Covered in Darkness

by Heather Sunseri

  I needed Ty. My partner. I suddenly remembered that he had texted me early this morning and I had never responded.

  The man behind me shoved me around a corner. That’s when I saw three makeshift jail cells. “What the hell? How long have you been planning this?”

  We passed by the first cell. It was empty.

  In the second cell sat Sam.

  She was alive.

  She was seated on the floor against the back wall, her knees to her chest. When her eyes met mine, her expression morphed from complete despair to something more hopeful. She jumped to her feet. But then she saw that my hands were tied behind my back, and she frowned again.

  “Brooke.” She was wearing a dress—not what she was wearing when she’d been taken or when I saw her on Sunday—and she appeared to have showered. The gash to her cheek was scabbed over, and the skin around it was yellow.

  “You okay?” I asked her.

  She didn’t answer the question. “I wish I could say it was good to see you.”

  One of the assholes drilled the butt of his gun into my back, pushing me onward. They opened the third cell and walked me in. Thankfully they cut the ties to my hands before closing the cell door and disappearing.

  I went to the bars separating Sam and me. “Talk to me. Have they hurt you?” I said through the bars.

  She shrugged; tears slid down her cheeks. The dark circles below her eyes looked like two black eyes. “There was another girl here, but they took her away last night. Or this morning. I don’t even know what time it is anymore.”

  I didn’t want to tell Sam that Jewel was dead. I needed her to stay strong if I was going to find a way for us to get out of here.

  I looked around the cell. There wasn’t much to look at: just a cot with a folded blanket on the end. Nothing else.

  I faced Sam again. “I’m going to get us out of here, I promise.”

  “A different man arrived last night,” she said. It wasn’t even clear that she’d heard me. “He had a different air about him. The men seemed scared of him. And he was loud.”

  “Was his name Sergei Charkov?”

  Her eyes lifted. “Yes. Some called him by his first name, but most called him Mr. Charkov.”

  “Did they speak English?”

  “A little. Most of it was in Russian, but I got the idea that he was angry. That he wanted them to work harder. What do you think they’re doing?”

  “They’re going to take down the entire power grid along the Eastern Seaboard.”

  Sam shook her head. “That will be mayhem. Have they demanded anything?”

  I noticed a little color coming back to Sam’s face. Maybe seeing me was giving her hope—though maybe it shouldn’t. I knew the FBI was using the computer trace to zero in on the location of the hackers, and if they narrowed that trace down to this house, they’d be liable to blow the whole place up with Sam and me in it.

  The men with rifles returned much sooner than I had expected. “Sergei Charkov wants to see you.”

  Chapter 35

  Declan

  I pulled into an empty parking lot near the swanky neighborhood of Glenview. In the passenger seat, Dimitri was staring at the computer where Brooke’s dot flashed on the screen. She was only about a mile away. I wanted to go straight there, but it would be helpful to know what we were walking into first.

  Ty’s car pulled up beside us. He jumped out and climbed into the back seat of my SUV. “Please tell me someone has a plan.”

  “We’re working on it. Pretty sure that’s FBI.” I gestured across the street to a beat-up RV. Its windows were blacked out, and I suspected the inside was anything but beat-up.

  “Alli called Carson late last night,” Ty said. “She thought the FBI was close to coming up with decryption keys for the malware.”

  “That was fast,” Dimitri said. “Too fast.” He gave me a dark look. We all knew what would happen if the FBI inserted the decryption key before we got Brooke and Sam back. The Russians would know that their encryption software had been rendered useless, and at that point they’d have no more use for Brooke and Sam.

  I knew Director Weller understood that as well—but if it came down to a choice between his daughter’s safety and that of tens of millions of Americans…

  “Ty, is it possible that they simply want the money?” I said.

  “Does it even matter?” Ty said.

  “Because America does not negotiate with terrorists.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Dimitri, you still have that bitcoin account set up?”

  “Declan,” he said, with a warning tone. “You mess with these guys with fake money, they’ll put a hit on you. And Sergei Charkov won’t rest until you’re dead. He may have already identified you as it is.”

  “What does that mean?” Ty asked.

  I waved him off. I was pretty sure Brooke hadn’t told Ty everything about my past, and now wasn’t the time to get into it.

  “I’m not going to use fake money,” I said. “Call David and tell him to transfer three hundred and twenty million dollars into that bitcoin account. Then use your resources to find Charkov’s account. I’m going to go talk to our friendly FBI.”

  I knocked on the door of the camper. After only a moment, the door opened and Jack Waller leaned out. “Come in.” His tone was somber, but I detected rage burning just below the surface.

  Ty and I entered the mobile surveillance lab. It was dark but for the glow from computer screens. Agents—two men and two women—were monitoring different views of a large white house. One of them was speaking into a headset.

  “Is that the house where these guys are holed up?” Ty asked. “What do we know?” I noticed how easy it was for him to slip back into the role of agent.

  Jack gestured toward one of the male agents, a brawny man with a shaved head. “John’s going to tell you what he can, as a courtesy, but then the two of you are going to walk right back out of here and let us do our job.”

  The brawny agent pushed away from his screens and stood. His head nearly reached the ceiling of the camper. The four of us stood close together in too tight of a space.

  Ty stiffened. “Director,” he said. “We can help you. Brooke has been right at every turn about these guys. Don’t shut us out.”

  Jack’s hands stretched wide, then curled into fists. “Ty, I know what you’re thinking. And trust me, the FBI is as concerned with the safe return of Brooke and Sam Clay as you are. But, with all due respect—the FBI will take you both into custody if you interfere in any way.” His words were harsh and direct.

  I studied Jack, fighting back the urge to argue with him. Why had he invited us here, if he meant to order us from helping? Then Jack’s eyes met mine, and I realized that his poker face was, in fact, hiding the face of a father worried about his daughter.

  “Go ahead, John,” Jack said.

  The brawny man nodded. “The house is a fifteen-thousand-square-foot estate with three levels: a basement, main floor, and second level. Very little activity on the outside. Cara—there on the headset—is speaking to our cyber squad leader. We have decryption keys for five of our targets. Once we have the other two, we plan to simultaneously disable the malware on the power companies’ servers while raiding the estate.”

  “And when do you plan on carrying out this plan that you’ve made sound way too easy?” I asked.

  John shot Jack an uncomfortable look.

  “Thank you, John,” Jack said. “That was helpful. You can return to your workstation. Please keep me updated.”

  When John had sat back down, Jack faced us again, putting his back to his agents. “As soon as all encryption keys are ready, Special Agent Marshall will send a team into the estate.”

  “What does this mean for Brooke and Samantha Clay?” I asked. “Are you telling me that Agent Marshall is going to run an operation that will simultaneously save the nation’s power grid, take down a house full of armed terrorists, and rescue Brooke and Sam?”

/>   The special agents shifted uncomfortably behind Jack.

  “You’ve deprioritized your daughter’s safety, haven’t you, Jack?” Without saying another word, I turned and pushed through the door of the camper.

  Ty followed me out, and Jack was quick to join us.

  He closed the door behind us. “Wait.”

  I turned and took three quick steps toward Brooke’s father. “You think Brooke will ever forgive you for this?”

  “Brooke knows that I have to make difficult decisions. I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure saving my daughter and Sam Clay is as high a priority as saving our nation’s power grid. But you also need to trust that Brooke also has skills to get herself out of this situation.”

  I let out a frustrated growl. I started to walk away, then turned back as I slammed a hand through my hair. “I am extremely confident that Brooke Fairfax is well trained in handling almost every situation she might find herself in, but come on, Jack. She was kidnapped by Russian terrorists in the middle of the night. She has no weapons. And she’s alone with no way to contact us.”

  “You’re forgetting a couple of things, Declan. The Russians still want something from us, and they think holding Brooke is one way to get the US government to negotiate with them. I don’t know why terrorists think they’ll get us to change our ways, but they always try.” He spoke calmly. Not at all like a man whose daughter was being held by thugs who’d already killed one female victim today. “Also, the Kharkiv Bratva is sloppy. They’re clever and power-hungry, but they’re also greedy, and they think they’re invincible.”

  “Meaning?” I asked.

  “Meaning, they’ll make mistakes. They’ve already made mistakes, which is why we’re here now. We’re going to stop them.”

  “And… what? I’m just supposed to sit back and hope you get lucky and save Brooke and Sam in the process?” Did Jack Waller believe that the Kharkiv Bratva didn’t view his daughter as entirely expendable in the end?

  “Declan, do not insult my team’s capabilities. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a job to do.”

  I met Jack Waller’s stare. “You go. Do what you need to do. And I’m going to do what I have to do.” I left Jack Waller staring after me as I went back to my car and climbed behind the wheel.

  “Did you find an account for Charkov?” I asked Dimitri.

  “Yes.”

  “Send an encrypted note. Tell him I have information that will keep him from being captured when the FBI shuts down his operation later today. Show him the value of my account, and tell him it’s his if he returns Brooke unharmed.”

  Chapter 36

  I was led by the same two men with rifles to a bedroom upstairs. The room’s sparseness contrasted sharply with the grandness of the estate. There was a full-sized mattress on the floor, with a single lamp beside it—along with some wadded-up fast food bags—and a single wooden chair. Morning sun filtered through closed blinds.

  A man in a dark, short-sleeved button-down shirt and black dress pants stood by the window, facing the doorway.

  “Nice of you to join me, Miss Fairfax. Or is it Waller?”

  I angled my head, studying the man. “Mr. Charkov, I presume.”

  He nodded.

  “I’m going to be perfectly honest with you. Capturing me did not give you any sort of leverage. You didn’t increase your chances of getting your money, but you did raise the likelihood that the FBI will take out this entire house.”

  He crossed his arms and leaned against the windowsill. The grin on his face mocked me. “How can you be certain of that?”

  Steps on the hardwood floors echoed in the hallway behind me, then Yury entered the room, carrying a newspaper. His face hardened when he saw me.

  I couldn’t stop the slight curl of my lips. His feelings, among other things, were still a little hurt.

  “Put her in the chair,” Charkov ordered.

  One of the men pushed me forward and forced me into the chair.

  “Apparently someone thinks you’re worth something,” Charkov said. “Because we just received a message.”

  “What kind of message?”

  “A note that promised insider information about the FBI’s plan to capture us—along with a promise of three hundred and twenty million dollars for your safe return.”

  It took every ounce of energy inside my body to keep my face calm, but the blood running through my arteries was moving so fast that I thought I might pass out. I knew there was only person in my life who would offer that kind of ransom.

  “Is that today’s paper?” Charkov asked Yury.

  “Of course.”

  “Give it to her.”

  Yury thrust a copy of the Louisville Journal into my hands. He backed up and held up his phone. “Smile for the camera,” he sang, and I just about flew at him and tackled him to the ground.

  Yury snapped the photograph. “Where am I sending this?”

  “Send it to me,” Charkov said. “I’m handling this one myself.”

  Yury turned. “Are you sure, boss? What are you planning?”

  Charkov was so fast that I don’t think anyone in the room saw it coming. He stepped forward and backhanded Yury, leading with a large gold ring that decorated his middle finger. Blood flew from Yury’s mouth and nose.

  Charkov stood over him. “Don’t you ever question me. Just because you ran the operation until I got here does not put you in charge.” He spat on Yury and walked toward the door. “Take Miss Fairfax to my guest room. And see to it that she showers and puts clothes on.”

  Chapter 37

  Declan

  Thanks to a contact inside the gated community of Glenview, Dimitri, Ty, and I were parked in a cul-de-sac one street over and behind the compound where the Kharkiv Bratva was conducting business. There was only one house on the cul-de-sac, and it was for sale and empty, according to the online listing.

  Ty had remained in constant communication with Alli, Jude, and Carson. Alli had confirmed that the FBI was close to having a sixth decryption key.

  “If the FBI installs the decryption keys before we’re ready…”

  “They won’t,” Dimitri said.

  We had to get Brooke out of there before the FBI went in. But how?

  Ty was scrolling through Brooke’s phone, texting all the previous numbers used by Romeo, trying to get in touch with him. We had no idea what Romeo might provide us, if anything, and I detested the idea of going to him for help—but if it meant helping to save Brooke, we’d use him. Yet so far, none of Ty’s texts had gone through.

  Dimitri’s computer pinged, and he sat up straighter. “Charkov took the bait.” He clicked a couple of times. “There she is.” Dimitri smiled, then turned the computer so that I could see a photo of Brooke.

  She sat in a metal chair, wearing a pair of running shorts and an exercise bra. She held a copy of today’s Louisville Journal. And she looked like she was about to punch somebody.

  “She’s in a state,” Dimitri said.

  I laughed under my breath. “She certainly appears annoyed,” Ty and I said at the same time.

  Annoyed was good. It meant she wasn’t afraid.

  Dimitri clicked to another photograph. This was also of Brooke, but she now wore a blue dress and looked to have just showered. Her dark hair hung in wet strands down the front of her chest. She appeared to be less annoyed, more angry this time.

  My heart beat a little faster. If anyone touched Brooke or harmed her in any way, they would find out just how capable I was of reentering a life I’d left behind.

  “There’s also a message,” Dimitri said. He read it aloud: “The FBI is not going to capture me, so I don’t need your help. But I would love to meet the man who has such resources. It appears the lovely Brooke Fairfax is worth a lot to you. I can see why. How about we start with a little earnest money?”

  “Send him a million,” I said.

  After a few keystrokes, Dimitri announced, “Done.”

 
Almost immediately, another ping sounded from the computer.

  “He wants it all,” Dimitri said.

  Ty lowered Brooke’s phone.

  “Tell him no. Tell him the FBI will be on his doorstep soon enough. If he wants more details than that, he’ll meet me, and he’ll bring both Sam and Brooke with him.”

  Dimitri sent the message.

  We watched the computer, awaiting a response, but nothing came. Minutes turned into an hour. I stared at the compound through binoculars, but saw no movement. Much of the estate was protected by privacy fencing and hedges. I saw no evidence of video surveillance, but I was almost certain it was there.

  It was late afternoon when Ty’s phone chimed. After reading a text, he looked up with wide eyes. “Pull up one of the national news sites. CNN or whatever.”

  Dimitri immediately did so. He read the top headline aloud: “Breaking news: Jacksonville, Florida without power. Citizens take to the streets in protest of a government that failed to protect.”

  While he was reading, there was a ping on Dimitri’s computer. Charkov. He pulled up the message: “A different city goes dark every hour. I appreciate your offer of covering the power companies’ ransom. I will take your money, but the power companies must pay as well. I want six hundred and forty million dollars deposited into our bitcoin account—three hundred twenty million from you, and three hundred twenty million from the power companies. Only when that happens will we stop the attack on the grid and release Brooke Fairfax.”

  “Dammit!” I slammed a hand against the steering wheel.

  Dimitri didn’t even flinch. “There’s more.”

  “Read.”

  “He also writes: This is not a negotiation. I know you understand, seeing as you saw what happened to my son when he failed to follow the rules.”

  “He knows who I am,” I said. “He knows I was involved in rescuing Anna Simons from his son.”