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Guzman splayed his hands in front of him. “Listen, listen, no one knows. It is a secret.” He paused a moment, then, “It is a very valuable secret.”
“Now you want to make us pay for what you know? Say goodbye to walking by yourself to the bathroom.” She flicked off the safety and aimed her Glock.
Nicholas said, “A moment, Agent Caine. Mr. Guzman, we are not unreasonable. We will give you ten thousand dollars if you tell us everything, because we realize that once you have told us everything, there won’t be any more trips for you with the Kohaths.”
“And we will leave your knees intact.”
“And you will get me to the United States? My daughter goes to medical school in Miami. I haven’t seen her for two years.”
“You’ve got yourself a deal. Talk.”
“Listen, if I tell you everything I know, they will kill me and my family. So we could not remain here. Could my wife and I live permanently in the United States. Forever?”
“Yes,” Nicholas said, and hoped Vice President Sloan would come through for him. “Yes, forever.”
Rafael pulled a dirty handkerchief from his jeans pocket and mopped the sweat off his forehead. “Okay, the boat comes from the island. I’ve seen it only a few times. They have a way of making it disappear. I can’t fly the plane all the way there, I have to land in the water, and they bring the boat to me. I fly in smaller supplies to them, supplies they need quickly, like groceries and small maintenance items, since my plane takes a shorter time than the Atlantis. Otherwise, Old Ramos ferries supplies from here to the island. He says he’s worked for the old man for forty years, he has deliveries about three times a week, sometimes more.”
“What is this crazy old man’s name?” Nicholas asked.
“They call him El Creador.”
“Creator of what?”
“He builds things, everyone says he builds crazy things, weird things. I don’t know, how could I? I’m a pilot. I fly for a living. I do know his name, though. And the names of his twin grandchildren. Jason Kohath. The twins are Cassandra and Ajax.”
“What does it look like, the island?”
“It’s a volcano.”
“A volcano? Is it active?”
“No. Around this area there are all kinds of volcanos, on all the islands. This island, though, it isn’t on any of the maps I’ve seen. You look on some old nautical maps, maybe you find it. I don’t know. It’s been hidden my whole life.”
“How old are you?”
“Fifty-three.”
Nicholas and Mike shared a glance. The timeline fit. The Genesis Group, namely, Alexander Kohath, had been in this area looking for Atlantis in the 1950s and ’60s and that was probably when they’d come across an uncharted volcano. And Jason Kohath’s father had taken it over as a testing ground for their Coil.
“How many people are out there?” Mike asked.
“Six, maybe eight—El Creador, a cook, anywhere from two to four guards, and an assistant—a ghoul of a fellow, very serious—and of course the Brit captain of the boat that unloads supplies from my plane, and his first mate. The pay is great, the Brit captain told me once, but he said it’s tough, since they’re so isolated, nothing to do except play Ping-Pong and watch movies. And his first mate said the old man sits in front of a dozen computers all the time. No one knows what he does. Except for his assistant, I guess.”
“How often do his grandchildren, Cassandra and Ajax Kohath, visit?”
“Once, maybe twice a year, more often when they were younger. They don’t usually show up without a lot of notice, but not this time, almost no warning at all.
“That beautiful girl, I’ve got to warn you, she’s nuts. She didn’t like something Alfredo—he’s one of the mechanics who works here—said the last time they came, and she kicked him onto the ground and kept kicking him until her brother pulled her off. Alfredo was in bed for a week with broken ribs.
“Me? I’m more afraid of him, the brother, Ajax.” Rafael shuddered. “He’s all calm and reasonable one minute and then the next, those eyes of his are glowing, like a demon’s.” As if he knew how melodramatic that sounded, Rafael added, “Not really a demon, more like a volcano you thought was dormant. He’ll explode without warning. Both of them, they’re . . . not right in the head.”
“They came without warning this time?”
Rafael nodded. “I got word to be ready only a few hours ago, in case they wanted me. But as I said, they went on the Atlantis to the island.”
“Weapons?”
“I don’t know. This time I know Old Ramos brought along three of his nephews, and they all had guns.”
