If I Should Die_ A Novel of Suspense - Allison Brennan [123]
Browne turned and aimed his gun toward Sean. Sean dove for the ground, rolled to the right, and jumped up again. Browne was thrown off guard just enough for Noah to push Ricky down and put himself between the kid and Browne. Simultaneously, Patrick charged from his hiding spot and tackled the older man, pinning his gun hand to the ground. Noah disarmed him, then retrieved two more guns from the back of Browne’s pants.
“Good work,” Sean said as he ran over. He pulled the handcuffs he’d escaped out of from his pocket and said, “Let me.”
Sean cuffed Carl, smug and satisfied. “One down. Where’s that insane woman? And Jon?”
Noah said, “In the mine.”
“Great—they’re trapped. We’ll wait for backup and then—”
A dark expression crossed both Patrick and Noah’s faces. “Where’s Lucy?”
“She’s with them.”
“Why are we standing around here?” Sean ran into the mine.
Patrick followed. “Wait, Sean!”
“Don’t tell me to wait for backup, not when that lunatic has Lucy.”
Patrick pointed to the ceiling. Sean looked up. At first he didn’t know what he was supposed to see, then Noah shined a flashlight and exposed multiple charges sticking out of what could only have been the C-4 Bobbie had been ranting about.
“We need to pull every blasting cap out of the C-4,” Noah said, reaching up to the charge closest to him.
Omar Lewis came in. “There’s no one around the perimeter. Good work, Armstrong.” Then he looked up. “Oh shit.”
“Who has the detonator?” Sean demanded as both he and Patrick followed Noah’s lead.
Ricky replied. “Jon.”
FORTY-ONE
Jon and Lucy had flashlights; Bobbie had a gun. Jon took the lead, which meant Bobbie had the gun at Lucy’s back. Every few feet she poked Lucy with the barrel, and Lucy tried not to stumble. She didn’t want to fall down an exploration shaft a hundred feet to her death.
Jon whispered, “Keep your hand on the wall. Test each spot of ground before you step. About seventy feet in there’s an exploration shaft.”
“Give her the money,” Lucy told him. She didn’t want to walk that far into the mine. They had already started a gradual descent.
“Where is it?” Bobbie demanded.
“Victoria’s coffin,” Jon sneered. He stopped walking and turned to face Bobbie. In the yellow glow of the flashlight, he looked gaunt and determined.
He opened up his right hand. Inside was a small box with a switch. His thumb rested on the switch. “You’re not getting the money,” Jon told her. “This ends now.”
“This is about a woman? She was an FBI agent! She only seduced you to get close to me.”
“No. I knew she was an agent. She was going to save this town.”
Bobbie stared at Jon in shock and disgust. “You knew?” She held her gun in his face. “You fucking knew she was a Fed?”
“She wanted to bring in a team, but we both worried you’d smell the operation. So we worked together. And you never knew there was another undercover operative. You’re not as smart as you think, Roberta.”
“Jon, stop,” Lucy said, not wanting to antagonize Bobbie further.
“I’m sorry, Lucy.”
Bobbie fumed. “You disgust me, you fucking traitor. I don’t need you anymore, I know these tunnels better than anyone.”
Lucy shouted, “No! Bobbie, Jon rigged the mine to explode. We’ll all die!”
But Bobbie pressed the gun’s trigger and Jon’s chest exploded. His thumb hit the switch. Lucy screamed.
Sean had the last blasting cap in his hand when it exploded, burning the tips of his fingers. He dropped it and shook out the pain.
The mine stood. An echo of a feminine scream haunted him. Lucy.
“Fuck, that was too close!” Omar exclaimed.
There had been twelve blasting caps embedded in the C-4. C-4 was very stable and needed a spark to detonate; not even a bullet could set it off on its own. As soon as Bobbie disappeared down the tunnel, Omar ran up and tried to disarm the detonation device, but simultaneously the others pulled the blasting caps.
That quick plan had saved their lives.
“I’m going in.” Sean had retrieved his gun from Carl Browne, and now shoved it in his belt. “I heard a gunshot.” They all had, seconds before the blasting caps popped.
“You need