Devious Minds

by Colleen Helme

  “Is there more?” he asked.

  “I think he was here, so I need to look for him in the crowd.”

  “Go,” he said, nodding with comprehension.

  “He’s here?” Ramos asked, hearing my statement.

  “Yes, and he knows I’m here too.” I tried not to panic and followed the others down the staircase, with Ramos sticking to my side like glue. I scanned every dark head in front of me but found nothing.

  Next, I cast my senses out as far as I could, but I couldn’t catch a thing that indicated his presence. I switched my focus to those behind me, but came up empty-handed as well. Damnit! Where had he gone?

  “Slow down,” Ramos said, pulling me off to the side of the crowd. “Let’s wait over here for a moment.” I nodded and tried to catch my breath, along with my composure.

  Soon, everyone had passed us up, including Suzette. “I guess I lost him.”

  “What did you get back there?” Ramos asked.

  I couldn’t tell him without broadcasting the results to everyone, so I took a chance and pulled out the earpiece. Ramos nodded and did the same, taking mine and putting them both into his jacket pocket. He glanced at me and nodded.

  “Something doesn’t make sense,” I began, and I told him about the whole microphone thing. “Then he saw me when I stopped the host, and he thought I needed to die.”

  “Maybe he’s still here, and he doesn’t plan on leaving until closer to the time the bomb will go off.”

  “But why?” I asked.

  “Uh... so he can kill you?” Ramos didn’t think I’d like that much, but even if he didn’t say it, I’d know he was thinking it.

  “Yeah... that kind of makes sense in a creepy sort of way.”

  “Don’t worry, I won’t let that happen. Let’s follow the crowd, maybe we’ll see something that will help us,” he said.

  Disheartened, I let out a sigh and continued down the stairs and out of the hotel part of the palace. Everyone ahead of us continued down the hallway through the main building in a route that would take them out of the palace and back to the street entrance.

  It dawned on me that anyone from the reception could now wander unwatched through the palace. Cypher could hide out anywhere and wait for his chance to kill me. But with a bomb full of sarin gas, that just sounded crazy.

  As we followed the crowd down the hall, Ramos kept watch for any sign of Cypher, concerned that he’d jump out from somewhere to kill me. That sent a nervous chill up my back, so I kept my mind open, hoping to hear him long before he did that, but still picked up nothing.

  Interrupting our search, four men in haz-mat suits hurried toward us. Two of the men carried a large container between them, and the other two men brought up the rear carrying other equipment. We plastered ourselves against the wall in order for them to get by, then watched them continue down the hall and take the turn toward the hotel part of the palace.

  No sooner had they disappeared, than two more men in haz-mat suits, each holding one end of a large duffel bag came toward us. They passed us with relative ease and, even though I listened to their thoughts, they were all in French, so it didn’t help me much.

  “That was sure a big container,” I said. “I’ll bet they can put the bomb inside and seal it shut. That way, even if the canister goes off, the gas will stay inside the container. That’s kind of cool.”

  “Yeah, I think you’re right,” Ramos agreed. “But I hope they can disarm it first.”

  “I know. I do too.” We’d reached the end of the hall, and I remembered that once we rounded this corner, we would be at the entrance where we’d first come in. The guard there would probably make us leave. If Cypher was out there in the street somewhere waiting for me, it might be better to stay here. “Maybe we should go back. I’m not ready to leave yet. How much time do you think has passed?” I asked.

  Ramos checked his watch. “I started my stopwatch once we saw the bomb. It’s been almost seven minutes since then. So there’s about twelve minutes until it goes off.”

  “Oh... that’s plenty of time.”

  Ramos was thinking I’d certainly changed my attitude since discovering the bomb. I should be running for my life, but instead, I wanted to stick around?

  “It’s because Cypher might be out there waiting for me. I think we need to fill Gabriel in and see what he wants us to do now.”

  “I get that, babe,” he agreed. “But Cypher’s probably long gone. At least you stopped him this time. And now he doesn’t have the bomb to threaten anyone with.”

  “Yeah, but that’s the thing. It didn’t feel like he cared about the bomb. It’s almost like he wanted us to find it.” I started walking back, and Ramos followed.

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. Just a feeling I got. You’d think he would have been upset that I caught him, but instead, he’s thinking about other things.”

  “Like what?”

  I closed my eyes and concentrated on the encounter we’d had. “He was thinking that once the microphone got turned on, all hell would break loose. But even if the microphone got turned on, nothing would have happened.”

  “Okay, so what would have happened next?”

  “Well, the microphone wouldn’t have worked since the speaker was taken out of the box to make room for the bomb.”

  “Right, then what?” he asked.

  “They would have known something was wrong,” I said with a shrug. “So they’d check the system. Maybe Gabriel would have picked up on the fact that the speaker was big enough to house a bomb. In that case, he would have opened it to see.

  “On the other hand, if he didn’t pick up on that, I guess they’d either find another microphone and speaker system, or go without one. So... I guess there is at least one scenario where the bomb could have still gone off and killed everyone, even though I highly doubt it would have happened that way.”

  “That’s true,” Ramos said. “But why did Cypher stick around?”

  “Because he had twenty minutes before the bomb went off, and he wanted to see all hell break loose?” Just then, the pins holding up my hair lost the battle, and the left side of my hair fell down into my face. “Oops.” I pushed it back and the other side came loose. I struggled with it for a minute, but Ramos grabbed my hands.

  “Leave it,” he said, thinking that he’d wanted to see that happen all night, and now he could die a happy man. “Uh... anything else Cypher was thinking?”

  “Not really.” Did he just think something he didn’t want me to hear? I felt a blush creep up my neck, but tried not to let his thoughts affect me too much. Still, I pulled the pins out of my hair and handed them to Ramos. “How’s that?”

  “Better,” he replied, sending me a rakish smile.

  We came to the lobby of the hotel and found two agents from the party still there, as well as Suzette. Ramos moved toward them, but I wanted to check on the bomb and see how Gabriel was doing. We had plenty of time, right? “Let’s see how things are going up there first. I need to tell Gabriel everything we’ve been talking about.”

  Ramos shrugged and followed me back up the huge staircase to the second floor. Gabriel stood just outside the door in the hall with a gasmask in his hand. He caught sight of us and shook his head. “What are you doing here? We haven’t been able to diffuse the bomb yet. You should go.”

  “Oh... well. We just wanted to see how things were going,” I said. “And let you know that we didn’t find Cypher.”

  “He’s probably long gone by now,” Gabriel said.

  “But something doesn’t seem right,” I said.

  “Let’s discuss this after we take care of the bomb. They’re almost ready to disarm it.”

  “Isn’t there at least ten minutes left before it goes off?” Gabriel pursed his lips and nodded. Before he could ask us to leave again, I asked another question. “How does it work anyway?”

  “From what I know, after the countdown, the mechanism inside the can
ister flips a switch, pulling a trigger which allows the gas to shoot out and disperse into the room.”

  “Oh... got it.”

  We watched as two men in haz-mat suits carefully took the bomb from the speaker box. With the third guiding them, they placed it into the case, gently laying it with the nozzle side up. Before shutting the case, they pointed to the wires, clearly discussing which ones did what, and where to cut them to diffuse the bomb.

  The fourth man took a diagram of a similar bomb out of his pack for them to study. Then he knelt beside the case, ready to shut it at a moment’s notice. I scanned the room for the other two guys, but didn’t see them anywhere.

  “Where are the other two?”

  “What?” Gabriel asked.

  Just then, a loud click sounded, like a trigger of some sort. As a stream of mist shot out of the canister, the man kneeling beside the case slammed the top shut. At the same time, Ramos grabbed me. With Gabriel beside us, we took off at a run and shot down the stairs into the lobby where Suzette and two agents stood.

  “Everyone, out!” Gabriel shouted, leading us out of the double doors that led into the garden. Gabriel slammed the doors shut, while the rest of us raced a few feet into the gardens and stopped. I sagged against Ramos with my heart racing.

  “What happened?” Suzette asked, coming beside us.

  “It went off,” Ramos answered. “Five minutes early.”

  “I think the team had it contained first,” Gabriel said. “If not, we should be safe out here.” He pulled a two-way radio from his pocket and spoke into it. We waited for the team to answer. A few seconds passed before they did, but they didn’t sound like they were dying, so that was good.

  Gabriel finished up and turned to us. “They don’t think any of the gas escaped, but they are sealing the room and taking air samples, just to make sure. We are cleared to go back inside, as long as we stay out of that side of the palace.”

  I let out my breath and tried not to freak out. If it had gone off just a couple of seconds earlier, we’d be dead. Why had I ever wanted to come back? Oh yeah... Cypher. And this was another time he’d almost killed me.

  Gabriel spoke into his radio, and led us to another door. A security officer opened it from the inside and Gabriel ushered me and Ramos, along with Suzette, into another room off the hallway. This large room took my breath away with its painted, domed ceiling and hanging chandelier, surrounded with elaborate wooden carvings in the paneling, and several magnificent paintings that covered the walls. Gabriel spoke to the two agents who’d been with Suzette, before coming inside and closing the door.

  “What did you say to me before the canister went off?” he asked.

  “Oh, right. I asked you where the other two haz-mat guys were. There were six of them that passed me and Ramos earlier, but only four were in the room.”

  “But there were only four,” Gabriel said.

  My breath caught. “Then who were the others?”

  “Oui, and where are they now? Tell me what you saw, and leave nothing out.”

  “Okay. As you know, Cypher was here. He saw me and I got the impression that he wanted to kill me. With everyone running out, I tried to catch a glimpse of him. Ramos and I ended up following the crowd, but we never saw him. Then I got nervous that he’d be waiting for me outside the palace where he’d try to kill me again, so I convinced Ramos to go back and talk it over with you.

  “While we were discussing this, four men in haz-mat suits carrying equipment passed us, followed by two more carrying a large duffel bag. When we came back upstairs to see how you were doing, only four of them were there.”

  “Could they be Cypher’s men?” Suzette asked.

  “They must be,” Gabriel shrugged. “But why would they do this? It makes no sense.”

  “That’s true,” I agreed. “But the way we discovered the bomb doesn’t make sense to me either. It was almost like he wanted it to be discovered before it went off. Up until now, he wanted as many people to die as possible, but with this scenario, that wouldn’t have happened. So what changed?”

  “The men in the haz-mat suits were able to waltz right in,” Ramos said. “And they brought something in a big duffle bag. Any guesses as to what it is?”

  “Another bomb,” Gabriel said. “Cypher and his men must be in the palace somewhere, and it is possible they have a second bomb.”

  “Yeah, but why plant a bomb now when the party’s over?” I asked.

  “The first bomb must have been a diversion,” Ramos said. “Think about it. Maybe Cypher got frustrated and decided to up his game since we’d stopped him before. Maybe he decided to plant a different kind of bomb and blow up this building. As long as men in haz-mat suits were called in, he could get it inside. Since he was here for the party, he could hide while everyone ran for their lives and then meet up with them somewhere.”

  “There’s also another reason,” Suzette added. “This is the where the French senate meets. Does anyone know if they’re meeting here tomorrow?”

  “Let me check.” Gabriel pulled out his phone and pushed a few buttons, then carried on a fast conversation in French. All at once, his eyes widened, and his face lost color. He glanced at me with dread before finishing the call. “It is much worse. Tomorrow, in the senate chambers, is the first meeting of the Conference on Climate Change. All of the diplomats will be here, including the presidents of both of our countries and many others.”

  Everyone swore in their minds, including me. “This second bomb must be part of his plan B.”

  “The meeting can be changed,” Gabriel said. “But we cannot allow the terrorists to win. Cypher may still be here. We have no time to lose. This might be our only chance to catch him and disarm the bomb.”

  We followed Gabriel out of the room toward the entrance where we’d first come in. His lieutenant waited there, as well as a three-member swat-team who’d been outside guarding the entrance. He explained what was happening, and one of the swat members spoke into a radio. A few minutes later, a palace security guard entered the room with a map of the palace.

  They spread it out on the desk, pointing to the entrances of the senate chambers, counting eight all together. I couldn’t understand most of it, but it sounded like they came up with a plan to search the chambers for Cypher and the bomb.

  With that settled, Gabriel turned to us. “I am taking these men with me to the chambers while the rest of the police and palace guards secure the building. You should stay here and wait for word.”

  “No,” Suzette said. “Ramos and I are both trained, and we have guns. You need us. The palace is a big place. At least let us wait outside the chambers in case you flush them out. We’ve already got our earpieces, so you can talk to us. We can help you.”

  Gabriel sighed, then nodded. “Bien. You may come, but you must let us do our jobs. You are only for backup. Oui?”

  They nodded, so I did too, even though I wasn’t exactly invited.

  Gabriel noticed my nod and hopeful face. He glanced at me, and his lips twisted. “No Shelby. I’m afraid you must stay here.”

  “Hey, just because I don’t have a gun doesn’t mean I can’t help.” I pointed to my head, hoping he’d understand what I meant. “Besides, Ramos is my bodyguard. I have to go where he goes. He’ll make sure nothing happens to me. Right, Ramos?”

  Ramos’ eyes got big, and he shook his head. “Babe.” He was about to say, not this time, but Gabriel spoke first.

  “You will do this?” he asked Ramos. “I must agree she may help our cause, but I leave it to you.”

  Ramos was thinking that leaving me alone here might not be the best thing, since I’d probably wander off and get into trouble. Knowing the kinds of trouble I usually managed to get into, he figured it was best that I came with him where he could keep an eye on me.

  “Yes. I’ll take responsibility for her.”

  “Good. Now we must move quickly.”

  Chapter 14

  After putting our earpiec
es back in, we followed the others down the hall and into a part of the palace I hadn’t seen before. We soon came to the outside rim of the senate chambers with two doors leading inside, and everyone got their guns ready. Gabriel motioned to the three swat-team members to take the stairs to the lower entrances and get into position.

  A few minutes later, they signaled that they were in place. With his lieutenant at the other door, Gabriel gave the command to enter. We watched them open the doors and head inside at a crouch, closing the doors behind them with hardly a sound. Now we waited to see what would happen, which I didn’t like much, but I decided it was better than being inside with them.

  After several more minutes of standing around in three-inch pumps, my feet just couldn’t take it anymore. So, with relief, I slipped them off and let out a sigh. I should have done this long before now. Suzette nodded her approval and did the same.

  We all listened and waited for something to happen, but the minutes crawled by without a sound. What was going on in there? I let out another sigh and wondered if I could sit down somewhere. Glancing behind me, I noticed a small cushioned bench against the wall and started inching my way toward it. A few seconds later, I reached it and began to sit.

  A shuffling sound came from the long hallway off to the side of the senate chamber, and I jerked back into a standing position. Ramos caught my gaze and motioned his head toward the hallway, thinking he was going to check it out. I nodded and followed behind him. He didn’t like that much and thought I should go back, but I held my ground and stuck with him.

  He shook his head thinking, you’re in so much trouble, but I just shrugged and followed him into the hallway. The end of the hall was shrouded in darkness, but there was definite activity in that direction. Ramos inched forward, holding his gun in both hands, with me right behind him.

  All at once, a man sprinted around the corner coming straight towards us. He caught sight of Ramos and jerked to a stop. Ramos raised his gun to shoot, but the man turned tail and ran. Ramos took off after him and yelled in his mind that I should go back to where we’d left Suzette.