23. The Lie and the Truth
THE LIE AND THE TRUTH
HALSTON
Halston wanted to take a moment to acknowledge what Gabriel had just said, but she wasn’t ready to float on a fluffy white cloud just yet. There were too many moving parts to navigate through first.
She didn’t know how much work the scientists had completed.
Nor was she confident they could reverse whatever damage they had done.
She knew nothing about power grids, but from what she had gleaned, the situation was not good.
For the immediate moment, she’d focus on getting them out of this hellhole.
One step at a time.
“I’ll meet you at the SUV,” she said to Gabriel. “I need to talk to Bulgrov.”
“Don’t believe a word he says,” Gabriel warned.
Halston didn’t trust Bulgrov, but she needed answers. At the moment, he was the only one who had them. She made her way toward him. He was sitting in a chair while two SWAT examined his wounds through his torn clothes. Slash and Greystone stood guard over him.
“Excuse me,” she called out, her Russian accent back in play.
The man Halston didn’t recognize stepped away from Bulgrov. “I’m Rebel. Rebel Dillinger. You’ve been staying at my hotel.”
She nodded. “I’m Minka Kotov, the ambassador’s assistant. Can I talk to him?”
“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.”
“Also at the same time?” asked her dad.
“Yes,” Halston replied, “then back online simultaneously.”
“Sounds like someone was testing the grids,” her dad said. “The Russian woman instructed us to sync all the power grids in the country. They wanted them all to go out at the same time.”
“Turning them all back on when?” Gabriel asked.
“She didn’t give us that information,” her dad said. “She just wanted them off.”
“Who do you think was controlling the previous blackouts?” Halston asked.
“My best guess? Hackers testing the grids, along with the grids’ abilities,” her dad replied. “When they couldn’t get everything synced, they kidnapped us to do it.”
“Thank you both,” her mom said. “You saved us.”
“Poor Lars,” said her dad. “Losing him is devastating.”
Silence.
Death always put a pause in the conversation.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Halston said.
“How did you know where we were?” her mom asked.
“I didn’t. The Russian woman kidnapped me,” Halston explained. “They needed a translator.”
“Gabriel, how did you get looped in?” her dad asked.
“It’s complicated,” he replied.
“I’ve always found the simplest answer works best,” said her dad.
Halston glanced back. “Dad, when you get started with physics problems, there’s no such thing as simple. No one ever knows what you’re talking about!”
The laughter was a godsend. For those few seconds, things felt normal. And then, Gabriel did the unexpected. He clasped her hand, gave it a gentle squeeze, and let go. She wanted to fly like a kite, tethered by a string to this man… forever.
In the darkened car, on the road illuminated by the caravan’s headlights, they shared a smile. A simple gesture that buoyed her spirits and gave her a sliver of hope that everything would turn out okay.
For the moment—this moment—that was all she needed.
“To answer your question, Dr. Devereux,” Gabriel began, “Halston was accused of being a spy. It was dangerous for her to return to the embassy, but your daughter is extremely brave. She’s also brilliant, stunningly beautiful, and very complicated.”
“I love him already,” her mom said, and another round of light-hearted laughter filled the car. “You’re right Gabriel. She’s all those things and so much more.”
“I’d given her a gift—” Gabriel continued.
Halston extended her arm, showing them her ring.
“That’s a wedding band,” her mom murmured.
“It’s very pretty, dear,” her dad said. “Is there something you both want to tell us?”
“It is a gorgeous diamond ring, but it’s got a tracking device,” Halston explained.
“I’ve got one too,” Gabriel said, holding up his left hand. “When I realized Halston wasn’t at work, I looked on the app. She’d vanished, but when she left the bunker, she came online. That’s when I gave the rescue team her location and I took off to find her.”
“That was bold,” her mom said.
“I flew outta there so fast, I left ‘em all in the dust. The last thing I heard was something about suiting up.” This time, Gabriel wrapped his hand around her thigh, gave another gentle squeeze. When he went to remove his hand, she clasped it in hers and rested them it in her lap.
“You rescued me again,” she said as she squeezed his hand. After a beat, she continued. “Dad, how far did you and your team get in coordinating the power outage?”
“We were going slowly on purpose, but I’d say we’re about forty-five percent finished.”
“Can you reverse what you’ve done?” Halston asked.
“Absolutely,” her dad replied. “That would be the goal, right?”
“Where are the scientists being taken?” her mom asked.
“Good question.” Gabriel made a call, put it on speaker.
“You guys okay?” Greystone asked.
“All good,” Gabriel replied. “Where’s Rebel taking the scientists?”
“Hotel Dillinger,” Greystone replied. “ALPHA will take their statements there. If they need medical attention, we’ll get them that. They’ll be staying at the hotel until the FBI and State Department are contacted, along with their families.”
“Greystone, hold on,” Gabriel said. “Dr. Devereux, do you need your team’s help to reverse the power grid situation?”
“No, I can undo the sequence of events. They’ve been under enough stress. I think it’s best to let them get some rest.”
“What about you, Daddy?” Halston asked.
“I’ll sleep when this nightmare is behind us,” he replied.
“I called the surgeon and her nurse,” Greystone said. “They’re meeting us, so the ambassador will go right into surgery.”
The call ended, Gabriel hung up.
As they left the outskirts of town and turned onto Route 7, Halston stared out the window. “I know it’s the middle of the night, but there are no lights on.”
Gabriel stopped at an intersection. “Traffic lights are out.”
The caravan carefully proceeded through, only to stop at the next. Despite it being the middle of the night, they were taking every precaution to ensure the group’s safety.
“Are you sure you didn’t activate the power outages?” Gabriel asked.
“Yes,” Halston’s dad replied. “I can’t understand what happened.”
The joy Halston was feeling had been short lived. They’d been plunged into another blackout.
“Do you think it’s just this area?” Halston asked.
“I can find out.” Gabriel made another call.
This time, a sleepy Kathrine Austin answered. “Hi, Gabriel, what’s going on?”
It was two in the morning.
“Sorry to wake you, Kathrine. We’re having another blackout. Can you see if its nationwide or just the DMV?”
“Let me call you back.”
The line went dead.