Assassins of Athens ak-2

by Jeffrey Siger

  Andreas let out a breath and walked over to a foot-high white-concrete wall encircling a large eucalyptus tree at the edge of the square. He lit a cigarette and put his right foot on the top of the wall. He stared down the path she'd taken and looked at his watch. Three minutes had passed since she left.

  'So, are you going to come out, or stay in there all night?'

  He heard a muffled word that he was pretty sure was 'bastard.'

  'Lila, you took one of the only dead end paths in town. Consider it a sign. Come out and let's talk.'

  Another minute passed. He first saw the feet. She'd been sitting on the steps of a house about fifteen feet down the path. The rest of her body swung out into the lane and marched straight at him.

  She swung her bag into his belly. 'Carry this,' and continued on out of the square down a path to the left.

  Andreas followed, carrying the bag. He couldn't help but smile.

  The path connected to others leading to Little Venice, perhaps the most popular part of the old town. It was a good choice. More tourists than locals came there. Not likely to run across paparazzi there, either. She stopped at the doorway to a bar with a rainbow painted on the door frame. 'This seems nice.'

  He looked in. It looked like an English pub. Two young-looking men, one blond and one dark, were behind the bar talking to a large woman on the other side. 'It is. It's a piano bar. But once the music starts, it gets busy fast and attracts a lot of locals. Athenian society types too. I have a better idea.'

  He led her around the corner and up a flight of stairs to the veranda of a bar overlooking the sea, the windmills, and sunset. Many thought it the most romantic view in Mykonos. That wasn't his reason for coming there. He came because it was filled with tourists. He chose a table in the easternmost corner of the place; that way everyone would be looking away from them at the sunset.

  'Are you ready yet to tell me why you're here?' He was looking at her eyes; her sunglasses were off.

  She looked back. 'I kept calling and leaving messages at your office. I wanted to know our plans for coming here. You never called back, and when I called your secretary, all she said was you were unavailable and she wasn't sure when you'd be free to return my call. I left two more messages on your phone. One, that I'd been captured by terrorists who threatened to cut off my toes if you didn't call back immediately, and another, that I'd meet you at the usual place and please wear black leather.

  'You never check your messages, do you?' Anger was in her eyes.

  Andreas grumbled something unintelligible.

  'I figured you decided to go to Mykonos without me, or were too busy to be bothered talking to me. Either way, my decision was easy. I caught the Sea Jet from Rafina and, voila, I'm here. If you'd called back, I'd say, "Surprise, I'm here, where are you?" and if you didn't, big deal. I'd spend a day or two on Mykonos. I was sure I'd find someone on this island who wouldn't mind my company.' The anger now was in her voice.

  He shrugged. 'What do you want me to say? There are too many coincidences involving you.'

  She started to get up. He thought she was going to walk out again. Instead, she sat back down, shut her eyes for a few seconds, and opened them. 'You mean bumping into you in the harbor. I just got off the Sea Jet. Check the schedule.'

  'That's one.'

  'Okay, what exactly are you talking about?'

  'I can't tell you.'

  She patted the table with her right hand. She nodded. 'Can't tell me.' She nodded again, drew in and let out a breath. 'Andreas, you owe me. I expect you to tell me why you don't trust me.' Her voice was calm.

  He swallowed. 'Okay. One example. Within an hour after you told me that Kostopoulos was on Mykonos, someone told the bad guys the same thing.'

  He could tell she was struggling to restrain herself. 'And you think I told them?'

  His face tightened. 'That's possible. Though I want to think it's more likely you mentioned it innocently to someone, and that's how it got back to them.'

  'I see. I'm a dumb, gossiping bimbo who doesn't realize what she's saying?'

  'I didn't say that.'

  'Or does just the fact that I'm a woman mean the same thing to you big, strong, all-knowing, macho Greek men?'

  Andreas decided not to answer.

  Lila reached over and patted Andreas' arm; it wasn't an affectionate gesture — more like an enough-of-your-crap one. 'Andreas, you have a lot of serious "trust issues,"' she flashed quotation marks with her fingers, 'but that's not my problem. I'm not your shrink… or your girlfriend.' She paused. 'What upsets me is that you're judging my character based on your hang-ups. I'm trying to help, no more no less. You came to me. Remember? And I didn't want to help. Remember? Unless you think I'm a magnificent actress playing out a part in this conspiracy, you have absolutely no reason to lump me in among the "not to be trusted."' Lila flashed her fingers on each of her final four words, dropped her hands to her lap, and stared out to sea.

  Andreas looked at the ceiling, then back at her. 'So, how did they find out?'

  'How should I know? You're the cop.'

  He drummed his fingers on the table.

  She started talking. 'There are a dozen possible ways. A hundred. I found out by speaking to his hairdresser. Who knows what Christos might have said to someone after our phone call? He chit-chats with practically everyone who is anyone in Athens. But forget about him, what was Kostopoulos doing on Mykonos? Hiding in some cave?'

  Andreas paused. 'No, not in a cave. You know he was in his home.'

  'Brilliant. Last place anyone would think to look for him. At home. And I bet he's kept a low profile, nothing to attract attention from anyone happening to pass by his place.'

  Andreas thought of the Hummers and the major. 'But it's not a place where people just happen by. You don't even see his house until you're on his property.'

  'Even from the sea, by a fisherman?'

  Andreas shrugged.

  'What about gardeners, delivery men?'

  Andreas shrugged again.

  'And his household staff? I can't imagine him without at least a half-dozen. And all of them talk about their employers. It's part of their DNA. Finding good help these days is virtually impossible, finding help that won't talk is impossible. There's a pecking order among domestic help just as competitive and hierarchical as their employers' high-society networks. Maids and cooks trying to impress each other brag as much as Athens' most aggressive social climbers, but instead of exchanging boasts over wealth, it's all in the confidences they have to share about their bosses.

  'All it took was for one maid from his house to mention to a domestic working elsewhere that her boss, the famous Zanni Kostopoulos, was on the island, and every domestic would know. And sooner or later they'd all find some way to pass the gossip on to their employers. Just to let their bosses know how plugged-in they are to what's going on in everyone else's home. And how much they should be appreciated for their discretion in safeguarding their own employers' secrets.

  'Do I have to tell you how many old-line Greek families have homes and staff here on Mykonos? Any one of them could have been the source of the tip to your "bad guys."' More finger quotes.

  'And another thing-'

  Andreas put up his hand to stop her. 'No need to say more. You've convinced me. I'm sorry.'

  She let out a breath. 'But I have so much more to say.'

  'I bet.' He smiled.

  She smiled.

  They ordered a bottle of wine and watched the sunset in silence. Both looked to need the break.

  17

  Kouros and two cops from his GADA unit followed Demon to the Omonia metro station. They lost him in the crowd on the platform but found him at the far end, next to a pillar. Kouros didn't realize what Demon was doing until he saw an angry look on the face of the guy standing behind him. They'd been talking. Thirty seconds later Demon was standing alone by the pillar and the guy was heading toward a train about to leave the platform.

  'Stay wi
th Demosthenes,' Kouros told the two cops and scrambled for the train. Luckily the guy was in the next car and couldn't see Kouros struggling with the closing doors.

  Two metro trains and about an hour later, Kouros and the guy were at Athens' Venizelos International Airport. The guy walked past the ticket counter to the boarding pass checkpoint line for domestic and EU departures. Kouros stayed back, watching. After the security guard let the guy through, Kouros hustled to the head of the line and showed his badge to the guard, but the guard wouldn't let him pass. Kouros got the attention of a supervisor when he threatened to use the guard's laminated ID badge to slice off his nuts. By the time the supervisor realized what was going on, and let Kouros through, the guy was gone.

  Kouros was about to return to the checkpoint and begin performing the promised surgery when he saw the guy looking at cell phones in a shop across from a coffee bar kiosk. Kouros sat at the bar with his back to him. He kept an eye on the guy by watching his reflection in shop windows on the other side of the kiosk.

  Ten minutes passed before the guy left the store. He was headed toward the departure gates. That meant metal detectors. Kouros wasn't about to risk letting another numbnuts security guard start some commotion over all the forbidden pieces of metal he carried. He stopped two soldiers detailed to airport protection, showed his ID, and they let him into the departure gate area through a private access door.

  Kouros stood by a window watching the reflections of passengers clearing security. The guy came through without a problem. He paused to look at a monitor, checked his boarding pass, walked to the gate next to where Kouros was standing, and sat down.

  Kouros waited. A few minutes later the guy started talking on a cell phone. That's when Kouros walked past him and glanced up at the monitor with flight information on that gate. The flight was to a city about as far north as you could go in Greece. That figured. By staying in Greece and not flying directly to a non-EU country he avoided the more rigorous security screenings for international flights. From northern Greece he could get over the border undetected in any number of ways. No doubt this guy was from the Balkans.

  Kouros bought a bottle of water from a kiosk directly across from where the guy was sitting. With one hand he took a sip and with the other reached for his cell phone, perhaps the most common gesture in Greece, and held it up to his ear. Then he turned sideways to the guy and took a few photos. It was a YouTuber technique mastered by many cops.

  Kouros found an open seat at the next gate among a crowd waiting for a delayed flight to Rhodes. He sent the photos to Maggie by MMS, along with the flight information and specific, bold face instructions: HAVE UNKNOWN SUBJECT FOLLOWED MOMENT PLANE LANDS. DO NOT INTERCEPT. MUST BE PREPARED TO CROSS BORDER. CONSIDER EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.

  Kouros hung around until the guy boarded a bus taking him from the gate to the plane. Then he checked his missed calls. He hadn't taken one since jumping on the train in Omonia. There were three from the cops following Demon.

  He stood up and walked toward the exit, dialing as he did. 'Angelo, what's up?'

  'Where are you?'

  'At the airport.'

  'We have something you'll want to hear. The guy went straight from the metro to that girl's apartment. Damn good idea you had putting surveillance on her place. How'd you know about her?'

  That was not a question Kouros was about to answer. It was bad enough he set it up without telling Andreas. He just hoped there was nothing on the tape he'd regret. 'Angelo, just play the tape.'

  'Okay, here's where the good stuff starts.'

  The first voice Kouros heard was Demon's.

  'I need a telephone number for that old friend of yours, the one from Sardinia.'

  On the word Sardinia Kouros reacted like a cop, not a tourist. His first thoughts weren't of that Italian island's modern-day reputation as paradise for tourists in love with its beauty and pace, but of a sordid and notorious decades-ago past filled with tough guys and big-time kidnapping, at ten to fifteen million euros per snatch, with victims rarely turning up alive.

  'I can't. If he ever finds out where I am… where we are…'

  She's scared of that Sardinian guy.

  'But I must find him. It is very important.'

  What's important enough to get him running around Sardinian mountains looking for people dangerous enough to kill him just for asking the wrong question?

  'I don't have a number for him. I'll have to find someone who does.'

  He knows how to work her.

  The next sound Kouros heard was a door opening, then closing, followed by a string of curses.

  'That's it, Yianni. Nothing else of interest, and she hasn't called anyone since he left. But we're on it if she does.'

  'Good. Anything else on Demosthenes?'

  'He went to some apartment we didn't know about. We're trying to get listening over there, but doubt it will be up for awhile.'

  'Okay, text me his new address. I'll get there as soon as I find a ride back to Athens.' He paused. 'And Angelo, get a copy of the tape to Maggie. Ask her to find out what she can about the places they're talking about and everything there might be on that Efisio character.'

  'Will do. Ciao.'

  'Yeah, ciao.'

  Kouros wasn't sure what was happening, but he was damn sure it wasn't something good. He pressed a speed dial key. Time to bother the Chief. Through most of the sunset Andreas thought of his father and how trust cost him his life. If his dad hadn't trusted that government minister, he wouldn't have been accused of taking bribes or have felt the need to save his family shame. Yes, he thought, I definitely have trust issues.

  Lila was staring at a bright orange and deep blue horizon. The sun had just set. He let his mind — and eyes — wander to other things, like cleavage.

  She turned to him and smiled. 'Drachma for your thoughts.'

  He choked. 'Ahh, I was thinking of my father.'

  'I bet he was a great man.'

  'The best.'

  'Is your mother still alive?'

  'Yes.'

  'Bet she misses him.'

  'Every day.'

  'I can understand.' She turned back to the sky.

  'What was he like?' He didn't have to say more.

  'The nicest, sweetest man I ever knew.' She talked for quite a while about her husband, not of his money or accomplishments but of simple things that mattered and defined character. Lila showed such open passion in her memories of her husband that Andreas felt a tinge of jealousy. He wondered if his feelings were out of desire for the woman or envy at the man for finding a woman who loved him so unconditionally.

  Suddenly, he jerked forward in his chair.

  'What's wrong?' She sounded alarmed.

  He reached into his pants pocket. 'Just my phone. It's on vibrate.'

  She giggled.

  'Hello, Yianni? What's up?' That was all Andreas said for five minutes, though every so often he looked over at Lila. She smiled when he did.

  Kouros finished his report with, 'I'm on my way to his apartment.'

  Andreas checked to see if anyone could overhear. 'Looks like there's a lot going on.' Eavesdropping was a Greek national pastime. He had to be careful, even though most tables seemed filled with foreign tourists. 'Our boy here is in negotiations with the bad guys. My guess is the guy from the metro is with the muscle talent up north of the border. It fits with what D said setting up the metro meeting.'

  Kouros added, 'The guy on the platform seemed really pissed at him.'

  'And the next thing we know D's off to the girl's apartment, pressing hard to find fresh talent. What do you think?'

  Kouros paused. 'He must be pretty desperate if he's shopping this sort of shit around to strangers.'

  'My guess is there's trouble in…' he caught himself just before saying terrorist, 'paradise. Let's see what we can come up with to make it worse. Press Maggie for anything she can find on the girl's ex. Make sure we don't let D out of our sight. And try to pick up whatever he sa
ys.' Andreas paused. 'By the way, good thinking on covering A's place. Thanks.' He felt relieved, no matter what the tapes picked up.

  'I knew that's what you'd want done. When will you be back?'

  Andreas looked at his watch, then at Lila. 'First plane in the morning. It leaves at seven. See you then.'

  Andreas put the phone on the table and looked at Lila. 'Get the picture?'

  'Yes.' She played with her glass. 'So what do we do until then?'

  'Until when?'

  'Seven.'

  'I have some ideas.' He grinned.

  She smiled and flirted back. 'And what would they be?'

  He pointed to a restaurant over by the windmills. 'How about dinner over there?' If this were a game of chicken, Andreas just blinked.

  Lila didn't turn to look. 'Nope; it's filled with Athenians dancing on tables all night and having a wonderful time. Not in the mood.'

  'Okay, how about a place across from where I parked?'

  'Nope.'

  'I'm out of ideas.'

  'Let's find a place out of town, on a beach.'

  He felt a new tingle, not from his phone, from her words. 'Sure, any preference?'

  'No, you pick the place. I want to see what you think I might like.'

  They walked back to the car along mostly deserted lanes. Lila wanted to avoid the paparazzi perched on Mykonos' main streets, and Andreas needed time to think, not shake more hands and resist more invitations. He was as anxious as a schoolboy on a first date with the prom queen. Where can I take her? He weeded out the obvious choices: extraordinarily expensive beach tavernas favored by many who simply wanted to show they could afford them whether or not they could, and cozier places too far out of town for what must be an early night.

  He settled on a lovely taverna that sat on the beach closest to town, Megali Ammos. But as Andreas slowed down to park he recognized a group of locals walking toward the place. He preferred avoiding them and, so, kept driving. Five minutes later they were at Ornos Beach. It looked out on one of the island's prettiest coves — and its most romantic one at night.