Buccaneer (Dane Maddock Adventures) (34 page)

“
Any other long lost relatives I should know about?
”
Dane asked, only half-jokingly.

“
Oh no. You don
’
t get access to privileged information.
”
She paused.
“
Unless you
’
re ready to take me up on my offer.
”

Dane grimaced. Arguing with Tam was pointless. She was one of the most focused people he
’
d ever met.

“
You never told us how you wound up here,
”
Bones said.
“
What
’
s the Dominion
’
s connection to all this?
”

“
I don
’
t know how they
’
re connected. For months I
’
ve mostly combed through the phone and financial records of suspected leaders in the Dominion, but I haven
’
t gotten anything solid. Just suspects from every walk of Christendom. And then, after not hearing a peep from them since your Christmas vacation...
”

“
Shitter was full!
”
Bones said in his best Cousin Eddie voice.

Tam went on as if he hadn
’
t spoken.

“
...we finally got a hit on Heilig Herrschaft. You know, your German Dominion buddies. Two suspected members, twin brothers, were instructed to be here at one o
’
clock today and to intercept something the Dominion wanted. We were waiting for them to make their move, so we could get them and whatever it was they were after.
”

“
And then Maddock screwed it up,
”
Bones finished.

Dane ignored the jibe. His thoughts drifted back to something Tam had said moments before. She had tremendous resources at her disposal. But would she agree to help them?

“
Tam, look, I
’
m sorry we interfered. You do know we had no way of knowing the Dominion was involved?
”

She sat down in an antique wooden chair and drummed her red lacquered fingernails on the armrest.

“
I
’
m sensing you
’
ve got more to say and, whatever it is, it
’
s going to make me cuss. I don
’
t even have my swear jar here.
”

“
We need help finding Angel. The only clues we have are Locke and the museum. For all we know, they
’
ve taken her to England. We don
’
t have a prayer of tracking her down, but you can.
”
He took a deep breath.
“
Please?
”

Despite her prediction, Tam didn
’
t cuss. She stared at him for a full ten seconds. Bones and Willis looked on, afraid to break the silence. Finally, her features softened.

“
You
’
ve got a thing for this girl, don
’
t you?
”

Dane couldn
’
t stop his face from reddening, nor could he keep himself from looking at Bones. To his surprise, both Bones and Willis looked to be on the verge of laughter.

“
The lady asked you a question, Maddock.
”
Bones crossed his arms and smiled expectantly.

Dane couldn
’
t find his voice.

“
Wait a minute!
”
Willis laughed and slapped his thighs.
“
You
’
d take on a whole army with nothing but your bare hands and never flinch, but can
’
t admit you like a girl?
”

“
He doesn
’
t like her,
”
Bones said.
“
He loves her. He can
’
t hide something like that from me.
”

“
I want to hear it from him,
”
Tam said, clearly enjoying the moment.
“
Well?
”

“
Maybe,
”
Dane said, watching as the others exchanged frustrated looks. How could he make them understand? After the way his wife had died, he felt... cursed. Like he
’
d bring misfortune onto the next woman he truly loved. He knew that wouldn
’
t fly with any of them, though.

“
Dane Maddock,
”
Tam took on the lecturing tone of a middle school teacher scolding an underachieving student,
“
it
’
s no wonder you won
’
t join up with me. Willis is right. You
’
re not afraid of dying. You
’
re afraid of real commitment.
”

“
No I
’
m not. I
’
m a decorated veteran in case you
’
ve forgotten.
”

“I know that. I also know when and why you quit the service.”
She looked like she wanted to say more, but a knock at the door interrupted her. A moment later, the agent standing guard ushered Matt into the room. He greeted Tam and then turned to Dane.

“
When I saw the Feds had taken over here, and you guys hadn
’
t shown, I figured my getaway driver services were no longer needed. Anyway, I just got a call from Corey. He and Avery have been arrested.
”

“
You
’
ve got to be kidding me. Is it at least a real arrest? Locke doesn
’
t have them too?
”

“
No. One of Locke
’
s men chased them into the National Aquarium and Avery wound up jumping into the shark tank, or falling in, or something. Corey bashed the guy
’
s skull pretty good. It
’
s a mess.
”

Dane groaned and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he saw Tam grinning at him like a cat who had cornered a mouse.

“
I guess I might need two favors.
”

“
Join my team and I will. We can wait til all this is over to work out all the details. I
’
ve got a place for all four of you, plus the little nerd boy.
”

“
Dude, are you seriously blackmailing us?
”
Bones anger was returning.

“
Excuse me? You forget, I know
all
about you. If I wanted to blackmail you, I could have done it long ago. Defacing national historical sites?
”

“
That was Maddock.
”
Bones pointed at Dane.

“
The Fremont ruins?
”

“
Okay, that was sort of me.
”
Bones
said
.

“
Desecrating graves?
”

“
It was only one grave,
”
Dane said,
“
and I didn
’
t
exactly
...
”

“
Kidnapping a patient from a hospital in Utah.
”

“
Me again.
”
Bones raised his hand.

“
Missing Italian nationals who, rumor has it, were sent after you.
”

“
Good. I was feeling left out,
”
Wills said to Bones.

“
Bringing down half a mountain in Jordan. Lord only knows what you did in Utah. Breaking and entering all across Germany. And,
”
she paused for effect,
“
we found the bodies in that well.
”

There was nothing Dane could say. Everything she mentioned had an explanation, a greater purpose, or was a case of self-defense, but they
’
d never be able to defend themselves in court. The cumulative weight of the charges against them was too great.

“
But, as I said, if I wanted to blackmail you, I would have already done it. I
’
ve been in the field with you. I know what you can do. I trust you.
”
She stood and offered her hand to Dane.
“
I
’
ll get your friend and your sister out, and I
’
ll help you get your girl. But you
’
ve got to help me.
”

Dane looked at Bones, Willis, and
Matt
. They exchanged glances, then all nodded solemnly.

“
All right.
”
Dane clasped Tam
’
s hand.
“
You
’
ve got a deal.
”

Dane sat aboard the jet Tam had secured for a flight to England, waiting for takeoff and for her to tell him what she had learned. He passed the time by scrolling through the pictures they
’
d taken of the two underground Templar churches they
’
d discovered. It wasn
’
t long before something caught his attention.

“
Hey guys, check this out,
”
he said to Bones and Avery who were seated behind him.
“
You see how, right at the top of the ceiling in both of these places, there
’
s this pie-shaped carving?
”
He clicked between the
images to illustrate his point.
“
They aren
’
t exactly the same, but don
’
t they look like pieces of a map?
”

“
You might be on to something,
”
Bones agreed.

“
Each one is about one third of a circle. I
’
ll bet, when we find the last chamber, we
’
ll find the missing piece.
”

“
And that will lead us, where?
”
Bones mused.

“
I don
’
t know. I
’
m going to message Jimmy and ask him to see if he can match it up to any known locations.
”
Just then, Tam arrived.

“
All right. Here
’
s what I
’
ve got.
”
She took the seat next to Dane. Bones and Avery listened in, as did the others, who were seated all around..
“
Locke is former MI6. He was a rising star with an exemplary record, but he left unexpectedly to go to work for this woman.
”
She held out a photograph of a blue-eyed blonde woman of early middle years.

“
Smoking hot!
”
Bones said.

“
Oh, is that what you like?
”
Avery snapped.

“
I just like women.
”
Bones smiled at Avery who made a face at him.

“
Morgan Fain. She is the director of the British History Museum in Truro. The same museum that owns the Bailyn.
”

“
Wait a minute.
”
Avery cupped her chin, thinking.
“
One of the biggest treasure hunts on Oak Island was conducted by the Truro Syndicate back in the mid-1800
’
s. Could there be a connection?
”

“
Hers is an old and powerful family, so maybe.
”

“
Truro. That
’
s kind of off the beaten path, isn
’
t it?
”
Dane asked. He
’
d imagined any powerful players in England would be based out of London.