Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven
Tony Rezzoli's troubles are increasing.The troubles that were expected to arise in the past are now appearing one by one.It stands to reason, of course, this is not his fault.But he knew in his heart that the family would definitely not let him go.Because they can never tolerate their people using some reason or excuse to excuse their incompetence and mistakes.
The current situation is terrible.In this operation, he has successfully passed the first hurdle, that is to say, he has safely smuggled the drugs to Athens.That shipment is currently being secretly stored in a warehouse.It turned out that he had already bought a flight attendant on a flight from Athens to New York with money.But what I never expected was that just 24 hours before the plane took off, the guy was detained by the police for drunk driving, and at the same time, the airline fired him for this.
Under the circumstances, Tony Rizzoli had to think of another way.A few days later, he found himself another “mule”—a seventy-year-old woman visiting her daughter in Athens, Mrs. Sarah Muchison—and brought him a suitcase back to New York. .Of course she would not know what was packed in the suitcase.
"It contained the souvenirs I promised to buy for my mother," Tony Rezzoli explained to her. "I'm sure you'll help me. As for your air ticket, I'll take care of it."
"Oh, that's not necessary," Mrs. Muchison said. "I'd be happy to help you. Your mother's apartment is very close to where I live, and it was a pleasure to meet her."
"I'm sure she'll be happy to see you, too," Tony Rizzoli echoed tactfully. "It's just that she's always been very ill. But that's all right, there'll be someone there for you anyway."
She is perfect for this role - a true American mother.If the customs inspectors really suspected her, they would at best suspect that she was smuggling sweater needles and the like.
Sarah Muchison was to start early the next morning.
"Let me drive you to the airport tomorrow."
"Oh, thank you. You're such a considerate kid. Your mother would be proud of you."
"Yeah, my relationship with my mother has always been very close." His mother had actually been dead for ten years.
The next morning, just as Rizzoli was leaving the hotel to pick up the goods from the warehouse, the phone rang. "Mr. Rezzoli?" A stranger's voice came from the receiver. "it's me." "I am Dr. Patsaka and I am speaking to you in the emergency room of Athens Hospital. We have an emergency patient here named Sarah Muchison. She accidentally broke her thigh last night and is currently in our hospital. Here for treatment. She is anxious for me to call you and to relay her apology to you..." Tony Rezzoli hung up the phone with a bang. "Damn it!" This is the second time he has hit the pot.Where was he going to find the third "mule" now? Rezzoli knew that he had to be careful during this time.The United States is said to have recently sent a senior drug enforcement officer to Athens.The purpose of his visit is to further cooperate with the Greek authorities in combating drug smuggling.They closely monitored all imports and exports of Athens.Whether it is an aircraft or a ship, all will be subject to strict inspection by the customs. As if he couldn't get enough trouble, Rizzoli ran into another thorny problem: an eyeliner he hired-a thief and drug addict-had tipped him off that the police had been in the past few days. A raid on all warehouses in Athens will begin.The target of the search was, of course, drugs.Of course, it also includes various other illegally smuggled items.He felt the pressure on his shoulders increasing.It seems that it is time to report the situation to the family. After Tony Rezzoli walked out of the hotel, he walked down Padison Avenue toward the City Telephone Center.He wasn't too sure if his hotel phone would be bugged, but he thought it was better to play it safe. 85 Padison Avenue is a brownstone building.The front of the building adopts a gallery-style structure design, and it is marked with three capitalized abbreviations: "OTE". After entering the business hall, Rezzoli looked around, and saw that there were about a dozen telephone booths along the perimeter of the hall, and each telephone booth was numbered.A shelf is stacked with phone books from around the world.The service desk is located in the center of the hall, where four salespersons are handling the call procedures for customers.People were waiting in long lines to be called. Tony Rezzoli walked towards the service desk, he greeted the saleswoman first: "Good morning." "Can I help?" "I want to make an international call." "I'm afraid it will take more than half an hour." "okay then." "Which country? Phone number?" Tony Rezzoli hesitated for a moment, "Oh, of course." He took out a note and handed it over. "Pay by the other party." "Excuse me, sir, what is your name?" "Brown. Tom Browne." "Okay, Mr. Brown. I'll call you when I get through." "thanks." He walked across the hall, and sat down on the nearest bench.Maybe I could hide my stuff in a car, and for a little money the owner would take it out of the country for me.But doing so would be very risky.Even the small cars are checked very tightly at the current checkpoint.Otherwise, I'll go find... "Mr. Brown...Mr. Tom Brown." The name rang twice in his ears before he realized it.He hurriedly ran to the sales desk. "The other party has accepted it. Please go to Room No. 7." "Thank you. By the way, can I get back the note I gave you just now? Because I need it next time." "Of course." The saleswoman handed him the note back.
"Hey." "Tony, is that you?" "It's Tian. How are you, Peter." "Honestly, everyone's been waiting a little bit, Tony. They've been waiting for your shipment every day!" "I'm having a little trouble here." "Has the package been shipped yet?" "No, I haven't let go yet." There was a silence on both sides. "We don't want any trouble with this shipment, Tony." "Nothing's going to happen. I'm trying to find another way to get rid of it. The damn cops are all over here." "It's ten million dollars at stake, Tony." "I understand. Don't worry. I'll find a way to fix it." "I'm sure you can, Tony. You'll find a way." The two parties put the phone call on hold.
As Tony walked toward the exit of the hall, a man in a gray coat walked toward the saleswoman sitting behind the desk. "Miss, did you see that man going out?" She looked up and asked, "What?" "I want to know the number he hung up on just now." "Sorry. We have no right to do that." The man took out a document from the back pocket of his trousers, and inside it was a golden police shield. Her attitude softened immediately. "Oh. He just gave me a note with the phone number he wanted to call. But then he took the note back." "But you should always have a reservation." "Oh, yes. We usually have reservations." "Then can you let me have a look?" "of course can." She wrote that phone number down on a slip of paper and handed it to him.He took a look at the note.The international area code is 39 and the city area code is 91.Italy.Palermo. "Thank you. Do you still remember what name he used?" "I remember. Brown, I guess. Tom Brown."
After talking with his family just now, Rezzoli felt a little nervous.He wanted to go to the bathhouse to take a bath and relax.Damn Peter Luca!Ahead, in a corner of Kolonazy Square, there is a sign that reads "Public Toilets".But he saw that the men and women were all going in and out of the same doorway.It turned out that it was a shared toilet for men and women.The Greeks also called themselves a civilized people, Rizzoli thought.It's disgusting.
In a mountain villa outside Palermo, four men are sitting around a conference table. "By the way, he should have shipped it, Peter," one of them complained. "What happened?" "I don't know too well. Maybe there's something wrong with Tony Rezzoli himself." "But Tony's never had a problem before." "I know. But people can get greedy sometimes. I think I'd better send someone to find out what's going on." "It's too bad. I've always trusted Tony."
Stadivo Street 10, where the Athens Police Headquarters is located.There is a meeting going on here.The meeting was attended by Athenian police chief Livreri, inspector Tino, and Walter Kelly, commissioner of the Customs and Excise Department of the British Treasury. "According to our intelligence," Kelly was speaking. "Recently, a large drug deal is going on, and these drugs will be smuggled out of the port of Athens. Tony Rezzoli is involved in this illegal transaction." Inspector Tino sat without saying a word.Greek police departments have never welcomed other countries meddling in their affairs, and the Americans in particular resent them.They are always so self-righteous, a little overconfident. The Chief of Police introduced him. "We have taken measures, Mr. Commissioner. Tony Rezzoli made an international call to Palermo, Italy just a few minutes ago. We are currently looking up that phone number. When we find it, we will have their information." Whereabouts." The phone on the desk rang. Liveli Dmitri and Tino looked at each other. Inspector Tino went to answer the phone. "Have you found it?" He held the receiver in his hand, his face expressionless.Then he hung up the phone. "How about it?" "They looked up the number." "What is that place?" "That's the number of a telephone booth in the town square of Palermo." "asshole!" "This Mr. Rezzoli looks like an inch eskipnos." Walter Kelly interjected impatiently, "I don't know Greek." "I'm sorry, Mr. Commissioner. What that said was that he was cunning enough." After hearing this, Kelly said, "I hope you can step up surveillance on him." Why is this guy pointing fingers here?The Chief of Police, turning to the Inspector, said: "We have not yet had enough evidence about him. So we can only go so far." "Yes, sir. Only a serious suspicion." The Chief of Police then turned to Walter Kelly and said, "I don't think we can have a full-day surveillance on every suspect of drug dealing." "But Rizzoli—" "You may rest assured that we have our own intelligence service, Mr. Kelly. We know where to get in touch with you should we find anything new." Walter Kelly looked at him helplessly and said, "Just don't make me wait too long," and then he added, "I'm afraid they'll be out of the country by then."
Everything in Rafina's villa is basically ready.The real estate agent kindly suggested to Constantin Demiris: "I know you bought the furniture for the interior too, but I think it's a new set of furniture..." "No. I want everything in here to stay exactly as it is." He wanted the house exactly as it had been when Noel Patch and her lover Larry betrayed him here.He walked into the living room.The love they made on this floor?Still in the study?Or the kitchen?Then he went to their bedroom again, with a large double bed against the wall.their bed.After Larry had stolen Noel from him, he had fondled her naked body on this bed.Although Douglas had already paid for it with his life, Demiris would make him pay again.He stared thoughtfully at the bed.I'm going to have sex with his wife Catherine on this bed first, Demiris thought excitedly.Then change to another room.Until all the rooms here are changed.He hung up on Catherine at the villa.
Tony Rezzoli Here are two unexpected guests.They came from Sicily without saying hello to him.He immediately sensed something was wrong.Alfredo Mancaso was tall and Gino Ravelli was even taller and a little scary. Mancaso told him straight to the point, "Peter Luca sent us here." Rizzoli tried to look as casual as possible. "Great. Welcome to Athens. What can I do for you?" "Stop talking nonsense, Rezzoli," said Mancaso, "Peter wants to know what the hell you're up to here." "A trick? I don't understand what you're talking about. Didn't I explain to him that there's a little trouble here?" "That's what we're here for. We're here to help you out of your troubles." "Wait a minute, guys," Rizzoli said impatiently. "I've stashed that package in a very safe place. When..." "Peter doesn't want the stuff sitting there all the time. He's throwing a lot of money at it." Lavery knocked Tony out of his chair with a punch. "Let us tell you, Rizzoli. If the shipment had been off the streets of New York on time as expected, Peter would have had the money and washed it clean. Then these The money can be put to use again on that street. Know what I mean?" I can handle those two guys, Rizzoli thought.But he didn't want to do it with them.He'll settle with Peter Luca. "Of course, I understand exactly what you mean," Rizzoli said to them both in a reassuring tone. "But it's not as easy as it used to be. The city is full of Greek police, and Washington has sent a veteran to cooperate with them. I have a plan..." "Peter already has it," Lavery interrupted. "Do you want to know his plan? He told us to tell you that if you can't get rid of this shipment next week, then you have to find a way to make up the money yourself, and then take it home to meet him." "Hi!" Rezzoli was anxious. "I have no place to raise such a large sum of money. I..." "Peter sent us to help you find a way to pay this sum just because he thought you might not be able to do anything." Tony Rezzoli took a deep breath. "Okay. You just have to tell him that everything is fine with Darry." "We will. At the same time, we will stay nearby for the next two days to wait for your reply, and you can finish it within a week."
Tony Rizzoli had always prided himself on his good habit of not drinking before noon.But this time was different. After the two left, he immediately went to open a bottle of Scotch whiskey and drank several sips in one breath.He felt a warm current slowly spread through his body along his throat.But that didn't help either.It's useless to do anything now.he thought dejectedly.I didn't expect old Peter to be so unfeeling to me.I've always treated him like a father, but now he's giving me a month to get things done.I need to find another "mule", and fast.casino!He suddenly thought of seeing the scene.That's where my mule is sure to be found.
Around ten o'clock that night.Rizzoli drove to Loutraki.The casino, located fifty miles west of Athens, was always doing brisk business.He wandered around the busy gambling hall, and found that there are many desperate losers waiting for a desperate opportunity to save their losses.From Razzoli's point of view, the deeper these people are trapped in a desperate situation, the easier it is to capture them.It wasn't long before he found his hunt at the roulette table. This man was as thin as a bird, his hair was already gray, and he was about fifty years old.He was constantly wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.As he lost more and more, the beads of sweat on his forehead became more severe. Rezzoli watched him with interest.Based on his previous casino experience, he knew at a glance that this guy had involuntarily fallen into a difficult situation, and he would definitely not be able to bear the consequences of this situation. When he had lost all his chips at the table, he said to the croupier, "I... I want some more chips." The manager looked at the casino owner. "Give it to him. But this is the last time." Tony Rezzoli saw the fool being dragged into the water step by step, so he took a seat beside him and sat down together.In fact, the game of roulette can only deceive children, so it is easy for Tony to play.After a while, the chips at his table piled up, while the guy next to him's chips were rapidly decreasing.In the end, that guy simply squashed all the remaining chips on the roulette wheel regardless of number and color, or odd and even numbers.He probably didn't know what stupid thing he was doing, he kept thinking to himself. The last batch of chips was finally lost by him.He sat there dejectedly in a daze. He looked at the croupier expectantly, "I can..." The other party shook his head, "I'm sorry." He yawned listlessly and stood up from the table. Rizzoli stood up at the same moment. "You're out of luck," he said sympathetically. "I seem to be lucky today. Let's have a drink, my treat." The man blinked a few times. "You are very generous, sir." His voice sounded a little trembling. Looks like I've found my mule, Rizzoli thought happily.The poor man is obviously in dire need of money right now.He would get a hundred dollars if he would take advantage of this opportunity and bring a package of things that did him no harm to New York safely, and at the same time, a free trip to America. "My name is Tony Rezzoli." "Victor Colonsis." They went to the bar together. "What would you like to have?" "I... I'm afraid I don't have much money left." Tony waved his hand generously and said, "Don't worry about it." "Then I'll have a glass of Greek red wine, thank you." Rizzoli said to the waiter, "Another glass of Chivas Regal." "Are you here for tourism?" Koronsis asked politely. "Yes," Rizzoli replied. "I'm on vacation. Greece is such a beautiful country." Coronsis shrugged. "I think so." "You don't like this place?" "Oh, it's really beautiful here. It's just that everything here is expensive as hell. I mean, everything keeps going up in price. Unless you're a millionaire, it's hard to feed a A family of six like me." There was a pain in his tone. Things are getting better and better for me. "What do you do, Victor?" Rezzoli asked casually. "I am the administrator of the National Museum of Athens." "Really, what does an administrator do?" As soon as this point was mentioned, Koronsis' tone was injected with a sense of self-possession. "All the cultural relics unearthed in the whole of Greece are in my custody." He took a sip of wine and continued: "Of course, not necessarily all the cultural relics, because there are other museums, such as the Acropolis Museum, and The National Archaeological Museum, etc. But our museum houses some of the most valuable works of art." Tony Rezzoli felt a little interested when he heard this. "How is it valuable?" Victor Koronsis shrugged and said, "Most of them are priceless treasures. Of course, there are laws in the country that prohibit any cultural relics from being smuggled out of the country. But we don't have a kiosk where people can buy them." to some replicas." Rezzoli's brain began to spin rapidly. "Really? So what about the craftsmanship of these replicas?" "Oh, the quality of workmanship is excellent. Except for experts, the average person can't tell the fake from the real thing at all." "Let me get you another drink." Rezzoli said graciously. "Thank you. You are very generous. I am afraid I am not in a position to repay you." Rizzoli smiled and said, "You don't have to feel embarrassed about it at all. In fact, you are perfectly capable of helping me. I really want to visit your museum, because what you just said is so fascinating." "Oh, that's true," Koshansis tried desperately to convince Tony of that. "It's one of the most wonderful museums in the world. I'd love to accompany you on a tour of our museum any time. When are you free?" "How about tomorrow morning?" Tony Rezzoli felt that his harvest this time might be more than just a "mule".
The National Museum of Athens is located in the center of Athens, not far from Prasio Katagama Square.The museum itself can actually be called a beautiful work of art.This is an ancient Greek temple-like building. Its main entrance stands majestically with a row of Ionian-style tall stone pillars, and the Greek flag hangs directly above it.The four corners of the roof are decorated with gorgeous reliefs. As soon as you enter the door, there is a huge marble exhibition hall.Relics and fragments left over from various historical stages are displayed here.All the showrooms are crowded with rows and rows of display cases.It houses both treasures and replicas.Here, you can see cups and crowns made of pure gold, as well as gem-inlaid swords and various wine vessels for sacrificial offerings.In one of these cabinets were displayed four facial impressions of the deceased, all made of pure gold.There are also showcases showing ancient bloats from centuries ago. Victor Koronsis personally accompanied Tony to visit various exhibition halls with great interest.Koronsis stood down next to a display. He pointed to a statue of a goddess wearing a poppy wreath and said, "This is the goddess of hypnotism," his voice sounded a little hoarse. "The garland of poppies on her head already shows us that she is specially designed to bring sleep, dreams, divine revelation and death to human beings." "How much is she worth?" Coronsis laughed. "You mean her price? That's at least several million." "yes?" When the little administrator led Tony to look at those priceless treasures in this art temple, his demeanor was obviously full of a sense of superiority. "Here is the head of Kolos, 530 BC...that is Athena in Corinthian armor, about 1450 BC...here are fragments of ancient fables. A gold mask of Acaine unearthed in the tomb, it should be from the 16th century BC. Some people think it is Agamemnon." "Maybe I can see it myself." He led Tony to another display case.Tony saw a wine jug with two ears and a thin neck inside, and the workmanship was quite exquisite. "This is one of my favorite babies," Koronsis excitedly introduced to Tony. "I know that every parent shouldn't favor a certain child, but every time I see it, I can't help but have a feeling for it..." "But it looks like a vase to me." "Well--so be it. The vase was recovered from the audience chamber during an excavation at Knossos. You can see in the broken patterns that the ancient Greeks used nets to catch cattle. In ancient times, people Of course, nets are used to catch the cattle, so that the bull will not shed its holy blood prematurely because of the injury. So..." "How much is this vase worth?" Rezzoli asked, interrupting him. "I estimate it's worth about ten million dollars." Tony Rezzoli frowned and asked inexplicably, "Is it worth that much?" "Definitely. It's the work of the late Minoan culture, that's from 1500 BC." Tony saw many replicas displayed in a glass display case. "Are these worth a lot?" "Oh no, my friend. Only real antiques are worth money. But of course they can give us a clue about how the ancient people lived. Let me show you this way." Tony followed Koronsis to another exhibition hall.They stopped at a display case near the corner. Victor Koronsis pointed to the vase displayed in the museum and said: "This is one of the most precious collections in our museum. It records the earliest phonetic symbols in human history. The one you see now The circle with the swastika signifies both 'Ka'. And that set of intersecting circles is one of the most primitive forms used by our ancestors to express the concept of the universe. Only..." Who made up these nonsense! "How much is this stuff worth?" Tony asked eagerly. Coronsis yawned. "Of course it's priceless."
After coming out of the museum, Tony Rezzoli started to dream of getting rich.Unexpectedly, this blind chance led him to touch a gold mine.He originally went to the casino just to find a "mule", but he picked up a golden key there.If this batch of heroin can be successfully sold this time, the profits from it will be shared equally by the six of them.No one would be so stupid as to play tricks on the family or something.But the antique business was a different story entirely.As long as he can try to smuggle those antiques out of the country, then the oil and water can only be regarded as his sideline income, and those guys can't even think of getting a dime.Rezzoli had every reason to be arrogant at this moment.The first thing I should do, thought Rizzoli, is to figure out how to catch this fish as quickly as possible.As for the "mule", that's a later matter.
That night, Rizzoli took his new friend with him to Mostrov Athena.This is a nasty nightclub.Whenever the show is over, the slutty proprietress starts to pick up customers. "Let's find two girls to play with," Rizzoli suggested. "I have to go home tonight," Koronsis seemed embarrassed. "Besides, I'm afraid I won't be able to pay the bill myself." "Well, you're my guest, and I'll pay the bill, of course. It won't cost much." Without any explanation, Rizzoli found a girl for Victor Colonsis.She will take Victor Koronsis with her to her apartment. "Then are you coming later?" Koronsis asked Tony. "I've got some work to do," Tony told him. "Just go yourself. Everything has been arranged."
The next morning, Tony Rizzoli went to the museum again.He saw that there was an endless stream of tourists visiting here all day long.When they faced these splendid ancient cultural treasures, they couldn't help expressing their sincere admiration. Kronsis took Rezzoli to his office.His face turned red all of a sudden. "I...I can't thank you enough for your hospitality last night, Tony. She was... wonderful." Rizzoli smiled. "What do you call a friend, Victor?" "But I can't do anything for you." "I didn't intend for you to repay me," he told him sincerely. "I like to weigh. I'd love to be your company. By the way, I'm going to a hotel tonight to play cards. Would you like to come with me?" "Thank you. I'd love to go with you. But..." He just shrugged resignedly. "I think it's better not to go." "Go ahead. If you're worried about money, you don't have to. I can lend you." Koronsis shook his head and said, "I've already spent so much of your money. If I lose again this time, then I won't be able to repay you even more." Tony smiled. "Who said you will definitely lose? This time we are going to kill pigs." "Killing a pig? I... I don't quite understand." Rizzoli replied calmly: "A friend of mine named Otto Dalton is going to play tonight. The other two are here from the United States. They like to gamble and have a lot of money with them." .So Otto and I have conspired to get a good deal out of it." Koronsis stared at Tony with wide eyes in surprise. "Grab it? You mean you're going to… tamper with it?" Kronsis licked his lips. "I've never done anything like that." Rezzoli nodded in understanding. "I understand you completely. If you don't want to do it, then I won't force you. I just want to give you a chance to get two or three thousand dollars without breaking a sweat." Kronsis' eyes suddenly lit up. "Two or three thousand dollars?" "Oh yes. At least." Koronsis licked his lips again. "I... I... Is this dangerous?" Tony Rizzoli laughed. "If it's a dodgy job, why would I do it? There's no problem. Otto is a card maker... old hand. He can draw cards from the bottom or the middle without anyone noticing when he deals. He does Been in the business for years and never got caught." Koronsis sat staring at Tony absently. "How much... how much does it cost to join?" "About $500. But let me tell you, we're going to win this time. So if you lose, you don't have to give me back the $500." "Of course you couldn't be more generous to me, Tony. But why...why are you doing all this for me?" "I can tell you why," Tony went on indignantly, "when I see a man of your caliber, hard work, and such a responsible position in the greatest museum in the world, Not being given the credit your government deserves for a decent wage—you've been struggling so hard for years to support your family—well, to tell you the truth, Victor, I'm very impressed with your situation. I can’t stand it anymore. When was the last time you got a salary increase?” "They...they never gave me a raise at all." "Okay, so listen, you have a choice now, Victor. Either let me help you, which means come with me tonight to get a few thousand dollars, so you can live a good life in the future. The decent life you deserve. The other way is to go on living the wretched life you were before." "I...I really don't know what to do, Tony. I don't want to..." Tony Rizzoli stood up. "I understand your thoughts. Maybe I will come to Athens again in one or two years, and then we will meet again. I am very happy to meet a friend like you here this time, Victor." Said Here, he walked towards the door. Koronsis finally made up his mind. "Wait a minute. I... I'd like to go with you tonight." Immediately, without wasting any time, he began to reel in the line. "Oh, that's great," he said happily. "It makes me so happy to help you get out of trouble." But Koronsis still hesitated, and then said: "I have a question to ask Xiaochu, I hope you don't take offense. You just said that if I lose the 500 dollars you lent me, I don't need to pay you back Is it?" "That's the case." Rezzoli replied in a positive tone. "But you will never lose, because we have already arranged it." "Where is the location?" "The Cosmopolitan, room 460. Ten o'clock. Tell your wife that you'll be working late tonight."
The next morning, just as Rizzoli was leaving the hotel to pick up the goods from the warehouse, the phone rang. "Mr. Rezzoli?" A stranger's voice came from the receiver. "it's me." "I am Dr. Patsaka and I am speaking to you in the emergency room of Athens Hospital. We have an emergency patient here named Sarah Muchison. She accidentally broke her thigh last night and is currently in our hospital. Here for treatment. She is anxious for me to call you and to relay her apology to you..." Tony Rezzoli hung up the phone with a bang. "Damn it!" This is the second time he has hit the pot.Where was he going to find the third "mule" now? Rezzoli knew that he had to be careful during this time.The United States is said to have recently sent a senior drug enforcement officer to Athens.The purpose of his visit is to further cooperate with the Greek authorities in combating drug smuggling.They closely monitored all imports and exports of Athens.Whether it is an aircraft or a ship, all will be subject to strict inspection by the customs. As if he couldn't get enough trouble, Rizzoli ran into another thorny problem: an eyeliner he hired-a thief and drug addict-had tipped him off that the police had been in the past few days. A raid on all warehouses in Athens will begin.The target of the search was, of course, drugs.Of course, it also includes various other illegally smuggled items.He felt the pressure on his shoulders increasing.It seems that it is time to report the situation to the family. After Tony Rezzoli walked out of the hotel, he walked down Padison Avenue toward the City Telephone Center.He wasn't too sure if his hotel phone would be bugged, but he thought it was better to play it safe. 85 Padison Avenue is a brownstone building.The front of the building adopts a gallery-style structure design, and it is marked with three capitalized abbreviations: "OTE". After entering the business hall, Rezzoli looked around, and saw that there were about a dozen telephone booths along the perimeter of the hall, and each telephone booth was numbered.A shelf is stacked with phone books from around the world.The service desk is located in the center of the hall, where four salespersons are handling the call procedures for customers.People were waiting in long lines to be called. Tony Rezzoli walked towards the service desk, he greeted the saleswoman first: "Good morning." "Can I help?" "I want to make an international call." "I'm afraid it will take more than half an hour." "okay then." "Which country? Phone number?" Tony Rezzoli hesitated for a moment, "Oh, of course." He took out a note and handed it over. "Pay by the other party." "Excuse me, sir, what is your name?" "Brown. Tom Browne." "Okay, Mr. Brown. I'll call you when I get through." "thanks." He walked across the hall, and sat down on the nearest bench.Maybe I could hide my stuff in a car, and for a little money the owner would take it out of the country for me.But doing so would be very risky.Even the small cars are checked very tightly at the current checkpoint.Otherwise, I'll go find... "Mr. Brown...Mr. Tom Brown." The name rang twice in his ears before he realized it.He hurriedly ran to the sales desk. "The other party has accepted it. Please go to Room No. 7." "Thank you. By the way, can I get back the note I gave you just now? Because I need it next time." "Of course." The saleswoman handed him the note back.
"Hey." "Tony, is that you?" "It's Tian. How are you, Peter." "Honestly, everyone's been waiting a little bit, Tony. They've been waiting for your shipment every day!" "I'm having a little trouble here." "Has the package been shipped yet?" "No, I haven't let go yet." There was a silence on both sides. "We don't want any trouble with this shipment, Tony." "Nothing's going to happen. I'm trying to find another way to get rid of it. The damn cops are all over here." "It's ten million dollars at stake, Tony." "I understand. Don't worry. I'll find a way to fix it." "I'm sure you can, Tony. You'll find a way." The two parties put the phone call on hold.
As Tony walked toward the exit of the hall, a man in a gray coat walked toward the saleswoman sitting behind the desk. "Miss, did you see that man going out?" She looked up and asked, "What?" "I want to know the number he hung up on just now." "Sorry. We have no right to do that." The man took out a document from the back pocket of his trousers, and inside it was a golden police shield. Her attitude softened immediately. "Oh. He just gave me a note with the phone number he wanted to call. But then he took the note back." "But you should always have a reservation." "Oh, yes. We usually have reservations." "Then can you let me have a look?" "of course can." She wrote that phone number down on a slip of paper and handed it to him.He took a look at the note.The international area code is 39 and the city area code is 91.Italy.Palermo. "Thank you. Do you still remember what name he used?" "I remember. Brown, I guess. Tom Brown."
After talking with his family just now, Rezzoli felt a little nervous.He wanted to go to the bathhouse to take a bath and relax.Damn Peter Luca!Ahead, in a corner of Kolonazy Square, there is a sign that reads "Public Toilets".But he saw that the men and women were all going in and out of the same doorway.It turned out that it was a shared toilet for men and women.The Greeks also called themselves a civilized people, Rizzoli thought.It's disgusting.
In a mountain villa outside Palermo, four men are sitting around a conference table. "By the way, he should have shipped it, Peter," one of them complained. "What happened?" "I don't know too well. Maybe there's something wrong with Tony Rezzoli himself." "But Tony's never had a problem before." "I know. But people can get greedy sometimes. I think I'd better send someone to find out what's going on." "It's too bad. I've always trusted Tony."
Stadivo Street 10, where the Athens Police Headquarters is located.There is a meeting going on here.The meeting was attended by Athenian police chief Livreri, inspector Tino, and Walter Kelly, commissioner of the Customs and Excise Department of the British Treasury. "According to our intelligence," Kelly was speaking. "Recently, a large drug deal is going on, and these drugs will be smuggled out of the port of Athens. Tony Rezzoli is involved in this illegal transaction." Inspector Tino sat without saying a word.Greek police departments have never welcomed other countries meddling in their affairs, and the Americans in particular resent them.They are always so self-righteous, a little overconfident. The Chief of Police introduced him. "We have taken measures, Mr. Commissioner. Tony Rezzoli made an international call to Palermo, Italy just a few minutes ago. We are currently looking up that phone number. When we find it, we will have their information." Whereabouts." The phone on the desk rang. Liveli Dmitri and Tino looked at each other. Inspector Tino went to answer the phone. "Have you found it?" He held the receiver in his hand, his face expressionless.Then he hung up the phone. "How about it?" "They looked up the number." "What is that place?" "That's the number of a telephone booth in the town square of Palermo." "asshole!" "This Mr. Rezzoli looks like an inch eskipnos." Walter Kelly interjected impatiently, "I don't know Greek." "I'm sorry, Mr. Commissioner. What that said was that he was cunning enough." After hearing this, Kelly said, "I hope you can step up surveillance on him." Why is this guy pointing fingers here?The Chief of Police, turning to the Inspector, said: "We have not yet had enough evidence about him. So we can only go so far." "Yes, sir. Only a serious suspicion." The Chief of Police then turned to Walter Kelly and said, "I don't think we can have a full-day surveillance on every suspect of drug dealing." "But Rizzoli—" "You may rest assured that we have our own intelligence service, Mr. Kelly. We know where to get in touch with you should we find anything new." Walter Kelly looked at him helplessly and said, "Just don't make me wait too long," and then he added, "I'm afraid they'll be out of the country by then."
Everything in Rafina's villa is basically ready.The real estate agent kindly suggested to Constantin Demiris: "I know you bought the furniture for the interior too, but I think it's a new set of furniture..." "No. I want everything in here to stay exactly as it is." He wanted the house exactly as it had been when Noel Patch and her lover Larry betrayed him here.He walked into the living room.The love they made on this floor?Still in the study?Or the kitchen?Then he went to their bedroom again, with a large double bed against the wall.their bed.After Larry had stolen Noel from him, he had fondled her naked body on this bed.Although Douglas had already paid for it with his life, Demiris would make him pay again.He stared thoughtfully at the bed.I'm going to have sex with his wife Catherine on this bed first, Demiris thought excitedly.Then change to another room.Until all the rooms here are changed.He hung up on Catherine at the villa.
Tony Rezzoli Here are two unexpected guests.They came from Sicily without saying hello to him.He immediately sensed something was wrong.Alfredo Mancaso was tall and Gino Ravelli was even taller and a little scary. Mancaso told him straight to the point, "Peter Luca sent us here." Rizzoli tried to look as casual as possible. "Great. Welcome to Athens. What can I do for you?" "Stop talking nonsense, Rezzoli," said Mancaso, "Peter wants to know what the hell you're up to here." "A trick? I don't understand what you're talking about. Didn't I explain to him that there's a little trouble here?" "That's what we're here for. We're here to help you out of your troubles." "Wait a minute, guys," Rizzoli said impatiently. "I've stashed that package in a very safe place. When..." "Peter doesn't want the stuff sitting there all the time. He's throwing a lot of money at it." Lavery knocked Tony out of his chair with a punch. "Let us tell you, Rizzoli. If the shipment had been off the streets of New York on time as expected, Peter would have had the money and washed it clean. Then these The money can be put to use again on that street. Know what I mean?" I can handle those two guys, Rizzoli thought.But he didn't want to do it with them.He'll settle with Peter Luca. "Of course, I understand exactly what you mean," Rizzoli said to them both in a reassuring tone. "But it's not as easy as it used to be. The city is full of Greek police, and Washington has sent a veteran to cooperate with them. I have a plan..." "Peter already has it," Lavery interrupted. "Do you want to know his plan? He told us to tell you that if you can't get rid of this shipment next week, then you have to find a way to make up the money yourself, and then take it home to meet him." "Hi!" Rezzoli was anxious. "I have no place to raise such a large sum of money. I..." "Peter sent us to help you find a way to pay this sum just because he thought you might not be able to do anything." Tony Rezzoli took a deep breath. "Okay. You just have to tell him that everything is fine with Darry." "We will. At the same time, we will stay nearby for the next two days to wait for your reply, and you can finish it within a week."
Tony Rizzoli had always prided himself on his good habit of not drinking before noon.But this time was different. After the two left, he immediately went to open a bottle of Scotch whiskey and drank several sips in one breath.He felt a warm current slowly spread through his body along his throat.But that didn't help either.It's useless to do anything now.he thought dejectedly.I didn't expect old Peter to be so unfeeling to me.I've always treated him like a father, but now he's giving me a month to get things done.I need to find another "mule", and fast.casino!He suddenly thought of seeing the scene.That's where my mule is sure to be found.
Around ten o'clock that night.Rizzoli drove to Loutraki.The casino, located fifty miles west of Athens, was always doing brisk business.He wandered around the busy gambling hall, and found that there are many desperate losers waiting for a desperate opportunity to save their losses.From Razzoli's point of view, the deeper these people are trapped in a desperate situation, the easier it is to capture them.It wasn't long before he found his hunt at the roulette table. This man was as thin as a bird, his hair was already gray, and he was about fifty years old.He was constantly wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.As he lost more and more, the beads of sweat on his forehead became more severe. Rezzoli watched him with interest.Based on his previous casino experience, he knew at a glance that this guy had involuntarily fallen into a difficult situation, and he would definitely not be able to bear the consequences of this situation. When he had lost all his chips at the table, he said to the croupier, "I... I want some more chips." The manager looked at the casino owner. "Give it to him. But this is the last time." Tony Rezzoli saw the fool being dragged into the water step by step, so he took a seat beside him and sat down together.In fact, the game of roulette can only deceive children, so it is easy for Tony to play.After a while, the chips at his table piled up, while the guy next to him's chips were rapidly decreasing.In the end, that guy simply squashed all the remaining chips on the roulette wheel regardless of number and color, or odd and even numbers.He probably didn't know what stupid thing he was doing, he kept thinking to himself. The last batch of chips was finally lost by him.He sat there dejectedly in a daze. He looked at the croupier expectantly, "I can..." The other party shook his head, "I'm sorry." He yawned listlessly and stood up from the table. Rizzoli stood up at the same moment. "You're out of luck," he said sympathetically. "I seem to be lucky today. Let's have a drink, my treat." The man blinked a few times. "You are very generous, sir." His voice sounded a little trembling. Looks like I've found my mule, Rizzoli thought happily.The poor man is obviously in dire need of money right now.He would get a hundred dollars if he would take advantage of this opportunity and bring a package of things that did him no harm to New York safely, and at the same time, a free trip to America. "My name is Tony Rezzoli." "Victor Colonsis." They went to the bar together. "What would you like to have?" "I... I'm afraid I don't have much money left." Tony waved his hand generously and said, "Don't worry about it." "Then I'll have a glass of Greek red wine, thank you." Rizzoli said to the waiter, "Another glass of Chivas Regal." "Are you here for tourism?" Koronsis asked politely. "Yes," Rizzoli replied. "I'm on vacation. Greece is such a beautiful country." Coronsis shrugged. "I think so." "You don't like this place?" "Oh, it's really beautiful here. It's just that everything here is expensive as hell. I mean, everything keeps going up in price. Unless you're a millionaire, it's hard to feed a A family of six like me." There was a pain in his tone. Things are getting better and better for me. "What do you do, Victor?" Rezzoli asked casually. "I am the administrator of the National Museum of Athens." "Really, what does an administrator do?" As soon as this point was mentioned, Koronsis' tone was injected with a sense of self-possession. "All the cultural relics unearthed in the whole of Greece are in my custody." He took a sip of wine and continued: "Of course, not necessarily all the cultural relics, because there are other museums, such as the Acropolis Museum, and The National Archaeological Museum, etc. But our museum houses some of the most valuable works of art." Tony Rezzoli felt a little interested when he heard this. "How is it valuable?" Victor Koronsis shrugged and said, "Most of them are priceless treasures. Of course, there are laws in the country that prohibit any cultural relics from being smuggled out of the country. But we don't have a kiosk where people can buy them." to some replicas." Rezzoli's brain began to spin rapidly. "Really? So what about the craftsmanship of these replicas?" "Oh, the quality of workmanship is excellent. Except for experts, the average person can't tell the fake from the real thing at all." "Let me get you another drink." Rezzoli said graciously. "Thank you. You are very generous. I am afraid I am not in a position to repay you." Rizzoli smiled and said, "You don't have to feel embarrassed about it at all. In fact, you are perfectly capable of helping me. I really want to visit your museum, because what you just said is so fascinating." "Oh, that's true," Koshansis tried desperately to convince Tony of that. "It's one of the most wonderful museums in the world. I'd love to accompany you on a tour of our museum any time. When are you free?" "How about tomorrow morning?" Tony Rezzoli felt that his harvest this time might be more than just a "mule".
The National Museum of Athens is located in the center of Athens, not far from Prasio Katagama Square.The museum itself can actually be called a beautiful work of art.This is an ancient Greek temple-like building. Its main entrance stands majestically with a row of Ionian-style tall stone pillars, and the Greek flag hangs directly above it.The four corners of the roof are decorated with gorgeous reliefs. As soon as you enter the door, there is a huge marble exhibition hall.Relics and fragments left over from various historical stages are displayed here.All the showrooms are crowded with rows and rows of display cases.It houses both treasures and replicas.Here, you can see cups and crowns made of pure gold, as well as gem-inlaid swords and various wine vessels for sacrificial offerings.In one of these cabinets were displayed four facial impressions of the deceased, all made of pure gold.There are also showcases showing ancient bloats from centuries ago. Victor Koronsis personally accompanied Tony to visit various exhibition halls with great interest.Koronsis stood down next to a display. He pointed to a statue of a goddess wearing a poppy wreath and said, "This is the goddess of hypnotism," his voice sounded a little hoarse. "The garland of poppies on her head already shows us that she is specially designed to bring sleep, dreams, divine revelation and death to human beings." "How much is she worth?" Coronsis laughed. "You mean her price? That's at least several million." "yes?" When the little administrator led Tony to look at those priceless treasures in this art temple, his demeanor was obviously full of a sense of superiority. "Here is the head of Kolos, 530 BC...that is Athena in Corinthian armor, about 1450 BC...here are fragments of ancient fables. A gold mask of Acaine unearthed in the tomb, it should be from the 16th century BC. Some people think it is Agamemnon." "Maybe I can see it myself." He led Tony to another display case.Tony saw a wine jug with two ears and a thin neck inside, and the workmanship was quite exquisite. "This is one of my favorite babies," Koronsis excitedly introduced to Tony. "I know that every parent shouldn't favor a certain child, but every time I see it, I can't help but have a feeling for it..." "But it looks like a vase to me." "Well--so be it. The vase was recovered from the audience chamber during an excavation at Knossos. You can see in the broken patterns that the ancient Greeks used nets to catch cattle. In ancient times, people Of course, nets are used to catch the cattle, so that the bull will not shed its holy blood prematurely because of the injury. So..." "How much is this vase worth?" Rezzoli asked, interrupting him. "I estimate it's worth about ten million dollars." Tony Rezzoli frowned and asked inexplicably, "Is it worth that much?" "Definitely. It's the work of the late Minoan culture, that's from 1500 BC." Tony saw many replicas displayed in a glass display case. "Are these worth a lot?" "Oh no, my friend. Only real antiques are worth money. But of course they can give us a clue about how the ancient people lived. Let me show you this way." Tony followed Koronsis to another exhibition hall.They stopped at a display case near the corner. Victor Koronsis pointed to the vase displayed in the museum and said: "This is one of the most precious collections in our museum. It records the earliest phonetic symbols in human history. The one you see now The circle with the swastika signifies both 'Ka'. And that set of intersecting circles is one of the most primitive forms used by our ancestors to express the concept of the universe. Only..." Who made up these nonsense! "How much is this stuff worth?" Tony asked eagerly. Coronsis yawned. "Of course it's priceless."
After coming out of the museum, Tony Rezzoli started to dream of getting rich.Unexpectedly, this blind chance led him to touch a gold mine.He originally went to the casino just to find a "mule", but he picked up a golden key there.If this batch of heroin can be successfully sold this time, the profits from it will be shared equally by the six of them.No one would be so stupid as to play tricks on the family or something.But the antique business was a different story entirely.As long as he can try to smuggle those antiques out of the country, then the oil and water can only be regarded as his sideline income, and those guys can't even think of getting a dime.Rezzoli had every reason to be arrogant at this moment.The first thing I should do, thought Rizzoli, is to figure out how to catch this fish as quickly as possible.As for the "mule", that's a later matter.
That night, Rizzoli took his new friend with him to Mostrov Athena.This is a nasty nightclub.Whenever the show is over, the slutty proprietress starts to pick up customers. "Let's find two girls to play with," Rizzoli suggested. "I have to go home tonight," Koronsis seemed embarrassed. "Besides, I'm afraid I won't be able to pay the bill myself." "Well, you're my guest, and I'll pay the bill, of course. It won't cost much." Without any explanation, Rizzoli found a girl for Victor Colonsis.She will take Victor Koronsis with her to her apartment. "Then are you coming later?" Koronsis asked Tony. "I've got some work to do," Tony told him. "Just go yourself. Everything has been arranged."
The next morning, Tony Rizzoli went to the museum again.He saw that there was an endless stream of tourists visiting here all day long.When they faced these splendid ancient cultural treasures, they couldn't help expressing their sincere admiration. Kronsis took Rezzoli to his office.His face turned red all of a sudden. "I...I can't thank you enough for your hospitality last night, Tony. She was... wonderful." Rizzoli smiled. "What do you call a friend, Victor?" "But I can't do anything for you." "I didn't intend for you to repay me," he told him sincerely. "I like to weigh. I'd love to be your company. By the way, I'm going to a hotel tonight to play cards. Would you like to come with me?" "Thank you. I'd love to go with you. But..." He just shrugged resignedly. "I think it's better not to go." "Go ahead. If you're worried about money, you don't have to. I can lend you." Koronsis shook his head and said, "I've already spent so much of your money. If I lose again this time, then I won't be able to repay you even more." Tony smiled. "Who said you will definitely lose? This time we are going to kill pigs." "Killing a pig? I... I don't quite understand." Rizzoli replied calmly: "A friend of mine named Otto Dalton is going to play tonight. The other two are here from the United States. They like to gamble and have a lot of money with them." .So Otto and I have conspired to get a good deal out of it." Koronsis stared at Tony with wide eyes in surprise. "Grab it? You mean you're going to… tamper with it?" Kronsis licked his lips. "I've never done anything like that." Rezzoli nodded in understanding. "I understand you completely. If you don't want to do it, then I won't force you. I just want to give you a chance to get two or three thousand dollars without breaking a sweat." Kronsis' eyes suddenly lit up. "Two or three thousand dollars?" "Oh yes. At least." Koronsis licked his lips again. "I... I... Is this dangerous?" Tony Rizzoli laughed. "If it's a dodgy job, why would I do it? There's no problem. Otto is a card maker... old hand. He can draw cards from the bottom or the middle without anyone noticing when he deals. He does Been in the business for years and never got caught." Koronsis sat staring at Tony absently. "How much... how much does it cost to join?" "About $500. But let me tell you, we're going to win this time. So if you lose, you don't have to give me back the $500." "Of course you couldn't be more generous to me, Tony. But why...why are you doing all this for me?" "I can tell you why," Tony went on indignantly, "when I see a man of your caliber, hard work, and such a responsible position in the greatest museum in the world, Not being given the credit your government deserves for a decent wage—you've been struggling so hard for years to support your family—well, to tell you the truth, Victor, I'm very impressed with your situation. I can’t stand it anymore. When was the last time you got a salary increase?” "They...they never gave me a raise at all." "Okay, so listen, you have a choice now, Victor. Either let me help you, which means come with me tonight to get a few thousand dollars, so you can live a good life in the future. The decent life you deserve. The other way is to go on living the wretched life you were before." "I...I really don't know what to do, Tony. I don't want to..." Tony Rizzoli stood up. "I understand your thoughts. Maybe I will come to Athens again in one or two years, and then we will meet again. I am very happy to meet a friend like you here this time, Victor." Said Here, he walked towards the door. Koronsis finally made up his mind. "Wait a minute. I... I'd like to go with you tonight." Immediately, without wasting any time, he began to reel in the line. "Oh, that's great," he said happily. "It makes me so happy to help you get out of trouble." But Koronsis still hesitated, and then said: "I have a question to ask Xiaochu, I hope you don't take offense. You just said that if I lose the 500 dollars you lent me, I don't need to pay you back Is it?" "That's the case." Rezzoli replied in a positive tone. "But you will never lose, because we have already arranged it." "Where is the location?" "The Cosmopolitan, room 460. Ten o'clock. Tell your wife that you'll be working late tonight."