CHAPTER 16

Barry and Santana managed to follow the tracker which could track the bombs and reveal Iris's location. It led to an abandoned warehouse just a few blocks away from their school.

"Okay. There might be traps which could automatically detonate the explosives. We have to be careful, "Barry warned.

"Great," Santana replied, rolling her eyes. She didn't even know why she was on this suicide mission helping a guy wearing the face of their rival who gave them nothing but grief in the past. However, for some reason she trusted him. Besides, she was basically helping him save the world. She still couldn't wrap her head around all the science-fiction (well, science FACT) stuff going on right now. She decided not to think about it much.

She watched as Barry examined the front doors of the warehouse. At this moment she was extremely glad that he was an actual scientist…CSI…whatever, because a non-CSI would probably not know how to look for clues if the place was booby trapped or not. She gave lame nerds a lot of grief, but she had to admit, they do come in handy during life-threatening situations like this.

"Okay, it seems safe. Which means, either Tremor thinks we're complete idiots and threw caution in the wind, or the traps are waiting for us inside," Barry told her.

"I'm guessing it's the latter," Santana replied. Barry just nodded.

They opened the door and they saw the unconscious form of a tied-up Iris on a chair. There was a nasty gash on her forehead. Santana could feel the rage oozing out of Barry at the sight, but he was still careful and made his way slowly to her. Iris was bleeding slightly, but apart from her being unconscious, she seemed all right. Not for long though. Unfortunately, the chair was connected to the explosives and after examining it, Barry did not look confident in the slightest.

"Oh God. The look on your face says it all. What is it?" Santana asked.

"If we move Iris, these explosives will level this entire city. However, the timer seems to be set to 1 minute. Once we move her, it starts, "He said.

"Wells said you can use your speed to contain it, that's more than enough time, right? We'll be fine," Santana said, sounding a lot more confident than she actually felt. Barry nodded but seemed unsure.

At that moment, they heard Wells through their earpieces he outfitted them with so they could communicate.

"I have bad news. We just discovered that the school is also outfitted with these bombs. Tremor thought of everything, Barry. As fast as you are, you can't be at two places at once. I don't know what to do. We're all dead either way," Wells said, despair plain in his voice. Santana wished this was all a horrible dream. She considered pinching herself, but she knew she could never dream up something this terrible. She turned to Barry, completely defeated but to her surprise, he had a steely look in his eye.

"No. We are not giving up. We have to find a way. Wells, you are one of the smartest people I know. Figure out a plan. We are too close to give up," Barry told him.

"Barry, these bombs I designed are too advanced, I can't disarm them without proper equipment and move them – "

"That's it!" Santana exclaimed. Barry looked at her in confusion. "Dr. Wells, if you can figure out a way to move them without detonating them – not disarming them – just figuring out a way to move the bombs without them being set off, Barry could speed them to this warehouse and he could contain all the bombs together!"

Barry's eyes lit up and he grinned, "That could definitely work."

Wells was silent but he finally replied solemnly, "Barry, that much energy and firepower could kill you." Santana's heart fell as she looked at Barry once again.

"Just do it Dr. Wells. Whatever happens to me, happens. I promised I would keep everyone safe and that's what I'm planning to do. I'm not about to fail right now, "Barry countered. Santana couldn't help looking at him in awe. She was unsure of him before, but she couldn't help having some newfound respect for the guy. He was prepared to sacrifice himself for people he barely knew. He truly is a hero.

Barry gently removed the gag on Iris's mouth as she regained consciousness. There was fear in her eyes but when she saw them, she was more confused than scared.

"Wha…what's happening?"

"Iris, it's all right. We're here to help you. Look I don't know how much you know about what's going on but – "

"I know enough. Help me out of these restraints. I can help you take down that bitch. "Iris replied, determination plain on her face. Santana smiled in spite of herself as Barry looked at Iris, proud.

"Good. We're gonna need all the help we can get," Santana told Iris. They filled her in on what was happening, and Barry told her to be ready. He was going to move them. They would only have one minute. All they could hope for now was Dr. Well's signal that he managed to move the bombs to the front entrance of the school. They were running out of time.