They couldn't hear anything over the roar of the machines. Unable to sit still, Steve had gotten slowly to his feet, with Haseejian's help, and moved the few feet to the rear corner of the firetruck to get a better look at the frantic activity about a hundred yards away on the outer fringe of the pile of rubble.
The small pick-and-carry crane had lifted a large chunk of concrete and was backing away; rescue personnel immediately swarmed the cleared area, leaning in and crouching down. Then they could hear yelling and a couple of people were gesturing frantically for the medics, who raced forward with a stretcher. The group around the victim got so large they couldn't see anything except bodies milling about, then they parted and four large fireman carrying the stretcher came into view, hurrying towards a waiting ambulance, which was out of sight beyond the firetrucks to the east end of the parking lot.
Steve watched anxiously, feeling Haseejian's fingers digging into his shoulder. The stretcher, the medics following, disappeared from their view. Glancing quickly at his colleague, Steve started to follow when Healey suddenly appeared, heading towards them at a jog; Neil was right behind him. As they got closer, Healey started to shake his head. Crestfallen, Steve closed his eyes with a worried sigh, his shoulders sagging.
"It wasn't Mike," Healey said breathlessly at the same second Neil said, "It wasn't him." Healey's head snapped around, his eyebrows shooting up, staring at the black man, about his own size and age, standing behind him, looking over his shoulder at Steve.
The young detective couldn't stop the smile that briefly flashed across his face at his colleague's confusion. "Ah, Dan, that's Neil. Neil, this is Dan."
"He work with you too?" Neil asked flatly as Haseejian chuckled.
Steve nodded. "Yeah, he works with me too."
With a curt nod, Neil stepped past Dan and put a hand on Steve's shoulder. "Hey, don't give up hope. The guy they just found is pretty badly hurt but he's still alive, right?"
After a beat, the young cop nodded. "Right." He felt a hand on his elbow.
"Come on, let's sit down," Haseejian said quietly, pulling Steve gently back towards the bumper. He looked at Healey and raised his eyebrows; his partner nodded, turned around and headed away.
As Steve sat slowly and carefully, trying not to wince too noticeably, Neil said quietly, "Listen, I'll, ah, I'll give them a hand back there. We'll find him…"
Looking down, Steve nodded almost absent-mindedly. Haseejian watched him worriedly.
# # # # #
Mike could hear the concrete blocks, angled jaggedly above his head, begin to shift and groan against each other as the vibrations from the heavy machinery grew even louder. He knew the load above their precarious location had to have been shrunk a great deal for them now to be working on the ground floor, but there was still enough heavy rubble to cause some serious damage if it was to come down.
He thought about yelling to try to get someone's attention, but his mouth was too dry and his throat was sore. And he knew he wouldn't be heard over the roar of the engines anyway. He would have to wait for a lull, if there was one.
The drone of the engine got even louder and he could hear what sounded like heavy metal chains scrapping against concrete. He heard yelling voices, then the grinding of concrete on concrete as very slowly he could sense one of the large chunks of debris dangling over his torso begin to move. Suddenly a sliver of light illuminated the tiny cavern where he was pinned.
He squeezed his eyes shut, holding his breath, and his right hand tightened around Bobby's.
# # # # #
Steve was leaning forward, his elbows on his thighs, head down and eyes closed, when Healey dropped onto the bumper beside him. "Here, you need to take these," the sergeant's said without preamble.
The young detective turned his head slowly, opening his eyes. Healey was holding out a bottle of Tylenol and a can of Coke. "I don't -"
"We're not going to ask you twice," Haseejian ordered from his other side as Healey raised his eyebrows expectantly.
Slowly, with great reluctance, Steve straightened up as best he could then held his torn up right hand out, palm up, while reaching for the Coke with the left. Smiling grimly, Healey handed him the Coke then took the cap off the Tylenol bottle and tapped two pills into his open hand. Both sergeants watched closely as he downed the pills with a swig of the soft drink, then smiled at them coldly. "Happy?"
"Hysterical," Healey replied flatly, and Haseejian chuckled, patting their battered friend comfortingly on the back.
# # # # #
The grinding sound of concrete on concrete filled the air around him as he braced for the debris to come crashing down, knowing he would be unable to stop it. He could see, even though his eyes were squeezed shut, more light flooding in on him as his hand tightened around Bobby's, wanting to shout 'They've found us!' but knowing he wouldn't be heard.
The crunching noise stopped abruptly, the engine roar subsiding as it backed away, and he heard a voice above him yelling, "We've got another one!" He slowly opened his eyes. His upper chest and head were still covered, the blinding sunlight illuminating the black topcoat over his lower torso and left arm, lying limply as his side. He knew instantly he had to let them know he was still alive.
Gritting his teeth, knowing the agony he was going to put himself through, he bent his elbow, raising his left forearm, his hand dangling limply as he cried out in pain.
Suddenly there was a flurry of activity. Someone screamed, "He's alive!" Other voices could be heard yelling things he couldn't make out, the roar of the engine kicked up again as the crane returned. He could see smaller pieces of the debris being carefully removed manually, enlarging the hole above him.
He tightened his grip on Bobby's hand even more.
# # # # #
There was another uproar, excited shouts and a sudden flurry of activity. People began running towards the dig site. As Healey and Haseejian turned in that direction, Steve's head snapped up and he straightened as quickly as he could, holding his breath, trying not to groan. He put both hands on the bumper and started to push himself up. Both sergeants automatically grabbed his arms, helping him stand, and they moved a few feet closer to get a better look.
All they could see was a crowd of people and the pick-and-carry crane removing another large chunk of concrete.
Healey looked at Steve. Their eyes met; Healey nodded, squeezed the younger man's arm affectionately with a brief melancholic smile, then let him go and started away quickly.
As he watched him go, Steve dropped his head and took a deep, shuddering breath. He could feel Haseejian's hand softly patting his back.
# # # # #
Trying to ignore the pain in his left wrist, his eyes squeezed shut once more, Mike waited tensely for more of the debris to be cleared. He could feel the warm sun on his face but kept his eyes closed, feeling the concrete dust continuing to rain down on him.
"Okay, okay, okay!" he heard a shout and, as the engine sounds died away slightly again, he felt and heard someone leaning over him, a hand gently pressing on his chest. "Can you hear me?"
He carefully opened his eyes. Whoever was above him was blocking the sun so he didn't have to squint. Unsure if he could find his voice right away, he nodded.
The hand on his chest patted him lightly in relief. "Great…. Can you move?"
Mike tried to clear his throat. "My legs are pinned…" he managed to get out.
He saw the head tilt in that direction. "Can you feel them?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I don't think they're broken."
"Good, good. You, ah… just give us a few minutes and we'll get you outa there." There were a couple more gentle pats then the man backed away.
Mike closed his eyes, his heart pounding, starting to tremble again but this time from relief.
# # # # #
Steve hadn't moved, staring at the activity about a hundred yards away, almost not blinking. Haseejian kept steeling glances towards him, feeling the slight body shaking under the hand he was keeping on the younger man's upper arm, for support and comfort.
The minutes dragged by. Suddenly Neil broke away from crowd around the dig site and started towards them at a run. As he got closer they could see his face, see his smile. When he got within earshot, he stopped, still grinning, and yelled, "It's him! He's alive! And he's talking!" Without waiting for a response, he spun and raced back to the scene.
Steve had frozen, as if the words hadn't sunk in immediately, then his knees buckled. Haseejian, trying to contain his own elation, quickly grabbed him with both hands. "Whoa, whoa…" he soothed, steadying the younger man, "come on, let's get you back down before you fall down."
Their eyes met, both of them trembling. Steve snorted with a soft chuckle, unable to find words. Haseejian smiled. "I told you not to give up," he said lightly as they shuffled slowly back to the firetruck.
# # # # #
Though it was only minutes, it seemed to take forever for the broken concrete and twisted steel beams that had pinned his legs to the floor to be removed. He could feel someone leaning over him again and he opened his eyes.
"How you doing, fella?"
He was squinting against the bright sunlight, trying to use the brim of the fedora to shield his eyes. "Mike…" he managed to get out and he heard a soft chuckle.
"Okay, Mike. Can you move your legs?"
Holding his breath, he tried to bend his right knee, surprised and grateful that his leg did what he asked it to. He let his breath out in a rush as he slowly bend the left as well.
"Take it slow," the unknown voice said quickly. "Don't want you to cramp up." There was a pause then, "What about your right arm? Is it pinned as well?"
Mike shook his head as quickly as he could. "No, no…. There's a guy beside me… he's alive too…"
The man hovering over him sat up quickly, yelling, "We've got another live one!" The engine of the crane got louder as the activity ramped up quickly again. The man leaned back in. "Come on, let's get you outa here."
"No," Mike shook his head as sharply as he could. "No… I'm not going without him. We've been through this together… I'm not leaving him behind…"
The silhouetted head above him froze for a long beat then nodded. "Okay, okay…" He straightened up and grabbed something then leaned forward again. "I'm just gonna put this blanket over you to protect you a little, okay?"
Mike closed his eyes in relief, nodding as the blanket was gently laid over his head. He smiled to himself, squeezing Bobby's hand again.
He could hear the shouts, the roar of the crane engine as it moved back and forth, the thud and clang of pieces of concrete and steel being rapidly discarded as the rescuers worked feverishly. Then, suddenly it seemed, the cacophony died out, the engine slowed to idle and an almost ominous silence filled the air.
He heard someone overhead again; the blanket was carefully removed from his face and he opened his eyes. The now familiar silhouette was hovering over him again and he smiled in anticipation. The man cleared his throat as he leaned forward and put his hand on Mike's chest again.
Mike stared, not moving, as time seemed to stand still. Then suddenly his throat tightened and tears sprung to his eyes as he saw the man start to shake his head slowly and he heard the words he didn't want to hear, "I'm sorry…"