by David Archer
Kate nodded and smiled at him. “Rex,” she said, “it’s—it’s good to have you back.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Noah’s phone chimed, and he glanced at it to see that it was a text message from Neil. He opened it up and read, “I need rest. Just keep looking at the new moon, and we’ll be there before you know it.”
The message meant that the mole had been in contact through the car forum’s email system, and it had been relayed into the game that Neil was playing as part of his cover. Neil and Noah had devised a simple code that would allow him to send Noah the phone number that always appeared in the messages. The first seven words of the message would start with a letter that corresponded with the correct number on a telephone dial pad. Noah’s mind read the message and instantly translated it to 467-555-2866.
“Kate, I’ve got to step outside and make a phone call,” he said. She only nodded, still checking the cabinets and drawers to make sure he had put everything in its proper place.
Noah stepped out the back door and walked far enough away to be sure she could not overhear him, then dialed the number. It rang twice, and then the distorted voice answered.
“I wanted to tell you that you were quite effective in Odessa,” the mole said. “I also wanted to discuss something else with you, if you have a moment.”
“I’m all alone,” Noah said. “Just spit it out, will you?”
“I get the impression, Mr. Wolf, that you are not entirely happy in your present employment, and yet it seems perfectly suited to you. May I ask what the problem might be? Oh, and that was a polite way of saying tell me what the problem is.”
Noah hesitated for a moment, then let out a sigh. “You already know so much about me, so I’m sure you know I just got married, right?”
“Of course. Go on.”
“We both know, my wife and I, that our lives aren’t likely to be very long in this business, and one of us is going to end up alone, sooner or later. I don’t like the fact that my wife has to be part of my team. I know we both got recruited because we were looking for a way out of the penalties we were facing, but I just wish there were a way I could get her out.”
“I actually thought that might be part of the problem. Tell me something, Mr. Wolf, what would you say if I told you I could accomplish that? That if you were to agree to work exclusively for me, I can make it possible for the two of you to be certified dead and then give you new identities. I have it within my power to completely erase you from the system so that your fingerprints, your DNA, no matter what system might be used, will not come back to you. I could pay you very, very well to handle situations for me, and you would be sleeping at home with your wife most nights. Considering your skills, I suspect you will survive any mission I might send you on. You could give your family a normal life, Mr. Wolf, even have children if you wish.”
Noah was quiet for several seconds, but then he spoke rapidly. “Don’t play with me,” he said, “don’t tempt me with something you can’t deliver. If I tried to cut out on the outfit I work for now, they would never give up trying to hunt either of us down, not me or my wife. I won’t even listen to any idea like that unless you can guarantee they will consider us dead. Can you do that? Can you really do that?”
“Of course I can,” the mole said. “All I would need is to know the location and nature of a mission that requires your entire team. I know that she’ll be joining you in a couple of days, so it might even be possible to use this particular mission that you’re on at the moment.”
“Holy crap,” Noah said. “Geez, man, this is outta left field, you know?” He made a point of stomping around in the gravel for moment, holding the phone down so that the mole could hear his footsteps. He put it back to his ear a moment later. “I’ve gotta think about this. Hey, what about—there’s another kid in my team, Neil, the computer guy. What if I wanted to bring him out, too?”
“Could you honestly trust him? If he made any contact with his past, it could lead back to you and Sarah. I think you should consider carefully before risking your lives for a third party.”
Noah sighed deeply. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I just hope they reassign the kid; he’s pretty good at what he does.” He stopped talking for a couple of seconds, then went on. “You said I’d be home most nights. What’s the risk rating on the missions you would send me on?”
“Rarely higher than a four. Most of the time it will be like Odessa, simply applying persuasion. Occasionally, I may need to take advantage of your skills as an assassin, however. I manipulate powerful people, Mr. Wolf. You can’t always do that without applying the most personal form of warfare.”
Noah crunched around in the gravel for a few more seconds, again holding the phone away from his ear. When he put it back, he said, “Okay, let me get this straight. You want me to let you set it up so that E & E thinks we’re dead, and then I have to work for you. In return, I get to give my wife a chance at a normal life, maybe even to the point we could have kids. Now, here’s my question: what happens if, somewhere down the line, you get really pissed at me and decide to let my former employers know where I live?”
“As long as you do the jobs I ask of you, there’s no risk of that. Mr. Wolf, this is simply a business proposition. It gets you what you want, and gets me an asset that I desperately need. If you need to think it over, I understand. I’ll be in touch again in a few…”
Noah cut him off. “The only part I need to think about,” he said, “is how far I trust you. Remember that I’m out here in the cold, and if we do this, that means my wife will be out in the cold as well. I have absolutely nothing to convince me you won’t cut my throat sooner or later. Toss me a lifeline, here, would you?”
There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds, but then: “What kind of lifeline are you looking for?” asked the distorted voice.
“A meeting,” Noah said. “Face-to-face, you and me. You can take any security precautions you want, bring me in blindfolded, whatever. Before I can agree to this, though, before I can agree to put my wife’s life on the line, I want to look you in the eye. If I do, I’ll know just how far I can trust you.”
The silence lasted longer this time, and Noah began to wonder if the line had gone dead. Suddenly, however, he heard the distorted voice again. “No one sees me face-to-face, Mr. Wolf. Even if I were inclined to do what you asked, I don’t have anyone who could blindfold you and bring you to me. The fact is that this is how I have remained in operation for more than five years. I understand your need to know if you can trust me, but you must understand that I do not trust you, or anyone else.”
“You’re offering me the only hope I’ve ever got of having a family,” Noah said quickly. “I want to take you up on it, I really do, but I don’t want to put us at even greater risk than we already face. If you really want me as badly as you say you do, you find a way for us to meet. That’s all I’m asking.”
“As I said, Mr. Wolf, I understand. I will be in touch.” The line went dead.
Noah put the phone back into his pocket and went back inside the house.
“Everything okay?” Kate asked as he stepped back into the kitchen.
“It’s my wife,” he said, smiling. “She’s pretty impatient about getting out here. They’re getting all packed up and ready and will be on the way shortly.”
“Well, I’m looking forward to meeting her. She must be quite a woman if she can put up with you.”
Noah grinned. “I’m pretty sure you won’t be the first person who ever told her that.”
Kate glanced at the watch she wore on her wrist. “Holy smokes,” she said. “I know we had a late lunch, but it’s almost six o’clock. I need to get home and have some dinner and then get to bed. I have to get up awfully early in the morning to go to work, you know.”
“Then let’s get out of here and I’ll buy you dinner,” Noah said. “You pick the place.”
“Just run through one of the fast-food joints,” Kate
said. “I don’t have time to go out. I’ve still got to get a shower and everything.”
They got back into the car and headed out, and Noah made a stop at the burger place. They got their order at the drive-through, and Noah drove on to Kate’s house. “I need to gather up my things from here, anyway,” he said as they went inside.
“No problem,” Kate said. She grabbed some napkins from the counter and put them on the table, then sat down and ripped open the bag. “Forgive me, but I’m starving. I’m a creature of habit, and it’s my habit to eat my dinner at six o’clock. That habit is probably why I have this waistline, but oh, well. There are some curses in life we just have to learn to live with.”
Noah raised one eyebrow at her as he sat down and unwrapped his own sandwich. “I know the plan calls for you and my wife to become friends, but I think she’s honestly going to like you. You talk a lot like she does.”
“What can we say? Great minds think alike, right? Don’t worry, she and I will get along just fine.”
They finished eating and Noah went to gather his things out of the bedroom he had been using. He hadn’t completely unpacked, so it only took him a few minutes to shove everything back into his bag. The only thing that didn’t make it was the dirty clothes he hadn’t had a chance to wash, yet. Kate stepped in and handed him a plastic trash bag for those, then reminded him that they had bought laundry soap. “You do know how to use a washer and dryer, right?”
“I do,” Noah replied, “and I even know how to fold my clothes when they’re done.” He shoved the last of his dirty clothes into the bag and then turned and smiled at Kate. “Listen, thanks for everything,” he said. “We’ve got to keep up this act for a while, so we’ll be seeing a lot of each other. I just want you know I really appreciate what you’ve done, both for the mission and for me personally.”
Kate started to speak but looked flustered for a moment. She closed her mouth and then opened it to start again. “You really are a lot like my brother,” she said. “This is probably as close as I could ever get to having him back, even for little while. I should probably be the one thanking you.”
Noah carried the bags out to the car and found several teenage boys standing around it, staring. Their tongues weren’t exactly hanging out of their mouths, but the overall visual effect was about the same.
“That’s your car, man?” asked one of the boys.
“It is,” Noah said.
“Is that a General Lee car?” another asked.
“Yeah, it is. It’s a 1969 Dodge Charger, but the General Lee wouldn’t have been able to keep up with this one.” He slid in behind the wheel and watched the boys as he started the big engine. Their eyes, already wide, got even bigger when the 540-cubic-inch hemi engine roared to life. The whining of the blower drive system could just be heard over the rumble from the exhaust system, and when Noah revved the engine once, the boys looked like they were about to jump out of their skin.
He tapped the horn once and put the car in gear, backing out onto the road and then starting the twenty-minute drive to his new and temporary home. He got there without incident, used the remote on his sun visor to open the garage door farthest from the house, and tucked the car inside. He closed the garage door, grabbed his bags, and carried them in. The door from the garage entered through the utility room, so he dropped his dirty clothes bag onto the washer as he walked on toward the master bedroom.
He tossed his bag onto the bed and then opened it to put his things away. There was a beautiful old dresser, which he planned to leave for Sarah, so he took the four-drawer chest that stood on the other side of the room for himself. He didn’t have that many clothes with him, so it only took a few minutes to put everything away. His bath and shaving kit went into the master bathroom, and he was suddenly glad Kate had thought to buy towels. He took a long shower and then wrapped a towel around himself and sat down on the bed.
He took out his phone and dialed Sarah, and she answered quickly.
“Hey, babe,” she said. “We still haven’t gotten on the road. All the stuff we have to bring with us won’t fit into my car, so we have to get a trailer. Your buddy Wally is putting a hitch on my car for me tonight, but I won’t be able to get a trailer until tomorrow morning, about eight o’clock.”
“That’s okay, honey,” Noah said. “It’s actually only about a nine-hour drive. If you leave there by noon, you’ll be here by ten o’clock, local time. I’ll text you the address so you can come straight to the house. My sister, Kate, helped me get some dishes and stuff, but if you don’t like what she picked out we can always go get more.”
“Oh, come on, Rex, you know I’m not that picky. I’m sure it’ll be fine. I’m just excited that we’re finally going to have a home together.”
“Me, too, babe. Is Neil giving you any trouble?”
“Not really,” Sarah said. “He’s just got so much computer junk that he has to bring along. If it wasn’t for that, we’d already be on the way.”
They talked for several minutes and then said good night. It was only a little after eight, but Noah planned on being up bright and early. His new job would actually begin in the morning, when Ralph Morgan was released from the hospital, and he planned to be there long before that happened.
* * * * *
“How is he doing?” Neil asked. “Everything going okay over there?”
“Seems to be,” Sarah said. “That sister of his is being awfully helpful. Apparently she helped him pick out dishes and such for the house today. She and I might have to have a little talk when I get there.”
Neil just looked at her for a moment. “Please correct me if I’m wrong,” he said, “but isn’t that something a sister would do?”
“Yeah, but… Okay, fine, you’re right. I’m just a little jealous, okay? Now that he’s mine, dammit, I have a right to be jealous.”
Neil, his eyes wide, held up both hands and surrendered. “Did I say you didn’t? I’m quite sure I never said you didn’t have a right to be jealous. You can be as jealous as you want to, I don’t mind a bit.”
Sarah burst out laughing and threw a couch pillow at him. “Knock it off,” she said. “Don’t ruin my mad when I’m just getting it going. Besides, when I finally get to meet this ‘sister,’ I’m probably going to like her. From everything I’ve read about her, she seems like a pretty good person.”
“She’s a fed,” Neil said. “There’s no such thing as a good fed.”
“You butthead,” Sarah said. “Remember something—we’re feds, too.”
“Yeah? And your point is? But at least we’re better than FBI agents. All we do is kill people; those bastards ruin their lives and then make them keep living.”
Sarah stared at him for a moment. “Neil, what on earth soured you on the FBI so badly?”
Neil grimaced. “Who do you think came after me when I hacked the bank back in high school? I’ll never forget how they marched right into school and took me out of my twelfth grade English class. I was handcuffed and dragged out like I’d murdered someone, right in front of everybody I knew. I was railroaded through court, tried as an adult, and sentenced to ten years for something they called ‘digital bank robbery.’ I hadn’t actually stolen anything.”
“But you did hack the bank, right? I mean, if you committed a crime, why were you so surprised when you got arrested?”
“Because I thought I was too good to get arrested, okay? I thought I had outsmarted everybody, but my whole life went down the tubes when they arrested me. The only good thing was when one of the agents on my case, a woman, said she didn’t believe I was a danger to anybody, so they sent me to a federal prison camp, instead of putting me into one of the actual prisons. At a camp, you have to go out and get a job, and as long as you’re back on the premises of the camp when you’re supposed to be, you don’t get hassled. I got hired on at Geek Squad, and that’s where I met Rafael.”
“Rafael? I don’t think you ever mentioned him before. Who was Rafael?”
“You’re saying, he was smart, but you were smarter?” Sarah asked.
Neil shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so. He told me he wasn’t surprised, that he had figured out right from the get-go that I’d pass him up in no time.” Neil looked thoughtful for a long moment, then turned back to Sarah. “You know, it turned out Rafael was the one who put Allison on to me. She actually went after him first, but he told her that I was better, and that I deserved the second chance more than he did.”
Sarah cocked her head at him. “Why? What was he in for?”
Neil looked down at his lap for a moment, then turned his face up to look into her eyes. “He had hacked into the traffic control system in San Francisco about eight years ago, and accidentally—which the court believed, by the way—set every traffic light to green. Over three hundred accidents happened over the span of twenty minutes, and a hundred and fifteen people died. He was still trying to fix the problem when the cops tracked him down and arrested him.”
Sarah looked at Neil’s face for a moment, then picked up the remote for the TV. “Let’s find a movie,” she said. “Real life is too depressing.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Noah was awake at six and was shaved, dressed, and out the door by six thirty. Morgan had told him the day before that Ralph’s doctor was supposed to see him around eight thirty or nine, but Noah wanted to be there early and talk to the men who were already watching over the boy. There were two sheriff’s deputies at the hospital when he arrived, but one of them was Collins. Noah walked up to him boldly, and the deputy cut off his conversation with his colleague.
