Disclaimer: Last time I checked I did not own the Gunmen or The Spy Who Loved Me.
A/n: Thanks Amy for reviewing, I'm really glad you're safe from Hurricane Charlie! And there just may be another story in the works ;-)
Two sets of bloodshot eyes peered into the darkness. Both men's skin stung from the antiseptic and the cold. One man held a large pipe, the other a revolver. All plans were off, this wasn't about looking like an accident; it was a matter of pride. Had it been so long that no one feared the sound of his name? Crazy Charlie. College girls used to avoid parties, least he be waiting outside. They carried mace and pitiful pocketknives. It didn't stop him; it only slowed him down. He would get her, the bitch that sprayed him. He didn't care if they had his DNA on file; she needed to fear him.
"Uh, Charlie? Youse sure they're in there?"
"Yeah, they can't git anywhere else, they're in here."
"Now?"
Charlie nodded and his accomplice swung the pipe through the window. The only sound was the shattering of the glass into the room and the howling of the wind. The man with the pipe looked worried. People were supposed to make noise.
"Ya tink they split?" he said.
Charlie didn't answer; he simply stepped inside, crunching the glass beneath his massive feet. His partner followed cautiously. The dim light outside lit the water just enough so they could make out the tips of the ripples.
"Look for da lights." Charlie said.
Byers rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stared out at the road ahead. Frohike drove on silently down the deserted highway. He opened his laptop and turned on the radio and waited for an internet signal.
Clicked his inbox.
He read Langly's email, words cascading through his mind. Hostage. Arson. Fraud.
"Frohike, turn around!"
"What?"
"Turn around, Langly's about to be murdered!"
Mary Pat held Langly's hand, but I didn't stop the shaking. He'd explained everything to her but that didn't make it any easier. The sickly sweet smell of the chlorine stung her nose and throat but she wouldn't allow herself to cough. Reassuringly Langly put his arm around her. She buried her face in his tangled hair.
His eyes adjusting to the dark, Charlie looked around. His partner looked over from the other side of the pool.
"I tink I found the lights!" He said.
In the Cheboygan police department Officer Davenport came into the chief's office. He looked very pale.
"Sir," he said, "It's the Feds."
The lights came up suddenly. Langly stood with Mary Pat in front of the sauna, with the door wide open. Both men ran for them. Langly threw a ran onto the rocks in the sauna, he held Mary Pat and…
The rag caught on fire…
The fire spread to the floor….
The chlorine ignited….
K
A
B
O
O
M
!
The police arrived with the Gunmen just in time to see the gigantic flames consume the building like a fireworks display, sparks and debris blew in all directions. The fire trucks raced ahead only to find it was mostly out in seconds save a few smoldering patches. Byers and Frohike ran to the scene. There was nothing left but the swimming pool full of ash.
"Oh my God," Byers said.
"Langly." Said Frohike
They could only stand there, unwilling to accept the situation before them.
Mary Pat heard the distorted sounds of sirens. It occurred to her she couldn't see anything around her but thick black ash. She wanted to call out to Langly but she couldn't, she realized sooner or later she would have to take a breath.
Out of water came two very loud gasps and too very cold bodies, clinging together, coughing. Some one yelled "over here" and suddenly several arms reached out, over the dirty water. Mary Pat coughed and sputtered out ash and water, until she felt the piercing cold air in her lungs, it hurt but in a wonderful holy-crap-I'm-still-alive way. Medics wrapped her and Langly in blankets and hurried them to a waiting ambulance, shooing away confused police officers. Langly held Mary Pat's hand all the way to the hospital.
Note from Milagro:
Mary Pat and Langly were questioned at the hospital, they explained the planned cover up and Langly showed the computer files (he e-mailed them to Byers) to the police. It ran as the cover story for the February edition of the Lone Gunmen. Mary Pat returned to Canada and a few weeks later to Langly went to her apartment to ahem help write a follow-up. He supposedly stayed the night, but that is just speculation ;-)