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Wolgast felt chastened "I see your point"
"Good, because you should" Sykes’s expression softened; the lecture was over "Soup the check I say let them, because frankly, e’ve spent so far would make your eyes pop out I don’t know about you, but I’d like to live to randchildren Hell, I’d like to hit a golf ball three hundred yards on o home to make love to my wife until she walks funny for a week Who wouldn’t?" He looked at Wolgast searchingly "The side of the angels, Agent Nothing more or less Do we have a deal?"
They shook, and Sykes walked hi to take hiast asked "Why ’NOAH’? What’s it stand for?"
Sykes glanced quickly at Richards In thatin the rooe, but in soast felt certain, he also reported to Richards, as probably the link between thethe show: USAMRIID, Hoast "It doesn’t stand for anything Let’s put it this way You ever read the Bible?"
"Soast looked at the both of them "When I was a kid My mother was a Methodist"
Sykes allowed himself a second, final smile "Go look it up The story of Noah and the ark See how long he lived That’s all I’ll say"
That night, back in his Denver apartast did as Sykes had said He didn’t own a Bible, probably hadn’t laid eyes on one since his wedding day But he found a concordance online
And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died
It was then that he realized what theSykes hadn’t said It would be in his file, of course It was the reason, of all the federal agents they ht have chosen, that they’d picked him
They’d chosen hihter die
In the , he awoke to the chirp of his handheld; he was drea him back to tell him the baby had been born-not hers and David’s baby, but their own For a ast felt happy, but then his mind cleared and he realized where he was-Huntsville, the htstand and punched the Receive button without his even looking at the screen to see who it was He heard the static of the encryption and then the opening line
"All set," Sykes told hin And don’t pack your bags quite yet We may have another errand for you to run"
He looked at the clock: 6:58 Doyle was in the shower Wolgast heard the faucet shut off with a groan, then the blast of a hair dryer He had a vaguefrom the bar-a rush of street noise froy, and then the sound of water running-and looking at the clock and seeing it was a little after two AM
Doyle stepped into the room, a torapped at his waist Steam moistened the air around hiht, his skin flushed frouy could stay out half the night drinking and still look like he was ready to run a ast cleared his throat "How’s the fiber-optic business?"
Doyle dropped onto the opposite bed and ran a hand through his da a business that is People underestiuess The one with the pants?"
Doyle grinned, giving his eyebrows a playful wag "They all had pants, boss" He tipped his head at Wolgast "What happened to you? You look like you got dragged froast looked down at hiht in his clothes This was becootten the ehts on the sofa of his apart to bed like a norer qualified to do
"Forget about it," he said "Must have been a boring gaet this over with"
They ate breakfast at a Denny’s and drove back to Polunsky The warden aiting for theast thought, or did he look like he hadn’t slept very well, either?
"Don’t bother to sit," the warden said, and handed theast examined the contents It was all pretty overnor’s office and a court order transferring Carter to their custody as a federal prisoner Assuned, they could have him in transit to the federal lockup at El Reno by dinner From there, he’d befainter each time, until somewhere around teeks or three or a month at most, a black van would pull into the compound, and aat the Colorado sunshine
The last items in the envelope were Carter’s death certificate and a medical exa of the twenty-third, three days hence, Anthony Lloyd Carter would die in his cell froast returned the documents to the envelope and put it in his pocket, a chill snaking through hi disappear, just like that "Thank you, Warden We appreciate your cooperation"
The warden looked at each of them in turn, his jaw set "I’ast did his best to s if there were, one of those ME reports would shoith ent" He picked up his phone and punched a nues, then coast "If you don’t er, I’ about all this Good day, gentleuards stepped into the outer office The older one had the benevolent, overfed look of a shopping uard, who couldn’t have been ast didn’t like There was always one guard who liked the job for the wrong reasons, and this was the one
"You the guys looking for Carter?"
Wolgast nodded and showed his credentials "That’s right Special Agents Wolgast and Doyle"
"Don’t matter who you are," the heavy one said "The warden says to take you, we’ll take you"
They led Wolgast and Doyle down to the visiting area Carter was sitting on the other side of the glass, the phone wedged between his ear and shoulder He was small, just as Doyle had said, and his ju on a Ken doll There were ast had learned, and Carter’s look wasn’t scared or angry but si slow bites of hi toward the two COs "Take those off, please"
The older one shook his head "That’s standard"
"I don’t care what it is Take theast lifted the phone froent Wolgast This is Special Agent Doyle We’re fro to come around and remove those shackles I asked them to do that You’ll cooperate with theht nod His voice on the other end of the phone was quiet "Yessir"
"Anything else you need to make you co since anybody had asked hiast turned to face the guards "Well? How about it? A to have to call the warden?"
Awhat to do Then the one named Dennis stepped from the roolass Wolgast stood and watched, keeping his eyes fixed on the guard while he reuard