“Wait a minute,” Hawk said. “I see something on the roof.”
He broke into a sprint and rounded the corner of the building. He stormed through a side entrance, nearly bowling over a guard who sat on a chair against the wall. He muttered something to Hawk, but he didn’t stop.
“You don’t have clearance to be in here,” the guard shouted with his gun drawn.
“So sue me,” Hawk said as he rounded the corner. The man fired a shot, but it had no chance of hitting Hawk, who sprinted up the steps.
“Talk to me, Alex,” Hawk said. “Help me get to the roof.”
She groaned. “You’re on your own this time. I don’t have any schematics of the NSC’s new building, nor is there any place for me to find them in a reasonable amount of time. You’re going to have to rely on your instincts.”
Hawk didn't stop climbing the steps until he reached the fifth floor. One more level remained, but there wasn't clear access to it.
“I’m hoping you’re seeing something that I’m not,” Hawk said.
“Negative,” Alex said. “You’re going to have to get creative.”
Hawk found a hose from an emergency firebox located near one of the outer offices. Working quickly, he pulled out his knife and sliced through it, making a defacto rope. He hurled a chair against the window and barely avoided the rebound. His second attempt led to some spidered glass as the chair glanced off the side. Hawk picked up the chair a third time, wrapping his fingers around the sides of the back. With one furious throw, the chair shattered the glass, opening a large enough hole for Hawk to work with.
He scrambled over to a chair and used his knife to disassemble the wheelbase before tying it to the end of the hose, which served as a grappling hook. Once Hawk got into position near the window, he hurled his makeshift rope onto the roof. He yanked on it until it held tight before climbing up. When he reached the top, he noticed a man lying prone on the far corner of the building. Hawk drew his gun and raced toward him.
Easing up behind the man, Hawk poked him with his foot.
“I wouldn’t move if I were you,” Hawk said.
The man didn’t move—and then Hawk realized it wasn’t a man, but a dummy.
“Dead end,” Hawk said, followed by a string of expletives.
“That wasn’t him?” Alex asked.
“Just a dummy,” Hawk said.
Before Hawk could do anything else, he heard a gunshot rip through the grounds. He ducked down, getting as low as he could until he could figure out what was happening.
“Hawk,” Alex said, “that was the real shooter. That was Walsh.”
CHAPTER 27
HAWK SURVEYED THE ROOFTOP and noticed another figure on the far side lying prone with a rifle attached to a tripod. The man turned and flashed a grin at Hawk before firing in his direction. Hawk dove to the ground and rolled behind an air conditioning unit in an effort to take cover.
“I found Walsh,” Hawk said. “He’s atop the southwest corner of the building, shooting from the roof.”
Down below, the crowd scattered in a panic. The people on stage crouched low and raced toward safety. Bodyguards swarmed around the government officials to protect them from any more shots.
Hawk leaned around the corner to take a shot at Walsh. He was gone.
“Damn it,” Hawk said. “Walsh is on the move. I’m going after him.”
“Don’t let him get away this time,” Alex said. “He just shot Fortner.”
“What?” Hawk said as he started to run toward the last spot he saw Walsh.
“Fortner’s down,” Black said. “I can confirm that. A couple of paramedics are giving him medical attention right now.”
“I’m gonna kill that bastard,” Hawk said.
“No,” Alex said. “We need him alive, Hawk. Don’t let your emotions get the best of you.”
At that moment, a bullet whizzed right past Hawk’s leg. He instinctively dove to the ground.
“What was that?” Hawk asked. “Is there another shooter?”
There was a momentary silence on the coms.
“Alex? Black? Do either of you see anything else?” Hawk asked.
“Wait a minute,” Alex said. “I’ve got the security channel on here. They think you’re the one who shot Fortner. There’s a shoot-to-kill order out on you, Hawk.”
“Please set them straight, Alex.”
“I’ll do what I can.”
Hawk stayed low as he found the rooftop access and descended back into the bowels of the building. He raced down the steps and saw Walsh two flights below.
“I’m still tracking him,” Hawk said over the coms. “Alex, watch for where he goes after he exits on the southwest corner of the building.”
“Roger that,” she said.
Hawk hustled down the steps, skipping two or three at once in order to make up some time.
Moments later, Alex updated Hawk on Walsh’s position. “He just turned and went due north.”
“Where does it look like he’s going?” Hawk asked.
“Straight for the Potomac.”
Hawk’s lungs burned as he broke into a full sprint outside. In the distance, he could see Walsh, who had a hundred-meter head start. And then, he disappeared into the trees.
“I lost him,” Hawk said. “Can you help me out, Alex?”
“I’m tracking him right now using satellite imagery,” she said. “He’s still heading for the water.”
Hawk reached the George Washington Memorial Parkway and darted across the road. He peered through the forestation in the area, looking for any sign of Walsh.
“Alex, I need to know where to go next,” Hawk said.
“Keep going,” she said. “Once you reach the shore, head south along the bank. He’s checking boathouses.”
Hawk emerged from the woods and looked south where a handful of docks dotted the banks of the Potomac River.
“Which one is he at now?” Hawk asked.
“There you are,” she said. “Walsh is about two hundred meters away from your position. He just went inside the two-story boathouse. Be careful, Hawk.”
Hawk sprinted south, eyeing the location Alex had identified for him. Once he reached the dock leading to the structure,
