e told him, taking a sip of her own wine.
‘No, no,’ Nikkos waved away the accusation with another big slurp of wine. ‘It was a misunderstanding, I assure you.’
‘She said you had sex with two other women behind her back,’ said Ella.
Registering his shocked face, she grinned. ‘I am polyglot, too. Well, almost. I also have sexual relations with a lot of different people,’ she added matter-of-factly.
Nikkos spluttered, choking and coughing until retsina came out of his nose.
‘You are very different to Greek women,’ he told Ella, as soon as he’d regained his breath.
‘I’m very different to everyone,’ she shrugged.
‘Yes,’ said Nikkos suddenly serious. ‘I know. About your history and your … abilities. Are you using them now?’
Ella nodded. ‘I’m learning to turn them on and off. I had training at the camp.’
‘OK. So right now, can you “hear” anything?’
‘Yes.’ She lowered her voice. ‘The man by the door in a red shirt is exchanging texts with his drug dealer. They’re arguing over the price of a gram of cocaine.’
Nikkos’s eyes widened. ‘Really? You hear that? Or see it?’
‘Neither exactly,’ said Ella. ‘It’s hard to explain. But I’m aware of it. Thousands of electronic signals are flowing through my brain day and night. I’m learning to tune in and out as I please. Also to detect different frequencies and radio waves. Like the Greek police outside.’
‘There are police outside?’ Nikkos spun around.
‘Yes,’ said Ella unconcerned. ‘The ones who followed us. They’re surveilling you, but they don’t seem to know who I am. It’s a good thing you never worry,’ she teased him, tongue in cheek.
Nikkos put down his knife and fork and gazed at Ella in awe.
‘That is very impressive. I understand now why they sent you and I pray you can help us. Succeed where others have failed.’
Ella leaned forward eagerly. ‘They said you would brief me on stage one of the mission. Tonight? Now?’
‘Mmm hmm,’ said Nikkos, tearing off a hunk of warm bread and dipping it pensively into a bowl of hummus. ‘Sit back,’ he told Ella quietly, without looking up from his plate. ‘Relax. Keep eating and drinking. We are having a normal, boring conversation over dinner, hm? Nothing for anyone to be interested in.’
Ella did as he asked, adjusting her body language and returning her attention to the delicious pile of fried anchovies that Nikkos had scooped onto her plate.
‘I understand you already know the name and background of your target?’ Nikkos began.
‘Mm hm,’ said Ella.
‘Good. So this will be a two-part operation,’ Nikkos went on. ‘Phase one will be intelligence gathering. As you know, we have received recent reports suggesting that she, Athena Petridis, may be alive.’
‘The brand on the drowned boy.’ Ella shuddered.
‘Yes, there’s that,’ said Nikkos. ‘And other, older rumors from the US about a badly injured woman being carried from the wreckage. But remember,’ he pronounced it Chhhreememberr, rolling every ‘r’ to within an inch of its life. ‘The crash site was incredibly remote. The likelihood of anyone being close enough to see what happened, never mind to help and rescue one of the passengers, must be very small and tiny.’
‘You’re saying you don’t believe those reports?’ Ella sounded surprised enough to earn a warning look from Nikkos. Stay calm. Don’t attract people’s attention. This is a boring dinner conversation, remember?
Ella got the message and lowered her voice.
‘You don’t think Athena survived?’
‘Probably not,’ he said after a pause.
Ella was shocked. Nikkos’s skepticism about Athena Petridis’s survival was in sharp contrast to the confidence of the rest of The Group. The way it had been put to Ella, establishing the fact that Athena was still alive was almost a formality at this point. The brand on the dead boy’s heel proved it. The real purpose of Ella’s mission was to locate her, so that a hit squad could move in and do the rest.