When The Heat Is On Chapter 7
Title: When the Heat Is On (7/?)
Rating: PG-13
Author: Angela Penfold
Email: AngelaPRPi@aol.com
Warnings: Violence and adult language in later chapters
Disclaimer: See the first chapter, characters not mine, no profit made.
Chapter 7
Flames licked over his skin, burning his flesh with their red-hot kisses. A scream of agony tore loose of his seared throat. He could barely speak, barely draw in breath. Something heavy had disrupted his fall, connecting with his chest as his sudden freefall had ended. Delicate bone had given way all too easily, piercing fragile flesh. At first he'd been able to call out with some strength in his voice, other yells of pain, familiar voices echoing his own but now there was just his own wheezing, his whimpers, the crackle of flame as it ate away at his flesh.
Smoke parted, shadowy figures moving beyond. He stretched out his hand towards them, crying out weakly. They didn't seem to hear, either they didn't know he was there or they couldn't locate him in the gloom. Agony stabbed through his chest, blazed in his legs. Coughing against the acrid smoke made it worse, broken ribs grating together. Sweet darkness danced at the edge of his vision, giving in was so tempting but if he did that they might not find him until it was too late.
His gloved hands scrabbled at the floor, trying to find some purchase to move away from the all-consuming heat. His fingers gripped fabric, felt solid flesh beneath it. Sweet, he was still there. "Hang on," Jimmy gasped. No reply came. He followed the line of Sweet's jacket, fingers drifting over his neck, over his cheek, accidentally touched an eye, still open and staring. No! There was no movement, not even a gasping breath.
A ragged cry burst free of Jimmy's throat, monitors' alarms shrieking in his room. Dark eyes opened fast, darting around the hospital room in panic as he tried to find his friend. He struggled to draw in deep breaths to halt the squealing alarm. They'd both gotten out of the fire in time, the hospital was the safest place he could be. A movement in the doorway caught his eye, a silhouette blending back into the shadows of the hallway. For a moment Jimmy thought he heard the gently creak of worn leather but then there was just the eco of feet rushing towards the room.
Jimmy lifted a hand in surrender to the nurse that appeared. "Just a nightmare."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The refrigerator door slid shut and Kim turned back to the table. She shook the bottle of juice in her hand vigorously as she dropped back into her seat. The first half of their shift had been running heavy but now thankfully there was a lull. There hadn't been much time to talk with cases stacking up. Leaning closer to Bobby, Kim frowned. "One minute she was caught up in all those questions, next minute she was running out the door looking like she'd seen a ghost. I don't get it."
"Who knows?" He reached past Kim, drawing a newspaper closer. "Could be she just needed to get some work done, like she said."
A wry smile tugged at one corner of Kim's mouth. Somehow it didn't ring true, the change in MacNab's behaviour had been too sharp, happened too quickly. She'd even sounded polite as she'd scuttled out of the room. The juice slid down Kim's throat, leaving a welcome cool trail in her chest. "That's another weird thing," she said suddenly. She set the bottle down on the table and turned in her chair. "The jacket. Its in the nineties outside, you'd have to be nuts to wear a leather jacket in that sort of heat."
Bobby chuckled softly and set the newspaper aside. As he leaned closer, locking eyes dancing with humour onto hers, Bobby nudged his thigh against Kim's. "Getting suspicious about everything now? She was probably just wearing it to store all her investigator junk in the pockets."
Suspicious should've been the one word leaping into Kim's mind about Bobby's touch, intimately and enjoyable were the first ones to appear though. Unexpected warmth slid along her limbs, settled low in Kim's stomach. This sudden awareness should've been making her uncomfortable, instead it turned her voice low and husky as she replied. "All of it just seemed odd."
"You talking about the fire?"
Caught up in the sensations Bobby's touch had created Kim hadn't heard the heavy tread of boots on the stairs or Alex's entrance into the room. She turned away from Bobby quickly, screwing the lid back onto the juice as she stood. Kim paced over to the fridge, trying to burn off the sudden rush of desire that'd flooded her body and divert Alex's attention away from what she must've seen when she'd walked into the kitchen. "The arson investigator that got assigned. Amelia MacNab. You know her?"
There weren't anywhere near as many investigators as fire fighters in the city but usually those that were around were pretty well known. They worked dozens of cases in different NY precincts every year. Plus there was the fact that many of the investigators had started out amongst the troops. It would be truly rare if someone at Camelot hadn't at least heard of MacNab.
Alex's brow furrowed as she propped a hip against the countertop. "I know the name. Wasn't she that fire fighter from the 87th who got trapped in that big hotel blaze about four years ago? They were expecting her not to make it at the time. I figured she'd retired afterwards."
Turning to face the women Bobby hooked an arm over the back of his seat. "I remember that fire, they had half the city's engines out there. Couple of fire fighters were in the basement when a couple of the upper floors came down. Got one out pretty easy, the other had a beam pinning her arm and chest. They were talking about amputating to get her out. You know, Doc might've even been the one to transport her. I think his was one of the rig's still on scene when they got her out."
Four years would fit the timeline perfectly, allowing healing and rehabilitation time and a period to train as a fire investigator. Obviously they'd manage to extract MacNab from the basement without resorting to amputation. They now had an even better source for information on her too, Doc. If there was anything to know, he'd have the details.
Bells rang out through the station, cutting off Kim's chain of thought. The announcement followed, an ambulance was needed at 60th and Shaw. A woman was unresponsive after a fall down stairs, Bobby and Kim were up for another run. Pushing his chair back, Bobby scrambled to his feet then jogged towards the stairs.
Kim returned Alex's wave, calling "see ya" over her shoulder. When she reached the kitchen door Kim paused and turned, something suddenly springing to mind. "Alex, do you remember what the cause of that hotel fire was?"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The data flowing across the computer screen was almost hypnotic. Blinds had been drawn across the office windows to block out the almost unbearable glare of the sun but the words on the screen were easily readable in the gloom. She'd been staring at them for almost an hour after she'd typed them, the details transfixing her.
So many similarities there, the unusual distribution of accelerants, the method of creating small blazes, the tampering with the structure. Any of these used alone might've been standard practice for any arsonist but combined they were a familiar MO. Four years seemingly underground then he'd re-emerged, dragging more fire fighters into danger. They'd survived again but next time they might not be so lucky. It was probably a major conflict of interest but she'd had her life torn apart by this guy, it was down to her to take this bastard down.
Title: When the Heat Is On (7/?)
Rating: PG-13
Author: Angela Penfold
Email: AngelaPRPi@aol.com
Warnings: Violence and adult language in later chapters
Disclaimer: See the first chapter, characters not mine, no profit made.
Chapter 7
Flames licked over his skin, burning his flesh with their red-hot kisses. A scream of agony tore loose of his seared throat. He could barely speak, barely draw in breath. Something heavy had disrupted his fall, connecting with his chest as his sudden freefall had ended. Delicate bone had given way all too easily, piercing fragile flesh. At first he'd been able to call out with some strength in his voice, other yells of pain, familiar voices echoing his own but now there was just his own wheezing, his whimpers, the crackle of flame as it ate away at his flesh.
Smoke parted, shadowy figures moving beyond. He stretched out his hand towards them, crying out weakly. They didn't seem to hear, either they didn't know he was there or they couldn't locate him in the gloom. Agony stabbed through his chest, blazed in his legs. Coughing against the acrid smoke made it worse, broken ribs grating together. Sweet darkness danced at the edge of his vision, giving in was so tempting but if he did that they might not find him until it was too late.
His gloved hands scrabbled at the floor, trying to find some purchase to move away from the all-consuming heat. His fingers gripped fabric, felt solid flesh beneath it. Sweet, he was still there. "Hang on," Jimmy gasped. No reply came. He followed the line of Sweet's jacket, fingers drifting over his neck, over his cheek, accidentally touched an eye, still open and staring. No! There was no movement, not even a gasping breath.
A ragged cry burst free of Jimmy's throat, monitors' alarms shrieking in his room. Dark eyes opened fast, darting around the hospital room in panic as he tried to find his friend. He struggled to draw in deep breaths to halt the squealing alarm. They'd both gotten out of the fire in time, the hospital was the safest place he could be. A movement in the doorway caught his eye, a silhouette blending back into the shadows of the hallway. For a moment Jimmy thought he heard the gently creak of worn leather but then there was just the eco of feet rushing towards the room.
Jimmy lifted a hand in surrender to the nurse that appeared. "Just a nightmare."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The refrigerator door slid shut and Kim turned back to the table. She shook the bottle of juice in her hand vigorously as she dropped back into her seat. The first half of their shift had been running heavy but now thankfully there was a lull. There hadn't been much time to talk with cases stacking up. Leaning closer to Bobby, Kim frowned. "One minute she was caught up in all those questions, next minute she was running out the door looking like she'd seen a ghost. I don't get it."
"Who knows?" He reached past Kim, drawing a newspaper closer. "Could be she just needed to get some work done, like she said."
A wry smile tugged at one corner of Kim's mouth. Somehow it didn't ring true, the change in MacNab's behaviour had been too sharp, happened too quickly. She'd even sounded polite as she'd scuttled out of the room. The juice slid down Kim's throat, leaving a welcome cool trail in her chest. "That's another weird thing," she said suddenly. She set the bottle down on the table and turned in her chair. "The jacket. Its in the nineties outside, you'd have to be nuts to wear a leather jacket in that sort of heat."
Bobby chuckled softly and set the newspaper aside. As he leaned closer, locking eyes dancing with humour onto hers, Bobby nudged his thigh against Kim's. "Getting suspicious about everything now? She was probably just wearing it to store all her investigator junk in the pockets."
Suspicious should've been the one word leaping into Kim's mind about Bobby's touch, intimately and enjoyable were the first ones to appear though. Unexpected warmth slid along her limbs, settled low in Kim's stomach. This sudden awareness should've been making her uncomfortable, instead it turned her voice low and husky as she replied. "All of it just seemed odd."
"You talking about the fire?"
Caught up in the sensations Bobby's touch had created Kim hadn't heard the heavy tread of boots on the stairs or Alex's entrance into the room. She turned away from Bobby quickly, screwing the lid back onto the juice as she stood. Kim paced over to the fridge, trying to burn off the sudden rush of desire that'd flooded her body and divert Alex's attention away from what she must've seen when she'd walked into the kitchen. "The arson investigator that got assigned. Amelia MacNab. You know her?"
There weren't anywhere near as many investigators as fire fighters in the city but usually those that were around were pretty well known. They worked dozens of cases in different NY precincts every year. Plus there was the fact that many of the investigators had started out amongst the troops. It would be truly rare if someone at Camelot hadn't at least heard of MacNab.
Alex's brow furrowed as she propped a hip against the countertop. "I know the name. Wasn't she that fire fighter from the 87th who got trapped in that big hotel blaze about four years ago? They were expecting her not to make it at the time. I figured she'd retired afterwards."
Turning to face the women Bobby hooked an arm over the back of his seat. "I remember that fire, they had half the city's engines out there. Couple of fire fighters were in the basement when a couple of the upper floors came down. Got one out pretty easy, the other had a beam pinning her arm and chest. They were talking about amputating to get her out. You know, Doc might've even been the one to transport her. I think his was one of the rig's still on scene when they got her out."
Four years would fit the timeline perfectly, allowing healing and rehabilitation time and a period to train as a fire investigator. Obviously they'd manage to extract MacNab from the basement without resorting to amputation. They now had an even better source for information on her too, Doc. If there was anything to know, he'd have the details.
Bells rang out through the station, cutting off Kim's chain of thought. The announcement followed, an ambulance was needed at 60th and Shaw. A woman was unresponsive after a fall down stairs, Bobby and Kim were up for another run. Pushing his chair back, Bobby scrambled to his feet then jogged towards the stairs.
Kim returned Alex's wave, calling "see ya" over her shoulder. When she reached the kitchen door Kim paused and turned, something suddenly springing to mind. "Alex, do you remember what the cause of that hotel fire was?"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The data flowing across the computer screen was almost hypnotic. Blinds had been drawn across the office windows to block out the almost unbearable glare of the sun but the words on the screen were easily readable in the gloom. She'd been staring at them for almost an hour after she'd typed them, the details transfixing her.
So many similarities there, the unusual distribution of accelerants, the method of creating small blazes, the tampering with the structure. Any of these used alone might've been standard practice for any arsonist but combined they were a familiar MO. Four years seemingly underground then he'd re-emerged, dragging more fire fighters into danger. They'd survived again but next time they might not be so lucky. It was probably a major conflict of interest but she'd had her life torn apart by this guy, it was down to her to take this bastard down.