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."
a smirk. She looped her arms around Percival's
burying his face in her neck, inhaling her reassuring
Percival
we haven't been
students from Class Eighteen had
in Percival's eyes, "I'm
tactic. I've defused it, and
that Vivienne was the most intelligent woman on earth. And if anyone wanted to take her life, they'd have to get past
was truly in danger, his belief wavered with fear. This fear was instinctual, an
other tightly,
Tick-tock... tick-tock...
the silence in the
eyes narrowed as she
spherical dog toy beneath the desk. It was now pressing on
activated a countdown,
and Percival were caught off guard, with
shoved her towards the
the door, "Percival,
that instant, she knew what he
planned to shield the blast with his body,
door!" Vivienne kicked at the lock
the door and lock of the TCL lab were
cradled the bomb in the far corner,
was to buy Vivienne a few
took a deep breath and kicked
Bang!
followed by a sound akin to a popping
the floor from the
"Mr. Wolf!"
his shirt torn at
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