He took out the Leatherman and unfolded the blades. He was not after the longest this time, but the thinnest. It was just over two inches long – barely enough to reach the wires.

Eddie was all too aware that cutting them could trip a booby trap. But he had little choice. In twenty-six minutes, the bomb would explode no matter what. ‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Live nuke. No pressure . . .’

He slipped the narrow blade into the gap, wincing at a stab of pain from his chest, then probed deeper. The blade’s tip brushed the wires. There was less than a centimetre of play before the Leatherman’s grip would jam against the bomb casing. Did he have enough room to cut them?

He moved the knife above the wires, then forced it in as far as it would go. If he brought it downwards, it would hopefully catch the skein – and cut through it.

And then he would know if the bomb was booby-trapped. Although possibly only for a millisecond . . .

He took a deep breath, steadying his hand – and brought the blade down.

It caught on the wires. He kept pulling until they drew taut. The moment of truth. Any more pressure would cut the first wire.

He applied it.

A faint metallic tink – and the blade was through.

Eddie exhaled. One down. He pushed again. A second wire was severed, then a third. He was still here, along with everything around him. Keep going—

Another tink – followed immediately by a shrill bleep from the control panel.

‘Shit!’ His hands froze, eyes darting to the display. Still twenty-five minutes to go—

The timer changed. Fifteen minutes.

He didn’t know if it was an anti-tamper system or a glitch. Either way, ten minutes of his safety margin had just vanished. He withdrew the blade—

It brushed the severed wires – shorting them out.

Bleep!

Five minutes remaining.

Eddie stared in horror as the numbers remorselessly ticked down. ‘Buggeration and fuckery!’

Chapter 45

45

‘Oh my God,’ Nina gasped, staring at the laptop screen. The Chinese qi weapon was locked on to Manhattan. Zan’s doing, it had to be – the Nephilim had asked him to choose a target that would deliver the maximum shock and awe. He had in turn picked the city that both embodied modern human civilisation and represented the cultural capital of America. Even as a traitor to China, he had not selected his own country for destruction.

She collected the key, then moved to where Sidona had sat, stretching her arms so she could both hold the key against the nexus above and reach the crystal within the tracker. Touching the pillar had been almost overwhelming; with the device boosting its power, she had no idea what to expect . . .

Her mind exploded into another dimension.