Page 12 (2/2)

David watched her the whole ti h two sandwiches and was starting on the third From the looks of it, she doubted he'd tasted any of thees of the vest bit into her skin, but she welcoh it was

"Co "I promise it will make you feel better"

Noelle wasn't sure a bit of chicken broth and noodles was going to doher feel better, but it could hardly s worse

Fro walls and the frantic shouting of orders David was on his feet with his gun drawn before Noelle's heart had tih her syste feral, predatory She thought she'd just iht she'd been attacked, but now she knew she'd been wrong

This was the other side of David--the warrior The killer

He put the gun in her hands, clicking the safety off "Stay here If anyone you haven't seen today coer"

"I can't," she started to say, but David was already out the door with his second weapon in his hand

The gun burned her fingers with the weight of cold violence She'd never even held a weapon in her hands before all this happened, but she knew about how the safety switch worked and that there'd be one heck of a kick if she pulled the trigger

She also knew that yesterday, there would have been no situation in which she would have considered using such a weapon But a lot had happened since yesterday

Noelle turned the s soup and Coke everywhere She slid behind the barrier, propping the heavy gun up on the edge

If the Sas here, she wasn't going to let theuards to stand at Noelle's door and went to find the colonel He found Monroe at a , a sniper's rifle in his capable hands

"You're alive!" shouted Monroe, as David neared, keeping his head down

"Yeah What'd you expect?"

"I expected to find you'd been blown to hell by that RPG that just blasted a hole in the back wall of the house It went right into the interrogation roo Noelle"

Shit That wasn't good news If it hadn't been for her request for a relocation and his uncoht now

"Is it the Swarm?" asked David as he moved in to take the colonel's place

"We don't know, but that's where irl out of here Now!" Monroe had to shout to be heard over the last volley of gunfire

The Swarm, or whoever was out there, had obviously found someone on the inside ould leak information about Noelle's whereabouts, or they wouldn't be here Her location was top secret "I' her to any of the official facilities It's not safe"

"I trust your judgo! Take my Bronco, it's bulletproofed" Monroe slid keys and a satellite phone off his belt and pushed them across the floor to David, then he took the envelope containing the sample of text, crumpled it to make it more aerodynamic and threw that at David as well "I'll contact you later"

"Don't," said David "I'll contact you"

"Now's not the tiue, son"

"An attack on this site means that one of your teaht" Monroe's face was gri to roll for this "Where are you going to take her?"

Already histo decide where to take her Any official location he took her to would be an obvious target Even if the secure facilities were safe, getting there wouldn't be If he was running the Swar into those locations That way, they could get to Noelle before she was locked away safe and sound

He had to get her soet out of here without a tail He needed it to be re, no innocents would get hurt

He knew just where to go

"I'll figure soot a plan, don't you?"

"Always"

"Fine Just ood one We need her alive, Wolfe"

"Yes, sir," said David

"I'll order the et "

David nodded and ran in a low crouch back toward Noelle He detoured by Monroe's office to grab her laptop, still in its case, knowing that she was going to need it