Chapter 76: We’re Out Of Ti...
"Buy ti," the tech replied in a really silent tone. "Find his pattern since he speaks in loops. He wants to be heard. He will watch reactions and will detonate while he is watched... He will detonate when he feels he has taken control."
Frank closed his eyes for one breath and then opened them. He thought of Danielle’s thin hands...
That indeed was a weird thing to think about...
And sohow he made a choice. He keyed the mic and spoke directly into the speaker, even though the thought of being heard by the man he wanted to kill made bile rise in his throat.
"Ethan! You will not have Danielle die for you. If you want to make a point, make it with your life. Make it with you, not hers. I will not send n across that line. Do what you want with . Take instead. Take my life and stop this."
Silence wrapped around the street like smoke. It was a foolish offer and he knew it. It was a desperate offer and he also knew that.
From the warehouse a sound answered. It was not Ethan’s voice, but a small beep. Then another one ca.
The tech grabbed his tablet and his face drained.
"Movent!!! Internal sensors show a temperature spike near the main support beam. The pressure plates are arming. Sobody inside has just blocked a cara. He is moving."
Ethan’s voice ca through the speaker with a soft smile. "You are a hero, Frank. Do you know what heroes look like when the curtain falls?"
A new tone began under Ethan’s words. It was a beep, a tir tone, faint but insistent. It pulsed like a heartbeat. The negotiator looked at Frank, eyes widened, and said one word.
"Tir."
On the other side of the street the crowd surged in collective fear. A police cruiser’s siren wailed and cut off.
Frank felt the weight of a second hang heavy and cold. He thought of Theo spread in the street sowhere under the rain. He thought of Danielle strapped to the table with caras smiling around her.
He keyed the mic again with hands that did not tremble but wanted to.
"Ethan, you have one minute to tell what you want besides death. One minute."
Every man pressed closer to his radio as the beeping grew louder. The tir on the tablet blinked down. Fifty nine. Fifty eight.
From inside the warehouse a single, low, happy sound ca that was really suspicious. It was a slow clack like a switch flipping.
Frank’s throat closed. He said nothing more.
The tir kept pulsing...Forty nine...Forty eight.
"You are too late, Frank."
The beeps changed pitch and a distant, small tallic click answered.
Frank’s breath stopped as the light on the technician’s tablet turned a hard, bright red.
The last number fell on the screen and then everything waited for the sound that would flatten the world around them.
"Everyone stay sharp. Eyes ahead."
Frank crouched behind the armored vehicle, his finger seed steady on the trigger. Rain began to drizzle, making the world feel darker, tighter... as if ti itself understood the danger inside that warehouse.
The device on the screen flashed again.
00:59... 00:58...
One minute left...
"Boss," Quinn whispered. "We cannot breach. The entire fra is lined with explosives. This is a suicide trap."
Frank’s jaw clenched so hard, it was stronger than a hamr.
"We do not leave her," he growled. "I will not let him hurt another one...even though he’s my family."
The team exchanged looks. They had all seen that look before. Frank was the kind of man who would walk into hell if soone he cared for was still breathing inside.
’If there were only butterflies...’
He pressed the communicator.
"Ethan. Listen to . You do not want to do this."
Inside the Warehouse
Danielle’s head hung low as hair clung to her damp cheeks. Every breath forced a burning whisper in her chest.
A soft click... Ethan turned on the speaker system.
"Frank," Ethan sounded so sweetly, dragging the na like a knife. "Are you worried? You should be. The princess is looking... fragile."
He brushed his fingers across Danielle’s neck. She flinched as fear stabbed through her chest.
"Get away... from ..." she spoke through gritted teeth.
Ethan smiled wider, loving the tremor in her voice.
"If they co any closer, you and I will beco ash together," he hushed near her ear. "Romantic, do you think?"
She shut her eyes tight. "You are insane..."
Ethan’s voice ward in delight.
"You have no idea."
anwhile, Frank slamd his fist against the vehicle, vision turned crimson.
"Ethan! You set one charge too close. If that bomb detonates, you die too!"
There was a long pause, and then a laughter... that was so broken and wild.
"What makes you believe I care to live?"
Frank’s hands covered in chilly ice...
That tone... he had heard it once before...After Ethan lost everything.
That man was no longer afraid of death.
He wanted to drag others with him.
00:41... 00:40...
"We need another way in," Frank barked. "Roof access. Vent systems. Sewers. Find sothing."
Quinn nodded and ran. Others followed. Frank kept his eyes locked on the warehouse doors.
"Hold on Danielle..." he whispered.
But Danielle struggled to stay conscious. Her chest shook with every terrified flinch.
A sudden tal clang echoed behind Ethan and a shadow ca above them in the rafters.
Danielle forced her head up and saw that soone was there.
"Dani..Dani...Dani..."
Nobody knew what Ethan exactly was planning. This man had nothing to lose but everything to gain.
Ethan knew that kidnapping the president’s daughter would not only allow him to control the president but if by any chance, that slug Theo survived...he’d be very unhappy too.
No matter the circus, Ethan wasn’t going to blow himself up before he got his revenge.
"Oh, by the way, Frank?"
"Ye-Yes?!"
"Oopsiee dooppsie!"
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