“How far away does someone have to be to set it off?” my father asked.
“Depends how it was made and what the remote was made of. It could be feet, or it could be thousands of miles. Goin’ that direction will be a long road.” And not get us close to the culprits fast.
“Any idea what type of bomb it was?” Cruz questioned.
“Hard to say on that one, but it packed a huge punch. I’d rule out chemical just because of the intensity. Definitely an IED made with C4. It’s easy to prep, place, and blow. Other components of it, unknown.” True I knew a lot about them.
Cruz’s brow quirked. “You a specialist?”
“Technically no, but I know my shit. Didn’t stay in a sandbox for years and not pick up shit. Plus, I didn’t smell an abundance of chemicals when I went in to get Austyn.”
“And that type can be detonated from anywhere?” Deke asked.
“Yeah. All they’d need is a cell, but my question is did they intend on Austyn being home and setting it off, or did they just blow it randomly and hope someone was there?”
“Keep goin’,” Cruz demanded, listening to my theory.
“Cameras. Those things are so fuckin’ easy these days. If it was intent on Austyn being there, then they have cameras or tapped into their home security. Assuming it has video feed.”
Cooper nodded. “Yeah, it does. All Ravage properties have it. Too bad it probably burned up in this fuckin’ mess.”
Acting quick, I moved to the back of my SUV, opening the hatch. My Tahoe was a mobile computer and communication station. One never knew in my line of work if I’d need it or not when I didn’t have my computer at my fingertips. This way I did. Therefore, I had my ride customized for instances just like this one.
The back end looked like any other vehicle’s trunk area. Empty for the most part, but a touch higher than the normal one. I could store anything up there, and no one would be none the wiser. Pushing a button on the side, the back of the SUV moved and transformed.
The bottom flipped up to reveal my computer equipment that rose to a level I could use while I stood. Two laptops and all the mobile equipment needed for me to do any kind of job. This SUV was locked and loaded when it came to equipment and artillery.
“Holy fuck. What are you Batman?” Cooper asked, staring at my setup with wide eyes as things changed and moved to reveal my set up. I didn’t plan to have any secrets from the club anymore, so I wasn’t trying to hide shit about my SUV either.
To them, I’d be an open book.
“Fuck no. Just prepared.”
“For a fuckin’ nuclear war?” GT asked, staring at everything including the antenna I’d pulled out and set on the ground next to me, pointing it up to the sky. It would need to be adjusted, but that would come later. There was also a satellite, but being with all the trees I didn’t know if I could get a clean shot.
“If it happens,” I said on a shrug, booting up my shit. “You have the same surveillance equipment as before when I left?”
“Fuck no. You broke into that shit, so we had to change it all up,” Deke responded with menace in his tone. It was fine. I’d take whatever they dished out. Their shit before was too easy to break into anyway. They needed an upgrade four years ago. Surely, they’d need another now.
“Wanna tell me the system type so I don’t waste twenty minutes finding it, or do you want me to waste the time searching?” I asked the group.
It was true. I’d have everything on the house in less than that actually. Only I was older, wiser, and didn’t need to be the smartass to shove it all in their faces. I could hack into it all again, if I so chose. Being in the military, I had access to more shit than they probably should’ve let me have. It was a great learning experience, that was for damn sure. It also made my current job a bit easier as long as it stayed under the radar.
Two bikes were heard before we saw Jacks and Nox coming up the road. They came right to us and parked their bikes, Jacks’ gaze on the burning buildings. I could see the disgust and anger in his eyes. If I’d just lost my home in such a fashion, my emotions would be easy to read too.
Even the strongest of men couldn’t hide that shit.
“What the fuck is goin’ on here?” Jacks’ raged, and I couldn’t blame him. Everything he owned was gone.
Every piece.
Even if they got the fire completely out, the water damage alone would be too severe to keep much. Long-term smoke damage was another thing altogether too. Unless they had something in a fire safe box, it would be the only thing that saved it.
“About four bombs. Micah here is gonna tap into shit and see what he can find,” Cruz explained.
“Again? Thought you learned your fuckin’ lesson,” Jacks ground out, stepping up to me and getting in my space. I didn’t back down.
“I did. That’s why y’all are with me. Not doin’ it behind anyone’s back. We’re all here lookin’ for answers.” My tone was calm, even with the smoke still in my lungs. If the man was going to punch me again, he would, and I’d deal. But the only way this would work was for me to be one-hundred percent me, and they either accepted me or they didn’t.
“And why the fuck are you even here?” Jacks clipped, obviously not happy with my presence one little bit. He didn’t want me anywhere near Emery, and I couldn’t blame him on that one.
I went to say something, but it was Cooper who stepped in, put his arm out and broke us apart. “Brother, it’s cool. Shit had nothing to do with Emery. He was here with his kid, and he got Austyn out because she was stuck inside. He saved her fuckin’ life.”
Some of the venom went out of Jacks, but not much. He stepped back a few paces and turned to the blaze. With no one telling me the system and my computers ready to go, I started typing in the codes I needed to get my answers. While I wasn’t thrilled with going this route, time was a factor, and frankly we were wasting too much of it.
Hell, if Jacks was going to attack, he was going to attack. I would defend myself. This wasn’t the time for that shit, so he needed to stand-down.
Answers needed to be found.
Now.
“What the ever-lovin’ fuck?” Nox clipped, staring at the smoke billowing from the home. The firefighters still hadn’t gotten it out, but they were making progress as more smoke than flames were there. Four large trucks and one small were on site. It had a pump truck since there wasn’t a hydrant near. The attached hose in the pond helped supply water, which was good, because their water truck didn’t hold much.
“We’ll get to the bottom of it,” Cruz told his son and clapped him on the shoulder.
“But Austyn’s safe. Right?” Nox asked of his twin. Sure, they’d had their ups and downs, but they were damn close.
“She’s good. Micah got her out,” Cruz answered and turned to Jacks. “Micah needs to know what security system you have so he can figure it out.”
“It’s a…” Jacks started, but I cut him off. Granted, it probably wasn’t my best move, but I already knew. I couldn’t wait around for him to stop mentally sizing me up. The time to compare dicks and ball sacks would come, but today wasn’t the day for this shit.