“Now,” Hawk said as he rubbed his hands together, “Mr. Reese, now would be a good time to reconsider your unwillingness to help us.”
Reese squeezed his eyes shut and scrunched up his nose. “Okay, okay. I’ll help you.”
“Good choice,” Hawk said as Black snipped the end off a cigar he’d pulled out of his pocket. The sound of the metal slicing off the tip of the stogie resulted in a shudder from Reese.
“Let’s get down to business,” Black said. “Time to start talking.”
* * *
THE NEXT MORNING, Hawk and Alex ventured back to A Hand Up’s offices, while Black stayed at their hotel with Reese. Black expressed his displeasure with being a glorified babysitter, a complaint that went ignored by his two colleagues.
While questioning Reese the previous night, Alex captured his speech patterns and created a voice simulator for Hawk to use while at the office. He immediately put the device to use by telling Reese’s secretary administrative assistant to take the rest of the week off with pay, an order she sounded thrilled to obey.
Hawk went to work combing through all of Reese’s emails to determine what exactly Obsidian was planning, while Alex went to work digging through A Hand Up’s servers to see if she could find anything of interest.
At 10:30 a.m., Hawk took a call from Reese’s direct line. Alex, who was seated on the other side of the desk, started the tracing procedure.
“How are things looking on your end?” the man asked, dispensing of any formalities.
“Good so far. And you?” Hawk asked.
“Never better.”
Relieved that his voice was apparently a sufficient match that whoever the caller was didn’t hesitate to continue the conversation, Hawk sighed.
“Is there anything I need to know about?” Hawk asked.
“As far as I can tell, we’re on target to hit all our deadlines. I don’t see anything slowing us down, at least when it comes to elements that are within our control.”
“Do you anticipate anything happening between now and Tuesday?”
“I don’t think so. If everything goes as planned, we’ll be ready to unleash the project then. Just have everything in place by Monday afternoon, and we’ll be fine.”
“That won’t be a problem,” Hawk said.
“That’s what I like to hear. Just shoot me a text when you get the package so I can rest easy knowing we haven’t had any delays.”
“You got it. Talk to you then.”
Hawk hung up and looked wide-eyed at Alex. “What package are they talking about?”
“You got me,” Alex said. “But the way that caller spoke about it, I don’t think he was talking about an order of pens and notepads for the supply closet.”
“Did you get a trace on that number?” Hawk asked.
She shook her head. “Whoever set up the routing protocol for that man is highly skilled. Following that line had me pinging all over the world. There wasn’t anything definitive I could determine.”
“Are you sure?” Hawk asked, his brows arching as if he were begging for her answer to be different this time.
She nodded. “Sure as I am that I’m sitting here.”
“I want to call the Chicago office,” Hawk said as he glanced at his watch. ‘They should be in by now.”
“But what if that was the Chicago office director you just spoke with? You’ll be busted without a doubt.”
“I can always hang up if I don’t recognize his voice.”
“Okay,” she said. “Give me a second, and I’ll scramble the location of your call.”
She typed furiously on her keyboard for a minute before announcing she was ready for Hawk to proceed. He picked up the phone and dialed the Chicago office’s number. The secretary answered and patched him through to Eddie Willingham, the director of the Chicago office.
“Eddie, this is Milt,” Hawk said. “How the heck are you?”
“I’d be a lot better if I wasn’t freezing my face off every time I go outside.”
“Maybe you should volunteer to open an office in Miami.”
“I tried that, remember? Dan beat me out for it. But thanks for rubbing it in.”
Hawk looked at Alex, who scowled at him. “So sorry. Forgot about how painful that was for you.”
“Forget about it, Milt. What do you need?”
“Just checking to make sure I haven’t missed anything regarding Tuesday’s launch.”
“All conditions are a go here. What about in New York?”
“No issues yet, so I anticipate everything will go off without a hitch.”
“Good,” Willingham said. “So, where are you going Tuesday?”
“I haven’t thought about it yet.”
“Well, you better. You need to take a long vacation far away just like they told us to. If not, you might regret it.”
“Of course,” Hawk said. “I mean, I’ve thought about it. I just haven’t made any concrete plans. I was thinking of maybe Fiji or somewhere like that.”
“Excellent choice. Maggie and I went there for our anniversary last year.”
“What about you? Where are you planning on going?”
Eddie chuckled. “What is wrong with you today? The last time you called, we talked about this. I’m heading to New Zealand for an extended trip.”
“Oh, yes,” Hawk said, earning another disapproving look from Alex. “I hear those Kiwis are fun. Beautiful country.”
“I know. You’ve told me all about your trips there many times. You’re the one who’s convinced me to go.”
“Have a nice trip. I’m sure we’ll talk after we all get back.”
“Of course. Stay safe,” Eddie said before hanging up.
“What a disaster,” Alex said. “At least if he tries to trace the call, he’ll see it lead back to this office. You’re lucky he didn’t act like he suspecting anything. But don’t worry because I pulled the plug on the rerouting as soon as I realized we were getting the Chicago office director.”
“The important thing is we know something major is going down on Tuesday—and New York City isn’t the only place in Obsidian’s sights.”
Before the discussion could continue, someone pressed the buzzer, requesting to be admitted to the building. Alex and Hawk rushed up to the front desk and looked at the man depicted on the security camera screen. He was leaning on a dolly stacked over four feet high with square boxes.
“What do you have there?”
“A delivery for Mr. Milton Reese,” the man said.
“Come on up,” Alex said as she pushed a button to allow him access. They both watched as he wheeled the packages onto the elevator and then entered the lobby area once he reached A Hand Up’s floor.
“I just need a signature right here,” the deliveryman said as he handed a tablet to Alex.
She scribbled an illegible name onto the screen and handed it back. He squinted as he studied what she wrote.
“First and last name, please,” he said.
“Nancy Register,” she said.
The man thanked her before ducking outside of the room and leaving the offices.
“What do you think this is?” Alex asked.
“There’s only one way to find out,” Hawk said as he pulled out a pocketknife and slipped it beneath the tape securing the box shut.
Hawk’s eyes widened and his mouth fell agape as he stared at the contents.
“What is it?” she asked.
“It’s a bomb. Obsidian is going to attempt to set off bombs all across the country.”
CHAPTER 15
Washington, D.C.
BLUNT STARED AT THE screen on his phone, alerting him that Randy Wood was calling. Given their conversation from the night before, Blunt wasn’t surprised. Wood needed assurance that he wasn’t going to be surprised with something the Phoenix Foundation team did. And Blunt was relieved that he wouldn’t have to disappoint the deputy director, at least not yet.
“Did your team return everythi
ng back to the way it was yesterday?” Wood asked.
“As far as I know,” Blunt said as he paced around his office.
“Just make sure you keep a tight leash on them. We have a good plan in place to unmask Obsidian’s chief players. Unfortunately, it’s going to take some time, and I know patience is something Hawk runs short of.”
“I’ll do my best, though I’m not sure we have the luxury of taking much time.”
“Just leave the speculation to us. You guys handle the field assignments we throw you and stick to the script.”
“You’re the boss,” Blunt said, though without an ounce of conviction.
“I’ll be in touch soon.”
Blunt hung up and noticed Hawk had tried to call.
“What did you find out?” Blunt asked as Hawk answered his phone.
“We have a serious threat in both New York and Chicago.”
“How serious?”
“Depends on where Obsidian is planning on planting this thing,” Hawk said. “But we just received a shipment of materials here necessary to build a bomb. The only thing missing are the explosives.”
“I’m sure they’ll be arriving soon.”
Hawk nodded. “I know. If we leave this office, we’ll be in danger of tipping off Obsidian that we discovered what they were up to.”
“And that can’t happen. I just spoke with Randy Wood, and he’s really nervous that we’re going to torpedo his plan to uncover who’s at the top of Obsidian’s power structure.”
“Well, we might not need a plan that takes weeks to unfold,” Hawk said. “Alex has been digging around this morning on the servers here and found some interesting things. I’ll let her tell you about them now.”
A few seconds later, Alex’s voice was coming through the speaker. “I found Obsidian’s white paper on this entire project—the real white paper, not that general overview Black found at Fortner’s place. Their quest for money is simply a means to an end.”
“And what’s their endgame?” Blunt asked.
“To control as many of the world market sectors as possible to create a more utopian existence.”
“We already knew this wasn’t just about money. But a utopian existence? Are you serious?”
Alex chuckled. “Would I lie to you? That last phrase is a direct quote. They have something else in mind for the rest of us peons.”
“And did you find out what?”
“Not yet. I know it’s a vague and ambiguous goal statement, but it at least lets us know that they have very ambitious plans.”
“What else did you find?”
“I found out where most of the money is going—a shell corporation in the Bahamas called Apollo Corp.”
“Apollo Corp?” Blunt asked. “That’s rich.”
“How so?” Alex said. “I always hated mythology.”
“Apollo was the Greek god over many things, including both plagues and medicine. Sound familiar?”
Alex sighed. “Would they really name their fake corporation something that on the nose?”
“Probably an inside joke,” Blunt said. “I doubt these arrogant bastards ever imagined they’d get caught.”
“Never underestimate a man entering his second century,” Alex said with a soft laugh.
“You think that’s funny, don’t you?” Blunt said. “If the end of the world comes soon, who would you rather be with: someone who doesn’t know how to start a fire or someone who knows how to grow crops, find water, and survive on the scarcest of resources?”
“I’m with Hawk no matter what, so that’s not even a hypothetical I can entertain.”
“Based on what Obsidian is scheming to do, this very much might be our reality sooner than we’d like to imagine,” Blunt said.
Hawk jumped on the call. “I couldn’t agree more. In the past, the attacks have been more localized and specific to a region. However, this time it seems like they’re planning a coordinated event.”
“Do you believe this is going to be global or just limited to the U.S.?” Blunt asked.
“So far we don’t have any proof that anything is taking place outside of the U.S., but you might want to put on alert those cities that have A Hand Up offices.”
“If this truly is a worldwide attack, this isn’t going to be easy to stop,” Blunt said.
“Of course not,” Hawk said. “But we’ll think of something.”
Blunt stroked his chin. “Keep digging. We need to know as much as we can before we start issuing warnings to every law enforcement entity in the free world.”
CHAPTER 16
BLUNT TUGGED ON HIS stocking cap covering his wispy gray hair and then looked the White House security guard in the eyes. He glanced up and down between the photo on the badge and at Blunt’s face. After comparing the image with the man, the guard waved Blunt inside.
He removed his hat once he entered and then hustled to the Secret Service lounge to chat with Big Earv, who was running point on President Young’s detail that afternoon. Big Earv was holding a cup of coffee while checking his watch when Blunt entered the room.
“Big Earv,” Blunt said as he strode inside with his arms wide.
“They will let anyone on the White House grounds these days, won’t they?” Big Earv said.
“When you were here when they built the damn place, no one tends to put up much of a fuss when you ask for permission to enter,” Blunt said with a wink.
“You’ve probably been using that joke longer than I’ve been alive.”
“Probably—and it was just as funny back then as it is now,” Blunt said as he smiled. “I really do appreciate you setting this meeting up for me.”
“I still don’t understand why you couldn’t set this up like all your other meetings. Is there something happening that I need to be aware of?”
Blunt crammed his cigar into his mouth and chewed on the end while he responded. “It’s quite possible that a terrorist attack might happen soon, but we don’t want to talk about it publicly because there is a serious security breach right now within every branch of the government. Until we can identify who’s leaking all this information, we have to keep our mouths shut. I trust you didn’t tell anyone else, did you?”
Big Earv shook his head. “Not a soul. I’ll be the one vetting the president’s limo when he goes to leave, and I’ll also be stationed inside. You have nothing to worry about.”
“Thanks, Big Earv. I know I can always count on you.”
“You did get me this job, so you know I’m always willing and ready to do you a solid.”
Big Earv led Blunt downstairs to where Young’s limo would transport him to a special fundraising event at the Kennedy Center.
“You won’t have long to talk with Young, so just be ready,” Big Earv said.
“Roger that,” Blunt said before he ducked inside the limo. He waited for fifteen minutes before activity started swirling around the underground garage. Eventually, Big Earv stepped inside, followed by President Young and a couple more agents.
Young furrowed his brow when he noticed Blunt sitting in the back of the vehicle.
“Mr. President, there’s someone who requested a private meeting with you,” Big Earv said.
“J.D.?” Young said. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“We need to talk,” Blunt said.
“You know my door is always open to you,” Young said. “Make an appointment with my secretary. You don’t need to be sneaking around like you’re some groveling staffer.”
A faint smile spread across Blunt’s lips. “I appreciate the sentiment, but I wouldn’t be meeting you like this unless I had a good reason to.”
“What’s going on?”
“Do you remember telling me that you would let my team know the truth about Shane Samuels?” Blunt asked.
Young rubbed his face with both hands and sighed. “I vaguely recall saying something to that effect.”
“Well, it’s past time to find out what Samuels was up to whe
n you directed him to join our team.”
“Why? Is something wrong?”
“The truth, Noah. I need it right now.”
Young shrugged. “You don’t think I’ve been purposefully keeping this from you, do you?”
“Quite frankly, I don’t know what to think at this point.”
“I have a country to run, you know. It wasn’t all that big of a deal really.”
“If it’s not that big of a deal, it won’t be a big deal to tell me,” Blunt said before he bit down hard on his cigar. “We have some dangling loose ends that need to be tied up before we can go any further with our investigation of a few individuals. Shane Samuels is one of those loose ends.”
Young slapped his thighs and took a deep breath. “Where to begin. Well, Madeline’s cousin is Shane’s uncle. She’s known his family for years. I have a picture of him at his high school graduation. I wouldn’t say he’s been like a son to me, but definitely like a favorite nephew.”
“What made you think he was qualified to work with my team?” Blunt asked, eyeing Young closely.
“The FBI dismissed him because of inner office politics, but before that he was one of their best agents. So, I helped him out by getting the CIA’s black ops division to hire him for certain missions where they needed help. He was doing really dangerous stuff but didn’t care. Shane just loved the work.”
“And so that’s your criteria for throwing your weight around and landing a position for someone like that? He didn’t exactly possess the kind of stability you’d expect from a person in his position. To be really honest, he was erratic at times and scared me.”
“But he got the job done,” Young said.
“Sometimes, but at what cost? He’s not the kind of person you want working for you.”
“He was perfect for his assignment,” Young said.
“Which was what exactly?”
Hesitating to respond, Young turned his focus outside the window of the car as it rolled through the streets of Washington.
“I’d heard Brady Hawk was a bit of a loose canon and needed to be reined in. So, I asked Samuels to help us. We needed an outside perspective on Hawk.”
Brady Hawk 18 - A Deadly Force Page 9
