“What do you see, Hawk?” Samuels asked over his coms.
“I see Petrov getting out of the limo,” Hawk answered. “She’s carrying a weapon.”
Hawk smiled and waited for the predictable response.
“That burns me up that someone like her could just walk in here with a gun,” Samuels said. “What’s to stop her from strolling into the terminal and shooting people at will?”
“I believe she has other plans tonight,” Hawk said. “And we’re going to disrupt them.”
“It makes me so mad,” Samuels said.
“Settle down, Bro,” Alex said. “We’ll take care of her soon enough.”
“That won’t change a thing,” Samuels said. “There will still be—”
“Put a sock in it, Samuels,” Hawk said sternly. “We’re done discussing the privilege of the wealthy. It’s a fact of life. Time for you to move on.”
Hawk took a deep breath to settle his nerves and identified the rest of the party traveling with Petrov.
“Did you get all that?” Hawk asked after he finished.
“Copy that,” Alex said. “Now, go set that bird up.”
“My pleasure.”
Hawk put on a cap and drove the catering truck toward the plane. He watched the captain greeting his passengers, glancing nervously at his watch between interactions.
Once Hawk pulled the truck to a stop near the rear of the plane, he hustled across the tarmac to meet the pilot and put on his glasses.
“Sorry I’m late,” Hawk said in French. “I got held up at a security checkpoint.”
“Make it quick,” the French pilot answered. “We need to get out of here as soon as possible.”
Hawk nodded and ran back to his truck where he began unloading the food trays, taking them up the steps, and delivering them to the plane’s galley. He could’ve finished his job in one trip, but he held some back so he could wait for the pilot to climb aboard.
Hawk smiled at the flight attendant who responded by giving him a tongue lashing. He didn’t understand half of what she said, but he didn’t need to because the message was clear: She was upset. He felt a moment of pity for her as she’d soon become a casualty of war. She was innocent, after all, though he could never be too sure.
“Are you getting all this?” Hawk asked.
“Every second of it,” Alex responded over the coms. “Those glasses are amazing. I’m running everyone through facial recognition now as we speak.”
“Hopefully with better results than last time,” Hawk said as he slid the last food trays out of the truck.
“Yes, the resolution is much clearer,” she said.
Alex then chuckled.
“What is it?” Hawk asked.
“You’ll get a kick out of this. That flight attendant who was so mean to you is actually a Mexican assassin.”
“Does she have ties to Petrov?”
“Not according to what I’m reading here,” Alex said.
“Well, that’s bizarre.”
“Yeah, and now you don’t have to feel bad about what you’re going to do.”
Hawk shook his head and sighed. “Who said I felt bad?”
“I’ve known you long enough, Hawk. It’s probably written all over your face.”
He delivered the last food trays and saluted the captain standing at the back. The captain gave Hawk a half-hearted wave that looked more like a shooing motion than a friendly adieu.
Hawk raced down the steps and quickly stuck the two explosive charges to each wing before dashing back to his truck. He jumped into the driver’s seat and roared down the tarmac.
One of the caterers who’d been bound and gagged before Hawk knocked him out stirred in the back of the truck. It was just enough of a distraction that Hawk didn’t see Petrov slip off the plane.
CHAPTER 30
PETROV CHEWED HER FINGERNAILS while she awaited the plane to finish loading. Her mission was a simple one: kill the entire board of The Chamber. It was the only way to take full control and help realize the vision her father had set out for the organization once the Iron Curtain fell. But as she glanced out the window, she saw something that made her even more nervous.
The man who’d delivered the food to the plane reminded her of someone. Maybe it was his muscular build or the way he carried himself, but he seemed out of place as a caterer. She just couldn’t quite place him.
But when she saw him dash beneath the plane, she knew. It was Brady Hawk.
Petrov faked a phone call and claimed it was imperative that she deplane. She promised to meet them all at the private chalet in the Swiss Alps. The board members all appeared worried, not for their own safety, but for her wellbeing.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay behind with you?” Ricardo asked.
“No,” she said as she stepped outside at the top of the platform. “I’ll be fine. Anatoly is coming for me. I’ll just charter another plane and meet you there in the morning. This can’t really wait.”
Ricardo nodded. “I understand. But still, if you want me to stay with you—”
She waved him off. “No, Ricardo. You go and have a good time with the others without me. This is personal, and I don’t want to involve you in my personal affairs.”
“Very well,” he said before kissing her on each side of her cheek.
Petrov forced a smile and then turned her back to walk down the steps. She knew she’d never see him again. However, she wasn’t too distraught over that fact. If Brady Hawk hadn’t intervened, she would’ve done the task herself. But dying herself? That wasn’t part of Petrov’s plan.
She glanced back at the plane once more and quickly spotted the two explosive devices beneath each wing.
That’s how I would’ve done it. She admired Brady Hawk just as much as
