Author's Note: This is the previous chapter from the point of view of the entire team. Hope it all makes sense. Just a few scenes left to this story, thank you for giving this a chance!
Disclaimer: Characters belong to Bruno Heller, lucky dog!
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Lisbon ran towards the direction of the sound. In the dead of night she had heard a thump and then broken glass. Her heart raced as she thought a million things.
Half of her thought Jane might have thrown something out of a window while the other half knew that something had gone terribly wrong.
She neared the sound and saw Van Pelt on the floor, a gash on the side of her head. The team scrambled towards them, looks of alarm and panic on their faces.
That was when they saw it. Flames. Horrific red flames.
Rigsby yelled at her and Cho, "I'll look after Van Pelt! GET IN THERE!"
Cho broke into a sprint and approached the door at a furious speed. His body collided against the frame and the unsuspecting material yielded to his force. The door fell off of its hinges and revealed the madness within.
Smoke billowed out behind him as he moved towards the stairs. He could feel the flames licking his heels. He didn't care; he needed to get to them.
His hands barely made contact with the scorching stair rails as he reached his destination. The door was open but he couldn't see within the room. He sank down to his hands and knees and began to claw at his surroundings. Desperation fueled his movements as he knew that he was losing precious time.
"I'M BEHIND YOU, CAN YOU SEE THEM?" Lisbon shouted.
"NO..." Cho coughed but tried to maintain his composure, they NEEDED to find them.
The heat was unbearable; he could hear Lisbon on her hands and knees on the other side of the room.
"I'VE GOT A HAND!" Lisbon shouted.
Cho quickly scrambled to her side of the room and picked up the other half of Patrick Jane. Cho strained with effort, his strength was weakened by the smoke. They pulled the consultant to his feet. He could feel Lisbon supporting the other half of the weight.
"DO YOU SEE LORELEI?" Lisbon shouted.
"WE CAN'T GET THEM BOTH OUT AT THE SAME TIME!" Cho yelled.
"WE HAVE TO TRY! YOU TAKE JANE!"
Cho felt the full weight of Jane rest on his shoulders.
He half dragged, half pulled Jane towards the exit. The flames singed his clothing as the stairs began to creak and moan under their combined weight.
Cho was a serious man, a logical man, but as he willed all of his strength to come to his aid he couldn't help but hope…
Please, let us make it out of here alive.
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Rigsby held the unconscious Van Pelt in his arms as he looked at the chaos unfold. Someone had known they would be there, just as Lorelei had promised. They had known exactly who would be at which security point and how to compromise their operation.
He looked at the angry embers floating away from the decomposing structure. His mind battled with his will. His wife and son would kill him they knew he was contemplating throwing himself into a fire. He looked at Van Pelt and his heart felt as if it was being pulled in two. The team needed his help...
Helplessness flooded him. He should have known better, he should have recognized the signs. His years of arson training should have tipped him off, the smell of incendiary liquid made its presence known as small explosions blew out the remaining windows.
He hoped, he prayed that he would see Cho or Lisbon any minute. That they would be walking out of the door before the house collapsed around them.
His arms tightened around Van Pelt. He grabbed onto her as if the pressure would keep the thin shred of hope from fraying any further.
His ears picked up on the sirens in the distance and he felt an overwhelming sense of relief.
Help was on its way.
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Cho could hear the sirens as he neared the door. Before he knew it he felt dozens of hands on his body as he felt himself lifted. He didn't let go of Jane's hand. They both faced the cloudless sky as they were both carried across the lawn. He tried to find his voice…
"One..." he coughed and then struggled to make them pay attention to him.
"One more" he pointed at the house.
He could feel himself being lowered onto the ground. Lights flashed at him in all directions as streams of water made contact with the red and black house. He struggled to look at the mess. It was unrecognizable.
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Rigsby flagged down the approaching sirens and shouted at them.
"HELP THEM!"
"INSIDE!"
"INSIDE THE HOUSE!'
He let go of Van Pelt and gingerly placed her head on the soft grass. He gave her a pleading look, asking her for her silent forgiveness as he was about to abandon her to run into the flames. As soon as the sirens were close enough he charged towards the house.
He covered his head with his arms to protect himself from the falling embers. As he entered he looked around wildly for a sign of his team. He saw Cho struggling to carry Jane down the stairs and immediately ran towards them. They looked like soldiers who had stepped out of a battle field. Their clothes were tattered and their faces were grey with ash and soot.
Rigsby placed himself in between them; he took one arm from each and started to drag them out. His arms screamed and protested at the weight but he pulled them with his entire being. He felt a searing pain between his shoulder blades. A piece of wood had fallen from the ceiling and had made contact with his shirt. He screamed and fell to his knees. He held onto his friends as he inched towards the door. Dozens of officers entered the room; he felt their hands carry them out of the house. They still held onto one another, each of them refusing to let go.
As they reached the safety of the lawn he felt something inside him shift. He couldn't be angry with Jane. The events of the past few hours were enough to clear any lingering doubt. Jane was his family too.
Among of all of the words he could have used to describe Patrick Jane; idiot, mindless, smartass…he added one more, brother.
He saw Cho mouthing something... One more.
"They've got her" Rigsby reassured him as he looked towards the ruins and saw more men carrying a woman out of the house. He beaded his eyes to look through the haze. He saw the strong but delicate arm of his leader hanging limply from the makeshift cot made by the arms of a few men. They carried her towards one of the ambulances nearby.
Rigsby looked at the hell which surrounded him. He saw the faces of his team, their bodies lying on the ground in complete exhaustion. As the ambulance crews pulled them apart he thought to himself...
Please let them make it.
Please, let them all be ok.
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