Her Lieutenant Protector

by Lara Lacombe

  “Are you still feeling sick?” She reached for the digital thermometer and ran it across his forehead. His temperature was normal. Probably no infection, then...

  Danny hesitated, and Mallory could tell he was weighing his response. “Please be honest,” she said. “If you’re not feeling well, I need to know so I can help you.”

  “I can’t afford to miss any more work,” he began.

  “You’re entitled to sick pay,” she interrupted. “And I’ll speak to your supervisor myself to make sure you aren’t unfairly punished for taking time off.”

  He nodded slowly. “I do still feel bad,” he said softly.

  Mallory gestured for one of the nurses to come over, and she gave instructions for medications. “We’re going to start an IV,” she told Danny. “Hopefully some fluids will help perk you up.”

  “Thanks for talking to us,” Peter said. He gave Danny’s shoulder a pat. “You’ve been a huge help.”

  Danny looked relieved. “Really?”

  Everest nodded. “Yes,” he confirmed. “Get some rest now.” The two men stepped away, giving the nurse room to work.

  Mallory issued a few more orders, then joined Everest and Peter. She could tell by the looks on their faces they had something to say. “My office?” she suggested.

  She led them to the small space and gestured to the chairs she and Everest had returned this morning after wheeling the gurney back into the main body of the clinic. Not much time had passed since their conversation in the small hours of the morning, but it felt like a lifetime ago. She caught his eye as they both sat, and he gave her a small, private smile that triggered a rush of warmth in her chest. It seemed she wasn’t the only one remembering their earlier chat.

  “What do you think?” she said, eager to hear what Peter and Everest had to say now that they had seen Danny’s injuries.

  “I feel bad for the guy,” Peter said, shaking his head. “He can’t be comfortable with his hand like that.”

  “He’s probably not,” she said. “But he’d never admit it.”

  “I wish I’d insisted on seeing him earlier,” Everest said. “I would have been more forceful with the captain if I’d known.”

  Mallory’s stomach sank. “So you think he’s suffering from radiation burns, as well?”

  Peter shrugged, but his gaze was serious. “It’s definitely possible. You know better that most that it’s difficult to determine the cause of a burn simply by looking at it. But his wounds are consistent with radiation damage, and his continued symptoms certainly fit the clinical picture, as well.”

  “That’s what I thought,” she said softly.

  “We won’t know for sure until I can examine the material,” Peter continued.

  Everest glanced at his watch. “It’s late enough that the passengers should be off the ship for the day. We can get started, if you’re both ready.”

  Mallory nodded and stood, feeling both anxious and eager to learn Peter’s thoughts after he saw the mystery substance. She still held out hope that this was a false alarm, and that Danny’s injuries were due to some kind of chemical exposure. Better to discover she had overreacted than to find the ship was loaded with radioactive material.

  They decided to start in Jeff’s former cabin, since they knew for certain it would be unoccupied. The sight of the bed brought back memories of the masked man who had drugged her, and she shuddered involuntarily. Everest had told her how he’d found her lying there unconscious, and how he’d tried to rouse her. She could picture the scene all too easily, an echo of the attack she’d suffered in college. At least this time I wasn’t raped, she thought darkly.

  Everest must have picked up on her discomfort because he moved to stand close to her. He didn’t touch her, but she could tell by the look in his eyes he wanted to. It was thoughtful of him, the way he respected her personal space after hearing her story. He’d assured her that he would let her take the lead when it came to the physical side of their relationship, and she could tell he’d really meant it.

  She brushed her hand down his arm, a light touch of acknowledgment to let him know she felt his support and appreciated it. It would take time for them to learn how to move around each other, but she had no doubt he was worth the effort.

  Everest tilted his head to indicate the black box mounted high on the wall. “That’s the communications hub I was telling you about. The material is inside.” He pushed a chair over and made to stand, but Peter stopped him.

  “Let me take a look,” he said. “I brought a few things, just in case this does turn out to be dangerous.”

  He set his backpack on the bed and pulled out a clear face shield, a pair of gloves and a small gray device that was a little bigger than a cell phone. He quickly donned his gear, and Mallory held her breath as he climbed onto the chair and removed the cover of the hub.

  Peter swore a blue streak, and Everest’s body tensed. “What’s wrong?” he said urgently.

  Peter stepped down and turned to face them, his expression grim.

  “Is it radioactive?” Mallory asked. She hadn’t heard any sound from the detector he was using, but maybe the model he was using didn’t make noise.

  “I don’t know,” he said.

  “What do you mean you don’t know?” Everest asked. He sounded a little testy, and Mallory realized the degree of his worry matched her own. “What’s the problem?”

  If Peter was ruffled by Everest’s tone, he didn’t show it. He cocked his head to the side and gave them both a level stare. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t feel comfortable using a digital detector when there is a brick of C4 attached to the lid of the box.”

  “What?” Everest’s face drained of color so fast Mallory thought he might faint. She placed her hand on his arm, but he didn’t seem to notice her touch.

  “C4?” Mallory asked. A growing sense of horror filled her as she pieced together what Peter was saying. “Isn’t that—”

  “Yes,” Everest confirmed. She could tell by the look on his face that his shock was fading, and his expression morphed into one of determination.

  “It’s a bomb.”

  Chapter 19

  Mallory made a small sound of distress, and Everest gave her hand a squeeze. He wanted to offer her more reassurance, but there simply wasn’t time.

  “You’re certain it’s C4?” It was a stupid question, and he knew it. Peter was one of the best CBRN officers in the army—the odds that he would misidentify a hunk of C4 were so low as to be almost nil. Still, Everest had to ask. Maybe, just maybe, a trick of the light had convinced his friend one of the hub components was something else...

  Peter lifted one eyebrow, not bothering to reply.

  Everest nodded and held up a hand. “I know, I know. But you can’t blame me for being hopeful.”

  Peter stepped away from the chair, making room. “Have a look yourself.”

  Everest wasted no time climbing onto the seat. He gingerly lifted the lid of the box, and sure enough, a brick of C4 about the size of a deck of playing cards was affixed to the plastic. A few wires connected the detonator to the explosive material, and there was a small blinking display that flashed intermittently.

  Everest was no stranger to explosives, but being so close to a bomb like this never failed to turn his guts to water. He carefully lowered the lid, climbed down and ran a hand through his hair as he tried to figure out what to do next.

  “I’m guessing that wasn’t there when you guys did your survey for the other material?” Peter asked.

  “No.”

  “There’s really a bomb in the hub?” Mallory asked. She sounded hesitant, as if she didn’t dare believe it.

  “I’m afraid so,” Peter said.

  She frowned, looking up at the box. “But it’s pretty small,” she said. �
�I thought bombs had to be bigger.”

  “Not always,” Everest said. “Usually, bigger bombs make for larger explosions. But even a little C4 can do some real damage.”

  “Oh.” Her features tightened with worry. “What do we do?”

  “We disarm it,” Everest said simply. He turned to Peter. “I don’t suppose you have some wire cutters in that bag?”

  “No. But I do have this.” He dug in the bag and produced a small multitool, which he handed over.

  Everest unfolded the device and examined the different fixtures: a few screwdriver heads, a couple of blades, a file and a small pair of scissors. It wasn’t his first choice for defusing a bomb, but it would have to do.

  “Okay,” he said with a nod. “This’ll work.” He turned to Mallory. “I think you and Peter should leave while I do this. The mechanism doesn’t look very complicated, but if I make a mistake I don’t want you two in the room.”

  Her eyes were wide as portholes. “I’m not leaving you.” She sounded offended that he had even asked.

  “Mallory—” he began.

  “I’ll stand in the bathroom if that will make you feel better,” she said grudgingly. “But I won’t leave you to do this by yourself.”

  He turned to Peter, hoping to appeal to his friend. Peter merely shrugged. “I’m not going anywhere. You might need some help.”

  Everest sighed, knowing better than to waste his breath arguing with the two of them. “Fine.”

  “Are you sure you know how to do this?” Mallory moved to stand next to him, placing her hand on his arm. He read the concern in her eyes and felt a rush of warmth suffuse his chest. It had been a long time since a woman had cared enough to worry for him. And while he wished the circumstances were different, it was nice to feel like he was important to Mallory.

  “I’ll be fine,” he said, injecting confidence into his voice.

  Peter spoke up. “Everest was the best in our squad at defusing bombs,” he said. “The instructors were so impressed with his skills they offered him a job teaching other CBRN soldiers.”

  “Really?” Mallory sounded impressed. “I didn’t know that.”

  Everest shrugged. “It didn’t seem important.” Safe handling of explosives wasn’t exactly the kind of skill he’d thought he would use once he left the army. It had been years since he’d had to defuse a bomb. Hopefully the process was like riding a bike...

  He climbed up on the chair again, tool in hand, then turned to look at Mallory. “Bathroom?”

  She nodded reluctantly and walked into the small room, closing the door behind her. Everest turned back to the box and took a deep breath. His palms were sweating, so he ran his hands down the front of his pants to dry them.

  “You’ve got this,” Peter said quietly.

  Everest shot his friend a grateful smile and nodded in acknowledgment. Then he turned his focus to the box, blocking out the world around him as he concentrated on the bomb in front of him.

  It wasn’t a complicated job, as far as these things went. But even though the bomb was small and the wiring was simple, Everest knew better than to take anything for granted. Complacency led to mistakes, and an error while working on a job like this was what got people killed.

  It didn’t take long to separate the wires and identify the ones responsible for connecting the detonator to the C4. Working carefully and methodically, Everest clipped the wires, severing the connection between the detonator and the explosive. Once that was done, he gently pried the detonator free. C4 was fairly stable on its own, so by removing the detonator with its explosive charge, he’d effectively neutralized the bomb.

  He climbed down, his hands full of the bomb components. He laid them on the bed, and he and Peter bent over to study them, hoping to glean some useful information from the bits and pieces.

  “Nice work,” Peter said, clapping him on the back.

  “Thanks,” Everest replied drily.

  Mallory must have been listening at the door because she flew out of the bathroom and ran into his arms. “You’re okay,” she breathed, clutching him tightly. She leaned back and kissed him hard, and he realized in that moment how scared she had been. He’d been a little nervous himself, but thanks to his army training, he’d known how to handle the problem. Mallory didn’t have that advantage, though, and he felt a pang of guilt for not taking more time to reassure her.

  He wrapped his arms around her and ran a hand up and down her back. “I’m fine,” he said, pressing his mouth to her ear. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

  “It’s not funny,” she said. She pulled back, and he saw the glint of tears in her eyes. “Do you have any idea how much you scared me just now?”

  “I’m sorry,” he said, and he meant it. He truly hadn’t wanted to upset her, but he’d been so focused on disarming the bomb he hadn’t stopped to think about how his actions might seem to her.

  She held his gaze for an endless moment, then nodded. He squeezed her hand, and together they turned to examine the bomb components spread out on the bed.

  “Looks like pretty standard stuff to me,” Peter mused. “What do you think?”

  “I agree,” Everest said. “Basic blasting cap, remote detonator. Probably runs off a cell phone trigger.” But he couldn’t see it from here. He’d need to dig a little deeper to know for sure.

  “Then why didn’t it explode?” Mallory asked. “The passengers all have cell phones, and they’ve been using them regularly. Wouldn’t one of their phones have set things off?”

  “Not necessarily,” Peter said. “You usually have to specifically call the phone associated with the bomb in order to detonate it. Presumably, whoever placed this one here isn’t ready to set it off quite yet.”

  Everest picked up the bundle of C4, drawing it closer. Mallory let out a soft gasp and took a half step back. “It’s okay,” he said absently. “C4 is a stable explosive.”

  “What does that mean?” she said, sounding unconvinced.

  “It means it won’t go off in his hands,” Peter said helpfully.

  Everest peeled back a corner of the tape and began to unwrap the bundle. The explosive material was covered in a thin plastic wrap, and attached to one side he found a small, flat circuit board with protruding wires that he had clipped earlier to detach them from the detonator.

  “Here’s our trigger,” he said, tossing it back onto the bed. He felt a small surge of satisfaction at being right, but the sensation didn’t last long. He may have figured out how the bomb was going to be detonated, but that didn’t solve the mystery of who had placed it there and why.

  “What is that?” Mallory asked, leaning forward to peer at the panel.

  “It’s the guts of a cell phone,” Peter said. “And now that the bomb is no longer a threat, I’m going to do the job you brought me here to do.” He reached for his acrylic face shield and digital Geiger counter and climbed back onto the seat of the chair.

  Everest held his breath as his friend extended the probe toward the gray putty in the box. The detector let out a shrill beep of alarm that needed no translation.

  The material was radioactive.

  * * *

  Wesley paused in his journey down the hall, startled to hear a muffled, but still audible, beeping. It sounded like it was coming from Jeff’s old room, but surely that wasn’t possible...

  He walked up to the door and leaned close. Yes, the noise was coming from inside the room. Was it the bomb? His stomach grew queasy as he considered the possibility. The instructions for arming the bomb had been simple, but Wesley didn’t know enough about explosives to determine if there was a problem. He’d pressed the small buttons in the correct sequence and had been rewarded with the appearance of a blinking light, but what if something had gone wrong? He’d placed the first bomb in this cabin, to take ad
vantage of the uninterrupted privacy. Everything had seemed fine at the time, but perhaps one of the wires had worked loose?

  Not that he could do anything about it, if that was indeed the issue. He had no desire to try to troubleshoot a problem with the explosives—carrying around a backpack full of the stuff was enough to make him break out into a cold sweat. Given his nerves, he was likely to touch the wrong thing and set the charge off. It wasn’t worth the risk. He had no intention of dying in the upcoming blast. He was going to be safely on shore, watching the show from a safe distance.

  Still, he needed to do something. If the noise continued, the passengers on either side of the cabin would complain, and someone would be sent to check the room. If the bomb was discovered before the ship docked in New York City’s harbor, it would be disastrous.

  Wesley fumbled in his pocket for the key card. Maybe he could tape a pillow over the hub, to further muffle the sound. It was worth a shot...

  Just as he pulled the card free, the noise stopped. He breathed a sigh of relief; the less time he had to spend around the armed bombs, the better.

  He turned to continue down the hall when another sound in the room caught his attention. Voices.

  The hairs on his arms stood on end as he pressed an ear to the door, straining to catch snatches of conversation.

  “...have to go to the captain...”

  “...evacuate the ship...”

  Wesley drew back, his heart pounding in a panicked rhythm as he realized his mission had been compromised. For a brief second, he considered running off the ship and detonating the bombs he’d already planted. But he realized it wouldn’t do enough damage. He still needed to place the larger charges in key locations, to maximize the spread of the radioactive material. If he pulled the trigger now, it would only wreck a plan that had been years in the making.

  A sense of determination filled him, pushing aside his anxieties. He wasn’t going to let this little hiccup prevent him from avenging his brother. Ryan deserved better than that.