“Forget it,” she said. “Just give me the equipment.”
“Fine,” McGinn said, gesturing toward the corner of the room, where a stack of electronic gadgets sat. “Everything you need for Saturday night.”
Hawk watched as Alex flung off her covers and shuffled across the room.
“What about the muscle?” Hawk asked.
“The muscle? You’re it, cowboy,” McGinn said.
“I’m talking about the guns. This isn’t likely to be the picnic you think it’s going to be. When the bad guys have guns, they shoot back.”
McGinn rolled his eyes and stood up. “Look, you’ll have everything you need. I promise.”
“That’s not a satisfactory answer. I need to see what I’m dealing with and make sure every weapon I have is going to operate the way it’s supposed to if you expect me to assist you.”
“I couldn’t bring everything back here,” McGinn said. “At least, I couldn’t do it in broad daylight.”
“This isn’t an option for me,” Hawk said. “I need to see what’s at my disposal.”
McGinn dug a keychain out of his pants pocket and tossed it at Hawk. “Why don’t you go get it yourself?”
Hawk glared at him. “I have no idea where I’m supposed to go.”
“I’ll give you directions and the combination to the safe. It’ll be like an early Christmas for you. I promise.”
“And you’ll stay here and take care of Alex?”
McGinn rolled his eyes. “Geez, man, she’s a grown woman. I think she can handle pretty much anything that’s thrown her way.”
“I don’t want her left alone. We’re a team.”
“Oh, God, just go, will you? I promise I won’t leave. Just promise me you will.”
Hawk nodded.
McGinn drew up directions for how to find the compound and where the weapons were located.
“Why can’t we just use the tunnels?” Hawk finally asked.
“What if someone sees you? We’re all dead then. Use the truck. It’s all clear at the compound for now. Nobody is watching the place.”
“Yet, we’re still here, hiding out,” Hawk snapped.
“Only to be cautious. Trust me, nobody is there now.”
Hawk sighed and shook his head. “I hope you’re right. I’d hate to leave more carnage at your compound.”
“Do what you must.”
Hawk walked upstairs, intruding upon the startled old woman’s morning routine. Her eyes widened as she looked at Hawk.
“It’s okay,” Hawk said. “I’m a guest of Mr. McGinn.”
She forced a smile and nodded.
Hawk figured the mention of McGinn’s name put her at ease, though he was far from it. Once he stepped into the warm Berera air, he started to wonder if McGinn was the worst operative the CIA had ever commissioned into the field.
The drive back to the compound took no more than five minutes. When Hawk arrived at the gate, he stepped out of the truck and looked around. It was just as McGinn had promised. Stillness in the morning. Nobody was walking along the walls of the compound. There wasn’t a soul left to guard anything inside. The only thing between a weapons cache and the outside world were a pair of doors that were tenuously held together by a security system. Hawk had the keys to unlock the gate, but he imagined that anyone determined enough could break inside. And it was only a matter of time before someone actually did that.
Hawk typed in a code on the keypad, and the gate swung open. Returning to his vehicle, he slid into the driver’s side and eased onto the gas. Once inside, the doors shut behind him.
Jamming the car into park, Hawk drove toward the area McGinn had marked on his map. All the weapons they’d ever need were allegedly inside a hidden room at the end of the barracks. Hawk didn’t want to waste any time getting a peek inside them either.
Hawk parked and sprinted toward the door to the barracks. He entered another code that McGinn had given and wasted no time finding the door to the room he had mentioned. Inside, it was a literal treasure trove of weapons. Plenty of bullets that matched the types of guns harbored inside. Handguns and sniper rifles and everything else in between.
I need you and you and you and …
Hawk smiled as he snatched everything he could hold in his hands before shoveling the weapons and ammo into the back of McGinn’s SUV. He scanned the area, which was devoid of any activity, and got inside the truck.
After some time to reflect on McGinn’s plan, Hawk concluded it was solid, but not perfect. If it were up to him, he would have a better escape route. No matter how committed he was to the mission, staying alive was always the component he considered first if the threat to thousands of lives was imminent. And danger was lurking at some point in the near future. He preferred to live to die another day, as cliché as that approach was to his work. But having enough weapons to fend off a small army for several hours eased Hawk’s concerns. He knew he could fight his way out of any situation if properly supplied. He glanced at the weapons in the back and smiled as he nodded.
That’s enough to get me and Alex out alive if McGinn’s plan falls apart.
When Hawk whipped his head back around, he almost didn’t see the vehicle stopped in front of him. Hawk stomped on the brakes as the SUV slid to a stop. As he started to pull around the car, a woman got out and gestured for him to halt.
What the hell?
It was Emily.
Hawk looked in the back and flung a blanket over the guns and munitions before getting out.
“What are you doing here?” Hawk asked as he approached his former girlfriend.
“I would ask you the same thing, but I already know.”
“Just get in the car with me. We need to talk.”
Hawk pulled his vehicle over to the side of the road and locked it.
“This better not take long,” he said. “I need to get back or some people might come
