Code Name: Camelot (Noah Wolf #1)(20)
“Hey, just about anything would be better than the boxers they gave me in prison. Damn things feel like they’re made of sandpaper.” He could feel the ambulance maneuvering its way along an apparently twisting path. “Good-sized place you got here?”
“Actually, it is. We’ve got about ten thousand acres, a little over fifteen square miles. There are various obstacle courses and training structures. We’ve got mockups of different kinds of rural and urban environments, military installations, terrorist enclaves and compounds, you name it. We’re right on the edge of some government facilities, so we’re under a no-fly zone. The only aircraft that can get into our airspace are our own and, in some areas, the same holds true for vehicles. Nothing comes in, unless it’s one of ours.”
The ambulance stopped. Marco moved to open the back doors, and that’s when Noah realized that it was daylight outside, early morning, apparently.
Allison reached into her pocket and withdrew a plastic card that she handed to Noah. “This is your temporary ID and debit card,” she said. “You’ll use it to pay for things, here. We’ll get you set up with proper ID within a day or so, and actually on the payroll.”
Noah glanced at the card, and saw that it was a simple debit card, without even a name on it. Allison went on. “I’m going to guess that you’re probably hungry. Once we get you into your room, Marco will show you how to get to the nearest restaurant.”
“Yeah, beats heck out of going to a chow hall,” Marco said with a grin. “They treat us pretty good here, and the food is awesome. You’ll like it.”
Noah shrugged. “I could eat,” he said.
Allison rose and stepped down onto the ground, which Noah could see consisted of a paved parking lot, while Marco reached down to help Noah up. They got him on his feet, and Noah realized that he actually was a bit on the dizzy side. Marco stepped down first, then held on to Noah, who was also holding on to the edge of the door until he got both feet planted firmly on the ground.
Noah looked around, and realized he was standing in the parking lot of what looked like a small motel. The lot was surrounded on three sides by a U-shaped building, and he counted about thirty doors facing into the center. Several of the doors had cars parked in front of them.
“This is our temporary housing unit, where we put new people for the first few days, until we get them sorted out. It used to be a motel, and that’s what everyone calls it: the motel.” Allison pointed at the door that was closest to him. “That one’s yours,” she said. She handed him a key on a plastic fob. It was marked with the number seven, and he saw the same number on the door. “There’s a TV and computer in your room, and you’re connected to the internet. Don’t try to make contact with anyone from your past; that’s a guaranteed failure and we’ve already discussed what that means. Get yourself settled in, and then Marco will walk you over for breakfast. Your first class starts at ten this morning, so you’ve got a couple of hours to get breakfast, take a shower and get dressed. You’ll be seeing me around, don’t worry, but I’m not one of your instructors. We’ll talk now and then, though.”
She turned and walked over to a car that was parked nearby and drove away. Noah looked at Marco, who was standing beside him. “Ready?” Noah asked, and Marco grinned. Noah walked carefully to the door, still a little shaky, and used the key to open it.
It looked like the kind of room you’d find in one of the better chain motels, with a few added features. There was a queen-sized bed, along with a dresser and what appeared to be a closet, a table with three chairs, and a desk with yet another chair and a laptop computer on top of it. Sitting on top of the dresser was a large, flat-panel TV, and he saw a small refrigerator, a microwave oven and a coffee maker set up on the counter back by the bathroom.
The bathroom itself was large, and he was surprised to see a jacuzzi tub. He glanced at Marco. “Nice place,” he said.
“Yeah, they tend to pamper us just a little bit. Trust me when I tell you that you’re going to work for it, and I mean work hard.”
Noah shook his head. “Work don’t scare me,” he said. “Have I got time for a shower before breakfast?”
Marco grinned. “Come on, man, you don’t smell that bad. Let’s go grab some eggs and bacon, then I’m going to get a shower myself, after that. You can get one then.”
Noah nodded, and followed Marco back out of the room, locking it behind him. Marco turned right and went to the end of the row of rooms, then took another right when he reached it. They were on the right leg of the U, and Marco pointed at a brightly lit building just a few hundred yards away.
“That’s the restaurant, dude,” he said. “It works just like a regular one, and you can order anything off the menu. The food is good, that much I can tell you.”
They entered the restaurant building, and Noah was surprised when an actual hostess seated them. As soon as she handed them their menus, a waitress appeared and poured coffee for each of them, then waited to take their breakfast orders. Noah chose the eggs and bacon that Marco had mentioned, because they just sounded appealing. Marco followed suit, and the waitress walked away.
Noah added sugar to his coffee, then took a sip. “Now, that is good,” he said. “Trust me, the stuff they give you on death row is probably the cheapest generic crap you can buy anywhere. This is good coffee.”