Tired as I was, it still took some time for sleep to draw its blanket over me.
As I sank into a fitful doze, I sent up silent prayers for my daughter. And for the man I may have killed.
Chapter 29
For hours Stone had been on his cell phone. He’d checked up on all his major people in the western and RFC regions—targeted to be hit that evening. He’d spent extra time grilling his men in D.C. Did they have everything in place? Was every member beneath them accounted for and ready?
When the lights went out on these two areas, FreeNow members would hit the pavement, breaking store windows, whipping up people to join in the chaos. Truckloads of men were set to barrel down the streets, shouting violence. Goading scared citizens to arm themselves, make hasty decisions.
Tomorrow at the same time, Phase 2 would blacken the entire eastern portion of the U.S. And in Phase 3, Texas would go dark. Power in the whole country—gone.
Sure, some businesses and homes would have generators for a backup power supply. Particularly government and commercial buildings. But generators were built for temporary use, and the damage FreeNow’s virus did to the power grid’s computer systems would take much longer to fix. Before long the generators, too, would stop working.
Stone had first gotten the idea from watching the spreading havoc in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Widespread tragedy led to fear. Fear led to chaos. Chaos led to violence. Violence would lead to government upheaval.
But even he couldn’t control the weather.
Then, through research, he began hearing dire warnings about the U.S. electrical grid. How it was suffering from aging infrastructures with little built-in security measures. One specialist even said a “sixty-dollar piece of software” could bypass current security. And the shutdown of a local electrical grid could cause a cascade effect that would blacken an entire region.
Now that, Stone could do. With the right recruits in the needed fields, FreeNow could create that “sixty-dollar piece of software.”
The best, smartest recruit of all had been Nathan Eddington. Skilled in security measures for power companies, he knew how to bypass them. But something happened to Eddington when he learned Stone planned to take the whole country dark. How could Eddington not have suspected that was the plan? FreeNow didn’t do anything halfway.
Stone looked out his dirty window. No matter about Eddington now. Stone’s other members remained ready to play their parts toward a new America. They were proud, brave men, willing to fight for what they believed in. But most of them didn’t know their worlds would be dark. The only people who knew of the plan to hit the electrical grid were Stone and his chosen few, which included the top man at each membership location. Too many people in the know meant too many potential talkers. Some idiot would have bragged to a neighbor.
The darkness would help his men. Hide them. Stone wished he could tell them all that.
They’d learn soon enough.
And in the blackness, it wouldn’t take long for outsiders to join in the violence. It would grow and grow until police were far outnumbered.
But he had to tie up this loose end of the video.
Stone had not yet heard from Tex. He knew the kid had flown to Santa Barbara to hunt down Hannah Shire’s daughter, Emily. Tex would not fail FreeNow.
He dialed Tex’s number. No answer after six rings. He smacked off the line and dialed again.
“Tex here.” The man was breathing hard.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m in pursuit.”
“On foot?”
“In my car now.” More huffing. “I’ve found her. Call you back?”
“Make it quick. And make it good news.”
Stone hung up.
Chapter 30
How long ’til the next stop?” Emily leaned toward the bus driver.
“Six blocks.”
Six blocks. If they hit stoplights, Rutger would have time to run to his car and catch up with the bus.
“I need to get off now.”
“Can’t stop.”
“But I have to.”
“Lady, I can’t stop where there’s no bus stop.”
“That guy is chasing me. He could catch up.”
The driver shook his head. “Call the police.”
“I called 911,” the woman in the opposite seat said. “They said they were on their way.”
“Thanks.” Emily gave her and her son a grim smile. But it didn’t matter if she’d called. Some officer would show up back at the bus stop, see nothing, and leave.
She peered through her window back down the street. No sign of Rutger yet, but she couldn’t see very far. And she didn’t know what kind of car he was driving.
What if he was a real agent? And she’d been headed to the Los Angeles FBI office. What if others there were part of this?