“How quickly do you want this done?”
“I’ll give you three days,” she said.
“Three days? Are you out of your mind? These are busy people. There’s no way I can schedule meetings that quickly with all of them.”
“I can’t hold off initiating the one world currency any longer than that. But to assist you in this manner, I’ll have my office send over some compromising material on all the board members momentarily.”
“I’m not sure that will still be enough time, but I’ll try.”
“A skillful politician could have this wrapped up in a day.”
Michaels loosened his tie. “Fine. I’ll do my best. What about our other little problem?”
“Firestorm?”
“More specifically, Brady Hawk.”
“Consider him taken care of.”
“So, he’s still alive?” Michaels said. “I thought you were going to handle him.”
“I’m always mopping up after you, Mr. President. For someone who claims to be the leader of the free world, you are quite terrible at your job.”
She grabbed Hawk by the collar and dragged him into the picture.
“Satisfied?” she said.
Michaels’ face lit up when he saw Hawk.
“Excellent,” Michaels said. “Just make sure that bastard is filled with lead as quickly as possible.”
“It will be my pleasure,” she said. “I’ll see to it personally. Three days, Mr. President. Three days or else the United States will be left behind as the world forges ahead into a new era of economic prosperity.”
She tapped her phone and the overhead screen went dark before ascending up into the ceiling along with the camera.
“So, it’s going to be a quick death,” Hawk said.
“Oh, no,” she said. “It’s going to be slow and painful. And you’re going to wish our paths never crossed.”
She looked at a couple of the guards.
“Attach them to the pipe and get me a knife,” she said. “I’m going to enjoy this.”
Blunt looked at Hawk as the guards ushered them back toward the pipe and started securing them.
“This was your big rescue plan?” Blunt asked softly. “Didn’t you get the message I sent you?”
“Now would be as good of a time as any, Samuels,” Hawk said.
“Had to get all my weapons ready,” Samuels said over the com.
Seconds later, Samuels repelled from the ventilation shaft and started shooting. The gunfire momentarily distracted the guards, who had to turn their attention to the back door. An elite team of Army Rangers under the direction of General Van Fortner stormed into the room and started shooting.
Hawk ripped free from the bindings and helped Blunt get away before sprinting for cover behind several crates stacked near one side of the room. Offered a gun by one of the soldiers, Hawk grabbed it and began looking for Petrov.
“Where is she?” Hawk asked.
Blunt peered into the room filled with smoke and gunfire, which had started to die down.
“I don’t see her,” he said. “Wait, I think that’s her over in the corner.”
“Where?” Hawk asked, his nose burning from the smell of gunpowder.
Blunt pointed. “Right there.”
Hawk turned his steely gaze toward the place Blunt directed him. Before Hawk could put Petrov in his sights, a flash bang exploded in the room. More chaos and confusion. Hawk put his hand on Blunt’s back and the two stayed low for a few seconds while waiting for the smoke to clear.
“Samuels!” Hawk said, peeking up to see his fellow agent gasping for air in the middle of the room. “I’ve got to pull him out of there.”
Blunt took a fistful of Hawk’s shirt and pulled him back.
“You can’t. He’s already gone, Hawk.”
“You don’t know that. We could save him.”
“Petrov is going to get away if you don’t move.”
Hawk crouched low as he re-entered the line of fire. He grabbed Samuels by the ankles and pulled him back toward the line the Rangers had formed.
“Get him some help, will ya?” Hawk said to one of the soldiers.
The soldier nodded.
Hawk then counted in his head. Ten seconds had elapsed since the last bullet shot.
“What’s going on in there, Hawk?” Alex said over the coms. “Can you give me some kind of update? I’m flying blind here.”
“I think we’ve eliminated all the hostiles, except for Petrov,” he said. “But I’m going after her now.”
CHAPTER 27
HAWK SPRINTED AFTER PETROV, slipping into the stairwell that led up to the obscure street level entrance Alex identified on the plans. As Hawk ran, he wondered about Samuels’ status. Even though he’d only been a part of the Firestorm team for just a few weeks, Hawk had taken to him, if only for the fact that he was blood kin to Alex. Samuels had made a heroic move—Hawk only hoped it wasn’t a costly one.
Meanwhile, Hawk tried to stay focused on the task at hand, keeping pace of Petrov as he refused to lose sight of her. She’d dashed around several corners but had been unable to shake him. She paused for a few seconds to ditch her shoes, allowing Hawk to gain more ground briefly. But she quickly rebuilt her lead running barefoot.
“Alex, are you still with me?” Hawk said.
“Of course,” she said. “But before you ask, her phone is off. I can’t track her.”
“Well, stay close by,” he said. “I might need you soon.”
“Roger that.”
Despite Petrov’s winding route through the city to evade capture, Hawk figured out where she was ultimately headed. He figured he’d go to the same place, too—the Grand Bazaar.
The vast network of covered streets packed tightly with shops would give anyone a fighting chance to disappear. After a few minutes, Hawk’s suspicions were confirmed when Petrov entered the Grand Bazaar at the Nuruosmaniye Gate. The market hadn’t been open more than an hour but was already bustling with local shoppers and curious tourists. Vendors lined the major thoroughfares, hawking goods outside their shops. Several shopkeepers grabbed Hawk forcefully by his sleeve in an attempt to pull him inside their shop. Keeping his eyes focused on Petrov, he resisted and kept moving forward.
As Hawk closed in on her, she made a sharp turn and approached a pair of police officers. She waved her arms
