A/N: I want to give a huge "Thank You!" to lilymoonlight for her wonderful plot suggestions! They were very helpful. :)
Prepare yourselves- this is a much longer chapter with some much anticipated action. Enjoy. :)
-Chapter 9-
00:02:33....00:02:32....00:02:31
The green light continued its cycle of flashes. It wasn't like anyone was actually counting them. Only the box itself. Its once infinite cycle of green on, green off to shut down as soon as it was commanded. The timer had been set, the painful show terrifyingly close to commencement. It was only a matter of time, seconds really.
00:02:22
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Mac held his breath as the seconds slowly ticked by. Time couldn't pass fast enough. He refused to move his eyes from the expansive,ornate glass doors of the lobby entrance. He squinted through the blinding snow squalls, watching, waiting. Any moment now....
He willed the time to pass faster. The annoying tick of his watch loudly proclaimed the passing of each devastatingly slow second. His ears seemed deaf to everything else. Tick. Tick. Tick.
One second....
He waited.
Two seconds...
A sigh of completion from Danny and the ice scraper.
Three seconds...
A breath-catching gust of ice cold winter air caught him in the chest, causing him to gasp and stagger backwards.
Four seconds...
He couldn't do this anymore. He would NOT play this waiting game. His team members were inside, and he had no idea how much time remained between them passing through that door and the potential detonation of the bomb. He cursed inwardly at himself for even putting them in that situation. It had been his fault, so he had to fix it. He didn't have a choice, and God help him, he was about to become as impulsive as Stella.
"Danny, stay here. I'll be right back."
Mac hoped that he was right.
00:02:10
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Flack, Angell, and Stella were close. So, so close. They reached the last flight of stairs and began their final descent. The reverberating high-pitched tones of the fire alarm had seemed to dull ages ago, and the only noise that stood out was the pounding of three pairs of feet dashing down the seemingly endless incline. 25 more steps. That was all that stood between the three and the door to the lobby. 25. A relatively small number compared to what Flack and Angell had just accomplished. Angell felt Flack's hand in hers and gave it a quick squeeze. Her other hand was gently wrapped around the gold chain hanging around her neck. They would get out of here.
00:01:52
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Stella couldn't wait to breathe in the fresh winter air and feel its raw sting on her exposed face. Never again would she curse New York winters. From now on she would welcome the blustery gusts that blew her curls askew and caused her to take unnecessary time to smooth out the resulting tangles. And the snow? She could hardly wait to see it fall down in the mass sheets and blanket the city in white. Sure, it ruined crime scenes, but she would rather face the extra frustration of additional work than never face anything again.
00:01:41
She thought of Mac and how he would figuratively eat her alive once she made it out of the building. Her impulsiveness had laid the foundation for a huge confrontation between her and her partner. Did she regret her decision? No, not in a million lifetimes. She would rather face endless arguments with Mac than live with the knowledge that she could have done something to get her friends out of danger sooner and hadn't. No, Stella preferred to live without regret.
-&-
00:01:29
Mac pushed open the lobby doors and felt the frigid air warm his ice cold extremities. The last few minutes had threatened to damage his calm and collected demeanor, and he was certain that if he didn't find his team soon, he would shatter under the immense stress. The screaming fire alarm ceased suddenly, and the roar of deafening quiet filled his ears. Not a sound was made as he softly stepped across the expansive lobby.
00:01:13
"Flack? Angell? Stella?" He called and received no reply. He called again.
The muted sound of....something began to reach his inner ear. He cocked his head trying to find the location, the source. The sounds got louder and louder....until crash! Mac jumped as the door across the way flew open. Angell rushed out, followed by Stella and then Flack.
"Mac!" Angell stated, causing Stella to look up. She froze when she saw the anger on his face.
"What are you doing here?" Confusion gave way to realization as it flashed in her green eyes.
"I could ask you the same thing," he coolly responded as he began to walk towards her.
00:01:00
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Flack didn't look so well. Heck...he didn't feel so well, either. The pain that he had pushed away earlier was catching up to him. His head pounded, his cut stung, and he just wanted to get out into the fresh air. He saw Angell across the lobby, close to the stairwell doors. She was bent over slightly, obviously catching her breath. It had been a killer run down the steps, even for a cop. He lifted his hand and motioned for her to join him.
00:00:43
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Angell saw Flack raise his hand and wave her over. He stood in the center of the giant lobby, holding his head and watching the altercation between Mac and Stella begin a little distance away. She nodded slightly at him and lifted a finger.
"Just a second," she mouthed and hunched over to adjust her shoe. When would she learn to wear the proper NYPD attire and not what she considered the latest fashion? She grinned inwardly at herself, straightened up and began to close the distance between herself and her guy.
00:00:31
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"...Look, Mac. I understand what you're saying, but, look at me!" Stella motioned towards her fully-intact body, "I'm FINE. Absolutely FINE!" she spat out.
"No, I don't think you do understand what I'm saying. You foolishly put your own life into danger, but God help me, Stella, I am not going to get into an argument with you right now. " Mac reached out to protectively grab Stella's arm and lead her out of the building. "We can finish this outside."
Stella pulled her arm out of Mac's grasp as she felt her face flush with fury. "I can handle myself," she hissed and headed for the door.
00:00:20
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Angell felt her tension begin to ease as Flack pulled her in his arms. Standing in the center of the ground floor, she could have stayed wrapped in his embrace for an eternity....except the unknown threat of the explosion still loomed above their heads.
00:00:15
"Don, we need to leave," she murmured against his chest.
"Yeah," came Flack's soft reply. He let her go and watched as she ran her hand back through her dark hair. It fell down in waves, and if the circumstances had been different, Flack would not have been able to resist reaching out and touching them. Instead, he reached for her hand.
00:00:08
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Mac watched Stella walk away from him, stunned at her nasty response.
"Stella!" he called out as he began to chase after her.
00:00:06
"Stella, wait!"
"Stella!" He had almost caught up with her. One more giant stride....
00:00:04
-&-
Angell felt safe, protected by Don's side. She nestled in closer to him as they walked towards the door and the silently descending snow.
-&-
"I was only-"
Stella began to reach for the lobby entrance doors.
00:00:03
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Flack sensed an unspoken change in the environment. Without thinking, he quickened his pace, pulling Angell along with him. The door was at least 35 feet away.
"What is it?" Angell glanced over at him.
"Something is-"
00:00:02
-&-
Mac caught up with Stella, reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder as she opened the door and let in a surge of winter.
"-trying to..."
00:00:01
Their responses would never be heard.
00:00:00
A blinding flash illuminated around them followed by a deafening crack. White-hot metal twisted, surrendering to a more powerful force. Glass rained. A shout of "run!" was muted by the roar of toppling cinder block.
-&-
Mac shoved Stella out of the building with all of his strength as he followed behind, listening to the horrifying creak of metal beams breaking, leaning.....failing.
-&-
A scream ripped from the back of Angell's throat as Flack forced her to the ground, throwing himself protectively on top of her. Glass fell and shattered around them. Shards of it landed on Flack's back and Angell's exposed arms. Heavy ceiling tiles began to rain down around them and Don shouted in agony as one caught him in the back of the head. Pain exploded inside of him as he willed himself not to lose consciousness. Color turned to gray...turned to black and white as he slowly surrendered and gave in the oncoming darkness.
-&-
Stella was powerless to stop the oncoming pavement as she felt Mac's forceful push act upon her. She couldn't get her arms out fast enough to break the fall and her body made sickening contact with the hard ground. Her head rang, and she struggled for air as she felt her breath forced out of her body.
-&-
Angell felt Flack's body go limp and knew he had lost consciousness. Debris continued to fall around her in horrifyingly slow motion. A large piece of cement landed next to her, and she whimpered as she felt Flack's body forced out of the way, rolling to the side. More pieces of cement fell. The last thing Angell heard was a loud crack as the beam above her gave out under the pressure of piling debris and let it fall onto her....
Her world turned to black and she fell into the oblivion of unconsciousness.
