Page 79 of Scorched

“This is the apartment.” Declan pointed to Gehring’s door. “We know he’s capable of building a bomb, but it’s unknown if he left one here.”

“We’ll use our scope camera and check out the door for wires and motion detectors.” The man glanced around. “Are all the residents out of the building?”

“Seb and Jace went door-to-door, so they should be.” People mulled in the parking lot. Declan didn’t see his friends, though. “I think they might be clearing the adjacent buildings now.”

The commander nodded. “We’ll camera the apartment. Once we get the all-clear from Sheriff Archer, we’ll breach.”

“Sounds good. I’ll find Sebastian.” Declan hurried away and let the bomb squad get to work. He found Seb two buildings over.

“Can you evacuate the residents in the building behind this one?”

Declan nodded. “Yes. Once the buildings are clear, let the bomb squad know. Their commander said he’s waiting on your word before they enter Gehring’s apartment.”

“This building and the one behind it are all we have left.”

“Got it.” Declan turned and headed for the next building. He ran from apartment to apartment, knocking on doors and evacuating residents. In less than ten minutes, all the tenants were behind a police line in the parking lot.

He made his way back to Seb’s truck, which had become a makeshift command post. Seb raised an eyebrow in question, silently asking if the building was clear. Declan nodded. “They’re all out.”

Seb picked up his radio and sent the all-clear to the bomb squad.

“I take it they didn’t find any tripwires?”

“No. Maybe we’ll get lucky and there won’t be anything here.”

“I think it depends on how fast he fled.” Declan leaned against the truck’s front bumper and crossed his arms, settling in to wait. Fifteen tense minutes passed before the radio crackled to life.

“Apartment’s clear. We’re going to sweep the public spaces, but you can send your men in here.”

“Copy.” Seb clipped the radio to his belt. “Let’s go see what your rookie left behind.” He pushed away from the truck and led the way up the sidewalk to the apartment. Jace and Declan followed him inside.

“There’s not much here,” Jace remarked as they got their first look inside.

He was right, Declan noted. The place had a worn sofa with a tray table in front of it. Both sat across from a large TV mounted on the wall.

“Fan out. See if there’s a clue where he went or what he’s planning.”

Declan wandered into the kitchen while Jace and Seb went down the hall. He opened cupboards and the fridge. He peeked inside some open cereal and cracker boxes and the can of coffee, but didn’t find anything he shouldn’t. Disappointed, he walked back into the living room, giving it a quick once over and peering inside the wall vents. Nothing.

Seb and Jace came back after searching the bedroom and bathroom.

“Anything?” Seb asked.

Declan and Jace shook their heads.

“Well, Damn. Okay. Let’s head home. We’ll regroup tomorrow.”

Declan wasn’t going to argue. He was beat.

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