Page 33
Chapter 32
10-33
LENNOX
“ W hen are the bombs set to go off?” I demand.
“Soon,” Sherrilyn says, no longer baiting us. “This morning some time. Each bomb is set to explode within minutes of the others. I saw a clear image in Gibson’s head of a time-bomb in a suitcase.”
“Time-bomb?”
“A bomb with a timer attached,” Charlie explains. She turns to Sherilyn, “Do you know where the bombs are hidden?”
“According to Gibson, there are bombs in six locations, but I could only get three out of him. He didn’t know the rest, but he did admit the locations were chosen because of their significance to human-shifter relations. Places where peace treaties were negotiated.”
“The UN building here in New York,” Charlie gasps.
Sherilyn nods. “Correct,” she says. “As well as the bomb at the UN building, there’s a bomb at the Peace Monument in Washington, and another at the Peace tower in Edinburgh, Scotland. It’s anybody’s guess where the others are, but I’d get people searching buildings and monuments around the world related to peace negotiations.”
A thought strikes me. “My brother, King Lock, is flying in today to speak at the UN assembly about diversity programs for integrating wolf shifters with human communities. He must be a target.” Anger surges through me. How dare ASHRA go after my brother?
“That’s what they want,” Charlie says desperately. “They want you to hate humans for killing your king. They want you to strike out at us, to sink the peace treaties.”
Sherilyn tips her head at Charlie. “Good job, small hu… Investigator Lopez. That is exactly their mission. To restart the Human-Shifter war. I was able to get it out of another of your detainees. They pursue an end to what they perceive as an ever-encroaching shifter dominance.”
Unable to sit any longer, I stand, pacing. “We’ll get Charlamagne to alert the authorities in the places you mentioned. See if they can get units to the bombs we know about. We’ll need a list of the other potential targets.”
Charlie stands abruptly. “I need to get to the UN building now. I need to call my chief and warn him.” Her mind is racing over the supplies she’ll need to diffuse a bomb.
I reach out, gripping her hand, holding her in place. I want to tell her she can’t go, that I won’t let her anywhere near a building with a bomb in it. My wolf is barking his agreement in my head, but I won’t do it. Charlie is uniquely suited for the job of dismantling a bomb. It would be criminal to stop her. “We’re going to need help,” I say. “We might be able to diffuse one bomb but if the others go off; ASHRA may succeed in their mission.”
“Did someone call for an impeccably timed entrance?” A pool of green light appears on the wall behind Sherilyn, who jumps away from the desk. A short, blond witch steps into the office and grins at us. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go diffuse some bombs!”
“Magdalene.” My voice holds warning.
Charlie is staring at her in a way that suggests she’s never seen a witch step through a portal before, which of course she hasn’t. Lucky her.
“What are you doing here?” I add.
“Oracle sent me,” she says, straightening her sleeves and dusting her hands as though she’s been on a long journey rather than a split-second teleportation. “I was told to wait for the soothsayer to give her prediction, then to come to your aid.” Her gaze lands on Sherilyn and she grins toothily. “Sherilyn Good Witch! Girl, how long has it been? We should really plan a get-together sometime and enact some magical mayhem.”
“Under no circumstances will that happen, Rage Witch.”
Magdalene pretends to pout. “I’m no different than I was before I became a Rage Witch. I can still drink a batch of Merlin’s Toilet Tequila and dance a line disco while floating through the Nether Realm.”
Sherilyn is unmoved. “You fuck with dark magic and that’s something I won’t condone.”
Magdalene’s gaze sharpens and she lifts her hands, her blackened fingers curving into claws. “No one tells me what to do with my magic.”
Sherilyn glares, then snatches up her bag and says to me, “You’re on your own with this crazy witch,” before slamming out of the office.
“We need to move,” Charlie says urgently. “We don’t know how long we have.”
Magdalene sighs and drops her hand. “Yeah, specific instructions are not one of Oracle’s strong suits. All I know is what you’ve found out about the plot. The bombs meant to rock our human-shifter alliances are set to go off some time this morning.” She waves her hand and conjures another portal. “C’mon, let’s go.”
Charlie hesitates, glancing toward the door. “What about Luke?”
“He’s safe here,” I tell her. “Sherilyn will update the Captain and I’ll text him along the way. Let’s go.”
Charlie looks torn, then nods decisively and steps bravely toward the portal.
Magdalene takes her arm and pats it. “You’ll be fine. Teleportation is fun! Like being squished through a tiny tube. Remember when you were born? Just like that. It’s very relaxing.” She stops, thinks, then adds, “Unless you’re the one giving birth.”
“Wait, that doesn’t sound – ” Charlie’s alarmed sentence is cut off as she’s dragged into the portal.
I dive after them, expecting to find myself inside the UN building. Instead, we’re in Charlie’s fire station and Charlie is hurrying off.
At my confused expression, Magdalene says, “I’m not taking her to diffuse a bomb without the proper equipment. It wouldn’t be safe.”
Five minutes later, Charlie and Chief Dale Rochester rush toward us, their arms full of gear. Dale helps Charlie into an outfit that resembles a padded suit of body armour. “It’s a blast outfit,” she explains.
I do a quick introduction. “Magdalene Rage witch, Chief Dale Rochester.”
“How do you do?” Magdalene says politely, staring up at a fire engine with longing. “I wish we could take one of those. I’ve seen them on TV when the lights and sirens are going.”
Dale stares at her as he bends to help pull protective boots on Charlie’s feet, her hand on his shoulder as she balances on each foot. “You’ve never seen one in person?”
She shakes her head. “I grew up in a swamp.”
“If you help keep my best firefighter from harm, you can have all the rides you want.”
Magdalene claps her hands excitedly. “Now that’s incentive to get her back here with all her fingers and toes intact.”
“There wasn’t enough incentive before?” Charlie asks, puffing as she bends to adjust a strap on the suit. “Okay, I just need the helmet.”
Dale lifts it over her head, attaching a hose to the back of the suit. At my frown, he explains, “The suit has a separate breathing apparatus to protect from a chemical-biological blast.”
Rather than reassure me, his words set my wolf off, who tries to claw his way to the surface. He wants me to snatch Charlie from this terrible plan and take her to Wolf-Haven where nothing can hurt her.
He’s not entirely wrong in his assessment. We can evacuate buildings under threat. Stone and mortar don’t matter. Lives do and selfish as it is, Charlie’s life matters most of all.
Charlie steps up to me, gazing at me through her blast shield. Her voice is muted by the barrier as she says, “It matters, Lennox. Shifters matter and more and more they’re being forced into the shadows by loudmouth speciesist bigots. We can’t allow the bad guys to win.”
If she cares enough about shifters to protect us from an increasingly hostile world, then I can do no less. “Are you ready?” I ask her.
She nods and turns to Dale who pulls her in for a quick hug before handing her a tool kit. “Go save the world, Lopez.”
“Yes, sir!” She gives him an awkward salute and says to Magdalene, “I’m ready for my next teleportation.”
Magdalene conjures a portal. Dale gapes, stepping back.
Magdalene winks at him and waves Charlie forward. “One of these days, I’m going to start charging for services. I do have a life beyond making travel faster and easier for everyone, you know.”
“Can we get a saving-the-planet discount?” Charlie asks, reaching for my hand.
A surge of fear goes through me as I note her hands are unprotected.
I need my fingers to disarm the bombs , she explains.
Her explanation doesn’t calm my wolf who is obsessing over images of Charlie getting her hands blown off. I shove his manic ass to the back of my mind and step through the portal with Charlie.
A second later, we’re standing on the main floor of the UN building, which seems to have been evacuated.
“Over here,” someone says and the three of us turn to look.
A security guard waves at us. Standing next to him is my brother, Lock.
“Brother,” he says embracing me.
“Lock,” I greet him. “This is Charlie Lopez.”
He stares down at her, his eyes twinkling as he takes her in. “You’ve got a bit more padding than I thought you would.”
“Don’t be stupid.” I say, then turn to the guard. “Everyone out?”
He nods then jerks his head toward Lock. “This one insisted on staying.”
“You found the bomb?” I ask.
“It’s in subbasement two.” He walks toward a bank of elevators, but instead of taking an elevator he points to the stairs.
Charlie struggles with the stairs, her suit hampering her, so I pick her up and carry her.
The guard talks as we walk. “Subbasement two houses essential building utilities like the HVAC system, electrical panels, plumbing, and several storage rooms.” The guard opens a heavy fire door at the bottom of the stairs and waves us through. It’s noticeably warmer on this floor and I worry about Charlie overheating in her suit.
I’ll be fine. I’ve had many, many hours of bomb disposal practice in this suit in every type of weather you can imagine, from scorching summer days to snowy winter ones.
Again, my admiration for my mate knows no bounds.
I suspect if the only thing I was good at was tying my shoelaces, you’d still be enamoured by me.
Very true.
“Over here.” The guard shows us to a large boiler room, pointing at a corner containing a hot water tank, then backing away. “I should get back upstairs.”
To my brother and Magdalene, I say, “You go, too. There’s no point in all of us being here.”
Lock shakes his head. “I’m not going anywhere with my family in danger. You might need an extra pair of hands.”
“The only hands needed are mine,” Charlie pipes in, her voice muffled from the helmet. “The rest of you need to leave.”
“Tick, tick, tick!” Magdalene says loudly. “Can we agree none of us are leaving except the smart human who’s hightailing it outta here?”
Charlie proceeds into the boiler room, the loud sound of several heating units working overtime making it so we have to shout at each other to be heard. “Over here!” Charlie points at a what looks like a suitcase leaning against a wall.
She kneels awkwardly in front of it, examining it, then looks up and around, a frown marring her brows.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“I’m certain this is a load bearing wall. If the bomb were to go off, the blast would be enough to weaken the structure significantly, but it’s unlikely to bring the whole building down.” She chews her lip as she thinks. “Two would do it if there was another bomb against the opposite load-bearing wall.”
I straighten and turn to Lock and Magdalene, shouting, “We need to look for another bomb.”
I crouch next to Charlie as she opens the container, glancing at the bomb before looking up at me. “I hate that you’re here with me. Please leave, Lennox. I can’t concentrate when you’re in danger. I need to – ”
“Not happening,” I cut her off. “Just do your best. If you can’t disarm it, then you’ll get to see just how fast I can run.”
Offended, she says, “Of course I can disarm it.” Then she adds, “Can you contact Dale and tell him where to send the bomb disposal unit when they arrive?”
I send the message to her Chief.
“You need to let Charlamagne know what’s going on in case the other targets are facing a similar setup.”
I snap a picture of the bomb and send it to Charlamagne who says he’ll pass the information on. Then he gives me a message to pass on to Charlie, “Captain says two bombs were found at the Washington Monument and they’re being disarmed as we speak.”
“Good,” Charlie says, then, “I found the timer. This bomb is set to go off in 52 minutes.”
She looks up at me. “If all the bombs are meant to go off within minutes of each other, that doesn’t give us a lot of time to find the ones we don’t know the locations of.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I try to reassure her. “There are plenty of competent people out there working fast to find them. Concentrate on this one so I can get you out of here.”
“Done,” Charlie says, pushing herself up with difficulty.
“You’re done already?” I ask, surprised.
She grins through her visor. “It’s not like the movies with all those red and green wires. Most bombs contain the same basic ingredients. This one is pretty simple. I just needed to find and remove the detonator. There’s no dead man’s switch, so we’re good to go.”
Relief floods me and I hug her so hard she squirms. My wolf is elated at her survival, telling me now is a good time to fuck our mate. I push my horny beast back and take Charlie’s hand.
When we emerge from the boiler room, Magdalene shouts from down the hall, “Over here!”
We rush toward her, entering what looks like a storage room. There’s another container exactly like the other set against a wall, except this one is open. Dropping to her knees, Charlie inspects the interior.
Lock hovers over her. “I opened it and there’s a fair number of explosives inside and fifty-two minutes on the timer.”
Charlie gapes at him through her shield. “Don’t open the containers! There could be a trigger.”
He shrugs. “There wasn’t.”
Your brother needs his head examined, Charlie says to me, setting to work on the suitcase bomb.
Not gonna argue with that, I respond.
I can hear you, you know, Lock says and, when Charlie looks at him, her expression one of betrayal, he explains, We’re family. Thoughts are clearer and more easily shared during times of stress.
Aww, fam, Magdalene sighs happily in our collective heads, as though we aren’t trying to stop a potential apocalypse.
I shut the connection down, growling out loud, “Stay out of her head while she’s working.”
“Stay out of my head always,” Charlie mutters, turning her attention to the bomb. “This one is more complicated.”
After a few minutes of examining parts, she reaches for her toolkit, humming the tune for a commercial to herself. She explains, “I listen to music when I’m in the lab diffusing fake bombs. It helps me concentrate.”
“I could sing?” Magdalene offers.
“No, thanks,” Charlie says quickly, then looks up at us. “I’m done.”
A bead of sweat trails down her forehead, touching the edge of her eyebrow before continuing down to her jaw. I lift my hand to her helmet, caressing it. “You’re amazing.”
“I know,” she says beaming. “Let’s get out of here.”
As we head toward the stairs leading out of the basement, boots thunder toward us. We watch as several people dressed similarly to Charlie rush through the door.
She points. “There’s one over there and one in the boiler room. Both have been disarmed and are ready for disposal.”
“Good job, Investigator,” one of them says. “We brought a TCV in case you needed it.”
I read her mind and realize they’re referring to a Total Containment Vessel; a unit meant to contain a blast in case a bomb can’t be disarmed.
“Good thinking,” she says.
We emerge from the building and into a chaotic scene of flashing fire trucks, police cars, and masses of people. More people dressed in bomb disposal gear pass us, heading into the building with dogs to search for other bombs.
Detaching the air hose, I help Charlie take her helmet off and bend to kiss her. “I’m very proud of my mate.”
She grins and says, “It’s about time I got to show you what I’m capable of.”
“I know exactly what you’re capable of.” I can’t wait to get her out of the suit and back home so I can show her what I’m capable of.
We kiss again, but we’re interrupted by the insistent ringing of my cell phone. It’s Charlamagne.
“We have a problem,” he launches right in. “The Washington Monument bombs have been disarmed as well as two more at the Edinburgh Peace Monument. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial has been rigged as well and their people are working on it.”
Charlie says, “Make sure they know they only have about 35 minutes.”
“Acknowledged,” he says grimly, and continues, “More were found in the Palace of Nations in Geneva, but their bomb unit was called to a threat across the city. They don’t know if it’s a distraction, but the call came in before the Palace bombs were discovered.”
I glance at Magdalene who says, “Sure, why not? Your magical transport witch is ready and waiting. Please make sure all arms and legs are inside the vehicle as we travel.”
Charlamagne gruffly adds, “No word on the sixth and final target. We’ll keep working on it.”
Magdalene steps behind a fire truck, giving us a modicum of privacy as she waves her hand, conjuring a pool of light.
Table of Contents
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- Page 33 (Reading here)
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