“I’m not gonna lie—that was impressive,” Ackerman said. “Ray told me you had some mad skills, but who wouldn’t say that about his friend?”
“I understand your reticence, sir,” Hawk said. “But I’m desperate and thought I’d try another approach.”
“It’s also a stunt that could’ve led to somebody ending up dead inside my compound and creating the kind of problem I don’t need from the local government.”
“I admit that my actions were risky to some degree, but I never felt there was any danger of anyone getting killed. I was in control the entire time.”
“What if I had some other protocols that you weren’t aware of? Then what?”
“I did my homework, sir—like I always do whenever I’m assigned to a job.”
Hawk hated lying in such an egregious manner, but he didn’t want to admit that he winged it and had easily penetrated Ackerman’s precious fortress with some on-the-go reconnaissance. In Hawk’s assessment, the outfit was well armed but poorly trained. The guards could stand days of more instruction, but he figured stating the obvious might not be the smartest move. Playing to Ackerman’s ego suited Hawk’s purposes more.
“Not a single shot fired by one of my men,” Ackerman said.
“Was that by design?”
Ackerman shook his head. “I told them to kill you on site, which must mean they never saw you or had a clear shot. Like I said, impressive.”
“So, do you have an opening for me now?”
Ackerman chuckled. “Chuck, you are a tenacious one, aren’t you? But unfortunately, I don’t. However, I know how to reach you if something comes up. And I have a feeling something might be opening up very soon.”
“I appreciate any consideration you might give me,” Hawk said, nodding in a reverent fashion.
“You got it, Chuck. I’ll talk to you soon. Just next time you want to follow up on an interview, I’d advise you pick up the phone first.”
Hawk grinned. “And would you have picked up yours if I’d called?”
Ackerman winked and pointed at Hawk. “You’ve got a point. Now get out of here.”
Hawk knelt down and picked his gun up off the floor before tucking it in the back of his pants.
“One more thing before you go, Chuck,” Ackerman said.
Hawk turned around. “What’s that?”
“Try not to hurt any more of my men on your way out.”
“Not a problem, sir.”
After exiting Ackerman’s office, Hawk hustled down the steps. He gave the man at the receptionist desk an informal salute and continued outside. As Hawk walked by the guards milling around the commons area, several of them glared at him. He smiled and issued another salute before a guard posted at the entrance begrudgingly opened the gate.
Hawk glanced over his shoulder as the chain link access fence slammed shut again. An armed guard gave Hawk a special salute, one of the middle finger variety before spitting in his direction.
Touchy bunch of wussies. Not sure if I want to work with them.
Serving under Ackerman wasn’t the point of Hawk’s exercise. He simply wanted to record the Fortress Security boss’s voice for a full minute. And in that case, Hawk’s mission was a rousing success. Hawk had captured closer to three minutes of Ackerman talking about plenty of things and doing it with a grave tone to witty banter.
Alex is gonna love me for this.
Hawk marched back toward the nearest bus stop, though he wasn’t sure that was the smartest move given that he was carrying a loaded gun. The fact that it only shot tranquilizers wouldn’t make any difference to the men who held every westerner suspect. If he kept his head down, he’d likely be fine. But he decided against taking a chance. He felt safer walking down sketchy streets with his gun readily available rather than being cooped up on a bus where the appearance of a gun would likely mean he would be shot or attacked by someone not so forgiving.
Dusk fell hard in Muscat. The dimly lit streets represented a far more treacherous walk home than Hawk had first imagined when he struck off for the Fortress Security offices. Men gathered in the doorsteps of closed business and smoked while discussing the day’s events. Hawk understood enough Arabic to catch short snippets of their conversation topics as well as when they stopped and mentioned something related to “the American.”
Most of the men appeared harmless and wouldn’t stand a chance against Hawk. But it wasn’t even one of the more threatening men who caught Hawk’s eye. The shifty young man in his early 20s arrested Hawk’s attention. He watched as the kid’s eyes cut back and forth between Hawk and someone trailing a few feet behind.
Hawk maintained his composure and walked on, scanning each new street with every turn. He sought the best location to duck into before ambushing whoever was following him. Up ahead on Hawk’s right, he noticed an ideal location. A dumpster jutted out of an alleyway, providing the right amount of cover for an attack.
Hawk increased his pace, trying to size up the uninvited guest by glancing in the glass storefronts. However, they were mostly covered with graffiti, making it nearly impossible to gain any kind of idea about possible suspects. A slight interruption in the letters plastered on the glass gave Hawk just enough space to catch a glimpse.
Picking up speed again, Hawk put just enough room between him and his aggressive stalker. In a flash, Hawk slid to the right of the dumpster and quickly eased his way up against the wall, hiding himself in the alleyway from any person.
Hawk listened as the footsteps that clicked past stopped when they reached the end of the dumpster and turned in his direction.
This ought to be fun.
Hawk pressed his face against the ground, viewing the man’s gait to ascertain his pace. Once Hawk registered the man’s plodding speed, he timed a dive into the man’s legs, knocking him off balance. The two men traded several punches before Hawk delivered a flurry of them to gain the upper hand. But
