Page 56 of Between Control and Chaos
“You’re leaving us here because we’re girls, aren’t you?” I glare at Rhys.
“I’m leaving you here to watch the video feed and report to us what you see, at least until the EMP detonates. If they move Harper or Luca, we need to know about it.”
“And once the cameras are disabled?” I ask. “What then? The moment the EMP hits, the cameras are worthless. And you want us to detonate the EMP immediately after, right?”
Rhys loads up the explosive, securing it to the drone while Sophia flies it over the property, careful not to be seen. He has her carefully place the device near the backside of the compound, closer to the girl’s location and the garden, intending to blast a hole through the wall to let them escape.
No one notices the drone, too busy planning their little party, while Sophia brings the drone back and Rhys secures the EMP to it.
“Wait!” Ashton interjects, “we’re going to have to detonate before we bring the EMP over, or else we’re risking it getting damaged in the explosion. We only have one chance to pull this off.”
“He’s right,” I say. “We don’t know how big a blast radius the explosion will be.”
I hope that it’s far enough away to leave an exit for the girls without hurting them.
“Right. Good thinking,” Rhys says and pats Ashton’s shoulder. “I’ll load up the EMP. Wait to send it over until after the explosion. Detonate it as soon as you get it in position.”
The EMP is in position in the drone, and Sophia hides behind the vehicle with me as we watch the camera footage. Luca hasn’t left his room. The girls are still locked up in the ballroom.
Rhys hands me the trigger for the EMP. “Wait until it’s in position, then activate it as soon as you can.”
“Okay,” I say, my fingers cold and trembling as I take the black trigger with a red button. The weight feels overwhelming.
Rhys, Ashton, and Liam gather supplies and gear, pulling on bulletproof vests and weapons, packing up with extra bullets, knives, and daggers. Any extra space is utilized with gear. They hunker down behind the SUV.
Rhys counts down from three and uses the detonator, blowing a massive hole in the building. The ground quakes at our feet, smoke bellows and rises.
I press a chaste kiss to Ashton’s lips. “Be careful,” I warn while Sophia uses the remote control, bringing the drone up into the air and toward the compound.
Rhys, Liam, and Ashton hurry across the open expanse toward the compound. Clad in black and decked out with weapons, they definitely stand out.
As soon as Sophia can get the drone into position, we have orders to detonate the EMP.
Girls are running, fleeing from the hole we blasted through the building’s wall. Sophia lowers the EMP near the explosion, and I hit the trigger.
I expect static to fill the screens.
Instead, everything is dead.
The computer with every camera we had access to, dark.
The tablet, not so much as a hint of battery.
It’s as though everything is off. I retrieve my phone from my pocket.
Dead.
Sophia glances at my phone. “Was that supposed to happen?” she asks. “How far did the EMP reach?”
Twenty-Two
Harper
The explosion rocks the building, debris and smoke wafting in every direction.
Most of the girls look around, frantic, the wall crumbling, gleaming with sunlight, revealing a glimpse of outside.
Freedom is just a few feet away.
