In Sheep's Clothing by David Archer Page A

nodded. “Tell her we appreciate it, and we hope the best for her father.” He took out his cell phone and dialed the number to Allison's office.
    “Brigadoon Investments,” answered a voice he didn't recognize. “How may I direct your call?”
    “Doc Parker, please,” Noah said.
    “And may I ask who's calling?”
    “Yes, tell him it's Noah Wolf.”
    The operator placed him on hold, but he was only there for a moment. Doc Parker's voice came on the line after only a few seconds.
    “What was the first thing I ever told you?” Parker asked, his voice gruff and challenging.
    Noah thought for only a second, then said, “You told me I was late, and when I said I was new, you told me that didn't matter.”
    “Very good,” Parker said. “Are you on a secure line?”
    “Yes, sir, an agency phone. I realize I'm breaking protocol but I'm hearing that we've had some losses up at the top. Is there anything I can do?”
    “Well, for right now, you can stay out of here. I'm not going to ream you for checking in, I wasn't going to wait much longer before I called you myself. I've got three teams down right now, and all the others are in the field and can't be reached. You're the only one I've got available right now. We're trying to figure out exactly what hit us, and then I need you to get on it.”
    “Yes, sir,” Noah said. “You said three teams are down?”
    “Oz and Unicorn are down for good, dead. Aladdin is alive, but he'll be out of the field for a while, may not ever go back out. Cinderella, Robin Hood and Hercules are out on missions out of the country. That leaves me you. I want you to stay low until I, or someone who replaces me, gives you the word to move. Wait a minute, belay that. I want you to stay low until you have a target to go after, whether you get it from us or find it on your own.”
    “Yes, sir. Sir, do you know if this has anything to do with Andropov?”
    “Oh, yes, he was your problem, wasn't he? We're actually thinking he may be involved, but we don't know if he's running the operation or not. We got hit in four places at once this morning, including this office, the Armory, R&D and the training classrooms. Those three attacks happened first and seemed to be distractions, trying to keep us from being ready for the big one that hit here. We've got a total of eighteen dead, more than fifty wounded, including some of the newest recruits. Don Jefferson was carried out of here with two bullets in his left lung and one in his head, but he was still screaming for a gun as they put him in the ambulance. I always said he was too damned stubborn to kill, and now I’m hoping I was right. Allison, she's in surgery in Denver. She was hit three times, as well, but she got the son of a bitch that shot her. No word yet on her condition. Just found out a few minutes ago that John Hackett bought the farm, so I guess I'm stuck with this job for a while. I've got Art Jackson subbing for Jefferson.”
    “I can't think of anybody better than you, right now, sir,” Noah said. “Would you let me know about Allison when you hear something? Other than that, I will await your orders.”
    "I'll do that,” Parker said. “Meanwhile, you got that bright boy, the skinny kid, what's his name? Blessing, that's it, Blessing. Put his ass to work, see if he can find anything on Andropov. And if you can track the bastard down, you are authorized to take him out. That also applies to any of his associates that might be involved.”
    “Yes, sir,” Noah said. “We'll get on it right now.”
    Noah looked over to where Neil was still talking to Lacey on his phone, and hooked a finger at him. Neil told Lacey he would call her back later and sat down across from Noah again. Moose had gone back outside after delivering his report, but he stepped in just a moment later and took his own chair.
    “They’ve got Allison in surgery,” Noah said, “but we don't know anything yet. Jefferson's in the hospital in Kirtland,