Hawk had just finished recalibrating the software and was about to stick the weapon back underneath the tarp when he heard creaking noise followed by a loud thud.
Youssef!
Hawk threw the tarp haphazardly over the missile launcher and scrambled on his knees toward the edge of the hangar. The HVAC unit provided Hawk a few seconds of cover, which is all he hoped he would need. If Youssef discovered Hawk on the roof, he knew it’d all be over.
Hawk slid over the edge, grabbing the ledge and hanging tight. Only Hawk’s fingertips were visible, and he said a quick prayer underneath his breath that Youssef wouldn’t notice.
After five minutes, Hawk’s forearm muscles were burning so much that he briefly considered if he’d be able to escape without a broken leg if he dropped from such a height. He thought better of it and decided to persevere. But he couldn’t simply hang forever.
Mustering all the strength he had left, Hawk pulled himself up so he was eye level with the hangar roof. He watched as Youssef recovered the missile launcher and stood. He glanced around for a second, which sent Hawk dropping down and out of sight. A few seconds later, a creak followed by a thud signaled that the coast was clear.
Hawk struggled to pull himself onto the roof and hoped Youssef wouldn’t return, at least not for a while. Kicking at the tarp, Hawk felt to see if the weapon was still there—and it was.
Satisfied that all systems were still go, Hawk edged toward the hatch and crouched low. He peered over the edge and noticed Youssef toting a duffel bag and looking for a place in the area near the hangar to hide it.
“That bastard thinks he’s going to be able to make a getaway today,” Hawk muttered to himself as he shook his head. “He’s got another thing coming.”
CHAPTER 26
Andrews Air Force Base
Washington, D.C.
NOAH YOUNG FORCED a smile as he strode toward Air Force One. The small crowd of supporters wishing him farewell consisted of his support staff and several political allies. The rest of the people present were comprised of journalists assigned to capture Young’s every move on the campaign trail. He took his time getting up the steps to board the jet, wondering if he should’ve put his life in Hawk’s hands like he had.
The text message Young received earlier informed him that Jared Fowler still intended to proceed with the threat of releasing the footage. Young was disappointed but felt he must handle the situation in a different way, especially with the election so close. He’d placed a call to one of his confidantes and set a new plan into action.
However, Young found encouraging the news that Hawk had the coordinates for Karif Fazil’s current hideout. That information prompted a short debate about whether or not they should proceed with the ruse of the flight and instead just send an elite black ops team in to rescue Blunt and Alex along with taking out Fazil. Hawk liked the idea but said they didn’t have enough time to plan for a mission like that. He suggested they get some teams in place to capture Fazil in case he considered leaving.
When Young reached the top step, he turned around and waved. The entire scene felt staged, almost disingenuous. Of the people waving at him, all of them were paid to be there, in a manner of speaking. All campaign employees on the clock, engaged in their dutiful employment. He loathed such staged photo ops but accepted them as part of the political life. Spinning on his heels, Young headed inside the plane, striding toward the back.
A tanker was parked at an angle in front of the plane, obstructing the view of the terrorist, just enough that he wouldn’t be able to see all the activity happening at the service entrance. The press couldn’t see it either, which Young believed would be problematic once they witnessed a missile being fired at Air Force One. But Young’s communication director prepared a memo that would be passed out almost immediately after the event. Young raised the issue with Hawk about the possibility of the Al Hasib agent shooting into the crowd when the plane was still on the ground, but Hawk assured Young that Al Hasib wanted every single camera available to capture their moment of glory.
Hidden from view, Young descended the steps at the service entrance and boarded a delivery truck, joining the rest of his team who had taken the same route. Once Young was inside, one of the base personnel secured the doors and then the truck drove off.
Young watched the rest of the scene from the safety of another hangar with an unobstructed view of the base airport. With a pair of dummy pilots occupying the cockpit, Air Force One rolled down the tarmac, getting in position to take off. Seconds later, the engines roared and the plane sped down the runway, prepared to lurch skyward.
This better work, Hawk.
Once Air Force One reached the optimum speed for takeoff, the nose of the jet turned upward as it lifted off the ground.
* * *
HAWK PEERED THROUGH his binoculars at Youssef Nawabi, who was using the HVAC unit on roof of the hangar as cover. But Hawk was lying prone on top of the base traffic control tower, high enough above the rest of the structures at the airfield that Nawabi couldn’t actually hide. He was exposed, which was all that mattered.
“How are things looking up there, Hawk?” asked Will Baker, the Secret Service agent
