"Aria." I looked at her. Really looked at her. "Close your eyes. Trust me."
She did, tears still streaming down her face.
00:07
I positioned the laser over the junction point. One cut. Clean. Precise.
The slightest tremor would kill us both.
00:05
I made the cut.
00:03
The LED flickered.
00:02
Went dark.
Silence.
Just the wind across the rooftop and our ragged breathing and the distant wail of sirens.
No explosion.
No fireball.
Nothing.
"Kael?" Aria's voice was barely a whisper.
"It's done." My hands were shaking now, the adrenaline finally catching up. "It's over."
I carefully, so carefully, lifted the vest from her body. It was heavier than I'd expected, the weight of the explosives and the life-or-death moment we'd just survived.
I carried it to the far edge of the roof and set it down gently, then returned to Aria.
And pulled her into my arms.
