Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 120165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 601(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 601(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
“Okay?” I repeated hopefully. She didn’t respond. She rolled onto her back and took a roll of tools from her belt. “Okay...you can defuse it?”
She stared at two screwdrivers as if she was trying to choose between them. Then she looked up and seemed to remember my question. “Yes.”
It was like she wasn’t used to dealing with people at all. I glanced through the window and caught the chief’s eye. He gave me a firm nod, like, I know, I know…but you can trust her. I swallowed and nodded back.
Boxley went to work under my seat. “It’s a good thing you didn’t move,” she muttered. “Or start the car.”
“Oh?” I managed. My heart was racing so fast, I felt woozy.
“You know the sensor that detects when someone’s sitting in the seat but hasn’t fastened their seatbelt yet and it...bongs? The bomb’s wired into that.” She sounded fascinated: the bomb was just a crossword puzzle she had to solve. “But not under the passenger seat, only this one.” She gave a little shrug. “Sometimes, they want to make sure there are two people in the car before the bomb goes off. But this time, they were only worried about killing the driver.”
Outside, Radimir dropped his gaze and stared at the ground. I felt a fist clench tight around my heart. He thinks this is his fault, because the bomb was meant for him. “This isn’t on you!” I told him desperately. But he just shook his head, and I could see the pain and self-hate in his eyes. Boxley looked up at me, worried and confused: did I say something wrong? It was a good job she wasn’t a doctor because she had the worst bedside manner in the world.
“I’m going to defuse it now,” Boxley announced.
A ripple passed through the crowd of people watching. Gennadiy and Valentin looked ill. Mikhail crossed himself. I felt my stomach drop.
The chief put a hand on Radimir’s shoulder. “Sorry, pal. You’re gonna have to move back now.”
“I’m not going,” Radimir told him.
“It’s the rules, buddy, I’m sorry.”
Radimir turned to him. “I’m not. Leaving. My wife!”
A big, warm swell of emotion overwhelmed me. I didn’t want him to be in danger. I’d have told him to go if I’d thought there was a chance he’d listen. But he wouldn’t. Nathan had left me as soon as it wasn’t smooth sailing, but Radimir would be there, no matter what.
The chief sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Okay,” he said at last.
Radimir turned back to me...and I caught my breath. It was like the ice in his eyes had suddenly fractured and I could see something inside him I’d never seen before. A different him, younger, vulnerable. “If—” he began, but then he couldn’t get the words out. “I—”
I put a hand to my mouth, my eyes prickling with tears again. He thinks he’s about to lose me.
“I’m sorry,” he blurted. “I’m sorry I couldn’t—Just get out of this, please, and there won’t be any more secrets.”
It was like he’d forgotten that if I died, he was going to die too: he was crouching right beside the car. Then I realized that wasn’t it. He just didn’t care about himself, only me. I nodded tearfully.
In my peripheral vision, I saw Boxley shuffle forward. I looked down and then couldn’t look away: she had tweezers and wire cutters in her hands and Oh God this was it: one slip, one mistake and all three of us were dead. I swallowed hard.
But it turned out that what she lacked in people skills, Boxley made up for in raw skill. My phone was still down in the footwell with the selfie camera still on, and I could see Boxley’s hands moving, quick and confident as a master pianist’s, tracing circuits to figure out where the power flowed, attaching tiny crocodile clips to terminals to reroute it and, finally, bringing in the wire cutters to snip the wires. She was so confident, so unafraid, like this was just a game, to her.
Every time the blades closed on a wire, I dug my nails into my palms and braced myself against the seat, as if that could make a difference. If she gets it wrong, will I know or will I just be...gone? Will there be a flash of white light? Then the wire cutters would snip through and I’d sag in my seat, a fresh wave of sweat drenching me.
“Last one,” said Boxley calmly.
I couldn’t look. I found Radimir’s eyes and stared right into them. He’ll be the last thing I ever see.
There was a snipping sound.
Nothing happened.
Seconds ticked by. I slowly turned my head and looked down at Boxley. She was meticulously putting her tools back into their tool roll. “Did you do it?” I croaked.
“Mm-hmm,” she said, distracted.