Here, against these opponents, he didn’t stand a chance.
Neither did his men.
Sure, most of them were skilled with guns, but not like this.
It was one thing to hit a bull’s-eye at a shooting range. It was quite another to hit a moving target that was returning fire with the accuracy of Payne and Jones.
They knew the tactics. They knew the angles.
They knew all the things that Angel’s men didn’t.
And they were more than willing to take advantage.
Angel made three major mistakes in his initial strategy. To begin with, he minimized the value of his superior numbers by bringing his men together in one place. They would have been far more effective had they been scattered around the site, slowly closing in on Tiffany’s last-known position like a hangman tightening a noose. Secondly, he chose a staging area for his troops next to the most visible building at the site. El Castillo stood nearly 100 feet tall and was almost twice as wide. It could be seen from every corner of the ancient city. No matter where Payne and Jones went, they always knew where Angel’s men were. In the middle of an open plaza, they were more visible than a lighthouse on a clear night.
Finally, and worst of all, Angel ordered his men to find and kill Tiffany at all cost. Had that order been given at the OK Corral, Payne and Jones would have sat back and watched the violence unfold without intervention. After all, it wasn’t their fight. But everything changed when Angel’s men gunned down four innocent tourists who’d been hiding behind one of the smaller ruins. The instant they tried to scurry past the pyramid on their way to the main exit, Angel’s men opened fire. No rhyme or reason. No mistaken identities.
They simply fired upon them in cold blood.
Jones saw the incident from across the plaza. He was sickened by the sight. In a heartbeat, he went from an interested spectator to an active participant.
His initial plan had been to protect Petr and Maria by luring Angel’s troops away from the market. His new plan was to protect everyone at the site. In his opinion, the best way to do that was to eliminate every criminal with a gun as quickly as possible.
He pulled out his phone and called Payne, who was still scrambling to get into position. The phone rang several times before he finally answered.
‘Are you OK?’ Payne asked.
Jones explained what had happened. He also stressed it was time to get involved.
Payne nodded in agreement. ‘I just picked up a weapon that will help our cause. I got a SCAR-L from one of his men. I also got another radio.’
‘How much ammo?’
‘Enough to make them extinct.’
‘Good. Because that’s what we need to do.’
‘What did you have in mind?’
‘Same plan as before. The only difference, shoot to kill.’
Maria felt the phone vibrate in her hand. She glanced at the screen. It was a call from Jones. Her chest tightened as her heart started to race. She was being summoned to war.
‘Hello,’ she whispered.
‘You’re on.’
‘What do you need me to do?’
‘I need you to leave Petr and come here.’
‘You need me to leave him? Are you sure that’s a good idea?’
‘Trust me, he’s safer there than he will be here.’
‘But—’
‘Maria,’ he said, ‘give him the damn phone.’
She did as she was told.
Ulster came on the line, curious. ‘Hello?’
‘Petr, I need to borrow Maria for a few minutes, but she’s reluctant to leave your side. Please tell her that you’ll be fine without her.’
Ulster gulped, unsure. ‘Will I be fine without her?’
‘Of course you’ll be fine. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be doing this.’
‘In that case, she’s all yours. I’ll send her on her way.’
‘Feel free to keep the gun. She won’t be needing it.’
‘All right, David. I’ll do just that. I’ll send Maria, but keep the gun.’
‘Perfect. Let me talk to her again.’
Ulster assured Maria it was OK to leave as he handed the phone back to her. She complained briefly, but eventually agreed.
‘OK,’ she said to Jones, ‘where do you need me to go?’
‘Exit south through the jungle and meet me near the trees on the western side of the market. Do you know where that is?’
She glanced at her map. ‘Yes.’
‘Good. I need you here in two minutes.’
63
Earlier in the day, Payne had been imagining what it must have been like to play the Mesoamerican game at the Great Ball Court. With his size and strength, he figured he would have been an unstoppable force, even though he’d never played the game before. It wasn’t hubris. It was genetics. They simply didn’t make men of his size a thousand years ago.
Now, he would have the opportunity to play a different sport on the famous court. One he knew how to play. One he had been playing at a world-class level for years. The rules were quite different from the original game, but there were similarities. It was a brutal, violent competition, one where blood would be spilled. Only in this case, players wouldn’t be sacrificed after the match. They would be killed in the field of play as part of the game. No points would be tallied. No scores would be kept. The last man standing would be the winner.
He planned on being that player.
To prepare for the contest, Payne sprinted the entire width of the field — all 545 feet — and entered the building on the northern edge. Known as the Temple of the Bearded Man, it is where nobles and invited guests used to watch the games. It offered a perfect view of the field and, more importantly, protection from a side or rear assault. Covered with centuries of dirt and grime, the stones were slicker than he had expected. Payne slipped as he scrambled into position, banging his leg on one of the steps. A two-inch gash opened just below his knee. Before long, blood was trickling down his shin and soaking his sock.
If all went well, it would be the only injury that he suffered.
But the first of many that he would inflict.
Maria stared at Jones like he was crazy. ‘You want me to do what?’
Jones explained. ‘I want you to be Tiffany.’
‘I don’t look anything like Tiffany.’
‘You don’t have to look like her. You’re pretending to be her on the radio.’
‘What good will that do?’
‘If I’m correct, it will get Angel’s men headed to where we want.’
‘Which is?’
Jones smiled. ‘In front of Jon.’
‘Does he know that?’
‘Of course he knows. Are you willing to help or not?’
She nodded. ‘But what does this have to do with translating?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You said you needed my translation skills.’
‘I might,’ he assured her. ‘I don’t know if these guys can speak English. If not, you might have to be Tiffany in Spanish.’
‘That’s it?’
‘Yep. That’s it.’
‘If that’s all you needed, why couldn’t Petr come along?’
Jones pulled out his map. He pointed at the Great Ball Court, which was located a few thousand feet from where they were crouching. ‘Why? Because I’m Jon’s backup, so there’s going to be some running involved. Petr’s a lot of things, but aerodynamic isn’t one of them.’
Payne put Jorge’s earpiece in his ear, then he settled behind Jorge’s assault rifle. Although he had limited experience with the weapon, it felt comfortable in his hands. From his prone position inside the Temple of the Bearded Man, he had an elevated field of fire. In this case, it was literally a field, which was bookended by 39-feet-high stone walls that were over 500 feet in length. Once his opponents entered the alley in between, there would be no escape.