Code Name: Camelot (Noah Wolf #1)(39)
Sarah sat there and just stared at him, and Moose busied himself with looking at the ceiling, but Neil leaned forward, put his head in his hands and muttered, “Oh, God help us, we’re all going to die.”
THIRTEEN
“Don’t let Moose get to you,” Allison said. “He comes from a long line of soldiers and sailors, and if he had his choice, he’d still be in the Navy.”
“Then why isn’t he?” Noah asked.
“Remember I said he just barely failed to make Navy SEALs? Well, after he was notified that he was not selected, especially after going through such intense training just to find out if he was good enough, he sort of snapped. The captain who told him the bad news ended up with a shiner, and Moose ended up with a BCD.”
“Bad Conduct Discharge?” Noah asked. “He’s probably lucky that’s all he got. Assaulting an officer, without reason? Really bad idea.”
Allison grinned at him. “Yes, well, Moose figured that out the hard way. Anyway, that’s how he turned up on my radar, and I couldn’t see any sense in letting all that training go to waste.”
Noah looked at her sideways. “With that kind of training, I’m surprised you didn’t make him a team leader himself. An assassin.”
She shook her head. “No way. Moose isn’t a man who can inspire others to follow him; he’s not a natural leader. And except for that one lapse in judgment, he has always been dedicated to following the orders of those in command. You figure out a way to make a friend out of him, or at least get his animosity under control, and you’ll have the most loyal man you could ever hope for on your side.”
Noah nodded. “Speaking of loyalties,” he said, “tell me about Neil Blessing. Is he always that sarcastic?”
“He is, yes. It’s a defense mechanism with him. Neil was always the nerdy kid, and as tall as he is, it turned out he was far too clumsy for any type of athletics. Academically, intellectually, he’s a genius, and if he hadn’t been stupid enough to brag on Facebook and twitter about hacking into the bank’s computers, he probably would’ve gotten away with it. It seems that there’s always little fractions of a cent in the daily interest calculations that get swept into some digital limbo, and Neil created some way to collect all those fractions and add them together in his own bank account. Fifteen thousandths of a cent at a time doesn’t sound like much money, until you realize that his bank is a national corporation with several million clients. This kid was racking up almost eleven thousand dollars a day, and not one cent of it was ever detected as missing from anywhere else.”
Noah blinked. “If he was dumb enough to brag about what he’d accomplished, then I’m not sure why you’re still calling him a genius.”
“Stop and think, Noah,” Allison said. “Genius is the ability to see past the limitations that most of us are faced with, and accomplish the impossible. That’s what he did, without a doubt. However, it is possible to be a genius and still be rather stupid, like that guy who created the internet security software that made him a billionaire, then ran off with his secretary and murdered her husband so no one would find them. Pretty stupid, wasn’t he?”
“Okay, I guess I see your point. Can I at least hope that Neil has learned his lesson about boasting?”
Allison laughed. “I suspect you could actually bet on that.”
They pulled into the underground garage of Allison’s building, and this time she pulled up behind a black-and-silver Corvette. Pointing at it, she said, “That’s your car. Like I said, don’t go wrapping it around any trees, or I might decide to shoot you myself.”
Noah grinned and got out, but she called him back just before he got into the Corvette. “Don’t forget to gather your things from the motel,” she said. “Those clothes are yours, along with the computer. Take them out to your house with you.” She waved once, and drove away.
Noah got into the Corvette and slipped the key into the ignition. He pushed in the clutch and started the car, found reverse on the four-speed and backed it out of its slot. A moment later, he was turning out of the garage onto the street, and making his way back toward the motel.
Marco stuck his head out of his room as Noah pulled in, and came jogging over a moment later to eyeball the Corvette. “Holy cow,” he said, “what a ride! How did you swing this?”
Noah shrugged. “The dragon lady said Doc Parker picked it for me. Can’t say I’m too upset about it, though. It’s a sweet set of wheels.”
Marco whistled. “I’ll just bet.” Without asking, he reached down to the grill and pulled the hood release, then tilted the hood up and whistled again. “Man, I haven’t seen that much chrome in forever,” he said. “Looks like a four fifty-four big block, but I’d bet there’s nothing stock about it. Want my guess? It’ll pass everything except a gas station.”
Noah grinned. “Good thing they give me a gas allowance, then, isn’t it? Listen, I just came to grab my clothes and such, they got me in a house out by the lake already.”
“Yeah, I knew that,” Marco said. “I’ll only be here a couple more days myself, just getting in some refresher training. Not that I need it, you understand, but it never hurts to keep yourself on top of your game.”