Contract Killers

Contract Killers Kate Hawkins creates a virtual community of sorts. Henry Cavill, left, as Napoleon Solo and Armie Hammer as Illya Kuryakin in the 2015 film “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.”Credit...Daniel Smith/Warner Bros. Pictures Dec. 29, 2020 WEDNESDAY PUZZLE — Among the rising stars in the New York Times crossworld, Kate Hawkins is a veritable constellation. Her Times debut was in August, and this puzzle is already her third to appear here. Like a cut-glass candy dish this time of year, it’s piled high with colorful treats — trivia from pop culture, botany, the Olympics, animated rodents. You know the drill.