The Death Relic

67

After rounding up Ulster and Maria from different ends of the site, Jones waited in the nearby trees for Payne’s signal. Once the ‘all-clear’ was flashed, the three of them hustled to the helicopter, where they were joined by Hamilton and Tiffany. Payne pulled them aboard, one after another, and ordered them to sit down and buckle up. It would be a bumpy take-off. Police in riot gear charged through the front gate as the chopper left the ground in a cloud of dust. The pilot banked hard to the north, barely clearing the trees as they flew over the Sacred Well. Having missed the chance to see it from the ground, Ulster stared wistfully out of the cabin window. It was the last thing he recognized before the jungle swallowed the horizon.

The multi-purpose utility helicopter had three bench seats and a small cargo area in the rear. Payne and Jones sat on the closest bench to the cockpit. Hamilton and Tiffany were in the middle. Ulster and Maria were in the back. Payne had purposely seated them in this order. He wanted a chance to talk to Jones in private before they were forced to tell Maria about Boyd’s involvement. Payne had a feeling Jones would want to handle that conversation. At least Payne hoped he would. Otherwise, the ride might get even bumpier.

The droning of the rotors made it difficult to talk in the belly of the chopper. It would be even tougher to eavesdrop. Payne and Jones could chat all day, and they weren’t the least bit concerned about being overheard.

Jones leaned in. ‘Who’s running the op?’

Payne answered. ‘Boyd.’

‘Boyd who?’

‘Charles Boyd.’

Jones did a double take. ‘I thought he was retired.’

‘So did I.’

Over the next few minutes, Payne told Jones everything he had learned in his conversations with Tiffany and Boyd. Jones listened intently, not the least bit amused about being played. He prided himself on being ten steps ahead of his opponent, yet he had failed to connect any of the dots. All along he had been saying that something was ‘off’ — Hamilton’s disappearance, the trunk of artefacts, the cache of weapons — but he hadn’t seen this one coming.

‘What does he want with us?’ Jones asked.

Payne shrugged. ‘The cops showed up before he could tell me.’

‘Fuckin’ cops. Always screwing things up.’

‘Tell me about it.’

Jones paused in thought. ‘What’s his role at the Agency?’

‘He claimed he isn’t an operative any more. I tend to believe him. His name was dragged through the mud with all of those false charges. It would have been tough to continue after that.’

‘You can’t be a spy if your contacts don’t trust you.’

‘What else could he be?’

‘Maybe an analyst. Maybe an instructor. With his teaching background, I could see him at the training academy.’

Payne shook his head. ‘Those gigs would be near Washington. No way he’d be running a mission in Mexico if he were an analyst or an instructor. He has to be something else.’

‘Maybe he went rogue.’

‘Rogue?’

‘It would explain a lot, including his need for cheap talent. He lured four of us to Cancún with a suite and a plane ticket. The crafty bastard.’

Payne glanced at Maria. For now, she was sitting quietly next to Ulster, but he knew it was only a matter of time before she left her seat and asked what was going on. ‘Speaking of which, who is going to tell Maria?’

‘I vote for Petr. Definitely Petr. It’s tough to stay mad at Petr.’

Payne laughed. ‘Chicken.’

‘You’re damn right I’m chicken. She knows I won’t shoot her. Without that threat, there’s no way I can protect myself.’

‘Just so you know, I’m willing to shoot her.’

‘Then you should tell her.’

Payne smiled. ‘In all seriousness, I will if you want me to.’

Jones weighed the offer. ‘Thanks, but no thanks. She needs to hear it from me. It will go down easier coming from me.’

‘You’re probably right.’

‘But do me a favour. Keep your rifle loaded, just in case.’

After switching seats with Ulster, Jones filled Maria in on the pertinent details of the last few hours. Her face flushed with embarrassment when she realized that she’d been manipulated. Jones assured her that she wasn’t alone — that everyone, including Hamilton, had been deceived in one way or another — and they would confront the mastermind together. For the briefest of moments, she felt better about the situation. And then she asked the question.

‘Who set us up?’ she wondered.

Jones grimaced. ‘That’s where things get messy.’

‘Messy? What do you mean?’

‘You aren’t going to like it.’

‘Who is it?’ she demanded.

‘Charles Boyd.’

She heard the name and winced. It hit her like a punch to the gut — one she didn’t expect. After years of denial, she knew she’d be forced to deal with some issues that had never gone away. She had done her best to bury them, but they were still there, lurking deep inside her psyche, like a childhood trauma she had just remembered. Her heart raced. Her hands perspired. Her face turned pale. Jones wasn’t sure if she was going to pass out or explode with rage, but he was prepared for either possibility. Instead, she did something that surprised him. She took a few deep breaths, then nodded her head in acceptance.

‘Is he in the cockpit?’ she asked.

He studied her face. ‘Why?’

‘I’d like to talk to him.’

He arched his brow. ‘Is this some kind of trick?’

‘Trick?’

‘Are you pretending to be calm so I lower my defences?’

‘Not at all,’ she assured him as the colour gradually returned to her face. ‘I’d honestly like to talk to him. There are some questions I’d love to ask. It’s been a long time.’

‘How long?’

‘Years.’ Her mind drifted back to the days after their discovery in Orvieto. Back then, she was still in graduate school, a few years from her doctorate, and Boyd was still her mentor. ‘He told me he had to return to the States to clear his name from all the rumours. He said he would be back in a couple of weeks, but …’

‘What?’

‘He never came back. No calls, no emails. Nothing. I haven’t talked to him since.’

Jones swallowed hard. ‘I didn’t know that.’

She laughed bitterly. ‘How could you know? I didn’t tell anyone. After that, I went into hiding for a very long time. I cut off contact from my friends. I was too ashamed to tell anyone.’

‘Ashamed? Why would you be ashamed?’

‘Why do you think? My father made up those rumours about him. It cost him his job. It cost him his reputation. It cost him everything. I wouldn’t want to talk to me, either.’

‘Hold up! You’re blaming yourself for your father’s actions? Pardon me for saying so, but that’s crazy. The man killed your mother. He tried to kill you. He tried to kill all of us. None of us blame you for what he did. You have to know that. None of it was your fault.’

Tears welled up in her eyes. ‘Yeah, but—’

He cut her off. ‘No buts. That’s it. End of story. I’ll shout it to the heavens until the day I die. You are not to blame for your father’s actions. You are not to blame for your brother’s death. And you are not to blame for Boyd’s departure. The guy was an operative in the CIA. He lied to you for years. There are a million possible reasons for his disappearance, none of which have anything to do with you. And if he tries to blame you, I’m going to shoot the bastard.’

Maria said nothing. Instead, she reached out with both hands, grabbed Jones behind the head and pulled him in for a kiss. A long, passionate kiss. It was so unexpected it left him gasping for air. When it was over, she leaned back in the seat and flashed him a smile.

‘Sorry about that. Had to be done. I hope you’re not mad.’

Jones shook his head, unable to speak.

Ulster saw the kiss from across the chopper. A romantic at heart, he was thrilled by the development. He was rooting for the pair to get back together. He elbowed Payne in the ribs to make sure he saw it. ‘I think David might get lucky.’

Payne grumbled. ‘I hope they wait until after we land.’

Ulster continued to stare. ‘I don’t.’