Noble Intentions: Season Three (45 page)

“Because, outside of you and
Naseer,” she paused, “I don’t trust any of these guys.”

He smiled. “Smart girl. They say it
looked like you were being followed by some agents.”

She hadn’t been prepared for that.
“I was. I gave them the slip too.”

“Why would French agents be
pursuing you?”

She leaned forward, placed both
elbows on the desk and leaned into her palms. “Do I look like a choir girl to
you?”

Samir leaned forward. His face
stopped a foot or so from hers. “No, you don’t.”

She smiled, said nothing, hoped the
fear was not evident in her eyes.

He eased back in his seat. The
harsh look faded, and a smile crossed his face. He tapped a pen on his chin,
then bit down on it. “Go get cleaned up. We’ll have dinner in an hour.”

“I can stay?”

“You can stay. On one condition.”

“Name it.”

“You’ll treat me the way you
treated Naseer.”

“I’ll treat you better.”

“Go on, get ready.”

“Thank you,” she said as she rose
and turned for the door. She slipped into the hall and made her way to her
room. The cameras remained stationary and did not track her every move.

Jack spent two weeks with Mia and
Erin. A vacation of sorts. They toured the countryside. Drank wine. Visited
Scotland. Drank wine. Went to Edinburgh, Glasgow, and he even convinced them to
visit Loch Ness. It hadn’t taken much to convince Mia, but Erin had been a bit
of a hard sell. In the end she caved. Perhaps it was the extra three glasses of
wine that night.

The trip taught him a lot about
himself, allowed him to learn a bit about his daughter, and helped him to
realize that he and Erin had no future together, no matter how much he wanted
to be around Mia.

They returned to London the night
before Jack was to leave for the States.

Jack and Erin stood on her flat’s
balcony on a cool May evening. The blooms were gone from all the trees that
lined the street below.

“I’d like to see her as often as
possible.”

“I think she’d like that too, Jack.
She’s warmed up to you. There’s some walls to take down yet, but I’ll help with
that. I think in time she’ll abandon the father she thought she had and accept
you.”

“Seems like she’s started to.”

“She has.”

“Would you mind if she came to the
States for a month or so each year?”

“As long as you come here one
weekend a month.”

“You need a break that often?”

“From reality.”

He held out his hand. “Deal.”

She smiled, took his hand, looked
up at the moon.

“Erin, you don’t think there’s a
chance you and I—”

“Don’t be crazy, Jack. We couldn’t
make it work when we were young and dumb. Why on earth do you think we could
now?”

He paused. Followed her gaze and
watched thin silver clouds pass over the moon. He thought about saying
something along the lines of he’d changed, she’d changed, perhaps they could
continue to do so until they were one cohesive unit.

He didn’t.

“You know I’m right,” she said.

“Yeah, I know.” He pulled her close
and hugged her. Her soft cheek felt cool against his. He closed his eyes and
inhaled her lavender scent. Her lips brushed against his jawline. He opened his
eyes. Through the window, he saw Mia sleeping on the couch. In her arms she
held the stuffed Nessie he purchased for her in Scotland.

“Maybe you can stay tonight?” she
said.

“No, I should go.”

She pulled back, nodded, reached
for his face.

He turned and left the balcony.

Erin remained outside.

He stopped at the couch, knelt down
and kissed Mia’s cheek. “I’ll be back before you know it, sweet angel.” He rose
and went to the door. He cast a final look over his shoulder. His eyes may have
watered.

The next day he met Bear and Mandy
at the bank. He’d arranged for a large portion of their funds to be deposited
in a joint account that he planned to sign over to Bear. That’d settle them,
mostly. Could you settle a debt with no intrinsic value?

“Sorry you didn’t get to do a
little more during your time here,” Jack said to Mandy.

She shrugged. “It’s OK. Number 10
is a pretty cool place when you’re not stuck in that basement. And that was
pretty neat too.”

Bear tousled her hair. “Nothing’s
ordinary about her life, Jack.”

“I know. Comes with the territory
when someone hangs around with you all the time.” He slid the form in front of
Bear. “Now sign.”

“How much is in there?”

“Over eight million.”

“That’s a lot more than half.”

It was closer to eighty percent.
The majority of the other twenty was going to Erin in cash and a trust fund for
Mia.

“What do I need? I’m going to buy a
house on an island and sleep and drink and swim. Maybe not in that order.
You’ve got her to look out for and take care of. Food, clothes, lots of
clothes.” He smiled at Mandy. “Then college, a big wedding.”

The girl giggled.

“She’s not dating till she’s
thirty,” Bear said.

Mandy elbowed him in the hip.

“I can’t take that much, Jack.”

“Forget about it, Bear. I’m good.”

Bear sighed, then signed, and they
went inside an office and settled down into uncomfortable chairs opposite a
banker. The man across the desk explained each part of the form. Jack tuned him
out. It didn’t matter to him anymore.

Fifteen minutes later they stood on
the sidewalk.

“Hey, what happened with Mason?” Jack
said. “He recover all right?”

Bear nodded. “He did. And get this,
he and Gloria are going to remarry.”

“Good for them. Hope it can last.”

Bear shook his head. “Never does.”

“Catch a cab to the airport
together?” Jack said.

“Nah,” Bear said.

“Staying here?”

“Paris. Gonna catch that tunnel
chunnel thing. Remember, we saw that show on Discovery one time, the Brits and
the French digging under the channel.”

Jack smiled, nodded. “I remember.
What’s in Paris?”

Bear shrugged. “Figured I’d go
check up on Pierre, see how he’s doing.”

Jack nodded. He knew about Kat, but
didn’t say anything. For as good of friends and partners as they were, Bear
preferred to keep some things to himself. And Jack wouldn’t interfere with
that.

A black taxi pulled up to the curb.
Jack hugged Bear and Mandy, then got in the cab.

He rolled the rear windows down.
The air washed over him. A confirmation, or baptism perhaps, of sorts. He’d
left so much behind, yet had so much ahead. Nothing was as he thought it’d be.
Nor could it ever be as it had been. New friends, old friends, all left behind.
The adventure lay ahead.

Heathrow teemed with life, as it
always did. He purchased the first ticket available to the U.S. He didn’t care
where. He’d circle the globe in reverse and go to L.A. if that’s all they had.
That turned out to be unnecessary, though. The ticketing agent put him on a
flight to Atlanta, due to board in two hours.

So he made his way through the
airport. Security posed no problems. He found his terminal, then his gate, and
he took a seat near the broad window that looked out over the runway. Today,
the view allowed him to watch the planes as they landed. Always a sight he
enjoyed. If he closed his eyes, he could tune into the anticipation of all
those on board.

If he had been looking the other
way, he would have noticed the four armed officers headed toward him. As it
was, he didn’t.

“Jack Noble,” one said.

He looked over his shoulder.

“That’s him,” another said.

“Get up,” the first one said.

Jack lifted his arms above his
shoulders and rose. Whatever this was, it had to be a mix up. Not that he had
anything to worry about. He was clean, both in person and in any database.

“Come with us.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Don’t make us force you.”

“You couldn’t. Relax, fellas.” He
smiled at the lone female officer. Brown hair, pulled back. Mid-twenties.
Attractive. The uniform fit her well. The guys, not so much. “And lady. I’ll go
with you.”

They surrounded him, front, sides
and back, and led him to a small windowless room at the end of the terminal.
The female officer remained in the room with him.

“Just so you know,” she said. “I’m
not afraid to shoot you. That’s why they left me in here. Less inquisition if I
pull my gun than if they do.”

Jack nodded. “No trouble from me.
Although I would like to know why I’m in here.”

She shook her head.

“You don’t know, or you won’t tell
me?”

“Yes.” She arched an eyebrow,
looked over his head and smiled.

Five minutes passed, then ten.
Finally, about thirty minutes later, the door opened. Jack looked up, prepared
to raise hell with whoever entered. He realized that wouldn’t be necessary.

“Hello, Jack.”

“Sasha? What are you doing here?”

“He brought me.”

“Greetings,” Jon said.

“I’m gonna miss my flight because
of you two. You know that, right?”

“We know,” Jon said. “Not to worry.
The Prime Minister will take care of you.” He nodded at the attractive officer
and she left the room.

“So what gives?” Jack said.

Jon and Sasha looked at each other,
smiled. They turned to Jack, forced serious looks upon their faces.

Jon said, “You know, Jack. You’re
too young to retire to the islands.”

“I think that’s a personal choice
that every man should be free to make.”

“You’ll be bored.”

“I’ll be drunk.”

“You’ll be alone.”

“With thousands of new tourist
women flocking to the place every week.”

“No action or excitement.”

“I’ll get up, watch the sunrise,
drive to the other side of the island to watch it set. Who says that isn’t
exciting?”

Jon laughed. “Let’s cut to the
chase.”

“Please do.”

Sasha said, “Jack, we have a
proposal for you.”

THE
END (Of This Adventure)

The story of Jack Noble continues in
Never Go Home (Jack Noble)
, now available (links below).

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The Recruit: A Jack Noble Short Story
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If you enjoyed reading
Noble Intentions: Season Three
, I would
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Jack Noble Series in Order
Noble Beginnings
A Deadly Distance
Noble Intentions Season One
Noble Intentions Season Two
Noble Intentions Season Three
Never Go Home
Untitled (Clarissa Abbot) - Coming October, 2013
Noble Intentions Season Four - Coming December, 2013

Mitch Tanner Series
The Depth of Darkness
Mitch Tanner #2 - Coming November, 2013
Mitch Tanner #3 - Coming January, 2014

Affliction Z Series
Affliction Z: Patient Zero
Affliction Z: Abandoned Hope
Affliction Z: Book Three - Coming April, 2014

Noble Beginnings: A Jack Noble Novel

In March of 2002, while the eyes of the world focused on Afghanistan, Jack
Noble finds himself on the outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq. A Marine in name only,
Jack is on-loan to the CIA. Normally an integral part of the team, he finds
that he is nothing more than a security detail in Iraq.

Jack and his partner Bear have a run-in with four CIA special agents over
the treatment of an Iraqi family. Within hours Jack and Bear are detained.

All Jack wanted was to finish his enlistment and move on with his life. All
he did was intervene and save a family from unwarranted violence at the hands
of four CIA agents. But he soon discovers that he did far more than intervene.
He has placed himself dead square in the middle of a conspiracy that reaches
the highest levels of the U.S. government.

http://www.amazon.com/Noble-Beginnings-Jack-Novel-ebook/dp/B009K8RHNQ

A Deadly Distance (Jack Noble #2)

Washington, D.C. Midday. A man waits at a bus stop, his
intentions unknown. Two government operatives have been stalking him for days,
waiting for him to make his move. Unexpectedly, the man takes off running and
heads for a deserted warehouse.

Jack Noble and his partner, Frank Skinner, believe the man
to be part of a terrorist organization that is involved in smuggling drugs and
guns and men into the country. But it turns out their plan involves far more
export than import, and hits a lot closer to home.

As the case unfolds, the man behind it all reaches out to
Jack with a simple message... 37 hours.

http://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Distance-Jack-Noble-ebook/dp/B00B8548LS/