Hayden and Smyth performed their routine again, beginning to look more streamlined and content in their work as the hour progressed. Joshua spat out water again and again, choked until he almost passed out, made some joke about all the water helping to cleanse his practically dried out liver, and went under again. Kinimaka came back in, saw the ongoing struggle, and disappeared some more. Mai and Alicia stood next to each other, arms crossed, looking like they wished they’d prefer a bloody battlefield than such close proximity.
Drake sauntered over to them both, knowing waterboarding could take a while. “ ’Ow’s it goin’? Don’t s’pose you saw a chip ’ole out there?”
Mai struggled, frowning. Alicia grunted. “Is that supposed to be an icebreaker?”
“Hellfire! Why would I do that?”
Mai put a hand on his arm. “Chip ’ole?”
“Chip hole. Fish and chip shop. Chippy. The house of the gods.”
“Ah, and I thought I knew all your jargon.”
“You don’t know the half of it, Sprite.” Alicia made a point of stepping between them to fetch the last bottle of water, removing Mai’s hand by default. “Have you heard the noise he makes when you twist his—”
Drake coughed loudly. “Alicia!”
“Finger,” she finished innocently, then started to remove the bottle top.
Mai, it seemed, had decided not to let Drake go lightly and, to be fair, why would he ever have expected her to? He guessed the only thing stopping her accelerating this feud into a full-blown battle was the fact that it was she who had left him, she who had needed time, she who hadn’t been able to say if and when she was coming back to the team.
The Japanese woman moved incredibly fast, closing down the space between her and Alicia and plucking the water bottle from the other woman’s hands. Then she took a long swig, smiling into Alicia’s shocked face.
“Icy.”
“That’s the last bottle.”
“Here,” Mai proffered the open top. “I’ll hold it still to make sure you don’t choke too much.”
“I don’t swop spit with bitches.”
“Oh, is that a recent lifestyle change?”
“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Drake said and turned away. “Stop twisting me bloody lug ’ole.”
He hoped his disdain would have the desired effect and, for a while, it did. The team had been shaken hard lately. Dahl and Johanna splitting, and talking about divorce. Smyth and Lauren warring so badly that the New Yorker had elected to stay in DC. And then there was Hayden and Kinimaka, two people he’d thought were made for each other. He felt badly for them, seeing both sides and able to do precisely jack-shit about it. For right or wrong, couples made their own choices and moved ahead. It was just another one of those life-changing crossroads moments.
If only he’d known what was about to happen. Turning back then, he saw Hayden pouring and Smyth tugging on the towel. He saw Joshua’s feet kicking and then heard them drumming on the floor. He saw Kinimaka return again and nod the all clear.
At last, they allowed Joshua to breathe. Smyth moved around to the back of the chair and whilst the corrupt man tried to catch breath, he kicked it forward. The floor came hard; Joshua’s forehead striking concrete. Smyth pulled him back up, then bent down so he was less than an inch from the haunted eyes.
“You ready yet, or we gonna get started on the second hour?”
Joshua took a long shuddering breath. Blood from the gash across his forehead started leaking into his eyes. The man looked exhausted. Hayden made a point of heading back over to the sink and filling the kettle. About thirty minutes ago, on seeing her do the same thing, Joshua had asked for an Earl Grey. Now, he stared despondently at the ceiling.
“I will speak. You promise to let me go, I will speak,” The words were ragged, torn from a bruised throat. “Ah, my head hurts so much.”
Hayden spread her hands. “You sure? Don’t want to hold out for just a while longer? Want an aspirin?”
Kinimaka stepped forward. “Quit it with the intimidation. Just let the man speak.”
“Stand back, Mano. That way, you’re not involved.”
Drake moved to the Hawaiian’s shoulder. “Let’s hear what he has to say.”
Joshua wasn’t waiting any longer though, probably hearing the quiet friction all too well. He took one deep breath and began to speak. “We, the militia, see what goes on in town, we oversee most of it. There are many involved, from all… rankings.” He shrugged. “It is what it is. I know of man you seek, though he is very careful. Money does buy anonymity if that’s what you want and you have the deep pockets. He lives in the mountains, yes, but I don’t know where. There are so many deep mountain passes nobody ever visits, even unexplored regions out there.” He waved vaguely at the door.
“That’s not going to be good enough,” Kinimaka warned.
“No, no, I have not yet finished. He uses middlemen and his own people to pass messages, cash and other items. He buys from our town but sends only those sworn not to talk of what they know. Hey, guys, my forehead really hurts. Can you break bones in there? I mean, shit…”
“Wait,” Drake said. “Rewind. You said ‘his people?’”
Joshua cleared his throat noisily. “I don’t know arrangement, but they do not work for him. It is more like they belong to him. For life. Maybe he has house like Charles Manson, eh?” He tried a grin that didn’t even start to work, then continued, “The people that bring cash though, they not so clever. I talk, the militia talks, and they sometimes reveal too much, yes? I know they are closest to Kimbiri, and also know of Nuno and Quillabiri.”
“Kimbiri?” Mai asked.
“It is a small village out there—” again he waved at the door “—in the mountains. Mostly self-sufficient. Remote. Traditional. Old Incan ancestors. We don’t hear much from them.”
The way he dropped his eyes spoke a different truth.
Still, Drake became upbeat. “More like it, pal. This is what we need, guys, so let’s wrap it up. Wrap him up. And scram.”
“Wait.” Hayden lifted the kettle. “He’s lying. Something’s not right with his story.”
Smyth stood at the crossroads. “Want a little more, bud?”
“That’s all I know. All—”
Drake waved a hand in a delaying motion. “We got—”
Smyth was watching Hayden, who quickly nodded. He took a step back, raised a boot and kicked hard at the back of Joshua’s chair. A man tied so tightly and unable to move will go down hard, and onto the same spot he’d already hurt, and if the choices at the crossroads stood against you — then that man would stop struggling almost immediately.
Forever.
CHAPTER TEN
The journey to Kimbiri was made by vehicle and by foot, the village not completely isolated but far enough away to make the trek feel like a tough grind. Dahl was informed of their destination and Hayden put in a call to Lauren along the way. This was after Smyth tried and got no joy. Hayden’s call was answered on the second ring.
“Well, nothing looming,” Hayden reported after she ended the call. “And Secretary of Defense Crowe has passed a non-important message on via Lauren. The new HQ will be ready in a few weeks.”
Alicia perked up. “Really? The secret base?”
“Apparently.”
Drake concentrated on the path they trod — a dusty, gravel-strewn cutting that ran between high verdant hills. Mountains stood cloaked in shadow behind the hills and white clouds scudded across a blue sky. Drizzle threatened a worsening, harder rain but had so far held off. The temperature up here was far below that of Cusco, requiring warmer clothes, but the team had packed accordingly. Drake hitched his backpack higher, taking care not to disturb the generous cache of weapons and ammo the CIA had supplied them with.