Page 80 of Final Sins

“It’s not a gun,” he assured them, but Jason drew down on the man.

“Freeze,” he commanded.

“You need to see this,” the general insisted. “I’ll move slowly.”

Eyes locked on Jason, he inched his hand out of his pocket, revealing a small device with a blinking red light. His thumb depressed a button on the top.

Alex’s breath caught in her throat.

“Smart girl.” The general sneered. “You recognize a dead man’s switch when you see one. I die; you die.”

Weapon still pointed at the man’s chest, Jason paled. “What have you done?”

“Bought myself some insurance, son. While you were in the basement, my men rigged this park with enough explosives to make the Fourth of July look like a sparkler.” His cold eyes met Alex’s. “You two might survive, given your current position. Butyour team down below? Well, let’s just say they’ll be in for quite a finale.”

Horror and disbelief warred within her. “Your own men are down there.”

“Collateral damage. I’m aware.” The general’s shrug was so casual, so devoid of humanity, that Alex felt physically ill. “In my line of work, there are always sacrifices.”

The moonlight caught the cruel twist of his lips. A chill slithered down Alex’s spine. She’d rescued people from terrorists, assassins, and criminal masterminds, but never had she encountered such cold, calculating evil wrapped in the guise of patriotism.

43

“Lord, give me strength,”Jason whispered, his words carried away by the hot night wind. “Guide my actions and protect my team.”

Hot night wind in his face, he squared off against the general, the weight of the moment pressing down on him like a physical force. The decrepit Tunnel of Love loomed behind them, its peeling cherubs a mockery of the situation. The trigger switch in the man’s hand glinted menacingly in the moonlight.

Barely above a whisper, Cody’s voice crackled in his ear. “The team’s located three IEDs in the underground area. It’ll take time to disarm them, and we can’t be sure we’ve found them all. Munisinger’s got the trigger, but Tai says it’ll be programmed to signal a main detonator capable of activating multiple explosives. It’s probably in a central location. If we can locate it, the trigger will be useless.”

Jason’s eyes flickered to Alex, a minuscule nod passing between them. Keep the old man talking. Buy time. It was the only plan they had.

“So, sir,” Jason drawled, injecting a casualness he didn’t feel into his voice. “Why don’t you tell us what this is really all about? The lies, Seven-Five, all of it.”

“You wouldn’t understand, boy.”

“Try me.”

Munsinger’s eyes narrowed. “It’s about having the power to reshape the world as it should be.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Alex slide a hand into her pocket. Her voice, barely audible in his ear, confirmed she was recording. Smart woman.

“Oh, I think we understand plenty,” she chimed in, her tone deceptively light. “Why don’t you enlighten us? After all, we’re a captive audience.”

The man’s eyes gleamed with a terrifying intensity. As he launched into a diatribe about shadowy government conspiracies and Seven-Five’s grand vision, Jason fought to keep his expression neutral. Each revelation was more shocking than the last, painting a picture of corruption that went deeper than he’d ever imagined.

Jason nodded, pretending to listen to the man’s deranged ranting. Inside, he was frantic to come up with a way out of this. Where was that detonator? And how long could they keep this dangerous dance going before Munsinger realized he was being played?

In his earpiece, Cody and Tai were reasoning through the detonator’s likely locations, their logic a lifeline in this tense standoff.

“... can’t be anywhere that blocks radio waves,” Cody murmured. “And it’s gotta be hardwired.”

“The old control room,” Tai insisted. “By the Ferris wheel. It’s the only spot that makes sense.”

Jason fought to keep his expression neutral, even as relief washed over him. He locked eyes with Munsinger, whose monologue had taken a sharp turn into paranoid territory.

“So you’re saying,” Jason interjected, careful to keep his tone curious rather than accusatory, “that Seven-Five has been manipulating global events for decades?”

The general’s eyes glinted with fanatical pride. “Manipulating? No. Guiding. Shaping the world as it should be.”

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