The Prison-Made Queen novel Chapter 933

"Once a device like this has an anti-tamper rig, the only way to defuse it is to snip the primary trigger wire with absolute precision. One wrong cut, or even slightly jostling the casing, and this whole floor goes up."

He glanced at the timer. "We're down to two minutes and fifteen seconds. I don't have enough time."

"Then... what the hell do we do?"

"Is there another way out?"

Bason immediately shot that down. "We scoped the perimeter. This stairwell is the only exit. Elevators are dead, and the fire doors are welded shut from the outside."

"Fuck! Do we just run for it?" Abel's veins bulged against his forehead. "Mr. Langley, Leilani, make the call! We live or die on your word!"

The air turned to lead. Every passing second felt like a physical blow. The clock hit 1:50.

Callahan's mind raced, his eyes darting between the bomb and their surroundings. He suddenly noticed the device wasn't flush against the wall; there was a slight gap underneath, and it was mounted using... industrial magnets?

"Wait..." The realization hit him like a freight train. "Leilani, when we came up, were there piles of scrap wood and drywall dumped by the left corner?"

Leilani's eyes widened. "Yes! Heavy broken desks and partitions, right over there!"

"He calculated the blast radius," Callahan realized, anger flaring at being played, but adrenaline taking over as he saw a sliver of hope. "This charge isn't big enough to take down the load-bearing wall."

He spun around, barking orders with machine-gun rapidity. "No time to defuse! We're rolling the dice!"

"Bason, Abel, Shaun! Grab the thickest wood panels you can find. Drag them over here and angle them between the bomb and the stairwell! Don't try to block it completely, just create a wedge to deflect the shockwave. Move!"

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