Genti took in lungfuls of air, his hands on his knees. He was the first to admit not being in the best shape. Then he heard nearby the high-pitched squeal of a subway train’s brakes. Uptown or downtown? He guessed she was going downtown, as the majority of people were doing. He pushed forward and heard the mechanical sound of train doors opening. He entered a barrel-ceilinged passageway leading from the elevators to the station itself. Suddenly there was a crowd of people coming toward him, filling the tunnel from one side to the other. They’d just disembarked from the train, and he had to fight his way through them. When he reached the platform, he looked up and down its length, spotting Pia farther down the platform.

Genti saw her clear as day. She was right there, maybe thirty feet in front of him. She stepped into a car.

Then Genti made a mistake. While he waited for the “Please stand clear of the closing doors” announcement that always preceded the train’s departure, Genti marched down the platform intending to board the train through the same door she did. Then, as he drew level, the doors closed without warning. Genti banged on the door and looked back toward the conductor about twenty feet away. “Hey, man, the door!”

The conductor ignored him, and the train’s brakes released with a hiss of air. Genti looked into the car. Pia’s and Genti’s eyes locked for a brief second before the train began to pull away from the station. All Pia saw was another guy trying to push his way onto the train.

Genti turned to stare down the conductor, who drew his head into his cab with a slight smile on his face as the train picked up speed. Genti watched it disappear into the tunnel, keeping his eyes on its taillights until they disappeared into the gloom.

He’d failed.

Genti walked back to the elevator. In some ways he was embarrassed that he’d missed the girl, but he rationalized that it probably was for the best. Maybe he would have had trouble getting her out of the station without interference. Besides, he reasoned, if they were supposed to get the boy too, it would be easier to get them together and deal with them at the same time. If they’d taken the girl, the boyfriend might have gone to ground and been hard to find.

By the time Genti had ridden up in the elevator he was feeling much better about having missed Pia. And he had been reminded of what a beauty she was. He looked forward to snatching her off the street and taking her to Buda’s isolated summer house where no one could hear anything going on inside.