A Liar & a Thief

Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music.

Angela Monet

Chapter ONE

Bucharest, 1919

"A toast!" Announced the man

A smile touched EJ's handsome, if somewhat unkempt face. "And what shall we toast to, Tosh?"

Tosh and EJ's English accents stood out amongst the background of the Romanian dialects being spoken all around them. "It's your party," said Tosh with a grin, holding up his shot glass, "You decide old boy."

EJ looked around the crowded Romanian bar, which heaved with the great unwashed of humanity, such as traders, shady businessmen and n'er do wells. Flashes of colour from turbans and coats appeared through the smoky haze filling the cramped room. Outside, the afternoon sun shone brightly, but inside the darkened bar, EJ couldn't tell the time, which seemed to suit many of the patrons.

EJ's grubby and torn clothes didn't stand out at all in such a place, his once white, button up shirt, now missed more than a few buttons and was grey rather than white nowadays. His dark tailored pants had seen better days as well, ripped and muddied along with EJ's dress shoes which had long ago lost their shine and a fair amount of stitching. Despite his unruly appearance it was still plain to anyone who gave EJ a second look that he was a very good looking man. EJ's dark brown hair framed well defined features which were pleasing to most people and the little lines around his chocolate brown eyes told of a man who smiled often, adding to his general handsomeness.

In direct contrast to EJ's overall dishevelled state was Tosh's neat appearance. EJ's best friend was wearing a houndstooth jacket over his partially unbuttoned white shirt with a jaunty little handkerchief in the jacket pocket for effect. Clean shaven Tosh's wavy, brown hair was neatly parted off to one side and brushed down, held in place by copious amounts of hair cream as was expected of any gentleman. EJ pushed his own long, lanky hair, which hadn't known a barber's touch for over six months now, from his eyes and scratched his uneven beard with a thoughtful look at the expectant Tosh.

"How about to freedom, friends-" EJ began, grinning at Madalina, the exotic beauty on his knee, and then at her equally beautiful sister sitting on Tosh's knee, "and fair ladies."

"A most excellent toast, old chum," approved Tosh. He clinked his class with EJ's and drank the liquor in one gulp.

EJ grimaced as the alcohol burned all the way down his throat and hit his stomach as a ball of fire. After the horrors he'd endured the last six months in a Romanian prison, the horrible liquor tasted like the nectar of the gods.

Tosh pulled a face over his own drink as well, but poured them another. "Ladies are you sure you won't partake?" He asked them with an inebriated smile, "Madalina, Dumitra?"

Madalina shook her dark head and shifted, causing her many gold bracelets and necklaces to jingle melodically. "No thank you, domnule (sir)," she said in a thick Romanian accent. "My sister and I do not drink."

EJ had dealings with gypsies, the nomadic peoples of these lands before, and had always enjoyed their free spirits. He suspected the sisters, with their exotic dress and jewellery, were part if not full gypsies. If there was one thing to say about EJ's old Air Force buddy Tosh, he knew how to throw a good party and thought of everything. When EJ had walked free from his prison cell earlier that morning, Tosh had greeted him with enthusiasm, and at once he'd led him to this bar and the sisters. They'd been drinking and eating since, and the day was far from over.

"Very wise of you Madalina," said EJ with a quirk of his lips, as he raised his filled glass to her, "Heavy liquor is only for the broken-hearted and irredeemable reprobates."

Madalina tilted her head quizzically. "What is reprobate?"

"A reprobate is a man who lives by his own rules," said EJ with a half smile, "and doesn't care what others may think of him."

Tosh chuckled, and pointed out, "Until he's caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and is thrown in a Romanian prison."

"I could have talked my way out of that little misunderstanding," said EJ, throwing him a pointed look. "Only a complete and utter waster left me holding the kitty so to speak."

"Ah well these things happen don't they?" said Tosh but did have the good grace to look a little shame faced. "I thought the diamonds would be much safer in your pockets than mine."

"They probably would have been safer, if you'd told me about their presence," EJ said with a roll of his eyes. "If I'd known my pockets were full of the Sultan's, cousin's, wife's diamonds, I wouldn't have stopped to chat her up, eliciting the ire of said Sultan's cousin."

"Not one of our finest hours," Tosh agreed. "Still, all water under the bridge as they say, eh, old boy?" He gave EJ a winsome smile to which EJ just shook his head. "A little time spent at his Sultan's pleasure doesn't seem to have done you any harm anyway."

"I haven't bathed in months, Tosh, and I've worn the same clothes the whole time. I'm almost certain I have fleas or lice or both." As though on cue, one of the little blood suckers bit EJ, and he grimaced, scratching at his beard.

"Don't worry old boy," said Tosh, never one to dwell on these kinds of things for too long, "Dumitra and Madalina here have the delightful good fortune of having a brother who owns a bath house. I've already paid for an extended session on your behalf."

"Serban will take good care of you," agreed Dumitra with a little nod and smile.

The suggestion actually sounded better than anything EJ had heard all day.

"So why don't we get a few more libations in? Then it's off to the baths and then these dear ladies have a few suggestions as to how we might be entertained as darkness falls."

EJ looked at Madalina and gave her a charming smile. "Do they now?"

She blushed and gave a shy little giggle, the modesty all for show no doubt, because if these girls were with Tosh, they'd certainly been around the block more than once. Such an arrangement suited EJ just fine. He hadn't had the time or patience for romantic entanglements in his thirty one years on this planet. Instead, he liked to live in the here and now. After his time in prison, EJ looked forward to having a beautiful woman in his arms again and sharing his bed with something other than rats.

Tosh said, "A nun walked into a bar."

"Oh no jokes please, Tosh," EJ begged him with a teasing groan. "I've been through enough without another horror. You tell the absolute worst jokes of anyone I know."

"First of all I take great umbrage to such a slur," said Tosh looking miffed as he addressed the women, "Ladies I can assure you my comedic timing has delighted Kings and Maharajas alike."

"Did you say delighted or disturbed?" asked EJ with an arch of his eyebrow as the sisters giggled at their banter.

"I'll let that one go, old boy," huffed Tosh, "I'll put your poor judgement down to some latent trauma from your ordeal-"

"Don't bother on my account."

"But I'm not joking." Tosh pointed past EJ's shoulder. "A nun walked into a bar."

EJ twisted in his seat to look where Tosh pointed and his eyes widened in surprise. He'd survived the Great War in a foreign land, and figured he'd seen about all there was to see in this world, but apparently he'd been mistaken. The small figure dressed in the heavy black and white robes making her way towards the bar and ignoring the stares she garnered was indeed a first for EJ.

"So I'm not just plastered then?" asked Tosh in amusement, "You can see the little penguin as well?"

"Yes," said EJ, cocking his head and looking at the woman with great interest, his innate curiosity immediately piqued. What the hell was a nun doing out in the middle of nowhere all by herself, and in a bar no less? "I think we need more drinks," announced EJ, standing up and placing Madalina in the seat he'd just vacated.

"Come on old boy," said Tosh in exasperation, having seen such a gleam in his friend's eye before, "Leave well enough alone eh?"

"I'm simply going to get more drinks, Tosh," EJ tutted. "Don't look so nervous."

"Nervousness is a perpetual state of being around you and inappropriate women."

"I'm just getting a drink."

"Well those are famous last words if ever I heard them," griped Tosh with a heavy sigh.

EJ waved Tosh off and headed towards the bar, where the nun stood with her back to him talking to a group of men. EJ couldn't help but wonder what need a nun might have with such an unsavoury bunch, so he stood at the bar and eavesdropped covertly.

The men shook their heads and the nun turned around, going on to the next group of men, "Pardon me sir but I was wunderin' if ya knew or have seen dis man before?"

The nun's very thick Irish accent caught even more of EJ's attention and he sneaked a look at her. Thanks to the lavish folds of her habit there was only the nun's face to be seen but EJ's heart quickened nonetheless, thanks to her extraordinarily beautiful face. She looked young, surprising him – EJ always pictured nuns as matronly at best or ancient at worst, but she looked in her very early twenties. The woman stood barely five feet four or five inches tall at most, making her seem tiny to the six foot five EJ. Even in the dingy light, her pale skin glowed flawlessly.

The nun's hair was tucked away inside her habit, but EJ guessed the colour was light, because of her finely arched, dark blonde eyebrows. Those shapely eyebrows crowned breathtakingly-beautiful, cornflower blue eyes, which at once spoke of the intelligence of the woman behind them. A rather cute upturned nose sat above the most kissable lips EJ had ever seen. The thought caused EJ to start a little and immediately feel guilty. She's a nun for god's sake, man, have a little decorum. EJ didn't have many boundaries but such a thing was one of them.

The bartender interrupted EJ's self flagellation. "Ceea ce nu vrei (what do you want)?"

"Două," EJ said, holding up two fingers and pointing to the paint remover he and Tosh had been drinking all morning.

The man went to pour the drinks but EJ's attention returned to the nun. She was showing what looked like a picture to more men and they were all shaking their heads until one nodded. EJ couldn't see the picture the nun was showing around but he knew the man who had just nodded. The fellow's name was Anghel and a nastier piece of work would be hard to find in all of Bucharest and EJ was instantly on guard. Anghel was a local thug well known for his penchant for extortion and violence and just generally being a grade A bastard simply because he could.

Anghel headed up a group of local bully boys and the nefarious group rather fancied themselves as cocks of the walk around these parts. By Anghel's side were the villains usual companions, the twins Liviu and Ovidiu Çelik. The Çelik twins were as dumb as dirt but when built like they were, intelligence didn't really matter – no one got in Liviu and Ovidiu's way and lived to tell about it. In the past EJ had managed to skirt around direct contact with these people, keeping his business dealings a long way away from this brand of criminal who didn't understand the concept of honour amongst thieves.

Anghel nodded his head with great enthusiasm as he pointed at the picture the nun was showing him. "Da, da, I know this man."

EJ found Anghel's assertions high unlikely even without seeing the picture for himself. Even if Anghel did know the pictured man his volunteering information without a price tag attached was out of character.

"Ya do?" asked the nun in delight, seeming to EJ to take the other man's words at face value, "When did you last see him? Do ya know where he was headin' at all?"

Still nodding his head Anghel's helpfulness continued. "He is here. I will take you to him da?"

The nun's far too beautiful face lit up at his offer and caused Anghel to grin and expose a mouthful of yellow and rotting teeth as she eagerly accepted his invitation. "Dat would be grand!"

"You come, come," said Anghel, beckoning to the nun who seemingly followed after him without a second thought.

EJ watched as Liviu and Ovidiu brought up the rear behind the odd couple of Anghel and his apparently trusting new friend and made EJ's stomach tightened at the impending danger of the situation. EJ didn't have a good feeling about what was possibly going to happen when the nun and her new friends arrived at their destination, wherever that might end up being. EJ turned away from the worrying sight and studiously examined the wooden bar top with its scratches and ingrained filth, trying to forget what he'd just witnessed.

The bartender slid the requested drinks towards him.

"Leave it alone DiMera," EJ muttered to himself as he picked up the first glass. "This has nothing to do with you. You just got out of jail because of a woman, don't have your teeth knocked out because of another one." EJ downed the drinks in quick succession, hoping the alcohol would have a deadening effect on his new-found conscience, but to his great distress, the amber liquid just clawed its way down his throat, but his conscience remained. "Da-mi sticla (give me the bottle)," he requested.

The bartender dutifully handed over the unlabelled item.

EJ threw a handful on banats, the local currency, onto the bar. He stared at the bottle before giving a growl of frustration and kicking a nearby vacant stool, sending it clattering to the ground.

"Damn it!" EJ announced in annoyance and shook his head as he tried one last time to talk himself out of this. "I am so going to regret this."