In the heart of London – Surveillance at a glance…

FLASH—
Except it wasn’t the building-shattering explosion they expected.
It was inside the detonator.
A contained blast — a sabotage charge — erupting in Hale’s hand.
Hale screamed as the device blew apart, shredding his palm and sending him crashing into the wall. The detonator clattered across the floor in molten pieces.
Emma blinked. “He… he booby trapped his own detonator?”
Jake shook his head. “No. The Architect booby trapped it.”
Hale writhed on the floor, clutching the mangled ruin of his hand. Blood pooled beneath him. His voice was a broken rasp.
“He… he used me…”
Jake stepped forward cautiously. “Where’s the real trigger, Hale? Where is it?”
Hale’s eyes were wild, unfocused. “He… he said I’d be part of the new order… he said…”
Emma knelt beside him, voice sharp. “Where is the Architect?”
Hale coughed, blood flecking his lips. “Everywhere… nowhere… he—”
A soft click echoed through the room.
Jake froze.
Emma froze.
Hale’s eyes widened in terror.
From the bomb case.
A new panel slid open.
A secondary display lit up.
00:02:00
Jake’s heart stopped. “Emma… the countdown just jumped.”
Emma stared. “He accelerated it. He’s overriding everything.”
Hale screamed, “He’s killing us all!”
Jake grabbed Emma’s arm. “We need to open that case.”
Emma shook her head. “Jake, that’s a primary device. If we break the seal—”
“—It might blow,” Jake finished. “If we don’t, it will.”
The timer ticked down.
01:59
01:58
01:57
Emma’s voice trembled for the first time. “Jake… we don’t have the tools. We don’t have the codes. We don’t even know the trigger mechanism.”
Jake looked at the biometric panel.
Two handprints.
One labelled AGENT MERCER.
The other AGENT WALSH.
Emma whispered, “He built this for us.”
Jake placed his hand on the panel. “Then let’s give him what he wants.”
Emma hesitated — then placed hers beside his.
The panel scanned.
A soft chime.
The case hissed open.
Inside was not what they expected.
Not wires.
Non plastique.
Not a conventional bomb at all.
Emma’s eyes widened. “Jake… this isn’t an explosive.”
Jake stared at the humming core — a compact, pulsing sphere of circuitry and coolant lines.
“It’s a pulse generator,” he whispered. “An EMP.”
Emma’s breath caught. “A city killer. This would wipe out every system in London. Power grid. Hospitals. Air traffic. Banking. Communications. Everything.”
Jake nodded grimly. “A reset.”
Emma looked at the timer.
01:12
Jake reached for the core.
Emma grabbed his wrist. “Jake — if you pull that wrong, it’ll discharge instantly.”
Jake met her eyes. “Then tell me how to pull it right.”
Emma swallowed. “I don’t know.”
The Architect’s voice filled the room again — calm, almost gentle.
“You’ve done well to get this far. But this is where your story ends.”
Jake shouted into the air, “Show yourself!”
“In time. For now… watch.”
A new number appeared on the display.
00:30
Emma gasped. “He’s forcing a hard detonation!”
Jake grabbed the core. “Emma — guide me!”
Emma’s hands flew over the internal schematics. “There — the coolant line. If you sever it, the core overheats and shuts down.”
Jake positioned his fingers.
00:20
Emma’s voice was shaking. “Jake… you get one chance.”
00:15
Jake exhaled. “On your mark.”
00:10
Emma whispered, “Now.”
Jake pulled.
A metallic snap.
The core screamed — a rising whine like tearing metal and dying electricity.
The lights flickered.
The servers blew out in a shower of sparks.
The entire building shook.
Jake and Emma hit the floor as—