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The next morning.
Hawk got dressed, went down to the motel's front desk, and pulled thirty dollars from his pocket. "One more night, please."
"Room key."
"Here." Hawk handed over the key.
The clerk glanced at the room number, updated the booking, and handed the key back.
Hawk took it, said a quick "thanks," and walked out of the motel.
A short while later, he was there.
Not at the Quantico base itself, but on a mountain trail right next to it.
Hawk wasn't worried about his morning run attracting any unwanted attention.
He wasn't the only one out. Several other residents from Quantico Town were also jogging along the same path.
Hawk kept a steady pace behind a group of runners, blending in perfectly.
Soon, the trail came to a sharp bend.
Hawk saw the group ahead of him disappear around the corner. He glanced back, the next group of runners was still a ways behind. Without a moment's hesitation, he accelerated.
With a nearly silent whoosh, he shot off the trail and into the woods. By the time the next group of joggers rounded the bend, Hawk was gone.
The only sound was the rustling of leaves in the forest.
...
It was late afternoon when Hawk finally returned to the motel.
Back in his room, he sat on the edge of the bed and pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket.
He smoothed it out.
On it was a simple, hand-drawn map of the inside of the Quantico Military Base.
Barracks.
Admin buildings.
Motor pool.
Airstrip.
And—
The abandoned lab. Hawk had spent the entire morning getting the lay of the land. He'd spent the afternoon scouting the surrounding forest, mapping out three separate exfiltration routes.
He hadn't decided which route he would take yet.
But it didn't matter.
Having options was enough. He would adapt on the fly once the job was done.
Hawk studied the map one last time, his eyes tracing the symbols only he could understand. Then, he methodically tore the paper into tiny, irretrievable pieces and threw them in the trash.
Soon, the sun began to set.
Hawk went back down to the front desk, returned his key, and checked out of the motel.
It was a motel, after all. The clerk had seen people check in with a date and check out ten minutes later.
An early checkout didn't even raise an eyebrow.
After leaving, Hawk found a nearby pizza place, ordered a pie, and sat by the window to eat.
Never go into battle on an empty stomach.
It would be a pathetic way to go—getting caught because he ran out of energy halfway through a fight or was too weak to escape.
...
Night fell completely.
Fed and ready, Hawk moved under the cover of darkness. He became a phantom in the woods, his speed so great that he was on the verge of creating sonic booms with every step. Soon, he arrived at the base's perimeter fence, a chain-link barrier topped with high-voltage wire.
He didn't rush in. He looked up, his eyes scanning the tall guard towers.
On top of each tower, a powerful searchlight cut through the darkness, sweeping slowly across a predetermined path.
As the beam swung toward him, Hawk pressed himself into the shadow of a large tree, his black hoodie blending into the night. The baseball cap was out. He'd already worn it this morning—too risky.
But the black hoodie was perfect.
He'd found it in the trunk of the taxi before he'd sent it to its watery grave.
Soon, the searchlight passed.
The next second, Hawk moved. He exploded from behind the tree, his right knee bending as the ground beneath his foot compressed. He launched himself upwards like a silent projectile, soaring effortlessly over the fence that was meant to be impassable, and landed softly inside the base.
Now that he was in, the hard part was over.
All that was left was to find the lab, get the goods, and get out.
One minute later.
He saw it. The abandoned lab, surrounded by a temporary corrugated metal wall. The only entrance was guarded by two soldiers.
Hawk stopped about a half-mile out, using a stray shipping container for cover. He watched the two guards.
"Hah..."
"Time to go." Hawk closed his eyes, exhaled a slow, steady breath, and then opened them, his gaze locked on his target.
The next second.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The grass beneath his feet ripped apart as a sonic boom thundered through the night. Hawk shot forward like a cannonball.
The two soldiers on guard duty were laughing and talking, expecting another uneventful night.
Until—
They caught a blur of motion out of the corner of their eyes. A split second later, the sound of the sonic boom hit them like a physical blow.
Thump.
Thump.
The two soldiers didn't even have time to cry out. Their eyes rolled back in their heads, and they collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Hawk still hadn't used lethal force. He had knocked them out in an instant and was already inside the metal perimeter.
The next second.
"SHIT!"
"WHO'S THERE?"
"..."
After slipping through a gap in the fence, Hawk saw them. Standing in front of the dilapidated lab building—its outer walls still scarred from the original explosion—were two more soldiers. His brow furrowed.
Seriously?
Was this necessary?
They already had guards at the outer gate, why put two more inside?
He had only been able to see the outside of the perimeter during his recon.
The two soldiers, after a moment of shock at his sudden appearance, reacted.
The next second, they raised their rifles.
"CONTACT!"
"SOUND THE ALARM!"
"WEE-WOO! WEE-WOO! WEE-WOO!"
In an instant, a piercing alarm shattered the night's silence, blaring across the entire Quantico base.
The moment the soldiers pulled their triggers, Hawk's figure vanished.
He reappeared a split second later, directly in front of them.
The soldiers outside hadn't pulled their triggers. They got to live.
"..." These two...
Hawk's expression was a mask of cold fury. His right fist lashed out at the two stunned soldiers before him.
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