Chapter 252 - Detonate

Falcon cursed under her breath, "120 seconds?!"

"I told you before, it was more or less two minutes. Why are you mad at me? I wasn't the one who built that explosive!" Styles was also stressed out, his palms were sweating buckets.

Damien and Katherine who were watching Falcon on the ground got even more apprehensive about the whole thing. Ninety seconds was not a lot of time but there was nothing else that they could do.

It was a good thing that they brought the car out of the basement parking from the hotel. If they failed to disarm it, Katherine couldn't imagine the casualties—the bomb could cause other cars to explode and would then cause the building to collapse. She shivered in her spot, horrified at the thought.

Because of the height of the car, Falcon could only rely on Styles's help through the camera that she carefully set below the device which was very inconvenient for both of them. The last time that she had attempted to diffuse a bomb was so many years ago and Styles, who used to be the head of the IT in Shadow, had limited knowledge about explosives unlike when it came to gadgets and computers.

The current situation was especially stressful for the three rogue agents. Who would have thought that their very first mission as a team would be this intense? A fleeting scary image flashed in Styles's mind – could this first mission also be their last?

"Focus, Styles. What am I working with here?" Falcon asked, snapping Styles out of his daze.

He blinked and studied the device that was as big as a touchscreen phone. "Okay okay, there is uh… a timer on the right and on the left, a module with six wires—"

"Tell me the colors of the wires starting from the top." Falcon focused the flashlight in her hand towards the device to help Styles see it clearly.

Styles concentrated and one by one, he dictated the colors, "From the top – white, blue, red, yellow, black, yellow."

Falcon let out a long sigh and positioned her other hand with a cutting tool towards the device. As much as she could, she tilted her head towards the bumper to peer at the wires. "I need to cut the fourth wire—the yellow one. Help me direct the tool towards it, Styles."

Her visibility was limited, she could barely see the wires clearly from her angle and relied on Styles to help her position the cutting tool correctly to the right wire.

"You're close. Move a little to the right… No, the other right!"

"Shît. Styles!" Falcon snapped.

Styles had to curse to himself. This was crazy! What were they doing?! "Your three o'clock. Damn it."

When Falcon was finally in the right position, she hovered the tool over the wire. "Is this right?"

"Yes. Fourth wire—yellow. Seventy seconds."

As soon as Falcon got the confirmation, she cut the wire.

"Fûck. The timer is still going!" Styles yelled.

Katherine couldn't stand what was happening. Her heart was pumping like crazy in her chest. She hastily strode towards the driver's side and ordered, "Falcon, Plan B."

Hearing Katherine's words, Falcon immediately shifted away from the car and got up, stepping aside to get out of her way.

Damien was stunned to see Katherine now opening the door and getting inside. He wasn't fast enough as when he got near, she had already locked the door.

"Katherine! What the hell are you doing? Get out of there!" He banged his fist on the window but she only glanced at him briefly before stepping on the accelerator.

She had to get it far away or it will kill all of them.

Damien's heart dropped to his stomach upon seeing Katherine sped off towards the long, dark road with his car—with a real ticking time bomb that had less than thirty seconds left. 

Hearing steps from the side, he shifted and saw the black-haired woman getting into the RV and he instantly followed. Once he got inside the van, it moved forward, following after the black Aston Martin.

Katherine must have seen them from the rearview mirror because she snapped at them right away, "What are you doing?! Don't follow me! Stay away!"

"No! If you go off, I will go with you!" Styles yelled back. Of course, the two other people—Falcon and Damien—in the van with him will blow up with them. 

"Idiot!" Katherine floored it and the car accelerated at an incredible speed, leaving clouds of dust behind her.

"Don't be stupid, Katherine. Get out of there now!" Damien roared.

She no longer responded and concentrated on going as far as she could from them while mentally counting the remaining seconds before the bomb explodes.

Ten

Nine

Eight

Seven

Six

Five

.

.

.

A powerful explosion prompted Styles to step on the breaks so abruptly that the RV skidded to a halt. 

The black Aston Martin that was about one hundred meters away blew up, causing the ground to quake.

"NOOOOO!!!"

Damien screamed on top of his lungs, seeing the vehicle explode. He felt like his life had been sucked out of him, knowing that Katherine was inside.

It was very quiet inside the RV. The three were extremely shocked by what they have witnessed in front of them. 

"This can't be happening…" Styles mumbled in a low voice. "She can't… she can't be dead, right?"

The sound of the side door to the van opening caused Styles and Falcon to turn their heads, seeing Damien rush out and dash towards the explosion. They followed after him right away.

Damien's heart was so heavy… it was as though it had combusted at the same time that the car did.

There were so many debris scattered everywhere and the moonlight didn't help him see the path that he was running on. His breathing became heavier with every step that took him closer to the site.

His stare was fixed on the remains of the car that was far ahead and was still in flames. He didn't want to believe that she was gone, but there was no sign of life anywhere.