Page 98 of Zero Hour

But where the hell was the real target?

CHAPTER 37

Jasmine kept clicking through the images. Her head throbbed, but the painkillers dulled it to a manageable ache. She was careful not to take too many. She needed to focus.

That woman mattered. She could feel it.

“You don’t have to do this, Mom.” Ryan sat beside her, sipping a Coke Anna had grabbed for him from the break room. “You should be resting.”

“I’m fine, darling,” she said, patting his knee. It felt incredible to have him beside her, safe. He’d told her all about Pat, about how he’d taken down Amir with his bare hands after shooting him in the shoulder. She couldn’t wait to thank him in person.

Finding out who that woman was? It was the least she could do to repay Pat’s team for everything they’d done.

Behind her, Anna spoke urgently into her comms. The sharpness in her tone sent a ripple of unease down Jasmine’s spine.

Ryan noticed it too. He turned, eyes narrowing.

Something was wrong.

“There’s a protest near the Capitol Building,” Anna was saying, her fingers flying over the keyboard. “And a concert at The National Mall, but I’m not seeing anything else big enough to be a target.”

Jasmine’s stomach turned. “What’s going on?”

Anna exhaled. “There were no real bombs at the arena. The entire thing was a diversion.”

Jasmine’s pulse spiked. “They—They didn’t find any devices?”

Anna’s expression darkened. “Oh, they found them. Dummies. Every single one. Fake triggers, fake explosives.”

“Holy shit,” Ryan muttered.

Jasmine shot him a look, but she barely had the energy to scold him.

“But I don’t understand,” she said. “Why would Adam kill himself if he only built fake bombs?”

Anna’s fingers tensed on the desk. “Your husband didn’t build fake bombs. The real attack is happening somewhere else— and it’s today.”

The words landed like a hammer.

Another attack.

Today.

Jasmine’s throat tightened. “W-Where?”

“That’s where you come in.” Anna turned, urgency burning in her eyes. “Think, Jasmine. Did Amir or his cousin say anything? A location, an event. Anything that could tell us where the real target is?”

“I don’t know…”

“Come on, Mom. Think!” Ryan urged.

She clenched her fists. Damn it. “I didn’t hear any of their conversations. I was locked up most of the time.”

“Did they mention a protest? Maybe an environmental group?” Anna pressed.

“No… I don’t think so.”

“What about the concert?”

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