Jeffrey Siger_Andreas Kaldis 02 by Assassins of Athens

one sat at that table but Demon. Complete control over a single, small table in a twenty-foot by thirty-foot university coffee house might not seem like much to most, but it stood as an ever-present symbol to the Exarchia community of Demon’s influence. But he wasn’t a king; he was an anarchist. Or was he a communist? No one knew for sure, and Demon liked it that way.
    “What did the cop say to you?”
    “Nothing. They were crooked, looking for a payoff from drug dealers.”
    “I see.” That’s what he’d thought and why he sent them chasing after two guys who no longer existed. At least not in Greece.
    “And what did he ask about Anna?” He doubted she was smart enough to link him to the two guys, but he couldn’t risk the cops finding her. She might say something to get them making the connection.
    “She never came up. Honest, Demon, he was only interested in a payoff.”
    But could he be sure of that? Things often were not what they seemed. Himself for example. He was far older than he looked, far less educated than he put on, and if what he’d been told countless times were true, far brighter than practically anyone on the planet.
    He stared at the owner. Demon had carefully kept to the shadows, quietly amassing power and secretly applying it in whatever measure he deemed necessary. Now this man, this inept man, had caused his name to fall into the hands of the police.
    The owner bit at his lip and looked down at the floor, but he did not move from the spot where he stood. Demon did not show his anger. He still needed him. For over a decade Demon had been amassing an army of minds and wills from their most fertile source: children recently liberated from their parents, filled with ideals and burning to change a world their parents had so screwed up. His gift was not in knowing such ready converts existed. Politicians knew that for ages. It was in picking those who would do anything for a cause they believed in, and remain committed to him long after their university days were over.
    And this coffee shop was where he found many of them.
    Demon smiled. “It was not your fault, you did the right thing.”
    Whatever you wanted or needed to hear Demon told you. He had a knack for that and never worried about the truth. It was far too cumbersome a convention for his goals. Whether or not that made him a clinical sociopath was of no concern to Demon. He did what had to be done.

Chapter 7
    “So, Maggie, what’s so important for you to call me four times in the last forty-five minutes?” He sounded nonchalant but, knowing Maggie was not an alarmist, expected hearing that life on earth as he knew it was over.
    “You’re pretty popular, Chief. Everyone’s calling for you, from the prime minister on down.”
    Maybe it really was over. “We’re heading back to the office. Be there in fifteen minutes.”
    “Better turn around and head the other way. You have an appointment in—” she paused, Andreas assumed to look at her watch, “ten minutes at the Tholos.”
    “At the what? And why did you schedule an appointment without clearing it with me?” His voice was sharper than he intended.
    She didn’t seem bothered. “I didn’t schedule it for you. The prime minister’s office did. Tholos is a virtual reality theater inside a big dome, looks like a planetarium. The show starts with the burning of Athens by the Persians and focuses on life in the Agora during Athens’ classical period. Makes you feel like you’re living back in the fifth century BC. It’s on Pireos Street.”
    “What the fuck’s going on—sorry, Maggie, I didn’t mean that for you.”
    She laughed. “Don’t worry. I was wondering the same thing.”
    “Can’t seem to get out of that neighborhood.” Andreas gestured for Kouros to turn the car around and head in the opposite direction.
    “No, Chief, it’s in the Tavros section, on the other side of town from Omonia, at 254 Pireos.”
    “Who am I meeting?”
    “That superbitch