walked behind Mys who seemed to be effortlessly gliding over the floor.

  “Quieter than tip toes,” Denise said quietly.

  Three vanishing doors later they were in a part of the ship they had not seen. There was a table in the center of the space. Please, make yourself comfortable. Two very comfortable looking chairs materialized before Mys left the room.

  “Space, uncluttered even with furniture, until you need it,” Layla said.

  “Now THAT is a Final Frontier for humans,” Denise laughed.

  A door opened in a soft hum on the other side of the room, the golden light in the space increasing slightly before Aya came to a soft landing on a seat that materialized across from where they were sitting.

  Thank you for accepting my offer. Aya said.

  Thank you for having us. Denise said.

  It must be something important to have us here, Layla thought.

  Yes, but first.

  Appearing on the table in front of them was a large steaming pizza with bell peppers, plates and eating utensils, and glasses filled with Coke.

  I heard you talking about not having a good pizza yet while in Italy, Aya said. A green beverage appeared in front of her in a tall glass.

  Layla and Denise looked at each other after eyeing the pizza, then back to the pizza.

  I assure you it is safe. The recipe is from your friends on the Tyrine.

  Well then it must be delicious, Denise smiled before shifting a piece to her plate and taking a first bite.

  “It looks delish,” Layla said.

  “Oh yeah, it is.”

  “Have you tried any of this?” Layla asked.

  Yes. It is a taste I would need to grow into. Our physiology is considerably different from yours.

  “You have something important to share with us?” Denise asked.

  Yes, but it can wait until you have finished eating.

  “I sense we are moving,” Layla said. “Where are we heading?”

  I believe some of the victims in your last assault referred to him as Big Bucks.

  “You found the bastard?” Layla asked.

  “Where are you from?” Denise said.

  The lights in the room darkened and the ceiling projected a view of the vastness of space.

  This is our home, Aya said, as the view took them beyond the home of their friends on the Tyrine.

  “What do you call it?”

  The galaxy is called Sep. Our world is Lis.

  “Lisians?” Layla asked.

  Pronounced perfectly.

  “And the world our legionnaires will inhabit if they choose to return with you?” Denise asked.

  They may call it what they wish. We call in Nin.

  “May I ask your opinion on something?” Layla said.

  Yes.

  “Why are so many species advanced beyond ours?”

  I would offer that the path your species chose was perhaps the worst to choose, riches and greed over the betterment of your species, over the preservation of your planet. It is what keeps so many other advanced civilizations at a distance, keeps an unwillingness to share technology that would catapult your species forward. Because of the path you chose, you have evolved into a violent and untrustworthy species. Interesting to note is that once you have been separated from all that corrupts on your world, you change for the better almost instantly.

  “I will accept the punches and bruises for all humans,” Layla said.

  “You are not the first visitors we have heard that from,” Denise sighed.

  And yet, there are humans like yourself, and Lucilla that are a wondrous exception to all you suffer from.

  “Thank you.”

  Unfortunately, those in power on your world it seems will never change.

  “At some point they will be forced to, but it will be too late I fear.”

  This, Aya said, motioning to the new view on the ceiling, is where you will find Big Bucks.

  The view was that of a walled off complex that easily afforded privacy.

  The town nearby is called Sezze.

  “Is it far from Rome?” Layla asked.

  Roughly 65 kilometers.

  “I see no vehicles at the site. They say he moves about in a large vehicle, a limo,” Layla said.

  He moves about in his choice of three vehicles. Two are housed in this structure.

  “Can you drop us nearby?” Denise asked.

  If that is what you wish. He is in Rome at the moment and will return shortly. He is simply there to instill fear in what is left of his men, to get his business up and running as soon as possible.

  “Anywhere along this stretch of road will be just fine,” Layla said, pointing at the screen.

  When?

  “Now,” Denise and Layla answered in unison.

  25

  Sezze

  “I can smell the ocean,” Layla said.

  “Some people lead such a grace filled life and simply are unaware,” Denise said.

  The Mustang was parked inside the complex in stealth mode.

  “I bet very few residents of that undoubtedly marvelous seaside town on a hill have any idea what exists right down here under their noses.”

  “Oh, with Italy’s history, I bet some can imagine it,” Denise said.

  “Maybe we should just come back when we know someone’s here.”

  “Oh, someone is here, just not the head of the beast,” Denise said.

  A pair of headlights turned off the Via Veneto stopping at the gate before being allowed entry.

  “It’s smaller than I expected, you know, they way his goons were talking about it,” Layla said, as they watched the black Mercedes limousine pull up to the house. Three men exited the vehicle and went inside.

  “No Coventina?”

  “Crap, she may have been inside all this time?” Layla said.

  “We need to make sure she is not in the car, or the trunk, but let’s give it a minute.”

  They watched as lights went on and off in various parts of the building.

  “Ok, it’s been a minute,” Layla said.

  “Yep.”

&nbs
p; They activated their medallions to stealth mode and exited the Mustang. The doors closed behind them in silence as they walked over to the limo.

  “Great, they didn’t lock it,” Denise said.

  “Why should they, this is friendly turf?”

  The interior light came on long enough to reveal an empty interior.

  “Think you can find a trunk release?” Denise said.

  “Nope,” Layla said as she forced the trunk lid open.

  “Fuck, that is disturbing,” Denise said, gazing down at a blood stained dress and a shovel.

  “Come on, we need to get inside,” Layla said.

  They started towards the house when the front door opened and one of the men stepped through it walking quickly to the car. As dark as it was he did not notice that the trunk lid was not completely closed. He reached into the front seat and grabbed a carton of cigarettes. By the time he returned, Denise and Layla had slipped inside.

  That’s him, Denise said. They watched Big Bucks enter the room carrying a drink.

  Come on; let’s have a look around upstairs while they are all down here, Layla said.

  It’s not necessary. She’s not here. He’s actually somewhat disturbed that she is not here.

  Where do you think she is?

  Don’t know yet.

  Would you like me to beat it out of them?

  Although I would really love to watch you do that, let me try it my way first okay?

  Okay.

  Big Bucks was staring at the television seemingly removed from the discussion going on amongst the others in the room as they watched the recording of a soccer game.

  Denise gently massaged his mind, sneaking in to hear his thoughts. Did you even know her real name? she asked.

  Names are insignificant. I never want to know their names.

  What is your name?

  Wassily.

  That cannot be your full name.

  Wassily Grencko.

  Her name is Coventina, the girl whose absence you mourn for.

  That is a beautiful name.

  She is a beautiful woman.

  Very beautiful.

  Where is she Wassily?

  Gone.

  Where?

  I don’t know.

  Try to remember.

  There is nothing to remember. I never ask a client where they are taking someone they have just purchased.

  You sold her?

  Yes, for a very huge sum.

  Denise looked down at Layla’s clenched fists. Control yourself darling.

  If you insist, Layla said.

  Give it your best guess Wassily. Is she still in Italy?

  Yes, somewhere up north, but she won’t be for long. They will sell her for an even greater profit.