“You think this will lead anywhere?” Alex asked.
“Beats any leads we had before,” Hawk said.
“What makes you think she hasn’t left the city yet?” Samuels asked. “She could be anywhere in Europe by now.”
“Yeah, but I know someone who knows how to contact her.”
When they reached the address, Hawk parked along the curb, and then they all streamed out of the SUV. They’d arrived in an upscale burrow of Paris. Hawk knocked several times, but no one came to the door.
“Screw it,” Hawk said. “We’re going in.”
Samuels put his hand on Hawk’s chest. “You sure this is the way to go about this, big guy? I mean, after all we just went through and closed circuit cameras everywhere, you want to just kick down a door?”
“Got any better ideas?”
Samuels smiled as he pulled out his lock pick set. “I’ve found this is a much better way to make a discreet entry.” A half a minute later, the latch clicked, permitting them access.
“Look at that,” Alex said. “Brains and brawn. I had my doubts before, but I definitely think we’re related.”
Hawk shook his head and then put his index finger to his lips as he slipped inside. He gestured for them to split up as they all moved stealthily through the house. After they cleared almost the entire bottom floor of what looked like a three-story structure from the street, he heard a creak coming from the back entryway.
Hawk raced toward the noise and flew through the wide open door. A short stocky man sprinted away. In an effort to save time, Hawk used the railing along the steps to swing down to the ground. He raced after the man, who darted down various alleyways but failed to lose his pursuer. In less than a minute, Hawk tackled the man from behind, pinned his arms back, and then rolled him over.
“We meet again,” Hawk said as he stared at Anatoly. “Why did Katarina ever leave you behind?”
“Please don’t hurt me,” Anatoly said. “I can explain everything.”
“I doubt that,” Hawk said. “But I will promise not to hurt you if you agree to help me. How’s that?”
“Whatever, just please don’t hit me.”
Hawk slowly rose, jerking Anatoly to his feet before shoving his back toward the flat. “Why don’t you begin by telling me what Katarina Petrov was doing here right after her plane was blown out of the sky? Was this some master plan of hers?”
“Of course not,” Anatoly said. “She was as surprised as anyone.”
“If that’s so, how come she wasn’t on the plane?”
“She saw you right before the plane closed its doors, and she thought better of it,” Anatoly said with a faint smile. “Good premonition, eh?”
“This isn’t a game. Wipe that stupid grin off your face. Now, you said she got off the plane and then she came here.”
“Yes, this is—or was—one of her homes in Paris. It wasn’t her favorite, but she found it livable. I was staying here because I had to clean up the penthouse since it wouldn’t be used again.”
“Why not? What was she planning on doing with it?”
“Nothing, but she figured it had been burned as a legitimate hideout and didn’t intend to use it again.”
“What was she like when you saw her here that night?”
“She was glad she escaped but wasn’t upset about what happened,” Anatoly said. “She’d planned to kill them all at her Swiss chalet anyway. You saved her the trouble.”
“She weaves a pretty good tale,” Hawk said, seeing if he could goad more out of Anatoly.
“What do you mean?”
“I was never at the airport that night. She concocted a whopper of a story to trick you. I bet she warned you that I’d be coming for you.”
Anatoly swallowed hard and nodded. “She did.”
“I’m a man of my word,” Hawk said. “I promised you if you helped me that I wouldn’t hurt you.”
“So I can go now?”
Hawk laughed. “Of course not. You’re not going anywhere until we have her in custody.”
After they’d reached the back steps of the apartment, Alex and Samuels were sitting on the top step.
“Took you long enough,” Alex quipped.
“Get anything out of him?” Samuels asked.
Hawk shook his head. “Working on it though.”
“I don’t know where she is,” Anatoly said. “You’re wasting your time with me.”
“But you know how to reach her, don’t you?”
Anatoly looked down and refused to say anything.
“It’s okay,” Alex said. “I know we all find it difficult to betray the people we care about and—”
“She’s just my boss, okay, lady?” Anatoly said defensively.
“Whoa,” Alex said. “Someone has issues. I wasn’t trying to suggest anything, just that you two are close on a professional level.”
Hawk snatched Anatoly’s phone out of his pocket. “Give her a call. Speak quietly and tell her that we’re in the room next to yours. Tell her to come over and she can take us out.”
Anatoly hesitated. “I-I don’t know about this.”
Hawk pulled his gun out and pointed it at Anatoly’s head. “What do you think now?”
“It’s a great idea,” Anatoly said nervously as he took the phone and dialed her number.
After he hung up and handed the phone back to Hawk, Alex nodded.
“That was clean,” she said.
“She’s pretty good at Russian,” Hawk said. “Petrov is her mother.”
“You’re Alex?” Anatoly asked. “She talks about you all the time.”
“Don’t try to butter me up,” Alex said with a glare.
Ten minutes later, there was a knock at the back door. Hawk told Samuels to answer it.
“Expecting someone so soon?” Alex asked.
“It’s a favor for Blunt,” Hawk said.
Anatoly strode across the hardwood floor and welcomed Petrov inside.
“What’s so urgent?” she asked. “You know I need to get out of here.”
Hawk slipped out of the corner and jammed his gun into Petrov’s back. “Slowly, slowly,” he said in Russian. “Put the bag on the ground.”
Petrov followed his instructions and kept her hands in the air. “What is the meaning of this, Anatoly?”
Anatoly put his hands in the air, too. “I had no choice. They were going to kill me.”
“And I’m going to kill you when this is all over with,” Petrov said with a snarl.
“Good luck with that,” Hawk said. “You’re going to be in prison for a long time.”
Samuels grabbed Petrov’s wrists and bound them together with a zip tie. “We know everything. The Chamber is finished.”
“You can’t prove anything. And you can’t take me out of this country without permission.”
“Good thing they have it,” came a man’s voice from the top of the stairs. “Besides, we found your fingerprints on mechanisms inside the explosive devices.”
Jinjing Bao descended the steps and stopped at the foot.
“As I live and breathe,” he said. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this day.”
“Jinjing?” Petrov said, her face turning pale. “I-I tried to call you. I-I tried to let you know. It wasn’t personal. It was just—”
“You said you loved me,” Bao said as he walked toward her. “Then you murdered my father and disappeared.”
He recoiled and delivered a powerful blow to her stomach. “That was for my father.” Then another hit. “That was for lying to me.”
Doubled over in pain, Petrov tried to stand straight but struggled. “I never meant to hurt you—or fall in love.”
“Save it,” Bao growled.
“It started off as a job, but I swear my feelings for you were real.”
Bao gestured toward the door. “Get this woman out of my sight, Hawk. I don’t ever want to see or hear from her again.”
Hawk grabbed Petrov’s arms and s
hoved her toward the door. “Let’s go. You’ve got a date with a maximum security prison, if you’re lucky.”
CHAPTER 37
HAWK PUT PETROV in a straightjacket once they boarded their private jet at Charles de Gaulle Airport. Cinching the drawstrings tight, Hawk showed no mercy. If Petrov lost circulation in her arm halfway across the Atlantic, he wouldn’t have any pity for her. Petrov had acted ruthlessly and lawlessly—and Hawk was ready for justice to be meted out in every form as painful as possible.
A television in one corner of the plane was on where a news anchor described how a terrorist attack on Verge in Kuwait City had sent the market reeling in recent days. Hawk looked up from securing Petrov.
“There was another attack on Verge?” Hawk asked.
“That’s what the man said,” Samuels responded. “From the footage, it appears they got one of the main towers this time as well as several holding tanks.”
“But how did they—?”
Hawk stopped and glared at Petrov. “Just another reason for me to despise you.”
She smiled arrogantly. “Just blame me for everything now. If you don’t like it, Petrov and The Chamber did it. Sounds about par for the course with how you Americans operate.”
“We also kill terrorists who prove to be a threat to our country, which doesn’t spell good news for you.”
“You sure are a cocky bastard,” she said. “And you don’t know as much about me or The Chamber as you think you do.”
“I know enough to get you convicted,” he said. “That’s more than enough.”
“We’ll see if you’re still singing this same tune in a few days.”
Hawk yanked on the cord, causing Petrov to wince.
Once he finished and the rest of the team was loaded on the plane, he tapped on the door to the cockpit.
“We’re all set back here,” Hawk said.
Nothing.
Hawk took a deep breath and exhaled. He glanced around the cabin and rapped on the door again. “Hey, Cap. You in there?”
It was quiet for a moment more.
“Sorry, I’m here,” the captain finally said. “Just going through my checklist.”
“Okay. Well, we’re ready when you are.”
“Roger that.”
Hawk took a seat directly across from Petrov. “I hope this is a most unpleasant flight for you.”
She frowned and shook her head. When she opened her mouth to speak, Hawk held up a device that had been sitting on the arm of his seat. “No talking—or this is going in your mouth. Understand?”
Petrov nodded.
“I’m glad we see eye to eye on that.”
Hawk’s phone buzzed with a number he didn’t recognize.
“Hello?”
“Please hold the line for the President of the United States,” came the reply.
A few seconds of silence followed by a click and then the voice of President Michaels.
“Listen here, Brady Hawk,” Michaels said. “I know you probably think you’re some damn American hero who deserves a parade when you get back, but I want to warn you ahead of time that nothing could be further from the truth. If you think capturing Katarina Petrov is going to exonerate you from all the sins you’ve committed in the name of this country, you’ll be in for a rude awakening.”
Hawk didn’t react.
“You still there, boy?” Michaels asked.
“I know what kind of man you are,” Hawk said. “I don’t scare too easily, if that’s what you’re trying to do here.”
“I’m coming for you—and you’re going to rue the day you ever considered crossing me.”
“I’ve done nothing wrong, sir,” Hawk said. “But if that’s how you want to play this, I’d advise you to watch your back. When you’ve betrayed as many people as you have, you can’t always see your downfall coming.”
Hawk hung up his phone as the plane lurched forward and began to roll along the tarmac.
“Was that Michaels?” Alex asked.
Hawk nodded. “That son of a bitch might be made of Teflon, but he isn’t bullet proof.”
Petrov smiled and raised her eyebrows in delight yet remained quiet.
“You might find this funny now, but the two of you are a pair,” Hawk said. “This won’t end well for either one of you. That much I can promise.”
The plane came to a stop before the engines fired up and then roared down the runway, soaring upward to begin the long flight home.
Hawk couldn’t wait to get back on U.S. soil—and take care of Michaels once and for all.
CHAPTER 38
Washington, D.C.
BLUNT MET THE FIRESTORM TEAM near the hangar along with several brass from the Pentagon and a dozen CIA agents. Hawk escorted Petrov off the plane and handed her over to the personnel anxious to extract information out of her about The Chamber. Hawk told Blunt they’d be fortunate to get more than her name from her. Blunt was savvy enough to know Anatoly, who the team left behind in France with Interpol agents, was the one who would sing like a canary.
After watching Petrov handcuffed in the transport van and driven away, Blunt turned his full attention to the team.
“I’m glad you all made it back unscathed,” Blunt said. “You’re proving to be more effective than I think anyone previously believed, myself included. However, we still have some things we need to discuss. This way.”
He gestured toward a black SUV that had the two back doors open with an agent behind the wheel.
“Who is that guy?” Hawk asked, nodding at the driver and climbing inside.
“You can trust him, Hawk,” Blunt said. “He’s one of the good guys.”
“The list of people I trust these days has shrunk considerably.”
“You’re not the only one,” Alex chimed in.
Once they were all inside, Blunt tapped the driver on the shoulder and the car roared to life before easing forward. In a matter of minutes, they were in stop-and-go traffic on the Beltway.
“Have you been able to keep up with the news?” Blunt asked.
Hawk shrugged. “Bits and pieces, here and there.”
“I’m assuming you heard about the attack at Verge,” Blunt said.
“I saw a piece about it just before we took off in Paris. Did Al Hasib do that?” Hawk asked.
“Karif Fazil, himself,” Blunt said. “Video footage showed him driving the truck toward the towers, but at the last minute he dove out.”
“Coward,” Alex said. “I wish he would’ve really gone through with the job. It’d be one less terrorist to deal with.”
“Agreed,” Blunt said. “However, the ramifications of a better guided vehicle loaded with explosives would’ve been much greater. Fortunately, Verge avoided a massive hemorrhage in its pipeline. It should return to normal within a week.”
“And the market?” Samuels asked.
Blunt pulled out a cigar, clipped the end, and began to chew on it. “It’s been all over the place, though I believe it’s starting to stabilize now. The ultimate plan of The Chamber was to destabilize the market and influence decision makers to join Petrov’s quest to create a one-world currency, but I think it’s safe to say for now that she failed in that regard.”
“Let’s talk about the elephant in the room,” Hawk said.
“Are you referring to President Michaels?” Blunt asked.
“Yeah, he’s coming unhinged,” Alex said. “I can’t believe he was cleared.”
Blunt chuckled. “Politics, dear Alex. Never underestimate the power of American politics to exonerate a criminal—or convict an innocent man.”
“Or woman,” she added.
“Yeah, or woman. Our political system doesn’t discriminate in that regard.”
“He probably has people watching us already, doesn’t he?” Samuels asked.
Blunt nodded. “That’s very likely. So, for now, let’s lay low. I secured an apartment for the three of you near Georgetown. It’s got three access points, so you can get ou
t in a hurry if necessary.”
“And three entry points for whoever wants to crash the place,” Samuels said.
“We can take care of that,” Hawk said.
“The place is fully stocked, and you won’t have to go out unless you really want to, which I’d advise against for a few days at least. Just be careful, okay? We still have much to accomplish.”
* * *
AFTER TWO DAYS, cabin fever set in for Hawk. He’d spent his downtime watching more than his fair share of Bollywood movies, while Samuels tore through several classic novels Blunt had left behind. Alex analyzed data she’d collected at various point on their last trip and tried to make sense of all the connections. But Hawk was itching to move again.
“I’m gonna go see Petrov,” Hawk said.
“Are you out of your mind?” Samuels asked. “That’s the last thing Blunt would want us to do.”
“There are some things gnawing at me that I need to know,” Hawk said. “I’ll be back soon.”
Alex and Samuels both pleaded with Hawk to stay put, but he ignored their arguments. Petrov had a way of connecting with Karif Fazil. Hawk hoped that perhaps she’d have a moment of regret and want to atone for her transgressions with one final altruistic gesture. It could be a small one—the one of giving up how she contacted Fazil—but it’d be a game changer.
When Hawk arrived at the secret prison facility, he flashed his credentials to a guard who eyed him carefully.
“I don’t see you on the clearance list,” the guard said.
“I got this order directly from Commander Frank Stone at the Pentagon,” Hawk said, tapping the desk for emphasis in an attempt to sell his bluff. “If you’d like to call Stone to confirm, be my guest.”
The guard sighed. “Fine. Just sign here.” He shoved a clipboard in front of Hawk, who scribbled his name illegibly on the attached paper and then gave it back to the guard. With proper authorization, the guard radioed back to another officer that Hawk was coming their way and wanted to speak with Petrov.
Hawk went through a series of metal detectors and pat downs before he arrived at the door in front of the meeting room. The door buzzed open, and Petrov was already inside, hands cuffed and attached to the table.
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