Petrov retrieved her cigarette from Anatoly. “I’m satisfied going anywhere if the end result means the market is turned on its head so The Chamber can accomplish its goals.”
“I can almost guarantee you he’ll be able to accomplish that for you.”
“Excellent,” she said. “Set up a meeting, and I’ll be there.”
CHAPTER 5
Stuttgart, Germany
HAWK WINKED HIS LEFT EYE as he stared through the telescopic lens at the building adjacent to his position. He growled once he noticed the blinds remained closed. Other than his inability to see into the actual room, everything else was going as planned.
“How’s that hack of the security feed coming along, Alex?” Hawk asked.
“Not there yet, but I’m close.”
“We need it pronto,” he said. “Everyone is expected to be in the room in a matter of minutes.”
“And, of course, we need to get confirmation that all the people inside are who they’re purported to be,” Samuels said. “Without that, we can’t fire the first shot.”
Hawk sighed and shook his head. “Samuels, when you go home at night, do you stay up late memorizing portions of the manual? Curious minds want to know.”
“I know you’re mocking me right now,” Samuels said. “Just because I’m well-versed on the ways of protocol doesn’t mean I have no life.”
“Is that so?” Hawk asked. “Who’s your favorite band?”
Samuels furrowed his brow. “Don’t you mean composer?”
Hawk threw his hands in the air. “I give up. Alex, he’s your brother.”
“Half brother,” she said sternly.
“Pardon me if I’m not up on the latest pop culture craze taking America by storm,” Samuels said. “That isn’t my job. I’m paid to help keep this country safe by rooting out threats. That’s my job—and that’s what I’m good at.”
Hawk buried his head in his hands before glancing up at Samuels. “Well, Mr. I’m-Good-at-My-Job, do you think you can help me out and see through the blinds in this room across the way or help Alex hack the security feed in the building next door? We’re running out of time, and there’s nothing more I hate than being unprepared.”
“Now you’re speaking my language,” Samuels said as he leaned forward and pressed his face to the telescope. “I’m always prepared.”
“What do you see?” Hawk asked.
“I’m good at gathering information that isn’t supposed to be leaked. That’s a far cry from the ability to see through window blinds.”
Hawk rubbed his forehead. “Still closed?”
“I’m afraid so,” Samuels said as he backed away from the lens.
“Maybe you can give me a hand,” Alex said. “I can’t seem to find an override on this security system.”
“Sibling cooperation—it warms my heart,” Hawk said as he cracked a smile.
“You do realize there are two of us and only one of you, right?” Alex said.
“I think I could take both of you.”
“Don’t be so modest,” Samuels said as he sat down in front of Alex’s computer. “You’d think you could take three or four of us if there were that many.”
Hawk shook his head. “We haven’t even completed two missions together and you already know me so well, Samuels. You’re going to fit right in on this team.”
“Well, this team is going to find itself in a heap of trouble if we can’t get eyes inside that room,” Alex said as she pointed at the building across the street. “Blunt and the president—”
“Acting president,” Samuels interjected.
Alex gave him a sideways glance before continuing. “Blunt and the acting president are counting on us to deliver, and we can’t let them down.”
“Aside from X-ray vision, what do you suggest?” Hawk asked.
“I need to physically go to the building to gain access to the mainframe,” Alex said. “They’ve got a damn good firewall, which I could hack, but not in time.”
“I’ll do it,” Samuels said.
“Oh, Samuels,” Hawk said with a dismissive wave. “Don’t bother yourself with it. I’ll hustle over there to get it done for Alex.”
“No, no. Please allow me,” Samuels responded. “I’ve seen your marksmanship scores. You’re a better shot than I am.”
Hawk eyed him cautiously. “I was hoping you could help me shoot.”
“I’ll make it quick,” Samuels said before he hustled out of the room and exited the apartment space they’d rented for the assignment.
“I’m quickly learning that you can’t tell him anything,” Alex said.
“Guess it runs in the family genes,” Hawk said as he leaned back into the telescopic lens.
“Anything?”
“The blinds are all still pulled. And quite frankly, I’m starting to get a little nervous about this.”
“Ditto for me,” Alex said. “What’s weird is the fact that from everything I can see, the security feed is functioning. It’s almost as if they took it down for some reason.”
“Software update?”
“That was how I initially planned to get into the system. That’s why it’s going to take much more now.”
“I’m hoping things move more quickly once Samuels gets you online and someone opens those damn blinds,” Hawk said. “Who knows how long before we get another shot like this.”
Ten minutes later, Samuels hailed Hawk and Alex on the coms. “Okay, guys. I’m in.”
“Already?” Alex asked, mouth agape.
“The acting president didn’t assign me to this team because of my winsome good looks,” Samuels said.
Hawk chuckled. “No, he certainly didn’t.”
Alex typed furiously for the next minute until she threw her hands in the air and made the announcement Samuels and Hawk were waiting to hear.
“I’m in,” she said.
“On my way back now,” Samuels said.
Hawk walked across the room and stooped behind Alex, studying her screen over her shoulder. “Are you running facial recognition?”
“Just started it, but I know from our files that those two right there were in the dossier Blunt left us on the plane,” she said as she pointed at the monitor.
“Are you sure?” Hawk asked.
“Positive.”
The image on the screen flashed before everything came back into focus.
Hawk squinted. “What was that?”
“I think it was the camera adjusting to the light.”
Hawk rushed back over to the window and looked through the lens again. “The blinds are open.”
He didn’t waste any time in running through a rapid checklist for his sniper rifle. Taking out another box of ammunition, he sighted in his weapon.
“Think you’re going to need all of that?” Alex asked, gesturing toward the bullets. “There are only six of them in the room.”
“I’m saving those for Petrov.”
Alex sighed. “It’s a strange feeling to hear you say that about my mother, yet I’m in complete agreement with you. She needs to be taken down, and I’d rather you do it than anyone else.”
Samuels burst into the room, slamming the door behind him. “Have we verified everyone’s identities yet?”
Alex’s computer beeped. “We’ve verified one.”
“That program needs to speed up,” Samuels said. “According to the schedule we took off Polat’s flash drive, the meeting is only supposed to last ten more minutes.”
Hawk grunted. “You ever been in one of those meetings? They always last longer than you think.”
Alex’s machine beeped two more times, then a third. “Just waiting on confirmation of two more faces. But so far, so good.”
The seconds ticked past, far too quickly for Hawk’s taste. “Alex, talk to me. We need to make a move soon. We’re going to miss our chance if they all get up and exit the room. And that could happen at any minute.”
“I can’t make the program work
any faster,” she said. “It’s not like I can tap into a bigger processer from this location.”
“And we’re not firing a shot until we receive confirmation on the identities of everyone in the room,” Samuels said.
“Of course, you have to bring up protocol, don’t you?” Hawk said.
“Without protocol, what do we have? Chaos? Pandemonium?”
“Perhaps we’ll have an entire room of The Chamber’s dead board members,” Hawk said. “But we may never know, will we?”
“Sorry, guys,” Alex said. “I’m doing all I can.”
Just as she finished speaking, her computer beeped.
“Is that a go?” Hawk asked.
“Our sixth and final confirmation, right there,” she said.
“We’re up, Samuels,” Hawk said as he placed his right eye up against his scope. “Wait a minute. What’s going on?”
“They’re all getting up, like the meeting is over,” Samuels said.
“Alex, can you get audio from the feed?” Hawk asked.
“This is a video-only system,” she said.
“Yeah and we’re too far away for my directional mic to pick up anything.”
“Hold on,” Samuels said. “They’re sitting back down—and they don’t look too happy about it from what I can tell. Petrov is directing them all back to the table.”
“When did Petrov come into the room?” Alex asked. “She wasn’t in there earlier.”
“Just a second ago as they were all about to leave,” Samuels said.
“Save Petrov for me, Samuels,” Hawk said. “She’s mine.”
“Suit yourself.”
The two operatives took their positions and methodically picked off board members seated around the table. Hawk took the left side, Samuels the right. In a matter of seconds, they were all dead, except for Petrov.
She raced toward the door but struggled to get it open.
“What’s she doing?” Samuels asked.
Hawk squeezed off two rounds, the first one ripped through the back of her head. The second one tore into her back left shoulder blade. She collapsed to the ground. Hawk took a moment to study the scene. The clean shots happened too quickly; the first few people likely never knew what hit them while the last couple of people never had a chance to react. Only Petrov was left to squirm in her final seconds before Hawk ended her life.
“That’s a wrap,” Hawk said. “Let’s get the hell outta here before we attract any attention.”
* * *
HAWK WAITED UNTIL THEY were in the air before placing a call to Blunt. Satisfied with how the operation went down, Hawk was confident his superior would be pleased with the results.
“Have you heard the good news?” Hawk asked. “The Chamber board has been eliminated.”
“Are you sure about that?” Blunt asked. “Because that’s not the way I understand it.”
Hawk furrowed his brow. “What are you talking about?”
“There’s a report blowing up the networks right now about a brazen attack that killed seven heads of the German banking industry, an attack that sounded vaguely familiar to the one you were planning.”
“Sounds like a strange coincidence to me.”
Blunt took a deep breath. “Weren’t you shooting at the Byzantine Office Building?”
“That’s the one.”
“It’s a damn strange coincidence, then, because that’s the same building all these bankers were in. And what’s even stranger is that security footage being played all over television shows three suspects who look a lot like the three of you.”
“That’s impossible,” Hawk said. “We used facial recognition to verify their identities before shooting. We followed protocol.”
“For once,” Blunt said.
“You gotta believe me. We wouldn’t proceed unless we knew the targets were verified. You know me well enough to know I wouldn’t do that.”
“I also know you well enough to understand that you hate Katarina Petrov with a passion and have it out for her personally. If you even thought you had a chance to take her down, I doubt you would’ve waited to follow protocol before pulling that trigger.”
“So that wasn’t her?”
“The woman who was murdered was Madeline Schumer, head of Frankfurt International Bank.”
“No way. I swear that was Petrov. Alex confirmed it before we started shooting.”
“I’m inclined to believe you, Hawk, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re now fugitives and the U.S. government can’t do a damn thing to help you.”
“Come on,” Hawk said. “You’ve gotta help us. If everyone from the FBI to Interpol is chasing us, we don’t stand a chance.”
“I’m sure you’ll find a way,” Blunt said. “Just make sure you stay out of sight once you get back here, and stay in touch. You might still be able to help us.”
“Petrov set us up,” Hawk mumbled to himself as he hung up the phone.
CHAPTER 6
Tangiers, Morocco
KATARINA PETROV GRINNED as she scrolled through the news article on her phone about the brazen attack on the heads of the German finance industry. Stocks sank as the report shook the confidence many investors had in the European market. The direction German investing was headed brought certainty to the market, but that was no longer the case. Analysts and pundits alike voiced their fears about what might become. Nothing seemed certain, except more uncertainty.
Petrov put down her phone and lit a cigarette. She glanced out across the water before closing her eyes and putting her face to the sun.
“It’s a beautiful day,” a man said, interrupting her blissful moment.
She looked up to see her appointment had arrived and gave him a wry smile. “Well, that depends.” She gestured for him to sit down across the table.
“On what?” he asked as he pulled his chair out and took a seat.
“On what you can do for me, Karif. I had a beautiful day yesterday, but if our meeting goes well, perhaps this will be one too.”
Karif Fazil leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and clasped his hands, resting them on his knee. “I understand you require some assistance, though I’m not sure it’s the kind of thing we operate in any more. But before we discuss that, I’m curious how you set up the American assassin and his team.”
She took a long drag before exhaling. “Simple parlor tricks. Making the mind see what it wants to see is the kind of wizardry that’s been around for centuries. It only takes a little bit more effort these days with facial recognition cameras, but they’re susceptible too.”
“Who did he think he was shooting?” Fazil asked.
“Certainly not the reported names of the ones who ended up dead. But that’s not why we’re here now, is it?”
“Forgive my indulgence, Katarina, but you must understand that I have both a high level of respect for Brady Hawk and a powerful disdain for him. If it weren’t for Hawk’s meddling in my affairs, I’m sure the mission of Al Hasib would be far more advanced.”
“In that case, let’s talk about how I can help you move your cause forward now that Hawk has more or less been eliminated from the picture.”
“And how do you think you can help us do that?”
“The one thing almost as old as my parlor tricks: money.”
“So this is about money then?”
Petrov tapped the ashes off her cigarette. “You require funds to operate, do you not?”
Fazil nodded. “Of course. Who doesn’t? But you want us to strike the pipelines?”
“That’s the plan.”
“The same pipelines that provide us with our current level of funding. That would be—how do they say it in America?—cutting off the nose to spite the face. I’m not sure that’s something we can afford.”
“Those pipelines provide you with a small trickle of income,” Petrov said. “I think you’d prefer something more substantial, something that would amount to a gushing river of cash.”
&nbs
p; “I’m listening.”
“If you stick with me, I think we can have a fruitful partnership, enabling you to advance the noble mission of Al Hasib.”
Fazil eyed her cautiously. “And Al Hasib’s mission is likely in direct conflict with yours.”
“Not necessarily,” she said, sucking in another long drag before blowing smoke upward out of the corner of her mouth. “From what I can tell, you and I are both visionaries, people who want to shake up the status quo. We’re tired of the world being run by a small, elite group of people who have little regard for those who aren’t like themselves.” She paused. “Does any of this ring true with you?”
He nodded. “Go on.”
“Even your own people betray you and your cause—and that includes those running the pipelines in Kuwait City. Those people need to understand they can’t run over you or me or anyone else, just like the Americans need to be taught the same message. Liberty and justice for all? In their dreams. It’s all about wealth and prosperity for U.S. citizens and no one else. And if you help me, we can end two suffocating regimes making it difficult for our own dreams to be realized at once.”
Fazil exhaled and locked eyes with Petrov. “I hope you’re not lying to me, because I don’t appreciate it when people try to woo me with their persuasive tongues.”
“I would never lie to such an honorable man as yourself, Karif,” she said.
“Very well then.”
“So, we have a deal?”
Petrov smiled and nodded. “I’ll forward you all the schematics of the compound and pipeline I want you to attack. It shouldn’t be too difficult for you given your history.”
* * *
NEITHER PETROV NOR FAZIL noticed the man reading a newspaper two tables away. He never stopped watching Petrov, who never made eye contact with him. He was invisible, just the way he liked it. It was beneficial to his climb up the bureau’s ladder. Getting made by a pair of well-known terrorists was no way to advance one’s career, much less survive.
He waited until the duo vacated their table before asking for his check. Once he paid his bill, he promptly returned to his hotel room, where he uploaded several pictures he casually snapped with his phone and sent them to his director. Within an hour, the FBI was liaising with the Pentagon regarding the formation of a new threat.
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