"As for Stuart..." He sighed heavily at the mention of his son. "Dying at the hands of someone so unstable... I guess it was just his bad luck."


    Although Gibson hade prepared to die with his own vest of explosives, he wasn''t foolish enough to seek death if he could get his revenge and live. As long as Joshua died here, it was enough.


    After Gibson left, Joshua tore the duct tape from Keen''s mouth.


    "Keen, are you okay?"


    "I''m fine, Mr. Joshua." Keen''s eyes, red-rimmed, fixed on Joshua''s bleeding hand. "But your hand..."


    Joshua lifted Keen''s jacket, revealing the bomb strapped to his small frame. The timer wasn''t five minutes; it was three. And only two minutes and thirty seconds remained.


    Joshua put in an earpiece. "What''s the status on the surrounding explosives?"<fn0b99> Newest update provided by Find~Novel</fn0b99>


    Jake''s voice was tense on the other end. "There are too many. We need at least another half hour. Plus, there are snipers in the dark, slowing our progress. I don''t think..."


    "Keen has a time bomb on him, less than two minutes left," Joshua cut in. "Have your team prioritize disabling the key charges. Get as many as you can."


    He hung up and focused his full attention on the device. It wasplex, likely requiring two wires to be cut to stop the timer.


    Just then, Keen spoke up. "Mr. Joshua, do you smell something?"


    Joshua''s eyes darted to a corner of the room where mes were already beginning to lick up the walls. A wry smirk touched his lips. Gibson''s preparations were thorough indeed.


    Soon, the sealed space filled with acrid smoke. Keen began to cough. Joshua tore two strips from his own shirt, fashioning makeshift masks for them both.


    The warehouse fire roared to life, the thick smoke making it hard to see or breathe. Keen grew dizzy, his consciousness.fading He looked around in a daze at the mes,


    devouring beast consumingo


    everything in its path. The heat was staggering.


    Despite the critical danger and his own grievous injury, Joshua''s hands were perfectly steady as he worked on the bomb. The inferno behind him served only as a backdrop throwing his focused silhouette into sharp, vivid relief.


    ***


    Meanwhile, Ste, Haynes, and Foreman''s helicopter was rapidly approaching the site. From the air, Ste spotted several columns of smoke rising from below.


    "They could be there!" she shouted.


    Joshua had driven to avoid tipping off any of Gibson''s lookouts, while Harold and Jake had arrived earlier by helicopter to discreetly clear explosives. But Gibson''s nning had been meticulous he still had men watching Joshua''s every move, ready to deliver a final blow if he saw any hope of survival.


    Thanks to Ste''s helicopter, they arrived the moment the fires began. After<pnding in a safe clearing, the three split up to search.