"Yes," the woman said, looking closer. "Can you turn it up?"
Another passenger on the train overheard the word "terrorist" and lifted her gaze. "Terrorist?" she murmured. She saw the couple looking at the iPad screen.
The word acted like a virus as, with each mention of its name, it spread throughout the train's carriage. Soon, every person in the train was either looking at their mobile device, or over another person's shoulder, to watch the live stream video. The train slowed, stopping at Northbridge station, but no one noticed. If anyone intended to disembark there, they didn't hear the driver's voice on the intercom as their attention was already captured. Its doors closed, and it drove onwards.
FINDING THE BOMB AT the shopping centre was easy enough. Craig's vision was accurate and the police bomb squad were quick to respond. The hardest part had been evacuating the shopping centre first, and since the Northbridge Shopping Fair was undergoing construction to extend the centre, they also had to move those workers as well. Some people wanted to come upstairs to the car-park to drive their cars away, but the police stopped it despite the protests.
Brianna and Craig were waiting in his car a couple of blocks away. Her mobile phone, a replacement for the one destroyed during the shooting incident, sat on the dashboard. Both were quiet as Craig continued holding the torn and shredded piece of map in his hand in an attempt to gather more information from it. Some random flashes came to him but most were hard to catch; it was like watching a video on fast forward.
The silence became too much for Brianna. "What was that about at Denton's place?"
Craig ignored her a moment, his brow furrowed in concentration. At last, he released a breath he didn't realise he had been holding. "What was what about?"
"You hesitated before reading the map. Was this all about being implicated in something?"
Craig shook his head. "It doesn't matter now. I've got a piece of the map here and you have photos of the evidence from before the blast."
Emily, who had been watching and listening from the back-seat, whispered something in Brianna's ear. Brianna started to react, changed her mind about saying something, and then decided to say it anyway.
"Is this related to Debra?" Brianna asked. She had an idea about it, but Emily had confirmed it for her.
Craig stayed silent, focusing his gaze on the map still, but Brianna knew he was just sitting there. Nothing was coming to him. She was about to ask again when Craig turned to face her.
"When Debra and Tyrone's parents passed, I promised myself that I'd look after and protect them as though they were my own. I know they're not my real children, but they're the next closest I've been to having kids of my own." His expression looked grave and his eyes looked set with determination. "When I received the call from the police, telling me that Debra had died, I blamed myself. I wasn't there when she needed me. Did you know that she came and visited us the night before the funeral?"
Brianna shook her head, staying silent to allow Craig to continue.
"She looked so beautiful, Brianna, even more than when I remember her," he explained. "I'm not sad so much that she died. I know that she's going on to something better, and that she's got some more work to do on a spiritual level. You mightn't understand what I mean, and I wouldn't tell you this if you weren't able to hear Emily talk to you. Otherwise, you would think I was some kind of grieving whacko. But she told me to forgive the guy who killed her."
Brianna's hand went over Craig's in comfort. It wasn't something she would normally do, but she felt the situation warranted it this time. "And have you forgiven him?"
Craig started to reply but stopped to gather his words. "I didn't think I would be able to forgive him. That was when I thought we were dealing with the spirit of a dead man, and I didn't know it was a comatose man's tortured mind. Did you know I was ready to kill him when I first found him?"
"And what stopped you?"
"When I realised that he had lost his own flesh and blood," Craig responded.
Brianna's phone vibrated, jumping about on the car's dashboard. She picked it up, answering, "Detective Cogan," and listened to the male voice on the other end. "We're on the way." She hung up the call and put the phone in her jacket. "They've defused the bomb."
Craig started the car and was about to start driving when Brianna stopped him. "You're thinking that you would have done the same thing as Shane Denton if you were in that situation, aren't you?"
"I probably would," he admitted, pressing the accelerator and negotiating the car through a roundabout. "Who wouldn't do it?"
The traffic was still clear, thanks to the roadblocks on a wider radius, and Craig approached the shopping centre from the back road.
"That doesn't make you the same as Shane Denton," Brianna told him. "Believing someone's ideals and beliefs doesn't make you just as bad. Our character comes from following through upon them."
A few minutes later, they were at the shopping centre. A police officer, upon seeing Cogan in the passenger's seat and recognising her, let them drive to the top floor car parking area. It was an open air car park with most of the cars parked in the warm winter sun. Craig negotiated a few turns and saw the bomb squad looking at a strange assembly of gadgets on the cement ground. An officer was taking photos of them for later. Nearby another officer was ready with the fingerprint kit.
"Are you going to be right to check this with your magic hands?" Brianna asked, as Craig stopped the car's engine.
He turned to her with a grin. "Let's do it."
They stepped out of the car and approached the group gathered around the bomb. Craig felt a little jump in his stomach, never having seen a home-made bomb before.
"What the hell is that?" Brianna asked, looking at the Frankenstein-like mess.
One of the bomb disposal officers approached. "I've never seen anything like it either," he answered, "but it's an interesting set."
He started pointing at the device. "The whole thing is powered by a car battery. It keeps the mobile phone charged. (He pointed at a thin box with four antennas sticking out of it) This is a 3G mobile jammer. It's deactivated now. It looks as though when some calls the mobile phone attached to it, it activates the jammer. It also turns on this timer here, which he has attached to this C4 explosive."
Brianna looked, thinking to herself. "You've got three or four loose items here with just cables connecting them. Were they sitting like this?"
The bomb expert shook his head, pointing to a nearby milk crate with cardboard lining its edges. "He had it inside that. It would have made it easier for him to carry it when he set it up."
The fingerprint guy was dusting it and recovering prints. Craig watched, looking for something he could touch on it as soon as the powder was removed.
"But why have a jammer on it?" she wondered. "How long was the timer set for?"
"It would have allowed ten minutes," the bomb expert answered. "I don't know why he would have done it either."
The fingerprint guy moved away and Craig moved in. Before he leaned forward to touch the defused bomb, he turned back towards Brianna and the bomb expert. "He's just like his brother," Craig explained. "His brother Shane doesn't like people using phones while driving. Joseph seems to have a similar profile. He would have wanted it as some kind of 'poetic justice' before killing them with the bomb."
"Why at a shopping centre?"
"Why not?" Craig replied before putting his hand on the battery casing.
Brianna watched Craig's eyes glaze over, and she knew flashes were going through his head. It was a good thing, she thought, because the torn map had given her all it knew. Only half a minute had passed, but it felt like a year as they watched him. At last, he stood, waving his hands as though shaking water off them.
"Well?" Brianna asked. "What did you get?"
Brianna's mobile phone rang, interrupting them. Craig signalled to Brianna, indicating she should follow him as she answered the phone. He stepped into the car, half-listening to Brian
na as he turned on the engine. She stepped in the car as well, and he pressed the accelerator.
"Thanks, Inspector," Brianna responded. "I'm in the car with Craig now. We'll have a look."
Brianna hung up and looked towards Craig. "You're friends with Sally Green, aren't you?"
Craig looked towards Brianna. "What's happened?"
"Joseph Denton has kidnapped her, and she's interviewing him on the internet," Brianna replied. "It's streaming live now."
Craig looked at her. "Really? I was going to tell you to call for backup, anyway. I'm taking you straight to where Joseph has taken her."
He floored the accelerator, taking off through the back streets towards the river district.
Chapter 27
Sally felt a mixture of emotions and thoughts through her tired mind when the kidnapper first sat near her on the opposite end of the sofa. She realised this interview was a mock-up of a talk show setting, right down to the couch and seating arrangements. That part seemed funny, and she guessed this man must have always wanted attention. But she hated sitting so close to him. He had explained to her, before the interview started, that he was responsible for the shootings. This reviled her even more, to be sitting so close to someone who held other people's lives to judgement.
"The broadcast is ready to go," he told her. "Let's get started."
"What about-"
"Now!" His voice was so commanding she couldn't resist.
Sally faced the camera, her professional mask melting onto her face as she spoke into it. "Good evening," she said. "I am Sally Green, and this is- I don't have your name..."
The ski-masked man spoke up. "My name isn't important, but you can call me Blow Joe."
"Blow Joe..." Sally said the name, wondering if this man was having fun with her or not. "Is that a nickname?"
He shook his head and Sally looked back at the camera. As she spoke, she felt amazed with how calm she sounded; there was barely a quiver in voice, but she couldn't mistake the tension in her chest and stomach. "I am here this evening with Joe. Joe has kidnapped me and, if you can see my feet, he has me shackled so that I can't escape. Joe, why have you kidnapped me?"
Joe didn't know which way to face, the camera or Sally, as he tried to look both ways at once. "I have a message for everyone in Statton, and I want the world to hear it as well," he announced, his voice full of conviction. "Stop using your mobile phones while you are driving."
"That's quite a community service announcement, Joe," Sally responded, and her voice snapped to a no-funny-business tone. "That can hardly be the reason you kidnapped me. You could have done this yourself without involving me, right?"
"No," he retorted, looking her dead in the eye. "People need to know that I am serious, and I am holding each of them accountable."
"Have you been holding people accountable already?"
Joe said nothing, staying silent for a moment, and Sally pressed the question again.
"Yes, I have," he said, his determination showing. "The authorities have already tried their best, but people are unthinking and selfish sheep. They keep using their mobile phones when driving, even after seeing the news of people dying. People like my brother and his son. They still want to Twitter, and text, and talk to each other. So you leave me no choice but to kill those people before they kill any more innocents."
Sally's jaw dropped. She thought this man looked familiar. "Are you the man or ghost I filmed last week?"
This seemed to unnerve Joe for a moment. "What?" He paused another second, shook his head. "That is someone else, and I don't know what happened to him. He had the same idea too."
"What makes you think your efforts are going to have a better effect?" Sally asked, pressing forward with her questions, making them almost accusatory.
"So many times, I have seen people driving on the streets with a phone stuck to their head," he replied. "They think they're not noticed, and some don't even care. When they kill someone, those who don't wake up to their stupid selfishness try to rationalise it with lies. They try to place the blame back on the innocents. I want people to take responsibility for their actions, so I am holding them accountable. If I see you using a mobile phone while you are driving, I will kill you."
"You mentioned someone else is killing people too," Sally said, taking another tangent. "What can you tell us about him?"
Joe flinched, his head gave a twitch, and his eyes darted to the side for a moment. She had caught him off-guard. "I don't know," he replied. "I have had contact with him but I haven't met him."
His voice trailed a moment, and he bounced back to his former confidence. "But I do know that he feels the same way as me. I remember that we managed to kill people at opposite ends of the city, almost at the same time. No one has traced him, or even reported how he has killed them, but it has been interesting to watch the authorities unsure of where to go next."
"You enjoy having the authorities in confusion?" Sally asked. "Why?"
"I don't enjoy confusing them, but they haven't been doing their jobs in stopping people from killing others with their mobile phones," Joe responded. "I am helping the police do their jobs, getting these people off the streets."
Sally nodded. "Was that you who killed a policeman, Joe?"
He nodded. "There is no room for bad apples, and he was setting a bad example. He deserved to die."
"And who or what gives you the right to decide who must live and die?" Sally asked, levelling her voice at him.
Joe shuddered a moment before straightening again. His voice harshened as he roared back at her. "Who the Hell gives them the right to kill other people through their selfishness? Who the Hell lets these people drive cars, which are really just a guided missile, with their brains already distracted?"
Sally went silent. She understood his point, but she also knew the cost of his mission.
"Why did you kidnap me, Joe?" she asked. "Was it just to tell people how you feel? Why did it have to be this way?"
A terrible glint flashed into Joe's eyes and they narrowed. His voice deepened into a growl like a lion's voice. "I want people to stop killing. I want people driving, while using their phones, charged and convicted for murder. They know what they are doing, and they need to pay the price."
"Is that it?" Sally asked, before wishing she hadn't asked the question.
"There's more," Joe nodded, bringing a mobile phone from his pocket. "Here's my next warning."
His fingers flicked through the phone's address book, and he pressed the screen. There was silence. Sally looked on at Joe as he waited.
"Wrong number?" she asked.
Joe remained silent. He seemed to be listening to something.
THE PEOPLE IN THE TRAIN carriage were still watching the video link, not caring about what happened to their mobile phone data plans. If they didn't have a mobile phone or iPad to watch, they found someone else and peered over their shoulders.
"Who's he calling?" someone asked aloud.
The carriage lurched, tipping them off their feet and seats, throwing them about with the wrenching sound of metal tearing apart. Blood ran and bones burst as they flew about the carriage, and a wall of fire overtook them. The train rocked off the tracks and seemed to float in the air for a moment as the bridge underneath it gave way. The bomb had blown its support out. Screams filled the air in an off-key accompaniment to the deadly chorus playing.
THE SOUND OF THE EXPLOSION reached Sally's ear, and she looked at Joe. "What did you do?"
Chapter 28
Craig pressed the accelerator hard, pushing the Jaguar through its paces and manoeuvring between the other cars as though they were standing still. Brianna gripped the seat hard as the engine roared and looked towards Craig. She shouted something, asking why he was going so fast, when she felt the car shake. It wasn't the car, it was the road beneath them, and then she saw something in the side mirror's reflection. A flash; something flying; cars disappearing. A huge explosion went off with the sound of cracking t
hunder.
Brianna turned her head back to look, and Craig braked hard to avoid hitting a car in front of him.
The two of them turned around, seeing that a section of bridge behind them had disappeared. Screams permeated the air and a plume of smoke rose upward and spread out.
"How the hell did you know to speed up?" Brianna asked.
"I thought I heard someone tell me," Craig answered with a shrug. He looked towards Emily. "Was it you?"
Emily turned from looking at the carnage through the back window and faced him. "No. I was going to ask how you knew too."
Brianna looked at her phone. "That was weird," she said. "My phone went dead first as it was playing the video. The signal's back now."
Shock filled Brianna's face as she turned to face Craig. "Was that one of his bombs?"
Craig nodded. "We need that siren of yours so we can get through this traffic."
Brianna removed the red flashing light from the back-seat and reached out the window to attach it to the car's roof. It started flashing and wailing as she plugged it into the car's cigarette lighter, and Craig gunned the accelerator again to push through the mass of cars and rubberneckers looking back.
Craig swore as a few people stepped out in front, slowing down a bit as they jumped back, and honked his horn to keep them moving. "Did you see what happened on the video before the bomb went off?"
"He called someone," Brianna replied, trying to get the link back again. "Does that mean there's another one out there?"
"No, he called the bomb," Craig replied, tension filling his voice as he dodged through the traffic. "We have to disable those bombs before they go off."
"But he could do that at any time," Emily said from the back-seat. "How are you going to stop him?"
Craig's face lit up, his eyes opened wide, and a grin crossed his face. Turning to face Brianna, he said, "Can you make a phone call for me? We need to reach a friend of yours."
Dead Cell Page 22
