The Good Soldier (31 page)

"I wanted to thank you personally, Mister…?" A curious eyebrow rose up, causing the small square bandage on her forehead to wrinkle.

"Call me Jack," I said.

"Jack. OK. Well, Jack, thank you for saving my little Christopher. If not for you… I can't even think about it."

"Only doing my job." I half-turned to face the front of the room and extended my arm, like I was showcasing a prize package on a game show. "Any of those guys up there would have done the same if they were in the position I was. Three of them were in the pit with me. I happened to be the last one out. Plus, we have two guys who couldn't make it tonight who deserve more thanks than I do."

She looked away again, her eyes flooding with tears. She reached up and dabbed at the corner of her eyes, trying to stop their advance before ruining her makeup.

"But the fact that these young lives were saved, especially this little guy here," I tousled the boy's hair, "justifies it all. And I'm glad we could get together and meet in person, Miss?"

"Oh, I'm sorry." She extended her hand and said, "Tammy Nockowitz."

The name didn't match the features. "Married name?" I asked.

"Yeah, but I'm not married anymore." She bit the bottom of her lip and dipped her head an inch. "So, if you wanted to ask me out…"

I smiled at her then looked down at her son who had lost interest in our conversation a few minutes ago. My smile faded as I met her stare. "I'm not boyfriend material. You should return to your table."

Tammy's cheeks turned a shade of red. She averted her eyes, then reached down for her son's hand and pulled him toward their seats.

I watched her walk away, questioning if I'd done the right thing. Of course I had. I was in no position to be with a woman with a child. I placed myself in harm's way six days out of every seven. It would be irresponsible to get close to a child and then disappear, whether physically or emotionally.

I took a couple steps back and turned a beat too fast. A pair of hands slammed into my solar plexus, nearly winding me.

"I'm sorry," I said, trying to avoid looking at whoever I'd hit.

"Real slick, Jack."

I stopped trying to get away and looked at the woman in front of me and recognized her as Sarah, the paramedic who had been roped into duty at the SIS.

"I don't mean now. I mean, this is cool, too. The way you ran into me and tried to act like nothing happened." She smiled and leaned in, placing her mouth inches from my ear. "But the way you rejected that woman, that was classy."

I stepped back, holding my hands out in front of me to maintain separation. "You don't know the first thing about me, lady."

She laughed. "I know plenty."

I turned my head and saw that the majority of the seats around the tables were now empty. A line had formed in front of the tables where the rest of my group sat. "Christ," I muttered. "Come on, let's get a drink."

Sarah smirked and latched onto my arm. We moved to the back of the room and each took a seat on a barstool. I ordered a shot of Johnny and she ordered a beer. By the time she finished her beer, I'd downed four shots.

Doc would have been pleased.

We talked about nothing at all. The kind of mindless chatter people have when they are feeling each other out. I had a feeling that she had a feeling about me. And I found her easy on the eyes and equipped with the kind of tough take-no-crap exterior I found myself regularly attracted to. I wanted to know if it was an act, or if she really was as badass as she seemed.

She told me she was born and raised in D.C. Went to college at Georgetown, decided to join the fire department instead of going to medical school. She'd been married once, but it didn't even last a year. Apparently the guy couldn't handle the thought of his wife rushing into a burning building.

I told her a few select things about my past, like how I turned down a football scholarship and joined the Marines. Dumbed down the eight years spent there, but let her know that it led me to where I am now. Told her I'd never been married. Lied and said I'd never been engaged. She didn't need to know.

After fifteen minutes I began to feel the effects of the alcohol. My head buzzed slightly. She was already done with her second beer and began smiling a bit more.

I said something that made her laugh. Strands of hair fell across her face. She reached up and tucked them behind her ear, then said, "So how emotionally unavailable are you?"

"On a scale of one to ten, I'm an eleven. Or a zero, depending on which way your scale slides."

"I like that in a man."

"I like a woman who likes that in a man."

She smiled and leaned in a couple inches. "Want to get out of here? Split a cab somewhere?"

"Where?"

She shrugged. "Whoever's house is closest?"

I nodded then looked around to get my bearings and located the coat check. I felt her fingers slide in between mine. Her palm, cool from holding a beer mug, melted into my hand.

"Jack." It was the right name, wrong voice.

I felt deflated. Frank headed toward me, another man close behind. The guy following was older than me, probably mid-forties, maybe early fifties. Hard to tell. His hair was blond, perhaps hiding traces of gray. He was wide in the shoulders and narrow in the hips. Looked like an athlete in a custom tailored gray suit. He had a winning smile and everything about him screamed politician.

"Man of the hour," Sarah said from behind me.

I turned and caught her eye. "I'm sorry. As soon as this is over."

"It's OK. I'll have a few more drinks. You won't mind, will you?"

I smiled, tossed back another shot and hopped off my barstool. Walked a few feet away from the bar and waited for Frank and his friend.

"Jack, this is Senator Burnett. He's, uh, he's a friend of ours."

The Senator smiled his politician's smile and held out his hand. His grip was firm and comforting. "I watch from a distance." His smile broadened and he winked. "And you always provide one hell of a show, Jack."

I had been prepared to hate the man. After all, he was holding me back from beginning a night with Sarah. But there was something about his smile and his grip and his voice that made me feel at ease with him. I presumed that most people felt that way about him. I assumed that's why he was a successful politician. Half shark, half used car salesman, all bullshit.

"Let's have a drink." Senator Burnett draped his right arm across my shoulders, his left across Frank's. He guided us toward the bar. I did nothing to stop him. I found myself liking the guy. At the very least, I saw why people voted for him.

I sat down next to Sarah. Leaned over and whispered, "You sure you don't mind staying a bit longer?"

"I've got nowhere to go and we can always find a taxi willing take us there," she said. "Plus, I'm off tomorrow. If you're too drunk tonight, we've got the morning."

I smiled. "I've never been too drunk."

She laughed and winked and nudged me. The force of her push turned me toward the Senator.

"You guys did a great job here," Burnett said. "Even if you did overstep some boundaries."

Frank shrugged. "We talked to the right people. No one threw up a stop sign, so we moved. You think it would have been better to risk losing some of those kids?"

Burnett finished his beer and gestured for another. "No, of course not. I understand that you had to act fast. Next time something like this happens, clear it through to the top. It makes my life easier and-"

"Jack," Frank interrupted. "Incoming."

I swiveled to the left and saw Tammy approaching. "Shit," I said.

Burnett glanced over his shoulder and stood. "That's a grenade I'm dodging. Hitting the head. Back in a minute boys."

Tammy leaned against the bar, in between me and Frank. "Jack, that offer still stands." She reached out, grabbed my tie, slipped a business card into my shirt pocket.

Sarah leaned over my shoulder and said, "Mind taking your hands off my man?"

Tammy looked at Sarah, then at me. "Not boyfriend material, huh?" She said it matter-of-factly and with no trace of disappointment in her voice.

I shrugged and held out my hands. Tammy shook her head, then turned and walked toward the door, where her son was standing. I'd have figured she wouldn't let him leave her side after what happened. To each their own, I supposed. There was no need to waste time questioning it.

After she slipped through the door, I turned to Frank and said, "I'm trying to get out of here. You think you can handle the Senator without me?"

"Humor him for a few more. He's half pissed now. I'll get a cab for him soon and then you can be on your way."

Burnett spent another half hour talking with us. Mostly praise, some criticism. We took it with smiles plastered on our faces. The alcohol helped. The fact that we needed the man for our funding helped even more. If the SIS disappeared, I'd be looking for work at the Treasury Department. No thanks.

Finally, Burnett stood and held out his hand. I grabbed it, surprised when he pulled me off the stool and wrapped his other arm around my back.

"You do good work, Jack," he said. "Good damn work." He took a step back and grabbed my shoulders. His fingers dug in a bit. My initial reaction was to knock his hands away. But I figured he only did it because of the alcohol, so I eased up. He gave me a shake and then let go. Stumbled a bit and nearly fell off the ledge that separated the bar from the rest of the room.

Frank placed an arm on the Senator's shoulders and guided him toward the door. I heard the man protest that he could drive, and that his car was a block or two away. Frank insisted that he take a taxi. Whether he did or not, I had no idea. Frank didn't say, and I didn't ask when he returned to the bar and sat down next to me.

"We'll be taking off now," I said.

Frank reached out and grabbed my wrist. "Stay for a few more minutes."

I gave him a look, shrugged, said nothing. I had one foot on the floor and the other on the stool's footrest.

Frank gestured to the side with his head. "Let's make sure our guys get out OK. They're getting a bit rowdy over there."

The other agents stood in the middle of a mostly empty room. A couple politicians hung around, but the families had wisely dispersed when they sensed things were turning into a party their children shouldn't witness.

"Rowdy with each other," I said.

"Does that make it any better? You know how these guys get when they drink."

I sighed heavily and turned toward Sarah. "A few more minutes?"

She dropped her right elbow on the bar and propped her head up with her hand. She mouthed the word
fine
to me and motioned toward the bartender for another drink. Who would be the one that would end up too drunk that night?

My cell phone rang, cutting Frank off in the middle of a mindless sentence. The display said
unknown caller
. I picked it up off the bar, walked toward the door leading to the sidewalk and answered the phone.

"Hello, Mr. Noble." The voice was awkward, slow-paced and had a tinny sound to it, almost like a machine modified it.

I scanned the room to see if any of our guys were screwing around with me. Everyone was accounted for. No one had a phone to their head.

"Who is this?" I said.

"Mr. Noble, do you make a habit out of interfering in other people's businesses?"

I lowered my shoulder and pushed the door open. Stepped out onto the street and waited for a couple of younger women to pass by. "That depends on the business. There are some that require my intervention."

"That is a bad habit."

"Yeah, well, it's the only thing that keeps me from smoking too much."

"I'd never have pegged you for a comedian, Mr. Noble."

"I have my moments."

"I'm sure you do." He paused a beat and the line went silent except for the faint sound of static. "You should savor those moments. All of them, for that matter. Because they are running out."

I scanned M Street up to the corner of 10th and back. Turned and checked the corner at 11
th
and didn't see anyone. The windows of the buildings across from me were dark and revealed nothing. Someone could be in there, I supposed.

"That's good advice," I said. "But I'm afraid I'm going to be ignoring it."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Whatever he was using to disguise his voice failed for a few seconds. Unfortunately, there was nothing distinguishing about the way the man spoke. His neutral accent and tone could have been any of tens of thousands of people.

My patience grew thin. This guy knew who I was, which meant he probably had an idea of what I did for a living. "I'm getting tired of this game. This is a government phone and we can track this call back whether you're on the line or not. We've already been talking long enough. So get to the point or we'll be showing up at your doorstep and you can tell me face to face."

The man laughed. He sounded like a deranged robotic clown. "No you aren't, and no you can't. But, I'll get to the point. You and your team of misfit agents, you all stuck your heads somewhere they didn't belong. Two of them died for it. Who's going to be next? I'll tell you. You didn't solve a problem, Mr. Noble. No, you created a mess. And I'm going to clean it up, starting with you."

"You're real convincing over a phone line, you know that?" I said. "Why don't you meet me at my office tomorrow and we'll get this squared away."

He laughed again. "You are not in control, Jack. I'd suggest you listen up if you want to limit the casualties to yourself. It starts with the one whose hair is fair. A little boy, from the fire, you emerged. Intertwined, but the fire could not dine. Now the sins of the mother have been purged. But there's more to be done, and you are the one, who will face the torture of a thousand souls."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You've got thirty-seven hours to figure that out, Jack."

The line fell silent. I scanned the street and storefronts again, and then walked to the corner of the building, staying close to the shadows to check the parking lot. I quickly returned to the front door and pushed it open.