However, Hawk didn’t have time to ponder that at the moment. He had a nuclear warhead to sabotage.
Hawk groped around until he found the ruck sack he’d been stuffing before the Reaper took him out with a shoulder shot. Inside, Hawk found all the tools he needed to wreak havoc on Kim Yong-ju’s plans to strike America, including a device designed by Dr. Z with his trademarked logo on it. Hawk smiled as he pocketed the gadget, looking forward to talking with Dr. Z more upon returning to the U.S.
Once Hawk strapped the pack onto his back, he crawled near the edge of the bed and waited for the truck to slow down. After a minute, the driver hit the brakes for a sharp curve. When he did, Hawk seized his chance to bail out. He rolled over the side, staggering to avoid falling on his shoulder. He hustled over into the bushes off the side of the road and dressed his wound.
Once he was finished, Hawk used the phone in his pack to let the Magnum office know what had happened. After he left a message filling them in, he stayed in the shadows as he headed back toward the Sonbong docks. He walked for a half-hour before he found the shore line. The rest of the trip back toward the military harbor was uneventful with the exception of a few sweeping headlights that sent him rushing toward the nearest clump of bushes or trees to hide. But the vehicles came and passed without incident.
When Hawk reached the docks, he found a place where he could change into the North Korean uniform he’d stolen earlier. Tugging his hat low across his forehead, Hawk marched down to the docks, nodding at the guard as he confidently strode toward him. The guard acknowledged Hawk with a slight head bob and swung open the gate.
Hawk entered the secure area and began his search for the warheads. As far as he knew, there were only two warheads with nuclear capability. His job was relatively simple—permanently disarm them.
He moved into the interior and found one guard patrolling the area. Hawk slipped up behind the man and broke his neck. Hawk found a sandbag nearby and attached it to the man’s body with a rope before dropping him into the water just off the dock. Then Hawk spied another guard strolling past two missiles, which were still situated on a transport truck.
Affixing a silencer to the end of his weapon, Hawk shot the man at point blank and then stuffed him into a locker in the corner.
With the room clear, Hawk didn’t want to waste any time. He scaled the truck and started to disarm the weapon. Following instructions that were in a mission packet on Commander Wilson’s phone, Hawk rendered the two missiles toothless in just under fifteen minutes. He fried the motherboard, meaning that the codes wouldn’t arm the devices. And as a result, they’d never detonate. Hawk knew North Korea didn’t have the expertise in handling the weapons and would see them as useless.
Using Dr. Z’s device, Hawk altered the navigational controls on the missile. Then he stripped a handful of wires out, rendering the nuclear capability of the weapon inoperable. If the North Koreans thought that Russia sold them a bill of goods, it’d be even better for the U.S. interests. Putting two of America’s biggest enemies at each other’s throats was little more than a pipe dream in Washington. But it’d become a reality when Kim Yong-ju ordered the missile strike, and the military would launch a dud. Accusations would fly and Russia would be blamed for the failure.
When Hawk finished, he pulled his cap down low across his brow again and walked toward the gate to exit the facility. His heart was pounding as he approached the guard.
Right as Hawk passed through the exit, a man shouted for him. Hawk stopped and turned around.
“Is your shift up so soon?” the soldier asked in Korean.
Hawk glanced down and saw blood leaking through his uniform. Thinking quickly, he feigned a cough and answered in his best Korean with a gravelly voice. “I don’t feel well. I think I have a virus.”
The man waved dismissively at Hawk, who put his head down and trudged away.
When he reached a safe distance from the harbor, Hawk found a back alley where he could change. He then hiked in the direction of the most eastern point of the Sonbong harbor. Once he was back in the woods, he pulled out the commander’s phone and dialed the number demarcated as Big Earv.
Hawk waited as the phone rang. After the sixth ring, the call went to voicemail. Hawk cursed under his breath before sitting down on a rock. Until Big Earv called him back, Hawk was stranded.
He paced around to pass the time, but that only made him more nervous. Any minute, the woods could be crawling again with North Korean soldiers. If Hawk stayed hidden, it wouldn’t be an issue. He couldn’t help but think about Alex.
He took a breath and pulled out his phone, checking it again to see if Big Earv had called him.
Still nothing.
The sun started to rise across the water, increasing the difficulty for Hawk’s escape across the water. He decided to call Alex and let her know that he’d at least succeeded. And he also wanted to find out how she was doing.
But when he called her, she didn’t answer.
CHAPTER 33
Bridger, Montana
ALEX SPLASHED WARM WATER on her face after brushing her teeth. She squinted before taking a moment to study herself more closely, her green eyes unable to mask the redness in them. She’d cried more in the time since Hawk left than she did at any other point in her marriage. The stress of him leaving was heavy. But if she was honest, she was torn.
Raising John Daniel was tough, so much so that on most days she considered tracking terrorists all over the globe with her life on the line to be an easier task. She took a deep breath before tying her hair up in a messy bun. She walked past John Daniel’s room before stopping and peeking inside. For a moment, she lingered in the doorway, watching him sleep peacefully.
Maybe it’s not so bad.
Alex couldn’t help but sense an enormous amount of guilt just for feeling that way.
Surely no other mother feels this way about her own children.
But she wanted to get back in the game. And even though she wasn’t playing a pivotal role in Hawk’s mission, she craved the action, the intensity, the adrenaline rush that accompanied being within minutes of thousands of innocent people dying before your team stops it. The pros far outweighed the cons, and she wanted back in. But how?
John Daniel required constant attention. He’d be starting school in the upcoming fall, but could she really handle the rigors of hunting terrorists and exposing conspiracies against the U.S. government in between PTA meetings, feeding the horses, and helping John Daniel with his homework every night? She wasn’t sure she could, but she was willing to try.
However, she hadn’t yet expressed to Hawk her desire to return to the field, who had repeatedly shared how happy he was with their new lifestyle. Yet part of Alex remained empty.
She closed the door to John Daniel’s room and walked down the hall, determining to tell him upon his return.
Alex ambled into the kitchen, where she picked up the radio and tried to raise the security team patrolling her property.
“Kyle? Xander? How are things looking out there?” she asked.