‘What bitch?’ said Tassos.
‘Baarrrrbarrraaa.’ Katerina drew out the name as a child would in a schoolyard taunt.
‘She was hitting on him?’ asked Kouros.
‘Fellas, please. How blind and naive are you men? Believe me, I know how to hit on a man and I can tell you, that bitch is a master.’
‘What are you talking about?’ said Tassos.
‘That’s right, you weren’t there to watch the show. No woman would allow a man to stroke her back as she did if she weren’t interested. And then she’d make just enough of a subtle push back against Vladimir’s hand to let him know he had a shot at her. He was so hard I thought he’d come on the spot.’
Neither cop bothered to ask how she knew that.
‘But Andreas better be careful. Vladimir is no one to fuck around with. Don’t forget where or how he made his money. It took a body count as well as brains to make what he made in Russia. People tend to die who get in his way. I never forget that, and Andreas better not either.’
Tassos shrugged. ‘Thanks, but Andreas has nothing to worry about.’ He didn’t bother to say there would be no competition for the woman.
Katerina poured more wine into their glasses. ‘Let’s hope Vladimir sees it that way. For all our sakes.’
‘Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.’ As Barbara moaned she thrust her hips up to meet his, her legs wrapped around his back, squeezing and touching wherever she could.
I can’t believe this woman, thought Vladimir. It’s our third time since the plane landed. And that one time in the air. His mind was lost in her completely and without warning he was on the verge again. My God, how does she know how to do this? As if on cue, she touched him in just the right place at just the right moment, and from that instant on it was nothing but, ‘Barbara, Barbara, Barbaraaaahhhhhhhh.’ They came together. Again.
They lay together in the dark without moving. Then she gently stroked her fingers along his spine.
‘Where have you been all my life?’
‘Athens.’
He laughed. ‘I hope you like Moscow.’
‘A nice place to visit.’
‘But you wouldn’t want to live here?’
‘Vladimir, are you proposing?’
He laughed. ‘You have too many boyfriends for me.’
She patted him on the back. ‘Don’t start getting jealous on me.’
He cringed. She probably was right about that. ‘Well, I can’t help remembering what that policeman said.’
‘Andreas?’
‘Yes. I bumped into him the day after we met and he said, “Obviously, you’ve never slept with Barbara.”’
‘I have no idea how that subject ever came up, but one thing’s for sure, we both know he’d be wrong now, darling.’
‘Yeah, but it still bothers me.’
She grabbed his dick and squeezed it. Then pulled at it twice. ‘My love, that’s the most Andreas ever got from me, and he was out cold when I did it. All I did was rub some lubricant on his dick so when he woke up he’d think he’d had me, and could have me again. I wanted to see if he was like every other man chasing after my girlfriend, Lila. He’s not. Darling, he’s my best friend’s almost-husband, I’d never screw him. He just needed me for company for the night.’ She kissed his cheek. ‘There, that’s the truth. So, now, do you feel better?’
It was dark in the room so Barbara couldn’t see his face. It was not a look of joy. ‘Excuse me, my love, I must make a telephone call.’ Vladimir left the room.
‘Anatoly, we have a problem.’
‘Vladimir, it’s almost five o’clock in the morning.’
‘We’ve been set up.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘The cop used the woman to get next to me. It’s been a hustle from the very beginning. He wanted to make me curious enough to break into the woman’s house, copy the information, and pass it on — to make it seem real and legitimate. We have to stop it.’
‘We can’t. It’s too late.’
‘I was afraid of that. Then we must do whatever it takes to make it seem that the information did not come from me. I’m certain I’m being set up as the link to something intended to embarrass Mother Russia and get me sent off to a gulag.’ Or worse, he thought but did not say. ‘I wonder which of my enemies is behind this.’
‘Vladimir, relax. We can come up with another source, one that covers both of us. But who else knows about your involvement in all this?’
‘Only the cop, as far as I know.’
‘Then he must be eliminated.’
‘What about the woman?’
Vladimir paused. ‘I think not. She knows nothing more than that she was to be his companion for the evening.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes.’
‘This is going to cost a lot of money.’
‘That is not a problem.’
‘I didn’t think it would be.’
‘Just do it. And leave no witnesses.’
‘It will take a couple of days to organize, but consider it done.’
Vladimir hung up the phone. Too bad, he thought, I kind of liked that cop.
Andreas knew he had no control over what he’d set in motion. Too many variables, too many different agendas involved. No telling what might happen. All he knew for certain was that this time he’d done the right thing. He just hoped no innocents suffered because of him if the Russians decided to act. Unlike the traditional Italian concept of a hit — assassinate just the offending one — Russians were prepared to blow up a room full of people as long as they took out their target.
That thinking led him to other thoughts and other concerns. For those who believed in heaven and hell there was always hope that good would prevail and bad would be punished. For those who didn’t believe it was a tougher call, because bad guys didn’t play by the rules, giving them a decided advantage. As Andreas saw it, a cop could be a believer in his heart, but damn well better think like a Dirty Harry nonbeliever on the job.
He decided to spend the rest of the week keeping an eye on Lila, just to be on the safe side. Besides, it was a good excuse for sharing what remained of their pre-baby era of life. He couldn’t imagine being happier, no matter what the future brought.
But he also told Maggie to keep up on the news from Mount Athos, just in case.
22
Free at last. Praise the Lord. It was noon, and the monastery’s doors at last were open. Everyone was off to eat, then to sleep. Forty days of fasting without meat, fish, cheese, butter, or eggs had taken much of their energy. But Zacharias had no time for that. He had to hurry to catch the fast boat from the port of Daphni to Ouranoupolis and be back in time for supper at seven in the Russian abbot’s monastery. A two-hour mountain road walk to the bus, a half-hour ride to the boat, a one-hour voyage aboard the Little Saint Anna, and a return voyage getting him back to Daphni before evening prayers at six was the plan. Thank God the Russian monastery wasn’t far from Daphni. Still, it would be close.
As he hurried along the dirt path toward where the bus would be, he fiddled with his cell phone. He couldn’t get it to work. Couldn’t be the battery, he’d left it in the charger all week. Then it hit him. He’d also left the phone on, just in case a message somehow got through — and the abbot must have turned off all electricity into the monastery. The phone was dead. Damn, damn, damn.
He quickened his pace. No matter, he’d assume the worst, that none of them made it to Ouranoupolis and he’d have to do this alone. He could do it. He could do anything.
As he walked, Zacharias thought of other possibilities. What if they were caught? What if there were police waiting for him in Ouranoupolis? No, the three would never talk. They’re afraid of the Lord and what would happen to their souls should they stray from the path they’d chosen to walk together with him — and to their families should they cross him. He had picked his men carefully, each with a past and a family to protect. Yes, they would never give him away.
The bus wound its way through timeless green beauty. He stared out the window; there seemed no human presence, man nonexistent. This now was his place. This was where he belonged. He would make it worthy of his work. The boat was there. As if ordained to wait for him. Yes, it was ordained. It was part of the Lord’s plan. The time was now.