Assassins of Athens ak-2

by Jeffrey Siger

  'How did you know it was Efisio coming up to the pickup?'

  'I didn't. One of the Italians on our side radioed me to say they found a grenade launcher without an operator. Whoever got away had to be pretty nasty, because he brought the only RPG to the party.'

  'They had some heavy weapons.'

  'Yeah, but no match for our guys' professionalism. They had the pickup truck and sawed-off shotgun waiting for me by the farmhouse, and after I radioed the location of the ambush they told me where to park the truck and wait. They said anyone who escaped was likely to be running like a madman and, by the time he reached me, be past his adrenaline rush.'

  'How thoughtful of them to make it easier for an old, fat farmer like you to handle an uninvited visitor.' Andreas laughed.

  'I knew I shouldn't have told you that part.' Tassos laughed.

  'So, how did you know he was one of them?'

  'I was inside, leaning against the window, looking back up the road in the side view mirror. He kept creeping up as if he thought I was sleeping. So, I started snoring. Then he pulled a knife, I pulled a shotgun, and the rest is history. Didn't know until later he was Efisio. One of the wounded identified him. From his clothes.'

  Andreas started clapping. 'Bravo, bravo, great job. I'm sure the Kostopoulos family was happy.'

  'Who knows with those people? They think it's your job to turn water into wine and only complain when you don't.'

  Andreas chuckled. 'So, let me tell you where we are.'

  'You mean there still are bad guys out there?'

  Andreas ignored the sarcasm. He knew it wasn't directed at him. He told Tassos everything he knew about Demosthenes, the Angel Club, and Demosthenes' meeting at the Kolonaki Club. When Andreas named Demon's hosts-

  'You must be kidding me! The Old Man's involved?'

  Andreas answered flatly. 'Don't know. All I'm certain of is Demosthenes is the link between whoever wanted Kostopoulos' son murdered and the actual killers. The Old Man and Linardos met with Demosthenes at the Kolonaki Club. Only someone from the club could have told Demosthenes that Lila mentioned his name in connection with that meeting, and Demosthenes hired two low-lifes to kill her.' He crossed himself.

  'That's never going to convince a court the Old Man and Linardos were involved.'

  'No shit! It doesn't even convince me.'

  'So, what are you saying?'

  'I want to be convinced.'

  'How do you propose doing that?'

  Andreas spent the next fifteen minutes telling him.

  'That's a pretty interesting plan. Do you really think it's going to work?'

  'If you convince Kostopoulos to work with us, I think we have a better than fifty-fifty chance. Especially after that fiasco in Sardinia.'

  'You know, once I tell Zanni all these things and mention names, there's no telling how he might react. He could send his little army off on vengeance missions like the Israelis after the Munich Olympics.'

  'I know how he feels, believe me, but I don't know what else I can do. Sure, I can go after Demosthenes and let the big boys get away. But don't you think Kostopoulos has a right to know the facts? After all, it was his son who was murdered, and the only chance I see of proving who was behind it is if Zanni cooperates. Either we get them on tape admitting to everything, or there's not a snowball's chance in hell of touching one of them in court.'

  He heard Tassos breathing heavily. 'Okay, but I'm still worried about how he'll react.'

  'Let me put it this way. If he goes after Demosthenes he'll lock horns with me, big time. And he doesn't want to do that, fucking army or not. He has no reason to go after Linardos or the Old Man on what we have now, unless he's insane.'

  'That's one thing he's not. Bitter, angry, vengeful, yes. Insane, no.'

  'Fine, then tell him if he wants to know who was behind his son's murder, this is how to find out, and the only way to prove it to a court. Otherwise, tell him to see a shrink, put the tragedy behind him, and get on with his life.' Andreas paused. 'Maybe that's the best advice after all.'

  Tassos cleared his throat. 'I'll talk to him and let you know.'

  'Well, make it soon, because I've got to put the Angel Club boys in play.'

  'I'll try. That's all I can promise. Take care. Give Lila a kiss for me.'

  Andreas stared out the window. He decided to go back to the hospital and wait for news. Pray it was good. Demon was waiting for a simple, one-word e-mail from Efisio: DONE. But there was no word from that psycho and no word from the druggies. That didn't surprise him. Demon long ago gave up on expecting society's irresponsible scum to act otherwise. The only thing that ever worked with them was money. They always were on time for payday.

  Demon decided to go back to the university for an hour or so to give the druggies another chance to call. If they got to Vardi today, they'd be calling for their bonus money. Efisio presented a different problem. Demon and his new political allies faced potential all-out war with Kostopoulos, but he knew Efisio couldn't care less about their problems. He didn't need Demon any more; the ransom demands and negotiations could be directly with Kostopoulos. No middleman required.

  Demon needed to know the status of the kidnappings, and he needed to know now. Not when Efisio got around to telling him. If he didn't have an e-mail from Efisio by the time he got back to his apartment, he'd call him. No, Efisio might not take his call. Anna would make the call. That's a call he'd take for sure. 'Maybe we should call ahead, make sure Giorgio is there?'

  Andreas drummed his left-hand fingers on the dashboard. 'No, he's used to us kicking in his door, not knocking on it. That might make him suspicious.'

  Kouros nodded. 'Are you surprised Kostopoulos agreed to go along?'

  'Tassos can be pretty convincing.'

  'How are we going to get the Old Man to admit all this shit on tape?'

  Andreas turned his head and looked out the side window. 'I'm working on it.'

  'If we don't, there's going to be war. I can't see Kostopoulos letting them get away with killing his son and then trying to take out the rest of his family.'

  'Look at those kids over there, the ones playing in the park. Nice to have a family.'

  Kouros gave a quick glance toward Andreas. 'I was talking about war.'

  'I'd rather talk about peace.'

  They compromised and spoke about soccer.

  At the Angel Club, they were met in the vestibule by the same two bouncers as greeted them the last time. Andreas smiled. 'Excuse me, gentlemen. Is Mr Giorgio available to see us?'

  The bigger of the two glared. The smaller one spoke. 'I'll check,' and went inside to a phone.

  No one else moved or said a word. They just waited for the man to return.

  He called out from the doorway. 'He'll see you now.'

  The four walked together to Giorgio's office. Giorgio was inside, sitting alone, and Andreas suggested he kept it that way. Giorgio told the bouncers to wait outside.

  'Okay, so what's so private?' Giorgio seemed indifferent.

  Andreas didn't bother telling him to shut off whatever recording device he was using. Guys like him always ran one, hoping to catch crooked cops demanding bribes, to keep them in line if they later got greedy. Andreas wanted all this on tape so Giorgio could play it back for whoever made the real decisions.

  'I got a call this morning from a Captain Cacace of the Italian Police. He said Zanni Kostopoulos told him to call me.'

  Giorgio shrugged. 'About what?'

  'I asked the same thing. He said last night some local boys over in Sardinia took a shot at kidnapping Kostopoulos' wife and kids.'

  Giorgio blinked twice.

  Andreas shook his head. 'Didn't work out too well for those boys. They ended up either dead or in jail. All ten of them. He wanted to know if I might know the guy who hired them to do it. I didn't, but I thought you might.'

  'Me? Why me?'

  'Remember that girl in here with the Kostopoulos boy the night he was murdered?'

>   Giorgio nodded. 'Yeah.'

  'The captain told me that one of the guys in the kidnapping crew was her ex-boyfriend.'

  Giorgio shifted in his chair.

  'Yeah, and the same guy said they were hired for that job by someone who contacted them through her.'

  'What's the name?' It was Giorgio's first show of interest in anything Andreas had said.

  'Nobody I ever heard of.' Andreas pulled out his notebook. 'Mavrakis, Demosthenes Mavrakis. You know him?'

  Giorgio looked straight ahead at the wall. 'Never heard of him.'

  'Hello, is Efisio there?'

  There was a brief pause on the other end of the line. 'Who's calling?'

  'Anna, Anna Panitz.'

  'Been a long time.'

  'Yes. I know, but I must speak to Efisio. It's very important.'

  'He's not here.'

  'Do you know where he is?'

  'Back in his village, in Sardinia.' The speaker let out a breath. 'The funeral is in a couple of days.'

  'What funeral?'

  'His.'

  Demon grabbed the phone. 'Dead. He can't be dead! What happened?'

  Anna heard a hum on the other end of the line, but Demon kept yelling into the phone.

  'The line's dead. They hung up,' she said.

  Demon threw the phone against the wall, then swung around and slapped her face. 'It's your fucking fault.' And stormed out of the apartment.

  Anna touched her fingers to where he'd slapped her. Despite everything else Demon had done to her, this was the first time he'd hit her. She swore to herself when she fled Efisio that no man ever would strike her again.

  It was time to move on. Andreas was in his office with Kouros when the call came in from the cops covering Anna's apartment. They played what they caught on tape. Andreas bit at his lower lip while he listened, and Kouros seemed to be holding his breath. When it came to the part where Demon stormed out of the apartment, Kouros threw his right fist in the air and yelled, 'Yes!'

  Andreas smiled. They listened to the tapes again and hung up.

  'First good news in a long time. The son of a bitch is worried.' Kouros pumped his fist again.

  'Wait until the Angel Club boys figure out Demosthenes' decision to hire new muscle cost them a mega-payday with Kostopoulos.'

  'Has Kostopoulos told them yet?'

  'Tassos said the next time the negotiator calls, Kostopoulos will tell him everything's off because of their attempt to kill his family in Sardinia. That, together with our little visit to Giorgio, should tie everything together for them very nicely.'

  'They will be pissed. Do you think they'll kill Demosthenes?'

  Andreas gestured no. 'Doubt we'd be that lucky. This is a business problem for them. As much as they might want to whack him, he's the only one who can convince Kostopoulos they had nothing to do with Sardinia. At least that's what I'm hoping they'll do.'

  'Otherwise, he's dead.'

  'And we lose. Oh, well, too bad for Demosthenes.' Andreas smiled. 'That would really upset me. Especially the painful, drawn-out way they'd do it.'

  'I can tell you're all broken up at the possibility.'

  'It's up to Kostopoulos now. If he pushes the right buttons, we've got Demosthenes working overtime on saving his ass from his former buddies.'

  'What about the Old Man and Linardos?'

  Andreas gestured no. 'The most that muscle has on them is Demosthenes' word that they're involved, and I doubt they put much value on his word these days. Besides, the Old Man and Linardos are too powerful for them to go after. It would bring down the wrath of Greece's powers that be for attacking one of their own and shatter whatever business arrangements those mob guys must have with some of them.'

  Andreas stretched. 'On the other hand, Demosthenes desperately needs the Old Man's help to get to Kostopoulos. Otherwise, what's Demosthenes? A nobody, a less than nobody. "Hi, Mr Kostopoulos, I'm the one who hired the people who killed or tried to kill members of your family, but trust me when I say the ones who killed your son had nothing to do with Sardinia."'

  Kouros laughed.

  Andreas frowned and shook his head. 'Demosthenes can't think that's going to work. He must know his only chance at getting to Kostopoulos, and living, is if he convinces the Old Man to intervene directly with Kostopoulos.'

  'Why would the Old Man do that? What does he have to gain coming out of the closet at this point in his life to announce he's a terrorist? And not just a terrorist, the head terrorist.'

  'That's the wing-and-a-prayer part of the plan. I've no idea what will do it. I'm leaving that up to Demosthenes. We've motivated him. Let's hope he can do the same for the Old Man.'

  Maggie stuck her head in the office. 'Yianni, those cops from up north called, the ones you had following the guy you tailed to the airport. They said he's on the move again. He's back over the border into Greece and headed to the airport. They'll call you as soon as they know where he's headed.'

  Kouros turned to Andreas and smiled. 'Care to bet where Demosthenes' old buddy is headed?'

  Andreas clapped his hands together. 'Let the games begin.' The message was 'Be outside Kato Patissia metro, 9 a.m.' Another metro ride to another tough neighborhood. Probably another unpleasant car ride, too.

  Demon's mind wandered to thoughts of his future and of private drivers to whisk him to such places. He knew he could never put these sorts of meetings behind him. He would always need these types. Now, to convince them they still needed him.

  He looked at his watch. Nine-fifteen. Where is he? The answer came in the form of a taxi pulling up beside him. 'Taxi, mister?'

  'No, I'm wait-'

  Demon got in the back seat. 'Didn't recognize you. Nice touch, no one notices a Balkan taxi driver these days.'

  'What the fuck did you do?'

  'Beg your pardon.'

  'You heard me. Sardinia.'

  'Oh, yes. Well, you left me with no choice. What was I supposed to do? The gentlemen I report to made me do it. I wanted you to get the job but-'

  'Enough of your bullshit. You've cost us a lot of money. Kostopoulos killed the deal. Thinks we tried to kill his wife and kids. You asshole.'

  Demon sounded calm, but his heart was racing. He expected Sardinia was the reason he was here, even anticipated the anger, but expecting something and facing it eyeball-to-eyeball, even through a rearview mirror, were very different things.

  'I understand you're angry. But, you've profited quite handsomely over the years from my relationships with very powerful people, people who want to continue working with you, through me, making you more money than you can imagine. This is just a slight bump in the road.' He paused and waved a hand as if swatting away some minor distraction. 'To continue with the analogy, my friend, you cannot imagine the extraordinary opportunities that await us if we just stay on the road we've traveled together for so long, and so prosperously. Trust me.'

  'Trust you!' He laughed. 'I'm a simple man, so let me put it to you in simple terms. I don't care about your buddies or connections. You're the one we deal with, you're the one we know, and you're the one we no longer trust. Either you straighten out this shit storm you created with Kostopoulos or — to continue the analogy…' he paused to smile in the rearview mirror. 'It's the end of the road for you. Asshole.'

  He pulled over to the curb and told Demon to get out. 'Forty-eight hours to get Kostopoulos talking again.' He drove away without voicing another threat. He didn't have to. He'd let Demon off in front of one of the few funeral parlors in Athens.

  25

  'It's Yianni.'

  'What happened?'

  'I followed the guy from the airport. A taxi picked him up and drove him to Kato Patissia. The driver got out at a coffee shop and the guy took his cab. He drove to the metro and picked up Demosthenes. They rode around for five minutes, Demosthenes got out, and the guy went back to the coffee shop. The guy and the driver are having breakfast together. Probably cousins.'

  'Any idea what Demosthen
es and he talked about?'

  'No way of telling. Didn't seem to be arguing. When Demosthenes got out, he just looked around and walked back to the metro. Angelo's with him.'

  'Damn it. If they didn't put some real heat on him, nothing's going to happen. No pressure from Demosthenes on the Old Man to meet Kostopoulos, no meeting with Kostopoulos-'

  'No recording of the Old Man's confession.'

  'Shit.' Andreas tried sounding calm.

  'Should we bust the guy?'

  'For what, borrowing his cousin's cab? Wish we could, but it's too risky. If he gets busted so soon after meeting Demosthenes, his buddies might get nervous, think things are getting out of control, and decide to blow Demosthenes away. What the hell, odds are guys like that don't live very long, anyway. Occupational hazard.'

  'I still don't like letting him get away.'

  Andreas smiled. 'Glad to hear that. Me, neither.'

  'Hold on, Chief. It's Angelo.'

  Andreas tapped a pencil on his desk. Keep your fingers crossed, he thought.

  'Demosthenes came out of the metro at Evangelismos.'

  Andreas' heart skipped two beats, then started racing. 'My god. That's the stop for the hospital. He's going after Lila!'

  Kouros spoke quickly. 'No, no, Chief, he's headed in the other direction.'

  Andreas didn't say anything for a few seconds. He let his breathing return to normal. 'I guess I'm more anxious than I thought.'

  'Who wouldn't be? If it makes you feel better, I think Demosthenes' taxi ride may have done the trick.'

  'Why?'

  'Because… sorry, it's Angelo again.' Ten seconds went by. 'Uhh… yeah, because that metro stop is also the one for Kolonaki. And guess where our little Demosthenes is now.'

  'Heading for the Kolonaki Club.'

  'No, actually he's inside, as of thirty seconds ago.'

  'Yes!' and two double fist pumps. 'I'm sorry, if you're not on the list you cannot come in, sir.'

  'But I know he wants to see me, please call him.'