This bomb was nothing like the cutting-edge devices they'd encountered before.
This time, it was more intricate, more cunning, with an arrangement that was both deceptive and, upon closer inspection, almost childish.
Yes, that was the word-childish.
Atop the delicate balance lay a common spherical dog toy, the kind that shouldn't be nudged in the slightest. A mere touch could set the whole thing off.
But who the heck puts a dog toy on a bomb? Especially one that squeaks.
"Vivienne, what's the situation in there?" Percival could only peer through the crack in the door, unable to see the full picture.
Vivienne held a pair of scissors in her hands, the familiar sight of the wiring giving her a sense of déjà vu.
Percival, getting no response, called out again, "Vivienne?"
Vivienne shook the scissors, "All good."
She got down on her knees, scanning the rainbow of wires before snipping one decisively.
Tick!
The toy fell off the balance, rolling across the floor and ending up under the desk with a soft thunk.
"Come on in," Vivienne said, placing the scissors on the table.
The bomb wasn't inherently difficult; it just appeared dazzlingly complex. In reality, it was still the red wire.
Percival entered, realizing he was sweating bullets. He had defused a thirty-second countdown bomb in his heyday without breaking a sweat, but this had unnerved him.
It wasn't until he heard Vivienne's voice that he understood just how frightened he'd been.
"It's not a new type of bomb, just an ordinary one with a fancy setup. Looks tough, but it's just a smoke and mirrors act."
arms around Percival's neck, her alluring gaze warming him like the first ray
into an embrace, burying his face in her neck,
knew Percival
we haven't been through
students from Class Eighteen had been
chill flashed in Percival's eyes, "I'm
gently patted his back, "This is the enemy's tactic. I've defused it, and this little trick wasn't going
well that Vivienne was the most intelligent woman on earth. And if anyone wanted to take
with fear. This fear was instinctual, an innate dread of
other tightly, their
Tick-tock... tick-tock...
broke the silence in the
eyes narrowed as
toy beneath the desk. It
the supposedly defunct bomb activated a countdown,
Percival were caught off guard, with no
the door and quickly locked the
the door,
knew
blast with his body, buying
damn door!" Vivienne kicked at the lock with all
of the TCL lab
cradled the bomb in the far corner, using
he wanted was to buy
deep breath and kicked
Bang!
a sound akin to
from the momentum, charging through the haze towards
"Mr. Wolf!"
torn at
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
The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!