Appreciation by SLynn
Summary: An art heist, an arsonist and a lot of angst. Takes place approximately four months after the end of 'Precious Things' This is the fifth in a series. Greg/Sara and Nick/OC
Spoilers: Up to 'Nesting Dolls'
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I'm just borrowing and will return them all when I'm done, virtually untouched.
Chapter 25: Into the Fire
Greg laughed as he watched her head off towards the stairway before setting to work himself.
Sara made her way up the stairs. The layout upstairs was fairly straightforward. The staircase had led to a hallway with four doors, two on each side. There was little light forcing her to retrieve her flashlight from her vest and scan the floors and ceiling.
From the looks of things the area was well trafficked. While dirty, it was easy enough to make out that several pairs of feet had gone up and down the hallway fairly recently. Sara took several shots, both near and far, with her camera before moving carefully down the hall to begin at the far end and work her way back.
She started with the room on the left, what turned out to be the master bedroom, and soon found that weeding through the forensics of this house was going to be difficult. There was an old mattress still in the room and obviously still in frequent use. Sara was quite frankly afraid to use the ultraviolet light here. Processing could take all night.
Sara hadn't been too long at work when her phone rang.
"Sidle," she said into it, stepping back towards the doorway that led to the hall.
At first she couldn't understand the person on the other line. They were garbled and she thought maybe the connection was bad.
"I'm sorry," she said, cutting them off. "Can you repeat that? I can't understand you."
"Sorry Sara," said Amy, much clearer now. "Stupid mask. I've been doing that all night. Forgetting I have it on. No one understands me anymore."
Sara laughed and Amy chuckled along with her.
"So," Amy started again, "what I said was that we found something interesting about your arson case."
"Interesting how?"
"Alright, so Dave processed the liquid in the bottle and it came up as kerosene. No surprise. You knew that. Well, he also found another sample mixed in with the kerosene, a biological."
"Biological? Like what?"
"Saliva."
"What?" Sara questioned loudly. "Like backwash? Why is he drinking kerosene?"
"No idea. Maybe it's like a sip and spray?"
"Huh?"
"Sip and spray," Amy said laughing. "Sorry, it's my own expression. Like he took a sip and sprayed it onto the wall or floor or whatever."
"That's a thought," Sara said, nodding to no one. "Thanks. I'm not sure how much it helps…"
"No wait," Amy interrupted her, "there's more. Once we realized it was saliva, we were able to get a DNA profile."
"Did you run it?"
"Of course," Amy answered easily. "Didn't have any luck, but now there's at least something."
"No, that is good."
"Still not done."
"What else could you have?" Sara asked.
"I got two profiles."
"Two?"
"Two. As in two men both had their saliva in that bottle. You have two suspects, not one."
"That's unusual. Arsonists usually work alone."
"Helpful?"
"Very. Thanks Amy."
"No problem," she said in return. "Hey, when do you think you'll be back? Maybe we can all grab a late dinner."
"I'm not sure," Sara answered. "It could be awhile."
"That's alright. Maybe we'll have breakfast. Have fun."
"Bye," Sara said, smiling as she hung up.
Sara, phone still in hand, opened the door to go back downstairs and tell Greg the news. It was pretty big. They'd been assuming all this time they had one arsonist.
As she made her way into the hallway she froze.
There was a man at the top of the stairway and she could smell the chemical in the air.
"Stop right there," she said, dropping her phone and going for her gun instead.
He had a match in his hand, already lit.
"Don't do it," Sara said as calmly as she could as she moved forward, just now getting her gun out.
But he did anyway. He dropped the match to the floor and the hallway lit up in flames.
Sara brought her free hand to her face, momentarily blinded, as she took a few steps backwards.
"Nothing personal," the guy said, laughing as he too took a step back toward the stairs.
Then, he stopped suddenly and moved back to the fire. Sara, forced further and further back by the flames, watched in with mild apprehension as he took something from his jacket pocket and held it before him.
"We ran out of kerosene," he said as if explaining it to her. "This should work just as well. Don't want it burning out again."
Sara shook her head and couldn't believe it as the man opened the lighter fluid and actually sprayed it onto the flame.
Before she could even get the words of warning out of her mouth that she instinctively found there it was too late. The flame shot straight up the liquid stream and into the container exploding it in the man's hands.
The man flew backwards at the contact, down the stairs but not before Sara saw he'd caught on fire.
The fire in front of her was now huge.
There was no way for her to go through it. Instead she retreated back towards the room she'd come from. Once there she saw the boards warping. The fire must be below as well as above. Smoke was now thick everywhere and for a split second she didn't know where to go.
Sara made her way to the bathroom just opposite the bedroom.
She first went to the window and found it was a single pane of glass. Breaking it with the butt of her gun to get fresh air, Sara then tried the sink.
Relief flooded through her upon finding it in working condition.
From outside the window she heard the approaching sirens.
Sara tried to remain calm as she searched the room for something to stuff under the door. Smoke was already streaming in. Unable to find anything other then trash, she took off her jacket and ran it under the water, soaking it as best she could before stuffing it under the door.
She wasn't sure how long she had.
The fire in the hall had been big and the one downstairs must be as well. She heard the water from the fire hoses now and hoped it wouldn't be long before they were inside.
That's when it struck her.
Inside.
If she was still inside, Greg probably was too.
Sara felt her heart race and tried to remain calm. That's when she noticed her arm. There was blood on her arm.
Sara checked her left arm and saw with some surprise that shrapnel from the exploding lighter fluid can had actually struck her as well and that pieces had been embedded in her skin.
It wasn't too bad, but she saw now too that she was also burned.
Running the arm under the faucet she tried not to listen to the now roar of the fire just beside her. But it wouldn't be ignored.
Smoke was coming in through the cracks around the door and the door itself was starting to bulge and contort from the heat.
Stepping back as far as she could, Sara climbed into the bathtub and sat down.
It felt unreal.
Choking on the air around her, Sara watched the door in disbelief as flames began to appear.
The room was sweltering now and it grew harder and harder to breathe.
Sara felt her throat and lungs restricting. Burning ash and thick black smoke began to fill the room entirely, the broken window not doing nearly enough to keep the room ventilated.
She couldn't fight it anymore.
Sara felt her body giving in. Felt it shut down. The black spots filled her vision and she had no choice.
Sara passed out.
Nick had watched the ambulance leave before turning back to the scene.
The body on the lawn was already covered and beyond help.
Charlie shut his phone and turned to him, shaking his head in disbelief. He didn't know what to say to Nick. Didn't know if Nick would be angry at him for sending Greg off, but he had no choice. Greg didn't need to see this first hand.
But Nick wasn't angry. He only wished he didn't have to see it either.
Reluctantly the two of them made their way back into the yard. Charlie cast a quick glance back at his car and saw their perp still inside watching it all unfold. The kid looked slightly stricken at the body on the ground but no one sympathized with him. He'd done it after all. This was his fault.
"You really shouldn't," the paramedic said, stopping them both from going further. "I know he was one of yours but he really isn't in a condition either of you should see."
"He?" Nick questioned. "Our other CSI is a woman."
The paramedic looked at Nick clearly confused.
Before anyone could react the firefighters were once more coming out of the building carrying a body.
"Got another one," the man called out, laying Sara out on the ground. "No one else inside. We checked all the rooms."
Nick watched in shock as the paramedic turned to her immediately and began to make his assessment. He watched just long enough to be certain she was alive before turning and walking away completely overcome.
Charlie couldn't move. He saw that Sara looked bad but she was definitely still alive. The paramedic wasted no time getting her onto a gurney and into the ambulance taking her off to UMC quickly.
While relieved she was for the moment safe, Charlie still felt a cold guilt in his stomach. He really thought he'd done the right thing sending Greg off so quickly but now he knew it had been a mistake.
Because Greg had to have seen. Greg had to have thought the same thing he and Nick had.
"We need to get to the hospital."
Nick's voice startled him but not enough to agree.
"No," Charlie countered. "We need to process our guy at the station first. I called Brass, he's contacting the lab."
"Someone needs to tell Greg about Sara," Nick said, shaking his head.
"I know that," Charlie said. "I know, but we still have a job to do."
Nick silently debated it to himself before reluctantly nodding. Charlie was right. Now more then ever he wanted this guy prosecuted.
"Let me call Warrick first," Nick said, still sounding shaky but better then he had. "Tell him to get there and find Greg and Sara."
Charlie nodded and stepped back to give him some privacy.
He hoped Warrick hurried. Judging from Greg's initial reaction there was no telling what he'd do.