‘What about the second call?’
Payne closed his eyes in thought. ‘I asked him to run the serial numbers on the AKs. After that, we discussed the blacked-out security feed from the hotel. He wasn’t sure how it was done, but he promised to look into it.’
‘Randy didn’t know how it was done?’
‘No, but he was fairly confident he could catch the hacker.’
‘Just a second. What if it was the other way around?’
‘I don’t follow.’
‘What if Randy tried to trace the hacker, and traced it right back to the CIA? I’m sure that would have set off all kinds of bells and whistles at the Agency.’
Payne considered the theory. ‘I don’t know. Randy’s a sneaky son of a bitch. Do you really think they would have caught him?’
‘Good point. Then how about this? Randy traced it back to the CIA and was legally obligated to get clearance before he could tell us anything. They told him to fuck off, and he had no choice but to deny our request for assistance.’
Payne nodded. ‘Now that sounds more realistic.’
‘OK, let’s assume that’s what happened. If so, there’s a very good chance that he ran background on Hamilton before he was cockblocked by the CIA. Same thing with his weapons search. He would have done those first because they aren’t labour-intensive. Punch in some names and numbers and his computer would have done the rest.’
‘So, what are you saying?’
‘I’m saying there’s a damn good chance he compiled our data before the CIA got involved. If so, that’s very good news.’
‘Good? How can that be good? If he can’t send it, we can’t use it.’
Jones smiled. ‘Who said he didn’t send it?’
In recent years, Payne’s knowledge of computers and gadgets had increased exponentially, mostly because Jones had given him so much crap about being the CEO and majority owner of a technology-based company and having less computer ability than the average third grader. With a lot of hard work, Payne’s expertise would now rival most college students, which was an amazing leap in such a short time. Unfortunately, that meant his comprehension was still way behind Jones, who actually built computers in his workshop for fun. Jones wasn’t as skilled as Raskin — then again, who was? — but he had enough know-how to develop a backdoor file-sharing system that allowed him to access encrypted documents from anywhere in the world.
Payne said, ‘I checked my inbox. Nothing from Randy.’
‘Does that surprise you? He was probably afraid you were going to accidentally forward it to everyone on your contact list. Again.’
‘That happened once. Can you please let it die?’
‘Not while I’m alive.’
‘That can be arranged.’
Jones dismissed the threat as he pulled out his phone. He punched in his password, then opened the programme that allowed him to view all the files that had been transferred to his computer system in Pittsburgh. ‘I got something.’
‘From Randy?’
He nodded. ‘Came in late last night. I’m downloading it now.’
‘What is it?’
He glanced at Payne. ‘I don’t know. I’m downloading it now.’
‘Sorry. I’m anxious.’
Jones laughed as he waited. ‘OK, I got it. Let’s take a look.’
He hit a few keys and opened the file on his phone. As suspected, it was a comprehensive background report on Hamilton. It included personal data (addresses, phone numbers, etc.), criminal records (nothing but a few traffic citations) and a financial profile (he was practically broke). For the most part, nothing helped Payne and Jones with their search until they came across a credit card, which Raskin had highlighted. It showed several minor purchases in recent weeks, including one at a gas station in Piste, Mexico.
Jones pointed at the screen. ‘Will you look at that?’
Payne nodded, intrigued. ‘Piste? What’s near Piste?’
‘I don’t know. Let’s go ask.’
The two of them ducked inside the garage, where Maria and Ulster were still hard at work on the artefacts. She glanced back when they heard the door open.
‘Where have you two been?’ she asked.
‘Outside,’ Jones said. ‘Are either of you familiar with Piste, Mexico?’
Ulster turned and nodded. ‘It’s a dusty little town a few hours west of here. Nothing more than a speck on the map. Why do you ask?’
‘If it’s just a speck, why do you know it?’
‘Why? Because it’s the closest town to a famous Mayan site called Chichén Itzá. It’s less than a mile away.’
Maria stared at Jones. ‘Why? What’s going on?’
‘We just got a financial report on Hamilton. One of the items was a credit card statement, which lists a recent purchase at a gas station in Piste.’
‘That’s great! He probably filled up there before he drove to Cancún.’
Payne shook his head. ‘Somehow I doubt it.’
‘You doubt it? Why do you say that?’
He stared at her. ‘The purchase happened last night.’
53
Thick vegetation lined both sides of the road. It blocked their view of the countryside as they drove toward Chichén Itzá. Despite being nearly three hours long, the trip was uneventful. Except for an occasional tour bus, the only other sign of civilization was a constant stream of toll booths that seemed to pop up every other mile. By the time they reached Piste, a rural town by the famous archaeological site, Jones had counted more toll booths than exits.
During their journey, the four of them discussed the significance of Hamilton’s credit card activity. Ulster assured the group that his personal credit card purchases were commonly ‘off’ by a few days when he travelled abroad. This was particularly common in developing countries like Mexico, where technology lagged behind. Eventually, his bank in Switzerland would straighten out the transaction dates, but sometimes that wouldn’t occur for a week or two after he had received his statement.
Payne and Jones were familiar with the time lag, but they still thought it was worth the drive. With little else to go on, they wanted to investigate the possibility that the purchase had been made by a member of Hamilton’s team. According to Ulster, Hamilton often worked with unpaid interns on his research trips, so it stood to reason that he might have given them access to his credit card in order to buy supplies for their campsite. If so, they hoped to track down his research team somewhere near the Mayan site and get information about Hamilton.
To do so, they had to start at the beginning.
The place where the purchase had been made the night before.
Much to their surprise, the petrol station was fairly modern — at least compared to the rest of the area, which seemed to be a few decades behind the times. There was a hospital, a fruit market and a few restaurants near the main road, but there were also packs of feral dogs that roamed the dusty alleyways. Houses, for the most part, were hidden from view, tucked behind a thick wall of vegetation that looked remarkably similar to the jungle they’d been staring at for miles. It was the main reason so many Mayan sites were still being discovered today.
They were hidden in the jungle.
Jones pulled up next to the pump and took a few minutes to top up the SUV’s tank. Out here in the middle of nowhere, petrol stations were few and far between. No sense taking any chances. Meanwhile, Payne headed into the station with Maria, who would serve as his interpreter in case the clerk couldn’t speak English. A bell mounted above the door announced their arrival with a loud jingle. Payne walked to the front counter and waited for the owner, who’d been stocking shelves in the back of the store.