Alex could no longer see what was happening and instead listened in. In a matter of seconds, she heard a loud thwack to the head and then someone’s body crashing to the floor.
Hawk!
Other than footsteps across the marble floor, the only thing Alex heard was the rustling of clothes as they rubbed against Hawk’s glasses. Another click of the gun.
“Don’t move,” Bashir said.
The sound of a punch was followed by one that was foreign to Alex, but once she realized what it was, she shuddered.
“Who are you really?” Bashir asked.
Hawk rolled over, reclining on his elbows as he looked up at Bashir. Alex could tell from the light Bashir was generating from his phone that he was holding Hawk’s mask in his left hand.
CHAPTER 19
HAWK LEAPT TO HIS FEET and jabbed with his right foot at Bashir’s knee. Letting out a yelp in pain, Bashir dove to the side and disappeared from Hawk’s sight. Hunched over, Hawk crept around several display cases in search of his tormentor, but he wasn’t easily accessible.
Resisting the urge to call him out, Hawk settled for a surprise strike on Bashir—if only the weapons dealer would reveal his location. But Bashir remained hidden and didn’t make a sound.
Hawk continued his search, careful not to make too much noise and give away his position as he approached Bashir. First, Hawk searched around one case, then another. But no matter what he did, Bashir seemed to be a step ahead.
Then Alex’s voice came through loud and clear over the comlink.
“Break one of the cases,” she said.
Hawk drew back and proceeded to deliver a devastating blow to one of the display cases. He wasn’t sure which one it was, but he didn’t care. In the moment, preserving his life was far more important than preserving history. The glass shattered, the shards tinkling across the marble floor.
Bashir refused to speak, but Hawk swore he heard a grunt of agitation emitted from one corner of the room, leading him to move in that direction.
Hawk crouched behind one of the cases and awaited Bashir’s investigation. It was the perfect spot to lie in wait. He was on the edge of the labyrinth of artifacts and had a perfect view in the dim light of the document that was now exposed to the atmosphere.
While Hawk thought he’d become the aggressor, he was surprised when he felt a swift kick to his ribs. Doubled over in pain, Hawk clutched his side and sought a quick way to regain his advantage. Then another kick. And another.
Hawk rolled on his side and positioned himself behind a case, believing he’d be safe for a few moments and get a chance to regain his bearings. With his eyes adjusted to the darkness, the playing field had evened with the man who’d created the display area.
Straining to listen, Hawk was alert and prepared to pounce the moment he saw Bashir. Less than a minute passed before Hawk saw a shadow making a run at him. Armed with a shard of glass, Hawk took a swipe at Bashir. Caught off guard, Bashir growled and grimaced from the sharp pain before vanishing from Hawk’s view.
Come on out wherever you are.
Hawk stayed low and hustled across the room, taking up another spot behind some other ancient manuscript. He turned to his left in time to see Bashir closing in. Before Bashir could strike, Hawk ducked and rolled to his left. He repositioned himself and looked in the direction Bashir had run. The weapons dealer managed to vanish again.
Resisting the urge to talk with Alex, Hawk contemplated his next move. Any sound would give up his position.
Think, Hawk. Think.
Acting quickly, Hawk rose and put his full force into one of the glass cases, knocking it over. Before the sound of it shattering echoed throughout the room, Hawk sprinted to another spot and waited. He could see the shadow of Bashir rushing toward the breaking glass. Hawk wasted no time in seizing his opportunity to strike. He clutched his glass piece and hustled toward Bashir. As Hawk drew near, Bashir turned and delivered a devastating blow to Hawk’s face. Hawk crumpled to the ground and tried to regain his bearings as he scanned the room for Bashir.
Frantically searching for Bashir, Hawk couldn’t easily locate his foe. Then Hawk looked up. Bashir straddled Hawk, hovering over him.
“How dare you come here uninvited,” Bashir said. “Now you will pay.”
Bashir drew back to punch Hawk but stopped, grasping at his neck and tumbling to the side after Hawk jabbed him in the neck with a piece of glass.
Scrambling to get out from underneath’s Bashir’s body, Hawk watched as Bashir bled onto one of the manuscripts that had fallen to the ground. Bashir yanked the glass shard out of his neck and screamed in agony.
“You’re going to pay for this,” Bashir said. “You’re going to—”
Bashir collapsed to the ground, the shattered piece tinkling next to him.
Hawk knelt over Bashir and felt his pulse. Bashir was gone.
“Do you hear me, Alex?” Hawk asked as he searched Bashir’s body for a weapon.
“Loud and clear,” she replied.
“I don’t know if you saw all that, but Bashir is dead.”
“The power is out, which includes the security cameras, but I was hoping you were going to make it.”
“Think you can turn the power back on?”
“I can do it, but do you think it’s a good idea yet? I told Blunt I was in, but I haven’t received confirmation that our backup was here.”
Hawk found Bashir’s gun and pocketed it. “Just open these doors and let me the hell out of here.”
“You got it.”
The power surged back on as did the lights, while the doors rolled up. Hawk stood and looked at the fallout from the fight. He winced at
