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“You can’t tell anyone about it, please. Promise me you won’t breathe a word to anyone,” Xander said.
Joel nodded as he raised his hands.
“Of course. It’s too serious to relate with anyone. However, Xander, are you sure you want to trust this woman? You’ve barely met her and she’s proposing to do the impossible.”
“I don’t know much about that. All I know is that she saved my life and spoke Russian with Morgan. There has to be a reason for the kidnappings and, so far, she’s the only one to come forward with an explanation,” Xander said.
Joel nodded and stood up.
“Well, then, I’ll leave you to study. You have a nation to save,” he said as he smiled at Xander. “I’m proud of you. You’re quite courageous after all,”
Xander returned the smile.
“Thanks, Joel,” he said.
Joel walked towards the entrance to the building. The moment he was out of hearing range, he whispered to himself, “Neschastnyy mal’chik.”
The poor boy…
CHAPTER TWO
“Hail The Sun…”
1ST December 2021
10:03 pm
Chestnut Avenue, Rosebank, New York.
USA.
Stephen walked through the row of buildings, trying to draw as little attention as possible. He had left Tanner with Bucky. As Suzanne had instructed him after she had saved his life, he had turned on his device that morning by 5 am. A notification had popped up in the separate window she had created for him. It was a message telling him where to meet her. There were only two more days until the ship arrived. There was a lot to do before then.
Almost the whole of America had arrived in New York. Everywhere was congested. People slept in buildings and on the streets- anywhere that they could find. The government had mandated that every individual in New York opened their buildings for migrants to take residence. He was sure that every building in New York, whether it had been an office, residence, or a store, was now filled with people. All the supplies in New York had been finished already. The less fortunate ones were starving while those who had planned or had been in more fortunate positions hoarded the rations. He wondered how it had been possible for Suzanne to have secured a solitary location for the meeting based on what he saw.
As he walked, he felt like he was being followed. He stopped and looked around him. Everything seemed normal. Many of the migrants on the streets were sleeping or doing stuff they wouldn’t have done in the daytime.
There was nothing unusual.
He kept walking. He was already late for the meeting. He had to hurry up. Making a turn to the next street, he paused. The feeling of being followed came again- this time, stronger than before. He peered around more carefully, picking each detail one after the other. There was nothing out of the ordinary.
He put the feeling aside and went into the three-story building. When he arrived at the topmost floor, he noticed that the lobby entrance had a steel gate that was locked with three large padlocks.
Now it makes sense…
He didn’t knock. Instead, he shouted, “I can’t believe I’m going to Spain.”
For the first couple of seconds, there was no response. Then he heard the door of the room beyond the gate open. Out came a young girl- probably in her teens. She flipped her dark hair as she came towards him with a bunch of keys and opened the padlocks.
“Hey, lady, who are you? What are you doing here?” he asked. He had expected the meeting to be a private one.
“You must be Stephen,” the girl said. “Come on in. Suzanne has been waiting for you.”
Just then, a younger man came up the stairs, looking edgy. He wore a black backpack.
“Alexander, right?” the young lady asked him, and he nodded.
“I’m sorry; all this is just making me a little jumpy. I’ve never been part of a secret meeting before,” he said, holding out a hand to shake her. She took his hand.
