Young sighed. “How am I supposed to stay calm?”
“Listen to some music. Stand out in the hallway. I don’t know. Just don’t ask a hundred questions while we’re trying to save your daughter’s life.”
“Okay, I’ll try,” Young said.
“Good,” Hawk said as he slapped Young on the arm. “Now you just sit tight and keep a positive outlook. And you’ll be with Olivia in no time.”
Young sat down in a chair in the far corner of the room and cracked his knuckles. He tried to look elsewhere, but he couldn’t. He stood back up and paced in the corner.
“The car with Shirazi is approaching now,” Southorn called out. “Is everyone ready?”
A chorus of affirmative answers went up around the room.
Hawk nodded and signaled a thumbs up. “Let’s get Olivia back where she belongs.”
* * *
HAWK EYED THE bank of monitors on the far wall and tried to consider anything he hadn’t thought of. Earlier in the evening, he shared his concern with the team handling the exchange. Evana Bahar wasn’t about to walk away from an exchange in the nation’s capital without some sort of contingency plan. She wanted to get Shirazi back and undoubtedly escape with her life. But that meant keeping Olivia hostage, even after she was released.
How Evana was going to do it was the haunting mystery.
Right at 11:00 p.m., Young’s phone rang. The line was patched into the system so everyone could hear what was discussed.
“We have Farzaad Shirazi for you,” Young said as he answered. “Where do you want us to swap him?”
"I have a dead man's switch in my hand," she said. "It only works within a certain radius, so if you kill me, I drop it and the bomb collar I've placed around her neck explodes. Once I'm out of range, the light will stop blinking, and I'm sure your skilled professionals at the FBI will be able to remove it."
“If anything happens to her, I swear to God—”
“Stop making threats that we both know you can’t carry out,” Evana said. “Let’s just complete this negotiated deal and move on with our lives.”
“Where is she?”
“She’s at the southwest corner of the park. I’m going to release her and let her walk to the center near the fountain. I expect you to do the same for Shirazi. Olivia has been instructed to hand him a phone. If I don’t see him, I’ll drop the dead man switch immediately. Is that clear?”
“Yes,” Young said.
“You can have one of your agents collect your daughter. But if you try anything on Shirazi, I’ll have Olivia’s head blown clean off. You’ll never even see that pretty face of hers again.”
“Okay, okay. I understand.”
“Good. I’m hanging up now and will release Olivia.”
Young hung up and fumbled his phone, which crashed onto the floor. Hawk turned around and gave Young a reassuring look.
“It’s going to be okay, Mr. President,” Hawk said.
Cameras stationed throughout the park captured the exchange. Olivia walked slowly toward the fountain, as did Shirazi. The Al Fatihin fighter needed some coaxing from the CIA agents who’d been handling him since landing in the U.S., according to the chatter on Hawk’s headphones. Shirazi eventually agreed to move forward only after the CIA agent promised to bring his family out of Afghanistan if he died.
As the two passed by each other, Olivia handed Shirazi a phone. Hawk noticed tears streaking down both of their faces. Once Olivia held up her side of the bargain, she sprinted toward the agents waiting on the opposite end of the park. Shirazi dialed a number and disappeared into the thick vegetation, an unlit portion of the park which wasn’t covered by any cameras.
“Where’d he go?” Southorn demanded. “Somebody get an image of him. We can’t lose Shirazi.”
* * *
WITH MIA IN TOW, Hawk raced downstairs to greet Olivia as she returned from her terrifying ordeal. An FBI bomb squad was already inspecting the gadget fastened around her neck as he approached her.
“Can that device be remotely triggered?” Hawk asked.
One of the technicians shrugged. “I can’t tell yet. According to Special Agent Southorn, this light is supposed to go out when it’s safe to remove. Something about the kidnapper being out of range.”
Olivia’s lips quivered, her cheeks stained with tears.
Hawk grabbed her hand. “It’ll be all right. Don’t worry. These people are going to help you.”
She nodded as she sniffled. Mia squeezed through the bomb techs to give her a hug.
“You’re gonna be okay,” Mia said, patting Olivia on the back. “This will all be over with before you know it.”
Mia peered at the device on Olivia’s neck and then drew back. One of the men nudged Mia out of the way. She retreated and walked back to Hawk.
“Well?” he asked.
Mia shook her head. “Evana was lying. That device is triggered by a cell phone. If she makes a call right now, this whole room will explode.”
“Can you do something about that?”
“I’m on it.”
Hawk cursed under his breath as he followed Mia back to the situation room. When he returned, Southorn was eyeing the screen as he polished off a bottle of Diet Mountain Dew.
“Can I speak with you privately?” Hawk asked quietly.
Southorn nodded and strode to the corner of the room. “What is it?”
"That bomb on Olivia's neck isn't triggered by a dead man's switch, like Evana claimed," Hawk said in a hushed tone. "All she has to do is dial a number to set it off."
“We need to get her somewhere without cell reception.”
Hawk shook his head. “In this town? Are you crazy?”
“You have any better ideas?”
“That’s why I brought Mia. She’s a hacker who can take down cell towers. She should be able to weaken the signal long enough through some of her techniques so your bomb squad can remove it.”
Southorn cast a furtive glance at President Young, who continued to pace in the far corner. “Should you tell him or do you want me to do it?”
“Does he really need to know?”
“I’ll
