A Spy in Exile

The following day, the last day before Christmas Eve, three powerful explosive devices were detonated in three pubs in three cities in England—London, Manchester, and Birmingham. The attacks left twenty-three people dead and more than a hundred wounded. No one took responsibility for the blasts.

In Rome, the governor of the central bank was wounded in an assassination attempt just outside his home. He was struck in the stomach by two bullets fired from a pistol. According to eyewitnesses, a woman wearing a motorcycle helmet shot at him four or five times. After the governor slumped bleeding to the sidewalk, they reported, the woman ran to a waiting motorcycle on the other side of the street, its motor running, hopped on behind the rider, wrapped her arms around his waist, and the two raced off down the street and disappeared.