Code Name: Camelot (Noah Wolf #1)(43)
For Noah’s part, he was amazed at the quantity of information that was being crammed into his head. Once again, his almost photographic memory came in handy, because he had to memorize quite a list of poisons and their antidotes, as well as recipes for making them on the fly. He learned tricks and techniques for deploying poisons, including orally, in the air, and through the skin, and was taught which were most effective in various scenarios.
So many things were changing in his life. He had gone to see the cosmetic surgeon, just as he’d been ordered to do, and now the face that looked back at him in the mirror seemed somewhat unfamiliar. Noah was adaptable, though, and within a very short time, he was able to visualize his new face as easily as he had always done with his old one.
Allison had been right. The changes were subtle, but sufficient. If he ran into someone who had known him before, it was highly doubtful that they would recognize him, though they might feel that they saw a resemblance to someone they used to know. Ironically, they probably wouldn’t even be able to remember who it was this stranger reminded them of.
Noah was drilled in his new history. If asked where he was born, he would instantly reply that it had been in Torrance, California, but that he had grown up on a farm outside of Paxton, Iowa. He had been homeschooled, but received a diploma through an accredited online high school, with exceptional grades. He had gone into the Army not long after, planning to use the G.I. Bill to finance his further education after his term of service.
In the Army, however, he had become an expert in security technologies, both physical and digital. Upon his discharge, he had been recruited by a consulting firm out of Washington, DC, and now traveled the world as a security issue troubleshooter.
Everything was documented; everything was backed up in databases all over the country. His school record, military record, birth certificate, even the death certificates of his parents who died in a tragic accident while he was serving his country—all would stand up to any scrutiny.
Besides training time, and at Allison’s urging, he had begun spending personal time with the other members of his team, actually inviting them to his home on a couple of occasions. They showed up when they were supposed to, but it seemed to Noah that the only one he got along with was Neil. The skinny kid seemed to enjoy his company, and Noah began to suspect it was because he could get away with being even more sarcastic than usual, since Noah didn’t always realize what was being said to him.
Sarah would occasionally join in on some of the banter, but he could tell there was something reserved about her, some reason she didn’t want to open up to him or anyone else. He didn’t care that much, because he wasn’t interested in any kind of relationship with her other than a professional one. His only concern was that the distance might cause her to be untrustworthy when he needed her.
Moose, on the other hand, would sit there and refuse to even join in the conversations. Unless he was asked a point-blank question that pertained to his position in the team, he had nothing to say. Noah recalled Allison telling him that he needed to find a way to break through that wall, but so far, he didn’t have any ideas along that line. Moose didn’t like him—that was obvious. Noah didn’t know what to do about it.
The boat occupied some of his days off. It had a big Mercury V-8 engine tucked into its stern, and would move along at a pretty good clip. Noah had learned to waterski a few years earlier, and began thinking about buying a set. All he needed to do was find someone to drive the boat for him, but so far, he wasn’t having any luck in that regard.
Some evenings he spent alone, but occasionally he would wander down to Charlie’s for a beer. He wouldn’t let himself drink much, because he didn’t trust himself not to get into trouble. A couple of early experiences in drinking, as a teenager, had showed him that he had as little common sense when he was drinking as he had emotion when he was sober.
Charlie, despite his near-toothless appearance, had turned out to be quite an intelligent person. He and Noah had several very interesting conversations, ranging on everything from politics to religion to the debate over which pile of crap might be best to put into the White House for the next term. So far, they hadn’t come to any real conclusions on that one, but the debate was still ongoing.
To sum it all up, Noah was slowly going stir crazy. It was time for Allison to either put up or shut up, in his opinion—either give them a mission and let him determine whether his team could properly function, or else split the team up and reassign everyone. He had done everything he could think of to try to win them all over, but as far as he could tell, they were just as raw and fragmented as they had been the day they met.
He sat down at the bar, and Charlie set a bottle in front of him automatically. “Hey, kid,” Charlie said, his habitual greeting.
Noah smiled. “Hey, Charlie, how goes it tonight?”
The two of them talked about the usual things for a few minutes, but then Noah got more serious. “Charlie,” he said, “I’ve got a question for you. Let’s say you’ve got this group you got to work with, people that are assigned to you, so that you’re their boss. One of them seems to like you, one acts like she’s afraid to let you get too close, and the third one just plain hates your guts. How in the world can you turn them into a team?”
Charlie grinned his toothless grin. “Oh, come on, kid, ask me a hard one,” he said. “That’s easy. First, you get the one that likes you to tell the others to knock off their crap. Then you get the girl who’s afraid of you into what looks like a position where you can take advantage of her, but you don’t. You walk her out the door, and let her go. Then you find the guy who hates you, get him alone, and challenge him. Tell him that if he can kick your ass, then you’ll do everything you can to make sure he doesn’t have to put up with you anymore. On the other hand, if you kick his, then he’s got to shut up and back you up a hundred percent. Then you make damn sure you kick his ass all the way up to his forehead!”