Of all the times to be in this situation … and Alex is gonna die.
Hawk interlocked his fingers and put his hands on his head.
He was definitely in a kill box, but it wasn’t him who was going to die, at least not first.
CHAPTER 32
ARAV KATARI NAVIGATED THE AJAGAR into the port and eased it against the docking station. His crew worked quickly to secure the vessel, while he watched from the ground. Directions were shouted back and forth. Ropes were tied off. Crewmembers scurried across the deck.
“I hope they can reverse what they’ve done just as quickly,” said a man.
Katari turned around to see John McGinn standing a few feet away.
“They make lightning seem slow,” Katari said, offering his hand to McGinn.
McGinn smiled as he shook Katari’s hand. “Let’s get out of here so we can avoid any potential trouble.”
“Trouble?”
“I don’t want to press my luck,” McGinn said. “I just left an assassin locked up, but I’m not inclined to hang around to see if he somehow managed to survive.”
“An assassin?”
McGinn waved dismissively at Katari. “Let’s just get going.”
Katari nodded. “Do you have the promised amount?”
“Two hundred and fifty thousand U.S. dollars?” McGinn asked.
“I was told it would be a half million.”
McGinn sighed. “That’s more than I was told to deliver.”
“I’m not going anywhere until I have the money in my account.”
“You get nothing if you don’t get this ship out of the harbor and quickly.”
Katari eyed McGinn closely. “Two hundred fifty now and two hundred fifty when we arrive. I won’t let you off until I receive the amount promised to me in full.”
“Fine,” McGinn said. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“No, you’ll do it or you won’t leave this ship,” Katari said, snatching the case from McGinn’s hands. “And I’ll take this as insurance.”
“Be careful with that,” McGinn said. “I’ll make sure you get what you were promised. Just get us the hell out of here, okay?”
“I’m supposed to pick up another man.”
“Whoever he is, I know he’s not promising you the kind of cash you’ll be getting from me. Let’s go. Now.”
Katari nodded and whistled at his crew, gesturing at them. They knew what it meant. They needed to prepare to leave the harbor.
CHAPTER 33
HAWK GLANCED AT HIS WATCH and let out a long breath. Only four minutes remained before Qureshi would make good on his promise and kill Alex. The situation wasn’t a promising one as Hawk had run out of options.
As he looked around the room yet again in search of something that could help him escape, he heard a smack on the concrete floor. He turned around to see a rope dangling from the skylight and reaching all the way to the ground.
“Well, don’t just stand there and gawk. Get a move on,” said the person hunched over the skylight.
It was Emily.
Hawk shimmied up the rope in less than a minute.
“I thought I told you not to contact me again,” he said as he reached the roof.
“A thank you might be more in order,” Emily shot back.
Hawk ignored her. “We’ve got to get to the lab. Some Al Hasib agent is going to kill Alex if I don’t get to her in the next couple minutes.”
“And what? So he can kill you instead? I don’t think you’ve thought this through.”
“Look, if I don’t make it out for some reason, I want you to take care of Alex and make sure she gets home safe.”
“I’m coming with you,” she said.
“No, you can’t. They’ll shoot her on site. I can’t have that. I need to do this my way.”
Emily bit her bottom lip before speaking. “Fine. Do it your way. I’ll be watching though in case things go sideways.”
“Wish me luck,” Hawk said before he slid down the roof, jumped to a pole, and shimmied down to the ground.
He sprinted toward the lab and then stopped in front. Taking a deep breath, he turned the knob and entered the room, both hands raised in the air.
“What are you doing, Hawk?” Alex asked.
Hawk locked eyes with her and remained solemn, walking slowly toward who he assumed was Qureshi.
“You have me now,” Hawk said. “You can let her go.”
Qureshi laughed. “You thought I was actually going to let her go? Oh, you Americans are so naïve.” He shoved Alex toward the lone guard flanking him. “Take care of her.”
“Be a man of your word,” Hawk said, still moving slowly toward Qureshi. “We both know you don’t care about her. It’s me you want.”
“You might be right, but that’s not going to change my mind. However, I’ll let Ahmad have a little fun with her before he finishes her off. But you are all mine.”
Hawk had walked close enough that he was in striking distance. Unexpectedly to Qureshi, Hawk ducked down and kicked at Qureshi’s knee cap, crippling him. Qureshi yelped in agony and instinctively reached down to grab his knee. Hawk proceeded to seize the opportunity, delivering a vicious blow to Qureshi’s neck.
As Qureshi tumbled toward the ground, Hawk grabbed Qureshi’s hand that held his gun and pointed it at his guard, squeezing off two shots, one of which hit his guard in the head. Qureshi struggled to pull away from Hawk as the two men fell to the ground, tussling over the weapon still in Qureshi’s hand.
Hawk delivered a combination of powerful uppercuts to Qureshi’s body and then to his face. But Qureshi fought back, stomping on Hawk’s knee to send him to the ground. However, Hawk didn’t relinquish his grip on the gun.
Qureshi jerked his hand to the left and then rapidly to the right, utilizing Hawk’s leverage to point the gun at Alex. Qureshi then squeezed off a shot, hitting Alex. She stumbled backward and fell to the ground.
Enraged, Hawk kicked Qureshi in the stomach
