Everyone agreed that they knew, and it wasn’t long after they finished their sandwiches that they all decided it was time to truly go home. Neil started up the Hummer to drive the three hundred yards to his trailer, while Moose and Sarah got into their own cars and headed back to their own apartments. Noah watched them drive away, then went back inside and cleaned up after lunch. When he was finished, he went to the library, selected a book and sat down in one of the big, overstuffed chairs to read for a while.
Jefferson had met with them the night before, after Noah and Sarah had dropped Felicita off at the DOJ and made it back to the Holiday Inn. He collected all their fake IDs and phones, gave them back their own, and gathered up the weapons and other equipment. While they would be flying back, Jefferson would have to drive in his big van. It had special government plates that prohibited it from being stopped or searched, which was how the organization could move equipment around the country so easily.
“Good work on nabbing the nuclear material,” he said to Noah. “How did the rest of the mission go?”
“It went slambang,” Neil said. “Pablo Ortiz collapsed five minutes ago in the bar, and Valdes is administering CPR. Eduardo the bartender called an ambulance, but God knows how long it will take one to get there. From the way everyone is panicking, I’d say they already know he’s gone.”
Jefferson nodded. “Excellent. Is anyone making any comments about Mr. Baker? Is there any suspicion?”
Neil shook his head in the negative. “None that I can see,” he said. “Eduardo called someone, a woman, and he’s been telling her that Uncle Pablo dropped dead, just like everyone had been warning him he was going to one of these days. It actually sounds like everyone is happy about it.”
“I got the impression that maybe old Uncle Pablo was the money behind the bar, and probably took a lot of money out of it,” Noah said. “If I’m right, then maybe Eduardo gets to keep the place all to himself now.”
“Valdes is probably happy, too,” Jefferson said. “He’s probably going to step right into Pablo’s shoes.”
Noah nodded. “Yeah, about that,” he said. “He’s got Pablo’s bank account info, so if he takes over, all that money becomes his, right? What happens when it all disappears in a few days? If we’re planning on keeping him as an asset, we need to be thinking about that.”
Jefferson grinned. “Other people are way ahead of you,” he said. “Allison talked to somebody at the NSA, and they decided to make the payment for the nuclear material a real one. That way, the actual suppliers get paid, and Valdes doesn’t come out looking like a bad guy. Well, no worse a bad guy than usual, anyway. NSA gets to keep him as an intelligence asset, and the sudden disappearance of millions of dollars doesn’t make people start wondering what really happened to Pablo Ortiz.”
“Okay, good. So what’s next?”
“I got you all on a flight back to Denver in the morning,” Jefferson said. “You should be back home around noon, and you can rest up tomorrow, but you go for debriefing at nine the next day. The conference room at Allison’s office. Which reminds me, Noah, she wants you to call her. Now.”
Noah raised his eyebrows, and took out his phone and called his boss. She answered on the first ring.
“Put me on speakerphone,” she said, and Noah did so.
“Okay, everyone can hear you,” he said.
“Team Camelot, I just want to tell you—well, those of you who are there—that your first mission has been an unequaled success. We’ve never had a first mission go so well, let alone produce so many side benefits.”
“Side benefits?” Noah asked.
“Yes,” she said. “I just got word from another agency that Raul Delgado was found dead this morning. It appears that someone he owed money to was quite upset that the money wasn’t available. Delgado was one of the major distributors of methamphetamines coming across the border into the USA. Excellent work, Camelot. I’m looking forward to debriefing you when you get back.” The line went dead.
They went to their rooms after that, to get packed and ready to leave in the morning. All of them were tired, as much from the stress of the last two weeks as from anything else. They went down to dinner a little later, and when they came back up, Sarah walked into Noah’s room with him.
“Would you mind if we didn’t have sex tonight?” Sarah asked him. “I’d really just like to cuddle with you, if that’s okay?”
He turned down the covers and slipped out of his jeans and shirt, but left his underwear on as he got into bed. A moment later, she shed everything but her panties, and slid into bed beside him. Noah turned on his side and wrapped her in his arms, and just held her until she drifted off to sleep.
Once he heard her breathing slow, he allowed himself to go to sleep, as well. They awakened the next morning, shoved down a quick breakfast, and then climbed into Jefferson’s van for the ride to the airport.