“Roger that,” Shields said.
She didn’t wait to get to their car before she called Hawk and left a message telling him that Sinclair was dead.
CHAPTER 35
38°35’52.1”N 77°24’11.4”W
HAWK GAWKED AT the hulking figure marching down the dimly lit corridor toward him. As the man’s face came into focus, Hawk relaxed and suppressed a smile. He shot a glance at Black and gave him a wink.
“Do we really need an escort down every hallway?” Hawk asked, feigning annoyance.
Big Earv shrugged. “Depends on if you want to make it out of here alive. You get caught walking around by yourself, there’s a good chance you might get thrown in a cell and never see the light of day again.”
“Show us the way,” Hawk said, gesturing toward a security access pad.
Big Earv waved his keycard in front of the panel, unlocking the door. He gestured for them to enter and followed behind his guests.
Hawk managed a smile as he passed some of the guards, keeping a running tally in his head. When they reached the interview room, one of the prison staff employees greeted them.
“Your client is waiting for you inside,” the man said.
Hawk didn’t even shake Blunt’s hand, even as the Phoenix Foundation director stared slack-jawed at the appearance of Black and Hawk.
“You made it,” Blunt said. “I didn’t have much hope that you’d—”
Hawk put a finger to his lips. He walked up to the camera positioned near the ceiling in the far corner of the room and snatching the wire out of the wall. Once the green light on the front of the device turned off, Hawk looked at Blunt.
“We’ve been in tighter spots than this, haven’t we?” Hawk asked.
Blunt nodded.
“And haven’t we always made it back?”
“Well, yeah, so far.”
Hawk slapped the table. “And I intend on keeping our streak going.”
“He’s right, you know,” Black said, pointing at Hawk. “We’ve been in situations that would make your head spin. Remember that time we were hunting Khalid Salib in the Nuba Mountains?”
“Don’t remind me,” Hawk said. “Now, I counted six guards. Still think we can get out of here, Big Earv?”
“Did you get the documents I sent you?” Big Earv asked.
“Yeah,” Hawk answered.
“Then that’ll give us a good chance. We can fool the first few layers of guards with those papers, but it’s near the gate where we’ll run into problems.”
Hawk looked at Blunt. “You stay with me once we run into trouble.”
“I can shoot, too,” Blunt said.
Big Earv chuckled. “I can remedy all your weapon needs right now.” He lifted his baggy shirt, revealing two guns he’d strapped to his chest along with several fully loaded magazines.
Blunt grunted. “I only see two guns.”
Big Earv handed the weapons to Black and Hawk before turning to Blunt. “I have a special one just for you.”
Big Earv produced a compact Glock 26 from the back of his belt and held the weapon out for Blunt.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” Blunt said as he studied the weapon.
“I’m full of surprises,” Big Earv said. “Now, let’s look at the layout and prepare our path out of here.”
The foursome huddled over a map Big Earv spread over the table. He and Hawk worked together to form the best route out of the facility and back to the parking lot. When they finished, Black nodded subtly.
“I think this is good,” he said. “There’s only one major problem I see.”
“And what’s that?” Hawk asked.
“Once we get outside, what’s going to stop these guys from running us down in all their military vehicles just sitting around in the parking lot?” Black asked.
Big Earv dug into his pocket and retrieved a fistful of spark plugs. “They won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.”
“Let’s do this,” Hawk said.
Big Earv unlocked Blunt so he could get free of the table before handcuffing him again.
“That’s awfully tight,” Blunt said.
“I don’t want anyone to get the impression that you’re about to enjoy our brash escape,” Big Earv said with a wink.
“I hate you guys,” Blunt said.
Hawk laughed. “You just want a cigar.”
“And a bourbon.”
“We’ll fix that as soon as we’re out of here,” Hawk said. “By the way, I had some bourbon recently. It wasn’t half bad.”
“I’m not sure I believe you,” Blunt said. “Not with the way you’re always yammering on about how much better scotch is.”
“Perhaps I didn’t give bourbon much of a chance after the first time I had some.”
A faint smile spread across Blunt’s lips. “Maybe you are starting to come around.”
“It’s time, gentlemen,” Big Earv said. “Shall we?”
He banged on the door, signaling to the guard stationed outside to open it. Moments later, a buzz was followed by a click before a man ushered all of them into the hallway. First Black, then Hawk. Big Earv clung to Blunt’s biceps as they emptied out the room. They waited for the man outside to lock the door and then escort them to the next checkpoint.
“I must’ve missed the transfer order on this guy,” the man said. “Lawyers don’t typically come along for this sort of thing.”
Hawk straightened his tie. “And innocent people don’t typically get snatched up off the street for a crime they didn’t commit and whisked away to a CIA black site … but here we are.”
“That’s not exactly how it went according to what I was told,” the man countered.
“Of course that’s what you were told,” Hawk said as they came to a stop outside another gate. “If you’ve worked here for any amount of time, you ought to know by now that what you’re told doesn’t always align with reality.”
“Well, good luck because I can tell you this guy here is going to need lots of it.”
Hawk resisted the urge to cold-cock the man on the way out.
“Easy, easy,” Big Earv said under his breath, almost reading Hawk’s mind.
The group continued walking through the next guarded corridor and turned a corner before reaching another checkpoint. A bulky guard looked up from his
