An Aegean Prophecy ak-3

by Jeffrey Siger

  Andreas shook his head. ‘Fellas, the party is over. We know where you came from, and you know where you’re going. The only question is whether it’s prison for the rest of your lives — for war crimes.’ He guessed that at least one of them had that worry, possibly all of them.

  Kouros shrugged and tightened his grip on the shotgun.

  ‘No matter. Besides I’m sure you boys know more about that than I do.’

  ‘Fuck you.’ It was the prisoner in the middle.

  Must have guessed right. ‘Nice to meet you, too. The name’s Andreas.’

  ‘We have nothing to say.’

  Andreas nodded, and walked over to a bag he’d brought with him. Carefully he lifted it from the floor and stood holding it in front of the three men. He shook his head. ‘Would you like to see what I have in here for you?’

  The middle one spoke again. ‘Fuck you, we’re not afraid. We’ve been tortured before.’

  Andreas looked surprised. ‘Torture, who’s talking torture?’ He reached into the bag, pulled out and pointed a cylinder in the man’s face. ‘Here, bite this.’

  The man jerked his head back and away from the thing, studied it, leaned forward, and sniffed at it. Then he took a bite.

  ‘Good, huh?’ Andreas gave the others the same choice, and each accepted. Then he went up and down the line until the sausage was finished. ‘I know it’s a little awkward doing things this way, but I’m sure you understand why I can’t untie your hands.’ He reached into the bag, pulled out some bread, and repeated the process.

  ‘Cheese?’

  The three nodded. One even said, ‘Thank you.’

  After another round of sausage, Andreas opened a bottle of wine. ‘Hope you don’t mind sharing.’ Carefully, he held the bottle up to each prisoner’s lips, allowing each man to comfortably drink as much as the man wanted. Andreas kept this up until the bottle was empty. Then gave them more sausages, another bottle of wine, more cheese, another bottle of wine, more cheese, and more wine. It took about a half-hour for the feast to finish.

  ‘I hope you liked it. The farmer you worked for gave it to us.’

  ‘Yeah, it was good.’ It was the prisoner who’d said thanks.

  ‘They were good people,’ said the one in the middle. ‘Sorry we had to do that to them. I hope they’re okay.’

  Andreas was always amazed when professional killers of innocents showed such seeming genuine concern for their prey; as if murder were just a job to them, unrelated to their feelings for those whose lives they ended. ‘Sure, no problem,’ said Andreas. ‘How did you end up there anyway?’

  The prisoner who’d been quiet looked at the others. ‘It’s nothing he doesn’t already know.’ The two others shrugged. ‘We found the place the first day we got there. Just in case we needed to leave the monastery.’

  ‘Smart,’ said Andreas.

  The thankful one said, ‘And when we heard you wanted to talk to us, we decided it was time to move on.’

  ‘And, of course, you couldn’t go home to your monastery until Sunday.’

  He nodded. ‘Yes. The farm seemed as safe as any place.’

  ‘We were going to leave by boat next Saturday morning,’ said the quiet one.

  ‘That’s how you got to Patmos in the first place, by boat.’

  The middle one nodded.

  ‘So, who wants to tell me?’ said Andreas.

  ‘Tell you what?’ said the middle one.

  ‘Why did you have to kill him?’

  No one answered; their faces like carved stone.

  ‘Okay, guys, I know the rules, no confessions, ever. But here we have a special situation.’ Andreas looked at Kouros. ‘Tell them.’

  Kouros looked each of them in the eye before speaking. ‘If you stick with the good soldier’s “name, rank, and serial number” routine, you’ll be prosecuted as international war criminals and spend the rest of your lives in prison. No tribunal would even consider a lighter sentence, not after what you did to a priest. You’re all as good as dead.’

  Andreas raised a finger. ‘However, there is an option. If you cooperate I can promise that instead you’ll be tried in a Greek court for murder.’

  ‘Some promise,’ said the middle one.

  ‘It’s a better deal than you think. First of all, Greece has no death penalty. Secondly, with the right lawyer and the right amount of money, in time you’ll probably get out.’ Regrettably, thought Andreas, all that was true.

  ‘I want a better deal,’ said the quiet one.

  ‘I hoped you’d say that,’ said Kouros. ‘It will give me great joy to deliver you personally to a war crimes prosecutor.’

  ‘We didn’t plan on killing him, honest.’ It was the middle one.

  Thank God it worked, thought Andreas. ‘What happened?’

  ‘We were just supposed to watch him. See what he was up to.’

  Andreas nodded. ‘All that stuff he was saying had attracted a lot of attention.’

  ‘It was all over Mount Athos,’ said the quiet one.

  ‘We only were supposed to watch him,’ the middle one repeated.

  Andreas grinned. ‘Must have been pretty boring watching an old man do his thing.’

  ‘Yeah, pretty routine,’ said the thankful one.

  The middle one looked down. ‘Then he went out that night.’

  The quiet one said, ‘It all happened so quickly. He just up and left the monastery at two-thirty in the morning, carrying an envelope. We didn’t know what to do. We couldn’t reach-’

  ‘Out to God for an answer,’ the middle one finished the sentence.

  The quiet one seemed startled, then nodded. ‘Yes, to God.’

  ‘Fellows, God wouldn’t tell you to cut his throat.’ Andreas said the line flatly.

  ‘We know,’ said the quiet one, glaring at the middle one.

  The middle one glared back.

  Guess now we know who wielded the knife, thought Andreas.

  The quiet one continued. ‘We ran out behind him, and when we saw him take the high road past the taverna toward the town square we took the path down to the bus stop and ran back up again into the square.’

  ‘We didn’t intend to kill him. He was a man of God.’

  That was becoming the middle one’s mantra, thought Andreas.

  The quiet one said, ‘When he came into the square, we grabbed him and took the envelope. Then we saw what was inside. He didn’t struggle, just stood there, clutching his cross as we held him.’

  ‘We had no instructions, and no way of receiving any,’ said the thankful one.

  ‘Communication was forbidden by then,’ said Andreas.

  The middle one nodded. ‘We’d been told, “Use your judgment.”’

  Andreas nodded and decided to take another chance. ‘The photographs must have surprised you.’

  ‘Yes,’ said the middle one. ‘If what he knew ever got out, it would mean the end of God’s mission on earth. It was God’s will for us to protect that mission with our lives if necessary. It would be a humble sacrifice.’

  The thankful one bowed his head. ‘After it was done, we decided to make it look like a mugging.’ He looked up at the middle one. ‘But I wouldn’t let them take his crosses.’

  ‘His death was a necessary sacrifice to the Lord,’ said the middle one. ‘He knew it too, he immersed himself in prayer, accepting his fate.’

  Andreas heard the shotgun safety click twice. He took it as Kouros’ suggestion that they consider ending this interrogation with an attempted escape.

  Andreas went on. ‘That’s when you tossed his room?’

  The quiet one nodded. ‘Yes, I did that. The others watched to make sure no one saw me.’

  ‘Where’s his stuff?’ Andreas asked the quiet one.

  The thankful one answered for him. ‘We threw it in the sea when we fled to the farm.’

  ‘Where?’

  ‘I don’t know, some place between here and there. It all looked alike to me.’

&n
bsp; ‘Anything in it surprise you?’

  ‘Never had a chance to look at it.’

  Andreas didn’t believe any of that, but the subject was going nowhere. ‘So, fellas, how about you telling me again just how you came to follow Kalogeros Vassilis.’

  Andreas drove them through their story six more times, twice in reverse. It all came out about the same. They were sent by one they would not name to keep an eye on a monk they’d been told posed a threat to God’s mission on earth, one which they must be prepared to die to protect, and if anything unanticipated occurred, to ‘use your judgment.’ In other words, the power to decide life or death was delegated to men best trained in ways to kill. Whoever sent them was clever: give ambiguous advice to men who saw only black and white, and thus gain absolute deniability for yourself.

  There was no way the person giving those instructions could be held accountable for this murder, even if the three named their dispatcher. But they didn’t have to. Andreas was certain it was Zacharias.

  As far as Andreas was concerned this investigation was over. The fate of the three killers was out of his hands. They’d been caught and their confessions were on tape. Time to get back home to Lila. The rest was a mess for the church to sort out, not him. His job was done.

  At least that’s what he kept telling himself on the helicopter back to Athens.

  14

  At four a.m., all would gather by candlelight for morning prayers. For Zacharias it meant an end to a restless night filled with thoughts of what was happening on the outside. The world might be in the midst of all-out war and this place wouldn’t know about it until missiles started landing in the monastery’s courtyard — assuming the abbot allowed them in before Sunday morning. Consciously, he knew there was nothing to worry about; all his bases were covered, no matter what. But in that falling-off-to-sleep time, when the subconscious started playing with the conscious, concerns leaked out.

  What if that Patmos monk actually did know his plans? But how could he know? He’d only be guessing. Still, the others respected the old monk, and a good guess would present problems, raise suspicions, put him on everyone’s radar. Anything that made him visible was unacceptable. He could not allow one monk to destroy it all. That’s why he sent the three: to watch the monk, to learn what he knew, and, if necessary, to resolve an unacceptable situation.

  Zacharias knew what ‘use your judgment’ meant to such men, but a public airing of the monk’s suspicions would be lethal to his plans. He just hoped there’d be another way; at least that’s what his subconscious was trying to tell him, no doubt grasping about for justification for the likely outcome if events he’d set in motion developed as he feared. He drew in a deep breath and fed his subconscious what it was hunting: the old fool brought it on himself by snooping into matters that didn’t concern him. So what if a holy man died? A lot have died in the past, and many more would in the future. Martyrs were everywhere. He let out the breath and his thoughts now were at peace. He drifted off to sleep, promising to pray for them all at morning services. Kalogeros Vassilis, too, alive or dead.

  ‘Breakfast in bed on a weekday with my superstud cop, what a treat.’ Lila rolled over onto her side, kissed Andreas on the cheek, and picked a grape off the plate balanced on his chest. His eyes were fixed on the newspaper held out just beyond the grapes. ‘And a famous one, too.’

  ‘Yeah, if you get beyond the front page and bother to read the next-to-last paragraph.’

  ‘At least the minister knows who’s responsible.’

  ‘Yeah, so he can blame me if anything goes wrong. Like word getting out that the three killers he told the press were “posing” as monks actually were monks. The minister’s job description might include covering up embarrassing truths for important friends, but it’s sure as hell not part of mine.’ Andreas closed the paper and tossed it on the floor. ‘Why am I complaining? The minister takes the credit and lets me do what I want. It’s our deal.’

  ‘If you didn’t complain, you wouldn’t be Greek.’

  Andreas kissed her on the cheek. ‘Okay, how’s this: The minister must have told the paper to hold the presses for a major story, written it for them, and released it the moment I told him the three guys were the ones we wanted. No other way it could have made this morning’s edition.’

  ‘I’m sure the other papers are crazed over being scooped. He must owe this one a big favor.’

  ‘Or want one.’

  ‘Shall we see what the TV is saying?’

  ‘No, I don’t need to hear how our minister’s “hands-on approach to confronting threats to our way of life” once again saved the planet.’

  ‘At least he gave you the day off.’

  ‘No, I gave myself the day off. And I gave Yianni the rest of the week off.’ Andreas lifted the fruit plate off his chest and put it on the bedside table, then rolled over so they were face-to-face. ‘So let’s make the most of it.’

  ‘Oh you sweet talker, you. If only-’ she jumped. ‘Whoa, baby’s really kicking, guess the little one wants out.’

  ‘Is it time?’ There was alarm in Andreas’ voice.

  ‘No, I’ve been getting soccer-style kicks for the last few days. The little bugger just wants to let us know there’s someone in there.’

  He kissed her on the forehead. ‘You’re going to make a great mother.’

  Lila smiled. ‘I’d also make a terrific wife.’

  Andreas froze. She’d never said it directly before, though she’d hinted at it many times. He didn’t know what to say so he let the moment pass. He knew she wouldn’t push it. Why should she? She could have any man in the world she wanted. Once the baby was born and Lila faced the reality of what her life would be like with him, she’d come to her senses and move on. It was just her maternal hormones talking now. Andreas was certain of that. How could it be otherwise?

  Lila rolled over and pressed the intercom. ‘Marietta, could you please pick up the tray? Thank you.’ She rolled back over and faced Andreas. ‘So, my man, what would you like to do today?’

  ‘This works just fine for me.’

  She patted his chest. ‘Not really.’ There was a knock on the door. ‘Come in.’

  The maid entered and started gathering up the plates and cups. ‘Mr Kaldis, your office would like you to call as soon as you have the opportunity.’

  ‘I guess that answers what you’ll be doing today.’

  ‘Not a chance. Today, I stay home.’ He picked up the phone, ‘I just have to call Maggie,’ and dialed. ‘Morning.’

  ‘Hello, next-to-last-paragraph star.’

  ‘Glad to see my glamorous life hasn’t affected your view of me.’

  ‘But you’re all over TV. Well, sort of. You’re getting promin ent mention under the code name “key personnel,” as in, “the minister was assisted in his operation by key personnel of the police and military.”’

  ‘What else is new?’

  ‘As a matter of fact, you have a call from that guy you met on Patmos.’

  ‘What guy?’

  ‘The ex-spook, Dimitri.’

  ‘What did he want?’

  ‘Wouldn’t say, but said it was very important, something some farmer wants you to have. He left me his number.’

  Andreas was tempted to say don’t bother. ‘What is it?’

  She said the number and hung up.

  He looked at Lila. ‘Just one more call.’

  ‘Sure.’ Her voice was flat.

  He dialed and waited. Then heard the unmistakable voice of a salesman. ‘Hello, Dimitri here.’

  ‘Hi, I understand you’re looking for me.’

  ‘Sorry to bother you, Chief, but I have something for you from that farmer you saved. Or rather your minister rescued.’ He laughed. ‘Bureaucrats are all the same.’

  Andreas was not about to discuss his boss on a public phone. ‘The farmer and his family have been more than kind. Thank them, please, but I really don’t need any more of their food.’

  �
��It’s not food. But something I’m pretty sure you’ll want to chew on. Is this line safe?’

  Jokes and drama, this guy knew how to sell, thought Andreas. ‘Yes, but is yours?’

  ‘Yep, I’m talking from an old friend’s office.’

  Then I’d better be real careful with what I say, Andreas thought.

  ‘In all that excitement the farmer’s hens got out and started laying eggs everywhere. After you left, the little girl was looking for the eggs and found something hidden under empty feedbags in the shed where the three men had been working. Her grandfather called me. He thought it might be something you’d be interested in seeing.’

  ‘How did he know to call you?’

  ‘Because I’d told him I was the one who sent you in the first place. You think I was going to let your minister take all the credit? Besides, it might get me a better price on eggs.’ He laughed.

  Andreas shook his head. Always an angle with this guy. ‘Well, just send it on to my office.’

  ‘Better yet, I’ll drop it off.’

  ‘Huh?’

  ‘Just got into Athens this morning. Spending today and Good Friday with my sister.’

  ‘No need to rush. I won’t be in today.’

  ‘Yes, you will.’

  ‘Don’t bet on it.’

  Dimitri laughed. ‘Let’s put it this way. I wouldn’t wager anything you really care about.’

  Andreas wanted this to end. It was old news. ‘Okay, what did the little girl find?’ He waved his hand in the air to Lila, as if to say, I want this guy to get off the phone already.

  ‘A laptop computer and a pile of disks. I didn’t look at them, but I have a hunch you’ll want to.’

  Andreas didn’t respond.

  ‘Hello, did you hear what I said?’

  This is old news. I don’t want to know what’s on Vassilis’ computer. ‘What time can you have them in my office?’

  Lila rolled over and got out of bed.

  Holy Thursday’s morning Ceremony of the Basin was a powerful moment in Zacharias’ monastery. The abbot played the part of Christ washing his disciples’ feet after the Last Supper, but the monks cast in those roles knew better than to view this as anything but a brief, ceremonial exercise by the autocrat who ruled within these walls.