Page 70 of Edge of Steele
Trent nodded. “A backpack is 3-D printed to conform to the insect’s thorax. Despite the mechanical devices and ultrathin electronics, the insects can still move freely.”
Ryleigh shook her head. “That sounds unbelievable.”
“It does,” Grady said. “But we’ve been testing them for some time, and they transmit the information we need to safely clear buildings like this one.”
Finn was impressed. More than impressed if that was possible. Something like this would really have helped on deployments in war zones, but he didn’t think it would be practical to try to keep the bugs alive on a mission.
Still, today, the bugs could do everything they needed on this scene, and Finn wanted to know more. “The explosives’ depot is still standing. Could we send them in there to determine if it’s been booby-trapped?”
Grady nodded. “As long as we can get them inside, we can get a good look at the area.”
“I’m guessing you didn’t bring them with you, though,” Ryleigh said.
“No, but we can transport them on the chopper coming to drop off additional staff,” Trent said.
Russ looked at the departing ambulance. “Get those bugs on that chopper now. We need to know if this bomb took anyone else out.”
16
Ryleigh was thankful Grady caught the helicopter before it took off and arranged for the team to include the bugs. They should arrive any minute. But she wasn’t a do-nothing person and standing at the edge of the property and waiting for the cyborg bugs to arrive was tantamount to torture.
Sure, she’d removed shards of debris from Finn’s neck with tweezers from his first aid kit, but now she did nothing but swing her gaze to the road every time a vehicle drew near. Then when the vehicle wasn’t a Veritas van, a sinking feeling settled into her gut. That was when she wasn’t feeling Finn’s antsy fidgeting as he waited too.
Her phone chimed, and so did his. They both grabbed them like lifelines out of boredom.
“It’s the picture of the boot from Nick,” she said. “Let’s show it to Russ to see if he recognizes it.” She started toward Russ’s car, where he was sitting and talking on his phone. Finn followed.
Maybe Russ had also received an update on his deputy. Ryleigh approached the car, offering another prayer for Eddie and his family. Russ looked up from his phone and then slid out.
“Any word on Eddie?” she asked.
He shook his head.
“We just got the pictures of the boot I told you about.” She held out her phone to him. “Ever see anyone wearing this style?”
Russ studied the photos. “Nah, and it’s not a boot I’d forget. Make sure I get the picture, and I’ll distribute it to my team so they can ask around. If a local has boots like these, someone is bound to remember them.”
His phone rang, and he grabbed it. “Russ Maddox.”
He plunged a hand into his hair, messing up the usually neatly combed strands. He started to pace, then stopped and stared at his feet. “You’re sure?”
He listened. His hand went to the hood of his car to steady himself, and he sagged against it. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
He ended the call, his face pale, and he looked like he might be sick. “Eddie will be fine. Doctors safely removed the stake in surgery. It missed his heart by two inches and didn’t hit any other internal organs.”
Russ kept his hands on the car and took deep breaths. The big strong man had nearly been brought to his knees. She never doubted his loyalty to his team, but he cared more deeply than she’d imagined, and this injury had thrown him for a loop.
Coming from a law enforcement background, she understood his deep emotions more than most people could. Officers were not only coworkers, but they were family too.
He stowed his phone and turned to lean against the hood of his car. “You never want to see one of your people hurt. It happens, but you have to do everything you can to make sure it doesn’t happen needlessly.”
“You couldn’t have stopped this,” Finn said.
Russ’s eyebrow rose. “Maybe. Maybe not. We won’t know until we figure out how our bomber got into the building to set the device with my deputy on duty.”
“Maybe it was set the same day as the first one,” she suggested. “Then for some reason, it only detonated now.”
Finn chewed on his cheek, his gaze tight. “Could be possible, I suppose, but why wait to detonate it?”
