‘Is he in the cockpit?’ she asked.
He studied her face. ‘Why?’
‘I’d like to talk to him.’
He arched his brow. ‘Is this some kind of trick?’
‘Trick?’
‘Are you pretending to be calm so I lower my defences?’
‘Not at all,’ she assured him as the colour gradually returned to her face. ‘I’d honestly like to talk to him. There are some questions I’d love to ask. It’s been a long time.’
‘How long?’
‘Years.’ Her mind drifted back to the days after their discovery in Orvieto. Back then, she was still in graduate school, a few years from her doctorate, and Boyd was still her mentor. ‘He told me he had to return to the States to clear his name from all the rumours. He said he would be back in a couple of weeks, but …’
‘What?’
‘He never came back. No calls, no emails. Nothing. I haven’t talked to him since.’
Jones swallowed hard. ‘I didn’t know that.’
She laughed bitterly. ‘How could you know? I didn’t tell anyone. After that, I went into hiding for a very long time. I cut off contact from my friends. I was too ashamed to tell anyone.’
‘Ashamed? Why would you be ashamed?’
‘Why do you think? My father made up those rumours about him. It cost him his job. It cost him his reputation. It cost him everything. I wouldn’t want to talk to me, either.’
‘Hold up! You’re blaming yourself for your father’s actions? Pardon me for saying so, but that’s crazy. The man killed your mother. He tried to kill you. He tried to kill all of us. None of us blame you for what he did. You have to know that. None of it was your fault.’
Tears welled up in her eyes. ‘Yeah, but—’
He cut her off. ‘No buts. That’s it. End of story. I’ll shout it to the heavens until the day I die. You are not to blame for your father’s actions. You are not to blame for your brother’s death. And you are not to blame for Boyd’s departure. The guy was an operative in the CIA. He lied to you for years. There are a million possible reasons for his disappearance, none of which have anything to do with you. And if he tries to blame you, I’m going to shoot the bastard.’
Maria said nothing. Instead, she reached out with both hands, grabbed Jones behind the head and pulled him in for a kiss. A long, passionate kiss. It was so unexpected it left him gasping for air. When it was over, she leaned back in the seat and flashed him a smile.
‘Sorry about that. Had to be done. I hope you’re not mad.’
Jones shook his head, unable to speak.
Ulster saw the kiss from across the chopper. A romantic at heart, he was thrilled by the development. He was rooting for the pair to get back together. He elbowed Payne in the ribs to make sure he saw it. ‘I think David might get lucky.’
Payne grumbled. ‘I hope they wait until after we land.’
Ulster continued to stare. ‘I don’t.’
68
The helicopter landed in a field on the outskirts of Mérida, the capital city of the Yucatán. With access to several ports to the north, an international airport to the south, and a population of more than a million people, Mérida was a great place for a safe house.
Boyd climbed out of the cockpit and signalled for everyone to join him inside a small, cinderblock building. Concealed by trees and camouflage netting, which had been draped over the roof, the structure was invisible from the air. Payne eyed it suspiciously, wondering what the CIA was trying to hide. He would find out soon enough.
One by one, they filed into the lone room and took seats in collapsible wooden chairs that sat underneath cheap banquet tables. A portable chalkboard, covered by a canvas tarp, sat against the wall across from the only door. Ulster rubbed his hands together in anticipation, anxious to see what was written underneath. Meanwhile, Maria was anxious for a different reason. She was eager to question Boyd, who had done everything to avoid eye contact with her. He realized they needed to talk, but he wanted to wait until after his briefing.
He walked to the front of the makeshift classroom and faced the group. He did not smile or frown. His face was neutral. Ulster and Hamilton were sitting at the first table. Maria and Jones were at the second. Payne remained standing by the door, the rifle in his hands. The only one who wasn’t there was Tiffany, who had duties to perform outside.
Boyd cleared his throat and was ready to begin.
Maria never gave him a chance. ‘Where have you been?’
‘Excuse me?’ he said.
‘None of us have heard from you in years. Now, after all of that time, you resurface to screw with our lives. Where have you been?’
‘I’ll get to that in a moment, Maria, but first—’
She interrupted him. ‘Actually, that’s Dr Pelati. Or haven’t you heard? I finished my doctorate a while back. No thanks to you.’
‘No thanks to me?’ The words stung more than she could possibly have known. ‘I realize you’re harbouring some animosity towards me over my disappearance. However, I don’t believe this is the time or place to discuss such personal matters.’
Payne spoke up. ‘I disagree. I think this is the perfect time.’
She glanced over her shoulder. ‘Thank you, Jon.’
Jones nodded. ‘I’d like to know, too. Where have you been?’
Ulster chimed in. ‘I think it’s a reasonable question.’
Boyd clenched his jaw. This wasn’t how he had imagined it. He had a detailed lecture planned, similar to the ones he had written when he was still a professor. Now he would have to scrap it for an informal Q&A. ‘All right, Dr Pelati. I shall honour your request and answer your query. After all this time, it’s the least I can do.’
‘You can say that again,’ she said bitterly.
He took a deep breath. This would be more difficult than he had thought. He hadn’t been expecting so much anger. ‘Where would you like me to start?’
‘How about the moment you abandoned me? You left me at the Archives and said you would return in two weeks. But it’s been — oh, I don’t know — years. Why didn’t you come back for me like you promised?’
He shrugged. ‘I wasn’t allowed.’
‘Why not?’
‘The Agency felt my time had run its course in Europe. After all the negative publicity I had received, they no longer felt I could be an effective operative.’
‘You were fired?’
He shook his head. ‘Reassigned.’
‘Why didn’t you call?’
‘I wasn’t allowed to call. I wasn’t allowed to write. They ordered me to distance myself from Orvieto. They felt a clean break was the only way to proceed. They made me promise not to call or contact you in any way, so I did what they asked — as hard as that was to do.’
‘You should have made them understand! One call would have made all the difference in the world. At least I would have known you cared.’
He spoke from the heart. ‘I do care about you, but I simply couldn’t risk it at the time. They were watching me too closely. As hard as this is to accept, the CIA was my life. From the time I was a boy, the only thing I wanted to be was a spy. I never dreamed of being an astronaut or an athlete, a cowboy or a fireman. I just wanted to be a spy. Along the way, I picked up other passions, such as archaeology and history, but my main focus has always been the Agency.’