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  “Keep talking,” the thug said, “I’ll light you up like a candle.”

  Nick pulled a .45 and blasted five shots—two in his face, three in his chest. The thug dropped to the floor. Nick looked at the others. “That piece of crap didn’t listen to me. Any more of you want to play around?”

  They didn’t move or speak.

  “Then get busy!” He turned to Jake. “I’ll call you tomorrow if there are any issues with the loan papers. I’ll need your lawyer’s approval in waiting.”

  “Okay,” Jake said nodding. “I’ll find my own way out.”

  After he left, Nick pulled one of his henchmen aside. “Follow him. Let me know what he does.”

  CHAPTER 26

  Ajax arrived back from the Porsche dealer to his hotel room at the Alvear Palace Hotel. He threw the keys on the coffee table and looked around. At least now he could do business without having to rely on drivers. Ajax didn’t need or like drivers. His bodyguards could follow in another vehicle—if they could keep up. He could get around a lot faster with his new 911 race car—a cheap toy costing 1,400,000.00 Argentine Pesos or $89,000. He’d opened a brief case and watched the salesman’s jaw drop open. That was more money than that boy would make for the whole year. To Ajax it was peanuts. On the way there, a girl in a boutique had caught his eye. He went in, chose a thousand dollar dress, opened up his briefcase full of cash, and removed 17,000.00 Argentine Pesos or $1,100. He had enjoyed watching her reaction. He always did. He’d almost thrown the dress away, but then decided to give it to Irina. He was on a buyer’s high right now. He’d just bought three cars and spent over $8 million. His new 1912 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Double Pullman limousine had cost $7.5 million. This collector’s item would turn heads, but it was a status symbol even when it was just sitting in his driveway or garage. It made a major statement.

  Now he was done messing around. He called Irina. She vented for another twenty minutes about El Jefe and how cruel he was, not just to her, but also Ajax. Finally, she calmed down. She said, “What’s the latest news on your end?”

  “I just talked to my man in Seattle. He’s still working on it.”

  “What’s taking so long? I need results now.”

  “I know that. I’ve called him three times today. He can’t get any work done if I keep calling him. What I know is that Sands is no longer teaching classes at the university. He has a substitute.”

  “Where would he go?”

  “I don’t know. He might be on the run from the cops. The Seattle police want to talk to him about the body that was found by his fishing boat up in Bellingham.”

  “Your man is wasting my time, Ajax! I need the Confession now! If he can’t find it, we’ll get someone else!”

  “I agree. If he doesn’t get answers by tomorrow, we’ll bring someone else in to help him. That way, they won’t have to start from scratch.”

  “Not tomorrow! Call him back and tell him he’d better get answers in the next three hours.”

  “I’ll do it now. He’s very confident that he’ll have an answer for us soon. Don’t forget, he has a 95% success rate. This is the guy you call when everyone else fails. I don’t care if Sands is in Antarctica. José will locate him within hours.”

  “I want the Confession. I want it now!”

  “You’ll have it soon.”

  “Good. Remember, once we find Sands and get the Confession back, nothing can stop us. We are going straight to the top. You’re going to be right by my side. Your name will be like no other name. We are going to change the world.”

  “That’s right. I’ll get back to you soon.” He pushed the hang-up button.

  Ajax left his penthouse. He dialed up his man hunter as he walked down the hallway. Because he needed to stretch more and get his body moving again after the long flight, he took the famous spiral staircase—down, down, down eleven flights. Just as he passed the guy who was patiently polishing each marble step, Ajax’s bounty hunter came on the line.

  “I’ve got good news for you Ajax.”

  “What is it?”

  “It’s about Jake Sands’ assistant. I don’t know where she is yet. Apparently, your guys scared the hell out of her when they accosted her on campus.”

  “My guys— Running her off the road may have played a part, too, don’t you think?”

  “Yeah, I know. Anyway, I broke into her office and listened to her phone messages. She’s got at least four experts working on analyzing and authenticating the Confession. Two of them are going to be meeting at Stanford University five hours from now to collaborate and share notes. One of them, a chemist named Brian Hastings, is from the University of Washington, but he’s already left for California for the meeting with a metals expert named Dr. Julian R. Cooper, who will also be giving a speech on campus.”

  “Excellent. That’s a good start. I’ll have someone there.”

  “Let me know what happens.”

  Ajax started up the endless spiral staircase again. He walked slowly. His body was weak from endless flights, but he needed to walk—particularly because his adrenaline was rising by the moment.

  Heads Up: Thank you for reading this far! The next book in the series, THE TARGET, is now available on Amazon. Grab a copy today. Now back to RELIC.

  CHAPTER 27

  In the old days, when she was depressed, Irina used to take long walks in the Recoleta Cementerio. Now she was back. She was walking all alone through a city for the dead. Irina knew she was lucky to alive. She was stressed out because El Jefe had unleashed a sniper on her and killed one of her bodyguards. He would pay for that. Irina would see it, but she needed action now. The manhunter was taking too long recovering the Confession. She needed a new approach. She had been to a couple of doctor appointments about her catalectic attacks, but now she needed to think. She had to decide what to do next and hopefully Ajax would be calling her back any time.

  She walked slowly… People here didn’t get ordinary tombstones. They spent half a million dollars on a plot and spent small fortunes on private mausoleums with ramparts and custom statues. This was the most prestigious place in Argentina to be buried. Irina’s plot was just down the street form an ex-president and a legendary boxer. The tiled alleyways featured an endless procession of statues of the dead. Everyone was immortal here, but they were nothing compared to what she was going to accomplish in the next 48 hours. Presidents, famous musicians and actresses—they were all small players.

  There was one mausoleum, however, that had special significance for Irina. It was the tomb of Rufina Cambaceres. Her beautiful white statue graced her tomb. She had been such a beautiful creature. On her 19th birthday in 1909, she was having a party at home when her mother suggested they go out on the town. Rufina was in her room getting ready when her mom knocked on the door, wondering why she was taking so long.

  There was no answer, so they went in and found that she had died. Her funeral was the next day. She was buried here at Recoleta Cementerio. A week later, one of the caretakers found that the lid of her casket was moved to the side. They opened it up and saw scratch marks on the underside of the lid. It looked like Rufina had been buried alive and tried to get the lid off the casket, but couldn’t. How could it happen? They thought she must have had a catalectic attack and gone into a coma. Her breathing had been so faint that she’d appeared to be dead. So they had a funeral and committed her to Recoleta.

  Irina got down on her knees and cried, not for Rufina, but for herself. At least Rufina had a family that loved her. Her death had been a terrible mistake. Irina’s situation was different. Her family had buried her alive intentionally. They destroyed her life and tried to kill her. For five years she had been alive, but she may as well have been dead. She had felt death upon her for five miserable years—knowing that she had been rejected and scorned by the world, believing she was worthless, dreading every day and every night. Her life had become a living personification of misery.

  How many times had she thought of Ruf
ina? Dozens of times every day, maybe hundreds. She always came to one heart-shattering conclusion. In a way, she and Rufina were just alike. In another way, even Rufina could not comfort her because she had been loved. Irina was totally alone in the rotten, miserable world.

  Her cell phone rang, and she wiped away tears with tissue.

  It was El Jefe. He said, “Irina, I’m sorry to make this call. This is not a call I enjoy making.”

  Irina could not even speak. She grit her teeth.

  “I’m sorry to say this. I really am.”

  “Just say it!”

  “I will. I considered taking you back into the family. I really did, but then I thought about your ambition and your hard words. Listen carefully. I don’t ever want to see you again. I’m sorry to say that, but it’s the way it has to be.”

  Irina hung up on him. It was too painful. She could not even move. The bastard had killed her bodyguard. She’d been shot at. Now he called her with cruel words. Agony was nothing compared to the cold darkness in her scorned soul. She shook with rage.

  El Jefe had disowned her. Even though she was here for revenge, his words were still like daggers in her neck. He was sanitizing the family. Irina was being thrown away all over again. She sat there by Rufina’s tomb and cried. This rejection was a severe blow to her dignity. The rejection and the insult scorched her heart like branding irons. How could he do this after all she gave to that family?

  Desperate, Irina called Ajax. “Where have you been?” She didn’t let him answer. “I have to talk to you immediately.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “Not on the phone. I’ve had a change of plans. I’m leaving for Seattle today. I must find the Confession. It’s my leverage.”

  “Hold on,” Ajax said. “I just talked to my bounty hunter.” Ajax filled her in about how Jake Sands’ assistant had brought in at least four experts to identify and authenticate the Confession—and that two of them were meeting tomorrow at Stanford University in California. “I’ll have someone there,” Ajax said. “One of them is going to disappear. Then we’ll get answers.”

  “Good. I want the Confession in my hands. Absolutely nothing will stand in my way.” She paused then said, “I’ll give your bounty hunter a little more time. Until then, you and I have something else to do. Get over the Recoleta Cementerio right away.”

  CHAPTER 28

  Forty minutes later, Irina spotted Ajax approaching the cemetery entrance.

  She spotted his confident swagger at a distance. He wore a new camel hair vest and thousand dollar shoes to match. She admired his tall, dark, handsome appearance, but his seething confidence was what comforted her.

  She threw her arms around him. She told him of her anger about El Jefe’s sniper at El Rosedal Park. She told him about his cruel rejection. Finally, she calmed down.

  “What are you doing here?” he said.

  “I have a plot here. I used to think of this place all the time.” She told him about how what El Jefe and Nick did to her was like being buried alive. She told him all about her feelings and about Rufina, too. He looked tense, but he listened and nodded his head a lot as her emotions poured out. Finally, she stopped talking and just looked at him. She looked into his worldly eyes and admired the mega-confidence that seemed to exude from him. There was plenty to admire in Ajax. He was certainly a comforting presence. His whole demeanor gave her the powerful sense that he would be in total control in any situation, no matter how awful. Of course, she knew about his bad reputation as a flamboyant spendthrift, but there were other aspects to him that others didn’t see—just as surely as people ignored her best qualities.

  “Ajax, I’ve been thinking about those two scientists meeting at Stanford. If we don’t know who has the Confession, maybe we should abduct both of them, just to play it safe.”

  “I’ve thought about that, but if too many people start disappearing who are connected with the Maravillas, it might get back to us. We’ll take Cooper, but we’ll keep the other one under surveillance.”

  “Alright, but I want results soon, Ajax. We’re not messing around.”

  “No problem. We’re on the same page.”

  “Fine. There’s something we have to talk about.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Nicholas used to talk a lot about you, you know. You are his brother, and he told me many times that he despises you and wants you out of the picture. He always used to complain to El Jefe that you were a fool and a spendthrift.” Irina was exaggerating and twisting the story but it wasn’t far from the truth. “He used to tell El Jefe that you told all kinds of lies about him. He said you called El Jefe an old fool. He even insulted your mother, things I can’t even say.”

  Ajax’s face was turning red. Sweat was breaking out on his forehead. He was known for smiling, but now bitterness and rage filled his expression.

  “Never mind,” Irina said. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be telling you this. I was married to him back then. I’m so sorry.” She hugged Ajax and told him, “They don’t understand you like I do. I will never tell lies about you. I will help you achieve greatness, which is your birthright as a man whose blood runs thick among the elite—and yet you’re a man whose greatness even overshadows the mighty.”

  Ajax kissed her.

  She kissed him back, but then pulled away. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. We have to stay focused. Victory is in sight. Jake Sands has to be found. Getting the Confession back is the first key to power.”

  “My man will find it soon.”

  “Very soon, I said very soon.”

  “Of course.”

  “There is another thing we have to do. We’re going to visit Roderigo Abascal. I have an ugly surprise for him.”

  CHAPTER 29

  After Dr. Julian R. Cooper, world-renowned, Oxford-trained antiquarian and metals analyst, finished his speech at Stanford University’s archaeology center, answered questions, and engaged in conversation with stragglers who caught up with him in the hallway, he returned forthwith to his hotel room at a five-star facility paid for by the university. In addition to his generous stipend and speaking fee, Cooper had enjoyed free travel and accommodations, all because Stanford had coveted the chance to get him on campus and lend his name and prestige to the university in general and the archaeology center in particular. In the hotel’s hallway he passed a “maid” who caught his attention because he didn’t fit the type. Instead of a nondescript little lady, the maid was a large man. He was cleaning the room next to Cooper’s, but when Julian looked in the man was sitting on the edge of the bed looking at a smartphone. He was so engrossed with his device that he didn’t look up. Cooper shook his head. What could he expect in California? He had no tolerance for people who lacked a desire for a job well done. It didn’t matter what the job was, but the work had to be excellent. There was no substitute for excellence. Slacking off and milking the clock was a pathetic waste of a time and potential. The contrast between this lazy character and the respectable academics with which he’d been rubbing elbows was stark.

  Cooper entered his room and shut the door behind him. He expedited to the table and began gathering up his notes and piling them into his briefcase. Now that his lecture was behind him, he was eager to return to indulge himself by visiting the Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Library on campus. Access to the Stanford collection was not an opportunity that he could pass up. He would spend several hours there, perusing various sources related to metallurgy and gleaning whatever nuggets he could, related to his analysis of half a dozen current projects. Then he would meet with Brian Hastings, a chemist from the University of Washington about the Confession. A few days ago, he had been so excited about access to the Stanford collection. Now that he was going to get a chance to inspect the Confession, however, the Stanford collection was less of a magnet for him. He would also learn about Brian’s findings. He could hardly wait. But it was hours before he was to meet Hastings, so he would use his time productively.r />
  Cooper was about to leave when he was startled by a knock on the door. He opened it a few inches and peaked through. It was the male maid, the slacker.

  The man said, “It’s housekeeping, sir.”

  “Not interested,” Cooper said. He started to shut the door, but the big man threw his shoulder against it. The door slammed into Cooper, knocking him backwards. Cooper tumbled to the floor. The big man entered, pulling his maid’s cart in behind him.

  Cooper crab-walked backwards, “Get the hell out of here, or I’ll call security.”

  The big man ran at Cooper, jumped on him, and pinned him to the floor. Next thing Cooper knew, a rag was covering his mouth and nose with strong, powerful odor. It was …

  Cooper lost consciousness.

  The big man opened the fake top of his maid’s cart. He lifted Cooper and set him inside, closing the lid.

  Then the maid pulled the cart out into the hall and rolled it toward the service elevator.

  CHAPTER 30

  The Abascal Golf Course was the best place to find billionaire Roderigo Abascal because it was on his ranch. It was his personal nine-hole golf course for his exclusive use. Of more importance, he was only working eight hours a day now, which meant he was working half the hours that he’d been working for the past forty years. He was practically on vacation. Not only that, he liked to work in the late afternoon and evening, so he could often be found golfing in the morning.

  As always, the trick to making contact with a great man was getting past the front gate, but Irina had a big advantage. First of all, she knew him. She had met him and other members of the Augean Command years ago at El Jefe’s parties. Of more importance, Ajax owned the thousand-acre estancia next door.

  When they approached Roderigo Abascal’s security gate in Ajax’s new Porsche, the pug-nosed guard said, “Hello, what’s your name?” The lack of emotion in his voice irritated Irina.