“Fine,” Blunt said. “I’ll see if I can find Wood.”
Hawk walked back over to Alex, who was engaged in a professional conversation with Ingram.
“Hawk, there were at least four people taken to area hospitals.”
“See if you can find out which one they took Young to,” Hawk said.
“Why?” Ingram asked.
“Because those may not have been paramedics who rushed to his aide,” Hawk said.
Ingram’s mouth fell agape as she glared at Hawk. “Are you suggesting that—”
“Look, I’m not suggesting anything,” Hawk said. “I’m telling you that this was a pre-meditated attack and that someone may have done this to kidnap the president.”
“I doubt that,” she said. “All responding EMS vehicles must be approved and driven by approved personnel.”
“You think that really matters in an emergency? You think that the guards out front are taking the time to examine paperwork when the president’s life is on the line?”
“Well, they better,” Ingram said.
“I appreciate the dedication you have to your job, but in a situation like this, security gets lax for a reason. Not everyone is going to be the stickler you are for protocol, no matter how they’ve been trained. This is a unique situation that is a high-stress environment. People do things they don’t normally do when they’re under duress, which I’m sure you can attest to.”
Alex cocked her head to one side. “Just tell us what hospitals the EMS vehicles came from.”
“I can’t,” Ingram said. “Go talk to someone else who’ll help you. But it’s not going to be me.”
“Have it your way,” Hawk said before he turned his back and walked away from the stubborn FBI agent.
“What now?” Black asked.
“We go find the president,” Hawk said. “We need to make sure he’s where he’s supposed to be and not in the hands of Obsidian.”
“I’ll drive,” Black said.
“Alex, stay with Blunt,” Hawk said. “Keep him sane. And when he calms down, call me and help us figure out which ambulance whisked away the president.”
Hawk hustled back to Black’s car, and five minutes later, they were roaring along the surface streets, retracing the path someone would’ve taken to reach Georgetown Hospital.
“Are you sure they would’ve taken the president to this one?” Black asked.
“Call it a hunch,” Hawk said.
“You better be right. Because if you’re wrong, it may be too late if Obsidian took him. That is what you’re still thinking, right?”
“What?”
“That Obsidian snagged Young.”
Hawk sighed. “I don’t know if I trust any of my theories these days. This operation has been a trying one, to say the least.”
“We’ve all been tested,” Black said. “But I’m not so sure we’re on a wild goose chase here.”
Hawk furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t think Young was the target. Cultivating fear seems to be the way that an organization like Obsidian rises to power. If everyone is terrified, they’ll give up things they don’t need to just to feel safer.”
“And Obsidian rides in to deliver on its promise to keep everyone safe, primarily by putting an end to the crime it invited in the first place.”
“You have to admit that it’s not a bad theory,” Black said. “And there just so happens to be the added benefit of not destroying all its goodwill because the president is going to survive this attack.”
“I would bet they would’ve preferred that he did.”
Black’s phone buzzed. He held it up as he responded to Hawk. “Well, the first lady certainly did survive, according to this text I just received from Blunt.”
Hawk grabbed the phone from Black. “Eyes on the road,” he said. After reading the message, Hawk sighed.
“That’s one helluva sleeper agent,” Hawk said.
“Maybe she was working with Obsidian, but not at the level everyone else was.”
Before their discussion continued, Hawk’s phone buzzed with a call from Blunt.
“What’d you find out?” Hawk asked.
“Don’t worry about the president,” Blunt said. “He’s safe and sound.”
“Are you sure?” Hawk asked.
“Big Earv was the one who was in the house at the time of the explosion. He fought his way through all the debris and smoke to rescue President Young.”
“Why do I get the feeling that you’re not finished yet?”
Blunt chuckled. “Because I’m not.”
“Okay, so what’s next?” Hawk asked.
“Young did have a guest—Senator Richard Joseph,” Blunt said. “Apparently, they were meeting about something when the explosion went off.”
“And?”
“And Joseph is missing,” Blunt said. “Hardly anyone else even knew he was here or would’ve thought to search for him. But several first responders saw another ambulance rushing away from the scene.”
“Assuming this is Obsidian, what would they want with Joseph?” Hawk asked.
“That’s what I want you to find out,” Blunt said.
“We’re on it,” Hawk said. “But we’re going to need Alex’s help.”
CHAPTER 28
BLUNT DISMISSED ALEX and told her the name of someone at the FBI who would help her get a terminal set up so she could assist Hawk and Black on their search for Joseph. Then Blunt walked up to Wood, who was barking out orders to several special agents working on site.
“After 9/11, I thought pretty much anything was possible when it came to attacks on American soil,” Wood said as he stared at the firefighters working to assess the structural integrity of the White House. “I never would’ve imagined two enormous towers collapsing to the ground like that in the middle of New York City. But just when you think you’ve seen it all—” He sighed and shook his head before he turned and looked at Blunt.
“What has this world become?” Blunt asked. “We’re seeing brazen attacks from extremists intent on weakening our government.”
“And it’s working,” Wood said. “As much as I respect the president, he needs a dozen more teams like yours to eliminate more of these threats at once.”
“Problem is, there’s only one of me,” Blunt said with a wink, “and the only three agents I’d ever trust to do such work are under my direction. So, I don’t know how the president is going to conjure up new operatives as good as the ones
