“Well, Suzanne is waiting for us inside. She seems nice. I think we’re safe,” the girl said.
Xander turned to shake the larger man’s hand.
“Hey, you’re the guy I saw walking down the street. I didn’t know you were coming this way,” Xander said.
Stephen hadn’t seen Xander as he came.
Well, that explains the feeling of being followed…
“Well, it’s a small world; that’s what they say, right?” Stephen said as they followed the young lady through the gate. She locked the gate and led them to the apartment.
” By the way, I’m Aaliyah. It’s great to work with you guys,” the girl said.
“You too, Aaliyah,” Stephen said in courtesy. Xander was too preoccupied with his thoughts to reply. They entered the room and found Suzanne sitting on a couch. She beamed at them.
“Welcome. You made it. I feared that you both had bailed on me,” she said as she motioned for them to sit. There were two other large couches in the room and, in the corner, there was a desktop computer.
Stephen rolled his eyes as he, Aaliyah and Xander sat down.
“I’m only here because of the possibility that the lives of so many Americans are about to be thrown away by filthy Russians,” he said.
“Well, that’s why we are all here, actually. Besides, you need to be careful when you point fingers. Not all Russians are involved in this. Even the president of Russia, who everyone blames, is not aware of this,” Suzanne said. “Calm down, Stephen. We’ll get to the bottom of this; however, I need you to trust me.”
Stephen remained quiet at that. Suzanne stood up and addressed everyone together.
“Okay, team. I recruited just the three of you because I believe that the greatest blows dealt to any organization must be planned by as few people as possible and carried out by the crowd. I want to believe that we all realize the gravity of what we’re about to face. The lives of our friends and families are at stake. The Ray of Hope will destroy this nation and every other nation that stands in the way of Russia becoming the world power; then, they will take over Russia and rule. We can’t allow this to happen.”
“But what can any of us do about it? How could we hope to end a plot that the president is involved in? If even the CIA couldn’t stop this, what hope do we have?” Xander asked. He looked sick with worry.
“I have served with the Ray of Hope for so many years. I know their secrets. They are at the peak of their power right now. However, they are most vulnerable now than ever before. If we can strike them at the right points, all their schemes would turn on them. It’s too late to stop the EMP but we can still to stop their reign of terror.”
As she spoke, there was a small clanging sound from outside, but they were too engrossed in her speech to notice.
“So, what are we going to do? How do you propose we end this?” Stephen asked.
“I’ll tell you all that tomorrow when we gather here again. I don’t want to bother you with so much information. Right now, though, we have to begin preparations for the grand finale. That’s what this meeting is about.”
“Wait a second. Why are you going to keep your plans secret from us? Aren’t we supposed to be a team here? If we’re going to work together, I’m going to need you to be transparent with me,” Stephen said.
Suzanne took a deep breath.
“Chill out, Steve,” Aaliyah said. “It’s not as if she said she wouldn’t tell us the plan. She’s just giving it to us step by step.”
“Thank you, Ali,” Suzanne said as she nodded to the girl. “If you paid more attention to what I said with a mind to understand and not to criticize, you’d understand me clearly, Steve. I’m not keeping any secrets from you. I have nothing to gain from helping America. I’ve lost everything. Even if you don’t trust me, the least you can do is to r
espect the sacrifices I’ve made to save each of you from death.”
She and Stephen stared at each other for a while; then, Stephen sighed.
“I’m sorry. There’s just so much conspiracy going on. I can hardly breathe,” he said.
Suzanne smiled at him and nodded.
“If I said I wasn’t afraid, I’d be lying to you. But then, we all have very little to lose. If we don’t do this, we’ll all die. If we do it, we’re still very likely to die; so, don’t be afraid.”
When Stephen nodded at her, she continued.
“We’re going to be needing help. I’m sure each of us has allies. You’ll need their help now. Stephen, I’ll need you to head off to Fort Hamilton military base in Brooklyn to get us weapons. More importantly, you’re going to do what the Ray of Hope feared you’d do the most: you’re going to get military allies- people that can help us. Go with Bucky. You’ll have to be careful, though. Some of them are Russians in disguise. The Russians who were placed in the military will not be leaving until the migration is over.”