When he spoke, his voice carried an air of disregard and complete lack of sympathy. “Mr. Prime Minister, I apologize, but I will not be able to respond to your request. I’m out at sea at the moment, and I simply cannot reach my distribution facilities until the end of the week.”
Samaris’s tone turned threatening. “You release the food, Dimitris, or I will send the army to release it for you.”
Gikas allowed himself a short laugh. “Do you really think that wise, Petra?” He said the name with disdain. It was disrespectful to call the prime minister by his first name, a fact Gikas knew Samaris took seriously. “Send the army to my facilities, and I will burn them all to the ground. It would be a shame if there were several explosions at the distribution centers right when your soldiers showed up. Of course, there would be many innocent people working there that would die, a fact that the news reports would claim was your fault, along with the deaths of many soldiers.”
“You’re bluffing.” Samaris sounded hopeful.
“Am I? Do you honestly think that I don’t have a backup plan for every possible contingency you have thought of or will think of? I have no problem destroying my own plants. They are insured well beyond what they are worth. I will make more money while your little reign at the helm continues to unravel.”
Silence pervaded for a moment before Samaris spoke again. “What is it you want, Dimitris?”
Gikas paced over to the little bar on the side of his yacht’s living room. Two guards stood next to Adriana Villa, her hands and ankles bound in thick rope. Her mouth had been gagged with a hand towel from one of the bathrooms so she wouldn’t say anything during the phone call that would give away their position. Even though Gikas was in a position of absolute strength at the moment, one well-placed cruise missile would wipe him off the planet.
“What do I want?” he asked as he poured himself a short refill of vodka. He set the decanter back on the bar and took a quick sip, savoring the warm feel of the liquid. “There is nothing you have that I need, Petra. You should have planned better. Your administration has squandered any little bit of money the government had left, and you have betrayed the people.” Gikas’s tone turned sour. “If any Greek people die as a result of this famine then their blood is on your hands, not mine. Justice will be done, Petra, of that you can be sure. Now if you will excuse me, I have some business to tend to.”
“Dimitris! Don’t you hang up the…”
Gikas hit the end button on his phone’s touch screen and tossed the device on the couch. He turned his attention to the Spaniard tied up in the seat across from him. “Now,” he motioned with the wave of a hand, telling the nearest guard to unbind the gag from his prisoner’s mouth. “I’m terribly sorry I had to do that. Couldn’t have you yelling out our position or something crazy like that while I was on the phone with the man I’m unseating.”
“Your plan will fail,” Adriana spat. Fire burned in her eyes like an angry tiger, ready to pounce on its prey.
He shrugged and pouted his lips. “Possibly. But highly unlikely. Your boyfriend and his companion are on their way to this yacht as we speak. It seems they did not find the relic, but they did find where it is. The Eye of Zeus will be mine soon enough, and then, not a single soul on this planet will be able to stop me.”
The door on the other side of the room swung open, startling everyone inside. Bourdon pulled his weapon, but lowered it immediately upon seeing it was his men with the two new prisoners. One of them kicked Wyatt in the kidneys, sending him to the floor just inside the living room. His hands were tied behind his back, though his feet were free. Wyatt’s face bore a cut on one cheek and a swollen left eye.
“I see you roughed him up a little,” Bourdon commented casually.
One of the muscle-bound guards rolled his shoulders. “I didn’t want him to get any ideas.”
“Now, now,” Gikas interrupted as he stepped over to Wyatt, putting his feet right in front of the American’s face. “Is that any way to treat our guests?”
Tommy stood in the doorway with one of the other guards directly behind him, watching his every move. “We don’t have the antikythera, Gikas. So you may as well just let us go.” Tommy’s offer seemed to have no effect on the rich man.
Though Sean did admire him for the effort, he knew there was no getting out of this. He cursed himself for not being more aware to the possibility that someone could be on their boat. He wondered if the men had stowed away onboard before they even left the marina, but he doubted it. They’d gone through the cabin to check on the supplies they had ordered. There weren’t that many places to hide on the small boat. A thought flashed through his mind. “The driver worked for you, huh,” he said, more as a statement than a question.
Gikas gave an impressed nod and a quick flick of the eyebrows, or maybe he was just mocking the former agent. “Yes. Your driver was one of my employees.”
“Was?” Tommy asked.
“Well, you know how things can get sometimes. He was more of a temporary worker. My associate here had to let him go.” Gikas motioned at Bourdon by waving his nearly empty tumbler in the air. He knelt down beside Sean and stared into his eyes with a firm glare. “Now, you are going to tell me where the device is, and you are going to retrieve it for me, or I will kill your friend and let my men have their way with your woman. Is that clear enough for you, Sean Wyatt?”
Sean fought to keep his anger at bay, but his temper raged inside like a caged lion. “You don’t need them,” he said, his jaw clenched tight. “Let them go, and I’ll get you the Eye of Zeus.”
Gikas clicked his tongue a few times, chastising Sean for even considering such a counter offer. “You are in no position to make proposals, Sean. I am in total control right now. So you can do as I say, and bring me the relic, or I start making things very bad for your friends.” He paused for a moment, and then stood up. He walked over to Adriana and put his hand behind the back of her head, grabbing her hair hard. Gikas yanked on it, causing a short squeak to come from her mouth. “Women, you see, are so easy to manipulate. You can force them to make whatever sounds you wish. I wonder, Sean, have you ever heard a woman screaming for help, struggling against a man? How long do you think she would be able to struggle against one of my men here?” He pointed at the guards in the room.
Sean’s inclination was to say something about how she could hold her own and those men might be the ones not lasting very long, but he didn’t want to provoke the madman. If he said anything remotely reckless, Gikas might hold true to his word. That was something Sean could not allow.
“No comment?” Gikas asked. He wandered over to the door where Tommy stood. Anger seeped through Tommy’s pores as the man came close. “I’m certain your friend here would not make a peep, right up to the moment I put a bullet through his brain.”
“Enough,” Sean said confidently. “I’ll get you the device. But you have to give me your word that these two will not be harmed.”
Gikas smiled for a moment, and then flashed a perplexed look at Sean. “Usually, men in your position would think that someone like me is a madman. Would you take a madman’s word for anything?”
“Like you said before, it doesn’t seem like I have much of a choice. Just promise me you’ll let them go, and I’ll get you what you want.” Sean was still on the floor, but he sat up just enough to stare Gikas in the eye.
The Greek came close and leaned over. Sean could smell the man’s breath on him along with the expensive, yet overpowering cologne on his neck. “Good. You will take Teo and two others with you. If you try anything funny, you know what will happen.”