Unknown 9 by Layton Green (e reader txt) 📗

but the answer was simple when I found it. The key was the first image. I couldn’t figure it out until I Googled ‘Marines and Montezuma.’”

She showed him yet another web page, with the lyrics to “The Marines’ Hymn” on display: the official song of the US Marine Corps.

“Oh my,” Cal said after he read it. “It’s right there in the first two lines: ‘From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli.’”

“A pretty obvious connection. But the day stone tripped me up until I placed it in the larger context. This one is both misleading and wickedly simple. Do you know any Spanish?”

“I live in LA.”

“Think of a Spanish preposition. Oscar De la Hoya. Pico de gallo.”

“‘De’ means ‘of’ or ‘from,” he said. “Right?”

“More or less. Now start with the upper left corner, move clockwise, and put it all together.”

Cal stared down at the image on the Star Phone before turning up his palms in confusion.

“Think of the principal meaning,” she said. “A key word from each image. There’s also a theme of conquest, of colonizer and colonized. Where the sun stone was found, and where it is now.”

He scratched at the thick hair on his chin. “‘Halls of Montezuma’ relates to the Marines . . . ‘Day stone’—‘de,’ meaning ‘of’ or ‘from’ . . . Mexico . . . Central America.” He slapped the table as a grin crept onto his face. “You’re right. Dr. Corwin is a clever bastard.”

“It’s annoyingly simple, isn’t it?”

“Um, no. There’s no telling how long I’d have been staring at the image if you hadn’t led me to it.” He jabbed his finger as he moved clockwise around the image on the Star Phone. “Hall. Of. Mexico. Central America. It’s the museum in New York!”

“That’s my conclusion,” she said. “In fact, I’d stake my life on it—which I’m about to do. I texted all of this to Zawadi earlier and updated her on Hanoi. She got back to me right away for once.”

Andie paused to chew on a nail, reflecting on the short, unnerving exchange. “And?” Cal prompted her.

“She said New York was too dangerous and told me not to go. Apparently the city is one of the Ascendants’ power centers.”

After digesting her words, Cal leaned back in his seat. “What else did she say?”

“She said we still couldn’t talk—phone calls are too risky for now—and that she had to run. Again. She said to stay put and out of sight, and she’d get back to me soon.”

“Where is she?”

“She didn’t say.”

Cal finished the last of the spring rolls and looked her in the eye. “We should heed her words.”

Andie ran a hand through her hair and left it cupping the back of her neck. “Yeah, we probably should.”

“But what?” he said, picking up on her reticence.

“But I’m not going to.”

“Andie. Listen to reason. If Zawadi says it’s too dangerous—”

“Then she can fly there and protect us. That’s her choice. But we both know speed is our only ally. This reprieve won’t last. I have to get to New York before the Ascendants.”

“They’re already there.”

“You know what I mean.”

“There are cameras all over that city. It’s not safe, Andie. You’re being reckless.”

“There are ways to avoid surveillance, and we know exactly where to go. We’ll be in and out before anyone notices. And why would we wait? Wait where? Here? In the same country the people chasing us are in? I feel less safe staying put than moving. We’ve kept ahead of them before, and we’ll do it again. We’re so close, Cal. Only three more locations.”

“If you manage to solve the Star Phone puzzle and find the Enneagon, and if you can use it as a bargaining chip.”

“I will, and I can.”

“You think that.”

“I know it. And so do they. Why do you think they’re chasing us around the globe? Why are you being so negative?”

“Because these people play for keeps?”

“Our lives have been at risk the entire time. Why don’t you propose a solution instead of shooting everything down?”

“Shooting—” Cal put a hand to his temple. “You’re not thinking. And I do have a suggestion, but it’s not going to New York. Not yet. There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

She drew back. “What?”

He summarized the conversation with Dane on the dark web server, then sipped his coffee as she processed the story of the neuropsychologist named Waylan Taylor with a connection to the Ascendants.

“So we do have a choice,” he said. “And I think it’s a good one. More importantly, I doubt anyone else knows about it.”

“A vacant house in Asheville that used to belong to an elderly psychologist, and which may or may not contain . . . what, exactly?”

“This Taylor guy was knee-deep with the Ascendants. Human Limits Testing Facility? There’s something there, Andie. My reporter’s radar is going berserk on this one. I think we should go to North Carolina first.”

“I’m afraid I’ll need more than a feeling to take a detour from the Enneagon. When were you going to tell me this?”

“You were asleep on the bus, and then we were searching Hoi An, and I was waiting for more info . . . I should have told you earlier. I’m sorry. Come with me,” he said gently. “Who knows what’s in that house. Names, dates, evidence of all sorts of illegal activity, a hard drive that could give us everything?”

“Except the Enneagon, you mean. You might find something to help get your life back, but that won’t help Dr. Corwin or my mother. Which is fine. I understand. But say what you mean.”

“You don’t know that. Maybe we will find the leverage we need to bargain with them or go to the authorities. The bottom line is, this route is far safer, and I think we should try it first. We might even finish before Zawadi gets back to us.”

She swallowed her disappointment. “I’m going to New York to help the people I love. If the Ascendants wanted whatever was in that house,