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32
TURKISH DELIGHT

The Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in the bustling Asian district of Kadıköy was packed to the rafters for Fenerbahçe’s final home game of the season. Fenerbahçe had already won the Süper Lig title and so this game on a gorgeous Sunday in late May was a noisy celebration for some of the most fanatical football supporters in the world.

And into it stepped Mert Ortaç. Perhaps for real; perhaps just in his own mind.

Up in the executive boxes there was an expectant and convivial atmosphere. Şahin and his trusted lieutenant, Çağatay Evyapan, were awaiting the kick off at 5 p.m. The football fans of Istanbul were regarded as among the most fanatical in Europe and they were divided into three camps. Two were on the European side of the city, Galatasaray and Beşiktaş, while the yellow and navy-blue shirts of Fenerbahçe lay across the straits in Asia. Şahin and Çağatay were both committed Fenerbahçe supporters and the former’s visits to his home city usually coincided with a game – indeed, he had an executive box at the stadium.

Among the friends invited to this game was Mert, who, Şahin told Çağatay, was one of the new boys working on his skimming trade. Mert also introduced his new girlfriend, Sanem. She dazzled Mert, while the ostentatious wealth of his companions dazzled her.

Sanem already knew the profiles of some of the people in the executive box. It was not difficult wheedling secrets out of Mert. Not only was he a chatterbox by nature, but he was desperate to impress his young paramour, whom he considered way out of his league. Seeing powerful men like Şahin and his well-built sidekick Çağatay strut around the executive box must have been confirmation for Sanem that

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