Bomb Disposal

It was getting late by the time he rolled up to the police cordone on the motorcycle. Sunset was fast approaching, but the square in front of the Saguaro Building was still a hive of activity. He spotted Emura behind the yellow tape and tried to get her attention when he heard a voice that made him cringe.

"John?" It was Agent Marquez.

"Hello, Lucia," he said.

"Since you're here I take it you accepted Emura's job offer," she said.

"Yep."

"A bomb threat on your first day and you still want to work for them," she said.

"It's an isolated incident."

"Is it?" Marquez asked, "Then why is it that something burns down or gets demolished wherever your new boss goes? Did you know Latran Corporation burnt to the ground last night?"

"Who?" John asked.

"Nobody important," Marquez said, "Just one of Dragonguard's biggest competitors. And if it was your first day, where were you?"

"I was doing new employee orientation," he said.

"Teleworking?" She asked.

"Why not?" He said, "I make seven figures now, who's going to stop me from working out of my hotel room?"

"So you don't know anything about the incident at the old cement factory today," Marquez said.

"No," he said, "What happened?"

"There was a shootout between unknown parties which left two foreign nationals dead," she explained.

"Why would I know anything about that?"

"Perhaps someone of your description was witnessed fleeing the scene chased by a drone," Marquez said.

"A drone!" He laughed. Somebody really thought the valkyrie was a drone.

"There you are," Emura said, "Agent if you're done harassing my employee, I'd like to talk with him now."

"So what's the story with the bomb?" He asked.

"It's on a timer," Emura said, "It's set to blow any minute now. Don't worry there's nobody in the building."

"If you had let the bomb squad take care of it this afternoon, we might not be having this conversation!" Marquez said.

"Oh, you would just love to get inside that building, wouldn't you?" Emura said, "Well you won't be violating my due process today. I have my own ordinance disposal team, and they've determined it's not safe to tamper with."

"This!" Marquez said, "This is why I find you and your company so fucking suspicious!"

"Are you finished, Agent?" Emura said as John slipped under the yellow tape, "Come on, John."

She led him a short distance away and made sure the FBI couldn't listen in or read their lips.

"Listen, the bomb isn't actually on a timer," Emura said, "That's just the cover story we're feeding to outsiders.

"So why can't you defuse it or let them handle it?" John asked.

"It's not that simple," she said, "We have to detonate it."

"What!?" John whispered harshly, "Are you crazy?"

"If we let the bomb squad take care of it, they're going to examine it," she said, "And if we take care of it, they're going to confiscate it as soon as we're finished."

"It's the bomb squad!" He said, "It's literally what they do!"

"The detonator was wired to my laptop and it's keyed to my biometrics," she explained, "I know I don't need to remind you, but I'm not human."

"If the police examine the bomb, they'll find out, won't they?" He asked, "So what do you need me for?"

"You need to be the one to detonate it," she said.

"WHAT?"

"If I sneak away to blow up my own building it's going to be the most suspicious thing in the world!" She said.

"Oh but if I do it then they won't suspect a thing!"

"You have my word that none of the fallout will come down on you," she said, "Literally or metaphorically."

"How am I even supposed to blow it up if it's keyed to you?" He asked.

"Your magic originates from me," she said, "That means you can summon my essence, my biometric data as it were."

"How do I do that?" He asked.

"Find Sama," Emura said, "She'll walk you through it. Look, I'll make it up to you with the best orgasm of your life. I'll make you see stars with your eyes shut."

"Make it a threesome and we have a deal," John said.

"With whom?" Emura asked mischievously.

"Let me think about it," he said, "Where's Sama?"

"Media tent."

John made sure Marquez wasn't watching before he slipped away out of cordone. The tent set aside for the news outlets was down the street, far away from the projected blast zone. Inside was a cacophony and a forest of microphones with Sama at a podium handling the makeshift press conference.

"Is it true the CEO hasn't allowed the bomb squad into the building?"

"Do you know who placed the bomb and what was their motive?"

"What will happen to all of your employees in Phoenix if your company's building comes down?"

John got her attention from the back and she nodded towards him.

"No more questions at this time," she said, "This conference will resume in short order."

"Mrs. Ezra!"

"Mrs. Ezra!"

"Come on, let's get out of here," she said and John made room for her to get out of the tent.

"Emura told you what's going on?" She asked when they were in the clear.

"Yeah, and I don't like it one bit," he said, "You can't do anything about it?"

"No I am not going to let anyone use a wish!" She said, "Not even to get rid of a bomb."

"It sure seems like a good reason to," he said.

"I'm not doing it, and that's final," she said as they climbed into Emura's car.

"Could you defuse it by your own free will then?"

"Defusing it isn't the problem," she explained, "It's getting rid of it. I couldn't teleport it without setting it off because that much magic is too volatile. I also can't be sure the location I would send it to is safe. Besides, law enforcement already knows about it. Getting rid of it that way would be too suspicious."

"And detonating it isn't?" He asked, "Whatever, just show me what I need to do."

"Vasra told me she gave a 'crash course,'" Sama said, "We don't have time to make this a formal either unfortunately. Reach for your magic like you did before, and picture Emura in your head."

"You mean my gut feeling?" he asked.

"If that's what she called then sure," she said, "Are you thinking of Emura... in intimate detail?"

"Is that necessary?" He asked, not wanting to get an erection in front of a married woman.

"You're trying to summon her handprint, that's a pretty intimate detail," Sama explained, "Imagine that I'm Emura."

That was definitely something he didn't want to do with a married woman, but Sama was a step ahead of him.

"Feel my body heat, my skin against yours, smell my scent," she said as she touched his hand and he closed his eyes, and he really could imagine her as Emura.

"I've got it," he said.

"Now form your magic around that image," she said as she showed him Emura's computer, "Then touch the computer and say 'draconis.'"

"Draconis," he said and jumped a second later as the building exploded. The blast shattered the windows near the ground first then the concrete, and the building toppled sideways and collapsed in on itself at once. John gulped and hoped it wouldn't come back to haunt him.

"Glad that's over with," Sama sighed and shook her head. Then there was a knock on the car door. John looked out the window and there was a young black woman with a microphone in front of a camera.

"A reporter," he groaned, "Great."

"Let's just get back to Emura. Do your... bodyguard thing," Sama said as she opened the car door.

"Sama Ezra right? Cathy Suregate," The reporter said while John tried to get in her way. "Aren't you the CEO's personal assistant? Mrs. Ezra, was this bombing connected in any way to the fire at your competitor, Latran's, facility last night?"

"If you have questions go to the media tent," Sama said.

"And compete with fifty other outlets for a statement?" Cathy asked, "I don't think so. Ma'am, was this corporate sabotage or an **** attempt on your CEO?"

"Leave her alone," John said stepping right in front of the reporter and the camera, "I mean it."

She didn't skip a beat though and shoved the microphone in his face instead.

"What about you, sir?" She asked, "Before today this company was obscure outside of conspiracy theory circles. Do you have an opinion now that you've gained national infamy?"

"No comment," he said as he followed Sama.

"Sir, is your CEO human?" The reporter asked making him miss a step. She had eyes like a hawk and saw his subtle reaction from a mile away.

"She isn't, is she?" Cathy asked with a triumphant smile as he walked into the media tent.

"She's good," he whispered to Sama, "She's really good."

Emura and the other knights entered the media tent then, and all the other reporters pelted her with questions. Emura showed how well she could work a crowd though and navigated the conference without losing any of her smug confidence. Fifteen minutes in, while she was answering a question about the safety and wellbeing of her employees, John's phone rang.

It was Lana, calling him at the worst possible time.

"Crap," he said, "Sama, I need to take this."

He left the tent and answered, hoping she didn't know where he was.

"John, are you alright?" She asked, "I saw you on the television in Arizona."

"I'm safe don't you worry," he said, "The threat's over."

"This company, Dragonguard," she asked, "Do you work for them now?"

"Yeah," he said, "This was my first day."

"There was a terrorist attack on your first day?!" She said.

"Yeah today was a real baptism by fire," he said.

"I thought you said you were just a consultant," she said, "On the TV you looked more like a bodyguard."

"I'm a... counter terrorism consultant," he said, "We had to iron out the specifics of my job description in the middle of a crisis."

Lana gave her signature skeptical sigh that she used when she didn't believe a word of his bullshit but didn't want to have an argument because it was a classified topic. She had a specific and unique sigh for almost every situation.

"So... that supermodel with the huge tits is your CEO?" she asked to change the subject.

"You mean Emura?" He asked, "Yeah. She's really hot isn't she?"

"I'll say," Lana said, "Body like Jessica Freaking Rabbit."

"I'll be sure to pass on the compliment," he said.

She laughed on her end and said, "Have you actually met her yet, or do you work under someone else?"

"I answer to her directly," he said.

"Lucky you," Lana said, "I bet you love that. Listen, I'm glad you're safe, but I gotta go."

"I'll see when I'm back in town," he said and hung up to see Emura standing right next to him.

"Jessica Rabbit, huh?" She smirked, "I'm not that flat-chested am I?"

"I think Maleficent would be more appropriate anyway," he said which made her laugh. Marquez took the podium afte0r that and Emura said it was time to go. She ordered the other knights to return to her house and they all parted ways.

"Hey, nice bike," she said when she saw his new motorcycle, "We ought to go riding together sometime."

"Well, why not tonight?" He asked, "Oh you're probably triple booked tonight aren't you, what with losing an entire building and all."

"Yeah I've got emails to send to lower level supervisors and an official statement to write up. The shareholders will panicking for sure. There's probably going to be a lawsuit, so I'll have to call Morgan... No. That can wait. I own this company. It answers to me, not the other way around."

"Are you sure?" he asked, "We can ride some other time."

"I'm positive," she said, "I don't know when I'll get to relax again after this. So let me change into something slinkier and then it's a date."

Five minutes later Emura had donned her blue leather catsuit and they left downtown riding into the sunset.