On the Run

6 - Tesoro

Daniela had her foot pushed down on the pedal, her hands gripped the leather wheel as she weaved the car through the roads and traffic of Montalbano Jonico. The sun was at its highest point, blaring down on the gorgeous city below. The air was still cold and crisp, yet the sun deceived the Italian citizens time and time again with its inviting brightness and the clear blue skies.

Lorenzo had finally grown calm enough to slot in his seat belt, but he was still peering over his shoulder every minute or so, the paranoia within him having him captive. Mia did her best to look nonchalant, sitting with her arm propped up against the window, her head leaning on her palm while her other hand gently played with her chocolate brown curls that rested over her shoulders.

"Can we even trust you, signora?" Lorenzo piped up from the back, peering around to look at Daniela's side profile; her face was seemingly relaxed, but he could see the corners of her eyes and mouth tensing up every few seconds.

"Who just saved your ass?" Daniela said, glancing up into the rear-view mirror to meet Lorenzo's concerned glare.

"Lorenzo," Mia said, turning her head to face her friend, "we have no choice but to trust her."

"What if she's apart of what ever that project is? What if she's an assassin?" Lorenzo quickly said. It was obvious he was on edge, but Mia needed him to focus and not panic every five seconds.

"If I wanted you dead, you'd be dead," Daniela fired back, raising her voice to match Lorenzo's loud worried accusations.

"You see! She just threatened me!" Lorenzo pointed at Daniela, waving his hand in a manic way.

"Gesù Cristo, you're like children fighting!" Mia shouted, sharing her icy stares with both Daniela and Lorenzo. Lorenzo slumped back in his seat, turning to look out of the window. "Let's just all relax." Mia turned away from them, trying to think how a situation like this is making them behave like children. It boggled her mind but she pushed it aside, knowing it wasn't worth it to dwell on it. 

"So when are we going to Craco?" Lorenzo asked after a minute's silence. 

"I have to go back to the DIS before we do anything else," Mia said. 

 The car almost came to a full stop when Daniela pulled her foot from the break. She then pressed her foot down again, looking over at Mia with a blatant look of confusion. "And why exactly do you need to go back there?" She asked. 

"There's things on my computer that I need, things that prove that Caterina's death was foul play," Mia said. Saying her partner's name still stung. They had spent many cases together and become real friends, something which Mia wasn't prone to at all. And in some way, she was doing this for Caterina. She didn't want her death to be in vain. 

"Mia, if you go back, there's a chance you'll be arrested," Lorenzo said, shifting forward to clutch Mia's shoulder, "maybe even die." 

"I have to do this. You should understand why, Enzo," Mia said. She didn't bother turning around to face him, not wanting to see the probable look of worry that was all over his face. 

"I know. I just hope you know what you're doing, tesoro." 

Mia felt like a fist blew into her gut, knocking the wind right out of her; she could almost feel her throat close up for a split second as her mind clung onto that word – Tesoro. 

 The word held a lethal, traumatic grip on Mia that she had spent years trying to bury and forget about, to leave it in her past once and for all. But hearing it again, in a sentence that was meant to be innocent and caring, unravelled the memories she tried to escape.