They clapped and smiled, dishing out high-fives and fist bumps.
“At least there’s something good that came out of this,” Black said.
“Yes, and that includes two new presidential candidates from each party. With President Young withdrawing his name from the party’s nomination and vowing not to seek public office again and Radcliffe getting implicated as well among Sinclair’s payouts, the November election is going to be a wild free-for-all.”
“Still better than the two choices we had,” Hawk said.
“I’d just like one good person to vote for as president,” Big Earv asked. “To have two good choices would be a dream.”
Blunt grunted. “We’re secret agents, not miracle workers.”
The comment drew a few more chuckles from the group.
“However, I hear that Franklin Norris is considering jumping into the race. And if he does, there will be at least one good man to vote for, that much I can promise you.”
“I like him,” Alex said.
“Me, too,” Blunt said. “Now, as I’ve told you before that I’m retiring, my thoughts these last few months have been what to do with you guys. I couldn’t in good conscience just hand you off to anyone. But a solution has arisen, at least for those of you who are choosing to stick around.”
“Who’s leaving?” Black asked.
Hawk and Alex raised their hands. “We’re gonna take a break, maybe do something in the private sector,” he said. “It’s been a grind, but we’re worn out.”
“That’s understandable,” Black said before turning to Blunt. “Did you know about this?”
He nodded. “They told me recently. And they have my blessing to take a break as well as to return whenever they wish. But as for you, Black and Shields, you have a nice landing place.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” Shields said.
Blunt smiled. “Bobby Besserman, the newly promoted CIA chief has offered to bring you in as part of a special task force. Interested?”
They both nodded.
“If Besserman’s involved, I’m in,” Black said.
“Me, too,” she said.
Blunt turned toward Big Earv and Mia. “I wish I had more news for the two of you. And Big Earv, I know you’re not even officially on our team, but you’ve helped us so much that it feels like you’re one of the family.”
“Thank you, sir,” Big Earv said. “Whatever you can do to help me land with my feet on the ground, I’ll be most grateful for.”
“Same goes for you, too, Mia,” Blunt said. “I’ll help you in any way possible, though I doubt it’ll take more than a day before someone with your skillset gets scooped up by another agency.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I’ve found that I actually enjoy this side of the hacker world more than I thought I would.”
Blunt stood. “I don’t want to drag this out anymore because I’ve made it my life’s goal not to cry in front of any other human beings ever again. But there’s one more thing I thought you all should know.”
Hawk leaned forward in his seat. “What’s that?”
“Last night, two CIA agents arrested Madeline Young and extradited her from Australia,” Blunt said. “She’s finally going to prison for what she did, even if the president wasn’t interested in having her criminal activity exposed.”
“Well, he loses all the public sympathy people had for him,” Alex said. “I didn’t like it, but I understood.”
“He shouldn’t get that choice though,” Blunt said. “He’s not a judge or a law enforcement office. He’s supposed to execute laws. And when he failed to do that because it served his personal political aspirations, that’s when he ceased to be an effective leader. Personally, I’m going to miss Noah, even after what he did to me. I told him as much and gave him the chance to apologize.”
“And you accepted it?” Mia asked.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my old age, it’s that grudges only hurt the ones who hold them. He was acting in self-preservation, sure. But he didn’t silence me in the way he could have. And in the end, that resulted in a far better outcome than what would’ve been if he would’ve taken a scorched earth approach.”
“And thank goodness that he didn’t,” Alex said.
“America and the rest of the world has no idea how close we came to the brink,” Blunt said. “But it’s because of the people in this room that we survived.”
Everyone applauded and smiled. Blunt held his hands up and thanked them once more.
“Before we go,” Alex said, “we have a little announcement.”
Blunt gestured for her to continue.
“I didn’t want to say anything about this before because of our mission and how important it was,” Alex said. “But we wanted to let everyone know that in a little over five months from now, there’s gonna be a new little Hawk joining our nest.”
Hawk smiled. “And we can’t wait.”
CHAPTER 50
One year later
Catalina Island
J.D. BLUNT MOORED his Ocean Alexander yacht in the bay before settling into his chair on the top deck. He removed his shirt and applied a generous handful of lotion, rubbing it in on his body as best as he could. When he was finished, he picked up a Clive Cussler novel and started reading. He’d only finished two engrossing chapters before his attention was diverted to the water, where a man in a suit rode up to him on a jet ski.
Blunt cursed under his breath before putting down his book and descending the ladder to see what the man wanted.
“Senator Blunt,” the man said as he eased up to the back of the boat.
“What the hell is this?” Blunt grumbled.
“I really hate to bother you like this, but—”
“The answer’s no.”
The man cocked his head and scowled. “I haven’t even asked my question yet.”
“Doesn't matter. I know what you want.”
The man tied his jet ski to one of the cleats on the edge of Blunt’s
