Sean gave an appreciative nod. “Thank you, sir. We will be sure to stay clear of trouble from here on out.”
The policeman unlocked the two cells and lumbered back toward the door. “Please, follow me. You will need to sign a few papers before you are released.” He stopped and spun around, eyeing both of the Americans. “Also, you have a friend here. Signor Cagliari is a well-respected man in this city. See to it that you do not get him mixed up in anything criminal.”
“We definitely won’t,” Sean answered.
Tommy remained silent on the matter until they cleared the front desk of the police station. Cagliari sat alone on a bench against the far wall of the lobby, a surprisingly cheerful look decorating his face. He had picked up a magazine somewhere and was scanning through it when the two Americans approached.
“Ah, good. I’m glad your friend was able to get you out so quickly,” Cagliari said with a twinkle in his eye. “That’s a good connection, that Starks lady. Useful to have someone like that in your life, no?”
“I’ve bailed her out of plenty of sticky spots too,” Sean said defensively.
Tommy snorted. “Pretty sure you owe her right now.”
Sean’s head snapped to the side, surprised by his friend’s joking insult. “Didn’t realize you were keeping score. Last I checked I got you out of some tight spots too.” He smiled as he made the statement.
“Yeah, but this little trip is putting us closer to even, I think,” Tommy replied with a crooked grin of his own.
“Fine,” Sean said, giving up, realizing the conversation wasn’t going to get them anywhere.
They went around to the front of the receptionist’s desk, which was protected by a bulletproof glass window. The woman in uniform had already processed their information and had their identification and phones ready to be returned.
“Grazie,” Sean said, scooping up his belongings and sifting through his credit cards to make sure everything was in order. Slightly relieved to see nothing had been lost, he put his cards and identification back in his money clip and slid it into his pocket.
He turned his attention to their new Italian friend as they descended a set of stone steps and exited the building. “Signore, are you sure you don’t want to go to Mount Fumaiolo with us?”
“I’m quite sure. I do appreciate your entertaining the idea of having an old man like me along on your quest, but I believe my race is run in regards to field work.” Cagliari stopped on the sidewalk and spun around to face Tommy and Sean. “You will be able to move faster without me tagging along. All I ask is that when you discover the relic, I be invited to be one of the first to examine it.”
Sean smiled and extended his hand. “Done.” Cagliari grasped his hand and shook it firmly. “Thanks again for all you’ve done, Signor Cagliari. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”
He pulled Sean close as if he were about to share a great secret. He spoke in a hushed, just-between-us-guys tone. “You better take care of that woman of yours when you get her back. She is one in a billion.”
“I intend to.”
The older man let go of Sean’s hand and reached out to take Tommy’s, shaking it in the same, strong manner as before.
“Like Sean said, sir, thank you for your help. We will be in touch as soon as we have the device in our possession.”
Cagliari gave a quick nod. “I know you will.”
He turned and walked down the sidewalk toward one of the many cathedrals dotting the Roman landscape. After twenty seconds, he had disappeared into the throng of people bustling about their day.
The sun was still high over the horizon. Sean looked down at his phone to check the local time. It was getting late in the afternoon. The little delay of getting arrested had taken up more than two hours of their time. They were lucky it hadn’t been more, and Sean knew it.
Tommy checked his phone too and realized how late it was. “What are we going to do?”
Sean already had a plan. “First, we get our car.”
“Obviously.”
Ignoring Tommy’s comment, Sean kept talking. “We need weapons and flashlights.”
“Flashlights we can get in a grocery store,” Tommy said, and then paused as he thought about the other item on the list. “The guns might be a problem.”
Sean shook his head. “I know someone who can help us with that.”
He had worked with a low-level arms dealer out of the Czech Republic during his days with Axis. The guy was smart about his business, never getting too over his head when it came to inventory or the types of weapons he dealt. Sean didn’t mind bending rules, so he forged a relationship with the guy. It had turned out to be an extremely beneficial one for Sean. The arms dealer had intel on everything that happened on the black market, as well as some of the inner workings of local and regional governments.
Last he’d heard, the guy had moved his base of operations to Rome. From what Sean had heard, it was because of his Italian wife.
Tommy looked skeptical. “Someone from your days with Axis?”
A coarse grin crept to one side of Sean’s face as he started to dial their driver. “Don’t worry about it. He’s a good guy…for an arms dealer.”
Chapter 28
Adriana heard the helicopter leave over an hour ago. More time than that may have passed, but without access to any kind of clock she really had no idea. For all she knew, Gikas could have left three hours ago. The only information she had was that the man was going to speak somewhere. To whom, and where, was a mystery. In the far reaches of the northwestern part of Greece, Corfu was more of a remote outpost than anything. Its vineyards and beach towns were sparse at best. The nearest city with a significant population would be at least an hour’s flight by helicopter.
That meant if Gikas had a thirty- to forty-five minute speech, he wouldn’t be returning for another hour…maybe. With the head man gone, she reasoned that some of the security forces he employed would have gone with him. Maybe only a few of them, but that was better than none. It would mean fewer men to deal with on the grounds, and any edge she could get she would take.
She’d spent the better part of the last thirty minutes trying to grind away the ropes that bound her hands behind her back. After a tireless effort, and rubbing her wrists raw, she was finally able to get the bonds loose enough to wriggle free.
Niki had watched her from the corner. He remained quiet, and far away from her as Adriana struggled to free herself. She thought about asking the boy to help her, but decided against it. He was already afraid enough. More than that, if one of the guards did a random pop in to check on the prisoners and caught the boy helping her, the punishment could be severe. That was a risk she wasn’t willing to take.
She shook her arms and hands, letting the blood flow back into her fingers. The ropes had been so tight; relief flooded her to have them finally removed. A few times she’d lost feeling in her fingertips from the constriction.
Niki still sat in the corner, watching her warily as she tugged at the rope around her feet. It took a considerable effort to loosen it, despite having the use of her hands, but after a few minutes her legs were free as well.
Adriana stood up and wobbled for a second, not having been on her feet for some time. She moved cautiously to where the frightened boy crouched in the shadows. “Niki, are you okay?” she asked quietly, just barely audible.
He shook his head.
“Are you afraid of what those men might do to you?”
He gave a shy nod.
“That’s okay,” she smiled at him reassuringly. “It’s okay to be afraid, but I need you to answer me honestly. This is an important question. Can you handle it?”