‘You still haven’t answered my question. Where’s your partner?’
‘He’s around the corner in our Ferrari. One signal from me, and he’ll pull forward with the girl. That is, if you even know about her.’
‘Of course we know about Maria – and your Ferrari. Although for safety’s sake, it might be best if they stayed where they are.’
‘Oh yeah? Why’s that?’
Instead of answering, Manzak pulled a Hantek detonator from his coat pocket and pushed the button. A second later, the Ferrari erupted in a massive explosion, one that shot flames and debris high above the warehouse roof, literally propelling the frame of the car more than twenty feet in the air. But that was just the beginning. The fallout pelted the surrounding terrain like meteors, igniting the adjacent buildings and shaking the ground beneath their feet like a California quake.
Normally, Payne would’ve flinched. Or grabbed Boyd and made a mad dash for cover.
But not tonight. Not when the flames in the sky paled next to the fire in his eyes.
He’d been set up, and he finally had the proof that he was looking for.
Without saying a word, he took a step toward Manzak, looking forward to the popping sound his neck would make when he twisted it 360 degrees like that bitch from The Exorcist. Unfortunately, Payne’s assault was interrupted by the swarm of bullets that buzzed over his head. Warning shots that had come from Buckner’s gun as he emerged from the chopper.
‘You vill stay still,’ he growled in a thick European accent. ‘I be seein’ to zat.’
Manzak grinned at his arrival. ‘Now you know why he didn’t talk in Pamplona. Otto’s still working on his English, but you can’t beat him as a bodyguard.’
His bodyguard? Who the hell were these guys? Payne knew they weren’t CIA the moment they blew up the Ferrari. Instead, he assumed they were part of the Italian crew that had covered up the two accidents. But now that he’d heard Otto’s accent, that didn’t seem likely. Otto/Buckner wasn’t Italian. German maybe, but definitely not Italian.
Shit, Payne thought, how many countries were involved in this mess?
‘Pick up ze doctor an’ bring him to me!’
Payne was tempted to flip him off, but one look at the Russian assault rifle in Otto’s hands changed his mind. If he’d felt like it, he could’ve ravaged Payne with multiple 5.56 mm rounds with the touch of a finger. Which put a whole new spin on the term Otto-matic weapon.
No, he decided, it would probably be best if he picked up ze doctor an’ kept his mouth shut.
At least for the time being.
Less than twelve hours before, Jones had been staring at Maria’s picture and dreaming of the romantic possibilities. Now he was lying next to her in the darkness, unsure if either of them were going to survive.
Jones said, ‘Since we’re risking our lives together, I figure we might as well introduce ourselves. My name’s David Jones. D.J. for short.’
She shook his hand. ‘Maria Magdalena Pelati. Kind of rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?’
‘Pelati?’ He considered her name for a few seconds but figured it had to be some kind of a coincidence – especially since she spoke with a faint English accent. ‘Is that Italian?’
She nodded. ‘I’ve lived in England for most of my life, so I don’t really consider myself Italian. Or English for that matter. Hell, I don’t know what to consider myself.’
‘How about exotic temptress?’
Blushing, she smiled at his comment. ‘Works for me.’
‘Good! Now that your identity crisis is over, let’s get down to business. See those two helicopters over there? I need to take one of them out.’
‘And how are you going to do that?’
‘Sorry. You’re going to have to wait and watch. I don’t want to ruin the surprise.’
She sighed, disappointed. ‘Fine, but can you at least tell me when you’re going to -’
Just then the Ferrari erupted, lighting the sky with a burst of flames that rattled their chests like a jolt from a defibrillator. Jones instinctively threw himself on top of Maria to protect her, and as he did, he found the composure to say, ‘I think now would be a good time, don’t you?’
Following orders, Payne walked over to Dr Boyd and picked him up off the ground, giving him a chance to whisper in his ear. ‘Stay very still… Things are about to get interesting.’
‘Silence!’ Otto screamed from several feet away. ‘No talkin’ to ze doctor.’
Payne nodded and placed his hand in the small of Boyd’s back. ‘Damn! I was just making sure he was all right. Show some compassion.’
‘Compassion?’ Manzak growled. ‘There was no compassion during the Crusades, so there’s no place for it now. Don’t you get that? This is a holy war, and to guarantee our triumph there must be no compassion.’
Payne lifted Boyd’s shirttail and grabbed the Beretta he had stashed in his belt. ‘But doesn’t that go against everything you’re trying to protect?’
‘You have no idea what I’m trying to protect! You probably think I’m fighting for Christ or some other fallacy. But I’m not. Those things have no meaning in my world, because I know the truth. I know what happened two thousand years ago. I know who the real hero is.’
Payne had no idea what Manzak was talking about but figured if he was in a talkative mood, the least he could do was listen. So he said, ‘Are you referring to the scroll? Hell, I know all about it. Boyd’s been so excited he’s been blabbing to everybody that he’s come in contact with. Hell, how do you think we found him so fast?’
Manzak’s face went pale. ‘Let’s hope that isn’t the case – for their sakes. I’d hate to see the death toll in this country continue to rise.’
‘Come on! What’s another exploding bus or two when you’re in the middle of a holy war? Just keep laying the blame on Dr Boyd, and you can keep your hands clean.’
‘Actually,’ Manzak said, ‘we’ve ridden that gelding long enough. Just to be safe, I think it’s time to put two new horses into the mix, a couple of Thoroughbreds with a history of violence. Personally, I think the press will find you and D.J. a lot more believable as cold-blooded killers.’
OK, now things were starting to make sense to Payne. They weren’t just recruited for their ability to track Boyd. They were handpicked because of their violent pasts, making them the perfect scapegoats for any bloodshed that happened during this case. A dead body here, an exploding car there. All of it could be blamed on them.
Of course, Manzak – or whatever his real name was – needed the backing of a powerful entity to make that happen. Someone with the resources to acquire classified data from the U.S. Defense Department, forge picture-perfect CIA credentials, and manipulate the world media. Someone who would never be suspected, no matter how violent things became or how deeply they were involved in this mess. Someone who was willing to take some awfully big chances because they were desperate and had everything to lose.
At that moment Payne decided there was only one organization in the world that had the power and the incentive to pull something like this off.
And they got their mail at the Vatican.
45
The metal squealed as Jones shoved his switchblade into the seam, a sound Payne couldn’t hear over the roar of the chopper’s engine. Once his knife was in deep enough, he wiggled it back and forth until the fuel tank popped open. The insulated cap came off next. And he was greeted by the overwhelming scent of aviation fuel until he took off his shirt and stuffed it in the mouth of the fuel tank. Not only would that seal the vapors inside, but he could use the cloth as the wick for his Molotov cockpit – Jones’s version of the original Russian cocktail. From there, all it would take was a single spark to do a hell of a lot of damage. With extra emphasis on the word hell.
Payne could see all of Jones’s actions in the background, although his adversaries couldn’t. He made sure of it by positioning Boyd and himself at a very precise angle.
‘So,’ Manzak taunted, ‘where’s your quick wit now? A minute ago you were teasing me about my clothes; now Otto shows up, and you’re completely silent. How disappointing.’
‘Don’t you worry. I’ll be taking some shots at you any minute now.’
‘Oh really? And what is it you’re waiting for?’