The Death Relic

44

As long as the weather in Switzerland cooperated, Ulster’s private jet would arrive in Cancún in less than twenty-four hours. In the meantime, Payne had a few ideas about what they should do. That is, if he could convince Jones and Maria to go along with his plan.

Payne spotted them near the main entrance to Tulum. They had wandered off during the phone call and were sitting on a massive slab of grey stone that had once been a part of the western wall. From their vantage point, they could see most of the site and the turquoise waters of the Caribbean. It was truly a beautiful spot.

Jones sensed his approach from behind. ‘How’d it go?’

‘Just as I expected,’ Payne said.

‘In other words, Petr’s packing for the airport — with an erection.’

Maria smacked his arm. ‘David!’

‘What? It’s just a figure of speech. I simply meant he’s excited about the trip.’

‘Then you should have said that. Why be so crass?’

Payne sensed a lecture coming, so he saved his buddy by changing the topic. ‘Maria, I’ve got some good news for you. Petr is friends with the Italian Ambassador to Switzerland. He felt confident that we could get you a new passport by Monday.’

‘Really? That’s wonderful.’

‘Unfortunately, it means we have to drive back to Cancún today.’

‘Why today? The Italian Consulate is closed at the weekend.’

Payne smiled. ‘Not for Petr, it isn’t. He said he’ll call us with a name and a time. All you have to do is show up and fill out some paperwork.’

‘That’s great, I guess. But I feel kind of guilty about heading back to Cancún. Didn’t we leave there to get away from danger?’

‘I’m glad you brought that up. I’ve been giving it a lot of thought, and I think danger might be a good thing.’

Maria stared at him. ‘Excuse me?’

‘Yeah,’ Jones said, ‘you might need to explain that one.’

Payne obliged. ‘After talking to Petr, I strongly believe we’re dealing with some desperate people. Unfortunately, we don’t know who they are or what they want. In my opinion, the worst way to handle a faceless enemy is to run away from them. On the road, everyone is a potential threat, and every place is a potential trap. It would be different if we were chasing a solid lead or trying to get across the border, but what we’re doing is foolish. I’d rather hunker down and take a stand than stumble around Mexico.’

Jones nodded in agreement. ‘Actually, that makes a lot of sense. Worst-case scenario, they make a move and we get to see who we’re dealing with. That sounds good to me.’

‘Really?’ she argued. ‘Isn’t the worst-case scenario actually death?’

Payne grimaced. ‘Death? Who said anything about death?’

‘I’m just making an argument.’

‘No, you’re making this difficult. I thought you said you were going to start trusting me? Hell, it’s not even about me. It’s about us. When are you going to start trusting us? DJ’s in full agreement on this one, yet you’re arguing with him, too.’

She glared at Payne. ‘What? I can’t have an opinion?’

‘Of course you can have an opinion. Have as many goddamned opinions as you want. But things would go a lot smoother if you kept some of them to yourself, especially when they’re outside your area of expertise. Seriously! Did I challenge a single thing about your Spanish translation? No, I didn’t. And do you know why? Because I can’t “sprechen de Spanish”.’

‘That’s completely different, and you know it.’

‘No, it’s not. It’s the same damn thing,’ he argued. ‘Do you know anything about defending a perimeter? Or choke points? Or kill zones? What about surveillance techniques? Well, DJ and I could teach a class on that shit because we’ve lived and breathed it for two decades. That’s our foreign language. We speak it better than anyone else in the world, yet you constantly challenge our conclusions. That has got to stop now.’

She turned toward Jones for support. ‘David?’

He shrugged. ‘Sorry, Maria. I’m with Jon on this one. You called us to help you out, and you’re making it awfully tough. How can we protect you if you fight us on everything?’

Maria seethed, but realized she wasn’t going to win. ‘Fine. We’ll do it your way. Whatever you guys say, I’ll just keep my mouth shut.’

Without saying another word, she hopped off her perch and stormed towards the SUV. The entire time, she was kicking rocks and cursing them in Italian.

Jones watched this unfold without saying a word. Eventually, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He knew he was in for a gruelling trip back to Cancún. ‘There’s no way she’ll keep quiet for the whole trip. I’ll give you a thousand dollars if you drive her to the consulate.’

‘Not a chance in hell.’

‘Come on, man. Be a friend. How about five thousand?’

‘Only if I can use a gag.’

Jones glanced at him. ‘Wait. Do we have a gag?’

Payne laughed at the sheer desperation in his buddy’s eyes. He almost felt bad for him. ‘Hang on a minute. I thought you liked her feistiness.’

‘Feisty is one thing. Crazy is another. I’m beginning to wonder which one she is.’

Payne pointed at the SUV. ‘Only one way to find out.’

Jones sighed. ‘Would it be rude to frisk her before I unlocked the door?’

‘Probably.’

He reluctantly nodded. ‘Can I borrow a rifle?’

‘Sorry, soldier. Can’t let you do that.’

‘Then how am I supposed to defend myself?’

Payne studied her from afar and shivered. ‘I honestly have no idea. We weren’t trained for someone like her.’