“That idiot you’re working with couldn’t find his head if it wasn’t attached to his neck.”
Hawk got into the car with Emily. “What’s so important that you had to follow me halfway across the world?”
“I had to ask you one more time to come work for Searchlight and—”
“Come on, Emily. You know that’s not gonna happen.”
“Well, that was only half the reason I came to ask you in person.”
“You couldn’t just give me a call?”
“No, because they’re always listening.”
“Who? Searchlight?”
She nodded and put the car in drive before easing onto the gas and moving forward.
“That’s comforting,” Hawk said.
“If you don’t acquiesce to their demands, Hawk, they’re going to come after you.”
Hawk eyed her closely. “Come after me? What do you mean?”
“I mean, they’re going to kill you. They see you as a threat. And that’s what they do to the enemies. If you don’t join them, they will take you out.”
“Good,” Hawk said as a wry grin spread across his face. “I’d much rather know where someone stands than have them pussyfooting around the truth.”
“You don’t understand. They’re not going to stop until you’re dead.”
“Then they’re gravely underestimating what I can do.”
“Listen, Hawk, there’s more to it than this. There’s—”
Instead of another word, all Hawk heard was the crunching of metal as his head snapped forward and then back against the passenger side window.
That was the last thing he remembered before everything went dark.
CHAPTER 15
J.D. BLUNT DONNED his best disguise—a fedora and oversized glasses—and ventured into the market in Tangier. He hated the crowds crammed into tight spaces. It was a street thief’s dream. Blunt always kept at least one hand in his pocket, clutching his wallet. He only made the mistake once as a couple of savvy kids ran a distract-and-snatch scheme that began a two-day descent into bureaucracy hell trying to get a new ID and credit cards. He vowed it would never happen again.
While Blunt loathed the market environment, he enjoyed the unbridled nature of people selling their wares of all shapes and sizes out in the open. Blunt chewed on his cigar as he stopped and looked at the woman displaying handmade necklaces and bracelets along with fresh eggs. The man next to her was selling pirated DVD copies of blockbuster movies along with kitchen utensils. It was as if a bomb exploded in Wal-Mart and nobody bothered to reorganize the store.
He shuffled through the crowd, his left hand firmly grasping his wallet, while his right clutched a cane. While he didn’t need it to walk, Blunt used the cane as much to engender sympathy and elderly respect as he did to create breathing room amid the masses. Tapping his cane on the cobblestone street as he drifted past one desperate salesperson to the next, Blunt finally found his store run by his man, Amir.
“What brings my favorite customer back here on this fine day?” Amir asked.
“Amir, I’m only your favorite because I’m the only one who has any money.”
Amir laughed and ripped off a few crumbs of bread for his pet monkey, Aman. “You know me too well, Mr. Texas Man. You know me too well.”
Blunt was certain that Amir’s name was something else; it’s why Blunt never used his real name in dealing with the street vendor.
“So, what can I do for you, Mr. Texas Man?”
“I need a camera.”
“Like this?” Amir said as he stooped down and picked up a point-and-shoot digital camera.
Blunt shook his head. “I’m thinking more along the lines of a small web camera, the kind I can install and view from my phone?”
A smile broke across Amir’s face as he shook his finger at Blunt. “I never suspected you to be that kind of guy, Mr. Texas Man.”
Blunt bit hard on his cigar, grinding it between his teeth. “I’m not a pervert, Amir, if that’s what you’re implying.”
Amir disappeared for a moment behind a curtain at the back of his booth. He emerged carrying a small box.
“I am not here to judge, only to serve the needs of my customers,” Amir said as he handed the box to Blunt.
Blunt took it. “What do I owe you?”
“Five hundred U.S. dollars.”
“Five hundred? Are you out of your mind?”
Amir shrugged. “That is my price. If you know of another store where you can purchase such an item, I suggest you go there instead.”
“Three hundred fifty and not a penny more,” Blunt said.
“Four hundred and it’s yours,” Amir countered.
Blunt grunted and fished out the money from his wallet. He handed it to Amir, who smiled big as he took it.
“You are an extortionist,” Blunt said.
“I have mouths to feed, children to clothe, a wife to make happy.”
Blunt turned and walked away, hoisting his cane in the air, the box tucked snug up against his body with his left arm.
“See you soon, Amir.”
Blunt stepped back into the current of the crowd drifting along the main thoroughfare. A couple boys bumped into him as they ran by, knocking Blunt off balance. As he started to tumble, one of the boys snatched the box and started to run. Blunt, however, regained his balance and use the crook of his cane to hook the boy’s right ankle and send him sprawling to the ground. Blunt knelt down and picked up his box. He looked into the boy’s eyes, which appeared to tremble.
“Pick on someone your own age,” Blunt said before he stepped over the boy and continued along.
Blunt was ready to get back to his room and relax, but not until he installed the camera. He couldn’t truly relax until he finished, and even then, could he actually relax? He doubted it, but it was worth a try.
Blunt’s phone buzzed, interrupting his train of thought about how he was going to install the camera. He would’ve ignored it altogether if it hadn’t been for the caller’s name pasted across the front of his screen. It was someone he hadn’t talked to in a while but needed to for the sake
