Space Cadets
twenty-four
Colin was lucky he found Eliza when he did. A minute later might have been a minute too late. He still wasn't a fan of the hover cars, but Eliza was right. It was the quickest way to get to the fireworks viewing. Eliza was doing what she could to drive with her injuries, but every now and again she would wobble or jerk the vehicle a little too harshly. Colin's eyes widened and he grabbed the wheel from her when she got just a little too close to a pole.
"Okay, I'm taking over," he announced.
"No, I'm handling it- HEY!"
There was no time to argue with Eliza now. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into the passenger seat, sliding himself into the driver's seat.
"Where's the viewing area?" he asked.
"The balcony outside the ballroom," she said. "West side of the palace. They're launching the bomb from somewhere, but that's all I know."
"It can't be launched from the same place as the fireworks," he said. "That would be too easy to intercept. My bet is that it's either going to be dropped from above or set off from below."
Eliza thought for a moment, then perked up.
"There's some small spaces in the palace architecture," she said. "There's a few under the overhang of the balcony. If it went off, the whole thing would come down and if the bomb doesn't kill, then the fall will."
"Then let's hope that's where it is," Colin said.
He took a sharp turn in the direction of the balcony, then came to a stop at the bottom. As expected, there was a blinking device strapped in one of the nooks Eliza had mentioned. More likely than not, it was remote controlled.
"You have to go up there and get everyone away from there," Colin told Eliza. "Take them to the east wing if you can."
She nodded and hopped out of the car, but Colin grabbed her arm before she could run off. They just looked at each other for a moment and Colin had a lot to say, but couldn't get the words out.
"Just be careful, alright?" he said. "Watch your back."
With that, he took his stun gun off his duty belt and put it in her hand. He felt more comfortable knowing she had a weapon on her, and he could find something else to use. He watched her run off before taking the car to the other side, where he knew there was an emergency exit ladder. Except this time, he was climbing up into the danger.
He climbed the ladder onto the smaller balcony below the one the bomb was strapped to, and it got him just close enough to pry the bomb off of where it was secured. He managed to catch it and gently lower it onto the ground, then finally took the cover off to inspect it.
It was a fairly sophisticated bomb, which made sense if Lord Tyvern was the one who commissioned it. Colin had never dealt with a situation like this without a trained bomb squad with him, but hopefully he knew enough to defuse it. And if not... well... he supposed he'd get blown up. He took a knife from his belt to cut the main wire, but was distracted when he heard a stampede of feet running away above him. It seemed like Eliza had been able to get the message to them and evacuate the area. That was a relief at the very least.
Colin was jerked back to the situation at hand when someone suddenly struck him in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground. He turned and saw one of Tyvern's henchmen standing above him. Colin leapt forward with his knife and managed to stab it through the man's leg, making him cry out. However, he used his full body weight to tackle Colin to the ground. Colin was shocked he was taking all these hits, but he supposed he was a little out of practice after months of lounging around Zenia. When he brought his knee up to the man's gut and threw a punch in his face, he even felt a muscle pull in his shoulder.
"Fuck," Colin grumbled, staggering to his feet again with the knife in hand.
He glanced at the bomb and noticed there wasn't much time left on the timer. The henchman also got to his feet, throwing another three punches that Colin was able to block this time. Seemed like his training was starting to come back to him.
"Just leave it alone," the man growled. "Mind your business and you'll be rewarded."
"Yeah, sorry, I'm kind of attached to the situation now," Colin said. "You can keep fighting me until that bomb blows up and kills us both, or you can run away and save your own skin."
"My loyalties are to-"
"No one if you're a puddle of goo in the rubble of this palace. And they're not going to bother finding your body, either."
The man paused, then seemed to understand Colin and ran away. At this point, however, it was too late to defuse the bomb. Colin looked over his shoulder, cracking a smile when he saw that everyone was evacuated from the area and safe. Besides him, anyways. The best he could do was pick up the bomb, waiting until the last second before dropping it off the ledge. That way, it exploded in mid-air and minimized damage to the building.
Colin, on the other hand, went flying when the bomb exploded. A blast of bright light shone out before the deafening boom, and he felt himself hit a wall hard. It was hard to tell the sequence of events afterwards, but every time his vision came back he was somewhere else. Finally, he was settled in a pile of rubble with blurred vision. He wasn't sure how long he was there before a few blurry figures picked him up and took him away. All he could do was hope no one was dead.
"Okay, I'm taking over," he announced.
"No, I'm handling it- HEY!"
There was no time to argue with Eliza now. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into the passenger seat, sliding himself into the driver's seat.
"Where's the viewing area?" he asked.
"The balcony outside the ballroom," she said. "West side of the palace. They're launching the bomb from somewhere, but that's all I know."
"It can't be launched from the same place as the fireworks," he said. "That would be too easy to intercept. My bet is that it's either going to be dropped from above or set off from below."
Eliza thought for a moment, then perked up.
"There's some small spaces in the palace architecture," she said. "There's a few under the overhang of the balcony. If it went off, the whole thing would come down and if the bomb doesn't kill, then the fall will."
"Then let's hope that's where it is," Colin said.
He took a sharp turn in the direction of the balcony, then came to a stop at the bottom. As expected, there was a blinking device strapped in one of the nooks Eliza had mentioned. More likely than not, it was remote controlled.
"You have to go up there and get everyone away from there," Colin told Eliza. "Take them to the east wing if you can."
She nodded and hopped out of the car, but Colin grabbed her arm before she could run off. They just looked at each other for a moment and Colin had a lot to say, but couldn't get the words out.
"Just be careful, alright?" he said. "Watch your back."
With that, he took his stun gun off his duty belt and put it in her hand. He felt more comfortable knowing she had a weapon on her, and he could find something else to use. He watched her run off before taking the car to the other side, where he knew there was an emergency exit ladder. Except this time, he was climbing up into the danger.
He climbed the ladder onto the smaller balcony below the one the bomb was strapped to, and it got him just close enough to pry the bomb off of where it was secured. He managed to catch it and gently lower it onto the ground, then finally took the cover off to inspect it.
It was a fairly sophisticated bomb, which made sense if Lord Tyvern was the one who commissioned it. Colin had never dealt with a situation like this without a trained bomb squad with him, but hopefully he knew enough to defuse it. And if not... well... he supposed he'd get blown up. He took a knife from his belt to cut the main wire, but was distracted when he heard a stampede of feet running away above him. It seemed like Eliza had been able to get the message to them and evacuate the area. That was a relief at the very least.
Colin was jerked back to the situation at hand when someone suddenly struck him in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground. He turned and saw one of Tyvern's henchmen standing above him. Colin leapt forward with his knife and managed to stab it through the man's leg, making him cry out. However, he used his full body weight to tackle Colin to the ground. Colin was shocked he was taking all these hits, but he supposed he was a little out of practice after months of lounging around Zenia. When he brought his knee up to the man's gut and threw a punch in his face, he even felt a muscle pull in his shoulder.
"Fuck," Colin grumbled, staggering to his feet again with the knife in hand.
He glanced at the bomb and noticed there wasn't much time left on the timer. The henchman also got to his feet, throwing another three punches that Colin was able to block this time. Seemed like his training was starting to come back to him.
"Just leave it alone," the man growled. "Mind your business and you'll be rewarded."
"Yeah, sorry, I'm kind of attached to the situation now," Colin said. "You can keep fighting me until that bomb blows up and kills us both, or you can run away and save your own skin."
"My loyalties are to-"
"No one if you're a puddle of goo in the rubble of this palace. And they're not going to bother finding your body, either."
The man paused, then seemed to understand Colin and ran away. At this point, however, it was too late to defuse the bomb. Colin looked over his shoulder, cracking a smile when he saw that everyone was evacuated from the area and safe. Besides him, anyways. The best he could do was pick up the bomb, waiting until the last second before dropping it off the ledge. That way, it exploded in mid-air and minimized damage to the building.
Colin, on the other hand, went flying when the bomb exploded. A blast of bright light shone out before the deafening boom, and he felt himself hit a wall hard. It was hard to tell the sequence of events afterwards, but every time his vision came back he was somewhere else. Finally, he was settled in a pile of rubble with blurred vision. He wasn't sure how long he was there before a few blurry figures picked him up and took him away. All he could do was hope no one was dead.