by Sable Hunter
“Will do.” Frank hurried away.
Saxon waited until he was gone to point toward the RV, which sat no more than a half- dozen yards from the building. “Look, he’s moved it closer.”
“How do you know?” Alivia stood close to him as they peered outside, checking for Titus.
Saxon squeezed her hand, which he was still holding tightly. “After I cooled off, I decided to give blood to make you happy. I was surprised that the RV wasn’t parked where it should’ve been, so I walked around until I found it down here.”
“How sweet.” She kissed his shoulder. “I’m sorry I upset you.”
“I just want to keep you safe.” He nodded toward the RV. “I found it down here with a CLOSED sign on the door. I approached him about taking some of my blood and talked him into letting me in the RV. Curtiss gave me some cock and bull story about unloading garbage. The whole thing was pretty strange. His story didn’t make sense. Plus, I noticed a rosary hanging from his rearview mirror. I offered to give him a hand if he’d take a pint, and he agreed – a bit reluctantly I realize now. I waited for him, and when he returned with the bags, I just happened to notice that cross-shaped mark on his forehead.”
“Like Father Murray’s.” She scoffed. “I can’t believe I didn’t notice it, I’ve met the guy several times. How odd, I guess I never really looked at him closely.”
“Well, he’s not that good looking.” Saxon chuckled. “Not like me.”
She nudged his shoulder playfully. “What happened next?”
“I was trying to process what I’d just discovered when the guy jumped me. Figuring out that he was our guy took me by surprise. I didn’t react fast enough.” A buzzing sound alerted Saxon that he had a text. “Hold on.” He read the message, then stepped over to look outside. “Come on and stay close. Landry is in the RV.”
Alivia noticed he sounded surprised. “How did he manage that?”
“Like me, the man must be multi-talented,” Saxon admitted a bit grudgingly while they made their way outside.
Titus stood in the door of the thirty-foot Newmar. “Hey, come on in. There’s a locked door in the back, but I think this thing is deserted.”
“How’d you get down from the bridge?” Alivia asked. “Did you walk all the way around?”
“No, I jumped on the top of the RV.” Titus grinned and pointed to the roof. “I’m like a big cat.”
“A big something, that’s for sure,” Saxon muttered as he steered Alivia up the steps ahead of him. “You sure he’s not in there somewhere?”
“No, I looked everywhere except for that room in the back we need to search. I also looked underneath and under the hood and there’s a world of equipment. I don’t really know what I’m seeing. These big RV’s are so decked out with electronics, it’s hard to tell what wires go where. So far, I see no sign of an explosive device. There’s one place I haven’t looked, however.” He led them through the blood mobile to what appeared to be a storage room. Holding up a piece of small metal, he pointed at the doorknob. “I jimmied the driver’s side door, but this one has a better lock.”
“I wonder if I could shoot the lock off.” Saxon reached for his gun.
“I wouldn’t chance it.” Titus shook his head. “What if it’s booby-trapped?”
“The whole place could’ve been booby-trapped, Tom-cat,” Saxon muttered. “Did you think of that before you busted in here?”
“I gave it a passing thought…or two,” Titus mumbled.
“Why don’t we look in the window and see what we can see?” Alivia suggested. “If one of you will give me a boost, I’ll take a peek.”
“Good idea, Alivia.” Titus was ready to offer his assistance. “I’ll help you.”
“Not so fast.” Saxon held up his hand. “If there’s any boosting to be done, I’ll do it.”
Alivia rolled her eyes and headed for the door.
“Hold up.” Titus eased around her. “Let me get out, and I’ll cover you both.”
“Okay.” She followed him and walked to the back of the RV to ascertain which window was the correct one. “The curtain is open on this one. It’s tinted, but I might be able to make out what’s inside.”
“Perfect.” Saxon got into place and held open his arms. “Come here, and I’ll pick you up, so you can see.”
While Alivia got into place, Titus surveyed the area, gun in hand.
“I can’t see anything. There’s something stacked in front of the window.”
“What does it look like?” Saxon asked.
“Metal barrels,” Alivia spoke slowly. “What would he have stored in barrels?”
“Not blood, that’s for sure.” Saxon sat Alivia down, stepping back. He glanced at the building and the proximity of the truck. “Shit, this whole damn thing could be a bomb.”
“What do you mean?” Alivia asked, very aware of Saxon’s deepening concern.
“Think Oklahoma City.” He started back around to reenter the RV. “I can’t risk shooting the lock. Too dangerous. Come on, Titus. Let’s kick that fuckin’ door down.”
“Now, you’re talking.”
Once inside, Alivia stepped back as the two men made mincemeat of the wooden door with hard, well-placed kicks.
At sight of what was inside, Saxon let out a curse. “Holy Fuck!”
She hurried back to see what they found. “Oh, my God!” The sight in front of her made Alivia’s blood run cold. “Josephine!”
“Who?” Saxon asked, staring at a woman’s dead body.
Alivia dashed tears from her eyes. “Josephine Weber, she was Director of the Austin Blood Center, Curtiss’s boss.” She pulled her jacket off and laid it across the woman’s face. “She came to see me just before the first competition today.”
“I’m sorry, Alivia.” Saxon stroked her hair. “This fiend has a lot to answer for.” He motioned to Titus. “We can’t stop to contact anyone now. Let’s take her body in the other room. Looks like another nightmare to deal with.”
While the men moved poor Josephine, Alivia let herself concentrate on what else was in the room. “My God, there must be a dozen barrels back here, and there are metal cylinders packed in between them.”
Returning to her side, Saxon stepped over to one of the barrels. “There’s not much doubt in my mind what’s inside, but let’s be sure.”
“What is it?” Alivia stood on tiptoe to see over his shoulder as he unscrewed the top.
“Just as I thought. Fertilizer and what smells like diesel fuel. If he has it mixed correctly, this is one big motherfucking bomb.”
“What can we do?” she asked, her heart racing.
“Hurry, that’s what we can do.” Titus pointed at something to his left. “Look.”
Saxon moved to see. “God Almighty. This damn thing’s on a timer. It’s not activated, but I’d bet my bottom dollar Curtiss has a fuckin’ remote control. All he has to do is get close enough to use it.”
Alivia stepped around to see an electronic display with four red zeros. “I bet he’s got it set, so he can trigger it from his phone.” Her stomach rolled over. “He probably could do it from anywhere. I wonder what he’s waiting for?”
Titus shook his head, one hand on his hip. “A freak like Curtiss will want to be nearby for something like this; he wouldn’t want to miss any of the excitement.”
“Well, hell. We’d better deal with this before he returns.” Saxon took out his phone and pressed the button. “I’ll call Wolfe and let him know what we’ve found. God, I wish Jet was available. He’d know how to deal with this fuckin’ thing.”
As his friend talked to Micah, telling him about the barrels and the dead woman they’d found, Titus kept his eyes on the four red zeros, afraid they’d change at any moment. “I know Wolfe will call the bomb squad, but I’m sure they’ll have to come out of Dallas,” he murmured.
“Surely, they’re close. They probably have a helicopter.” Alivia hugged herself, trying to remain calm.
“Our guys a
re on their way down now,” Saxon announced, pulling Alivia into his arms and kissing her on the forehead a dozen times. “This will be over soon, I promise you. For now, I need you to leave and get as far away from here as possible.”
Alivia pulled back. “I’m not going anywhere. If you stay, I stay.” If Saxon was going to be in danger, she wanted to be at his side. “Period. No argument.”
“What am I going to do with you?” Saxon looked over to Titus. The big man offered nothing other than a shrug of the shoulders as if to say, ‘she’s a tough woman to control.’
“Fine.” Saxon just shook his head as if trying to clear his thoughts. “Titus, Micah wanted me to tell you to head up to the control room. He wants you to monitor the cameras just in case Curtiss shows his face somewhere in the area.”
“All right, I’m on it. You two be careful.” He gave them a salute and met Micah and Destry on their way in. “Here they are!”
“The Calvary’s arrived!” Destry patted Alivia on the shoulder. “Glad you’re okay and sorry about your friend.” He didn’t look over at Josephine, the memories of his own loss were too fresh.
“Thanks, we’ve all had a rough time,” she responded with a sad smile, very aware of her close call, and the pain Destry must still be feeling.
“What do we have?” Micah asked Saxon as he followed him through the blood mobile.
“I’m not a demolitions expert like Jet, but it’s definitely a bomb,” Saxon told him. “He’s got barrels and barrels of some ungodly fertilizer mix with acetylene tanks packed in between them. I found one fertilizer bag on the floor. Ammonium nitrate. Looks to me like this place will go up like the Murrah Building if this thing goes off, Micah. There’s also a timer on it. Right now, it’s not activated, but I don’t want to bet my life that it stays that way. We need to get everybody the hell out of here, and let the professionals handle this.”
With hands on his hips, Micah gazed at the nightmare in front of him. “Let me think a second.”
Saxon had seen the Wolfe go through this type of mental checklist before. Despite his warped sense of humor, his analytical way of thinking had saved them more than once.
“Tyson is helping the police clear the building as quickly and quietly as possible.” Cutting his eyes to Alivia, Micah gave her a slight smile. “Don’t worry, Alivia. Madison took Savvy with her.” Micah hoped to God his beloved wife was already far away. He’d brought her with him to protect her from the Jaguar, and now she was in danger here. He was beginning to think there was no safe place for her in his life. But he couldn’t think about that now.
“Thanks,” Alivia said, “I appreciate that.” Most people would think it silly to worry about a robot, but she did. Savvy was family. To settle her nerves, while the men talked, she began pacing down the length of the RV. When she came to Josephine’s body, she stopped and shuddered, whirling back around to stand behind the men who were flanking Micah, awaiting his decision.
When several seconds passed, and Micah said nothing more, Destry threw up his hands in frustration. “Why don’t I just drive it away? If there’s no keys, I’ll hotwire it.” His face wore a mask of worry.
“You can’t do that, Des.” Saxon stopped him before he could head to the front. He knew his friend wasn’t thinking clearly. “The ignition could be set to blow if we tamper with it. Besides, where would you go? We’re in the middle of the city, surrounded by residential areas.”
“He’s right,” Micah added. “Whatever is going to be done, it’ll have to be done here.”
“Wolfe, let’s just go and leave this to the experts,” Saxon urged him. “This isn’t our specialty. We’re not the ones who should be doing this.”
“Who else is going to do it?” Micah asked heatedly. “Who?”
No one had an answer.
“Yea.” Micah rubbed his eyes and sighed. “Look, the bomb squad is on the way, but this fuckin’ thing could blow before they even get here to set up their gear. We simply don’t know how much time we have.” He raked a hand through his hair, clearly upset. “I’m sure things aren’t going the way Mr. Curtiss hoped. The building is being evacuated, and we’re hot on his trail. Still, he’s not the type to walk away from something like this. Either he’ll be back, or he’ll set it off remotely. We need to do something now, or a helluva lot of people could die.”
Taking a second to lock gazes with Alivia, Saxon let out a long, harsh breath. “I agree. If you know how, let’s defuse this thing.”
Taking a deep breath to center himself, Micah studied the monstrosity in front of him and tried to concentrate.
“What are you thinking?” Saxon couldn’t deny that he was afraid for them all, but he also knew that this was what they did – they took risks to save others.
Micah crossed his arms over his chest. “There’s enough explosives here to take out the whole Eisemann Center and maybe more.” He glanced toward Destry. “Call Titus and tell him to get the police to shut down the streets within a four-block radius ASAP.”
“On it.” Destry stepped to one side to make the phone call.
“So, you know how to do this, right?”
Micah looked at Saxon and grinned. “Nope. But I know someone who does. We’re calling the expert.”
“Jet on a boat, heading to Florida. Do you think you can reach him?” Saxon asked, shifting uneasily from one to the other.
“He’s got a satellite phone, but I’m not going to bother him. He has enough on his plate, already. There’s someone equally talented much closer by.”
Thumbing open his phone, Micah hit a few buttons, and within a few seconds, a pretty brunette appeared on the screen holding a tiny boy.
“Why, Micah Wolfe. What’s up?”
“Harley, good to see you, sweetie. Listen, I’m gonna have to dispense with the niceties for now, okay?”
“I’m picking up all kind of strange vibes from you, Wolfe. Sounds like you’ve got a problem. What can I do?”
“Calling it a problem is putting it mildly. We’re in a pot of the hottest water imaginable, and I desperately need your help.”
“You’ve got a bomb.” She put her game face on. “Okay. Tell me what we have.”
“Better yet. I’ll show you.”
As Micah turned the phone and began to scan it slowly over the room full of barrels, Alivia put a hand on Saxon’s arm. “Who’s he talking to?”
“Harley LeBlanc, she’s former Navy special ops and owns a company that does this type of thing for the government.”
“She’s one of your Louisiana friends who went to Houston to help out?”
“Right.” He winked at Alivia. “She’s also a well-known psychic.”
“Great.” Alivia smiled wryly. “We need all the help we can get.”
On the phone, Harley let out a low whistle at the sight of what Micah was revealing to her. “Jesus. Where are you?”
“The Eisemann Center in Richardson, Texas, the site of the Miss Texas pageant. This vehicle is parked right next to the lower floor. The people inside are being evacuated as we speak, but I have no clue how much time we have. As much as I’d like to get out of here and go make wild, noisy love to my wife, you’re too far away to rush over and take care of this for me. I’m afraid you’re going to have to walk me through this clusterfuck.”
Harley LeBlanc’s mind was racing, pulling details from Micah’s mind and her memory. This was her wheelhouse, what she’d trained for years to do. If this was a couple of years ago, she would’ve been out the door and headed to a helicopter, but since marrying Beau and giving birth to their baby boy, her priorities had changed. “We’re going to have to tread carefully, Micah. Is there a timer?”
“Yea, but it doesn’t appear to be set.”
“That’s good, but you’re still dealing with a precarious situation.”
“Don’t I know it,” Micah agreed. “Believe me, this brave face I’m wearing is all for show.”
When Micah glanced back at the screen, Harley�
�s husband, Beau, was looking over her shoulder. “Hey, Wolfe. You in a tight spot?”
Remembering their last conversation, Micah apologized. “I’m sorry to call upon your wife, man, but I’m kinda between a rock and a fuckin’ hard place. It’s not her psychic powers I need; it’s her knowledge of explosives.”
“Show him,” Harley said.
“Feast your eyes, friend.” Micah scanned the camera over the horror laid out before him.
Beau was the one to let out a low whistle this time. “Sweet momma, juju. First Harvey and now this, one shit storm after another.”
“Here, honey, could you take him for me?” Harley handed the little bundle of joy in her arms over to her husband. “Mama needs to work. Take me on a tour of the whole RV, Micah. I want to see everything, including all the storage and engine compartments.”
“All right, will do.” Micah made several circuitous trips around the RV before getting ready to step outside. “Destry, you’re going to have to cover us while we work.”
“Army sniper at your service,” Destry quipped and stepped into position, letting his eyes rove over the surrounding area.
“All right, here we go.”
Micah began to methodically work his way through the various undercarriage storage areas, aiming the phone out in front of his face. Saxon and Alivia stayed at his side every step of the way. Saxon knew there was nothing they could do if the bomb went off, they’d all be vaporized on the spot, but at least they’d be together.
“You’re seeing all this I hope, Harley,” Micah said as he scanned the engine compartment.
“I am, Micah.” Harley’s blood was pumping. “I just wish I was more familiar with the specs. Do you have anyone you can call in who’s familiar with these big RVs? The mechanical and electrical systems on those monsters are quite different from a regular vehicle.”
“Tyson,” Saxon automatically suggested.
“Get him down here,” Micah directed. “Pronto.”
“I’ll call him,” Alivia offered, moving a few feet away to make the call.
“We’ll have someone here momentarily,” Micah stated in a steady voice, even though he didn’t feel as confident as he sounded. “Can we do this thing, Harley? Should I be getting right with my Maker?”