Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 93267 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93267 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Glancing over, he picked up the name Ortiz from the cop’s shiny gold badge on his chest. “Officer Ortiz, how did the guy get access to this part of the hospital in the first place?”
“Former employee,” he grumbled. “Guy worked as a janitor here for two years.”
Gregori clenched his teeth and swore a string of Russian curses. The man had come in here for two years, saw how this place had healed countless people, and then when they failed to save his child, he decided no one here was allowed to live. His heart broke at the man’s loss, but it didn’t give him a right to steal away so many other lives and destroy countless other families.
They charged into a large open area that served as a storage room for boxes upon boxes of supplies stacked to the ceiling. Machines roared in the background. Water heaters, furnaces, and countless other items whirred and growled as they kept the hospital running.
Around a blind corner, they located four police officers in a lot of protective padding as they crouched in front of a tall black metal cabinet. All four heads swiveled in their direction at the pounding of their footsteps.
“The dragon!” Ortiz shouted on his right, and all the cops breathed a sigh of relief. There was no way in hell Gregori was going to tell them it was too early to feel relieved. He might know bombs, but every last one was different. With time so short, there was no telling if he’d be able to defuse it in time.
“What’s the situation?” he demanded as he joined the group to stare into the cabinet. Thankfully, the bomb itself didn’t fill the container. It sat in a large box at the bottom of the cabinet. The timer rested on top of a shit ton of C4. Bright red digital numbers showed they had less than ten minutes.
“It’s a fucking messy homemade.” The voice sounded somewhat small and distant, as it came from a tablet showing the face of a haggard Black man in what looked to be a vehicle. This had to be the team leader for the bomb squad. He went on to describe what he saw and the six different possible ways to diffuse the bomb. The only problem was they needed more time to study it, and he didn’t trust his view of the device through the tablet.
Gregori accepted a flashlight from one of the cops and shined it on the inner workings of the bomb as he inspected it. “Third green wire and the yellow striped and blue striped wires are fakes,” he called out. “Cutting them will detonate the bomb immediately. At first glance, the best options are red, yellow, and first green wires—cut in that order—or I’m thinking blue, first green, and red.”
“I’m sorry, but how the hell does a dragon know shit about bombs?”
Twisting around to look into the tablet again, Gregori grinned broadly. “I’ve been tinkering with bombs and explosives since black powder first appeared in Russia. Sooo…” He glanced up at the ceiling for a second as he did a bit of math before looking at the squad leader again. “About seven hundred years, give or take a few decades. I’m also the demolitions and bomb expert for the Valerii Clan.”
“Got it. Glad you’re here with us.”
Gregori nodded and turned his attention back to the bomb. “We need more time to study this before we start cutting wires willy-nilly. Can it be moved? Just drop it out in the middle of the parking lot? My dragon could easily carry something this size.”
“The case holding the bomb is welded to the bottom of the cabinet and the cabinet is welded to a support beam. There’s no moving either of them,” one of the other cops answered.
“How’s the evacuation going?” someone asked.
“Less than a quarter of the patients have been moved outside the hospital. The director says it will take an hour just to get out everyone in ICU.”
A cold ball of ice settled deep in the pit of Gregori’s stomach, and he scrubbed a hand over his face. There was no time to get everyone out, which meant someone had to take a chance and snip wires.
“How far are you from the hospital?” Gregori inquired.
“About eight minutes.” The squad leader’s low voice only added to the weight in his stomach.
That was at least two minutes too late.
He’d never arrive in time to tackle the bomb personally.
“Okay.” Gregori stood from his squat and held out his hand for the tablet. “I want everyone out of here now. I’m going to diffuse the bomb.”
“Wait! We can’t let you do that. You’re a civilian,” a cop argued.
“I’m also the only person here with experience defusing bombs. Not to mention, I’ve got magic and I’m a dragon,” he added with a little wink.