Target Zero

by Jack Patterson

  Garaar used his phone to call his Al Hasib contact.

  “Do you have someone down here already?” Garaar asked.

  “Why would you even ask me that?”

  Garaar looked around, peeling back the curtains to peek outside. “Just answer the question.”

  “Absolutely not. We have limited resources as it stands, and we haven’t sent anyone to your location.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Have you been drinking?”

  Garaar slammed the phone down, irked at how evasive the responses were.

  Five minutes later, Garaar’s home security system alerted him to intruders at his residence. He rushed home only to discover the aftermath of a whirlwind search. Couches were flipped over with cushions strewn about the room. Garaar also found every drawer had been dumped onto the floor and apparently sifted through in search of something. He suspected whoever initiated the search was looking for the sarin.

  Garaar rushed to his closet and opened the wall safe. The sarin was still there. In an impulsive move, Garaar decided to return the sarin to the warehouse and hide it there. The security was sufficient enough, and the perimeter had never been penetrated, even though he’d previously felt more vulnerable there than at his home. His sense of security at his house was apparently overinflated, and nothing could reassure him now.

  Surely they don’t know what I’m doing.

  He glanced at the barrel in the corner that contained his personal stash of sarin. Despite being compensated for his services, Garaar figured he couldn’t live off the meager stipend supplied by Al-Shabaar. Not comfortably, anyway. He held back a small portion that he intended to sell privately to the highest bidder. No one would ever know.

  Though he was starting to question that assumption given the recent break-in and paranoia he was experiencing. Perhaps someone did know.

  But the lure of the big payday trumped his fears.

  Garaar looked around his lab and continued with his work for the day, confident that everything would be fine as long as he could make it until Saturday night without anything else going haywire.

  CHAPTER 10

  ALEX SLEPT WITH HER PHONE, almost never setting it down when McGinn was around. She wanted to tell Hawk about what she’d found, but it was difficult when McGinn acted as if Hawk had to shadow him wherever they went. She presumed it was because McGinn was a fraud who couldn’t fight his way through a room full of kindergarteners. That was her first impression of him, at least. Perhaps he was a fully competent operative. But she’d have to see him in action to change her mind.

  She was left behind again while Hawk and McGinn returned to the compound to see if it was still occupied by the men who’d attacked or if they’d found what they were looking for. Either way, she was told it required a high degree of caution and she could best serve them by going over schematics he printed out for her.

  Alex hovered over the blueprints and tried to figure out the best place for them to tap into the security network so she could have eyes on the building throughout the duration of the operation. The execution of what she was being asked to do was simple to her, so simple that it made her question why she was even tapped for the job. When she initially asked why not anyone else, Roland’s reasoning made sense, but now she began to suspect there was something else going on. Her task was something dozens of tech experts could do in their sleep.

  And if McGinn is such a badass, why does he even need Hawk?

  In her short time with Firestorm, if she’d learned anything, it was that she needed to be on her guard at all times and trust no one. And she took her own advice to heart with the exception of Hawk, who’d proven himself to be more than trustworthy. She still held Blunt suspect, even though she wasn’t quite sure why.

  A couple hours later, Hawk returned with McGinn and updated Alex on everything that transpired at the compound. The power had been cut off along with the water. More than two dozen men had been killed, their bodies left in the center of the courtyard, while the ones who escaped had yet to return to the grounds. McGinn explained that he and Hawk donned disguises and sought out one of the men who’d been training at McGinn’s camp. The trainee, Amir, described what happened after they left.

  According to Amir, the militia that initiated the attack were looking for something, but they didn’t appear to find it. Amir watched the scene unfold from a crack in the door at one of the storage sheds. The soldiers kicked the door down, but not before Amir had time to hide behind some supplies in the corner. After a cursory search, the soldiers abandoned the room and moved along. Fifteen minutes later, they were gone, screaming and cursing in anger.

  “Should we abandon this op and come up with another plan?” Alex asked. “Sounds like there are some things that are getting beyond our control here.”

  McGinn glared at her. “Everything’s fine. According to my sources, the exchange is still on. This attack had everything to do with Al-Shabaab’s vendetta against the presence of a U.S.-led training facility here and was merely coincidental.”

  Hawk nodded. “And you trust this informant?”

  “I’d bet my life on it,” McGinn said. “In fact, I am betting my life on the information he gave me.”

  “In that case, we should still proceed,” Hawk said. “What’s at stake here if this weapon gets into the wrong hands is worth the risk.”

  “Not if we’re dead,” Alex said. “Who’s even going to find out what happened to the weapon if this is a set up?”

  Hawk put his hand on Alex’s shoulder. “We still need to try to do what we came here to do.”

  McGinn cracked his knuckles. “That’s right, Alex. Listen to your partner. I’m in charge here, and there’s no reason to doubt my informant. I can promise you that the exchange is going to happen as planned.”

  “That’s why I’m concerned,” she said.

  McGinn eyed her closely. “Come again?”

  “This information all feels like it’s coming too easily to me, as if someone is feeding it to you for other purposes.”

  “Are you suggesting my informant is screwing with me?”

  She shrugged. “Not sure. But I’d be leery about taking anybody at their word.”

  McGinn smirked and looked at Hawk. “You might wanna tell your girl here that paranoia will get you killed in this business.”

  Hawk narrowed his eyes. “One person’s paranoia is another person’s savvy intuition. Alex reads situations well. I’m trusting you, but if she’s insistent that something else might be at play here, I think we’d be wise to use more caution.”

  “And how do you think we should do that?” McGinn asked.

  “Get someone else to confirm it. Get Alex to hack someone’s communications. Anything to get us the assurance we need that we’re not all being set up here.”

  McGinn exhaled slowly. “You sure did change your tune fast. A little defensive of your princess, aren’t you?”

  Hawk grabbed McGinn by his shirt and got in his face. “You got something against Alex?”

  McGinn huffed through his nose. “You gonna do something about it if I do?”

  Hawk released McGinn before shoving him backward. “Get your act together or we’re out of here.”

  “Be careful about your demands, Mr. Hawk,” McGinn said as he smoothed out the front of his jacket. “There’s no private plane sitting on the runway for you, and getting out of Somalia on the ground isn’t a picnic. I suggest you get in step with my plan and do what you were sent here to do, which is help me keep that weapon out of the hands of terrorists. Are we clear here?”

  “Get the confirmation or we walk.”

  McGinn sighed and shook his head. “I’ll do it later, but right now we need to get moving and scout out the location of the exchange. We still have to finalize our plans for Saturday night.”

  CHAPTER 11

  EMILY THORNTON WATCHED as Hawk and Alex piled into an SUV with McGinn. Emily fired up her vehicle without turning on her lights. Surveill
ance in an unfamiliar location was less than ideal, especially in a place like Berera. Even though she tagged McGinn’s SUV with a tracking device, Emily couldn’t count on it due to the shoddy cell coverage that powered the GPS.

  She kept her distance but never lost sight of them. In a way, it was a metaphor for how she felt about Hawk ever since that day in Jordan when she was torn from him. Despite her willingness to go along with the plan, it wasn’t her preference. She minced no words when she expressed to her superiors that the method seemed over the top and cruel. They ignored her suggestions, and she caved.

  Hawk’s cries still haunted her, even more so since he finally learned the truth about what happened that day. They could’ve extracted her much more quietly, though at the time she didn’t realize she was being used as a pawn in a larger scheme. A simple transfer would’ve sufficed to get her out of Jordan. Instead, it was a big show, all designed to stir up Hawk and use him as a weapon. They just never counted on the fact that he might jilt them.

  She managed to keep up yet avoid detection when McGinn’s vehicle finally came to a stop outside a warehouse dock. Once she turned off the engine, Emily watched Hawk step into the street and then climb over a fence with ease. It was as if he was made for this type of work, a far cry from the compassionate American he portended to be when she first met him several years ago. As Hawk slipped into the shadows, Emily knew her mission would fail. Trying to convince a man that the pathway to his destiny should take a dramatic detour wasn’t an easy sell. She knew it would be impossible.

  Just getting a message to Hawk almost proved to be too much for Emily. She wanted to steal across the street and tuck a note beneath the windshield wiper. But it was too risky. She might get caught delivering the note—or he might get caught reading it. Either way, she couldn’t identify any safe opportunity.

  For several minutes, Emily sat in her car, paralyzed by fear. She refused to tempt fate not once but twice in delivering the message. If she were to get caught, she had no obvious allies. If McGinn caught Hawk, she was unsure of what might become of him. She bit delicately around her thumbnail, trimming it until it became smooth. After a few moments more of deliberation about what to do, she turned on her car and drove away.

  Emily dialed Parker’s number.

  “Did you speak to him yet?” Parker asked.

  “This isn’t as easy as you might imagine,” Emily said. “I can’t just convince him to meet me for coffee and go hand him a note.”

  “Well, you better figure out a way fast, because he’s running out of time and—”

  “Come on, Parker. Can’t you be more patient?”

  “In this case, you’re the one running out of time since you seem to be the only person around here who thinks he can be persuaded to join us. And be honest with me, do you even really think he can be convinced at this point?”

  Emily sighed. “I’m hopeful.”

  “You’ve always been a terrible liar. He gets until Sunday to decide. After that, I can make him no promises regarding what will happen to him next.”

  “Fine. I’ll figure a way.”

  “It’s no skin off my chin, either way, though I’d prefer to have him join us than eliminate him.”

  “I understand.”

  “Good luck, Emily.”

  She hung up and exhaled.

  Emily knew Hawk would never come around, but she at least wanted to try—and give him a heads up that someone would soon be going after him.

  CHAPTER 12

  ALEX WATCHED McGINN CLIMB up a chain-link fence before hoisting himself up onto the roof of a small utility shed just over the other side. Hawk insisted that she follow McGinn so she’d be able to escape with him in the event that someone stumbled upon them. She took a deep breath and followed McGinn’s path to the top. Hawk joined them a few moments later, and McGinn began to share his plan.

  “That warehouse is where everything is supposed to go down,” McGinn said, pointing to the building adjacent to where they were standing. “Inside there are a few spots where we can create a kill box, and I think the best one is right near the exit.”

  “Let’s see it,” Hawk said.

  Alex trailed behind the two men as they talked strategy for how they would cordon off the men who would deliver the chemical weapon to the boat at the docks. She watched the pale half moon on the horizon flash in and out of view due to the sporadic clouds drifting across the sky. Lights flashed and flickered on various watercraft all along the docks. Less than a mile from shore, she counted six boats returning to the harbor.

  “What are you going to do about all the activity around here?” she interrupted to ask McGinn. “It’s not like you’ll be able to avoid detection.”

  “The weekends here are quiet. All the crewmen are home getting drunk and trying to pick up a woman at a bar somewhere. I could set this whole dock on fire, and nobody would notice until Monday.”

  “If you say so,” she said.

  “Don’t worry. We won’t need to make a lot of noise to get what we’re coming here for.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “When have I been wrong?”

  Alex chuckled to herself and kept following as they crept across the rooftops until they reached the area McGinn had spoken about.

  “Alex, just below us is the place where you can tap into the security feed,” McGinn said. “We’ll try to take care of that as soon as possible. Go check it out.”

  Alex wasn’t sure she wanted to leave them. “I’d rather not go alone, since I’m unarmed.”

  McGinn yanked up his pants leg, revealing an ankle holster. He jerked the gun out and handed it to her. “Now you’re armed.”

  Alex took the gun and tucked it into the back of her pants. She shimmied down a light pole positioned a few feet away from the edge of the roof. Once she reached the ground, she located a locked gray box that had a series of wires running all around it. She inspected the wires before she jimmied the lock open. Inside, she saw a network of video cables and other wires. McGinn knew the layout of the building well and made it clear to Alex that it was her job to make sure nobody was surprised on Saturday night when the exchange occurred.

  Once Alex finished inspecting the box, she climbed back on top of the roof and rejoined Hawk and McGinn. The two men were crouched down, peering inside a skylight.

  “What are we looking at?” she asked.

  “This is where the exchange is going down,” McGinn said. “Get a good look, because when you’re staring at the closed-circuit video feeds, we need to make sure this room is monitored closely.”

  “Does it need to be empty?” she asked.

  “No. We just need to know how many people are inside,” McGinn said. “We’re going to turn this room into a kill box once we identify who has the weapon.”

  “How exactly do you plan to get out?” Hawk asked.

  McGinn pointed at the far wall. “There are windows on both sides that are easily accessible. Do you see them?”

  Hawk nodded. “They seem a bit high off the ground.”

  “Well, easily accessible with the aid of a table or chair.”

  Alex expressed her reservations. “That may not be so easy to get to if other gunmen enter the room. You’d be sitting targets then.”

  McGinn turned around and looked at Alex, flashing a wry grin. “That’s why we’re going to secure the room first. No one gets in until we get out.”

  “If you think this is the best plan of attack, I’m willing to go along with it,” Hawk said.

  “You got any better ideas?” McGinn sneered.

  “This is your turf,” Hawk said. “Don’t take any offense. If I were running this op, I’d prefer to have a better backup plan. But I’m deferring to you here.”

  “Good,” McGinn said. “What about you, sweetheart? You want to mount your high horse and tell me what a horrible idea this is?”

  Alex shook her head. “I’ll be able to handle what you’ve asked for. If you think you can ge
t the job done with this plan, let’s do it.”

  They all headed toward the alleyway where they’d parked. When McGinn was a good ten meters ahead, Alex leaned in to Hawk.

  “I’m beginning to wonder if this guy has ever planned an operation in his entire life,” she said. “He’s overly confident for such a flimsy plan. Everything has to go just right for this to play out like he hopes.”

  “Just keep your head down and do your job,” Hawk said. “And have an escape route in case things go sideways—because they just might. We need to set up a rendezvous point in case we get separated during the mission.”

  Alex nodded. “We do. We also need to talk about something else that I learned about our host.”

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “Can’t talk about it now, but we need to—and soon.”

  They crouched near the edge of the roof and waited for the guards to make their rounds and clear the area. Once they did, the trio climbed down and returned to their vehicle, McGinn wasted little time in firing up the engine and stomping on the gas. The tires barked as the car accelerated.

  “That’s not exactly the best way to avoid being seen,” Hawk said.

  McGinn laughed him off. “Did you see anyone there when we left?”

  “No, but—”

  “Exactly. These are a bunch of knuckleheads who would have a hard time tracking down anyone who attacked them in broad daylight in a confined space. Did you see how easy it was for us to get in and out of there?”

  Hawk shifted in his seat as he glanced over his shoulder. “You can never be too careful.”

  McGinn snickered. “These guys are hacks. It took me less than a week of recon to figure out how we were going to stop this exchange from taking place.”

  “Why didn’t you just do it yourself?” Alex snipped.

  “Just because it’s easy, sweetheart, doesn’t mean I can do it alone.”

  Alex bit her tongue, seething at his blatant patronization.

  “Take a right up here,” Hawk said.