A Price Above Rubies

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

"Fire!" Leon shouts from behind the line of recruits. 

Six of them shoot their weapons in unison with varying degrees of success. One, Greski, hits the bulls eye dead on. 

Another, Chaskov, is so far off he misses the plank of wood entirely and hits an unfortunate squirrel that happens by, sending the furry black animal jumping upward, spinning and flopping to the ground. 

The young man groans and lowers his head. 

"Well, the good news is, if we ever go to war again, Greski will be one of the men who will be an asset to the soldier standing next to him. Chaskov will be an asset to the soldiers making camp and needing to catch dinner...if they have a taste for squirrel," Leon jokes. 

The other soldiers chuckled and Leon places a hand on Chaskov's shoulder, assuring him Leon is not trying to be malicious.

Chaskov gives him a small smile but his eyes are filled with sadness as he looks at the poor dead squirrel. He reminds Leon of someone and it isn't until he's back at the apartment he's rented and his eyes fall on the copy of Crime And Punishment that he's brought with him from home that he remembers who. 

Spiros. Sadness twists Leon's heart. Spiros had been a gentle soul, maybe too gentle for the military or maybe with time and the right leadership he could have been one of the best soldiers in the Greek army. He never got the chance. Official word had it that Spiros died by his own hand, overwhelmed by his guilt that he'd been unable to save Hilal's mother from the unspeakable violation the woman endured at the hands of his commanding officer. 

Cevdet had believed Spiros had been murdered.

Crime And Punishment had been one of the many books Leon and Spiros had discussed and he keeps it now of the memory of the man he'd befriended and wished he'd been able to do more for.

He likes helping train the new recruits in the morning and then driving the prison truck in the afternoon. So far Vecihi hasn't been able to flush out those who know about the secret camp where 'traitors' are being taken, but Leon keeps an ear out for those who talk about those who helped the Turks in the war. 

There are a few that speak with such hatred towards those who helped the Turkish people during the war that it makes Leon's stomach turn. They know him as Andreas Akis and one or two of those who help transport prisoners with him think he was too soft in his writings advocating a less tyrannical approach during the war, but don't see him as any kind of threat. He knows he has to befriend these men if he has any hope of finding out where Ali Kemal and others like him have been taken. 

Leon meets his mother and Clara in secret, preparing them for their escape to Paris. His mother is not apologetic in the least about lying to him about Ali Kemal and telling Hilal to keep his imprisonment from Leon. If anything, his mother is furious with him for coming to Greece. 

"They have already taken one of my sons! How could you put yourself at risk of my losing you as well, Leon!" Veronika scolds him. 

"He is my brother. That is all there is to it," Leon insists. 

They have to continue to meet in secret as Veronika and Clara prepare to leave tomorrow. Vecihi has led them to the backroom of a restaurant owned by an Italian he has made friends with. 

"And your wife? Your children? Leon! How could you just leave them as you did?" 

"Mother!" Leon snaps, his face hot and his stomach turning with the guilt he keeps trying to bury in order to do what he must. 

"Lady Veronika!" Clara rushes into the room, clutching her stomach, her face damp and flushed. 

For a panicked moment Leon fears she's gone into labour, even though he's sure she's not far enough along yet. 

Yorgo had been born early. Hilal had joked he'd spent his entire time growing in her belly jumping around impatiently until finally he'd decided he didn't want to wait anymore to join the world and at eight months he'd popped out, tiny, but with minimum of fuss in all of half an hour. 

Clara is not even that far along, surely. Five or six months would be Leon's guess. 

"They're coming for you! They're coming to take us!" 

Vecihi and Leon jump up from the table. "What?" Leon asks, gripping Clara's arms, his throat tight with dread. 

"Mr Blasok warned me as I was coming home from my shopping!" Clara explains. "He heard some soldiers talking. They want to use us to make Ali Kemal give up other traitors." 

"My son is still alive. Thank God!" Veronika says, leaning against Vecihi, her eyes filling with tears.

Yes, Leon thinks, but his relief is tinged with dread for what his brother must be suffering in their mission to make him talk. He doesn't bring this up to his mother. "We have to get you both out of Greece right now. Clara, tell me you grabbed the tickets before you came here. We cannot wait until tomorrow."

She nods quickly, and pulls them out of her coat pocket. "Some money and our passports too but I had no time for anything else."

Leon is impressed. For all that she looks like a delicate flower, his sister in law is a quick thinker. "You can't go back for anything else. We'll use this to our advantage. If you take nothing with you, they will not know you have left. They'll be expecting you both to be at home when they come for you," Leon says. He moves to get them out of the restaurant, but Vecihi takes his arm. 

"I will take them to find a ship. You must stay behind and keep the guards from visiting the house." 

Leon hesitates. He likes Vecihi and knows he can trust him but he feels uncomfortable not seeing his mother and sister in law safe himself. "I don't even know who these men are yet. You stay behind-"

"Leon, you need to get in with these men. Get them to trust you. Now we do not have time to argue over this. If anything goes wrong between here and the port, you cannot be with us. Do you understand?" Vecihi reminds him. 

He swears under his breath in frustration because he knows Vecihi is right and Veronika smacks his shoulder. 

"Really, Leon. Language!" The gesture of motherly admonishment is so reminecent of his childhood that Leon's eyes well up before he can stop them and he pulls his mother into his arms. He thought they would have at least one more day together. He sends a silent prayer to God to keep them both safe after he hugs Clara.

"Bring him back to me," his sister in law pleads with him. 

"I will," Leon vows. 

"Find this Mr Blasok. See if he can help you track down these soldiers before they return to the house," Vecihi suggests. 

Clara gives him Mr Blasok's address, a block away from their own home and then Leon watches them leave. 

He thanks the Italian man for helping them and heads out of the restaurant through the back. Right before he turns the corner of the building he feels the unmistakable hard metal of a gun barrel against the back of his neck. 

"Why now isn't this a pleasant surprise, Lieutenant." 

There's something familiar about the voice but Leon can't quite place it. The insistent pressure against his neck leaves no doubt that he's not to turn around.

"No, wait. I heard you were promoted right before the end of the war, weren't you? It's Captain Papadapoulos now, isn't it?"