Aztec Gold

THIRTY THREE

“Now,” Crouch said, finishing up his special call. “Everything changes.”

The team waited expectantly. Alicia was mindful of the cops a few hundred feet beyond their position. Even now any gung-ho marshal could throw a spanner into their plans.

“What’s the plan?”

Crouch took a deep breath. “All right. One thing at a time. First — Lex. Pack him onto that Kawasaki and set him going. He’ll be of no further use to us for the rest of this mission.”

Alicia winced and opened her mouth to protest. After all, hadn’t Lex just saved them a whole lot of hurt back there? Then she remembered who she was talking to — Crouch would have a very good reason.

Russo and Cruz were already helping the tender, complaining biker onto the green machine. Truth be told, by Lex’s standard he barely offered any protest. Alicia saw he was more injured than he was letting on. Before she could say a word, the moment Lex’s hands touched the handlebars, his eyes lit up, his head went back and he was creeping away, heading toward the Strip.

Alicia grunted. “Put him on a bike and he loses all sense of where he is. All thought — gone.”

Crouch nodded. “I thought that might be the case.”

“He’s probably chasing after Kate.”

“Lex can’t help us with this next mission. We’ll be going dark and into serious, deadly resistance. So the same goes for you, Mr. Cruz. You will be staying here to liaise with the new team Argento is helping to put together. I want you to oversee the removal and cataloguing of the treasure. It will all start today.”

Cruz’s face shone with pride and relief. “I won’t let you down.”

“Now, Greg.” Crouch stared at the ground. “The FBI should be with your family by now. And New Orleans is a fair distance by car, so why the hell are you still here?”

Coker stared open-mouthed at Crouch as if he might want to kiss him. “Are you winding me up, Michael? Don’t do that.”

“To my mind a man protects his family at all costs, puts their welfare above everything else. That’s the only crime you’re guilty of, Greg. Protecting your family. Only next time, tell me sooner.”

Coker turned away, clearly finding it hard to speak. Caitlyn laid a hand on his arm. “Go to your family,” she said. “Shelter them. Mine was destroyed, murdered a few months ago. There’s no coming back from something like that.”

Coker nodded and began to run. Alicia evaluated Caitlyn with a piercing stare. She knew for a fact that Caitlyn’s mother had died of a heart attack recently and that her father was very much alive and well. What was the girl up to?

Then Crouch eyed Russo, Caitlyn and Alicia. “That leaves us on a plane to South Africa.”

Russo nodded, eager to get going. “What I don’t get is why this asshole has to drag us halfway around the world to make the exchange. We’re all here now, and so is the treasure.”

Caitlyn glanced at Crouch who nodded. “My take is that since he’s a South African kingpin he can’t operate here as he’s accustomed to. In the US he has a huge protection detail, a small army, an extravagant lifestyle. But we can still get to him. Doesn’t matter how many men he has or where we meet, we could arrange to take him down anywhere. If he’s back home, on his own turf, he can control what happens even as far as paying off the authorities. Those who matter.”

“Exactly right,” Crouch said. “Now we have to go. If the US government knew we were carrying this gold in their country we’d never see the light of day again.”

Alicia narrowed her eyes. “Your ‘special’ friend isn’t an official?”

Crouch snorted. “Are you kidding? Could you name any politician or bureaucrat who wouldn’t take advantage of our situation?”

“Dare I ask then?” Alicia ventured.

“Movie star,” Crouch said in an offhand manner. “Known as — The Fortress. Big health advocate, gym god and all-round nice guy. He has access to the fastest private jet in the world and a new movie for which he’s now setting off on a promotional world tour.”

“Shit,” Caitlyn breathed. “The Fortress? Do we get to meet him?”

Crouch laughed. “Yeah, and he might even cook for you if he’s feeling good. But stay focused. By the time we land in Joburg we need a foolproof plan.”

Caitlyn blushed a little as if realizing she’d lost sight of Healey’s peril. By now the team were back among the crowds on Las Vegas Boulevard, staring up at the $40 million fountains of Bellagio. Waters swayed and twisted and swirled in their dramatic, bewitching manner, sometimes shooting over four hundred feet into the air. As they watched the show, the team paused for a moment as if relishing the last stunning vision they might ever see.

“Remember the last time you were in South Africa?” Crouch suddenly said to Alicia.

“Yeah. The Ninth Division. It’s where I met Matt Drake.”

“Try not to blow the damn place up again.”