CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

 

 

 

Ulster’s arrival (and luggage) changed the housing situation on the yacht. Jones gave up his cabin and moved in with Payne even though it was the smallest room on board. Since one of them would always be on watch, they figured it would still be like rooming alone.

Not that it really mattered to the former MANIACs.

Over the years, they had bunked together in some of the worst conditions imaginable—the heat of the desert, the cold of the Arctic, the humidity of the jungle, and everything in between. Compared to those extremes, a few nights on a luxury yacht was hardly something to complain about. That is, if they even stayed on board for that long.

As Payne stared at the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean from his position near the bow, he couldn’t help but feel like he was lost at sea. His initial enthusiasm about Hompesch’s escape had been temporarily muted by a lack of evidence to support his theory. In fact, with each new detail that he learned about Hompesch’s past and the Order’s connection to Russia, he found himself drifting further and further away from his original hypothesis.

His gut told him that they would be okay.

But for the time being, he couldn’t see the shore.

While scanning the horizon for trouble, Payne heard a noise behind him and turned to see who it was. Because of his girth, Ulster was struggling to squeeze through the narrow glass door from the enclosed helm. Once he made it through, Ulster could barely keep his balance as a mischievous Jarkko lurched the wheel back and forth while revving the engines, all in hopes of toppling the round historian.

“Stay there,” Payne shouted from his perch. “I’ll come to you.”

Designed for sunbathing, the entire front of the boat was lined with the same soft padding that covered the bench that he and Marissa had sat on the night before. Using his muscular arms and legs, Payne resembled a silverback gorilla as he crawled across the pad with incredible speed and dexterity, so much so that Ulster thought he was going to attack.

Ulster shrieked as he fell backwards onto the bench. “Please don’t hit me!”

Payne rushed forward to check on his friend. “Are you okay?”

“What’s that?” Ulster asked, temporarily confused.

“Are you okay?” Payne repeated.

Ulster touched his own body just to be sure. “Yes, I do believe I am—thanks to this miracle substance underneath my rump. The last time I felt something so soft was the chocolate mousse I devoured on Tuesday night. I’m telling you, Jonathon. My tongue danced with delight!”

Payne breathed a sigh of relief. “You need to be careful when you move about the sundeck. One false move, and you’ll—wait! Did you ask me not to hit you?”

Ulster nodded, more than a little embarrassed. “I’m afraid I did, but please allow me to explain before I upset you further. Given the tension of our last conversation and David’s graphic account of your dealings with past ultimatums, I came up here to apologize for my reprehensible behavior, but when I saw you charge forward like a majestic bull, my fight-or-flight response kicked in, and—I think it’s safe to say—I chose flight.”

“More like fright,” Payne said. “You shrieked like a little—”

“And I’m not proud of it, not in the least. So please do me a favor and—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don’t tell David. Trust me, I know the refrain by heart. But if you want my advice, I think it’s time to stop worrying about DJ and all of his crazy nonsense. I mean, he actually thinks the hotel is going to slaughter an albino tiger for a Viking blood ceremony.”

“Believe it or not,” Ulster said as he fished the message out of his pocket and handed it to Payne, “he might be onto something. The bellhop asked me to give you this.”

Payne read the note and grunted. He had no idea what an albino tiger cost, but if the charge appeared on his hotel bill, he was going to make Jones pay for it. “Still, for you to believe that I was actually going to hit you is more than a little disappointing to me.”

Ulster nodded. “I know it is, but—”

Payne cut him off. He had more that he needed to say. “But that pales in comparison to the disappointment I felt when you used our friendship as a bargaining chip to join us on this mission. After all we’ve been through, I would have hoped that you viewed DJ and me as more than just pawns that you were willing to discard if you didn’t get your way. As far as I’m concerned, your ploy was beneath you as a gentleman and a scholar.”

Ulster’s cheeks and ears turned bright red as he lowered his head in shame. He knew he had gone too far when he had made his threat on the phone, but it wasn’t until he had heard Payne’s words and seen the disappointment in his face that it had really hit home.

The two of them sat in silence, side by side on the bench but with a chasm in between, as Jarkko slowed the yacht to a stop in the open water. Without the rumble of the engines or the rush of the wind to speak over, Ulster lowered his voice to a whisper before he spoke again.

“Jonathon,” he said as his words cracked with emotion, “what I did was inexcusable and will never, ever happen again. Your friendship means more to me than I could ever put into words, and if you’re willing to forgive my deplorable crime, I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you. Furthermore, if you feel that my presence is an intrusion in any way, just say the word and I will strap my luggage together into a makeshift raft and paddle back to shore.”

Payne forced a smile. “That won’t be necessary.”

“Thank heavens. Because I doubt I have the stamina to make it.”

Payne shook his head, still focused on the issue at hand. “Here’s the thing that’s bothering me. I simply don’t understand why you did it. Why would you risk our friendship over something as trivial as a mission? I’ve known you for many years, Petr, and I have never seen you act callous or ruthless to anyone. So please help me understand your actions, because right now I feel like you’re hiding something—and that’s making it very tough to forgive you.”

Ulster took a deep breath before he found the words to explain. “Just so you know, what I’m about to tell you is not an excuse, because what I did was inexcusable. But you asked for some context to explain my actions, and out of respect of our friendship, I’m more than willing to provide it. But please, I beg of you, keep this to yourself.”

“Dammit, Petr. I told you to stop worrying about DJ.”

He shook his head. “I’m not worried about David. I’m worried about Marissa.”

Payne furrowed his brow. “Go on.”

Ulster turned and faced his friend. “When Marissa first came to the Archives for her internship, she wasn’t the woman that you see today. Back then, she was a sullen, fractured child in her early twenties, who possessed a brilliant mind but zero confidence. Truth be told, I didn’t think she would last a day, let alone the summer, so I made it my mission to keep an eye on her and help her with the transition. During that first week, she worked hard but always kept her distance, never wanting to bother me with questions, as if she wasn’t worthy of my time. But as the days went on and my persistence lingered, I somehow managed to crack through her defenses, and much to my surprise, hidden underneath her gruff exterior was a remarkable creature full of humor, passion, and ambition. In all of my years as a mentor, I never saw someone change so much, and I truly believe it was because of the attention I showed her, as if she was a flower dying of thirst that finally sprang to life because of a sprinkle of kindness.”

Ulster shook his head. “Trust me, I know how that makes me sound, and the purpose of my story was not to flatter myself but to illustrate my connection to her. So when I heard about the incident at the library, I felt incredibly guilty for putting her in that situation in the first place, particularly since the night before I had expressed my concerns about this particular treasure and had failed to warn her about it. The next thing I know, my parental instincts kicked in—instincts that I didn’t even know I had—and before I could stop myself, I was issuing an ultimatum.”

Ulster glanced at Payne. “But like I said, my explanation is not an excuse. I am merely providing context for my actions. I take full responsibility for what I did, and I’m willing to live with the consequences—though I hope it doesn’t involve my rowing ashore.”

Payne smiled and patted Ulster on his knee. He knew that his friend was embarrassed and full of regret, and now that he understood the impetus behind Ulster’s actions—and the connection that he shared with Marissa—there was no sense in prolonging the inevitable.

“We’re cool,” Payne said as he reached his hand toward Ulster. “I’m glad we cleared the air, and I’m thrilled to have you as a part of the team.”

“Thank heavens!” Ulster said as he grabbed Payne’s hand in both of his and shook it enthusiastically. “You’ve made me so happy I think I’m going to burst.”

Payne pulled his hand away. “If you’re gonna be sick—”

“No worries, my boy. That’s not what I meant. I actually took some dimenhydrinate before my flight, so I should be sedated for a few more hours. Unfortunately, in spite of my prodigious appetite, I have trouble swallowing pills, which forced me to buy a suppository instead. Truth be told, when I landed on my rump, I’m fairly certain that I felt it move deeper into my bowel. At least I hope that’s what it was, or else I landed on a pencil.”

Payne laughed and grimaced at the same time.

“Goodness me,” Ulster said, “I can’t believe I voiced that aloud. Either the drug is lowering my inhibitions, or I broke the seal on my candor and everything is spilling out.”

“Are you sick or not?” Payne demanded.

“Not,” Ulster stressed. “I was speaking metaphorically, not physically.”

“So you’re good?”

“Yes, I’m good. And I promise, no more talk of my derrière.”

“Glad to hear it.”

“And Jon?”

“Yeah.”

Ulster smiled. “Please don’t tell David.”