She could see vestiges of smoke from a webcam she had hacked in to that was used by a securities firm a couple of streets over. AJ gasped in horror when the house exploded, trying feverishly to find any sign of Chas. She could see that his phone’s GPS was active and near the house. Was it possible, then, that he was okay? She heard Susannah screaming her name and shouting to Amal that AJ was one of the team. Amal, taking the phone from Susannah, got on the line and said, “This is Amal, Mahmoud’s contact. We’ve been hit with some debris but are all right. We will call you back as soon as we find Chas.” She hung up, leaving AJ, horrified and hamstrung, to wait to hear news of Chas’s fate. ‡‡‡ AMAL, SUSANNAH, AND BUZZ had gotten as close as they could to the burned-out husk of his house, but for the most part, it was a smoldering pile of rubble. Susannah could barely see through her tears, and the sounds of a fire truck approaching warned them it was time to cut and run.
