“And what are we expecting?”
“If Cain pays ahead of schedule, as we hope, I want to release most of these people quickly. Having them here is only a risk. Whatever you decide about Cain's wife can be handled separately.”
“Of course, Cain hasn't yet told us what he is going to do.”
“No, ”Macias said, crossing one leg over the other and putting an arm on the back of the sofa, doing his damnedest to seem relaxed. “And what if he changes his mind and doesn't pay up immediately?”
But Luquin didn't answer. Though he was looking at Macias, the slight smile on his face belonged to other thoughts.
“This, ”Luquin said, “is a lot of money, Jorge. You are going to be a very wealthy man.”
“Good, ”Macias said.
Chapter 45
When Burden returned to the rental house, he was hot and tired, and his jeans were wet to the knees. He had already released the three-man encryption crew that had helped them decipher the messages picked up by the Beechcraft, and all that remained were Romolo Calo's three men and his own surveillance van crew of three.
One man was sitting in the van monitoring the LorGuides and their yellow and green dots representing the human and vehicle moles Titus had managed to put in place. The rest of them were on the humid and airless screened porch, lying about listlessly like Bedouins, trying to get through the late afternoon heat. Pieces of paper, maps, and photos were scattered everywhere as they had been trying to work out the logistics of what they needed to do.
Burden got an RC out of an ice chest, opened it, and walked onto the porch. He sat with his back to the wall, put the can of RC on the floor, and unbuttoned his shirt without saying a word. Everyone looked at him. He took a long drink of the soda.
“Recent developments, ”he said, and proceeded to tell them what had just happened.
Calo whistled softly under his breath.
“So, essentially, ”Burden said, “Cain thinks Macias has just sold out his boss. I have to say, I agree. More important, Macias himself has given us the answer to the problem of how to isolate Luquin in the house. Follow me, Calo, and see if my count is the same as yours.
“From our surveillance run last night, it seems that there are six of them staying in the house. Luquin, his bodyguard, Roque, and their driver. They use the black Navigator. Macias, his bodyguard, and their driver travel in the blue Navigator. We needed to get these last three out of the house, which would leave a driver, Roque, and Luquin at the house.”
“That leaves the two guards and the driver in the Pathfinder, ”Calo said. “When Macias leaves, they'll probably come into the neighborhood close by to be ready to move in if Luquin should need them. So, we have three problem spots: Three armed men in Macias's car, that's including Macias. Three armed men in the Pathfinder. And nobody to cover their surveillance van. ”He looked at Burden. “We're short by one crew.”
Burden said, “You're just going to let the surveillance crew go?”
“And keep the van.”
“Okay, then, I'll get Gil to put together a team to take care of the surveillance van for us.”
Calo nodded. “And then what do you want done with Macias himself?”
Burden squeezed the sides of his RC can in and out, making a little popping sound, the only sound in the room besides the roaring of cicadas in the cedar brakes just outside.
“He disappears, same as the others.”
Calo nodded.
“One other thing, ”Burden said. “One of the Navigators, I don't care which one, needs to be left at Luquin's house after all of this is done.”
“Fine, ”Calo said.
No one asked him what was going to happen at the house, who was going to take care of the driver left there with Roque and Luquin, or what would become of Roque and Luquin themselves. But Burden's silence about it was enough to kick an imaginative mind into high gear. There were a few glances around the room, but Burden, preoccupied deep within himself, either ignored them or was completely unaware. It didn't matter either way. The matter would go no further.
In Burden's small world, men and women with secrets were the accepted norm. It was what made them who they were. But a rare few were profoundly enigmatic, even to their peers. They were granted unusual trust and latitude in their personal mystery because of their nearly legendary reputations. The impending events at the clifftop house on Las Lomitas were the kinds of things that fed those mythologies.
Burden stood stiffly and stepped away from the group of men. Staring out into the hot woods, he pulled out his cell phone to call Gil Norlin. The high temperature was bringing the essence out of the sap of the cedars, filling the dying day with an aromatic fragrance. When he was finished with his conversation, he continued to stand with his back to the group, lost in thought.
Pacing back and forth in front of his men, Calo ignored Burden while he reviewed yet again the details of the coming operation, which was now only hours away. Again they explored the huge number of possibilities that could be applied to a basic scenario that evolved very quickly. The algebra of a specific tactical operation with limited personnel was minutely explored, theories were proposed, attacked, adjusted, and restated. Then attacked again. The unknowable variables were always there, impossible to eliminate. The suddenly unexpected was the only thing they could count on for sure. The rest of it was rehearsed with a fierce concentration.
At a certain moment, when a fine point of a maneuver proposed by Baas was being shredded by the doubts of the others, Calo turned and went over to stand by Burden. There was nothing to look at, just the woods.
“Did you get Gil?”
“He's going to get back to us. He doesn't think it's a problem, but he'll confirm it with you as soon as he can. I gave him all the particulars about the van and its crew, but he's going to want to get it from you, too. You can tell him where you want the thing delivered.”
“Good, ”Calo said. Silence. “This isn't one of the simplest ones.”
“We didn't have enough time, ”Burden said. “I'm sorry it had to be like this. ”It wasn't an apology; it was a regret. He reached up and touched the rusty screen with the rim of his RC can, rubbing it along the wire with a tiny thrumming sound. He touched it again and then dropped his hand to his side, holding the can against his leg.
“It's one of the human curses, ”he said, “being afraid of time and what it can do to us. About a hundred years ago I heard an old woman say-she had just become a widow- that Time was a whore without a conscience. She gave herself to the damnedest people and denied herself to the saints. It was a vivid if kind of confusing aphorism, but I think I understand what she was getting at. ”He thought about it a moment. “But, in the end, it seems that Time treats everyone the same after all: Sooner or later she runs out on all of us.”
Chapter 46
Macias called back in exactly twenty minutes as he had promised. The conversation was quick and brittle. They would meet at La Terrazza, an Italian restaurant on Loop 360. Quarter to eleven. Macias didn't give Titus time to negotiate anything later, but luckily it was within Burden's preferred time frame anyway. The line went dead.
For Titus, the next few hours passed in a complex mixture of grim anticipation, frantic preparation, and busywork to keep from thinking. From his office, he finally dealt with one of the things he had dreaded the most. He put in a call to Carla's daughters.
After that, he also called Louise Thrush. Both calls were excruciating. When he hung up the phone, he was wringing wet with perspiration.
He got up and went down the hallway to the kitchen, where Rita and Janet had been making
