“I don’t know. In the brief time that I got to speak with him, he was so angry … he wouldn’t say much, especially with the agents nearby. He was really sick, Mom. When that storm blew in, I think his heart just couldn’t take it.”

Roxy reached out to place her hand on Lynn’s leg. “What did he give you?”

Lynn reached out to place a flash drive on the coffee table in front of her. From her pocket, she pulled out another to set it beside the other. “To think … we once coveted our paper files. There were mountains of them. Now we scurry around with these to contain our secrets. Steven will never know what I found, and I doubt very much the SSA is going to provide me a laptop to learn his.”

“Bastards,” Stella muttered, once again shaking the door handle. “They better be scouring that building to make sure William is OK. You said he was really down there deep. He should be safe from that storm, right?”

Kate nodded. “I hope so. It didn’t appear the building collapsed. Agent Hallow said something about him creating the storm—”

The sound of a series of bolts unlocking came from outside, and the handle turned. Stella took a few steps back as a tall man with gray hair stepped in the room, wearing a heavily decorated military uniform.

“Now, who the hell are you?” Roxy asked.

“This is Mark Wolve,” Kate said, crossing her arms. “Apparently, he’s a general. You look a bit different out of your black suit.”

“Unfortunately, deception is sometimes necessary to serve our country,” he said. “I am told none of you were injured leaving the building? The underground tunnel leading to our parking garage was intended to provide security, but I’m thankful it was there. Otherwise, none of you could have escaped—”

“Not all of us did,” Lynn said sharply, sliding the flash drives into her pocket while standing. “My grandson. Is he alive?”

The general exhaled. “The area where he was being protected is now underwater.”

Roxy gasped, but the man held up a finger. “But a plane rented by Quincy Martin is now airborne. Security footage from the private airstrips at Dulles International show five people entering a hangar. Your grandson was easily identifiable.”

“Well,” Roxy said, quickly composing herself. “Looks like stashing innocent people in government cells underground doesn’t always work, now does it.”

“Innocent?” The general raised an eyebrow. “Who do you think brought that storm? Who do you think is bringing widespread disease and murders? And raging wildfires? That little protest you staged to sneak him out has now unleashed the most dangerous people in the United States.”