“Black, you got a shot?” Hawk asked.
“I had one, but it’s gone. They both just got into one of the vehicles.”
“I saw that, but it wasn’t on my side.”
“It’s too late now,” Black said. “We’re going to have to wait until they get out again. Or we could just light up these vehicles.”
“No explosions,” Alex said. “That was part of the agreement. We cannot attract attention out here.”
“I don’t need to blow anything up to kill everybody inside,” Black said.
“Resist the urge,” Alex said. “One of the drivers is a Sudanese national. If we kill him, we’re going to be brought in on charges of murder.”
“Hang on a second,” Hawk said. “The back passenger side door on the car from the north is opening.”
“I see it,” Alex said. “If you can take the shot—”
Hawk had already tuned her out and was focusing on lining up his shot. He was almost sure that he had Jacobs sighted in before disaster struck.
The chopper descended just to the west of the vehicles, kicking up the equivalent of a sandstorm. As a result, Hawk lost visual with Jacobs and Salib.
“They’re gone,” Hawk said. “I can’t even tell what vehicle they’re in now.”
“If they're even in one of those SUVs,” Alex said.
“You got a shot, Black?” Hawk asked.
There was no reply.
“Black, you read me? You have a shot?”
Still nothing.
“Damn it, Black. Answer me,” Hawk said.
“They’re not getting away,” Black said, sounding as if he were out of breath.
“You’re not down there, are you?” Hawk asked.
“Affirmative,” Black said.
“You’re not thinking straight,” Hawk said. “I can’t give you any cover from up here with the way that chopper is stirring up all that sand.”
“I won’t need it,” Black said.
Hawk watched as his colleague scrambled down to the valley floor. Then he vanished in the midst of the swirling dust.
“You have a visual on him from the satellite feed?” Hawk asked.
“No,” Alex said. “I can’t see anything. The heat signatures aren’t even working very well in the desert.”
“I’m going after him,” Hawk said.
“Don’t you dare,” Alex said. “You stay put. We can’t have both of you captured or shot. Blunt is gonna lose it when he hears about this.”
“I don’t care,” Hawk said. “I’ve already lost too much recently, and I’m not about to lose a team member without a fight.”
Hawk slithered out from beneath his blind and leaped over a boulder. Hustling down the mountainside, he stayed close to the ground, crouched over with his weapon drawn and trained in the direction of the action. But before he reached the bottom, both SUVs spun around and tore off in the opposite direction from which they came while the helicopter ascended and then rolled away.
Hawk sank to his knees in the sand and glared skyward.
“He’s gone, isn’t he?” Alex asked.
Hawk didn’t answer. He couldn’t bring himself to utter a response aloud.
Black was gone—and Hawk didn’t have a clue who had taken his partner.
CHAPTER 2
Washington, D.C.
HAWK SLUMPED INTO A CHAIR at the conference table in the Phoenix Foundation’s offices. He grimaced as he rubbed his face with both hands and sighed. A week had passed since Titus Black vanished into thin air amidst a mission that ended in almost the worst way possible. While the loop was kept tight on the assignment, Hawk couldn’t help but think someone leaked the details about their operation to Al Fatihin or Freddie Jacobs. Either way, Hawk had lost a fellow soldier who was every bit an equal in the field.
J.D. Blunt lumbered into the office and swatted Hawk with a manila folder.
“Get your head out of your ass, Hawk,” Blunt said. “So what? Things went sideways in Sudan. We’ll figure out a way to get our man back.”
Hawk shook his head and leaned forward, resting on his arms. “I can’t put my finger on it, but this felt like a setup somehow. I’d almost bet on the fact that we were played.”
“Then why are you still here?” Blunt asked.
“Maybe they didn’t think we would send a pair of operatives,” Alex said as she breezed into the room. “Most of Hawk’s recent missions have been solo. And if this was a setup, it’s clear they wanted Hawk there.”
“But I wasn’t the one who ran down the hillside,” Hawk said.
“You weren’t the one who ran down it first,” Alex said. “There was a time—”
“I know,” Hawk said. “Maybe I’m getting wiser in my old age.”
Blunt chuckled. “Let’s not go that far. But at least we still have one of you.” There was an awkward pause as Blunt studied his two agents. Alex eyed Hawk closely and reached out to him, taking his hand in hers.
“I have a feeling that’s not the only thing bothering you, Hawk,” Blunt said. “Wanna talk about it?”
“What is this? An intervention?” Hawk asked.
“Hardly,” Blunt said. “But I can tell you’ve been somewhat distant ever since your mother—”
“Don’t say it,” Hawk said, holding his hands up in a gesture for Blunt to stop. “I don’t want to hear the words uttered.”
“Ignoring the pain won’t make it go away,” Alex said.
Hawk nodded. “But you know what will ease it? Catching the son of a bitch who—”
He stopped and sighed before leaning back in his chair again.
“Just give it some time,” Blunt said. “The Dallas PD is working on it. I’ve got some friends in the homicide department, and I know that investigation is still active.”
Hawk cast a sideways glance at Blunt. “Are you sure about that?”
“Sure as I am sitting here. I just spoke with Detective Pickens this morning. He said they’re still chipping away at it, but it’s been rough due to the lack of evidence. They’ll find something eventually.”
Hawk closed his eyes and shook his head subtly. “I think the worst thing is I never got to have closure. I never saw her body or watched her casket lowered into the ground.”
“I know,” Blunt said. “But we thought someone was trying to lure you out into the open at
