“Do we have a picture of the device?”
“Hold on. Let me send it.” Val hit send. “It looks like it’s wired to a flat piece of explosive. C4, maybe.”
“That isn’t C4. From the contouring, I’d say it’s RX-08-HD. A low-viscosity, injection moldable explosive. I don’t see an ignition device, so don’t use a cell phone around it.”
“Too late,” Smith said.
“Who is that?” Smoke asked.
“Smithson Young,” Val answered. “We’re talking to you on my cell.”
“I’m not even going to ask what you two are doing together. I already know.” Smoke mumbled.
“What do we need to do?” Smith asked.
“Send me a photo of the wires. I need to see the complete device.”
Val snapped several shots, including the earbuds, and sent them.
“Well, that is ingenious.”
“What?” she and Smith said at the same time.
“The earbuds. Take one off, but whatever you do, don’t take off both.” Smoke cautioned them.
Val reached forward and pulled off one earbud. The tape had already been loosened. “A naked wire.” She described what she saw as she pulled it away. “Wait, there’s a small battery, like for a hearing aid, attached to the tip of the wire.”
“All right, that’s the ignition point. To blow the device, the two wires only need to connect to complete the circuit. Don’t let them touch.”
“Understatement of the year right there, Smoke.” Val placed the earbud back on the wire and used the dangling tape to re-secure it.
“CCS here. Patching in Anubis and Fury.”
Val stood up and rolled her eyes, mouthing “Sorry” to Smith.
“Fury online.”
“Anubis online.”
“Sit rep,” Fury demanded.
Val started. “We’re on a transcontinental flight—”
“Who is we?” Fury interrupted her.
“I’m traveling with Smithson Young.”
“Who the fuck is that?” Fury demanded.
“I know him and can vouch for him. He’s a Guardian,” Smoke interjected.
“Clearance level?” Anubis added to the inquisition.
“Not high enough,” Smoke said.
“He’s fucking getting upgraded. CCS, make that happen. Highest priority. Valkyrie, he’s your responsibility until then,” Fury spat out the commands.
“I’ll take care of it,” Smoke said. “Charley and Gabriel have an in with the Office of Personnel Management, and until we get our processors back up to speed, we’re depending on them for investigations.”