"Let's finish our wine and then plan how to proceed with this Rudolf guy."
Fatima said, "I am not sure that he will become a supporter of Islam and NEMESIS."
Le Docteur smiled, "Don't worry. Intelligence agencies have often used the ruse of recruiting agents with a 'false flag'. We'll pretend to be anarchists and not reveal our true identity."
Le Docteur had never been in Bologna before and was truly amazed by the city. He had heard of its reputation as la grassa (The Fat, because of its exquisite cuisine), la dotta (The Learned because it is the home of the oldest university in Europe and still is home for myriads of students), and la rossa (The Red, because of its red-brick buildings and extreme leftist politics). He saw the narrow, winding streets in the old part of the town, the large open piazzas, the numerous churches and basilicas. He was particularly impressed by the kilometers of arcades which enable pedestrians to walk from one side of the old town to the other side, practically without being exposed to the sun or rain.
Lara and Fatima guided him to Piazza Giuseppe Verdi, on Zamboni Street. He saw the young people sitting in the café's surrounding the piazza, under the colonnaded arcades and forming intimate circles of a few students sitting on the roughly paved stones right in the center of piazza. Fatima scanned the countless young faces and discreetly pointed at a young man, sitting on a folded blanket and leaning against the wall of one of the buildings surrounding the piazza. Rudolf looked drowsy, probably stoned out of his mind, and was not aware of the interest the small group had.
Le Docteur stayed a couple of meters behind the two women. As they approached, the bedraggled dog that lay at Rudolf's feet, lifted its head and snarled quietly. Fatima stretched her hand and patted it gently and the dog gurgled contentedly. She then leaned further down and softly shook Rudolf's shoulder. She pulled back disgustedly, as the pungent odor of an unwashed body and urine permeated the air. The young man mumbled incoherently, probably in German, and grunted something in English about leaving him alone. Fatima turned her head away from the stench, took a deep breath and persistently continued to shake the young man. Eventually he opened one bleary eye and gave a shy smile when he recognized Fatima. He said, "I got tired of sitting alone in the apartment, waiting for you to return, so I returned to my favorite spot. That was a mistake, as you can see."
Lara joined them, holding a bottle of beer in her hand, and the smile grew, as Rudolf extended his hand to accept the bottle. He took a large swig and opened his other eye. His blue eyes were shot with red blood vessels and surrounded by dark black circles. His face was pallid and sickly, and his entire physical condition had deteriorated terribly since they last saw him, just one week earlier.
Fatima said, "Rudolf, why aren't you in the apartment? Let's get something to eat and drink. When last did you have a meal?"
"I am broke. I was mugged a few nights ago, everything I had was stolen, including the key to the apartment. They only left Adolph alone" he pointed at the dog. "I have been lying here, hoping for some charitable person to help me. You are a Godsend, Fiona, my angel and savior."
Fatima beckoned to Lara, and both women managed to pull Rudolf onto his feet. Le Docteur who was watching the entire time laughed quietly when he saw that both women kept their faces pointing away from the young man and trying to breathe shallowly to avoid being overwhelmed by the stench. He intervened, "Perhaps we should take him to our apartment and give him a hot bath. We can order some takeaway food and eat in there."
Rudolf looked at the strange man and saw that the two women he knew were with him. "I am hungry. Get me something to eat now and I need another beer to wash it down."
Le Docteur said, "The girls will take you to the apartment and I'll get you a large pizza and beer. Lara, I'll catch up with you shortly."
Fatima said, "Please get him something to wear. We'll have to throw away all his clothes and he probably has nothing else after being mugged."
A couple of hours later, the four of them sat on the apartment's veranda. Le Docteur was amazed by the transformation of the young man. He was clean, wearing the new clothes and smelling of soap. Le Docteur was not happy to see that Rudolf had taken the liberty of using his shaving kit and aftershave lotion but decided not to make a fuss about it. When Fatima and Rudolf were clearing the remains of the pizza, Lara managed to whisper to him that Fatima made sure that Rudolf got a very thorough scrubbing, and focused her cleaning efforts on Rudolf's private parts, much to the enjoyment of both. Rudolf kept looking at Fatima with eyes full of gratitude — much like Adolph looked at his master when he fed him.
Le Docteur opened, "Rudolf, it was sad to see a young man like yourself lying in his own filth in the street of this beautiful town. You correctly feel that you were maltreated by society." He saw that Rudolf was embarrassed by this show of sympathy, "We, too, think that Western society has lost its compassion, and is run by a bunch of vain capitalists who care only about their own profits. The bottom line is all that matters to them. They no longer see the people who contribute to their wealth — they treat them like disposable tissues to be used and then tossed away." He saw he struck a chord with the young man, so he continued, "We refuse to take it any longer. We want to get back at the people who run this unjust system."
Rudolf interjected, "How can we do this? We are just four people, sitting in an apartment in Bologna."
Le Docteur decided it was time to recruit the young man, "You must have heard of the latest terrorist attacks here in Bologna. You have seen the demise of the two towers, the due tori, the symbol of this town. They are no longer where they had stood for hundreds of years, they were transformed to a pile of rubble in an instant. You must have also heard of the desecration of the Basilica of San Petronio. Do you know who did these acts?"
Rudolf shrugged, "The authorities said they were carried out by radical Muslim extremists. They even showed a video of some organization, calling itself NEMESIS or something, that claimed responsibility."
Le Docteur laughed, "Rudolf, Rudolf, Rudolf, you are so naïve and gullible. When the authorities tell you the sun is shining, always go out and check. No, these attacks were carried out by the two beautiful young ladies in this room."
Rudolf shook his head in disbelief. "Lara and Fiona? Tell me this man is joking." Both women smiled at him and nodded. "How did you do it? How could you do it? Are you crazy?"
Fatima took his hand in hers, and raised it to eye-level, "Rudi dear, look at this hand. It pressed the 'send' icon on the cellphone that detonated the 50 kg bomb I had planted in a motorcycle that I parked between the two towers." She then raised her other hand, "This hand left a backpack with the bomb that destroyed the anatomical theater."
Lara joined in, "I sprayed the black paint and glue inside the basilica. This helped avert the attention of the police and intelligence agencies to the abominable group of Islamic terrorists. They can search for the Muslims as much as they like. We, like you, are anarchists at heart."
Rudolf hesitated, and Fatima laughed and leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss. However, Rudolf kept staring at her hands — the agents of death and destruction, as she proudly admitted. She followed his gaze, "These hands can give you much pleasure, as you experienced a short while ago."