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“He was eavesdropping on us,” Stephen said, as though to confirm Xander’s thoughts.
“Well, he’s not going to live long enough to tell,” Aaliyah said as she followed the person. Suzanne, Stephen and Xander followed behind her.
The stairwell was a steep spiral so that one had to be careful with one's steps. The person had a head start and was already on the first floor, on his way to the exit. Once Aaliyah reached the second floor, she decided to skip the stairs. Jumping over the railings, she landed on some boxes beneath the stairwell. Just as the owner of the boxes began to come after her, she dashed out towards the exit, darting between the migrants that filled everywhere. Suzanne and Stephen followed her example but Xander preferred to take the stairs.
Once Aaliyah left the building, she froze. Suzanne and Stephen came out next. Xander came out a couple of seconds later. When he arrived, he raised a brow.
“Joel?” he asked.
CHAPTER THREE
“Joel?”
1ST December 2021
11:49 pm
Chestnut Avenue, Rosebank, New York.
USA.
Joel was standing, holding a stick. At his feet was the hooded man, lying unconscious. Joel chuckled a bit.
“I see you guys had an uninvited member in your meeting. I caught him eavesdropping, and I left to wait for him here,” he said.
Stephen looked carefully at the person on the ground. In the darkness, it was a bit difficult for him to tell who it was. He went to the person and squatted over the body. Pulling off the hood, he gasped.
“Victor,” he said. “I knew I was being followed.”
“You know him?” Aaliyah asked.
“Yes. He was one of the soldiers who led my group here,” he said.
“Then, I guess he must have been the one to sell you out to the Ray of Hope,” Suzanne said as she squatted over the body. Turning him over, she searched his body. When she felt what she was looking for, she reached in and pulled out a mini tablet.
“Yes, he’s the one,” she said. Looking up at Joel, she asked.
“Who are you? How did you know about our meeting?”
“Xander told me,” he said casually. Suzanne turned and shot Xander a glare.
“He asked me not to let the others know, though. I just had to see this wonder woman who was going to save America. I needed to hear your plans. So, I followed him,” Joel finished.
“How could you, Joel?” Xander asked. “You knew how important this is.”
Joel ignored his question and spoke to Suzanne instead.
“Privetstvovat’ Solntse.”
The four of them gaped. Xander couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that Joel had been Russian all along. Suddenly, Joel's outstanding intelligence and survival skills made sense. Not every older man could do the things he did.
“Are you surprised, High Priestess? I should be the one surprised. I would never have believed that you’d be the one doing this. What happened?” he asked in Russian so that the rest couldn’t understand. Stephen groaned as the conversation continued in Russian.
“Who are you? What side are you on?” she asked. For the first time since the EMP, she felt cornered.
“You can’t remember? You made me the principal of the high school where Alexei allegedly graduated from,” Joel said.
Suddenly she remembered.
