Alicia myles 1 - Aztec Gold Read Free Page A

level.”
    “But he’ll want results.” Russo finally spoke up with an eye on Alicia.
    She thought she now understood the craggy-faced soldier. “I see. He’ll want to see some kind of return, yes? And Russo thinks he’s big enough to be field captain. Am I right?”
    “I follow orders,” Russo said immediately with a little glance toward Crouch.
    “Good. Then follow mine. That way, big boy, we won’t have to test the solidity of those magnificent cheekbones of yours.”
    “All right.” Crouch stood up at just the right time, averting a confrontation. “This team’s solid. Made up of the very best, hand-picked by me. I run it. I say how it goes. If anyone doesn’t like that they can leave right now.”
    No one moved. Alicia held Russo’s gaze.
    Crouch nodded. “Good. If we do this right we might even make a name for ourselves. The Gold Team. How do you like that?” He didn’t stop for an answer. “Consequently, it’s vitally important that our first mission is a success. That’s what makes its topic a little unfortunate.”
    Now Alicia blinked. “In what way?”
    And Zack Healey leaned forward, cheeks flushed with excitement. “We’re heading to Mexico in search of gold. Lost Aztec gold.”

THREE
     
     
    Alicia settled back in her seat. “Tell me.”
    “Well . . .” Crouch rubbed the bridge of his nose as if pondering where to begin. “Make yourself comfortable. I guess the story begins with the Spanish conquistador, Cortés, whose expedition in the sixteenth century led directly to the fall of the Aztec empire. Tales tell us that the man was in fact a fairly controversial character, ignoring direct orders to carry out his sea voyages—acts of mutiny in effect—even having to return to Spain on occasion to answer charges. Cortés was once quoted as saying ‘it is more difficult to contend against my own countrymen than it is the Aztecs’. At one point he was even suspected of poisoning the Ponce de Léon.”
    Healey joined in. “So with a boss like that you can imagine what his men were like.”
    Alicia ignored the young upstart.
    Crouch went on, “Well, after he ordered the scuttling of almost his entire fleet in order to minimize any potential retreat, the captain marched toward the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, gathering an even larger army as he went. Natives joined him—warriors of the Nahua in particular. His men massacred thousands even before they reached the great Aztec city. When they arrived, the city’s king, Montezuma, allowed Cortés and his men to enter the island city, perhaps hoping to learn their weaknesses.”
    “Enemies closer,” Healey put in.
    Crouch nodded. “And despite the locals’ offer of gold and jewels the Spaniards were driven to more frantic acts of greed and plunder. The more gold they saw the more they wanted—”
    “Huh,” Russo spat in a deep voice. “Nothing changes.”
    “Cortés believed the Aztecs thought him a god, the feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl, or at least an emissary of his, and perhaps they did. He wrote as much in a letter to the king of Spain. But Cortés remained a harsh ruler. When he learned that several of his soldiers had been slain along the coast by Aztecs he took Montezuma prisoner in his own palace and, without the population’s knowledge, ruled through him.”
    “A nice history lesson.” Alicia tried not to yawn. “But I’m not hearing anything relating to the treasure yet. Hey, are you going bald?”
    Crouch blinked twice, caught off guard. While he struggled for something to say the rugged Russo came to his rescue.
    “Try to concentrate on one thing at a time, Myles. Attention span a problem for you, is it?”
    Alicia turned in her seat. “Are we gonna have a problem, Robster? Cos my pit bull here, he really wants a piece of you.”
    Laid Back Lex was practically seething in his seat, an animal straining at its leash.
    “Calm down,” Alicia directed Lex and turned to Crouch. “Continue.”
    “Well, you