Code Name: Camelot (Noah Wolf #1)(75)
“Pablo’s bank won’t know he’s been scammed for at least seventy-two hours. Depending on where the pickup is scheduled to be, Moose ought to be able to get to it anywhere in the Middle East within no more than twenty-four.”
Noah nodded. “Okay, and I’m going to play a little tighter than that. Since we’re talking about this much money, I think I can get away with demanding that it be inspected before we make the final transfer. If it really is somewhere in the area around Dubai, then we should be able to accomplish it within a few hours. Pablo can tell us how to reach the supplier, so once Moose has checked it with a Geiger and confirmed that it’s real, I’ll tell you to go ahead and make the transfer. Pablo can confirm it, and tell his people to let Moose take possession.”
A new voice came through the phone. “Do I get any kind of say in this?”
Noah’s face broke into a big smile. “Moose, I didn’t know you were right there with Neil. Think you can handle this?”
“Can I pretend to be the Dragon? Yeah, I can pretend all day long, but that doesn’t mean I get out of there alive, let alone with the product. Don’t you think we need a backup plan on this?”
“Don’t worry, buddy,” Noah said. “As soon as we clear this line, I’m going to call Mrs. McGillicuddy. I think I can get her to put another team on you for support, since we got the chance to actually lay our hands on some of this stuff.”
“Don’t you just love the way he says ‘our hands,’ when he really means ‘your hands?’ Does he always act this way?”
“Neil,” Noah said, “why are you asking Moose? You’ve known me as long as he has.”
“Longer, remember, by approximately two minutes. That’s a little bit like being the older twin, you know what I mean? And since you’re the king of Siam, that means were a little bit like Siamese twins. I wonder if they can ever determine which one of them is really the older one, got any ideas on that?”
“The only way to tell which one of a pair of Siamese twins is older is to see which one lives the longest. Since they’re both born at the same moment, the older one is the one who dies ten minutes after his brother.”
“Noah, you say the most comforting things. Okay, boss, we’re on it. Talk to you later.”
The phone went dead, and Noah turned to Sarah. “Everything cool on your end?”
She shrugged. “No worse than usual,” she said. “When Neil saw Ortiz come in, he told me to get over here quick, so I’ve been cruising around, waiting for him to give me the word that you left the bar. As long as I keep the car moving, nobody bothers me too much, but when I have to stop for gas I feel like a goldfish in a shark tank. What is it with Mexican men when they see a blonde? Am I wearing a sign that says, ‘Here I am, who wants a piece of ass?’ Feels like it, sometimes.”
“I can imagine,” Noah said. “Let’s run by my hotel so I can check out, then get back across the border and get some rest. Tomorrow’s gonna be a busy day.”
Sarah nodded, and maneuvered the car through the city until she got to the Hampton Inn. She waited in the car while Noah hurried upstairs to his room and packed quickly, remembering to remove the microphones and flush them down the toilet. He came down the elevator and checked out, then loaded his bags into the trunk of the car.
Sarah got back on the road, headed for the bridge back into the US. It took about an hour to get across, mostly because of the delay in showing ID to get back into the states. Noah used the time to put in a call to Allison.
“How’s it going down there?” Allison asked.
“Pretty hairy,” Noah answered. “I’m changing the game up a bit. Intel was right, I found out Ortiz definitely has a contact for nuke juice. I made a deal to make a purchase of some material, but I’ve got to send Moose to Dubai as fast as possible. He’s going to pose as my client, who’s known as the Dragon, so that he can inspect the material and take possession.”
“Making an actual purchase wasn’t in your mission parameters. What brought this on?”
“Spur of the moment decision. It was too easy to put the deal together, I just can’t stand the thought of leaving that material out where some real terrorist can get his hands on it. I’ve already got Neil setting Moose up with a flight, but I’m hoping you got some assets in Dubai that can back him up.”
She was silent for a moment, and he could hear computer keys clicking. “Team Aladdin is close to there, getting ready for a mission of their own in a couple of days. I can put them on him tomorrow. Noah, how confident are you that this is a real buy?”
“I’m pretty solid on it,” he said. “Ortiz seemed awfully excited about the possibility of a big payday. He quoted me twelve million, which is about three million over market value. Apparently, he’s in tight enough with these people that they trust him for the money, because he assures me we can take delivery as soon as I have Neil make the transfer to him.”
“Okay, I’m going to back you on this. I’ll be honest, I normally wouldn’t allow a new asset like you to make a call like this, but we both know that I’ve got a lot of confidence in you. Let’s just hope that computer you use for a brain is working up to its usual standards. You’re putting Moose out there at some risk, but I’ll grant you that the payoff sounds like it’ll be worth it. I’ll make sure Aladdin is briefed and ready, and I’ll send Moose their contact info.”