“It won’t be nearly as difficult as you—”
A bullet whistled through the cabin and sunk into the guard’s temple. He crumpled to the floor and dropped his gun.
“And you were saying what?” Hawk asked as he stood over the guard’s lifeless body.
Hawk looked up to see Alex stride into the room.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked, glaring at Hawk.
“I saw an opportunity—and I took it,” he said. “Nice shot, by the way.”
“That nice shot probably saved your life. I had to kill another guard on deck. And from the body count I’ve seen so far, that means there were five Al Hasib guards roaming around this place. And you decided to come aboard alone and take them on by yourself? Without backup?”
“I made an unfortunate miscalculation. But fortunately, you assisted me here.”
“You call that an assist? That was more like I saved your life.”
“And I appreciate that,” Hawk said. “But I’ve got some even worse news on top of everything that just happened here.”
Alex narrowed her eyes and cocked her head to one side. “And what’s that?”
“The weapons system is on auto-pilot. And there is no control panel.”
“Where is the launcher?”
“Underwater,” Hawk said as he looked at the guard’s body. “And I was just about to get this nice young gentleman to tell me where it was before you killed him.”
Alex threw her hands in the air. “Like I was supposed to know that? He had a gun pointed at you—and he didn’t look like a man who was about to tell you anything other than something rather impolite.”
“I guess we’ll never know now, will we?”
“A thank you would’ve been nice.”
“Well, I do appreciate what you did, but you realize the kind of predicament we’re in now, don’t you?”
She nodded. “You would’ve had a difficult time finding the weapon if you were dead.”
“Good point. But we need to get out of here quickly before someone sees us and thinks we’re terrorists.”
They both ascended the steps leading to the deck. Hawk slid down the ladder into the water first and waited for Alex.
She started to climb down before she stopped. “We really shouldn’t leave this boat right here, should we? I mean, we could just vanish into the Caribbean with her.”
Hawk shrugged. “If oil tankers weren’t about to be blown apart a few miles from here, I might consider it.”
She gave him a coy wink. “It was a joke, Hawk. Besides, this ship is rigged with a tracking system.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I already checked,” she said before sliding down into the water.
They both slogged the rest of the way onto shore when a man called out to them.
“Well, this is great,” Hawk muttered. “Now we’ll be the prime suspects on this tiny island.”
“Excuse me,” the man said in perfect English. “I was wondering if I could be of any service to you.”
Unable to place his accent, Hawk took a forthright approach with the stranger, who wore traditional Omani garb and a dark splotchy excuse for a beard.
“Are you American?” Hawk asked.
“Hmm,” the man said, cocking his head and raising his index finger. “I’d consider myself more of an opportunist.”
“What kind of opportunity do you see here?” Alex asked.
“I see two people who might be in need of some information,” he said.
“And you’re the one who can provide it?” Hawk asked.
“For the right price, of course.”
“Of course,” Alex said. “Now, let’s get down to business.”
The stranger winked at her. “I love a woman who’s not shy about stating her intentions.”
“Then you must not be from around here,” Hawk said. “What’s your name?”
“My name is Abid—and just because I don’t look like I’m from around here doesn’t mean that I’m not.”
“Nobody from around here likes strong women,” Hawk said.
“You’d be surprised,” Abid said as he wagged his finger. “But let’s not waste any more time on this idle conversation. I’m here to help you.”
“In that case, what did you know about the men on this boat?”
“I knew they were members of a terrorist group, likely Al Hasib based on some of the conversations I had with some of them.”
Alex’s eyes widened. “You spoke with those men?”
“I did more than that,” Abid said. “I took them out to sea.”
“Do you remember where?” Hawk asked. “It’s quite important.”
“I gathered that from the size of the machine they needed me to lower into the water for them.”
“And you have the coordinates for where you dropped them off?” Hawk asked.
Abid nodded. “For the right price, of course.”
“We can give you five thousand dollars,” Alex said.
Abid scowled and shook his head. “Have a wonderful day. I must be on my way.” He turned and walked back down the path for a few steps before Alex called after him.
“Eight thousand,” she said.
Abid looked over his shoulder at her and shook his head.
“We’ve only got ten thousand,” Hawk said. “But I’m sure someone else would love to take our money. Chances are there are other people around here who knew where you anchored that weapons system.”
“I’ll take it, though I must tell you it’s way below market price for such information,” Abid said. “However, at the moment, I am desperate. I was coming to get my money, though I wasn’t entirely sure they’d have it. I’d already been blown off once before.”
“Let me guess,” Hawk said. “They promised you a large pay day, and you took them without getting at least part of your payment?”
Abid nodded.
“You should simply count yourself lucky to be alive,” Alex said.
“Perhaps you just saved my life,” Abid said. “I was coming down here to demand payment.”
“Your compensation may have been in the form of three bullets—two to the chest and one to the head,” Hawk said.
“I could unknowingly owe you my life, which is why I’ve decided to accept the paltry sum you offered.”
Hawk pulled out some of the money stacks and waved them at Abid.
“When can we get started?” he asked.
“When would you like to begin?” Abid responded.
“The sooner the better,” Alex said.
“I’ll begin to prepare my
