White-Hot Hack (Kate and Ian #2)(71)
He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I know they do.”
“Would you rather I dropped you off at headquarters and went back home to wait this out?”
What he wanted was for Kate to be safely tucked away with her family, even if Indiana ultimately lost power. If the unthinkable happened and the whole Eastern Interconnection went dark, he and Charlie and the rest of the task force would have to work nonstop until they figured out how to solve the crisis and the danger had passed. He didn’t want to think about how long that could be, and the last thing he wanted was for Kate to be at home.
In a blackout.
Even with access to generator power that would keep a few of their home’s lights on, and with the security guards watching over her, he could not fathom it.
“No. I definitely don’t want you there.”
“If you turn around right now, I can drop you off at headquarters and in less than twenty minutes I can be on my way again. Then you’ll be free to focus on what seems to be shaping up as a major crisis. I know you won’t be able to talk, but I’ll text you every time I stop for gas. The longer we debate this, the more time we’re wasting.”
“You’re sure you can make the drive?”
“Of course I can.”
He called Charlie back. “I’ll be there in fifteen,” Ian said. He disconnected the call, got off at the next exit, and headed back toward headquarters.
Kate called her dad and advised him of the change in plans. “The task force needs Ian, so we’re heading back to headquarters to drop him off.”
“I’m already in the car, and I brought Chad. You can get in with me, and Chad can follow behind in your car. Get back on the road as soon as you can, okay? Your mother isn’t going to stop calling me until you’re home.”
“I will. As soon as we arrive at headquarters, I’ll say good-bye to Ian and be on my way.”
In the parking lot of FBI headquarters, Ian exited the car after grabbing his laptop case from the backseat. Kate walked around the front of the car, and he put his arms around her.
“I know why I have to go, but I hate leaving you behind,” she said. She pictured the city in darkness, or worse, lit up from the fires the looters would surely set if DC were to lose power. The wail of police sirens. Gunshots. Breaking glass. If the Eastern Interconnection went dark, Indiana would face the same fate, but at least she’d be with her family. She only wished Ian could be with them too.
“I’ll be fine at headquarters. Phillip’s not going to let any of us leave if he thinks it isn’t safe.”
“You have to promise you’ll join me as soon as you can. As soon as things are under control, tell Phillip and the others you have to go.” She took his spot in the driver’s seat, and Ian crouched down beside her.
“I’ll leave for Indiana as soon as I’m able. Be careful. You won’t have to stop as often with a hybrid engine, but I want you to keep the gas topped off. Don’t drop below half a tank.” He glanced at his watch. “You’ve got about another hour of daylight. Your dad and Chad should reach you by nine thirty. If the power goes out along the way, keep driving until you run out of gas. Sit tight with the doors locked until your dad and Chad reach you. Hopefully they’ll have enough gas to make it to the next city.” He leaned into the car and kissed Kate tenderly on her forehead. “I love you. Now go.”
“I love you too.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
A crisis of this magnitude required all hands on deck, and an off-site location was not an option. The task force and the FBI Cyber Action Team—whose sole objective was to provide rapid incident assistance—were at that moment pouring into headquarters. Ian was no longer worried about running into whoever had doxed him. As he walked down the hall, he decided that if whoever had tracked him and Kate was somewhere in this building, he’d welcome the opportunity to confront them. But his instincts told him whoever had breached their alarm and trespassed on their property probably wasn’t the type of person who’d be willing to run defense against whoever was behind the cyberattack on the grid. It just didn’t add up.
Unless of course the person who’d doxed him was Charlie.
Ian burst through the door of the makeshift war room. This wasn’t the first time he’d ridden out a crisis here, and it wouldn’t be the last. There were twenty long tables, upon which sat rows of laptops. Cell phones, coffee cups, and legal pads covered the remaining surface. Someone had hung an electronic map of the Eastern Interconnection on the wall, which when lit up would resemble a scoreboard. Agents milled around, some huddled together in groups of two or three and some sitting alone, eyes focused on the screen in front of them. The task force was seated at its own table at the front of the room, and Phillip was standing next to it. He held a clipboard and appeared to be coordinating activities. Ian sat down next to Charlie and pulled his laptop from its case.
“Get Kate back on the road?” Charlie asked. His tone wasn’t unkind, but it held more than a hint of the reserve that showed itself every time they spoke, which told Ian he still resented the implication he had anything to do with Ian’s doxing.
“Yeah. Her dad and brother are meeting her halfway.”
“She’ll be fine. North Charleston is the only outage.”