by Alice Quinn
I ran over it all in my head. Wow, Laroche pulled this one of out the bag! A terrorist attack! Who’d have thought of that? You’d have to be pretty gutsy to try that in this day and age!
The tears were still coming, but I was smiling through them. As we scuttled outside, I started singing a little song to distract the babies from all the frenzy around us. I made it up as I went along.
“Come oooooooon! That baaaaastard’s going to have to explaaaaaain himself, yeeeeeeeah! I hope he’s having a heeeeeeell of a tiiiiiiiime of it! Baaaaaaastard!”
“Mommy! That’th a thtrange thong. A thong with curthe wordth in it? Not nithe.”
I felt reassured. Everything she’d been through and she still had her morals. No foul language in front of my sweetie.
We were standing in front of the station with hundreds of other people. Most of them were waiting to get their trains, but I was sticking around for safety. I wanted to be where half of France’s cops were. I spotted my old cyclist buddy, Antoine, on the sidewalk. He was looking at his watch—must have been waiting for a friend. It was going to be hard to find someone in all this kerfuffle. I waved at him and he waved back. He didn’t even seem surprised to see me with another kid. Maybe he didn’t know the boy wasn’t one of my own. Old men don’t usually keep track of these things. I smiled and turned to leave. I judged enough time had passed. We made our way across the road and sauntered down the street.
We went as fast as we could without drawing any attention to ourselves. When I felt like we’d left the danger zone, I sat down on a bench to catch my breath and calm down.
The weather was acting crazy. A hot wind had come from nowhere, and the thunder continued with the occasional bolt of lightning. It felt so weird. We could still hear the helicopter in the distance. It felt all apocalypsified.
I called Léo and explained that things weren’t looking too good for Murrash and that the children were now safe with me.
“Don’t you go anywhere! I’m on my way,” I added. “I won’t be there right away. I need to rest up a minute and take the kids to the trailer.”
I wanted to go to Léo right away, but the children were my priority. They were exhausted. I was too! In fact, it felt like my legs had turned to jelly. I stayed sitting on the bench for a few minutes. I examined the sky. What a strange menacing color. I had to find a last bit of energy to power through, and I thought about what my next steps could be.
Little by little, the noises around us quieted down. The helicopter had flown off and people were dispersing. There were no more sirens. An armored vehicle sped past us and I caught a glimpse of Murrash’s ugly mug in the back. He was sitting between two uniformed blue meanies. Oh! I liked that! He didn’t see me. I cracked up. It was a sense of relief mixed with nerves.
I rested another ten minutes or so and made a few phone calls. The first one was to Borelli. Miracle of miracles, he picked up. Then he tried to put me off.
“This isn’t a good time, Maldonne! It’s pandemonium here!”
I didn’t react as he probably would have expected. I was very blasé about the whole thing. “Yeah, I know. You’ve got some Albanian fella in, don’t you? All powdered up? Weapons? Suspected terrorist, right? Take it from me, Borelli—put him straight in the clink. He’s a trafficker. You don’t even have to go anywhere near the terrorism thing. It’ll be harder to prove. He’s a dealer. Big time.”
He was flummoxed for a few seconds and then said, “Fine. Drop it now, won’t you? You always have to meddle. You’ll end up paying for this, Maldonne. You need to learn to listen. A little discipline is what you need! Damn it! The guy was armed. So he’s being treated as a suspected terrorist. End of story. OK? So what is it you want with me, anyway?”
“I’m going to give you an address, and I want you to come out on a rescue mission.”
“What address?”
“Just an address, OK? Like a storage place, a body shop or something. Somewhere to hide shit. What do I know? Anyway, I saw Murrash coming out of there. Your Albanian. I’m sure once news spreads of his arrest, they’ll all come scurrying out like the little rats that they are. You’ll see! You’ll be able to pick up some real cases down there! It’ll be full to brimming with evidence.”
“Chances are we won’t find anything. We need to question the guy we’ve got here. And we need the big boss, you know that! We need whoever’s running the show. But look, if you’re giving me an address . . . Well, I don’t really have a choice. I’ll have to check it out or send someone down there.”
“Oh, stop overthinking everything! Just get off your ass and go see what’s what, you big shillyshallyer. The place could be full of drugs! Passage Legoff. It’s a body shop.”
“You’re fucking this up, Maldonne. I might not be able to get my hands on whoever’s running this because of you! I’m sure he’s not where you’re saying he is. And he might even know we’re on our way.”
“Or you could end up with the organist and not just the monkey grinder!”
“And I suppose this works two ways?”
“Yes, it does!”
“What do you want, Maldonne?”
“Erina. I think she’s there. I want you to hand her over to me. No declarations made to anyone. She doesn’t exist in your files, agreed?”
“I don’t know about that, Maldonne. I can’t promise anything. I’m not working on this case alone, you know?”
“You could let her go and pretend she escaped, couldn’t you? Shit almighty, Borelli! Use your imagination! It’s not that hard! I’m asking for a favor! Just this one time!”
He hung up.
I was livid. I really can’t count on that guy. After everything I’ve done for him.
The adrenaline rush and its soothing pain relief had come and gone, which meant that I could now feel my wrist, my head, my ribs . . . the searing pain.
The sky was lit up by fork lightning, the thunderclaps directly above our heads. Kholia was scared stiff. He jumped up onto my lap and put his head on my shoulder. Sabrina smiled at him.
“Oh, it’th nothing,” she said. “When you thee lightning, the cloudth are thrilled about it and they give it a round of applauthe! That’th all it ith!”
“It’s going to rain kittens and puppies any second now!” I declared.
The little ones rolled around laughing and the wind went up another notch. Sirocco. That’s what they call it. A warm and violent wind. The skies blackened further.
The kittens and puppies weren’t there yet, but they were on their way.
59
As I regrouped, I wondered whether I should just head straight to the body shop with the kidlets. No, it was far too dicey. Going back to that place with these two little precious beings was one of the worst ideas I’d had in a while. How much more shit was I planning on getting in? The best thing to do would be to find these babies someplace safe to stay. My trailer would do just fine. So off we went.
When we arrived, Bintou had set up a dining table out front. All the windows and doors were wide open and flapping in the wind. It was a good idea to air the place out. The children ran around, giddy to be reunited and to make a new buddy in Kholia.
On the big plastic table were the remains of their dinner: pizza and chips. I told everyone no more pizza! But it wasn’t really the best time to complain about diets. My children were safe and sound, and that was all that mattered. Everyone was content. The twins had their mommy cuddles and were following Sabrina around as if their lives depended on it. How they must have missed her!
The most delicious smell of melted chocolate wafted from the front door. Bintou came out and bellowed, “Dessert’s ready! Oh, Madame Maldonne, it’s you! Great! Just in time for cake! You’ve brought Sabrina! That’s just wonderful.”
She was trying to remain confident, but I could see she was relieved to see me and emotional to see Sabrina.
“And who’s this little one?” Laroche appeared behind us with a steaming chocolate cake still in the baki
ng pan. He was holding it with the famous orange dishcloth. I couldn’t believe it.
“There you are, Laroche!” I said. “Wow! You are a force to be reckoned with, my friend! Unbelievable!”
He blushed and gave me a little wink. “Hacker. It was my first job, if you can call it a job,” he revealed. He set the cake on the table and rubbed his hands together, laughing. “So, how did it all go off?”
“It worked! I’ll give you all the details later. Basically, the message about the infectious illness slowed him down and then . . . Well, it was spectacular! Total meltdown! Soldiers, antiterrorism squads, men in black, you name it, they all showed up. It was like watching a movie. An exciting one.”
“Yeeeaaahhh!” cried out Laroche.
“I hope you didn’t leave any traces behind!” I said. “And you know what? I still need your help.”
The babas had all ventured back to the table, attracted by the sweet smell. Bintou was dishing out the choco delight. Wow! It looked incredible. I stared at it greedily. She cut me a piece and I wolfed it down in about two seconds flat.
“Léo is hiding out. He’s keeping watch. We think we’ve found where Erina is. I have to go help him. So I need you to stay with the girls . . . and the boy too, of course!
I cut another two pieces of cake and stuffed them into my pocket. “For Léo and Erina.”
Just as I said the words, a huge droplet of water plopped down in the middle of the table. The little ones squealed and took hold of Kholia.
“It’s raining! It’s pouring! The old man is snoring! Come! Quick! Come and hide!” they giggled and sang.
They pulled their new friend into the trailer. Ah! I got it! I’d been trying all day to find a metaphor for the song my mom had sent, but I think she actually meant for me to take it literally. I felt better. Literal rain was easy enough to deal with. She just wanted to warn me. She might have been worried I wouldn’t be dressed properly. Moms are like that.
But I was just about to set off to find Léo, and I wasn’t going to take an umbrella with me no matter what my mom thought. It would slow me down. Maybe a waterproof coat? Nooooo! It was far too warm for a raincoat. I couldn’t deal with the long sleeves. There was just no way. But thanks, anyway, Mom! You’re more reliable than the weather forecast.
“OK, I’m out of here.” And then I turned to Bintou and explained, “This little one hasn’t had a wash in some time. Maybe you could take him along to the fountain to get cleaned up there? And the others at the same time? It might cool them down! And I’d like them to be clean for school tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow is Saturday,” said Bintou. “There is no school.”
“You’re right! I’m losing it!”
“Also, there’s no need for us to go to the fountain. I’ve fixed your water, Madame Maldonne,” said Laroche. “There was a blocked pipe, that’s all.”
I couldn’t hold back. I ran up to him and gave him a bear hug. “You thought you were a ‘nothing,’ remember? And now look at all the good you’ve done! You’ve been an ‘everything’ to me!”
He blushed and smiled.
“We’ll put them to bed soon,” Bintou said. “If you get back late, we might be asleep. Unless that bothers you, of course. We’ll go as soon as you get home.”
“I hope we’ll be bringing Erina back with us! Léo and Kholia can sleep in the same room and I’ll put Erina in with the twins. Sabrina will have to come into my bed. I feel this need to just be with her . . . to not let her go.”
More big drops of rain fell. Giant drops! Each one like a cupful. Bintou and Laroche scurried around the table, clearing up the plates and glasses, the leftover food, and the chairs. They were very helpful people to know!
“Bye, then! See you later! I can’t be sure, but if everything goes as planned, I’ll be back in less than an hour. If it floods, and let’s be honest, it doesn’t look good, make sure you don’t float away in this trailer!” I joked.
And under what was fast becoming a ferocious downpour, I headed to the body shop and Léo.
60
I was soaked to the bone by the time I arrived. The storm had certainly come, and this one didn’t do things by halves. It was bucketing down. I didn’t think I’d ever seen anything like it in all my born days. I looked around the garages and at the back of the building, but I couldn’t find Léo. There wasn’t a single cop in sight either.
Why didn’t people ever listen to me? One thing I did understand was that my mother was right to warn me about the weather. But this was more than raindrops falling on my head. Maybe I had the wrong address? I was blinded by the amount of water falling. No, I knew it was right.
I didn’t know what my next step was going to be. I also had another problem—my feet were getting drenched. There was water running down the street, gurgling around my sneakers, above the soles. It was almost like I was standing in a stream.
Every time I heard a car, my heart skipped a beat. I wanted more than anything for Borelli to show up and lend me a hand here! I wanted to be sure he was going to arrive on the scene! I was feeling it, though. I really believed he was on his way.
But in the meantime, what was I supposed to do about Léo and Erina? I wasn’t sure whether it was better for me to wait for the five-o to come do their jobs (and for me to shelter from the rain someplace) or break into the shithole of a building myself and find out what in the frig was going on.
What if Borelli didn’t show? What if his boss hadn’t given him the green light? What if the bad guys sent for backup and they all made a run for it and took Erina with them? And what if that all happened right now, and then it would be too late for me to do anything about it?
And what if Léo had been taken prisoner too?
There was only one solution, as far as I could see. I had to get in there.
But the rain wasn’t quitting and the water around my feet was rising. It had gone past ankle deep. This was getting ridiculous. I had to reevaluate. The current felt strong. By this point, it was more than a stream—it was a river. What was going on? Shit started floating past me—garbage, leaves, branches. The water was getting muddy and dirty. This was a serious deal!
I waded across the street and behind the buildings, as far as the gate leading to the non-yard. I opened it up.
The water wasn’t going anywhere. It went as far as the eye could see and was now up to knee level. How could this happen so quickly? It was one of those flash floods! God Almighty! I held on to the gatepost. The water now had such a pull on me that I was terrified it would carry me away if I slipped. I held on with everything I had. I couldn’t comprehend how this had just come from nowhere.
This had to be the wildest shit that had ever happened.
In a matter of minutes, the whole area had turned into a natural disaster zone! I should never have made that stupid joke about the trailer floating away! It wasn’t funny in the slightest.
And that’s when I thought I must be hallucinating: I glanced back to the street and several cars that had all been neatly parked just moments earlier were now floating slowly away! Fucking floating cars doing some crazyass waltz in the middle of the road as they knocked into each other and spun around. If the current could move a car, what chance did I have?
I climbed up onto the wall that surrounded the scrappy bit of yard, and from there I scrambled onto the garage rooftops. The water could maybe carry away a car or two, but it would have problems moving a building. I slid along the surface, but I still couldn’t see any sign of Léo. I made my way to the body shop and managed to slip through the first-floor window. Thank God I’m athletic. Wow! It was dry in there!
Phew!
I was shivering all over, even though it wasn’t cold. It must have been a reaction to all the water and the emotion of the day.
I didn’t move a muscle. I was waiting for something terrible to happen. Something terrible was bound to happen! If this place was full of baddies, they weren’t exactly going to be too thrilled about me comin
g in through the upstairs window.
I scanned the room. It was a biggish place. Pretty nice! The way it had all been set up on the inside was a shock after having seen the scruffy mess on the outside. I guessed this was where the boss boys hung out, not just your average badass.
After a few seconds, I thought, Either there’s nobody here or they’re as deaf as dormice or they’ve heard me and now I’m trapped.
I took a couple of deep breaths and decided to snoop around the place to try and find stuff out. That’s when I heard a voice and saw a furtive movement out of the corner of my eye.
I flattened myself as much as I could against the wall. A little farther along, I saw a built-in cabinet. I crept sideways, opened it up, stepped inside, and crouched down. I left the door open a crack so I could keep an eye out.
Footsteps. The same voice. Someone was talking on a phone and he wasn’t speaking French. He was about as noisy as an elephant. He was certainly not making any effort to hide his presence. He’d come in to the room and was speeding around as he barked down his cell, stopping to look out the window at the raging deluge outside.
He hadn’t seen little old me. I just had to hope there was nothing he wanted in the goddamn cabinet. I held my head in my hands. The ostrich move, I call it. I gritted my teeth together to stop them from chattering. And then I chanted in my mind. I’m invisible, I’m invisible, I’m invisible, I’m invisible . . .
He slugged right past the door. He was a big man, but I couldn’t see his face. I could smell him, though. Sweaty bastard. He moved away and his voice faded. I stuck my head out for a better look and spotted a big pair of black boots as they left the room.
Thank God!
It must have been a living nightmare for the cops, with this hurricane thing going on outside. I couldn’t exactly ask them to come to my rescue now. There must have been a whole load of people in greater need.
