Sean’s face filled with confusion. Mauricio shook his head slowly and pulled a black gun from within his black blazer. His two other men who had stayed behind with the group did the same, keeping their weapons trained on Wyatt and his companions.
“What is this, Maury,” Tommy asked. “Playing for the other side now?” Schultz’s face washed over with disappointment and betrayal.
“Not the other side, my friend. The treasure of Carlos Crespi is only the tip of the iceberg. There is more to be found, once his lost relics are discovered. And you are going to show me the way.”
“Where is the woman?” Delgado finally realized she wasn’t with them anymore.
“She’s gone,” Wyatt answered. “Ran off to see a friend or something. She wouldn’t tell me where. You don’t need her anyway. She isn’t important.”
Mauricio considered the statement for a moment then said, “I’ll have one of my drivers track her down once we’re inside the building.”
“I guess I was wrong about you,” Sean said.
“Quisas, amigo. Perhaps.”
“Sir?” the voice came over the radio again in Weaver’ and Collack’s earpieces.
“Go ahead,” he responded.
“We have a situation here.” The voice didn’t wait for the question. “The men with Wyatt and Shultz are holding them at gunpoint now.”
This was an unexpected development. Angela and James both looked at each other somewhat bewildered. “Can you hear what they’re saying?” she asked after a few seconds of thought.
“Not really. Something about a treasure.”
“Delgado must be making a play. Stay close but don’t make a move. We will be on site in six minutes.”
“Roger that.”
The two looked at each other again as they sped along the old road into the city. “This changes things a bit,” James said flatly.
“Not really. They were all hostiles anyway. Let’s sit back and see what they do next. My guess is Delgado is wanting the same thing we want. We let them force Wyatt and Schultz to get it for them; then we take it.”
Will stared hard at the man nearest him but said nothing.
Mauricio noticed the unspoken interaction. “Don’t try anything, policeman. He will cut you down if he has to.” Then he motioned towards the entrance of the cathedral. “Now, quickly. Everyone inside. If you try anything, I will shoot you.”
Sean shook his head but said nothing as the three men moved slowly towards the huge stone structure. Once inside its wooden doors, the familiar musty smell old churches always seemed to have time filled their nostrils. The vast expanse opened up into a high arched ceiling. Longer than it appeared from the outside, the building stretched at least two-hundred feet to the other end where it opened up into a wider worship area.
The group moved a little further into the foyer, and the giant wooden door closed behind them. Once it had shut, Mauricio’s demeanor changed completely. Suddenly, he and his assistants lowered their weapons. The two men accompanying him kept their weapons in hand and moved quickly down the center of the church towards the presbytery. “Sorry for that little ruse, my friend,” he began as he holstered his weapon. “But we are being watched.”
“What is going on?” Tommy exclaimed. “Watched? By who?”
“We must move quickly. Hurry, follow them,” was all he would offer.
Sean and Tommy were completely lost. Will simply did as he was told and hustled behind the two, armed men.
“I’ll explain everything soon,” Mauricio urged as he turned and started jogging down the aisle.
Sean hesitated. “What about Adriana?”
Delgado stopped, “We must hurry. We will find her later.”
Unsure, Sean glanced at his friend as if looking for an answer he knew wasn’t there. It seemed they didn’t had a choice at the moment.
Shame they were in such a hurry, Tommy thought as he ran past stone columns that supported dramatic domed arches and side porticos. Up ahead, the presbytery was ornately highlighted with a crown-like altar, topped by a crucifix and centered underneath another cross. The ornate construction was held up by four, spiraled columns of white stone.
The group reached the end of the aisle and veered left towards a side door. Just through it, a narrow corridor extended in both directions. They turned right and headed through the dark hallway, moving towards the back of the church.
Hunter Carlson observed the scene from a bar on the other side of the plaza. He casually sipped a golden beer and, to everyone else, appeared to be just another tourist.
His eyes, though, were trained on the hit squad he’d been watching for the last half hour. He’d noticed them when they arrived, dressed in utility service clothing and maintenance uniforms. It was a good enough disguise. They’d set up cones and taped off an area as if they were working on something in one of the sewage drains.
But to him, the two vans stuck out like sore thumb. It would surprise him if they had gone unnoticed by Wyatt and his group. Still, he decided to sit back and see how things played out. The winner in a Mexican standoff was always the guy who showed up last. Let everyone else shoot each other then scoop up the loot.
Across from where the hired guns were positioned, a black sedan pulled into a parking space on a side street with its headlights off. A new player had just entered the game.
James and Angela were careful to make sure they didn’t attract a lot of attention and cut off the lights to their car before stopping in an alley near the square. They immediately recognized their team positioned directly across from the cathedral. Quietly, they slipped out of the car and James touched his earpiece. “We are here. What’s the situation?” he asked in a whisper.
“They just went into the church. What would you like us to do?” the voice responded.
“Hold here. We will set up just outside the entrance. When they come out, we grab them. No shots fired here in the open. We don’t want the locals getting involved. Keep it quiet and quick. We can take them outside the city and finish them there.”
“Roger that.”
Towards the end of the hall, Mauricio’s men had stopped and were holding open an interior wall door.
Sean and the rest stopped and looked through the opening. Inside were candelabras, robes, sashes, an old desk, a bookshelf with a sparse collection of books, and a few goblets that looked like something out of the middle ages.
“A storage room?” Will asked. “Why don’t we just go out the back?”
“Just trust me,” Mauricio answered.
Will shrugged and looked at Sean who extended an arm as if to say “you first.”
Mauricio’s assistant held the door until everyone was inside. Once the door was closed, Delgado’s other man stepped over to an old, iron wall sconce and pulled it down slowly. The ancient lever creaked as it moved. Clearly, it hadn’t been used frequently. Just like something out of a movie, the bookshelf started sliding out away from the wall. Old-looking light bulbs flickered on in a stone, spiral staircase on the other side.
“Seriously?” Sean asked in a sarcastic tone. “A secret tunnel?”
“The priests had it installed long ago because they were afraid of looting during a period of unrest with the government. It leads under the city streets to a place where my drivers are waiting to pick us up.” The robust Latino man smiled with pride. Tommy patted him on the shoulder in approval and headed down the spiral, stone staircase. The rest followed into the dimly lit corridor.
The staircase ended in a stone, arched hallway, dotted ever twenty feet with small lights hung on candle sconces. “So what’s going on?” Sean asked as they strode quickly down the stairs into the bowels of the city.