by David Archer
“Well, isn't that special,” Neil said. “And all this time I thought it was because you didn't know how to be afraid of anything? Isn't that what makes you so valuable to us all, the fact that you don't have emotions like fear inside you?”
“I'm with Moose and Neil on this one,” Sarah said. “Look, Noah, there's no doubt you're a tough bastard, but you're not Superman. Bullets don't bounce off of you, remember? We're supposed to be your support team, but you're leaving us behind.”
Jefferson grinned at Noah. “They do have a point,” he said, “but of course, the final decision on the plan is always yours. If this is the way you want to play it, then so be it. To be honest, I agree with you for the most part, but if you go out there and get yourself killed on your first mission, Allison is never going to forgive any of us. She has staked an awful lot on you, so you need to do your best to make sure she collects on that investment.”
Noah nodded. “Point taken, and guys, I do understand your concerns and I do appreciate them. We're still going to do it my way. And right now, what we're going to do is go get some sleep. We'll meet tomorrow morning for breakfast at seven, and then we'll start putting this plan into operation. Any questions?”
There weren't any, so they each got up and went to their own rooms, taking with them the things that Jefferson had given them, and leaving their usual phones with him. Noah got inside his room, set the boxes down on the table, and went straight to the shower. Twenty minutes later, he was in bed, and a few minutes past that, he was asleep.
He woke at five thirty, his internal alarm clock working the way it always did, and began thinking over the things he would be doing that day. He had to choose a hotel to stay in, but he didn't think that would be difficult. Jefferson would know which ones were best, and he would get his advice at breakfast. He didn't plan to take a gun with him, because it would be out of character. Smalltime drug dealers carry guns; the big ones don't, not because they're so tough, but because they're worth so much money that even their enemies are reluctant to see anything happen to them. After all, you never know when you might have something your enemy wants to buy. Things like that happened all the time.
There was a small coffee maker in the room, so he made a pot, but the stuff reminded him of what he had been given on death row. He took a single sip from the first cup, then dumped the whole pot down the toilet. Since his appetite for coffee was now whetted, however, he decided to go on down to the restaurant and get a decent cup there.
He stepped out of his room and turned to go to the elevator, but he heard his name and knew it was Sarah's voice. He stopped and turned to her, waiting so that she could catch up.
“I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep,” she said, “so I heard you moving around. When I heard your door open, I figured you might be heading down for coffee. Mind some company?”
“Not at all,” Noah replied. “The rest of them ought to be coming before too long; we can either sit and drink coffee, or get an early start on breakfast. Up to you.” He extended an elbow, and she smiled as she linked arms with him. They walked together to the elevator, and stepped inside when it opened.
TWENTY-TWO
The restaurant was just off the lobby, and was just opening. The waitress smiled at them as they came in, and hurried to set glasses of water on the table in front of them. “Hi, good to see you,” she said rapidly. “My name is Tina, I'll be your server this morning, can I start you off with some coffee?”
Noah nodded, giving the girl one of his better smiles. “Yes, please, for both of us.”
“Okay, I'll be right back with your coffee, and you can take a look at the menus while I'm gone.” She spun and hurried behind the counter, where fresh coffee could still be heard brewing. Sarah chuckled, as the girl stood and stared at the pot as if mentally willing it to hurry.
“Well, the service is good,” she said. “Hope the coffee is. I tried that stuff in the room, and it nearly killed me.”
Noah nodded his head. “I made a pot of that stuff, and threw it down the toilet. It was horrible.”
Tina returned a couple minutes later with their coffees, and Noah said they were waiting for friends, and would order breakfast when the others arrived. The waitress smiled and nodded, and bustled off once more.
The two of them sat and chatted for a few minutes, talking mostly about their rooms. Sarah said her bed was too soft, but other than that she thought the room was wonderful. Noah shrugged, not sure what to say about his own room other than the fact that he had slept well.
Neil was the next to arrive, which didn't surprise Noah. The boy was often up as early as he was, and had even come over and tapped on the back kitchen door a few times back at the house, joining Noah for his first cup of coffee in the mornings. As far as he was able, Noah felt that he truly liked the kid. There were things about Neil that reminded him of his pal Jerry, from his foster home days. Jerry wasn't as tall, but he was also shy and clumsy, and could be just as sarcastic.
Moose and Jefferson showed up together only a few moments later, and Noah signaled Tina when he saw them enter. The waitress hurried over, rushed off to get more coffee, then scribbled their orders down as fast as she could. “Okay, I'll get these in and we'll get them right back to you,” she said, and then she was gone again.
Neil watched her go, shaking his head. Moose looked at him, then turned to look at the girl before turning back to Neil.
“Neil, you think she's cute? Want to tap that?”
Neil slowly turned his face back so that it was facing in Moose's direction, but shook his head. “No,” he said. “I'm trying to figure out where on earth she could find that much energy this early in the morning. If we can follow her to its source, we might have something as valuable as gold. I mean, even meth couldn't give her that much, could it? I think she's found a whole new drug, and I want some of it.” He slowly turned his face back to look at the rapidly bustling waitress.
Sarah laughed, and Moose chuckled. Noah looked at Neil, then looked at the girl. “Maybe she's just one of those people who likes early mornings,” he said, and all four of the others turned to look at him. He looked from one to the other, until he had looked at all of them in turn. “What?”
“Neil was making a joke, Noah,” Sarah said.
Noah nodded. “I know,” he said. “I was just adding my own observation.” He looked at his three teammates again. “If I hadn't been with you guys, I would've laughed along with you, but you all said I didn't have to pretend with you. I mean, if you want me to go back to it, I can.”
Sarah shook her head. “No, it's fine. It was just that we forgot about that. For a second there, it seemed like you just didn't get the joke.”
“I didn't, not really. I mean, I realize it was a facetious statement, about her finding a new drug, but I don't really understand exactly what makes it funny.”
Moose knuckled his shoulder. “Don't sweat it, Noah,” he said. “That was our bad, not yours.”
Jefferson was looking at Noah. “You know, knowing about your—what condition?—knowing about it is one thing, but actually seeing it, that's something altogether different. It must've been rough, growing up like that.”
Noah shrugged. “I guess it probably was, but I don't have anything to compare it to, so I can't tell you for sure. On the other hand, to me, from what I've seen of what emotions do to people, I sort of feel like the lucky one.”
Neil's eyebrows went up, and he nodded sagely. “You have learned wisdom, Grasshopper,” he said. “The rest of these mortals might not understand it, but I would give just about anything to be like you in that regard. I've had all the emotional pain I can take; I'd be glad to be completely unaware of what it is.”
Moose looked at him. “That's why you're such a smart ass,” he said. “You try to keep everyone at a distance, so no one gets close to you and can hurt your feelings. Right?”
“Why, Milton, you missed your calling, you should have been a psychiatrist,” Neil said. “
That's exactly what my last four shrinks all said, so you're at least as smart as them.” He rolled his eyes.
“Call me Milton one more time,” Moose growled, “and you won't have to worry about ever getting your feelings hurt again.”
“Enough,” Noah said. “Today's a big day. We get to actually go to work, finally.” He turned to Jefferson. “You got a suggestion on a hotel for me over there?”
Jefferson nodded. “I did a little research on that last night, and I think the place you want to go is the Hampton Inn. They've got good security, and the taxi drivers that are allowed to pick up there aren't as likely to try to kidnap you as most of them.” He blinked. “Not that I think any of them could actually manage to do it, but you might as well avoid what problems you can, right?”
“Good point,” Noah said. “Okay, I'll have Sarah drive me over there in a couple of hours and drop me off. Neil, will your little transmitters work there, too?”
“Of course they will, they'll work anywhere. The way they're made, they turn on when you peel them off that paper, and then you can stick them anywhere they won't be noticed. The little micro batteries in them are good for about two, maybe two-and-a-half weeks.”
Sarah started looked at him. “Two weeks? The battery in my cell phone won't even last all day, how can something that small have a battery that will last two weeks?”
Neil rolled his head onto its side and peeked at her from under his eyelids. “The battery in your cell phone doesn't cost even a tenth of what one of those little dots is worth. I guess when you're willing to spend enough money, you can get just about anything you want.”
Jefferson laughed. “He's not kidding,” he said. “One of those sheets, with only twenty of those dots on it, cost us almost eighteen thousand dollars. Our gadgets department didn't even know those things existed until now.”
“You're welcome,” Neil said with a smile. “Gratuities are accepted willingly. Especially if they're in cash.”
“Okay, okay, the reason I ask is because I'd like to put a couple in the room I'm staying in, over there. Just in case somebody follows me back, or I have a reason to take someone back with me, I want to know somebody can listen in. Neil, can you show Moose how to monitor these things, so you can get some sleep now and then?”
Neil looked at Moose, then turned back to Noah. “I've got a tablet I can give him, so he can listen in. I'm not letting him touch my computer. Nobody touches my computer. But, yeah, that way he can sit there and listen to all the boring crap that goes on, so I don't have to. I can be doing more important things, like analyzing the intelligence that comes in.”
“Okay, just make sure you guys work out a schedule so someone is always listening. You can use Sarah, too, as long as she's just sitting around here.”
Tina brought out a huge tray and set it on a table beside them, then started passing their plates over. The whole process took only a couple of minutes, and she was gone again. Noah quit talking about business while they ate, but breakfast didn't take very long. Twenty minutes later, they were finished and headed back to their rooms.
Noah had told Sarah to be ready to go at nine o'clock, then went back to his room and gathered the things he'd be taking with him. He had given Jefferson his genuine ID, and now had John Baker's wallet in his pocket, as well as the passport. The other items he was taking with him went into one of his suitcases, including everything from the special shopping list. Several of those things were in bottles that looked quite medicinal, and had labels saying they had been prescribed to Mr. Baker. Other items seemed perfectly innocuous, and Noah wasn't worried about a customs inspector giving him any static about them.
And then it was time to go. Sarah tapped on his door, and stepped inside when he opened it, then flung both arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.
“You know,” she said, “you could just take me with you. We can pretend we're married at the hotel.”
Noah shook his head. “John Baker is a single man, remember? Might be kind of hard to explain a wife, all of a sudden. Let's just stick to the plan, that's what I need to do.”
Sarah tried to pout, but Noah simply turned away and started picking up his bags, so she sucked her lip in and glared at his back. “Fine,” she said, “but if you get yourself killed, don't you come crying to me. Just remember, I tried to go with you.” She waited until he had all of his things ready to go, then turned and opened the door.
He followed her down to the parking lot, and straight to the car Jefferson had provided for. It was exactly where he had told her to look for it, so it wasn't hard to find the black-and-silver Chrysler three hundred. She used the remote to open the trunk, and Noah put his luggage inside it. They got into the car, and Sarah punched up the Hampton Inn Juárez on the GPS in her phone, then began following its instructions as she drove through El Paso.
There was a line at the border, so it was almost an hour before they actually made it into Mexico. Noah was half surprised that they hadn't been stopped and searched, like several other cars he had seen. Most of those had been newer sedans, as well, and he thought for a moment that Jefferson had made a bad choice. It wasn't until they were passing those cars, and he got a look at the drivers that he understood.
Racial profiling was not only a problem in the United States, he decided, because the Mexican customs inspectors only seemed to be searching black and Hispanic drivers. He and Sarah, both being white with blonde hair, were waived on through.
They didn't talk a lot as Sarah drove, but it took her most of an hour to get to the hotel, anyway. She pulled up in front, and let Noah go inside to get his room, while she waited.
A moment later, she was wishing she had her gun. There were probably a dozen Mexican men standing not five feet away from her car, staring at her and making what she was sure were rather sexist comments in Spanish. She was starting to get a little nervous when Noah suddenly reappeared. He motioned for her to open the trunk, and she reached down to push the button, then started to get out of the car.
“Kathy, honey,” Noah said with a Midwestern accent. “You don't need to get out, sweetie. Thanks for the ride, but you get on home, now. Tell your daddy I'll see him in a few days, okay?”
Sarah rolled her eyes, but smiled back at him. “Okay, Mr. Baker,” she said. “You know how to reach us if you need a ride back.” She started the car as he closed the trunk, and left rubber on the parking lot as she peeled out to hurry back to the Texas side of the border.
Noah, as John Baker, had taken a suite on the top floor, and two young bellhops ran to try to carry his bags for him, but he waved them away. He got into the elevator and rode it to the top floor, which was only accessible with his key card. When it opened, he turned to the right as the desk clerk had instructed him, and found his room only two doors down.
The suite was every bit as luxurious as any he had seen, and boasted not only a sitting room and bedroom, but also a huge whirlpool hot tub, as well as a jacuzzi in the bathroom. Noah shook his head, glad that he was spending Uncle Sam's money, and not any of his own.
He didn't bother to unpack, preferring to live out of his suitcases while he was there. He peeled off a couple of the sticker microphones and put one in the sitting room and one in the bedroom.
“Okay, let's test these. Neil, if you can hear me, give me a call.” His cell phone rang less than thirty seconds later. “Okay, they're working alright, then?”
“I can hear you better through my monitor than I can through this phone,” Neil said. “I wouldn't give you gadgets that don't work, boss. Trust me.”
“I do trust you, Neil, I just don't always trust technology. You wouldn't believe the things that failed us in the field when I was in the Army.”
“Oh, yes I would,” Neil said. “Everything the Army got was built by the lowest bidder. The nice thing about our outfit is that they don't have a budget. When I ordered the top-of-the-line, that's what I got.”
“Okay, I guess that makes sense. Good job, I'll talk
you later.” He hung up without another word.
He checked the time and found that it was only eleven, and decided to wait until early afternoon before going down to Eduardo's. That left about three hours to kill, and since he wasn't hungry, he decided to take a nap. He set an alarm on his phone, stripped off his shirt and shoes, stretched out on the bed, and was asleep in seconds.
The alarm went off, and he rolled up to a sitting position. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, stretched once, then went to the bathroom to freshen up. When he came out, he dug in his suitcase for his deodorant, used it lavishly, then slipped his shirt and shoes back on. He took three hundred dollars in cash from his stash in the suitcase, make sure he had his wallet, passport and room key, then left the room and went downstairs to find a taxi.
“Si, Señor?” The driver asked as he climbed into the backseat.
“I want to go to Eduardo's Tavern, do you know where that is?”
The driver looked confused. “Eduardo?”
“Eduardo's Tavern,” Noah said. “49936 Avenida de la Fuentes.”
The drivers face lit up with a big smile. “Ah, si,” he said, “Eduardo, si, Eduardo!” The little man turned to face forward, shoved the car into gear and roared out of the parking lot onto the street.
Noah was forced to hold on to the safety handle over the door to the backseat, but he managed to smile as he did so. He knew that Mexican taxi drivers were much like those in other countries, and drove like maniacs so that they could hurry back to get another fare. That was the only way they could make a decent living, especially in areas with poor economies, such as Mexico.
Noah caught the driver's eye in the rearview mirror. “Habla Ingles?” he asked, and the driver's face lit up again.
“Si, Señor,” he said. “I speak very good En-gleesh!”
