* * *
HAWK AND ALEX were tempted to peer up out of the backseat after some time passed without hearing any more shooting. But Hawk decided against it when he didn’t hear any familiar voices.
“Don’t,” Hawk said, keeping his hand on top of Alex. “We’re gonna have to shoot our way out of this car. If they’re still hunting for survivors, it’ll be like shooting fish in a barrel. Just wait another minute.”
Hawk shuddered as he heard a single gunshot. Moments later, the semi’s engine fired back up as the truck resumed its trip. Once it grew faint, Hawk and Alex sat up and surveyed the scene. The carnage was as bad as any they’d witnessed.
Hawk kicked out a window spidered by several bullets and climbed out. He helped Alex through before calling 9-1-1. With none of the vehicles operational, all they could do was check on the officers.
“If only the sheriff hadn’t locked us in,” Hawk said.
"We might be dead, too," Alex said. "We don't know how many gunmen they had, but it was more than enough to take out all these guys."
Hawk numbered the bodies at eight.
“But there were nine,” Alex said. “I counted them myself once the troopers arrived.”
“Are you sure?”
“No doubt.”
“Let me look again,” Hawk said. “Maybe I missed one.”
He hustled back toward where the men initially got out of the truck and found one more man behind the trunk. Hawk knelt and felt the man’s pulse.
“We got a survivor,” Hawk said. “It’s the sheriff.”
CHAPTER 14
HAWK GAVE THE first responders a statement while Alex worked the phones. She told the officers that they’d have to wait for her description of the events due to the escalation in the search for the truck. What was supposed to be a simple checkpoint stop turned into a bloody massacre—and it made Hawk sick.
After he finished, he called Blunt to inform him of the developing situation. The conversation wasn’t a pleasant one and ended with him wanting to get updates on Danger’s recovery process.
Then Hawk regrouped with Alex. “What’s the status of the Nicolo truck?”
“Gone,” she said. “Disappeared off the map.”
“I can’t imagine it’d get very far without being noticed.”
“Funny thing is that all of the DOT cameras in eastern Texas went out at the moment of the stop.”
“That’s not a coincidence, is it?”
“Not in the least bit. They knew exactly what they were about to do and didn’t want anybody having a record of it.”
“So, what’s our best option of finding them?”
“I’m sure you saw the alert we had sent out ten minutes ago through the phone carriers in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.”
Hawk nodded. “But the plan can’t be to just sit back and wait for someone to call the tip line. We have to be more proactive than that.”
“The only other course of action I saw that made sense was talking with Mallory Kauffman from the CIA to help us go over any recorded satellite footage in the area. Fortunately, there was one camera in the area, but it’s going to take her an hour or so to get the footage for us.”
He sighed. “One way or another, it looks like we’re waiting.”
* * *
THE MOOD at the Junction Sheriff’s Department consisted of a mix of shock, mourning, and anger. The handful of employees exhibited a range of those emotions as Hawk answered questions about what happened. One woman glared at him, demanding to know why he cowered in the car.
“I know everything is raw right now for you, but it would’ve been a suicide mission and I wouldn’t have saved anyone,” Hawk said.
“But you’re some kind of special agent of some sort, aren’t you?”
“I’m with the Department of Homeland Security,” Hawk said.
“You should’ve easily been able to kill all those bastards.”
“I wish I could’ve done something, believe me. But Sheriff Danger locked us in his car.”
One woman picked her head up and sniffed. “That sounds like the sheriff, Helen. You know firsthand what a control freak he is. You’re his administrative assistant for goodness sake.”
Hawk let the news sink in as he paced around the room. After he’d made a couple laps, Alex rushed inside and gestured for him to join her.
“What is it?” Hawk asked in a hushed tone as he approached her.
“It’s Mallory. She’s got something.”
Hawk retreated into the hallway with Alex to speak with Mallory.
“What did you find?” Hawk asked.
“Well, don’t get too excited, but I found the general direction the truck was going when we lost it,” Mallory said.
“You lost it?”
“Well, not lost. But we had some satellites that were re-tasked, pulling them away from that portion of Texas.”
“Of course,” Hawk said. “Just our luck.”
“Don’t get too upset,” she said. “You’re in east Texas. There’s more cattle out there than people with just miles and miles of nothing. Most days aren’t all that eventful in Junction.”
“She has a point,” Alex said, shooting a glance at Hawk.
“I’m still trying to find where the truck went, but I haven’t been able to locate it just yet,” Mallory continued. “Give me some time, and I’ll narrow it down.”
“Give us the last known location,” Hawk said. “We’ll go have a look.”
“I’m emailing Alex the coordinates right now. Good luck, you two. I’ll be in touch.”
Once the call ended, Hawk entered the room and asked if he could borrow keys to any of the deputy cars still in the lot. His request was met with silence. He added the fact that he received word of the general vicinity where the truck was and he was going to confront the men.
Three women offered their own car keys before Helen held up a key ring. “Take cruiser number thirty-two. It should be gassed and ready to go.”
Hawk thanked her before rushing outside with Alex. They located the vehicle and hopped inside before tearing toward the location Mallory had sent them.
According to Mallory,
