A flurry of activity brought the dimly lit camp to life as the men began running around and unloading equipment. It was so chaotic that no one noticed Hawk and Samuels drag the two men who’d been in the cab of their truck into the back and knock them out. Hawk and Samuels kept their heads down and toted munitions boxes to a staging area along with the rest of the men. Then Hawk saw something that caught his eye.
“Do you see what I see?” Hawk asked.
“I see him,” Samuels said. “If I wasn’t following your lead, I would’ve already put a bullet in Karif Fazil’s head.”
“Wait. You see Fazil?”
Samuels scanned the area. “Well, I did see him. He’s gone now.”
“I was talking about Lee Hendridge, the American journalist who’d been captured about a week ago. We’ve got to take him with us.”
“Screw that,” Samuels said. “Our mission is all about Fazil. We need to take that bastard down, no matter what.”
“I don’t want to argue about this now, but we won’t be able to kill Fazil and get out of here alive. But we can get Hendridge safely out if we operate cautiously.”
“You’re crazier than you look, Hawk. I’m not sure I like this plan.”
“If you don’t go along with me on this, you’re on your own.”
“Fine, but I’m laying the blame all at your feet when we meet with Blunt.”
Hawk laughed. “When we meet with Blunt—I like your attitude. Keep it positive, okay?”
They made a couple more trips between the truck and the staging area, carting the munitions boxes, until Hawk saw the opportunity to free Hendridge and attempt an escape.
“You sure about this?” Samuels asked.
“I’m never sure about anything until I try it.”
Hendridge was bound and gagged, standing against a pole next to one of the hastily erected tents. A guard standing near Hendridge had left, leaving the journalist free for the taking.
Hawk ripped through the ropes quickly, while Samuels removed the gag from Hendridge’s mouth.
“Who are you guys?” Hendridge whispered. “I hope you’re know what you’re doing or you’re going to get us all killed.”
“Just stay calm, kid,” Hawk said. “We’re gonna get you out of here. Just stay low and follow me.”
The trio crouched low and moved swiftly across the camp, staying in the shadows. Hawk directed them toward a truck, instructing them to get in the back. He slid into the front seat behind the wheel and checked for the keys. They weren’t here. He checked the visor. Nothing.
Hawk noticed a small knife sitting on top of the console. He snatched it and used it to strip several wires beneath the steering wheel in an attempt to hotwire the truck.
He froze when he heard the jangling of keys and a clipped sentence in English.
“Looking for this?” the man asked.
Hawk looked up and was met with a vicious blow to his face.
CHAPTER 18
Washington, D.C.
J.D. BLUNT WAS ENJOYING a cup of coffee and reading the latest commentary on Michaels’s botched press conference when his phone buzzed. Glancing at the screen, Blunt sighed and put down his newspaper.
“I hope you have a good report for me,” Blunt said as he answered.
“Well, you didn’t hear about the Verge refinery plant exploding across the sands of Kuwait, did you?” Alex said.
“No, I didn’t,” he said. “However, I saw something about a thwarted attack. I’m guessing you’re calling with good news.”
“Good and bad.”
“Good news first?”
“I already gave it to you,” Alex said.
“Where’s Hawk?”
“That’s the bad news. He and Samuels are gone.”
“What do you mean gone?”
“I mean poof, thin air, gone. Nobody can find them, and it hasn’t been easy to get any answers out of Verge since Doug Dorman was killed in the attack.”
“Damn it,” Blunt said. “Doug Dorman was a good man.”
“You knew him?”
“We worked together a few times. He was a hard ass sometimes, well, more like all the time, but he was one of the good guys.”
“He’s also one of the latest casualties from Al Hasib’s attempted strike. And from what I can gather, they might be preparing to make another attack.”
“You sure about that?”
“I guess we’ll find out, though I heard Verge has beefed up its security considerably since then.”
“They’d be fools not to,” Blunt said.
“But Verge still hasn’t cleared all the explosives. I’ve been jamming the radio frequencies here since the attack to make sure Al Hasib can’t detonate anything and make this worse than it already is.”
“Keep it up. I’ll make some calls, see if I can get some help. Do you have Hawk and Samuels’s last location?”
“Some pier in the harbor, so they could be anywhere by now.”
“All right, I’ll be in touch.”
Blunt hung up and called Frank Stone.
“Frank, I need your help with something,” Blunt began. “I’ve lost two agents, and I need you to get them.”
“The two agents wanted by Interpol and the FBI? You’ve got some nerve, J.D.,” Stone said. “I mean really.”
“Look, this isn’t the time to get into a pissing contest. We’ve got two of our top operatives in danger right now, and I need an assist.”
Stone laughed. “If they’re your top operatives but got captured by a bunch of local bandits from Al Hasib, I’d say you’re throwing around labels far too generously. Maybe you need to reassess how you define the word top. I’m not touching this one,” Stone said.
“Why the change of heart, Frank?” Blunt asked. “You’re the one who asked me for help on this in the first place.”
“Yeah, but I was expecting you to get someone to do the job and do it right, not screw it all up and have it come back on me.”
Blunt was seething on the inside but tried to remain calm as he responded. “You know how it is on the battlefield. Sometimes you get into a situation that you didn’t expect or never could’ve accounted for.”
“Yeah, and when that happens, you die. End of story.”
“These men are worth going after.”
“Maybe for you, but I’m not willing to risk my career over them.”
“What’s gotten into you, Frank?”
“The bottom line is I know who hired you, and Noah Young isn’t going to be President much longer. And while Michaels won’t hear it from me, some other eager beaver ready to ascend to the ranks of power will spill the beans, and you’ll be screwed. That much I can promise you. It won’t be pleasant by any stretch of the imagination.”
“So, I guess that’s a no on helping Brady Hawk.”
“It’s a hell no, J.D. And you only have yourself to blame. You should’ve selected a more competent agent.”
Blunt hung up his phone and started to pace around the room. He needed some help—and fast.
CHAPTER 19
Kuwait City, Kuwait
HAWK FELT SAND POURING into his boots, his arms dragging along the ground as an Al Hasib operative pulled him into a tent. With orders being barked out, Hawk barely opened his eyes in an attempt to survey the situation more properly. Another guard lugged Samuels toward the tent in the same manner. But that was the extent of the Al Hasib muscle assigned to watch the pair who’d attempted an escape and failed.
Guess we deserve that.
Samuels began moving around before he mumbled something, drawing the ire of the guard towering over him. Screaming and cursing, the guard dropped Samuels for a moment, kicked him in the ribs, and then picked him back up.
At least I know he’s awake now.
Convinced escape would only become increasingly more difficult the longer they were held hostage, Hawk sprang into action. He grabbed the guard’s arms and pulled downward. The guard, who was already hunched over Hawk,
lost his balance and toppled headfirst to the ground. Still holding onto the guard, Hawk used the man’s momentum to spring upward. The guard who’d been pulling Samuels spun around, surprised at the sudden tussle. He barely got a word out of his mouth in a call for help before Hawk delivered a vicious kick to the man’s knees, sending him sprawling toward the ground. Samuels clamored to his feet and attacked the guard while Hawk returned his attention to the other operative. Another roundhouse kick and a pair of targeted punches knocked the guard unconscious. Hawk knelt beside the guard to search for his keys. Meanwhile, Samuels took care of the other guard.
“Ready to make another run for it?” Hawk asked.
“Only if you’ve got the keys this time, Einstein,” Samuels quipped.
Hawk held them up triumphantly and jangled them before snatching the man’s gun from his pocket. “I rarely make the same mistake twice.”
“Just be glad that mistake didn’t cost us our lives.”
“Let’s get outta here,” Hawk said as he crept near the entry to the tent.
“Where’s Hendridge?” Samuels asked.
“Let’s see if we can find him on the way out,” Hawk said.
The camp was still in a state of chaos as men scurried back and forth, carrying equipment and loading it onto trucks, as if they were breaking camp.
Still disguised by their insurgent fatigues, Hawk and Samuels kept their heads down as they weaved through the other soldiers too focused on their task to notice the escapees.
“Over there,” Hawk whispered. “I see Hendridge.”
“What’s he doing?”
“Looks like they’ve got him tied up to something.”
“I’ll cut him free, and we’ll get the hell out of here for real this time.”
“But—”
“Save it,” Hawk growled. “You take the keys to the truck, and I’ll meet you there.”
Samuels reluctantly took the keys from Hawk’s hand as they broke ranks. Keeping his head down, Hawk walked swiftly over to Hendridge and cut him free in one smooth motion.
“Keep your hands behind your back like you’re still tied up,” Hawk said, yanking Hendridge to his feet. “We’re going to make it out of here this time.”
Hendridge followed Hawk’s instructions and marched across the grounds another thirty meters until they reached the row of transport trucks. Hawk found Samuels sitting in the driver’s seat of one.
“Ready to go?” Hawk asked.
Samuels nodded and attempted to insert the key into the ignition, but it didn’t fit.
“Damn it,” Samuels said. “This is the wrong truck.”
Hawk opened the driver’s side door and slapped at the visor up above. The keys slid down and into Samuels’s lap.
“How did you—?”
“Lucky guess. It’s what I should’ve done last time.”
Samuels turned the ignition, and the truck sputtered before it roared to life.
“Now let’s the hell outta here,” Hawk said as he shoved Hendridge toward the back of the truck. They had barely finished piling in before Samuels jerked the truck into gear and started rolling.
Despite the activity around camp, several soldiers noticed the truck moving and began yelling. Then shots were fired.
Hawk ducked as he pushed Hendridge’s head down in an effort to keep them both safe below the tailgate. Shots pinged off the truck, and more men yelled as the truck increased speed. After a few more seconds, Hawk decided to look up and see what was happening. When he did, the scene wasn’t one he expected.
Three men were less than a meter away from the back truck and were preparing to grab hold of the gate and climb aboard. Hawk wasn’t having any of it. He shot two men before the third guy managed to get onto the truck’s bumper and kick the gun from Hawk’s hand. The man climbed aboard and whipped out a knife.
The truck continued rambling forward, bouncing up and down as Samuels struggled to avoid the pothole-laden stretch of road. Both Hawk and the attacker fought to maintain their balance, while Hendridge slunk into the corner near Hawk.
“Just stay there,” Hawk said to Hendridge, pointing at the corner while focusing on the man.
The man lunged at Hawk, who managed to sidestep the charge. Hawk pushed the man backward, sending him stumbling toward the side of the truck. Once he regained his footing, the man charged Hawk again. However, Hawk slid to the side, only this time, he seized the man’s arm, forced it down in an effort to shake the knife loose. When that didn’t work, Hawk spun around behind the man and wrestled him, forcing the blade to point at the attacker. The Al Hasib operative resisted for nearly half a minute before Hawk succeeded and drove the knife into the man’s midsection.
He screamed and relinquished the knife in an instinctive attempt to stop the bleeding. That was all Hawk needed to finish the man off and give him a quick death. Snatching the knife off the floor, Hawk slit the man’s throat and hurled him out of the back of the truck.
“Are you okay?” Hawk asked Hendridge.
Hendridge nodded. “I thought that was the end.”
A faint smile appeared on Hawk’s face. “We both got lucky today.”
A distant buzzing sound froze Hawk in place.
“What is that?” Hendridge asked.
Hawk held up his hand and craned his neck to hear. It was a distinct sound he knew all too well.
“Drone strike,” Hawk said.
“Drones?” Hendridge said. “What if we were still there?”
“Casualties of war—but thank God we’re not.”
Twenty minutes later when they reached the docks, Hawk convinced a man to take them back to the mainland with the promise of a handsome payday. At first the man wasn’t interested, but Hawk doubled his offer once they reached land, convincing the captain to change his mind.
Once they were back in Kuwait City, Hawk and Samuels took Hendridge to their safehouse to meet up with Alex.
“Thank God you’re okay,” Alex said. “After I lost contact with you, I wasn’t sure what happened.”
“Did you give Blunt our position?” Hawk asked.
She nodded. “He told me he had someone who could help us out, maybe get an extraction team in there.”
“Well, I have a bone to pick with him then because someone sent a drone strike to the camp.”
She slammed her fist on the table and let out a string of expletives. “Every time I think Blunt is on our side, he pulls some stunt like this.”
“Agreed,” Hawk said. “Let’s get the bastard on the phone right now.”
Alex dialed Blunt’s number and handed the phone to Hawk.
Hawk dispensed with any pleasantries when Blunt answered and put the call on speaker. “What was the meaning of sending in a drone strike to our location?”
“Drone strike? What the hell are you talking about?” Blunt asked incredulously.
“Samuels and I were stuck in an Al Hasib camp when a drone strike was called in. Fortunately, we were on the way out of there when we heard the buzzing.”
“Sonofabitch,” Blunt muttered. “That Frank Stone.”
“Did you tell Commander Stone where we were?” Hawk asked, his voice rising.
“I gave him your coordinates because he said he could get an extraction team in there to pull you out. I had no idea he’d—”
“Be careful around that guy,” Hawk said. “I don’t trust him.”
“I don’t trust him fully, but I didn’t think he’d pull something like this,” Blunt said. “But never mind that for now. Catch me up to speed on the status at Verge.”
“I think the threat has been averted for now,” Alex said. “Al Hasib managed to inflict some damage, but from the reports I was able to gather, it won’t keep the oil production down for more than a couple days. From the report I heard, they already have repair teams out on the line.”
“Good because you need to get some rest,” Blunt said. “I’ve got another pressing assignment for you.”
“Unles
s it involves Katarina Petrov—” Hawk began.
“It does,” Blunt snapped. “We have some credible intel that she’s flying a number of The Chamber board members to a private retreat out of Paris in a couple days.”
“And what do you want us to do about it?”
“I want you to shoot the plane down, pin it on Al Hasib,” Blunt said. “I’ve got all the details worked out.”
“And we’re the only ones who can do this?” Samuels asked.
“Blowing up a plane on takeoff is hardly an operation we want to have run by agents who can be traced back to the U.S.,” Blunt said. “You three, on the other hand, are—”
“Expendable?” Hawk said, finishing Blunt’s comment.
Blunt sighed. “I was going to say our best trained covert force located overseas.”
“Toe-may-toe, tah-mah-toe,” Hawk said. “We know how this works by now.”
“As long as you’re on board and get the job done, I don’t care what you think,” Blunt said. “I just want Katarina Petrov dealt with once and for all.”
Hawk glanced at Alex. “You okay with that?” he whispered.
She nodded. “It’s for the best.”
Hawk looked back at the phone. “We do have some good news for you, too.”
“I could use some.”
“We rescued Lee Hendridge, The New York Times’s journalist Al Hasib recently snatched. He’s here with us.”
“How did you manage that?”
“Long story,” Samuels said. “It involved a bit of luck.”
“I’ll take it—and I’ll send a plane to bring him home first thing in the morning. Sound good?”
Hendridge broke into a wide grin. “Sounds fantastic.”
Hawk ended the call and stared sternly at Hendridge. “Not a word about this to anyone. You should’ve never been let in on that conversation, but I’ll deny any of it being true if you ever report about it.”
“I’m just happy to be alive,” Hendridge said.
“Good. As long as we’re all on the same page about this,” Hawk said. “Now, let’s get some rest. Sounds like Blunt intends to work us until we drop while we’re fugitives.”
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