Falling in Love : I love you, Today and Forever
Chapter 847: Joshua in action - Part 2

Chapter 847: Joshua in action - Part 2

By the time Ian returned, Maggie had already set up her laptop. However, she didn’t dare hack into the software. After all, they didn’t know what kind of a program they were dealing with.

"Jo, I have brought all that you told me." Ian handed the laptop bags as well as all the devices Joshua had asked him to fetch.

"Thank you," Joshua opened all three laptops and handed one to Joham. "Please provide back support for us."

Joshua didn’t have to instruct him much. He had already given a brief overview while they were waiting for Ian.

Maggie, Joshua, and Joham got to work, connecting their laptops to the hotel wifi instantly.

"Maggie, create an internal network and add my devices."

"Captain, look for the unknown devices I showed you before."

Joshua instructed while he tried to break into the software that had triggered the bombs.

The trio had impeccable chemistry and understanding. They worked in tandem with each other as if they had always been a team.

The onlookers were astonished, especially Ethan and his team and they gawked at Joshua as if he was a divine being.

Hours passed and nobody disturbed the three. It was just the three talking among themselves, instructions passing off between each other as they tried to eradicate the danger as soon as possible.

It was close to midnight when Joham found a loophole in the software and this vulnerability was all Joshua needed to hack into it, gaining control of the device.

"Fucking hell!" Joshua exclaimed once he had infiltrated the software and gained complete control of the bomb. "We have exactly a day. Tomorrow, at this time, all the bombs would have gone kaboom."

Joshua sighed in relief as he started studying the software. Although he was able to hack the system, it didn’t mean they weren’t in danger yet. They still had to detonate the bomb and they had to do it quickly.

"Maggie, look for the control function."

"Captain, please see if there are any other loopholes in the code. We should not miss out on any. We cannot afford to make mistakes."

Maggie and Joham sprang to action while Joshua supported them behind.

Nobody knew how much time had passed. Although they were exhausted, they didn’t dare lower their guards as they waited for the trio to finish, hoping for them to succeed.

At last, Maggie found the control function in the code and she disabled it. However, that wasn’t the end. There were multiple control functions and hidden functions had been called upon and they had to disable all of it.

The task was tedious and strenuous and Joshua’s back had gone stiff after sitting in the same position for a long time. Yet, he didn’t dare relax and continued typing long lines of commands on his laptop.

It was almost five when Maggie finished disabling all control functions and Joham had uncovered all the loopholes in the program.

Joshua glanced at Maggie. After gaining her nod, he turned to Joham who too nodded at him. Hesitating for a moment, he dumped the code into the software, hoping it wouldn’t malfunction.

Joshua watched the progress bar closely, tapping his legs in anxiety.

"If this code is dumped successfully, all the bombs have been detonated. Otherwise...." He let out a heavy breath and looked at Noah. "Nobody can save us."

Noah but his lower lip. But he didn’t lose his hopes and waited patiently, watching the percentage on the progress bar.

41%

47%

53%

60%

67%

82%

Noah’s heart skipped a beat when the progress bar jumped to eighty-two percent all of a sudden.

93%

98%

Joshua held his breath while he waited for it to reach a hundred percent.

99%

Everybody’s eyes were glued to the computer screens as they prayed desperately for it to be a success.

100%. The software has been successfully modified.

As soon as the words appeared on the laptop screen, everybody cheered. Shouts and hoots of joy filled the place and the people had never been so happy. It was as if they had won a war.

It was a war, alright. Considerably, the biggest war of their lives.

"The bombs have been detonated successfully. But I’d suggest we break open one of the pillars and test them to be sure."

Noah didn’t have to be told twice. He was already prepared. He just sent a message and Ronnie and a few men from the base entered with hammers.

They couldn’t destroy all the pillars. But they could afford to destroy one. So, after getting Noah’s nod, the men started to break the nearest pillar, destroying only the lower part of it.

It took them some time. But they were successful in boring a hole through the pillar. It was wide enough for them to see everything and just as they had expected, they found a small packet fixed to the pillar.

Ronnie was quick to retrieve it and handed it to Ethan who inspected it carefully.

"The bomb has been detonated. We are all out of danger," Ethan gave the verdict.

This time, the cheers were louder than before and Joshua let out a deep sigh, his body relaxing for the first time in hours. Only he knew how much of a stress he was under while he was cracking the code. Though exhausted, he was invigorated and filled with joy.

He couldn’t stop smiling as he hugged Ian. It was the biggest achievement of his life.

"Thank you, everyone. Thank you for your hard work." Noah thanked all the army men individually and didn’t forget Joham whose timely contribution had saved him a lot of money.

"I owe you this, Jo. Thanks a lot." Noah hugged his friend tight, his eyes masked with relief.

"Well, I wouldn’t mind some payment," Joshua stated cheekily.

"Sure. Anything you want."

"I hold onto it. I’ll ask you when I think of something later."

"No problem."

"Mr. Carter, may I have a word with you?" Ethan interrupted them, a rare look of seriousness appearing on his face amidst their happiness.

"I know what you intend to say, Major. I have already asked my men to find the people who were in charge of the hotel construction. I’ll leave them all to you."

"Thank you." Ethan nodded in appreciation.

"Also, I’ll personally look to it that these bombs are removed as soon as possible."

"Yes, please. We don’t want any mishap to happen in the future."

"You have all been working hard since last evening, Major." Noah looked at all the men and felt terrible seeing their exhausted faces. "Today’s breakfast is on me."

Nobody rejected him. They were sleepy. Yes. But they were also famished. They wouldn’t reject a good breakfast. They could afford to push back their sleep for an hour or two.

"Sure," Ethan replied for all of them and Noah smiled gratefully.

"Let’s inform Aria and Ivy. They must be going nuts," Ian said and it was only then Noah remembered Aria. In his tension and fear, he had forgotten that she was still outside.

"Fuck! I completely forgot about Aria," Noah mumbled in horror before he sprinted out of the hotel, praying for her to be alright.