CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

September 30, 12:01 A.M.

Cusco, Peru

THE CALL FROM Heinrich thrilled Zara. He and Marabout had obtained another crystal, killed one of Cash’s team, and left the rest of the party stranded in the most God-forsaken country he had ever seen with no transportation or water. After traversing the barren landscape for the past couple of days, he reported that only a few miles stood between them and their rental vehicle.

Once they reached civilization, she ordered Heinrich and Marabout to return to Sedona and wait for verification. She doubted Cash would die—she wasn’t that lucky. He always found a way to survive, and she wanted to ensure she was kept abreast of his next move. Once Cash became involved, her quest for power had taken on the added element of a game. She loved a good challenge, especially since she always won.

Despite the success, she sensed Heinrich wasn’t telling her everything. She insisted he put Marabout on the phone and her brother confirmed her hunch. The excitement in his voice couldn’t cover the fact he too was withholding details. When she asked about Cash, Marabout quickly changed the subject and then handed the phone back to Heinrich. Whatever they were hiding would be just one more reason to make Cash suffer before he died. The thought brought a smile to her lips.

“One of yours for one of mine,” she muttered as she disconnected and went to share the good news with Mustafa.

Mustafa’s attitude dampened her spirits the moment she entered the room. Something clearly disturbed him as his fingers flew over the keyboard, concentrating on the sounds coming through the bud placed firmly in his ear.

“Reza and Ahmed have missed the last two designated check-ins,” he stated as he turned and looked into Zara’s ice-cold eyes.

One skipped status check seldom caused alarm, but any more often indicated something had gone wrong. To Zara, few excuses existed to break protocol. She insisted on being kept informed of every move, and much of her success came from always being the first to know when things didn’t go according to plan, giving her time to react before any of the other parties involved.

“Do we have anyone in Salta who can check the situation out for us?” she asked.

“No, you and I are the closest resources. In monitoring the local radio station, I’ve come across news of a shooting at Salta’s main cathedral. The report revealed one dead, but didn’t identify those involved, or state the extent of any other injuries. It sounds like the incident happened very recently, so not many details are available yet.”

Zara’s mood soured. She expected Argentina to be an easy operation, but ever since Reza reported on problems in a small village outside of Salta, a bad feeling that he and Ahmed were in over their heads nagged at her. She possessed only minimal information on Diego’s reputation in the field. Reports indicated he currently served as a supervisory agent with Interpol, so she hadn’t expected him to pose a problem for her two colleagues. Once agents left the field they always lost their touch.

“What do you want me to do? Should I focus on the shooting or keep trying to contact them? Maybe they’ve just been detained.”

Zara had no doubt the incident at the church involved her team. She hoped both men escaped without injury before the authorities arrived, but if not, she would deal with the failure. Zara felt certain Reza wouldn’t crack under interrogation if in his right frame of mind, but she hadn’t worked with Ahmed long enough to be as sure about his fortitude under pressure.

“Keep trying to obtain the details of the shooting. We need to locate Reza and Ahmed. If they’re alive and have been arrested, we must act immediately.”

Mustafa nodded and began typing on his keyboard. He kept his eyes focused downward until Zara’s door slammed shut. Looking up, he shuddered. He had worked with Zara for many years and knew her well. If his two colleagues weren’t already dead, they’d wish they were.