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“Was Blaylock aboard?”
“Yes.”
Sam and Remi’s eyes locked. Each one was expecting the same question to come next.
Rivera said, “Did you find anything interesting?”
“Three letters.”
In Spanish, Rivera barked, “Search them,” to the man behind Sam and Remi. He came forward, snagged each of their packs, and dragged them ten feet away. He searched each pack and found their iPhones and their satellite phone. He crushed each one under the butt of his rifle, then kicked the pieces into the water. Finally, he frisked Sam and Remi.
“Nothing,” the man reported to Rivera. “Just the letters.”
“You can have them,” Rivera said. “In trade, I’m going to take your wife.”
“The hell you are.” Sam took a step toward Rivera.
“Sam, don’t!” Remi shouted.
The man behind Sam rushed forward and slammed the butt of his rifle into Sam’s lower back just above the kidneys. Sam stumbled forward, dropped to his knees, then climbed back to his feet.
Sam took a calming breath. “Rivera, you can—”
“Take you instead? No thank you.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out a cell phone, and tossed it to Sam. “It’s prepaid and untraceable, with three minutes of talk time left. You’ve got twenty-four hours to determine the location of Chicomoztoc.”
“That’s not enough time.”
“That’s your problem to solve. When you’ve got the location, dial star six-nine on that phone. I’ll answer. At twenty-four hours and one minute, I’ll kill your wife.”
Sam turned around to face Remi.
He said, “Everything’s going to be okay, Remi.”
She forced a smile. “I know.”
Rivera ordered, “Take her.”
At gunpoint, Remi was marched into the water to the boat. The two men aboard lifted her over the gunwale and shoved her down into one of the rear seats.
Sam turned back to Rivera, who said, “Do I have to tell you not to involve the police or any of that nonsense?”
“No.”
“Your boat is anchored on the other side of the peninsula.”
“I’ll hunt you down.”
“What’s that?”
“If you hurt her, I’ll spend the rest of my life and every penny to hunt you down.”
Rivera smiled thinly. “I believe you’d try.”
CHAPTER 45
TWENTY-TWO HOURS LATER,
SOUTHERN SULAWESI