The warehouse was located on the outskirts of the city, past the hustle and bustle of pedestrians and businesses. The streets became curvier and longer as the team neared their location. When they finally arrived, they drove both vans into a nearby field
and parked them there. It was possible that there were security cameras recording activity in the parking lot, and the target could be notified if the team pulled in there. As they exited the vans- Julia and Avery in one, Krumitz, Raven, and Nelson
in the other- they put on bullet proof vests and readied their weapons. Nelson pulled Raven aside. He took an extra gun out from the car and handed it to her. "Just in case." She looked at him in confusion. As a consultant, she had to be verified
by Avery to work in the field, which she was, but the process for her to have a gun was much longer. She had applied, but wasn't qualified yet.
"Nelson," She began, but he didn't let her finish.
"When we were in the hacker for hire program, they gave us obligatory shooting lessons. I know you can shoot, Elijah had you teach me." Raven sighed, but didn't resist anymore. She took the
gun and followed Nelson as the team lined up beside the door.
Avery knocked, and yelled loud enough for anyone inside to hear, "FBI, open up!" There was no answer. She nodded to Nelson, who kicked the door open.
The inside of the warehouse was dark and dingy, and smelled of mold. Shadows cloaked the corners, and even the team's flashlights seemed to do little to combat the darkness. Raven and Nelson
branched off to the left, Avery, Krumitz and Julia to the right. "Clear!" Julia yelled, seeing nothing and no one on the right side of the warehouse. Just as Nelson was about to reply the same thing, Raven motioned for him to follow her. She was pointing
at a table with something cloaked by a blanket. The shape was bulky and cylindrical, and stretched almost the entire length of the table. Slowly, Raven lifted one end of the blanket, and Nelson the other. Once the blanket was off, they could see a
countdown. It had seven seconds left, and its ticking was growing ominously louder.
"BOMB!" Nelson yelled, grabbing Raven's arm and turning to run. They had almost reached the door when it exploded behind them. Nelson pulled Raven to the ground, and they both covered their
ears as the sounds of the explosion ricocheted throughout the building. The blasts continued for what felt like hours, but was likely only a minute or so. It seemed like there were multiple blasts, and they all felt as strong as the one before it,
if anything, they were increasingly more powerful. Each detonation shook the foundation of the building, and it crossed Raven's mind more than once that the walls could cave in on them. Raven felt something hit her leg, followed by a sharp burning
pain. She kicked it away, but the heat remained. The blasts had finally stopped, but both their ears were still ringing. When Raven pushed herself up, she saw a wall of fire approaching from the back of the warehouse. A piece of burning wood had been
touching her leg, and flames had sprung up all around it. She barely registered Nelson helping her to her feet, or running out of the warehouse and into the parking lot. She subconsciously felt herself fall, but the pain of hitting gravel was lost
on her. Behind them, the building began to creak and shift, the shrapnel, shock waves, and fire destroying the supports of the structure. Nelson was yelling her name, but she couldn't hear it. The ringing in her ears was incessant and loud, and whenever
she opened her eyes the world would spin and dip until she closed them again. The colors were all mixed together, and the sun was too bright.
Slowly the ringing faded into the background, and her senses began to come back to her. The first thing she felt was pain. The sting of gravel from when she had fallen, but mainly the burn on
her leg. For the first time, she began to hear Nelson's voice. He sounded worried, and desperate. "Raven, Raven look at me. Raven. God, Raven, open your eyes. Can you hear me? Please Raven." She was still dizzy, but the feeling was fading fast. The
world came into focus in pieces. The colors separated, and shapes became clearer, although their edges remained blurred. She felt Nelson's hand on her cheek. "Raven? Raven please look at me." She opened her eyes slowly, squinting at the sudden brightness.
For a second a wave of dizziness washed over her, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come.
"Brody?" She murmured, beginning to regain control of her body. Her vision focused, and she could see Nelson leaning over her. She tried to sit up, but her cut and bruised arms sent sharp, piercing
pains through them that forced her back down again. Nelson looped his arm around her waist and helped her sit up. She looked at him, still feeling as though there were flames licking at her skin.
"Raven," He said, brushing her hair away from her face, which she realized was cut too. His fingers ran over a cut and she winced. "How badly are you hurt?"
She swallowed hard, then opened her mouth to speak. "I think I burned my leg, but other than that, I think it's mostly just bumps and scrapes. I think I hit my head, but I'm not dizzy anymore
and my vision is better." Nelson nodded.
"The paramedics will be here soon, and they'll make sure you don't have a concussion." He said, trying to be reassuring. He gently rolled up her pant leg, revealing a patch of blistered and
red skin. As the fabric touched the burn, Raven whimpered in pain and bit her lip.
Sirens began to wail in the distance, and soon firefighters reached the warehouse. Raven was escorted by a medic to an ambulance.
As the paramedics treated her, Krumitz walked up to Nelson. He placed a hand on his shoulder. "She'll be okay." Nelson nodded.
"I know. Are the rest of you alright?"
"Yes. Avery said there were multiple bombs, she saw at least two others explode from near the other walls. Luckily, we were all far enough away." Nelson looked back, at the smoldering remains
of the warehouse. He took a shaky breath in.
"Avery was right, it was a trap. What do we do now?"
Krumitz looked back at Avery and Julia, who were examining some of the wreckage. "Avery thinks that the targets have a more complicated relationship than we previously thought. The bomb squad
is beginning to examine the scene. I'll keep you updated on what they find. However, the fire department says there are many pieces of shrapnel still intact, even after the fire."
"But why escalate from murder to bombing?"
Krumitz shrugged, "Maybe the dominant partner thought he could kill us all and prevent his arrest by doing so."
Nelson shook his head. "It just doesn't make sense, Krummy. Don't most killers stick to their M.O.?"
"Most of the time. But hey, maybe this isn't just about the murder, maybe there's something we're missing. Maybe good old Singer isn't the man we think he is."
Nelson sighed, turning away for a moment. He glanced back at the ambulance, where he could glimpse Raven speaking to one of the paramedics. He shook his head again. "Jonathon Singer was a former
army ranger and model citizen. What kind of criminal activity could his death be tied to?"
"I don't know." Krumitz said. "I'm going to see if Avery found anything else."
Nelson made his way over to the ambulance. The paramedics were wrapping a bandage around Raven's leg, and he could see her grimace as they wound it tighter. He walked up to her, and she turned
to look at him. "Are you okay?" He asked.
Raven nodded, "They said it's mostly superficial injuries. The worst part is the burn on my leg, but they gave me some painkillers for it."
"Are you good to continue on the case?"
She nodded, "The paramedics said I will most likely be good to go, but they have to take me to the hospital and run some tests, just make sure I'm okay."
Just then, Krumitz approached them. "Avery wants us to regroup at the police headquarters." He turned to Raven, "How are you?"
"I'm fine." She said quickly, brushing away his concern. Nelson turned to the other agent.
"We'll meet you back there in a couple hours, once we're done at the hospital." Krumitz nodded, and headed off in the direction of the police vans.
Nelson stepped up into the ambulance, reaching for Raven's hand. "I've got you." She smiled softly at him, grimacing as the vehicle pulled onto the road and she was jostled around. A nurse approached
them, holding an IV in her hand. "Miss Ramirez? I need to insert this into your arm. We're giving you some stronger painkillers since burns can often become more painful after the immediate scalding." Raven nodded, wincing as the needle slid into
her arm.
The nurse moved away and the ambulance swerved again, turning onto a side road. Nelson wrapped an arm around her and she closed her eyes, leaning into him. The wail of the ambulance's sirens
were muffled by the vehicle's walls, but Raven could see reflections of the flashing lights from outside. She shut her eyes again, feeling peaceful with the absence of the sterile white walls and all the medical equipment. Ignoring the pain from her
leg and her cut and bruised limbs. But even that began to fade into the background as the painkillers coursed through her veins. Sitting next to her, Nelson's arms were warm around her and she allowed herself to relax into them. They would be
at the hospital soon. Everything would be all right.
Outside, the wind howled and beat at the sides of the ambulance.


Nelson tapped Raven on the shoulder as the ambulance pulled into the hospital. She opened her eyes again, and the paramedics had her lay down on a stretcher and wheeled her into the emergency room. Nelson followed directly behind her, staying close
enough to talk with her. The nurses set up machines and drew blood, asking Raven questions.
"Miss Ramirez, can you tell me the date?" The nurse asked, shining a light into her eyes. Raven blinked.
"October 29th, 2016."
"Do you have a headache, or blurry or double vision? What about dizziness?" Raven shook her head.
"Not anymore, although I did immediately after the explosion."
"Have you had any more experiences of those symptoms after the initial explosion, before we arrived or on the way here?"
"No, nothing."
"Repeat after me," The nurse said, placing the light on a cart. "18, 91, 2, 40, 16."
Raven took a deep breath, her gaze flickering over to Nelson in the background. "18, 91, 2, 40, 16."
The nurse nodded, "Good. One last thing." She tapped the cart three times in succession with her index finger, paused, then tapped once again, then twice. "Can you repeat that motion for
me?"
Raven repeated the action quickly, and the cart rolled slightly under her touch. The nurse smiled warmly at her, "I see no evidence of a concussion or brain injury, and the cuts and bruises
will heal in a few days to a week or so. Meanwhile, regularly clean and bandage the burn, and we have prescribed some painkillers for you. You are to take one pill twice a day, preferably before you eat breakfast and before you eat dinner. The
instructions are also printed on the bottle." Raven thanked the nurse, and stood up to leave.
For a second she nearly stumbled, feeling a searing pain shoot through her leg. Nelson reached an arm out to steady her, and guided her downstairs and out the door.
The air was cold and windy, and Raven shivered as they stepped outside. She attempted to walk normally, but the pain forced her to limp. Nelson offered to pull the car up to front door for
her, but she declined. Something about his concern bothered her; the attention made her feel uncomfortable. She felt vulnerable, and hated to appear so weak in front of the team. She had always felt like they frowned upon her, always judging her
for her past. So she despised the thought of being a burden to them and straining their resources because she was injured. Grimacing, she opened the car door and got inside. She decided she would act like she wasn't even hurt, no matter how painful
it was.