Hawk nodded at Black, who stepped aside to catch his colleague up to date.
“Good job on the drones,” Black said.
Hawk shook his head and sighed. “I lost her.”
“Evana?”
“I had to choose between her and stopping the drones.”
“Excuse me,” one of the hackers said.
Hawk furrowed his brow as he stared at the young woman who’d stepped forward. “I’m not sure you want to be talking without a lawyer right now, ma’am.”
“Did you say that you lost Evana?” the woman asked, ignoring Hawk’s advice.
“Who are you?” Hawk asked.
Black pointed at her. “That’s Charity Tucker, step-daughter of one Collin Radcliffe.”
Hawk waved dismissively at her. “Yeah. So you gonna dance a celebration jig now? Your boss got away and even if I take you in, your father will pardon you in six months.”
She shook her head. “I’m not here on my own free will. She was blackmailing me, said she’d have the FBI on my doorstep after framing me for child pornography if I didn’t help her.”
"So, you wanna help?" Hawk asked.
A faint smile spread across her lips. “Do I ever.”
CHAPTER 40
8:10 p.m.
HAWK HUSTLED OUT of the door of the apartment building as fireworks lit up the sky. While some people turned back around shouting that the whole scare was a hoax, others continued in their panicked run away from the mall. Hawk weaved between the merging crowds and danced between the stalled traffic.
He looked down at his phone and followed the red dot on the map. If Charity Tucker was lying, he’d know it shortly.
Hawk ran south on 7th Street until he reached the Wharf. Then the dot he was following stopped. Scanning the area, he didn’t see anyone that looked like her, much less someone by themselves. He glanced back down again at his phone and shook his head.
She should be right here.
“Alex,” he said over his coms. “Are you following me at all?”
“I’m right here with you,” she said.
“Can you tap into any of the closed-circuit televisions?”
“I’m working on it. Why? What do you need?”
“I’ve got this app that Charity Tucker gave me, and it says Evana Bahar should be right here at the Wharf. But I don’t see her.”
He took another look at the scene in front of him. Several people were partying on their boats, staring skyward at the fireworks, oblivious to the chaos that happened just a mile away.
Then a boat roared out into the channel. Hawk rushed along the dock and caught a glimpse of Evana as she looked back.
Surveying his surroundings, he ran over to a ski boat where two couples sat drinking and watching the Fourth celebration.
“Excuse me, folks,” Hawk said. “I need to borrow your boat right now.”
One of the men stood up and sneered at Hawk. “Nice try, loser.”
Hawk whipped out his gun and trained it on the man. “I’d show you my badge, but I don’t have time for you to argue about whether it’s real or not. Now, get out so I can go catch a terrorist.”
The couples didn’t put up any more resistance as they rushed off the boat. Hawk fired up the engine and tore after Evana, violating every speed limit for the Washington Channel.
Once he reached the entrance to the Potomac River, he strained to keep an eye on her while dodging oncoming traffic. The river was packed with boaters enjoying an unobstructed view of the fireworks.
Hawk swerved back and forth, trying to keep pace with Evana, who was riding full throttle and well past the cluster of vessels.
“You must’ve found her,” Alex said. “You’re moving faster than normal on foot.”
Hawk chuckled. “I did eat my Wheaties this morning.”
“I’ve been following you on satellite,” she said.
“Good,” he said. “Do you see Evana? Because I just lost her after she went around the bend.”
“I got her. She looks like she’s about to beach her boat and get out at the Naval Research Lab.”
“Notify the Navy right now,” Hawk said.
Hawk skimmed along the water until he saw her boat in the fading twilight. He rushed up onshore and looked at his app, trying to locate her. Once he figured out where he was, his mouth fell agape.
“Alex,” Hawk said. “I think I know where she’s going.”
“Me, too.”
* * *
THE U.S. NAVAL Research Laboratories positioned along the bank of the Potomac River occupied a crucial piece of real estate in the nation’s capital. Just across the water was Ronald Reagan National Airport. Bolling Air Force Base sat north of the lab.
But it was inside the gates of the research center that gave Hawk reasons for concern. While plenty of scientists investigated marine biology discoveries and sought innovative uses for what they found, there was another division that was the source of many conspiracies and rumors—the nuclear lab.
Hidden beneath the building was an entire floor dedicated to developing better nuclear technology for ships and submarines. That also meant that there was plenty of radioactive nuclear material, the kind that could endanger thousands upon thousands of people. And if Evana had a way to get it airborne, it would essentially result in a dirty bomb.
He approached the facility and stopped as he tried to figure out a way inside.
“I’ve got to hand it to her,” Hawk said over his coms. “She had a backup plan, one that I have to admire.”
“Quit gawking and get inside,” Alex said.
“I don’t see a way in,” he said. “Did you get in touch with anyone there?”
“Not yet,” she said. “Seems like everyone is out enjoying the Fourth celebration.”
“Then I’ll find another way in.”
Hawk scanned the area until he located a ladder that took him to the roof. Once there, he shot up the door’s deadbolt, blowing it off and allowing him access inside. He raced down several floors until he came to the elevator. The app showed Evana was practically right there. Then he noticed a splotch of blood just outside the elevators.
Down we go.
When he pushed the
