Soy Alícia Sierra

28. Drive Me

Dear readers, first of  all I want to apologize for the huge silence since my last update. Many  things happening in real life, low motivation/no time to write. Now I am  back to stay and finish this story that has acquired a life of its own  for me. I hope you enjoy this chapter, even though there is not so much  "behind the scenes" as in previous ones. Bear with me, more is coming!  Now to the business...

***

While  after the plane finally landed Alícia made herself ready to get off,  Río remained in his chair staring blankly ahead. He was trying to  concentrate on something the Professor had said, but it had been  difficult to remember certain details. It went along the line of looking  weak should there be anyone filming. Well, in that case he wouldn't  even need to pretend.

They  couldn't have opened the plane's built-in stairs fast enough for her.  She went ahead of the group as soon as they did, carrying her notebooks  and looking around, curious to discover who would be waiting for her on  soil. When se realised she didn't deserve the honour to be met by  Prieto, she had to make an effort to keep her composure and act friendly  towards the colleague she had never met before. Her mind was so focused  on not cursing that she didn't notice Río wasn't following her closely  anymore; he had become slow and unsteady, until he missed the last step  and fell over right by her feet, leaving her without reaction.

In  a brief act of instinct she precipitated herself towards him, but was  cut off by the other agent, who clumsy brought Río to his feet again,  making sure he quickly got in the car parked a few meters away. Alícia  briskly inspected their surroundings and exhaled relieved when she  failed to spot any camera directed towards them.

"Menudo show, eh, Aníbal?"  She laughed sarcastically and closed the door once she had found a  decent sitting position beside him in the backseat. She carefully  fastened the seatbelt under her protuberant belly and directed her gaze  to Río, who had been looking the opposite way hiding a faint smile. It  had been a very small one, but still a victory. The redhead was about to  say something to him, but decided it was not worth it. Her mind was  anyway already somewhere else not very far from there. She was glad they  were driving off-peak and would reach their first destination without  delay.

When the car  halted and someone opened his door but Alícia didn't make any motion to  leave, Río didn't even bother to ask where she was going alone or where  he was being taken without her. He had heard someone say isolated words  about some military facility outside Madrid before his enacted fall. Now  that they were not in the middle of nowhere anymore, he was hopeful  that, wherever it was, it wouldn't be worse than where he had been kept  for the previous weeks. Somehow it no longer mattered. He would have  thought differently had he known exactly what was going on, but people  had been very careful not to spill anything since they had left  Timimoun. Even Sierra had been much quieter than usual. He was in any  case very tired to formulate any sort of explanation for everything that  might be happening around him. His only response to Alícia when she  talked to him while two military agents dragged him out of the car and  away from her was an empty look.

"Nos vemos pronto, Aníbal, pórtate bien."

***

Alícia  regarded the tent for a moment before she entered it. Its large size  reflected the importance of the operation unfolding inside, and made her  hesitate for a fraction of second and ask herself if she was up to face  it, or rather, if she really wanted to be up to it. But then she  thought about the alternative, what would happen if she turned around  and walked the other way. Knowing there would be no going back, she  touched her belly as if to gain some strength from this gesture, and  took a few steps forward until she crossed the threshold. A surge of  energy flowed through her body and reached each and every one of her  cells. Once inside she was Alícia Sierra the inspectora again, free of any second thoughts or insecurities.