Getting Hawk out of custody was her top priority, but she didn’t want to kill any Rangers in the process. The last thing she wanted was to move to the top of a terrorist watch list. To get a better idea of how she should attack with the drone, she circled the small convoy of three armored Humvees. The distance between the trucks was tight but ideal for making a quick strike and diverting the drone elsewhere.
She directed the drone to make one more final pass before she settled on the best tactic to accomplish all her goals. Engaging the Reaper’s missile system, she set a target for fifty feet in front of the lead vehicle. Hawk was in the middle Humvee and would likely smash into the back of the front one. All she could do was hope and pray that nothing worse happened and that Hawk could find a way to get free.
Here goes nothing.
Alex keyed in the command to launch the missile. She held her breath as it rocketed toward its target.
CHAPTER 22
Khabas, Oman
HAWK SAT SILENTLY in the back of the Humvee as it bounced along the pothole infested stretch of Omani highway. He studied the two Rangers who sat opposite from him in the modified vehicle. Mostly still dressed in their tactical gear, they removed their helmets and lit up celebratory cigarettes. Hawk coughed and one of the soldiers cracked the window. And most importantly to Hawk, they seemed confident that their prisoner was secure. With his feet shackled to the floorboard and his hands bound in cuffs, Hawk didn’t appear to be going anywhere.
“This road is going to rattle my teeth out,” the soldier who went by the name of Nettles said.
“Reminds me of driving in Chicago,” replied his colleague named Zisk.
“You ever drive in Chicago, Hawk?” Nettles asked.
Hawk shook his head.
“You aren’t very talkative,” Zisk said. “Guess that’s to be expected when you’re a Navy wuss and you get captured by a bunch of Army Rangers.”
“It wasn’t exactly a fair fight,” Hawk said.
Nettles threw his hands in the air. “Oh, he speaks.”
“But he’s whining,” Zisk said, before transitioning into a mocking voice. “He’s crying to mommy because it wasn’t fair. I thought Navy Seals were the greatest soldiers on earth.”
Nettles chuckled. “Look, we get it. Guys who go to the Seals are soldiers who know they’d never make it as a Ranger. But don’t think you’re gonna get any sympathy from us. You’re a traitor to your own country. You don’t deserve a fair fight.”
Hawk bit his lip and shook his head. He couldn’t blame the pair of soldiers for feeling the way they did. If the shoe were on the other foot, Hawk knew he’d feel the same sort of disdain for them as they felt for him. But the sniping wasn’t easy to listen to.
“Aww, he’s gone back to being silent Hawk,” Nettles said.
“Do you think he talks with the terrorists or simply mimes for them?” Zisk asked before laughing at his own comment.
“You two should get your own comedy show,” Hawk quipped.
“Well, the joke’s on you tonight,” Nettles said. “We just took down one of the most wanted terrorists in U.S. history.”
Sufficiently annoyed, Hawk decided to confront their ignorance head on. “Is that how they referred to me in your bullshit briefing? A most wanted terrorist?”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Zisk said. “Your buddy Karif Fazil is still number one.”
“Yet you picked him over me?” Hawk said. “Guess we know who the real losers are now. Yep, comedy suits you two better.”
“What are you talking about?” Zisk said. “You weren’t selling to Fazil tonight. That was some Pakistani low life.”
Nettles shook his head and blew a plume of smoke toward the cracked window. “Yeah, don’t try to play us as fools. The truth is you were just trying to make some quick cash off some weapons you got from daddy Colton.”
“So, that was the official narrative?” Hawk asked. “Not bad. Not bad at all. But it was a complete lie. If you don’t believe me, go be real heroes. Turn this Humvee around and go obliterate a bunch of Al Hasib operatives.”
Nettles and Zisk both took long drags on their cigarettes and glared at Hawk.
“You expect us to believe that?” Zisk asked. “Boy, you Navy punks really are stupider than you look.”
Nettles started to say something before a faint humming sound from outside the vehicle arrested their attention.
“Is that what I think it is?” Zisk asked.
“Sure as hell sounds like a Reaper to me,” Nettles said.
“I don’t remember anything from the briefing about drone support for this mission, do you?” Zisk asked.
“No. Nothing. That sure is odd.”
But after a few seconds, everything clicked for Hawk.
Alex!
Hawk heard the plane circle their position once more. He shifted in his seat as far against the door as he could and braced for impact.
By his best calculation, the amount of time it took for the missile to rocket off the drone and strike the highway was less than two seconds. The last thing he saw before the explosion was wide-eyed looks on the faces of Nettles and Zisk.
The lead Humvee didn’t have time to stop for the large crater created by the missile when it struck the road. A nosedive into the flaming hole led to the vehicle catching fire before the soldiers inside scrambled out to safety.
The Humvee trailing Hawk had enough time to slow down before crashing into the bumper. The Rangers exited and raced to check on the other soldiers in the first vehicle.
But Hawk’s Humvee had its own story. The blast happened so fast that the driver didn’t have time to stop, sending the vehicle careening into the leader. Inside, Nettles and Zisk flew forward and hit their heads on the plate glass
