“Yeah, but...”
“In the car, Neil, now,” Noah said, then he turned to Moose. “We want this to look like a firefight.” He picked up Morabito’s gun and forced it into the dead man’s hand. He put Morabito’s finger on the trigger, then fired the entire clip into the air as Moose did the same with Bridger’s pistol.
They got into the car, where Neil was leaning against the window he had raised and crying quietly. Noah turned his head around to look at the boy, but Sarah reached up and put a hand to his cheek, forcing him to look forward again. As he did so, he noticed that her own face was very pale.
SIXTEEN
Neil was quiet all the way back to the hotel and went straight to his room when they got there. Noah started to follow him but Moose caught his arm.
“First time he ever saw somebody get killed,” Moose said quietly, since they were standing in the hallway. “Let me handle him, okay, Boss?”
Noah started to say something but Sarah took hold of his hand. “Come on, Babe,” she said. “I’m pretty shook up myself. Neil and I aren’t normally involved in those parts of the missions. Knowing that you kill people and actually seeing you do it are two different things, believe me. He’ll be okay, he’s just got to get his head wrapped around it.”
“He has to,” Noah said as he let her lead them into their room. “He’s got to run the phone tap tomorrow, and he needs to get on it today.”
Sarah closed the door and then turned to face Noah. She just looked at him for a moment, then reached up to put her arms around his neck. She pulled him close and laid her head on his chest.
It took Noah a couple of minutes to realize that she was crying, as well. He tried to look down at her face without disturbing her but it wasn’t possible, so he hooked a finger under her chin and tipped her face up. “I understand,” he said. “I’ve seen other people, when they first witness a violent death. We had a couple of guys in the Army just couldn’t cope with it, they ended up sending them home not long after the first time they had to kill anyone. The thing is, it’s not your first time. You saw me killing Nicolaich’s men when I got you out of the club in Russia.”
She barked out something that was a combination of laugh and sob. “I know you won’t get this, but I wasn’t really paying a lot of attention to who you were shooting at the time. I was too busy ducking and praying I was going to get out of it alive. All I remember about that day is running and then watching you damn near bleed to death. Can’t say I really recall anybody getting shot, at least not other than just academically, you know, like I know it happened even if I can’t remember a specific instance. I mean, I know you shot people, and Moose did, too. That doesn’t mean I saw it happen.”
Noah looked into her eyes. “I understand. Is there anything I can do for you?”
She leaned her head forward until her forehead was against his breastbone. “Right at the moment, probably the best thing you could do for me is take me to bed. Can we spare the time?”
Noah grabbed her butt and lifted as she wrapped her arms and legs around him, then carried her to the bed. “We’ll make time.”
*
It was an hour later when Noah’s phone rang, and he picked it up to see that it was Moose calling. “Hello?”
“I thought you’d want to know that Neil is okay,” Moose said. “He walked in here and sat down at his computer and started playing some black ops game, but after a while he shut it down and we talked. He’ll be fine; he’s in the head right at the moment. He’s got the Andropov girl’s phone number all set up for tomorrow, by the way.”
“Good. If this pans out, we might be able to bring this to an end pretty quickly.”
“Yep. And, hey, while I got you on the phone, has anybody but me paid attention to the fact that we skipped lunch? My stomach is starting to think somebody cut my throat.”
Noah glanced at Sarah, who was cuddled up against him with her head on his shoulder. “Getting hungry?”
She made a face that indicated indifference. “I could eat, but I’m not starving.”
“Okay, it’s...” He pulled his phone away from his ear and looked at the time display. “It’s almost three. Give us half an hour and we’ll go find us a late lunch.”
“Okay, Boss.”
Noah put down the phone and looked at Sarah’s face again. “I need a quick shower,” he said, and then he kissed her forehead as he rolled up out of the bed.
“Me, too,” Sarah said. She tossed off the covers and made it into the bathroom before he did, leaving the door open as an invitation to him to follow.