‘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 the people on the bus. Don’t you understand that? These guys can’t afford to leave any witnesses. An entire religion rides on this.’
Payne laughed at his claim. ‘Rides on what? A buried treasure? What religion are you talking about, Greedism?’
‘Greed? You think this is about greed? Dammit, man, you don’t know anything! The scroll we found in the Catacombs isn’t about money. It’s about the truth! It will cast doubt over everything that you’ve been taught to believe. Even Christ himself.’
‘Professore!’
He turned toward Maria to explain. ‘They have to hear this, my dear. If he pushes that button, we’re going to die, and so is this secret. It’s as simple as that. The Church cannot allow this to get out. It will shake the foundation of Christianity.’
Payne looked at Jones and whistled. ‘Well, that settles it. I’m pushing the button. I mean, first he claims to be in the CIA, now he says the Church is trying to kill him. This guy’s a loon.’
Jones stared at Boyd. ‘Personally, I’ve always had my doubts about the pope. Anyone who wears a hat like that is up to no good.’
‘Good Lord!’ Boyd shouted. ‘I’m not saying the pope! But someone in the Church is linked to this. They have to be. I mean, they’re the only ones that -’ Boyd stopped his speech in midsentence and inexplicably turned his head upwards. ‘Oh, no!’
‘What?’ Payne asked. ‘Is God talking to you now?’
‘Shhh!’ he ordered. ‘That sound. Don’t you hear it? I heard the same thing in Orvieto.’
Payne and Jones had no idea what Boyd was talking about, but when they stopped to humor him, they actually heard a rumble above the Fiat’s engine. They weren’t sure where it was coming from due to the echo in the alley. The sound was getting louder, though.
Jones turned off the Fiat and whispered, ‘Did you push the button by mistake?’
Payne shook his head as he walked down the alley, away from the others. He traveled nearly fifty feet before he tilted his ear toward the sky.
‘Choppers,’ he announced. ‘More than one. And they’re coming this way.’
‘How did they find us?’ Jones asked.
‘I don’t know. Maybe this unit’s been tracking us the whole time.’ He slammed the device to the ground and smashed it. ‘Doesn’t matter. They won’t find us if we don’t want them to.’
Payne hustled toward Boyd and rammed his gun under his chin. ‘Where were you born?’