“Hey, a man of parts,” Aleko said in English.
“And an American friend, Blake Johnson.”
Again, Aleko shook hands. “Come this way. I’ve closed the taverna for the rest of the day so we can have privacy.”
Yanni, Dimitri, and Stavros were at the bar and Ferguson greeted them like old friends. As Blake and Dillon watched, Aleko said, “Quite a man, the Brigadier. He got a message to pick up one of his agents from Albania a few years ago. We get to the beach and find six policemen, and the Brigadier slips over the stern with a Sterling submachine gun and takes them from the rear. Shoots two in the back and holds the rest up.”
“That’s quite a story,” Blake said.
Anna appeared with coffee on a tray, put it on the bar, and embraced Ferguson, and more introductions were made. Finally, everyone sat and got down to business.
“We took a run up to the castle this morning,” Aleko said. “Using the fishing boat. There were two men on the battlements, one with a rifle slung from his shoulder.”
“So?” Ferguson nodded.
“I’ve been thinking,” Aleko said, “that if we are going up there at night, I’ll get a few fishing boats to go as well. Good cover.”
“An excellent idea.”
Aleko nodded. “So what do you really expect of us?”
“My two friends here, armed to the teeth, intend to penetrate the castle and liberate the two women held hostage there. The six men in residence, the opposition, are all former Israeli soldiers.”
“Mother of Christ,” Yanni said. “It could be a blood bath.”
“That’s their business,” Aleko told him, “and they look as if they know their business to me. So our job is to land them?”
“And without alerting the guards,” Dillon said. “Is that possible?”
“Anything is possible, Mr. Dillon. Are you a scuba diver? We’ve got equipment.”
“Yes, I’m a master diver.”
“Well, that lets me out,” Blake said. “I was blown up a few years ago on an FBI case and my right eardrum was ruptured. Anything underwater is out for me.”
“Never mind, we’ll come up with something,” Aleko told him.
Dimitri said, “What’s it pay, Brigadier?”
Ferguson glanced at Blake, who said, “Money is neither here nor there on this one, but let’s say a hundred thousand dollars.”
There was dead silence, and Yanni said, “And who in the hell do we have to kill?”
“These are bad people,” Dillon told him. “And they can handle themselves. They might kill you.”
“Well, we’ll see about that,” Yanni said with the bravado of youth.
Aleko looked serious. “You told me about one of the women being your assistant, this Chief Inspector Bernstein.”
“That’s right.”
“So it’s the other woman that’s the key, the one who’s really important?”
“Not now, Constantine. One day you’ll know, but not now,” Ferguson told him.
Dillon stood up. “I’d like a look at the boat, if that’s possible.”
“Sure.” Aleko turned to the rest of the crew. “No need for you to come.”
“And I’ve seen it all before,” Ferguson said. “Perhaps the boys could unload the equipment we’ve brought, the weapons and so on.”
“Sure thing, Brigadier.” Aleko turned to Stavros. “Have everything taken to the barn. Anything the Brigadier wants he gets.”
“Sure thing,” Stavros said.
Aleko nodded to Dillon and Blake and he led the way out.
The Cretan Lover was still draped with nets drying in the sun and there was the good salt smell of fish mixed with the smell of the sea. Dillon and Blake looked the boat over while Aleko sat on the thwart and smoked a cigarette.
“So, you still fish?” Dillon said.
“Why not? It gives us something to do when we’re not engaged in the Albanian trade, and we need the front.”
“Are you telling me the customs and the navy people don’t know what you’re up to?” Dillon was peering down the hatch into the engine room. “You’ve got enough down there to power a torpedo boat.”
“Sure they do. The police sergeant knows, but he’s my second cousin and the lieutenant commanding the most important patrol boat, but then I trained him myself when I was in the navy. On the other hand, things have got to look right from the navy’s point of view.”