“We’re not so secret anymore,” Hawk said. “At least, not all of us are.”
Blunt sighed. “That’s most unfortunate since this team contains the best agents I’ve ever worked with. You all have conducted yourselves with compassion in dealing with others when necessary, and delivered justice when called upon.”
“Working for you has been an incredible honor,” Alex said. “And I think I can speak for every person in this room, even Mia and Big Earv.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“I think the honor has been mine,” Blunt said. “But enough of that sappy talk. Let’s get on with the aftermath of our latest operation. As you well know, what you did has shaken this city to its core. Not only did we expose the height of Sinclair’s corruption, we simultaneously pulled the plug on the most unprincipled men and women in the capital. Twenty-two resignations between the House of Representatives and the Senate. And I’m sure that’s not the end of it either. It’s truly astounding, and you should give yourself a round of applause for that.”
They clapped and smiled, dishing out high-fives and fist bumps.
“At least there’s something good that came out of this,” Black said.
“Yes, and that includes two new presidential candidates from each party. With President Young withdrawing his name from the party’s nomination and vowing not to seek public office again and Radcliffe getting implicated as well among Sinclair’s payouts, the November election is going to be a wild free-for-all.”
“Still better than the two choices we had,” Hawk said.
“I’d just like one good person to vote for as president,” Big Earv asked. “To have two good choices would be a dream.”
Blunt grunted. “We’re secret agents, not miracle workers.”
The comment drew a few more chuckles from the group.
“However, I hear that Franklin Norris is considering jumping into the race. And if he does, there will be at least one good man to vote for, that much I can promise you.”
“I like him,” Alex said.
“Me, too,” Blunt said. “Now, as I’ve told you before that I’m retiring, my thoughts these last few months have been what to do with you guys. I couldn’t in good conscience just hand you off to anyone. But a solution has arisen, at least for those of you who are choosing to stick around.”
“Who’s leaving?” Black asked.
Hawk and Alex raised their hands. “We’re gonna take a break, maybe do something in the private sector,” he said. “It’s been a grind, but we’re worn out.”
“That’s understandable,” Black said before turning to Blunt. “Did you know about this?”
He nodded. “They told me recently. And they have my blessing to take a break as well as to return whenever they wish. But as for you, Black and Shields, you have a nice landing place.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” Shields said.
Blunt smiled. “Bobby Besserman, the newly promoted CIA chief has offered to bring you in as part of a special task force. Interested?”
They both nodded.
“If Besserman’s involved, I’m in,” Black said.
“Me, too,” she said.
Blunt turned toward Big Earv and Mia. “I wish I had more news for the two of you. And Big Earv, I know you’re not even officially on our team, but you’ve helped us so much that it feels like you’re one of the family.”
“Thank you, sir,” Big Earv said. “Whatever you can do to help me land with my feet on the ground, I’ll be most grateful for.”
“Same goes for you, too, Mia,” Blunt said. “I’ll help you in any way possible, though I doubt it’ll take more than a day before someone with your skillset gets scooped up by another agency.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I’ve found that I actually enjoy this side of the hacker world more than I thought I would.”
Blunt stood. “I don’t want to drag this out anymore because I’ve made it my life’s goal not to cry in front of any other human beings ever again. But there’s one more thing I thought you all should know.”
Hawk leaned forward in his seat. “What’s that?”
“Last night, two CIA agents arrested Madeline Young and extradited her from Australia,” Blunt said. “She’s finally going to prison for what she did, even if the president wasn’t interested in having her criminal activity exposed.”
“Well, he loses all the public sympathy people had for him,” Alex said. “I didn’t like it, but I understood.”
“He shouldn’t get that choice though,” Blunt said. “He’s not a judge or a law enforcement office. He’s supposed to execute laws. And when he failed to do that because it served his personal political aspirations, that’s when he ceased to be an effective leader. Personally, I’m going to miss Noah, even after what he did to me. I told him as much and gave him the chance to apologize.”
“And you accepted it?” Mia asked.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my old age, it’s that grudges only hurt the ones who hold them. He was acting in self-preservation, sure. But he didn’t silence me in the way he could have. And in the end, that resulted in a far better outcome than what would’ve been if he would’ve taken a scorched earth approach.”
“And thank goodness that he didn’t,” Alex said.
“America and the rest of the world has no idea how close we came to the brink,” Blunt said. “But it’s because of the people in this room that we survived.”
Everyone applauded and smiled. Blunt held his hands up and thanked them once more.
“Before we go,” Alex said, “we have a little announcement.”
Blunt gestured for her to continue.
“I didn’t want to say anything about this before because of our mission and how important it was,” Alex said. “But we wanted to let everyone know that in a little over five months from now, there’s gonna be a new little Hawk joining our nest.”
Hawk smiled. “And we can’t wait.”
CHAPTER 50
One year later
Catalina Island
J.D. BLUNT MOORED his Ocean Alexander yacht in the bay before settling into his chair on the top deck. He removed his shirt and applied a generous handful of lotion, rubbing it in on his body as best as he could. When he was finished, he picked up a Clive Cussler novel and started reading. He’d only finished two engrossing chapters before his attention was diverted to the water, where a man in a suit rode up to him on a jet ski.
Blunt cursed under his breath before putting down his book and descending the ladder to see what the man wanted.
“Senator Blunt,” the man said as he eased up to the back of the boat.
“What the hell is this?” Blunt grumbled.
“I really hate to bother you like this, but—”
“The answer’s no.”
The man cocked his head and scowled. “I haven’t even asked my question yet.”
“Doesn't matter. I know what you want.”
The man tied his jet ski to one of the cleats on the edge of Blunt’s yacht then climbed on board.
“Did I invite you onto my ship?”
The man persisted. “It’s just a request, sir.”
“I’m not going back to work for anybody. I just want to read my novels and have everyone leave me the hell alone.”
The man nodded. “You’re just as pleasant as advertised.”
“Look, I’ve got a gun in my cabin. Perhaps you’re not catching my drift. I’m not interested in whatever it is you’re wanting to ask me. So, please leave.”
“President Norris sent me here, sir. He’s been unable to locate Alex and Brady Hawk.”
“Have you ever considered that maybe they don’t want to be found?”
“But, sir, I understand your position, but if there’s any way you can help me, any way at all, I’d be greatly indebted to you.”
Blunt grunted and stuffed a cigar into his mouth. “This ain’t Washington, kid. Save the ass kissin’ for so
mebody who cares.”
“Sir, please, I’m begging you.”
Blunt sighed and dug his cell phone out of his pocket. He entered a number and then handed the phone to the man. “They won’t answer, but at least you can tell the president that you tried.”
Blunt waited as the man placed the receiver to his ear. After a half minute, the man ended the call.
“Voicemail is full,” he said.
“I warned you. They won’t even talk to me.”
“Thank you,” the man said. “I appreciate you at least trying.”
Blunt chuckled. “Did you seriously come all the way out here just to have me call Brady Hawk for you?”
The man untied the rope and climbed back onto his jet ski. “Sure did.”
Blunt laughed. “You guys are persistent. I’ll give you that. But when an agent says they’ve had enough, it’s over.”
“Never hurts to ask,” the man said. “Have a good day, sir.”
Blunt watched the man skim across the water back to the main harbor. Blunt shook his head and then returned to the roof of his yacht, the one he got Young to buy as a retirement gift. It was about ten years old, but Blunt didn’t care. It was his own ship, and he could go just about anywhere in the world he wanted to in it. And nobody could stop him.
He eased back into his chair and then picked up his satellite phone. After dialing a number, he waited for someone to answer.
“What was that all about?” Hawk asked as he answered.
“Some fed sent on assignment from the president himself to try to rope you back in,” Blunt said. “I’m glad you didn’t answer.”
“We can say no rather easily these days,” Hawk said. “Little John Daniel is keeping us pretty busy.”
Blunt sighed. “Well, if you ever get the itch again, apparently Uncle Sam wants you, so much so that they sent an agent all the way across the country and then all the way to Catalina Island just to get your phone number.”
“Which you didn’t give them,” Hawk said.
Blunt laughed. “They could waterboard me and I still wouldn’t give it up.”
“Thanks, J.D.,” Hawk said. “You enjoy that retirement.”
“Oh, I will. And, Hawk?”
“Yeah. Thanks … for everything. I still think of you like a son.”
“Well, you’re the best dad I never had. Take care.”
“You, too.”
Blunt hung up and smiled, satisfied that his work was done.
THE END
To catch the next big adventure with Brady Hawk, click here to order SHADOW HUNTER, a new series featuring Brady Hawk, Alex, and the others on your favorite black ops team.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am grateful to so many people who have helped with the creation of this project and the entire Brady Hawk series.
Krystal Wade was a big help in editing this book as always.
I would also like to thank my advance reader team for all their input in improving this book along with all the other readers who have enthusiastically embraced the story of Brady Hawk. Stay tuned ... there's more Brady Hawk coming soon.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
R.J. PATTERSON is an award-winning writer living in southeastern Idaho. He first began his illustrious writing career as a sports journalist, recording his exploits on the soccer fields in England as a young boy. Then when his father told him that people would pay him to watch sports if he would write about what he saw, he went all in. He landed his first writing job at age 15 as a sports writer for a daily newspaper in Orangeburg, S.C. He later attended earned a degree in newspaper journalism from the University of Georgia, where he took a job covering high school sports for the award-winning Athens Banner-Herald and Daily News.
He later became the sports editor of The Valdosta Daily Times before working in the magazine world as an editor and freelance journalist. He has won numerous writing awards, including a national award for his investigative reporting on a sordid tale surrounding an NCAA investigation over the University of Georgia football program.
R.J. enjoys the great outdoors of the Northwest while living there with his wife and four children. He still follows sports closely.
He also loves connecting with readers and would love to hear from you. To stay updated about future projects, connect with him over Facebook or on the interwebs at www.RJPbooks.com and sign up here for his newsletter to get deals and updates.
Final Strike
© Copyright 2020 R.J. Patterson
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law.
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
First eBook Edition 2020
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Final Strike (A Brady Hawk Novel Book 21) Page 24