Vengeance

by R. J. Patterson

  “We’ll be ready tomorrow,” Black said. “Let me show you how we’re going to handle the situation.”

  CHAPTER 23

  THE NEXT MORNING, Hawk awoke to the smell of coffee brewing and bacon sizzling in a frying pan. He looked at his watch with one eye open and then glanced toward the window. It was still dark outside at just a shade past 6:30 a.m.

  He groaned and sank back into the couch. “What’s going on? Do you realize what time it is?”

  “I sure do, sweetie,” Mrs. Templeton said as she tousled Hawk’s hair. “Your wife and I woke up with a little spring in our step, and she thought it’d be a great idea to make breakfast for everyone.”

  “Well, I do operate better on a full stomach, that’s for sure,” Hawk said, forcing a smile as he lumbered toward the table.

  He wanted to take a plate to Black and felt a little guilty for eating so well. Meanwhile, Black was probably going to have to woof down a fast food breakfast burrito from somewhere. But Hawk wanted to keep Black’s presence a surprise, especially in light of what he learned about Mrs. Templeton from the FBI agents.

  Alex made some eggs and toast, serving as side items for the bacon. Hawk was grateful for the meal and profusely thanked both women before taking a quick shower. Once he got dressed, he questioned Mrs. Templeton again the logistics of getting to El Diablo Point.

  “It’ll take us about an hour and a half at this time in the morning, counting traffic and the hike to the spot,” she said.

  “Then we need to get moving,” Hawk said. “I want to get there at least a half hour early to make sure that we have all our bases covered.”

  She snatched her pack of cigarettes off the table and packed them. Using her tongue, she wrangled one out of the box before igniting the tobacco.

  “It’s your show,” she said. “Me and my cancer are just along for the ride.”

  Hawk nodded. “I just want to warn you that I might say some unsavory things about you today when your son arrives, but just know that I’m only doing it to extract information from him.”

  “Don't fool yourself, Mr. Flannigan. You just want revenge like everybody else. You couldn't care less about justice. I've seen your type. You just want to pump Mack full of lead and fool yourself into believing that the problem has been solved.”

  “You don’t know the first thing about me or what drives all my decisions.”

  “I know it’s not justice, at least not in this case. My son is likely some low-level grunt, doing the bidding of far more powerful people. Yet, you’re targeting him like the whole system is going crumble if he goes down. It won’t. They’ll just slide someone else into his place and carry on.”

  Hawk sighed. “Convince him to work with us. I know you can do that.”

  “Mack is as stubborn as they come, just like his father was,” she said.

  “What really happened to Mack’s father?”

  “I told you that he died.”

  “How did he die?” Hawk asked. “Or better yet, how did Mack kill him?”

  “I never said Mack killed him,” she said.

  “But your face did. What did your first husband do? Beat you? Yell at you? Degrade you? I’m sure it was justified.”

  Mrs. Templeton narrowed her eyes. “He died, okay? Mack didn’t have anything to do with it.”

  “So you say,” Hawk said. “But I know different. Did he help you with your other three husbands as well?”

  “Don’t you dare suggest anything like that ever again,” Mrs. Templeton said. “I’ll report you for kidnapping me to the local authorities. And if you want to talk about justice, I know a half dozen judges here who’d do whatever I say.”

  Hawk nodded.

  A half-dozen judges who you’re paying off to get these girls through the system.

  “Fine,” he said. “I’ll call a truce on this, but I swear to you that if things go south today, you’ll be the one getting the brunt of it. Don’t think your son is going to save you somehow. Just go along with our plan, and we’ll leave you alone forever after this morning. Got it?”

  “Understood,” she said with a sneer.

  “Now grab your keys and let’s go,” Hawk said. “We’re taking your car.”

  * * *

  EL DIABLO POINT overlooked the valley, and Hawk instantly realized how the location received its name. Anyone who stood on the rock that jutted out from the cliff could see for miles—and feel like royalty overlooking a kingdom.

  Hawk climbed up on the boulder and peered out across the land. He looked through his binoculars at the parking lot and gave a subtle signal to Black, who had followed them there. He set up a perimeter alarm along the trail, giving Hawk and Alex a heads up that someone was heading toward them. Once everything was in place, Black was supposed to join them a few minutes before the scheduled rendezvous.

  Hawk took Mrs. Templeton’s phone and handed it to Alex. “She’ll be in charge of your cell until your son arrives. I’m sure you understand.”

  Mrs. Templeton nodded. “I find it hard to believe that you don’t trust me.”

  “You shouldn’t take it personally, Mrs. Templeton. I don’t trust anyone.”

  At 9:55 a.m., Black strode into the clearing at El Diablo Point and joined them.

  “Who’s this?” Mrs. Templeton asked, her wild eyes wide with fear.

  “Just a friend,” Alex said. “You don’t have anything to be afraid of.”

  “Has he been here the whole time, just lurking in the trees?”

  “He just got here, but he’s going to help us ensure that everything goes smoothly.”

  Mrs. Templeton lit another cigarette and took a long drag before continuing the conversation. “Mack’s not gonna like this. He’ll be like a caged animal—a caged and wounded animal.”

  “We’ll be able to handle him,” Hawk said. “Just play it cool, okay? I don’t want you getting hurt during this whole ordeal.”

  At ten minutes past 10:00 a.m., Walsh had yet to arrive. The perimeter alarm had been tripped twice, but both times Black checked his phone to see the images transmitted back to him. One was of two young women hiking, while the other was an elderly couple.

  “Still no sign of him,” Hawk said softly to Black. “Maybe we overestimated Walsh’s affection for his mother.”

  While they were talking, Mrs. Templeton gasped and let out a short cry.

  “You made it,” she said, her gaze trained on the front of El Diablo Point.

  Hawk spun and looked toward the front of the rock and watched Mack Walsh scramble to his feet and pull his gun. Hawk trained his weapon on Mack as he darted behind Mrs. Templeton.

  “That’s far enough,” Hawk said. “Put the gun down.”

  Walsh, who was sporting a Kevlar vest and a helmet, had yet to remove his rock climbing harness and breathed heavily after summiting the rock face.

  “Is this how you want to play it?” Walsh asked. “I kill your mother, then you kill mine? I don’t know what you think is going to come of this, but you’re not going to learn anything. There are people far more powerful than you ever imagined, people in our own government, pulling the strings here. And if you think threatening to kill my mother is going to change things, you’re dead wrong.”

  “You’re outgunned,” Black said. “There are only two ways this ends, and you won’t be pleased with either one.”

  Walsh laughed as he unbuckled his harness and shook it off onto the ground. “This is a joke, right? We both know you’re not going to kill my mother.”

  “Don’t test me,” Hawk said. “I know what kind of woman she is. And it wouldn’t be hard to pull the trigger.”

  “I doubt that. Whatever you know, she’s far worse.”

  Mrs. Templeton glared at her son. “That’s rich coming from you.”

  “Says my sick and dying mother,” Walsh shot back. “I knew that was a lie the moment you told me. All those fake tears? Was that for these agents here or for me?”

  “At least I had the dec
ency to warn you. Maybe that was a mistake, especially if you’re going to talk about me like that?” she said. “How dare you!”

  “Put a sock in it, old lady,” Walsh said. “You told me there was only one agent to worry about, not two.”

  “That’s right,” Black said. “There’s no way out of this for you.”

  “Do I look concerned?” Walsh asked.

  “If you knew this was a trap, why’d you come?” Hawk asked. “Is Obsidian really that concerned about one agent?”

  Walsh shook his head. “I’m just following orders.”

  “So am I,” Hawk countered.

  “You’re wasting your time because no matter what you do to me, you won’t be able to stop them,” Walsh said. “They are moving ahead regardless of whether I’m alive or dead.”

  “At this point, do you think I really care about that?” Hawk said. “I want justice for my mother.”

  “And you’re going to get that my shooting my mother?” Walsh asked. “Come on, Hawk. This isn’t you. Let me save you the trouble.”

  Walsh took aim at his mother, firing twice. Realizing what Walsh was doing, Hawk pushed Mrs. Templeton to the side, but it was too late. One bullet ripped through her chest while the other grazed her side.

  Hawk and Black both fired back but they didn’t have much of a target to aim for as Walsh dove off the side of the cliff.

  CHAPTER 24

  HAWK KNELT DOWN next to Mrs. Templeton and propped her head up. He tried to stop the bleeding, applying pressure with his hands. Alex handed him a sweatshirt to help, but the blood flow wasn’t slowing down fast enough.

  “It’s all right,” Mrs. Templeton said as she gasped for air. “I deserve this.”

  “No one deserves to be murdered by their own son,” Hawk said.

  “I had it coming one way or another,” she said before coughing up some more blood.

  “Please,” Hawk said, “if you know anything about what he’s planning on doing, tell us now. You might be able to help save innocent lives.”

  She coughed some more and struggled to take a deep breath before closing her eyes.

  “Mrs. Templeton, stay with us,” Alex said, taking the woman’s hand.

  She opened her eyes again, barely wide enough to see her pupils.

  “He texted me that he was going to kill you and return to Washington for one more job and then he was getting out.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Templeton,” Hawk said.

  “If you see him again, tell him I love him,” she said.

  Her body fell limp in Hawk’s arms.

  Alex closed her eyes and shook her head. “She’s gone.”

  “What a bastard,” Hawk said. “He just killed his own mother. One more job? Yeah, right.”

  Black hustled back over to Hawk and Alex. “She didn’t make it, did she?”

  “She didn’t have a prayer,” Hawk said.

  “Well, Walsh made it,” Black said. “He pulled a chute and made it safely to the ground near the parking lot before he tore out of here.”

  “How were they communicating?” Black asked. “I thought you confiscated her phone.”

  “We did,” Alex said. “Apparently, she had another one.”

  Alex searched Mrs. Templeton’s pockets and found a cell phone. “Would you look at this?”

  The device was password protected and prevented Alex from getting into the data.

  “Use her thumbprint to the open the phone,” Hawk said. “It’s still turned on, isn’t it?”

  “It is, but this cell uses facial recognition,” she said.

  “Try it,” Black said.

  Alex held the phone in front of Mrs. Templeton, allowing it to scan her face. The phone buzzed and opened up.

  “Bingo,” Alex said and started to look for the text exchange between Mrs. Templeton and her son.

  “There’s nothing here,” Alex said. “All the texts have been deleted.”

  “Can you retrieve any of it another way?” Hawk asked.

  “Yeah, but that’d take more time than we have.”

  “You’re right,” Hawk said. “We’re low on time anyway since I have to circle back and explain all this to the FBI.”

  “FBI?” Alex asked.

  “I didn't have a chance to tell you,” Hawk said. “But it doesn't matter now. Some feds jumped me last night in front of the house, apprehending me to keep me away from Mrs. Templeton.”

  “But you’re here,” she said. “What did you do?”

  Hawk grimaced. “I broke free and sort of tied them up at one of their black sites.”

  “Oh, Hawk,” she said. “And now Mrs. Templeton is dead.”

  “And we need to get back to Washington,” Hawk said. “I’ll drop by and release them and give them a quick rundown of what happened. In the meantime, you two need to get to the airport and get the plane ready.”

  “What business could Walsh have in Washington?” Black asked.

  “The National Security Complex dedication,” Alex said. “That’s happening tomorrow afternoon.”

  Hawk’s eyes widened. “Who all is going to be there?”

  “Everybody,” she said. “All of Washington will be there to celebrate the opening of the facility.”

  Hawk nodded. “We better hurry.”

  CHAPTER 25

  HAWK’S BRIEF RETURN to the FBI black site wasn’t a pleasant one as he delivered the news of Mrs. Templeton’s death before freeing all of the agents. Sanders was livid and promised that they would seek retribution for Hawk meddling with their operation. After apologizing a second time for how things went down, Hawk volunteered to return in his free time to help crack the smuggling ring. His offer wasn’t received all that well, but Hawk didn’t concern himself with it as he drove back to the airport. His team had far more pressing matters, the kind with national security implications.

  The engines for the Phoenix Foundation’s jet whirred as Hawk stepped out of the SUV and onto the tarmac. He hustled over to the plane and joined Alex and Black, who were already settled in. After notifying the pilot that they were ready to depart, Hawk buckled up and closed his eyes for a moment. He needed a chance to process all the chaotic events that had just unfolded along with a plan on how to proceed.

  Hawk leaned back and wondered if Walsh was right about trying to take down Obsidian. Perhaps the organization was too powerful and influential to be stopped. Maybe such efforts were a waste of his time. But Hawk refused to accept such a fate. He had to try to do something.

  When he felt a gentle touch on his shoulders, he opened his eyes and looked up at Alex.

  “You all right?” she asked.

  “All things considered, I guess I’m okay,” he said.

  “How’d your new friends at the FBI take the news about Mrs. Templeton?”

  “About as well as you’d expect—livid, angry, upset, and vowing to get back at me somehow.”

  She smiled. “That wouldn’t be the first time.”

  “You can say that again.”

  “I just can’t help but think how this plan to lure out Walsh led to Mrs. Templeton’s death. And we didn’t even get him.”

  Hawk sighed. “I hate that she lost her life, but she sabotaged our entire operation by telling her son what we were doing—and she was trafficking illegal girls in the U.S. Just think about that. Sex trafficking, Alex. She wasn’t a good woman.”

  “But Walsh didn’t even try to kill you.”

  “Maybe he realized it was better to fight another day than to get into a shootout when he was outnumbered. I mean, you have to hand it to him—his plan worked. We were so distracted and confused that he was able to get away. Even worse, if he had any suspicion that we don't want to kill him, that episode this morning confirmed it for him. Our agenda is out in the open now, and he'll be able to use that to his advantage.”

  “Our agenda is stopping Obsidian no matter what,” Alex said. “But maybe we’ve been approaching this the wrong way.”

  Hawk sat up
right in his chair. “What do you mean?”

  “Everything we’ve been doing is reactive, not proactive. Obsidian is dictating the game.”

  “Until we know what they’re trying to achieve, it’s hard to be anything other than reactive,” Black said.

  “That’s why maybe we need to go on the offensive,” Alex said. “As much as it’d be nice to catch Walsh—and I know that you need that for closure, Hawk—we need to be more than just a mild pain in their ass. We need to disrupt everything they’re doing.”

  Hawk nodded in agreement. “That sounds like a great plan, but we still need something—anything—to build off of, no matter how weak the connection might be. Outside of Walsh and what we can learn six months from now once we can get back into that Idaho mountain, we’re still flying blind. So, we need Walsh now.”

  “And once we catch him, we start hunting these people one by one,” Black said. “After all, we’re the assassins here.”

  The team came to a quick consensus that once they caught Walsh, they would shift gears. But given the gravity of the impending threat at the dedication the next day, they had no choice but to defend all the high-ranking state officials.

  Hawk called Blunt and caught him up on the situation as well as the team’s desire to warn General Van Fortner about what Obsidian was planning.

  “I think that’d be a waste of our time,” Blunt said. “Fortner isn’t going to cave to a possible terrorist attack. He’d see canceling the event as a sign of weakness. And there’s nothing more he wants to do right now that display strength, both as a leader and for the country.”

  “You should at least tell him,” Hawk said. “He has a right to know.”

  “Right now, I’m wary of telling anyone anything,” Blunt said. “The entire intelligence community seems like it’s riddled with so many leaks that we’re sinking into the abyss.”

  “So, you’re just going to give up like that?”

  “Absolutely not,” Blunt said. “You’re going to prevent that attack from ever taking place and make General Fortner look like the strong leader that he is.”