Brady Hawk Series, Books 4-6

by R. J. Patterson

  Alex handed the thumb drive to her.

  Petrov took it and shoved it into her pocket.

  “And my money?” Alex asked.

  “You can check now. I’m sure it’s already there.”

  Alex scrolled through her phone and found the money had been deposited into her account.

  “Are we good?” Petrov asked.

  “Only in a manner of speaking.”

  “Alex, I don’t know if you came here today expecting some grand apology from me or hoping to see me grovel, but you’re going to be disappointed.”

  Alex fought back tears but remained silent.

  “It was just a mission. Maybe you can relate more to that now.” Petrov paused and focused her gaze on Alex. “The truth is the only thing I ever loved is you.”

  Petrov stood and forced a smile.

  It was the last thing she did before a bullet ripped through her chest.

  CHAPTER 3

  Farchant, Germany

  THOR FINISHED RELOADING another brass casing and puffed on his cigar. He put his jacket on and continued with his task in his workshop situated about one hundred meters downhill from the back of his rustic cabin. Nestled in a wooded hillside along the Bavarian Alps, it was the ideal hideout between missions in Europe and Africa. The hour drive from his mountain home to the international airport in Munich created the perfect balance between accessibility and privacy. Yet, he still secured the grounds as if it were the location of a well-known treasure.

  His phone buzzed, alerting him to the arrival of an important message. He glanced at the sender and decided to wait and access the email from a more protected device.

  Thor counted off the casings he’d refilled and methodically inserted them into the clips before trudging up to his house. He’d been holed up for over a week and was getting restless. After fixing himself a cup of coffee, he sat down and opened his encrypted email account.

  He never intended to end up in a situation where he wasn’t the top asset for an organization. It’s what made serving for J.D. Blunt and Firestorm such a struggle. Thor long decided he was never meant to be a second option for anyone. When he was desperate to establish himself as one of the world’s best assassins, he accepted his role as Firestorm’s backup to Brady Hawk.

  At first, Thor concluded there could be no shame in finishing as a runner-up to Hawk. Distinguishing between the two wasn’t an easy assignment for anyone, even someone as familiar with covert operatives as Blunt. In order to make a determination as to who would be his top agent, Blunt concocted a mock assignment for both of them. The winner would be the first person to capture the target—only that wasn’t entirely true, a fact he learned after he supposedly won.

  Thor first met Hawk at a clandestine training camp in northern Idaho. They shared a few laughs and talked about the previous experience in the military. Hawk’s past with the Navy Seals was impressive to most, but Thor scoffed at the notion that it was all that meaningful. After all, he’d served eight years in a black ops unit under the auspices of the U.S. Army, flushing out everyone from Latin American drug dealers to African arms dealers. He did it without getting shot, too. There were no surprises, no ambushes, no traitors. Eventually, Thor assumed command of his unit and guided the men on more than twenty-five successful missions that involved hostile combatants, resulting in deadly gunfights.

  But to Blunt, Thor was second best.

  That designation irked Thor. He thought he not only deserved to be Firestorm’s top agent because of his past successes in the field but also due to the fact that he succeeded in finishing Blunt’s mock assignment first. But that wasn’t how Blunt saw it.

  During their mock exercise, Thor captured the target and started dialing Blunt’s number. But before he could finish, Hawk snuck up behind Thor and told him to drop his phone. With Hawk’s gun digging into Thor’s back, Thor relented. However, he seized on the opportunity when Hawk knelt down to pick up the phone. What happened next depended on who you asked. Hawk said he subdued Thor and dialed Blunt’s number. Thor’s account differed dramatically as he claimed he had both hands around Hawk’s throat and could have killed him, but decided not to out of deference to Blunt and his newfound friend. When Thor called Blunt, Thor sat patiently and listened to the man list reason after reason why Hawk had emerged victorious.

  That moment solidified in Thor’s mind how he felt about Hawk: The former Navy Seal had stolen something that was rightfully Thor’s. The difference in the two positions was nominal in pay and resources, but Thor hated cheaters. He refused to fight dirty, even if it meant he might lose. And to Thor, Hawk had gamed the system.

  Thor glanced out the window into the darkness encroaching on his mountainside home and then returned his gaze to his laptop. He logged into his email and found the curious subject line: New Assignments. Thor clicked on the message and waited for a few moments while the message was decrypted.

  Since he’d left Firestorm and decided to work with Searchlight, Thor had steady work along with the distinction of being called the organization’s top assassin. He looked up at his bulletin board covered in newspaper clippings about various world political leaders and terrorists who’d been killed. And they all died at Thor’s hands.

  He smiled and returned his attention to his computer. The email opened up, revealing the next ten targets on his list, all with a brief description about who they were and where they lived along with the most opportune time to strike in the coming weeks.

  But at the top was another name with a box around it and special instructions: Brady Hawk.

  CHAPTER 4

  Copenhagen, Denmark

  J.D. BLUNT POURED a glass of scotch and threw it back. Then he had another. He needed to calm down before he called Hawk. After not being able to reach Hawk for a twenty-four-hour period, Blunt called General Van Fortner at Camp Lemonnier to get an update.

  “Cape Town? What the hell? I never told them to do that,” Blunt had told General Fortner while pounding on the table.

  “That’s what they told me,” General Fortner said.

  “You should’ve checked with me first.”

  “I tried. You didn’t answer. And then I guess it was too late. I never would’ve dreamed that he was pulling a fast one on us.”

  Blunt clenched his fists again but refrained from hitting anything. “Sorry. I should have warned you. It’s not your fault. Thanks for all your help.”

  He hung up and decided he wouldn’t be so gracious with Hawk when dealing with him directly. Once Hawk called, Blunt was sure he’d get a fully justified explanation as to why they chose to defy him—and it might even make sense. But Blunt was growing tired of such blatant disregard for his authority. Blunt conceded that Hawk was damn good at what he did, but that didn’t give him the right to go rogue. And if he did, Blunt have to find a new operative, while also removing Hawk from the picture in one form or another.

  Blunt took another long pull on his glass of scotch before his phone buzzed with a call from Hawk.

  About time.

  Blunt took a final swig of his drink before answering the call. “Well, well, well,” began Blunt. “If it isn’t the Prodigal Son returning home.”

  Hawk cleared his throat. “Look, about that.”

  Blunt wasn’t interested in hearing a long litany of excuses. “Just forget it, Hawk. I don’t really want to hear it. There’s something else we need to talk about first.”

  “No, there’s not. I need to apologize to you, Senator. What I did was reckless, even if I thought it was going to help us either catch or kill Kataria Petrov.”

  Blunt’s interest was piqued. “So, you were hunting Petrov, were you?”

  “I guess you didn’t get the full story about what we were doing down here,” Hawk said.

  “I found out enough to know that you were in outright rebellion against your commanding officer.”

  “It was Petrov. Come on. I had to try.”

  Blunt sighed. “I guess you could do worse thin
gs.”

  “Unfortunately, we didn’t get her.”

  “What happened?”

  “She sent a body double out, and of course Alex couldn’t tell the difference.”

  Blunt squeezed his glass so hard that he thought he might break it. “What was Alex doing in the op? And don’t you try to pull one on me.”

  “The way it was set up, Petrov requested to meet with Alex. And that was the only way Petrov agreed to meet.”

  Blunt grunted and sighed. “And she never had any intention of meeting with you. She simply wanted to see what you’d do. And, now, she can’t trust you—or whoever organized this shit show.”

  “Emily Thornton called me about it. She said they had a way of making sure The Chamber would be decimated through legal means.”

  “And how’d that work out for you?” Blunt asked. “You should’ve known better than to trust Emily. She’s never had your best interest at heart, but love truly is blind in your case.”

  “I’m not in love with her.”

  “You were. And now it clouds your judgment.”

  “I won’t let it happen again,” Hawk said.

  “Better not. It’ll be the last time we work together. I can’t have you going rogue, if you understand what I’m saying.”

  “I think so,” Hawk said.

  “Do you? Perhaps I better spell it out for you.”

  “That’s not necessary.”

  “I think it is, just to be clear. If you pull a stunt like this again, you’re gone. I’m not sure how it will happen, but you won’t be doing any work with me any more—or anyone else for that matter. Is that clear enough for you?”

  “Crystal, sir.”

  “Good. Now, let’s put this episode behind us and get to the task at hand.”

  “You have an assignment for us?” Hawk asked.

  “Yeah, and it’s an important one.”

  “More so than usual?”

  Blunt paused. “In my opinion, yes. However, it’s a little unusual too.”

  “Go on.”

  “It’s about retrieving a list as opposed to an assassination. Think you can handle it?”

  “Fill me on the details.”

  Blunt proceeded to share about how a Serbian hacker nicknamed Black Wolf by the intelligence community had managed to break into several national security databases and extract a list of operatives embedded in terrorist organizations around the world. As a result, not only were the agents at risk, but it also put the entire world in a more tenuous situation as to how it could handle threats.

  “If those names are exposed to someone who can actually do something about it,” Blunt explained, “it’s going to cripple the world’s ability to fight terrorism. So much of the information the intelligence community shares these days comes from these agents.”

  “And you’re confident destroying the list will keep them safe?”

  “Yes, Black Wolf isn’t stupid. The last thing he wants is to leave digital breadcrumbs back to him resulting in a potential prosecution. If he keeps this list off his hard drives, it’d be difficult to prove it was him.”

  “And you’re confident he’s only offering to sell this list once? What if he decides to sell it twice?”

  “I doubt even a misstep will embolden him that much,” Blunt said. “That type of money will give him more than enough to slip away.”

  “How exactly does he plan to make this transfer?”

  “Like any good agent, he’s going to do it in plain sight—and do it legally.”

  “So, when and where is this going down?”

  Blunt took a deep breath. “Well, that’s the thing. You don’t have much time.”

  “How much time are you talking about?”

  “You’ve got three days to get from Cape Town to Vienna. Black Wolf is going to sell to the highest bidder at Im Kinsky Auction House there.”

  “So, you want me to simply buy the list?”

  “If that’s how you’d like to do it—”

  “It is. Do we have the money?”

  “We’ll have to set a limit of ten million,” Blunt said. “Do whatever you can to get it at that price or below—or retrieve it by other means.”

  “Excellent,” Hawk said before pausing. “What about Alex?”

  “I don’t want her anywhere near the action on this op. Are we clear on this?”

  “Don’t worry. I have a former colleague who can help me at Im Kinsky if necessary. I won’t put Alex at risk, sir.”

  Blunt took another sip of his scotch, tossing it back to drain the glass. “Good. I’m counting on you, Hawk. Hell, humankind is counting on you. Now, get to work.”

  He hung up and exhaled. He needed another drink.

  CHAPTER 5

  Vienna, Austria

  THREE DAYS LATER, Hawk straightened his tie and climbed out of a Maserati GranTurismo. The circular driveway in front of Courtney Moxie’s heavily fortified home was lined with trees and provided the type of privacy someone running a private security firm demanded. As he glanced around the grounds, Hawk sneered with contempt at the little things—the subtle low-tech elements that made it particularly challenging to stake out her home. Hawk knew firsthand because since he’d invited her to accompany him to the Im Kinsky auction house, he second-guessed his actions and tried to embark on a surveillance mission to either confirm or deny his suspicions. But he came up with nothing and concluded that perhaps he was being paranoid.

  Before Hawk reached the door, Courtney sashayed down the steps and almost appeared to ignore him.

  “Don’t just stand there gawking,” Courtney said. “We have an auction to go to, Mr. Barrington.”

  Hawk, who was using the legend of antiquities collector named Alistair Barrington, tried to ignore her beauty. It was a struggle. Courtney’s shimmery red dress clung tight to her curvaceous figure, her back almost fully exposed by the low-cut design. It was a figure deserving of another admiring glance.

  Courtney didn’t turn around. She stopped in front of Hawk’s car and snapped her fingers.

  “We don’t have all day,” she said.

  Hawk broke out of his trance and hustled down the steps. He stopped just short of the car and flung the door open for her.

  “Thank you,” she said, sliding into her seat without ever looking at Hawk.

  Hawk ran around the car and hunched down as he got inside, barely avoiding the low clearance the vehicle provided.

  “You haven’t changed a bit,” Hawk said.

  Courtney laughed politely. “Why thank you, Brady.”

  “It’s Barrington.”

  “Okay, Barrington,” she said with a wink. “You know that all I want in life is your approval—and I’m going to take your previous comment as such.”

  With a faint smile, Hawk buckled his seat belt and eased onto the gas.

  They rode along in silence for a few minutes before Hawk attempt to engage her in conversation.

  “So, how’s life in private security?” he asked.

  She cast him a sideways glance. “You just saw my house, didn’t you?”

  He nodded.

  “I think my 12,000 square foot home with a staff of six speaks for itself.”

  “So, you’re not thinking about returning to the government sector?”

  She huffed politely through her nose and shook her head. “Do I look like a masochist to you? Greater danger, lower pay?” She looked at her shoes and inspected the red soles. “Can’t keep a healthy stock of Christian Louboutin shoes on a government salary.”

  “I never knew designer shoes were that important to you.”

  “I never knew how much I liked them until I could afford them.”

  Hawk continued to drive without saying a word for a few more minutes. However, the quietness was interrupted when the journalist on the radio reported about a recent robbery.

  “Turn that up,” Courtney said.

  Hawk obliged and attuned his ear to the German-speaking announcer. He wasn’t fluen
t in the language, but he could get by conversationally. He heard enough to make out something about a robbery with jewels and suspects still on the run.

  “What is it?” Hawk asked when it was obvious the news report had ended.

  “One of my clients we helped secure his personal residence had $30 million Euros worth of diamonds stolen from his jewelry store. And law enforcement has been unable to apprehend the suspect. They believe him to be armed and dangerous.”

  “So it wasn’t your fault?”

  She shook her head. “That’d never happen if I was in charge.”

  Hawk adjusted the small speaker in his left ear without Courtney noticing. Alex was on the other end, monitoring the entire operation far away at a remote location.

  “You need to open the sun roof just so she can fit her head in the car, don’t you?” Alex chided in Hawk’s ear.

  He smiled and continued to zip along the surface streets to Im Kinsky.

  “What’s got that goofy grin on your face?” Courtney said.

  Hawk shrugged.

  “Don’t play coy, Hawk,” Courtney said. “I’ve been around you enough to know when you’re thinking about something else.”

  “It’s been a while, Courtney. People change.”

  “According to you, I don’t. Guess I’m some timeless exception to your rule. But you on the other hand—” She let her words trail off, irking Hawk.

  “Don’t dance around it,” he snapped. “If you feel something, say it. Isn’t that what you used to tell me?”

  “That was a long time ago. I’m a little wiser these days.”

  Hawk wasn’t amused but smiled anyway. “So, I guess you have changed.”

  “I guess I have.”

  Alex chimed in through Hawk’s com. “Hopefully she’s slightly less of an arrogant winch than she was when you first met her.”

  “But there are some things about you that haven’t changed,” Courtney said.

  “Such as?” Hawk asked.

  “Your inability to bluff me.”

  Hawk threw his head back and laughed. “And what would I be bluffing about?”

  “The notion that you’re still attracted to me, no matter how beautiful I am.”