Code Name: Camelot (Noah Wolf #1)(81)
Noah nodded. “Yeah, about that,” he said. “He’s got Pablo’s bank account info, so if he takes over, all that money becomes his, right? What happens when it all disappears in a few days? If we’re planning on keeping him as an asset, we need to be thinking about that.”
Jefferson grinned. “Other people are way ahead of you,” he said. “Allison talked to somebody at the NSA, and they decided to make the payment for the nuclear material a real one. That way, the actual suppliers get paid, and Valdes doesn’t come out looking like a bad guy. Well, no worse a bad guy than usual, anyway. NSA gets to keep him as an intelligence asset, and the sudden disappearance of millions of dollars doesn’t make people start wondering what really happened to Pablo Ortiz.”
“Okay, good. So what’s next?”
“I got you all on a flight back to Denver in the morning,” Jefferson said. “You should be back home around noon, and you can rest up tomorrow, but you go for debriefing at nine the next day. The conference room at Allison’s office. Which reminds me, Noah, she wants you to call her. Now.”
Noah raised his eyebrows, and took out his phone and called his boss. She answered on the first ring.
“Put me on speakerphone,” she said, and Noah did so.
“Okay, everyone can hear you,” he said.
“Team Camelot, I just want to tell you—well, those of you who are there—that your first mission has been an unequaled success. We’ve never had a first mission go so well, let alone produce so many side benefits.”
“Side benefits?” Noah asked.
“Yes,” she said. “I just got word from another agency that Raul Delgado was found dead this morning. It appears that someone he owed money to was quite upset that the money wasn’t available. Delgado was one of the major distributors of methamphetamines coming across the border into the USA. Excellent work, Camelot. I’m looking forward to debriefing you when you get back.” The line went dead.
They went to their rooms after that, to get packed and ready to leave in the morning. All of them were tired, as much from the stress of the last two weeks as from anything else. They went down to dinner a little later, and when they came back up, Sarah walked into Noah’s room with him.
“Would you mind if we didn’t have sex tonight?” Sarah asked him. “I’d really just like to cuddle with you, if that’s okay?”
He turned down the covers and slipped out of his jeans and shirt, but left his underwear on as he got into bed. A moment later, she shed everything but her panties, and slid into bed beside him. Noah turned on his side and wrapped her in his arms, and just held her until she drifted off to sleep.
Once he heard her breathing slow, he allowed himself to go to sleep, as well. They awakened the next morning, shoved down a quick breakfast, and then climbed into Jefferson’s van for the ride to the airport.
Noah came back to the present. He had been sitting in his library for a few hours, reading Swiss Family Robinson with part of his mind, while he was going over the mission with another part. He wasn’t concerned about the debriefing, but wanted to be sure he had the mission firmly fixed in his memory before he got there.
As the sun was going down, he decided to go and grab a shower, so he walked into his room and stripped. In the bathroom, he turned on the shower so that it was hot and filling the room with steam, then stepped into it a moment later.
The tap on the glass of the shower door came as a slight surprise, and he pushed it open, ready for violence if it came his way, but it was only Sarah. “The door was unlocked, I hope you don’t mind.”
She was standing there naked, and he swung the door wider so that she could step inside with him, then pulled her close and kissed her under the spray. They washed each other, and when they were done, Sarah took Noah by the hand and led him to bed. She pushed him back onto the bed, then climbed into it beside him, pulling herself up onto him.
The sun woke them as it came through his bedroom window, and Noah was surprised that he had slept so late. He chalked it up to being comfortable and secure, and decided he must have needed the extra rest. They got up and went to the kitchen and made coffee, but then they both said they were too tired to bother fixing breakfast. They went back to the bedroom and got dressed, then got into Sarah’s car and drove to Kirtland. A couple of fast food breakfast sandwiches hit the spot, and by the time they were done it was time for the debriefing.
They parked in the underground garage, and rode the elevator up to Allison’s floor. Jenny the secretary smiled as they came in, and told them that they were being awaited in the conference room. They went down the short hallway and entered the room, where Allison was waiting.
Neil was already there, and they sat down at the table across from him. Moose showed up only a minute later, and took the seat next to Neil.
“This is going to be one of the most informal debriefings I’ve ever done,” Allison said. “More than anything else, I just want to tell you again what a fantastic job you guys have done. You have lived up to my expectations, and even exceeded them. I’ve been hearing from every department head today, and they’re all saying the same thing.”
Noah raised his eyebrows. “Which is?”
Allison grinned. “That I’m a freaking genius for recruiting you, and then giving you three of our best for your support team. You guys have done more than just carry out your mission, you’ve also made the world a safer place for all of us, and in several different ways.” She looked at Neil. “That little program of yours is pretty exciting,” she said. “I’ve already had other agencies asking if I know anything about all of these drug dealers who are suddenly complaining that their money is vanishing. I’m telling them I don’t know anything, and I want to keep it that way. This is a tool that could be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands, and while I may be an egotistical bitch, I personally believe that the wrong hands would be any hands other than mine. We’re just going to keep that our secret, okay?”