He paid the taxi driver, and exited the car. Once the car drove away, he looked at Cam and said, “Ready?”
Cam, decked out in an oversized t-shirt and cargo Capri pants, nodded and tugged at her t-shirt. “Yes.”
Since he’d watched her load up this morning, he knew every weapon she had tucked under her shirt or
inside the pockets of her Capri pants. If Diego were human, and things turned bad, they wouldn’t be able to use either of their powers. Even so, Cam would only use her weapons as a last resort.
He opened the door of the travel agency and entered the small shop first, to check out the interior. Since nothing jumped out or attacked him, he motioned Cam to follow him.
Inside, he saw faded tourism posters on the walls in a mixture of English and Spanish. There was also a single desk in the corner, with two chairs in front of it and a man sitting behind it. The man spoke to Marco in Spanish. “Can I help you?”
“Yes, a friend recommended this place as the go-to place for tours of the local area. My friend and I just wanted to see what you had, and go from there.”
The man behind the desk stood up. “You’re in the right place, my friend. My name is Diego.” He moved to a display of pamphlets. “What did your friend recommend? A tour of the historical Old Town? A visit to the Maquipucuna Cloud Rainforest Reserve? Or maybe my custom tour of the famous churches and buildings in Quito?”
Marco had to admit that Diego was enthusiastic about his job. He shook his head. “No, she mentioned a private tour to San Rafael, via the scenic route. Is that something you still do?”
Diego put his hands in his pockets and studied him. “Maybe. Where was this friend from? And who was it? I only ask because I give certain friends of mine bigger discounts than others.”
“Rosa Elena, back in Campeche, Mexico.”
The man darted his eyes to Cam and then back to him. “I see.” He walked to the front door and flipped the sign from “open” to “closed.”
He motioned toward the chairs and went to sit back behind his desk. “Tell me how you found Rosa Elena, and I’ll tell you if I still do that special private tour.”
He and Cam sat down, and he noted the slight irritation in her manner. Diego wouldn’t pick up on it, but Marco was fast becoming attuned to everything about the woman next to him.
He had an idea of why she was irritated, so he asked Diego, “Since you cater to foreign tourists, I’m assuming you speak English. So can we finish this meeting in English?”
Diego switched. “Okay, so tell me how you met this Rosa Elena.”
Cam looked at him and he nodded for her to take over. She turned back toward Diego and said, “Does the Great-Tailed Grackle mean anything to you?”
“Perhaps.”
“And what if I also mentioned the observatory?”
Diego glanced at the two of them, and then nodded. “So you found the message. But before I say anything else, I need to know why you went looking for it in the first place.” Cam leaned forward. “You haven’t earned the right to that information.”
Diego raised an eyebrow. “I don’t need to earn anything. You’re the one who needs my help, so give me an answer or you can leave.”
Cam opened her mouth, but Marco put up a hand to silence her. This man seemed a little overprotective for a mere messenger, but then he put it together. “You’re acting this way because you’re close to the person who left that message. Am I right?”
Diego’s eyes widened a fraction before his face returned to a neutral expression. “Then you understand my caution.”
Cam touched Marco’s knee to silence him, and she said, “Yes, if the wrong person got to this person you’re protecting, then things could get bad. But we’re trying to help. You have no reason to trust us, but the Four Talents are meant to be protected.”
The man leaned back in his chair. “And how do I know that you’re not just putting on an act? Just because you mention the Four Talents proves nothing. For all I know, you’re one of those people who want to use their powers for your own personal gain.”
Cam extended a claw. “Because I’ve got my own ‘special skills’ and I’m part of the damn army that’s going to help protect them.”
The man stared at Cam’s claw and Marco waited to see how he’d react. Mentioning the Four Talents was their last card to play before they resorted to force, and personally, he wanted to avoid that.
The man studied them for a few more seconds before he smiled and started whispering something Marco couldn’t hear. The man started to blur before his eyes, and Marco felt the urge to look away.
Before he could react, the whispering stopped and the man came into focus again, except this time he was smiling. “Then we have a lot in common, because so am I.”
Marco had no idea what kind of ability he’d just seen, but it put him on his guard. Latent abilities now made him think of the Collector, and while they’d been careful to cover their tracks—the giant DEFEND network of contacts was on alert for anything suspicious—he couldn’t let down his guard. Especially since thanks to Cam, he now knew that even Neena was on the hunt for this Collector woman. And any person who gave Neena trouble was dangerous.