Page 89 of Fatal Mistake
His footsteps pounded down the hallway. Bursting through her door, he snapped off the lights. He charged to her window and checked the security of the lock before peering out into the night. “I don’t see anyone.”
“Can you please go outside and check?” She used her best pleading voice.
“First, let’s get you into the hallway where there aren’t any windows.”
She rushed ahead of him.
“Stay here,” he warned, before taking off toward the front door, drawing his weapon on the way.
She hadn’t even thought about him having a gun. He might see her when she fled, think she was the intruder, and shoot her. It didn’t matter, though. She’d have to risk it.
She waited until the door closed before running into the dining room to grab his phone and keys and slide through the night undetected.
With each step forward, she waited for him to discover her. Waited for him to warn her to stop. Maybe shoot her.
Please don’t let him see me.
She forced her legs to churn faster and made it to his car. She hid on the far side so he couldn’t see her. She unlocked the car door, and the urge to climb into the vehicle was strong, but she couldn’t risk him seeing the light from opening the door, so she crouched in the darkness. She desperately wanted to snap the rubber bands for relief, but she had this ridiculous fear that the sound would echo through the night, so she held the craving at bay and waited.
Footsteps crunched on the gravel path leading to the house. She rose halfway and peeked through the car windows. Agent Ward stepped inside the house, and through the window in the door, she saw him turn back, likely to secure the dead bolt.
When he pivoted and walked away, she jerked open the car door and climbed inside, then gunned the engine. He would hear the car, but by the time he made it back outside, she’d be long gone, and he had no way of following her.
* * *
Cal set his light strobing on his car and floored the gas pedal to race down the highway. His phone rang, and he punched the button to connect via his in-dash program.
“Riggins,” Cal answered, hoping the caller was one of the agents who’d first responded to the scene.
“Deputy Yancey here,” the guy said. “You wanted to talk to me.”
“You’ve seen the bomb. Describe it to me.”
He gave a succinct description of Keeler’s signature bomb.
“We need to keep this woman from panicking,” Cal said.
“No worries there,” he replied. “The bomber told her that he used a motion switch, and if she moves, the bomb will detonate.”
Not a surprise to Cal. “Has the local bomb squad arrived?”
“Negative. Last report has them three minutes out.”
Cal had to assume Keeler built this bomb as he had the others, and he would remotely detonate it. The squad likely carried something to stop radio frequencies or electromagnetic interference. If they did, they could drape it over the woman to prevent any incoming cell signals from reaching the bomb, thus stopping Keeler from detonating it. Worst case, they could use a metal emergency blanket, though it wasn’t foolproof. They would be risking an EOD tech’s life to go into the house and place the covering, but in Cal’s opinion, the risk was worth it to save the woman and other lives in the surrounding area.
Cal had to make sure the local team acted quickly, but he wouldn’t explain this to Yancey and risk the information being changed in a secondhand communication. “I want to talk to the squad commander the moment he arrives. Don’t waste even a second but get him on the phone with me. You got that? Not a second.”
“Affirmative.”
“Okay, set two perimeters. Inside, a minimum of one hundred feet. Outside, another four hundred feet.”
“We’ve already started clearing the area, but there’s an apartment complex nearby and it’s taking time to evacuate the residents. We have additional officers en route and that should help.”
“Keep at it,” Cal said, now worried that this bomb could take out even more people.
“We’re working on it, but you know it takes time, man.”
“We don’t have time!” Cal pressed harder on the gas, as saving this woman, and now the neighborhood, rested solely on his shoulders.
