Chasing Tomorrow Read online

  “Where to?” Miller asked.

  Before Arianna could answer, two men stepped up and stopped Raul. “Sir, we need to talk to you a minute,” one man said in broken English.

  Raul’s hand immediately moved back toward the gun in his waistband. “Who are you, and what do you want?”

  “If that’s a gun you’re reaching for, I wouldn’t,” the second man said. “You see that’s actually why we’re here.”

  Raul looked at him with a puzzled look on his face.

  The men flashed some credentials which identified themselves as Ordnungspolizei, administrative police.

  “Our job is to verify registrations, identity cards, and various permits. Do you have a permit for the gun you’re carrying?” the officer asked.

  Raul nodded and pulled out a piece of paper from his wallet as Arianna and the group looked on with concern.

  The official studied the paper and shook his head. “I’m not sure this is authentic. It is written in English, and that is my second language. We had a report that you had a concealed weapon. Even with a permit, guns are not allowed in public events in Germany.”

  Raul frowned. “A report? From whom?” He looked over at Miller who had a smug look on his face.

  “I cannot say, but, sir, if you intend to keep this weapon, you need to come with us to see if you have the proper credentials.”

  “I don’t know who contacted you or why,” Raul said, “but this permit is valid for me to carry my weapon everywhere I go. You have been misinformed.”

  “I’m sorry, sir. We have our orders. Surrender your weapon, or you can come with us and we will see if we can straighten this out, but you cannot go with your gun.”

  Raul cursed under his breath. “Well, I have no choice but to go and try to sort this out because I can’t do my job of protecting this film crew without a weapon. There have been death threats on this woman’s life. It is not safe for her to move about unprotected.”

  “She’s not unprotected,” Miller yelled. “I’m head of security and can keep her safe.”

  “Hush,” Arianna said to Miller. “You’re not helping things.”

  “I cannot help you,” the officer repeated. “You need to go with us or surrender your weapon. We have a car waiting right over there. What do you choose?”

  Raul threw up his hands in resignation. Before leaving he turned to Miller. “This is bogus. If I find out you had anything to do with this, I’m going to come back and beat the shit out of you.”

  “Hey! Hey! No need for all this animosity,” Miller smirked. “I assure you I had nothing to do with this. Your credentials are your problem. I made sure my team and I are properly credentialed. If you screwed up, that’s on you.”

  Raul glared at him. “You’re an asshole.” He started toward Miller, but Arianna stepped in-between them.

  “Hold on, Raul. There’s no time for this.” She firmly held onto his arm. “Go and get your permit straightened out, and we’ll meet you back at the hotel later.”

  Raul balked.

  “Don’t worry,” Arianna assured him. “I’ll be okay. Miller and Bailey will be with me. Now go and work this out.”

  He reluctantly turned to join the waiting Ordnungspolizei. “Do your job, douchebag,” he yelled back over his shoulder to Miller, “or you’ll have to answer to me.”

  “Wow,” Miller said, “that guy needs anger management.” He threw his hands up in the air. “I swear I had nothing to do with this registration problem.”

  Arianna started walking toward their waiting car. “I sure hope not, but right now, we need to move. I have a deadline to meet, and we’re burning daylight.”

  A SHORT drive later, the group arrived at Duisburg and drove to a section of the city that housed refugees. It had been dubbed the “immigrant ghetto”. Trash littered the area, store fronts were boarded, and the homes were dilapidated. A barricade blocked the main entrance into the town center.

  The car rolled to a stop, and some local polizei approached the vehicle. Arianna presented her press credentials. “We’re here doing a story on the refugees for a US network. We’d like to go into this area and interview some of the inhabitants.”

  In broken English, a policeman said, “This is a ‘no-go zone’. The police stay on the outside so as not to provoke the residents. I think this is not a safe place for your group either.”

  Arianna and Kevin got out of the car and walked around to the back.

  “That’s not encouraging,” Arianna said, “but these are exactly the people I need to interview.”

  Kevin nodded. “And this is exactly the footage I need to film, but without Raul here, do you think it’s too risky to go in there? I mean Raul doesn’t think much of Miller’s ability to guard us, and I trust his judgement.”

  Arianna sighed. “I agree, but I need this footage.” She stared off in the distance for a moment before turning and walking back to the police. “We could really use your help. We have a small security team, but if you would accompany us, we would be even safer. We would all leave at the first sign of trouble. Please,” she pleaded. “Go in with us.”

  The policeman thought about it a second before responding. “Okay,” he finally said. “We will take a chance and go with you, but be careful what you say or do. These people are unpredictable.”

  Arianna, Kevin, Miller and Bailey, accompanied by two policemen, moved into the town square. Arianna walked down the street, greeting people with a friendly smile. She identified herself and asked if anyone would agree to be interviewed. To her surprise, several residents stopped to talk. Some actually seemed anxious to tell their story. As Kevin filmed, they told about how good life was in Germany with so many different cultures and so much opportunity.

  “This is so much better than where I came from. I’m very happy to be here,” one man said.

  “I hope to find work and further my education,” another chimed in. “It is good here.”

  Arianna had not expected to hear this positive reaction at all. She couldn’t understand why this was called a “no go zone”. People she spoke with seemed friendly and happy to be in Germany.

  Without telling them, however, the police suddenly disappeared and from out of nowhere, a group of masked men suddenly circled the group. As if someone had flipped a switch, the friendly calm scene drastically changed.

  A car rushed forward, coming right for Kevin. He tried to jump out of the way, but wasn’t fast enough, and the vehicle ran over his foot. He fell to the ground in pain. Feeling the need to get what was happening on film however; he bit back the pain and struggled to his feet. He turned his camera on and continued filming the melee, ducking as objects were being chucked at him.

  Miller tried to fend off the masked men, but took a direct hit in the mouth from someone’s clenched fist, and a rock hit the back of his head.

  Men surrounded Arianna and started groping and tearing at her clothes. They were touching her everywhere…her breasts, her bottom, between her legs. She kicked and screamed and tried to fight them off, but she fell to the ground, hitting her head, and biting her lip. A man jumped on top of her, ripping at her clothes, while trying to spread her legs and force himself into her.

  “Get off me, you bastard,” she yelled and tried to gouge his eyes. This seemed to only infuriate the attacker all the more, and he slapped her across the face.

  Seeing what was happening, Kevin, oblivious to his injured foot, dropped his camera, jumped on the man’s back, and tried to pull him off. Like a madman, he pounded the assailant relentlessly until he had no choice but to move off Arianna. Miller and his assistant tried to fend off other assailants, but it was a losing battle. Not until the cowardly police finally returned did the gang of attackers take off and run away.

  “Are you all right?” Kevin asked, helping Arianna to her feet. He gave her his jacket to cover where her shirt had been ripped away. “Let’s get you to the car.” He tried to walk, but winced and for the first time became painfully aware of
the significant injury he’d incurred. “Shit! I think my foot’s broken.”

  “Here,” Arianna said, “lean on me. Miller, get his other side.” Together the trio struggled to their car.

  No one had escaped injury. All were bruised and bloody and in need of medical attention. They crawled into the waiting vehicle and sped off to the nearest emergency room.

  CLEANED UP, stitched up, bandaged, and medicated, the group returned to their hotel hours later. Miller had a swollen lip and a missing tooth from taking a direct hit to the mouth. A goose egg the size of a golf ball was on the back of his head. Kevin limped in with a walking boot. Several of his toes had been broken, and there was a hairline crack in the metatarsal which would take weeks to heal.

  Arianna had a stitched-up gash on her forehead, and her eyes had already started to turn black and blue. Her cheek was bruised, and her lip was cut and swollen. But these were only the outward injuries. There was no telling what emotional wounds she had suffered from being groped and nearly raped. Those were invisible wounds which were surely there and certainly significant.

  Raul greeted the group, his anguish and rage palpable. He rushed over to Arianna and put his arm around her. “I am so sorry, Arianna. I should have been there. I could have stopped this. That permit thing was totally bogus. It was almost like someone purposely pulled me away from my job. If I ever find out who made that false claim, there’ll be all hell to pay.”

  “It’s okay,” Arianna replied feebly, tired, dazed, and in a bit of shock. “You probably would have been hurt, too if you’d been there.” She moved slowly toward the elevator, stopped and wobbled a bit, before nearly passing out. Raul caught her before she fell.

  “Oh,” she paused and put her hand to her head. “Wow, I think the pain meds they gave me are making me dizzy.” She leaned on Raul who helped her into the elevator. “The police abandoned us and left us in the middle of all that trouble. I couldn’t believe it.”

  “It’s because the police are not safe there, either. I would have stopped things in a hurry. I have a gun, and I would have used it.”

  The elevator opened, and they made their way to the room. “That’s just it,” Arianna said, still holding onto Raul’s arm, “if you shot someone then you’d be arrested, and be in even more trouble.”

  Raul shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. Zach would have seen to that.” He opened the door for her to enter. “You have no idea how high up my clearance goes. They would have never prosecuted me, but it’s a moot point now. Only thing I’m sure of is, someone is going to pay for this.”

  Pity the poor bastard once Zach finds him.

  COLOGNE, GERMANY

  Good morning, everyone,” Arianna said to Kevin and Raul, drinking coffee and finishing a continental breakfast in their suite. “How’s your foot?” she asked Kevin.

  “Thanks to some nice pain medication, I’m hanging in there. The walking boot helps since I can’t get a shoe on. And you? You doing okay?”

  She poured a cup of coffee and sat down. “My face is pretty beat up, and I ache all over, but I’ll survive. Like you, I’ll take my pain meds and keep going.”

  “Uh…” Kevin began, “uh, there’s no need for you to rush back to work, Arianna. You’ve been through a lot, so take a day off and rest.”

  She shook her head and waved him off. “I got a call from Monica. She told me there’s going to be a protest and counter-protest at the central train station today. One group will be protesting the mass immigration and actions of many of the refugees, and the other group will be marching in favor of the country’s mass immigration. This is exactly the kind of material I need for my report.”

  “Yesterday was rough,” Raul said. “I agree with Kevin. Give yourself some time to recoup.”

  Arianna leaned forward in her chair. “Look, guys. I appreciate your concern, but I am not going to let what happened deter me from doing my job. I refuse to be a victim. I’m going right back after this story so, gentlemen, finish your breakfast and get ready to go back to work.”

  Kevin shook his head and smiled. “You’re such a trooper, little sis, but, uh, look. What you went through was rough. I can’t even imagine what you must be feeling…external injuries sure, but internally…and well, so I’m probably the wrong person for this, but if you feel like you need to talk to someone about, uh…about what happened or anything, I’m here for you.”

  Arianna reached across the table and took his hand. “Kevin, my dearest friend, I appreciate your thoughtfulness, but I’m fine. I just want to forget what happened and move on, okay?” She rose and started toward her bedroom. “We’re leaving in ten minutes, so everyone mount up. We have a deadline to meet.”

  As soon as she left the room, Kevin looked over at Raul. “She’s hurting. I know her. She’s trying to put a good face on things, but she’s hurting inside. One day all those feelings are going to come tumbling out, and she’s going to crash. Hope someone’s there to hold her up…me or maybe you, maybe Zach. Someone.” He limped over to where his camera bag was. “For now, though, it looks like we’re off to the races.”

  “GOD, ARIANNA,” Dan Miller said when she informed him of her plans to go back to work. “I think after what happened yesterday, you might want to take the day off and rest. I know I am. I’m hurting, plus I’m looking for a dentist who can fix my tooth. You’ve got Raul. You shouldn’t need me anyway.”

  Arianna was instantly angry. What a wimp! She needed security, and she needed it now, not that he’d been any help the day before. “Sure. No problem. Raul will be with me.”

  Raul, overhearing the conversation, shook his head in disgust. “Don’t worry about it. He’s useless anyway. I got this.”

  Arianna smiled and squeezed his arm. “Well, all right then. Let’s go.”

  The group stepped out of their car at Cologne’s central train station and was met by an annoying chorus of shrill whistles and tin pan lids being clapped together like cymbals. A feminist flash mob had formed up to protest the recent mass sexual assault of women by refugees at a carnival celebration. The protesters were waving flags, and some held banners with slogans like “RAPEfugees not welcome”.

  “Follow me,” Arianna said to Kevin and Raul. “I need to talk to some of these women.”

  She approached a young girl who looked to be in her late twenties, early thirties. “I’m a reporter with a CNS out of New York. Do you speak English?

  The young lady replied, “Ja.”

  “Good, so do you mind answering some questions for me?”

  “I’ll try,” the girl replied.

  Arianna got a microphone from Kevin and moved over to the woman. “Why are you here protesting?” she asked.

  “Simple. We’re making a loud noise to protest the sexual violence against women by the recent refugees in our country. We want to be sure people hear our message.”

  “I understand, and may I ask if you personally have experienced any attacks?”

  “I was at a carnival when a group of men surrounded me and my friend and started grabbing at us. At first I thought it was just a joke…boys will be boys kind of thing, but soon I realized it was no joke. They touched us everywhere. I eventually got away but not before they stole my wallet and my cell phone. It was horrible.”

  “We will not give up our right to move freely here in Cologne,” interjected a sixty-something woman standing nearby.

  Arianna turned her mic toward her. “And who is to blame for all this trouble?”

  “Easy. It’s those young, testosterone-driven refugees with their images of women straight out of the Middle Ages. We will not tolerate this is Germany.”

  “Thank you,” Arianna said and signaled to Kevin that was a wrap. “Let’s go talk to the counter-protesters. Time to get their point of view.”

  They walked across the plaza to the other side of the train station where two more groups of protesters had faced off. If the feminist protest had been a loud, but genial atmosphere, what they encounte
red on the other side was totally the opposite. The place was flooded with police as two angry mobs yelled at each other.

  One group, supporters of the refugees, held signs that said “Nazis out. Refugees welcome” and chanted “Racists, go home”. They were angry at the anti-refugee protesters and screamed obscenities while flipping them off.

  Kevin and Arianna began to get themselves organized for this round of interviews. Raul put his hand on Arianna’s arm. “Don’t go into the middle of this crowd, and if I say it’s time to go, don’t argue. Just leave with me at once.”

  “Sure, no problem. I’ll only interview those on the fringes,” she replied. She moved over to a woman standing by herself. “Why are you here today?” she asked.

  “I’m protesting the Islamophobic movement in my country. We should be tolerant and welcome these refugees.”

  “These male Muslim attackers are oppressed,” another person said. “The feminist protesters are Nazis who won’t give these people a chance. German men are rapists, too.”

  “So it is okay for these men to act like this then?” Arianna asked.

  “No, of course it is not right, but they don’t see sexy girls in their country. When they come here, they see girls as if they are naked in front of them.”

  “And you believe this excuses their behavior?”

  “Nein, but you can’t paint everyone with the same broad brush. I work in a refugee center and have been treated with nothing but respect by these young men, so it’s wrong to blame all of these people who came here to escape war and danger in their own countries.”

  “Very good, then,” Arianna said. “Thank you.” She turned her attention to the anti-refugee protesters facing off against the pro-refugee group. Those people were chanting “Refugees are a cancer. Deportation is the cure.”