One Last Thing

by Kim Baldwin

  Niki urged her. “Trust me. He’s a safe driver.”

  “Come on.” Melina rose and pulled her hand. “Let’s go, already.”

  Ariadne got up. “Okay, okay. But only once around the harbor.”

  “You won’t need more than that to appreciate my baby,” Phaidon said proudly.

  He helped both her and Melina onto the speedboat, and Phaidon started off slowly until they were away from the shore, where he picked up a pleasant speed.

  “Over to those rocks and back,” he yelled over the engine’s roar, pointing toward an outcropping several hundred meters distant.

  “Go for it.” Melina stood beside him with her arms spread like she was rehearsing for a role in Titanic the Sequel.

  Ariadne remained seated at the rear of the boat, with Niki next to her. Discussion was impossible over the roaring engine, so she lifted her face to the warm sun and luxuriated in the smell of the sea and the feel of the spray. They had just reached the rocks and were going around them when Ariadne felt a pinch behind her neck. “What the…?” She smacked her neck. “Something bit—”

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Switch had seen the first mate’s and Lykourgos’s cell numbers pop up on her caller ID the night before, but she hadn’t answered the calls. Instead, she listened to the voice mails, asking all personnel to return to the yacht. The tone of Lykourgos’s voice made it clear he’d already discovered the icon was missing, so it was a good thing they had moved when they did. The first phone call had come less than an hour after she and Allegro had left the boat. There was clearly no reason for her to immediately return to the yacht, because when she did it would be on different terms, and she needed to be prepared.

  After checking into a small hotel overnight, Switch headed back to the yacht to confront Lykourgos, while Allegro arranged for a private helicopter charter later that morning to return the icon to the monastery.

  Switch had just stepped off the Zodiac and onto the yacht when Manos came running toward her.

  “Where have you—” Manos stopped himself when he drew nearer and got a better look at her. “I’m sorry, I thought you were…” He peered intently at her. “Alex, is that you?”

  She’d dressed in dark jeans and a black blouse, unbuttoned enough to show cleavage. And her hair was tousled in a feminine style, the way she usually wore it, instead of combed to the side and slicked back from her face.

  “Hey, Manos.” She smiled. “Yeah, it’s Alex.”

  “Oh, my God.” He gasped. “You’re a woman.”

  “Surprise,” Switch said.

  “Well, fuck me.”

  She chuckled. “You’re not my type.”

  “Neither are you…anymore.” He half smiled, clearly puzzled.

  “Where’s Lykourgos?”

  “In his office, screaming at everyone. Where were you, by the way? He summoned us all back last night.”

  “About a missing icon?” she asked.

  “So you heard.”

  “You could say that.”

  “He asked about you and was infuriated you didn’t show up. If you ask me, you and Fotis are his number-one suspects.”

  “I’m not a thief, Manos.” Switch smiled.

  “Yeah, well. Tell him that.”

  Switch turned to leave. “Later.”

  “Does he know you’re a woman?”

  “Nope.”

  “By the way, why are you a woman?” Manos asked.

  “Born that way.”

  “I mean, why pose as a man?”

  “I have my reasons.” Switch went forward to find Lykourgos. She ran into a few of the guests and personnel, and all of them stared at her, either in disbelief because they recognized her or because an unescorted stranger was on board.

  Switch knocked on Lykourgos’s office door.

  “Who?” His tone was angry and irritated.

  “It’s Alex.”

  “About damn time,” he said loudly while he buzzed her in. “Where have you—” He stopped when Switch entered the room. “Alex?”

  “Yes, sir.” Switch shut the door while Lykourgos sat with his mouth hanging open. “I know it’s a bit of a shock.”

  “You’re a woman.” He sat back in his chair as if to put distance between himself and reality. “What in the hell is going on?”

  “I took the Theotokos.”

  Lykourgos blanched. “How do you know about the Theotokos?”

  “Mr. Lykourgos, I’m a private contractor.” Switch stepped closer to his desk. “I work for a company that Mount Athos hired to recover and return the priceless icon you hired someone to steal.”

  “No!” Lykourgos shouted. “No, no, no!” He got up and placed his hands on the desk. “I will give you any amount of money to return it to me.”

  “I’m not interested in money,” Switch replied calmly.

  “I need it.” He fumed between tight lips. “I need it just a while longer. I never meant to keep it. I would never deprive others of its powers, but I have to keep it with me until I’m better.”

  “I know you want to believe it will cure your lung cancer, but I cannot return the icon to you under any circumstances.”

  “How do you know about my illness?” He looked surprised.

  “I’m afraid you don’t understand how far-reaching this organization is, Mr. Lykourgos. There is nothing and no one our means can’t find. If you put the CIA together with Interpol you’ll still come up with only a fraction of what we can do.”

  Lykourgos dropped into his chair. “Does this mean I’m going to be arrested?”

  “That’s up to you.”

  Lykourgos eyed her suspiciously. “You said you don’t want money. So, what then?”

  “I want your cooperation to arrest Mrs. Rothschild, the woman who helped you steal the icon.”

  “How do you…?” He stopped. “Never mind.” He was apparently convinced about the EOO’s power.

  “We have been trying to catch Rothschild in the act for years. She is behind everything wrong with this world, from slavery to trading in weapons and human organs. Every time we get close to taking her down, she reaches in her pockets and buys a cop, an agent, a politician, or a witness. We need to stop her and you can help us do it. In exchange, you get to keep your freedom and our discretion.”

  “But can the monks have me arrested for an icon that presumably doesn’t exist?” he asked.

  “They’re willing to expose its existence if the thief doesn’t cooperate, or if we don’t have it back in its place by tomorrow,” Switch lied. “Basically, they’re willing to go to any lengths to get the Theotokos back, and if the police get involved, just like us they will conduct the same pattern of research that will lead them to you.” She was bluffing.

  Lykourgos scratched at his stubble of beard, then sat there with his face hidden in his hands for a long while.

  “Can you prove that you met with her or paid her?” Switch asked. “Is there any way at all to prove she is involved?”

  “No. I paid her in cash.”

  “Okay, then I can wire you. You invite her back for an icon-related discussion, bring up the theft and her involvement.”

  “If I never see that cold bitch again it’ll be too soon.”

  “I’m afraid you don’t have a choice.”

  A loud knock at the door made them both jump.

  “Not now,” Lykourgos shouted.

  “It’s about Ariadne,” a male voice said from the other side.

  Lykourgos buzzed him in, and both he and Switch hurried to the door. “What happened?” they asked in unison.

  Lambros, Ariadne’s bodyguard, was close to tears. “I can’t find her. According to a waitress in the hotel restaurant, she and Melina slipped out early this morning after coffee. Neither has contacted the girls or me, and we’ve tried calling them, all of us, but nothing.” The guy was close to hyperventilating, and Switch was sure a lot of it had to do with his fear of Lykourgos’s reaction.

  “You incomp
etent fucker!” he shouted. “I want you to find my daughter, now!”

  “Lambros.” Switch stood in front of Lykourgos. “Look at me. Look at me.” She repeated her demand to help him focus on her and not his boss’s rage. “Has Ariadne done this before?”

  Lambros took notice of her presence for the first time and frowned at the change in her appearance. “Alex?”

  “Answer me.” Switch was running out of patience.

  “No,” he replied.

  “Where did she go last night?”

  “To different bars with her friends. They stayed about an hour at each, three bars in total. I took them back to the hotel around two o’clock.”

  “Did you notice anything unusual at any or all of the bars?”

  “Of course not. I would’ve done something if I had. It was just the usual dancing and flirting.”

  “Did Ariadne talk with anyone?”

  “She spent most of the evening watching the others have fun. She wasn’t into it, know what I mean? I kept her company at one of the places until a woman she’d met at the club the day before showed up with her brother. I stayed with them for a while before I returned to my post.”

  “What woman? What did she look like?”

  “Blond, short hair,” he replied. “Tall, kinda her type.”

  Switch doubted this was a coincidence. Her gut was never wrong, and she hadn’t liked the blonde from the beginning. “What else?”

  “Now that you mention it, her brother kept staring at me,” Lambros said. “At first, I thought it was a gay thing, but later I saw him making out with some girl.”

  “Names?”

  “Niki and Phaidon, no last name.”

  *

  Ariadne struggled to open her eyes. Her mouth was so dry she had difficulty swallowing. She forced her eyes open until she could at least take in what was in front of her. In the dim light, she made out a couch and a large window behind it. The heavy wooden shades were closed, so she couldn’t tell whether it was night or day. She tried to move and finally realized she was tied to a chair, her hands bound behind her back and her feet wrapped tightly with more white nylon rope.

  “What the fuck happened?” She heard Melina’s voice from behind her.

  “Are you okay?” Ariadne craned her neck to look at Melina, who sat a few feet behind her, also tied to a chair.

  “My head hurts, but we’ve got bigger problems than my migraine.”

  “I can’t remember what happened. We were on the boat when I felt this sting in my neck, and then nothing.”

  “Same here, though I do remember smacking the bitch after I felt the pinch and turned to find her behind me.”

  “And this is why I need Lambros.” Ariadne looked around for her purse—her cell phone was in it—but couldn’t see it anywhere.

  “So, it’s my fault we were snatched?”

  “I’m just saying.”

  “It’s bad enough I’m here because of you. Now you’re going to pin the kidnapping on me?”

  “Of course not.”

  “So, what happens now?” Melina sounded almost bored.

  “I don’t know. It’s not like this is a monthly routine.”

  “Let me spoil the surprise. They call in with the ransom, your dad delivers, and we go home.”

  “I don’t know. I guess.” Ariadne’s eyes had started to focus and adjust to the sparsely lit room.

  “How long do you think we’ll be here?”

  “You’re the one who memorized Kidnapping for Dummies, so you tell me.”

  “I’m going to guess forty-eight hours,” Melina replied.

  “Thanks for the update.” She went quiet for a long while, and so did Melina.

  “Are you afraid?” Melina finally asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Me, too,” Melina said.

  “I thought you had it all figured out.”

  “Well, why take us otherwise? I mean, if not for money.”

  “Because they’re serial killers?” Ariadne offered.

  “Well, that’s just fucking great. I hadn’t even considered that until you opened your pessimistic trap.”

  “I’m being realistic, and I’m so terrified I feel like throwing up.”

  “So do I, thanks to you.”

  “We need a plan,” Ariadne said.

  “Have you not noticed that you’re tied to a chair?”

  “Oh, is that why I can’t move?” Ariadne replied with irritation. “Think with me, will you?”

  “Do you have anything sharp on you?”

  “I have a Swiss Army knife in my purse, but I can’t see it anywhere.”

  “Mine’s gone, too,” Melina said.

  “Hey, can you scoot over here and see if you can untie me?”

  “Wait.” Melina started to edge her chair toward Ariadne, an inch or two at a time.

  “Seriously? You’re making more noise than a church organ.”

  “My legs are still kind of numb. If you think you can do it better, then—” Melina stopped when a key turned in the lock. “They’re coming,” she whispered.

  The door opened and two men came to stand in front of them, one bald and the other tall and thin. “Good evening, ladies,” the bald guy said in English. “I know both of you can understand English, so from here on anything you say will be in English. No talking amongst yourselves in Greek.”

  “Why are we here?” Melina asked.

  “You’ll be told what you need to know, so no questions. For now, consider yourselves our guests and show respect for our hospitality. We would hate to have to get violent.”

  “Are you serial killers?” Melina blurted out.

  Both men looked at each other and smiled. “No questions, remember?” the thin guy replied.

  “Is this about my father?” Ariadne dared ask.

  The bald man walked up to her and smacked her across the face so hard her neck hurt more than her cheek. “No questions. Is that so hard to remember?” With that, both men left.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  “I have to find her.” Lykourgos paced his office like an animal. “We have to call the police.” He was talking to himself, planning the next move.

  “You’re not going to call anyone. TQ, or her men, are going to call you soon,” Switch said. If sitting and waiting for a phone call was rough for her, she knew it was impossible for Ariadne’s father. “If you get the police involved, you’re going to end up in jail for conspiracy to steal an artifact. You know what Greece does to those who mess with artifacts.”

  “I don’t care.” He fished his cell from his trousers.

  “You call the police and TQ is going to panic, and if TQ panics, she’s going to bail.”

  “So, let her fucking bail.”

  “What do you think she’ll do to your daughter if she has to leave without the icon? I don’t think you fully grasp the magnitude of this woman’s sickness. She will not handle defeat very well. There’s no telling what she’ll do.”

  Lykourgos put the phone back in his pocket. “Jesus Christ. All this, because of me.”

  Switch tried to calm him. She put her hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure if you knew just how twisted this woman is, you would’ve never gotten involved with her. It’s not your fault, Mr. Lykourgos.”

  He took a seat in his armchair and placed his phone on the coffee table in front of him. “It is my fault. My damn greed put my daughter in danger just so…so I could live. What’s the point in getting better if…if she’s gone?”

  “You’ll get her back as soon as we get TQ.”

  “So, what the hell are we going to do?”

  “Set her up.” Switch tried to remain composed, hoping it would rub off. “Look, she’s going to ask for the icon in return for your daughter. We give her the icon, and—”

  “And something goes miserably wrong in your attempt to get her, and my daughter becomes the victim of my greed, as well as yours.” Lykourgos stood and approached Switch. “All you care about is catchi
ng Rothschild. You couldn’t give a damn about my daughter.” He pushed Switch in the chest. “She dies, it’s just collateral damage to you and whatever company you work for.” He pushed her again. “I know your country teaches you that everything and everyone can be sacrificed for whatever cause you deem worthy but…we are talking about my daughter!” He shouted the last.

  “My country is Greece,” Switch replied between clenched teeth.

  “Bullshit. No one in Greece has ever heard of Rothschild, let alone wanted her behind bars. You’re not getting paid by Greece to catch her. You’re getting paid by some American company with a personal vendetta.”

  “I never said anything about a vendetta.”

  “You didn’t have to. I have plenty of my own contacts. If she were sought by the government, I would have known about it and would’ve never gotten involved with her in the first place.”

  “Are you sure about that? Desperate people make desperate decisions and even more desperate alliances.”

  Lykourgos seemed to consider her words. “You’re right,” he replied. Seeming resigned, he sat back down. “I want to live.”

  Truth was, Switch couldn’t blame him. If saving her life or that of a loved one meant breaking the rules, she would probably do the same. She glanced at her watch. Allegro’s charter flight to Thessaloniki was due to leave soon. “Sit tight. I need to make a call. I’ll be right back.”

  Switch stepped out in the hallway and dialed Allegro. “Where are you?” she asked when Allegro finally answered. “It’s been ringing forever.”

  “At the airport. I was about to get in the helicopter.”

  “I need you to come back to the yacht with the icon.”

  “Come back to what, now?” Allegro sounded frustrated.

  “Ariadne was kidnapped.”

  “TQ?”

  Switch explained the situation. “So, we need the icon,” she finally said.

  “Yeah, I get that, but what are you going to do about the monks waiting for it? I mean, you can’t just let TQ have it.”

  “The plan is to catch TQ during the exchange, then return the artifact.”