by David Archer
Decker nodded. “I'm sure we'll manage,” he said. “What about weapons and gear?”
“Everything you need will be going with you. You're not going on a commercial flight, but on a diplomatic one. When you leave here, Noah will take you to the armory and you can sign out whatever weapons you want. Noah, put it on the team's tab. We haven't had time to set Stan up with one of our department ID cards yet.”
Noah smiled and inclined his head. “Not a problem, Sir.” He turned to Decker. “Mister Decker, be sure to let me know exactly what you want me to do, or ask. Investigation isn't something I've done before, and this is an incredibly important mission. I appreciate anything you can do to help us accomplish it.”
Decker nodded back to him. “It's just Stan,” he said. “Noah, I understand that you're the team leader, and that you're in command. Just bear in mind that I'm an old fart, and sometimes it may seem that I'm contemptuous of your youth. Please don't believe that, because the truth is that I'm jealous. Donald has told me about you, so I know who and what you are.” He grinned. “Punk kid, you've got the job I always wanted!”
Noah looked him in the eye, then glanced at Jefferson. “He knows, then?” Noah asked his bosses.
Allison nodded. “I authorized Donald to brief him about you, Noah. Yes, he knows it all.”
“Noah,” Decker began, “what they told me is that you are a man who suffered a terrible tragedy as a child, and as a result, you are without emotion or conscience. Donald and Allison are convinced that you are the most effective operative they've ever had, and frankly, I feel honored to be able to work with you.”
“Good,” Noah said. “I have to pretend to be human in front of most people, and it feels good to be able to relax and be myself with the team. If I don't have to keep up an act for you, that will make things even easier for us to work together.”
“Oh, please, I wouldn't want you to. I'm looking forward to the chance to observe you in action. From what I've heard, it can be quite amazing.”
“Not the word I'd use,” Neil said. “I’d go for something more like 'terrifying' or 'shocking.' One thing you need to understand to work with Noah is that if he decides you're in the way, he will put a bullet in your head and never even hesitate. We all know that, in the team.”
Moose and Sarah nodded their agreement, and Decker smiled. “Any leader worth his salt,” he said, “would do the same. When you're out in the field, the mission or the assignment always takes precedence, even over personal friendships and feelings. That's how it has to be.”
“Oh, that's just ducky, you're going to fit right in!” Neil said, making a face.
There didn't seem to be any more questions, so Jefferson turned to Allison. “Anything else?”
Allison looked at the entire team for a moment, then pursed her lips and turned her gaze on Noah. “Yes,” she said. “I'd like to speak with Noah and Sarah alone for a moment.”
Jefferson raised his eyebrows, but didn't make a comment. He gathered Neil, Moose and Decker and took them down the hall to his own office.
In the conference room, Noah met Allison's gaze with his own, while Sarah looked nervous.
“I'd be willing to bet pretty good money that you know why I asked you to stay behind for a moment,” Allison said. “There are certain rules in place that you seem to ignore, both of you. Care to guess which ones I'm talking about?”
Noah didn't blink. “You're referring to the fact that on our last mission, Sarah and I broke the rule about avoiding intimacy while in the field.”
Sarah looked down at the floor, and her hands began fidgeting with the fabric of her jeans. Allison glanced at her, then looked back at Noah. “Precisely. That rule is in place for a reason, you know. We determined long ago that intimacy between team members during a mission can cause emotional problems that might interfere. Now, I'm aware that you are a different case, Noah, but one of the things that made me determined to recruit you was your record of obeying orders. I'm a little concerned that you seem to think this one doesn't apply to you.”
“He does it for me,” Sarah put in without looking up. “When we're out there, I need some kind of contact to help me stay focused, and he gives it to me.”
Allison looked at her. “I know you've been pretty close here at home, and I have no objection to that. When you're out on a mission, though…”
“Sarah chose me specifically because I won't have any emotional investment in the relationship,” Noah said. “It isn't emotional intimacy she's looking for, or she would've chosen Moose or Neil. I've seen this before, and I'm sure you have, too. Some people just need to feel a human touch, especially during a stressful situation. I determined that her ability to function at optimal level falls under my responsibility to keep my team in top shape.”
Allison crossed her arms and huffed. “I didn't say that I can't understand it,” she said, “I said there's a rule against it.” She stared into Noah's eyes for more than a minute, but he never blinked. “So—since I don't seem to have any choice in the matter, I'm going to give you an official verbal reprimand right now. Intimacy between team members in the field is strictly forbidden.”
She met Noah's eyes for another five seconds, then looked at Sarah. “Now, unofficially, I'm going to tell you both that I understand, and I'll look the other way. Just don't let it blow up in my face, you both got that?”
Sarah slowly raised her face so that she could see Allison, and there was the ghost of a smile on her lips. “Got it, Boss Lady,” she said.
Allison nodded, then led the two of them to Jefferson's office. When they got there, she released the team to begin preparing for their departure a few hours later. Decker followed them out of the building, and they all climbed into Neil's big Hummer for the ride to the armory. Since the armory was not publicly acknowledged around Kirtland, it was in that part of the compound behind the Restricted Access fences. They were stopped at the guard shack, but Jefferson had called ahead to let the guards know that Mister Decker would be going to the armory with Team Camelot, so they were waved through after only a moment's delay.
The armory was set up like some sort of super gun store, with every kind of weapon they could imagine on display. There were a number of firing ranges in the back of the building, where department agents could take weapons to test them, or get the feel of them. There was also an outdoor range that allowed long-range shooters to zero in their weapons, and a combat course that actually shot back at them with paintballs. Moose and Noah had begun running that course after they returned from their first mission, and so far, neither of them had been hit.
“Holy crap,” Decker said. “This is incredible! What in the world would you do with half of this stuff?”
Neil chuckled. “Oh, nothing serious, maybe just take over a third world country or start a revolution. Doesn't that sound like fun?”
Decker grinned at him. “Depends on the country,” he said. “And don't ask me which one I'd prefer, because I don't want to end up in some federal nuthouse.”
Each of them went their separate ways inside the Armory, though Noah and Sarah seemed to wander in the same direction. It hadn't taken Decker long to figure out that the girl was quite infatuated with the team leader, and would probably follow him right through the gates of hell. As they walked away, he caught her asking Noah for advice on choosing a new pistol.
Decker, having been with the FBI for thirty years, was a handgun man. He had always been faithful to the Smith & Wesson thirty-eight caliber, but the incredible assortment that confronted him gave him pause. It took him forty-five minutes and three trips to the indoor range to settle on the forty-caliber Glock. He also chose three extra magazines and two boxes of ammunition, then waited for Noah to come back up front.
He didn't wait long. Noah and Sarah appeared only a couple of minutes later, with Sarah holding a pair of Kimber mini-45s, while Noah had a fifty-caliber Desert Eagle in his hand. Each of them got some extra magazines and ammunition as well, and by the
time they were done, Moose and Neil had returned. Both of them declined to get new weapons, choosing instead to stick with the ones they already knew.
They drove back to the office building, where Moose and Decker climbed out and got into their own cars. Moose would go home to pick up his bag and weapons, then meet the rest of them at Noah's place. Since Sarah spent as much time at Noah's as she did at her own apartment, she had enough clothing and toiletries there to pack for the trip, and Neil lived in a mobile home on Noah's property.
Decker decided to just hang out with the three of them, since he had everything he needed with him already. He backed his Chevy Trailblazer out of its parking space and fell in behind the Hummer to follow it home.
Temple Lake Road was full of curves, so much so that Decker was reminded of some of the roads farther up in the mountains. The drive out to Noah's place took almost 30 minutes, before they turned onto County Road six forty. The house was only a short distance up that road, and he followed the Hummer as Neil dropped Noah and Sarah off at the big house that sat on the property. Noah waved for Decker to park in his driveway and follow him and Sarah into the house, while Neil drove across the yard to get to his trailer.
“Come on in, and make yourself at home. There's soft drinks and beer in the refrigerator, maybe some wine and iced tea. Choose your poison. We're going to go get packed for the trip tonight, be out in a few minutes.”
Sarah shook her head at Noah, then walked into the kitchen and opened a cabinet door. “The glasses are in here,” she said, then turned and followed Noah into his room.
Decker smiled, then opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle of Bud Light. He twisted off the top and tossed it into the trashcan, then reached up and closed the cabinet she had left open. He took a sip of the beer as he walked back into the living room and sat down on the couch. There was no sign of Noah or Sarah, and he figured it would take a little while for them to pack up their things, so he picked up the remote control that lay on the coffee table and turned on the big-screen television on the wall.
Down the hall, Sarah had closed the door behind herself after following Noah into his room. It was no secret among the team that she often spent the night with him, nor was it a problem.
“So,” she said, “how long before we have to leave?”
Noah had been pulling a duffel out of his closet, but he turned at her question to look at her. Her shirt and bra were already on the floor, and she was pushing her pants down her legs.
“Hour and a half,” he said. “Plenty of time.” He dropped the duffel on the floor, reached down and yanked back the covers, then began stripping out of his own clothes.
Forty-five minutes later, Noah and Sarah joined Decker in the living room, where he was watching old reruns of The Beverly Hillbillies. He grinned as they entered the room, and Sarah blushed.
“Stan,” Noah said, “is there anything you want to go over or ask, before we head out in a little while?”
Decker shrugged. “I can't think of anything. Can you?”
“No,” Noah said, shaking his head. “I just thought I should ask.”
The three of them sat and watched the antics of the Clampett family for the next few minutes, and then the episode was followed by another one. Sarah and Decker chuckled at a couple of points, while Noah simply watched the show and filed the actions and reactions of the cast away in his memory. It was always possible that he could use them someday.
Moose pulled in just before that episode ended, parked in the graveled area outside of Noah's garage and knocked on the front door. Sarah got up to let him in, and he headed for the kitchen to grab himself a soft drink, then came and sat down in the living room with the rest of them. Neil came wandering in a few minutes later, not even bothering to knock.
“You know, Neil,” Sarah said, “it's a good thing we were expecting you. It's probably not very safe to just walk into the home of a professional killer, you know what I mean?”
Neil flopped sideways into one of the big overstuffed chairs, and shrugged his shoulders. “If he shoots me, it just means I don't have to put up with all this crap anymore. I'm willing to take the chance, but I haven't quite decided if it's worth it or not. If it isn't, I'll make a point of coming back from the dead to let you know.”
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