“Slow down,” she shouted to Professor. He looked back, and then slowed to a brisk walk.
“Who did you see?” Jade asked when she was close enough to speak without yelling. “Was it Hodges?
He shook his head. “It wasn’t Brian, but someone picked up our trail at the museum.”
“How did they find us? We were so careful.”
He shook his head uncertainly. “You know how these people work. Agents everywhere. Maybe someone in Mexico recognized us when we were getting on the plane. There’s no telling who might be watching us, so we have to keep moving.”
“So we’re changing hotels?”
“No.” He kept walking briskly offering no further comment until they emerged from the park and onto the side of another busy street where he immediately raised a hand to flag down one of the city’s ubiquitous red taxis. “We have to get out of the city.”
“Nice of you to include me in your plans,” Jade said, irritably.
“There wasn’t time—”
“There never is.” She took a step back, hands on hips, and struggled to keep her frustration in check. The abrupt dash from the hotel had reawakened all her unresolved anger over what had happened in Teotihuacan, and even though she knew that Professor wasn’t to blame for any of it, she couldn’t help but equate his presence with disaster. She knew that what she was really angry about was the loss of control. Hodges had taken it away in Mexico, and now Professor was doing it here.
“Let’s get one thing straight,” she said, trying but not succeeding to keep her tone diplomatic. “I’m not working for you or Tam Broderick. I’m working for me, and if you plan on sticking around, then you’re working for me too.”
Professor appeared visibly taken aback. “Jade, I’m trying to save us.”
“I don’t need you to play hero,” she countered. “I can take care of myself. If you want to help, then you need to start sharing what you know, and stop making all the decisions.”
A taxi pulled to a stop in front of them. The driver got out, circled around, and opened the rear door for them.
Professor stared back at Jade. “Oookay,” he said slowly. “We came to Costa Rica because you said you wanted to investigate the spheres, right? And then you said you wanted to visit the site where they were discovered? Am I still on track?”
She frowned, but nodded.
“Do you still want to go there? Because I’ve made arrangements to get us there, but if that’s not what you want to do anymore, I can cancel them.”
Jade could not tell if he was being accommodating or condescending. “What arrangements?”
“A rental car. If they’re watching the airports, which is probably how they tracked us here, then we can’t very well fly out. Palmar Sur is about a four-hour drive; if we leave now, we might make it before dark. And it will be a lot harder for anyone to pick up our trail if we’re driving.”
“That’s a pretty good plan,” Jade admitted, grudgingly. “We’ll go with that.”
“I’m glad you approve.” He gestured for her to get in the cab. Dorion slid in beside her, and after telling the driver their desired destination, Professor joined them.
The drive to the car rental agency took only a few minutes, barely enough time for Jade to calm down. The only thing worse than not having any control over the situation was the patronizing way Professor was treating her. Must be that military mindset. Take charge, be the hero. Just like Maddock…
That thought made her even angrier.
“Here we are,” Professor announced as they pulled into a Budget rent-a-car lot. “I asked for one of those.” He pointed at a silver Ford Everest, a big sport utility vehicle that looked perfect for negotiating paved roads and mountain trails alike. “But if you’d rather pick something else out, please be my guest.”
She shook her head.
Professor paid the cab driver and then went to meet the lot attendant. He returned with the keys and gestured to to vehicle he had pointed to earlier. “Would you like to drive?”
“Knock it off,” she growled.
“I’m serious,” he said, without the least hint of mockery. “If you drive, I can keep an eye out for anyone following us.”
“Fine.” She took the keys and, without further comment, slid behind the steering wheel and started the engine. Dorion stood by dumbly as if unable to process anything that had happened, until Professor suggested he take shotgun.
“Shotgun?”
“Up front with me,” Jade said over the soft rumble of the idling motor.
Dorion climbed into the passenger seat, still looking somewhat befuddled, and buckled his safety belt. Professor got in the back and started rooting around in a backpack that appeared to have been left on the seat.
“Where’d that come from?” Jade asked, curious.
“Just another one of those arrangements I made without consulting you first,” he answered. “I hope that’s okay with you.”
Jade craned her head around in time to see him release the slide on a matte black semi-automatic pistol.
“How did you manage to pull that off?”
“I know a guy who knows a guy. I figure since they already know we’re here, no sense in staying completely below the radar.” He stuffed the pistol into shoulder holster rig and passed it to her. “Here. This one’s for you.”
“Oh. I don’t know what to say.”
He grinned and winked. “You might go with ‘thank you.’”
ELEVEN
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
Jade stared in disbelief at what waited for them at the end of the road they had been told would lead them to the archaeological site known as Finca 6 where several of the stone spheres had been discovered by workmen in the 1930s. After the long drive down the Pan American Highway, through a lush verdant landscape that reminded her of her childhood home on the island of Oahu, Jade had been expecting a remote site, accessible only by an arduous trek up an overgrown jungle trail, accompanied by the song of tropical birds and the chattering of insects underfoot.
“Is something wrong?” asked Dorion.
Jade pulled the Ford to a stop in the parking area and pointed to the very modern looking building nearby. “That. I thought this was an archaeological site. It looks more like a golf course. This is just a tourist trap.”
“Archaeologists need to eat too,” Professor reminded her. “And tourists bring the money in. Just like at Teo.”
“I can understand Teo. It’s huge; of course it brings the tourists. But this…” She waved a disparaging hand. “We’re not going to find anything new at place like this. It’s all staged for visitors.”
“We’re here. Might as well have a look?” He checked his shoulder holster and then made sure it was covered completely by the lightweight windbreaker he had purchased before leaving San Jose. Jade had one just like it, and for much the same reason. They had risked the stop to purchase supplies and equipment, the sort of things they might need if they had to spend a night in the jungle, though it was starting to look like that wasn’t going to be a concern. As Professor reached for the door, he settled his fedora atop his head.
“You’re not actually going to keep wearing that thing, are you?”
He grinned. “Why not? I think it suits me.”
“Don’t you think it’s a bit…cliché?”
“The word you were looking for is ‘iconic.’”
“If you start packing a bullwhip, I won’t be seen with you in public,” she growled, even though she knew her irritation was misplaced. She was frustrated at what looked like another dead end, and was starting to wonder if the whole endeavor wasn’t a colossal waste of time. She was also probably feeling a bit cranky from spending hours on the road, and crashing at one of the rustic “eco” hotels that catered to adventure tourists looking for that “authentic” travel experience.