CHAPTER EIGHT

September 25, 12:00 P.M.

Mexico City, Mexico

AFTER SEEING THE digital images of the destroyed Asháninka village, and reading the account of the violence relayed to the authorities from the lone survivor, Cash questioned his decision to split up his team and send them on dispersed missions. Assuming Olivia was correct, the five remaining relics remained hidden in different locations, and they had no idea which one the thieves would target next. The only thing Cash knew for sure was they were dealing with at least five, possibly seven, ruthless, well-armed individuals capable of horrific violence in order to get what they wanted.

The commercial flight from Arizona to Mexico City seemed interminable, giving Cash ample time to think and second-guess their plan. He went over and over Olivia’s story in his mind, trying to make sense of the far-flung tale and ascertain if he had caved too easily to Marjorie’s will.

Diego and Marjorie caught a plane bound for Argentina to investigate the rumored existence of another relic and to tie-in with Diego’s Interpol colleagues. Cash had argued about Marjorie remaining with the team. As a civilian, she didn’t have the training required by agency policy to be a field consultant, and he hated putting her at risk. She reasoned that she could recognize two of the thieves, had seen a crystal artifact previously undocumented, and had already survived a brutal surprise attack. In the end, the determined woman had won and left the country with Diego against Cash’s better judgment.

Earlier that morning, Ian and Pete boarded the CIA jet and headed to Florida, where they planned to take a small watercraft under the cover of darkness to the island of Bimini in the Bahamas, hopefully avoiding detection by anyone attempting to tail them. Olivia’s story didn’t provide them much to go on, but they thought it was worth a look. Pete had grown up in Florida and had dived in the waters of the area for most of his life, so knew his way around.

Cash’s confidence in Pete’s ability to deal with a dangerous situation if encountered leaned toward nonexistent, but Ian seemed more than capable of keeping the scientist out of trouble. Reluctantly, Cash had agreed to send Pete and Ian to Florida alone.

The most concrete lead they had on a relic directed them to Mexico. As the easiest to track down, Cash thought it might be the thieves’ next target, and if so, he wanted to be the one to face the deadly criminals.

Relief swept over Cash as he and Diane landed in Mexico City. In flight, he had felt helpless, restless, and trapped. When he pictured Olivia’s gentle brown eyes filled with tears of urgency, he wondered if they really were in a race against time. He refused to accept a bunch of crystals possessed the power to inflict massive destruction on the human racethat seemed too melodramatic. But, as Olivia’s voice echoed through his mind, he couldn’t quite shake the fear they were dealing with something much more serious than Director Washburn had indicated. He had the suspicion that a story showing up on the front page of a tabloid was the least of their worries.

He scanned the area for anyone who might be tailing them as Diane picked up the keys to the rental car and led them outside. His focused remained alert for possible danger until Diane came to an abrupt halt next to a vehicle.

“Is this the best you could do?” he snarled at Diane as he squeezed his tall muscular frame in behind the wheel of the dented 1990’s four-door coup the rental agent had assigned to them.

“Quit griping and get to driving. We’re in Mexico, not the U.S. It was either this or a moped, and I’m sure you wouldn’t want me squeezing the air out of your lungs as you navigated this nightmare traffic on a two-wheeled death-trap.”

Cash shot her another annoyed look, but said nothing else as he followed her directions into the heart of the city. He parked the car in a place where he figured a quick exit was possible, not knowing why the compulsion to do so even entered his mind. Scrutinizing the streets, vehicles, and buildings for any sign of danger, they strolled toward their destination.

They sat at a sticky table in front of a tiny café, swatting at flies and waiting for their contact to show up. The nagging worry they had inadvertently placed Olivia at risk kept creeping into Cash’s mind, making concentrating on Diane’s words a bit difficult. He doubted their simple overnight visit put her in danger, but something other than the spicy salsa they now snacked on gnawed at his gut. Despite Olivia’s calm, confident tone, all he wanted to do was gather her in his arms and hold her. He wondered if the urge had anything to do with the relics, or was simply his normal reaction to a beautiful woman.

“Gracias.” Cash nodded to the waitress as she placed two damp and chipped soda bottles on the table. He watched Diane tip the cola back and chug a deep drink as his thoughts returned to her sister.

Olivia didn’t divulge a possible location for the twelfth crystal, though Cash suspected she had a theory. She offered no guess as to where the thirteenth hid, but had agreed to keep working on its location. Despite needing her help, he hated the idea of yet another civilian involved, even if she was his partner’s sister and remained safely tucked away in her home in Arizona.

One part of his mind urged him to call her and tell her to do nothing and mention their visit to no one, but the suggestion would be pointless. He sensed Olivia would do everything possible to keep all the legendary artifacts from falling into the wrong hands. Unfortunately, he wasn’t convinced that included giving him her unconditional trust and support.

Cash often worked with people who didn’t trust each other. With Olivia, he had an uncomfortable need for her to believe in him and hold nothing back. He disliked the feeling and the fact that his mind kept wandering to the beautiful woman—distractions in his line of work could be deadly. He forced thoughts of her out of his head and turned his focus to identifying potential escape routes and possible threats—a topic much more in his comfort zone.