The Florencia Lozano Homepage - Fan Fiction
AFFLICTION
BY TROG |
CHAPTER
51 |
CHAPTER 51
Antonio stared up at the foothills of Mt. Taygetus that surrounded them as Todd sat across from him, looking exhausted and dejected, staring at a dog-eared city map spread out across the table. They had arrived in Sparta a few days ago and searched everywhere for her. With recent pictures of Aaron and Tea, obtained from The Palace Hotel’s security cameras, they haunted the hotels, shops and restaurants of Sparta, Mistra and all the small cities that made up the area of known as Peloponnisos...but...no one had recognized them.
The dry, dusty wind carried the sweet scent of orange trees that divided the lanes of traffic down the city’s main street, Paleologul, as they sat at a cafe drinking glass after glass of icy lemonade to stave off the insufferable and relentless heat of Sparta in July. Throngs of tourists lined the streets and shops of this once admirable, ancient city , once the site of greatness and historical significance, but now reduced to a beggarly tourist trap with little to offer its dwindling population. Unlike its sister city Athens, which held all the treasures, glamour and allure of ancient Greece, Sparta was a hideous little sibling of a city, trapped between its faded glory and the modern world which had unceremoniously bullied its way in. Giant, crumbling Byzantine structures were now flanked by shabby, modern apartment buildings and further marred by touches of Western culture like the “Bugs Bunny Cafe,” a favorite haunt of Greek-Americans.
Its ancient monuments, the Temple of Poseidon, The Acropolis of Athena, the ancient theater at the foothills of the mountains were crude, worn ruins, eroded slabs of stone that had little artistic merit remaining compared to the treasures of Athens. The streets were lined with souvenir shops selling postcards of ragged ruins and plastic replicas of Spartan toy soldiers, swords and helmets.
But...it still held the glory and romance of the Spartan way of life for some...the aura of a time when spoiled, tempestuous gods ruled the world and concepts like honor, loyalty and love ruled the psyche of man...and were worth dying for. Sparta was overrun with history buffs, international geeks and schoolteachers who spent their holiday roaming the foothills of Mt. Taygetus hoping to feel the spirit of this once great civilization, to taste its primal savagery, feel its lusty passion, to smell the air of natural human aggression...and embrace it.
“Todd...maybe...maybe they’re not here,” said Antonio, wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand.
“She’s here...I know it. I feel it,” said Todd, lightly fingering the picture of Tea that laid on the chair beside him. “You know...I thought a guy like Aaron Blackmoor...a six foot six inch , blond god...would be easy to pick out from anyone. Who could have guessed this place would be littered with hundreds of Northern Europeans and strapping Scandavians who all look like replicas of him. Damn those Teutonic genes...”
“Well...we’ve been everywhere...twice! What now, Todd?”
Todd ran his fingers through his long, damp hair, lifting it off his sweaty neck and looked up at the jagged mountains, rolling the sleeves of his black shirt up as he spoke.
“I think we’re going about this all wrong. I mean...why would Aaron bring Tea to a place like this...all these people around...telephones...hotels...it doesn’t make sense...it‘s too risky.”
“Well...you said they were in Sparta. Well...this is Sparta!”
“Sparta is all over the place. Actually, Mistra that little town by the Mani peninsula...that’s where ancient Sparta is. Legend has it that it’s where Helen and Paris first got it on when they ran off together...spent their first night by the sea doing the nasty all night long. But...what I mean is that Aaron...he needs to keep her isolated...hidden away until he’s sure that she won’t run....or that I won’t find them.”
Antonio looked around.
“Well...now what?”
Todd continued to peruse the map, when suddenly he looked up, a look of revelation in his eyes.
“Come on,” he said, taking a last swallow of his drink and getting to his feet. He fished around in his pocket and dropped some small, colorful bills on the table, drachmas, then grabbed his belongings and started walking away so quickly that Antonio had to run to keep up with him. Hailing a cab, he showed the driver a place on the map and they took off quickly.
The taxi only went a few miles and stopped by a small, busy port at the edge of Mistra...a small city and the site of ancient Sparta...a town that spiraled and twisted itself along the foothills of Mt. Taygetus to the north and spilled onto the Mani Peninsula at its south. Todd paid the driver and stepped out, heading for the ancient port of Gytheion as Antonio ran behind him, struggling to keep up with Todd’s frantic pace and long stride. Finally Todd jumped onto the edge of a long pier and stared out at the crystal blue Aegean, his eyes squinting, focusing on the horizon.
Antonio looked out but saw nothing, only a few old, rusty fishing boats coming into the small harbor with the days catch.
“What are you looking at?”
Todd turned around, a strange look in his mysterious, hazel eyes.
“Aiyina.”
Antonio raised his arms, then, let them drop in frustration.
“You know...I gotta say this, man...You’re really beginning to creep me out with all this Greek shit, okay? Who the fuck is Aiyina?”
“Not a who...a what! It’s an island a few miles out of this peninsula. What better place to isolate someone from the world Antonio, than an island,” said Todd, smiling slightly and nodding his head, looking very pleased with himself.”
Todd looked around and noticed a small bar at the end of the pier and bolted off for it. Stepping inside the small, dark bar, filled with the smell of old fish and stale cigarettes Todd looked around at a dozen patrons, grizzled and drunk, in the middle of the day.
“Here they are Antonio, the grand descendents of Heracles,” said Todd sarcastically. “HEY! Anybody speak English in here?” he asked, waving some money around.
A small, bald man, smelling of fish and wearing a black beret cocked on his head came up to Todd.
“Ya...little English.”
Todd placed some money in his hand and showed him the pictures.
“Have you seen these two people around...ask the other guys in here and I’ll give you more money.”
The little man took the pictures and shook his head.
“No...me not see,” he said. He spoke a few words aloud to the other patrons and they passed the pictures around as one by one they shook their heads. After a few minutes the pictures came back to Todd. No one recognized them.
Todd gave the man a few more drachmas and walked out of the place.
As he and Antonio headed down to the docks he heard footsteps behind him.
“Hey, mister...what do you want with those people?” asked someone behind them in heavily accented, but reasonably good English.
Todd turned around and saw a curly-haired, young man in a t-shirt and jeans whom he had noticed sitting at the bar looking fresh and out of place in the midst of all those old fishermen.
“Have you seen her?” asked Todd.
The young Greek looked at Antonio than back at Todd, opening his hand.
Todd pulled more money out and placed it in his hand.
“Yeah...I’ve seen her...and...I’ve seen him too.”
Todd started shaking, looking slightly unsteady as Antonio touched his arm and they exchanged a look of relief.
“You better not be fucking with my head...cause I’m not in a man to be fucked with,” said Todd approaching the young man so menacingly that the man took a few steps back.
“Look, how about you buy me an ouzo...and I’ll tell you what I know,” said the young man as he turned and headed back toward the bar. Antonio and Todd followed quietly.
They sat at a table outside the cafe and the young Greek ordered ouzo for all of them. When the drinks arrived Todd looked at the thick clear liquid in the small glass in front of him. He was told not to drink until he healed...but...he needed something to calm him, his nerves twitching and throbbing beneath his skin. Lifting the glass quickly he swallowed it and closed his eyes as the sweet, liquorish-flavored drink coated and burned his throat. Slamming the glass on the counter he looked straight into the young man’s eyes.
“Who are you? Where did you see her? When? Was she alone?” said Todd, firing one question after another.
“My name is Jorgo. I have a boat...I take supplies to Aiyina. That’s where I saw her.”
“She’s in Aiyina?”
“No. Aiyina is the main island...mostly olive tree farms and farmers...they make good olive oil. But there are many small, private islands around Aiyina...that’ where I saw her....and him, on one of them. I take supplies to them a few times a week.”
Todd gasped slightly and sat back as Antonio‘s mouth fell open and he looked on, too stunned to speak.
“She’s okay, right?” asked Todd.
“Yeah...well...I think so. I never spoke with her...only with him...the tall, blond man. And to Mikos and Eva. He’s a security guard...and Eva...she’s the housekeeper who is only there in the daytime...she lives on Aiyina. The blond man said his wife is mentally ill...and is not allowed to speak to anyone. She’s very beautiful....she’s always on the beach...swimming...or just sitting and looking out at the water. And...always dressed in white...so very strange...like a beautiful ghost haunting the shore. Many of these guys in here have seen her...they lied to you...they don‘t trust Americans. Many are convinced that she‘s good luck...they say they catch more fish when they see her watching there boats go by. They’re a superstitious bunch of old men. Well...I‘ve been pretty close to her...and to me...she just looks sad...dark, sad eyes...like she‘s waiting for something that never comes.”
“She’s waiting for me,” said Todd.
Todd got up suddenly and walked away from them. They watched him as he walked to the end of a pier and just stood there looking out at the water, a strange and lonely figure with the wind blowing through his long hair.
“Who are you? What do you want with her?” asked Jorgo.
“I’m Antonio Vega and his name is Todd Manning. And Tea...she’s the woman in the picture...she’s here against her will.”
“Is she his woman?” asked Jorgo, watching Todd and drinking his ouzo in one gulp. Antonio nodded and drank his drink. “I’m not surprised that the blond man is a criminal...those private islands are all harboring international terrorists and fugitives from all over the world, but they have lots of money, and power...and lots of guns. Everyone is afraid to go there...even the police don’t bother them much.”
“Where did you learn to speak English so well?” asked Antonio, making conversation.
“Chicago...my brother Tino and his wife own a pizza restaurant there and I lived with them for 5 years. Five years of making pizza...night and day...pizza, pizza, pizza! Americans sure eat a lot of pizza! After five years I saved my money and came home to Mistra and bought myself a small boat. This is a dying place....not much fish left...that’s why I went into the supply business. I make twice as much in a day as these guys make in a week, but...they cling to the old ways. This place...it’s dying...but it’s my home...and...I love it here. I love my country and my people. I love the simple life we lead.”
Antonio stared at this young man with great admiration...perhaps a true descendent of Heracles.
Todd came rushing back.
“Take me there...right now!” said Todd, emptying his pockets of money as he spoke.
“What? I can’t do that. I only go there when I’m called by Mikos. Mikos, carries a gun strapped to his chest and has been ordered to shoot anyone who sets foot on that island without permission. You want to die?”
“Fine...get me a boat. I’ll go on my own.”
“Look...uh...Todd Manning, I can’t go there. Mikos is a crazy son-of-a-bitch. You can’t just go there...the island is small...not many places where you can arrive unseen from the house. The house sits on a cliff overlooking most of the island.”
Todd stared at him, then sat down.
“We’ll go tonight then...in the dark. I‘m a rich man, Jorgo...name your price.”
Jorgo looked at Todd’s desperate face observing his tall stature, long hair and the scar across his cheek. A fighter. He admired this man though he hardly knew him...he saw honor in his presence....a ferocious determination....a certain selfless courage along with a rebellious spirit that he liked instantly. This man was a warrior.
“Okay...I’ll take you. But...not for money.”
“For what then? I have nothing else to offer you?” asked Todd, growing impatient and annoyed.
“For the truth. Tell me Todd Manning...what is your mission here. You are asking us to risk all our lives here...for what? Why?
Todd was perplexed, uncertain of Jorgo’s question. Looking down he saw Tea’s picture on the table.
“Because...I love her,” Todd said simply.
Jorgo picked up his glass and downed the last drop of ouzo, then stood up smiling.
“Then, my friend...for love...I will take you there, tonight.”
to be continued...
2002 Copyright by Trog
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