Against All Odds
you.”“What’s the address of the payphone location?” Hawk asked.
“On the corner of Calvert and Connecticut, just outside a pharmacy. But I must confess that I haven’t heard the phone ring since my last assignment.”
“Interesting,” Hawk said as he stood. “That should be a sign to you that somebody is taking you out one by one. But you’ll be safe in here.”
“I don’t want to stay in here,” Minsky said. “I’d rather take my chances out there.”
Hawk eyed him closely. “Unfortunately for you, that isn’t a choice. You’ll stay here until we get this sorted out.”
Hawk exited the room as Minsky shouted in Russian. Alex was already waiting in the hallway.
“Good work,” she said. “Now let’s keep digging and peel back the layers of who’s behind all this.”
CHAPTER 11
Washington, D.C.
BLUNT TOOK A BIG GULP of his coffee before getting situated in his chair. He opened the file of pictures Hawk had taken of Orlovsky's list and scanned the list of names again, checking to make sure he didn’t miss anyone. Once Blunt was satisfied that he’d culled the top enemies from the contacts, he printed out a couple copies. He’d stood to retrieve them from his printer when someone knocked on his door.
Blunt spun around to see General Fortner standing in the doorway. “You know, it’s not a good idea for you to be seen in this building.”
“Don’t worry,” Fortner said with a wink. “I used the secret entrance through the back. Only your secretary has seen me.”
“You have more faith than I do that she’ll keep that a secret,” Blunt said.
Fortner sauntered over to the chair across from Blunt’s desk and took a seat. “Casually mention to her that you’re all working in the intelligence field and everything you do can be traced or recorded back to the source. Implore her to be careful with what she shares.”
“That sounds more like I’m telling her to be more cautious when she dishes the dirt on The Phoenix Foundation.”
Fortner waved dismissively. “I doubt she’ll see it that way. She likely doesn’t think the way you and I do. She’ll be a little more trusting.”
Blunt shrugged. “You might be right, but next time just give me a little heads up if you want to speak, and we can meet somewhere else. But since you’re here, you might as well sit down and talk about something I wanted to show you anyway.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about the information Hawk and Alex retrieved in Venice from Andrei Orlovsky.”
“Good news, I hope.”
Blunt huffed through his nose. “It’s a mix, to be honest. Good news that we now know who he’s been funneling his weapons to.”
“And the bad news?”
“A few of the people on the list have been our allies at some point in time, but the name that really jumps off at me is that of Russian oligarch Yuri Kovalchuk.”
“The agricultural equipment magnate?” Fortner asked, his voice rising an octave every few syllables.
“Forget about what he actually sells for a moment and consider his availability to move incredibly large pieces of machinery all around the world. Do you think most governments are going to scan every inch of those monstrosities? I doubt our own customs agents would even do that. He could move military grade missiles with ease, and no one would be the wiser.”
“Apparently we’re wiser now.”
Blunt nodded. “But we might already be too late. We just received some reports about activity going on in Cuba that we ought to check out.”
“Well, you know I can’t send anybody down there, at least not officially.”
Blunt pulled a cigar out of his desk drawer and trimmed off the end. He stuffed the stogie in his mouth.
“That’s what The Phoenix Foundation is for,” he said with a wry grin. “Now, I’m sure you had other items to discuss. So, what’s on your mind?”
Fortner shifted in his seat. “I need an update on what’s happening with the investigation into the man who murdered Senator Thurman’s son.”
Blunt sighed. “Look, I asked for twenty-four hours.”
“And I gave you that. But that time has come and gone. When I get into the office, Thurman will either be there or he’ll be calling, ready to crawl all over me if I don’t give him a satisfactory answer.”
Blunt’s phone buzzed, and Linda’s voice came over the intercom.
“Hawk is on line one, sir,” she said.
“Thank you, Linda. You’re the best.”
She giggled and hung up.
Fortner wrinkled his nose. “You don’t really mean that, do you?”
Blunt held up his index finger and wagged it. “Don’t ever say anything negative about Linda. Without her, I don’t know where I’d be, to be honest with you. She’s like my lighthouse in a stormy sea.”
Fortner’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?”
Blunt leaked a cheeky grin before answering the phone. “Hawk, how the hell are ya? I’ve been waiting for your call. I’ve even got General—excuse me—Director Fortner in the office here with me. What have you got?”
“I’ve got something that’s going to make you very happy,” Hawk said.
“You eliminated the assassin?” Fortner asked, his eyes widening at the thought.
“No, but something even better.”
“In this case, nothing is better than the assassin being dead,” Fortner said.
Hawk exhaled slowly, his steadied breathing audible over the speaker. “In that case, I guess I have the next best thing.”
“Which is?” Blunt asked.
“We have the method and manner by which the assassin gets contacted,” Alex said excitedly. “We’re going to be able to pull on this string until the whole operation unravels and we find out who we’re dealing with.”
“That’s awfully noble of you,” Fortner said, “but we were just hoping to hear that the man who pulled the trigger and shot Thaxton Thurman got a quick trip to the morgue.”
“We still have him in possession, but I think you ought to keep that little piece of information to yourself—along with everything else we’re telling you,” Hawk said. “We think there might be some other folks involved, maybe even some Americans.”
“What makes you think that?” Blunt asked.
“Nothing right now,” Hawk