As tears go by

// 23 Aeroporto di Venezia

They occupied a full row of chairs in the Departure Lounge. They had backpacks, duffel bags, and sleeping bags. All their gears were dirty. Their faces showed the full airport look: boredom, apathy, resignation. Their clothes were scruffy as they had slept in them. To anyone they looked three backpackers on a tight budget who lost their flight and had no money to get another ticket, so they did not know what to do other than wait. But this was on the surface, actually they were the three SpN Sergei sent to the airport to blend in and wait his call. An airport was the perfect place to blend in – without arousing suspicion – they could stare around all the time. Now there were just the two men sitting, the Patrol Leader was sniffing around. Their earpieces buzzed.

"It's me. Target is under the Departure board."

"Who?"

"Blondie, ape ass."

"What?"

"Let's grab her. It will be easy as a pie. She is no risk."

"Why do you say that?"

"Look at her and you will understand. She is a pussy, nothing else. One of these pussies you both like a lot. She has to be on the boat as a sex-toy. I repeat, eyeball her you will understand what I am saying."

"Boat? What boat?"

"Asshole. The boat the guy in the hotel room said she was aboard before falling in the sea."

"We are on our way."

"I am right behind her, after a crowd of nips. Don't forget my backpack..."

The two men stood up, put on all their stuff and headed for the departure board. One of them had a bandanna around his head, the other was the crew cut white hair with the wife-beater under the sport jacket. They pinpointed right away the patrol leader, the short, plump woman with the short and tousled hair. She wore a lousy white t-shirt, a handkerchief around the neck, camouflage trousers and dirty mountain boots. They handed her the backpack. They looked like some travellers whose flight just popped on the departure board. They followed the patrol leader's eyes and they knew which one was the woman. Blondie stood in front of the throng of nips, folded arms, nose and eyes to the departure timetable board. "You right... this is easy as pie and must be also a tasty pie." muttered Bandanna man. Blondie was wearing a black leather catsuit and on her shoulders a non-descriptive industrial jacket. In her hand the slung of her back pack.

"She is lovely, boss. Do you think we can play with her a little before handing her to the big dog?"

The patrol leader pursued her lips. "I guess so, but before we have to get her."

"Why you don't call him?"

Her face fall a little. "He will tell to shadow her and to catch her as soon as the chance arises."

"What if she board a plane?"

She shrugged. "We discover her flight number and we call Dibernardo."

Bandanna's face darkened. Traded looks with wife-beater man.

The patrol leader barged in. "I' will shadow her closely. You fan out, you on the right, the other on the left. I am 1, you 2, him 3. you know the drill."

The two men nodded and set off right away. They elbowed and inched through the mob and in a minute were in their position. A moment later, Blondie whipped around and inched through the throng of Nips her way out. She was heading towards her, the patrol leader noted. Blondie brushed her. Tatiana focused on the timetable board and start reading the flights number. It was crucial to behave properly. A talented operative could sense someone was on his tail, it was an instinct but also a skill that could be developed with training. That pussy didn't look like a skilled operative, but better to stick to the rules of anti-surveillance. As soon as Blondie was past, Tatiana turned around slowly and started to shadow her. Blondie climbed down the escalator, unaware of the wolfs closing around her.

Anastasya exited the automatic glass door and noticed in the mirror of the pane that the woman in a white t-shirt and camouflage trousers carrying a huge backpack she saw watching the timetable board behind her. She was shadowing her, or it was a coincidence? Anastasya found herself in front of the taxi lane. Crossed it and got level with the motor coaches lane. She strapped on her backpack, as she was doing so, she glanced over her shoulder. She noticed right away the chubby woman with tousled hair was still behind her. She pursued her lips. She was at the airport to show off in front of the camera, so she was in front of the timetable departure board for a good reason, but why the chubby woman walked out after her from Departures? Usually people walk out from arrivals. Anastasya stopped at the ticket machine and bought a ticket to Mestre. White t-shirt lined-up behind her to buy a ticket too. Then Anastasya walked over to queue to the line of the nondescript people boarding the bus. The bus driver checked they had the right ticket and told people to put big bags in the cargo hold of the motor coach. Anastasya had just a small back pack so boarded the bus without delay.

White-t-shirt tried to do the same, but the driver called her back. She had to put her huge back pack in the cargo hold and lost sight of the target. Hastily she boarded the bus, queuing again to be seated. She eyed around, but Blondie was sitting anywhere. She whipped around and noted the bus driver door was ajar. "2-3, where is she? I lost visual."

"2, shadowing the target myself in the walkway through the parking."

"3, me too... on the way."

Tatiana cursed, pushed her way out of the bus and ran to catch her comrades. Luckily her men didn't buy Blondie's bus trick. Tatiana made a beeline for the walkway. Two minutes later saw the back of one of his men, fifty yards off. It was small as a Soviet stamp. How possible they ran all that distance? She ran. She puffed to get level with them, to see blondie with her eyes. She was the patrol leader, she wanted to be the first. The parking lot was huge. Hundred of cars idled there, covered by a thin layer of raindrops shining in the sun of that grey February. Tatiana had another glimpse of her men, snaking through the covered walkway, between travellers pushing carts full of trolleys and huge cases. The closest the parking to the departures/arrivals, the most expensive. Suddenly something cut her breath and she felt a huge pull at her neck. She chocked instantly, also, if she was able to stick two fingers under the strap that was strangling her. She fell to the ground. The strap was pulling her hard. Her eyes blurred twice. They stopped between two cars. The action had been so fast that none of the people crowding the walkway saw a thing. She saw upside-down Blondie crouched near her and eased the strap at her neck and throat.

"Chi sei?" Blondie asked her in Italian.

Tatiana played dumb and shook her head with bulging eyes.

Blondie snorted, asked in English "Who the hell are you?" and then in Russian. No answer. Blondie fumbled in the pockets and got the passport out. Opened it on the stomach of the woman lay under her. A Serbian passport. "Yes, if you are Serbian I am from Uzbekistan. What do you want from me?" She smiled and tossed it under a car.

Tatiana jerked and coughed.

"I cannot breath..."

Anastasya choked her again.

"What do you want from me?"

This time Tatiana nodded, ready to answer. Before she could do it, Anastasya saw a shadow in Tatiana's eye and rolled over her with a somersault to avoid a hit in the back coming from a crew cut white hair man. Back on her foot, she found right in front of her a man wearing a bandanna around his head. She poked his eyes with the fingers of her open hand, pushed back his face, putting her foot behind his legs. Bandanna Man fell down on his back a huge cockroach. She sprang away zigzagging among the cars.