Devious Minds (27 page)

Everyone swore in their minds, including me. “This second bomb must be part of his plan B.”

“The meeting can be changed,” Gabriel said. “But we cannot allow the terrorists to win. Cypher may still be here. We have no time to lose. This might be our only chance to catch him and disarm the bomb.”

We followed Gabriel out of the room toward the entrance where we’d first come in. His lieutenant waited there, as well as a three-member swat-team who’d been outside guarding the entrance. He explained what was happening, and one of the swat members spoke into a radio. A few minutes later, a palace security guard entered the room with a map of the palace.

They spread it out on the desk, pointing to the entrances of the senate chambers, counting eight all together. I couldn’t understand most of it, but it sounded like they came up with a plan to search the chambers for Cypher and the bomb.

With that settled, Gabriel turned to us. “I am taking these men with me to the chambers while the rest of the police and palace guards secure the building. You should stay here and wait for word.”

“No,” Suzette said. “Ramos and I are both trained, and we have guns. You need us. The palace is a big place. At least let us wait outside the chambers in case you flush them out. We’ve already got our earpieces, so you can talk to us. We can help you.”

Gabriel sighed, then nodded. “Bien. You may come, but you must let us do our jobs. You are only for backup. Oui?”

They nodded, so I did too, even though I wasn’t exactly invited.

Gabriel noticed my nod and hopeful face. He glanced at me, and his lips twisted. “No Shelby. I’m afraid you must stay here.”

“Hey, just because I don’t have a gun doesn’t mean I can’t help.” I pointed to my head, hoping he’d understand what I meant. “Besides, Ramos is my bodyguard. I have to go where he goes. He’ll make sure nothing happens to me. Right, Ramos?”

Ramos’ eyes got big, and he shook his head. “Babe.” He was about to say,
not this time
, but Gabriel spoke first.

“You will do this?” he asked Ramos. “I must agree she may help our cause, but I leave it to you.”

Ramos was thinking that leaving me alone here might not be the best thing, since I’d probably wander off and get into trouble. Knowing the kinds of trouble I usually managed to get into, he figured it was best that I came with him where he could keep an eye on me.

“Yes. I’ll take responsibility for her.”

“Good. Now we must move quickly.”

Chapter 14

After putting our earpieces back in, we followed the others down the hall and into a part of the palace I hadn’t seen before. We soon came to the outside rim of the senate chambers with two doors leading inside, and everyone got their guns ready. Gabriel motioned to the three swat-team members to take the stairs to the lower entrances and get into position.

A few minutes later, they signaled that they were in place. With his lieutenant at the other door, Gabriel gave the command to enter. We watched them open the doors and head inside at a crouch, closing the doors behind them with hardly a sound. Now we waited to see what would happen, which I didn’t like much, but I decided it was better than being inside with them.

After several more minutes of standing around in three-inch pumps, my feet just couldn’t take it anymore. So, with relief, I slipped them off and let out a sigh. I should have done this long before now. Suzette nodded her approval and did the same.

We all listened and waited for something to happen, but the minutes crawled by without a sound. What was going on in there? I let out another sigh and wondered if I could sit down somewhere. Glancing behind me, I noticed a small cushioned bench against the wall and started inching my way toward it. A few seconds later, I reached it and began to sit.

A shuffling sound came from the long hallway off to the side of the senate chamber, and I jerked back into a standing position. Ramos caught my gaze and motioned his head toward the hallway, thinking he was going to check it out. I nodded and followed behind him. He didn’t like that much and thought I should go back, but I held my ground and stuck with him.

He shook his head thinking,
you’re in so much trouble
, but I just shrugged and followed him into the hallway. The end of the hall was shrouded in darkness, but there was definite activity in that direction. Ramos inched forward, holding his gun in both hands, with me right behind him.

All at once, a man sprinted around the corner coming straight towards us. He caught sight of Ramos and jerked to a stop. Ramos raised his gun to shoot, but the man turned tail and ran. Ramos took off after him and yelled in his mind that I should go back to where we’d left Suzette.

I thought that was a good idea, so I hurried back to the spot, only to find that Suzette wasn’t there. What the freak? Had she gone inside the chamber? I hadn’t heard a thing from my earpiece, so I didn’t know what was going on. Taking a breath, I moved toward the chamber door and listened. Not a peep. Maybe I should open it a little and take a look?

The loud crack of gunfire sent my heart into overdrive, and I jerked away from the door. Several more shots sounded, and I heard Gabriel shouting in my earpiece. Of course it was in French, so I had no idea what he was saying.

Now might be a good time to find Ramos, or just get the hell out of there, so I took a few steps toward the last place I’d seen him. Just then, the chamber door burst open, scaring me half to death. To my horror, Cypher charged through, then jerked to a stop, surprised to find me there.

As his eyes glossed over with hatred, he raised his gun to fire. I threw my shoes at him and took off with a squeal, hearing the blast from his gun and a bullet whizzing past me. Running on pure adrenalin, I rounded the corner to the hallway where I’d last seen Ramos, and ran right into him.

He caught me in his arms and spun me behind him, then planted his feet. As Cypher rounded the corner, Ramos landed a one-two punch, hitting Cypher squarely in the stomach. Then he sent his fist with a hard uppercut into Cypher’s jaw. Cypher’s gun flew from his hand, and the momentum sent his head banging into the wall. Dazed, he slumped to the floor.

Ramos didn’t wait around, kicking Cypher’s gun away and shoving him onto his stomach. As he wrenched Cypher’s arms behind his back, Gabriel ran around the corner. More chatter came through my earpiece, and two of the swat-team members joined us. They took over from Ramos, slipping handcuffs onto Cypher’s wrists and pulling him roughly to his feet.

“Babe, are you okay?” Ramos asked, folding me into his arms. He was worried that he’d been a little rough when he’d spun me behind him.

“Oh no, I’m good,” I said a little breathless. “It didn’t hurt me.”

“Good. Sorry I left you.”

“S’okay,” I mumbled. “You were here. You got him. That’s all that matters.”

Gabriel and the soldiers shoved Cypher against the wall. “Où est la bombe?” Gabriel shouted. Cypher shook his head, then spat in Gabriel’s face. Gabriel jerked out of reach, so Cypher totally missed, but it still made Gabriel furious. He snarled and raised his fist, ready to beat Cypher to a bloody pulp.

“Uh, Gabriel?” I said. “I can help you with that.”

With a frustrated growl, Gabriel lowered his arm and inhaled sharply before taking a step back. He glanced my way and nodded, but took another moment to calm down. Finally under control, he spoke to his men. They pulled Cypher out of the hallway and back toward the chamber doors, leaving us alone in the hall. He pulled out his earpiece, motioning for me and Ramos to do the same.

“Do you know where it is?” he asked.

“Yeah, I have a pretty good idea, but I need to look inside the senate room. If what I got from him is in there, then I’ll be able to find it.”

“Très bien. Come with me.”

We followed Gabriel around the corner where he opened the door to the senate chambers. As we followed him inside, I glanced toward the podium and knew immediately where it was. “It’s there, beneath that staircase on the right that leads up to the first podium. They cut away the wooden panel right at the bottom there on the right, and propped it back up. It should give way pretty easily. Um... I also picked up that it’s a big bomb, and quite sensitive, so you need to be really careful.”

Gabriel nodded, then took out his radio and spoke into it. Finished, he turned back to me. “I called the bomb squad. They will be here shortly. But it has occurred to me that we do not know when this bomb is set to go off, or how to diffuse it. Do you mind listening to Cypher again?” This request was followed by a wicked smile that I found totally appropriate.

“Not at all,” I agreed, enthusiastically. “Can you get me a paper and pen so I can write it down?” Since this was a bomb I needed to diffuse, I sure didn’t want to get it wrong.

“But of course.”

Cypher sat on the floor near the cushioned seat where I’d wanted to sit earlier, with the swat-team and Suzette standing guard. For some reason it gladdened my heart that he was sitting on the floor instead of the seat. It was also a relief to find Suzette well and unhurt. I picked up that she thought the same about me, and we shared a smile.

Once I had a pen and paper, Gabriel asked his questions. He went slowly and repeated himself several times. He also asked specific questions, so I knew he had some experience with bombs. Cypher couldn’t figure out what was going on, especially since he kept his mouth shut. It confused him further that saying nothing didn’t seem to faze Gabriel in the least.

Getting it all down took longer than I thought but, for obvious reasons, I needed to get it right. Most of Cypher’s answers had come through his visualization process along with his thoughts, so by the end, I felt pretty confident that I had it down. After going over everything a second time, I signaled Gabriel.

We headed back into the senate chamber, just in time for the bomb squad’s arrival. Gabriel told them where the bomb was, and we watched them set up. Since they seemed to know what they were doing, I decided not to worry that it would explode before we could get it diffused. Still, my shoulders tightened with tension and my stomach got a little queasy.

“I’ll tell you what they need to do,” I said to Gabriel, “and you can relay it to the bomb squad, okay?” Gabriel nodded, and I continued. “Cypher built that bomb. I guess it’s his specialty. He also knows about a lot of other things you might find useful.”

Gabriel’s gaze narrowed. “I see what you mean. We should talk to him.”

“Yeah, and... he shouldn’t die before that happens.”

His lips turned up in a knowing smile. “I understand. I will see to it.”

“Good.” I sighed with relief, knowing Gabriel wasn’t the only one who wanted to beat the crap out of Cypher. “Anyway he was thinking that there was only one way to diffuse it, and he hid it in the mechanics pretty well, so no one else could do it without getting blown up.”

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed with concern. “You can give me the instructions if you wish to leave.”

“Oh... no.” I shook my head. “That’s not what I meant. I just wanted to make sure those guys are careful... and it’s a pretty big bomb, you know? You might want to clear everyone else out of the building. Just in case.”

“Oui, that is true, but all who wanted to leave have already done so.” He glanced at Ramos. “I will watch over her if you wish to leave.”

“Not a chance,” Ramos said, sending a quick smile my way.

Gabriel nodded. “Then let us sit down. I believe they are ready to start.” He motioned to some seats close by, but still a couple of rows above the men, so I could see what they were doing.

Up until then, I wasn’t too worried. But then it hit me. The fate of everyone here, along with this vast historical palace, rested in my hands. We could all die. The enormity of this task sent my stomach into a queasy knot. I took a couple of deep breaths and tried not to freak out.

Just then, Ramos took my hand and gave it a squeeze, thinking that I’d do fine. It would all work out and I shouldn’t worry so much. I swallowed the lump in my throat and glanced up at him, smiled my thanks, and held onto his hand for dear life.

The main bomb-diffuser guy told Gabriel what he saw, and Gabriel translated it for me. I told him the first steps to take and it continued this way until we made it right down to the last wire. Gabriel repeated my instructions, but the main dude didn’t seem to like what he heard.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“From his experience, the wire you are telling him to cut is the wrong one.”

“Oh good,” I said. “That means I got it right. Tell him it was put together like that so if anyone tried to disarm it, they would cut the wrong wire and blow us all up. Or... no, don’t say that, just tell him to do what you said in the first place. Or if he won’t, tell someone else to do it, but he has to cut the one I said to cut.”

“Do not worry, ma chère, he will cut the right one.”

I let out my breath and nodded, then glanced at Ramos and squeezed his hands while Gabriel spoke. In the silence that followed, I closed my eyes and said a little prayer.

A second later, a big cheer erupted from the bomb squad, followed by lots of excited French.

“It is done,” Gabriel said, jumping to his feet. “You did it!”

With a rush of exuberance, Gabriel pulled me to my feet and tugged me into a tight embrace. Murmuring in his beautiful French language, he leaned forward and kissed both of my cheeks. Then he held my face in his hands, and planted a big kiss, right smack on the lips. He pulled away with a grin, then raised both arms above his head and let out a whoop.

While Gabriel hustled over to the bomb squad to congratulate them, I stood there totally stunned. I turned to Ramos with my mouth hanging open in shock.

“What the hell?” he said.

“I know... that was...” Before I could finish, he swooped down and captured my mouth with his. This kiss was different from Gabriel’s, but it carried the same intense emotion of joy, along with relief and an underlying sense of longing.

He pulled away before I wanted him to, but it was also before I could get too upset with him. Still, I tried to look upset, but I couldn’t do it and ended up laughing with him instead. Then Gabriel called my name. I glanced at him, and the entire bomb squad all cheered for me.

“They want to kiss you too,” Gabriel said.

“All right,” I shouted. I was ready to run down there, but Ramos wouldn’t let me go. “I guess I’ll wait up here.”

To my delight, all four of them came up the stairs. They took turns speaking to me in French... I had no idea what they said, but I blushed from all the attention anyway. Then before leaving, they each kissed me on the cheeks. No lip stuff though, but that was probably because Ramos stood behind me. I couldn’t see his face, but from his thoughts, I was pretty sure he was glaring.

After each of them had kissed me, they returned back to their bomb duties. I had to admit that this was one of the best moments ever. Maybe all the stress of what I’d been through these last couple of days wasn’t so bad. I mean, getting kissed by Gabriel and then Ramos... Ramos kissed me? Holy hell! Then after that by four handsome Frenchmen? Wowza!

Gabriel returned to my side and clapped Ramos on the back. “I see you are learning the French way, my friend. This is good, no? Now, I’m afraid we must get back to business.”

He turned his gaze to mine. “While these good men finish with the bomb, I must ask if you would please accompany me back to headquarters. I believe we have some unfinished business with our prisoner. Right now, he does not know we have diffused the bomb, so I think we will not tell him. In fact, I think we will just ask questions. It may confuse him, but... c’est la vie, as we Frenchmen say.”

“Sure,” I agreed with a chuckle. “We need to get as much out of him tonight as we can. And believe me, there’s a lot, and it’s pretty serious.”