“They can’t find him anywhere. He vanished in the park.”
“What about his bird?” Hawk said. “Look for Fazil’s bird.”
“They already did. It isn’t there either. Fazil is gone.”
CHAPTER 33
Washington, D.C.
HAWK AND ALEX MET WITH the joint task force of FBI and NSA officials at the Pentagon one week after the near tragedy in New York. He was surprised to see Blunt present at the meeting, especially given that Blunt had been essentially held captive during the sting operation to capture William Peterson.
“What’s to become of Peterson’s son?” Hawk asked as they sat down.
“We want to try him for treason,” Justin Frazier said.
“But . . .” Hawk said, realizing Frazier wasn’t done.
“It’s political,” Frazier said. “I prefer we treat him as a traitor and get it over with quickly.”
“Well, he did invite a known terrorist into the country for the express purpose of killing innocent Americans,” Blunt said.
“And I’m assuming Peterson claims he knew nothing of the plot,” Hawk said.
“You’d be correct,” Frazier said. “The FBI would have a difficult time winning that case, but the American voters are going to act as judge and jury in this instance. If the polls are any indication about what people think, a guilty verdict will be delivered by the American people in a few days and he’ll slink back into obscurity in the political realm.”
“As it should be,” Blunt said. “How anyone could do such a thing is beyond me.”
“So, why are we here?” Hawk said.
Frazier stood. “We know that the Firestorm team is one of the better kept secrets over the past few years in Michaels’s administration.”
“I hope you intend to keep it that way,” Hawk said.
Frazier nodded. “Of course, but we also want to offer our assistance whenever possible.”
“You mean like not trying to hunt me down when I re-task satellites for missions vital to our nation’s security?” Alex asked.
“Exactly,” said the FBI’s Richard Paxton. “And I’ve been told to pass along apologies to you for that.”
Alex shrugged. “I don’t blame you really. It’s not like I was exactly acting within the confines of the law.”
“Yes, but in the future, we want to give you clearance, not make you hack our system and redirect satellites,” Frazier said. “We need to expand the Firestorm team.”
“I see what you’re getting at, and my team isn’t answering to anybody else,” Blunt said.
“Now, J.D., wait just a—” Frazier said.
“No, Justin, we’ve been friends for a long time, long enough for me to know what’s going on here,” Blunt said. “If you want to give Alex access to your systems so she doesn’t disrupt everything when she hacks into it, fine. But we’re not going to notify anyone about what we’re doing. I’ve found that in the world of espionage and subsequent assassinations, a small closed loop is the best loop of all.”
“Don’t be so closed-minded,” Paxton said. “See how well we all worked together.”
“It worked this time,” Blunt said, “but it was a risky proposition. For God’s sake, you guys arrested me and made me look like a fool to the nation.”
“It worked, didn’t it?” Frazier said.
“Yeah—and the apology and exoneration you issued will likely only be seen by about half of the people who read or heard about my original arrest.”
“Settle down, J.D.,” Paxton said. “This isn’t about you.”
“No, it’s about my country and the fact that we have to even have an outfit operate like this because there are always messes to clean up.”
A woman knocked on the door and interrupted the meeting, whispering something in Frazier’s ear.
“Excuse me,” he said. “Apparently, someone needs to speak with our good friend Brady Hawk right now, and it’s a conversation that can’t wait.”
Hawk stood and strode toward the door. “Who wants to talk with me?”
“It’s the president, sir,” the woman said as she led Hawk down the hallway to an unoccupied office where he could take the call.
Hawk settled into the chair and picked up the phone.
“Mr. President,” Hawk began. “So nice of you to call.”
Noah Young moaned. “So nice of you to save New York City last week. If you didn’t need to remain so anonymous, I’d commemorate what you did by putting your face on some U.S. currency.”
“Those are kind words, sir.”
“And I mean them,” Young said. “You saved my bacon, too.”
“How did I do that?”
“It’s a long story, but Peterson would’ve had me for lunch if the truth about what was going on with his live streaming event with the Russian ambassador ever leaked to the press.”
“I guess we should be grateful that it didn’t,” Hawk said.
“Very grateful indeed.”
“So, what’s next, other than a rapidly approaching election?”
Young chuckled. “I’d love to wait until I take office to dispatch you to the Middle East again, but I’m afraid we don’t have time. Fazil’s latest brazen attempt to attack us on our own soil has me concerned. We narrowly avoided an unmitigated disaster, and this isn’t the first time we’ve been able to do that. You’ve done a great job serving your country in this way, but I’m afraid you won’t be able to succeed every time.”
“So, what are you getting at, sir?”
“I want you to take the fight to him,” Young said. “Go beat him on his home turf. Do whatever it takes to make sure he goes away for good.”
“I’d love to do that for you, sir. But I do have one request.”
“Name it.”
“We need more resources. Gadgets, money, any technology to help us get an advantage for catching Fazil and putting an end to Al Hasib.”
“Done,” Young said. “You send me a list, and I’ll make sure everything you need is put at the fingertips of you and Alex.”
“And when do you want us to start?” Hawk asked.
“I’ve got a plane fueled up and waiting for you whenever you’re ready to leave.”
Hawk pumped his fist. “That’s the best news I’ve heard all day.”
He hung up and walked back into the meeting room.
“I hate to cut this meeting short, but the senator
