A/N- Sorry! I know that I was supposed to have this out YESTERDAY, but school's a bitch. So here's the next chapter.

Chapter 13

I was losing strength rapidly. I knew the poison was spreading through my bloodstream and I personally didn't have much time left.

But neither did anyone else.

"There is a bomb on the dress that I'm wearing. You have to evacuate everyone right now!"

"No. We'll just take the dress off—"

"They've already thought about that! The bomb is heat activated. It started the countdown the moment it touched my skin. If you take it off, it'll detonate immediately."

I saw the color drain out of Michael's face. "How much time left before it goes?"

"Five minutes."

He swallowed hard, but nodded. "Alright then."

Knowing what I had to do, I called to and Maloney. "Quickly, I need you to evacuate everybody right now.

"Why?"

"There's a bomb on Mia's dress set to go off in five minutes."

I didn't need to say anything else. Immediately, Maloney got up on the stage and cleared his throat authoritatively. "Excuse me ladies and gentlemen."

"Laurel!" I called.

She came over with a puzzled look on her face.

"Philippe is looking for Montebello right now. Go help him."

She nodded. "I'm on it."

Maloney's speech continued to ring in my ears. "…many of you may be confused as to the events that have unfolded tonight."

I turned to Mia and asked, "Where's the bomb?"

She turned around and I spotted the faint blinking red light underneath the layers of soft ivory satin. I knelt down and pulled out a tool kit that I always carried with me.

"…unfortunately, we cannot disclose all of our information to you tonight, seeing as how most of us are quite confused ourselves. However, we must ask you to evacuate this building immediately."

"How big is it, do you think?" I asked her.

"I don't know. I can't feel it."

It must have been small then. "Hold on." I said as I tore off the layers of cloth that were in my way.

"…for you own safety, I ask you to calmly head towards the exits in an orderly fashion and stay a safe distance away from this building."

I finally found a small black object with thousands of complicated wires coming out of it latched onto to a thin sheet of cloth. "I found it," I told her.

The confused, and slightly pissed off, multitudes of glittery people pushed past me on their way to the exits.

After examining the bomb carefully for a few moments, my heart sank. "This is one of the most complicated bombs I've ever seen."

"I trust you."

It never ceases to amaze how much those words can inspire me.

Immediately, my mind somehow cleared when I realized I had less than a minute to turn this thing off.

Which wire to cut…

Oh god, I didn't know which wire to cut!

I could almost hear the time ticking away as the blinking red light started to flash brighter and faster.

Goddamn it, I know this! I passed this course with flying colors, I swear! I came up with a riddle to help me remember this!

Then I remembered Mia.

"Roses are red…" I murmured as I looked at the red wire.

I clipped the green wire.

And immediately, the blinking stopped.

I hazily heard Michael's triumphant voice announce, "Yes!"

I nodded slowly. "Thank you…"

And the next thing I know, my knees gave in.

"Mia! MIA!" I screamed.

Then I remembered.

Oh god, the poison!

I checked my watch. The kidnapper poisoned her at midnight.

I had forty-five minutes.

I gathered Mia in my arms, but I heard the clean click-clacking of wooden heels on the polished tile floor. "So, you have managed to stop the explosion," A voice sneered at me from behind.

I gently set Mia down and stood up. Behind me was Pietro Montessori, or actually, Federico Montebello. "But you cannot administer to her the antidote in time. She will die."

The anger and hate began to boil up in my veins. He had done this to her. And he was going to pay.

"I mean, hell, you don't even know what or where the antidote is!"

At that, I launched myself at him and threw him to the ground, pressing his face against the floor. "Where is it?"

"Like I'll ever tell you," He huffed.

"WHERE IS IT?"

He threw me off of him and pulled out a gun. "I wouldn't try an attack like that again, Signor Moscovitz."

I didn't care how he knew my name. All I cared about was the time ticking slowly on Mia's life. "Why do you want to kill her?"

"I want to make the Dowager Princess suffer," He said with a gleam of malice in his eye. "I want to make her feel the pain that we Monacoans have endured because of her!"

"Then leave Mia out of this!"

He gave me a strange look, then laughed. "I should have known. You are the one that she loves, aren't you?"

I refused to say anything.

"Oh. Well perhaps you could use a lesson in suffering as well."

Quick as a flash, I pulled out my gun and three shots were fired in rapid succession.

Only two of them were mine.

As soon as Montebello was down, I remembered I still had my earpiece. "Laurel?"

"Michael! I can't find Montebello! We've been looking everywhere!"

I tried to stem the flow of blood that was gushing profusely from the wound in my shoulder. "He's here in the ballroom. I shot him a couple of times, he might be dead."

"We're on it."

"I'm taking Mia to the hospital."

I checked my watch. Thirty minutes.

Ignoring my screaming shoulder joint, I lifted Miaover my good shoulder andran to the nearest taxi.

A/N- This story's coming to a close. Two chapters,at most.

I alsohave another story that I want to put up, so look for that soon.

Please review.