Chapter 17

It was nearly nine-thirty when Will and Kostya made it to TRUST headquarters. By then, Ben and Ethan were in the conference room hard at work, and Dr. Nichols was in his office with two visitors, George Hannigan and Achal Singh. Will and Kostya joined Ben and Ethan in the conference room.

“Looks like you have been busy,” Will said, taking in the information Ben and Ethan had collected and displayed on the walls of the office.

“Just putting our plan together,” Ben said.

“We accessed some satellite pictures of the sites, thanks to Dr. Nichols’ contacts at the CIA, and I think we might also have some names of people to keep an eye on,” Ethan added.

Kostya was at the wall, studying the satellite images. In addition to the four sites Kostya had found coordinates to, two additional sites were flagged. He traced his hand over the map, trying to visualize the area around each of the flagged locations.

“What are these other locations up here?”

Ethan came over to the display. “You know the first four are sites you pinpointed with the GPS coordinates from the components you rebuilt. These other two are a sort of control for us. They are locations identified as missile silos from the Cold War. At some point, it might be helpful to compare what is happening on the rearmed sites to what an abandoned site looks like.”

“The CIA is uploading pictures of the six sites every two hours for us,” Ben explained. “So far, the sites have been quiet, but we’ll keep track of any changes that occur.”

“Can you tell if there are actual missiles in each of the sites?” Kostya asked.

“We have been able to see inside the old silos at the two sites we chose, and there are no missiles in either silo. In fact, the silos were backfilled with concrete, probably in 1994 when everything was removed,” Ben said.

“But the four I had coordinates for?” Kostya asked.

“Based on the photos, we’re not sure. Each silo door is firmly shut, but at each of these locations there is evidence of recent activity like the doors being cleared of dirt and concrete pads being re-poured.” Ben pointed to the evidence on the pictures.

“And we’ve seen supply trucks at two of the locations,” Ethan jumped in. “At the silo you explored, Kostya, and the silo location closest to that one, also in Cherkasy.”

“What have you found out on Fire of Dawn, Will?” Ben asked.

“I spent yesterday afternoon and last night setting up a monitoring system of emails sent from Central Ukraine, scanning for key words: Fire of Dawn, missile, silo, code, and so on using my CIA connections. My results have been quiet so far, but the scan is still running today.” Will walked over to the board for identifying people of interest. “I did, however, work with a couple buddies at the CIA to get some more information about the main players in Fire of Dawn.” He opened a folder he had been carrying, and slid out an eight-by-ten picture of a gaunt man wearing shaded glasses.

“Petro Vlasenko,” Kostya said, unsurprised. “At least we know we’re all after the same man. Are they monitoring Fire of Dawn, too?”

“Looks like it,” Will said. “But their methods tend to be a little clumsier than ours at times.”

Kostya tensed his jaw and nodded. “Fire of Dawn has realized their plan is no longer a secret, then?”

“Very likely, yes.” Will turned to Kostya. “He’s anxious to find you, apparently, putting word out all over the Ukraine. You’re probably going to be hearing more from Petro.”

“Does he know I’m in the States yet?” Kostya scanned the other information posted on the wall. He knew he’d have to act quickly to keep danger away from Meredith and TRUST.

“If he doesn’t, it will be just a matter of time before he’ll figure it out,” Ethan said, sharing a concerned look with Will. “Hopefully we’ll have you back in the Ukraine by the time he’s looking here.”

Down the hall, voices from Dr. Nichols’ office emerged. “Sounds like Josiah’s done with the recruits,” Ben said.

Dr. Nichols entered the conference room followed by Hannigan and Achal Singh, Meredith’s supervisor at George Washington Hospital. Casual introductions were given to anyone who hadn’t met, and Ben went to the refrigerator and pulled out several bottles of soda and passed them around.

“We’ve got a tradition around here,” Dr. Nichols addressed the new faces around the table. “Before each mission, we toast to the mission’s success, but also to our role as the quiet protectors of liberty.”

“Um…sometimes not so quiet, boss,” Ethan adlibbed, and the others laughed in agreement.

“We have a rare opportunity to make a huge difference in a way that few people will ever recognize,” Dr. Nichols continued. “The work that we do may never make the news, but thousands of lives are at stake if we don’t take action.

“Gentlemen, this is exactly the type of project TRUST was founded to tackle. These missiles are very real and damn scary to tell the truth.” Dr. Nichols raised his bottle. “For strength against corruption, courage on the journey, and the brains to return home intact. Godspeed agents of TRUST.” He toasted with his soda, followed by clinking with the other bottles.

“To the agents of TRUST.”