The Ambassador

'What are you thinking?' asked Tim

'Who in the hell has such a time to think and act in such a vindictive way?' countered Mark

'Let us go to the bomb site. We have only ten days.'

'We are not going to find anything over there. It would be better that we interrogate the suspect,' suggested one of the Inspector to his chief, Mark.

Mark pulled a chair and sat on it. He closed his eyes and rested his head on his hands. Lost deeply in his web of thoughts, he was analyzing the case in his way. Tim and other Inspectors were looking at Mark with apt silence. 

'So, that lunatic is quite sure that the bomb that he is going to detonate is nuclear,' asked Mark

'Yes. The suspect is also quite sure of that. He said that the guy that hired him at gunpoint was boasting about a nuclear bomb,' said Tim

'Bring that suspect over here. Let him spill the beans.'

Inspector brought the suspect in handcuffs into the office of Mark. It was Mark's signature move that installed fear into the heart of criminals. Mark would start by offering coffee to the suspect. After that, he would offer him a seat at the edge of the 36th-floor balcony. The view beneath would send shivers down the spine of any suspect when Mark would inform about his intention to throw the suspect out from that balcony. 

Many suspects would spill the beans fearing their life. While many would brave dying before saying anything they don't know. Mark would then use VR Glasses and a motorized chair to terror out the truth from the suspect. This stage would guarantee an outcome.

'So, Mr. Burton. You are saying that the guy pointed a gun at you and made you plant the bomb. Luckily, no was one at the bombing site was injured or killed in that blast. Explain to me that where he was pointing the gun when you detonated the bomb,' saying this, Mark switched on the display which played the clip of Mr.Burton detonating the bomb with a remote, and there was no one standing in his vicinity. 

'He was standing right below that pillar. He knew the blindspot of the security camera, and he used that knowledge to his advantage,' clarified Mr.Burton

'So the bomber threatened you with a gun and a nuclear bomb?'

'And he also knew the names of my family member. He threatened to kill them all if I don't detonate the bomb.'

'So you choose to kill others than someone kills your own.'

'What would you do, sir?' asked Mr. Burton.

'Personally, I would kill that lunatic monster with my bare hands.'

'No one can risk the life of their family. And I work inside that building, so I knew that it would be empty.'

'He warned you about the nuclear bomb?'

'Yes, he told me to leave the city or perish with nuclear fallout,' clarified Mr.Burton.

'Clear one thing for me. In my life, I have never seen a criminal spare the life of someone who can risk exposing his identity.'

'I don't know that sir but he let me go.'

'Okay, Tim. Take this gentleman to the balcony. Let him have some fresh air.'

'Okay, sir,' said Tim and dragged Mr. Burton to the balcony. 

'Let refresh your memory, shall we Mr.Burton?' said Mark.

'Sir, I already said what I know.'

The ordeal began, and the conclusion remained the same. Mr. Burton knew nothing. 

All he could provide was a sketch of a masked man and a deadline of ten days, now only nine days, after which there would be a nuclear explosion. 

The hunt began. FBI joined the search as it was a matter of national security. They scanned the entire city for radiation emission. They failed to locate any source of radiation in the city. 

Another bad-luck of that city was its port. The town flourished due to that port, but now the suspect might have used it to bring in the nuclear bomb.

The clock was ticking, and so was the bomb. It was only seven days to detonation.

'Sir, see this. You were right about the post,' said Tim and handed over a report to Mark. Mark glanced at and quickly stood up from the chair to grab his coat. 

'Let's go,' ordered Mark.

'Wait a minute, Sir. We already raided the house. The importer of that container was shot dead at point-blank range. There was no other document in the apartment to lead us any further.'

'You looked at the obvious. The devil is in the detail. There were two containers loaded from Slovakia. FBI found radiation traces on both of them. One was found abandoned at the port in the next city. Both of them were imported under the same owner. We are going to that port to check the records and also the CCTV,' clarified Mark.

They found a masked man driving away with the container from the port. The authority failed to identify him as he stole that container from the docks.  

Only four days were remaining, and the agency was nowhere near the suspect. The trail went cold after that port. The Mayor of the city was deliberating whether to tell the people about the nuclear bomb that will trigger panic evacuation or hold the news. 

The clue appeared on the third day. One of the patrolling cars found the trailer on the outskirts of the city. 

No fingerprints. The footprints on the mud surrounding the trailer confirmed one thing that the masked man was limping. 

'Search for airport and port entries for the last four months with travel history to Slovakia,' ordered Mark to Tim.

The search began, and it narrowed down on one man. He was a former ambassador to a middle-east nation whose entire family perished in a bomb attack. He asked for help from the government.

Due to a lack of proof, the government did not provide him and his family the protection. After that, the terrorist killed his entire family in a bomb blast. He blamed all of it on the government. 

Using his previous links, he imported the nuclear bomb and placed it inside the city hall that will take out the city. He did all things with the utmost care, but he was not able to hide his limping. Mark caught him due to that defect.

The city police surrounded him in the public park where he was savoring his last hot-dog of the city. He was ready to flee the town as he already narrowed down another pawn that would trigger the bomb. 

That pawn heard about the recent bombing and a nuclear bomb in the town. That pawn informed police about the location of the masked man and a nuclear bomb.

Based on the input, police located the limping ambassador near a hot-dog stand. He shot himself before anyone can arrest him. 

The bomb-squad located the bomb and defused it to save the city from a large scale disaster.