Jeffrey Siger - Assassins of Athens

'He's back in the apartment. Humming "the times are a-changin" or something like that.'

'Great, just what I want, a happy terrorist. Let me know if he changes his tune.' Andreas thought it was funny. Kouros just hung up.

Andreas looked at his watch. He promised Lila he'd see her. This would be a good time to start keeping his promises. Besides, Kouros knew how to reach him. Tassos did, too. If he had to. A man rarely succeeds at convincing a strong-willed woman that he knows what's best for her. Especially when she distrusts his motives. Tassos was having no better success with Ginny Kostopoulos. She called him her husband's 'shill' and said that nothing he said was worthy of her time. She started to listen only when he reluctantly showed her glossy eight-by-ten color photographs of actual body parts cut off by kidnappers and delivered to victims' families to soften them up to ransom demands.

'How dare you show me this garbage? Do you think scare tactics will change my mind? We're safer on this boat than anywhere else in the world. We can go anywhere from here. Anywhere. No one can find us on the open sea.'

Tassos had given up arguing that point. 'Mrs Kostopoulos. I showed you those photographs because that is what these people do. This is the reality.' He tapped his finger on the photographs. 'You cannot ignore this. They did horrible things to your son and will do even worse to you and your daughters if you don't take precautions.' He braced for a screaming tirade. She'd launched into one each time he pressed that point before.

She stared at the photographs. 'I don't believe they know we're here. It's just a coincidence.' She wasn't yelling. 'The truth is, if you sail around the Mediterranean, sooner or later you end up in Sardinia. And everyone knows about the history of kidnapping here, and elsewhere for that matter. All of us take precautions. Sardinia is no riskier than any other place we sail to.'

That was another point he gave up debating. At least she wasn't yelling. 'You might be right, but the men who are preparing to kidnap your family have roots in Sardinia; that makes it much easier for them to operate here. It's their backyard for god's sake.' Now he was the one heading toward a tirade.

She shook her head. 'We know about them. It is up to you to make sure they don't succeed.'

He shook his head. 'Not while you're in port. You have no mobility. You're a sitting duck here. At least let the captain take us out to sea until we get a better fix on what they're up to. Please.'

She looked at the photographs again. 'Tell the captain I'm tired of Costa Smeralda. Let's sail south.' She walked away, leaving Tassos alone.

He sat down, took a deep breath, and said, 'Thank god.' Then he called the captain. 'Get us the hell out of here.'

'Thank god.' This time it was the captain speaking. Lila was under the covers, cuddled under Andreas' arm, resting her head on his chest listening to him breath. He slowly ran his hand along her bare hip as he rambled on about the case. He seemed almost numb to the facts until he reached the part about the Kolonaki Club. Anger filled his voice. 'Look at that.' He pointed out her bedroom window toward the Acropolis. 'The symbol of man's greatest achievements. Democracy, literacy, equality-'

Lila interrupted with a giggle. 'For some.'

'The ancient Greeks knew a woman's place. Ouch, that hurt.' He rubbed where she'd pinched him.

'Darling, the Kolonaki Club's rules are very strict: only members and invited guests.'

'But these guys are murderers, terrorists. They're antithetical to everything Greece stands for.'

'Or, as some might say, "completely opposite."'

'Stop being a wise-ass. This is serious. We were this close to catching the bastards behind everything and a goddamn club stops us at the door.' He'd pinched a bit of her belly for the measurement.

'Look at it this way, darling: students and revolutionaries have their universities for sanctuary. The Establishment only has the Kolonaki Club.'

He stared at her. 'If you weren't so cute-'

She stuck her hand over his mouth. 'Don't ever call a woman you're in bed with "cute" if you want to stay there.'

He laughed and got to stay a while longer. After breakfast, Andreas left for his office.

Lila left for the Kolonaki Club. 'Morning, Mrs Vardi.' The concierge knew every member by name.

'Morning, Dimitri.'

'What can I do for you?'

'Yesterday, I believe the son of an old friend was here as a guest.'

'Do you know the name of the hosting member?'

'No idea.'

'No problem. What was the name of the visitor? He would be on the list.'

'Mavrakis.'

'Let's see.' He reached under the desk and pulled up a list. 'Oh, yes, here it is, Demosthenes Mavrakis.'

She didn't ask who invited him. She read the two members' names upside down off the list in Dimitri's hand-

'Mrs Vardi, are you all right?'

'Yes, just a little startled at how quickly children grow up. Can't believe he's already coming to the club. Thank you, Dimitri.'

She left the club immediately and walked to the nearest coffee shop. She had to tell Andreas. There was no way he could bring these people down. She crossed herself and whispered, 'My god, my god, my god.' 'Sir, oh, sir.'

'Yes, Dimitri.'

'I'm sorry to bother you but I thought you might like to know that your guest, yesterday, also was the friend of another member.'

'Which guest?'

'The one with you and Mr Linardos.'

The Old Man forced a smile. 'Which member?'

'Mrs Vardi.'

'Lila?'

'Yes?'

'I didn't see her here yesterday.'

'She wasn't.'

'Then how did she know he was here?'

'I don't know, perhaps some other member saw him, knew that Mrs Vardi was a friend, and told her?'

The Old Man stared at Dimitri. 'And what exactly did you tell Mrs Vardi?'

'Nothing, sir, nothing at all.'

'Not even his name?'

'Didn't have to, she already knew it, I just checked the list to see if he was here.'

The Old Man paused. 'Did she ask for the names of his hosts?'

'No, sir.'

The Old Man thanked him and gave him twenty euros, a cheap amount for such valuable information. He never thought of Lila Vardi as a friend of the Kostopoulos family. But what else explained her interest in so irrelevant a person as Demosthenes? How did she know Demosthenes was here if he wasn't followed to the club by Kostopoulos' mercenaries and she wasn't then asked to snoop about for names? Demosthenes was right: they must move quickly. He was certain Kostopoulos had their names by now. For he, too, knew how to read upside down. Efisio never thought Demon would come up with the money. He just wanted to get to Anna. But when the money arrived as promised, she no longer was relevant. At least not for the time being. This job would set him for life. It was not one to subcontract. He must see to it personally. Finding the Ginny Too was easy, thanks to all the GPS equipment and websites tracking ships of her size, but when he saw where she was moored he laughed. This almost was too easy. He called a cousin in Sardinia and, within hours, photos of the ship and all onboard appeared on his cell phone. Modern technology was an amazing boon to his business.

He thought of trusting his cousin to run the actual snatch and avoid the risk of being recognized back home; but his cousin wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, and for forty million he'd take the chance. Besides, from the way things looked, it all would be over in a matter of days. Forty million for a couple of days' work. Not bad. That's why he was back on Sardinia. Maggie buzzed through on the intercom. 'Mrs Vardi is downstairs at security.'

'That's a surprise. Have them send her up.'

'Should I leave?' Kouros stood up from the couch as he asked the question.