Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Ben felt her hand slip into his. He squeezed it tight.
They were so fucked.
41:34
The clock kept ticking.
“I think we should cut the blue wire.” Maggie had been carefully inspecting the bomb that would likely end their lives. “The only problem is I’m fairly certain this sucker has a couple of land mines attached. I don’t mean that literally, of course, but I think bad crap could happen if I clip the wrong wire. The red wire goes to something that looks like it’s empty, so it’s probably a gas.”
“I wouldn’t put it past him to release some sarin on us if we did something wrong.” He could see what she was talking about. The bomb was a complete mess of wires. It would take hours to figure out where each of them went. Hours they didn’t have.
Maggie sat up, pushing her hot-pink hair out of her face. She’d gotten out of the massive parka she’d been wearing and underneath had been a white jumpsuit that would have looked utilitarian on someone else. It just made her look like a freaking walking wet dream. “I could use a little optimism.”
“I don’t have any when it comes to that bomb. I think we should try to work on the comms. Neither one of us is a bomb expert.” He’d tried everything he could to get that damn door open. It wasn’t budging, and he’d nearly taken off his own head by trying to shoot the locking mechanism. Luckily, he was excellent with some forms of technology. He touched the ultralight tablet he carried with him at all times and felt a thrill go through him as the TV screen switched from Huisman’s face to a computer screen. “I’m in his computer system.”
She stood, her eyes going wide. “How did you manage that? Can you get the door open?”
Probably not, since he’d shot the mechanism. Yeah, not his best moment. He started typing on the tablet. “The TV is a smart screen. It should be able to connect to any system with a signal. Huisman sprang for the best. The satellite connection is still working. It looks like he’s shut down electrical to all the doors. No one can get in or out.”
“Send out a message before his handlers figure out they should shut down the satellite.” She was close to him again. He could smell the citrus scent of her shampoo. He lied to himself, trying to force his brain away from dangerous territory. She wasn’t his type. He liked normal women. Women who didn’t jump out of planes and have pink hair. Women who weren’t incredibly skilled assassins. Women who didn’t make his heart pound the way this one did.
He quickly typed a message to his handler. Tim was in a camp at the base of the mountain, and they would all need to evacuate as quickly as possible. He sent it off but couldn’t get through to Tim’s mobile. He passed Maggie the tablet.
“Thanks,” she said, turning away slightly. “At least I can warn my team.”
“Where are they?” He knew next to nothing about her team. He’d only dealt with her.
“They’re probably with Tim by now,” she said. “They were taking the helo down the mountain after they dropped me off. My partner was worried about losing the bird. It’s brand new and it’s capable of getting up to almost thirty thousand feet, but it’s struggling with the storm. Langley will murder us if we crash that chopper. It’s their baby, and we might or might not have had permission to take it out for this op.”
Somehow it didn’t surprise him. She was likely a massive pain in the ass to her boss. “You stole a helo?”
She finished typing and looked back up at him. “I think they will discover that we were simply mistaken about which helo we were supposed to take. It was really early, and that requisition form can be hard to read before I’ve had a cup of coffee.”
“Let me see if I can affect this bomb from here.” He took the tablet from her and started poking around the system. “I have no idea how you get away with that shit. If I did it, I would be fired.”
“It helps to have friends. We work with some of the best Special Ops teams in the world, and I happen to have grown up with some of those guys. I’m sure if times weren’t what they are those relationships would cost me plenty, but I’m incredibly valuable for them now. My helo pilot used to steal cookies from my mom’s cookie jar. Though I’m not the only one who seems to have connections. Why did Huisman call you friend?” If she was upset about the fact that they were locked in a room with a bomb big enough to take out a mountain, she didn’t show it. She made a slow circle around the room, trailing her hand over the comforter on the bed. “Or more specifically mon ami.”