An Imperial Affliction

Chapter 9 - The two things that snap people out

The two things that snap people out from their smooth mask to show the world - Getting hurt and Love someone. The feeling is primal, raw, unabashed.

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"Oh my God we are going to die!" panicked the crime journo, her eyes widening and boring holes in the electronic device with colorful lights blinking, gulping every now and then.

"Shut. Up." came the biting reply of ACP Mukherjee, her fingers clutching a small knife as she cut wires on the device, eyes fixed on it, "somebody get her outta here."

"we should wait for bomb squad." Second in command Rawte ran his fingers through hair, clearly panicked and displeased with the situation.

"Then wait." the former replied, really want to glare at the man herself but not moving her eyes from the device, "I am not waiting around."

"Alright kids, lets focus on the elephant in the bus stop." Sameer said, as much calm as he can manage, "there is no timer on this thing, that should be good, right?"

"That only means someone has the trigger to blast it." she informed, now turning her neck to give the trio beside her a look, "Get out. Now."

ETF has a spectacular start of a day, they arrived at a bus stop to look for a man who was running from the police on his way to jail, but then they heard some people yelling bomb and running toward south and suddenly all the worries about escaped criminal was forgotten. People stumbled and ran all over each other, and by the time police arrived to barricade the whole place, there were only 4 of them and police several hundred feets away from them, not wanting to be any part of a bomb blast.

"That means the person with trigger might be watching us right now? waiting to explode it?" the crime journo panicked, "We are sure going to die!"

Rathore gave her a look, barely opening his mouth to tell her to take a deep breath and calm down, when Rawte kneeled down beside ACP Mukherjee and asked, "Do you have any idea what to do with this thing?"

"Of course she has." The crime journo recovered momentarily, voice shaking and foot tapping in a nervous reaction, "she was in bomb squad."

Your knowledge when it comes to her is unsettling, Rathore was saying to himself, when a police came near them, tiptoeing as if a wrong move will set off the bomb, and nearly dragged Sakshi away. she looked torn between staying and leaving, offering Sameer or Rawte to come, but the men didnt want to leave another officer alone with this electronic killing machine. when she went away, the air was silent for the first time in 30 minutes.

"They are arriving." he said to his both team mates as he received a call from ETF office and ended it, giving a look to the lady officer's head, "the Director is not pleased with you."

"I am not exactly hoping for medal." she replied, face twisting as she cut another wire, then frowning at the device. beside him came the exasperated sigh of Rawte, somewhere along the line he had come to accept both her biting replies and recklessness which bordered on stupidity, not that he had any other option. he turned to look at his best friend cum colleague, and the man give a look.

"Dont even think to shoo me away. If I leave, you both will fight and make the bomb explode on its own."

the most admiring quality in Sameer Rathore was his ability to lighten the atmosphere, irrespective of the situation. the second in command sighed in resignation, while the ACP's lips curled upwards.

"I am taking a guess here." she said after some moments, "your last chance."

"Go ahead.'' the senior officer said, and the second in command gave his silent support. her fingers paused for less than a sec, then she pulled the blue wire from the device.