Relic

by Roger Weston

  “Apparently, someone with tremendous power and influence is using their contacts in the CIA to muddy the waters.”

  “What people?”

  “I don’t know, but someone is running interference. Action is being delayed indefinitely.”

  “Okay, so they’re abandoning their own people. Is that what you’re telling me?”

  “Something like that. Stuart says it’s a dirty business. There is one piece of good news.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “Stuart used his contacts to find out the professor’s location based on the micro-tracker. As of an hour ago, he’s at a Army Ammunition Depot a thousand miles south of Buenos Aires.”

  “You’re kidding me.”

  “No, I wish. It doesn’t make sense for Cooper to go to Buenos Aires because the Rosarios don’t even have the Confession for him to examine. I was hoping to use Cooper for a second opinion, but right now, my other metallurgist has the Confession.”

  “There has to be a connection. Give me an exact location and I’ll see if I can find out what it is.”

  She gave him the coordinates.

  “Thanks, Ash. Good work.” Jake quickly hung up and turned off his phone.

  CHAPTER 34

  Irina and Ajax walked through the La Boca Neighborhood. They walked without speaking, serious expressions on their faces. They might have been on their way to their own trial, but it was even graver than that. They were going to see El Jefe. A morose tension filled the air between them. They did not fit in with their surroundings. La Boca was a lively area with multi-colored houses. The story was that years ago the people were so poor that even the local ship workers couldn’t afford paint. They brought home leftover paint from ships and used it to paint their houses. The result was a patchwork of reds, yellows, blues, and greens. Buildings, houses, and walls looked like festive quilts. Disturbing patches of red caught Irina’s attention. Images of her dead bodyguard flashed in her brain.

  They walked past street artists and tourist shops, but Irina was detached from the upbeat energy of La Boca. She felt like she had felt five years ago when her family threw her away like trash, when they let her take the fall for Nick. She felt like she was walking to her death, but in fact she believed she was about to rise like an eagle to a high perch where nobody could touch her.

  Wearing an elegant floral-print skirt and blouse and her gold-threaded headband, Irina walked close to Ajax. They walked with purpose past the yellow stadium of the famous Boca Jr. Football team, then a couple of blocks more.

  Irina knew that this part of town was dear to El Jefe’s heart because of Boca Junior. Out of sentiment, El Jefe had bought up several blocks of real estate near the stadium over the years. He was planning to make a bid to buy the team itself and the stadium in the near future, and today he was looking over a vacant building. It was agreed that Ajax and Irina could drop by—alone. At first El Jefe had refused to see Irina, but Ajax had finally convinced him. There were no bodyguards present. El Jefe had demanded that as a precondition for the meeting.

  You cannot kill me twice, Irina thought. My life has already been a kind of death. Fear was a corpse now. To go on in this dark world was to throw the dice of power and audacity.

  They came to a lively corner. Irina looked around warily. She saw a slouching man with a wrinkled, frowning potato for a face. He was sitting in a chair and watching the drama that was playing out before him. A tall man with his eyes closed was playing an accordion on the sidewalk. A young woman with purple hair and a purple-flower dress was selling flowers.

  An older, distinguished-looking man in a black suit, unbuttoned white shirt, and a black fedora was dancing the tango with a young woman. The man was El Jefe. His dancing partner had lovely black hair curled up into a bun. Her black dress revealed most of her shoulders and fell long past her knees. When they rotated, the slit up the side of the long dress revealed the side of her leg.

  Irina and Ajax stood around and watched for a few minutes. Irina could easily spot El Jefe’s security team. They stood around and tried to blend in with the crowd, but they were too impressive as male specimens to just be random people. They were executive protection. The holster bulges under their thin, loose sports jackets were giveaways. Irina’s heart raced as she scanned the rooftops for any sign of a shooter.

  El Jefe never made eye contact with Irina during his dance, but when it was over, he bowed to the young woman, then approached Irina and kissed her on both cheeks.

  “Don’t say anything,” he said. “Not a word.” He hugged Ajax.

  The accordion player resumed his music with a new song, and a young man in a cheap black suit began to dance with the young woman.

  “Come on inside,” El Jefe said, gesturing toward a restaurant.

  It was a dim restaurant with shadowy corners. The smell of barbecue filled the air. Irina saw meat on the grill. “They’re going to open soon,” El Jefe said, “but we have time to talk.”

  Beautiful girls in black dresses were hard at work, preparing for opening. El Jefe led Irina and Ajax to a table in the corner. He took off his black fedora and put it on the chair next to him.

  “How do you like the place?” he said.

  Ajax and Irina agreed that it was very nice.

  “There is more to life than just money,” he said. “You have to live. You have to dance. But you have to keep a low profile.” This last comment was obviously directed at Ajax, more a criticism than advice.

  Ajax frowned and nodded.

  El Jefe lit up a big fat cigar and blew out a cloud of smoke.

  Irina noticed that he was unshaven, which told her that he was detached from the world of international banking. It seemed like he had lost interest. Maybe that’s what pain did to a person.

  Ajax and Irina showed El Jefe the letter from the bank’s board member, blaming Nick for massive losses.

  “What’s this all about?” El Jefe said.

  Ajax said, “I’m sorry to be the one to say this, father, but Nick is conspiring against you, once again.” Ajax brought out a photo of Nicholas meeting with El Jefe’s mortal enemy, the cartel member who tried to have him assassinated six years ago. El Jefe had no way of knowing that the photo was six years old. He seemed to shrink in his chair. A wave of sadness washed over him. Irina saw his facial muscles slacken. His shoulders bunched up. He stared at the photo as if in a trance.

  “I can’t…” He couldn’t finish his sentence. He said, “No.”

  Ajax brought out his smartphone and placed it on the table. “After what happened before, I never trusted Nick, even despite his convincing performance of humility and change. I’ve kept in touch with him and quietly gained his confidence. He thinks I am his confidant, but I was only doing it for you, for your protection. I’m sorry that you have to hear this, but it’s better you hear this than suffer for your ignorance.”

  Ajax touched the phone with his finger and ignited a flashing light. The audio recording that his friend at the television station had doctored for him began playing.

  Various questions and sentences from the conversation had been combined while others had been deleted. It was all edited seamlessly.

  “What are you going to do about El Jefe?”

  “He’s going hunting in Patagonia next month...I will go there, too….I think that the .30-30 Winchester is the best because of its larger, relatively slow-moving bullets. I figure those bigger bullets can bore right through the bramble of bushes and little branches and still take out my prey in heavy cover... When I spot him he’s dead meat. It’s just a matter of time. First, I’ll map a stalking route, three prominent landmarks so I don’t misjudge the route. I won’t focus on sneaking up on him. That’s where you go wrong. I’ll stay focused on getting to the place where I’ll take the shot. That way I won’t be sneaking a peek when I’m crawling through the grass or rocks. Those peaks can alert your prey… I’ll work my way around front and put a bullet right between his eyes.”

  Ajax t
ouched the phone and ended the playback. “I’m sorry, Jefe. I’m sorry you had to hear that, but somebody has to look out for you. Nick puts on a good performance, but I know his heart better than anyone. We grew up together.”

  El Jefe was quiet for several minutes. Finally he said, “I knew Nick went over to the dark side, but I wanted to believe that he came back. He made every sacrifice to make amends.”

  “I’m the only one who made a sacrifice,” Irina said. “My life was ruined. What sacrifice did he make? He threw me out like an old shirt. I was nothing to him. He had already threatened to leave me before that.”

  “What?” El Jefe looked up. “I never knew that. I thought…”

  “You thought he loved me. You don’t even know what love is, Jefe. Throwing someone under the bus is not love.”

  Ajax broke in. “You’ve seen what’s going on. He’s stealing from the bank. At the same time, he’s plotting to kill you. For your own safety, you need to appoint me as CEO of Santiago Bank. You also need to appoint Irina as the new grandmaster of the Augean Command.”

  “Not permanently,” Irina said. “Just until Francisco can be groomed to take over.”

  El Jefe blew cigar smoke into the dim air. “Is he interested?”

  “Yes,” Irina said. “I went to his college yesterday. I talked with him. He’s beginning to think about returning to the family. It’s just a matter of time.”

  Ajax slid three sheets of paper onto the table, a power of attorney and two letters of appointment. “I just need you to sign these,” Ajax said. “Once Nick knows you don’t have any power, he won’t risk killing you. Then I’ll be the only one in danger.”

  “I don’t know,” El Jefe said. “I’ll need to think about this.”

  “What do you mean?” Ajax said. “You’ve never been indecisive. This is the most important move you can make. You heard the tape. You saw the evidence. You—”

  “I said I need time. Will you send me that recording?”

  “Of course, Jefe.”

  “I’m thinking of my options,” El Jefe said, “whether to bring in outsiders with CEO experience, whether to pass off the baton of leadership within Augean Command to one of the members. These are decisions with massive consequences. I must consider these things deeply. You don’t make major decisions before you carefully weigh the facts. You need to think about that.”

  Ajax frowned at the insult, even if it was well-deserved.

  “Things are not always what they appear to be.” El Jefe tapped the ashes of his cigar into a little glass tray. “I will be in touch.”

  Irina said, “El Jefe, there’s something else we need to discuss.”

  He raised his eyebrows as he was sitting there, holding up the cigar. “Alright, go ahead.”

  Irina looked at Ajax. “Why don’t you tell him, darling.”

  Ajax’s eyes opened a little wider. “Me?” He did a good job of masking the fact that he had no idea what she was talking about.

  “Yes, you, who else but the son to tell the father that we are getting married.”

  Ajax stiffened in his chair. For just a moment, he actually looked terrified.

  Irina smiled. “Darling...?”

  Ajax squirmed in his chair then said, “I wasn’t going to mention this until tomorrow because …”

  “You two are getting married?” El Jefe said. He looked back and forth between them. “Does Nick know about this?”

  Ajax was turning pale. “They’ve been apart a long time. After what he did to her, he won’t mind—”

  “He won’t mind?” El Jefe cut him off. “You’re marrying your brother’s ex-wife and you think he won’t mind? Have you talked to him yet?”

  Ajax shook his head dramatically and looked away. “It’s not his decision. We’re in love. That’s what’s important.”

  “No,” El Jefe said, “what’s important is that I’m against it. Nick will certainly be against it. It’s not good for the family. This could be a messy situation.”

  “Messy?” Irina said, pressing her knuckles against her chin. “He said messy.”

  “No, I didn’t mean that.” El Jefe put down his cigar and leaned forward. Then he leaned back. Then forward again. “Now don’t cry. It’s going to be alright.” He handed Irina a napkin.

  “You made my fiancé cry,” Ajax said. “This was the happiest moment of her life, and you made her cry.”

  “No, I didn’t.” He shook his head. “I just misspoke. That’s all.”

  Irina hadn’t planned to cry. She hadn’t planned any of this. It was all spontaneous. But El Jefe’s rejection brought back all the pain that she’d experienced for the last five years—all born of the rejection of El Jefe and Nick. To hear his rejection in real time, verifying the mental recordings that she’d heard tens of thousands of times over the past five years, was just too much.

  She was sobbing.

  “Look what you’ve done to my fiancé,” Ajax said, playing his role to the hilt now. “I can’t believe this.”

  “Oh boy,” El Jefe said. He waved over a young waitress. “Will you bring us a bottle of champagne?”

  “Champagne,” Ajax said. “Why champagne?”

  “Well, if you’re getting married, we’d better have a toast. Are you sure you’ve thought this through? You know that marriage can be a tough thing.”

  “Of course we’ve thought it through.”

  Irina was still wiping away tears, but she was no longer sobbing. She suppressed a smile.

  “And you both love each other? I mean, you saw what happened to me. I—”

  “We’re committed,” Ajax said. “I’m finally ready to settle down.”

  Irina couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Ajax was rising to the occasion.

  “To hear that is joy to my ears,” El Jefe said. “I was wondering when this day would come. I just never thought it could happen this way.”

  “What do you mean by that?” Irina said, tears suddenly rolling down her cheeks again. In her mind, she heard a judge’s gavel a dozen times in a row. The voice she had heard ten thousand times said, “She’s no good. She’s expendable. Get rid of her.”

  “Irina,” El Jefe said, “please don’t cry anymore. From now on, you are my daughter. You are family.”

  Now Irina really lost it again. It took her several minutes to get a hold of herself.

  “This is a happy day,” El Jefe said. It was a little strained, but he seemed to be making an effort. He was coming around to the idea. “We will drink this bottle of champagne to celebrate, but first, there’s one order of business to discuss.”

  “What’s that?” Ajax said.

  “The prenuptial agreement. You’ll need to go over and talk with my lawyer. He’ll have the paperwork ready in a few hours.”

  Irina masked her outrage, but she was expecting this. She said, “Either there’s love or there’s not. You decide, Ajax.”

  “It’s not about that,” El Jefe said. “You’ve got it all backwards.”

  “I’m the one getting married. I’ll decide what it’s all about. Make your decision right now, Ajax. It will be final.”

  “She’s right.” Ajax pounded his fist down on the table. “There will be no prenuptial agreement.”

  “Oh, boy.” El Jefe shook his head in defeat and total exasperation. “Of course not.”

  “Father,” Ajax said, “I want to apologize for my past wrongs. All this time in Bangkok has given me time to think. I need to change. I’m begging for your forgiveness. I want a new start between us. It’s time for me to settle down and live a quiet, domestic life.”

  El Jefe fought back his own tears now. He looked at Irina and touched her arm. “Thank you.” Now to Ajax: “I forgive you, son.”

  “We want you to attend our wedding ceremony,” Irina said, making this up on the spot. “It will be in two days.”

  El Jefe was quiet for moment. He set down his glass. Tension hung in the air. “I’m sorry,” he said. “You just— Isn’t two
days a little too soon?”

  “We’ve decided,” Ajax said, improvising to every new twist to the story. “We want you there, but it’s your choice.”

  “Of course I’ll be at my son’s wedding.”

  Irina sniffed and dried her cheeks with a napkin.

  “Now father, this is all about us, but we still have you to think about.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Your safety. Nick is still gunning for you. I want you to give me your word that you will at least consider signing a letter of appointment of me as president of the Santiago Bank. That will strip Nick of his motivation to target you. It puts me at risk, but I’m okay with that.”

  “I’ll think about it. I’ll let you know.”

  “We’d better get going. There’s so much to do to prepare for the wedding.”

  Once they were on the street, Irina said, “You were brilliant in there. I almost believed you myself.”

  “You should have believed me. I meant every word.”

  She made eye contact with him, a little prolonged. She said, “Are you going to send him that tape?”

  “No, I was warned about that. He might have his own experts who can run forensics on it.”

  Irina nodded. “Good thinking. You should have pushed the Augean Command. That appointment will make me one of the most powerful people in the world. We’re going to have to take other steps to ensure that it happens very soon.”

  CHAPTER 35

  When he got the call, Ajax was looking at a used yacht, a 41-meter Kaiserwerft with a pointed prow. She looked very cool. Her price was $5 million. She had a beautiful, sleek white hull. She was cheap, but that was a red flag to him. His other hesitation was her age. Ajax wanted a new yacht that would turn heads. There was no denying, though, that she looked good in the muddy waters of Rio de la Plata. Then the call came through. It was his world-class bounty hunter.

  “José, what have you got for me?”

  “Good news.”

  “You found Sands?”

  “No, but I thought you said you were looking for the Confession. Sands doesn’t have it.”

  “Probably not. Probably one the scientists working with his assistant has it.”