Gate Deadlock (18 page)

‘Where is Tom?’ I asked warily.

‘He had to leave.’ he said in a sullen tone.

‘Did you two fight over something?’

‘Tom can be stubborn sometimes. We’ll work it
out, don’t worry.’ the same sullen voice said.

‘Did you argue…about me?’

‘Emma, I wish you stopped blaming yourself about
everything. It’s not your problem.’ His voice had softened now.
‘So, what about that romantic bar near the square? It overlooks the
whole bay and, if we hurry we may catch the sunset.’

‘Okay, but… I just wish you let me know what is
bothering you.’

‘Let me deal with this. I just want you to be
relaxed, can you do this for me?’

I sighed, as I knew there was no way I could
make him tell me more.

We did catch the sunset and it was the perfect
place to be, with the perfect man next to me.

If it had not been for the fear that kept
creeping into my mind, it would have been the happiest moment in my
life. But it was there, the invisible cloud, blurring my thoughts
and my eyes. If only time could stand still and we could stay like
this forever, if he had not been born in the wrong time and place,
if…

Sebastian and Martha had been waiting for us in
the backyard, for light dinner. Sebastian passed me a small glass
of ouzo, which matched perfectly the taste of the Greek tidbits,
but I found out too late that it was too strong for me.

I was really drowsy and my legs felt too heavy
to walk. Sebastian laughed when Christopher had to carry me
upstairs and put me to bed.

‘No.’ I protested when he took my dress off, my
head spinning fast. ‘I don’t want to sleep, I want to be with
you…’

‘I’ll be right here.’ Christopher whispered and
kissed my eyes softly.

‘Not my eyes, no.’ I complained.

He chuckled. ‘Why not?’

‘In Greece… they say… it implies… separation.’ I
muttered, unable to fight back sleep anymore.

He did not say anything, just held me tight and
stroked my hair until I was fast asleep.

7.

AMBUSH

_H
e was already up when I opened my
eyes the next morning, staring at me from the armchair across the
bed. It must have been very early, as the sunrays had not yet
broken into our room through the small arch window on the eastern
wall.

He was dressed in his sailing outfit, white
shorts and a blue polo shirt, looking gorgeous, as always. But the
shade of gloom over his eyes was obvious once more, despite his
sweet smile.

I sat up and looked at him warily. ‘What’s
wrong?’

‘We’re going sailing.’ he said, trying to keep
his face expressionless.

‘Right now?’

He shrugged. ‘As soon as you are ready.’

I got up and walked around the bed to
sit on his lap. I put my arms around his neck and kissed him.

‘How’s your head?’ he asked, reminding me of my
last night’s foolhardiness.

‘A little heavy. I’m sorry for that. I
hope I didn’t make a complete fool of myself,
again.’

He smiled widely, raising his eyebrow. ‘Quite
the opposite, you were really amusing. You laughed a lot you know,
and …you’ve been very childish about going to bed.’

‘How long have you been up?’ I changed the
subject quickly.

‘An hour or so.’ The black circles under his
eyes betrayed him. He must have been up for much longer.

‘And what have you been doing all this
time?’

‘Mostly… looking at you.’

‘I wish you had woken me up too.’ I said,
looking down. I hated having lost so much time sleeping when he was
right there.

‘And miss all the fun?’ he teased but then he
saw my embarrassed face and went on. ‘I’m just joking. You sleep
like a baby. So calm, so… ignorant.’ He touched my face softly.

There was no doubt I was ignorant of many
things, but right now what I wanted to learn was the reason for his
apprehension.

‘You’re worried about the meeting, aren’t you?’
I asked him.

‘Well, I count on Plato’s help. Much of it will
depend on the impression you will make on him. But that’s the easy
part. You just have to be yourself.’

‘Then?’

‘There are several other factors I have to
consider.’

‘Christopher, I need to tell you
this. If this doesn’t work out, I don’t want you to take the blame
once again. You can’t protect everyone forever, you know. You carry
too much of a burden already.’ ‘Emma, I will keep you safe one way
or another. You can count on that. When it comes to you, I can take
on any burden because you are my one and only priority.’

I would rather he had said
we
were his one and only priority. My
instincts warned me. There was something really wrong in his eyes,
something he was trying to conceal.

He kissed my forehead. ‘I’ve already packed
everything. Your clothes are right here. We’ve got to be to the
meeting point before noon and we have a long drive ahead.’

He pointed towards the chair where he had put
the shorts and T- shirt he had bought for me, with a pair of
matching white sneakers.

Martha brought us a tray with breakfast that we
ate very hastily before thanking her and Sebastian for their
hospitality. Sebastian wished us good luck and reminded me that I
would always be welcome to his house. Then, he took Christopher
aside to talk to him in private, they shook hands and we left.

We were back in Suzan’s car, leaving the
medieval fortress behind us. With sorrow in my heart, I wondered
whether we would be able to return here together in the future. The
future. The thought of it made me shiver as I felt the cold hand of
time squeeze my heart, causing me pain.

He reached for my hand, reading my face as
always. ‘We will be okay.’ he said trying to comfort me.

‘I know.’ I said in response, but I was
lying.

The landscape changed and the jeep roared as it
ascended the road on a mountain slope.

I was anxious about the meeting with Plato,
wondering whether he would be angry at my silly plan and me.

I suddenly remembered that I still had not told
Christopher the whole truth about the excavation plans. I wriggled
anxiously in my seat, trying to find a way to break the news to
him, but I did not have the time to worry for long as he perceived
my anxiety instantly.

‘What’s bothering you?’ he asked calmly, without
taking his eyes off the road.

‘I think you will be angry if I tell you.’

He smiled. ‘Try me.’

I took a deep breath. ‘You know, I still
haven’t told you about something …
Something I’ve
done.’

He nodded. ‘You mean changing the plans and
messing with Point-X?’ he said in the same calm tone.

My eyes widened with surprise. ‘You know? But
why didn’t you say anything?’

He looked at me and said in the most natural
manner ‘I thought you wanted to keep it a secret. I didn’t want to
spoil it for you.’

‘So… you’re not angry?’

‘Am I disappointing you?’ he teased.

‘No, I mean, I wouldn’t blame you if you were
angry.’

‘I have already taken care of the most part.
There are a few things left to do. I was thinking, maybe we should
keep this between us; use it to our benefit later on. It doesn’t
hurt to keep an ace up our sleeve.’ he said, his face becoming
suddenly serious.

‘It’s okay with me.’ I responded.

‘Can I ask you something?’

‘Sure.’

‘Why did you keep it from me?’

‘Well, that night you seemed to be carrying the
world on your shoulders and I didn’t want to make it harder for
you. And then, you kept me so distracted that I completely forgot
about it.’

‘So, it wasn’t a matter of trust.’ he sounded
relieved.

‘No, never. Initially, I just didn’t want to put
you in more trouble with the League, that’s why I acted on my own.
I wouldn’t have you go through Court Marshal again for me.’

He shook his head in disapproval.

‘Now you’re angry.’ I tried to joke.

‘I don’t have time to waste arguing with you.’
he said as he squeezed my hand.

‘I know. You are living for the moment, right?’
I tried to scrutinize his face but he was keeping his emotions from
me.

‘Right.’ he said in a stiff, wrong voice.

We reached the town of Nafplio thirty minutes
before twelve. Christopher parked the car near the port. Before
getting off, he turned to me.

‘Emma, I need you to stay very close to me until
we get on the boat.’

‘Is anything wrong?’ I asked warily.

‘I’m not sure.’ His eyes were scanning the area
around us.

‘Come on.’ he said and we got off.

We walked towards the pier, hand in hand. The
sea on my right seemed still and the heat was almost smothering.
The coffee places and the street on our left were very busy and
made me think that it would be very easy for someone to be
following us; there was no way we could notice. We were closer to
the pier now, but the line of shops was interrupted by a small
square. We were behind a cluster of trees that blocked our view to
the cafés. A seagull, diving into the still water for food, drew my
attention. It was then that I heard the cold, gleeful voice.

‘Well, well. Look who’s here.’

I froze, but Christopher turned around abruptly,
shielding me with his body. I turned slowly to see the three
black-suited men who looked like chucker-outs or gatekeepers in
nightclubs.

‘Tex.’ Christopher said in a cold voice, not the
least surprised. I could not see his face as I was still standing
behind him, but I felt his body tense in front of mine.

‘Isn’t it a little too early in the day for such
an outfit?’ he mocked.

Tex, my father’s murderer, kept his expression
unchanged.

‘Don’t worry about me. There are plenty of other
things you should worry about.’ He pointed at me. ‘She’s really
messed up this time. You can’t protect her anymore. She’s ours.’ he
hissed with a sardonic, baleful grin twisting his face.

‘Somehow I don’t see it happen.’ Christopher
said in the same calm, sarcastic manner.

Tex ignored him. ‘You could have saved us the
trouble, if it hadn’t been for that sensitive conscience of yours.’
He made a step towards us. ‘Step aside Christopher.’ he commanded.
‘I have orders.’

Christopher did not move an inch, but I felt his
body hardening.

‘So have I. And I don’t intend to disobey them
this time. Call your boss. He should put the three of you on a
leash.’

With fear overwhelming my body and mind, I
wondered why he was trying to infuriate them. Tex slid his hand on
his jacket, hiding the tips of his fingers behind it, at the level
of his chest. I had seen this happening in films, when someone
intended to get reach of a gun hidden inside the jacket.

I felt the strong urge to run away but
Christopher squeezed my hand again, trying to calm me. The place
seemed suddenly deserted, as if we were away from any other human
being. My stomach flickered as I waited for Tex to point his gun at
us. I wondered if Christopher was carrying a gun too.

‘Why don’t we relax a little, boys?’ Suzan’s
voice sounded amused. She was standing behind the other Squad
member, the driver of the black jeep I had seen that night at the
university. Tom also nodded to us behind the third black-suited
man, who looked startled like his partner. I was sure Tom and Suzan
were holding their guns behind the men’s backs, although I could
not see them. I wondered what would happen if they pulled the
trigger? Was it possible that the Squad could be killed outside
their world? Would they risk it?

‘There is no need for blood.’ Christopher said
in the same sarcastic manner.

Tex’s face was furious but Christopher went on.
‘Call your boss. Your orders have changed. You’re not that fool to
act on your own, are you?’

Tex looked at his watch, which, as I noticed,
was like the one Christopher was wearing. He pressed something on
it and then he seemed to be having a conversation with someone,
probably through an invisible earphone.

‘Yes sir.’ I heard him say reluctantly and then
he pressed the same button on his watch. I wondered whether their
watches worked as time machines too.

Christopher turned his face to the side and I
could see he was smiling triumphantly. ‘I told you, on a leash.’ he
mocked again as Tex dropped his hand.

‘We’re not over yet.’ he threatened us, gnashing
his teeth with fury. He turned and waved to his partners to follow
him. As soon as they were at a safe distance, Suzan and Tome came
closer.

‘Are you all right?’ Christopher hugged me. I
was about to burst into tears, so I just nodded and he leaned to
kiss my forehead.

‘Thank you guys. I thought you would never
come.’

‘Damn traffic. How can they have so many cars in
such a small town?’ Suzan complained. Christopher gave Tom his car
keys.
‘You’d better go now. Plato doesn’t like to wait.’ Tom said. He
patted Christopher’s shoulder. ‘Good luck.’ he said.

‘Thanks.’ Christopher responded. Whatever the
dispute they’d had, it seemed to be over now.

Christopher put his arm around my waist and we
started walking to the pier again. ‘Are you all right? Can you make
it to the tender?’ he asked me.

‘I…think so.’ I muttered, walking like a robot,
having lost any sense of place or direction.

A young man in white appeared in front of us.
‘Good morning sir.’ he greeted. Christopher left me for a second to
jump into the boat and then he turned to help me do the same. The
vessel was unsteady under my feet and I was too jittery for that.
Still shocked, I fell clumsily into his arms and I would have taken
him down too, hadn’t it been for another young man in white who
helped us.