Chapter 9: Ruse

Ella willed herself not to look in the direction of the men in the suits headed her way, but it was all she could do to keep from lifting her eyes and look at them. She kept her focus on Gus, who was telling them a story from when he was in elementary school. While his French was perfect, he had a bit of an Italian accent. She hoped the men wouldn’t be listening too closely as they came by or that she could take over the majority of the conversation by then. But… would they be looking for her and expecting Ella Sinders to be speaking French? Surely, they didn’t know she was alive, did they?

There were two of them, and they were large. Their slow pace let her know they were scrutinizing everyone. Rome wasn’t touching her since they didn’t want it to be obvious they were a couple, but she could see in his eyes that his muscles were as strained as hers.

A few rows away, the men froze. She didn’t dare glance up and look at them to see if they were studying their group. Her heart was pounding out of her chest. Mary said something that was supposed to mean one thing and was really something else, which had Gus laughing, and telling her she needed to work a little harder on her French, not that she understood. She said, “Oui, oui,” like a poodle on a cartoon television show.

The men were moving again. It was impossible not to see them now as they drew even with the row they were sitting in. Gus’s story continued. Then, one of the men slammed into Rome’s shoulder, hard.

Ella looked up at them. She couldn’t help it.

Tall, bald, with broad shoulders, dressed in a black suit jacket, white button-down, tie, and slacks, it was clear he’d done it on purpose. Luckily, all of those years of wearing costumes in theater and movies had paid off for Rome and his wig didn’t budge.

In Italian, the man said, “Pardon me.”

Rome waved him off like it was no big deal, and Ella said, “He said excuse me,” in French, as if Rome might not understand. Then she said, also in French, “In Italian, you can say, ‘Nessun problema,’ as a response.”

Rome only looked at her because he didn’t speak French, but when she said the Italian phrase again, he caught on. “Oui,” he said, and then turning to glance at the man, he said, “Nessun problema.”

Ella held her breath as she waited to see what the man would do. Did he buy it? Did he know he was looking right at the man he’d been searching for? It took a long moment before he continued on, and Gus praised Rome’s great Italian accent--in French, so he had no idea what he was saying, but Ella laughed and went along with it. Gus launched back into his story, and the two thugs went on down the row.

As tempting as it was to turn and see if they sat down somewhere, Ella fought the urge. She stayed focused on Gus. She could tell Mary was watching the men, though. A few minutes later, she stuck her hand out and grabbed Gus by the wrist. “They got off,” she said.

“What’s that?” Ella couldn’t believe that was the case. It seemed too good to be true.

“Yeah, I see them over there, outside of the train on the tarmac.”

“It could be a trick,” Rome reminded them. “It’s possible those were the two we were meant to see, but there are others.”

It was a good point, so Ella didn’t let herself relax, even though it was tempting to do so. She wanted to melt into the seat and let all of her worries go for at least a few minutes. But with Rome’s cautionary statement, she kept herself on full alert, even after the train had pulled out of the station.

“Now that the train is leaving, can I ask where we are headed next?” Gus asked. “I mean, after the train reaches its final destination.”

Ella looked at Mary, not sure whether or not they should tell him, but she gave her a nod, as if she had already come to fully trust the driver.

Rome answered for them. “We were originally taking the train to Madrid then catching a flight to Budapest,” he said. “Now, the plan’s sort of up in the air.”

“Budapest? I would've never thought to look there if I was your father. That could be a good plan,” Gus said with a shrug.

“Do you have a better plan?” Mary asked, not sarcastic or rude at all, just inquisitive.

A sly grin overcame Gus’s face as he contemplated the answer, and something told Ella when he got around to answering the question, he would definitely have a better plan.