‘Trust me, David. You need me. It’s pretty obvious.’
He smiled at her. ‘We’ll see.’
Payne concealed himself in a small grove of trees to the south of the stone warriors. He’d barely settled into position when he spotted a group of armed men gathering near the base of El Castillo, approximately 500 feet to the west. He tucked the earpiece into his ear, hoping to eavesdrop on their plans, but Angel and his men were speaking in rapid Spanish — way too fast for him to keep up with their conversation.
Frustrated, he plucked it out of his ear and stuffed it into his pocket.
A few minutes later, Payne heard footsteps in the loose gravel behind him. He turned and saw Jones sprinting across the Plaza of a Thousand Columns. At one time, the rows of columns supported a large, thatched roof. Now nothing remained but the columns themselves. Payne signalled for him to stay low and to the south, just in case the men had binoculars.
Payne remained silent until Jones was next to him. ‘How are they?’
‘They’re fine. In fact, they’re better than fine. Maria gave me a great idea.’
‘About what?’
‘Dealing with Angel’s men.’
‘Really? Does she have lots of experience in dealing with foreign men?’
Jones growled softly. ‘That’s the kind of comment I’d expect from me, not you. You should be ashamed of yourself.’
Payne smiled. ‘Sorry. I hope you can forgive me.’
Jones pulled out his map. ‘Actually, I hope you can forgive me. I’m about to ask you to do something dangerous.’
‘How dangerous?’
‘I need you to draw their attention to the western side of the pyramid.’
‘Why?’
‘Because Tiffany was over here. If they come looking for her, Maria and Petr are going to be in the line of fire.’
‘Good point. Out of curiosity, how do you expect me to “draw their attention”? If possible, I’d prefer not to get chased by a bunch of angry Mexicans.’
‘I don’t blame you.’
‘Good. I’m glad.’
Jones smiled. ‘Don’t get me wrong: I’m still going to ask you to do it. I just won’t blame you for being pissed at me.’
Payne said nothing. He simply growled.
Jones rolled his eyes. ‘Don’t worry, you big baby. I have something in mind that will help your cause. If you do what I say, your odds of survival go up to, like, seven or eight per cent.’
‘Up from what?’
‘Two or three.’
‘Great.’
‘Do you still have the earpiece from the dead guy?’
Payne pulled it from his pocket. ‘I tried to listen in, but I couldn’t understand them. Their Spanish is way too fast for me.’
‘You don’t have to understand them. I want them to understand Maria.’
‘Maria? What’s she going to do?’
Jones pointed at the map. ‘She’s going to invite them to a ball game.’
62
As far as Payne was concerned, he viewed Angel and his men as potential threats, not targets. After all, they hadn’t fired upon Payne or his friends, or endangered them in any way. In fact, the only person who had hurt anyone at Chichén Itzá — at least to his knowledge — was Tiffany.
Of course, that didn’t mean he thought Angel was harmless. Based on the number of gunmen who were gathering near the pyramid, Payne sensed they were out for blood and didn’t care how many people got hurt in their effort to find Tiffany. Still, despite the mounting evidence against them, Payne’s moral compass wouldn’t allow him to open fire on anyone unless he was provoked. The moment that occurred, he would go after them with guns blazing. But until that happened, all he was willing to do was prepare for the worst.
In many ways, it reminded him of his mindset in the military. His unit usually knew where their biggest threats were located — Afghanistan, Iraq, North Korea, etc. — but they weren’t allowed to engage the enemy until a line was crossed. In the meantime, they used their time wisely. They moved supplies. They cleared terrain. They probed for weaknesses. They did everything they could possibly do until they got permission from the Pentagon to attack.
Then they kicked some serious ass.
To prepare for the looming battle, Payne made his way through a cluster of trees that defined the southern edge of the Great North Platform. He moved with speed and stealth, two things that didn’t seem possible for a man his size, and he did so with little effort. Though he had worked hard to increase his strength and stamina over the years, he was a natural-born athlete who had been blessed with the sort of physical tools that would make an Olympian jealous.
Payne eased to a quiet stop a few feet from the trail that led to the Ossario Group to the south. In order to get into position for Jones’s plan, he had to cross the path at some point, and he’d hoped to do so there, where the trail was narrow and shaded by trees. He glanced left, then right. Everything looked clear on the path itself. He was ready to dart across the trail and continue his journey forward when he spotted one of Angel’s men hiding on the other side. Wearing a camouflage jacket and pants, Jorge blended in with the foliage ahead. The main thing that had given him away was the movement of his hand as he attempted to swat bugs away from his face. If not for that, Payne would have run right past him and been shot.
Now he had a chance to take him out.
The decision to become aggressive was an easy one for Payne when he saw the weapon Jorge was holding. It wasn’t a handgun. It was an FN SCAR-L, a heavy assault rifle used by a few special operation regiments in the US Armed Forces. Similar to the AK-47, it’s a gas-operated, rotating-bolt rifle that is capable of killing a lot of people in a short space of time. One look was all it took. Payne knew he had to do something about the weapon. There was no way in good conscience that he could let someone walk the grounds with that much firepower. Not with kids and families scurrying for safety.
It was an accident waiting to happen.
Fortunately for Payne, Jorge didn’t hear his approach or see him in the weeds. He was too busy swatting at the bugs that had descended upon him to notice anything else. This gave Payne plenty of time to figure out the best way to acquire Jorge’s weapon. Eventually, he settled for the simplest method possible. He was going to run over and steal it. After all, the rifle was just dangling at his side, hanging from a strap around Jorge’s neck. His hands weren’t even on the trigger. That meant the odds of getting shot were pretty damn slim.
They were odds Payne was willing to take.
Payne burst from his hiding place and made it across the path in three powerful strides. By the time Jorge saw the blur headed his way, it was too late to do anything except raise his arms to protect his face. Payne buried his shoulder in Jorge’s sternum with so much force that he cracked two ribs in the initial blow. Jorge cracked two more when they crashed to the turf. Payne scrambled to his knees and was prepared to knock Jorge out with a swift elbow to the chin, but that had already been taken care of when the back of his head bounced off the hard ground.
Wasting no time, Payne took the assault rifle, a few clips of ammo and Jorge’s radio, then scurried into the woods ahead.
There was somewhere he needed to be.
Angel didn’t have much experience in the ways of war. He was a criminal, not a soldier. Most of the fighting he’d been involved in had occurred on the streets of Mexico City, not in the jungle. The difference between the two was significant. There were no cars. Or houses. Or any of the things he was used to. Instead there were ruins. And trees. And wide open spaces. Yesterday’s battle at Zócalo was his first shootout in two years, and he had barely made it out alive.