Any Means Necessary

by R. J. Patterson

  “Roger that.”

  Hawk peered down the hall and noticed all of the rooms required thumbprints. Working quickly, he removed a kit from his pack and duplicated the guard’s print. Armed with the guard’s access card, Hawk was ready to get to work.

  He hustled down the hallway, stopping at each corner to check for approaching workers. The building traffic was relatively sparse as he only had to avoid a couple workers strolling down the hall.

  Peering through the vertical glass slits in each door, Hawk crept through the facility until he reached a room full of servers. He eased inside and wasted no time in uploading the virus to one of the units.

  “Alex,” Hawk whispered.

  “I’m here.”

  “I found the servers. Anything else you want me to do?”

  “As a matter of fact, there is.”

  She walked through how to relay all the information she needed to hack the servers and download as much information as possible.

  “You know if you do that, it’s going to trigger a breach alert and this room is going to be swarming with people,” Hawk said as he snapped a few pictures.

  “Good,” Alex said. “It’ll save you some time trying to find the people in charge, because you know whoever is running that operation will be one of the first ones in the room.”

  “I’m not sure that’s the best idea.”

  “Find one of the computers in the back corner, and give me its information,” Alex said. “I’ll target that one and make it obvious. They’ll know exactly which one is being accessed, and they’ll try to shut it down first. Then you can lie in wait.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “What would you do without me?” Alex asked before quickly adding, “Don’t answer that.”

  Hawk huffed a soft laugh through his nose before following her instructions.

  Ten minutes later, footsteps thundered down the hall. Several men stormed into the room and started searching the computers. Hawk peered around the corner of a long row to see if he could determine who was in charge.

  One bespectacled man stood at the center of the small crowd, barking orders. After dispensing his commands, all but two men left the room as the others scurried back outside to carry out their assigned tasks. The two remaining men shared a word before the leader marched down the long aisle directly toward Hawk.

  “I wouldn’t have believed this would work in a million years,” Hawk whispered into his coms.

  “That’s why we’re a great team. You’ve got the brawn, and I’ve got the brain. It’s a formidable combination.”

  Hawk crouched low and waited for the man to arrive. Once he finally reached the back wall of the room, he headed straight for the computer that Alex had targeted. He placed both hands on the keyboard and started typing, engrossed in his activity.

  Hawk seized the opportunity and slipped behind the man, jamming a gun into his back and covering his mouth.

  “Joyonghiiss-eo la,” Hawk said, instructing the man to stay quiet.

  The man nodded in acknowledgement.

  “Tell your friend to leave the room,” Hawk whispered in Korean.

  Following orders, the man told the other worker that he could handle the breach on his own. A few seconds later, the door opened and then closed.

  “Who are you?” the man asked in English.

  Hawk glanced down at the security badge dangling from the man’s shirt pocket. Ji-tae Choe was etched just beneath his picture.

  “Mr. Choe,” Hawk said, “I need your help.”

  “You haven’t answered my question.”

  Hawk narrowed his eyes. “If you don’t answer my question, I’m going to be your worst nightmare. Now, I’ll explain more later if you tell me what I need to know.”

  “Please, put the gun away,” Choe said. “They make me nervous.”

  Hawk shook his head. “I’m not trying to make you comfortable, but I promise not to use it if you do what I ask.”

  Choe nodded. “I can’t make any promises, but I will do my best. What is it that you want?”

  “The names of the people who hired you.”

  Choe chuckled. “You’ll have to be more specific than that. We conduct business for hundreds of clients around the globe.”

  “We tracked the U.S. Capitol’s cyber breach back to your server farm here. Now, who hired you for that job?”

  Choe’s eyes widened, and he shook his head. “I don’t know who you are, but it doesn’t matter. Those people are more powerful than you can even imagine. They didn’t ask me to do anything—it was a command, the kind that you don’t refuse.”

  “I’m looking for a name, a contact—anything.”

  “That’s not how these people work,” Choe said as he wrung his hands. “They send their ghosts in to do their bidding.”

  Hawk set his jaw. “I don’t believe you.”

  “I swear, I don’t know anything.”

  “Do you have a car?”

  The man nodded.

  Hawk grabbed him by the arm. “You’re going to get me out of here.”

  Choe poked his head out of the door and checked down the hall in both directions.

  “It’s clear,” he whispered.

  Hawk maintained a firm grip on Choe’s left bicep. “No games, Mr. Choe. Is that understood?”

  With Hawk in tow, Choe eased into the corridor. Using his security clearance, Choe accessed the elevator and descended to the bottom floor. The below ground parking lot was unpaved and rudimentary, utilizing a low-ceiling cave and room enough for no more than a couple dozen vehicles. Beyond that area, there were more boulders and craggy ground that led toward a winnowing tunnel. However, there was light emanating from it.

  “Which one is yours?” Hawk asked.

  Choe nodded at a van and led Hawk to it. But right as they drew near, Choe stopped and then screamed.

  A couple guards had just stepped off the elevator and were now racing toward them.

  Hawk dove to the ground and jerked Choe with him. Angling to use Choe as a shield, Hawk tried to drag his captive behind the van and come up with a plan. But Choe grabbed the front tire of the van and held on, rendering Hawk’s plan useless. Hawk pistol-whipped Choe, knocking him out before fishing the keys out of his pocket.

  The guards fired several shots in Hawk’s direction, sending him scurrying behind the back of the van. He tried to put the key into the back to unlock the doors but realized he’d been fooled by Choe. The key fob had the Mercedes-Benz insignia on it.

  Hawk cursed his breath as another round of bullets rained down on him. He shoved the key into his pocket and decided that his best bet was to turn the tables on the guards. Instead of being the hunted, Hawk wanted to do the hunting.

  He gathered a large rock off the ground and hurled it onto the windshield of a car parked two spaces over. As a result, the car’s alarm blared and lights blinked, creating enough of a distraction for Hawk to dart toward the tunnel.

  He was nearly to the mouth of it before the guards noticed him racing away. They fired a couple shots that ricocheted off the walls before halting fire.

  “Alex! Alex! Where are you?” Hawk asked. “I need your help.”

  Nothing.

  “Come on. Get back to your desk. I’m in serious trouble.”

  Still nothing.

  Hawk couldn’t afford to wait for her to answer and give him the information he needed. The guards were sprinting toward him, their footfalls growing louder with each passing moment.

  Hawk ran deeper into the cave. “Alex, please answer. I need you.”

  She didn’t respond.

  CHAPTER 7

  Osan Air Base

  Pyeongtaek, South Korea

  ALEX’S JOURNEY DOWN the hall to get a cup of coffee was relatively uneventful though hasty. She kept her coms on so she could hear the conversation. While one of the staff sergeants in the break room had on his ear buds, bobbing his head to the beat of his song, Alex was listening to her husband interrogate a
North Korean hacker. The other man smiled at her, a gesture she returned before focusing her attention on adding milk and sugar to her coffee. Hawk seemed to have the situation under control, and the captive seemed to be complying.

  However, her coms suddenly went out, signaled by a high-pitched squeak that faded quickly. She took it out and inspected it for a moment to see if the power was low. Depressing a button on the cord linking to the two ear pieces, she watched all the green bars flicker on.

  That’s odd.

  She was concerned, but Hawk sounded like he had a firm grasp on what to do next. After doctoring her drink, she hustled down the hallway to her designated room. Her mouth fell agape when she walked in.

  Maybe I made a mistake.

  She returned to the corridor and checked the nearby rooms.

  That couldn’t be the right room.

  Darting back and forth to check each room, she could feel her heart rate quickening.

  Is this some kind of sick joke?

  That’s when she noticed Lt. Colonel Currant striding down the hallway toward her.

  “How are things going?” Currant asked.

  The furrowed lines across Alex’s brow answered that question well enough.

  “I don’t know what happened,” Alex said. “I just came down the hall to get a cup of coffee, and now all my equipment is gone.”

  Currant drew back and scowled. “Are you sure?”

  “I think so,” she said. “Isn’t this the room you assigned me to?”

  Currant nodded. “That was my understanding.”

  “Well, it’s all gone—every last piece of it, except for these ear buds.”

  “How could that happen?” he asked.

  “That’s what I want to know. And right in the middle of the operation, no less.”

  “There’s no way you can get back online?”

  “By the time I do, I won’t be able to help him. I’m just going to follow the extraction plan and hope that he shows up. At this point, that’s all I can do.”

  “He won’t try to contact you another way?”

  Alex shook her head. “If he did, it would be via cell phone—and he knows better than to do that, especially in a country like North Korea.”

  “Where are you headed again?”

  Alex eyed him closely. “For security purposes, why don’t you get me on a transport plane with enough gas to fly six hundred miles and I’ll tell the pilot then?”

  “That’s not how we work around here. I need to—”

  “I can have President Young on the phone in less than five minutes,” she said. “Do you want to be on the other end of that call?”

  Currant sighed and looked off in the distance, silently pondering the situation.

  Alex narrowed her eyes. “It’s the least you can do since your security around here is obviously lax.”

  “Fine. I’ll get you your plane. Be ready to go in fifteen minutes.”

  “I’m ready to go now,” she said.

  CHAPTER 8

  Changbai Mountains

  North Korea

  HAWK FOUND HIMSELF in a predicament that didn’t have any easy solutions. The craggy ground at his feet could prove perilous with the guards bearing down him. But using a flashlight to illuminate his path would also give them a target to aim for. Neither of those options were appealed.

  Unable to discern just how many guards were in pursuit forced Hawk to choose a less desirable route. Lying in wait in the darkness could prove lethal to either his pursuers or himself. If there were too many of them, he could be overwhelmed and quickly killed. But two or three seemed manageable. And since Hawk had only seen two men chasing him earlier when there was still light, he decided to take his chances.

  Hawk picked his way through the rocks and found a favorable nook to hide in. After shimmying his way inside, he crouched low and waited for the men to pass. One man lit the path while the others all stayed close behind.

  Hawk counted the pack hunting him.

  One, two, three . . . four.

  He wanted to curse but remained silent. The numbers definitely weren’t optimal given the conditions. But there wasn’t much choice. He certainly couldn’t wait out the search as the security team would surely summon more guards to find him. Despite the odds, Hawk still preferred to do the hunting rather than being the hunted.

  Once the footsteps faded, Hawk crawled out of his hiding spot and began following the men. He carefully chose his steps before stopping to screw a noise suppressor onto the end of his gun. About thirty meters ahead, the men stopped and began talking in hushed tones.

  Hawk knelt down and then took his first shot at the man silhouetted by the shadow of the flashlight he was holding. He let out a cry of pain as he collapsed to the ground. One of the other men reached down and picked up the flashlight. Before he could wield it around the cave and catch the shooter in its beam, Hawk hit the man in the head.

  Two down, two to go.

  Hawk liked his improving odds, but that changed quickly when two flashlights shone in his direction from opposing sides of the cave wall. He fired at one and then the other, but nothing happened. Hawk quickly realized he’d been duped. The lights had been placed in holes in the cave walls. If the guards were worth their weight in salt, they would now know the direction Hawk was shooting from.

  A moment later, darkness returned to the tunnel. Hawk considered spraying the cave with bullets, but it was a calculated risk at best. If he ran out of ammunition, he’d still be at a big disadvantage in the dark of an unfamiliar area with dangerous terrain. And he’d still be outnumbered. Hawk decided to pick his shots and pray he didn’t miss.

  Hawk stayed low and crawled on his belly toward the men, hoping that they would turn on their lights. A mere second was all the time he would need to take one man out. A few moments later, one of the bulbs flickered on, placing Hawk directly in its beam. He leapt to the side to avoid the light before unleashing several rounds toward it, but it remained on, the holder swaying back and forth before toppling over.

  A bullet fired from the other side of the cave and ricocheted off a nearby rock, sending Hawk scrambling. He sought cover behind a boulder and fired another round. The only thing he heard was the sound of the bullet careening off the wall in the distance.

  The remaining guard laughed, the echo filling the tunnel. Hawk tried to determine the origin of the noise but struggled. He took one final shot—but he didn’t hear a body hitting the rocky floor.

  He was out of bullets and wondered if he would have time to reload. The noise would give his position away. But it didn’t matter as the remaining soldier charged toward him.

  Hawk spun to the side to avoid suffering the brunt of the blow. However, the man had both arms spread wide and was able to corral Hawk before tossing him to the ground. The rocks pounded him on the back, producing a searing pain. Yet Hawk ignored it and continued to move. If he intended to leave the cave alive, he needed to regain the upper hand.

  As he spun back toward the center of the cave, footsteps echoed again from behind him. This time, Hawk dropped to his knees, creating an obstacle the attacker didn’t sense. He toppled over Hawk and fell headlong toward the ground.

  Hawk pounced on him, punching him twice in the face before he swiped at Hawk with a knife. The blade sliced through Hawk’s shirt, nicking his chest. He leapt to his feet and edged backward.

  By this time, Hawk’s eyes had adjusted to the darkness. While he couldn’t see everything, he could see enough of the man’s faint outline and tell that he was wearing some type of night vision goggles. As the man staggered to his feet, Hawk reached into his pocket and pulled out his flashlight, shining it in the man’s face. He winced and tried to shield his eyes, giving Hawk ample opportunity to punch his attacker.

  Two more hits sent the man reeling backward. Hawk glanced at the wall to their left and saw several sharp formations jutting out from the side. He blinded the man again before shoving him squarely against one of the pointed
edges. The man wailed as the rock pierced his back and came out the front.

  Hawk cast his light in the direction of the other men down the tunnel. He saw three dead bodies, yet only two potential uniforms. He sized the men up and picked the one closest in build. A couple minutes later, Hawk sported a guard’s uniform and was racing back toward the opening of the cave.

  When he reached the mouth, he peered back toward the parking lot. He reloaded his weapon and then spotted Choe, who was just waking up and shaking his head. He grimaced as he looked around and rubbed the back of his neck.

  Hawk didn’t see any other guards but crouched low as he hustled over to Choe’s position.

  “How are you feeling?” Hawk asked, training his gun on Choe.

  “I’d be feeling a lot better if you hadn’t hit me in the back of my head.”

  “All you had to do was drive me out, but you got some other ideas in that brain of yours. I had to knock some sense back into you.”

  Choe groaned. “You’re not a funny American.”

  “I’m not trying to be funny. Now, we’re going to try this again, only next time it will be a bullet I send crashing into your skull. And I promise you won’t like that.” Hawk pulled Choe to his feet and ushered him over to his car. “Now, drive,” Hawk said, handing the keys to Choe. “Act like nothing’s wrong when you pull out of here.”

  “The guards will know something is wrong. I never leave in the middle of the day under normal circumstances.”

  “These aren’t normal circumstances. You just had a breach—and now you need to meet with someone off site. It’s not that hard of a story to believe. But just remember, any false move or signal and I’m going to shoot you in the back.”

  Hawk climbed into the backseat as Choe settled in behind the steering wheel. They wound their way to the exit near the surface and waited for a guard to open the gate. When he didn’t, Choe reached for the visor.

  “Watch what you’re doing,” Hawk said.

  “I can leave the garage on my own with this remote,” Choe said. “I spend many late nights here, and the guards aren’t always awake when I leave. It’s the truth—I swear it.”