Chapter 10: Blazing hearts

Mac and Sheriff Floyd rushed toward the Beery Oil Refinery after apprehending Tim Richardson for major criminal charges. Jonathan radioed in for back-up and fire trucks about a potential hostage and fire situation, but they had to proceed with caution and only come in on his request. Mac called Henry at the Beery mansion and quickly explained the emergency. Beery was up in arms and jumped in the Cadillac with Henry and two F.B.I agents coming along for the ride. After a thorough search of the mansion, they found the paper evidence of his international and illegal oil trades hidden in the unused library of books in his grand study. They also uncovered proof of tax evasion and fraud. Roland was going to be paying millions back to the IRS and the Beery Empire was crumbling by the minute. Mac's last phone call was to Dani. She was so ardent about coming out to meet them that Mac held the phone from his ear, so Jonathan could hear her ranting.

"We are a team, Mac Harper! I have to be there…all I want…"

"Danielle!" Jonathan cut her off sharply. "Do you always get what you want?"

The question had thrown her off guard and Mac could clearly imagine her flustered and trying to find the precise comeback…but failing miserably. Her tone grew sullen, as she made a final demand.

"The both of you, just be careful! That's an order!"

"Yes ma'am!" They both said as cheerfully as they could muster.

"And don't call me ma'am!" Dani hung up the phone before they could hear her burst into tears.

Mac put the phone on the receiver with a big sigh of relief and sadness. He knew how much Dani loved him and he already promised her that he was irreplaceable and planning to stick around for a long time. He banged on the windowsill.

"Come on, Floyd! Can't you go any faster?" He demanded.

"Not if I want to break the law, Harper! I'm going as fast as allowed, with the siren, so that gives me more leverage! I don't want to get into an accident! We'll get there, Mac, we'll get there!"

Mac was nearly pulling his hair out. He was ready to pound Deputy Richardson to a pulp after his brazen admission of blowing up the boat and kidnapping Gretchen. The Deputy flippantly spilled the whole story on how Roland and Sabrina hired him two years ago to get rid of Jonathan. He more than obliged the Beerys because he was also sore that Sheriff Berkeley gave the badge of Sergeant to the younger man. He admitted his mistake in killing the wrong man and after Berkeley's death Floyd became Sheriff. The plot to kill the photographer and grab the model was Sabrina's, because she had found out Dani and Mac were nosing around the mansion and putting the clues together and that Mac and the model were very sweet on each other. Richardson admitted his fear of the woman, who was ruthless and powerful, having made as many corrupt associations as her husband while he gallivanted around and left her in the dust.

-Oo-

"Boys, you know what to do! Get to work!"

"Right away, Mrs. Beery!"

The four thugs that surrounded Sabrina grabbed some containers from the car and ran to the control center of the refinery. They fiddled with knobs and dials, and then turned their attention to the contents of the piping systems. Gretchen watched with wild panic and tried not to make any sudden moves. She had a clear view of the city and peered out into the road up ahead; she noticed a flashing red light coming speedily toward the area.

"Oh, please be Mac! Please! The Sheriff! Anyone!" She begged and continued to focus on the scene below.

Heather Floyd grew antsy and raised her gun to the older woman.

"You do realize if you shoot me, everything you worked so hard for will be gone, Heather."

"No! No it won't! I have the money, Sabrina! It's safely stored in my own Swiss accounts!"

"I don't think so, dear. I had the banks reroute that money to my accounts. You have nothing. Poor Mike, it's a crying shame he had to die so tragically because of your greed. At least Rollie and I were a team in our dealings."

Heather's hands shook and she lowered the gun, dropping to the dirt with jittery laughter.

"Why! Why! I helped you! I killed for you and that pig you call a husband! I deserve a reward!" She clawed at the dirt and then came to her feet, trying to lunge at the woman. Sabrina jumped back and called out to her bodyguards. Two of them came running and grabbed Heather by each arm.

"You are gonna get exactly what you deserve! You weren't trying to help us, you wanted to destroy us and take our fortune! In fifteen minutes, this entire refinery is going to explode! Do you think your little matchbook tricks were going to make a real dent in this place? Let me give you a little chemistry lesson!" She laughed wickedly, backing toward her car. The thugs holding Heather tied her up to one of the pipes in front.

"I had my boys overfill the blowdown drum with highly flammable liquid hydrocarbons. The excess liquid and vapor hydrocarbons will then vent from the drum and ignite at the start-up of the isomerization unit. In case you didn't know, that's a little device that boosts the octane in gasoline…when that happens, poof! All gone! " She giggled. "Oh, and for a safety measure, I had the boys disable the alarms and gauges. They won't sense there's overfilled equipment and hence, never go off! TaTa!"

"Sabrina! We were in on this together! You can't leave me here! You dried up old hag! No wonder Beery didn't want you! Oh, but he got everything else! Even me! That's right! Right under your nose, just like all the others! He only married you for your connections! You're so stupid! I want my money! I…" A gag cut off Heather's enraged oaths and she was left bound to the pipe. The thugs leaped into the car and drove off.

-Oo-

As Sheriff Floyd's car drew closer to the refinery Mac shouted at him. "Floyd! That's Sabrina Beery! I recognize her! She's getting away!"

"Like hell she is!" Jonathan snarled and picked up his CB. He called in for the other squad cars to move into action and do whatever it took to stop the black Lincoln from escape.

Rolland Beery's Cadillac pulled up to the side of the patrol car and Henry stuck out his head. "Rollie claims he just saw his wife drive by."

"Don't worry, Sheriff Floyd's got them covered." Mac explained quickly.

Rollie popped his head out and shook his fist. "I know her plans! She's gonna blow me out of the water! I know it! She'll do everything in her power to ruin me!" He moaned.

"You ruined yourself, Rollie Pollie!"

The F.B.I agent called out from the driver's seat. "We're don't go any further. If that place is going up, we don't want to be in the line of fire."

Sheriff Floyd shook his head at their callousness. "I can't stop! Gretchen is up there! Tim told us the entire plot when we arrested him!" He glared with venom at Rollie, but kept grimly silent. Mac noticed his hands twitching over his gun. "Henry, call Deputy Daniels, tell him to send out an emergency ordinance to evacuate the neighboring towns right away and get these Fire brigades ready!"

"Sure thing, Sheriff."

"No more time for small talk! Drive, Floyd! Drive!" Mac bellowed.

This time Jonathan put the pedal to the metal and didn't stop the car until they were right in front of the refinery. Mac ran out and called for Gretchen loudly. He soon heard a scream for help from the highest piping. He turned to the Sheriff gravely.

"I have to go up, Jonathan. Heather's over there, you need to bring her in. Just get her and drive away! I'll do my best to get Gretchen out. If this place is gonna blow, there's no stopping it now."

"Mac, I can't just leave. It's my responsibility to serve and protect."

"NO! I took the same vow of responsibility, Jonathan. You need to serve now, serve justice for your brother and make these fiends pay for every crime they ever committed! Just get out of here! And if anything…promise me you'll take care of Dani!"

Jonathan nodded with a glint of sadness in his eyes and a wane smile on his lips. "I promise you that, Mac! Don't you know I'm already in love with that stubborn woman?"

Mac grinned and then charged ahead to the unit. He quickly scaled the ladders up to Gretchen.

Heather clanged her heel against the pipe and Jonathan ran to her and undid her binds. He pulled out his cuffs and whacked them across her wrists.

"If I weren't sworn to uphold the law I would want to let you burn with this place." He seethed. "Mike loved you, and you did nothing but take advantage of him. I wish I wasn't so blind back then. I should have known that you're a snake!"

Heather spit at his boots. "You're just as useless as your brother was! Two peas in the pod! We could have done some amazing things together, Jonathan, but you never wanted me. You and Mike, work, work, work! I should have known better than to get involved with him!"

Jonathan squeezed her arms roughly. "There was no one better than Mike and you knew it! His good nature is what killed him, always trying to change the world for the better. You monsters are gonna severely pay for this!"

Heather's gaze followed Jonathan's to the top of the piping unit. Jonathan's heart beat wildly and he closed his eyes for a moment.

"Lord, help him! Heather, if he and that girl die, I will see to it that you and the Beerys get executed so fast, your heads will spin. Don't forget, this is Texas!"

Jonathan dragged the prattling woman toward his squad car. With a last sad glance at the refinery he did as Mac ordered and drove far away.

-Oo-

When Gretchen saw Mac below, tears streamed down her face. She rattled the handcuffs. Mac pushed open the doorway to the railing floor and he swiftly climbed out and crawled to her. He pulled his lock pick from his pocket and jimmied the cuffs, getting them open within seconds. She grasped him, sobbing into his shoulder and he stroked her hair.

"I got you, baby! I'm not gonna leave you. Come on, we have to get out of here now!"

"Mac, I have to climb that ladder? I can't…I can't! I'm scared!"

"Don't worry, Gretchen, I'll be right below you the whole time, I won't let anything happen. It's the only way down!"

Gretchen glanced at her beat-up sandals and kicked them off, the heels on them would have stumbled her descent. Mac grabbed the ladder and started to go down. Gretchen swallowed her fears and followed, forcing herself to look straight ahead and concentrate on the rungs, not the height. They made it down quicker than she imagined. Mac jumped off the last bar and pulled her off the ladder, hugging her tight.

"That's my girl! You did it! Come on, we only got a few more minutes!"

They were about to make a run for it when they saw Roland's Cadillac bearing down to the refinery. His car horn blared 'La Cucaracha' repeatedly. The red and white bullhorns on the front gave the illusion it was charging forward. Mac yanked Gretchen and they took a dive to the ground, nearly being run over. The hysterical older man raced from his car, holding his head anguished.

"No! Look what you did to me! My life! My work! My fortune!"

"Beery! Get outta there! It's going to blow! Run!"

At that instant, the piping systems clanked and quivered all around them. Rollie refused to listen to Mac's pleas to leave. He raced into the control unit of the refinery to try and stop the inevitable. Mac couldn't wait any longer; he shoved Gretchen into the front seat of Beery's car and hopped inside, calling out to the raving oil magnate one last time.

"Beery! Let's go! Forget it! You're gonna die!" He shouted hoarsely.

"This is all your fault, Harper! When I get out of this, I will hunt you down! I will destroy you and that viper in there with you! I'm not leaving my pride and joy!" Beery insisted viciously then frantically adjusted the controls.

Mac glared at Gretchen. "He's not kidding!…Don't forget, Rollie! You can't take it with you!"

Mac slammed the steering wheel and turned the ignition. The pipe on which Gretchen was trapped exploded and she screamed, covering her ears. Metal creaked and groaned as sweltering steam and noxious vapors shot out from the tubes. While Mac sped down the interstate they felt the ground rumble beneath them.

"Gretchen, duck down, just in case!"

"What about you?"

"Just do it!"

Gretchen threw her arms over her head and dropped low in the seat. Mac rammed his foot on the gas harder and watched amazed through the mirror as fire erupted from the refinery, followed by plumes of black smoke. A thunderous explosion shook the car to its foundations and they both hollered in fright. The smoke roared toward them with a life of its own, nearly blinding and choking Mac. He swerved the car off the road and it unexpectedly hit a small embankment and went flying through the air. The Cadillac slammed into a channel of water and rapidly sank. The annoying strains of the 'La Cucaracha' car horn went off without let up. Mac jolted forward; he covered and ducked his head in, but thankfully didn't go through the windshield. He grasped the steering wheel, his knuckles white with alarm. Gretchen slowly sat up and panicked as the water seeped into the car.

"Gretchen, are you hurt?" He demanded.

"Not…not really! Mac! We have to get out!"

Mac jostled the door and then kicked it open. The water rushed inside, covering over them. They both went under and Mac grabbed her by the waist, quickly swimming out from the death trap. The waters were murky and it took them a moment to reach the surface. Mac popped his head up guardedly. The smoke was billowing around them in heavy bursts and was starting to sear his lungs. Gretchen came up and gasped. She lay low and put her head on his chest, covering her mouth and trying to protect her eyes. Mac rubbed her back with a fleeting look around. He caught sight of a grassy area that would offer relief from the fumes and smoke and swam her to it.

"It's okay, we made it, Gretchen. We made it out alive." He choked. Mac gulped back tears and sniffled. Gretchen lifted her head and pulled away to look at him. She grasped his face.

"Mac, you did it again! You saved my life! Oh God, Mac, don't leave me, don't leave me now!"

Gretchen clung to his shirt, pulling on it and crying. Mac kissed her head and then lifted her chin.

"I'm not gonna leave you. I'll never leave you Gretchen. I love you!"

Mac's voice stumbled with all the mixed and pent up emotions they shared during the tumultuous week and he cried softly. He caressed her and held her tightly pressed against him. Fire trucks and squad cars raced to the scene of the explosion with a frenzy of colored lights and blasting sirens. Mac and Gretchen embraced and kissed passionately, their hearts blazing as strong as the refinery fire. They murmured intense vows of love and noiselessly floated in the cool waters, hidden…briefly…from the destruction.