The Shadow Hunter (The Phoenix Chronicles Book 1)

by R. J. Patterson

  Spotting a clearing with a few fallen logs, Hawk slapped Big Earv on the chest and pointed toward the tree. “I think we found a spot to rest for a few minutes.”

  As they drew nearer to the trees, Hawk lost his footing.

  What is this?

  Hawk and Big Earv both slipped and started to fall into a large pit, covered over by sticks and leaves and pine needles.

  * * *

  MILLER LAUGHED and rubbed his hands together before scurrying out of his position up in the nearby trees. Once his feet were planted firmly on the ground, he rushed toward the pit.

  If necessary, Miller was prepared to wait out the two men, who were undoubtedly government agents. He was unaware that Thomas Colton even had a son, a comment Brady Hawk had likely made just to get Miller to let his guard down and think they were friends. But the pair had followed him all the way up the Chesapeake and into the Potomac—and now here.

  A half-hour earlier, Miller wasn’t sure he wanted to win. He deeply cared about his country, but he was tired of taking orders. He’d grown weary of being a pawn in the game. He’d just as soon make it all stop as he would continue to follow commands. He wanted to give them—and give them with authority. North Korea would’ve already been a sheet of glass if he’d been able to convince President Norris to go along with his idea.

  But here he was, scrambling though the forest with his hands becoming more numb by the second, hoping to kill a pair of agents who were surely on the cusp of exposing him. Miller wanted to go out on his terms. Even though he knew what he was doing was patriotic, he didn’t want to be branded a traitor and tossed into a prison. Benedict Arnold was forever reviled for turning his back on George Washington, but at least Arnold had a life.

  That’s all Miller wanted at this point—his old way of life back. But he was afraid those days had long set sail on a ship never to return. And he wasn’t sure what was left for him. His position of power and prestige had been reduced to the latter, all his power being usurped by someone else.

  Whatever happened, Miller smiled over using his Revolutionary War tactics to outsmart a pair of trained agents. Until a few months ago, the war re-enactment group he’d been a part of for more than a decade regularly trained at this site in the woods of Kinsale, a small Virginia farming community.

  Miller paused to catch his breath before peering over the edge into the pit.

  “Mr. Hawk? Mr. Earvin?” he called out.

  That was the last thing he said before uttering a string of expletives as someone pushed him from behind and into the pit.

  * * *

  WHEN HAWK HAD started to slip, he instinctively reached up and grabbed a vine dragging the forest floor. Big Earv almost suffered a less noble fate, but wrapped his arms around Hawk’s feet. Hawk was able to hold on just long enough for Big Earv to get on solid ground and avoid tumbling down.

  Their shouting had alerted Miller that his ruse had likely worked, sending him sprinting toward their position.

  As soon as the admiral reached the edge, Hawk eased up behind Miller and pushed him in.

  Miller fell to the ground, cursing all the way down.

  Hawk used a flashlight from his ruck sack to illuminate Miller’s face. The admiral shielded his eyes as he looked at Hawk.

  “Why’d you run, Admiral?” Hawk asked. “Because in my experience, the only people who run are guilty ones or those who are afraid someone is out to get them. So, which is it for you?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?” Miller asked.

  “Not to me, it isn’t,” Hawk said. “We just wanted to talk.”

  “Sure you did,” Miller said. “That’s why you have weapons right now.”

  “You led us up here to kill us,” Hawk said. “It’s a good thing we brought our weapons.”

  Miller sighed and shook his head. “You don’t even know what you’re doing here, do you?”

  “We’re here because you tried to sabotage us,” Hawk said. “And I think we all know that you ran because we mentioned the name Doug Mitchell.”

  Miller shook his head. “You’ve got it all wrong. I’ve never even heard of that man.”

  “Is that why you called him and told him about a special operation by Navy SEALs that occurred recently on the coast of North Korea where their nuclear missiles were housed? There were only a handful of people privy to what was happening there.”

  “You don’t understand,” Miller said. “I didn’t have a choice.”

  Big Earv jumped into the fray. “Who made you do this, Admiral Miller? Was it the president?”

  “Of course not. I’ve been trying to do everything I could to get him to get rid of the North Koreans once and for all. If he had, I might be free too.”

  Hawk kept his beam steady on Miller. “You keep acting like you’re a slave to someone else’s whims. If that’s the case, you must know who?”

  “Have you ever heard of The Alliance?”

  Hawk shook his head. “Who are they?”

  “They’re going to come for you one day,” Miller said. “And when they do, you’re going to wish you’d listened to me. You do what they say, or they take everything you hold dear in life, mark my words.”

  Then Miller started to raise his gun.

  “Don’t, Admiral,” Hawk said, placing his hand out and gesturing for Miller to lower his weapon.

  “Then stop me,” Miller said.

  Hawk didn’t hesitate, putting two bullets in Miller’s chest. The weapon fell out of his hand as he collapsed to the ground clutching his chest.

  Hawk and Big Earv jumped into the pit. After collecting the gun, Hawk knelt next to the admiral.

  “We only wanted to talk, sir,” Hawk said.

  “Thank you,” Miller said. “Now, I’m free.”

  Miller’s body went limp, leaving Hawk and Big Earv sitting there in disbelief, not at what had just transpired but what they’d heard.

  “Have you ever heard of The Alliance?” Hawk asked.

  Big Earv shrugged. “Maybe as a myth, but nothing that ever sounded serious.”

  “What Miller just said sounded serious to me.”

  “I’m with you,” Big Earv said. “And this isn’t a mystery I’m excited to explore.”

  Hawk drew in a deep breath and exhaled. He contacted Alex over the coms.

  “We’re safe, honey,” he said.

  “I know. I was watching.”

  “Then you know we’re going to need a cleanup out here—and a cover story.”

  “Already on it,” she said. “Now, when are you coming home?”

  “Soon,” Hawk said. “But I’ve got one more stop to make.”

  CHAPTER 43

  Charlotte, North Carolina

  HAWK CONVINCED BIG EARV to head back to Los Angeles in order to attend to some personal business. While Big Earv put up a fight, he eventually acquiesced, leaving Hawk with some solitude for a long drive to Charlotte. During that time, he had plenty of time to think about his past—and his future.

  Hawk reflected on his time with Eddie Tyson, wondering if he was still alive in North Korea. If the opportunity arose as intel became available, Hawk would go back and get him. But he wanted to talk with Sheila, at least give her some closure in a way that only he could. And if one day Tyson walked back into her life, they could sort things out then. On the long car ride from Siberia to Sonbong, Tyson had expressed how he wanted her to move on, even though it’d hurt to see her with another man. And he’d asked Hawk to convey that to her in as delicate of a way as possible.

  Hawk parked by the curb of the Tyson family home and closed his eyes, plotting how he could tell her. He’d picked up a couple of pizzas and brought gifts for all the kids. When he found the nerve, he rang the doorbell, instigating instant chaos.

  Sheila, Tyson’s wife, barely had time to hug Hawk before Joey and Sam swarmed over the pizza and carried it off.

  “Make sure Caleb gets a piece,” she shouted as they darted off toward the kitchen with their food and gifts.r />
  “Uncle Brady” hadn’t stopped by to visit in several years, and Hawk was sure that none of the kids remembered him.

  Sheila offered a thin smile and tucked her hair behind her ears. “They’re a motley crew, aren’t they?”

  “They take after their dad,” Hawk said with a grin.

  “Thank you,” she said. “I’m glad someone else sees that. I was always trying to convince Eddie that I had nothing to do with these children.”

  Hawk chuckled and then paused. “How have you been?”

  She gestured for Hawk to come in and led him into the living room where they both sat down. “Oh, I have my good days and bad days. More than anything, I miss our talks. I miss the way he could calm me down from my hysterical moments. And let me tell you, those seem to have increased substantially since he’s been gone.”

  Hawk nodded. “I miss him, too. He loved you guys so much.”

  She shrugged. “I guess he loved his country more.”

  “I—I don’t think that’s true.”

  “It’s why he’s dead, isn’t it?” she said, her eyes narrowing, tears welling up. “He just had to do one more mission. I begged him not to go, but he did it anyway. It wasn’t like him to defy me, but maybe he knew what was going on and just wanted an easy way out.”

  “I know it’s rough right now, but it will get easier,” Hawk said. “I’ve endured some unimaginable pain in my life, and the only soothing balm that exists is time.”

  “Well, I just wish I had one more day with him. There’s so many things I’d want to tell him, even as angry as I’ve been at him.”

  “I understand,” Hawk said. “And while I can’t divulge the details of his last mission, I want you to know that he had to go. It was for your benefit, as difficult as that might be for you to believe. He wasn’t going for his country at all, to be honest.”

  Her eyes widened. “What are you trying to say?”

  Hawk looked down. “Like I said, I can’t tell you any details. But just know that what he did was for you. And he wants you to be happy.”

  Her eyebrows arched upward. “Wants?”

  “Wanted,” Hawk said, correcting himself.

  She cocked her head to one side. “How do you know this?”

  Hawk shifted in his seat. “One day we were hanging out and the conversation drifted toward more morbid topics. We all talked about what we’d want for our families if we died. Most of us couldn’t conceive of the idea that our wives would marry someone else and start new lives. But not Eddie. He was insistent that he’d want you to move on so you could be happy.”

  “He said that?”

  Hawk nodded. “He said the only thing he wanted for you was to be happy and fulfilled with your life.”

  Tears streaked down Sheila’s face. “He never told me that.”

  “It’s not something we like to talk about, but it’s something we all think about.”

  She got up and hugged Hawk, thanking him profusely. “The gifts, the meal, the comfort—I appreciate it. Alex doesn’t know how good she has it.”

  Hawk chuckled and shook his head. “I’m not sure she thinks that all the time, but thanks. I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  “As you should,” Sheila said.

  Hawk said goodbye and called Alex as he drove to the airport.

  “How’d it go?” she asked.

  “Lots of tears,” Hawk said, “but I’m hoping maybe that was the closure Sheila needed.”

  “I’m sure it was.”

  “Alex?”

  “Yes?”

  “I love you. I can’t wait to see you and John Daniel soon enough.”

  “Me either,” Alex said. “Because there’s something we need to talk about.”

  CHAPTER 44

  Bridger, Montana

  HAWK TUGGED ON THE rope, ensuring that the line was taut. Strung between a pair of trees, he invited John Daniel to climb up so he could try out the latest addition to the homestead. For most four-year-olds, the height would’ve seemed daunting, but John Daniel wasn’t like most. He didn’t need his father to ask him a second time as the preschooler bounded up the ladder, two rungs at a time.

  Hawk fastened a harness to John Daniel and then secured him to the pulley.

  “Ready?” Hawk asked.

  John Daniel’s face lit up as he nodded vigorously.

  “Just remember to hold on,” Hawk reminded.

  Seconds later, John Daniel leaped off the platform and zipped toward the other tree, which was padded with a mound of loose hay about six feet thick. Hawk watched as John Daniel disappeared into the hay only to emerge seconds later with a grin plastered across his face.

  “This is the best, Dad,” John Daniel said as he sprinted back to Hawk to try again.

  Hawk showed John Daniel how to operate the apparatus so he could entertain himself. Then Hawk returned to the house where Alex was waiting on the porch, sitting in a chair while sipping a cup of steaming tea.

  “If only I had that zip line for John Daniel when you were gone,” she said.

  Hawk chuckled and shook his head. “Give me enough time and I’ll have this place converted into a quasi-amusement park.”

  “And he’d probably be bored with it after a week,” she said.

  “Probably.”

  They both laughed as they watched John Daniel crash into the hay again and then squeal with delight.

  “This is the life, isn’t it?” Hawk said as he looked at Alex.

  “Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk with you about.”

  Hawk settled into a chair next to her. “I’m listening.”

  “While you were in Virginia, I was thinking about the future, specifically our future,” she said as she looked down. “And I’m not sure I can do this much longer.”

  Hawk furrowed his brow. “Do what much longer?”

  “This,” she said, “waving her hand in front of her. Living on a ranch in isolation while so many other people need us.”

  “You want to move back to Washington?”

  She shook her head and scoffed. “Of course not. I want to live here. I know it’s what’s best for John Daniel. But I don’t think our time is done out there.”

  “I thought we agreed that this would just be a one-time assignment,” Hawk said.

  “We did, but I reserve the right to change my mind,” she said before taking another sip of her tea. “Tell me you didn’t enjoy this last mission, the hunt, the exhilaration of stopping a man who was intent on sabotaging good Americans for some misguided agenda.”

  “I loved it,” Hawk said. “But what about you and John Daniel? What if something happens to me?”

  “We’ll be fine. In case you forgot, a Russian mafia assassin tried to kill me in our home—and I took care of him without you.”

  Hawk smiled faintly. “Yes, you did.”

  “The fact is there are other people just like us, families with kids who have wonderful lives right now but could have it all stripped away if the wrong people take control of this country and the world. Freedoms could be eroded. Innocent lives could be lost. Dreams for a generation could be snuffed out. And I don’t want to get to the end of our lives and think that we just put in our time. I want to help. We’ve had enough time out of the game, but it’s time to get back in it.”

  She paused, letting the words sink in before continuing.

  “At least, that’s how I feel. Maybe you feel differently, but I needed to let you know that in case you’re feeling the same way, too.”

  Hawk nodded. “This last mission lit a fire in me again. And while I know there are significant risks, what I realized is that there are dozens of Eddie and Sheila Tysons out there, families who could be torn apart by the actions of a few evil men. And if I can stop them, then I feel like I must.”

  “So, what you’re saying is that you want back in, too?”

  “Only if you’re okay with it.”

  Alex put her tea down and jumped in Hawk’s lap, wrapping her ar
ms around him. She kissed him and then drew back before glancing at her watch.

  “Speaking of getting back in the game, we have a conference call in five minutes with the Magnum team,” she said.

  In the distance, John Daniel laughed as he careened into the haystack.

  * * *

  HAWK AND ALEX sat at their kitchen table as they joined the video conference headed by Morgan. She was joined by several members of the team, including Big Earv and Mia.

  “I thought I would wrap up with you two about what we were able to learn from Admiral Miller’s private communications as well as Reaper’s,” she said. “But before I do any of that, I want to thank you for helping us on this mission. I know it wasn’t what we set out to do, but it ended up being the mission our entire country needed. President Norris wanted me to make sure that I conveyed his gratitude to the both of you.”

  “We’re a team,” Hawk said. “We all had a role to play in this.”

  “But you were the one out there risking everything,” Morgan said. “And, Alex, you were too. We’re grateful.”

  “Happy to serve,” Alex said.

  “On that note,” Morgan said, “let’s move on to the purpose of this meeting. I’m going to turn things over to Mia, who’s going to tell us about what she found.”

  Mia nodded. “Thank you. Now after hours of work and some help from Dr. Z, we were able to crack the password for Admiral Miller’s burner phone. And what we found was that he was receiving messages instructing him what to do. We tried to trace the number to someone, but were unable to do so, which means it was a burner phone paid for in cash. Making things even more impossible was the fact that the phone was never used in the same place twice. But based on what we gathered from his computer, he was receiving handsome payments deposited into an offshore account he owned. The source of those payments proved even more difficult to pinpoint.”

  “So where does that leave us?” Hawk asked.

  “As I was searching through his computer, I found one document outlining his protocol for contact. The name of the group listed was one called The Alliance. Up until now, The Alliance was little more than a myth, concocted to explain the unexplainable. But we don’t think that’s the case now.”