No one else wanted to give up. Max, Jake and every other person on site was doing the work. Putting themselves in danger and totally focused on achieving the best possible outcome. They weren’t throwing themselves pity parties or telepathically negotiating with terrorists because they were tired and their backs ached.
Sinking her teeth into her bottom lip, she reached for her radio.
“Hey, Jake,” she called. Her voice quavered a bit, but there was no point in trying to pretend she was anything other than completely freaked out. There was a ghost in this machine, and she was stuck here with it.
“Copy,” came his reply.
“I think y’all need to come down here,” she said. “Someone’s messing with this thing.”
A beat passed before his reply came through. “Messing with what thing?”
“The carousel,” she clarified. “Our friend on the other end said they wanted to speed things up. I do believe they meant it literally.”
“Come again?”
“Either the motor on this ride is malfunctioning, or our bomber has a way to control the speed.” She drew a deep breath. “Regardless, I don’t think we’re going to have as much time as we’d like to find those other devices.”
“You have new messages?”
Cassidy found herself hoping the breathlessness she heard in his response meant he was on his way. As much as she wanted this to be over, she wanted the good guys to be the ones speeding up the timeline.
“I do,” she answered. “You might ask Colonel Aronson to come, too. I think this may be a game changer.”
Within ten minutes, both men jumped aboard the carousel while another team inspected the ride controls in an attempt to determine why she’d picked up speed. Cassidy heard one tech say something about a throttle and another reply in the negative, but for the most part, she was absorbed by the debate taking place between Jake and his superior.
“Sir, I think we should—”
“I heard you the first five times, Donovan,” Aronson interrupted. “But I am in charge of this investigation, and I disagree. I’ll ask the other K-9 teams to search for any devices we haven’t yet located, but I have to cover investigation on the five that have blown, and we have to disrupt the circuitry on those we’ve identified.”
“But, sir—” Jake tried again.
Aronson shook his head. “You can consult with Ms. Walker on what she thinks the most likely spots are,” he said with a nod to Cassidy. “I agree with your perimeter assessment, Ms. Walker. I do believe the circle is tightening. Unfortunately, I also agree with your conclusion we’re standing at ground zero.”
“I have a feeling this might be one of those rare times when I hate being right,” she said dryly.
The older man’s face softened slightly. “Is there anything I can do for you, Ms. Walker? Anything you need?”
“Other than a trip to the ladies’ room?” It was a sad attempt at levity. “No, sir.”
Jake frowned as he looked around. “May we can rig something—”
This time, Cassidy derailed his train of thought. “Seriously?” She glared at Jake, incredulous. “No, thank you.”
“But you’ve been on here for hours and—”
“And I’m good,” she insisted. “Sheesh. Go find a bomb or something.”
He scowled at her. “We have got to find a way to slow this down.”
Cassidy looked around, then shrugged. “Honestly? Moving faster is a little easier to stomach.” She gave them a wry smile. “But don’t tell my fan club I said so. They go any faster, it might fling me straight off.” She paused as if considering the possibility. “On second thought…”
“Ha, ha,” Jake scoffed.
She quirked an eyebrow. “I’m not entirely kidding.”
“You can’t jump now,” Jake shot back. “You’d look like one of those jokers who put their foreheads on a baseball bat and spin before trying to run to first base.”
Thankfully, Colonel Aronson stepped in to halt their inane conversation before it veered into the ridiculous. “The speed is going to make it harder to gauge the timing on jumping down,” he commented, eying the concourse whizzing past warily.
