The Peerless Man With a Thousand Gifts

137 Tick Tock

Haley B and Claire gasped as Derek revealed he had a ticking bomb in his body. "Victor… Is that a real bomb?" Claire stammered. She left her seat and backed away in panic. Haley B's face showed signs of alarm, but she didn't budge from her position.

'I will die one day or another,' she told herself. 'But I'll be lucky if it happens beside the man I love.'

Victor didn't respond to Claire's question. He was convinced beyond doubt it was a genuine bomb. His piercing eyes narrowed, analyzing the blinking light on Derek's abdomen. The monolith leader had implanted a nano-bomb under his skin that could take down the entire building in an explosion.

Victor was confident their organization had no access to such advanced technology. He figured they purchased it from an underworld broker, perhaps the Blackwells. Angela Kaufmann was working on military applications of nanotechnology, many of which were stolen by the Puppetmaster. The latter sold the advanced tech to the highest bidder. The nan