by L.T. Ryan
Chapter 4
“Christ,” Bill exhaled loudly and grabbed the back of his head. “Let him go. Put the table back.”
Nathan and Jim let go of me. I turned, pressed my back to the wall and inched toward the far corner of the room. The two men slid the table to the middle of the room. Bill stood in front of the door, his head turned.
The three men nodded at each other.
Bill cracked the door.
“Yeah?”
The voice responded low and hushed. I couldn’t make out the words. Bill covered most of the door with his body. Nathan hung back in the corner nearest me. Jim stood a few feet from Bill.
Bill took a step back, looked over his shoulder at me and shook his head. “Nathan, watch him for a minute.”
“OK,” Nathan said.
Bill and Jim stepped out. The door closed behind them. Nathan walked backward to the door. He kept his eyes on me.
“Bet I could take you down,” I said.
Nathan laughed. “They let you Jarheads smoke some good stuff, huh?”
I gave him a half smile and winked. “Ten seconds, fifteen tops.”
His smile faded. Eyes narrowed. “Screw you, Noble. You wouldn’t stand a chance.”
I took a step forward. I held my shoulders back and my arms out to the side and back, ready to attack.
Nathan banged on the door.
The door clanked open and Jim stuck his head in.
“What?”
Nathan nodded in my direction. “He’s getting flighty.”
Jim disappeared. The door stayed open. Nathan didn’t move. I had hoped my actions would get him out of the room so I could have a few minutes to check the table. No such luck. Jim and Bill returned.
Bill looked at me. He shook his head. “You must give one hell of a reach around, Noble.” He pulled out a pair of steel handcuffs. Stepped toward me, slowly, his eyes fixed on mine. “You’re being sent back to the States.”
The left side of my mouth lifted into a smile. I held my hands out in front of me. I kept my eyes fixed on his.
“On whose orders?”
Bill didn’t respond. He grabbed my right wrist with his left hand, slapped the one side of the handcuffs over my arm, lifted and tightened and then did the same to my left wrist. He took a step back, lifted his head and looked me in the eye again. “Keller.”
I nodded. Keller or Abbot, it didn’t matter. The decision came down from both of them. I was sure of that.
“You’re not out of this garbage yet, Noble. They’re taking over the investigation, that’s all.”
He turned, pointed at Nathan with a nod and stepped out of the room. Jim followed.
Nathan walked toward me. “Think you can take me down in ten seconds now?” He chuckled.
“Faster,” I said. “I got a weapon now.” I held my arms up and let the chain between the cuffs sag in a u-shape.
“You’re something else, Noble,” he said. “Too bad we never got the chance to work together.”
He placed a large hand in the middle of my back and pushed me toward the door.
I didn’t resist. What about Bear, though? I didn’t want to turn their attention to him, but I had to know if he was getting out or if he was stuck here. It seemed like they had it out for me. Bear was just unlucky enough to be my partner, which was usually the case. I stepped through the doorway into the dimly lit hallway and saw Bear standing in the middle, surrounded by three CIA agents. He nodded with a wink. It looked like we were going home together.
