Deep Sea

Chapter 1 - The man who asked too much

The traces of the escape were all there: broken branches, clothes left on the ground, a sack abandoned in a bramble, thrown there by a hasty hand. The photographer was continuously shooting and Valerio, bumping into two border guards and three carabinieri, was lighting his fourth cigarette.

- An Armenian? And where is he now? -

- For the moment he is at the police station, but I think they will soon take him to Coroneo. -

- Andrea - called the photographer - are you finishing here or are you coming with me? -

- I have enough material. Where are you going? -

- You have the camera in the car, right? could be useful to us. -

The area was surrounded by a red and white plastic tape and in the nearby space there were two carabinieri cars, an off-road vehicle from the financial police and a metallic blue Clio parked. Passing on the gravel road in front of his car Valerio threw his cigarette on the ground and turned on his cell phone.

- Here are the keys, Andrea, please drive. -

They got into the Renault at a fast pace, slamming the doors almost simultaneously. The wheels sizzled on the pebbles and with a quick rear they took the asphalt road.

- Ready Edward? Hi, I'm Valerio, sorry to bother you at this hour but I have an emergency. They just shot a non-EU citizen, a Kurd, a Romanian, we don't know... he was trespassing with a partner, an Armenian... He's in a bad way, we don't know if he made it to the hospital alive... But who? Who do you want to have shot, the financial people, that's what they're there for, right? The Armenian is at the police station, he must have arrived recently, if I can get a scoop before they throw him in... I have Andrea's video camera...

but I don't have anyone with me who understands a word of Armenian... what interview will I do with him if I manage to trap him?... How? No interview? What the fuck are you talking about?... No, the dynamics are not clear at all. It seems they were followed. It wasn't a border trespass, I mean, we're here in Basovizza, do you know where the racing circuit is? Here the only sign between Italy and Slovenia is a tree placed across the path. The two ran away, but from the clues left it seems to me that they were hit more by will than by chance... in short, it could be considered voluntary homicide due to excessive zeal on the part of the financier, I don't know if I understand... -

The Clio was traveling at seventy per hour through hairpin bends downhill before arriving on the karst edge and seeing the city that was waking up a few hundred meters below.

- Yes, I understand Edoardo, you are not interested in the matter... when Rai pays me gold for the exclusivity, you will bite your nails with all your fingers! -

He closed the cell phone door. - Asshole! - he cursed

- So, no interview? - asked the photographer always busy reaching the center at the speed of light.

- Are you kidding me? Look, I'm serious. If the Armenian confirms my hypotheses, I will open a case on this matter. -

- You never manage to take on this job with less enthusiasm, Valerio, since I've known you you've been constantly getting pissed off, at just about everyone. -

- Do you know what my great satisfaction is? When these dickheads of little employees as gray as the dust that has settled on them shake my hand and congratulate me for the award from the trade association or for the reporting of one of my articles in a national newspaper, or because the My speech on a TV show was enlightening. I would really like to tell him to his face what I think about their handshake, but you see, on those occasions I prefer to keep quiet - he laughed, a little throatily, and coughed twice - Do you mind if I light a cigarette? -