“That’s not how I operate, Alex. You ought to know that by now. When this team bears responsibility, I have to bear it all. I don’t know any other way.”
“Well, take your mind off that for a while. You’re not going to solve anything by worrying about it.”
Hawk shrugged. “Maybe not, but it might make me more vigilant in the future so something like this doesn’t happen again—if we ever get a chance to work again.”
“We’ll figure a way out of this. We always do.”
Hawk rubbed his face with both hands and looked wide-eyed at Alex. “Do you have any ideas on how to do that?”
“No, but I do have an idea on how to get your mind off of this.”
A grin spread across his face. “With Samuels onboard?”
Alex hit Hawk playfully. “In your dreams.”
“So, what is this other less effective way to get my mind off the manhunt being conducted for us?”
“An ice breaker question.”
“Really? An ice breaker? Aren’t we past that part in our relationship where we ask each other if the toilet paper rolls off the top or the bottom?”
She chuckled. “That’s a pointless discussion because everybody knows it rolls off the bottom. It makes it easier to tear off, in my opinion.”
Hawk glared at her. “I’m not sure we’re compatible.”
“Okay, never mind I said that. The ice breaker question that I had for you was about Bollywood. I’m curious how you became such a big fan of Bollywood movies.”
Hawk sighed. “What’s a kid to do while stuck in Bombay during a sweltering Indian summer except stay indoors and watch Bollywood movies on television.”
“Okay, perfect. This is exactly why I asked this question. I never knew you went to India as a child. How’d that happen?”
“My mom was a nurse, burned out and depressed from slaving away in an ER. Same old stuff, same repeat patients. Nothing ever changed. So, she got the bright idea that one summer she would apply to work for this medical agency that placed medical professionals around the world for short terms. Three months was the shortest amount of time they offered, and my mom jumped on it. They had a daycare place that was supposed to be all amazing and wonderful, but it was really just a few ladies who barely spoke English making sure that we got fed every few hours and that the television was working. My mom had much more fun than I did.”
“Did you tell her the daycare wasn’t as promised?”
“I didn’t have the heart,” Hawk said. “I could see how much joy it brought her, and I didn’t want to squash her spirit. She would’ve bailed on the program in a heartbeat if I’d told her, even though she was contractually bound to stay the full three months.”
Alex shook her head. “Always gotta be the sacrificial hero, don’t you?”
“To be honest, it sucked at first, but after a while, I didn’t mind it as much. Besides, I found a channel that played primarily Zeenat Aman movies almost every day. Watching her made it all bearable. I was in love.”
“How old were you when all this happened?”
“Thirteen.”
“Sounds like it turned out to be a fun experience for you.”
Hawk sighed and looked down. “It wasn’t all fun and games. In fact, it was really difficult at times. That’s the summer I learned just how cruel of a place the world can be.”
“Why? What happened?”
“One day when no Zeenat Aman movie was on, I stepped outside with one of my friends to eat a popsicle and saw this kid getting dragged through the street by this man. The boy couldn’t have been any older than ten, and he was completely powerless to stop the man. Despite his pleas to stop, the man just kept on lumbering along until he stopped in the middle of the road just a few meters past the house where we were staying.”
“What did the boy do?”
“I don’t know. All I remember was that he was a mean kid, always teasing younger kids. And he was getting a dose of his own medicine.”
“Sounds like he deserved it.”
Hawk shrugged. “Maybe, but I don’t think he’d done anything to deserve the kind of abuse he endured. There was a pack of older boys following the man and the kid. Once the man released the kid, he stood up to notice he was surrounded by a sneering mob. The other kids were spitting at him and yelling things at him. I asked my friend what they were saying, and he said they were calling him a rat and a liar. The next thing I know, the kids who’d surrounded the boy picked up nearby rocks and hurled them at him. I can still hear his cries echoing in my ears today.”
“So you just sat there and watched it all go down?”
“Absolutely not. I couldn’t stand for it. I handed my popsicle to my friend and rushed toward the boy, despite my friend pleading for me to come back. He didn’t make a very persuasive argument, but he couldn’t have stopped me even if he wanted to. I was going to save that boy.”
“What happened after that?”
Using his index finger, Hawk pointed at a scar on the left portion of his forehead. “This is what happened. They started throwing rocks at me, which was exactly what I wanted—along with the last thing I wanted. I was hoping to draw their attention away from the boy so I could get him to safety, but I didn’t realize how quickly I would become a target.”
Alex shook her head. “Well, what did you expect? You took away the person they decided to villainize. Everybody always needs a good villain.”
“This story had more than its fair share of villains. Once I was able to get the boy to the side away from the circle, I felt a strong tug on
