"We have not physically resisted arrest," Kotsikas reminded the younger man.
"No?" the Stavros hood questioned. "Well at least that is the way it will go into the police report That is the way the people will hear it on the radio."
The lieutenant had aimed the revolver at Kotsikas. I guessed that in a moment all the policemen would have their guns out at a signal from the lieutenant The Stavros man stuck his hand into his jacket and nodded to the lieutenant, who turned toward his men. I stepped quickly into the wide doorway, aiming Wilhelmina at the lieutenant's chest.
"All right, hold it right there."
The lieutenant stared at me with surprise etched across his face. The Stavros man had not quite reached his gun and only a couple of uniformed policemen had started to move their hands toward their holsters. Everybody froze and all eyes turned to me.
"Drop the gun," I ordered the lieutenant. "And you, ease that hand out of your jacket carefully."
Nobody followed my orders. They were assessing what it would cost them to take me. The closet door opened on their left and Erika stepped out, her Belgian revolver trained on the Stavros man.
"I think you had better do as he says," she said coolly.
Frustration and anger were building in the faces of the Stavros thug and the police lieutenant as they stared at Erika. I watched their faces closely for a long moment, trying to guess their intent Then all hell broke loose.
Instead of dropping his gun, the lieutenant aimed it at my chest, and his finger tightened on the trigger. I saw the lightning fast movement and started dropping to the floor. His gun went off like a cannon, and I felt a hot, searing pain rip through the flesh of my left arm. The slug went on past me and shattered the glass of the French door. I hit the floor and rolled behind a chair as the lieutenant fired again, the slug chipping up the wood floor near me.
"Kill them!" he was shouting. "Kill them all!"
At the same moment that the lieutenant had aimed his revolver at me, Stavros' man had followed through and had drawn his own gun. It was a shiny, black automatic, and he was aiming it at Erika's head. Erika fired at him but missed as he dropped to one knee. The shot struck one of the policemen in the thigh. The man yelled in pain as he hit the floor.
Two other policemen, crouching low, had their guns half-drawn. The wounded man and another cop dived for cover behind small pieces of furniture.
Kriezotou and the two visiting colonels were still frozen immobile, but Kotsikas had drawn his revolver from its hidden position and fired it now at the lieutenant. The man spun off his feet and crashed across a low table, splintering it as he brought it to the floor with him.
I was raising myself up to firing position. Stavros' man had just fired at Erika. He missed because he was still off-balance from avoiding her shot and because she had fallen into a quick crouch herself.
Several guns were blasting simultaneously. Kriezotou had finished off one of the policemen, and I got two more. Erika shot Stavros' hood neatly through the heart.
The lieutenant got ready for his second try at Kotsikas, but I saw the move and rose quickly to one knee. "I wouldn't do it."
The remaining policemen gave up the fight. Dropping their guns, they raised their hands above their heads. The lieutenant glanced at them, lowered his own gun, and dropped it to the floor. He looked at the bodies lying motionless, then at me.
"This is an outrage," he cried hoarsely. "You have obstructed legitimate police work and killed officers in their line of duty. You will not get away with…"
I brought Wilhelmina down across the side of his head, knocking him down. He lay on the floor breathing hard, holding his head. "You need to acquire a little humility," I growled.
The colonels and Kriezotou were handcuffing the two officers. Erika leaned heavily against the wall. "Are you all right?" I asked.
"Yes, Nick."
"I am glad I trusted you, Mr. Carter," Kotsikas said. "We owe you our lives."
"And the assassination attempt has failed," Glavani added.
"I shall contact the commissioner of police and have a long talk with him about what has happened here," Kotsikas said, glancing darkly at the wounded lieutenant.
"I wish you would give me twenty-four hours before you do that, Colonel," I said. "The head of the octopus is still very much alive. Miss Nystrom and I are going after Stavros."
He hesitated a moment. "All right, Mr. Carter. I will keep this quiet for twenty-four hours. But then I must make my move."
"Fair enough," I said. "If we haven't found Stavros by tomorrow at this time, you can handle it any way you want."
Kotsikas extended his hand to me. "Good luck."
I took his hand. "We'll need it!"
Nine
We found Minourkos pacing the hotel room when we returned. It was clear that he had not given us much chance of coming back.
"The colonels are all right?" he asked, relief flooding into his face.
"Yes," I said.
"And Vassilis?"
"He is unharmed," Erika said. "We are very fortunate. It could have been a blood bath."
"Thank God," Minourkos said.
"We couldn't have done it without the general," I said.
"I am pleased that Vassilis gave a good account of himself. Have the surviving assassins been arrested?"
"No. I've asked Kotsikas to give us twenty-four hours until we've had a chance at Stavros."
He was silent for a moment "I am not sure I agree with this secrecy. But I will go along for now. I too will keep my silence for twenty-four hours, Mr. Carter."
"I appreciate it, Mr. Minourkos. Now we have our work cut out for us. We must go after Stavros."
"It seems bad to continue handling this yourself," Minourkos said. "This requires police help, Mr. Carter. I know some men I can trust."
"Like the ones who came after Colonel Kotsikas intending to commit mass murder?" I asked. "No, I have to have my chance at him, Mr. Minourkos. I can't trust that the police would be able or willing to bring Stavros to justice. Neither can my government. That's why I have orders to kill Stavros on sight Those orders coincide with the ones Miss Nystrom has from her government."
"But it will be suicide to go up to the penthouse," Minourkos argued.
"Maybe," I said. "But maybe not, with what I know of the place. And what you know."
"When would you go?" he asked.
"This evening." I glanced over at Erika. "Is that all right with you?"
"Anything you say, Nick."
"About now Stavros is wondering why he hasn't heard from his man. I think the chances are that Stavros will wait at the penthouse until he is positive something has gone wrong. So he should be there this evening."
"You yourself spoke of the armed guards," Minourkos said. "You may not get past the corridor entrance."
"Possibly. But Erika and I will have a third man to help. I was in touch with my superiors before we went out to Kotsikas' place. A fellow agent is in Athens on another assignment and will give us a hand."
"Three of you?" Minourkos asked. "The odds may be two or three to one against you, even if you get into the place."
"Mr. Carter thrives on long odds," Erika said, smiling.
I returned the smile. "Besides, I have a plan that includes four."
"Four?" Minourkos asked, confused. "If you are counting on me, your trust is misplaced. I do not even know how to fire a hand gun."
"Not you," I said. "On the plane here you mentioned something that stuck in my mind. You said that your murdered secretary Salaka Madoupas had a brother who looked very much like him."
"Yes," Minourkos said. "The poor fellow does not even know his brother is dead. He and Salaka did not see each other very often, but there was a great deal of affection between them."