“I know the plan, Alicia.” Hudson was clearly dying for a smoke, but now wasn’t exactly the time.
“Give ‘em about ten minutes inside,” Alicia said, checking her watch. “Then we’ll move.”
Inside, the museum was cool and quiet. A few people milled about the entryway and amongst the cabinets and display cases beyond. Drake scrutinised all of them, but nothing made his sixth sense prickle.
Hayden decided to forgo all the treasure-hunt business and presented her credentials at the counter. The young woman behind the desk stared at them blankly.
“Yes?”
“CIA.”
“I can see that, Miss. Congratulations.”
“Don’t get smart. Just point us towards the Calico Jack donations.”
“I wouldn’t work in a museum if I were smart, Miss, I’d work in a library. It’s that way.” She jerked a thumb through a nearby door and went back to her work.
Drake stared at Hayden and Hayden stared at the woman. They couldn’t quite tell if she’d just been insulted. Was that the point?
“Onward,” said Ben now leading the way. Drake reflected on the last few museums he’d visited. Things hadn’t really worked out too well for the owners.
The Calico Jack exhibition was surprisingly large. Row upon row of small and sparkly artefacts sitting upon numerous shelves, each one tagged accordingly. To their credit the museum clearly looked after its donations. Every item of pirate booty gleamed or sparkled.
The controller was easy to spot. By far the largest item in the exhibit, it had been placed at the back but still managed to dominate. The body was shaped like a slender hour-glass and marked all over with arcane symbols, the like of which would undoubtedly make some archaeologists day. Attached to the top of the hour-glass and sweeping down the body in a gentle curve were the ‘arms’. These were made of some kind of hard metal that shimmered under the pinpoint lights of the display. The ‘arms’ ended in a kind of pincer, like a crab’s claw, that were clearly intended to attach to something.
The dull, supposedly worthless, box. The hard-drive.
Drake made sure Kinimaka and Kennedy were happy with their perimeter. “Ok. So, Hayden, you gonna break the glass or do we go official?”
Hayden gave him a sharp glance. “What do you have against museums, Drake? We give Gates a call, of course.
The CIA agent wandered off, clicking buttons. Drake had to wonder briefly why some people always walked around when talking on their cell-phones. Maybe that was why some countries called them ‘mobile’.
He surveyed the team, and then took a moment to laugh at himself. What was he doing? He wasn’t a solider any more, wasn’t even half a soldier, judging by the way Alicia Myles had kicked him all over the floor of that chateau in Germany. Problem was, the desire had faded away faster than the name of today’s blockbusting movie-star. Now, he was a man who had lost something, and a man who knew the name of the baby he could never have with his dead wife.
Emily. They would have called her Emily. Alyson had been four months pregnant when she died. Their final argument, one of many since Drake learned of the impending baby and struggled to come to terms with it, had already convinced him that he wouldn’t let either of them go ever again, even as Alyson walked out the door.
But he let her go that last time. To let her calm down. After a while he would have called her, made it better, made it right forever.
His eyes met Kennedy’s and he knew from her expression that her thoughts were as haunted as his own. Kennedy Moore shared the same darkness of extreme repressed memory.
He shook it off. Kennedy turned away. Sooner or later they were going to have to come to terms with their demons.
Kinimaka saw their exchange, but pretended to be studying a row of Spanish cutlasses. A big man with a good heart. Drake opened his mouth to say something but then Hayden came over at a clip.
“Looks like we’re sorted here. Cat woman outside should be getting the call from the museum’s directors any minute. Once we have it-”
Drake nodded. “We need to move fast, back to Miami.”
“That’s it,” Hayden looked around at the sound of footsteps. “Hey, you alright there, sweetie?”
The woman shot Hayden a look sharper than razor wire. “Please look after the exhibit. You have no idea what it’s worth.”
“You think?” Hayden started to walk purposefully towards her, face ablaze. She knew what it was worth alright. She knew what it had cost so far.
Ben stood in here way. “Not worth it, love,” he said gently. “Not worth it at all.”
Hayden stopped, looking amazed. By the time she recovered the museum curator had removed the controller from its place and was ready to hand it over.
Kennedy walked forward, but the woman shied away. “I was told to give it to Miss CIA here, no one else.”
Hayden strode forward and grabbed the article. With a massive effort she turned away and nodded to the others. “Let’s get out of here.”
Drake and Kinimaka led the way, careful to check the foyer area first. There was no one milling around but a pair of old tourists. Drake headed for the exit doors and stepped through.
And time suddenly stood still. His breath literally froze in his throat.
For there, right smack-bang in front of him, holding a nasty-looking Ingram M6 with the military config. and with an evil grin on her flawless face, was the woman who still disturbed his dreams.
Alicia Myles.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Instantly Kinimaka, Kennedy and Hayden fanned out to the sides. Alicia stayed where she was, eyeing the controller. Drake took a second to appraise the man who stood beside her, a slightly overweight bruiser with a tangled beard. The guy looked familiar.
Then Alicia broke the ice. “Hey boys! Like the look of yer pirate booty there. And speaking of booty,” her eyes flicked scornfully at Kennedy. “You still banging that serial killer’s bitch, Drake? American ass ride the waves better, does it?” She mimed a few air-spanks.
Drake’s eyes were on the gun. Ingram’s weren’t the best in the world, but at this range even the bearded tit beside her could probably take out half their team.
The tension rose. Drake cast a glance behind her. “Got a crew out there, Myles?”
Without giving her chance he stepped quickly towards her partner. Alicia’s eyes immediately lost their confident lustre. “That’s what we’re here about, Drakey. Hudson and I want to swop sides,” she paused. “Now.”
That was where he knew the guy from. He had been Abel Frey’s techno-wizard. Two months, and she was still with him. The look on her face gave him pause. “So you and the bearded tit want to join us? Why?”
Alicia moved closer to Hudson, Drake noticed, without even realising it. “My boss works for a bloody megalomaniac, Drake. I’ll explain in detail later, but I want to stick with you. As for now… we don’t have a lot of time. Peaches and cream here-” she indicated Hayden and Kennedy. “Need to put on some kind of show.”
“A show?” Mano Kinimaka stepped back. “I don’t think that’s appro-”
“Not that kind of show, dumbo,” Alicia snapped. “A show of arresting me, of carting us off. We need to get our ball-sacks out of here now.”
Kinimaka grunted. Drake pinpointed several movements behind Myles. “Lot of shooters out there,” he said. “How’d you find us? Ah! You were in Jamaica, am I right? You were watching Raychim.”
“Tamed and clever.” Alicia sent sly eyes at Kennedy. “Can you handle a man who doesn’t kill innocent women for a living?”