Balance of Power (Noah Wolf Book 7) Read online

  “Well, I could, so we have to assume that it’s possible. If all of our little bugs fail, then it will be up to you to find some way to make this character meet you face-to-face.”

  “Wait a minute,” Sarah put in. “I thought Randy was supposed to demand a face-to-face meeting in order to turn over the file.”

  “We had thought of that before,” Molly replied, “but both Neil and I are afraid it would seem suspicious. The last thing we want is for the mole to cut off contact with Randy, because he’s the only one we know for sure is under his thumb.”

  Sarah glared at her. “So instead, we’re going to put Noah in danger? What if China or whoever the mole is working for decides they want Noah dead?”

  Allison leaned toward Sarah and caught her attention. “Sarah, Dr. Parker runs our own version of the FBI’s criminal profiling division. Based on everything we know about the mole, we’ve come to the conclusion that we’re dealing with an analyst, not a field agent. This person is probably a career intelligence analyst who has become disillusioned, so he’s likely to be in his late fifties or early sixties, probably approaching retirement. This isn’t someone who would ever attempt to take on somebody like Noah.”

  “No, he’d just send someone he’s already controlling, somebody who might have a chance of getting it done.”

  “Which is why,” Allison went on, “Noah is going to be under constant guard until this is over. That’s already begun, by the way; Teams Unicorn and Hercules have had you both under surveillance since you arrived back at the airport last night. You won’t see them, but one of them is on duty and watching at all times. If a meeting is set up, they’ll be there.”

  “Sarah,” Noah said softly, “this is our best chance to get the bastard who sold you out. Trust me, baby, if it comes down to a shootout, I’m going to walk away alive.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  The meeting ended, and Noah took Sarah home, stopping along the way at an auto parts store to pick up a new battery for the Corvette. Neil and Marco showed up a few minutes later, Marco with his girlfriend, Renée, in tow. She and Sarah disappeared into the kitchen for some girl talk, while the three men changed the battery and stood around talking.

  Noah looked over at Neil. “Lacey coming?”

  Neil’s face became a scowl. “No,” he said bitterly. “We, uh, we sort of went our separate ways.”

  Noah nodded. “I had a feeling that was coming,” he said. “You doing okay?”

  “Hey, yeah, I’m fine. She just had too many issues for me.”

  Marco chuckled. “What that translates to, boss,” he said, “is that our little boy is growing up. Lacey seemed to think he was supposed to let her hold on to his balls and ask for them anytime he wanted to do something out of her sight.”

  “Shut up, Marco,” Neil said. He turned and looked at Noah. “It wasn’t exactly like that, but she definitely has control issues. She wanted me to try to get transferred off the team and over to R&D or data analysis. You believe that?”

  Noah looked at him. “Would that be something you’d want?”

  “Oh, hell, no,” Neil said. “You are not getting rid of me that easily! Noah, I—I was scared to death when all this started, but even though it gets to me sometimes, I belong on this team. I don’t know what I’d do without you, without Sarah, even without this big dumb lug over here.” He hooked a thumb at Marco.

  “Good,” Noah said. “I’m not ready to give you up, either. This team is my family, now, so I’m glad you’re sticking with us.”

  In the kitchen, Sarah and Renée were talking about Sarah’s honeymoon, and both girls were smiling.

  “After you guys left,” Renée said, “Marco actually asked me if I would want us to get married.”

  “Oh, my gosh,” Sarah said, gushing. “What did you say?”

  “I—I said I’d have to think about it. I mean, he’s on a team; every time you guys go out, I have to wonder if I’m ever going to see him again.”

  Sarah nodded. “Renée, I understand what you’re saying,” she said, “but isn’t that a reason to have whatever happiness you can? I mean, if you love him. Or have you guys not gotten to that point, yet?”

  Renée shrugged and looked down at the bottle of root beer Sarah had given her. “I honestly don’t know,” she said. “Marco isn’t real big about talking about his feelings, and I’m not completely sure about my own. I mean, I like him a lot, and there’s nobody else I want to be dating, but…”

  Sarah smiled and patted her hand. “One day at a time,” she said.

  A little while later, all of them gathered in the kitchen while Sarah made dinner, her own particular favorite, lasagna. Noah had broken out some beer and wine coolers, and they turned it into a small “Welcome Home” party for the honeymooners. They sat and talked together through dinner, then played a few hands of rummy and followed that up with Monopoly. It was after midnight by the time the party ended and their guests went home.

  Noah helped Sarah clean up, and then the two of them went to their bedroom and cuddled together until they fell asleep.

  The following morning, they rose at seven thirty to shower and get dressed for the day, then drove into town to the Waffle House for breakfast. The Waffle House had only opened recently and was staffed almost entirely by civilians who knew nothing of E & E, so they kept their conversations to mundane things while they ate. The service was good and the food was better, and they lingered as long as they could over coffee after they finished eating.

  At last, though, it was time for Sarah to make her appointment with Doc Parker, and Noah dropped her off. She leaned through his window to kiss him goodbye, and then he drove on over to the PT area.

  Jackson, true to his word, had a group of twenty people waiting. He led Noah up in front of where they were lounging around and called them to attention.

  “All right, people, listen up,” he said loudly. “This is Noah, and he’s going to be your group leader for a few days. He’s going to push you a little harder than you been used to, but he won’t overdo it. Just follow him no matter where he goes, and do your best to keep up. If you get lost, just find your way back here and wait, got it?”

  They all agreed that they understood, and Jackson turned them over to Noah. He smiled at them all for just a moment and then turned and started running without saying a word. It took all of them a moment to realize what was happening, but then they all took off after him.

  Noah veered into the forest and followed a path for about three hundred yards, then suddenly cut to the right and leapt up onto a stump. He used it to launch himself a bit higher, caught an overhanging branch, and swung himself forward so that he landed on his feet five yards farther. When he hit the ground, he started running again and heard a number of frustrated sounds behind him as various members of the group missed the branch or simply fell.

  He stopped and looked back to give them a moment to catch up, then turned and sprinted off again. The group did their best to follow, although several of them started cursing him when he ran up an inclining tree and used it as a launching pad to jump across a small creek. A few of his group landed in the water, but this time he didn’t stop to wait until he came out of the forest on a two-lane road.

  Once they caught up, he took off running again, this time following the road. This particular road was the one that led into Kirtland’s industrial area, which had built up around some small factories. A few of them had gone out of business recently, and Noah chose one of those buildings as part of his run.

  This particular building was only two stories tall, but the inside was one large open expanse. It had been occupied by a company that made steel structural members for many of the buildings in town, and there were many pieces of equipment that had been left behind. Noah made a flying leap through a broken window and then ran up a flight of stairs to a catwalk that spanned the building. When he reached the top, he stopped and looked back to make sure the others were following, but as they started up the stairs he
took off again, running the length of the catwalk to the other side of the building and jumping from it onto the top of a movable storage bin, then down to the floor.

  There were numerous machines still in place, and he used them to vault across the massive room, jumping over some and sliding under others, while others yet helped him to make sudden turns. By the time he got to the front corner of the building, his group of trainees was scattered all around it. He stood and watched as they figured out where he had gone, then caught up with him. This time, he waited until they had all gathered around.

  “You’ve got to try to keep up,” he said. “If you end up in the field, it’s highly unlikely your team leader will be able to stop and check on you. Each of you would have your own job to do, and your entire team is counting on you to do it. Nobody can stand around and wait for you to catch up.”

  “Geez, man,” said one of the men, a guy about Noah’s age. “We’re trying—can’t you give us a break?”

  “No,” Noah said, and then he turned and took off running. He went through a door and across what had once been the lobby of the offices, then into a storeroom that he knew had a broken window. The window wasn’t very big, so he had to dive through it, then roll back up to his feet outside. Once again, he stopped and waited.

  The man who had complained was the first one through the window after him, and he also dived through. The rest followed, although the last three ended up climbing out, gasping for breath.

  “We’ll take a five-minute break,” Noah said. He pointed to a shady area just a few yards away and walked over to sit down on a fallen log. The rest of them gathered up around him, most simply dropping to the ground and breathing heavily.

  “Thanks, man,” said the guy who had spoken before. “Some of these folks just aren’t ready for this much exertion.”

  “That’s why it caught me off guard when you spoke up in there,” Noah said. “I noticed you weren’t really having any problems keeping up with me. Are you just thinking of them?”

  The man looked around at the stragglers and grinned, then turned back to Noah. “Nothing so altruistic,” he said. “See the brunette? She was one of the ones who climbed out at the last. I guess I’m just a little bit sweet on her.”

  Noah looked at the girl, then turned back to the young man. “Nothing wrong with compassion,” he said. “But I wasn’t kidding when I said they’ll all have to keep up if they end up in the field. That’s what this training is all about, getting them ready. What’s your name?”

  “I’m Darrell, Darrell Kowalski.” He extended a hand, and Noah took it.

  “Noah Wolf,” he said, and Darrell’s eyes suddenly went wide.

  “Noah Wolf? As in, like, the Noah Wolf? Man, you’re just about all we hear about. Almost every instructor we’ve got talks about you.”

  Noah shrugged. “I didn’t know,” he said. “I just do my job, and right now that job includes running all your asses off.”

  Darrell rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, we spent all yesterday afternoon hearing about how you took out Adrian, the assassin in London, and probably saved the monarchy from being discontinued. The day before that, it was all about how you tracked down that guy Andropov, who almost wiped us all out last year. They all seem to think we should be imitating you or trying to be you.”

  Noah shook his head. “They shouldn’t do that,” he said. “I’m not the only team leader, and I don’t even think I’m the best. I’ve worked with one other who’s every bit as efficient as I am, and maybe more so.”

  “Really? Can I ask who?”

  “Cinderella. I’m sure you’ll hear about her sometime soon.”

  “Cinderella? You mean, there’s a woman who’s actually an assassin?”

  Noah nodded, knowing that everyone in the group would already have enough security clearance for the things he was saying. “Yes, and she’s a very nice person when she isn’t supposed to kill you.” He got to his feet and walked away, offering an occasional word of encouragement to some of the people who seemed to be having the roughest time.

  When it was time to go again, he started off across the Industrial Park and picked up the backstreet that led into town. The rest of the run went fairly easy, as he simply took them through alleys and streets and up the occasional fire escape. When he was at home, Noah ran the PT courses two or three times a week to keep himself in shape, so he knew all of them fairly well. It paid off as he showed this new group several different ways to get down off tall buildings without getting hurt.

  Ninety minutes after they started, Noah led the group back to Jackson. The tall, former military instructor grinned at him as he brought them to a halt, and almost all of them dropped to the ground once again.

  “You didn’t lose any?” Jackson asked.

  “Not this time,” Noah said. “But they should know that tomorrow I’m not going so easy on them.” He pointed Darrell out to Jackson. “That guy there? He kept up with me no problem, but he was always looking out for the slower ones. He claims it’s because he likes one of the girls, but I get the feeling he’s just the compassionate type. He might make a good instructor for the newbies.”

  Jackson held up a tablet and poked a couple of buttons on it, then smiled at Noah. “He hasn’t been assigned to any particular job yet,” he said. “I’ll bear your suggestion in mind. He could be an asset to my department.”

  Noah clapped Jackson on the shoulder and turned around to the group. “Okay, you all did pretty good. Tomorrow I’m not going to take it quite as easy, though, so be ready with your heart in it. If you don’t feel you can handle it, don’t be afraid to tell Mr. Jackson, and he can put you back in a newbie group for a couple more weeks. See you all tomorrow.”

  He turned and jogged to the parking lot, before driving off to pick up Sarah.

  Once again, he had to sit in the car and wait for a little while, but at least she wasn’t crying when she came out this time. Noah started to get out, but she waved for him to stay seated and walked around to open her own door. As she got into the car, she leaned over and grabbed his face with both hands and pulled him down for a kiss.

  When she pulled back again, she sat there staring into his eyes for a long moment. “You,” she said, “are the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

  Noah simply looked at her for a few seconds, and then he smiled. “Ditto,” he said. He shifted the car into gear and headed for home.

  They got to the house and heated up a frozen pizza for lunch, then settled into the living room to watch some TV. Sarah handed the remote to Noah, and he chose a recent science fiction movie. They both enjoyed it, and when it ended, Noah let Sarah choose the next one. Her pick was a romantic movie, and the two of them enjoyed it just as much.

  Just as that one was ending, the doorbell rang and Noah got up to answer it. He opened the door and was surprised when Jenny and all three of her team shouted, “Welcome home!”

  Noah stepped back and let them in, keeping his eyes on Randy Mitchell the whole time. Jenny reached up and tapped his cheek to get his attention. “You can relax,” she said. “He’s honestly doing everything he can to make up for the things he did wrong. He was absolutely ready to play his part, and we were just informed that it begins tomorrow.”

  “No problem,” Noah said, “but I’m not sure how Sarah is going to react.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s the thing,” Jenny said. “We brought him along because Doc Parker said she needs to face him and learn to forgive him. Now, I’m not normally all that much into forgiveness, but he and I have had a lot of chances to talk the last couple weeks. You should ask him why he was afraid to come forward and tell us what was going on.”

  Noah nodded and let them all into the living room. As he had expected, Sarah smiled when she saw Jenny, but the smile froze on her face as soon as Randy stepped into the room.

  Surprisingly, though, she didn’t say a word at first. She motioned for all of them to sit down and asked if anyone wanted something to drink, t
hen got up and went to the kitchen. She was back a few minutes later with a pitcher of iced tea that she had made earlier in the day and several glasses, and made a point of pouring one for each of them, including Randy.

  When she had reclaimed her seat beside Noah, he decided to take the bull by the horns. “Randy,” he said, “I’m supposed to ask you why you never came forward and asked for help when the mole contacted you. Would you explain?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, and Jenny said this might be a show-and-tell, so I brought along some visual aids.” He reached into a pocket of his shirt and pulled out a stack of photographs that he passed over to Noah.

  Noah flipped through them with Sarah looking over his shoulder. Each photo showed a young girl, both of them probably in their early teens, and each had a set of crosshairs drawn over the face. There were a total of nearly twenty photos.

  “Those pictures were taken over the course of about a week, and some of them—the ones that show them sleeping—were taken right inside my parents’ home. The point they make is pretty simple: no matter what happens, this guy can get to my sisters. When I saw those, and I should mention that he had me on the phone when they were handed to me by some street punk, I took him very seriously when he said that if I told anyone what was going on, they would be dead.” He looked down at the floor for a moment, then looked back up at Noah. “I know that I’m supposed to forget everyone from my past, but the truth is that this hit me on an emotional level I just couldn’t handle. I was already in high school by the time they were born, so I kind of helped raise them. There was just no way I could turn my back and let something like that happen to them, but I do realize now that I should have gone to Jenny.”

  “Damn, Skippy,” Jenny said. “If you had, we probably would have got this bastard by now.”

  Sarah took the photos from Noah’s hand and looked through them again. After a moment, she looked up into Randy’s eyes.

  “I never had a sister,” she said, “so I can’t claim to know exactly what you felt when you saw these, but I think I can understand what you mean when you say it hit you on an emotional level. Look, I’m not happy about what you did, especially after what it put me through, but I’m not going to hold it against you. Apparently Jenny has decided you’re worth saving, and I gather Allison thinks so, as well. I’ll let go of this—this anger—but it might be pretty hard for me to completely trust you again.”