Hawk delivered two big body blows, knocking Rocky back a few feet. But the monstrous man recovered and charged at Hawk. They grappled with one another, rolling to the ground and causing dust to kick up. Rocky muscled his way into the dominant position, straddling Hawk. With his arms pinned to the dirt, Hawk squirmed in an attempt to loosen Rocky’s grip. After a couple tense seconds, Hawk maneuvered from underneath and reversed the roles. Now in control and on top, Hawk began to impose his will on his foe. Slowly but surely, Hawk turned the man over before putting a knee in his back. Hawk wrapped his right arm around Rocky’s neck and squeezed. He fought for a few seconds before succumbing and passing out.
Hawk turned his attention back to Sinclair, who had decided to run. With a footrace on, Hawk didn’t need long before he overtook Sinclair and tackled him from behind.
Sinclair took a few swings, which Hawk adroitly averted. But seconds later, the business mogul was overwhelmed by Hawk’s strength and precision. Hawk secured Sinclair and then untied everyone else. He asked Alex to help him set up the camera. When she was finished, Sinclair staggered to his feet.
“Do you think this is over?” he asked.
Hawk glanced at Rocky, still out, face down in the dirt with his hands zip-tied behind him. “Pretty much.”
“Well, it’s not,” Sinclair said. “Would you care to learn about where your niece Morgan is right now?”
Blunt opened his phone as he stormed over to Sinclair. “I know exactly where she is.”
Sinclair’s eyes widened for a brief second as he stared at the image displayed on Blunt’s screen. Sinclair tried to play it off. “Wait. Wha—”
Blunt revved back and delivered two more gut punches to Sinclair. “You lying piece of shit. You tried to kill her. But fortunately, my agent over here took care of business and killed your hitman. That’s him with a bullet in his head.”
Sinclair’s mouth fell agape. “Well, I—I—”
He stopped, finally out of words, unclear of what to say next or how to respond.
Hawk slapped the document into Sinclair’s chest. “I’m still gonna need you to read this.”
Sinclair sighed and shook his head as he took the piece of paper. He glanced over it a few times and for once spoke the truth.
Hawk didn’t care that it was forced. Neither did Blunt.
Alex took the footage and uploaded it to Sinclair’s social media accounts, streaming it to all his followers. Meanwhile, Hawk called the FBI’s Los Angeles field office to have them arrest Sinclair.
As they were waiting, Big Earv appeared, walking over the hill with his rifle slung over his shoulder.
“Sorry, I couldn’t be of any more help,” Big Earv said.
“You kidding me?” Hawk asked. “You literally saved the day.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Big Earv said with a faint smile.
“What happened to you?” Black asked.
“I got caught up in a major accident on the freeway right behind you. By the time I was able to get out of there, I got up here to the oil fields and stopped to see if I could find you based on where you said you were planning on taking Sinclair. When I looked through my binoculars, I saw what was going on and quickly took up a position to shoot from.”
“Well, I don’t know what would’ve happened if you didn’t do that,” Hawk said.
Blunt shook his head. “It wouldn’t have been pretty.”
Hawk looked around and noticed Rocky, who was bound and lying prone, starting to regain consciousness. “Excuse me, fellas. There’s something I need to do.”
Hawk walked up to Rocky and delivered a devastating kick to his face. He groaned and then spit a tooth out.
Hawk knelt next to Rocky. “I don’t know if you’ll ever get out of prison for the atrocities you’ve committed now and in the past, but if you do, don’t ever treat a woman like you treated my wife.”
A parade of law enforcement vehicles stormed onto the scene, sirens blaring, dust swirling.
As Hawk stood and walked away, Alex ran up to him and jumped into his arms. She started to sob, the emotional toll of the ordeal finally breaking her. Hawk held her tight.
“It’s all right, honey,” he said. “You made sure they’re not going to hurt you or anyone else anymore.”
CHAPTER 49
Washington, D.C.
THE PHOENIX FOUNDATION team regrouped two weeks later to discuss the future of the organization. Blunt was chewing on a cigar as he lumbered into the conference room for the last time. He’d long since decided that he’d had enough, but telling all his agents at once wasn’t going to be easy.
He settled into his chair as all eyes remained on him, everyone silent.
“Thank you all for coming in this morning,” he said. “I thought we better talk about where we go from here. You’ve all been nothing but professional throughout this whole operation, and you’re to be commended for that. We dismantled Obsidian, and I doubt it’ll ever come back. If you weren’t secret agents, there’d probably be a big medal ceremony for you.”
“We’re not so secret anymore,” Hawk said. “At least, not all of us are.”
Blunt sighed. “That’s most unfortunate since this team contains the best agents I’ve ever worked with. You all have conducted yourselves with compassion in dealing with others when necessary, and delivered justice when called upon.”
“Working for you has been an incredible honor,” Alex said. “And I think I can speak for every person in this room, even Mia and Big Earv.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“I think the honor has been mine,” Blunt said. “But enough of that sappy talk. Let’s get on with the aftermath of our latest operation. As you well know, what you did has shaken this city to its core. Not only did we expose the height of Sinclair’s corruption, we simultaneously pulled the plug on the most unprincipled men and women in the capital.
