Read Noble Beginnings for Free Online Page A

me. “Think you can take me down in ten seconds now?” He chuckled.
    “Faster,” I
said. “I got a weapon now.” I held my arms up and let the chain between the
cuffs sag in a u-shape.
    “You’re
something else, Noble,” he said. “Too bad we never got the chance to work
together.”
    He placed a
large hand in the middle of my back and pushed me toward the door.
    I didn’t
resist. What about Bear, though? I didn’t want to turn their attention to him,
but I had to know if he was getting out or if he was stuck here. It seemed like
they had it out for me. Bear was just unlucky enough to be my partner, which
was usually the case. I stepped through the doorway into the dimly lit hallway and
saw Bear standing in the middle, surrounded by three CIA agents. He nodded with
a wink. It looked like we were going home together.
    *
* *
    We piled into a
sand-colored Humvee. Bear and I had the row behind the driver to ourselves.
They removed the cuffs from our wrists before slamming the doors shut. The rest
of the talk inside the interrogation room was just that, talk. We were free.
Abbot and Keller weren’t going to investigate this anymore than I would. Worst
case, we’d be reassigned to Afghanistan. At least there we could do some good.
Maybe they would keep us in the States and assign us to a new team.
    I leaned over
and looked between the front seats. Two men I didn’t recognize occupied the
front of the Humvee.
    “Where are we
going?”
    Neither man
responded.
    I lifted my
eyes and stared at the driver in the rear-view mirror. His eyes, set behind
puffy cheeks, didn’t move to meet mine. I sighed, turned to Bear. “Where you
think they’re taking us?”
    “They said
home,” he said.
    “You believe
that?”
    He shrugged and
let out a loud exhale. “Think they’re just going to take us out to the desert
and leave us?”
    “Thought’s
crossed my mind.” I wiped sweat from my brow. “Although, I don’t see them
leaving us there alive,” I added.
    Bear laughed.
“These guys can’t take us.”
    The driver
looked up and met my stare in the rear-view mirror. I smiled and winked as I
watched to see what kind of reaction Bear had gotten with his remarks.
    The driver
shook his head. “We’re not leaving you in the middle of the desert. Just sit
back and relax. You’ll be on a plane soon enough.”
    “Back to the
States?” I asked.
    The driver
shook his head. “No clue, man. I’m just driving you.”
    I looked at
Bear and shrugged.
    “They tell you
about the family?”
    “Yeah.” Bear
paused while rubbing his beard. “You think it was Martinez?”
    “Makes sense. I
showed him up. He had itchy fingers to begin with.”
    “Pretty brazen
of him, if he did.”
    “Yeah. Maybe he
figured he could pin it on us and get away with it.” I stared at the tattered
canvas ceiling. “You know you’re going to have to shave that beard when we get
back on base.”
    “You too, Jack.
You too.”
    I nodded and
scratched at the growth of hair on my face. Leaned back in my seat and closed
my eyes. The only thing I could think of was getting the hell out of Iraq. Back
home. It didn’t matter where. Any place in the U.S. would be fine with me. My
thoughts slowed and I drifted off to sleep.
    The car jerked
to a stop. I woke up, opened my eyes. The side of my face ached from the cheap
shots in the interrogation room. I saw Bear sit up straight and yawn. He’d
fallen asleep too. He cocked his head, side to side. His neck popped and he
grunted.
    I turned my
head to look out the window. We were parked next to what looked like a single
landing strip tucked between hills of sand on all four sides. At one end sat a
small commuter jet.
    “We’re here,”
the driver said.
    “No shit,
Sherlock,” I said.
    “Get out of my
ride,” he said.
    “Gladly.”
    I opened the
door and slid out.
    Bear appeared
from behind the Humvee and took position next to me.
    The Humvee
roared into gear and drove away. We stood alone in the empty