Blackout by Robison Wells Read Free Book Online

officer had heard the suspects had been spotted at roadblock in St. George—four hours to the west. It was the easiest kind of memory to plant. Just a simple fact. The officer could build the rest of the story in his own mind.
    Laura turned to the window and handed the truck’s fake insurance card. “Here’s this. Still looking for the license. Sorry—we left in a rush and I’m not sure where I put everything.”
    “Take your time,” the officer said.
    Dammit. A second man was walking over from the cars. Alec could only work on one mind at once.
    Laura’s eyes met Alec’s as she turned back to dig through the glove compartment again.
    “Where’s home?” the officer asked.
    “Denver,” she answered.
    “That’s a long way to drive.”
    “We were just trying to get away from everything,” she said, finally grabbing the license and handing it to the officer. “We left right after the stadium came down last week. Figured we’d go somewhere safe.”
    Alec switched his focus to the second man, but he had to be more careful now. The memory had to be perfect—it had to match the first officer’s exactly.
    It was quiet for several seconds as the men looked at the driver’s license of Laura Hansen, the all-American blonde from Lakewood, Colorado. It wasn’t even a forgery—she’d lived there for ten years with her sleeper-agent parents, groomed and prepared for this as all of them were. All Colorado natives, all graduates of Colorado public high schools.
    Keep talking, Laura.
    But she was quiet, the officers several feet away, back from the window so they could watch everyone.
    Dan sat up in the backseat and stretched. Probably trying to show he wasn’t a threat, that he wasn’t attempting to hide anything.
    Alec was pouring the information into the second man’s mind. Three suspects, all matching the description of the terrorists, were spotted at a roadblock just outside of St. George. Three suspects. The call came in on the radio. The sighting only happened half an hour ago.
    What were the men doing back there? It wasn’t the first time that Alec wished he could read thoughts as well as influence them.
    Were their minds resisting the new memories? The whole reason for the roadblock was probably to watch for suspects, so the notion that the suspects had been seen half an hour ago would be hard to reconcile in their minds. Why were they still stopping cars? Who were they still looking for?
    The officer reappeared at the car window, his flashlight blocking Alec’s view of him.
    He handed Laura’s license and insurance back to her. “The bad news is that you’re going to run into a lot of traffic a couple miles up the road. Everyone’s doing the same thing you are, coming up outta Bullfrog. How far are you fixin’ to drive tonight?”
    “Until we get tired,” Laura said.
    The officer stepped back and patted the hood of the truck. “Well, be safe. Stay awake.”
    Laura stuffed the license and insurance back into the glove compartment, thanked the officer, and then steered the car through the roadblock.
    “That was a close one,” Dan said.
    “Easy,” Alec answered. “Have I ever failed you?”
    “I could have taken them both,” Laura said.
    Alec ignored that. It was her answer for everything, and it would leave a huge trail for police to follow.
    He pulled out his smartphone again. “Dan, you want natural stone?”
    Dan yawned. “You find something?”
    Alec opened a picture and handed the phone back to Dan. “How’s that?”
    “Where is it?”
    “Maybe an hour and a half away. Depends on the traffic.”
    Laura turned to look at him, the grin on her face illuminated by the glow of the phone. “Two in one day?”
    Alec looked in the rearview mirror. “Better get some sleep, Dan.”

EIGHT
    “IF ANYONE WAS THERE, WE’D have seen them by now,” Jack whispered.
    Aubrey knew he was probably right, but he didn’t have as much to lose as she did. Jack wasn’t a freak. The army hadn’t