Sign of the Cross

‘Good. I thought you would. It’s kind of hard to miss, huh?’

She nodded again.

‘Wow! You’re getting pretty good at this. I ask a question and you answer it. Very softly. OK? There’s no shouting, no anger, and no feistiness. Men with guns don’t like feistiness. Do you understand me?’ She nodded one more time. ‘Now then, my partner and I have a few questions that we’ve been dying to ask you guys.’

‘Your partner?’

Jones announced his presence by opening the Fiat’s door.

‘Oh,’ she grunted.

‘Oh?’ Jones mocked. ‘I make a cool-ass entrance, and all you have to say is, “Oh”?’

She looked at him and sneered. ‘What would you like me to say?’

‘I don’t know. I figured a good lookin’ lady like yourself would at least try to butter me up. You know, turn on the sexual charm to sweet-talk your way out of this. And if that didn’t work, I figured you’d club me like the security guard at the library.’

Maria turned a bright shade of red. ‘I swear to God I didn’t mean to hurt that guy. I just wanted him to let go of me. That’s all! I had to warn — ’

Payne waited for her to finish, but she never did. ‘You had to warn who? Your boyfriend?’

‘Good heavens!’ Boyd snapped. ‘I’m not her boyfriend. What kind of man do you think I am? Maria is simply a student of mine! Nothing more!’

Payne said, ‘A student? A student in crime, maybe. I mean, you guys have been on quite a roll. The helicopter in Orvieto, the exploding bus, the library guard with the swollen nuts. Tsk, tsk, tsk. You should be ashamed of yourselves.’

‘Ashamed?’ she cried. ‘We haven’t done anything wrong! The helicopter and the guard were self-defense. And the bus was an attempt on our lives.’

‘On your lives? Please! Why would anyone murder so many people just to kill you?’

She was ready to answer until she noticed Boyd shaking his head.

‘Come on,’ Payne goaded. ‘We know all about the treasure in the Catacombs. Or is there some other secret that you’re trying to keep from us?’

Boyd’s mouth fell open. ‘But how? Who?… Who are you two?’

‘Now, Doc, why should we answer that? You guys won’t answer our questions, so why should we answer yours?’

Jones chuckled. ‘I don’t know, maybe we should introduce ourselves? It would be the polite thing to do.’

‘Yeah, you’re probably right.’ Payne turned toward Boyd and grinned. ‘Hi! I’m Jon and this is my buddy, D.J. We work for the CIA.’

‘The CIA?’ Boyd echoed.

Payne replied in a thick German accent. ‘Yes, Herr Doctor! And ve know you are a spy!’

‘A spy? What in the world are you talking about?’

Jones laughed. ‘Quit the games, Doc. We know all about your past.’

‘My past?’

‘You know,’ Payne said, ‘where you steal antiquities from half the countries in Europe, then figure out how to hide the stuff. Not a bad scheme, but why in the world would a smart guy like you double-cross men like Manzak and Buckner? Those guys are kind of scary.’

Suddenly Maria’s eyes filled with doubt. ‘Professore?’

‘Good Lord, you mustn’t believe these chaps! I’ve never heard anything so outrageous in all my life! Double- crossing the CIA? That’s bloody preposterous!’

Payne pushed the issue. ‘What about American Cargo International? Does that name ring a bell?’

Cracks started to surface in Boyd’s veneer. ‘Yes, but…’

‘But what? They’ve been financing you for years, haven’t they?’

‘Yes, but, that doesn’t mean — ’

‘Doesn’t mean what? Doesn’t mean you’re connected to the CIA? Come on! I got the information straight from the Pentagon. I know you’re on the CIA’s payroll.’

Boyd blinked a few times, trying to hold his facade. ‘Maybe so, but that doesn’t mean I’ve double-crossed them. I mean…’ His voice trailed off.

‘Go on,’ Payne insisted. ‘What do you mean? You obviously did something to piss them off. They wouldn’t have brought us into this if you weren’t a priority.’

Suddenly, horror filled his eyes. ‘They what?’

‘You heard me. They brought us in to track you down. We’re what you call specialists.’

‘Wait a bloody second! You mean you’re not in the Agency?’

‘Hell, no!’ Payne said. ‘We’re world-class bounty hunters, hired to find your ass.’ He reached into his pocket and pulled out Manzak’s tracking device. ‘One touch of this button, and our obligations are done. They’ll come running, and we’ll get to go home.’

Boyd stared at the device for several seconds. ‘Yes,’ he finally said, ‘you’ll get to go home all right… in a fucking body bag.’

Maria gaped at the comment. It was the first time she’d ever heard him swear.

‘Jesus!’ Boyd continued. ‘Open your fucking eyes! The CIA doesn’t go out of house for help. They’ve got agents planted in every country in the world, ready to handle anything that could come up. There’s no way they’d turn to someone outside their network to hunt me down. That’s not how they work!’

‘Oh yeah,’ Jones challenged. ‘And what makes you such an expert?’

Boyd glared, locking his eyes on Jones’s. ‘Because I’m one of those agents.’

‘Excuse me?’ Payne said.

‘What?’ Maria shrieked.

‘You heard me. I’ve been with them for years, using my professorship to travel abroad.’

Jones rolled his eyes. ‘Oh really? What kind of secret agent comes right out and says he’s an operative? Not a real one, I know that.’

‘You know what? You’re right. In most situations that would be unheard of. Treasonous, even. But I’m afraid this isn’t an ordinary situation. Due to the false press I’ve been getting, my career as a spy is over. Plus, I get the feeling if you push that button, my life will be finished, too. So what do I have to lose?’

‘Wait a second!’ Payne demanded. ‘You’re trying to tell us you’re a CIA agent? Get serious! Can’t you come up with something better than that?’

‘Well I certainly could if I was trying to come up with something, but the fact is, I’m telling you the truth. Sure, I know I don’t look like an agent. But the truth is, most company men don’t. If we did, we would all stand out.’

Jones smiled at the logic. ‘He’s got a point there.’

‘What? Don’t tell me you believe him! He’s been working at Dover for thirty years!’

‘Yeah, but I’ve heard some crazy shit about the CIA. They’ve got NOCs everywhere, just waiting to help their cause.’

Payne knew NOC meant nonofficial cover, a government officer working behind foreign lines without diplomatic immunity, but wasn’t sure what Jones was insinuating. So Payne grabbed him by his arm and pulled him off to the side, never taking his eyes off Boyd and Maria. ‘What are you saying? We should believe this wacko?’

‘No, I’m not saying that at all. There’s a chance he’s bullshitting us to save his ass. Then again, he could be telling us the truth. The point is, I don’t really know.’

‘Then let’s push the button and talk to Manzak. Personally, I don’t give a damn what happens to these two as long as we’re out of the mix. We gotta deal with him at some point, so let’s just get it over with. I mean, what’s the worst that can happen?’

‘Don’t do it!’ Boyd begged from a distance. ‘I’m telling you, if you push that button, we’ll all be killed. Just like