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“Ciao, bella.” Mario strode past Shona, holding a tray high over the restaurant patrons; steam rose from bowls of pasta drowned in his mama’s spaghetti sauce. It was a family affair, this little Italy in the middle of Edinburgh.
“Ciao yoursel’, Romeo.” Shona’s mouth tugged to the side as she passed Mario on her way out to the kitchen. Stopping a grin was impossible around this gorgeous man.
Oh, but there was something about Italian men.
Shona shook her head slightly. He mustn’t distract her again this shift. Her waitressing job was great. She loved the vibrancy. The colour. The family of Italian dining. Food and La Famiglia were so important to her bosses. And so different from home. Shona pushed her disappointment at her own parents aside and tied the cute uniform apron around her waist.
“You enjoy your dimostrazione last night, bella?” Mario strode into the kitchen with an empty tray under his arm. The deep-brown eyes in the olive-skinned face with the dark six o’clock-shadowed chin were knee-melting. “You find another cause for this week?”
“What?” Shona picked up the tablet. “That protest outside of Scottish Parliament was important.” A flicker of annoyance flashed through her. “Are you sayin’ I’m not genuine?”
Mario put his hand over his heart. “No, bella. I’m a saying, you need to choose Uno.” He held up a finger. “You cannot fight the cause for everyone, no?”
“Have you seen what’s going on out there?”
“Si. Business is down,” Joey called from the cooker. Steam surrounded him, and delicious aromas of garlic and spices flowed from his direction. The restaurant’s pantry was full to overflowing for Joey had ensured the business was well stocked. The minute things started going sideways, he and Shona had shopped at a local wholesaler. They’d had two trolleys each, which Joey filled with food and other goods.
“All o’ dis.” Joey waved his hands around widely. “It scares the turisti and everybody else.”
“Can I leave early then?” Shona asked her boss. “There’s another rally in front of Parliament this afternoon. I’d like to be there.”
Joey shrugged and held both hands palm up, screwing his mouth to the side. “It’s a your money you don’t a make if you leave early, si?”
“Well, if it’s quiet we’ll finish early so...?”
“I’ll be fine, bella.” Mario stepped to the servery and put the plates of tagliatelle, topped with prawns swimming in garlic butter, on his tray. “You go save the world from this present crisis.”
***
SHONA WALKED ALONG South St David Street, Edinburgh. She’d lose wages leaving work early but there were more important things to think about.
Aye, if the people didn’t call the Government and the banks to account, then no one would have jobs or money.
She reached Princes Street. It was still a mess from the other night. The employees of those large stores had cleared the broken glass and rubbish left by the looters, and boarded the storefronts. She kept walking straight ahead and cut through Princes Street Park, an oasis of green quiet.
Once on the Mile, she turned left and made her way down to the Scottish Parliament building. Its modern styled lines and smooth sandstone walls always made her heart swell. Scotland was modern and progressive, keeping up with Europe. The quotations on the stone walls and the pavement out front reflected Scotland’s past and the passion of its people.
What was Mario on about? This was nae a cause for the week. This was Scotland’s cause, and she was about to join her voice with other Scots. The banks had shafted them all again and everyone should be raging at them and the Government.
The crowd had spilled onto the street, the same as the other night. Shona drew closer and a muffled voice echoed out of the megaphone. A line of clear shields and police in riot gear made a barrier behind the demonstrators who stood on the road and around the shallow water-features in front of the parliament building. The vibe was different this afternoon. Instead of the unity and openness of expression belonging to the previous demonstration, there was a tinge of fear in the air. The line of black uniforms behind the tall, clear, polycarbonate-wall of riot shields, made people nervous. Police on horses flanked the front-guard, their mounts nickering.
“The Government is nae answering us.” The man with the megaphone spoke up above the unsettled grumblings of the crowd in front of him. “They’re draggin’ their feet, so they are. They need to tell us what they’re goin’ tae do aboot it all, aye?”
The crowd replied with shouts of agreement, all mixing together to make one loud, angry response. Horses stirred as cannisters flew into the crowd. The smoke released and spread through the body of the rally. People coughed and they moved away en mass from the source of the smoke. The line of clear shields pushed further in.
Shona’s heart came into her throat. This could only end badly. She spun and manoeuvred her way out of the crowd, thankful she had only made it to the edge at the front.
“Quick, come this way!” a guy in jeans shouted. Shona and those standing near her followed him up the Mile and along a narrow street as others from the crowd ran past the entrance to the street, tear gas swirling and following their escape. Shouting rose to an uproar as more people ran and horses’ hooves clattered up the Mile after them. Sweat trickled down Shona’s back inside her orange work blouse.
“Follow me! I ken a way out.” The guy in jeans led Shona and the others who followed, further into the lane where a side road exited. Shona was on this guy’s heels, needing to get out of there.
No way would they catch and arrest her.
A sharp turn brought them to a narrower lane, which came to a sudden end. A van parked at the exit with its side door open. The guy who’d led them to it turned and grabbed Shona, while another man from the van jumped out and seized a young man who had followed close all the way. The yelps and the sound of the running feet of others escaping the abductors receded behind them.
Shona screamed. The guy who’d grabbed her tied a piece of cloth so it covered her mouth. She kicked, and he grunted, tugging harder on the rag-bit in her mouth. He used it to manoeuvre her against the van where he tied her hands behind her back.
“Hey! You can’t do this.” The young man who’d followed with her shouted at their abductors as they dragged his hands behind his back.
Shona’s vision went dark as the guy who’d manhandled her pulled a bag over her head. He shoved her forward. She landed hard on the floor of the van, knees stinging. The young man captured with her landed beside her and grunted.
“You can’t do—” His voice muffled.
“Be quiet, both of ye.”
Shona kicked out, not caring what she hit. Her shin thudded on a seat post and her breath almost left her with the from it. Her foot collected with something soft and podgy and the young man next to her grunted. His belly, no doubt.
“Settle down.” The command came with a sharp slap to her thigh. Strong hands crossed her feet at the ankles and wrapped tape around them.
“We needed more than two,” one of their abductors said.
“Well, the others ran before we could get ‘em,” the other replied.
“We’ll get more another time.”
Temples thudding and icy guts churning, Shona focused on managing her breathing and paying attention to the sounds and scents of her journey.
She was going to get out of this!