Love the Pawn or Pawn the Love.

Chapter 3

Athena's body started shaking rapidly. The crowd of pedestrians, that the police officers struggled to keep away, gathered around the zoned-off area where Athena was placed in. The gurney she rested upon was placed in the middle of 2 roads crossing each other. The police wanted to minimise casualties if the bomb was detonated. They zoned the area off with a perimeter made out of white barriers.

The medics cautiously started CPR after the police instructed them to work around the bomb-vest. The paramedic in charge placed both his hands as far down on Athena's chest as he could, without touching the vest, and slowly started compressions. His assistant placed a manually-operated oxygen pump over Athena's mouth and pumped it slightly every few seconds.

The paramedic in charge stopped the compression for a few moments and placed his index- and middle finger in Athena's neck, slightly under her jawbone. His eyes widened slightly and a grin crept onto his face. He ran to the ambulance and returned, out of breath, with an injection filled with clear fluids.

"She started regaining consciousness." The assistant said relieved.

"Good," the paramedic indicated, "Ma'am, can you hear me?"

Athena eyes were foggy and she was very confused.

"I am going to inject these fluids into your arm. It will stabilize your current cardiac condition until we reach the hospital." The paramedic told her while injecting the fluids into her veins.

The police officer approached Athena and the two paramedics after he gave them some room to breathe. He put his hand around the paramedic in charge's upper-arm and signalled him that he want to speak to him in private.

They both walked until they were just out of Athena's hearing-distance. Athena disapproved of their secretiveness and tried to stand up so she could join in their conversation. The assistant-paramedic held her down and told her that she had nothing to worry about because her condition is stable and they are arranging to move her to a hospital.

Athena knew that what the assistant had told her was not the truth, even though the assistant was sincere in her attempt of consolation.

The man from the bomb-squad returned with a toolbox, storing all of his bomb-defusing equipment, and he screwed off the covering-panel of what looked to Athena as the bomb's timer. The timer was still inactive.

He inspected the wires for a few moments and called for the officer who was still speaking with the paramedic. The officer began to look worried and his optimism dropped to the ground when he saw the baffled man staring at the bomb.

"Please tell me it isn't bad news, Officer Jamison." The officer, who Athena learnt was actually Detective Marcus Hamilton, said while approaching them.

"I'm afraid it is, Sir. All of the wires are the same colour: Black. It also looks as if the bomb-builders added a few extra wires to confuse us. They weren't planning on making the disarming of the bomb easy for us." Officer Jamison said after he lifted the protection helmet off his head.

"But you can still defuse it, right?" Detective Hamilton questioned the other officer.

"I'm not quite sure. The risk of cutting the wrong wire is too high and determining whether a wire is fatal or fake will surely take a long while." Officer Jamison replied.

"What? Am I stuck in this thing?" Athena raised her quivering voice.

"Temporarily, yes, you are." Officer Jamison said in the most calming way possible.

Athena was immediately certain that she would die and the anxiety symptoms of earlier returned. She started breathing heavily and the paramedics returned, afraid that she might code again

Detective Hamilton tried to calm her down, "You won't die Athena. I am going to make sure of that, and besides the terrorists still haven't yet made their demands. You are their most valuable asset at this time being. I have already arranged with one of the hospitals to move a few of their transportable trauma-equipment to a secure location. After the room has been set-up for proper medical care we will move you there. In the meanwhile just hang tight.

Athena was on an emotional-rollercoaster. The one moment she was relieved, the next she was terrified again. Her emotions went up and down like a seesaw and one person could only outstand it so long. All of the officers left Athena's side and for the first time Athena had the opportunity to let the happenings of that terrible evening sink in.

About half an hour later the paramedics strapped Athena securely on the gurney and started doing a few tests to determine her level of stability. The officers around her started to scramble in many directions and the medics informed her upon request that they were starting on the preparations to move her to the secure location.

Another half-hour later two police motorcycles began to form a convoy, a police patrol car followed behind the two Harley Davidsons and then Officer Hamilton instructed the paramedics to complete their tests on Athena speedily so they could place her in the ambulance. The officers wanted to move her within the next 15 minutes.

As soon as the paramedic in charge classified Athena stabile enough to travel they lifted her into the ambulance and made sure the gurney was fastened tightly.

The atmosphere, filled with fear and distraught, became thicker when a sharp ringtone was heard loud and clearly. Officer Hamilton took out his phone but was surprised that it was not his Blackberry making the noise. He as well as the paramedics and Athena looked puzzled. Officer Hamilton bent down to look for a phone under the vehicle, but that was also a dead end. One of the paramedics held his index finger over his mouth when Officer Hamilton started speaking. The paramedic brought his ear carefully closer to the bomb-vest around Athena's upper body. He listened for a few moments and then inserted two fingers between Athena's wet nightgown and the vest. He slid out a burner phone and Officer Hamilton immediately answered it.

"Detective Marcus Hamilton, Washington PD." His uneasy voice identified himself.

"Detective Hamilton, nice to finally put a voice to the face." The man on the other line's altered voice said cheerfully.

"Who is this? What do you want?"

There was a slight pause and then the hidden voice snarled, "Don't you dare think about moving the 'poor' girl. She will stay right there in the middle of those two roads!"

The phone was on loudspeaker and Athena had heard every single word their conversation existed of. She covered her mouth with her hand, as if she was preventing sound coming from it, and closed her eyes. Tears still managed to stream down her temples from the corners of her eyes.

Officer Hamilton walked a few large paces away from the ambulance and sat down on the cold tarred road. His arms were locked around his knees whilst he laid his head down to rest on his knees. How does he know about our plans? He thought to himself.

His brainstorming got interrupted when a nervous paramedic called out his name with fear.

Officer Hamilton ran towards the ambulance. When he got there both of them were staring at the suicide vest and the paramedic in charge pointed to the timer.

Red-coloured digits were busy counting backwards from thirty minutes.