“Don’t need any,” Black said as he turned and slapped the hood. “This baby’ll get us through with ease.”
She rolled her eyes. “You just want to make an entrance, don’t you?”
“Who cares what kind of entrance I make if nobody can see it?”
“I’m sure Kozlov has cameras all over this place. He’s probably watching us right now.”
“In that case, let’s give him a show he’ll never forget.”
Black hustled back to the car and Shields joined him. He backed up and then stomped on the accelerator. The car shot forward, ripping through the padlock and roaring onto the long driveway. He drove down a hill and over a bridge spanning a narrow but deep ravine.
As Black went up the next hill, he turned around to check out the plume of dust behind them. He grinned and grabbed a gun from the cache lying on the backseat.
“Any movement inside?” Black asked.
“There are two heat signatures, but they don’t seem to be moving yet.”
Black tore over the hill and up another one before seeing the ranch house about a half-mile away.
“We’ve got movement now,” Shields said.
She peered through her binoculars and then grabbed Black’s arm.
“What is it?” Black asked.
“He’s got an RPG.”
Black fixed his gaze on the figure near the house. A few seconds later, a blast of fire emanated from the man, and Black identified the RPG screaming toward them.
“Black!” Shields yelled.
“I see it,” Black said. “Hold on!”
As the projectile neared, Black whipped the steering wheel to the left, careening off the road and narrowly dodging a direct hit. They bounced over the hillside before Black retook full control of the vehicle and steered it back onto the driveway’s two ruts.
“So much for trying a little diplomacy,” Black said. “Is he reloading?”
Shields scanned the area near the house through her binoculars again. “If he is, he’s not doing it immediately. Looks like he’s retreated into the house.”
Black surveyed the area near the house. A rusty tractor was parked atop some cinder blocks near a horse trailer. There was also a pickup truck that looked like its best days were in the late 1970s. Several cactus trees dotted the clearing around the main structure on the property. On the far corner was a small aluminum-sided barn in need of a paint job.
Black’s disco mix blared Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough” over the sound system. He bobbed his head to the beat.
“We need to split up,” Black said. “It’ll make it more difficult for him. You up for that?”
She smiled. “Does a kitty cat have climbing gear?”
“You know, I’m still not sure what all your South Georgia redneck sayings mean,” Black said. “A yes or no works for me.”
“Sometimes when you can’t figure out these sayings, I look at you and think, ‘If brains were leather, you wouldn’t have enough to saddle a June bug.’”
Black shook his head. “I give up.”
“Bless your heart,” she said.
He shot her a sideways glance. “I know what that one means.”
She patted him on the shoulder. “I don’t mind splitting up, especially if you don’t mind seeing how much of a better shot I am than you.”
“We’ll see about that,” Black said as he slid his com unit into his ear.
He sped near the house before veering away from it and skidding to a stop near the collection of old machines and vehicles scattered across the dusty space surrounding the house. Black and Shields both grabbed a few weapons and discussed their strategy.
However, before they exited the vehicle, they were met by bullets raining down on them. Black’s door was facing the house, so they both scrambled out of the car using the passenger side door.
Black looked at Shields. “Can you lay down some cover for me while I make a run for that tractor over there?”
“You got it.”
Black nodded and then crouched low as he hustled toward the rusty tractor. Bullets pinged off nearby objects and peppered the ground. He dove behind the tractor and the shooting stopped.
Easing to his knees, Black peered through a small opening in the tractor’s engine to inspect the house, which was some thirty meters away. On opposite ends of the ranch house, mounted automatic weapons protruded from a pair of open windows.
“Looks like Kozlov is prepared and digging in,” Black said over the coms.
“Agreed,” Shields said. “We need to smoke him out.”
“I’ve just the thing,” Black said. He dug into his rucksack and grabbed a canister of tear gas. Once he pulled the pin, he stood up and hurled it toward the nearest open window. Some shouting erupted followed by two silhouettes darting out of the room.
Black took advantage of the opportunity to dash inside the aluminum barn to see if he could find anything else that could force Kozlov and Katarina out of the house. He found a small utility tractor and grabbed a loose cinder block. He wheeled it around the back of the barn before lining it up with the front door.
After starting the engine, Black placed the cinder block on the tractor’s gas pedal, setting the vehicle in motion toward the house. As the tractor rumbled along, Black and Shields fired at the house. Both guns remained silent as the two Firestorm agents kept shooting.
When the tractor knocked open the front door, the tractor’s progress quickly stalled. The doorway wasn’t large enough to allow the wide-tire base to pass. The engine continued to whine as it stubbornly tried to move forward. While Black watched with interest to see what would happen with the tractor, he realized the area had gone strangely silent otherwise. Kozlov and Katarina weren’t firing back.
Where are they?
A few more minutes passed before Black finally spoke. “Did you see them go anywhere?”
“Maybe we hit them,” Shields said. “I’m going to see if I can get a closer look with these binoculars.”
“Be careful,” Black warned. “I have a feeling that this is a trap.”
“Of course,” she said.
Black watched her ease onto her belly, taking up a prone position to study the house.
“No movement so far,” she said. “Quiet on all fronts as far as I can tell.”
“Roger that.”
“I’m going to see if I can get a better look,” she said.
“Shields!”
Before Black’s warning could be heeded, she used her elbow to ease up. But when she did, the firing returned. Several rounds kicked up dirt near Shields’ position. As she scrambled to a more secure position, Black heard Shields’ piercing scream in stereo, both over the coms and naturally.
“I’ve been hit,” she said.
Black sprinted toward her. More gunfire erupted. He slid next to her, moving her body away from the slightest open space near the vehicle. Shields grimaced in pain and she clutched her left shoulder.
Black dragged her behind a stack of hay bales before rolling her over onto her back and inspecting the wound.
“You got lucky in a manner of speaking,” he said. “The bullet went clean through.”
“It still hurts,” she said through clenched teeth.
Suddenly, more bullets hit around their position. Black repositioned one of the hay bales to provide extra protection before addressing Shields’ wound.
“You’re gonna be okay,” he said. He retrieved his first aid kit from his bag and went to work. In less than a minute, he had Shields bandaged up and resting.
“Stay right here,” Black said. “I’m going to get us out of this.”
Shields set her jaw. “I’m not leaving you to do this by yourself.”
“Come on. Look at you. You’re not in any condition to fight.”
“The hell I’m not. Give me a gun.”
Black handed her a weapon. But before he could strategize with her on how to attack Kozlov’s position, the bale
of hay caught on fire. Black peered around the corner and noticed another Molotov cocktail being hurled in their direction.
“We’ve gotta move,” he said, using Shields’ good arm to yank her to her feet. They crouched low as they hustled toward the barn. Bullets danced all around them as the Mustang burst into flames.
Once they were safely inside, the shooting subsided for a moment.
“I think it’s time to call for backup,” Shields said.
Black eyed a motorcycle in the corner of the barn as he nodded in agreement with Shields. Then he heard Kozlov’s voice coming through a loudspeaker.
“Agent Black, I think it’s time we had a little conversation.”
CHAPTER 38
BLACK TOOK A DEEP breath and stroked his chin. Summoning CIA backup would escalate the situation, likely pushing Kozlov to do untold damage to the power grid. But for all anyone knew, he could’ve already unleashed another virus and no one would be the wiser.
“Kozlov is desperate,” Shields said. “He might have us beat, but he knows he’s in trouble.”
“But he still holds the power position,” Black said. “I wouldn’t choose to negotiate like this.”
“What other options do we have? He’ll kill us if we don’t get help.”
Black thought for a moment. “You know what you said about relationships?”
“Uh, huh.”
“Relationships go both ways. And I think I might be able to leverage the connection I made with Kozlov into buying us some more time.”
“More time for what? This guy is itching to bury America in total darkness.”
“Do you think you can hack his computer?”
“You want me to hack the hacker?”
Black nodded. “Getting into his computer should be far easier than trying to find a needle in a haystack with his code, right?”
“I won’t deny that.”
“Then maybe you can use this,” Black said as he produced a small device from his rucksack. He handed the small object to Shields.
“Is this what I think it is?” she asked.
“It’s Jana’s new invention. She gave it to me before we left.”
“She’s hardly tested it on anything.”
“I doubt she would’ve named it the ultimate code cracker if it didn’t work.”
Shields sucked a breath through her teeth. “I’m not sure about this.”
“All I’m saying is that it might give us a chance to break into his computer and identify the part of Kozlov’s code that is destroying our power grid.”
She shrugged. “It’s worth a shot, though I’d rather do this another way.”
Black laughed. “Since when did we ever do things the easy way?”
He dialed Kozlov’s pre-paid cell phone number.
“Agent Black, it’s so nice to hear your voice again,” Kozlov said.
“This is not how I imagined our reunion.”
“Well, that’s because you didn’t know who I was. If you did, I’d be sitting in prison right now.”
“You played me for a fool,” Black said. “But I only make that mistake once with a person.”
Kozlov snickered. “I appreciate the fight, Agent Black. How did they say it in all those westerns—‘Come hell or high water’? That was you just a few minutes ago, willing to fight me no matter what, come hell or high water. Well, the flood gates have been opened and hell has unleashed its fury. So, it’s time for you to consider how you might escape this situation alive.”
“I’m listening.”
“You’re going to let us drive away. I’m going to get on my airplane, which is likely parked right next to yours at the Ash Fork airstrip, and I’m going to disappear.”
“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.”
“I thought you might say that,” Kozlov said. “And that’s why I haven’t left you with any choice. Right now, my only concern is getting out of your terrible country. And I need to do so in order to protect my fortune and business.”
Black grunted. “You had plenty of money and asylum in the U.S. You could’ve lived here in anonymity, but that wasn’t good enough for you, was it?”
“Agent Black, do you remember our conversation in the sewers of Kazan?”
“How could I forget anything while slogging through raw sewage?”
“I told you the story about my father and how he was murdered by U.S. federal agents. Well, I’m afraid my motives are easy to understand, something I figured a man of your intellect would be able to grasp. But nevertheless, here we are. I need to leave. You need to live. It’s really simple.”
“And I have no choice in the matter?” Black asked.
“That’s right because in twenty-four hours, a sequence will begin at the power grid control centers that will randomly shut off power for hours at a time all across the country. But instead of rolling blackouts, it’ll be a complete shutdown. And it’ll continue until I decide to put an end to it. Just picture it now. No traffic lights. No life-saving power at hospitals. No way for the media to reach people. No way to charge cell phones, as if that even matters when there’s no way to power cell towers. No way to keep food or medicines cold. Yes, every single issue you uncovered from when this happened a few days ago will be exacerbated. Everyone in the entire country will be begging for government leaders to end the stone ages. And there won’t be a damn thing they can do about it efficiently. It’ll be weeks, maybe months, before power is restored. And by then, it’ll be far too late.”
“Too late for what?”
“Untold damage will have already occurred. Thousands upon thousands will be dead. Generational wealth will be lost. America will lose its place among the global elitist countries and be forced to exist in a vegetative state, both economically and militarily. Your might will be gone, likely to never return. So, I guess, in essence, you still have a choice, just likely not one you want to live with.”
Black sighed. “So what happens next if I go along with this choice that I must make?”
“First, Katarina and I drive out of here without any further incident. Next, when we are safe in a country that you cannot touch us in, I will call you with the instructions on how to delete the code and save the shambles of your precious country.”
Black paced around the barn. “How can I trust you?”
“How can anyone trust anyone, Agent Black? Trust is a blind leap of faith that can be rescinded at any moment. We trusted each other in St. Petersburg and in the sewers of Kazan and on the ice in Cildir. Why not trust each other in the wasteland of Arizona?
Black muted the speaker and looked at Shields. “Think you can crack that code?”
“I wouldn’t bet the future of the republic on it, if that’s what you mean,” she said.
“There’s no guarantee he’ll send us a code.”
She shook her head. “I doubt there’s a code, but if he’s going to present the illusion that there is one, he’ll need to leave behind at least one computer. And that’s all I’d need to figure out what’s going on.”
“Agent Black?” Kozlov said. “Are you still there?”
Black turned the speaker back on. “I’m here. Just thinking over my options at the moment.”
“As I said, there’s really no choice. You either accept the deal or you don’t.”
“I have terms, too,” Black said.
“This isn’t a negotiation,” Kozlov said. “I dictate the terms and you either agree or disagree to them. If you disagree, I move on without you.”
“Give me a couple of minutes to weigh everything,” Black said. “I’ll call you right back.”
Black ended the call as Shields stared at him, mouth agape.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“We need to talk to Blunt about this,” Black said. “I know what I want to do, but I’m not about to make a unilateral decision again after helping this con man gain asylum.”
“Fair enough,” she said as she dialed Blunt’s number.
“No, sir,” Black said. “We’re still in the thick of it, but we need your help.”
Black proceeded to explain the situation and asked for Blunt to advise them of what steps to take next.
“You have to let him go,” Blunt said. “If this blows up in our faces again, I’ll lose you. Let Besserman’s team handle him. You tried your best to resolve this a better way, but Kozlov isn’t playing ball. Let him go and we’ll deal with the fallout.”
“Sir, the fallout appears to be more than just some minor inconveniences,” Shields said. “It sounds severe and swift.”
“Just let him go, and we’ll deal with him.”
Black protested. “But, sir—”
“I know it’s not in your nature, Agent Black, but this is a case where you need to live to fight another day. If you don’t drop this, you’ll be in danger of being labeled an insubordinate pariah who’ll never work again for your country.”
“That’s a chance I’m willing to take, sir,” Black said.
“Not on my watch.”
“Okay,” Black said. “I’ll call Besserman and have his men come in.”
“Thank you,” Blunt said. “And I’ll see you soon.”
Black hung up and glanced at Shields.
“I don’t like that look in your eyes,” she said.
“Why not?” Black said with a wry smile. “It means that I have an idea.”
Shields shook her head. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“No, a winning idea, not a harebrained one.”
“And what’s this idea entail?”
“I thought you’d never ask,” he said.
“Why am I already regretting that I did?”
After taking two minutes to explain to Shields what he wanted to do, Black dialed Kozlov’s number.
“Did your superiors finally help you come to your senses?” Kozlov asked.
“I guess you could put it that way,” Black said. “So, are you ready to hear my terms?”
Kozlov clucked his tongue. “I thought we already went over this, Agent Black. I make the terms. You accept them or suffer the consequences.”
“New rules,” Black said. “I respond to your terms with terms of my own. Now, are you ready to hear them?”
Power Play (Titus Black Thriller series Book 7) Page 19