Table + Flashlight + IEDs
By Rosie Calais
Trapped under a collapsed building with a ticking bomb, Mac must find a way to save himself with nothing but a dead flashlight and his wits.
2011, Afghanistan
The bomb is tucked away in the dark space under an old table that's shoved up next to a cabinet in a kitchen of the otherwise empty house. Mac might have missed it except that the shadows shifted just slightly at exactly the right time. He pulls out his flashlight and sure enough, there it is, a suspiciously placed basket definitely covering something that shouldn't be there. "Found it."
He lays his EOD tech kit on the floor, placing his red knife on top of it because it'll be harder to get out of his pocket when he's crouching down. He takes off his bulky tac vest and lays it just to the side, pulling the radio cable loose so he can keep the earpiece in without having to fiddle with the button. Then he folds himself under the table, holding the flashlight in his mouth. Moving slowly, alert for anything unexpected, he shifts the old basket that's covering the IED so he can examine the bomb's guts.
Jack arrives from the other room, already chastising him. "Did you take your vest off? Are you suicidal? Put that back on."
Mac has to take the flashlight out of his mouth to answer. "There isn't enough room under here for me and that vest. And we're indoors. And you're standing right there, Jack."
"That's still not a good idea," Jack grumbles. "Can we move that table out of the way to get you more room to work?"
"I'm not sure yet. It's got a timer, so probably, but I can't see if there's anything else on the back of it."
"So you need a few more minutes?"
"Uh-huh." It wasn't really likely that the timer was a decoy, but Charlie always said not to make assumptions when you could examine the evidence. "I could use more light. A couple spare flashlights from the truck. Oh, and the med kit."
Jack leans down, his voice sharp. "You hurt?"
"No." Mac waves at the table legs. "I need the gauze to hold up the flashlights."
"Oh." Jack flashes him a grin. "Sure thing, hoss. I'll fetch 'em. Don't you go anywhere."
He's sure sending Jack on an errand will keep him busy, but Jack's only quiet for a minute as he steps out of the building, probably checking the street, then the older man starts to complain about something, but Mac isn't really listening. He's got a bomb to decipher and a bomb needs his full attention. That's why he has Jack to keep an eye on everything else.
He's not really sure sometimes how they manage to get along. But they do, usually. It's been a couple months since Jack's tour was supposed to be up and Jack shows no signs of seeking out another duty, which still strikes him as odd. There are things Jack talks around instead of about, and enough of them that Mac has the sense that Jack's talents might be a bit wasted, tailing him around the desert.
Not that Mac doesn't appreciate it. It's just that there are better things Jack could be doing. He doesn't understand why Jack's not off doing them.
With his single flashlight, he can only get a peek at the wires, circuit board, and explosive that are tucked away under the timer. The truck isn't far away and there are forty-five minutes left on the bomb's timer. He can wait a minute or two. He sits back to wait and bumps his helmet on the underside of the table.
"I really hate this town," Jack's saying, his voice half-drowned out by the sound of the humvee's heavy doors slamming shut. "I swear this is the fifth time we've been here this month. Somebody's really enjoying dragging us out here. When we get back, I'm going to have a little chat with—" He breaks off suddenly, and his voice goes alert. "Hold on. I don't remember this being here."
"What being where?"
There's a half-second of silence before Jack starts yelling. "No-no-no-no. Mac, get out of there, there's another bomb and it's about to—"
The explosion is so loud that later he's not sure if he heard it as much as he felt it, the enormous wave of pressure that makes the building seem to jump off its foundation. Then everything goes dark as the building comes down on top of him.
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This story will have 6 chapters which I'm planning to post over the next few weeks. Hope you're looking forward to a good ol' collapsed building story. :D