Don’t Blink

“So he dials some numbers and we all go boom – is that how it works?” I asked.

“Only one number… speed dial,” said Keller. He motioned to Elizabeth. “Somewhere on her is the ringer of another phone that’s wired to a detonating cap. Simple. ETA pioneered it before it was adopted by jihadists, and now apparently Italian hit men.”

Keller assumed I knew what ETA was, given my profession. He was right, and it didn’t stand for “estimated time of arrival.” ETA was Spain ’s homegrown terrorist network.

“Uh, excuse me, but shouldn’t we be calling the bomb squad or something?” asked the engineer. He was still sitting on the floor of the train, a little dazed but clearly comprehending the situation.

“Trust me, they’re already on their way,” answered Keller. “The problem is, we can’t wait for them.”

It wasn’t exactly the answer the engineer was looking for. “Why not?” he asked, half a beat before I did.

“Because right now any phone can detonate this bomb,” said Keller. “All Torenzi has to do is get to one.”

“So what do we do?” I asked.

“We don’t do anything,” said Keller. “I need both of you guys to clear out of here right now. A hundred yards, no less than that. Move it. Go.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” I said flatly. “I’m staying right here. Period.”

It was the easiest decision I’d ever made, and it didn’t seem to surprise Keller that much. He didn’t bother fighting me on it. Instead, he turned to the engineer and cut straight to the chase.

“You married?” asked Keller.

The guy wasn’t quite ready for a pop quiz, easy as it was. He was still rocking and reeling from all the action he’d had in the past hour.

“I said, are you married?” repeated Keller.

“Yes,” said the engineer.

“Any kids?”

Keller didn’t say another word.

He didn’t have to.

“I’m out of here. Good luck,” said the engineer. “I’m praying for you.”

Chapter 98

I WATCHED THROUGH the window for a few seconds as the engineer did the right thing and got the hell away from the train. Then Keller got down to business. Very tricky, very risky business.

“Okay, Elizabeth, all you need to do is relax,” he said in a soft voice. “The first thing we’re going to do is take off the sweater you’re wearing. Okay with you?”

She clenched her fists and nodded. “Okay.” What a trouper. Like I said, the bravest kid I know.

Ever so slowly, Keller unzipped the rest of Elizabeth ’s green sweater, past the little embroidered flower and all the way to the bottom. The farther down he went, the more I had to stifle my urge to gasp at all the wires – and the bomb attached to them.

“You’re doing great, Elizabeth, really great. This should be no problem at all,” said Keller. He wasn’t about to scare her any more than she already was, but I could tell from his face that the “no problem” talk was just that. Talk. Probably to keep Elizabeth ’s and his mind off what was actually happening.

Of course, the one thing he hadn’t factored in was Elizabeth ’s amazing sense of smell. As in, she could smell bullshit from a mile away. Even more so when the person was right in front of her.

“It’s worse than you thought, isn’t it?” she finally asked.

“Not necessarily,” said Keller, peeling the sweater off her shoulders. Then he pushed around a few of the wires for a better look at the explosives. They literally crisscrossed the front of Elizabeth ’s undershirt like an X.

“Are you sure you should be doing this?” I asked.

Keller kept poking and prodding while answering me, as if to make his point. “This C-4 stuff is as stable as it comes. You could shoot it with a gun and it wouldn’t explode.”

You learn something new every day. Even when it could be your last.

“So, what does make it explode?” I asked.

“A shock wave combined with extreme heat,” said Keller, “created by triggering these wires co

“Couldn’t we just slip everything off her? Right up over her head?”

“That’s what I’m checking to see,” he said as he continued to poke and prod. “The way whoever built this has it configured, though, I’m not sure -”

Keller suddenly stopped cold, and he looked as if he’d seen a ghost.

“What is it?” I asked. “Tell me.”

Instead, he showed me. He pulled me closer and pointed at it, clear as could be.

It was worse than a ghost, actually.

It was a timer – ticking backwards.

Chapter 99

“UNCLE NICK? WHAT’S happening? What’s going on? Why aren’t either of you talking?”

Elizabeth reached out for me, her pale, slender hands waving helplessly in the air. She started to move toward me but Keller held her back.

“Nick, come hold Elizabeth,” he said. “Can you do that? Keep her hands up.”

I swung around behind Elizabeth, doing exactly as Keller said. “Don’t move,” I whispered in her ear. “I’m right here with you.”

Over her shoulder I could still see the timer, a cheap plastic stopwatch that was taped to the cell phone behind one of the blocks of C-4.

Fifty-four seconds!

And heading in the wrong direction…

Keller had no time to think. He was winging it, fast and furious. Then, like a switchboard operator on speed, he began pulling out the detonator wires one by one.

“How much time?” he asked.

“Forty seconds!” I said.

He pulled out another wire. There were three to go. Then two. My eyes were pinballing back and forth between the timer and his hands.

“Talk to me,” he said.

“Thirty seconds!”

Keller was down to the last wire. “Just one more,” he said under his breath. “C’mon, now…”

He gripped the C-4 to hold it steady. All he had to do now was pull on the wire and ease it out like he’d done with all the others.

“Shit!” said Keller.

The wire wasn’t moving.

“Pull harder!” I yelled.

“I am!” he yelled back. “He must have glued it.”

Twenty-five seconds!

Keller looked at me and then out the door of the train. I saw the spark of an idea light his face. A last-gasp idea? Probably.

“Wait! Where are you going?” I said.

He was already sprinting toward the front of the car, heading for the engineer’s cabin. Seconds later, the train jerked and sputtered. It was moving along the track again.

“Pick her up!” he barked, ru

“What?”

“Lift her off the ground! Do it! Right now!”

“Please do it!” Elizabeth joined in.

I grabbed Elizabeth by the elbows and hoisted her up. Suddenly Keller pulled the bomb over her waist and down her legs, sliding it off her feet.

Damn it! I couldn’t see the timer anymore. All I could see was Keller pointing out the door of the train at the green of trees. The train was gaining speed.

“Jump!” he yelled. “Jump now!”

I scooped up Elizabeth, cradling her in my arms as I turned toward the door – and then leaped through the air after him.

There was no tuck and roll, only a thud – my feet barely hitting the ground before I fell onto my back to shield Elizabeth. The snap! I heard was another one of my ribs, the pain shooting through my body like an angry rocket.

Still cradling Elizabeth in my arms, I turned to watch the train zoom by us, the head car that was carrying the bomb getting smaller and smaller. But not small enough.

“Get up!” barked Keller. “Run!”

I scrambled to my feet with Elizabeth as Keller grabbed my arm to lead the way. We raced along the tracks, putting as much distance as we could between us and the -

BOOM!