Noble Intentions: Season Two (Episodes 6-10) (19 page)

“What are you doing here, girl?”

“It’s a long story.”

“I got a few hours to kill.”

“Got a beer?”

“Sure do. C’mon.”

He led her into the kitchen. She took a seat at the vintage chrome edged fifties-style table. He opened the fridge and pulled out two beers. Popped the caps and dropped them on the counter. He placed a beer in front of her and then sat down across from her.

Bear said, “I can’t believe you’re here. It’s been, what, six months now?”

She nodded. Took a pull from the bottle.

“What have you been doing?” he asked. “And how did you even find me here? And what the hell are you doing here?”

Clarissa felt her cheeks flush as she thought about how to break it to him that she’d seen Mandy. She’d only known that she had to come see the big man. There were no plans made beyond that.

“It’s Mandy.”

Bear lowered his head and sunk back in his chair. He set his bottle down on the table. Crossed his arms.

“I’m going to get her back,” he said.

“I know where she is.”

“So do I. And I’m going to get her.”

“No, Bear, listen. You don’t understand. Look, I can’t say too much, but basically I’m undercover. I’m staying in the house, down the hall from her.”

“You need to get her out of there then.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Like hell it isn’t. Get her out of there, Clarissa.”

She took a long pull on the bottle and thought for a moment before speaking.

“That place, it’s a compound, Bear. The guy has professional security everywhere. Guards inside the house. Outside. Probably positioned in the woods surrounding the house. There is no way I can get out with her.”

Bear uncrossed his arms and let his hands fall in his lap. “Did you talk to her?”

“Yes. She has her own room. Seems to have free reign in the house. She’s being treated well.”

“Then why’re they holding her?”

“I don’t know Boris well enough to find out, yet.”

“Tonight, there’s an event. Will you be there?”

Clarissa shrugged. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about. If there is something going on, they haven’t told me yet.”

“We were just going to go to crash it and get some more information out of someone. But, Clarissa, you need to go. Bring Mandy.”

“Who is ‘we’? And how am I supposed to get her out of the house?”

Bear thought it over for a few moments. “You’re right. Suppose you can’t get him to allow her to go. But, what if, well won’t security at the house be reduced while they’re at the event?”

“How should I know? Besides, there will still be some security. Not to mention the alarm system they have in place.”

“Dammit.”

Clarissa reached her hand across the table. Bear’s hand met her’s.

“I’m inside,” she said. “I’ll make sure she stays safe and get her out. When the time is right, though. OK?”

Bear nodded. He picked up the beer bottle and lifted it to his lips. Set it back down. “You got your own phone? A safe phone?”

“I do.”

He gave her his number. “You text me and let me know what happens tonight. OK? If you can bring her, then this is going down tonight.”

She hesitated a moment and said, “I’ll help as much as I can. But Bear you have to realize, I can’t compromise my position yet. I have to get something solid on this group. That can’t happen if I reveal myself.”

“Understood.” Bear paused. “You hear gunshots, get out of the way.”

15

Pierre opened the briefcase that had been handed to him after he exited the Des Moines International Airport. The briefcase contained two Glock 17 9mm handguns, three fully loaded magazines per gun, and a suppressor for each weapon. There was also a tactical knife with an ankle sheath.

He placed the knife and magazines on the table. Inspected each Glock carefully, running his finger down the weapons as he did so.

He placed a series of photographs on the table as well. The pictures were of the man he knew as Bear. He had never worked directly with Bear, though. Pierre only knew him through his association with Jack Noble. The job turned out not to be as bad as he thought when Charles presented it to him. He wasn’t close to Bear and therefore didn’t think that taking his life would pose a moral problem. Especially not for what they were paying him for the job.

A wave of doubt passed through Pierre just then. What if the old man and Charles were simply using him? He knew that Bear was a loose end. Pierre thought about his own involvement in the Jack and Clarissa situation. His actions then might have caused him to be a loose end as well.

The dilemma played on his mind as he prepared to go out for his first look at Bear’s property and the potential location for the hit. Should he take Bear out now? He could take his chances with the old man and be prepared to do battle when back in New York or Paris. Maybe he should make contact with Bear, anonymously, before taking any action on him. Perhaps there was something he didn’t know. Some rift in the organization the he should be made aware of.

He decided not to dwell on it. He’d let the scenario when he arrived at Bear’s house determine his course of action.

Pierre dressed and put on an overcoat two sizes too large. He holstered his weapons inside the coat and placed the extra magazines in his pockets. Finally, he strapped the knife around his lower leg. He doubted that the knife would help much should he find himself in a position to use it against Bear.

He found his Ford rental car in the hotel parking lot. Drove toward the small town the old man had told him Bear lived in. The drive was long and flat and boring. Fortunately, the town was small and it didn’t take long for Pierre to find Bear’s street. He parked next to the curb a block away. Pulled out a pair of binoculars and focused on the house. The view wasn’t as good as he had hoped, so he drove another hundred feet and stopped again. He was only a few houses away now. He climbed across the car to the passenger seat and hunkered back so that he was as far out of sight as possible.

Pierre had been watching the house for twenty minutes when the door opened. A big man stepped out and Pierre recognized the man as Bear. Bear held the screen door open and Pierre figured the little girl would step out next. He would not do the hit here and now, not with the child around.

But the girl didn’t step out, a woman did. Pierre squinted behind the binoculars. She looked familiar, but he couldn’t place her. The face resembled the woman that Jack had been with in Paris. Clarissa, he thought. But the hair was too dark. Her hair had been red, dark red, but red nonetheless. This woman had dark brown hair. The facial resemblance was uncanny and he thought that he might mention it to the old man when he called him later that night. If he called him.

Bear stood on the porch. The woman crossed the yard and turned down the sidewalk, walking toward Pierre. He lowered his seat even further in an attempt to stay out of view. While he wanted to verify if she was the woman from Paris, to be spotted now would throw a major kink into the way he planned to do the job.

He stayed motionless for ten minutes in case the woman decided to stop and take a phone call or smoke a cigarette. The thought made Pierre crave a smoke of his own and he fumbled around in his jacket until he found an unopened pack. He tore the cellophane wrapper off the top and placed a cigarette in his mouth. Lit it and closed his eyes and inhaled. He was just about to sit up and return to the driver’s seat when the passenger side door opened.

Pierre dropped his cigarette and reached inside his jacket. He froze when he felt the cold barrel of a gun against the top of his head.

“Don’t bother,” a man said. “Put your hands where I can see them.”

Pierre slowly pulled his hands from his coat and placed them in the air in front of him.

“Sit up.”

Pierre did as instructed.

“What the hell are you doing watching my house? Wait a minute. Don’t I know you?”

Pierre turned his head and smiled at Bear. “Yes, you do.”

* * *

Bear watched the Frenchman shift uncomfortably on the couch. Any other time he’d tie him up and make Pierre sweat it out. But time was a commodity.

“Go over this again,” Bear said. “And tell me why you were sitting outside my house.”

Pierre cleared his throat and massaged his temples with his thumbs.

“Let me start off by saying that since, you know, since Jack and Russia and him losing his life, I’ve been a depressed mess.”

Bear nodded. Said nothing. He kept his eyes on Pierre, his hand on his gun and his gun aimed at the Frenchman.

“I got a job offer from Charles,” Pierre said.

“So, from the old man then?”

“Yeah, in a roundabout way, I guess you could say that. But I believe that Charles has taken on an increased role in their organization. He runs things in Europe now.”

“OK.”

“They asked me to do a job and told me it would pay well.”

“How well?”

“Two fifty.”

“American?”

“Euros.”

Bear shook his free hand in front of him. “Not bad.”

Pierre shrugged.

“So the job was to take me out?”

“Yes, but I did not find that out until I was over here.”

“And you were willing to do it?”

“Yes. Maybe. I don’t know. I don’t know if I could have gone through with it.”

Bear stood up and his gun’s aim dropped down toward the floor. He paced the front of the room. He tried to understand why the old man would want him taken out. What had he done? It was always Jack that dealt with the old man. Bear assisted, but he stayed out of everything else.

“Pierre, why?”

Pierre shrugged again. “Do you ask why when you take a job?”

Bear shook his head. That was a good point. Start asking questions and things quickly take a turn for the worse.

“OK, then, how did they know I was here?”

Pierre sat back in his chair and let his head fall against the upper cushion. His eyes darted side to side as he scanned the ceiling.

“The old man never told me how he knew. He just gave me the address.”

“Did he say anything that came off as unusual to you?”

“Yes,” Pierre said as he leaned forward. He crossed his right leg over his left and placed an elbow on his knee. “Come to think of it he did say something quite odd.”

Bear stopped pacing. His mind raced and he felt his heart rate speed up.

“The little girl,” Pierre said. “He mentioned the little girl. He said if she was with you, I was to take her.”

“Kill her?”

“No, take her. Bring her back to him.”

“And if she wasn’t here?”

“Call him and he’d give me her location. Said he’d also have another job available.”

“What kind of job?” Bear asked.

Pierre shook his head while lifting his shoulders.

A knock at the door startled both men. Bear lifted a finger and an eyebrow and pointed at Pierre. “Don’t move.” He crossed the room and opened the door. “Detective.” He stepped aside, pulling the door open and letting Larsen in.

“Who the hell is this?” Larsen asked.

“He was sent to kill me,” Bear said. “But now he’s going to help us. Right?”

Pierre nodded. “I’m at your service.”

“What kind of experience does he have?” Larsen asked Bear, ignoring the Frenchman.

“Plenty. Worked for the French government. Did some freelance stuff. Worked with my old partner a few times.”

“You trust him?” Larsen asked.

Bear paused. His eyes shifted from the detective to the Frenchman. He studied Pierre for a few moments and said, “Yeah. He’s gonna make this right.”

“Good,” Larsen said. “Nobody here knows him. He’s our in for tonight.”

“How’s that?” Bear said.

“He’s going to work the event as a waiter. I’ve got communication equipment so he can give us a real-time view of what’s going on inside. We’ve got a few hours to make our plans.”

16

Jack passed the entrance to Chernov’s neighborhood and slowed the car down. Jasmine didn’t speak during the ride over. He thought he knew what was playing on her mind. He decided to ask.

“What is it?”

She shook her head slowly, then stopped and looked at him. She said, “Could’ve been us, Jack.”

“That’s nothing new. It’s the risk that goes with the job.”

“I know, I know. And we’ve lost men before. But, they weren’t even cold yet. Their bodies were still warm. It had just happened. And then we were what, thirty seconds from needing to be reassembled by some forensics team?”

Jack nodded. The same thoughts had crossed his mind. He compartmentalized them, though. They had a job to do and he wanted to get the bastards before they took off.

“Jasmine, we gotta put this behind us and take care of business. They knew someone else was coming. That’s why they placed the bomb.”

“You don’t think that was just to destroy the crime scene?”

“It’s possible. But I think the reality is someone was there when we got there. They placed the explosive and bailed.”

“You think they waited around long enough to see if they were successful?”

Jack took his time responding. The escape played over and over in his mind. Full speed, half speed, slow motion. He tried to pick out anything that had been out of the ordinary. A car that didn’t belong or had been driving by at the time. Anyone who had been lingering around outside, or sitting on their porch before the explosion. And where would the person who placed the bomb have gone when Jack and Jasmine entered the house? They couldn’t go through the front, so the back was their only route for escape. Jack recalled that he hadn’t been able to search the house. Jasmine called him to the kitchen when she found the dead bodies and he had only made it halfway down the hallway.

“I’m thinking they had a car on the next street over. Ran out the back, hopped over a fence and then got the hell out.”

Jack pulled the car into an empty parking lot where a Waffle House had once stood. He stopped and got out and reached into his pocket. Pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one.

Jasmine stepped out of the car and walked around it. She stood next to him.