So many innocent lives hanging in the balance, and the worst part was, there was no guarantee they’d be able to clear the area in time to protect even one.
Rocky slowed his truck to a quick, harsh stop along the curb lining the loading and unloading area. The vehicle was still rocking when she opened the door and jumped out.
Parked both in front and behind them, the rest of Delta Team exited their respective vehicles, and they all met in the middle around the hood of Rocky’s F150.
“I know this is a stupid question…” Raegan looked at Rocky and the others. “But flying anything like this over an airport has to be illegal. Which only concerns me because if this thing gets taken down by airport security, we won’t be able to?—”
“Special Agent Foster with Homeland was supposed to clear us with airport security and the TSA,” Liam announced. “Although, it doesn’t look like evacuations have begun yet, so it’s anyone’s guess at this point.”
As if they weren’t facing enough of a challenge as it was.
“I’ll call Foster and see where she’s at,” Christian told them as he got on his phone to call their handler.
In the meantime, Liam was already getting Betty ready to fly.
“I spoke to Agent Atwell on the drive here,” Rocky shared with the others. “She’s sending every available unit the FBI has, and the CPD is doing the same.”
“That’s great, except, just as that jackhole Samer planned, the departments are all already watching the banks to prevent that shit from going down.”
“It’s the best they can do given the circumstances,” Rocky shrugged.
“Okay, so Agent Foster said Homeland has officially ordered an evacuation of the entire airport, crews and all.” Christian rejoined them. “Which means, this place is going to turn into a shit show in about two minutes’ time.”
Liam looked to the team’s leader and asked, “Betty?”
“Talia confirmed you have clearance to take flight anywhere in or around airport property.”
Excitement lit up the tech genius’s eyes. “Then let’s do this.”
A few beats later, Betty was flying high in the air, hopefully on her way to save a lot of innocent lives.
“Should you take her higher?” Brody kept a close eye on the buzzing, high-tech machine.
But Liam shook his head. “Actually, she picks up a much better reading if she moves in low and slow.”
“Not too slow, I hope,” Rocky rumbled the quip from where he stood at Raegan’s side. “From the looks of the bomb’s blueprint, we’re looking at another Oklahoma City. Or worse.”
“Jesus.” Cade ran a hand over his short cropped hair.
“Samer wouldn’t just want to temporarily cripple the city of Chicago,” Raegan told the group as a whole. “He’d want to take out as many people as he could in the process, while also taking down one of the largest airports in the United States.”
Cade spoke up again to add, “Not to mention, this place is a massive hub for international business travel. The U.S. isn’t the only country that would be affected.”
“Hey, Cutler,” Jagger hollered at Liam from across Rocky’s hood. “Your little toy picking up anything yet?”
“Nothing worth writing home about.” Liam remained laser-focused on the tiny screen in his hand. “There are several low-rad readings but given their positions and the mild signal they’re putting off, my guess is those are just the TSA Security scanners inside.”
“Wait.” Cade held up a hand with concern. “Those things we have to go through when we fly commercial…exactly how much radiation are we being exposed to?”
“The body scanners can emit some radiation,” Liam explained as he maneuvered Betty above the terminal roofs. “Now, depending on the type, your basic metal detectors are millimeter wave machines. They use non-ionizing radiation waves to detect hidden metal objects like guns, knives, that sort of thing.”
“What about the bigger ones?” Raegan wanted to know. “The ones where they have you stand on the yellow shoe prints and hold your hands above your head?”
“Those are the ionizing radiation scanners I was just talking about.” Liam nodded. “But again, the exposure is set at very low levels, and there are a slew of safety precautions put in place by the TSA to prevent overexposure.”
“And that’s what you’re seeing now?” Rocky motioned toward the screen centered on the handheld controls in Liam’s hands.
The techie gave another quick nod. “Looks like it. They’re all evenly spaced, and from what I’m seeing, the levels of radiation they’re emitting are the same throughout.” The words had no more left the man’s mouth when he frowned. “Hold up.” Bringing the screen closer, Liam’s thumbs worked the controls.