“Faith, what the hell are you doing with that stuff? Tell me you’re not selling it.”
“Summer, you have my word.”
“If you’re not selling it-you’re not thinking about blowing something up yourself, are you?”
Faith took a drink, leaving lipstick on the glass. She would never admit it, but the makeup was for Summer’s benefit. “I want to put a hole in the Wall to get some friends out and I need your help.”
“Faith, don’t you go messing around with me. You know there’s nothing I’d like better than to go out and blow up that damn Wall, but not until I get orders to do it.” He smiled at her.
“Sorry, I was joking. I’m not about to blow anything up or help anyone blow something up, for that matter.”
“But that doesn’t tell me what you’re doing with this stuff.”
Faith shook her head. “Don’t concern yourself with that.”
“I’m here and I’m concerned. Now, if you want my help, you’re going to have to level with me. Tell me everything and I’ll be as nonjudgmental as I can.”
“Okay, but remember, you wanted to know. The Stasi kidnapped me last weekend, tortured me for several days and then nearly drowned me in a swamp early Tuesday morning. They kept my passport, but I managed to get out by sneaking across the Polish border and flying back here through West Germany. They want me to help with some kind of black op.”
“That’s a good one. So what are you really up to?”
Faith pulled up her shirt. She wasn’t wearing a bra, but Summer wasn’t looking at her breasts. Bruises covered her midriff with overlapping splotches of deep purples, browns and yellows. Her right side seemed in the worst shape.
“My God, honey.” He caressed her so lightly she felt only his affection. “Who did this to you?”
“The Stasi.”
“That’s it. You’re going back to the States with me. I won’t stand for someone beating you up like this.”
“I can’t.”
“Are you out of your frickin’ mind? I know you like to play cat-and-mouse with the commies over your toys. I don’t approve of that, but I always figured you came by it naturally, with your mama a Bible smuggler and your grandpa a bootlegger. But your genes aren’t going to help you with this one-you’re outta your league. You need professional help.”
“That’s why you’re here.”
“I mean like someone from Langley.”
“No way. They’ll kill me if I don’t cooperate.”
“Sure they won’t even if you do what they want?”
“Summer, please. It might not bother you, but we have a bomb on the kitchen table. I really think it ought to take priority. We can talk over a nice warm German beer after it’s defused.”
“Fair enough. Has it been moved?”
“It’s got a few miles on it. It’s had quite a tour over here while I ditched the Stasi. Why?”
“’Cause if it hadn’t been moved, I wouldn’t mess with it. Some bombs are rigged to blow from motion. We’d have to shoot it with a water cannon right here.”
“A water cannon? And how would you propose getting a water cannon into this apartment?”
“You told me to bring what I need.” He held his hands a couple feet apart. “It’s only yay big. I’ve got one packed with my gear. I’m pretty sure you saw one that time you visited me in Virginia Beach and I showed you how we’d handle a bomb in a suitcase.”
“Oh, yeah, that metal tube thing you put the sandbags behind because of the recoil.”
“That’s it. A high-powered burst of water disrupts the electrical circuit every time, but since you’ve lugged this all over creation, it’s safe to handle. We’re going to need to X-ray this puppy so we know if we can go in.”
“I don’t know how we’d ever get access to an X-ray machine. Maybe I could pay my dentist to let us take a couple of pictures.”
“You think I’m going to dig into a bomb using teeny-tiny dental X-rays? You always did have a good sense of humor. Now, see if you can find us some better light while I get my toys.” He sauntered over to his luggage, retrieved a metal box marked Golden Portable X-ray.
“I knew you were in a mobile EOP unit, but I guess I never really understood exactly how mobile you were.”
“EOD-Explosive Ordnance Disposal.” He opened a panel and pulled out the electric cord. He held out three electric plugs and she pointed to the one with two long round prongs set about an inch apart. “Now if we can get a good picture, we can hand-enter.”
“And if you can’t?”
“I’d be glad this isn’t my apartment.”
Faith stared at him, her eyebrows knit.
“I’m kidding. We’d use the water cannon in the woods somewhere-less problems with the neighbors if it blows.” He built a platform with the books and balanced the X-ray machine on it. He aimed the lens at the top of the case, handed a rectangular film frame to Faith, then clasped his hands over hers and repositioned her. “Find a way to get something to hold this right about here.”
Faith went into the bedroom and returned with a coat hanger. She bent it and placed the film cartridge inside.
Squinting his eyes, Summer traced the line from the lens aperture through the top of the case to the film. “Can you come down about an inch?”
“Doesn’t this thing come with a lead apron or something?”
“I forgot how cute you are when you’re all fussy. Looks good. Step out of the way.” He pressed the remote and the machine clicked and then he handed her another frame. “I want to get a couple of side shots of the locks while we’re at it. It’s harder to wire it up to detonate when you turn the lock, but the government over there gives everybody a job, so who knows what they piddle around doing.” He attached a film frame to a box and then turned a crank. Like with the first Polaroid cameras, he ran each film through the developer, waited three minutes and studied the X-rays against the light. “They definitely didn’t want you opening it up and snooping inside.”
“What’s this little thing?” Faith pointed.
“I’d say it’s a C battery-the electricity source to set off a blasting cap.” He studied the next X-ray. “And I’d say this thing with the wires running off it is an alligator clip. We’re gonna find it’s pinching a little strip of something nonconductive.”
“You’re losing me.”
He lightly pinched the tip of her index finger between his thumb and middle finger. “Now your finger is that little strip keeping my fingers from making contact. My fingers are the alligator clips. My thumb is wired to the battery and my finger to the cap. When I pull away from you and my fingers touch, it completes the circuit so electricity flows to the cap and detonates the Semtex. Now that little strip is pinched by an alligator clip and is attached to the top of the case so it’s pulled out of the clip when the lid is opened.” He pulled his fingers away from her until they made contact.
“I get it. Boom.”
He examined each X-ray. “I’m guessing they stuffed some Semtex in a can and the cap’s inside. Seems pretty straightforward. Doesn’t look like there are any extra electronics, but you’ve got a few slabs of Semtex in there, though guess it could always be a couple bricks of heroin or something.” He pointed to fuzzy white forms on the film.
“The CIA is the one who works with drug dealers. I’ve never heard of the commies getting messed up with that.”
He picked up a scalpel. “We’re going to hand-enter.”
“You’re sure it won’t explode if you puncture the Semtex?”
“Faith, I do this every day and I still have all ten fingers. Plastic explosives are so stable I’ve nailed them to a wall before. You could whomp it with a sledgehammer and it wouldn’t go off.” He plunged the scalpel into the satchel, sliced away a half-moon window and then peeled the leather back. “Holy moly. This isn’t Semtex. Where’d you say you got this stuff?”