On the journey there, Thanos allowed himself a few moments to enjoy the view of the rolling countryside. He watched farms, trees, homes, and occasional remnants of the Roman Empire blur by. Thanos was always on the clock, always working, constantly considering his next move; a mindset that had kept him alive during times when others would likely have faltered. He took the map out of his pocket several times and looked over it to make sure that they were heading in the right direction. Based on the location indicated by the document, they would find the relic somewhere on the coast. He assumed there would be a cave, or rocky cliff there. Such an area would have fewer visitors and lend itself to a more private search. The last thing they needed was some idiot with a metal detector snooping around.
That thought brought up another potential problem. What if they needed tools to perform an excavation? He’d never been a part of anything like that before and was unfamiliar with the process. He would figure it out. How hard could it be? A few shovels, maybe a pick, and they’d be good to go. They could purchase those things at a local hardware store if need be.
His mind drifted to the future. He’d made his bed with Dimitris Gikas because Thanos was all about putting himself in the best position to succeed. He knew what Gikas had been planning and had wanted in from the start. The way Thanos saw it, he was betting on the best horse in the race. And his employer had rewarded him substantially. He was completely satisfied with being the right-hand man. It was all about survival. Well, survival and the occasional carnal pleasures that he so enjoyed. Thinking about it brought back the possibilities with the Spaniard being held captive back in Gikas’s island compound. He forced himself to suppress his excitement. It had been quite a while since he’d been afforded a little private time. The last was a young Asian girl he’d left under a pier in Taipei. While he was there to procure investments for his employer, Thanos had taken a few hours to walk the streets one night. The prostitute had been exactly what he needed. When he was done with her, he squeezed the life out of her and dumped the body. The memory caused his heart to start pumping hard again, and he pulled out the map once more to take his mind off the distracting thoughts. Fortunately, they arrived at their destination a few minutes later and he could refocus his energy.
Thanos got out of the car and scanned the area. Hotels, shops, cafes, bars, and restaurants abounded. Holidaygoers laughed happily as they walked by on the sidewalk. Thanos ignored all the revelry and pulled a sheet of paper out of his pocket. It was the map he’d retrieved from Cagliari’s home. He looked closely at it, comparing it to a map of Ostia he’d procured on his smart phone. According to the analysis, they were close to the spot marked on Cagliari’s map. Something, however, didn’t add up.
Ostia is historically famous for its ancient Roman ruins, gardens, and a world-renowned Roman theater. While many Italian citizens visit for the beaches, the town thrived on the backs of international tourists. Foreign money brought in tens of millions every year. Rome would always be the most popular tourist destination for people anxious to see into the history of the long-lost empire, but Ostia was for those who wanted to get a little off the beaten path and get a more personal, up-close glimpse into this growing borough.
When Thanos had realized where Cagliari’s map pointed, it made perfect sense. Julius Caesar had been a sailor at heart. It would make sense that the emperor would hide his most prized possession next to the thing he loved the most, the sea. Ostia also seemed like the right location due to the amount of history surrounding the area. Sure, it had become a modern town like anywhere else, but with so many millennia-old cemeteries and buildings, Thanos had been certain the seaside town was the final resting place for the Eye of Zeus.
Now, he wasn’t so sure.
The other two men got out of the car while the driver remained behind the wheel. “Stay here,” Thanos ordered. “You two come with me.”
The driver nodded and kept his eyes forward while the other two subordinates fell in line behind the bald man.
Something wasn’t right. His pace quickened as he strode down the sidewalk, staring at the sheet of paper and comparing it to the image on his phone screen. His shoulder plowed into a young man in a blue tank top and Wayfarer glasses, but he kept going, leaving the drunken beachgoer swearing something at him in Italian.
Thanos turned right at a breach between two buildings and headed through the shaded alley. On the other side there was another small piazza, featuring a huge fountain in the middle of a pedestrian roundabout. The fountain’s sculpture of a man holding a spear and shield represented a great Roman soldier, perhaps someone the city revered. Thanos didn’t care. He needed to get to the spot on the map.
He led his men around the fountain and through the square, heading toward the sea, as far as he could tell. Through the crevasses between the smaller buildings ahead he could see that his assumption was correct. Beach umbrellas came into view, along with thousands of beachgoing tourists in bathing suits, bikinis, and sundresses, all soaking up the rays of sunshine from the cloudless sky. The sounds of the people were drowned out by the waves crashing on the edge of the sand.
Thanos slowed his steps. A terrible feeling crept into his mind. He glanced down at the map again, though this time he didn’t need to. He walked through another shorter alleyway and onto the sandy beach. The hot sun beat down on him in his black suit jacket, making the irritation inside him swell to boiling point. His right hand involuntarily crumpled up the sheet of paper and dropped it on the ground.
“What is the problem, sir? Where does the map say to go?” one of his assistants asked.
The bald man didn’t say a word for a moment. He simply stood there, taking in the scene. All of the people going about their day, enjoying the sunshine and the water, had no idea what was going on. He let a few seconds slip by before turning around and heading back the way they came.
The two subordinates looked at each other with a worried glance. One shrugged at the other and mouthed, “I don’t know.”
“Sir,” the shorter one said, catching up to his boss who continued walking without turning around. “Where are we going? Didn’t the map say this was the spot?”
“Yes. It did,” he answered, keeping his face forward and his stride long.
The answer did nothing to satisfy the underling’s curiosity. “So, why are we leaving?”
Thanos stopped in the middle of the piazza, near the fountain they’d walked by a few moments before. A vein on the side of his head pulsed visibly in the late afternoon sun. A bead of sweat formed on his forehead and rolled down his face, past his eye and off his cheek. “The old man tricked us.”
Chapter 30
“I still can’t believe we are going to see an arms dealer,” Tommy said in a derisive tone. “You know what? I can’t believe you even know an arms dealer. You used to work for the United States government, Sean. Aren’t the arms dealers the bad guys?”
Sean laughed as he pulled the car into an empty parking space. The two had dropped off their driver at the hotel, deciding it might be better if they go the rest of the journey alone. Sean reasoned that he would rather not make his shady friend nervous. The driver was more than happy to take the rest of the day off. He was getting paid no matter what. After a day full of high-intensity intrigue, the guy probably needed a break anyway.
“Marek is not a bad guy. It’s not like he deals with nuclear weapons or nerve gas. He mostly peddles small arms.” Sean could tell his explanation did little to calm Tommy’s nerves.
“So you’re on a first name basis with this goon? Oh, so what, he’s a black market weapons dealer with a conscience?”