“From the news reports I heard, she did a pretty good job of tipping her hand. She appears to be voting in lockstep with the president. Besides, we have a far more important operation ahead of us.”
“More important than making sure the U.S. doesn’t adopt Petrov’s one world currency plan?”
Hawk nodded. “Petrov kidnapped Blunt. She wants me to trade myself for Blunt in less than forty-eight hours. If not, she’s going to kill him.”
“Saving Blunt is more important than saving the justice? Hawk, you know what Blunt would want us to do—and saving him isn’t it.”
“We’re going to put an end to this thing once and for all.”
“And how do you plan on doing that?”
“I’m going to kill Petrov.”
CHAPTER 23
ON THE PLANE RIDE to Istanbul, Hawk worked with Alex and Samuels to develop a plan to infiltrate Petrov’s compound using information off the thumb drive Polat had sent them. Hawk insisted on going over every piece of intel Polat had sent them and found a few hidden gems.
“Polat gave his life to get these plans to us,” Hawk said. “Let’s make sure it doesn’t go to waste.”
As she dug through the files, Alex found a blueprint that contradicted what was officially on record with Istanbul’s planning website.
“Would you look at that?” she said.
Hawk leaned over her shoulder and studied the plans carefully.
“What am I looking at?”
Alex pointed at the screen. “See this hallway right here?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s not on the originals. I’ve combed through all of these plans, and this is the only area that deviates from the official ones.”
“Think this is where they’re holding Blunt?”
“I’d bet my life on it,” Alex said.
“Great,” Hawk said. “So, how do you recommend we sneak into this room?”
Alex scrolled through several pages before answering.
“Right here,” she said. “The ventilation shaft on the second floor runs all the way down to this room. It’s your best bet at sneaking into The Chamber’s offices without getting caught.”
Hawk stood up and stroked his chin, his eyes still roaming over every inch of the screen.
“And how do you suggest we penetrate their state-of-the-art security system?”
She smiled and pounded out a few keystrokes on her computer.
“You’re going to have to access this passageway from inside the building—right here.”
Hawk’s eyes widened as he drew a deep breath.
“That’s a suicide mission, Alex,” he said. “I want to get Blunt out of there alive. And I’d like to join him.”
“What makes you think you can’t get inside without them noticing?”
“For starters, I’m sure she has her security team on high alert for me. Her guards probably have contour on my face memorized by now.”
Alex turned toward Samuels, gesturing in his direction.
“Enter the Magic Man.”
Hawk glanced at Samuels. “Do you have some skill you’ve been hiding from me?”
Samuels smiled and winked at Hawk.
“Not a hidden skill, but a hidden piece of tech,” Samuels said, opening a briefcase. “This will make you look like someone else entirely.”
Hawk hovered over the briefcase and studied the machine.
“What does it do?”
“It creates a mask that so alters the outside of your face that even the best facial recognition software will be fooled by it.”
“You’d bet your life on it?” Hawk said.
“Absolutely,” Samuels said. “And to prove it, I’m going to join you on this operation.”
Hawk shook his head. “No, I need you helping Alex in case things go sideways.”
“She can handle herself. I think she’s proven that to us time and time again. But you’re going to be outgunned and outmanned. Without me, you don’t stand a chance.”
“Maybe, but this is the kind of mission where not everyone comes back alive. Think you can handle that?”
“I’ll take my chances.”
“Fine,” Hawk said. “Let’s do it. Any idea who we should look like?”
“I’ve got just the face for you,” Samuels said.
Hawk retreated to the back of the plane to place a phone call. He was sure he understood a secret message Blunt was trying to pass to him. When the man on the other end answered, Hawk knew he’d interpreted the message correctly.
* * *
Once they landed, they went straight to a hotel, where they finalized their plans. Hawk asked everyone if they felt confident about their roles in the operation, which was met with assured nods.
“Excellent,” Hawk said. “Let’s get some rest before we head over this afternoon. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long night.”
“Agreed,” Alex said. “But before we do, I want to check the news. The Supreme Court was supposed to render its judgment by now.”
She re-opened her computer and started to scour news websites. In a matter of seconds, she found the story she was looking for blaring in large type across the front of one of her favorite news sites.
“Scarborough recuses himself, court split on revoking Federal Reserve Act,” she read.
“What does that mean?” Samuels asked.
Hawk watched Alex’s eyes speed back and forth across the screen.
“It means that the efforts to rule the act unconstitutional are dead—for now,” she said. “And that means that Justice Williams’ life is in grave danger.”
“Not yet. Michaels will need to regroup before going back in front of the Supreme Court and asking it to review its ruling.”
“So, you’re saying that she’s safe?”
“Not indefinitely, but it means that what we’re doing tomorrow has grave consequences for our own country as well as Justice Williams,” Hawk said. “If we can finally put an end to Petrov and her attempts to dupe the world’s financial leaders into signing up for her scheme, Michaels won’t care anymore. It’ll all be moot at that point.”
Alex continued to hammer away on her keyboard.
“What are you doing now?” Samuels asked.
“Michaels must be livid,” she said. “I’m sure he’s scrambling and trying to figure out a way to get what he wants by some other means.”
“Time to see if that watch works,” Hawk said.
“Exactly what I was thinking,” Alex said. She continued typing until she accessed the feed and heard Michaels’ voice.
“Worked like a charm,” Samuels
