Target Zero Read online

  What the hell?

  It was Emily.

  Hawk looked in the back and flung a blanket over the guns and munitions before getting out.

  “What are you doing here?” Hawk asked as he approached his former girlfriend.

  “I would ask you the same thing, but I already know.”

  “Just get in the car with me. We need to talk.”

  Hawk pulled his vehicle over to the side of the road and locked it.

  “This better not take long,” he said. “I need to get back or some people might come looking for you.”

  “That idiot you’re working with couldn’t find his head if it wasn’t attached to his neck.”

  Hawk got into the car with Emily. “What’s so important that you had to follow me halfway across the world?”

  “I had to ask you one more time to come work for Searchlight and—”

  “Come on, Emily. You know that’s not gonna happen.”

  “Well, that was only half the reason I came to ask you in person.”

  “You couldn’t just give me a call?”

  “No, because they’re always listening.”

  “Who? Searchlight?”

  She nodded and put the car in drive before easing onto the gas and moving forward.

  “That’s comforting,” Hawk said.

  “If you don’t acquiesce to their demands, Hawk, they’re going to come after you.”

  Hawk eyed her closely. “Come after me? What do you mean?”

  “I mean, they’re going to kill you. They see you as a threat. And that’s what they do to the enemies. If you don’t join them, they will take you out.”

  “Good,” Hawk said as a wry grin spread across his face. “I’d much rather know where someone stands than have them pussyfooting around the truth.”

  “You don’t understand. They’re not going to stop until you’re dead.”

  “Then they’re gravely underestimating what I can do.”

  “Listen, Hawk, there’s more to it than this. There’s—”

  Instead of another word, all Hawk heard was the crunching of metal as his head snapped forward and then back against the passenger side window.

  That was the last thing he remembered before everything went dark.

  CHAPTER 15

  J.D. BLUNT DONNED his best disguise—a fedora and oversized glasses—and ventured into the market in Tangier. He hated the crowds crammed into tight spaces. It was a street thief’s dream. Blunt always kept at least one hand in his pocket, clutching his wallet. He only made the mistake once as a couple of savvy kids ran a distract-and-snatch scheme that began a two-day descent into bureaucracy hell trying to get a new ID and credit cards. He vowed it would never happen again.

  While Blunt loathed the market environment, he enjoyed the unbridled nature of people selling their wares of all shapes and sizes out in the open. Blunt chewed on his cigar as he stopped and looked at the woman displaying handmade necklaces and bracelets along with fresh eggs. The man next to her was selling pirated DVD copies of blockbuster movies along with kitchen utensils. It was as if a bomb exploded in Wal-Mart and nobody bothered to reorganize the store.

  He shuffled through the crowd, his left hand firmly grasping his wallet, while his right clutched a cane. While he didn’t need it to walk, Blunt used the cane as much to engender sympathy and elderly respect as he did to create breathing room amid the masses. Tapping his cane on the cobblestone street as he drifted past one desperate salesperson to the next, Blunt finally found his store run by his man, Amir.

  “What brings my favorite customer back here on this fine day?” Amir asked.

  “Amir, I’m only your favorite because I’m the only one who has any money.”

  Amir laughed and ripped off a few crumbs of bread for his pet monkey, Aman. “You know me too well, Mr. Texas Man. You know me too well.”

  Blunt was certain that Amir’s name was something else; it’s why Blunt never used his real name in dealing with the street vendor.

  “So, what can I do for you, Mr. Texas Man?”

  “I need a camera.”

  “Like this?” Amir said as he stooped down and picked up a point-and-shoot digital camera.

  Blunt shook his head. “I’m thinking more along the lines of a small web camera, the kind I can install and view from my phone?”

  A smile broke across Amir’s face as he shook his finger at Blunt. “I never suspected you to be that kind of guy, Mr. Texas Man.”

  Blunt bit hard on his cigar, grinding it between his teeth. “I’m not a pervert, Amir, if that’s what you’re implying.”

  Amir disappeared for a moment behind a curtain at the back of his booth. He emerged carrying a small box.

  “I am not here to judge, only to serve the needs of my customers,” Amir said as he handed the box to Blunt.

  Blunt took it. “What do I owe you?”

  “Five hundred U.S. dollars.”

  “Five hundred? Are you out of your mind?”

  Amir shrugged. “That is my price. If you know of another store where you can purchase such an item, I suggest you go there instead.”

  “Three hundred fifty and not a penny more,” Blunt said.

  “Four hundred and it’s yours,” Amir countered.

  Blunt grunted and fished out the money from his wallet. He handed it to Amir, who smiled big as he took it.

  “You are an extortionist,” Blunt said.

  “I have mouths to feed, children to clothe, a wife to make happy.”

  Blunt turned and walked away, hoisting his cane in the air, the box tucked snug up against his body with his left arm.

  “See you soon, Amir.”

  Blunt stepped back into the current of the crowd drifting along the main thoroughfare. A couple boys bumped into him as they ran by, knocking Blunt off balance. As he started to tumble, one of the boys snatched the box and started to run. Blunt, however, regained his balance and use the crook of his cane to hook the boy’s right ankle and send him sprawling to the ground. Blunt knelt down and picked up his box. He looked into the boy’s eyes, which appeared to tremble.

  “Pick on someone your own age,” Blunt said before he stepped over the boy and continued along.

  Blunt was ready to get back to his room and relax, but not until he installed the camera. He couldn’t truly relax until he finished, and even then, could he actually relax? He doubted it, but it was worth a try.

  Blunt’s phone buzzed, interrupting his train of thought about how he was going to install the camera. He would’ve ignored it altogether if it hadn’t been for the caller’s name pasted across the front of his screen. It was someone he hadn’t talked to in a while but needed to for the sake of his own security as well as his operatives’.

  It was General Johnson.

  CHAPTER 16

  ALEX WATCHED THE DAYLIGHT spilling through the cracks in the floor turn faint as the hours ticked past. She supposed Hawk shouldn’t have been gone more than half an hour, yet darkness was about to set in and still no word from him. She grew annoyed at McGinn’s apathetic response to Hawk’s absence.

  “Aren’t you going to do something?” she asked, huffing after she did.

  “Do what? I’ve already told you the first twenty times you asked that question that I can’t really do anything without jeopardizing this mission.”

  “Don’t you get it?” Alex said. “There isn’t going to be a mission without Hawk. You can’t stay here forever. You’ve got no idea what’s going on in the real world up there right now. We’re just two caged little animals, though I’m clearly more upset with this arrangement than you are.”

  “Simmer down, princess. I’m sure your cowboy hero will return any moment now.”

  “You’ve been saying that several hours now, and it hasn’t happened yet.”

  McGinn growled. “Fine. I’ll go check on him. But you stay here and keep your prying little eyes to yourself. I’ll know if you looked at something.”

  He glanced up
at the lights. She hadn’t even considered that McGinn had surveillance in the room.

  McGinn put on his cap and opened the door to the tunnels. He had almost exited the room entirely before he turned around and poked his head back inside.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon,” he said.

  “I’ll be waiting for you, dear,” Alex said with an exaggerated eye roll.

  Alex listened until his footsteps faded down the tunnel just outside the door. She wanted to punch herself in the face for being so careless. As careful as she was, she never considered McGinn would have placed surveillance in what amounted to a panic room in a basement. She had no one else to blame but herself.

  Maybe he’s not such an amateur after all.

  Whether he was a professional or amateur, she didn’t care; she simply needed to doctor the footage in the event that McGinn happened to review it. Or maybe someone else was watching.

  Whatever the case, she needed the video gone twenty minutes ago.

  CHAPTER 17

  HIS EYES OPENED SLOWLY as he regained consciousness. His side ached from what he assumed was the impact of the vehicle that hit him and Emily. That was the last thing he remembered. He tried to move, but the ropes tethering him to the wooden chair prevented any serious mobility. The piece of cloth tied snug around his face tasted like a cocktail of dirt and sweat and wreaked of mold.

  Due to the lack of bright light, Hawk couldn’t tell how big the room was. A lone bulb dangled from the ceiling, casting an ominous shadow on him. The light’s reach wasn’t more than ten square feet, which left Hawk to wonder what lurked in the darkness.

  “Emmm-ahhhhh-leeeeee,” he tried to shout through the gag. He tried twice more with his muffled voice but to no avail. Equally concerning as her absence was the fact that his cries for her didn’t seem to attract the attention of anyone. He sat in the room alone for another fifteen minutes before he heard a door swing open.

  Hawk whipped his head in the direction of the sound as light from the outside flooded into the room. It was enough to give Hawk a glimpse of what kind of environment he was truly in—a stark one. No other doors nor any other exit points, with the exception of a window in the corner.

  Good to know.

  A medium-built man strode across the room, his hands clasped behind his back. He stopped a few feet short of Hawk and looked him up and down.

  “So, this is the great Brady Hawk,” the man said before breaking into laughter. “You don’t look so great right now.”

  The man, who sported the nametag of General attached to the left side of his jacket, removed Hawk’s gag.

  “What’s the meaning of this?” Hawk asked. “Who are you?”

  The General clucked his tongue and wagged his index finger at Hawk. “I ask all the questions around here. Is that clear?”

  “What was that?” Hawk said, feigning as he couldn’t hear.

  The General put his hands on his knees and leaned forward, stopping just inches from Hawk’s face.

  “I asked is that clear?” the man said.

  Sensing an opportunity, Hawk lunged toward the General and clamped down hard on his ear. Hawk bit harder as the man squirmed in an effort to escape. As the General thrashed about, he gave Hawk all the leverage he needed to get off the ground and turn the tables on his captor. Hawk tried to maintain his balance long enough until he got into a position to let the General break a hard fall. Hawk came crashing down on the man as the chair splintered. Immediately, Hawk found himself free and grabbed the rope, but not before he snatched the General.

  Hawk worked furiously to tie his new prisoner up.

  “You yell for your guards and I’ll break your neck right here without another thought,” Hawk said. “Do you understand me?”

  The man nodded.

  “So, tell me General, where is she?”

  “Who?”

  “Don’t play games with me. I know you took her—and for all I know, she was the original target.”

  The General chuckled and shook his head. “Oh, no. It was you all along. You were the primary target.”

  “Where is she then? And you better not say dead or else I’m going to rip you apart right now.”

  “I’ll tell you,” the man said. “Come closer.”

  Hawk edged closer but wasn’t about to get as close as the man had been when Hawk summoned him.

  Instead of saying something, the man spit into Hawk’s eyes.

  “I’ll never tell you anything,” the General said.

  Undeterred, Hawk knelt down next to the man. “So, tell me, General, how good are you at arithmetic?”

  The General seemed shocked by the question, taken aback by the oddity if not absurdity of it. “Do you mean math?”

  “Yes, math. How good are you at it?”

  The General smiled and shrugged. “Good enough to know your odds of making it out alive are decreasing with every second you keep me tied up here.”

  “Oh, I doubt that,” Hawk said as he began to pace around the General. “Let’s start first with some basic questions, like how many fingers do you have?”

  The General started laughing and ignored the question.

  “I’m serious, General,” Hawk said. “How many digits do you have on your hands.”

  “Ten,” the man finally said.

  “Now, we’re going to play a little game,” Hawk said. “I ask a question, you tell me the answer. If you don’t tell me the answer, we do a little subtraction problem.”

  “What’s one idiot minus a brain equal?” the man said. “Give up? A dead idiot.”

  Hawk glared at him before picking up the man’s gun off the floor that he’d lost during their initial struggle.

  “I’ll never tell you anything,” the man said.

  “I can be persuasive when I want to be,” Hawk said, tapping the barrel of the gun against the palm of his hand. “So, let me ask this one more time—where is my friend?”

  The man spit in Hawk’s face again.

  Hawk shook his head. “Subtraction it is then.”

  He knelt down behind the man’s chair and grabbed his pinky finger. “Ten fingers minus one finger equals …”

  The man’s shoulders slumped as he said nothing.

  “Nine fingers,” Hawk said as he ripped into the man’s hand, slicing off his right pinky. “Or seven if we’re being technical and classify thumbs as different appendages.”

  The man let out a guttural scream.

  “Now where is she?” Hawk asked again. “I can do this all day long if necessary.”

  The General sucked in a breath through his teeth and exhaled, his face grimacing. “Okay, okay, I’ll talk. She’s in the building next to this one.”

  “I swear if you hurt her, I’ll come back and kill you.”

  “She wasn’t the target. You were.”

  “Me?”

  “I don’t even know who she is.”

  Hawk grabbed the man’s hand again. “Who sent you?”

  “I don’t even know the guy’s name.”

  Hawk narrowed his eyes. “Is that so?”

  “Okay, okay. I’ll tell you.”

  There was pounding on the door.

  “Sir, are you okay?” a man shouted through the door.

  “Don’t say a word,” Hawk said, training his gun on the man.

  “I’ll tell you what you want to know, but I’ve got to say something or my guards will come crashing through the door, and you won’t have a chance.”

  Hawk sighed. “Fine.”

  The man took a deep breath and shouted. “This maniac has me. Help!”

  “Wrong answer,” Hawk said before shooting the man in the head.

  A pounding began against the door. Hawk scanned the room for the lone remaining exit—the window.

  Two more thumps against the door. Hawk hustled up to the window and pushed up. It refused to budge.

  He then backed up halfway across the room.

  Another loud thump at the door.

>   Here it goes.

  Hawk broke into a dead sprint for the window. He hadn’t taken more than ten steps before the lock gave way and the door flung open. Despite the commotion, Hawk didn’t look back, instead leaping and diving head first through the window.

  As he hit the ground outside, shattered glass rained down all around him. Blood trickled down his face while the sounds of gunfire echoed from the room above. He scrambled to his feet and tried to get his bearings.

  Looking around the compound, his concern for Emily grew.

  There was no other building.

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FACING ALEX was finding the location of the storage device. She inspected the camera lodged in the light fixture and determined it was wireless, leading her to believe it was likely still in the room. She checked the room’s lone closet to find nothing but clothes strewn about, most drooping halfway off hangers. She paced around the room, looking for a spot in the floor where McGinn could hide the device. But there wasn’t anything readily apparent.

  Alex then resorted to tapping the wall in search of a hollow area. When that yielded no results, she removed the two pictures from the wall.

  There you are.

  Alex smiled and found a black metal box with blinking lights that was plugged into a special electrical outlet built into the hidden area. She carefully rotated the box toward her and found a small screen on the back. After a few seconds of fiddling with the controls, she managed to turn on the screen. A navigational bar appeared at the top, allowing her to scroll through previous day’s recordings. The fact that the device was motion activated made it easy for her to eliminate the images of her without drawing too much suspicion.

  Alex deleted all the images up until the day she first walked into the room. In a perfect scenario, she would’ve deleted more so that it didn’t seem so coincidental that the camera stopped recording the day she arrived there. However, she knew that if she deleted a few weeks prior to when she and Hawk came to Berera and McGinn had checked the footage during that time, she would’ve been busted for sure. At least the current situation gave her the chance to talk her way out of a situation.