Several bullets peppered the ground nearby as Hawk continued his sprint. The car was already running thanks to Alex. As soon as Hawk reached the car, another bullet pinged the side door, followed by one more that hit the windshield.
Hawk jumped into the driver’s seat and stomped on the gas. One more bullet tore through the back windshield, shattering the glass.
“Go, go, go!” Alex screamed frantically.
In the rearview mirror, Hawk watched a set of headlights flicker on. The terrorists’ vehicle roared after them.
CHAPTER 25
Washington, D.C.
MALLORY KAUFFMAN SLIPPED her key into the lock and opened the door to her ground floor apartment. While her work at the NSA might have been exciting, her return home each night was devoid of fanfare and rather depressing. Most nights, the most exciting event was when her cat, Bugsy, greeted her by rubbing up against her leg. Bugsy would purr for a moment and then demand food.
But after a few seconds of being inside, Mallory could tell something was off. Bugsy was nowhere to be found, and she suddenly had a bad vibe. Mallory’s hand trembled as she reached for the light switch on the far wall. She flipped the lamp on and hoped to discover that nothing was wrong.
Instead of finding her home like she’d left it, Mallory stared at the contents of her living room sprawled out in front of her. The couch cushions were scattered all over. The coffee table was splintered and lying on its side. On the far wall, a pair of Monet prints she had on canvas had been slashed.
Mallory rushed into the kitchen and grabbed her gun from the back of her utensil drawer. Extending her arms, she trained the gun on the area in front of her and moved slowly through the house. Tears streamed down her face, a mix of terror and anger. She used her sleeve to wipe them away as she walked.
Her bedroom was the worst of all. Mallory narrowed her eyes and stared at her bed, the mattress shredded. Stuffing poured out of rips and tears created by a blade. All of her clothes were strewn across the floor. And the thing that made her most upset was her journal on her bed stand, open to a page in the center. The violation of everything both private and sacred to her was almost too much to bear.
Sobbing wildly, Mallory leaned against the wall and slid to the floor. A robbery was one thing, but this appeared to be malicious, almost vengeful. If only she could explain it away by blaming it on an ex-boyfriend. But there was nothing that made sense in the moment.
Mallory didn’t move for the next five minutes. She called for Bugsy several times, but her cat didn’t come. That’s when Mallory decided to get up and go look for her. Still toting the gun, Mallory eased through the rest of the apartment.
“Bugsy,” she said, trying to steady her voice. “Where are you? I know you’re hungry. Where are you, girl?”
Still nothing.
Mallory went into the guest room where Bugsy often liked to hide. “Bugsy, stop playing around. I know you might be scared, but Mama’s home now.”
Mallory knelt to look under the bed. She smiled when she saw her cat, back arched, all the way against the wall.
“They’re gone now,” Mallory said. “It’s okay, Bugsy. You can come out now.”
Bugsy crept over toward Mallory before leaping into her arms. The cat purred excitedly.
“It’s all right, girl. I’ve got you now.”
Mallory held Bugsy tight, nuzzling her face against the cat’s head. But Bugsy continued to act nervous.
“What is it?” Mallory asked. “It’s just me here.”
With her eyes closed and still snuggling with the cat, Mallory turned around and then opened her eyes. She shrieked at what she saw, scaring Bugsy, who bounded away and landed on the bed.
On the near wall was a giant symbol in red spray paint.
“Did you see the people who did this, Bugsy?” Mallory asked.
Mallory set her gun down and then fished her phone out of her pocket. She snapped several pictures of the image and texted it to Alex. If anyone would know what the mark meant, Alex would.
After a couple minutes without a reply from Alex, Mallory called.
Following one ring, the call went straight to Alex’s voicemail.
“Dammit, Alex. Pick up the phone.”
Mallory called again. Still no response.
She collapsed on the bed next to Bugsy, who walked tentatively up to Mallory before lying down on her chest.
“I don’t know whoever did this, but they’re not going to intimidate me,” Mallory said, stroking her cat. “We’ll get through this.”
Bugsy darted off Mallory’s chest and dove onto the floor in a sudden flash. Mallory just thought the cat had returned to being her playful self. A second later, a bullet crashed through the window, followed by several more shots.
Mallory followed Bugsy’s lead, diving onto the floor. More bullets tore through the window, peppering the far wall.
Hunched over in a fetal position, Mallory covered her head. She pulled Bugsy close to her and prayed for the shooting to stop.
CHAPTER 26
Varadero, Cuba
SITUATED ON A THIN PENINSULA forming the boundary of the Bay of Cárdenas, Varadero kept things simple. The resort town consisted of one long road with beachfront property on both sides. As a place to visit and relax, Varadero was heaven. But when it came to finding a place to hide from raging terrorists, the small city was hell.
Hawk tightened his grip on the steering wheel and checked his rearview mirror. Less than a hundred meters behind him, the blue sedan roared in pursuit.
“There’s a turnoff up ahead on the right,” Alex said, pointing in the distance.
Darkness had fallen on the island, and Hawk wasn’t familiar with the road to identify a safe place to take cover. But it certainly wasn’t going to happen with the terrorists still on his tail.
“They’re too close,”
