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parking lot with
nowhere to run to if things got out of hand. And lately, if there was one thing
you could count on, it was things getting out of hand.
    Four men waited
next to the plane, all dressed in khaki cargo pants, plain t-shirts, and tan
windbreakers. They had holsters strapped to their thighs. Two of them held
assault rifles.
    One stepped
forward and motioned for us to come over.
    I looked at
Bear. He shrugged. We didn’t have any other options. If they were going to kill
us, it would be now. And if that was the case, I’d just as soon get it over
with. We crossed the narrow strip of gravel to the area next to the plane.
    The man
continued forward and met us halfway and introduced himself as Colwell. He had
short brown hair and brown eyes.
    “We’ll be
taking you to Germany, Frankfurt International,” Colwell said. “Pulled some
strings. You’ll bypass the terminal and customs. You’ll be escorted onto a
flight that will take you back to the U.S.”
    “Where to?” I
asked.
    Colwell
shrugged and held out his arms. “My job is to get you to Germany.” He turned
and extended one arm out toward the plane. “Let’s get on board and get out of
here.”
    I passed the
other men without making eye contact. I had no interest in getting to know
them, and I was sure they felt the same way about me. I climbed the stairs into
the small jet and made my way to the back. Found a seat and collapsed into it.
I closed my eyes for a second and massaged the area around my cheek. When I
opened my eyes Colwell stood in front of me.
    “Up front.”
    “Screw you. I’m
not moving.”
    He pulled his
pistol from the thigh holster. The gun dangled at his side. “Jack, move.”
    I sighed and
stood up. “I’m unarmed,” I said, holding my arms up as I passed him. His dark
eyes met mine and his lips thinned. His head followed me. I could tell he
didn’t like being that close to me in a confined space.
    “Don’t care,”
he said. “I know all about you, Noble.” He nodded toward Bear. “Him too.”
    “Yeah, well,” I
said, “I don’t know jack about you.”
    “And we’re
going to keep it that way,” Colwell said. “Don’t want you showing up at my door
one night.”
    “No,” I looked
back over my shoulder, “you don’t.”
    Colwell said
nothing.
    I took my seat.
Bear sat down across the aisle. He smiled and shook his head.
    Ten minutes of
silence passed before they taxied the plane in a tight circle. Then the small
plane barreled down the runway, cut through the air and turned to the
northwest, toward Germany.
    *
* *
    I slept through
most of the flight and woke up as the plane descended through the dark sky
toward the city of Frankfurt. Lights from cars and buildings lit up the black
ground like pins poked in dark construction paper and held over a lamp. I pried
my eyes from the window and looked at Bear. He clutched his seat belt tight.
Only thing I found that set the big man on edge was flying. Not so much the
flying part, though. He hated landing.
    He glanced over
at me. Sweat covered his forehead. Beads rolled down his cheek and settled into
his whiskers.
    “Take it easy,”
I said.
    He nodded and
took a deep breath. His shoulders heaved up and down, forward and back. I’d
seen him do this ritual several times. He clenched and loosened his muscles
while taking deep breaths. The series of exercises helped him overcome and tame
the panic that flooded his mind. It’s how we were trained to handle any
situation where our mind got the better of us. No shame in feeling afraid or
panicked. Improvise, adapt and overcome. The unofficial mantra of the
Marine Corps. It always stuck with us, even if we spent the majority of our
time with the CIA.
    Bear exhaled,
and the tension left his body. He smiled, let go of his belt and leaned back in
his seat. I didn’t think it appropriate to mention he’d have to go through this
one more time before our ordeal ended.
    The plane
lurched and tires squealed as they touched