"SHIT!! How many minutes left?"
"23 minutes".
"Keep talking to him. The bomb squad is on the way."
"He doesn't look good. He needs his medication or his heart will fail him."
"Wang! I can't get his meds now. Just, just—-get him to do deep breathing or something! Give him a sweet! I will evacuate the students first." She said, as she was descending the stairs.
"Wang Yi Bo told him if his heart stops, the bomb will explode."
"What??!!" She stopped in her tracks. A rhythmic bomb timer.
"Shen. Either way, we need to get his meds. He blows up, we are gone." Didi started to sound desperate.
"Can we remove him?"
"SHEN!! HE IS HUNG UP MID-AIR WITH A TIME BOMB!! CAN YOU FUCKING GET HIS MEDS??!!!"
Yue pulled her phone away, shocked. He must be in distress.
"Where is it?"
"In his car. Just behind the hall. Quickly, Shen!! I'm going to try to bring him down."
She started to run. She forgot to end the call when she heard him said "I'm sorry I shouted at you." Somehow it made her smiled.
When she arrived at backstage, she gasped. What kind of animal would do this to his own professor? She felt sick in her stomach.
The man was suspended at least 8 feet above ground, with a bag strapped on him.
She scanned the area. Any movements might trigger the bomb.
"Wang, don't do anything."
"We can't just stand here and wait for the bomb to go off. "
"There might be an invisible wire that detect movement that will either quicken the timer or set the bomb off right away. I just had to be sure." She said, her eyes on the professor.
"Prof Yan! I'm Officer Shen! Can you hear me?!"
The man nodded his head weakly.
"We'll get you down. Can you focus on deep breathing? And don't look down." She took out her laser pen and started to shine it around. Nothing suspicious.
"Shen, we are running out of time!"
She nodded but the uneasy feeling in her did not go away. This seemed too easy. Prof Yan was tied up with a normal rope but the wire used to heave him above ground was the ones used in the theatre set-up.
"Wang Yi Bo really went great lengths to set this up. Like a show." She commented, thoughtfully.
Like a show. Spectacular.
"WAIT!!!" Yue shouted as Didi was lowering Prof Yan.
"What now? I can't hold on to him much longer."
"There might be another bomb. What he have on him is a distraction." She said.
Didi glanced at his watch. "You look for the second bomb and I will bring him down first. I need to save this man."
When Prof Yan arrived on the ground, they placed him by the pillar. The color on his cheeks came back as Didi gave him his meds.
Yue scrutinized the bomb on his chest.
11 minutes.
"What do we do now? The bomb squad is not here yet."
Yue caught his eyes and smiled. "We save the day. With what we have." She had found a tool box in Prof Yan's car and thought it might be handy.
She took a deep breath as she held the plier in between the wires. "Prof Yan, this bomb is said to track heartbeat. I can't risk you being here while I work on the wires. So, here is the plan. I'm sorry, Officer Wang, but I need to use your heart."
It was a less than 3 seconds when Yue quickly tug the bomb strap off and passed to Didi. The bomb timer started jumping during the exchange but once it detected his heartbeat, it went back to the usual rate.
Prof Yan looked at them with gratitude before he ran out of the room. Yue had asked him to evacuate everyone.
"How is this a better plan, Shen? Are you going to sacrifice me now?" Didi shuddered, looking at the bomb on his chest. She smiled steadily.
"They don't call me an expert for nothing. Now, let's see."
8 minutes.
"There is nothing complicated with the wiring. I can do this."
Spectacular...
"Wang, there might be a second bomb as I said. So...."
"If we can't stop it, we will make a run for it. "
She nodded. They still had not found the other bomb yet. If there was one.
She took a deep breath and eyed Didi, who was sweating profusely. "Smile, Wang He Di. I just saved your brains."
There was a click sound when she moved her plier. The timer stopped. They both paused to listen. Didi quickly removed the bomb and heaved a big sigh.
"I can breathe now! Let's celebrate."
Yue held her hand up. Why didn't she think of this? A rhythmic bomb could be connected to the other one and when one timer is killed, the other timer would start the countdown.
"I missed out something important." Her eyes landed at the pillar.
A black rectangular box was tucked behind the pillar where Prof Yan sat. Both of them did not noticed it untill now.
She opened the box and gasped!
2 minutes!
"WANG HE DI!!! Go and save yourself! I must try to diffuse this!"
"Are you crazy??! It's too late."
"NOOOOO!!! I can do it." She fumbled with the panel next to it, and frowned.
"Someone is controlling this from outside."
"WHAT???"
"I can't see anything that I can stop it with."
"Shen Yue, we have to go!!!" Didi shouted, grabbing her shoulders. Realization finally hit her as he pulled her along with him.
We are going to die.
But her partner did not seem to think so as he wrapped his arm around her waist and half carried her up the auditorium stairs, to the exit, without even blinking his eyes.
BABOOOMMMMMM!! KABBOMMMM!!!!
They flew out of the door and landed face down on the ground as splinters splattered all around them. They could hear the faint siren sound from a distance. Nobody would be able to stop today's bombing.
"Are you okay??!!" Didi shouted, his ears ringing.
Yue lifted her face and nodded. She turned back and saw the disaster behind them.
"Is anyone hurt?!!" She asked, trying to stand up but the sound in her ears were ringing so bad, that she swayed one side, unable to control her body.
Then, she saw him. A man standing right across from them, in dark glasses, grinning.
"WANG HE DI! THAT'S WANG YI BO!" She shouted, forgetting about the throbbing in her head.
"Where?" He asked turning his head but Yue was already running across the road. He could not see who she was chasing.
"Dammit!!"
He took off after her, and was just right behind her when he saw her dropping to the ground, unconscious.
"SHEN YUE!!!"
"Where am I?" She asked.
"At the hospital. You fainted. Doc said you were in shock."
She sat up, but held her head. "Ouch!" Her head still hurt. She blinked.
"What's wrong with my eyesight?"
"Oh, you have it too?" Didi asked. "Doc said it was from the impact of the bombing."
"Was anyone hurt? Did you catch Wang Yi Bo? Did you see him?!!! He was just right there, laughing at us!"
"Shen, I did not see anyone." Didi responded quietly.
"But he was just there!! How could you not see him, Officer Wang?"
"Are—, are you sure you did not imagine it? We searched the area. But we could not find anyone."
"He must have gone off, after I tried went after him," she said, her lips were tight.
"Good news is no students was hurt as you acted fast to evacuate them. But they found a security guard dead in the guard cubicle."
She removed the blanket on her and stood up. She could endure the pain in her head or the subtle ringing in her ears but her vision was holding her back.
As she tried to walk, she missed her foot and grabbed Didi's arm.
"How come you look fine?" She complained.
Didi chuckled. "Lucky me. We are lucky, Officer Shen."
"Help me, please. I need to get back to the university. We need to look for clues."
"The bomb squad will do it."
"I NEED TO BE THERE!" She shouted, suddenly. "It was my fault! I should have known about the bomb."
"It's not your fault."
"I should have stopped it!"
"How would you know? Stop it, Officer Shen! You are in no capability to work today. Go home and rest. Start fresh tomorrow. Peng and Yu Zheng are on the case today. They will fill us in tomorrow. Are you listening to me?"
She was looking down, furious tears were pouring. She wiped her eyes with her sleeves and looked up.
Didi's heart squeezed.
"Please take me home. I'm tired."
He nodded and entwined her arm around his. The car ride back was quiet.
About two hours later, after a warm bath and light dinner, she was tossing and turning on the bed. She was bone tired, yet her brain was running 200km/ hour.
What happened this afternoon got her stumped and baffled.
How could she have missed it? What is his motive of bombing his university? Is there going to be more? He was right there and we did not catch him!
She let out a loud grunt and sat up on the bed, frustrated. Her vision was restored, the ringing gone. She changed her attire and grabbed her purse.
Where can I go to unwind myself?
"Did you see my friend?" He asked the bartender, who pointed at Yue, her face slumped on the counter.
Didi sighed. "Thanks, Hao-ge. I owe you one." The big stocky guy just nodded.
"Shen. Time to go home. You shouldn't be here."
"Didi!!!!! Let's have a drinking match again! Waiter! Give me more beer."
"You are drunk!"
"No, I can hold my alcohol! Let's drink to our lives! Answer my riddle. Why do cats have nine lives?"
"I dunno. Stop it!" Didi said, holding the glass she was about to drink from.
"Because the bomb gets to them nine times!!!!" She cackled away. "Laugh Didi! How many times do we get bombed? Me..... I tell you... "
She put her face closer to his, whispering, "Five fucking times. Beijing, Mongolia, Suzhou, Nanking, and this bloody Cheng Du. I win, they die. Always."
Her face landed on the counter and she remained still.
Didi tapped her cheek. "Shen? Shen? Gosh. How much did she drink to get this drunk?"
He heaved her over his back and carried her to his car. Yue was quiet as a mouse.
He glanced over to check on her before sighing out loud. The bomber had totally made a fool out of everyone, especially his boss. He had not seen her as upset as today. He wanted to hold her when she cried. He wished he saw the bomber and ran after him instead.
When he arrived at her apartment, he realized he did not have her passcode. "Shen? I need your passcode."
She was snoring.
He dialed Peng's number but he did not have it either. This left him no choice. He started the ignition and turned the other way. Tomorrow when she wakes up, she would be in big surprise.
Author's notes:
Hi I'm back! Been extremely busy with CNY celebrations and work! I thought I will catch up on this story before writing for ONC 2021. Have you read Chapter 1 of "Shadow Hunters?" ☺️ I would love your comments.
Meanwhile what do you think about this chapter?
💜💛 Hsien
Published 7.3.2021