Hawk reached for the knife he’d put in the holster around his shin and prepared for a fight.
About five meters away, the two men split up, forcing Hawk to choose where to go. He preferred to go after the spearman instead of getting tangled up with the other man before getting shot in the back.
The man zipped by and circled around.
Hawk turned off his lights and descended in an attempt to level the playing field. Without a sea scooter, he could only hope to strike a glancing blow as the men raced by.
Hawk wondered who the men were as he waited to strike. He watched for the lights of the men and tried to sense their direction from the hum of their propulsion devices. Scanning the water for bubbles wasn’t the best option either since his field of vision was limited due to the darkness and murky water.
Just as Hawk was growing impatient, one of the men came zooming past. Struggling to turn his spear around, he appeared to be as taken aback as Hawk was.
Hawk seized his opportunity, reaching for the man’s spear and yanking it out of his hands. However, the man didn’t give up without a fight, engaging Hawk with hands.
The man pulled out a knife, matching Hawk weapon for weapon. Treading water, the two men jockeyed for position before the attacker struck first. Hawk rolled out of the way and jammed his knife into the man’s arm. The man flailed at Hawk, missing him but slashing his air tube. Blood spewed from the man’s arm, but Hawk caught him smiling. He motioned toward the sea floor and then pointed above before he shrugged, his pantomimed message clear to Hawk: The weapon or me—what is it going to be?
The other man swooped in to drag his partner to the surface, while the injured man waved mockingly at Hawk.
Hawk had no choice, though disabling the weapon seemed like the last thing he’d do before drowning in the Strait of Hormuz.
He reactivated his lights and held his breath. Once he reached the bottom, he located the launcher and progressed through the steps Dr. Morton had given him. The key was removing a communication chip that essentially served as the device’s brain. Working quickly, Hawk opened a compartment that housed the chip and yanked it out. The device went dead, and Hawk began his ascent to the surface.
He went over all the possible scenarios as he rose to the top. He could be recaptured and dragged aboard or immediately killed in some other manner. Whatever the circumstance, he resolved not to go down without taking them out with him.
But Hawk wasn’t prepared for what he saw when he reached the surface—the boat was gone. The only thing left was Abid’s body floating in the water.
Hawk gasped for air as he removed the dead weight in the form of oxygen tanks from his back. He found his emergency flare gun and fired it, hoping someone would see it and pick him up.
Rolling over onto his back, Hawk broke into the backstroke. He figured he wouldn’t make it to land, but the closer he was, the better chance he’d have at someone finding him.
But it didn’t take long for someone to notice his flare. Ten minutes after he fired it, a fishing boat puttered up next to him. Once the fishermen noticed Hawk, they tossed a line to him and helped him aboard.
Hawk explained that someone had attempted to murder him while exploring the water and left him to die. He asked the men to take him back to Kumzar, and they obliged.
As they cruised back, Hawk couldn’t stop thinking about Alex. She was a sitting target, unaware that anyone was on to her—and Hawk had no way to notify her. He watched in the distance as the Kumzari harbor came into view.
Hawk was still looking when an explosion rocked the mainland. He glanced up in horror to see a portion of the Shati Albahr Inn blown apart and a fire raging. With his mouth agape, Hawk stared at the unfolding scene while the fishermen chattered among themselves.
That was our room.
CHAPTER 26
HAWK EXPRESSED HIS GRATITUDE to the fishermen and focused on the harbor ahead. The moment their ship came within leaping distance of the dock, he jumped and hit the wooden boards with a hard thud but maintained his balance. Breaking into a sprint, he rushed toward the hotel.
Chaos filled the streets as a crowd rushed toward the explosion. However, about halfway up the hill, people streamed downward, running away from the fiery inn. Sensing a difficult navigation ahead, Hawk darted to the outside to circumvent the crowds.
“Alex! Alex!” he called, scanning the mass of humanity for her face.
Nothing.
Hawk raced farther up the hill, his legs burning as they churned. Moving so swiftly, he barely felt his feet touch the ground.
Once he reached the top, several law enforcement officials put up a hand to Hawk, warning him to stay back.
“It’s not safe,” an elderly said in Arabic. “Don’t try to go in there, please. I beg you.”
Hawk sighed and ignored the man, breaking past the negligible barrier of men and running toward the burning site. Dark smoke billowed upward. The surrounding area was filled with an eerie silence, broken only by crumbling rubble and the blaring fire alarm.
Navigating the debris, Hawk pressed on until he reached the back of the hotel. There wasn’t a soul to be found.
Hawk returned to the perimeter the officials had set up.
“I was staying here,” Hawk said to the man who’d tried to stop him earlier. “Why aren’t you trying to save everyone? There must be people inside who are injured.”
“The fire alarm went off five minutes before the explosion,” the man said. “There was smoke coming from the elevator. No one was inside when the hotel exploded, at least not that we know of. Allah has
