“What are you into, Zen or something? Just tell me.”
“I was able to set up a meeting with the Albanians. But they’ll only see us tonight. It’s now or never.”
“You’re kidding.” He instinctively looked at his watch.
And Lila looked at him.
“It looks like our only chance to meet.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll pick you up in front of your building in fifteen minutes. Bye.”
Andreas put down his phone.
“Honey…”
“Try not to stay out too late.”
“I don’t want to go but there’s no choice. It’s very important.”
“I’m sure. Just remember. Sunday.”
Andreas kissed her on the cheek and left the room to get dressed to meet Tassos. He didn’t want her to see him putting on his ballistic vest.
Tassos pulled up alone in front of Andreas’ building in a blue and white police cruiser.
Andreas got in next to him. “We’re taking a marked car to this?”
“The ones we’re meeting know we’re cops. I want to make sure everyone else in the neighborhood knows it, too, and that we’re there on official business.”
Andreas shrugged. “It’s your call, but I wouldn’t think the Albanians would appreciate the idea of other bad guys in their neighborhood knowing they’re entertaining cops. Might start too many rumors.”
“Not a problem tonight. They picked a place in Athens, outside their neighborhood. A club in Gazi. The cruiser will get us a parking space.” Tassos grinned.
“Which place?”
“Dionysios’ Sin. How do they come up with those names?”
“I never knew that place was connected to the mob?” said Andreas.
“It isn’t, that’s why they picked it. And at this hour it’s just getting busy. We’ll be lost in the crowd.”
Andreas stared out the window. Any meeting with that sort was dangerous, but picking a club in the heart of Athens’ busiest nightlife district was about as safe a place as he could have hoped for them to choose. And it was quantum levels safer than a meeting on their home turf in Menidi. Cops rarely went there, and rarer still in a marked car. Andreas let his mind wander to other things, not pouncing on any one thought in particular.
“Here we are,” said Tassos. It was a narrow street jammed with cars parked on both sides. Tassos pulled into a space cleared for the entrance to the club. An attendant held his hand out for the key.
“Get serious,” said Tassos as he locked the doors and pocketed the key.
Andreas scanned the street to see if anyone was watching them. Everyone was. No wonder, with that grand entrance.
“Where are we supposed to meet them?”
Tassos shook his head. “Don’t know. We’re supposed to find some guy named Robert and ask for the ‘White party.’”
The place was mobbed, the music loud, and the decor classic French bordello from that country’s glory days of its greatest decadence. Not bad if you liked that sort of thing. Tassos whispered something in a waiter’s ear. The waiter turned and pointed to a man by the end of the bar studying the room. He had to be at least seven feet tall and as broad as the back of a truck.
“That’s our Robert,” said Tassos.
“Oh boy. They win, I quit,” said Andreas.
“He’s probably quite gentle.”
“Let’s hope we don’t get the chance to hear him say, ‘I’ll be gentle.’”
Tassos laughed.
Andreas patted his crotch. His nine-millimeter was right where it should be. “Okay, let’s go.”
Tassos walked over to the giant and motioned for him to lower his head. Tassos whispered in his ear and Robert’s face lit up in a broad smile. He waved one of his huge hands at Andreas to follow and began moving through the sea of people. It was like two caiques following the Queen Mary. He led them to a doorway at the rear, opened it, and pointed down the stairs.
“Down there, they’re waiting for you.” He smiled, patted Tassos and Andreas on their backs as they passed, and closed the door behind them.
“Christ, it’s like a tomb in here,” said Andreas. “Can’t hear a thing from outside or downstairs.”
“And vice-versa I’m sure. Probably not even a gun shot,” said Tassos.
“Stop making me feel better.” Andreas touched his holster again. “Just how sure are you of the guy who set up this meeting?”
“He’s a friend of a friend.”
“Great. Like I said, stop making me feel better.”
At the bottom of the stairs stood two bulky guys, obviously Albanian. They didn’t smile, just stared at the new arrivals.
Tassos stared back. “We’re here for the White party.”
The two men pointed to a door at the end of the hall.
As they walked toward the door Tassos whispered, “Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes.”
Andreas smiled, but braced for the worst. Just then the door swung open and a tremendous shout came roaring out of the room.
“SURPRISE!”
It took about an hour of hugged congratulations, gotchas, backslapping, and svenaki shots of vodka from what seemed every guy he’d ever known before Andreas could corner Tassos. “You son-of-a-bitch, this was supposed to be tomorrow night.”
“You mean your ‘surprise’ bachelor party.” Tassos was smiling from ear to ear. “We knew you’d be expecting some sort of party so it was Lila’s idea to misdirect you into thinking it was tomorrow.”
“I guess I should take that as a warning of what life will be like after Sunday.”
“Yeah, someone always caring that you have a good time.”
“If you want me to have a really good time you’ll tell me that your bit about being able to set up a meeting with the Albanians was all part of an elaborate ruse to get me here and that there’s absolutely no truth to it.”
“Sorry, wish I could. But that part’s all real, though it did give me the idea for making sure you’d be surprised when the door opened.”
“Remind me of that tomorrow, when I’m sober. What about the two Albanians at the door? Nice touch.”
“Hey, not all Albanians are bad guys. They’re cops from the western suburbs. It was Yianni’s idea. He thought they would lend authenticity.”
Andreas felt a sharp slap on his back. “Andreas, Andreas.” It was Spiros, the minister of public order.
“ Yiasou, Spiros.”
“I am so glad to be here. After all we’ve been through together I feel as if we’re brothers.”
“Thank you, I’ve had similar thoughts at times,” said Andreas thinking of certain well-known biblical siblings.
“I’ve arranged a little surprise to commemorate the end of your bachelorhood. Enjoy.” Spiros winked at Tassos and walked away.
Andreas stared after him. “Why does the thought of a surprise from Spiros not make me happy?”
Tassos waved to Kouros to join them. “Forget about him. At least he didn’t ask you for a report on what’s happening with the Tinos murders.” He put his arm around Kouros. “Yianni, we pulled it off. Congratulations.”
Andreas stared at Kouros. “Bastard.”
“I love you too, Chief.”
Andreas smiled and hugged him.
The food, music, and drink had been running non-stop since they got there, all in a mix of modern and old Greek styles. Now the lights flickered, a disco ball hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room began to turn, and splashes of colored light darted about in pace with the music. Spotlights splashed about the room before abruptly fixing on three figures shrouded in black beneath the disco ball. Every eye was drawn to the objects caught in the lights. At that instant the music gained a sudden intensity and from beneath each cloak a bare white arm shot straight into the air followed a moment later by a second bare arm.
Andreas had a pretty good idea of what was coming and was certain it did not involve any dancers approved by Lila.
First one then another dancer dropped her cloak, followed by her dress and bra, while the deejay did his masterful job of pumping up the music and virtually every man in the room. It wasn’t that hard to do. Tall, blond, blue-eyed, big-busted young women, undoubtedly Eastern bloc, dancing naked down to their g-strings before two hundred drunken men generally did the trick every time.