Chapter 531 - WINTER CRIED

Winter carried one of her wounded soldiers. She asked one of the conscious men to carry the other injured soldiers. She was carrying 7206 while talking to Calhoun. Tristan was also checking the monitor to see if he can see the bomb for himself.

"Go back to the room! Code 7205 went out." Tristan's voice rang through her earpiece. It was so sudden that Winter's left ear was ringing. She asked the other soldiers to help her with the injured men before she left and went back to the room. Sure enough, code 7205 was nowhere to be found.

"He walked towards the other fire exit. He was trying to escape!"

Winter ran as fast as she could to find the exit of the hotel. When she found it, she tried to listen to the sound of footsteps to know of her soldier was walking downwards or upwards. If he would walk out, he would cause panic to the people outside. Betting on her instinct, Winter ran upstairs to find him.

"F*ck! I'd skin him alive!" she cursed loudly as she ran towards the rooftop. If the bomb explodes on the rooftop, there won't be heavy casualties compared to the crowded area on the ground. It was a gamble and to the extent of sacrificing her soldier's life. As a soldier herself, she knew that dying in line of duty was inevitable but even so, she didn't want her men to die. She worked so hard to train them, not because she wanted them to kill the enemies but to protect themselves. She would never ask them to just sacrifice their lives. She didn't like that idea.

"One minute and thirty seconds." The young soldier murmured while looking at the place around him. Small figures of people can be seen below him, tall buildings were surrounding him and behind him was the panting Lieutenant Colonel. "What are you doing here?!" he asked in panic when he saw their leader.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that question?! You promised to wait for me and bring some help! You gave me your words!"

"Lieutenant, this is not the time to be sentimental. If I won't sacrifice myself, many people will die here."

"No one's going to die! Shut up!" she turned to Tristan once again. "I found him. Can you see the bomb through my necklace?" It was the necklace that Jillyanna used when she was accidentally kidnapped. It was the one with a sword pendant and a small camera.

"I can see it now. Move closer so, I can see it clearly." Tristan ordered while trying to get the information regarding the bomb.

"Please hurry. I've got less than a minute to deal with this."

"Just calm down. I am trying to check all the kind of bombs that the gang has been producing." Tristan responded softly. His hands were moving even faster and different kinds of bombs appear on his screen. He was trying to match the one on the soldier's body to find a way to stop it.

"Thirty seconds!" Winter cried out.

"I got it. Find the smallest wire at the bottom of the wire. The thinnest wire there is. It should be white in color." Tristan shouted as he enlarged the model of the bomb. It was the latest product that the group produced that year.

"Please lie down." Winter ordered her soldier and she even pushed him on the ground. If they weren't dealing with the bomb, people who would see this scene would think that she was forcing herself on the young soldier.

"Lieutenant, you can just leave me alone. I am fine."

"Shut up, Shawn or I will sew your mouth." Winter stated calmly. She finally found the wire that Tristan told her so, she took the necklace off of her neck so that she can cut it using her sword pendant. Seeing that there were few seconds left, her hand trembled and the smiling face of Gabriel appeared in her mind. "We can't die. I still have to get married."

With all her strength, she held on to the wire and cut it with the small sword in her hand. It was very sharp which made it easy for her to cut it. Shawn, the young soldier with the code 7205, closed his eyes, prepared himself to die already.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Four seconds.

It was as if the world stands still and the time stopped. Indeed, the time stopped. When he opened his eyes, Winter was sitting on the floor with a flood of tears. The timer on the bomb stopped at 1 second and 12 nanoseconds.

Winter was relieved. She thought that she was going to die and never see Gabriel again. It was really scary but she couldn't allow her soldiers to see her fear and anxiety. Now that it was over, she was so happy to be alive. "We're alive." She mumbled and helped the man to take off the bomb from his body. She wiped the tears off of her face and smiled. "I will definitely contact my parents to get married soon." If she wasn't in a life and death situation, she would never think this way.

"Lieutenant Colonel, thank you so much."

"Thank you?! Don't thank me yet because I am still going to skin you alive! Idiot!" she knocked the man's head and pulled him up. "Let's go back to the lobby. Everyone's worried for you."

Tristan also breathed a sigh of relief. Even though he was just watching far from them, using the camera on Winter's necklace, it was as if he lost his soul for a moment there. He didn't even realize that he was holding his breath until the timer stopped. "That was scary." He mumbled. After few seconds, he moved on from it and looked into the status of other soldiers. The mission was still on going and they won't stop until they clear out the people on the lists.

For him, this mission was merely an excuse to avenge the death of his fiancée. If the group didn't pose a threat to the safety of the whole nation, the soldiers won't interfere or helped him. He could only thank Jillyanna and Travis because of their connection. If the Dragon Gang wasn't greedy and didn't target the couple, they won't end up like this.

Greed is really a deadly sin.