“You don’t know anything about it,” Moose said, taking an ominous step toward Neil. “I got passed over, despite the fact that my scores were higher than three of the men who were accepted. The captain knew damned well what he was doing, and there was no excuse for him to pass me over. All I did was ask him why, and the next thing I knew, I had two guys holding my arms. I didn’t swing at the captain, I was just trying to get myself loose from them, and he got in the way.”
Noah had stepped in between the two of them, and held up a hand to ask for a truce.
“Okay, look, Moose,” he said. “It sounds a lot like maybe there’s been a big misunderstanding on both ends, here. What do you say we just put this behind us, and start over, right now?”
Moose shook his head. “I told you, don’t expect me to be your friend.” He suddenly threw down his bottle, shattering it on the flagstones of the patio, and turned toward his car.
“Stop right there,” Noah said. “Moose, we cannot have this kind of problem between us. There’s only one way I can see to fix this, so I’m going to give you one chance. You and me, right now, man-to-man. You kick my ass, I’ll go to Queen Allison and ask her to transfer you away from me. I kick yours, you knock off this crap and back me up, show me you know how to be a loyal soldier. Deal?”
Moose stood there and stared at him for a long moment, and then he nodded. “Deal,” he said.
Noah nodded, and walked over into the grass. “Whenever you’re ready, then,” he said, and he had no more than gotten the words out before Moose lowered his head and charged at him like a raging bull.
Noah waited until he was only two feet away, then spun to his left. Moose sailed right by, but Noah continued to spin and planted his boot in Moose’s butt as he skidded to a stop. Neil burst out laughing, and Noah thought he heard a giggle out of Sarah, but he didn’t have time to check. Moose was in a rage, and swung at him in a roundhouse that would have taken his head off, had it connected.
Noah ducked under it, and came back up with a fist into Moose’s solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him with a single punch. The big man fell back, but he wasn’t down for the count. He managed to suck in enough air to let him come after Noah again, this time more cautiously.
The two of them began striking at each other, and so skilled were they both that it began to look like a high-speed film from an old kung fu movie. They swung, struck, flipped and kicked like a pair of wild warriors, and soon each of them was marked and bleeding in spots. The fight went on for several minutes, but then Moose began to slow. Noah continued to block him more than strike at him, and then Moose left an opening that was too good to pass up, and Noah delivered a punch directly to the point of his chin. Moose went down, and didn’t move at all.
Noah, gasping for breath, stumbled to his chair and sat while Neil and Sarah went to check on Moose. “Oh, good,” Neil said, “he’s just gone to sleepy land. I sure hope he’ll be in a better mood when he wakes up.”
“He’d better be,” Noah said. “I’m not going to put up with a whole lot more of his attitude, if he isn’t.”
Moose groaned a moment later, and managed to sit up a minute after that. He was quiet, and so Noah got up and walked over to him. He extended a hand, and Moose reached up and took it. Noah pulled, and Moose made it to his feet.
“That settle it?” Noah asked.
Moose looked at him, and then reached up to rub his jaw. “It’s settled, Sir,” he said. “You’ll get no more static out of me.”
“That’s good,” Allison said, and they all spun to see her sitting on Noah’s back steps. No one had heard a car pull up, nor any footsteps, but she was there and had watched the whole thing. “It’s about time you got your ducks in a row, Camelot. And not a day too soon, either. I’m going to give you a couple of days to recuperate, and then you’ll begin specialized training for your first mission. We’ve got some detailed briefings planned and very special simulations set up to help you work it all out, but I’d say we’re looking at a go within a couple of months. And don’t ask, because I’m not giving you any details, tonight.” She got up and walked over toward the picnic table, as Moose came back to the others. “Now, somebody tell me, I’ve been hearing about these incredible kebabs. Please tell me there’s enough that I can join in on this feast.”
Noah grinned and pointed at a chair. “There’s plenty,” he said. “With Neil around, I’ve learned to make sure there’s lots of food available.”
SIXTEEN
True to her word, Allison gave Noah and his team two days to let themselves prepare mentally for going out on their first mission. Ironically, they spent most of that time together, talking and gradually forming themselves into a unit.
It began the same evening as Allison’s announcement. After the fight, Moose was making an obvious effort to be friendly, but Noah could tell that it wasn’t easy for him, and so could the others.
“My God, Moose,” Neil said, “you don’t have to kiss Noah’s ass just because he kicked yours. He just wanted you to knock off the bullshit, not become his new BFF.”