Noble Intentions: Season Two (Episodes 6-10) (39 page)

“I’m OK,” Jasmine said.

“Me too,” Clarissa said.

The room went silent except for creaks and crashes where studs collapsed and sections of the wall fell to the floor.

“Alik?” Jack rose to his feet. Turned around. Saw Alik on his back in the middle of the cell, lying in a pool of his own blood.

Jasmine ran to the body of their attacker. Found a set of keys and furiously worked at the locked door leading into Alik’s cell. She opened it and both her and Jack rushed to Alik’s body.

“No pulse,” Jack said.

Jasmine handed him the keys. “Get her out. I’ll work on him.”

Jack unlocked Clarissa’s cell door. “Were there any more?”

“Yes. Two more.”

“Jasmine, we need to get him and get out of here. There’s more.”

Together, they hoisted Alik onto Jack’s shoulder. He carried the man’s lifeless body down the stairs, through the kitchen, and across the backyard.

Jasmine had run ahead of them for the car. By the time Jack and Clarissa reached the driveway, Jasmine was there.

They placed Alik in the back seat. Jasmine got out and slid in next to him. She worked feverishly to resuscitate the lifeless man.

Clarissa got in the passenger seat. Jack sat behind the wheel. Started the car and pulled out of the driveway, heading back the way they came in.

“Where should we go?” he asked.

“Just drive,” Jasmine said.

21

“You ain’t said much,” Bear said.

Pierre shrugged. Stared out the window. His face pale. Expression blank.

“You didn’t know,” Bear said.

Pierre nodded. Turned his head and leaned the seat back. “It’s probably not the worst thing I’ve ever done. I don’t know why I feel like this.”

“Sometimes it just hits the right way.”

“Guess so.”

“It’s been a rough six months for you, Pierre. You’ve been through a lot. Some things have come full circle. You should take a vacation after all this is over.”

“I plan to. Just have to figure out who to bring.”

“There a woman back in France?”

“Aye, there is.” Pierre paused to light a cigarette. Cracked his window. “She wasn’t happy I was leaving.”

“They never are.”

“I don’t think she’s waiting for me to return.”

“We’ll find out soon enough.”

“We?”

“I think we need to finish this. Don’t you?”

“Charles?” Pierre asked.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll do it for you and Jack.”

“We have to get to France soon. Before he comes to New York. I know Charles is going to be in the mix for the old man’s empire.”

“Will Frank cover us?”

“If not, I got a friend who will.”

“Like your friend in New York?”

“Same guy.”

Pierre said nothing else.

Bear kept his eyes on the road. He weaved through the heavy traffic. They drove southwest, into the setting sun. The low angle of the light created a flare on his windshield, making it difficult to see the traffic ahead. They were halfway between Philadelphia and D.C. Frank had told them to come up the next morning, but Bear didn’t like the idea of staying in New York after the hit. Especially not in the apartment that Frank had arranged. They were sitting ducks in there.

“I got another friend outside D.C. who’s gonna put us up for the night, Pierre. Good cook. Usually has a stocked bar.”

Pierre turned his head. Bear looked over and saw the man smiling. “I’m going to need it.”

“Me too.”

“Have you heard anything about the girl?”

“No.” Bear hadn’t been in touch with Mandy since they took her and Larsen. He hated putting his trust in Frank and his associates. In some ways the man was no better than those they fought against. The only saving grace he had in Bear’s eyes was the fact that Jack trusted him. “But I’ll make sure I see her soon.”

22

Snow had begun to fall shortly after midnight. The temperatures continued to plummet. The thick steel railing along the side of the bridge was covered with two inches of ice. Long, sharp icicles hung at irregular intervals. Some were short, others long.

The sound of rushing water rose from below. A river raced by, under the bridge. Jack didn’t need to get near it to know that the water would provide an icy, frozen tomb for anyone who entered.

“I’m sorry, Jack,” Jasmine said. “I think he was gone before he hit the ground. I never got a pulse or—”

“It’s not your fault,” Jack said. “I went in guns blazing. Clarissa tried to tell me there was someone else. I ignored it. Anger got the best of me. I’m just grateful no one else was hurt.”

He felt hands on his shoulder. He leaned over, grabbed his dead friend under the arms and lifted him. Jasmine and Clarissa grabbed Alik’s feet and the three of them held the lifeless body in the air.

“So long, Alik,” Jack said as he let go of Alik. They heard a splash when his body hit the water. Looked over the railing. Saw nothing. Even if they could, the racing current would have carried him fifty feet or so by that point.

The trio sulked back to the car. Clarissa got in back. Jasmine in the driver’s seat. Jack in the passenger’s. They drove in silence, heading southwest, toward Ukraine. Reentering the country should be far easier than leaving it. They were crossing further north than where they entered and they didn’t have to deal with people on the lookout for Jack Noble.

They reached the border crossing close to three-thirty a.m. Three lights lit up the two lane road. An old man stepped out of a worn sun bleached wooden building. He walked to the front of the car, then to the driver’s side. Jasmine rolled down the window. The guard stuck his head in. He smiled and said, “Passports?”

They handed him their fake passports and waited. Thirty seconds later he handed them back. Walked to the front of the car, then waved them through.

Jack held his breath as they passed into the next country.

Fifteen minutes later, Jasmine pulled over. She grabbed her cell phone and placed a call.

“Frank,” she said. “Yeah, we’re safe, but I’ve got bad news. We lost Alik.” There was a long pause then Jasmine said, “Jack, he wants to talk to you.”

Jack grabbed the phone. Placed it to his ear. “Yeah, Frank.”

“Jack, listen. We think we’ve got a lead on who leaked the information and sold it off to begin with.”

“OK. Take them down then.”

“Things have changed a lot since you worked for us. We aren’t equipped for that kind of thing. I need you and Jasmine.”

“What about Clarissa?”

“Well,” Frank paused a beat, “I think she’s in deep enough already that it won’t compromise anything to keep her on board.”

“OK.”

“Don’t tell them about this. I want to brief everyone in person. Where are you guys?”

“Where are we?” Jack asked.

“Near Hlukhiv,” Jasmine said.

“Hlukhiv,” Jack repeated.

“OK, you guys get to Brovary. Call me when you’re close. I’ll get you on a flight to Germany, get you fresh passports, and get you home. You’ll be in my office by noon.”

“Frank, one more thing.”

“Yeah.”

“How’d that situation go with Bear and Pierre.”

“They completed the job successfully.”

Jack hung up the phone. He thought back to his long and rocky relationship with the old man. If it had happened two years ago, he might have had a feeling or two. As it was, he didn’t give a damn.

“What did he say?” Jasmine asked.

“Drive to Brovary. We’re getting on a plane there, then going to Germany. Then home. We meet with him around noon, eastern time.”

“What about me?” Clarissa asked.

“You’re coming with us.”

Episode 10

1

“When will they be in my possession?” the man said into the cell phone he purchased minutes prior.

“Be patient,” she told him. “As soon as I’ve secured them, they’ll be yours.”

He split the blinds with his index and middle fingers and stared down at crowds hustling along F Street. Tourists who were making their way to the next attraction. Politicians and business people on their way to lunch or a business meeting or perhaps a secret meeting with someone they shouldn’t be seeing.

He pulled his fingers back and the blinds snapped into place with a faint clank. He paced across the office. Stopped and leaned against the door. He glanced around the room. It was bare. No pictures or paintings on the walls. A simple wooden desk and a simple plastic chair. It wasn’t his primary office, so he had no need for the frills and extras that lined his office in the Pentagon. No one knew of this place. The meetings and business he conducted in the room were not the kind of business and meetings that his superiors would condone.

“How will I get in touch with you?” he asked.

“I’ll let you know when the time is right.”

He massaged his eyebrows with his thumb and forefinger, starting in the center and slowly working his way out. “This is a throwaway line. After this conversation the phone is going in the trash. Give me your number.”

She hesitated. Started to speak. Stopped, then began again after he heard the sound of her licking her lips. The only noise that escaped her mouth was a soft, whistling “S” sound.

He quickly interrupted her. “No names! That’s the only condition.”

“I’ll be in touch,” she said.

“Wait—”

The line clicked off and the time display flashed on the cell phone screen. He cursed under his breath and ran his free hand through his thick gray hair.

I’ve got to get those documents back,
he thought.

He turned and reached for the doorknob. Stopped. Walked over to his desk and opened the center drawer. He reached in and grabbed the Heckler & Koch USP Compact 9mm pistol.

He drew the gun to his chest and walked back to the door. Slowly he turned the knob and pulled the door open. He leaned over and peered through the opening, listening for any movement. Then he stuck his head into the hall. His right hand was just out of sight, ready to spring forward and shoot if necessary.

Satisfied the hall was empty, he closed the door and walked back to his desk. Set the gun in the drawer and slid the drawer closed. He scanned the room one more time, making sure nothing was out of place. He grabbed his coat and hat, then left the office.

He was greeted by the warm spring breeze as he stepped out of the building and onto the busy sidewalk.. The overcoat was too much. Not only would he bake inside it, he would also draw unnecessary attention to himself. And unnecessary attention was always a bad thing for a man in his position.

He slipped out of the coat and draped it across his left arm. He pulled the brim of his hat down and lowered his head. At six-three it wasn’t quite enough to hide his face completely, but it had to do. He only had to make it a block or so and then he could relax.

An opening in the crowd appeared, and he took it. Merged in with a group of tourists. The group was a curse and a blessing at the same time. There were plenty of bodies and faces, making it harder for someone to notice him. But the meandering group moved slowly, making the walk take that much longer.

Finally, he felt comfortable enough to leave the group and remove his hat. His car was parked at the Pentagon, so he had to either walk or catch a cab back. It wasn’t that far, only about a mile, so he elected to walk. It’d do him good, he figured. Although he considered himself in shape for his age, a softening around his mid-section had started a few years back and progressed faster than he was willing to accept.

Twenty minutes later he entered one of the most secure buildings in the world. The guards standing around greeted him by name and smiled and barely paid attention as he passed through the security station.

He nodded as he passed the guard he knew as Jones.

“Have a great day, Secretary,” Jones said.

2

Jack sat alone in Frank’s office. The room, much like Frank himself, was dull. There was little there to keep his mind off Alik. The scene from the previous night played over and over in his mind. He hated that they dumped him in the icy river, but they had little choice. They couldn’t leave him at the General’s house. Couldn’t leave him on the side of the road. He’d have been found too soon. Sure, his body would probably be found a few miles or a few hundred miles downstream That didn’t matter. It gave them time and that they got out of Russia without further incident.

The door handle rattled. Jack tensed. Instinctively, his hands went to where his pistol would be if he had one. He shrugged his shoulders and exhaled. Frank’s office was secure and Jack knew he had nothing to worry about, except maybe for Frank.

The door cracked open and Jack twisted in his chair. He nodded at Frank as the man stepped into the office. Jack shifted and followed Frank with his eyes as the man walked past.

Frank stepped around the desk and stood in front of Jack. He placed two cups of coffee on top of his calendar. Offered one to Jack, who reached out, grabbed the cup and brought it to his face. The lid hovered inches from his nose. He inhaled the steam and aroma and then took a sip.

“Thanks for coming alone, Jack,” Frank said.

Jack set the coffee down on the desk. He folded his arms over his chest. Rubbed his freshly shaved chin. “You didn’t leave me much choice.”

“Beard’s gone. Looks good.”

Jack said nothing.

“When are you going to take care of the hair?”

“Soon.” Jack paused for a second, waiting for Frank to continue the conversation. When he didn’t, Jack said, “You didn’t bring me down here to talk about my grooming habits. What the hell is this about?”

“No, no I didn’t.” Frank placed his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair. His eyes shifted from Jack to the ceiling. He opened his mouth several times to speak, but didn’t say a word.

“Frank,” Jack said. “What is it?”

“You remember I told you we think we have a lead on the leak? For the documents?”

“Yeah, that was a few hours ago, Frank.”

“We were wrong.”

“How did you find this out?”