Moose grunted. “I want to go on record right now that I do not like this plan. How am I supposed to cover your back, when most of the time I won’t even know where you are?”
Noah shook his head. “Calm down, Moose,” he said. “I’ve got to play the part convincingly, and this John Baker wouldn’t be trusted if he was sleeping in El Paso every night. On top of that, if I come back to this hotel each night, we run the risk of someone managing to successfully tail me. That could expose all of you and compromise the mission. I’ll be needing you, don’t worry; I’m quite certain there will be flaws in the plan that will require quick improvisation. That’s where you guys come in. I’m not all that scared of being in Ciudad Juárez, I genuinely believe that the reason I’m not afraid to walk through the valley of the shadow of death is because I am the meanest son of a bitch in the valley.”
“Well, isn’t that special,” Neil said. “And all this time I thought it was because you didn’t know how to be afraid of anything? Isn’t that what makes you so valuable to us all, the fact that you don’t have emotions like fear inside you?”
“I’m with Moose and Neil on this one,” Sarah said. “Look, Noah, there’s no doubt you’re a tough bastard, but you’re not Superman. Bullets don’t bounce off of you, remember? We’re supposed to be your support team, but you’re leaving us behind.”
Jefferson grinned at Noah. “They do have a point,” he said, “but of course, the final decision on the plan is always yours. If this is the way you want to play it, then so be it. To be honest, I agree with you for the most part, but if you go out there and get yourself killed on your first mission, Allison is never going to forgive any of us. She has staked an awful lot on you, so you need to do your best to make sure she collects on that investment.”
Noah nodded. “Point taken, and guys, I do understand your concerns and I do appreciate them. We’re still going to do it my way. And right now, what we’re going to do is go get some sleep. We’ll meet tomorrow morning for breakfast at seven, and then we’ll start putting this plan into operation. Any questions?”
There weren’t any, so they each got up and went to their own rooms, taking with them the things that Jefferson had given them, and leaving their usual phones with him. Noah got inside his room, set the boxes down on the table, and went straight to the shower. Twenty minutes later, he was in bed, and a few minutes past that, he was asleep.
He woke at five thirty, his internal alarm clock working the way it always did, and began thinking over the things he would be doing that day. He had to choose a hotel to stay in, but he didn’t think that would be difficult. Jefferson would know which ones were best, and he would get his advice at breakfast. He didn’t plan to take a gun with him, because it would be out of character. Smalltime drug dealers carry guns; the big ones don’t, not because they’re so tough, but because they’re worth so much money that even their enemies are reluctant to see anything happen to them. After all, you never know when you might have something your enemy wants to buy. Things like that happened all the time.
There was a small coffee maker in the room, so he made a pot, but the stuff reminded him of what he had been given on death row. He took a single sip from the first cup, then dumped the whole pot down the toilet. Since his appetite for coffee was now whetted, however, he decided to go on down to the restaurant and get a decent cup there.
He stepped out of his room and turned to go to the elevator, but he heard his name and knew it was Sarah’s voice. He stopped and turned to her, waiting so that she could catch up.
“I woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep,” she said, “so I heard you moving around. When I heard your door open, I figured you might be heading down for coffee. Mind some company?”
“Not at all,” Noah replied. “The rest of them ought to be coming before too long; we can either sit and drink coffee, or get an early start on breakfast. Up to you.” He extended an elbow, and she smiled as she linked arms with him. They walked together to the elevator, and stepped inside when it opened.
TWENTY-TWO
The restaurant was just off the lobby, and was just opening. The waitress smiled at them as they came in, and hurried to set glasses of water on the table in front of them. “Hi, good to see you,” she said rapidly. “My name is Tina, I’ll be your server this morning, can I start you off with some coffee?”
Noah nodded, giving the girl one of his better smiles. “Yes, please, for both of us.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back with your coffee, and you can take a look at the menus while I’m gone.” She spun and hurried behind the counter, where fresh coffee could still be heard brewing. Sarah chuckled, as the girl stood and stared at the pot as if mentally willing it to hurry.