Chapter 9 - The Extraction
Sweat stung my eyes as I stared at the digital timer counting down to disaster.
Forty seconds left.
I had received extensive Explosive Ordnance Disposal training during my time in the Rangers.
But this bomb was rigged with a secondary tamper trigger to prevent easy disarming.
I pulled out my combat knife and carefully sliced the outer casing of the explosive block.
Thirty seconds left.
I bypassed the primary detonator wire, knowing it was just a clever decoy meant to kill amateurs.
I found the true firing pin buried deep near the battery pack.
Fifteen seconds left.
My hand remained perfectly steady as I cut the blue grounding wire instead of the red one.
The digital timer instantly went black with exactly three seconds to spare.
I let out a breath I didn't know I was actively holding.
I pulled the assassin's earpiece from my pocket and activated the microphone.
I told Vance that his bomb was dead and I had the micro-SD card securely in my hand.
Vance stayed silent for a long moment before finally speaking.
He ordered me to meet him at the abandoned railyard on the extreme edge of town.
He told me to bring the drive alone, or he would send a dozen more men to the hospital.
I agreed to his violent terms and hung up the radio.
I went back to Violet's room to ensure Harper was still guarding our daughter.
I found the door wide open and the hospital room completely empty.
My phone buzzed with a newly received video message from Vance.
The video showed Harper tied securely to a chair in the dark railyard.
May you like
She looked at the camera and screamed for me to stay far away.
She warned me that it was a trap and he had fifty men waiting in the shadows.
