Disclaimer: i need a new way to say 'dido'

Chapter 24

A/N: When the text is italic and present tense it means it is in the 'view' of the bad guy which at this moment is Don Taylor. That'll go for every chapter to come, as well as in part two to four, although in parts three and four, it'll be the 'view' of the bad dude in that story. Just to let you know I might not even have their views in parts three and four. I hope I'm not confusing you. Sorry if I am.

A/N 2: sorry that it took so long for me to post this chap, i've had a really busy week!

Sue returned from putting the small pink bicycle away, walking across the green lawn. She knelt to pick up a beach ball when she felt an arm on her shoulder. She twisted her head to see her greeter. "Hey Jack."

"Hi, uh," Jack looked at the blonde, "what are you doing?"

"Cleaning up." Sue picked up another toy. "Why?"

"Why are you cleaning up?"

"Because, they left for a perfect evening, they should come home to a perfect yard and house, it's just the way it goes." Sue picked up another ball.

"Here, uh," Jack reached forward to take the load, "let me get that."

Sue smiled as she watched Jack struggle to balance everything. Once Jack did he quickly brought it to the plastic bin Sue had brought outside from the garage. He dumped everything in and assessed the rest of the lawn.

After a few more minutes of cleaning, chasing Levi after taking a toy that apparently thought was rightfully his, the yard was clean as could be. Sue wiped her hands against her pant legs, "There, good as new."

"Yep." Jack agreed, Levi barked. "Levi thinks so too." He barked again, this time he wouldn't stop.

"Levi, quiet." Sue said, Levi didn't obey, instead he barked louder and stood up. Jack and Sue turned to where Levi was looking. Smoke was pouring out of the windows and chimney, although there were no flames visible yet, the flickering light was easy to connect to the smell and sight of the smoke. "Chloe's in there, Jack!" Sue grabbed his arm.

Jack's eyes widened. He switched into professional mode and flung his cell phone to Sue. "Call 9-1-1!" He started running to the house.

"Jack! I can't! In case you forgot I'm deaf!"

He stopped and sprinted back to Sue, snatched the phone from her and dialed 9-1-1. "This is Special Agent Jack Hudson." He gave them the address and in as few words as possible described their directions, then hung up. Once again he gave Sue the phone, "Call D. Nobody there will be surprised that you're on the phone." He once again tore off to the front door. He tested the knob for heat, found it wasn't terrible and disappeared inside the fire lit house.

She accepted the cell phone but instead of using it she paged D. Seconds later she felt Jack's cell vibrate and she answered it, not bothering to say 'hello'. "D, it's Sue, there's a fire at Bobby and Tara's, Chloe's inside, Jack just went to find her, if you're talking don't bother, I have no idea what you're saying, just get the team here as soon as you can." She hung up the phone and lunged forward when Levi began running to the house, Sue grabbed his collar and held him back. Her eyes searched for any signs of life in the growing fire, diminishing house. Where were the fire trucks?

Don watches the blonde pick up toys, her dog follows her every move. He slinks back into the trees, moving to the back of the house. I have to find the kid, he thinks to himself, I have to kill her. Fast. Don opens the sliding door, closes it quietly. Chloe is all alone, all he needs to do is set the damn house on fire, then get Tara, kill her, which won't be too hard. He sneaks around the house, turning off all the fire detectors as well pouring car fuel everywhere he walks, not leaving a room untouched. This has to be perfect, he can't afford any mistakes. By the time they notice the fire, Chloe will be long gone.

Don smirks at his brilliance. He's finished the main floor and walks up the stairs, did they honestly think that they could hide from him? The moment Jonathan called to tell him about the 'wonderful family across the street' Don knew that he found Chloe. His mask filters out the poison from the gas. He leaves trails of the liquid around his house.

Don hears a cough coming from the bathroom. He ducks into the closest bedroom and watches Chloe sniff the air, but shrug it off. She goes into her room and closes the door. Perfect. Her room has the most gas in the entire house. Don continues to drench the house. When he's done he steps onto the balcony in the back, the sliding door open.

He lights a match, the small flame brings energy to his veins. He grins mercilessly and drops the match onto the wood, it bursts and the flame grows, following the gas. Don longs to see the child burn, but knows he must leave. He does just that.

Jack held his shirt collar to his mouth and nose, coughing. Lowering to the floor he rushed across the room to the stairs, ignoring the walls of fire. Jack could feel the smoldering heat melting the soles on his shoes, they were leaving foot prints of rubber behind him. Jack jumped over the last step and burst into the hall, the fire was getting larger by the second, the heat increasing every step he attempted. Jack could see Chloe's door. When he reached it he tested the door, it was hot. Very hot. He pulled the cuff of his sleeves down over his palm and turned the doorknob, wincing at the sheering pain. He flung the door open, red flames burst through, clinging to the ceiling. He lowered closer to the floor and entered the room. What he saw stopped him in his tracks.

The room was engulfed in flames, the smoke burned his eyes, tears filled them. He frantically searched the room, "Chloe!" He called through the fabric. His eyes met a small figure after what felt like hours in hell. He ran over to Chloe and checked for a pulse, it was weak, but she had one. Jack slipped off his shirt, now leaving him only in his t-shirt and jeans. He picked up Chloe and covered her with the shirt. Jack raced out of the room, only to be stopped moments later; there was no way he could get down the stairs. He frantically racked his mind for an idea, he heard a creak, less than a second later he was forced to jump into the next room in order to avoid being hit by the fallen beam. His headache grew, and he felt like throwing up, but he pushed those feelings aside and tried to regain his composure. But how? They were trapped.

A/N: i hope y'all liked the chap, review if you did and you wnat the next one! i'll be waiting :)