Chapter 172 The Kiss After Surviving the Catastrophe
The sound of helicopter rotors filled the night sky.
Through the pitch-black darkness, the aircraft's searchlight blazed down, making everything it touched bright as daylight in an instant.
Everyone looked up toward the sky.
"It's the rescue helicopter!"
"What a massive chopper!"
The helicopter opened its cargo doors and dropped down a rope ladder.
Several heavily armed men rappelled down the ladder, landing steadily in front of Alexander.
"Mr. Hayes! We're here to extract you and Ms. Foster first."
Grace couldn't immediately identify who they were and looked at them warily.
Alexander said, "Don't be afraid. They're all my men."
Only then did Grace relax.
Several operatives secured safety harnesses around Alexander and Grace. Grace wanted to take Lily with them, but when she turned around, she saw Jeremy holding Lily, both already strapped into safety gear.
Jeremy said, "Mr. Hayes, we need to leave immediately. This ship won't hold together much longer."
Grace looked around. "What about everyone else on the ship?" Only half the people had been evacuated.
Alexander replied, "We'll save as many as we can. The Coast Guard rescue teams are already en route."
Grace nodded, unable to bear looking at the chaos any longer.
She knew the ship was about to sink, and she hadn't been able to save everyone trapped in those cargo holds.
"Grace, we're going home." Alexander wrapped his strong arms around her, pulling her against him as they climbed the rope ladder the helicopter had lowered.
Jeremy also climbed up, carrying Lily.
Grace gripped the ladder rungs tightly. Soon, the ladder began retracting toward the cabin door.
The pull of the helicopter was overwhelming—if not for Alexander's protective grip, she wouldn't have been able to hold on.
Moments later, the ladder was fully retracted into the cabin.
Alexander carried Grace into the helicopter.
The aircraft slowly lifted off.
Through the window, Grace looked down from the helicopter and saw the massive cargo ship splitting down the middle, breaking apart.
The explosives had torn the vessel wide open. A huge gash split the left side, and seawater poured relentlessly through the breach. The enormous hulk was visibly tilting toward its inevitable destruction.
The armed cruisers were still conducting emergency evacuations.
But some people who couldn't evacuate in time would likely go down with the ship to the ocean floor.
Grace turned away with a shudder and embraced Alexander tightly.
He held her just as fiercely.
The normally composed man's voice carried an uncharacteristic rasp. "I almost lost you..."
Grace looked up and saw blood staining Alexander's clothes. She couldn't tell if it was his or someone else's. "Alexander, are you hurt?" she asked worriedly.
Before she could finish her question, Alexander cupped the back of her head and kissed her deeply.
His lips, cold from the sea wind, pressed against hers with desperate intensity.
This was a kiss of survival, of relief.
He seemed to pour every ounce of his strength into kissing her.
For a moment, he wanted nothing more than to merge with her completely, to never be separated again.
Jeremy and Lily watched awkwardly from nearby.
Alexander suddenly became aware of their audience and shot Jeremy a cold glare.
Jeremy quickly covered Lily's eyes and turned away tactfully.
Alexander returned his attention to Grace, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead.
He could feel her trembling—perhaps from shock, from the trauma of what she'd endured.
Alexander whispered against her ear, "Don't be afraid. You're safe now."
His gaze suddenly fell on the collar around her neck. His brow furrowed as his fingers traced its surface. "What is this?"
Grace suddenly remembered—her collar was still locked.
The decoder was lost somewhere.
Grace felt her heart skip a beat, her lips beginning to tremble again. "Alexander... this collar... there's a bomb inside."
Alexander asked, "Why are you the only one wearing a collar?"
He hadn't seen anyone else with one.
Grace explained, "The others all got theirs removed, but mine wouldn't open."
"Why not?"
"I found the decoder and used it to unlock everyone else's collars, but mine... the numbers on mine were reversed. I didn't realize it at first, and there wasn't time to figure it out. Now the decoder is lost."
Alexander's expression grew grave. "You said there's a bomb in there?"
Grace nodded. "I'm not certain, but that's what someone told me. The explosive charge isn't large, but it would be enough to... to blow someone's neck apart."
Alexander studied the collar. "Can we force it open?"
Grace shook her head. "It has some kind of mechanism. If you try to force it, it detonates immediately."
Jeremy overheard and looked alarmed. "How is that possible?"
Alexander's face darkened.
With the decoder lost, the collar had effectively become a time bomb.
He had no idea when the explosive might detonate, but she couldn't wear this thing for the rest of her life.
Alexander tilted her chin up and began examining the collar more closely.
He was skilled at picking locks—American, Swiss, German—he could usually find a way to open them.
If the collar had a lock mechanism, he might be able to work with that.
But after studying it thoroughly, he found no keyhole, only a single screw.
Alexander said, "Find me a screwdriver."
"Right away."
The helicopter was well-equipped.
Jeremy quickly located a toolbox.
Alexander selected the smallest screwdriver and carefully began unscrewing the fastener.
The moment it came loose, Grace heard a sharp "beep." The collar emitted a piercing electronic sound.
It seemed like some kind of sensor activation alarm.
The green light on the collar flashed several times, then turned red, blinking rhythmically at one-second intervals.
The warning sound echoed in her ears.
Alexander's expression changed dramatically.
Grace saw his face go pale and felt panic rising. "What's wrong?"
Alexander gripped her shoulders. "Don't move."
The collar contained a small explosive device with two modes: immediate detonation and timed detonation.
When he'd removed the screw, it had apparently activated the timer mechanism.
The bomb was remarkably sophisticated despite its small size—precisely engineered. While the charge wasn't large, it would easily be enough to sever someone's neck.
It seemed equipped with a motion sensor that accelerated the countdown when the wearer moved.
The problem was, now that the timer had activated, no one knew how much time had been programmed into it. No one knew how many seconds they had before detonation.
But the bomb was armed.
The explosion might be only minutes away.