Читать книгу Deadline Istanbul (The Elizabeth Darcy Series) - Peggy Hanson - Страница 26

CHAPTER 22

Now I began to fear that spit would suddenly climb out of my throat and land on the ground without my even willing it. But as I knew, spitting was mostly a habit of grown-ups of the same stock as those brainless, weak-willed, insolent children who were always being punished by my teacher.

Orhan Pamuk, Istanbul

Erol Metin got off the ferry and made his way by circuitous routes to the Silver Wolves’ safe house in Üsküdar. It would be a long night. He was getting oriented to the group’s rituals. First, the meeting of five or six members. They always arrived separately, did not give their names, and kept the curtains of every room closed.

The safe house was one of many buildings clustered behind the big mosque overlooking Üsküdar wharf. When the evening call to prayer resounded from the minaret, the group performed their ablutions in separate bathrooms and then prayed together in the main room. They were protecting both Turkey and Islam from vile influences of the West.

After prayers and a quick meal, they began their lessons for that night. No announcement was made of what the topic would be. Or of what their individual assignments would consist. Assignments were handed out orally by Hamdi himself, the Wolves’ leader, and they were done in absolute privacy.

When the curtains were raised, the safe house was an excellent location for observation without being observed. Most of the time, however, it was a secret world inside. A magnet for young men like Erol.