CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY WASHINGTON, DC

SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

WASHINGTON, DC

January 10

Roth leaned back in the chair, rubbing his forehead. He’d decided to fully cooperate with the authorities, no further incentives or guarantees needed. They’d been shocked to learn about his secret book—and that it was no longer such a secret—but their annoyance was blunted by the flood of e-mails he received, some of which contained further information about Calakmul’s operation. His editor was pretty upset too, and not just about the right of first offer clause he’d violated by publishing. He hadn’t been able to talk to her about what had happened to his family yet, and she was just learning about it. All this had also accelerated the FBI’s timetable for reaching out to the McKintys about Jane Louise and what had really happened to her family.

Since nothing could be gained by staying silent, Roth had also given the authorities the names of every person he’d seen watching the death game. The FBI were now opening investigations into all of them. The information had been so vital, so shocking, that when Director Wright had communicated some of it to the president, he’d asked to meet with Roth and his family in person. That meant it was time to reunite with the boys and get to a better safe haven, a military base like Quantico. His burner phone buzzed in his pocket, and he reached for it, expecting to see Lund or Suki calling.

It was Jordan.

“Hey, where are you and the boys?” Roth asked. “I was just about to—”

From the receiver, he could hear traffic and wind. “He found us.”

Roth’s heart skipped a beat. “Where are you?”

“It’s the guy who pursued us in the Tahoe. He came to the hotel. I got the boys, and we ran down the back stairwell. We need backup!”

Monica hurried over to him, asking him something. He barely noticed her, his entire focus on his phone, but he had enough presence of mind to switch the phone to speaker.

“Where are you?” he shouted.

“We’re crossing the gardens at the Smithsonian Castle. We’re a couple of blocks from FBI headquarters.”

“Why didn’t you grab a car?” Roth demanded.

“No time to wait for one.”

Roth’s pulse was racing.

Monica put her hand on his shoulder, jolting him to attention. “I can send SUVs to pick them up. Is this guy following you?”

“I don’t see him,” Jordan said, not at all thrown off by her interjection. “But he could be anywhere.”

“He can probably smell them,” Roth muttered. “Animals track by scent.”

Monica nodded. “The National Museum of Natural History is just past the Castle.”

“I know it,” Jordan said. “There’s usually a lot of people there. Are crowds a good thing right now or a bad thing?”

Roth wasn’t sure. But he didn’t want his boys hurt. “Are you sure you’re not being followed?” he asked.

“I don’t know how they found our hotel, so I can’t be sure of anything. I can see the building.”

Monica looked at Roth. “Jordan, listen. Take the boys to the museum. It’ll be harder to find you in a crowd. If he can track you by scent, the more bodies, the better. We’re coming for you right now.”

“Roger. You worried about me?”

“Don’t do anything stupid. Keep us posted. We’re only two blocks away. We’re taking you all to Quantico.”

Within minutes of Jordan hanging up, Roth and Monica were under armed escort, taking the elevators down to the parking garage. Roth noticed some of them were carrying canisters of bear spray. He didn’t know if that would work any better than guns, but at least bear spray was less likely to kill anyone it rebounded on. Once they were situated inside the SUV, Roth noticed his hands were shaking with nervousness.

Monica gripped his arm. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll get to them in time. You’ve been an enormous help, Jonathon. Thanks for sharing everything today.”

But he couldn’t help it. It felt like the other shoe was about to drop—again. Sarina and Suki were okay, Jane Louise was alive, so of course something was happening with the boys. But he couldn’t let himself think like that—that line of thinking would drive anyone crazy. Rubbing his forehead, he said, “I still can’t believe Jane Louise is alive. I could never bring myself to sell her home, so maybe part of me ... hoped. It’s hers. Her grandparents can help her.”

“The McKintys will be overjoyed to learn their granddaughter’s okay,” Monica said. “The director wants all the legal ducks in a row first before we call, but—” She paused, pulling out her phone. Carter’s name was on the screen. She answered it on speaker. “Yes?”

“News from Mexico. I’m with Director Wright. Is Roth with you?”

Monica looked worriedly at Roth. “Yes. Can I put this call on speaker?”

“Yes, it’s important.”

Monica switched to speaker.

“Thanks,” Wright said on the other end, accepting the phone from Carter. “I’ll see you in Quantico, Mr. Roth, but I didn’t want to wait to mention this. Satellites are picking up activity throughout the Yucatán Peninsula. It started last night.”

“What sort of activity?” Roth asked.

“Other Maya ruins have started glowing,” Wright answered. “I’m going to butcher the pronunciation here, but Izamal, Dzibanche, Xpuhil, Uxmal. That’s just four. Tourists are also being kept out of Chichén Itzá and Tulum because they started glowing this morning. The others I mentioned are also normal tourist spots. Any idea why all the temples are glowing, Jonathon?”

Roth wasn’t sure. “No, but Calakmul owns resorts all over Mexico.”

“It could be a distraction,” Carter suggested, his voice slightly muffled.

“We need more boots on the ground,” Wright added, “but this is the CIA’s turf. Thought I’d mention it. Homeland Security is reporting more activity along the border-crossing areas. Higher rates of traffic than usual. The Pentagon is also intercepting comms from the Mexican army. Things are heating up fast.”

That wasn’t a good sign. Something told Roth that was precisely why it was being shared with him—the director was revealing the urgency of the situation to him, showing him how badly help was needed.

“Understood. We’re going to get my sons.”

“I know. Godspeed. See you in Quantico,” Wright said, and then Carter ended the call.

They exited the SUV as another one pulled up behind them, and four more special agents got out.

“Agents Benson and Sullivan,” Monica said, introducing the first two. “Agents Donaldson and Stoker. We’re getting your family out.”

There was no sign of trouble. They walked directly to the doors and entered. Monica flashed her badge to the security guard, and they bypassed the metal detector.

“Welcome to the Smithsonian,” the guard said with a courteous nod.

After passing that station, they entered the vast rotunda. Roth gazed up at the huge room, which sectioned several floors above the one where they stood. There were forty or fifty other people milling about, including classroom students on field trips. It was noisy. A huge elephant statue on a pedestal seemed to oversee the chaos.

Roth withdrew his phone and called Jordan again.

“You here?” Jordan asked breathlessly.

“Yup. Where are you guys?” Roth asked, looking around.

“Hall of Fossils, west side of the building,” Jordan said.

“Meet you there,” Roth said. He motioned for Monica to follow and headed toward the Hall of Fossils, which had a spiral decoration on the entrance that said “Journey through Deep Time.” They passed a bench with a bronze statue of Darwin sitting on it. Two of the agents waited at the opening. Another two went inside with them and fanned out immediately.

It took him a frantic moment to find Jordan and the twins, but he finally spotted them by a display of the extinction meteor that had killed off the dinosaurs. The boys were wearing hats instead of their usual hoodies, and he’d hardly recognized them. Relief flooded his chest, even though the danger was far from over. When he got to them, he hugged them both tightly.

“It’s okay, Dad!” Lucas said. “Jordan’s a pro. He kept us safe.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Roth said urgently. Monica nodded in stern agreement. They all started walking together back to the entrance of the exhibit.

“We’re heading your way,” Monica said through her communications device.

“Do I get to come to Quantico too?” Jordan asked hopefully.

She nodded. “I know army guys aren’t as tough as marines, but you’ll play nice, right?”

“Oh, I’ll play nice,” Jordan said, jutting out his chin.

Roth put his arms around his boys. “Let’s get to the SUV ...”

There was a man standing at the entrance to the exhibit. He was six and half feet tall, dark haired, dark complexioned, and thick with muscle. The two agents who’d stayed at the entrance both lay on the ground, incapacitated or worse.

The last time Roth had seen this man, he’d been racing after their Uber.