Chapter 49 - Trust Me (2/2)

”You should get out of here,” Jackson said.

”I've looked at every single wire carefully. I can't find the last one,” he said calmly. ”Please...leave before this goes off. You shouldn't be here.”

Halia looked into the man's eyes. ”I'm not leaving you here,” she said firmly. She then grabbed the man's shoulder and turned him around.

”What are you doing?” Jackson asked.

Halia grabbed a pair of scissors and carefully cut a slit in the back of the man's vest.

”Bingo!” she cheered.

Hidden inside the back of the vest were another bundle of wires.

”That sneaky b*stard! Did he hide wires in the back of the vest?”Jackson asked.

”Sit still!” Halia ordered as she carefully checked the wires.

Jackson looked down at the timer. It now read '12'.

Jackson could sense the concentration from the woman behind him. Her breathing was loud, but it was at a steady, controlled pace. That's when Jackson realized, from the moment Halia stepped foot into the cabin, she had been calm and confident. Did this woman actually know what she was doing?

At that moment, he saw Halia grab a pair of pliers from the floor.

”Are you sure?” he asked.

”Trust me,” Halia replied calmly.

Jackson held his breath as he looked down at the timer once more. It was now down to single digits: '5'.

He knew he had no choice but to trust Halia. After all, he had pretty much given up hope on finding the last wire before she arrived.

While he was deep in thought, he suddenly heard a snip behind him.

Jackson's heart almost jumped out of his chest.

At that moment, everything fell silent. All he heard was his heartbeat and Halia's gentle breathing.

The timer had stopped ticking!

Jackson breathed out and turned to look at Halia in surprise.

Halia remained calm. ”It's been defused,” she said.

Jackson was shocked. Who was this woman? Sure, she said she studied mechanical and chemical engineering and that she majored in weaponry and explosives, but he struggled with this bomb even though he was an experienced arms dealer. How did she manage to defuse it so calmly?