Assassins of Athens ak-2

by Jeffrey Siger

  Demon froze. He watched the little man walk to the doors and step off the train, never looking back. Demon pulled off the hat and rushed to follow him, pushing and shoving passengers out of his way. He even knocked a woman to the floor also trying to reach the doors. But he made it.

  He looked around for Efisio and saw him walking slowly toward the exit at the center of the platform. This was Victoria Station, and they were headed up to the street. Demon thought, if you were looking for a neighborhood in which to meet someone you might want to kill, without shaking up the locals, this was a very good choice of metro stop. Demon didn't smile at that joke.

  Once on the streets, Demon stayed twenty yards or so behind Efisio. A few blocks from the station, on Feron Street just past Aristotelous, Efisio stopped beside a parked black Fiat. Two men were in the front seat and the engine was running. He waited until Demon was next to the car before opening the back door. 'Get in.'

  Demon didn't see a choice. One way or the other, this was the end of the line for him if he failed. Kouros was with the surveillance team watching Demosthenes' apartment when the first message was intercepted. It set off a mad scramble: Andreas sent a male-female team dressed as tourists running off to photograph everyone around the square across from the Arch; two cops watching Demosthenes' apartment were ordered to drop everything and follow him; and Kouros was told to get back to headquarters immediately.

  By the time the Syndagma to Omonia message came through, two more cops in plainclothes were sitting in a blue OTE telephone repair van next to the Arch. They were told to hustle over to Syndagma and follow the suspect, now wearing a black and white PAOK cap.

  They saw Demosthenes running toward the metro entrance and followed him to Omonia. That's where they almost lost him. He was headed out of the station but unexpectedly turned and went back in, trapping the two cops on a crowded, ascending escalator. By the time they started back down, Demosthenes was out of sight. They split up to look for him and, when the message came through that he was headed to Piraeas, only one cop was close enough to catch the train.

  Andreas kept his fingers crossed they wouldn't lose him in Piraeas. No way to get more people from his unit there in time, and he couldn't risk involving local cops. They weren't trained for this sort of thing. Then he saw the next message: Larisis. What a break. Demosthenes was headed back north and into their waiting arms.

  A new team picked him up at Larisis and followed him to Omonia.

  There was no new message at Omonia. Demosthenes was in the middle of the platform looking around. Maybe the meet was here? Finally, a new message, Kifissia was the next destination. Perfect. They followed him to the new platform. One cop walked to where the car behind Demosthenes would board, the other to where the car in front of him would be. Neither wanted to risk spooking him by getting too close. There would be plenty of time to move closer later. Kouros stuck his head into Andreas' office. 'We lost him.'

  'What!'

  Kouros stepped inside and closed the door. 'He got off at Victoria.'

  'Victoria? I didn't see Victoria on any message.'

  'Me either.'

  Andreas smacked his fist on the desk. 'Someone must have made contact with him on the train.'

  'That's what Angelo thinks. He saw a man bump into him while the train was stopped at Victoria. Seconds later, Demosthenes was gone.'

  'Why didn't someone follow them?'

  'Christina tried. It all happened so fast. She'd just moved into his car from one in front when she saw Demosthenes trying to get off. She tried getting to the door but he pushed her out of the way, she tripped and… well, by the time she got to her feet the doors were closed.'

  'And what the hell was Angelo doing while all this was going on?'

  'He was in the car behind, watching Demosthenes through the door.' Kouros looked down at the floor. 'Said he'd been watching the hat. When he didn't see it he got out and pushed into Demosthenes' car. By the time he found the hat on the floor and figured out what happened, the train was moving.'

  Andreas stared out the window. He was angry but didn't want to show it. 'Pretty slick.'

  'More like plain dumb luck.'

  Andreas gestured no. 'I'd call it something else. Old-fashioned, simple magic. He got them focused on the hat, not the man, and into the rhythm of expecting both to show up exactly as they'd been conditioned to expect. All it took was an instant of distraction and-' Andreas slammed his hands together. 'Poof! Surprise, all gone.'

  Andreas leaned back in his chair. 'I can guess why they called you and not me.'

  'They know you don't kill the messenger.'

  'Not until now. So, what do we have on the mysterious man on the train?'

  'They didn't get a good look at him. There wasn't any reason to notice him.'

  Andreas put up his hand. 'If you know what's good for you, stay as the messenger. The guy who bumped into Demosthenes was the first person to have any contact with him since he showed up across from the Arch — and you're telling me that's not a reason to notice him.' His anger had escaped.

  Kouros looked away from Andreas and started biting at his lip. 'I get your point.'

  Andreas picked up a pencil and tapped it against his cheek. 'Good. Now, as you were saying.'

  Kouros swallowed hard. 'All Angelo remembered was that the guy was very short.'

  'How short?'

  'Less than five feet and very broad-shouldered, but not like a dwarf or a midget, more like a Sardinian.'

  Andreas tapped the pencil to his forehead and shook his head. 'What the fuck are you talking about?'

  Kouros looked at Andreas but started shifting weight from one foot to the other. 'I had an Italian girlfriend. She was from Sardinia. She was short, less than five feet, but I'm not that tall, so it was fine and-'

  Andreas snapped the pencil in half. 'Yianni! Please, get to the goddamned point.'

  Kouros took a quick breath. 'She told me she wasn't used to being with such a tall man. Most of the men she knew from Sardinia weren't much taller than she. She said it's a national trait.'

  Andreas rubbed his eyes. No reason to be taking his frustration out on Yianni. This mess was no more Yianni's fault than his own, or just as much. 'Okay, let's assume your old girlfriend was right and they've made contact. Now what? They could be bombing Parliament for all we know.'

  'We're covering all the apartments. When he shows up we might hear something.'

  'You mean if he shows up.'

  'Why, do you think he knows we're on to him?'

  'I doubt it. But this Efisio is one cautious son of a bitch. My guess is this metro tour was all his idea. If he feels threatened, no telling what he might do.'

  'So, what do we do?'

  'Not much we can do but wait to see what turns up. Demosthenes or his body.' Demon got into the Fiat, Efisio slid onto the seat beside him, and the car pulled away. Demon's heart was racing. He wondered what this little man with the burning black eyes would do next. His size was deceptive. Efisio was at least twice the size of a massive pit bull and larger than a giant rottweiler. Efisio held out his hand. 'Give me the phone.'

  Demon did as he asked. 'Why?'

  Efisio tore off the back, pulled out the battery and SIM card, rolled down the window, and tossed out the parts piece by piece. 'In case someone's tracking you. Now, take off your clothes.'

  That didn't surprise Demon. He'd do the same thing. Can't be too careful about a stranger asking you to do something nasty. He pulled off his shirt. 'I'm not wired.'

  'We'll see. Now the pants, shoes too.'

  A few minutes later Demon was dressed again. He thought to keep track of where the driver was headed but decided it didn't matter.

  'So, tell me about the forty million.' Efisio had switched to English, Demon assumed so the two in front wouldn't understand.

  'Your English is very good.'

  'The forty million.' Not angry, not pleasant either.

  Demon decided not to waste more time on grease. 'I
need you to kidnap very valuable property.'

  'Must be very important to be so valuable.'

  'They're children, two, of a very rich man.'

  He nodded. 'How much do you want of the forty?'

  'Me?' Demon sounded surprised. 'Nothing. It's all yours.'

  Efisio stared at him for a full minute. 'If you don't want money, it must be power.' He stared some more. 'Or you're crazy.'

  Demon shrugged. 'How soon can you do it?'

  'Depends whether you care how sloppy we are.'

  'As long as the mother is left behind alive.'

  'To convince the father to pay?'

  Demon nodded. 'You should know that they're expecting something like this.'

  'Most today are.'

  'This one particularly so.'

  'I see. Is that why you're not using your people?'

  Demon could tell he was guessing. 'Yes, I cannot risk any of mine getting caught. Too politically sensitive.' That was bullshit but seemed what Efisio wanted to hear.

  'Where are the targets?'

  'They're with their mother. On a boat.'

  'Where's the boat?'

  'Don't know, somewhere in the Mediterranean.'

  'How big is the boat?'

  'Two hundred forty feet.'

  'We'll find it. What's the name?'

  'The people or the boat?'

  'Both.'

  'The family's Kostopoulos, the boat's the Ginny Too, named after the mother.'

  'Never heard of them, but I never paid much attention to Greece. First time here.' Efisio had turned chatty.

  Demon wondered why. 'Really? From how well you knew your way around the metro I thought you were a native.' He smiled.

  Efisio laughed; it was forced. 'I have friends who do. They're the ones to thank. I only got on the metro when you came back to Omonia. They waited for me to find you on the platform before sending you the last message. The hat was their idea, too. Made it easier for me to spot you by that Arch and for them to keep an eye on you. It was my idea to toss it. For the same reason.'

  He smacked Demon once on the thigh. 'So, my friend, let's talk about the down payment.'

  Demon expected that, too. 'You still haven't told me how quickly you can do it.'

  Efisio nodded. 'We're fast. The moment there's an opportunity, we take it. Figure within twenty-four hours after we locate the ship. Sooner, if it's in port.'

  'That works.'

  'Good. So, I think 10 percent up front is fair.'

  'I'm sure you do.' Demon paused to smile. 'But I want you to do the job, not just take four million and maybe decide the rest isn't worth the risk.'

  Efisio didn't react angrily. He must be used to this sort of negotiation. 'I have an alternative offer. No money down. Just give me Anna.'

  Demon knew she would come up; he just didn't expect it this way. It was a tempting offer: if he turned her over, he wouldn't have to raise the down payment. Too tempting in fact. If he went for it, Efisio was likely to think he was full of shit. All talk and no money behind him. Efisio was likely to take Anna and do as he promised — to her. Then simply disappear. No, Demon had to keep these negotiations confined to money. Just enough to show he's for real, not enough to show he's desperate.

  'Like I promised before, in due time. We're talking now about money.' Demon's tone was all business.

  Efisio stared, more like glared, but did not change his tone. 'So, how much?'

  'Two hundred thousand.'

  Efisio shook his head no. 'That's not even one percent.'

  'What's the going rate for a one-day snatch?'

  Efisio smiled. 'So, you know about our business?'

  Demon nodded. He didn't, but he'd read about European businessmen kidnapped in the morning and back home in time for dinner. Assuming the ransom was paid.

  'Okay, three hundred thousand.'

  'Deal. How do you want the money?'

  Efisio reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. 'The address on the back is in Athens. You deliver the down payment there. As soon as you do, we get started. On the other side is a bank account. Wire the balance in and we let the kids go. Simple.'

  'Expect the down payment tomorrow.'

  Efisio stared at Demon again, then shook a finger in his face, but not in a menacing way. 'You're not crazy. No, you are far too dangerous to be crazy.'

  The driver pulled over to the curb and stopped.

  'This is where you get out, I believe,' said Efisio.

  Demon looked around. They were on Patission Street in front of the main entrance to the university. How the hell did he know? Or was it just coincidence? Then he thought, of course, Efisio must have traced him here from his call to him this morning.

  Demon said goodbye, opened the door, and got out. But before he could walk away he heard Efisio calling, 'Wait.' He'd slid over and rolled down the window. 'Sorry but I meant to say, "Thank you, sir."'

  There wasn't a touch of sarcasm to the emphasized 'sir.' Demon was so impressed he smiled and nodded.

  Efisio smiled, too, but all toothy, like a shark. 'Or should I have said "thank you Demosthenes Mavrakis."' The glare was back.

  And Demon's smile was gone, along with the black Fiat.

  20

  Demon was angry with himself. He'd been sloppy. All these unanticipated problems were no excuse. He had a goal to achieve, and soon. He must be more careful. He had no ID with him so Efisio didn't get his name from anything in his clothes. They knew before he got into the car, which meant they'd photographed him. Probably at the Arch, and while he was bouncing around Athens on his little metro odyssey they were showing his picture around the university until someone recognized him. Simple.

  But there was an upside to Efisio's bit of theatrics: it let Demon know the son of a bitch was watching his every move. Another example of why it never paid to lose your temper. Efisio could have followed him straight to Anna, which was exactly where Demon was headed at the moment.

  'Shit.' He mumbled the word aloud. 'I can't see her anymore.' He decided to go home to the apartment listed in the phone book. They probably knew about that one by now anyway. He would miss her. With Anna he never had to pay the political rhetoric price one endured to screw Exarchia hangers-on. She never even complained when she got pregnant. But, what the hell, giving her up was his price for being careless. He took it as a learning experience. Which reminded him: time to raise tuition for Zanni Kostopoulos' next lesson. 'He's in the apartment, Chief.' It was Yianni.

  'Anything new?'

  'Not so far. He got back about ten minutes ago. No phone calls, only rock music and bathroom sounds.'

  'Enjoy. But stay on your toes. He's definitely going to do something, and I'm guessing today's big run-around has him a lot more careful. Don't let him sneak out a back door on you while you're listening to a concert.'

  'Will do.'

  Andreas hung up and looked at his watch. It was almost nine. My god, I haven't called Lila!

  He grabbed the phone and dialed.

  'Hi, it's Andreas.'

  She laughed. 'I recognized the voice.'

  He thought to apologize quickly, before she started in on how inconsiderate men were. 'I'm so sorry that I didn't call sooner but-'

  'Darling, I understand completely.'

  He wanted to say, 'You do?' but decided to keep his mouth shut.

  'And I can't believe you took the time to send me those beautiful flowers.'

  Here it comes, the sarcastic build up to World War III.

  'And with such a lovely note.'

  Andreas decided to speak, 'Lila, I know how you feel-'

  'No, you don't,' she sniffled. 'You've been so nice, so understanding, and then… to remember to send me flowers… with so much on your mind.'

  Andreas made a tactical decision. 'I'm glad you liked them.' And held his breath.

  'I loved them.'

  They spoke for twenty minutes about everything but the case. He let her know they'd talk about that in person.
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  The last words Lila said before hanging up were: 'Can't wait to see you. I'll call you tomorrow when I get back. And again, thank you for the flowers. I can't tell you how much they meant to me.'

  He put down the phone and looked out the window. It wasn't like he was lying. He would have sent her flowers… if he'd thought about it.

  But who sent them? And why? No one knew she was there but — then it hit him, Tassos knew. That bastard was teasing him. No, not Tassos; he wouldn't think of sending flowers any more than Andreas would. Besides, he'd already let on that he knew about Lila and the hotel. Sounds more like something Maggie would do. But how did she know about Lila… and Mykonos? He leaned back and shut his eyes, but only for an instant. He sat straight up and called Maggie at home.

  'Hello.'

  'When did you speak to Tassos?'

  'Do you ever start a conversation with a simpler question, like "Good evening, Maggie. How are you?"'

  'I don't have time for this.'

  'It's about the flowers, isn't it?'

  Andreas was fuming. 'Yes. Well, in part. What did he tell you?'

  'Not as much as this conversation is.'

  He could see her smile through the phone. 'Maggie!'

  'Okay, he didn't call me. I called him.'

  'Why?'

  'What did you expect? You told me he was asking about me. That meant he wanted to talk to me.'

  Andreas didn't understand the logic, but somehow he knew she was right.

  'Okay, so what did you talk about?'

  'Nothing about the case, I assure you.'

  'Just tell me.'

  'None of your business.'

  He drew in and let out a breath. 'Okay, tell me the part that is my business.'

  'Fine. He said he bumped into you on the plane from Mykonos and got the impression you met someone there you liked but didn't have time to see her. I asked for her name and where she was staying.'

  'That's all he said?'

  'Yes, that's all he said.' She snickered.

  'Uhh… what about the note?'

  'What about it?'

  'What did it say?'

  'I miss you desperately. Marry me.'