Chapter 19
570 Words
Chapter 19
We walked down the alleys, guided by the phone prompts. It was really hot and I wanted to go home, but my curiosity was getting the better of me.
Billy was following me closely, towering over my shoulder to glance at the little screen himself, craning his head back, never relaxing.
The arrow was taking us towards a multi-story parking space, one of those whole buildings where you can park by the hour, because finding a spot in the middle of Athens is pretty much impossible.
But then the arrow was gone, so I stopped.
I slapped the damn thing.
“What?” Billy asked, as he stumbled slightly on my back.
“Nothing. That’s it, nothing,” I said breathing out.
“Where was it pointing before it was gone?”
“To that parking building, I think. I’m not sure.”
Billy squinted and looked up at the building. It was five floors tall.
My phone then blipped and a message read, “You are being followed. Lose them. π.”
I whispered, “Look,” and showed the message to my tall friend. I had never been followed before. Not like that, I think. Followed by teenagers, sure. Some leery men, too. A creep or two, when I walked home. But not like this, conspiratorily.
“Uh huh,” Billy said and then looked around as if looking at street names. Then he said, too loud so he could be heard by anyone, “I think the store is over there.”
We fell side-by-side into a hurried walk, round the corner, towards crowded shops and people. We were going the other way, far from the parking building.
I tried to hide it, but I was anxious. Being followed by people? Some nebulous face? I needed to make it real, to see someone. They say that the unknown is what’s really scary, that if you familiarise yourself with something, it doesn’t scare you anymore.
I rubbernecked all the time, trying to catch a glimpse of our pursuers.
Then I saw them. Two guys, wearing light coloured shirts in the heat, but they seemed the sort to favour suits. Sunglasses, short hair. Nothing distinctive on them, no tattoos, no piercings. Average height. They were the sort of people who would blend in easily, and who you couldn’t recall anything specific about if you were asked.
Billy was pulling me close to him, not forcefully but I would find myself being hauled along if I tried to stop for a second.
Two streets down I saw them again. They were definitely following us.
“What are we doing?” I whispered.
“We are trying to get lost in the crowd,” he said.
“You are too damn tall! You stand out like a lightpost!”
“I know, that’s why we are going to Varvakios Agora.”
Varvakios, or rather its more recent name Athens Central Market, was the biggest place to shop for perishables in Athens. Fresh produce, meat, fish, anything you can think of is stacked in rows of little shops, carried back and forth while people yell loudly and speak out their sales. It is so big that it’s actually a tourist attraction. It has a retro feel to it, a very tall ceiling, old-style roof and metal supports with white and dark green paint. Some shop signs are modern, some are old. High-tech aluminium open fridges sit right along the classic drop-the-fish-into-ice-boxes technique. Screens yell out advertisements and public-interest messages, banners fall down from the ceiling. It’s packed with people.
And the fish.
Oh boy, the fish.
A pervasive fish smell oozes out blocks away from the place.
And to my joy, Billy was taking me right towards a fish merchant.
- Writer
