“Nope, not when it comesto you telling us to leave you for dead.”
“And we never will,” Samsaid as he moved behind Aiden.“Fuck, your wrists are bleeding.Letme get this rope off.We’ll have to get the blood off so that youcan work.”
Nick looked at the vest and swallowedthe lump of fear that rose in his throat.The vest was an ordinarylooking flack vest but had wires running along the seams and downthe front.Wires flowed into each and every pocket of the vest, andNick knew there was C4 or something similar in each compartment.There was a small screen in the center that was all lit up, andNick thought that if this was a movie, there would be a clockticking down on the display.
“Right,” Aiden said calmlyas he used Sam’s shirt to wipe the blood from his palms, his gazelocked to the vest.“Hand me my Leatherman, and let’s see if Ican’t save the fucking day.”
Nick watched as Aiden calmly began toassess the vest in more detail, trailing each and every wire hecould reach and asking Sam or him to trace those that ran aroundhis back.He worked methodically, separating wires, and cuttingsome almost immediately, and he continued to talk to himself as heworked.
“Sam,” Marcel’s voice cameover the comms, and the three of them stilled.
“Yeah?”
“Muir doesn’t look sogood,” Marcel advised.“His breathing is shallow and his skin hasan odd pallor to it.”
Sam frowned.“Check his pulse.Is itslowing down?”
There was a pause for a moment.“Negative, it’s racing like crazy.”
Sam cursed.“Fucker’s having a heartattack.Go faster, Aiden.”
This time Aiden cursed, and hisfingers began to move faster on the vest.There were still way toomany wires on the vest for Nick’s liking
“I’ve disconnected thecircuit to the IED’s on the path up here,” Aiden said, his voicesounding a little ragged.“But I can’t disconnect the damnexplosives on the vest because I can’t find the connection toMuir’s heartbeat.”
“Then just take thefucking thing off,” Nick snapped.
Aiden’s head shot up.“What if thatsets it off?I can’t see if he’s set anything beneath thevest.”
“We don’t have a choice,”Sam said as he dropped to his knees beside Aiden.“Take it off,then let’s get outta here.Either way, we go together.Three ofus.”
Nick dropped down next to Sam, puttingone hand on Aiden’s knee and wrapping his other arm around Sam’swaist.“Just as it’s meant to be.The three of us, together to thevery end.”
Aiden met his gaze, and Nick read somany emotions in his eyes it was hard to name them all.“Okay.Youready?Once I get this off, we run.”
Nick nodded, standing up so that hecould yank Aiden from the chair and physically carry him from thisplace if necessary, and Sam followed suit on the otherside.
“I love you, both of you,with everything that I am,” Aiden whispered.Then after two quickdeep breaths, he ripped the seam that ran up his right side untilthe garment hung from him, and then he yanked it over his head andthrew it as far away as he could.
Nick was about to yank Aiden up andinto his arms, but Sam beat him to it.
“Run!”Sam yelled and thenall three of them were sprinting for the relative safety of thetrees.They were about ten feet from them when a blast behind themthrew them into the air, and Nick could feel the heat of it as thepercussion wave hit them.He hit the ground and grunted in pain asthe shock rocked through his already abused body.He lay there fora moment, and just as he was about to lift his head, anotherexplosion sounded, followed by a further three in quicksuccession.
Nick dropped his head to his arms andwaited for it to stop, the sound of debris falling all around themthe only sound he could hear over the slight ringing in his ears.When it seemed to have stopped, he lifted his head to look at thecarnage around them.Trees were burning, embers and debris litteredthe forest floor around them, and he could hear sirens off in thedistance that said help was on its way.
He looked over to where Sam and Aidenlay, both of them looking around just as he was.“You twookay?”
Both nodded.
“What the fuck was that,Aiden?I thought you said you had that circuit closed off and thoseother three wouldn’t explode?”
Aiden sat up, rubbing his sore wristand shrugged.“What can I say?The prick must have had a failsafetimer in that last one.I’m not fucking perfect, youknow.”
Sam laughed as he wrapped an armaround Aiden’s shoulder.“Oh, I don’t know.I think you’re prettydamn perfect myself.”
And Nick couldn’t help butagree.
ChapterFourteen
