by David Archer
“Moose?” A faint voice managed to cut through the ringing sound that had been the annoying noise. The voice was soft, and he knew it was Sarah.
“Sarah, it’s Neil,” he said. “Any idea what’s going on?”
“Nicolaich,” she said quietly. “There was an explosion. It blew the door off the frame and knocked you cold, but I was still conscious. He walked right into the room with other men, and they dragged us out.”
“Oh, geez,” Neil said. “Oh, shit! What about Noah and Moose, are they here?”
“Moose is here, he’s over there by you someplace. He had a lot of blood on his face, he might be hurt pretty bad. They didn’t bring Noah with us. I think—I think they killed him.”
Neil was trying to wrap his head around the things she was telling him, but the ringing was making it hard to concentrate. “But you didn’t see them kill him?”
“No, but why would they leave him behind if he was still alive?”
“Because that crazy Russian son of a bitch likes to play his games. If he took us but left Noah, it’s because he wants to play cat and mouse. Oh, shit! Moose? Moose, wake up, man! Come on, man, we need you!”
“I’m awake,” Moose said very softly. “I’m playing possum. Sooner or later they’re going to come in here and need to move us. I’m trying to look as weak as possible so I can try to catch them off guard when that happens.”
“Do you know if Noah…”
“I don’t know anything for sure, but I don’t think they would’ve killed him. Like you said, Nicolaich wants to play his games. If Noah is alive, you can bet he’ll be coming for us.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Remember what he said, this team doesn’t leave anybody behind. If he’s alive, he’s trying to find us right now. If he were dead, they would’ve killed us already anyway, so I’m pretty sure he’s alive. We just need to do everything we can to be ready when he comes, because we might need to create some distractions here in the background.”
“How bad are you hurt?” Sarah asked.
“I’ve been a lot worse. I’m not hurt bad enough to slow me down much, if I can just get my hands free. As far as I’m concerned, these maggots that are helping Nicolaich all need to die with him.”
“I second that,” Neil said. “So what do we do now?”
Moose grunted. “Sit still, be quiet and try to rest. When the time comes, we’ll need all the energy we can muster. Do your best to save your strength for when we really need it.”
* * * * *
Lasher parked outside the hotel and walked in with Noah. With his help, the hotel staff agreed to give Noah access to the room Moose and Neil had occupied. That task finished, Lasher shook Noah’s hand and walked away.
Noah went up to the room and entered it. It took him half an hour to pack all of their clothes back into their bags and load them onto the luggage cart. The last item he loaded was the big 3-D printer, and then he closed the door behind him and pushed the cart to the elevator.
He stopped at the front desk to check out, and the clerk told him how sorry she was that his friends had gone missing. Noah thanked her and then wheeled the cart out to the parking lot where the Chrysler was waiting. He loaded everything into the trunk and then got behind the wheel.
He took out his phone as he pulled out of the parking lot and pushed the button to call Parker. The old man answered halfway through the first ring.
“Camelot?”
“Yes, Sir, it’s me. The whole thing with a telephone call was a set up, and I think I’ve figured out what it was all about. Nicolaich knew that I have someone who’s good at the high-tech stuff, and figured we’d be able to trace a call back to him if we knew who he was calling. He sacrificed three men to make me believe we had that chance, but what he was really doing was having someone else trace right back to Neil’s computer. He had our location at the same time we thought we had his.”
“I’m afraid we’ve come to the same conclusion,” Parker said. “And now he has your entire team.”
“Yes, Sir, but he’s tried this one with me before. He’s going to try to use them to bait me into a trap, but I’m going to flip it on him again. Incidentally, I got your message about calling Donnie Franco. I’m assuming you were trying to tell me to call Captain Hayes from Delta Force? Enlist his help?”
“The message meant for you to call him, yes, but I’ve already enlisted his help. He’s supposed to get you out of there, get you back here to Neverland as soon as possible.”
Noah was quiet for a matter of several seconds. “Sir, Team Camelot has a motto. We say that no one gets left behind. I need to go after them, Sir, even if only to make sure they’re properly buried.”
Parker sighed deeply. “Camelot, you’re too valuable. In a situation like this, I have to conserve my most valuable assets. In this case, that’s you. If you go after them, the most likely scenario is that you’ll get yourself killed. We simply can’t afford to lose you, not right now. Your team, unfortunately, is expendable; you are not.”
Noah frowned. “I understand, Sir, but I respectfully request…”
“Camelot, your orders are to contact Captain Hayes and allow a team of his men to escort you to Denver International. Our people will pick you up there when you arrive.”
“Yes, Sir,” Noah said.
“I know you’re supposed to be emotionless, but losing a team is going to be hard on anyone, even you. Let’s get you back here and patched up, let somebody else go after Andropov.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Very good. I’ll see you for debriefing day after tomorrow.” The line went dead as it always did when Doc Parker had said all he wanted to say.
TWENTY-TWO
Noah looked at the phone and found the number for Captain Hayes, but his thumb only hovered over it. He knew what would happen if he disobeyed the orders he had just been given, but just as he had done in the desert of Iraq, he considered whether those orders conflicted with what he knew was the right thing to do.
He also considered the conversations he had had lately with Sarah, and with Moose and Neil. He had acknowledged that his desire for Sarah’s happiness and well-being was a form of love, and acknowledged her own feelings for him. As far as the two guys, he had come to think of them as necessary to his life, which was probably as close to forming a true friendship as he was capable of coming.
If he didn’t play the game, there was no doubt Nicolaich would kill them within a matter of days. Noah was capable of accepting that fact, but the logical necessity of abandoning them seemed to sit heavy in the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t put a name to the feeling, but Noah realized that he was feeling an emotion for the first time in many, many years.
There was a conflict going on inside him, he realized, a conflict that was caused by some change in his personal makeup. In the past, back in Afghanistan, he had been forced on three occasions to walk away from men who could not be saved. He had never anguished over it, had never considered disobeying the orders to do so.
This situation was no different, except for that lump in his guts. The thought of never seeing Sarah, Moose or Neil again made that lump seem to grow.
Orders, however, were orders. Noah pushed the lump away as he picked up the phone to call Captain Hayes. It didn’t even occur to him to make a mental apology to the three he was about to abandon to their fates.
Before he could complete the call, his phone rang, and the caller ID said the number was restricted. Noah squinted at it for a second, and then answered.
“Hello?”
“Ah, the indomitable Noah Wolf,” said Nicolaich Andropov. “Are you ready for the next round of the game?”
“Where are my people, Nicolaich?”
“They are being kept in luxurious accommodations at the moment. That will change, of course, if you fail to cooperate with me.”
“Why should I do that? You’re going to kill them anyway, we both know it. Why should I give you any satisfaction when s
aving my friends is a lost cause?”
“Oh, but the cause is not lost. I assure you, Mr. Wolf, you most certainly can recover your friends alive and quite well. All it takes is some minor cooperation, and the four of you can be together again. You can take them home and tend to their injuries.”
“And what kind of cooperation are we talking about?”
“The kind you are most suited to. There is an individual that I need to have eliminated. If you complete that mission for me, I will return these three, shall we say, negotiating points to you. If you refuse, one of them will die each day for the next three days. The one to die will be chosen by the roll of the dice, so I can’t even tell you which one will be first.”
“You’ve got plenty of assassins,” Noah said. “Why would you need me to do your dirty work?”
“Let us just say that the target is an extremely difficult one. I feel confident that a man of your particular mental abilities can accomplish the mission, but I cannot imagine anyone else who might do so.”
“Then that’s what this has all been about? The attack on Neverland, everything, all just a ruse to get me in a position where you could blackmail me into killing for you?”
“That would be one way of saying it. What? Did you think I was still seeking revenge over Vasily? Bah, Mr. Wolf, come now. We are men of politics, of espionage, of Machiavellian manipulations and machinations that most men could not even conceive. Vasily wanted to be a part of that world, and he knew the risks. I no longer hold any ill will toward you over his death. Instead, I hope to take advantage of your considerable skills. And forgive me, please, for resorting to such subterfuge, but I couldn’t imagine that you might have been available for hire. This particular situation requires the best, and you are, in my opinion, the best.”
Noah thought hard and quickly. “First things first,” he said. “I won’t even discuss your target or your mission until I know for certain that they’re still alive. I want to see them, alive and with my own eyes. I’ll come alone and unarmed. All I want is to see them and speak with them.”
“I expected no less from you. We will meet this evening at eight. Go to the octagon at Windmill Hill Park on South Lee Street at that time and someone will be waiting for you. You will be searched, loaded into a vehicle from which you cannot see out and brought to my location, where you will see your friends for yourself. Afterward, we will discuss the terms of their release.”
The line went dead and Noah began planning. He scrolled through the contacts for a second, but then considered that Nicolaich had his number and could possibly be tracing or even listening to every call he made.
A sign just ahead caught his eye and he turned the car into a parking lot. One of the stores advertised contract-free cell phone plans and Noah hurried inside. Fifteen minutes later he walked out with a cheap folding cell phone and got back into the car.
Nicolaich had obviously gotten his number from Sarah’s phone, which also had most of the important numbers from Neverland in it. Noah couldn’t risk calling in to Doc Parker, just on the chance that Nicolaich might have traces on all of those numbers, as well. Still, he needed to reach someone back at headquarters.
An idea struck him, and he dialed the number for the Sagebrush Saloon. It was past noon, so there was a possibility Elaine Jefferson might be working.
“Sagebrush,” a hostess answered.
“Hey, I was wondering if Elaine is on duty yet?”
“Um, yeah, just a minute.” The hostess dropped the receiver onto something and yelled across the room for Elaine. Noah waited for about a minute, and then she picked up the phone.
“Hello?”
“Elaine, this is Noah. I need…”
“Oh, God, has something happened to Moose?”
“I can’t go into that. I need to speak to Doc Parker, but I can’t call in on the regular number. I need you to get a message to him, but you can’t call on the regular line, either. Somehow, I need you to get word to him to call me as soon as possible on this number, but to call from a number that is not associated with Neverland. Tell him that I have reason to believe that all of our phones have been compromised.” He gave her the number of his new burner phone. “Can you do that for me?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll—just tell me, is Moose okay?”
“As far as I know, he’s fine right now. That’s the truth, I won’t lie to you. I just have reasons why I can’t call in on normal channels, so this is very important. I need Parker to call me as soon as possible.”
“Okay, I’ll call my dad at home right now. He’ll know an unofficial number he can call on.”
She hung up and Noah sat in the car, thinking of how he might turn the tables on Nicolaich once again. There was one slim chance that came to mind, and he leaned back against the headrest as he tried to predict where the plan might have weaknesses.
His new phone rang only a few minutes later and the caller ID displayed a number he didn’t recognize. He answered quickly.
“Camelot,” Doc Parker said, “I received your message and I understand that our phones may have been compromised. What is your situation?”
“Sir, I was contacted by the subject a few minutes ago on my mission phone. He stated that he will return my team unharmed on the condition that I carry out a task for him. I told him I wouldn’t consider it without seeing them alive, and I have a plan that I believe will allow me to rescue them and deal with the subject. I’m requesting permission to put that plan into action.”
Parker was quiet for almost a full minute. At last, he said, “Camelot, this is an unsecured line. Because it could be easily monitored, I cannot act in any official capacity at this moment. You had already received instructions prior to this contact. Failure to follow those instructions could, under company policy, result in termination. If you choose to implement your plan, it is highly likely that you will face a review. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Sir,” Noah said.
“Very good.” The line went dead.
Noah looked up Captain Hayes’s number in the mission phone and dialed it into the burner. It rang four times before it was answered.
“Roadkill Café,” came Hayes’s voice. “Who’s this?”
“It’s Camelot, but this line is not secure. I have a situation that could benefit from your assistance.”
Hayes hesitated for a couple of seconds. “Dude, I got a call from some old guy who wants you back home on the reservation pretty quick.”
“I’m aware of that, and I’ve spoken with him. What I’ve got going on is pretty well off the reservation, but it’s critical. Has anyone countermanded your original orders to render me assistance?”
Again there was a hesitation, but then Hayes spoke. “Those orders have not been specifically countermanded,” he said. “What’s the gig?”
“Completing my mission and getting my people back. Let’s meet at the place where we first shook hands. Can you be there in an hour?”
“We’re there now. See you as soon as you can get here.”
Noah closed the little flip phone and shoved it into his shirt pocket, then put the car back in gear and headed toward the JSOC compound. The plan had weaknesses, that was true, but it was all he had.
The drive took forty-five minutes, but he saved time at the gate. Hayes was there waiting for him when he arrived, and the guards opened up without a question. Hayes slid into the passenger seat of the Chrysler and looked over at Noah.
“So what have we got going on?”
“Andropov set off a bomb in my hotel and stunned us all, then grabbed my whole team. He called me an hour ago and told me that he’ll give them back, alive and unharmed, provided I perform a service for him. I don’t know yet what that service is, but it’s a safe bet it involves the assassination of someone powerful. I told him I wouldn’t even consider it until I see my people face-to-face and know that they’re alive, so we have a meeting set for eight o’clock tonight. I’ve come up with an idea on how I can get my people
back and kill Andropov, but I need backup.”
“I’ve only got a skeleton crew,” Hayes said. “When I got the call to escort you back home, I sent most of my people back to Bragg. There are ten of us here, teams one and two from this morning’s operation, and we’ll continue to follow your orders until I’m told otherwise.”
“That’s all I can ask. Right now, though, I need someplace I can set up some equipment.”
“Our TOC is in the same room where you briefed us yesterday. Let’s head up there.”
When Noah stepped out of the car and turned toward the trunk, Hayes saw that he was limping and offered to help carry in whatever Noah needed. Noah thanked him, and pulled Moose and Neil’s bags out of the trunk so that Hayes could grab the big case with the printer.
“I need that inside, and set up on a table. Then we’re going to hope I can figure out how to use it.”
“Damn thing’s heavy,” Hayes said. “What is it?”
“That’s a self-contained 3-D printer that makes high explosives, forming them into any shape and color. I need to make a few accessories for my little rendezvous tonight.”
Hayes put the case on a table and Noah opened it up. The rest of the men gathered around as the printer extended itself upward and the control computer unfolded from the side.
“Here’s what I’ve got in mind,” Noah said. “I’m meeting someone at Windmill Hill Park at eight o’clock tonight. That person will take me to where my people are being held, so that I can see them. Andropov will be there as well, so that he can try to get me to commit to doing what he wants. Since I don’t know where I’m going, there’s no way for me to prepare anything on site in advance. That means that the only things I’m going to have available to me are things I can carry in on my person.” Noah pulled the chair over to the table and sat down in it. “I need a Colt forty-five, the old army style. Any idea where I can get one in a hurry?”
“I’ve got one,” Hayes said. He went to a pile of gear on the floor near the wall and returned with it a moment later. He handed it to Noah, who laid it on the table beside the printer.