As soon as they got to the lower level, Hicks knew why Khan had gone there.
He went into the men’s room.
Hicks didn’t need to follow him in there because there was only one way in and one way out. Since they were underground, there were no windows or other doorways Khan could use to escape. Following him in there could only lead to disaster and Hicks needed to avoid trouble until his orders came through. He drifted over to one of the food vendors instead where he could keep an eye on the bathroom exit while blending in with the dozens of other people lining up to buy lunch.
He felt his phone buzz, but he didn’t check it right away. He didn’t want to miss Khan coming out of the bathroom. Besides, he knew the considerable resources of the University were probably already coming on line.
Hicks’s device had a GPS beacon that the University would use to pinpoint his position to within a foot of where he was standing, even here below ground. They knew exactly where he was standing at that moment and would figure out why he was there. A sweep team was probably already on their way to the terminal for any devices Khan may have planted. But Hicks doubted he’d planted anything because Khan wasn’t the type who liked to watch his own fireworks anymore. These days, he planned attacks, preferring to not get his hands dirty by carrying them out.
He watched Khan come out of the bathroom, patting his hands dry on the front of his t-shirt. It was nice to know that even terrorists washed their hands. He walked past Hicks and up the ramp that led back to the upper level and the street.
Hicks followed at a safe distance and stole a quick look at his device. The text message was as simple as he’d expected:
Target confirmed. Terminate immediately. Varsity en route.
“Varsity” was the University term for a back-up team that would support Hicks when he was ready to kill Khan and clean up right after. They’d be able to track his location
But he’d have to stay on Khan’s trail. He pocketed the phone and kept following Khan as he walked up the ramp and took a right. Hicks sped up to close the distance between them. He had to know if Khan was heading toward the subway, which would make it much harder to follow him, or if he was going out toward 42nd Street.
Hicks had done too much in his life to think his prayers would be answered by any god, but he prayed the bastard would stay on the street. It would be easier for the Varsity to close in if things started popping.
Khan walked past the subway entrance and went straight out on to 42nd Street instead, heading west.
Again, Hicks jogged to keep pace, not wanting to lose sight of a small, dark-complexioned man in a city filled with small dark-complexioned men.
He spotted Khan in the crowd of pedestrians heading west toward Fifth Avenue. He could relax a bit now because the University was tracking his position and direction. If they didn’t already have a visual of them via satellite, they soon would. Even if Khan killed him, it would be tougher for the terrorist to escape their notice.
A man like Khan knew all about agencies like the University and their tactics, so Hicks figured he wasn’t planning on pulling an attack today. But Khan was still a target of opportunity – an opportunity Hicks had every intention of taking.
He followed Khan on a meandering path uptown. He walked north along Vanderbilt, then cut back east to that wide boulevard that was Park Avenue, teeming with office workers from banks and other kinds of financial institutions.
The terrorist walked past them all without even stopping. Hicks blended in with the crowd where he could and drifted toward buildings when the crowd thinned out. Whenever Khan looked behind him, it was never in Hicks’s direction.
They continued on Park until 59th Street when Khan headed west toward Central Park. Once again, Hicks jogged to keep pace with him as he turned the corner, but crossed the street instead, like any other New Yorker trying to catch the light before it changed. Trailing Khan from across the street would make him easier to spot, but Hicks had to take that chance. He could’ve spotted Hicks when he looked behind him on Park, so he needed to change up the angle a bit.
On their current course, Hicks knew they may wind up in Central Park. It would be impossible to tail him through the park without getting spotted. If Khan went into the park, that’s where Hicks would kill him.
Khan surprised him by suddenly jaywalking across to Hicks’s side of the street. It was a typical move for any New Yorker, but he did it while Hicks was exposed in the middle of the sidewalk. He stopped short and quickly went through the revolving doors of an office building.
He didn’t bother to go into the lobby for fear of losing sight of Khan, so he went through the revolving doors in one complete circle. When he came out on the street, he spotted the reason why Khan hadn’t been worrying about anyone following him.
Two men stopped short in front of the building when they saw Hicks and poorly covered up by suddenly huddling up and lighting cigarettes. They were bigger than Khan, but had his same complexion and look.
It was a rookie mistake, one most people wouldn’t notice. But Hicks wasn’t most people.
He should’ve known that trailing Khan had been too easy. Now he knew why. And now he had to figure out how to eliminate three threats without getting a lot of innocent people killed.
Hicks kept Khan as his main objective and walked on as if he hadn’t seen the two clowns following him. He’d dust them easy enough when the time came. But he’d alert Khan in the process and probably take a bullet in the bargain. No one said his job was easy.
He spotted Khan through the crowd walking west along 59th Street. He followed him as he crossed Madison, then Fifth; past a knot of tourists gathered at the entrance as he walked into Central Park.
Hicks didn’t check to see if his followers had kept up. Doing so would’ve only tipped them off and forced a confrontation. Khan was now in the park. And that’s where all of this would end.
Hicks checked his phone as he jogged through traffic to beat the changing light and lurching car traffic on Fifth. No word from the Varsity, but he figured they’d be close.
He threaded his way through a knot of tourists at the entrance to Central Park. The crowd gave him enough cover to sneak a look behind him as he pulled the.22 from the holster on his belt. His followers had been caught in the middle of the street and were trying to get through the maze of cars and buses that had crammed the intersection when the light turned green. They wouldn’t be delayed long, but maybe just long enough.
He held the gun in his jacket pocket as he entered the park. A.22 wasn’t a large caliber gun, but it was good enough to do the job in the hands of someone like Hicks.
His training and experience kicked in. He felt the situation contracting now that he was on the ground of his choosing. A skilled assassin in front of him. Two gunners behind him.
Go Time.
Hicks spotted an ambulance without sirens or lights driving along a path closed to vehicular traffic. He knew there were usually several ambulances in the park at all times, but this one passed Khan and flashed its headlights at Hicks.
Varsity was on scene after all.
He eased the.22 as his pocket as he watched Khan finally slow his pace; eyeing the slowing ambulance as it rolled by.
And he turned just far enough to see Hicks standing in the middle of the path. Aiming a gun at him.
Khan froze for an instant, just like he’d frozen that night atop the wall.
Hicks fired four shots into Khan’s chest just as he reached under his t-shirt. All four rounds hit him in a tight pattern just left of center. The shots echoed like firecrackers in the vast openness of the park.
The two men behind Hicks opened fire as Khan fell back. Hicks turned as he dropped to one knee. The men had broken left and right off the path; firing wildly. Their shots sailed high and wide. Hicks didn’t have any cover, but neither did they.