Jace dozed peacefully beside him, as much at home here as anywhere else. When Ben’s attempts to “accidentally” wake him failed, he turned his attention back to the in-flight movies. The individual monitors on the back of each seat were good, but the program selection was dreadful. Already Ben had drudged through multiple films that he never would have watched on the ground.
Eventually he did manage a sort of fitful sleep until the flight crew began serving breakfast with pursed lips and raised eyebrows. Except when it came to Jace. They were all smiles and courtesy with him, even though he insisted he didn’t know any of them. Maybe they sensed he was one of them.
Ben wanted to weep with joy when the plane finally began its decent, which turned out to be extremely gradual because it took another hour before the airplane was on the runway, and what felt like three eternities before it taxied to a gate and they were allowed to disembark.
“We’re never doing that again,” Ben swore while they stood waiting at the luggage carrousel. “We’ll start new lives here in Rome. Anything but another flight like that.”
“I liked it.” Jace stretched contentedly. “It was really relaxing. Back home you barely get in the air before landing again. I’m thinking about applying for international routes. The pay is certainly better.”
“Wouldn’t you be home less?” Ben asked. He already couldn’t get enough of Jace. Any less time spent with him and he would start developing withdrawal symptoms. He could just see himself clinging desperately to a framed photo of Jace while trembling with the shakes.
“I don’t think it would be so different, really,” Jace answered. “We’ll see.”
Local time was three in the morning. Some careful math in Ben’s head told him it was around dinner time back home.
“Hopefully we can still take a shuttle bus to the main terminal,” Jace said, checking his watch. “After that it’s just a few train connections to the hotel.”
“All right,” Ben said, snatching their luggage off the conveyer belt as it came by. “Let’s do it!”
Jace looked surprised. “Really?”
“Of course,” Ben replied, trumping his puzzled look. “Why not?”
“I was sort of counting on you not being up for it.”
“Public transportation, you mean? Hey, I used to live in Chicago, don’t forget.”
Jace sighed. “Well if you aren’t going to insist that we take a taxi, then it’s up to me.”
“Big baby,” Ben laughed.
They walked out of the relatively small airport and were assaulted with offers as soon as they stepped into the night air. A dozen taxi drivers were competing for their attention, making offers in English and a slew of other languages. Feeling completely overwhelmed, Ben pressed past them to where the actual vehicles were. He was vaguely aware of Jace asking him to wait, but he was eager to get into the solitude and comfort of a car. Not wanting to be in cramped quarters again, he headed for the biggest vehicle, a white minivan.
The driver appeared, happily taking his luggage from him. Ben allowed himself this luxury and crawled into the backseat of the car. Jace was soon next to him, tutting something about not choosing so quickly. Then the driver was behind the wheel, but before he pulled out another man took the passenger seat.
“My brother,” the driver explained with a smile. “Where you go?”
Jace gave him the address. The man nodded wordlessly, and guided the vehicle away from the airport. Ben looked out the windows, eager for his first glimpse of a European city. So far, Rome didn’t look all that different from Houston.
“Are you sure we actually left Texas?” he asked Jace.
“Hm? Oh, I see what you mean. All highways look pretty much the same. Wait until we’re in the center of Rome. You won’t believe the difference.”
Ben checked the meter to see if cabs here were as notoriously expensive as they had been in Chicago. Except there wasn’t a meter. That couldn’t be right. He shifted in his seat, scanning the dashboard as casually as possible. He was certain that there wasn’t a proper meter. Nor was there any sign of a taxi license or driver ID. Surely such things were required, even in a different country. How did people know if they were getting ripped off? Were they supposed to haggle the price before they got in the vehicle? He looked worriedly to Jace who met his gaze and nodded knowingly.
“Told you we picked too soon,” he said in hushed tones. “This little trip is probably going to cost us an arm and a leg. It’s all right,” he added when Ben’s face crumpled with guilt. “We’ll be fine.”
The all-too-familiar sight of the highway receded into the distance as they barreled down one of the exits. There was good reason for the universal stereotype of taxi drivers being demons behind the wheel. They zipped past a small village in the blink of an eye, entering farmland, the road dark and empty except for the illumination from their headlights. The two men in the front seat, who had up to now been chatting rapidly in their native tongue, grew silent. Jace tensed up as the van pulled over to the side of the road. Ben reached over, his hand crawling along the seat in hope of finding Jace’s.
The driver’s brother turned to face them, his brow furrowed angrily. “How much money you have? We need more money to go.”
Jace said something in Italian, causing the other man to look surprised, but he recovered quickly. “You give us money, you have no problem.” He raised a hand and wagged a flat metal object at them. A knife. It was still folded shut, but his meaning was clear enough.
Ben felt cold panic. Had he traveled all this way just to die in some remote Italian field? If all these guys wanted was money, that was fine with him. He shifted to reach for his wallet, but Jace’s left hand stilled him. His right hand was already holding a wallet out. The man took it eagerly and turned forward again to examine its contents. Ben wanted to say something to Jace, comfort him or discuss some sort of cunning plan that would get them both out of this mess, but the driver’s eyes in the rearview mirror were locked onto them both.
“This all?” the brother demanded.
“That’s 200,000 lira!” Jace replied.
“That nothing!” the brother spat back.
“Well, it’s all we have,” Jace said. “Everyone uses credit cards these days.”
The man looked skeptically at Ben, who shook his head in what he hoped was a convincing manner. He did have money on him, and he was more than willing to give it up, but he didn’t want to prove Jace a liar. Who knew how the men would react then?
“Get out,” the driver said.
“Fine.” Jace nodded to him that they should exit, but Ben faltered.
He didn’t like the idea of being abandoned in the middle of nowhere any more than he liked being robbed. The audacity of the suggestion incensed him, causing his panic to recede as he slowly saw red. “You can’t leave us here!”
“Your hotel not far,” the brother said in friendly tones, as if he were performing a public service. “You walk that way. Half hour, you there.”
“You just took all our money,” Ben retorted. “You can at least drive us the rest of the way there!”
“Ben--” Jace tried.
“No! I’m not getting out of the car. Go ahead and cut us up! Stain your upholstery with our blood and go through the hassle of hiding our bodies. I don’t care. Or you can take us to the hotel. You decide!”
Ben could barely breathe by the time he was finished. The two brothers yammered at each other angrily for a few moments before finally reaching a conclusion.
“We take you,” the brother said moodily.