“You’d think they’d pick a more luxurious site, like, say Dubai.”
“You can work on your tan out here just as well as you can there,” Black said with a chuckle.
“Not when I’m draped underneath all this netting.”
“You could’ve always been an accountant or an insurance salesman if you wanted the life of comfort.”
“And boredom.”
Black laughed softly. “And you think wallowing in the sand on a warm African day is more exciting?”
Hawk didn’t say anything.
“Those accountants and insurance salesmen have it just as boring today but far more comfortable,” Black continued. “And I bet they’re taking vacations to Dubai whenever the hell they want to instead of having to wait for some terrorist to schedule a clandestine meeting there.”
“I just want to shoot something,” Hawk said.
“That makes two of us, though I’d prefer the target to something of value.”
“Okay, okay, that’s enough,” Alex said, interrupting the two agents’ banter. “Time to stop pining away for better vacations and sounding like the rest of America. You’ve got company headed your way from the north and south.”
Positioned on the west side of the ridge, Hawk slowly turned to his left to see a trail of dust flying behind a black SUV. To his right, he saw a near-identical vehicle storming toward the valley below. While Hawk hadn’t enjoyed lying in wait, at least his suffering hadn’t been in vain. The intelligence had been perfect, and it was time to ensure that the men and women who obtained the information be rewarded for their sacrifices.
“You want to take out Salib or Jacobs?” Hawk asked.
“Dealer’s choice,” Black said.
“I’ll take Jacobs then. Utilizing children to mine the diamonds is bad enough, but then you launder them to support terrorists. It doesn’t get much more lowlife in my book than that.”
“Can’t argue with that.”
A long paused followed before Alex chimed in again. “Before these scumbags are eliminated, Blunt told me that we need a visual verification of their identities as well as audio of the conversation.”
“What on Earth for?” Hawk asked.
“I don’t know,” she said. “Something to do with proving to the Sudanese government that we weren’t up to anything nefarious since they gave us permission to be on their soil.”
“Like they could discern what’s right and wrong,” Hawk said. “These people butcher each other to death for being from the wrong side of the street.”
“Not to mention they’re probably involved somehow in this whole laundering scheme,” Black chimed in.
“It’s barely noon and you two are teeming with cynicism,” Alex said. “What a perfect pair.”
“Cynical? That’s all you consider us?” Black said. “If that’s my worst attribute, I’ll take it, especially since that’s what usually keeps me alive.”
“Never change, Black,” Hawk said. “Though I'd say you aren't nearly as cynical as you should sometimes be.”
“Maybe I’m just good enough that I haven’t been captured as many times as you have, Hawk.”
Hawk shrugged off the zinger. “I’m still alive though—and still the worst nightmare for these punks.”
Black chuckled. “Time to confirm their identities before we light them up.”
The two vehicles had skidded to a stop, kicking up another cloud of dust to join the one already wafting through the valley from their respective trips to the meeting site.
“What are they waiting on?” Black asked.
“I don’t know,” Hawk said. “But I don’t like this.”
Hawk studied the scene, which, for the moment, was little more than two SUVs parked directly in front of one another in the middle of the Nuba Mountains. The tinted windows made it difficult to see any movement inside as neither door on his side budged.
“Anything on your side?” Hawk asked.
“Negative,” Black said. “They’re both glued to their seats from what I can tell. About all I can see is the driver of the SUV on the south—and he hasn’t even flinched. His hands are still gripping the steering wheel as if he’s about to take off again.”
“There’s no way they could’ve spotted us,” Hawk said.
“Those assumptions are what get you in trouble,” Alex said.
“I set up a motion detector perimeter for a mile around us,” Black said. “I haven’t heard the first notification that even an animal penetrated the line. How the hell could they know where we are?”
“Call it a hunch,” Alex said. “Evana Bahar learned from one of the best. It took us years to catch Karif Fazil.”
“He was the epitome of caution,” Hawk said. “And it’s exactly why one of his subordinates requested a meeting in a place like this.”
“But he still made a mistake,” Black said.
“His only mistake was his pride,” Hawk said. “Otherwise, we’d still be trying to squelch him as opposed to simply snuffing out Al Fatihin before it builds any significant momentum.”
After a few seconds, Hawk noticed a glint of sunshine off the window as it was slowly slung open.
“Hold tight, everyone,” Hawk said. “It looks like we’ve got movement.”
“Roger that,” Black said. “Got something happening here on this side with the south SUV.”
“Just a reminder that we need visual confirmation before laying waste to these guys,” Alex said. “Does everyone copy?”
“Copy that,” Black and Hawk both said in unison.
Hawk took out a small recording device and pointed it in the valley below at the two men who were walking toward one another to shake hands.
“Are you getting all this, Alex?” he asked.
“Your signal is coming in strong,” she said. “I’m running their faces through the database right now just to make sure.”
“And their voices?” Hawk asked.
“I can barely make out what they’re saying,” she said. “Can you tweak the audio?”
“Negative,” Hawk said. “You’ll have to boost it on your end.”
“If you’ve got something on the audio, the video should suffice,” Black said. “I say it’s time to take a shot.”
Alex let out a string of expletives, reverberating in Hawk’s ears.
“What’s that all about?” Hawk asked.
“You guys have company,” Alex said. “I missed it while I was trying to secure all these requirements.”
A helicopter popped over one of the mountains behind Hawk and zoomed past him, heading straight for the ravine where the
