Blunt leaned forward. “You think I’m going to do you any favors? You’ve got quite some nerve.”
“If you don’t pick up that phone, call Brady Hawk, and arrange a meeting, your precious niece’s whereabouts will be leaked to nefarious agents.”
Blunt narrowed his eyes. “You sonofabitch. You better be glad I’m chained down or I’d kill you with my bare hands.”
“I’d love to see you try,” Young said, “as would those guards out there who love to hand out beatings. Now, put away all your bravado and make the call.”
Young eased the phone into Blunt’s hands. “I swear you’re gonna pay for this.”
“Swear away,” Young said. “Just make the call.”
Blunt took the phone and flung it onto the floor as forcefully as he could with his hands bound. “My niece can take care of herself.”
“I doubt she’ll be able to handle what’s coming for her.”
“Go to hell, Mr. President.”
Young retrieved the phone and replaced it in the middle of the table. “You have twenty-four hours to make that call. After that, I won’t provide any more protection for Madeline. Do you understand?”
Blunt didn’t move. The gears in his mind whirred as he tried to figure a way out of the situation Young had put him in.
“You’re going to regret this moment,” Blunt said.
“Not as much as you if you don’t make that call,” Young said before he exited the room.
Blunt seethed as he plotted a way out. He couldn’t let Madeline be exposed. He also couldn’t let his team be led to the slaughter.
There has to be a solution to all this.
But he couldn’t readily think of one.
CHAPTER 23
Lisbon, Portugal
HAWK STOOD ON THE veranda of the home overlooking the Port of Lisbon and basked in the afternoon sunshine. While Hawk never had the chance to visit the posh home, he remembered the last time he was here with Blunt. After scanning the area, he sauntered over to the spot where Blunt had been standing when a bullet ripped through his chest.
Hawk knelt and inspected the spot. He could still see faint traces of blood spatter on the bricks.
“You remember too, don’t you?” Alex asked as she sauntered outside.
Hawk looked up as he stood. “How could I forget? I thought we were going to lose him that day.”
Alex nodded subtly. “You’re the only one. I still can’t believe that bullet missed every vital organ.”
Hawk sighed as he turned his focus to the busy port below. “We had angels on our side that day.”
“I feel like we need some more to show up … and fast. Because without them, I’m not sure what’s going to become of Blunt or us.”
“You’re right,” Hawk said. “We’ll figure something out.”
Hawk studied the tankers as they chugged in and out of the harbor. Their rhythm mesmerized him as nothing seemed to interrupt their intended path. He noted a few smaller vessels scrambled out of their way as the large ships approached. And in their way, the little fishing boats rocked and swayed with the men on board doing everything to remain upright and not take on too much water.
Alex eased up next to him. “What’s caught your eye?”
“Do you see those little boats down there?” he asked.
“Yeah. What about them?”
“None of the tankers pay any attention to them.”
“Why would they? The little guy should get out of the shipping lanes.”
Hawk nodded. “I’m not intrigued by whether or not they get out of the way.”
“Then what exactly are you seeing?”
“The fact that nobody notices the little nimble vessels,” Hawk said. “But if one of them got stuck in the propellor, that tanker would be ruined.”
Alex patted him on the back. “Guess those captains better pay closer attention.”
Hawk glanced at his watch. “What time did Black and Shields and Mia say they would be here?”
“They should be here any minute now,” Alex said as her ears perked up. “As a matter of fact, I think I just heard someone drive up.”
“Do they have the access code?”
She nodded. “Let’s go greet them.”
Over the next ten minutes, Hawk and Alex greeted and caught up with the rest of the Phoenix Foundation team. When they were finished with the small talk, Hawk directed everyone to the dining room. He doled out tumblers and poured a glass of bourbon. Signaling for everyone to wait, he hustled out of the room and returned a few minutes later with a cigar.
“First, bourbon,” Black said. “Now, a cigar. I’m starting to get a familiar feeling.”
Hawk clipped the end of the cigar off and jammed it into his mouth. “I know our fearless leader isn’t with us today, but I’m hoping that if I act like him, maybe I’ll come up with some good ideas.”
The team chuckled before an uncomfortable silence fell on the room.
“Okay, I just want to acknowledge that what’s happening right now is wrong,” Hawk said. “We didn’t do anything wrong, yet here we are, hiding out from some of the same people we’ve worked with over the past few years, spanning two administrations. We’ve been nothing but the best for President Young. However, the minute his re-election bid becomes jeopardized, he not only throws us under the bus, but he wants to bring us in like common criminals.”
“It’s despicable,” Shields said as she shook her head. “I’d be willing to go in and talk through this issue if I thought for one second that we’d get a fair shake. But I know we won’t.”
“Damn right, we won’t,” Black said. “We’re going to have to get creative to figure a way out of this because our chance at a diplomatic resolution ended the moment they arrested Blunt.”
Alex nodded. “So, what are we going to do?”
“I think we need to expose Falcon Sinclair,” Mia said.
“Of course we do,” Hawk said, “but I’m not sure that’s going to have the intended effect. That man has so much money that it’s nearly impossible to get anything to stick. People throw themselves as his feet, anything for the almighty dollar.
