President's Daughter's Bodyguard-Chapter 87: Rooftop: Part Two

Chapter 87: Rooftop-Part Two

"I will die with you Bunny."

Theo took a shaky breath as those words left his mouth. They tasted like blood and sorrow.

He saw her break again at the sound of them. Danielle shook her head violently again as tears fell without mercy.

Her shoulders trembled beneath the bomb vest that seemed to weigh more than the entire world.

"Stop saying that" she cried. "Please stop. I cannot listen to you say goodbye. Please."

Theo stepped closer but still kept his hands raised. The wind howled around them like a chorus of screams. He could hear the wail of sirens from below. The red light on her chest blinked faster and faster as if counting down her final heartbeats.

He swallowed hard and whispered. "I am sorry. I am so sorry for everything I am about to do."

She didn’t hear the words through the storm of her sobs. She clutched the straps of the vest like they were chains and she was the prisoner inside. She looked at the city lights below and then back at him. Fear and love battled in her eyes and neither was winning.

Theo felt something behind him, a presence, the hair on his neck rose, his eyes shifted only a little and froze there, on the far side of the rooftop near the broken railings, a tripod stood, a camera, and a red light on it glowed just like the bomb.

The world was watching...The live stream.

Ethan’s grand finale.

Theo clenched his teeth so hard he felt pain crack through his jaw. Ethan wanted them to explode here on camera. He wanted to show the world his masterpiece of madness. He wanted to show the president his final gift.

The daughter who meant everything to that man. He wanted to show the city what fear tasted like.

Theo stepped forward again.

Danielle screamed. "Do not come near me. You will kill us both."

Theo looked into her eyes. "He has already tried to kill you a thousand times. I will not let this be the last."

She shook her head. "You cannot save me. There is no way to disarm this. There is nothing you can do. I do not want you to die too..."

Theo felt like his lungs were turning into knives. He kept walking. Slowly. Fear could not stop him now. He had already lost too much. He had already buried too many memories in the dark. He would not bury her.

The bomb beeped. A sharp warning sound. Danielle cried out.

In the sky above them a light exploded. A loud rumble followed. A helicopter cut through the clouds.

Its blades sliced the air like thunder. Flashlights pierced through the smoke and wind. Voices yelled through megaphones but Theo could not hear what they said.

Frank’s men! The bomb squad!! They had arrived...

Danielle looked up in panic. "Theo please. Please do not move."

But he did. He moved closer and reached her. He placed his hands on her cheeks gently, like she was made of glass and he would rather break himself than hurt her.

"I love you" he whispered.

She sobbed and tried to push him away. "Do not say that. Not like this. Not when we are about to die."

He leaned his forehead against hers. His voice shook. "I promised to protect you. Even if I have to die doing it."

The helicopter lowered closer and ropes dropped. Three men in protective suits slid down. The bomb squad sprinted toward them with tools ready.

Inside the building below them a fight happened again. They heard gunshots...

A figure was thrown out of the roof access door...

"Ethan...?"

Frank crashed into him like a storm. The two bodies slammed onto the concrete. Frank punched him across the face again and again. Ethan laughed. Even with blood spilling from his mouth he laughed like he was watching a comedy.

Frank roared. "Stop the feed. Shut him up."

Ethan tried to raise a small black trigger in his hand. His thumb pressed down.

But Frank caught his wrist in time. There was a sickening crack, and Frank broke his hand.

The trigger fell...

The world continued breathing for one more second.

Ethan screamed in hysterical delight. "You think you saved them. You think you win. You do not understand. She is already dead."

Frank slammed his head into the ground so hard the laughter stopped. Then handcuffs clicked shut around Ethan’s wrists.

The bomb squad reached Danielle.

One of them spoke fast. "Do not breathe too hard. Stay still. We are going to remove the vest."

Danielle nodded weakly. Theo held her shoulders to keep her steady. He kept telling her calm words. "You are safe. I am here. You are safe." He did not know if he was reassuring her or himself.

The bomb technician cut a strap. Then another. The blinking light sped up. He was paralysed in place.

"We need to hurry," he said with a tight voice.

Theo’s heart stopped hearing that tone. He had heard that tone before on missions. That tone meant time was running out.

Another strap cut...The vest slipped...

The device hung loose.

Beeping roared like a heartbeat having a seizure.

The technician gasped. "It is about to go. Take it away from her. Now. Now."

Theo didn’t think and just acted.

He seized the bomb vest with both hands. It burned against his palms. He felt death vibrating through the wires. He looked at her one last time.

"I am sorry."

He ran at full speed. Toward the edge of the building.

Danielle screamed his name until her voice broke. "Theo. No. Theo. Please."

The wind swallowed her cries.

Theo threw the bomb upward with every muscle he had left. Higher. Higher. Into the darkness of the sky.

Then a flash of white swallowed the stars.

A sound like the earth splitting open filled the night.

Theo was thrown backwards by the shockwave. The sky rained fire and metal. The rooftop moved violently. Dust and sparks fell like burning snow.

Danielle reached out for him with trembling fingers. Tears poured like rain. "Theo. Theo."

He lay a few feet away from her. Smoke curled from his clothes. His eyes fluttered. Pain crawled through his chest like claws. But he looked at her. He breathed.

He was alive...Barely.

Frank rushed toward him shouting orders. The helicopter headlights shined brighter than hope.

Danielle crawled to Theo and collapsed beside him. She pressed her forehead to his.

"You came back for me" she muttered through sobs.

Theo smiled weakly. "Always." His hand touched hers.

Then his eyes rolled back and his body went still.

"Theo!l Danielle yelled his name.

"I’m alive, Bunny...just let me nap for a minute..."