Six Minutes

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As soon as Michele realized something was horribly wrong, she rushed to the computer and called up the GPS program and traced where Darien was. The incident a four years ago involving some megalomaniacs calling themselves Chrysalis had resulted in she and Darien taking some extra precautions, which included this bit of programming. Within seconds she had a locale and was grabbing her keys. On the way to the car, she called Bobby.

"Tr...tr...trouble," she got out comparatively easily.

"Text me the need to know and I'll be there ASAP," he responded without an argument, knowing by now that she would never cry wolf.

'Chele cheated and used her mind to write and send the information through the cell phone, trusting Bobby to make the best time he possibly could. She did the same, arriving outside the unprepossessing building that housed Bayside Gemstones to find police and emergency personnel already swarming the place. She slid into the first parking spot available and ran for the building, only to be stopped by an uniformed officer.

::I need to get in there,:: she signed, only to have the officer shake his head.

"Sorry ma'am I don't sign. You need to stay back," he directed, plainly assuming she would understand him, then he gently placed his hands on her shoulders and tried to steer her away.

She resisted and dug into her bag, coming up with her business ID and waved it before the cop's face. He grabbed it, without taking it from her hands, and looked it over.

"You do the security for this place?"

She nodded.

He released the ID. "I still can't let you in there right now. Once the scene is secure then I'll see what I can do." He gave her a smile, as if hoping she'd understand. "Stay back for now, please?"

She was about to argue when a familiar presence stepped up behind her. "Where's the fire, kid?"

She turned just enough for him to see her hands and began signing furiously. ::Something has happed to D and this bone head won't let me by.::

"You sure, kid?"

She nodded emphatically. "Y...yes."

The fact that she had spoken damn near perfectly - a sure sign she was upset - must have convinced him, and it wasn't like she was known for jumping at shadows. He frowned and reached into his jacket pocket for his badge. "All right. I'll have a go at throwing my weight around."

It took a couple minutes, but he got them past the yellow tape and barriers that were going up to block off the street. The police were even directing traffic around the area, which only made her worry grow. Bad enough she could just barely feel Darien in the back of her mind, but the frenetic movement of the various emergency workers was not helping matters any.

Bobby was talking to someone who appeared to be in charge, trying to get some answers on what had happened when the police led out three handcuffed men dressed in black. One had hair that was sweat dark and mussed, suggesting that he'd been in a mask not long before. And 'Chele recognized him. With a growl of anger, she pushed her way through the crowd and towards the group. The green eyes widened in shock as she neared, clearly knowing who she was. Without allowing herself to think of the consequences, she let fly with punch that connected with his face, splitting his lip and bloodying his nose.

"B...bastard," she snarled, even as two of the officers moved to restrain her. "Y... you k...killed him."

"Whoa, take it easy there, Ponch," Bobby said as he intervened on her behalf. "Who's the mook, kid?"

"N...nathan Mc...Mc...Greg...gor," she snarled, hot tears of anger and utter sadness sliding down her cheeks. ::He used to work for us. Until I caught him trying to steal the override codes.:: She spun back around to face Nathan. ::I changed the codes two hours after you were fired. And here I thought you could not get any more incompetent.:: She gave him a deadly smile. ::Good thing California still has the death penalty.::

"Death penalty? Kid, what..." Bobby's question was interrupted by the arrival of Iggy.

"Michele, I'm so sorry. I should have just given them the code, but I decided to be stubborn, figuring no one could break the security..." He stumbled to a verbal halt, one hand scrubbing at his face and smearing the half dried blood across his cheeks. "He tried to rescue me and instead he... he..."

Iggy didn't need to finish the sentence as the EMTs came through the door just then pushing a gurney with a sheet-covered body on it.

"Fawkes," Bobby questioned; the anguish in his voice audible to anyone nearby.

Michele went perfectly still, the ground beneath her feet suddenly a million miles away as she allowed herself to fully acknowledge the situation. Bobby's heartache and Iggy's guilt only added to the vertigo that was upon her. With a whimper she swayed, shutting her eyes against the false information slamming it's way into her mind via eyesight. She felt not only Bobby's hand on her arm, but that of some stranger, keeping her upright and steady.

"Easy there, Michele," Hobbes whispered hoarsely as he helped her to sit on the ground.

"Ma'am, are you all right?" a stranger asked, his voice full of concern.

"N... no," she answered, as she leaned into the strength that was Bobby.