‘Outside. All outside.’
‘How do you communicate?’
‘A radio… in my pocket.’
Jones grabbed it, making sure it wasn’t transmitting their interrogation.
‘Why are you inside?’ Payne demanded. ‘What’s your job?’
‘To prevent your retreat.’
That meant the moment Payne had stepped outside, they would’ve snuck behind him and stopped his crew from reentering. It was their way to guarantee a slaughter in the yard.
Payne pushed harder on his Luger. ‘What were you waiting for? What was your signal?’
‘Their call. We’d wait until their call.’
Payne shook his head. ‘Change of plans. You’re the one who’s going to call or you two are going to die. Got me?’
He tried to nod, but the barrel of Payne’s Luger prevented it.
Jones handed him the radio and told him exactly what to say. Then, just to be safe, Payne assured the soldier that Jones spoke several languages and if he heard anything that resembled a warning, Jones would tell Payne to pull the trigger. Payne knew the soldier didn’t believe him, so Jones said a few words to him in German and Italian and several other languages. The guy’s jaw would’ve dropped if Payne wasn’t holding it in place with his gun.
Payne growled, ‘Make the call. Now.’
The soldier turned on the mic and spoke in his native tongue. ‘Max, they’re getting away! We missed an escape tunnel! They’re running near the base of the mountain! Hurry!’
Jones grabbed the radio from the Swiss soldier and complimented him on his theatrics. Payne had no idea what the guy had said, but he could tell that he’d put his all into it. It was a performance that saved the soldier’s life. And Payne’s crew as well.
All of them stood there, patiently, waiting to hear Max’s reaction. Ten seconds later, they heard a stream of chatter going over the air. First Max. Then someone else. Then Max again. Payne looked to Jones for a translation, but he signaled him to wait. Another voice. Then Max. Then Max again, only this time much angrier. Payne could tell that from his tone.
Finally, Jones heard what he had hoped for. ‘They bought it. They’re heading for the back.’
Payne smiled at the news. ‘Call me crazy, but what do you say we head for the front?’
Everyone laughed except for the two guards. They knew it was just a matter of time before they were dragged outside and knocked unconscious.
59
The lodge in Kusendorf was two blocks away and probably under surveillance. That meant they needed to find an alternate means of transportation. Franz suggested one of the Archives’ delivery trucks. They were parked outside the compound in a separate lot.
There was room for two people up front and about twenty in back. Franz offered to drive, since he was familiar with the roads, and Ulster offered to keep him company. The rest of the crew made themselves comfortable among the boxes and crates. An overhead light let them see, or Payne would’ve opted for different arrangements. He was about to have a critical conversation with Maria, and her reaction would tell him more than her words, so visibility was a requirement.
Once they got settled, Payne retrieved everyone’s weapons. He made an excuse about old guns needing maintenance if they got wet, and everyone handed them over without suspicion. Next he asked Boyd what he was carrying in his backpack, and he told Payne it contained the videotape, the scroll, and as many books as he could grab.
‘OK,’ Jones said as he unfolded Raskin’s e-mail. ‘There’s something we need to discuss.’
Payne sat to Jones’s right, pretending to dry a fully loaded Luger that he kept aimed at Maria. With her legs tucked under her, she sat across from Payne, while Boyd sat beside her on the floor.
Jones said, ‘Right before we were attacked, we received some information from the Pentagon. Data that I was able to print out. It seems that one of you has been keeping some secrets from us. Secrets about your involvement with the men from Milan.’
Boyd looked at Maria, and she looked at him, neither sure who he was talking about. It was a tactic that sometimes revealed secrets from both parties. Maria asked, ‘Can you give us a — ’
‘Just come clean,’ Jones demanded, glancing back and forth. ‘We need to know everything, right here, right now, or we’re turning you over to the authorities. Consequences be damned.’
Boyd and Maria stared at each other. Neither of them talking. Both of them paranoid.
Finally, Boyd said, ‘Enough with the games. I’ve been through enough training to recognize your tactics. It’s obvious that you want one of us to break and provide you with something substantial. However, I can assure you that neither of us has a hidden agenda.’ He pointed to the paper in Jones’s hand. ‘Tell us what’s on the sheet. I’m sure it can be logically explained.’
Jones glanced at Payne, and Payne nodded. It was time to reveal their cards.
‘Back in Milan,’ Jones said, ‘when Maria picked up the rent-a-car, what were you doing?’
Boyd answered, ‘I was waiting at the warehouse.’
‘Maria, did you call anyone at the airport?’
She seemed startled by the question. ‘Who would I call? It was the middle of the night, and I was trying to sneak out of town. Why would I use the phone?’
Jones nodded, still hoping she was innocent. ‘Did either of you recognize the men from the choppers?’
Boyd shook his head. ‘Not I.’
‘And Maria? What about you?’
She looked at Jones, confused. ‘You were with me the entire time. You know damn well that we couldn’t see anyone. It was too dark, and we were too far away.’
‘True,’ he admitted. ‘Very true.’ He paused for a moment, letting them soak in the tension. It was more than enough to frazzle Boyd.
‘That does it. We demand to know what’s going on and demand to know now. We’re on
‘Is that so?’ Payne asked, entering the conversation. ‘We’d like to believe you, but this information causes us to have doubts. Especially since we know the enemy is Maria’s brother.’
Both Maria and Boyd went pale. Slowly, they looked at each other, searching each other’s eyes for the slightest hint of guilt. Then they turned toward Payne and Jones, speechless.
Jones asked. ‘What’s the deal?’
‘There is no deal. I don’t even know which brother you’re talking about.’
‘Roberto,’ Payne said. ‘We’re talking about Roberto. He was the guy who came to Pamplona and claimed to be Richard Manzak. The same one who showed up in Milan and pulled a gun on us.’
‘The one you killed?’ she gasped.
‘And tortured. And maimed.’ Payne was trying to get her to lose her cool, so he poured it on thick. ‘Did I tell you what I did to him while you were on the chopper? I needed to get his name, but he wouldn’t tell me, so I was forced to improvise.’
Without warning Payne leapt to his feet and grabbed her hand, slamming it down with such force that she gasped in terror. Then he spread her fingers on the dirty floor and used the barrel of his Luger to tap the main knuckle of her index finger. Tapping it over and over, again and again, letting her feel the cold metal, letting her imagine what her brother went through in Milan. And he did this in hopes of getting her to talk. He hated to be so rough with her — especially since she could be on his side — but he was doing it for the safety of others.
He had to know where her allegiance was. It was imperative.
‘The blade went in here. Right through his skin and veins and bone. I sawed his finger in two, then put its tip in my pocket so I could fingerprint it. That’s right, while we were in the chopper, I was carrying your brother’s finger, dripping with your family’s blood.’
Maria’s olive skin turned pale, which Payne assumed was because of his monologue. But when he pushed her further, she pointed out something that they had overlooked, a simple fact that told Payne and Jones a lot about her family and whose side she was fighting for.
