Chapter 1
Harvey poked his head out the hallway at the same time as two of his neighbors. One man had a balding but otherwise youthful face and the other man, further down the hall, had the appearance of a grizzled war hero with deep wrinkles cut into his cheeks and hair so gray it was almost white.
"You think it's a false alarm?" The balding guy said.
"False alarm? Jesus Christ, we're not in college here," the grizzled man said with a roll of his eyes and came out wearing a Yale shirt, sleep pants, and slippers.
"Yeah, mandatory fire drills were definitely not on the lease," Harvey replied, probably sounding not dissimilar from Mike when he thoroughly read a document.
"….You read the lease?"
Harvey blinked and gave the balding man a look as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"He's a lawyer. Of course he read the lease," the grizzled guy said. "Hey, Specter, check the stairs down there. I'll do the ones over here." By this time, everyone else who had been sleeping had opened their doors and the hallway was filling with people caught in their sleep wear.
Harvey glared at the man, but stepped over to the door just barely across the way from his own door and put a hand flat to the surface to find that it was still cool. When he opened it up, however, a wave of smoke suddenly rolled into the hallway and clogged his senses and he choked, pushing the door back closed. "Smoke down that one," Harvey reported, desperately rubbing to get the burning out of his eyes.
He heard the door open at the other end of the hallway; there was a pitter patter of footsteps and the grizzled guy yelled, "Hey! Hey wait!"
A black man in the hallway grabbed the older man and said, "Whoa! No, that's dangerous! You can't save that guy."
"Wait, what happened?" Harvey asked.
Grizzled turned from scowling at the door and said, "This one's filled with smoke too. Some idiot went down anyway."
"Does that mean we're trapped?" A woman in a rather skimpy night outfit had also wandered into the hall.
Harvey rolled his eyes.
"Unless you have a fire escape from your window," Grizzly said to her and Harvey could detect just the faintest trace of sarcasm in his voice.
"Uh…no. Does anybody?"
"It's a glass building, twenty stories up; there wouldn't be any fire escapes," said another person who hadn't completely lost their senses. But after the proclamation, a low murmur broke out among the remaining people in the hallway, bringing their total number of residents to roughly ten.
"All right, everyone, just relax. We'll simply have to wait to be rescued. See any fire trucks, Specter?"
Harvey had wandered to the end of the hallway and tried to get a glimpse of the activity down below, but all he saw were just the flash of emergency lights glancing off other buildings windows. "There are definitely emergency vehicles down there, but I can't get a proper look from this high up."
"They're here. That's all that matters," Grizzled replied. "Okay, people, why don't we go back into our condos and pack some essentials. We'll be ready to make our escape whenever they get up here to find us. I'll call to make sure they know we're up here."
"Wait a minute, here, who put you in charge?" Balding guy said, his nose held up in a haughty way.
That man must be a CEO. Only they would be that finicky about who's running the show, Harvey thought, honestly wishing he didn't have to deal with any of these people. But with the confusion swiftly turning to anger and panic, Harvey spoke up, "Who cares if he's in charge? There's nothing more we can do anyway. I, for one, will pack some things." And he headed back into his room, muttering curses under his breath.
The first thing he did was change out of his pajamas into something a little more suitable for public life which, for him, consisted of a pair of jeans and one of his Harvard t-shirts he still had lying around. Then he pulled out a backpack that he kept around for just such an occasion and packed his sleep wear inside, a pair of khakis, a few pairs of socks, and underwear. He grabbed his comb, toothbrush and decided packing some shampoo would probably be a good idea.
He glanced at his suits and contemplated the idea for all of five seconds and then shook his head. Screw it; they're too bulky. He only stopped to grab his phone and charger off the kitchen counter, and then dug through the underbelly of his kitchen for the flashlight he stored down there. But just as he was about to leave the apartment, he stared at his phone where the time glared at him: 1:32 AM. Donna and Jessica would probably like to be aware that my apartment complex is on fire. But which one to call first? Oh, hell, Donna always came first.
He leaned against the door and stared up at the ceiling as he waited for her to pick up. When she did, she did not disappoint, "I swear to God, Harvey, if this is some sort of drunk call, I am going to cut off your balls on Monday." He couldn't keep from chuckling, but he sobered up over the news he was about to tell her.
"Donna, I just wanted to let you know that my apartment building is on fire."
"Oh my God, are you okay? You must be okay. You wouldn't be calling me –"
"We're….stuck on our floor. The stairways are blocked off. We have to wait for someone to rescue us. I wouldn't worry, though, because the fire doesn't seem to be anywhere near my floor." There was a very long pause and he almost thought she'd hung up. "Donna?"
"You expect me to just keep calm while you're trapped in a building that is on fire?"
"Actually, I expect you to keep calm and call Mike and tell him what's going on," he corrected, hoping he might get a more positive response from her. "I will keep you updated on developments here. I'm not dead yet."
"I should hope not. I never expected a fire to do you in."
"What did you exp –?"
"A heart attack while screwing your latest catch."
"No way. Definitely a plane crash after getting strip searched at the airport."
"You said it!"
Harvey couldn't keep the smile from his face as he leaned back against the door to head out into the hallway with everyone else. Half of the other people were already staked out in the hallway, sitting on the floor like children waiting to head off to recess. Only Grizzled was standing and at his door on the phone as well, with his own backpack and what appeared to be a pet carrier at his feet.
"—there's ten of us on the 20th floor. When everyone's out here I'll do a better head count. So where is the fire– " He stopped in mid-sentence as he apparently listened to the person on the other end of the line.
"Could you stay on the line for a minute, Donna. I'll get back to you," Harvey replied and walked over to him, making no attempt at hiding his eavesdropping.
Grizzled looked him squarely in the eye for the last bit of the conversation. "So the fire is confined to the 5th and 6th floors? Good to know. I'm assuming the only danger we're in is death by smoke inhalation," Grizzled said, with a particular bite to his voice that spoke of another concern. "I thought so. I hope that's the case. Fine. We'll be waiting in the hallway." He clicked his smart phone off.
Harvey didn't bother with even a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, I think you heard enough to know the situation," Grizzled said to him. "They did promise me that smoke inhalation was our greatest threat and that it could be a couple of hours before they get up here."
Harvey closed his eyes, trying to keep the exasperated sigh from escaping, but then he put his phone back to his ear. "You still there?"
"Waiting," Donna replied.
"The fire is on the 5th and 6th floors."
"Good."
"It could be a few hours before they get anyone up here."
"Well then, sounds like I won't see you for a few hours. My phone will be next to my pillow."
He felt the dull stabs of jealously rise at the thought of returning to bed. "You're going back to sleep? And what do you mean 'see me?'"
"You are coming back to my place with me," Donna replied, as if the answer had been just that obvious.
"Wait, when did we decide this?"
"When you called me!"
"I'm your boss; I'm supposed to let you know about things like this. You act like I'm poor. I can afford a hotel for a few nights."
"Harvey," there was a pause in which Harvey assumed she was getting that deranged look in her eyes when she had a partner or an associate to chew up. "You're coming back with me, even if I have to bound and gag you and throw you in the trunk of the cab."
"All right then, your place. Don't wait up for me, honey. And call Mike!"
"As if I would forget. What about Jessica?"
"I'll call her myself."
"You better come out alive," Donna said and the line disconnected abruptly.
Harvey snorted, but he couldn't keep the small smirk from his lips. Nothing like talking to Donna to deflate the importance of the situation and make it just that more bearable.
"Interesting relationship you have there," Grizzled said. Harvey frowned at him, but by that point the other occupants of the floor had gathered around them and Grizzled turned to address them. "Okay, this is what they told me. The fire is confined to floors 5 and 6 and we should just sit tight and wait for the firefighters to get up here and rescue us."
"Why don't we wait in our condos?" The balding CEO from next door to Harvey asked.
"Because you'll get rescued faster if the fire fighters don't have to search for you," Grizzled replied. "Just sit out here and relax. They did say it could be a few hours, so make yourselves comfortable."
Harvey turned away and lowered himself to sit against his own condo and everyone dispersed to do virtually the same thing. He pulled out his phone and finally dialed Jessica. It wasn't until the fifth ring that he heard her sleepily answer, "Harvey? What's going on?"
"Hi, Jessica. My apartment building is on fire." He could hear the stunned silence from the phone and he continued, "We cannot get out. The stairwells are filled with smoke, so we have to wait for the firefighters to put the fire out and come and get us. I figured you'd appreciate knowing."
"Your condo is on fire?"
"The building is on fire. I am, for the moment, perfectly safe. I wouldn't worry. I'll keep you and Donna updated, but it looks like it's going to be a few hours."
"Do you have a place to stay when you get out?"
"Donna's opened her apartment to me."
Jessica laughed, deep and throaty, and she said, "Fancy wording for 'adoption.'"
He frowned at her and she seemed to from over the phone.
"I may not know Donna as well as you, but I know she wouldn't let you out of her sight after something like this."
"You're not nearly as smart as you think you are."
"Oh, aren't I?" Jessica challenged but he had nothing and let his silence speak for him. "Please keep me updated, Harvey. I would hate to lose my once again reaffirmed best closer in the city."
"If I can handle a $300 million settlement by myself, I think I can handle a little fire," he clicked the phone shut and leaned back against his door. After a moment, he spoke loud enough for everyone in the little hallway to hear, "Anyone have a deck of cards?"
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