Moose laughed again, but this time he softened it with a genuine smile. “I wasn’t being jealous, Sarah,” he said. “You’re sweet, but you’re not my type. I was actually being a bit protective, because I’ve come to look at you like a little sister. I just didn’t want to see you getting hurt, or getting so complacent about being close to the boss that you might make a mistake. Mistakes get people killed, and I don’t want see you in a body bag.”
Noah nodded. “Moose, you’ve made a good point. You’re right, and if I ever feel that one of you is a danger to the team or to the mission, I wouldn’t hesitate. That’s just the way I am, and you all need to understand that. It would never be anything personal.”
“And you’d never feel even a moment’s regret, would you?” Neil asked.
“No, I wouldn’t. Once again, that’s just the way I’m built. It’s not something I chose, and it’s nothing I can change. On the other hand, it’s the same ability that will allow me to act without hesitation to protect one of you. I won’t have to stop and think about whether I should shoot the bastard who’s pointing a gun at you, because it will be obvious to me. I’ll shoot.”
“Well, that’s at least a little comforting,” Sarah said.
SEVENTEEN
The team spent the rest of the day at Noah’s place, and he took them on a tour, showing them the barn and other buildings. Sarah loved the mechanical shop, where Noah had already removed the non-running engine from the old truck and was preparing to rebuild it.
“Not bad,” she said, looking over the tools that were there. “Been a while since I’ve seen a private shop that was so well equipped. You know what you’re doing?”
Noah shrugged. “I lived on a farm for a while as a teenager, and got to help overhaul cars, trucks, tractors, you name it. I’m pretty good, but I’m smart enough to keep a Chilton manual around.”
Sarah gave him a scoffing look. “Chilton manuals are old school,” she said. “Nowadays, if there’s something you don’t know how to do, just Google it. I guarantee you there’s a YouTube video to show you how it’s done. I’ve seen one with a seven-year-old kid teaching people to do basic mechanical repairs. Just amazing.”
“A mechanical prodigy?” Neil asked. “Somehow, I suspect you were probably one of those, yourself.”
“Maybe,” Sarah said. “I rebuilt an old Honda ninety cc trail bike when I was nine. Found it in my dad’s junk pile and asked him if I could have it. He said I could, if I could get it running, so I went to Google. Two months later, I was riding it around the yard, and that’s when he started teaching me about cars and such. He said I had a knack for it, but I didn’t realize back then what was going on.”
“What do you mean?” Noah asked.
“Well, every once in a while, Dad would fix a car for someone, but most of the time all we did was take them apart. Everything went into these semi trailers, and I really got a kick out of taking a whole car and reducing it down to nothing. I was fourteen by the time I figured out that we were running a chop shop. The cars were stolen, and we were shipping all the parts to really big parts yards in different cities. I learned later that most of those parts were sold even before we got them into the trailers.”
Noah nodded. “That’s how you ended up in trouble, right?”
Sarah laughed, but it was a bitter laugh. “Some of the guys who used to bring us the boosted cars decided to retire, or maybe they just got too smart to keep doing it as cars got more and more sophisticated. When I was sixteen, my dad started taking me out on roundups, which is what he called it when we went out and stole cars. I got away with it for years, but last year I got caught, chased into a trap by a cop, so there was no way to escape. They got my dad that night too, and we were both looking at federal sentences, since we were selling parts across state lines. We would’ve gotten thirty years or more, which would’ve been a life sentence for my dad, but then this lawyer came to talk to me and said if I would be willing to join E & E, and let my dad and everyone else I knew think I killed myself in my cell, then I’d get a whole new life and my dad would get a more lenient sentence, only five years, with the chance to learn how to run a real shop when he got out.” She shrugged. “I love my dad, but I was tired of living under his thumb, and I sure didn’t want to be in prison for the next thirty years. I took it.”
“That’s understandable,” Noah said. “Well, anytime you get an itch to get your hands greasy again, come on out. Once I get really settled in here, in the organization, I mean, I’m probably going to buy an old car now and then, one to fix up like a hobby. You’ll always be welcome.”
She smiled at him, and he realized it was the first time she had let him see her real smile. “I’d like that,” she said. “Maybe this weekend, if we’re off?”
Noah nodded. “Sounds perfect,” he said, and then he led them all toward the lake. They ended up passing the mobile home, so he showed it to them as well. It was an older single wide, but it was in incredibly good condition. The furniture was not new, but it was all in perfect shape, and even the kitchen appliances looked like they belonged in a showroom.