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kov's heart. Barkov closed the door.
"You 've got the idea, " Carter said. "Now come over here
next to the general. "
The KGB man and the two women watched Carter as they
slowly returned to their chairs.
"How could you, Nick!" Linda cried.
"You killed Cacimero! " Agrafina accused.
'The boy in the hut?" Carter asked, then shook his head.
'*Santos did that. Barkov's orders. "
'*And Philip?" Agrafina said bitterly. s 'WIII you kill him,
"Sit down," Carter said irritably.
He took up a position next to Barkov's chair so that he
could watch the four conspirators and the front doors and
back kitchen door as well.
"Hand me your gun, Barkov."
Carter touched the muzzle of his rifle to the side of Bar-
kov's scrawny neck. Gingerly, Barkov lifted a Luger from
his inside pocket and handed it to Carter. He wasn't a
Carter slung the rifle over his shoulder and balanced the
Luger in his hand.
'Gocxi," he said. "Now yours, General. "
General Hiler pointed to the dueling pistol on the low table
in front of him.
That is all I need, " the general said, his eyes smoldering
with angry fire.
"Hand it to me, " Caner told Barkov, pressing the muzzle
of the Luger against his neck.
Barkov leaned for the pistol, the Luger's muzzle following
him. He handed the pistol to Carter. Carter withdrew the
Luger from Barkov's neck and rested it on his arm. He
unloaded the old pistol, then threw it on the dining alcove's
floor.
"My men will be back," Barkov said, rubbing his neck.
"You are a dead man."
"We've got time to talk," Carter said casually. "You
first, Barkov."
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161
' 'You will have to be executed, of course, " General Hiler
nnounced from his chair. He gripped the arms of the chair,
•s knuckles white.
"Papa!" Agrafina cried. ' 'Don't upset yourself!"
'I have nothing to say to you, ' ' Barkov growled at Carter.
"Barkov is the one who should be executed, " Carter told
e general. "And for reasons you don't know. Barkov
bviously handles your money and equipment. Less obvi-
usly, he's responsible for killing your men. "
"Carter!" Barkov reared up, claws raised to strike.
Carter batted him down. The front door opened.
"Kill him!" Barkov shouted at the door. With men and
eapons, he was a giant.
Carter crouched, ready to fire.
Philip Tice walked in stiffly, his arm across the bandages
n his stomach. He closed the door. His face was white with
e effort.
"lheardanoise in the kitchen. . "hesaidand fell intoa
hair.
Agrafina rushed to him brushed the hair from his eyes.
' 'Don't fuss," he told her kindly. "l'm all right. "
She felt his forehead and looked into his eyes. *Ihere was a
ad smile on her face as she tended him. He didn 't know that
e loved her, and that hurt her.
"You're just in time, " Carter told Tice. "I was about to
escribe his good friend Maxim Barkov to General Hiler. "
' 'I'll kill you myself!" Barkov threatened.
Carter chuckled.
"Give me a gun," Tice said, looking at Barkov. "I feel
aked here. "
Carter handed him the rifle. The CIA man took it, held it
ith one hand, and put his other arm around Agrafina's
houlders. She nestled against him, and he smiled fondly
own at her,
"You were saying," Tice said.
"l was saying. Carter said, 'that Barkov has been pos-
ng as the general 's representative with the Indians. He gave
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NICK CARTER
himself the name YOIite Jaguar and spread word that to obey
him was to you, General. "
"I have no objections, " the general said. "He understands
what I want. What I want is what he wants!"
"He knew through his Cuban connections that I was
caught in the old Mayan cave, " Carter continued. "He
the names Itzarnnå and Y'hite Jaguar to order the Indians
living nearby to ambush me and Tice." Carter watched
Barkov's thin lips curl into a snarl. "Save your breath,"
Carter advised Barkov. ' Then he alerted you that I was in the
area too, General, in case I escaped. Either way, he was
covered. The price of my capture was irrelevant. "
"Lies!" Barkov shouted. "All lies!"
' 'Mayan boys died because of that ambush, " Carter went
on. "Killed by Barkov. Barkov would've killed me here
himself, but he was afraid of crossing you, General Hiler.
You wanted to convert me. He was safe as long as the
survivors yod brought here from the died. That's
why he ordered Santos to kill Cacimero--the savage, inde-
fensible murder of an injured "
Barkov jumped to his feet.
"Capitalist murderer!" he shouted.
Philip Tice stretched out a leg and kicked Barkov 's feet out
from under him. Barkov fell into the chair.
'He used the same ruse to get your soldiers to attack Tice
at the corral," Caner said. "Ask them yourself. It's not
information they would think to give you. They assumed it
was your orders. "
The Indian soldiers from the attack on Tice were alive.
They would talk to the general. And, from the look on the
general •s face, Caner knew their leader would ask them.
Barkov watched General Hiler and came to the same
conclusion.
Barkov's lips stretched back over his teeth, a
animal, but not yet beaten.
"You cannot stop us! " Barkov snarled. "It's too late! The
United States and Russia will cave in tomorrow morning, and
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163
we'll have Itzamnå---one of the richest countries in the
world. Oil from the Reforma fields! Natural gas! Coffee!
Gold! Big industries! I will make the country great! I will run
it with all the Western accouterrnents that Central America
can buy! This part of the world is used to dictators. I will be
the biggest arui best of all!"
' 'And what if the big powers don 't agree?" Caner asked.
"We will send the jets!" Barkov shouted. ' 'We have
nothing to lose!"'
'Basta!" the General said and leaped to his feet.
g 'Enough! I will not have Itzamnå birthed in evil blood! "
The massive front doors burst Oirn.
Soviet airmen filled the doorway, guns raised.




======================================




SEVENTEEN
There is a moment Erfore violence that stuns everyone.
Attacker or attacked, surprise at what is to come stops the
heart and fogs the mind. That is when training and intelli-
gence show. Killmaster Nick Caner knew exactly what to do.
He was a full fifteen seconds faster than everyone else.
Carter fired Barkov 's Luger through the throat of the first
Soviet airman.
Blasted the temple of the second.
Blood gushed out of the first airman's throat and soaked
into his immaculate white scarf. He clutched his neck, an
amazed ICY)k on his face, and collapsed as the second air-
man 's blood, cartilage, and brains svewed into the air, a mist
of pink. The second airman keeled over like a felled tree.
Shooting their guns, Barkov's men leaped over their dead
comrades and scattered through the room.
Carter rolled and shot as the airmen's bullets bit into the
clay tile floor, sending chips into Carter's skin. He knocked
over a low mahogany table and set it on its side as a shield.
Linda crouched and ran. She picked up a rifle and skidded
to Carter's side.
"Want some help?" she asked as she aimed and fired.
' 'You are talented," Carter said.
' 'What's the plan?"
"Survival. Until tomorrow moming. "
166
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NICK CARTER
He hit the arm of one of Barkov's Russians as the man
moved his rifle onto Linda. The arm snapped, and the rifle
fell. The airman stared in astonishment at his dangling arm.
"Stay here," Caner told Linda. "We're t(X) big a target
together. ' '
Carter crouched and ran. ne Russians had taken up posi-
tions behind chairs, tables, even a coat rack. Anything for
protection. Their gunfire thundered when they saw Carter in
the oper.
The coiled-spring body of General Hiler leaped onto the
table in front of his chair.
"No more deaths!" he demanded.
Carter slid behind a bureau and pushed it farther from the
wall.
Philip Tice got to his feet, confusion left over from his
illness on his face. He weaved uncertainly, a pale giant, then
seemed to gather himself. He let out a mighty roar, then
swung the butt of his rifle across the backs of the heads of two
of Barkov's renegade Russians.
The other airmen ignored the general and fired at Tice as he
dropped behind his chair and warily edged out to return the
fire.
General Hilerjumped off the table and pushed the shocked
Agrafina back against the fireplace. Incensed by what he
saw, he picked up a rifle from a fallen Soviet soldier.
Carter leaned out to fire. A bullet passed through his upper
arm muscle, and searing pain shot to his brain.
Carter fired into the nose ofhis attacker. The soldier's face
disappeared beneath a volcano of
"You've hit Carter! " Barkov shouted. g 'Now kill him"'
General Hiler pushed his rifle against Barkov's chest.
"Stop them!" the general ordered, pressing the rifle into
Barkov's thin ribcage. "Your Itzamnå is over! " The gener-
al's face was clear with sanity . . and relief.
"It's too late!" Barkov said. He shoved the general away.
"You're too late!" He raised a rifle.
' 'No! " Agrafina screamed, her hands to her face.
THE MAYAN CONNECTION
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167
Suddenly the room was silent. Smoke clouded the air.
Bullet holes riddled the walls. Broken pottery, lamps and
furniture littered the room. The sharp, burning smell of
cordite permeated everyone and everything as the two leaders
faced one another.
All watched the Mexican general and the renegade Russian
KGB agent.
' 'This is wrong," General Hiler said, waving his rifle at
thc dead and injured men. ' 'It is not our plan. We use
international pressure to get our freedom. All we are doing
here is killing each other. " He looked slowly around the big
room. s 'I have seen enough death to last a lifetime. "
Barkov's hooded eyes flickered as he came to a decision:
the general was expendable.
Carter fired at Barkov. Click. He was out of ammunition.
Barkov fired four bullets into General Hiler's chest. They
were a tidy four holes, directly into the general 's heart. B10(xi
bubbled up and streamed down his neat fatigues.
"Papa! " Agrafina shrieked and threw herself across her
father's blocxi-drenched chest. She tried to prop him up, but
he slipped down between her arms, his features slack as the
life poured out of him.
'Sorry, compadre, " Barkov told him. "You're a liability
now." He took Agrafma's arm and pulled her up from
Hiler's body. "Agrafina will be better. Easier to control. "
"No, you don't! " Philip Tice said, stumbling to his feet.
In a sudden burst of adrenaline, the big CIA man slapped
Barkov back and pressed Agrafina to his chest. He stepped
toward the door. "Darling Agrafina," he crooned to her as
tears streamed down her face.
Barkov shook his head, disgusted that Tice had forgotten
his professionalism. Instantly he fired into Tice's back, sev-
ering the spinal cord and piercing the heart. Tice grunted and
jerked. Agrafina tumed, eyes wide with disbelief, as Philip
Tice collapsed, dead.
Carter lunged across the room. Barkov shoved the muzzle
of his rifle into Agrafina's weeping face.
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NICK CARTER
' 'Quit, Carter," he said calmly, "or I'll kill her. "
Carter stopped and breathed deeply. He made his feet
stand still on the floor. Luck was with Barkov, this time.
Barkov needed Agrafina to keep the Indians with him, but
he'd still shoot her if he had to. To get Carter. And from the
icy hatred on Barkov 's face, Carter knew the Russian would
sacrifice his own mother if he had to. Barkov despised any
man he thought to be better than he.
Carter dropped his rifle.
' 'Nick?" Linda whispered.
Carter gazed at the bloodied bcxiies around the room. He
stared at Philip Tice's motionless, crimson back. Sormw
welled inside him. Ihe big man 's sandy hair was splashed red
with his own bloc:xi. His torso had fallen in an unnatural angle
across Agrafina's chest and legs. What only a few moments
ago had been a man full of healing, life, and love was gone
forever.
"Put it down, " Carter told Linda grimly.
She ncxided, laid the rifle on the flc»r, and stood up.
From the dcx)tway, Tiger Santos laughed as he in the
scene. He closed the door again,
'The natives outside are getting restless," he said to
Barkov.
'Tell the Indians that Caner killed General Hiler and the
CIA man Tice," Barkov said immediately, pleased with his
quick thinking. "They'll believe that! "
"l still want Carter," Santos reminded the colonel in a
deadly voice. Killing Caner would prove something he
didn 't IElieve himself—that he was a man.
"I won't forget," Barkov said, "I want him too."
Santos diPfEd his head in acknowledgment of his t»ss.
Theirs was an uneasy alliance. As long as Barkov had the
money and the men, Santos would obey.
"Now, my dear," Maxim Barkov said to Agrafina. He
stepped back and dusted imaginary specks from his clothes as
she wept. "You will do exactly as I say. As long as you do,
THE MAYAN CONNECI'ION
169



169
our friends Nick Carter and Linda Stone will live. Dis&y
e . and I will let Tiger Santos have them. You and I will
atch. " He laughed softly as he pictured the torture in his
ind.
Linda looked at Carter. He shrugged and smiled reassur-
gly at her.
' *Take them away," Barkov ordered his airmen. "Put
m in a room and you guard them. No Indians this time. "
Surrounded by Barkov's renegades, Carter and Linda
alked to the door.
' 'May I help you up, my dear?" Barkov said to Agrafina,
hing out a hand.
As the two agents walked out the door, Agrafina's deep
obs followed them and joined the weeping of the Indians in
courtyard.
That night at Rancho Monte Vista was cold. ne chill wind
eeped in around the doorofthe hut built oftimbers. High up,
single window with iron bars caught the wind. It funneled
own cold on Caner and Linda where they lay huddled
gether beneath a thin blanket. The floor was of long wood
lanks that stretched unbroken the length of the prison hut,
bout eight feet. No one could tunnel out.
Tears ran down Linda's face. She rubbed her arm across
er eyes and sobbed.
"I thought he was right," she said. "Papa Hiler knew
verything. He was right about my mother. She didn 't love
at other man. She just . . . just wanted him. "
' 'We all make mistakes," he said soothingly. "I knew I
as low on bullets. I should've checked."
"We didn't have time!" she wailed. "I didn't think Bar-
ov would kill him-—and Philip, too' "
"Being an agent is a nasty business," Carter said. "You
am not to trust anyone. And Barkov has no ethics. He's
ore dangerous than any man with a dream. Your general
ad a great dream."
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NICK CARTER
She ncxlded and sobbed into Caner's chest.
He held her warmth against him in the cold cell. Outsid
their Russian guards talked, their voices muffled by the thi
wooden walls. Ille two agents were completely surrounde
with no weapons or equipment. And the Russians were w
They knew better than to fall for any of the Killmaster
famous tricks. Carter was worried.
Linda moved against him, her b•cxiy liquid, flowing in
and over him.
She lifted her face and kissed his cheek.
"You're so wonderful," she murmured. "I know y
hurt. "
He held her to him, feeling the painful throbbing in
other arm. Ihe bullet had passed through. Once in the pris
hut, Linda had bandaged it with a strip from her co
huipile. There would be no medicine for Carter here.
He brushed her pale hair from her forehead and pressed h
lips against the warm skin.
' 'What will happen to us now?" she wondered.
He kissed her eyes where tears were drying.
"We'll work it out," he said. '*Do you know the 0th
preparations Barkov and General Hiler made for their plan?
'SMost of them," she said thoughtfully. "If the gove
ments say yes tomorrow morning, then there are Russi
and Indians throughout Central Arnerica who will begin
transition to a centralized Itzamnå government. They 'II ha
the airports ready to ferry out foreigners, and all foreign bo
and ships will be sent away. There are three big Cuban cam
with tanks and Gucks and gun emplacements. The Cubans
supposed to turn those over, too. "
"And if the governments say no?"
Linda sighed , a shudder trembl ing through her light body
"Then the jets go out," she said. ' "Ihey'll bomb as
general said, and they'll strafe the Cuban installations t
put them out of commission. "
'*'l thought so."
"It'll be a global war, won't it?" Linda asked.
THE MAYAN CONNECTION
"It could start one,yes. "
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THE MAYAN CONNECTION
"It could start one,yes. "
171
"What will we do?" she ask4 her face solemn.
"I've been asking myself the same question. "
"If you're worried, then I'm terrified. I thought that
"You thought that I could solve all problems instantly.
Wish I could. " Carter smiled ruefully. "Right now Barkov
has all the cards. We need to get out so that we can steal a few
for ourselves. "
"There's no way to escape," Linda moaned.
'That's what worries me, " Carter said.
Tension thickened the cold air ofthe little hut. Outside , the
guards laughed, confident of their jobs and lives. They were
pioneers of a new country that would make them rich. Inside,
Caner and Linda held each other. The tension could drive
them apart, or it could bind them together, isolated against a
questionable future.
' 'I don't understand the world," Linda said softly.
don 't understand how gcxxl people like Papa Hiler get driven
to do such crazy things. "
"When we understand that, maybe it'll stop. "
"Maybe we can all just be happy together."
Linda moved her head back and looked into Carter's eyes.
He stared into hers, the lapis lazuli color black in the dim
moonlight from the high window. He remembered the color
as if he could see it now.
He kissed the eyes again , and she murmured and burrowed
against him like a small fragrant animal. She kissed his neck.
"You taste like salt, " she said, licking his skin. "What do
I taste like?"
She lifted her lips, and he kissed her.
Her mouth throbbed. His tongue found hers. The dark cell
was warrner, friendlier. She curled over him. He pulled her
huipile down over her shoulder and kissed her throat and the
warm hollow beneath. She trembled and slid a hand up under
his shirt.
His lips trailed over her smooth skin, down to her breasts.
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NICK CARTER
She panted, her breasts hot.
"You taste like sex," he said huskily. "As good as you
did in that bathtub."
She moaned and pulled down his trousers. He slid the
loose white dress from her body. She fell on him, kissing his
body and caressing him in an explosive mixture of passion
and fear.
He turned her over, his eyes not leaving hers, and together
they the world.
Yvhen the door of the cell 0fEned, early morning light
streamed in. Carter was curled around Linda, his hand hold-
ing her naked breast. The bone-thin form of Maxim Barkov
st€xxi in the doorway, his hands on his hips. He smiled
without humor. He'd found just what he'd expected.
Casually, Carter pulled the blanket up to cover Linda.
She moved languidly , murmured, then her eyes.
"Good morning, Colonel," Carter said. "Have a good
sleep?
Linda stiffened beside him, now completely aware of the
cell and Barkov. She waited.
"Not' as eventful as yours," Barkov said and walked
arrogantly into the hut. He was pleased. He'd found a way to
be superior to a Killmaster. Barkov not only didn •t need sex,
he hated it. And now he could despise Caner as weak.
"A delightful night." Carter smiled.
He stocxi up naked in the brisk dawn air. Barkov turned his
back, disgusted, and Carter dressed.
"l came to offer you a business proposition," Barkov
said.
"I can't imagine what. "
Caner gestured for Linda to get up and dress while Bar-
kov•s back was turned. She and picked up her
clothes.
"Any word on your demands yet?" Carter asked.
' 'We don't the answers for a few hours, " Barkov
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173
said, glancing over his shoulder. Carter and Linda were
dressed. He turned, a small man whose flesh clung tight arui
hard to a wiry frame. He was dressed now in a beige tropical
suit. His were white patent leather. A flashy red,
yellow, and blue silk scarf cascaded from his suit jacket
pocket.
' 'What atyjut breakfast?" Caner said.
"You're hungry. G0(xi," Barkov said, then slipped a
hand inside his jacket and pulled out Carter's gold cigarette
case. Would you care forone? " he offered, the case.
Carter and Barkov chose cigarettes.
"Allow me," Carter said, taking the lighter from Bar-
kov's hand. He lit the cigarettes.
"I was stationed in Los Angeles for a while," Barkov
said. s 'An interesting city, but there were many cars, too
many restaurants, and too many tourists looking for movie
stars. What a waste. "
' 'Power is the trst aphrodisiac?" Carter commented.
'The symtx)ls are meaningless," Barkov agreed. He
paced the length of die room, counting his steps. Then he
paced the width. "A disgrace to end your days in a hole like
this. "
' 'It's better than selling out, " Carter said.
' What is your offer?" Linda asked. Her face was bland,
without expression. Her sexuahty was gone, erased by will.
She knew it would have no effect on Barkov.
The renegade Russian agent smiled coldly but with new
respect.
"You are interested, my dear? Go«xi. " Barkov smoked.
"l need someone to replace Hiler. It's very simple. "
'Hiler had gocxi relations with the United States, " Carter
said. "You need sorneone who can deal with them. A front
'SA partner, " Barkov corrected. "l'll give you a
age. You have been an agent a long time, Carter. I know how
it wears. The physical and mental exhaustion. The emotions
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NICK CARTER
constantly under control. Never enough ürne to rest, to enjoy
the good things in life. Always taking orders. "
"I chose it, " Carter said. "It's what I wanted, what I still
want. "
s 'I was born in the United States," Linda said. "l have
relatives in Texas. "
Barkov smoked and studied her thoughtfully.
"ltzamnå is an idea whose time has come, " Barkov said ,
addressing them both. 'The United States and Russia are
tired of the chaos here, the drain on their resources. They
would like a solution they can live with. A neutral country
that would continue io supply them from its resources. With
both a Russianand an American running Itzamnå, they could
save face and feel some assurance about the future. "
"What atX)ut the Maya?" Carter asked. S *What will they
think? lheir idea is to be rid of dictators. "
"Nonsense. " Barkov waved his cigarette in the air. "All
they want are the little things. Land, a home, work. Their
glory is history."
' 'Agrafina's been giving you trouble," Carter said.
Barkov walked to the door, then returned.
"Some, " he admitted, ' 'but she will come around. E.S1r-
cially if you—-and Linda—join us. She trusts you. She still
has the Itzamnå dream. "
'But you're not part of it," Linda said. "I am. I want to
see her. "
' 'Your woman has good sense, i' Barkov said. He ground
the cigarette out on the floor. "If she joins n•r, I
won't need you, Carter. " He gestured Linda to the door.
'Think about it, Killmaster. "
It was Carter's turn to smile.
s 'If I refuse, you can kill me with impunity, Caner said.
' 'It's what you want anyway. What kind of partnership
would that make?"
'The best," Barkov said. "We each know where we
stand. No illusions, just business. Think of the power we
would have—ruling our own nation! "
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175




175
That's not power, " Carter said. S Vlhat's self-destruction
for all of us, living that inhumane way."
Barkov shrugged and followed Linda to the doorway.
'Think about it, Carter. You have an hour. " He pulled the
wristwatch off his ann and threw it to Carter. "Count the
minutes. Then I will kill you. Myself. " He laughed in his
high, feminine voice, and for a moment Carter saw the
unveiled hatred in Barkov's eyes. Barkov hated what he saw
in Carter, a real man with deep beliefs, a man he couldn't
understand, couldn't buy, and could never be. But Barkov
could kill him, the eyes said, and for the Russian that was the
ultimate power. Barkov nodded curly and strode out the
door.



====================================





EIGHTEEN
Nick Carter watched out the single high window of his cell
s Maxim Barkov and Linda Stone walked toward the ha-
ienda. It was eight o'clock, and the sky was already a
izzling blue as if to deny the cold front that had passed
uring the night. Soviet airmen walked slowly around the
rison hut, their rifles resting on their anns.
Two of them stopped and Icx»ked up at Carter.
"Look!" one of them said in Russian, grinning up at
ere "Snow White and had a baby! "
' 'fie great Killmaster doesn't look so great behind bars! '
e other said alki laughed.
' 'You 're educated enough to go see cartoons?' ' Carter said
Russian. "Next you'll tell me you know how to read and
s 'He SIEaks Russian! " the first airman said, surprised.
'Insults work better when you speak the language, " Car-
er commented. g 'Otherwise they're just the rambling in-
ities of a coward."
The Russians looked at one another, then glared at Carter.
"You'd better get back to work," Carter suggested.
'Barkov doesn't like idlers. He can't fire them, so he kills
hem."
"l h0fP you fry to escape, capitalist pig," the second
ard spat. He aimed his rifle at Carter and looked through
e site. "Please fry to
178
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NICK CARTER
The airmen hcx)ted and resumed their walk around the hut.
Carter sat on the floor and looked around the small woode
cell. ne walls were made of timbers, the bark old
peeling near the ceiling. Below, it been stripped off b
prisoners with too much time and not enough to do. Initial
and messages in Spanish and Mayan were carved on
timbers.
Carter felt around the walls, looking for loose logs that h
could pry out to make a hole. The walls were solid. H
jumped on the floor planks. Also solid. He had no equi
ment, no way to escalk on his own.
He lay down on the mat he and Linda had shared,
stared up at the ceiling. Flies crawled across the beams,
swooped down to land. He waved them away.
Outside he heard the ranch noises of animals and people
work. Gildren shouted at play. The day's sounds of nor
malcy were misleading. Jeeps and trucks rumbled across
ranch's valley. They would be can-ying supplies and men
readying preparations either for war or for a new natio
delivered by the United States, Russia, and Cuba.
He refused to glance at the watch. He passed die tim
quietly, letting his body absorb the rest that it badly needed
He waited for Linda. She was new to her work, but she w
devious. If he'd capitulated to Barkov, he would have
surrounded by the Soviets at work. At least he had few
guards here.
One of the skills a Killmaster leams is to care for his bcxiy
an important piece of equipment. In past missions, Carter h
catnapped in the branches of trees, in trenches half-filled wit
water, and under fire waiting to do reconnaissance work
Now he willed himself to relax his tense muscles. He cl
his eyes and allowed the drifting sensations of sleep to over
whelm him.
ne softplop of cloth hitting wood awoke him. His bac
pack through the window. He heard Linda's voi
THE MAYAN CONNECI'ION
179




179
outside, cheerfully offering coffee and rolls to the Russian
guards beside the door to his prison hut.
He opened the backpack. Inside were Wilhelmina, clean
socks, and a roll of what looked like striated tape. Carter
laughed softly to himself, picked up the tape, and went to the
window.
The guards were nowhere in sight. In the distance, the
Indian villagers went about their work among the huts and
tiendasj weaving cloth, carrying water, tending to children.
Quickly Carter wrapped tape along the tops and bottoms of
the three window bars. He rubbed his nail along the tape. lhe
iron under the tape sizzled. The hot stench of metal burned
his eyes.
He pulled the bars into the room and put on his backpack,
then jumped up and balanced himself on the windowsill.
Carrying Wilhelmina, he somersaulted back onto the
ground and flattened himself against the hut's timbers, slip-
ping to the edge of the wall.
Linda's head was thrown back; she was laughing at a
soldier's joke.
He saw her eyes flicker in his direction, surprised. She
held the reins of a horse. The three Russians were laughing
with her. She laughed again.
Carter lunged. Knæked the butt of Wilhelmina against
one Russian's head. Kicked the tElly of a second.
Linda lashed out a foot and tripped the third airrnan.
Carter punched the airmen out. They would uncon-
scious long enough.
Carter grabbed the horse 's reins and leaped into the saddle ,
then reached a hand down for Linda. She picked up one of the
Soviet guards' rifles and mounted behind him.
As he wheeled the horse away, Indians watched in the
distance, then ran for the hacienda.
"I thought I was going to have to break you out, " Linda
exclaimed breathlessly as they ga1101Ed toward the east
mountain. "How did you get past those bars?"
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NICK CARTER
s 'One of AXE's new inventions, ' ' Carter said and smiled.
"It's nine o'clock and we've got work to do!"
ney raced through the sunlight toward the green jungle.
Carter tumed once and saw Barkov run out of the courtyard,
trailed by a swarm of Soviet airmen and Indians. They were
heading toward jeeps and trucks parked nearby.
"Watch the west! " Carter said as they galloped on.
They glanced over their shoulders. Sudden firestorms shot
up among the trees to the west, billowing fires that sputed
orange flames brown smoke that towered high above the
jungle trees.
When Carter and Linda reached the wall of green brush
that marked the beginning of the eastern jungle, they turned
to ride the edge.
Barkov's posse was in an uproar. Indians peeled away on
horses and in pickups toward the fires that looked as if they
could spread and destroy the ranch.
Thank Gcxi the Indians have open fields, ' ' Linda said as
they rode and watched.
"Dry and wet tinder make good fire and smoke, " Carter
added. "Enough to scare any rancher."
The renegade Russians watched briefly as the Indians left,
then they turned their vehicles to chase Carter and Linda.
Barkov stood upright in the lead jeep. He held onto the
windshield with one hand. The other hand waved fuHously
above his head as the vehicles roared off in pursuit.
Carter and Linda raced to the road that climbed the east
mountain and dipped into the valley beyond.
Ahead of them on the road was a jeep loaded with crates of
supplies. The Soviet driver glanced at his rearview mirror,
then seemed to leap out of his seat with surprise. He lowered
his head, hunched his shoulders, and the jeep put on a burst of
srEed.
Still galloping, Carter took Linda's rifle, aimed carefully,
and fired.
The back of the driver's head explcxied. He pitched for-
ward onto the wheel, the pulpy mass of his head steering. The
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jeep crashed left into the thick trunk of a trec and stalled.
Carter Linda sped toward it. Far behind them, the
Soviets' jeeps and pickups sent brown dust clouds into the
air. They were gaining.
Carter reined in the horse and jumped off at the jeep. 'Ihe
horse snorted and blew white lather off its mouth. Linda
stroked its neck and leaned fonvard to murmur into its ear.
Caner shoved the bloody driver across the seat. He started the
jeep and backed it up over the road so that no other vehicles
could pass. He tumed it off, leaped out, and yanked spark
plugs from under the hood.
He and Linda galloped on, up the winding mountain road.
The jungle sun beat down. the heat creating watery mirages
ahead on the dirt track. Behind them, towering flames licked
the blue sky above the westem mountains. When Carter and
Linda reached the top of the mountain, they tumed.
Barkov 's men had stopped. Ihe vehicles formed a snaking
line behind the disabled jeep. Soldiers circled the jeep and
finally decided to push it off the road and into the brush.
"A great idea, Nick!" Linda said and laughed as they
watched Barkov.
The KGB man in his tropical suit stormed among the
soldiers, pounding backs arui yelling with frustration that
they couldn't move the jeep faster.
'Let's see whether the Cubans were able to get over here
too," Carter said and urged their horse to a gallop.
They tore down the rough road, past trees and brush and
small animals ducking back into their holes. Down below,
Carter could see the jets, now uncovered and gleaming in the
sun. A few pilots and mechanics wandered among the planes,
checking wheels and gas gauges. ney were waiting for the
amval of more pilots and orders to take off on the bombing
mission for Itzamnå that could start a worldwide holocaust.
*lhere were no Cubans in sight.
"What will we do?" Linda asked.
' 'Get to the Westwind," Carter said, his Luger ready.
They raced on in the heat of the sun. Jungle smells filled
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NICK CARTER
the air.. The thick foliage of trees and plants brushed their
sleeves as they came out onto the valley floor.
The sentry was waiting; he had heard their horse. He'd
expected jeeps and u•ucks. His rifle was high, aimed.
But it was another horseman who got him.
Tiger Santos, lips stretched back over his teeth, barreled
out of the jungle on his horse and trampled the Russian
sentry.
' Caner is mine! " he shouted as the man writhed on the
road.
Santos hurled himself off his horse, wrarpi his amus
around Carter, and pulled him to the ground.
Bullets exploded on the road around them as Linda tried to
get a clear shot.
Santos pummeled Carter with his fists, short sharp jabs
that broke the skin on Carter's face and shot red-hot streaks of
pain through his injured arm.
Carter leaned back fast, tElted Santos in the then
leaped to his feet.
Santos scrambled up, his face pinched in hatred.
Carter blasted a fist to Santos's jaw.
ne Nicaraguan was an intuitive fighter. He ducked, and
the blow scraped along his head.
Santos kicked high but missed. He spun to face Carter
again.
Carter knicked Santos 's shoulder with one fist, then waited
for Santos to
As predictable as night following day, the intuitive Santos
dodged, and Carter smashed him square in the face.
Santos grunted, stared amazed at Carter, then crumpled
into the dirt.
High on the mountain road above them, Barkov's vehicles
thundered toward them.
"What are you going to do with Santos?" Linda asked.
"He'll be after us again. "
"He may be useful later," Carter decided.
He grabbed the reins of Santos's horse and threw them to
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183
Linda. He heaved Santos's over the saddle, mounted
behind him, and they rode toward the planes. Alerted Soviet
soldiers were running for their rifles. Soon shots rang past
Carter and Linda. -mey leaned low over their saddles, gallop-
ing through the jets toward the Westwind.
There a line of airmen knelt, crouched in their green
uniforms like a row of beetles. They fired their rifles in a
continuous barrage of bullets. It was a lethal wall. To bridge
it head-on meant certain death.
Carter and Linda raced into the nearby jungle. Bullets
whizzed after them, ripping leaves and tearing branches. The
two agents leaped off their horses into the underbrush. The
sweating horses tore away, snorting in fear. Carter dragged
the unconscious Santos t'Eneath a tree and tied him there with
the lariat from his saddle. The jungle foliage covered him like
a green mouth. Caner took the Luger from Santos 's belt. He
and Linda knelt the bushes and out.
The renegade Russians had spread flat in a line, making
small targets. Their eyes searched the jungle, concentrating
on where Carter and Linda had ridden in.
They shot judiciously, üying to draw Carter and Linda's
fire.
'There are so many of them, " Linda whispered. "Do we
have enough ammunition?"
"I hope so," Carter replied ' 'Here they come!"
As Barkov 's jeeps and trucks roared into the valley, three
Soviet soldiers started crawling toward the jungle where
Carter and Linda waited.
Carter aimed slowly, then fired.
One of the crawling soldiers shouted and his
shoulder.
Linda shot, hitting another in the arm.
lhe Russians fire.
Linda cried out and bit her lip. oozed from her arm.
' 'Damn!" she breathed, looking at the ann.
They fired at the soldiers who crawled toward them at a
steady pace.
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NICK CARTER
"How bad is it?" Carter asked her as he fired.
Linda shook her head and almost smiled. "I 'II be okay. "
She fired her rifle at a soldier who crawled with his ass in the
air. He fell flat, his buttocks bleeding.
Carter held up his hand. His keen ears heard twigs snap and
branches rustle inside the l*rimeter of the jungle.
Linda looked at him. She heard the sounds too.
'SOh, hell!" she cried. "We're surrounded"'
Maxim Barkov's jeeps and bucks skiddd to stops arnong
the jets. His loyal soldiers and airmen poured out of the
vehicles. They knelt and fired over the heads of their com-
rades, their tuiies rigid with training and determination.
Linda shot at the sounds of crawling men in the jungle.
"Stop! " Carter warned her as he blasted away at the men
in the clearing.
She stared at him, surprised.
' 'Ahi Nicky! You do have all the fun! " ne voice floated
to them through the leaves and branches.
S Careful, Cecil," Carter called softly.
' 'Cubans?" Linda wanted to know, turning to fire again at
the Russians.
"You Ixt! i' Carter said and grinned. "Reinforcements!"
The Russians filled the landing field before them, and their
bullets back at Carter and Linda. Ihe jungle rocked
with gunfire.
"Wouldn't have one of your fine bumers on you, would
you, Nicky?" Cecil Young asked as he crawled through the
jungle toward Carter and Linda. His scratched faced beamed
with accomplishment.
"Sorry," Carter said. "Barkov confiscated them. " He
looked again at the old gentleman as he knelt on the moist
ground. "Where'd you get the shiner?"
Young fired and hit a distant airman in the side ofthe head.
ne old agent grinned broadly at Caner, his left eye swollen
red and purple.
"A love spat, my boy," Cecil Young explained.
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185
S'He deserved it!" Felicia Santos said. S 'Lecherous old
astard! "
Felicia squatted beside the men, then looked curiously at
inda in her soiled white huipile and sandals as a dozen
bans crept around them in the jungle and lined up low to
e on the Soviet soldiers in the clearing,
"She fights with you?" Felicia asked Carter.
"She's Carter said.
Felicia nodded, pleased. Ignoring the bullets whining past,
he shook Linda 's hand and introduced herself.
"What now, Nicky?" Cecil Young asked, "We're out-
umbered. Still want to follow the plan?"
"It'll work," Carter said. "We've got a trump card. "
"What?" Cecil and Felicia asked in unison while Linda
miled.
"Your brother. "
Felicia's eyes narrowed, she looked amund her.
'Tiger?"
Behind the group, resting under the brush so that only his
loody face showed, the tied-up Tiger Santos lay glaring at
m in his filthy black jumpsuit.
Felicia drew away, lips curled.
"He'll never help us!" she said. "He's sold his soul to
arkov! "
' 'He doesn't have a choice," Carter said. "Here's what
e'll do. "
Ihe jungle steamed with heat. Animals and birds
anished. The Cubans and Russians continued to fire, slowly
•cking one another off as Caner told Cecil, Linda, and
elicia the plan.
Dunng a lull, Felicia crawled back to Santos.
' 'Do you hear me, tigre?" she said.
He closed his eyes in disgust.
'Tigre! Tigre! Papa knows about the cat. He's going to
hip you! i'
Santos blazing eyes.
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NICK CARTER
"Bitch!" he hissed at her.
my brother," she said. s 'Papa didn't believe
about the cat. He may never believe your treachery h
either. But we know. You 'II do as we say, or you 'Ildie! " S
slashed her hand across her neck and rolled her eyes.
Santos glared at her and at his former Cuban comrades
stared back hard-eyed, then shot again at the Russians.
"You'll shout to Barkov that you've killed me, "
said, pushing his Luger against Santos's heart. 'That's yo
part. And then you'll drag me out. Understand?"
Santos lifted his head and saw the Soviet soldiers filling
clearing.
S' You are he said. "I don't have to do a thin
Barkov will kill you himself!"
'Perhaps, little brother, ' ' Felicia Santos said, ' 'but you '
die before you see that! "
' 'No one loves you here, Santos," Carter said. "If y
don 't do what you 're told, you won't live another five
utes."
Santos looked at Carter, at Felicia, at the Cubans, and th
back to Felicia. She grinned at him and stroked her rifl
Santos was suddenly a little boy backed into a comer.
S Okay," hé mumbled.
"All set," Caner told the Cubans.
They passed the word down the line.
The Cubans, Felicia, Cecil, and Linda dropped flat on
ground. ney quit firing. It would take a few seconds for
Russians to realize the gunfire from the jungle had st
The first thing they would think was that Carter and
friends were slipped away to escape through the wilderne
Carter untied Santos, then motioned for the Nicaraguan
crawl with him to the jungle's edge. As Santos passed
Felicia whisJrred to him.
'My rifle will be on your heart every second, ' ' she warn
him. sone mistake, and you're dead!"
Carter saw the pain in her eyes as she spoke. Santos mis
it, not that he would have cared.
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Carter stretched out on his back behind a bus. On the other
side were the jets and the Russians. Santos crept to Carter's
shoulders. Carter held Wilhelmina close to his side wherethe
airmen in the field wouldn't be able to see it.
The Russians stopped firing. They listened and watched
womedly. Soon they would shoot again to protect them-
selves as they closed in on the jungle to investigate.
"Now! " Carter commanded Santos softly.
Santos didn't move.
-s 'If Felicia doesn •t you by the time I count to three,
will!" Carter snapped. ' One . .
"Barkov! " Santos shouted across the opening. "It's me,
Santos! I have killed Carter! The others have gone!"
Silence.
Through the bush, Carter watched Barkov try to decide
what to do. Two soldiers turned to him, questions on their
faces. He waved them off.
"Again!" Carter told Santos, fingering the Luger.
'Should I bring him out? " Santos shouted. His young face
was twisted with a child's uncontrollable fury and hate.
"Yes, dammit!" Barkov yelled in return. He couldn't
resist the tempting offer. "Bring him out!"
Barkov motioned to the soldiers to follow him, their rifles
aimed at the jungle.
Santos picked up Carter's shoulders and dragged him into
the clearing. ne Cubans crawled away along the jungle's
perimeter. They would try to encircle Barkov's men.
Once in the full heat of the sun, Carter started sweating.
Barkov and his men closed in. Carter shut his eyes.
"How did you get him?" Barkov asked, his footsteps
moving steadily near.
"Back, " Santos said in a tight voice. "Straight through to
the heart. "
' man," Barkov said. Carter heard the satisfied
smile in his tones.
Gunfire blasted the stillness.
g 'It 's a trick! " Santos screamed, falling to the ground, his
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NICK CARTER
arms around his head. "It's not my fault!"
Carter rolled a.s the Cubans fired into the group of stunned
Russians. Barkov's narrow face twisted with lethal bitter-
ness, this time directed at Santos, not at Carter.
'Traitor! " Barkov accused.
Carter dashed through the soldiers whose only thought was
to protect themselves from the Cubans' accurate bullets.
'No! No! ney did it! Ihe Cubans! My sister! " Santos
begged, now on his knees.
"Slime! Scum of the earth!" Barkov shouted and shot
Santos might through the heart.
As blood ran into a lake around Santos's chest, Carter
leaped to the Westwind's door.
' 'Tigre!' ' Felicia's mournful voice rang above the gunfire.
Carter slammed the door aryl raced for the controls. While
the Cubans Russians fought outside, Carter started the jet
and taxied it toward the runway.
Barkov chased the plane on foot, cursing, firing a rifle
wildly.
Carter's turbojet soared into the hot morning air. He cir-
cled quickly over the west mountain where faint plumes of
smoke marked the dying fires that the Cubans had set in
plowed fields. Indians sto«xi around the smoking earth, hcrs
over their shoulders as they watched the last embers die.
Carter checked his gauges and conu•ols for the General
Electric miniguns. He flew back over the landing field built
on Agrafina's inheritance. Some of the Soviet pilots were
warming up their jets. Others were lined up on the airsüip as
first one plane and then a second flew into the air.
Carter dipped his wing, then soared over the lined-up jets.
He strafed them with a continuous, revolving stream of
bullets. Jet engines and fire once again shot up into
the mountain air.
The two jets that had made it into flight tumed and SIEd
toward Carter. Carter saw one of the pilots. Barkov!
Carter dipped his other wing and turned, firing off it
straight into the other pilot's face. The pilot fell forward,
THE MAYAN CONNECTION
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189
blood splattering the broken window, and the plane spiraled
down. It explcxied in thejungle, tall flames jutting toward the
cloudless sky.
Barkov 's jet passed over Carter and angled behind it, then
shot into the Westwind's tail section.
Carter flew straight up, then twisted.
Barkov followed. His was bad. ne bullets
streaked by Caner's windows.
Carter circled back down, then looped to the left.
Barkov sped after him, bullets Carter's wings.
Carter felt his turbojet shudder. lhe plane couldn 't take
much more.
Carter dropped frie nose, pulled back on the throttle, then
angled sharply right.
Barkov flew past, unable to follow Carter's intricate ma-
neuvers.
Caner swung the other jet and looked directly into
Maxim Barkov's hate-twisted face. Perverted rage blazed
from his eyes as he shot his guns at Carter.
Carter dipped his bullet-pocked wing and fired at Barkov.
Barkov pounded the window as the bullets crashed
through. His shoulders and head explcxied into a b10(xiy,
unrecognizable mass.
Even in death, Barkov was angry. His fist continued to
pound the air where the glass had been as his jet nose-dived
into a cluster of undamaged, immaculate Russian jets trying
to take off.
A giant fireball shot up from the crash, ne explosion
rocked Carter's Westwind, and he rcxie the controls away
from the flames.
Carter let out a long breath. He was covered with sweat.
He balanced the Westwind and flew back over the airfield.
Barkov was dead, and his soldiers no longer had a leader to
rally them. The men threw down their weapons and raised
their hands as Cecil, Felicia, and Linda led the Cubans out
from the jungle.
The guerrilla band moved the Russians into a tight knot
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NICK CARTER
and picked up their guns. ne triumphant fighters raised the
rifles above their heads, and waved and cheered Caner. He
stared down, smiling, and watched the only figure in
white-—Linda-—as she danced victoriously on the land ofthe
Maya. Itzamnå was over.



====================================





NNETEEN
Mexico City sprawled and throbtHi under a cloak of
smog. Horse-drawn carts rolled in the streets among Buicks
and Fiats. People with destinations down the
sidewalks, carrying briefcases and packages. Homs honked.
Friends talked. And vendors on streetcomers called their
wares: ' 'Flowers' " ' 'Peaches"' "Avocados"' "The finest
pottery in all Mexico! "
Nick Carter and Linda Stone sat at one of the tables outside
the Acapulco Café near Mexico City's great square, the
Zbcalo. They drank Dos Equis tEer and watched the bustle of
the largest city in the world.
"Nothing's changed," Linda said.
"Did you think it would?" Cater smiled.
She wore a skimpy silk camisole top with narrow straps
that showed her exquisite shoulders, and a short skirt to
display her long legs. Her arrn was bandaged in white. Her
blond hair was brushed back, glossy and sleek, over her
shoulders. With her big dark sunglasses and dangling gold
eamngs, she looked like a tourist even in her own city.
"I it's like when you lose your virginity," she
said. "You expecteveryone tonoticeyou're different. When
they don't, you hope that at least they'll seem different to
you.
"You're no longer a virgin agent."
192
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NICK CARTER
'I suprx)se I'll never feel like this about it again. ' ' She hid
a stricken look on her young face.
"Probably not," Carter said and grinned. S 'There are
worse things. "
Carter was freshly shaved and showered, and was dressed
in crisp clothes tailored to fit him. He'd had two days of
regular meals and two nights of Linda. A real vacation.
"What's it like for you?" she said curiously.
"Being an agent?" he said. "Satisfying. nie work is
important to me."
That 's one of the reasons you 're so gcxxi at it, " she said
with a smile. 'Was your superior with your report?' '
*'Relievai," Carter laughed. even called during office
hours-—-sony, private joke. He's c«ie-named it White
Jaguar, just to annoy the KGB. "
They laughed together and drank their beers. Ihe air
smelled of tacos, tortillas, fried shrimp, and fried pork
skins. A waiter carried a tray to a nearby table. He set down
tall sherbet glasses filled with fruit ices.
' 'Where do you suppose they are? ' ' Linda asked, looking
up and down the sidewalk.
' 'They'll come when they•re ready."
Linda ncxlded, and her gold earrings jingled.
"I love the Zöcalo, i' she said. Her gaze moved across the
great square. "When I was a little girl, the buildings around
here like magic. They 're so tEautiful, so intricately
designed and painted. But they're suspended on the ooze of
an old lake—Lake Texcoco. See how they're tilted and
sinking? They could fall over any minute, those big build-
ings. But they never do. ' ' Her voice was childlike, filled with
awe. "I thought people were as reliable."
"You're a real tough agent," Carter said, amused.
e 'I will be!" she declared. g 'I won't make the same mis-
take I did at Monte Vista. I'll never let personal feelings
interfere with my work again. "
' Gocxi girl, " Carter said and reached across the table to
hold her hami.
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193
"Do you think Agrafina will all right?" She at
"She's where she wants to IE, living the life she loves.
at's all any of us can ask."
"But her father's gone . and Philip. "
Her hand was small and long-fingered. She wore three
•ngs-—an emerald, a filigreed gold band, and a ruby—two
n the right hand and one on the left. He held both hands in
"Agrafina knows Philip loved her," Carter said. 'That
elps. "
' 'He sacrificed himself, " I inda said softly, looking at her
ds and then up at Carter. g 'I'll miss you. "
"You have your work now," he said.
"Will it be enough?"
"It has to be. "
She wore a perfume so light that he could only catch whiffs
f it. It was as subtle as she, and as changing.
'You have the Barkovs of the world to stop now, ' ' Carter
ent on gently. "As long as there are crople, there'll
gades and scavengers who live off others. Some will
w so powerful that they'll threaten our civilized way of
ife.. Your job is to help stop them. "
' 'That's a lot for just one prson."
"You're not alone," Caner said. He lifted her small
ands, unfolded them, and kissed the palms. "I'll miss you
' he said. "Very much. "
' 'Geerio, children!" Cecil Young called.
Carter and Linda smiled at each other and looked up.
' 'Been waiting long?" the British agent said. "We've had
uite a day!"
He and Felicia Santos strode toward Carter and Linda's
ble:
"He buys me everything!" Felicia said gaily. She depos-
ted an armload of bundles trside her chair, then sat down
d fanned herself with her hand. "Clothes, toys, books! For
children! "
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S 'Arab oil money," Cecil said m(xiestly as he sat trsi
Felicia with even more bundles.
She looked at Carter and Linda.
"We've come too early," she announced. ' 'They sti
want to alone. "
"They've been alone enough," Cecil said. He pull
Felicia to him and kissed her mouth. She leaned into him
' 'We want to be alone too!" he said.
The quartet laughed, full of the joy of their successfu
mission aryl the past two days of leisure. Carter waved for th
waiter to bring menus. As the sun filtered through overhang
ing pepper trees onto the patio, they ordered their farewel
lunch. 'Ihey talked and told jokes, and Nick Carter felt
familiar stimng along his shoulder blades. He watched th
streets and sidewalks pulse with people, old and young
poorly and elegantly dressed, with faces showing gocxi
evil. Any one of them could be his next assignment; any on
of them could want to kill him.