‘Sit down, if you’d like.’
‘That’s okay. I’m fine right here.’
She nodded in understanding. If she had been in his position, she probably would have acted in the same way. ‘This is hard for me, Jon. I mean, if you knew anything about me, you would know how tough this is for me to do. I don’t like to admit it, but I come from a long line of ill-tempered, stubborn people. My parents were that way, and so were my grandparents – on both sides of my family. You should hear us during the holidays. Either we’re sulking in silence, or we’re at each other’s throats. There’s no middle ground with my family.’ She glanced at him, but he said nothing. ‘Anyway, as hard as this is for me to say, I just wanted to tell you I’m sorry.’
‘For what?’ he asked.
‘For the way I acted on the chopper. For even being on the chopper. Everything you said was one hundred per cent correct. I can understand why you got so mad.’
He pointed at Ulster. ‘What about Petr?’
‘What about him?’
‘Did you apologize to Petr?’
She nodded. ‘I did. I told him I was sorry for tricking him into bringing me.’
Ulster confirmed it. ‘Her apology was quite eloquent. It moved me to tears.’
‘Me, too,’ she admitted.
Payne pointed at them. ‘You’re back on good terms?’
They looked at each other and nodded.
‘Then I’m good, too.’ Payne turned to leave the office. ‘Chopper’s leaving in five.’
‘Excuse me?’ she blurted as she sprang off the couch.
He turned back and faced her. ‘What’s wrong now?’
‘What do you mean it’s leaving in five?’
‘Did I stutter? The chopper is leaving in five minutes. Please be on it.’
‘Where’s it going?’ she demanded.
‘Switzerland.’
‘Switzerland? I’m not going to Switzerland.’
Payne laughed. ‘Really?’
She folded her arms in front of her chest. ‘Yes, really.’
‘You’re telling me you’d prefer to stay here? By yourself?’
She took a deep breath. ‘Yes.’
Payne laughed louder. ‘You’re such a hypocrite.’
‘A hypocrite? Why am I a hypocrite?’
‘Unless I’m mistaken, didn’t you just apologize for your temper and your stubbornness? Thirty seconds later, you’re back to the same stubborn behaviour.’
‘I’m not being stubborn. I’m being smart. Like you said, I have no business being on your chopper. I figure the sooner I get away from you, the safer I’ll be.’
‘You still don’t get it, do you?’
‘Get what?’
‘What you’re mixed up in?’
‘Apparently not.’
Payne pointed at the couch. ‘Please, sit down.’
‘Why?’
‘Why? Because I’m sick of arguing with you about every little thing. If this is going to work, all of us need to be on the same page. Personally, I’d rather thrash it out now than fight with you all damn day. I just don’t have the energy.’
Heidi nodded and took a seat next to Ulster. ‘Okay.’
Payne pulled up an office chair. ‘Tell me, do you know where you are?’
She shrugged. ‘Somewhere near Innsbruck.’
He made a buzzer sound. ‘Sorry. Wrong answer.’
‘No, it’s not. I recognized the city when we flew in.’
‘Actually, it’s a wrong answer for a completely different reason. It’s a wrong answer because your response could have gotten you killed.’
‘What? What do you mean?’
‘I mean, the man who owns this warehouse would be furious over your response. If his guards had been smart, they would have blindfolded you so you wouldn’t know the location of this place. But they were dumb, so now you’re a threat to his whole organization.’
‘Whose organization?’
‘A man you don’t want to meet. Which is why I can’t leave you here. For the time being, you’re far safer with us than you would be alone – at least until I have a chance to talk to him.’
Ulster nodded. ‘The Archives are protected by a team of armed guards around the clock. In addition, we recently installed a large panic room with enough food and water to last a month. If anyone comes looking for us, we’ll be perfectly safe until November.’
‘Not that we’re expecting trouble,’ Payne assured her. ‘In fact, I just got off the phone with my contact at Interpol. They’re already hunting the man responsible for today’s skirmish. With any luck, they’ll have him in a day or two. After that, everything will be fine.’
‘Then what?’ she demanded.