"Let me get this straight," he managed finally, "you want me to give this live bomb to a little girl?"
"Not to kill her," Carter said. "Just as a scare."
"It's got hours before it goes off," Greg said. "They'll get the bomb squad in as soon as they see it, with plenty of time to play with. No one will get hurt."
"But it could go off accidentally! She might forget to give the 'gift' to her father!" Steve knew he wasn't acting how his character should be but he was too shocked to be able to control his emotions. He could not contemplate the idea of handing a child a live, ticking bomb. It went against his whole character, no matter what undercover assignment he was on.
Greg and Carter exchanged a glance, and Steve got a hold of himself. "It's just… I didn't think we wanted to hurt anyone. I just thought we threatened people with something they didn't want others to know about, you know, nothing that would cause real harm. This is crossing into a whole new area," he finished lamely.
There was a pause, then Carter spoke up. "We don't want to hurt anyone. And this isn't going to. Can you imagine the shock of the guy, his daughter has been given a bomb and he couldn't do anything about it. He'll pay up straight away. And no one will have been hurt."
"Things go wrong… I'm not doubting your expertise Greg," Steve said hastily. "But accidents happen. What if she drops it? I was never in this for murder."
Greg sighed. Carter said, "We can't stick to the same blackmailing tactics the whole way through. They lose impact, and it makes it boring for us. This is a tough task, but it will be the worst you have to do. The boss is really testing you with this. You do this, and he will know you are willing to do whatever he throws at you, and he will trust you. We aren't turning to violent strategies. They won't all be this controversial."
"I get it," Steve said grimly. "I'm in."
"Besides," Greg piped up. "Just think of the adrenaline rush you'll feel after having the nerve to do this. It's a great feeling."
Steve smiled weakly. "I bet," he said, hoping he sounded convincing, because inside he felt nothing but utter revulsion towards people who would endanger the life of an innocent girl and possibly her whole family in this way.
"She leaves school in three hours," Carter said. "Catch her at the gates. The address is in the file with her photo." He passed it to Steve. "You want to come back and get the bomb then?"
"No, I'll take it now," Steve said. "You said it's safe, right? Well, it can sit in my apartment for a coupla hours. I don't want you to get the wrong idea about me from what I said just now. I'm not chicken."
"We didn't have you down as one," said Carter. "It's a big job, you needed a moment to get your head round it. So, if you don't screw up, we'll introduce you to our hostage."
"I'll see you later," Steve said, picking up the box containing the gift bag and walking back outside to his pickup.
X X X
Mark took the opportunity of a slight lull to lean against the wall and take a deep breath. The day had been hectic, as he had been trying to cover his rounds and those of Jesse, who had not turned up that morning. He checked his watch. The young doctor was five hours overdue. It wasn't like him at all. Mark had started his rounds without too much concern, expecting to see Jesse at any moment. However, he hadn't turned up, and Mark had been too busy to do anything about it other than ask a nurse to give him a call. There had been no answer on his cell phone or at his apartment. Mark was now worried.
Amanda had been rushed off her feet too, as the ER had been more busy than usual that morning. She came down the corridor and saw Mark. "No word?" she asked.
Mark shook his head. "It's not like him, Amanda. Jesse's always here, or he'd let us know. When did you last speak to him?"
"I guess it was yesterday, during his shift. He was going to visit a friend of his."
"Yes, that's right," Mark remembered. "Someone ought to go over to his apartment and see if we can find him."
"Dr Martin and Dr Evans have just arrived early for their shifts to help us out, and things have calmed down anyway," Amanda informed him. "Why don't we go now? We're due a break."
"Yes," said Mark, grateful for the suggestion. He was probably over-reacting, but he had a bad feeling. He had too much pent-up worry anyway with Steve being undercover, and it was spilling over into concern over his friend. Or so he hoped.
X X X
Inside, Steve's thoughts were in turmoil. He knew there was no way he could give a live bomb to a little girl, but it was important he do this mission so that he could get on with his real assignment, finding out who was behind the gang he now worked for. And now, on top of that, he had a captive to worry about. Although he had had nothing to do with the kidnap, he had been involved in part of the attack on Mr Haughton-Handley, and he felt that in some way the kidnapping was due to his actions.
Taking the bomb now had nothing to do with putting on a show of bravado for Carter and Greg. He didn't want it anywhere near him, let alone sitting next to him at his apartment for three hours. He didn't share Carter's trust in Greg's bomb making abilities. Steve planned to take the bomb to the police station and get it swapped for a completely harmless fake replacement.
He indicated to take a right and checked his mirror. A few cars behind he saw a familiar dark car weave back out of view. Damn! Steve thought. It's Max. He's making sure I do the job properly. He was filled with panic for a moment. I am not giving this live bomb to the girl, he said firmly. But if I do anything else, I'll either blow my cover or if I just dump the package somewhere, Max will report that I haven't done it and I won't get any further with infiltrating the gang.
After a few moments of agonising indecision, Steve picked up his cell phone and dialled Cheryl as he drove.
"I can't talk long," he said as she picked up. He was afraid Max might get suspicious if he saw Steve making a call. "Meet me at my apartment with someone who knows how to disarm a bomb, right now. Only no marked cars on the street, you've got to be inside when I arrive and not be seen. I'm being followed."
"At your apartment?" Cheryl said uncertainly.
"Did you get that?" Steve said.
"I got it Steve. We'll be there in fifteen minutes." Cheryl picked up on the urgency in Steve's voice and needed no further explanation. Steve was glad she was the one backing him up on this assignment.
X X X
When he arrived twenty five minutes later he was glad to see no sign that anything looked different near his building. He had been worried that the captain might not have been happy that Steve was apparently taking a bomb into an apartment complex. Steve was less than happy about it himself, but he had been unable to see an alternative. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Max park up, and he took the box gingerly under his arm and entered the building. The box under his arm more than preoccupied him from the smell on the stairs and he climbed up to his room without holding his breath.
Outside his door he was intensely relieved to see Cheryl and a guy called Robert who he had met around the station.
"What's going on?" she asked, concerned.
"When we go inside you must be silent. It might be bugged," Steve warned them, then he explained his predicament in a whisper. "I want you to make the bomb fully safe," he told Robert. "But it needs to still look live, still counting down the time. Can you do that?"
"I'll have a go," Robert said, taking the box from Steve. Steve opened the door and they went inside. He and Cheryl stood off to one side to give Robert room, and they conversed by writing comments in Cheryl's police notebook and passing it back and forth. Steve turned on the TV to drown out excess noise.
Robert was an expert, and it only took him fifteen minutes before he turned round and put his thumbs up. "Well made, but simple," he scrawled on a piece of paper.
"Thanks. Go out a back way," Steve wrote back, observing the red numbers ticking down with a sense of relief now. The difficult job was far from over, but at least now no one, including himself, could get hurt.
X X X
"Jesse?" Amanda called, knocking on his front door. There was no answer.
Mark checked over his shoulder, and pulled an instrument from his jacket pocket. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind," he said, and quickly picked the lock on the front door. They went inside.
"No sign of him," Mark said after they had checked every room.
"His bed is made, but that doesn't mean he didn't sleep in it, just that he made it this morning," Amanda said. "There's no trace of him."
"Do you know the friend he was going to visit yesterday?" Mark asked. "We could check that he turned up there. It will give us more of an idea of when he went missing."
"No," said Amanda. "He mentioned the name Nathan, but I don't know where he lives."
Mark went over to the desk. He quickly found a book with addresses written in. He flicked through the pages. "Only one Nathan," he said triumphantly after a moment. "Nathan Haughton-Handley. I'm going over to visit him."
Amanda checked her watch. "I'd better get back to the hospital. There's plenty of work waiting for me in the lab. But let me know what you find."
"I will," Mark promised.
X X X
Steve had been sitting in his car near the school gates for half an hour. He had checked out the area. According to the file, Kaitlyn was always picked up late as the childminder had to drive across from her brother's school a few miles away. She always stood outside with a friend, which was when Steve should approach to deliver the package.
Steve realised that in all the drama over the bomb he had forgotten to tell Cheryl that Mr Haughton-Handley's son had been kidnapped. He was too wound up to call her now though. It would have to wait until later.
He heard a school bell ring distantly and watched as children started to file out of the school, most of them climbing onto school buses. He felt a knot of tension in his stomach and a cold clammy sweat had broken out. It wasn't that he was nervous about doing the task. It was that he still felt sickened by what he had to do, even though the bomb was now safe. He hated to cause a family the amount of upset he knew his 'present' would cause. Imagine if his father brought home a package that turned out to be a bomb. Steve could barely comprehend the anger he would feel. He could feel his temper rising at the mere thought of it. And now he had to give a bomb to a young girl.
He shook his head and tried to put all these thoughts to one side. He had to do this, for the purposes of the assignment. There was no point in dwelling on it. But deep down, he knew that this act would haunt him long after the assignment was finished and the gang were in jail.
I'm going to get them, he thought determinedly. Every last one of them. Locked up for a long time.
The photo of Kaitlyn Brown was inside the folder on the passenger seat next to him. Steve could sense it as if it was glaring at him accusingly. He saw a girl stop outside the gates and checked the photo. It was her. She sat down and started to play with some marbles she produced from a pocket. Soon the friend joined her and they played together as the crowds of school children dissipated around them.
After fifteen minutes the two girls were the only people in sight outside the school gates. It was now or never. Steve pulled on a pair of sunglasses and a hat that covered his hair. He was sure Cheryl would be able to bury a photo-fit of him if the girls managed to describe him accurately, but he wanted to make it as hard as possible.
He got out of the car and approached the girls. "Are you Kaitlyn?" he asked.
They looked up at him. "Yes," Kaitlyn answered.
"I'm a friend of your father's," he said. "I work with him. He's been very good to me recently and I wanted to give him a present. Would you give it to him for me?"
Kaitlyn looked at the bag and shrugged. "Sure," she said. "What is it?"
"Ah now, it's a surprise for your father. Don't open it now, will you?" said Steve.
"Okay," said Kaitlyn.
Steve gave her the bag containing the bomb and walked away. I hate myself, he thought.
