As Day Follows Night Pt. 08

5. Don't hesitate to Skype if you need anything. I mean, I know YOU don't NEED anything, but Troy's right yet a-fucking-gain: Doing what we do, the three of us (and soon Susan too) have problems that, as far as we know, nobody else in the world can relate to. So we owe it to ourselves and each other to always keep lines of communication open if one of us needs to talk. We'll both respect that.

Troy says we've got to be going, if we're going to make our 12:30 takeoff. In addition to his having class on Monday, he thinks it might be a good idea to be out of San Finzione airspace before 1. If you get this in time, maybe you can take the helicopter to the airport and say goodbye.

Go Deeper and Understand, Mistress,

Julie*

Helen folded the letter back up with closed eyes and a smile and whispered a quiet "Mmm...thank you, Mistress" to the empty room before calling the roof to tell them to have the helicopter ready in fifteen minutes, only to find that Maria had suggested it before leaving and it'd been prepped for takeoff for the past half hour. She turned on the room lights and scrambled to find something to wear.

* * *

Something was happening between 12 and 2 in San Finzione.

Uniformed policemen arrived and set up posts at the park entrance. Many of them were plain-clothes officers who'd decided to bring their uniforms with them that day and start changing when the noon bells rang.

It'd been a strange week for many of them. Most had spent the past few days assigned to an odd surveillance detail. Anyone who'd asked the Prefect about it was told that it was some readiness exercise that had been ordered by the government. It'd seemed odd to all of them, shadowing a pair of American tourists. Especially since the tourists had been so nice to them: Coming up to their cars with coffee and sandwiches, asking about their personal lives; just being really good sports about having seemingly been singled out for this, especially for having to work a detail that the woman had described accurately as "Complete bullshit, when there's real police work you could be doing."

Conversing with and accepting food and drink from subjects of a surveillance was, of course, a major violation of the rules, but so was wasting their time on this idiotic readiness drill, and all of them who hadn't forgotten that they'd even had the conversations chose to leave them out of their reports. They'd agreed that they may as well guard the city park entrances during their lunch break that day and prevent anyone with children or who wasn't wearing a Zorro mask to enter. So that's what they were doing today.

Well, it felt like a better use of their time, anyway. Most of the rest of the force today had been assigned as security for some special guests who'd been at La Contessa's ball the night before and were giving them a full police escort to the airport. Apparently these people were so important that those assigned had been woken in the middle of the night with the call to show up in parade dress outfits that morning, and right now, every other cop, vehicle, K-9 Unit and horse patrol was on that assignment.

As they turned away families with children and refused to answer their questions about why all these people in masks were being allowed to enter freely, some wondered about that themselves, but then quickly decided not to think about it.

Many of the people in the masks were confused about why they'd come, themselves. Some had been in bars, some had been in church, and some had either responded to a personal ad on Craigslist or met someone who'd responded to their own ad earlier in the week.

Their encounters had all been the same. Some had met a handsome man or a couple, but most had vague memories of a beautiful woman with unusual hair who'd spent their meetings talking to them about their own relationships and love lives. Mostly if there'd been someone in their own lives whom they'd been attracted to and was available but either never considered them or they were too nervous to speak to them. The person had also inquired about how to find the subject of their heart's desire. All had been contacted again the next evening by one of the people and had either been told to move on and that the beautiful couple knew someone else that was perfect for them, or that the couple had a way to make things work between them.

All but one of them were hazy on the details, they simply knew that they should come to the park this day and go to a specific spot. The unusual part had been the Zorro masks, but they explained that the other person would be wearing one too and they should use their best judgment whether or not to reveal themselves to their partner.

But that this day, for this period of time, if they followed the instructions that they wouldn't remember until the church bells sounded at noon, that person would be waiting for them, also in a Zorro mask.

The only one of them who understood entirely what was going on had arrived at her spot. She saw others close by, waiting in their own spots, until a partner showed. Some were talking, some were confused. Others had brought blankets and air mattresses and were laying them down on the ground. She'd brought a blanket as well and was doing the same when the man approached.

A man dressed in the t-shirt and jeans of a laborer was standing there waiting for her. The woman approached. She'd seen this man before, knew she'd talked casually to him, and recognized his muscular body brought on by physical labor despite the Zorro mask, but he seemed confused.

The young woman stood facing him and decided to lift up her mask to reveal who she was. He smiled; a smile she'd seen before, before lifting up his own mask.

"I am Maria," she said to him as she moved closer, standing inches from him.

"Stavro," he responded, though she'd known the Butcher Boy's name for a while.

The Cathedral bells sounded the one o'clock hour. They stepped forward into each other's arms and kissed, as many others were now doing in the park. Others were following their lead as well as they began to undress each other and slide down onto the blanket.

* * *

La Contessa's Eurocopter EC 155 was powered up and waiting on the helipad when she emerged from the castle. Unbowed by the winds pushing down and back from the circling blades, she climbed the little steps into the vehicle and strapped in. The pilot confirmed that she was secure and took off toward the noonday Sun and the city skyline of San Finzione.

The helicopter easily made its way through the few tall office buildings that comprised the city center. The pilot listened to something on his radio before switching on the microphone to address La Contessa.

"Contessa, is something going on in the park. We've been advised to check it out."

Helena had hoped there was still time to hug her friends goodbye, but decided that if it'd been important enough for them to radio her helicopter, it should be checked out.

As the pilot flew toward the park, she checked her phone. The vibrations of the helicopter had caused her to miss the vibrations from her phone, and now she saw that a half-dozen texts and calls had tried to reach her.

They approached the park and noticed that several news helicopters were hovering at the edge of the No-Fly Zone surrounding the park and the old Cathedral.

When Helen saw what was going on in the park, she laughed. Then felt a little hurt, but then laughed again. She picked up the binoculars and surveyed the crowd, still laughing.

It was when she saw Maria riding some young stud for all she was worth that the laughter turned into a cheer and she understood what Julie's note had been talking about.

* * *

Troy and Julie had buckled in for takeoff. They'd gotten a brief tour of La Contessa's private jet before being seated, and there was time to admire the features she'd promised and more once they were in the air.

Troy took his phone out and saw a text from Susan. He messaged her that they were about to take off and should be home tomorrow, then set the phone on his lap as they taxied down the runway.

He'd made an odd request of the pilot before takeoff: If they could see the city park from their windows. He'd said they might catch it for a couple of seconds as the plane turned onto its flight path, but the park itself was a No-Fly Zone and they couldn't go over it. Troy accepted this and asked him to do his best.

Julie's pre-flight martini was in her hand as they left the ground. Troy pointed to where the pilot had told him to look and turned on his phone's camera, hoping to take a couple of shots before they flew out of range.

They looked over the city as the plane ascended. Turning, Troy snapped his pictures quickly before the opportunity was lost.

Most were too blurry to see, but one had come out clearly. They admired the beauty of the park, the old cathedral at the end, and the fornicating people in the park spelling out FUCK YOU HELEN with their bodies. Julie pointed to the spot where they'd told Maria and her Butcher Boy to meet. Both of them nodded and smiled.

They held hands as the plane climbed higher.

END