24. The Situation Room
THE SITUATION ROOM
GAbrIEL
Gabriel and Greystone strode outside, their guns at the ready. They rounded the building checked all three generators. The lights on the machines were on, but the systems weren’t running.
Greystone jumped on his phone. “I’ve got the app.”
After Greystone toggled around the app, the generators came roaring back to life. The system was set to preserve power, so they were operating at thirty percent of full capacity.
“What happened?” Gabriel asked.
“I don’t know. They just died.”
“Could someone have hacked in?”
“It’s possible,” Greystone replied.
They strode inside, heading toward the kitchen, when Nurse Baker Deen rounded the corner.
“The patient is out of surgery,” the nurse said. “He’s groggy, but he wants to talk. I just finished dressing him.”
“How’d it go?” Greystone asked.
“Both bullets shattered, so it was tough for the doctor to do a clean removal. She’s packing up now, if you want to talk to her.”
Gabriel and Greystone followed the nurse into the medical suite. Slash stood nearby, her pistol in hand. Bulgrov was dressed and sitting in a wheelchair. Like the nurse explained, he looked out of it.
“Is he coherent?” Greystone asked.
“I’m okay,” Bulgrov said, his thick accent slicing through the air. “We work.”
“I’ll take him into the conference room and meet you there,” Gabriel said.
Greystone addressed the nurse. “We’ve got food, if you want something to eat.”
“Sure.”
“Slash, I’ll relieve you,” Gabriel said.
“Thanks,” Slash eyed Bulgrov. “Behave or he’ll shoot you. He’s crazy, like me.”
Without waiting for a response from Bulgrov, Slash left, leaving the door open.
Across the room, the doctor exited the surgery center. “Our patient did well,” she said to him and Greystone. “Recovery will be slow. The bullet in his thigh shattered against bone.”
Gabriel didn’t care if recovery never happened. He didn’t trust Bulgrov, didn’t like him either.
“Doc, thanks for tonight,” Greystone said. “I’ll walk you out.”
Once they left, Gabriel unholstered his gun.
The nurse eyed Gabriel’s firearm. “Can you put that away?”
“No, I can’t,” Gabriel replied. “Push him.”
The nurse rolled Bulgrov to the hallway outside the kitchen.
All conversations ceased when Gabriel stood in the doorway. “Bulgrov is ready to work.”
“Does he want something to eat?” Halston asked.
“No,” Gabriel pushed back. “He helps us, then he eats.”
Silence.
“There’s the Gabriel I know and love,” Sydney said. “Do you want to torture him first?” Biting back a smile, she rose. “Let’s do this.”
“I would have no problem making him pay for what he’s done,” Slash interjected. “G, you want to join me?”
Gabriel swept his gaze across the room. Halston’s parents were visibly concerned. Teddy was too busy eating. Caroline was shifting her attention between him and Slash. The only one he couldn’t read was Halston. Her neutral expression gave nothing away. A true master of disguise.
“Nurse Baker’s staying,” Gabriel said. “Do we have food or did Teddy eat it all?”
The group laughed.
Caroline rose. “Come on in Baker.”
After the nurse entered the kitchen, the team said hello to him before filing out.
“Can I get a glass of water?” Bulgrov asked from his wheelchair in the hallway.
“I wouldn’t give him any,” Gabriel replied.
More silence as the team regarded him.
“This isn’t a meeting,” Gabriel said. “This is a national emergency.”
“You ate,” Bulgrov grunted.
“We didn’t plunge the US into darkness,” Gabriel bit out.
Greystone strode over. “What’s wrong?”
“Bulgrov wants water,” Sydney said. “Gabriel says no.”
“Bring a bottle of water into the conference room,” Greystone said.
I wouldn’t give that son of a bitch one damn thing.
Moving as a unit, the team made their way down the hallway. Greystone leading the way while Sydney pushed Bulgrov, followed by Sonya and Dustin. Caroline stayed in the kitchen with Nurse Baker. Teddy hadn’t finished and remained glued to his seat at the table.
Gabriel glanced over to find Halston by his side. In the midst of this shitstorm, he needed her there. She wasn’t just comforting, she was a necessity.
“You’re like breathing to me,” he murmured.
Her loving smile reminded him that there was still good in the world. “I’m sticking next to the man with the gun.”
“Smart woman.”
“Yes. I. Am.”
Sydney rolled Bulgrov around the corner and into the conference room, setting him up at the head of the table. The team filed in, pulled up chairs.
Rather than sit, Gabriel stood with his back against the wall, his 9mm pointed at the floor.
“G, is that necessary?” Sydney asked. “I mean, the man just had surgery.”
Gabriel arched an eyebrow. He wasn’t dignifying that question with an answer. Of course, it was necessary.
“Bulgrov, what are the details surrounding these blackouts?” Greystone began.
“If I speak, you must let me stay in America,” Bulgrov said. “I go back, I’m a dead man.”
“We already negotiated with you,” Greystone said. “You got surgery. Now, you talk.”
Oh a sigh, Bulgrov glanced around the table. “I tell you. There is secret group in Moscow focused on destroying America. Dangerous people with all the power. They set up sequence of blackouts starting months ago. In small towns, then bigger and bigger. Now, it should be across most of country.”
He paused, eyed Halston across the room. “Minka, we had a good relationship. We work together for long time. Tell them I’m not bad guy. I work hard to improve diplomatic relations.”
Halston said nothing.
“What’s the ultimate goal of the blackouts?” Greystone asked.
“When entire country becomes dark, everything falls apart. America will not function. People become scared. Violent. That is the time when this group will take over.”
“They can’t just take over,” Greystone pushed back. “We’ve got a massive military force.”
“I tell you what I know,” Bulgrov said. “I am told January 15, then January 8. People are kidnapped. I am shot. There is darkness. Group comes and takes over. That is all I know. I call Russian contact. He will tell you.”
“Who is that?” Greystone asked.
“It was Dmitri Petrov, but I know his contact is at Burushgrad, outside Moscow. I get into system. Stop this.”
“Yes,” Greystone said. “How do we do this?”
“I need laptop.”
Greystone pulled his laptop over. “What next?”
“I need access to Internet,” Bulgrov said. “Get into their system, shut this down.”
Greystone opened a search window, accessed the Internet outside , and slid it over to him.
Bulgrov worked slowly, his fingers tapping across the keyboard. “One minute.” The room fell silent, all eyes on the Russian.
Can he be trusted? Gabriel’s chest tightened. Hell, no.
The seconds ticked by. Gabriel stood behind him. Everything was in Russian.
“Minka, eyes on this,” Gabriel said.
“No,” Bulgrov pushed back. “She is not authorized. I am almost done.”
Another minute before Bulgrov finished typing and pushed the laptop away. “It is done.”
Silence while everyone looked at each other.
“Why aren’t the lights back on full power?” Gabriel asked.
“It takes few minutes,” Bulgrov explained. “Millions of homes in darkness. I am not magician. Program takes ten minutes. Everything will be good. You will see.”
His hands shook as he reached for the small water bottle. “Please open for me.”
Sydney twisted the lid off, slid over the plastic bottle.
“Thank you.” The Ambassador started coughing, covered his mouth with his hand, then drank down most of the cold liquid. “Better.”
“Okay,” Greystone said. “I need the name of the group and their intent.”
“They want world domination, but it doesn’t matter. I stop it. You can relax. It is good now.”
“He’s lying,” Gabriel said.
Bulgrov’s lips split into a menacing smile as he shifted his attention down the table to Halston.
“Minka, I did like working with you. You were hard worker. So respectful. My top choice to bring to America. What a chance I would give you. An orphan who grew up with nothing, coming to America.” Bulgrov swayed in the chair, squeezed his eyes together, then rubbed his forehead.
“Where was I? Oh, yes, Minka. Loyal, dependable, hard-working.” He peered over at her.
“I didn’t believe Natasha that you are American spy.
Not my Minka! Tell me it is lie. Not my Minka. ”
Bulgrov began foaming at the mouth, his eyes rolled back in his head.
“What’s happening to him?” Sydney shouted.
“Dammit,” Halston said. “He took a poison pill.”
“Shove his fingers down his throat,” Gabriel said.
“Make him throw it up,” Greystone shouted.
“It’s too late.” Halston went to him, knelt by his side. “Mr. Ambassador.” She took his hand. “You were a great boss. You were respectful, treated me kindly. I liked working for you. We both had jobs to do… and we did that to the best of our abilities. I wish it didn’t have to end this way.”
Bulgrov opened his eyes, a lopsided smile lifted his lips, then stillness. His eyes glazed over, his head slumped, then he fell forward onto the conference room table.
“Should I get the nurse?” Sydney asked.
“He’s gone,” Halston said as she stood.
“What the hell just happened?” Greystone said. “He gets surgery, then he kills himself?”
The laptop started beeping, hijacking everyone’s attention. Gabriel and Halston jumped into action. Together, they propped Bulgrov’s torso into the wheelchair, then rolled him into a corner out of the way.
The team clustered around the computer. Alarms were beeping. A computer code was self-writing across the page.
Teddy grabbed the laptop, slid it over.
“Teddy, what’s happening?” Greystone barked.
“Give him a second,” Gabriel pushed back.
If anyone could make sense of the situation, it was Teddy, the best hacker Gabriel had ever known. Teddy stared at the screen. The alarm was growing in intensity so much so that Sydney and Sonya covered their ears.
“It’s in Russian,” Teddy shouted over the incessant warning sound.
Halston rushed over. The team moved, so she could sit next to him. Teddy spun the laptop toward her. As Halston translated to English, Teddy’s fingers flew over the keyboard.
“This is bad,” he grumbled.