The smile disappeared off Alex’s face. “That’s who we were tasked with killing. It wasn’t your fault.”
“I pulled the trigger, didn’t I?” Hawk scoffed. “I’d say it was a hundred percent my fault that he’s dead now. I doubt his loved ones care about the distinction. And quite frankly, neither do I. Ebadi was championing the presence of U.S. troops in rural areas to hold the Taliban at bay. Yet here we were, picking him off like it was target practice.”
“I don’t know who was behind this, but we received the wrong intel,” Alex said, turning toward Blunt. “And in this case, someone lost their life over it. I’m mad as hell about it, too, but there’s not much we do about it now, except find out who’s responsible and why.”
“The sonofabitch who did this needs to pay,” Hawk said.
“I agree,” Blunt said as he gnawed on his cigar. “The problem is we don’t have much time. The president is undoubtedly irate about this whole incident, one that leaves him red-faced, particularly when he was making so much progress in the Middle East.”
Blunt gestured toward the house. The team picked up on his clue and headed inside. They all took seats surrounding an oval dining room table.
“So, how are we going to handle this?” Alex asked. “Want me to dig into the intel we received and see who gave faulty information to us?”
Blunt leaned back in his chair and tapped his forefinger to his lips. “I think I want Mia to look into that, though I think that’s something that’s best uncovered from the outside.”
A faint smile spread across Mia’s lips. “You mean, I get to hack into the CIA database?”
He nodded. “That’s exactly what I mean. And I want you to figure out who was behind it, or, at the very least, figure out when this switch in intel occurred. How close did it happen to when we were assigned this mission.”
“Roger that,” Mia said.
“So, where does that leave us?” Alex asked.
“We’ve got other problems we need to deal with, one that might save us from the full force of President Young’s wrath,” Blunt said.
“Such as …” Hawk said.
“Such as Falcon Sinclair,” Blunt said as Mia pushed a pair of folders toward Hawk and Alex. “I’ve had Mia working up some of Sinclair’s acquaintances, some people who might be able to give us more insight into what Sinclair might be up to and what his endgame is with everything he’s doing.”
“I can get behind that,” Alex said while perusing her documents. “Is this who you want us to start with?”
Blunt leaned toward her, craning his neck to see. “Ah, yes, that’s the one. It’s Cameron Daniels.”
“What do we know about him?” Alex asked.
Mia sat upright in her chair. “Daniels and Sinclair were partners a few years ago in the space venture that was in development. But Sinclair bought out Daniels in a very underhanded move to gain complete control of the company—and the shares. Daniels seems like he’s still pretty bitter about it, if his past few public interviews are any indication of how he feels about his former cohort.”
“This ought to be interesting,” Alex said.
“Indeed,” Blunt said. “He’s living in a Swiss chalet, so I hope you two are up for a little trip to the Alps.”
“Always,” Alex said.
“Daniels is very private and won’t be easy to get to,” Blunt said. “His home is protected with a state of the art security system, and he won’t talk to the press, so you’ll have to figure out some way to get to him, maybe one that doesn’t draw the attention of the local authorities.”
Hawk remained silent as he scanned the pages. After a few moments, his head bobbed up, a scowl on his forehead.
“What is it, Hawk?” Blunt asked.
“Screw this Sinclair guy,” Hawk said. “I want to go after whoever messed with the intel that led me to kill the wrong man.”
“In due time,” Blunt said. “We’ll take care of that. But if we don’t give Young some good news, it may not matter much. He’s going to be coming for us, that much I’m certain of. Without anyone to scapegoat yet, he’s going to want to give the media a whipping boy. And I’m the most likely candidate.”
“Let’s hope you’re wrong,” Alex said.
Blunt’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He dismissed everyone before finally answering the familiar number.
The moment he answered, a woman came on the line. “Please hold for the President of the United States.”
After a brief pause, Noah Young started speaking.
“Hello, J.D.,” the president said in a chilly tone.
“Good morning, Mr. President,” Blunt said. “What can I do for you today?”
“Probably not anything ever again, except get your ass back to Washington. We need to have a conversation … and it needs to be conducted face to face.”
CHAPTER 6
Saas-Almagell, Switzerland
HAWK SHIFTED DOWN as he wound around the road leading up to the estate of Cameron Daniels located in an exclusive enclave in the Swiss Alps. He stomped on the gas while easing out of a curve. Tilting his head down, he looked over the top of his sunglasses at Alex. She rolled her eyes and turned her attention toward the craggy mountain peaks in the distance.
“Do you think we’re in a BMW commercial here?” she asked.
“We could be,” he said, accelerating out of another s-turn. “Beautiful woman in a sexy sports car with her hunky husband and—”
“You should’ve just stopped at beautiful woman,” she said.
He shrugged. “Of course, but they’re still trying to sell automobiles.”
“Exactly. All they need is a woman behind the wheel.”
Hawk slowed down and pulled onto the shoulder. He dangled the keys in front of her. “Would you like to drive?”
Alex grinned. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Moments later, the couple had switched places. Alex burned rubber as she started, speeding along a straightaway before reaching a tight curve.
“So much for the surprise entrance,” Hawk said.
“Beautiful woman in
