HAWK LOOKED THROUGH his binoculars in an effort to see any activity taking place inside Samuels’s apartment. With the shades drawn, there was no way to verify the target’s presence inside. However, Samuels’s silhouette flitted by the windows every so often, enough to convince Hawk that the man was still inside.
“He’s in there,” Black said. “That much is clear.”
“You can never be sure until you get a visual,” Hawk said.
“Nobody else has gone in or out of that apartment since Samuels returned after our staged fire. How else could he have escaped?”
“I don’t want to go up there until we know it’s him,” Hawk said. “It could be a trap.”
“Or we could be sitting out here jawing all night while he puts the finishing touches on setting up this big attack. I say we grab him now. Besides, I don’t want to spend all night out here. It’s getting really cold, and I can barely feel my fingers.”
“You know, there are these things called gloves you could wear. They’re a relatively new piece of technology, but word on the street is that they do a great job of keeping your hands warm.”
“If my hand didn’t feel like a piece of glass and I wasn’t afraid it was going to shatter if I hit you, I’d punch you right now.”
Hawk huffed a soft laugh through his nose and shook his head. “You know what your problem is? You’re too soft. Whining over cold hands. It’s a good thing Blunt doesn’t send you to the desert very often. You wouldn’t last one night there.”
Black shot Hawk a sideways glance. “Are you done?”
“Do you want me to be?”
“Let’s just go get our guy.”
The two men got out of the car and ascended the building to Samuels’s floor.
“Alex, are you reading all of this?” Hawk asked in a whisper.
“Loud and clear,” she said. “Your body cams are coming in perfectly.”
“Great,” Black said. “Let’s go get this sonofabitch.”
Hawk affixed the silencer to the end of his gun and blew the lock off in one shot. Black kicked the door in, and the two men fanned out across the apartment in search of Samuels.
As Hawk eased into the living room area, a shadowy figure caught his eye. He swung around to his left to shoot and noticed it was a cardboard cutout situated on an automated vacuum cleaner that was roving around the living room.
“Damn it,” Hawk said. “He pulled one over on us.”
“No kidding,” Black said, holding up a piece of paper he’d snatched off the kitchen counter. “Get a load of this.”
Hawk walked across the room and read the note. In the lower right corner, the microdot tracker was affixed to the page with a piece of tape. “Nice try,” were the only words scrawled in Samuels’s handwriting.
Hawk winced as his ears were pierced with the sound of Blunt launching into a string of expletives.
“Now what do we do?” Black said as he shook his head and looked at his partner.
“The only thing we can do—pray.”
CHAPTER 22
HAWK WANTED TO SKIP the act of drinking coffee and inject the caffeine directly into his veins. He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again, hoping that the act would serve as a physical reboot for his body. But nothing changed. All the activity from the night before along with the combination of long hours trying to bring down Obsidian had left his tank nearly empty.
“Eat,” Alex said, shoving a bagel loaded with cream cheese in front of him.
Hawk looked up at her and furrowed his brow. “Alex? Is that you?”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re tired, but I have a feeling you’re still capable of deadpanning some joke you think is funny.”
Hawk ignored her comment, knowing he was about to prove her hunch correct. “I had no idea you possessed such maternal instincts. Forcing boys to eat and telling them they’re not eating enough are two things mothers do best for their sons.”
“I’m glad I could once again deliver shock and awe to you in the humblest of forms,” she said with a sneer. “It’s just a bagel. Put it in your mouth and eat it.”
The edges of Hawk’s lips curled upward, and then he opened wide. He wasn’t even done chewing his first bite before he flashed double thumbs up signs to her.
“This is so delicious,” Hawk said.
“And here’s a coffee for you as well,” she said as she slammed a cup onto the table next to his food.
“Aww,” Hawk said. “You thought of everything. I’ve never seen this side of you.”
“Shut up about it or I’ll deliver a throat punch while you still have your mouth full.”
Hawk swallowed and ate the remainder of his breakfast in silence. He had just finished with Blunt slipped into the room, toting an armful of folders.
“I’ve got some good news,” Blunt said.
“About time,” Black said. “We need to hear some after last night’s debacle.”
Blunt set the documents down, which cascaded across the table. “I just got a call from one of my contacts at Interpol. Law enforcement in London and Madrid were able to identify explosive devices after evacuating both subway systems last night. The bomb sweep was comprehensive, and officials are convinced they were able to uncover every device. They’re also trying to keep this out of the news in order to catch the bombers.”
“Good luck with that,” Black said.
“I know,” Blunt said. “That’s why we have to be prepared for anything here. The strike isn’t supposed to happen until tomorrow, but we have no idea how this might effect their plans and make Obsidian’s brass change course.”
Blunt’s phone buzzed with a text message. He picked it up and read the note aloud: “Explosives have also been found in Paris and Frankfurt. Both metro systems have been swept clean.”
“That’s great news,” Alex said. “Now we just need to hear about how our people are doing on this side of the Atlantic. Any word yet from New York and Chicago?”
Blunt shook his head.
