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  Noah picked up his coffee and took a sip. “Well, I have noticed that they all seem to be in better moods when you’re looking sexy.”

  She chuckled. “Noah, you’re terrible.”

  They drank their coffee and headed out to Noah’s car. Noah held Sarah’s door as she slid into the passenger seat of the Corvette, then went around and got behind the wheel. A moment later they were on the road and headed toward the office of the Dragon Lady.

  Allison Peterson was the absolute head of the US agency that was known simply as Elimination and Eradication. Her job required her to decide whether or not to send an assassin to terminate the life of a particular individual or group of individuals. Other agencies submitted requests for assassination to her, with a complete and detailed dossier on why they believed that assassination was necessary. If she approved the request, she personally assigned the mission to an operative who worked directly for her. Noah Wolf was one of those operatives.

  Each assassin had a three-person support team that consisted of a transportation specialist, an intelligence specialist and a weapons and combat specialist. All of them were under the command of their team leader, and it was their job to make sure that their team leader was able to carry out his or her mission.

  Sarah was Noah’s transportation officer, and one of the best drivers he had ever seen. The girl could handle absolutely anything on wheels, and better than anyone else. When she had been assigned to him almost a year earlier, she had been aloof and resistant to even the slightest possibility of friendship, but as she got to know him that reluctance turned into attraction. They had begun a relationship not long afterward, and after a particularly rough mission a couple of months earlier, Sarah had given up her own apartment and moved in permanently with Noah.

  Noah was, in Allison’s words, the superstar of the organization. Because of something tragic that happened in his childhood, Noah Wolf had no normal, detectable emotions. This meant that he could not be baited into an emotional response, such as with anger or jealousy, but could always make his decisions based entirely on a clear and logical understanding of the situation. Of course, it also meant that he had no conscience, and was capable of doing whatever had to be done without any feelings of guilt or recriminations. He was extremely intelligent and could often take a mission that seemed impossible and turn it into success.

  It was his lack of emotion that had originally caused Sarah to want little to do with him, but it was that same lack of emotion that finally drew her closer. Noah wondered occasionally if she considered him a challenge, if she was trying to get through to him in a way that no other woman ever had. Considering that she was the only woman he had ever truly wanted to be with for more than a very short time, he had to believe that she was accomplishing at least some part of that goal. He still didn’t feel anything that might be construed as a romantic attachment to her, but he had conceded that he preferred living in a world that had her in it. That had twice caused him to walk into deadly traps in order to recover her from an enemy who had taken her hostage.

  They got to the office in plenty of time and parked in the underground garage, then rode the elevator up to Allison’s offices. Katie Gamble, Allison’s secretary, smiled at them as they walked past her toward the conference room where briefings always took place.

  The door was open, so Noah and Sarah walked in to find Neil Blessing and Moose Conway already there and snacking on the doughnuts that were always present in the room. Allison was sitting at the head of the table, and Donald Jefferson, her second-in-command, was beside her. Neil, Moose and Don all smiled when they got a look at Sarah, then nodded to Noah.

  “Mr. Jefferson,” Noah said, “it’s good to have you back. How are you doing, Sir?”

  “I’m still a little sore in spots,” Jefferson said, “but I’m getting around okay. Lost some feeling in my chest and lower legs, and the doctors swear they took out part of one of my lungs, but I can’t tell it. Thanks for asking.”

  “We’re all pleased that you're back, Sir. I don’t think this place would run right without you.” He turned to Allison. “What have we got?”

  Allison smiled as Sarah handed Noah a paper plate with two doughnuts and a cup of coffee. “The situation we’re going to tell you about is one that has been developing over the last few months, but is suddenly taking center stage. There’s plenty in the news about terrorist groups and the threats they are presenting to so many Western nations, but there is one particular group that has been in the shadows for some time. This group has been responsible for inciting many of the attacks attributed to the better-known organizations, sometimes just by manipulating their leaderships, but often by providing direct funding, personnel and equipment. The group is known as IAR, which stands for Independent Armies of Revolution, and their goal is to cripple several European nations by fostering terrorist activities. IAR and their puppets have been behind literally hundreds of terrorist actions, from suicide bombers to blowing airliners out of the sky. Most of their activities have been particularly evil because they tend to target civilians, especially children. In the last six months alone, groups that answer to them have bombed at least a dozen schools in different countries. CIA and NSA have both been working with British and European agencies, monitoring their activities for quite some time, but it’s been almost impossible to find out who was truly behind them, who was pulling the strings. Now we’ve come across some intelligence that seems to indicate one individual, Pierre Broussard, as the mastermind running the group.”

  Donald Jefferson leaned forward as a black-haired and bearded face appeared on the screen mounted on the wall behind him. “Broussard was born in Marseille, France, forty-six years ago, but his family moved to England and settled in Wilshire when he was very young. He was raised there, then attended Cambridge before joining the Royal Navy. He served one tour of duty aboard a ship, and then was transferred to the SAS, where he received extensive antiterrorism training. He served with honor and distinction for eight years with SAS, then left the military to take a post as an assistant to the British ambassador to Libya. It was while he was in Libya that he seems to have begun some of his earlier activities, mostly just arranging the sale of weapons to various revolutionary groups. That led to some even bigger deals, negotiating weapons sales between various countries, and in 2002 he decided to leave diplomatic service and become an independent. He calls London home, but he’s only there two or three days a week. The rest of the time, he’s flying around the world in one of several private jets as he conducts his business.”

  The picture on the screen changed to another man, this one with blonde hair and whiskers. “This is Walter Wyndham. As far as we know, Wyndham is nothing more than a messenger, maybe a bag-man, for Broussard and IAR. He was recently identified in some spy photos taken at a training camp for Islamic militants, and it’s been determined that he arrived there with several large suitcases filled with French and Italian currency. An MI6 operative was able to mark some of that money with an invisible, slightly radioactive chemical, and a significant amount of it has been turning up in Germany and Switzerland in the hands of known terror suspects that have been rounded up. From interrogation, we learned that Wyndham has been delivering money and explosives to a number of such groups, so when he turned up in London two weeks ago he was put under surveillance. Care to guess who he met with?”

  “Broussard, obviously,” Noah said.

  “Exactly. And when he left, on one of Broussard’s private jets, he had three more suitcases than when he arrived. Those captured terrorists have confirmed that they were receiving money from IAR, and since we know the money is actually coming from Broussard, it looks like he’s the elusive mastermind we’ve been trying to track down.”

  Noah nodded his head. “So, you want him taken out.”

  “Not necessarily,” Allison said. “The question of whether Broussard is the true head of the organization is a matter of debate among the relevant intelligence circles, so this could pos
sibly be a bit more complicated. Donald and I have come up with a mission plan that is designed to find out for sure and then eliminate him if he is. If not, then the plan will need to be modified on the fly. Donald?”

  Jefferson cleared his throat as he tore his eyes away from Sarah. “There is a known assassin who goes by the name Adrian, but no one seems to know who he is or, other than generally, what he looks like. What we do know is that IAR has been trying to recruit him, sending out cryptic messages that are obviously aimed at him. What nobody is aware of is that Adrian was recently captured by MI6, and is being quietly interrogated, after which he will be equally quietly executed. Since he’s out of the picture, what we’re going to propose is that you assume his identity and make contact with IAR. Whatever they want Adrian to do, it’s likely to be big enough to get you into contact with their highest levels, so you’ll be able to confirm whether Broussard is in fact running the show. If that’s the case, then yes, we want you to take him out. If not, then we need you to stay in deep cover until you can determine who gives him his orders.”

  Noah’s eyebrows went up slightly. “I’m going out alone, then?”

  “Not a bit,” Allison said emphatically. “One of the interesting things about Adrian is that he always seemed capable of being in more than one place at a time. During his interrogation, it came out that he always had a few accomplices, essentially people he could use like the same kind of support team that you work with. They’ve been identified and eliminated, so there’s no one out there who can prove you aren’t him. You are built enough like him that it shouldn’t be hard for Wally to help you pass for him. It’ll take some hair color and contacts, and Wally can make your nose seem a little bigger. Again, no one before now has ever gotten a photo of him and lived to tell about it, so it’s highly unlikely anyone will be able to spot you as a doppelgänger.”

  “What about us?” Moose asked. “You said he had a team. Did anyone know them? Will anybody be able to say whether we’re it?”

  “That’s doubtful,” Jefferson said. “We can’t say for sure that nobody knew who they were, but it’s kind of a moot point. There were actually four of them, and they’re all dead. You will each be given a backstory that indicates Adrian recruited you only recently. In other words, if it should become necessary for anyone to have to know about you, then you were simply their replacements.”

  “And were they like us? Driver, computer nerd and overgrown leg breaker?” Neil asked.

  “Nobody knows for sure precisely what they did for Adrian,” Allison said, “but there were definitely some intel and combat skills among them. Each of them, just as when you were recruited for E & E, would have been recruited by Adrian for particular skills and abilities. As far as we know, his accomplices were never in contact with any of his clients, so it’s highly unlikely anyone could identify them. All that being true, it shouldn’t be hard for you to pull off the same kind of roles you already live, now should it?”

  “What about those messages that were sent to Adrian?” Noah asked. “I’m assuming there was some kind of code word or phrase, something Adrian was supposed to use in order to identify himself?”

  “Yes,” Jefferson replied, “and there are copies of each of them in the file we’re going to give you. You’ll be able to study them for yourself, so that you can refer to them easily when you need to.”

  Noah nodded once again. “So when do we leave?”

  Allison smiled. “We’ve obtained some video of Adrian’s interrogation from the Brits, and you’ll need to study it, practice imitating his voice and speech peculiarities, just in case someone you meet has spoken to him on the phone before. There’s very little chance you’ll run into anyone who actually met him face-to-face. Adrian had a habit of not leaving people alive once they actually saw his face when he was on a mission. He was also pretty adept at staying out of the line of sight of any cameras, including security cameras and traffic cameras and all that sort of thing. If he had to meet someone, it was always in the dark, and he always wore a disguise or something that could hide his face. As we said, nobody really knows exactly what he looks like, other than being a tall, red-haired man with a large nose. The tapes are out at Mission ID Development, and there’s an acting coach who will work with you there starting tomorrow morning. I’d say you’ll need a couple of days to work on the voice, and Wally can get you set up with hair color, contacts and such during that time. Today is Monday, so I’d like to see you head out by Thursday.”

  “We’re going to give you,” Jefferson said, “the usual identity kits, but of course they’re for use only in an emergency. Anyone who believes you to be Adrian won’t expect you to be using a real name on identification, anyway, so you should only need them for hotels or if you happen to be pulled over by local police. You’ll be going to Spain first, to Madrid. That’s where you will make your initial contact with IAR. One of those messages suggested that Adrian post an ad in the newspaper in one of seven different cities. Madrid is one of them. You’ll place an ad and wait for one of their people to respond to it.”

  “Okay, no problem. And if it turns out Broussard is not the head guy? How long do you want me to pretend I’m going to take whatever contract they offer?”

  Allison made a grimace and cocked her head slightly to the left. “Probably as long as you can. Depending on the contract, you may have to actually carry it out to maintain your cover. This is the first chance any of us have had to get somebody inside that organization, and we can’t afford to let the opportunity slip away. If we can cut off the head, it’s possible this is a snake that will actually wither and die.”

  “Then that’s what I’ll try to do,” Noah said.

  “One other thing,” Allison said. “You’re going to be mostly on your own with this one. We’re providing you with ample financing through the credit cards we’re giving you, but we won’t be able to use many of our assets to help you out, once you leave. Adrian worked independent of any government or organization, always arranging anything he needed on his own. We’ll give you contact information for a few of our people who aren’t directly affiliated with any embassy or agency, of course, and you can use them to get weapons, equipment and such. Other than that, you have to stay away from any American agents. Can’t risk anyone spotting you talking to them, it’s always possible they’ve been identified.” She smiled sadly. “If stopping IAR wasn’t so important, we probably would have refused this mission. As it is, you’re the only team that has a chance of actually pulling it off, or I wouldn’t have given it to you. I can’t afford to lose you, Noah, so whatever you do, you make sure you come back. We’re down to only three teams, and I don’t know how long it will be before we can resurrect any of the others. Don’t let this become a suicide mission.”

  “Understood. I guarantee I’ll do my best.”

  Jefferson passed out the wallets and files, while Allison handed a large purse to Sarah. The two of them whispered over the contents for a few minutes, and Noah couldn’t help noticing that Sarah’s eyes widened at one point, and then narrowed suspiciously. On their last assignment, Sarah had been given an engagement ring to wear, posing as Noah’s fiancé. He found himself wondering what surprise Allison had given the girl this time.

  TWO

  The team left the briefing room and headed back to Noah’s place. When they arrived, they gathered in his dining room to talk the situation over.

  “I’m scheduled to spend the next two days with Mission ID and Wally,” Noah said, “learning how to talk like Adrian and getting a makeover. I’m assuming were going to fly out sometime early Thursday, so I want you guys to study the files on IAR and Broussard while I'm tied up. Moose, we won’t be taking weapons or equipment. I’m going to ask Wally to send a message to our contacts to get us what we need. Glocks for you and me, we’ll get Sarah a Beretta like the one she normally uses and let’s get Neil another MP 9. That worked well for him on the last mission, so go by the armory and get him one today to practice w
ith.” He turned to Neil. “Neil, I want you to spend some time on the range with it today and tomorrow. Try to get comfortable with it. I know you have a little problem with typical handguns, but I think the three-round burst from the MP 9 might help you overcome it.”

  “Hey, I put all three rounds into Andropov’s chest,” replied the tall, skinny young man. “Wasn’t my fault the son-of-a-bitch was already dead.”

  “Nope,” Sarah said, “it was mine.” She shuddered and looked at Noah. “I still have trouble believing I did that, but I just couldn’t bear the thought of spending the rest of my life waking up and knowing he was still alive. I think it would have ruined me, I would’ve been constantly looking over my shoulder.”

  “I understand,” Noah said. “I think we all sleep better knowing he’s dead. I’m just glad you were able to cope with it.”

  “I have nightmares sometimes,” she admitted, “dreams where I see myself doing it all over again, but I think it would’ve been worse if he were still alive. I’d be dreaming of him coming after me again, over and over and over. I just couldn’t handle that thought.”

  Moose knuckled her shoulder gently. “Hey, look at it this way. You’ll probably never have to do anything like that again, but at least you know you could if you had to.”

  Sarah rolled her eyes and grinned at him. “Oh, trust me, there’s no doubt in my mind now that I can pull the trigger if I have to. I used to wonder if I really could if it came down to it, but not anymore.”

  “That’s what’s important, then,” Noah said. “You got through it and came out stronger.”

  “I got something more important,” Neil said. “Hasn’t anybody but me noticed that it’s getting close to lunchtime?”

  Sarah glanced at the clock on the wall and smiled. “Neil, it’s just barely eleven o’clock. Didn’t you eat enough doughnuts this morning?”