For those not familiar with Boston, it is important to understand that it is geographically a very small city. Although it might take half an hour to cross with traffic, without traffic from one end of the city (UMass Boston) to the other end, it’s about five-10 minutes on the freeway.
So, in the context of this story—everything is ten minutes from the bomb site.
I lived in Providence...Boston is very much a “condensed” city...doesn’t take long before you’re rural.