I reached the main road on red, getting right up close to the car in front in case it was a short light.
“That’s now at the freight station still straight toward the autoroute. N, acknowledge.”
“Roger that, I’m held at the main.”
Click, click.
The light changed. All the cars in the line made it through, and I turned right, following Lotfi, trying to get closer and back him as he carried on with the commentary. “That’s approaching the swimming pool on the right.”
I heard the hiss of a truck’s air brakes over the net.
“That’s now at the swimming pool. Still straight, speed forty, forty-five. N, acknowledge.”
“Roger that, N’s mobile.”
Click, click.
Railroad tracks appeared on my left, running into the freight station just ahead. I couldn’t be that far behind them. The swimming pool was maybe three hundred yards farther on and I was traveling at roughly the same speed as them in the flow of traffic.
All of a sudden I got a frenzied, “Stop, stop, stop! That’s at the lights before the railway bridge. The van’s five vehicles back, I’m four behind that, lights still red. N, where are you? Where are you?”
I held down the pressle. “The swimming pool, not far.”
“Roger that. Stand by, stand by. Lights green. Wait, wait…Now mobile. That’s left over the bridge. Wait, wait…Stand by. They are going…Wait, wait. That’s them in the right-hand lane…intending right, they’re going to the autoroute. That’s them now toward the autoroute, they are following the river to the autoroute. Acknowledge, acknowledge. N, acknowledge. Where are you?”
Click, click.
He was starting to get worked up again as he took the van through the intersection. The important thing was that he knew I understood where he was and he knew I was behind him somewhere.
The railroad bridge traffic lights were about a hundred yards ahead of me as Lotfi resumed his commentary. “Speed, sixty, sixty-five. Halfway to the autoroute turnoff. N, where are you? Where are you?”
It was time to talk, now that he’d finished maneuvering around intersections, and was on a straight drag.
“At the bridge lights, and held.”
“Roger that, speed no change.”
They were on the dual-lane highway toward L’Ariane, the autoroute way above them and ahead, on the viaduct. If they continued straight on this side of the river, they could take the ramp for Monaco and Italy, or cross the river and head for the Cannes and Marseille ramp. I didn’t care which one; it’d be much easier to take them up on the autoroute, fuck the toll booths and cameras now.
Lotfi had more to say. “Approaching the bridge over the river, on red. We’re going to be held.”
Good, I could catch up. Cigarette smoke billowed out from the car in front, and its radio blared as we waited for my lights at the railroad bridge to change. “N’s mobile.”
“Roger that, N. That’s at the lights, intending left. They’re going to cross the river, they’re going to cross the river.”
I turned right onto the fast-flowing road and the riverbed to my left. Ahead of me were the other two vehicles. I could see the autoroute viaduct ahead and accelerated up to ninety miles an hour, trying to close the gap. “Stand by, stand by, lights to green…that’s left over the river, left over the river. N, acknowledge.”
Click, click.
Lotfi’s voice was still high-pitched, but slower. “That’s halfway over the bridge. They’re intending right, they’re intending right, not for the autoroute, intending right toward L’Ariane. N, acknowledge, where are you?”
Chapter 48
Click, click.
Lotfi came back. “Stop, stop, stop. Held at the lights, still intending toward L’Ariane. The autoroute traffic now is moving on. We are held. N, they are definitely intending right. Acknowledge, acknowledge. Where are you? What if they go into the mountains?”
It was still not the time to talk to him yet. Click, click.
I got my foot down and tried to make up the distance. If the van carried on farther north, past L’Ariane and the built-up area, the roads became very narrow and wound up the mountains on either side. It would be hard to follow a target in that sort of terrain even with a four-car team, let alone two. It would need both of us to keep on top of the van, changing positions often so the same vehicle was never behind the target for long. At the same time, we’d have to keep close to each other, because once we got up into those hills there was no telling if we could keep communications. If the van became unsighted, we’d have to split up and look in different directions to try to find it, which would totally screw everything.
Lotfi came back on. “Stand by, stand by. Lights to green. They’re mobile, right, toward the incinerator. N, acknowledge.”
Click, click.
“Roger that, approaching the bridge, approaching the bridge.”
“Roger that, N. Still toward the incinerator. Speed four-five, five-zero. Increasing.”
“Roger that, roger that, I’m at the bridge, at the bridge.”
Click, click.
I turned onto the bridge and followed the tracks over the stony riverbed. The viaduct and the incinerator funnel towered into the sky to my right. I turned right, and as I followed the other side of the riverbank, I could see Lotfi’s Focus about four cars back from the Merc van. Lotfi was regaining control once more. “That’s halfway toward the incinerator.”
“Roger that. N’s backing. I’m now backing. Acknowledge.”
“Good, good, that’s approaching the incinerator. Wait, wait, at the incinerator, still straight. Now straight toward the apartments.”
Click, click.
Lotfi was sounding a lot better now. “That’s approaching the apartments. Wait, wait. Past the first option left, speed six five, seven zero. It looks like they’re not slowing down around here. N, acknowledge. N, acknowledge.”
“Roger that. That’s me at the incinerator.”
“Roger that, N, that’s past the second left, wait, past the third. Still straight, they’re still going straight, speed no change.”
Driving past the incinerator, I saw the burnt-out shell of the Audi in the dead ground to the right of it, and the skeleton of a van a few yards away that had also been torched.
“That’s now past the apartments, still straight. They’re heading north, it looks like they’re heading out of the city, speed no change. I’m going to need you soon to take. N, acknowledge.” He was getting worked up again.
Click, click.
“That’s now approaching the bridge on the right. Brake lights on, brake lights on! Intending right, intending right, they’re going back over the river. That’s now right onto the bridge. N, acknowledge. N, acknowledge.”
Click, click.
Looking along the line of the rocky riverbed, ahead of me I could see the van crossing the bridge from left to right, with the Ford Focus directly behind. Lotfi came back. “Halfway over the bridge brake lights on, brake lights on, intending left.”
I could see the van’s rear indicators flashing.
“That’s now over the bridge, they’re intending left into the industrial area. I’m going—”
“Don’t go with them, don’t go with them! Acknowledge, acknowledge. L, acknowledge. Don’t do it.”
The van disappeared as it took the first left just over the bridge. The Focus went straight as Lotfi told me
