“And if we turn it off?” Black asked.
“That’d be great, but I wouldn’t make that a priority,” she said. “The objective is to apprehend Walsh.”
Hawk nodded. “We’ll do our best to get that field down. It’d be helpful to have you watching our backs.”
“I’m not sure how much good I’ll be able to do, especially if either one of you decides to charge into danger again.”
“I’ll be good,” Black said. “I promise.”
“Hawk?”
“You know me.”
“I know,” she said. “That’s why I’m wondering if you’re going to heed my warning. We don’t need to go over this again, do we?”
Hawk shook his head. “I’m focused and don’t need to be reminded about what’s at stake here.”
“That’s what I like to hear. Now, let’s go get Mack Walsh.”
Hawk and Black struck out toward the Obsidian facility, slogging their way through the fresh snow. Even with the proper equipment, their speed was hampered.
Once they neared the spot where the magnetic field interfered with their communications, Hawk warned Alex that they might be losing contact.
“Roger that,” she said.
Hawk scaled the tower poorly disguised as a tree, ascending via the ladder welded to the side. Once he reached the top, he jimmied open an electrical box and cut a few wires before attempting to hail Alex.
“Can you hear me?” he asked.
Nothing.
He went back to work, yanking out some wires and slashing others. Then he tried again.
“Alex, can you hear me?”
More silence.
Without any other options to disrupt the field, Hawk scurried down the ladder to move away from the boundary to discuss the situation with Alex and Black.
“Could you hear me at all a few minutes ago?” Hawk asked.
“I just heard some static,” she said. “Did you disable the field?”
Hawk shrugged. “I thought so, but maybe that isn’t the source of the magnetism. Maybe there’s something else.”
“It’s probably coming from inside that mountain,” Black said.
“Think they have some kind of reactor in there?” Alex asked.
“We haven’t gotten close enough to see inside yet,” Hawk said. “But we’re going to do our best.”
Black looked over Hawk’s shoulder and pointed. “We’ve gotta move.”
Hawk turned and noticed several guards filing out of a hidden door beside the main entrance. “We’ve got company headed this way.”
Then a large truck rumbled down the plowed road leading to the main checkpoint.
“That’s our way in,” Hawk said.
Black nodded. “Agreed. Let’s go.”
“Alex, we need to go. This is a gift of a chance to gain access to the facility and find out what’s going on.”
“Hawk! You’re not supposed to be making impulsive decisions here. We need to get inside, but both of you can’t be put at risk.”
“Why not?” Black said. “You’re going to come save us if we’re captured, aren’t you?”
“That’s not funny, you two. I’m telling you right now that this is a bad idea. Stay where you are, and don’t make any rash decisions.”
“I’m sorry,” Hawk said. “You’re breaking . . . up . . . on . . . us.”
He nodded at Black, and they both raced for the road.
“She’s gonna kill us, man,” Black said.
“Not if we don’t get caught,” Hawk replied.
They scrambled up a small ridge and unhitched their snowshoes before darting right behind the slow-moving transport truck, which was inching its way toward the gate. Hawk and Black both grabbed onto the back, using the bumper for a foothold while clinging to the tailgate. The bed was exposed and packed full of wooden crates.
“You ready to do this?” Hawk asked.
Black nodded. “You?”
“This is my favorite part of the job.”
“Mine too. Let’s stick tight until we can get a lay of the land.”
“Roger that,” Hawk said.
The truck's brake lights flashed as the vehicle came to a stop. Hawk and Black scrambled underneath and used their belts to stay suspended above the ground by wrapping them around the axel.
Hawk looked down at the ground around the driver’s side of the truck. A pair of boots crunched in the scant amount of snow that had survived a recent plowing.
“You have any trouble getting in here?” a guard asked the driver.
“Smooth sailing, all things considered.”
“All right. Well, just sit tight while we make sure you don’t have any hitchhikers aboard.”
“Take your time. I’ve got nowhere else to be today.”
Hawk felt his hand slipping as he and Black both rolled onto the top of the axel. After repositioning, Hawk steadied himself and took a deep breath before slowly exhaling. He and Black stayed frozen while the guard did a cursory check. He gave a half-hearted attempt to see anything beneath the truck’s carriage but cleared it after less than a half-minute of searching.
Hawk thought they were in the clear as the guard approached the driver’s side door again. But then he stopped and whistled.
“Bring out the lads,” the guard said.
Hawk swallowed hard as the sound of dogs barking echoed off the mountainside. Seconds later, they were sniffing all around the bottom of the truck. Hawk glanced down and looked eye-to-eye at one of the German Shepherds. It growled at Hawk.
“Whoa, girl,” one of the guards said as he yanked on the dog’s leash. “You’re mighty testy this morning. You see something under there?”
The dog barked several times, straining to escape its master’s grasp.
“All right. Settle down. I’ll have a look,” the guard said.
Hawk tightened his grip with his left hand before reaching for his gun. He slowly removed it from the holster and clicked off the safety.
CHAPTER 18
HAWK DIDN’T FLINCH as the guard fell to his knees in the snow. He let out a few expletives after he set down his coffee and it spilled when the German Shepherd’s wagging tail smacked the cup. The dog barked some more and tried to resist the harness, keeping him from returning beneath the truck.
“Damn it, Brutus,” the guard said. “You’re always making a mess of things. Hal, can you hold this stupid mutt for me? There’s either twenty-five armed men under the carriage or a whole barrel of bacon.”
“Sure thing, Doug. I’m hoping
