Marios sat in a seat two rows below and directly in front of them. He turned sideways to face them. 'I want you to watch something, but before it starts you need some background.' He paused for a moment, as if collecting his thoughts. 'Well, we all know about the terrible tragedy that befell the Kostopoulos family.'
No beating around the bush for this guy, thought Andreas. Better be careful; there might be microphones hidden somewhere.
'And I'm sure you think I brought you here to pump you for information about that.'
Andreas was expressionless. 'Of course you would, but I assure you that's not why I brought you here. I don't want to know your thoughts. I want you to hear mine.'
Andreas knew better than to interrupt a rambler. Sooner or later they said something they shouldn't. But, then again, this guy's too experienced to make that sort of mistake. He's a better interrogator than most cops.
'You know about the siege the boy's father, a truly unlikable man, waged on one of Greece's oldest and most respected families for control of their newspaper?'
Andreas nodded.
'When was the last time you spoke to Zanni or Ginny Kostopoulos?'
'Yesterday, we…' Andreas caught himself. This guy's smooth, he thought. Almost got me into details of our interview with the family.
Marios didn't miss a beat. 'Of course, when you told them of their son's death.' He paused, as if waiting for Andreas to respond.
Andreas decided not to speak unless asked a specific question and, even then, not to volunteer an unnecessary word.
'Do you know what the family is doing today?'
It was a direct question. 'No.'
'No reason why you should. Would you be surprised if I told you they put up for sale all the real property they own in Greece?'
Andreas gave no response.
'Or that an investment banker was engaged to sell all Kostopoulos family business interests in Greece?'
Still no response.
'And that Mrs Kostopoulos and the children left Greece, first thing this morning?'
Silence.
'Under heavily armed guard?'
Andreas started to fidget in his seat.
'And, my guess is, once the boy's body is released, burial will be outside of Greece. So they need never return.'
Andreas couldn't keep quiet any longer. 'I have no idea why you're telling me this, or if any of it is true.'
Marios shrugged. 'Frankly, I don't want to be here telling you any of this. And, on a personal level, I don't give a rat's ass whether you think I'm crazy or not. But when you leave here and check out what I told you,…' he allowed his words to drift off. He turned away from them and pressed a button. The lights faded down and images began filling the dome. The journey to Athens of another time had begun.
It was a fascinating experience, with great special effects, but what held Andreas' interest was one simple question: What the fuck was going on? Kouros kept giving him looks along the same line. They were up to 416 BC, in the time of the Athenian democracy, and thirty-five minutes into the forty-minute presentation.
'This is the part for you to concentrate on.' They were the first words Marios had said since the show began.
The presenter's voice picked up with, 'Ostrakizmos was a procedure conducted by secret ballot for the protection of Athenian democracy. Once a year, citizens of Athens decided whether to hold a vote ostracizing one of their fellow citizens. If a sufficient number of Athenians wanted to conduct an ostracism, the person banished could be anyone the voters agreed was dangerous to Athens and democracy. Reasons for ostracizing were
1. the citizen had conservative views characteristic of dictatorship ideas;
2. the citizen was dishonest in business dealings;
3. the citizen misled people for personal purposes; or
4. the citizen was rich and bragged.
4. the citizen was rich and bragged.
'Anyone determined to be such a danger was banished from Athens for ten years and required to leave the city within ten days.'
Marios pressed a button, the presentation stopped, and the lights went on. 'So, what do you think?'
Lunatic was the first thing that came to mind. 'Interesting,' was the word Andreas uttered.
'I see, you don't agree. But I'm sure you understand the point and, yes, there could be other explanations for why the family left so quickly.'
Like simple, unmitigated grief, thought Andreas.
'Of course, in those times it was only a ten-year banishment of the individual from Athens, not his entire family from Greece for life.' He waved his hand in the air. 'But, times change, procedures evolve, and everything in life can't be a perfect fit.'
Andreas hoped his loss of patience wasn't showing. 'Sir, you're a smart guy; we all know that. You're also damn good at what you do; we all know that, too. What we don't know is, where the hell you're headed with this?'
Marios was unfazed. 'For those who didn't accept the ostracism, the penalty was death.'
Andreas already guessed that. The founders of democracy were notoriously direct in their punishments, even among peers. 'But, with all due respect, sir, it's one hell of a stretch to suggest that this… this "ostracism,"' he pointed at the screen, 'was behind the boy's murder.' He knew his frustration was showing.
'What if there were proof linking what you just saw to the death of the Kostopoulos boy?'
Andreas wondered if his minister had any idea how offthe-wall this guy was. 'I don't know what to say, sir. If you have evidence, of course we'll look into it and-'
Marios put up his hand. 'Stop. No need to placate me. I'm not crazy.' His voice was firmer than before, but not strident or angry. 'This involves far more than just the Kostopoulos boy's death. His is not an isolated event. It is perhaps the most dramatic in recent memory, but it is not something new. This has been going on in our country for years.'
Crazy or not, Andreas had no choice but to hear him out. 'Okay, so tell me what you know. But I want specifics.' He paused as if wondering if he should say more. 'Based on evidence, not some conspiracy theory woven by a TV producer looking for ratings.'
Kouros' face jerked toward Andreas, and both cops braced for an explosion.
Instead, there was a very long, noticeable silence. Marios kept staring into the row between them. 'Our Greece is a land steeped in history, a country that long ago learned how to survive its people. The question is, in these modern times, does our country require some help, or shall we leave it to the fates to decide its future?' He stopped and looked into the eyes of each man. 'Do you really want to hear this? Because once you do and come to see that what I tell you is true, you will face two choices: accept what you cannot change and live within a system antithetical to your core principles, or endure lifelong, merciless frustration battling against choice number one.'
Andreas smiled. 'You sure know how to set the hook.'
'Millions think so.' Marios forced a smile. It was his last of any sort for more than an hour. Marios' reputation for telling terrific stories without allowing anything as pesky as the whole truth to interfere with his tales made Andreas wonder how much of what he was saying was true and how much was his form of 'journalistic interpretation' or, as the less sophisticated would call it, bullshit.
Marios believed in a world run by bargains and distractions. Bargains by the all-powerful to stay that way; distractions for the masses to keep them that way. It was not a very optimistic view of man. He believed those hungry for power did whatever necessary to achieve it and expended ruthlessly higher quantum levels of effort to keep it.