An Imperial Affliction

Chapter 11- Danger is everywhere

the only reason she is camping into forensic lab because she truly believes she can help with her work experience in bomb squad and try to find more about this bomb. right now, as her eyes glance over the table, every inch of it hidden under metallic pieces and wires and coffee mugs, a notepad with various diagrams and ingredients names and composition pattern written on it, several papers curled into ball and lying all over the floor, a single pencil in between her fingers, her figure bracing itself against the table's edge, she felt oddly accomplished. yes, she did figure out some things about this thing.

she glanced around and frowned, then looked at clock. funny, she didn't remember time passing this much that its 3 in the morning.

she looked back at the table, going over all the info her mind stored. for once, it was not normal bomb, like the law enforcement encounter every now and then. the metal was different, stronger, to endure bigger impact. the chemical compound was ten time complicated to make sure nobody in the 500 meter radius survive. she was estimating the bomb to leave an impact at least till 2 KM area, enough to kill 200 people and injure several hundred others.

but there was only a tiny confusion.

she heard the bomb went off after the first crime scene was discovered, and if the team's theory is right, it was timed to set off like that. but she could not get anything to indicate it was a time bomb, and naturally, time bombs don't have these much complexities as there are already so many. if someone triggered it manually . . . it's not possible also, the first crime scene indicated the person was already dead or fatally injured, and the DNA matched from both places. the dried blood indicates 6 to 8 hours had passed before the person was injured, in no way he or she can survive this long, and for what? blowing him/herself?

it doesn't make any sense, and yet, she felt she was overlooking something.

the pen moved faster in between her fingers.

she spent several other hours on floor, sitting against the wall and staring into nothing as she went through everything over and over again and tried to make sense how someone can upgrade a time bomb to make it so much powerful, and well plan the entire sequence, finding the first crime scene, and then the perfect timing to explode it when ETF was already there. the possibility that, someone was targeting the team, also crossed her mind, but then, why not explode in the warehouse itself and finish it once for all? why this trailer? unless, there was bigger plan behind all this.

her focus was snapped when her nostrils filled with divine smell of Mc D's coffee and she found the Director on her eye level, kneeled on floor and holding the familiar red mug out for her.

she took it, and sighed as the drink reached her taste buds, "looked like you had a wild night with metals." the Director remarked dryly, taking in the scene. she hummed in response.

"Now pack it all, ATS will be here shortly." she said, bracing herself for her reaction. the ACP didn't disappoint, the coffee mug stilled right before her lips and she frowned, clearly displeased.

"I understand I have spent over 12 hours in here, but when did this happen?" she inquired, lowering the mug and staring at the Director which bordered on temper.

"ATS handles this sort of things." the Director replied, "We came to a conclusion that the explosion in warehouse was probably a test for a bigger attack, and ATS is perfect for this."

"Your team was called for that crime scene, not ATS." the former replied, now glaring. the Director sighed.

"There might be plans for several other blasts. we might have been stumbled upon something big."

"So we need to investigate it rather than shifting departments."

"Its not a competition to see which department can solve the most complicated cases." the Director replied sternly, "it's their territory, we did what we could, now we let them take over."