Admiral Sam Karson glared down at the still-seated Hawk Masters. “Mr. Masters, I don’t turn my back on my duty.”
“Cross this line, sir, and you’ll wish you had.”
Karson snapped the locks shut. “I think we’re done here.”
As he started toward the door, Hawk called after him, “It’s getting worse, isn’t it?”
Karson froze, slowly looking back.
“Incidents like the Fitz,” Masters elaborated. “They’re popping up more often, right?”
“How do you know that?”
“Because that’s the talk in the community.”
With those simple words Masters derailed Karson’s attempt to establish his independence by leaving. Now he had to know what the other man meant. An underground community that knew about these things? He slowly turned back and walked to the table.
“I can help, but I’m going to do it on my terms.”
Karson frowned. “And those are?”
“I’ll gather a team. The next time you have one of these incidents, we’ll check it out. If it can be handled quietly, we’ll do the job. If not, you’ll make sure we have all the support the United States Navy can offer.”
The admiral almost said no without even considering it. He didn’t need a mercenary team; he needed intelligence on the situation. The trouble was, if he read Masters right, he wasn’t going to get anything from him without cooperating.
If he let Masters have his team, he might be able to get the intel he needed more obliquely.
“You can pick specialists if you need them, but you’ll draw your operators from the navy ranks,” Karson countered. “Plus, I get to pick a liaison to your group.”
Masters grimaced. “I’m trying to keep as many people from getting killed by this thing as I can, and you’re not helping, Admiral.”
“Mr. Masters, you’re asking me to hand over the authority of the United States Navy to you. That’s not going to happen,” Karson replied coolly. “I’m willing to tolerate your little power play because it may just get me what I need, but I’m not setting you loose without some strings to keep you from dancing to your own tune.”
Masters sighed, hating the situation, but knowing that he wasn’t going to get a much better offer. He’d been on the case for ten years on his own, and had gotten squat in return for his efforts. He wanted a shot, a real shot, at putting paid to the things he’d seen, and the only way that was going to happen was with a group like the navy.
“Deal,” he finally said, “but mark my words, you’ll wish you’d let me dance to my own tune, Admiral.”
“I’ll take that chance, Lieutenant Commander Masters,” Karson said with a tone of calm confidence, flipping a sheaf of papers at the surprised man.
Hawk looked down, wincing as he recognized the recall orders. As an operator, he knew that the navy could recall him anytime within twenty-five years of his enlistment. He hadn’t expected it to happen, of course, not with his security clearance. They’d ignored him despite the ongoing wars in the Middle East, so he’d gotten used to the idea that it wasn’t going to happen.
Now he could only look down at the paper and shake his head.
“Well shit.” He probably should have known that he wouldn’t have a choice.
CHAPTER 2
The place was called the Glades Pub, though the sign was one of the neon deals that had three burnt-out letters and buzzed incessantly. Hawk Masters ignored it and the mess on the ground as he walked in, barely paying enough attention to keep his boots relatively clean. The old door hesitated as he pushed against it, then decided to give after a moment’s thought, letting him into the pub.
Hawk paused just inside the door, looked around slowly until he found the face he was seeking, and headed over to a corner booth when he found it.
“Didn’t expect to see you again.”
“Didn’t plan on being seen,” Hawk answered, dropping into the booth.
The man sitting across from him was wearing a light white shirt that hung loosely from his frame and looked out of place on him. His face had a messy, brownish-red goatee that was trying in vain to cover his chin and mouth, and there was an ear stud in his right ear.
“So what brings you back to this side of the veil, Hawk?”
“Like I ever crossed back,” Masters said grimly, shaking his head.
“Sooner or later everyone tries.”
“I’m putting together a team, Alex. I want you in as a consultant.”
Alex laughed. “A team? What do you think this is, Hawk? The navy? We don’t do teams.”
“The navy is exactly what I think this is,” Masters said, tossing his lieutenant commander’s insignia on the table between them.
Alex looked at the gold leaf for a moment, genuinely puzzled. “You can’t be serious. You know what happens when people cross that line; you of all people do. You want to drag some poor schmucks across, you do it without me.”
“It’s not that simple, man. The navy, they’re starting to see,” Hawk said earnestly, leaning across. “If they can see past it, what happens?”
The other man looked down at the table, his jaw tense as he considered the question. Finally he shook his head. “Death. Death by the millions. Maybe more.”
“Exactly. They’re giving me a team, and they’re even letting me pick it mostly,” Hawk said. “It’s a chance, one chance, to control it.”
“You’re not a big enough fool to think that any part of this can be controlled.”
“No, but maybe we can guide it, man. Keep it from rolling us all into a ball and running us over.”
Alex chuckled dryly and downed his drink. “Never knew you for an optimist, Masters.”
“Yeah right.…You in?”
Alexander Norton shrugged. “Consultant, huh?”
“Consultant.” Hawk nodded. He knew the man who was sitting across from him well. “Pay is good, full benefits, and research material is on the government’s dime.”
“They’ll pay for books and info, no questions or weird looks when I turn in the receipts?”
“You have my word.” Hawk lied without blinking. He knew there’d be plenty of questions and weird looks, particularly since he knew a thing or two about Norton’s preferred reading materials. He’d just take the worst of the grilling himself, leaving the other man out of it. He didn’t want to even think of trying to do what he was about to attempt without someone very much like Alexander “The Black” Norton on his side.
Alexander Norton considered it for a long moment, mulling over the benefits and likely hazards of the offer. Honestly, the hazards outweighed the benefits by a factor of ten at least, but safety was overrated.
“Deal, Hawk. You have yourself a practitioner.”
“Rankin, it’s Hawk,” Masters said into his satellite phone as he stood outside Miami International. “Alex is in.”
On the other side of the line Navy Master Chief Eddie Rankin made a noise of surprise. “I’m shocked, brother. That boy is downright antisocial, and you’ve got him coming into the Teams?”
“As a consultant.”
Rankin snorted. “You didn’t tell him then.”
“Not in so many words.” Hawk smirked into the phone.
“All I can say is that I don’t want to be in your shoes when he works it out.” Eddie chuckled.
“I need some boys from the Teams now. You have a list?”
“Yeah, you know how it is.…Some of us have seen stuff in the field,” Eddie said with a more somber tone, “and I keep track of the people who start to believe what they see.”