by L. T. Ryan
The next day I took a drive into northern Virginia and stopped at Sarah's firehouse. The guys there told me that she was off for a couple weeks. I convinced one of them to give me her home address.
I drove to her apartment building and parked in front of the main entrance to the building her unit was located in. I took my time walking up the three flights of stairs that led to her door. I thought about what to say to her. Twenty or so opening lines went from winners to losers in the span of two minutes. In the end, I settled on hi. I figured she'd understand.
I knocked on the door. A minute passed with no answer. I hadn't bothered watching the peephole, so I wasn't sure if no one was home, or someone looked through, saw me standing there, and decided not to answer. After another round of knocking, a woman I didn't recognize opened the door.
"Sarah here?"
She shook her head.
"Know when she'll be back?"
"She left yesterday. Said she was going home to see her parents."
"Where's that?"
The woman looked at me like I was crazy and started to close the door.
"Wait," I said.
She stopped and arched her eyebrows with a slight shake of her head.
"Can you tell her Jack came by?"
"Oh," she said. "You're Jack Noble?"
I nodded.
"Wait here."
I waited.
She returned with an envelope. "This is for you."
As soon as I grabbed the cream-colored envelope, she slammed the door shut. I waited outside the apartment for a few minutes, listening for voices inside. I didn't hear any and decided to leave.
I sat in my car for five minutes, staring at the envelope that had my name written across the front. I opened it and pulled out a single folded piece of notebook paper. I carefully read the words Sarah had written for me.
Jack,
I've never met a man who excited me the way you did. When I was around you, I felt that I could do anything. Accomplish anything. Be anything. At first, I felt like I was in an action movie. You were the hero, and I was the woman who got mixed up in your dangerous world.
But, like all smart heroines, I came to my senses. I can't be with a man like you. The job you have, and the risks you take, it's all too much for me. No matter how hard I try, I can't envision a future with you as a part of my life.
Please don't try to find me, Jack. Don't search for my parents. Don't return to my apartment. Don't go back to the firehouse. I think it's best if you simply forgot about me.
-S
I half expected it, in a way. Sarah had gone through a lot, and it was my fault. I believed that even if we had started seeing each other, she'd have held some resentment toward me for what happened to her in Miami. Part of me had wanted to make these same points to her, but in the end, my desire for her had won out. And now I'd never know if there could have been a future for us together.
I opened the car door and swung my legs over and set them down on the pavement. I pulled a lighter out of my pocket and ignited it. The flame hovered below the letter for a moment, then the paper burst into flames. I held it in front of me until the fire grazed the tips of my fingers and I let the ball of flames fall to the ground and watched it until it was nothing more than black ash. I stomped it out for good measure, then said, "Goodbye, Sarah."
Alcohol got me through the night. I managed seven hours of uninterrupted sleep. The next day I drove to SIS headquarters. Frank came out of his office when he saw me step into the lobby.
"Jack?" he said. "What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be off."
"Got bored," I said.
"Come on, let's sit in my office for a few."
I followed him into his office. He closed the door and then walked around the desk where he took a seat across from me.
"Burnett wasn't just involved in this thing," he said.
"Oh yeah?"
"Son of a bitch masterminded it. We got everything. Records of every shipment. Names of the kids. Names of suppliers and purchasers. I got back from setting up the biggest damn operation you ever heard of. FBI and local law enforcement all across the U.S. The CIA is helping globally. We even got Special Forces joining in, from all branches. We're bringing them home, Jack. All of the kids are coming home."
"That's a lot of happy phone calls," I said.
Frank leaned forward. He narrowed his eyes and said, "What's going on? I thought you'd be excited."
"I am," I said.
"Then what is it?"
"I can't get past the fact that Sarah almost died, and it was all my fault."
Frank shook his head. "You can't blame yourself. Plus, she made it through OK. Some would argue that if you hadn't been there, she'd have died."
"She wouldn't have been there if it weren't for me."
Frank shrugged.
"She won't talk to me."
He nodded. "Sometimes that happens."
I nodded back.
"Hey," Frank said. "Why don't you head this operation up? You did so much to bring it down, it only makes sense that-"
"I'm done, Frank."
His body straightened, like he'd been taken a knife to the lower back. "What?"
I pulled my ID and badge out and placed them on his desk. His eyes followed my outstretched arms and settled on the items I'd put in front of him. I pulled my pistol from its holster and sat it next to my ID.
"Jack," he said. "Why don't you think this over for a while? You don't have to take over the operation. Take a vacation instead. Hell, you've been with me for over two years and these last few days are the only time you've had off."
I shook my head. "I'm done." I grabbed the arms of the chair and pushed myself up, then pulled the door open and stepped into the lobby. I crossed the room and stopped halfway. Turned and looked back, first at my office, empty and dark, and then at Frank, who stood in his open doorway. The expression on his face was one of pain and confusion. I'd seen that look several times, usually when I left somewhere or someone. In this case, I was doing both.
I walked through the short hallway and stopped in front of the door that led to the garage. The overhead fan kicked on, a fierce whirr that settled into a hum after a few seconds. I grabbed the door handle and started to turn it.
"Wait," Frank called after me.
"What?" I said without turning around.
"The President wants to meet us next week."
"No thanks." I pulled the door open and stepped into the garage. The door slammed shut behind me. I figured it'd open again before I reached my car. It didn't.
I spent a few hours on the beltway, driving around D.C. while the traffic was light, searching for a moment of clarity. I didn't manage to find one.
Later that night I sat alone in my apartment, drinking. Frank called a few times. I answered once and told him not to come over. Then the phone rang again after I told him to leave me alone. I answered, ready to yell at him for harassing me.
"It's Bear."
I said nothing.
"What the hell happened, man? Guys are saying something big went down with a Senator and that you were at the heart of it. What's the deal?"
"I don't think I'm allowed to say, at least, not yet. Definitely not over the phone."
"You OK?"
"I'll be fine."
"OK," he said. "Just wanted to check up on you."
I said nothing.
"I guess I'll give you a call in a week or two?"
"I quit my job," I said.
Bear said nothing.
"You still interested in going into business together?"
"Yeah," he said.
"How much longer until you're out?"
"I got three months, then I'm a free man. No more Marines. No more CIA."
"Meet me in Key West."
"When?"
"When you're no longer the government's overgrown step-child."
He chuckled. "Where'll I find you?"
"I'll be sitting outsid
e a bar."
THE END
Jack Noble's story continues in Thin Line and the Noble Intentions saga. Links below!
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Other Books by L.T. Ryan
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Jack Noble Series in Order
Noble Beginnings
A Deadly Distance
Thin Line
Noble Intentions Season One
Noble Intentions Season Two
Noble Intentions Season Three
Never Go Home
Beyond Betrayal (Clarissa Abbot)
Noble Intentions Season Four - Coming May, 2014
Mitch Tanner Series
The Depth of Darkness
Untitled (Mitch Tanner 2) - Coming Summer, 2014
Untitled (Mitch Tanner 3) - Coming Fall, 2014
Affliction Z Series
Affliction Z: Patient Zero
Affliction Z: Abandoned Hope
Affliction Z: Book Three - Coming Summer, 2014
Visit http://ltryan.com/noble-intentions for purchasing information.
Table of Contents
Noble Beginnings
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
A Deadly Distance
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33