“Stay with me,” Rebel replied.
Together, they made their way over.
“Mr. Ambassador, what do you know about the blackouts?” Halston asked, continuing to use her Russian accent.
“Only that Petrov and Natasha were carrying out orders from the Kremlin. I was kept in the dark, except for the date.” Sadness touched his eyes. “If I’d known they were going to kidnap a group of scientists, I would have told my contact at the State Department.”
“If you tell this group what you know, they’ll help you.” Halston said.
“To be clear, Minka, I didn’t believe Natasha. She was ranting about you being a spy for US.” He shook his head. “I think she was jealous of you.”
“Understood,” Halston said, refusing to break from protocol. She was Minka and Minka was Russian.
She stepped away to talk with Greystone.
“Well?” he asked.
“He’s lying. I lifted docs from his laptop about the abduction. Weeks ago, he told me the global balance of power would shift. He knows exactly what’s going on.”
“Do you think he’ll talk?” Greystone asked.
Halston glanced back at him. “If he does, I wouldn’t expect the truth.”
Halston directed Greystone and Teddy to the body in the woods while nine of the eleven hostages were helped into the van. Rebel drove the passenger van, Brit drove the second one filled with luggage. After pulling onto the dirt road, they waited.
The bodies of Dmitri Petrov and Natasha Petrova were placed in the cargo area of Teddy’s SUV. The deceased scientist laid on the back seat. He and Sydney drove over and waited behind the second van.
At gunpoint, Bulgrov was helped into the cargo area of an SUV. After he lay down, Slash climbed into the middle seat, pointed her weapon at him. Caroline sat beside her, Greystone behind the wheel. They waited, their headlights illuminating the way for Halston’s parents.
Gabriel loaded their luggage, helped her mom into the SUV as Halston’s dad got in on the other side. Into the passenger seat Halston climbed, grateful they were heading back to the Black Site. She hoped her parents—along with the ambassador—would fill in the remaining puzzle pieces about the blackouts and the power grids.
At the back of the caravan, Gabriel pulled out, flashed his high beams. The vans drove out, followed by the SUV with the deceased, then the vehicle with the ambassador. As Gabriel turned onto the country road, he hit the gas.
“Where are we going?” her dad asked.
“The rescue team is taking you to their safe house,” Gabriel explained.
“Are you part of this group?” her dad asked.
“No, I’m an independent contractor, but two of my brothers are.”
“Gabriel also runs several businesses in Italy,” Halston volunteered.
“A busy man,” her mom replied.
“Dad, what were the Russians making you do?” Halston asked.
“They had us analyzing the US power grids to identify the most vulnerable locations,” her dad began. “The ones that, if taken out, would have the greatest impact.”
“We’ve been having power hits,” Gabriel said.
“Where?” her dad asked.
“It started weeks ago in several cities,” Gabriel replied. “The cities all went dark at the same time, all lit up at the same time. The cities were mid-tier, and they were scattered throughout the country.”
“Hmm,” her dad said from the back seat.
“Then, the blackouts started here,” Halston said. “The entire DMV went dark along with a different group of cities from here to LA.”
