Hawk reached the entry point into the interrogation room, which was well disguised by a stairwell door. Big Earv had explained that one floor below the bottom basement level was a secure holding area for people that the President wanted detained for whatever reason. While the facility remained Secret Service lore to the public, Big Earv confirmed what Hawk had long believed to be true.
The plan consisted of Big Earv relieving the current guard on duty before Hawk would stage an attack and subdue his accomplice. However, the guard was still at his post when Hawk slipped into the hall. He hid behind a cart loaded with books as he waited.
Big Earv strode up to the man about a minute later and Hawk watched intently.
“You’re relieving me of my duties?” the guard asked.
Big Earv nodded. “That’s what I was told. Here’s the text I received right here.” He showed his phone to the other guard.
“How come I wasn’t notified about this? You know protocol.”
“Check again,” Big Earv said. “Maybe you missed the message.”
Hawk grew uneasy with the situation.
“Samuels, did you forget to send a text to the guard on duty?” Hawk whispered over the coms.
“Just sent it again,” Samuels said. “I’m not sure what happened.”
“Try not to let that happen again,” Hawk said. “We’re counting on you.”
Hawk turned his attention back toward the guard post.
“Oh, there it is,” the guard said after scrolling through his phone for a few second. “Sorry about that, Big Earv.”
“No worries. It happens. Have a good night.”
“You, too,” the guard said with a wave as he spun and walked toward the exit.
Big Earv assumed his position and looked imposing. Hawk waited for a couple of minutes before taking a deep breath and sprinting toward his friend. After the altercation ended with Big Earv on his back, Hawk deemed their performance was Oscar worthy. He took the keys off Big Earv and entered the stairwell.
He maneuvered down the steps and determined to follow Big Earv’s advice about killing the lights. Hawk was about to turn them off when he heard cries coming from the interrogation room down the hall. He crept up on it and saw an agent draw back before striking Alex. Hawk felt the blood rush to his face.
That bastard is gonna pay for that.
Hawk hustled back down the hallway and killed the lights. He waited for a few seconds before easing into the room. He slipped on his infrared glasses and located the man who’d hit Alex. However, he wasn’t the only man in the room. Two other agents were also nearby. They were both groping against the wall in search of the light switch.
Perfect.
Taking two of the guards by the back of their shirts, Hawk slammed them into one another. Unable to see who hit them, they both started swinging wildly. Hawk then turned his attention to the agent who’d been striking Alex. While Hawk considered how unfair the fight was for a moment, he justified it since it was as fair as the agent torturing an innocent woman bound to a chair.
Hawk’s first punch was straight to the man’s throat. The next was a swift kick to his midsection. Hawk followed that with a series of blows to the man’s face, finishing him off by placing him in a sleeper hold.
Glancing at the other two guards, Hawk watched as they continued to blindly fight one another.
Hawk pulled out his knife and began to cut through Alex’s bindings.
“Sorry about taking so long to get here,” he whispered after the blade severed the rope. “Let’s get out of here.”
He led her toward the door.
“Wait here for just a minute.”
Hawk rushed over to the two men and delivered a pair of haymakers, knocking them both to the floor. He ran back to Alex and grabbed her by the hand.
“Let’s go. We don’t have much time.”
They hustled up the stairwell, stepped over Big Earv’s body, and raced toward the exit.
“How are we looking, Samuels?” Hawk said over the coms.
“So far so good,” Samuels answered.
Hawk yanked Alex close as they rounded hard into a corridor on the left. Within a few seconds, they’d both reached top speed.
“Hold on,” Samuels said. “You’re about to have company.”
Hawk threw his hand out to slow Alex as he tried to stop. But it was too late. A security guard roaming the halls stepped into the hallway and saw both of them. The guard fumbled for his nightstick, but he wasn’t able to get a good handle on it before Hawk kicked it free. After two vicious punches, the man toppled to the ground unconscious. Hawk grabbed the man’s radio and resumed running toward the exit.
“What are you trying to do, Samuels? Get us arrested again?” Hawk asked.
Samuels was slow to respond.
“Samuels? Samuels? Are you there?” Hawk asked.
“I’m here. Sorry about that. I’m still new to this whole monitoring thing.”
“Don’t worry,” Hawk said. “Just be a little more vigilant until we get out of here. And then I’m going to permanently relieve you of that duty.”
A few minutes later, Hawk and Alex were climbing into the van with Samuels.
Samuels rushed over to Alex, giving his sister a tight hug.
“Thank God you’re okay,” he said. “What happened?”
Alex sat down and buried her head in her hands before she began to cry softly.
“I didn’t think I’d ever see either of you two again,” she said. “How did you find me? Big Earv?”
Hawk nodded as he cranked the van and started driving.
“The most important thing is you’re okay because we need our entire team running on all cylinders if we’re going to be successful on our next mission.”
Alex dried her eyes and took a deep breath.
“So, what’s next? Back to protecting Justice Williams?”
Hawk shook his head. “No, Justice Williams is on her own now.”
“We can’t just leave her alone,” she said. “Michaels is obviously unhinged. He’s going to kill her
