“Jennings has been asking questions,” the voice said through the earpiece. “Something’s got him nervous.”
Will was afraid that would happen. Jennings had been careless, a real liability looming over the mission. Still, the man wasn’t completely stupid, but he had too many loose ends.
“What do you want me to do?” The voice on the other end startled Will from his thoughts.
The man he’d hired to retrieve the solution to the code from the Georgia Tech professor had simply made a mess of everything. “Meet me in one hour in Piedmont Park. Same place we met before.”
“Sounds good. I’ll see you there.”
Centennial Olympic Park was lit up brightly with Christmas lights. A large tent on the south lawn of the park housed a temporary ice skating rink. The city wanted to put the Christmas decorations up a little early. The park was empty, for the most part. Most of the patrons were likely at home getting ready for bed
Hunter Carlson had found his way out of the cavern in New Mexico. He was frustrated that the men he followed had escaped. He knew where they would end up, though. So, he decided to lay low and see if he could find out what they would do next.
He listened in to Will’s phone conversation from inside his black Mercedes, trying to look inconspicuous. Thanks to the darkly tinted windows, no one would really take notice of him.
Will Hastings seemed to have several irons in the fire. Carlson heard him mention Jennings. If he was working for Eric Jennings, that could present new issues. Will had also told one of his assets to meet him in Piedmont Park on the other side of town. It would be a surprise if a body didn’t turn up the next morning in that area. That was one thing assets were generally stupid about. They just followed the money trail, doing as they were told, often times right up to the end of a gun barrel.
Carlson thought briefly about his own team. He’d executed a few of them without regard. They were easily replaceable, which was a good thing in his line of work. He’d considered the idea of going it alone. However, Hastings had proven to be more difficult than he’d anticipated, as had the archaeologist.
His wiretaps at IAA headquarters were working perfectly. Just half an hour ago, he’d been listening to the conversation regarding Wyatt and Schultz’s next destination. It seems, there was a map somewhere in Cuenca. Good thing he never went without a passport on him. That was where he would make his next move. He had a team in South America he’d worked with on a few other missions that would be easy to put together on short notice, but something told him this one needed to be played a little closer to the chest.
A delivery truck rumbled up next to him for a moment and paused as if deciding whether or not they should back in to the loading dock behind them or just double park on the street. After a few moments, the awkward looking vehicle backed in to the building next to where Hunter was parked. The annoying beep that trucks signaled for backing up faded off as they entered the tunnel of the building.
The phone in his pocket suddenly began ringing. He eyed it for a moment then answered. “Hello.”
“We’ve been waiting for you to call.” The voice on the other line said.
The two men who’d hired him were annoying. One was a sniveling subservient, the other overly domineering, probably to mask a great deal of insecurity and lack of intelligence. It had been easy to see which one was pulling the strings and why.
“I’m sure you have. But I wanted to have more information before I contacted you.”
There was a pause. “Well, what do you have?” The voice continued, irritating and pushy.
Carlson let out a sigh. When this was all over, he’d have to consider taking out his two contractors as well, just for the pleasure of it. He decided to just tell the man everything he knew for the time being. “They are heading to Ecuador, Cuenca to be exact. There is a map that an old priest left there that supposedly leads to a cave where they think the treasure is. Sounds like they are going to head out tomorrow.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ll let them lead the way to the map then intercept it when they’re done. A few missing tourists won’t be a big deal in South America. It happens all the time. Once they are out of the way I’ll forward you the location.”
“Good. See to it that you do. We have taken a great risk in this venture, one that could cost us everything.”
“Look, your boss bought the whole Las Vegas fiasco, didn’t he? He thinks that was your only move. I guarantee you no one knows who I am or who I’m working for. So relax. I have it under control.”
The voice on the other end went silent, apparently contemplating what had been said. “Fair enough, Mr. Carlson,” he finally replied and ended the call.
Hunter looked quizzically at the touch screen of his smart phone. “Thank you, Mr. Mornay,” he said to himself as he stuffed the device into his pocket.
Chapter 41
Sean and Adriana stepped out of the gray Maxima after he’d eased it in the long, six-car garage.
Her eyes grew wide with the sight of the collection of motorcycles. She instantly recognized several that she’d dreamed of having but never really pursued. Norton, Royal Enfield, Ducati, Triumph, Harley Davidson, and several Japanese makes occupied the space within the confines of the hall-like garage. There were even some that she’d never heard of before. She reverently walked over to the small fleet and eyed each machine carefully. “They are beautiful,” she said respectfully. “When can we go for a ride?”
He smiled as he watched her. “I guess as soon as we get back from South America and we get a warm day.”
“You don’t ride when it’s cold?”
“No. I can’t stand it. Once the temperature drops below sixty-five, it’s too cool for me.”
She nodded. “I can see that. It gets a little chilly in the desert once winter hits. Takes the joy out of it when you are shivering the entire time.”
“Indeed.”
She walked slowly back towards him, her eyes probing his deeply.
Caught a little off guard, he stammered while he spoke. “I…I…should show you to your room. Gonna be a long day tomorrow and we need to get some sleep.”
She pulled close to him. Her eyes locked with his as she gazed up at him for a long moment. The cold night air seemed to hold them in place.
Sean broke it off suddenly and turned to open the door to the short flight of stairs that led up into the kitchen. “This way to the house,” he said awkwardly.
Her expression was clearly that of disappointment and confusion. Nevertheless, she smiled at him. “Lead the way, Senor Wyatt.”
After showing Adriana to her room, Sean retired to his own. There were a million thoughts running through his head at the moment, most of which concerned the beautiful Spaniard down the hall. She must have thought him odd. Men surely threw themselves at her on a daily basis. Yet here he was turning her down, running away. He wanted her. So what was he doing? Things with Allyson had ended abruptly. Actually, nothing ever really got started. It would have been too complicated with her being off on assignments and various missions all the time for Axis. He’d lived that life. He knew exactly what the demands of the job were. But Adriana Villa…what was holding him back? Fear? He didn’t know but for tonight, he wasn’t going to do anything about it. They had a late morning flight to catch the next day and he needed to sleep. As he lay in his bed, his mind drifted to memories from years before. They lingered on a face, a young woman calling his name before fading into darkness.