Before Hawk could respond, the vehicle exploded, sending debris in every direction. He dove on top of the two men to protect them from the shrapnel, which peppered the snow around them.
Hawk peered through the smoke and noticed the outline of another man walking toward them with purpose. He held a machine gun at his waist. Once he skirted the flaming vehicle, he started spraying bullets, apparently unable to identify where the occupants of the vehicle were.
Meanwhile, Hawk scrambled to get both men behind a berm of snow before setting up to return fire. He pulled out his pistol and eased his head just high enough over the snow to see the man still firing his weapon. Hawk took careful aim and waited for the man to stop shooting for a moment.
As he surveyed the carnage of the wreck, he smiled to himself. Satisfied that he’d completed his task, he turned back toward his car.
That’s when Hawk used two shots to take the man down, one shot to the back of his head and another into his upper back. The man plunged face first into the snow.
A few seconds later, Hawk heard the voice of another man calling for his cohort. Hawk eased along the embankment a few meters to get a better position. The moment the next man stepped into view, Hawk put him down as well with a pair of shots.
While Hawk thought he’d only seen two men in the car tailing his, he waited to be sure. After a couple of minutes when he didn’t see any movement, he eased over the snow and crept toward the men he’d shot. He pocketed their weapons before checking to see if they were dead. The fire from the SUV crackled behind him along with intermittent hissing and secondary explosions. Hawk hustled over to the other car, which was still running. He got inside and drove it over to the two Russians.
Hawk helped the two men into the vehicle. They were more coherent this time, though they were still foggy about all the details.
“You need to see a doctor,” Hawk said in Russian. “Where’s the nearest hospital?”
The man who’d been driving waved dismissively at Hawk. “We have our own doctor. Just take us back to our office.”
“I don’t know where your office is.”
The man pointed down the road in the direction they’d been traveling before the attack. “Just drive that way.”
Hawk put the car in gear and started down the highway. He glanced in the mirror at the fiery scene, dark plumes of smoke still rising from the crash.
“Thank you,” the man from the back said.
Hawk nodded subtly. He wasn’t certain he’d made the right call in saving the men. Whoever they were, they were into something dangerous. And by virtue of association, Hawk might have been at risk as well. But he needed an ally and saving the lives of the two men who’d so generously picked him up was the best way to ingratiate himself to them.
The driver of the SUV, who was now sitting in the passenger side up front with Hawk, turned back toward his comrade and starting talking in hushed tones. Hawk couldn’t make out what they were saying but interrupted them to check for directions.
“Just keep driving,” the man said. “It will be a while.”
The Russians continued their conversation for a few minutes before the driver turned to Hawk.
“Who exactly are you?” the man asked.
Hawk had his cover ready. “Ivan Popova, former Russian military.”
The driver shook his head. “No, I don’t believe it.”
“It’s true,” Hawk said. “Don’t you believe me after what you just saw? I was a sniper in special forces.”
Hawk kept his eyes fixed on the road in front of him, gripping the steering wheel tighter with each passing moment of silence.
Finally, the driver spoke. “Your accent—I can’t quite place it.”
Hawk didn’t miss a beat. “When you travel the world as I have and speak multiple languages, you tend to lose what makes your original accent distinctive.”
“Where have you served?” the other man asked.
“Where haven’t I served is the better question,” Hawk said. “I have been sent on covert missions all over the world and have even spent time undercover in the United States.”
Hawk shot a quick glance over at the driver to see if he was buying the ruse, but Hawk was unable to read the man due to his blank expression.
He shrugged. “I’m not sure I believe you.”
Hawk scowled. “I just saved your life. Do you think I’m some threat to you?”
“Maybe,” he said before he pulled out a gun and trained it on Hawk. “But I know someone who’s a little more discerning. You can speak to him.”
* * *
HAWK FOLLOWED the man’s instructions, turning off the road after several more miles and pulling onto a long asphalt driveway. The surface surprised Hawk after enduring a stretch of teeth-rattling potholes, courtesy of a communist highway department. The road was also clear of all snow, providing a smooth ride. However, Hawk didn’t notice any structures in his line of sight, which extended all the way to the sugar-frosted mountains.
“Where does this lead?” Hawk asked.
“Just keep driving,” the man said. “You’ll see soon enough.”
After a couple of minutes, the road banked to the left and down into a small valley. The drive snaked around the back of a rock and up into the mountains. Hawk glanced in the rearview mirror, watching the plain disappear as he entered the forest.
“If you’re going to kill me,” Hawk began, “there’s no need to make me drive all this way. I’m sure no one will find my body.”
The two men chuckled. “Who said we want to kill you?”
Hawk looked at the gun. “You are pointing a weapon at me.”
“It’s just to make sure you do what I tell you to do,” the driver said. “I’ll only kill you if he tells me to kill you.”
“And who is that?” Hawk asked.
“You’ll meet him soon enough.”
Once Hawk thought he couldn’t go any higher, he crested the mountain and found himself on the backside of a sprawling estate overlooking the valley on the opposite side. Ancient pine trees soared overhead, their limbs limp from the weight of the snow. They framed the picturesque three-story Tudor house, which was both grand in size and style.
I must be about to meet a famed Russian oligarch.
Hawk parked where the driver instructed before following the two men into the house. Armed guards stood near the door, nodding at the men as they entered.
“What happened to you two?” one of the guards asked, squinting as he studied their nicked faces.
“Nothing, but you should’ve seen the other guy,” the driver quipped.
Inside, servants scurried around the room, offering to take the trio’s coats and give them a drink.
However, the driver waved them off from assisting Hawk. “He’s not a guest just yet.”
Hawk felt naked without his gun walking into such danger. Despite his combat skills, he wouldn’t have a prayer of surviving should he be inclined to attempt an escape.
The driver gestured for Hawk to enter a room that contained a sizable dining room table surrounded by chairs and a small serving table in the corner. A couple of oil paintings of Russian commanders adorned two of the walls, while a large mirror hung on the other.
Hawk hoped his good deed wasn’t going to spell his doom. Left in the room by himself, all he had to keep himself company was his thoughts.
I should’ve just taken the other car and driven off after I killed those men.
Hawk was acting on instinct. The accident kicked in his fight-or-flight mechanism. And Hawk didn’t know how to flee. He felt indebted to the two men for their kindness, though now he wondered if they hadn’t picked him up for some other nefarious reason.
After sitting alone for ten minutes, the door swung open. Hawk turned around in his chair to see who was entering.
His eyes widened when he recognized the man. He felt his stomach drop.
It was Andrei Orlovsky.
“Well, well, well,” a gri
nning Orlovsky said as he strode toward Hawk, “it looks like someone brought me a most unlikely gift.”
CHAPTER 12
Montana
ALEX POSITIONED HER CELL phone between her ear and shoulder as she poured John Daniel’s cereal. Two minutes into a meltdown, he was screaming because the first bowl she poured had too much milk. On the other end of the line, Morgan May tried to calm Alex about the fact that Hawk had spoken to her since his HALO jump and his tracking beacon had suddenly gone offline.
“I’m sure it’s just because of the satellites over that part of the country,” Morgan said. “The companies running those things don’t want to waste money extending coverage into barren stretches of land.”
Alex sniffled as she tried to hold back the tears.
“But I need to know he’s okay,” she said, emphasizing each word.
“I understand,” Morgan said. “I’m as concerned as you are.”
“I doubt that,” Alex snapped. “I don’t hear any screaming children in the background where you are.”
“Just relax and give it some time. He’ll show up sooner or later—and I’m sure he’ll be just fine when he does.”
Alex slammed the cereal box down on the table and sat down. John Daniel continued his whining, pointing at the milk jug in front of him.
Alex sighed and then poured the milk, careful not to fill it up too high and incur the wrath of an emotional preschooler who was clearly missing his father. When she was finished, she slumped into the chair before leaning forward. She rested her head on one of her hands and tried to focus on what Morgan was saying.
“Alex? Are you still there?” Morgan asked.
“Yeah, I’m still here.”
“Are you all right?”
“Define all right,” Alex said before bursting into tears again.
John Daniel shoveled two spoonfuls of cereal into his mouth before declaring that he was full and wanted to get out immediately.
“You sound like you have your hands full,” Morgan said. “I can let you go if you—”
“No,” Alex said. “Don’t go. I need someone to talk to right now. And I can’t very well tell anyone around here what I’m doing.”
“If you need to vent, by all means, please vent.”
Alex didn’t wait for Morgan to ask twice. For the next couple of minutes, Alex covered a wide array of topics, ranging from her struggles as a single parent for a few days to fear of Hawk getting killed to her desire to return to work.
“You want to return to the team full-time?” Morgan asked.
“Maybe,” Alex said, forcing a long breath through her nose. “I don’t know. It’s all so crazy right now.”
“What is?”
“My life. I live in isolation on a ranch with my husband and a four-year-old son. And I was a good analyst at one point, able to identify openings by which to accomplish certain objectives both on the fly and with plenty of time to study. Now, my analyst skills are reduced to estimating when we should buy diapers next and how many.”
“Don’t underestimate the power of a woman who can manage a busy home.”
“But that’s the thing,” Alex said, throwing her arms into the air. “I’m not even busy. Half the time, I just want to curl up in a chair on the front porch and read the latest Nora Roberts novels. And I’ve done it so much lately that I’m not sure I can function under all this stress. And what’s bizarre is that I used to thrive off stress. Now, I can’t even handle the slightest bit of it.”
“If you’d like some busy work, I’ve got plenty of that too,” Morgan said. “Maybe it’ll help you take your mind off things.”
“Nah,” Alex said. “I don’t find busy work interesting enough to take my mind off of it. I need real work, the kind that requires me to be on top of my game.”
“That’s in short supply around here,” Morgan said. “But I’ll see what I can do.”
Alex hung up and despaired as she scanned the mess John Daniel had made.
How do you do that so quickly?
Alex felt if she could answer that question, she’d write a book about it and have enough money to retire to an island somewhere in the South Pacific. Parents the world over would be begging her for advice, asking her to speak at conferences and go on television programs. In short, how preschoolers could turn a room upside down so effortlessly in the blink of an eye was one of those mysteries of the universe. But she could ponder that later. At the moment, all Alex wanted to do was relax, something that was next to impossible due to the chaos John Daniel had created in just a matter of minutes.
Her phone buzzed again and Alex jumped.
Is it Hawk?
Her face fell as the phrase “unknown number” materialized on the screen. She hated that terminology because a more accurate message would say, “The person on the other end of this line thinks they’re important but they don’t want you to know their number.” For a brief second, she considered sending the call to voicemail. But then again, Hawk was calling from a sat phone, which might conjure up the same message. She swiped the screen to answer the call.
“Hello?” she asked excitedly.
“Alex,” said a woman in a smooth voice, “oh, thank goodness you answered. I know how much you hate those ‘unknown number’ messages, but that’s just how it is over here at the NSA now.”
“Hey, Mallory,” Alex said, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice.
Mallory Kauffman was a longtime friend of Alex’s who’d worked her way up the chain of command at the National Security Agency, ascending to the position of technology and systems directorate. She oversaw the development of new technology for intercepting messages by foreign and bad actors. And every once in a while, she leaned on her good friend for help.
“What’s wrong, Alex?” Mallory asked.
“Nothing. Why?”
“Don’t try to brush me off, Alex. I know we haven’t seen each other in a while since you moved away, but don’t act like we’re not friends. I can tell when something is bothering you.”
“I’m not really supposed to say.”
Mallory sighed. “I have a higher security clearance than you, and I’m calling from a secure line. I doubt it’s not something I don’t know about.”
“I can’t really divulge any details, but Hawk is on a mission and I haven’t heard from him in a while.”
“Oh,” Mallory said, sounding surprised. “I didn’t realize he was operational again.”
“He’s going to help a—” Alex caught herself, pausing before continuing. “He’s in a remote area and I’m supposed to help him when I can. But at the moment, I don’t even know if he’s alive.”
“I know that can’t be easy for you. I’m sure he’ll get in touch soon. Isn’t that how he always works?”
“I guess so, but that was before we had John Daniel. And I don’t want to be raising this kid alone. He needs my full attention right now, but my nerves are shot as I’m worried sick.”
“Okay, just relax. Are you sure I can’t help you?”
“Yeah, there’s nothing anybody can do right now, unless you want to re-task some satellites for me.”
Mallory chuckled. “Just like the good ole days, eh?”
“Well, now that you mention it, I always hesitated to get you to help because I didn’t want you to get in trouble. But now that you’re in director’s position—”
“I’ll do it,” Mallory said. “Just tell me where to point it.”
“I can’t,” Alex said with a sigh.
“Unless you’re working with Magnum, you can tell me anything.”
Alex remained silent.
“Okay, that explains it,” Mallory said. “I won’t press any more, but I can’t redirect any satellites unless you tell me where.”
Alex hesitated, unsure if she should reveal the name. “He’s in the center of a large cold country. Not sure if that gives you any idea, but that’s where those satellites need to be aimed.”
“Con
sider it done,” Mallory said.
“Thank you,” Alex said. “Now, what was it you wanted? I’m sure you didn’t just call to see if you could help me out.”
“Actually, I was calling to see if you could help me. But I can tell you’ve got a lot on your plate right now and I don’t want to trouble you.”
“No, no. It’s fine. In fact, maybe it’ll help me get my mind off of things.”
“Are you sure?” Mallory asked.
“Yes, of course. I need something to distract me, and I’m sure whatever you’re about to give me will do just that.”
“Great,” Mallory said. “We’ve got a mystery going on over here and we could use your analyst skills.”
Alex glanced over at John Daniel, who was dragging a couple of blankets across the living room floor in an attempt to build his third fort of the day. She sighed and shook her head, yielding the battle for the time being.
“I’ll be happy to dive in and help,” Alex said. “It’ll beat cleaning up five messes an hour while worrying about Hawk. Now, is there anything else I need to know before you send me the files?”
“Right now, we don’t have a whole lot to go on. But it’s quite obvious that someone has access to these cables and is sharing them openly with certain people in the international community. President Norris is—”
“Oh, the president knows about this?”
“Yeah, and he’s irate about it. That’s why there’s so much pressure to figure this out. And so far, all of our analysts have struck out in determining the source of this leak. But you’re the best, so I thought I’d at least ask you to help me. Well, beg really. I’m not above that. We need your help in the worst way.”
“I said yes already,” Alex said. “You don’t have to grovel.”
“But I will. This is a big deal and we need the best and brightest in the country working on it, even if those people don’t happen to live in Washington anymore.”
Alex laughed. “I do miss getting together for coffee.”
“Me too. But if you figure this out, maybe I’ll fly you back to the big city so we can grab a cup together and catch up on the past few years.”
“I’d like that,” Alex said. “But even if I don’t figure this out, you can still invite me. I’d love to visit you in Washington again.”
The Shadow Hunter (The Phoenix Chronicles Book 1) Page 7