Signal Fire

"I don't generally condone vigilante violence in our line of work..."

Letting her voice drift, she raised her attention my way, "But he's right, you know."

Taking up a post across from her, my hands draped over the side, I nodded. "There won't be a better time than right now."

One of the last cases Hawk Tate worked, before abruptly retiring from the DEA following the death of his wife and daughter six years ago, was apprehending Angel Abarca. The famed Angel of Death, renowned for serving as the chief henchman for Lorenzo Gil, overseeing one of the largest cartels in Mexico. A prime target they had been chasing for years, serving a critical role in trafficking both people and drugs up over the border.

A man sentenced to decades in prison who Hawk hadn't thought about in years, until one day he gets a call from his friend Mia Diaz, the special agent in charge at the southwest headquarters for the DEA, saying that Abarca reached out. Gil was assassinated, similar attempts have been made on Abarca, and he is looking to make a deal.

An exchange of information for services only Hawk can provide.

Putting aside whatever reticence he harbors, Hawk heads south from his home in Montana. Anticipating a quick favor for Diaz and his former organization, he soon realizes Abarca's revelations cut to the core of something far bigger than he imagined.

Matters of a power struggle, tied to Hawk's past, now threaten to disrupt the international scene for years to come.