Chapter Fourteen

A series of blasts took place, the force of which rocked the building and sent everyone crashing to the ground. Boxes toppled over, causing some of them to spill their contents onto the floor. Nick instinctively covered his head to protect it from the falling debris and when it appeared that things had stopped falling, he raised his head to assess the damage. He could see Nathan trying to help Donna and Grissom attempting to shift a rather large piece of wood off of his lower body. He got to his feet, meaning to help his boss, when Levi spoke up.

Covered in dust, he had a cut on his cheek and a manic glint in his eye and there was no mistaking his exuberance. "I told you that you could not stop me! The guilty have been judged and they have been punished! May the purging fire consume you as well!"

As if to punctuate his statement, another explosion took place in the room they were in. A tank exploded in a ball of fire, sending flames almost ten feet into the air. Smoke filled the air and the room suddenly became a furnace. Nick threw up a hand to shield his face from the blasting heat. He felt someone ram into him, knocking him to the ground once again. He turned his head and saw that Levi had rushed towards the door that he had just come through a few minutes ago. Before he could decide whether to rush after him or not, Nathan gave a shout of fury and took up chase behind the retreating form of Levi. Nick shouted for the boy to come back, but Nathan did not heed him. He got to his feet with every intention to follow them when yet another explosion sent him to his knees.

As he raised his head, the CSI suddenly became acutely aware of the danger he was in. Smoke was filling the room and rising high in the air, making it difficult to see any farther than a few feet in front of him. Flames were springing to life all around him, consuming everything that stood in their path. This building wasn't safe. Whatever device Levi had rigged up was clearly doing its job and it would only get worse the longer they stayed here. They had to get out. Now.

All of a sudden, a door burst open on the other side of the room, interrupting Nick's thoughts and he shifted his eyes to glimpse inside the room where Levi's prisoners had been held. It was filled with orange and yellow flames and Nick realized with an incredible sense of sorrow that those people, the people he had tried to save, were most likely dead. But he was not given time to mourn. The sight of the room was blocked by the emergence of a figure covered in flames. Nick watched in horror as the person ran frantically around, crashing into things and spreading the fire in the process. Finally the person's body gave out and the human torch went crashing to the ground with a sickening thud.

This sight caused Nick to spring into action. He shot a look at his boss and shouted over the roar of the fire. "Grissom! We have to get out of here now! This place is going to go up in flames!"

Grissom responded by getting to his feet and grabbing Donna's arm, but the girl wrenched it free.

"The children! We have to save them!" she yelled frantically and raced off towards the stairs.

Nick had no choice but to follow her. If he abandoned Donna and allowed her to risk her own life in order to save Ally and Matthew just for the sake of saving his own skin, he'd never be able to live with himself. Besides, she couldn't do it on her own. She needed his help and he was not about to deny it to her.

The girl was running as if possessed. Nick could barely keep up with her as she dodged the flames in order to get to the stairs. What made it more difficult was that the smoke construed his vision and made his eyes sting. He coughed and sputtered, but he did not let that slow him down.

Nick could sense Grissom's presence right behind him and he wondered vaguely what had motivated his supervisor's sudden change of heart. Surely when he had decided to come here, Grissom had considered all of the consequences. So Grissom must have been willing to put his life on the line in order to rescue him. But why? Grissom had made his opinion of him quite clear not too long ago and it hadn't been good. What had provoked this sudden change in feeling?

His internal thoughts were cut short by his having to dive to the left to avoid a falling beam. He hit the ground with a thud that left him winded, but he was relatively unsinged. Strong arms grabbed him from behind, helping him to his feet, and Nick turned to look into Grissom's face. For a moment, their eyes connected and even though no words were actually said, Nick couldn't help but feel that everything was going to be okay between them.

Assuming they made it out of the building that is.

Once Nick was back on his feet, he continued to make his way to the stairs with Grissom at his side. They darted through the flames, shielding their faces from the smoke and the fire's heat. Up ahead, he could just make out Donna running up the stairs. The girl seemed to be fueled by some intensity that moved her beyond all fear of their surroundings and made her only capable of focusing on the single task of saving the Alcott children. Not to be outdone, the CSIs pounded up the stairs after her.

They reached the office and found Donna frantically working to untie Allison. Both children were crying, uncertain of what exactly was going on. All they had known was that the building was on fire and no one had come to save them despite the fact they had been screaming for help. Now that help appeared to have arrived, they had dissolved into uncontrollable sobs and began struggling against their bonds.

Nick knelt beside Donna and worked on the ropes that held Matthew's hands together, but the knot was tied so tightly that it would have taken a few minutes for Nick to make any headway. Donna and Grissom were now pulling Allison's ropes away from her body and helping the small girl to her feet. Aware that they were losing precious seconds, Nick gave up trying to untie Matt. Instead, he grabbed the little boy and held him to his chest.

"Let's go!" he ordered, getting to his feet.

Grissom nodded in agreement as Donna grabbed Allison's hand and pulled her towards the door. Grissom took great care to stay right behind them. He held an arm out protectively, ready to shield the girls from any debris that might fall upon them. They made their way to the stairs, Nick and Matthew a few paces behind them.

The fire was raging now and hellbent on destruction. The flames had crept closer while they had been in the office and they had begun to snake up the wooden staircase, making Donna hesitant as to whether or not it was safe to proceed.

"We have to go one at a time! It doesn't look sturdy enough to support all of us at once and the last thing we need is to have it collapse! Go now, Donna!" Grissom yelled above the flames. He scooped Allison into his arms as the young girl made her way down the stairs as quickly and carefully as she could.

Grissom shot an apprehensive look at Nick, who was behind him. He seemed on the verge of saying something but Nick cut him off.

"Go! You know the way out! I'll be right behind you! Promise! You have to get those girls out of here!" Nick shouted.

Grissom nodded and began his descent. Once he had safely reached the bottom, he only allowed himself one backwards glance to make sure Nick and Matt were making it down the stairs without any trouble before leading the way towards the door. He knew where it was as he had used it to enter the building not too long ago.

As they rushed through the blaze, Grissom kept a hand covering Allison's face while Donna kept a hand on his arm. He guided the them without fear, knowing that their survival was depending on his ability to lead them safely to the other side. He had to keep his eyes forward, staying focused on finding the door he knew was just ahead of him. He could not spare the luxury of looking behind him to check on Nick and Matt, but he was confident that they were right behind him.

Finally, he spotted it. The door. Safety from the flames and the smoke lay just a few feet away.

Now that the prize was in sight, he redoubled his effort and ran flat out towards the door. With an overwhelming sense of relief, he pushed it open and ran out into the cool of the night. Immediately, he began to cough madly. He fought the urge to drop to his knees and gulp down the sweet, clean air. Instead, he put Allison on the ground and looked up to see two fire trucks pulling up in front of the warehouse.

Realizing that someone must have raised the alarm, he shouted to Donna, "Get her out of here! Run towards the fire trucks!"

Donna swiftly grabbed the little girl's hand and pulled her in the direction of the firemen who were tumbling out of their trucks and running towards the burning building. Grissom turned to make sure that Nick and Matthew had made it out safely, but to his horror, he saw no one behind him. He looked frantically around, hoping that maybe the two had slipped out unnoticed but they were nowhere to be found.

Panic gripped him as he realized that something must have happened to Nick. Perhaps something had fallen on him and he was hurt, unable to make it to the door. Perhaps he had run too fast and Nick had lost sight of him in all that smoke. He could even now be wandering around lost in the warehouse, trying to find his way out. Grissom couldn't just stand here while Nick was trapped inside. He had to do something.

Grissom's feet suddenly began to take him back towards the burning building, but he did not get far before a set of strong arms grabbed him from behind.

"Sir! You can't go in there! It isn't safe!" a man shouted in his ear.

Unable to fully comprehend the warning, Grissom clawed madly at the hands that held him in an attempt to get free. He twisted and turned, trying to somehow break the hold the man had on him. He was like an animal fighting for its very survival and he wasn't about to give up. Another pair of hands grabbed onto him and he felt himself being dragged away from the building.

Away from Nick.

"No!" he shouted in desperation. "They're still in there! They should have been right behind me! Something must have happened! You have to let me go! I have to help them!"

A fireman appeared in front of him and firmly grasped his shoulders. He forced Grissom to look him in the eyes. "We will find them! I promise! Now stand back so we can do our job!"

Whether it was the tone of the fireman's voice, the look in his eyes, or the words he used, the desired effect took place. Grissom quit struggling and grew calm. Now feeling that they could safely leave him, the firemen that had been restraining him took off to join the others who were already working to tame the blaze.

The harshness of reality smothered Grissom like a heavy blanket. So much for heroics. So much for taking care of his people. So much for stopping the bad guy. He had lost and Levi had won. Just like he said he would.

Grissom stood rooted in his spot. He had lost all feeling. He had lost the ability to move. He had lost all capacity for thought. All he could do was stare at the flames that danced before him as they separated him from the one person he had risked everything to save.