The Shadow Hunter (The Phoenix Chronicles Book 1)

by R. J. Patterson

  CHAPTER 41

  Bridger, Montana

  HAWK PLACED JOHN DANIEL on a hay bale and gestured for him to jump. The boy crouched low, wrapping his arms around his legs and refused to move. Hawk held his hands out wide and coaxed his son to take the leap.

  “You jump off everything else, son,” Hawk said. “Why are you afraid all of a sudden?”

  “You promise you’ll catch me?”

  Hawk nodded. “Of course. When have I ever not caught you?”

  John Daniel stood, took a couple of steps back, and leaped into his father’s arms. Hawk spun his son around a few times before placing him on the barn floor.

  “I need your help feeding Tucker and Dusty,” Hawk said. “Think you can help me carry this hay bale over to their trough?”

  John Daniel nodded as he rushed around to the other side of the bale. He placed his hands in the air and did his best just to maintain contact with the hay. Once they reached the fence, Hawk cut the bale and filled the trough. He whistled at the two horses, who quickly galloped over and began eating. Hawk tousled John Daniel’s hair as they watched the animals munch on their food.

  After a few moments of silence, John Daniel looked at Hawk. “Dad, did you get the bad guys when you were gone?”

  “I guess you could say that.”

  “Good,” John Daniel said. “I don’t want any more of them coming around here.”

  “Well, if they do, they’ll have to deal with me and your mom. She’s tough, too.”

  “And pretty,” John Daniel said with a grin.

  Alex called for them, causing the pair to turn their heads in the direction of her voice.

  “Better go see what she wants,” Hawk said.

  When they reached the house, Hawk ushered John Daniel to his room and warned him not to come out.

  “No more bad guys are coming here, are they?” he asked.

  Hawk knelt so he was at eye level with John Daniel. “Now, why would you ask a question like that?”

  “I don’t like bad guys.”

  “Me either, son. I’ll come get you when it’s time to come out of your room.”

  Hawk shut the door and returned to the kitchen where Alex was fiddling with her laptop on the table.

  “You ready?” she asked.

  Hawk nodded and hesitated. “Did John Daniel see anything when Orlovsky’s goon attacked you?”

  “I don’t think so,” she said. “I checked on him after everything, and he was fast asleep. Why do you ask?”

  “He just said something to me that made me wonder if he’d witnessed any of your fight. He’s worried about the bad guys.”

  “Like father, like son,” she said before typing a password on her computer.

  Seconds later, they were connected with the Magnum team for a video meeting.

  “How’s Montana?” Morgan asked.

  “Still cold, but beautiful as ever,” Alex said.

  “Well, in that case, I won’t tell you about the seventy-two degree weather here in Los Angeles today,” Morgan said with a wink.

  “And don’t tell me about the commute either,” Hawk said.

  “Touche,” Morgan said. “Now, let’s get down to business. We wanted to loop you in on this because we’ve had a breakthrough in our investigation. Well, to be more exact, Mia’s had a breakthrough.”

  The camera shifted over to Mia, who was holding up a cell phone. “Reaper wouldn’t talk, but he didn’t need to. This little guy did all the talking for him.”

  “What’d you find out?” Hawk asked.

  “I went through all his recent calls and was able to identify the phone number of a call he received right before the ambush on Sonbong.”

  “And?” Alex said.

  “I tracked it back to a cell phone located at the Pentagon,” Mia said.

  “Great,” Hawk said with a sigh. “That only narrows it down to one of several thousand people.”

  Mia shook her head and smiled. “Don’t underestimate me, Hawk.”

  “You narrowed it down to several hundred?”

  “Guess again.”

  “Several dozen?”

  “Try one,” Mia said. “I created a list of officials who would’ve had access to the information as well as all their aides. I then cross-referenced their phone locations with the location of the burner to see if they coincided out of the office. And I was able to trace it back to one person.”

  “Was it Admiral Gaston?” Alex asked.

  “Good guess,” Mia said. “But he wasn’t the one.”

  “Out with it,” Hawk said.

  “One of President Norris’s most trusted members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” she said. “None other than vice chairman James Miller.”

  “He was working to create a pretext for war,” Hawk said. “That’s a sick man.”

  “He’s a man I want you to visit,” Morgan said. “Can you do me the favor of closing this case by bringing in Miller?”

  Hawk looked at Alex. “Go,” she said. “I’ll be fine here with John Daniel.”

  “Looks like the boss is okay with it,” Hawk said. “Let’s finish this.”

  “Fantastic,” Morgan said. “I’ll send the plane to pick you up in the morning.”

  Alex ended the call. She patted Hawk on the hand.

  “Are you sure you’re okay with me going?” he asked.

  “Absolutely. You need some closure with this case.”

  “What I need are answers.”

  Alex nodded. “Let’s hope you get some from Miller.”

  CHAPTER 42

  Wynn’s Island, Virginia

  HAWK STEPPED OUT OF the SUV and zipped up his jacket. The wind whipping off Chesapeake Bay chilled him, and he was grateful Alex had told him to prepare for colder weather. He glanced at Big Earv, who was sporting short sleeves, apparently unbothered by the temperature.

  Hawk gawked at the Victorian-style home surrounded by thick pine trees. However, he could still see the water in the distance behind the house.

  “Nice place,” Hawk said.

  “A place fit for a history buff,” Big Earv said.

  Hawk nodded. “And for a Navy man, too.”

  Their feet crunched beneath the pebble rocks comprising the walkway up to the house. Hawk continued to scan the area, noticing a dock stretching out into the water.

  Seconds later, the front door swung open and a pair of black Newfoundlands bounded onto the porch and raced toward Hawk and Big Earv. Hawk held his hand out for the dogs to smell him before kneeling and petting them. Big Earv stood back, not quite as enthusiastic about the two canines.

  “It’s okay, Big Earv,” Hawk said. “You’re bigger than they are.”

  Big Earv mustered a chuckle before the two continued up to the porch where Admiral James Miller was standing with a bemused look on his face.

  “Lewis! Marion! Get back here,” Miller said.

  “Sorry, sir. We didn’t realize we’d create such a ruckus just by showing up.”

  Miller stared intently at his guests. “Now, that’s certainly unusual.”

  “What’s so unusual, Admiral?” Hawk asked as he glanced down at the hundred-and-fifty-pound animals. “Are your dogs not normally that friendly?”

  “Always,” Miller said, “Those dogs would nuzzle up next to Hitler while he was shoveling dirt on a mass grave. I’m talking about you two visiting my property. I don’t recall having a scheduled meeting with anyone from the administration.”

  “Don’t worry,” Big Earv said. “We’re not from the administration.”

  Miller scowled. “Now that really worries me because nobody else even knows I have a place out here.”

  “Sorry,” Hawk said, offering his hand. “Where’s our manners? I’m Brady Hawk, the bastard son of Thomas Colton of Colton Industries. And this is Malik Earvin. We have a few questions for you.”

  “I’m not sure I like the looks of this,” Miller said.

  “We just want to have a conversation,” Hawk said, �
��about some recent events overseas.”

  “Who are you guys with?” Miller asked, eyeing them closely.

  Hawk put his right hand behind his back and wrapped his palm around the grip of his gun, keeping it there in case Miller made any sudden moves.

  “Like I said, we’re just here to ask a few questions,” Hawk said.

  “You still haven’t answered any of mine,” Miller said with a growl.

  “You asked who we are, and I gave you our names,” Hawk said. “This doesn’t have to be that difficult.”

  “Actually, you’re making this incredibly difficult,” Miller said as he put his hands on his hips. “Now, if you’re with the media and you want to do an interview out here, contact my office and we’ll arrange a time to talk. But this is my time off and my private property, and I’d appreciate it if you’d respect my wishes and leave.”

  Big Earv cocked his head to one side. “Sir, is there a reason why you were recently in contact with a former Navy SEAL named Doug Mitchell?”

  “Damnit,” Miller said. “I knew something wasn’t right. Who are you? NSA? Spooks? I’m not gonna warn you again. Unless you have a warrant to be here, leave or face the consequences.”

  Hawk put his hands in the air in a gesture of surrender. “All right, Admiral. Just calm down. We don’t want any trouble.”

  “That’s right,” Miller said. “Now get the hell outta here.”

  Not wanting to take his eyes off Miller, Hawk walked backward as did Big Earv. The dogs had returned to the porch and were lapping up water from their bowls. But Miller hadn’t acknowledged their presence, his steely gaze fixated on his two visitors.

  Hawk and Big Earv eased back into their car.

  “Now, scram,” Miller shouted, waving his hand at them.

  Miller remained on his porch, refusing to move until they left. But Hawk wasn’t going anywhere.

  “Stubborn sonofabitch,” Hawk said after two minutes had passed and Miller hadn’t moved.

  “Well, we can’t stay here all day,” Big Earv said. “We need Miller to talk, but I’m not sure that’s going to happen how we envisioned it.”

  “How we hoped it would happen,” Hawk said, wagging his index finger. “We wished he would just sit down and tell us everything, but this is exactly how I envisioned it.”

  “He’s a dyed-in-the-wool patriot,” Big Earv said. “If he thinks that his way is what’s best for the country, he’s going to stick with it until the bitter end, like a soldier dying on a hill actually worth dying on.”

  Hawk ignited the engine and then goosed the gas pedal a few times.

  “What’s that going to accomplish?” Big Earv asked.

  Hawk shrugged. “Put a little fear in him. Desperate people do desperate things. If I make him realize this is a desperate situation, he might make a mistake and play right into our hands.”

  “You mean, like that?” Big Earv asked, pointing at the house.

  Miller darted into the house and slammed the door behind him.

  “You think he’s going to get a gun?” Big Earv asked.

  “Maybe.”

  “And that doesn’t concern you?”

  “I’m betting that he doesn’t want to get into a shootout with us. It’d be a short one. He’s probably calling the cops, thinking his status as an admiral is going to coax the police to escort us off his property.”

  “He’s not wrong about that, you know,” Big Earv said.

  “Trying to win a trespassing conviction against us will be the least of his worries when the whole country finds out that he’s a traitor.”

  Still no sign of Miller.

  “Where did he go?” Hawk asked after another minute.

  In the distance, Hawk heard the whine of a boat engine, the sound muffled to some degree.

  “He went for the boat in the back,” Hawk said as he hustled out of the SUV, Big Earv right behind him. “Let’s grab the neighbor’s.”

  Hawk raced across the back lawn toward a neighboring house. A man was working on the railing as the two agents approached. Hawk didn’t request permission, instead just holding out his hands and demanding the keys.

  “Who are you?” the man asked as he dug into his pocket.

  “That’s what the admiral wanted to know,” Hawk said.

  They fired up the engine and tore out across the water behind Miller. Hawk turned on the coms to see if he could reach Alex.

  “Are you there, Alex?” he asked.

  “Loud and clear,” she said. “How are things going with the admiral?”

  “At the moment, not too well,” Hawk said. “He took off in a boat and headed up the Chesapeake.”

  “So how can I help?” she asked.

  “Can you get satellite over our position?”

  “Already on it.”

  “Good,” Hawk said. “Do you see a boat headed north near us on the Chesapeake?”

  “Tracking him right now,” she said.

  “Whatever you do, don’t lose him,” he said. “We’re in the boat trailing him now, maybe a half-mile behind. For the moment, I can see him. But if he goes up the Potomac, I need you to track him, especially if he gets on land.”

  “Roger that.”

  Big Earv joined Hawk near the steering wheel, their conversation consisting of shouting over the wind roaring past them.

  “Where do you think he’s taking us?” Hawk asked.

  “I told you, the man is a Revolutionary War buff,” Big Earv said. “One of his dogs is named after the man who led patriots’ charge against the British on Wynn’s Island. The other one is named after Francis Marion, also known as the Swamp Fox.”

  “I was looking for something a little more specific.”

  “I have no idea where exactly he wants to go, but I can tell you it’ll be somewhere swampy.”

  “In that case, we’re probably headed all the way back to Washington.”

  Big Earv chuckled and slapped Hawk on the shoulder. “Your level of cynicism is another stratosphere.”

  Hawk smiled wryly. “When you’ve been around Washington as long as we have, it’s not cynicism any more. It’s just reality.”

  The two men settled in as Miller skimmed across the water, his boat outpacing Hawk and Big Earv but not by much. Over the next hour, Hawk kept a visual on Miller but could tell the admiral was consistently faster. Hawk contacted Alex to let her know they were relying more heavily on her once Miller turned west into the Potomac’s brackish waters.

  For the next half-hour, Miller hugged the eastern shoreline of the river before taking a hard left and heading straight toward the mouth of the Yeocomico River.

  “Alex, I need you to be my eyes and ears here,” Hawk said.

  “He’s holding steady,” she said. “He won’t be going much farther because the river gets shallow quickly.”

  Hawk estimated he was about two minutes behind Miller, which was ample time for the admiral to disappear in the swamp if he was familiar with the area. But Alex was Hawk’s ace in the hole.

  “He’s beaching his craft,” Alex reported over the coms. “You should see his boat up ahead on the northern shore of the river.”

  “Roger that,” Hawk said.

  The Yeocomico snaked its way through a mix of cleared farmland and swampy forest. Hawk sped past docks, creating a much bigger wake than was permitted in the area.

  “I see you,” Alex said. “You’ll see his boat around the next bend.”

  “Do you still have visual on the admiral?” Big Earv asked.

  “Roger that. He’s heading west, running up a rise at the moment.”

  As Alex described, Hawk found Miller’s boat in short order. Hawk and Big Earv beached their boat and followed Alex’s directions.

  Hawk palmed his weapon and as they trudged through the muddy terrain, Big Earv right behind him. They reached a rise and looked down into a small valley. With trees densely packed and daylight fading, they struggled to see the admiral.

  “Alex, you gotta hel
p us out now,” Hawk said. “We can’t see a damn thing out here.”

  She sighed. “Look, the last location I had for him was about a hundred meters from where you’re at. But there’s a hollow down there and the vegetation is too thick. Even without the leaves, I can’t see anything.”

  “So, we’re on our own?” Hawk asked.

  “At least for now. When the sun goes down all the way, I’ll be able to pick up heat signatures more effectively.”

  Hawk and Big Earv moved stealthily toward Miller’s last known position. They slogged along a small trail for a few minutes. Hawk couldn’t tell if it was a creek or a footpath, but it didn’t matter as long as it allowed them to travel quietly and efficiently.

  In the pine tree directly over Hawk, a raven cawed. Then another and another. The woods were soon filled with a cacophony of cries from ravens and a plethora of other birds.

  “Anything new, Alex?” Hawk asked over the coms.

  “No,” she said.

  Hawk looked at Big Earv and spoke in a hushed tone. “Let’s keep moving.”

  When they reached firmer ground, Hawk looked for the most logical route out. For all they knew, Miller might have been leading them in a giant circle so he could make it back to the boats, maybe even sabotage theirs. If he’d done that, he’d be able to return home for the evening and shore up his security in case Hawk and Big Earv returned. But they knew this was their only shot. If he got away, he could smear them, frame them, murder them—whatever he wanted to do—and get away with it. Even with the president on Hawk’s side, he wasn’t sure it’d be enough to overcome a man as powerful at Miller. That’s why they had sprung a visit on him in the first place. If he didn’t have cover, maybe they could catch him.

  But that was proving to be more difficult by the minute.

  Hawk scanned the area and turned to Big Earv. “Which way do you think we should go?”

  He shrugged. “I’ve just spent my last few years training to dive in front of bullets. I’ll leave the tracking to you.”

  Hawk shook his head as he shot Big Earv a sideways glance. “Let’s go right.”

  They ripped through briars and brambles, pressing deeper into a thicket before they reached a clearing. “There’s got to be something around here somewhere.”