Mike continued to follow the directions Kevin gave as he drove them away from the city and toward an area Mike recognized as the area where they were scheduled to do the controlled burn the next day. Mike pulled up in front of the abandoned farm house and put the car into park. Caroline pulled up behind him.
"Get outta the car," Kevin ordered.
Mike opened up the driver's side door and stepped out of the car.
"Open the door for her," Caroline instructed him, as she moved to the trunk of her car and pulled out a sledgehammer. Then she walked over to the rental car. She opened the trunk to the rental car and pulled out his work bag.
Mike opened the door and helped Meg out, who was still holding the dynamite. Mike took the package carefully from her.
"Aw, isn't that sweet; still trying to play the protective fireman," Caroline sneered.
"Move it," Kevin ordered, pointing toward the house.
Mike and Meg watched as Kevin sliced through the tape and pushed open the door. "Get in."
Mike and Meg moved inside the dark structure. The sun was just starting to set, but with the boarded up windows the fading light wasn't filling much of the dilapidated home.
"Follow me," Kevin said, weaving his way through the rooms toward the kitchen. Mike and Megan followed along.
Mike's eyes swept around each room looking for anything that might help him later.
Kevin bent down and opened a panel in the floor. "Get down there," he ordered. Mike went down first, still managing to hold the dynamite. Meg had to turn around and walk down backwards, holding onto the rickety rails that ran alongside the steep steps.
She wrinkled her nose when she got to the bottom. The room smelled of rotted food and mildew. She jumped as Kevin dropped Mike's work bag down the stairs, almost hitting her.
Kevin and Caroline also climbed down.
"Tie them up," Kevin said to Caroline.
She pulled out a long piece of rope from her pocket. "Get over there and sit down," Caroline ordered.
Mike followed her gesture to a large wooden beam that appeared to be one of the house support beams.
"Whatdya want me to do with this?" Mike asked, holding up the dynamite.
"Set it on your lap," Kevin ordered.
Mike moved and sat down, resting the dynamite package on his legs.
"Sit down," Caroline shoved Meg over toward Mike. Meg moved over and sat down next to Mike.
"Put your hands behind your back and around the beam," Kevin ordered.
Once they did, Caroline moved over and tied their wrists together, wrapping the rope around the beam to limit their range of motion.
Mike heard another beep and the red light turned off on the dynamite. "We won't be needing this anymore," Kevin said, tossing the detonator over to Caroline, who slipped it into her pocket.
"Have you figured it out yet, Stoker? How you're gonna die that is," Kevin laughed.
"When the house burns tomorrow as part of the controlled burn," Mike said, his tone sarcastic. "You're going to jail for the rest of your life."
"Why would I go to jail?" Kevin asked, feigning innocence.
"For murder," Meg replied.
"I'm not murdering anyone, sweetheart," Kevin said, squatting down to look Meg in the eyes. "The LA County Fire Department, specifically Station 51, is murdering you. They'll be the ones who start the fire," Kevin laughed at the sheer genius of the plan.
"And don't worry about them noticing the tape," Caroline said. "I stopped by the station earlier, when everyone was out on a call and borrowed the remainder of the roll, so we'll put it back just the way it was when we found it."
Mike jerked against the ropes. The tape had been his saving hope. The guys would've noticed it been cut. But, if they replaced it, no one would find them before the burn started.
"Let Meg go," Mike argued. "She isn't part of this. She had nothing to do with my putting you in jail."
"No can do," Caroline said. "She'd snitch to the cops and we can't have that." Caroline moved back to the stairs and made her way back up. She dropped down a sledgehammer and Mike could hear her walking out of the house.
Kevin walked over and picked up the sledgehammer, slamming into the wooden stairs, sending splinters of wood spraying in their direction. Mike tried to turn his body to protect Meg from the flying debris as Kevin continued smashing the staircase and railing.
"Duck your head," he told Meg, trying to get her to tuck herself into his body.
Meg did as she was told, but could still feel pieces of wood sticking into her bare arms and legs. She'd been dressed to run so was only wearing a pair of shorts and a tank top.
When the noise stopped, Mike looked up to see the staircase was completely gone. He heard scraping across the floor upstairs though and watched as Caroline lowered a ladder down. Kevin climbed up to the ladder and pulled the ladder up. Mike heard a thud as they dropped the hatch closed, locking Meg and Mike into the cellar.
Mike began working his hands around trying to twist the rope to get to the knots. He had to get them untied.
"Oh my God, Oh my God," Meg said, starting to hyperventilate. "We're gonna be burned to death."
"Meg, don't worry. I'll get us out of this. Try to take deep breaths," Mike continued working on the rope.
"I don't wanna die," Meg said, tears forming in her eyes.
"I won't let that happen. I promise," Mike said, struggling to get the knot close enough to him to try to untie it.
"This isn't working," Mike said.
"Oh my God," Meg whispered.
"Meg, I've got a knife in my front pocket, do you think you can reach it?"
Meg was silently rocking slightly back and forth.
"Meg!" Mike raised his voice.
Meg looked up and met his eyes.
"Meg, I need you not to panic," Mike said, his voice firm. "We'll get out of this. But, I need your help."
Meg swallowed and forced herself to take a few breaths. She nodded her head.
"I've got a knife, in my front pocket, closest to you. Is there any way you can get your hand over here and get it out of my pocket?"
Meg wiggled a little, to get as close to Mike as she could and then twisted trying to get her hand to the side. She could feel the muscles in her shoulders straining as she pulled as hard as she could. She finally managed to loop a finger into Mike's pocket.
"Can you scoot any closer to me and maybe back a little bit?" Meg asked, straining her fingers trying to slip them into his pocket.
Mike braced his heels against the dirt floor and pushed himself back and over toward Meg as much as he could.
She slipped her hand further into his pocket and managed to get her fingers around the knife. She pulled it out. "Now what?"
Mike twisted and managed to get the knife out of Meg's hands, and pulled up the blade. "Try to keep your arms and hands as far away from me as possible," Mike said, and he maneuvered the knife around to start cutting against the rope.
It took some time, but Mike finally managed to fray the rope enough that when he yanked, the rope snapped, freeing him from the beam. He turned around and quickly untied Meg. He put the knife back in his pocket, reached down and took her hands, pulling her to her feet.
"Now what?" Meg asked again.
"Now we try and get outta here," Mike said, looking around the room the best he could with the fading light.
He and Meg began to move around the root cellar. The walls were made of stone, and there were no windows. Mike moved over to where the staircase had once been. This was a deep cellar and there was no way he was going to be able to reach the hatch to get them out of this room. Maybe if he had Meg get on his shoulders?
"Meg, come over here," Mike said.
She moved to stand next to him, also looking up at the doorway to freedom.
"Get on my shoulders. Let's see if you can open that hatch." Mike bent down so Meg could get her legs around his shoulders. He reached up and grasped her hands before standing up.
Meg felt a little wobbly as Mike stood and got his footing, but she just clung to his hands.
"Can you reach the door?"
Meg looked up and knew there was no way she was reaching it, but she forced herself to let go of Mike's hand and reach out anyway. "No."
"What about if you stand up?"
"Are you crazy?" Meg asked. "I wasn't a cheerleader in high school, Mike. I can't stand on your shoulders without falling and breaking my neck."
"You've got to try Meg. We've got to get outta here. I won't let you fall."
Meg swallowed hard. "Take me over by the wall so I can support myself with the wall while I try to stand-up."
It took several attempts, but Meg finally managed to get her feet onto Mike's shoulder's and herself into a standing position. She reached up, but only her fingertips touched the ceiling.
"Do you think you can get enough leverage to push open the door?" Mike asked, trying to slowly move Meg back several inches to the door, while she used what little touch she had on the ceiling to keep herself steady.
"I'll try."
Mike managed to get Meg back under the door hatch, but the hatch was raised up farther then the ceiling, she could barely touch it, let alone get enough force to open the hatch.
"Maybe if I try to jump," Meg suggested. She could feel the desperation and panic starting to set in.
Mike took an uneasy breath, but knew they had to try it. "Give it a shot," he said.
Meg reached one hand down so Mike could help steady her when she lost her touch on the ceiling as she bent her knees. "One, two, three," Mike released Meg's hand as he felt her push against his shoulders and then felt the loss of her weight. He heard her hands slam against the door, and quickly adjusted his position to catch her as she fell back down. The door didn't even budge.
"It's too heavy," Mike said, quickly surmising the problem.
"Maybe I can jump better next time," Meg suggested, not wanting to give up. She knew there were no other openings in the cellar and that door was their only hope.
Mike shook his head. "It's too heavy."
Meg started to cry, kneeling down into the dirt.
Mike bent down and wrapped his arms around her and pulling her against his chest.
"My biggest fear has always been being burned alive," Meg whispered.
"You won't be," Mike assured her.
"How can you say that," Meg said looking up at him.
Mike tightened his grip. "The idea of people being burned to death in a fire it more myth than reality. You succumb to smoke inhalation long before the flames actually reach you."
Meg started to cry again.
"Hey, I'm not gonna let that happen to you," Mike said, leaning her back and brushing the hair out of eyes.
"How can you say that," Meg whispered. "We're trapped."
"I have complete faith in my A shift brothers," Mike said with confidence. "When I don't show up to work tomorrow they'll know something is wrong. Somehow, they will figure this out."
Meg leaned back against Mike.
He tightened his embrace, realizing how cold her skin was. "You're freezing," Mike said, looking at her shorts and tank top.
Meg nodded.
Mike moved over to where his work bag lay on the floor. He didn't have much in there to be helpful, but he did have clothes.
Mike unzipped the bag and pulled out his uniform shirt and pants and a long sleeve jacket that he'd thrown in as a precaution. He walked back over to Meg and extended his hand to help her stand up.
When she did he held out his pants. "Slip these on."
Meg just looked at him.
"I've got a belt, and at least they'll cover your legs."
Meg slipped into the pants, pulling at the legs to find her feet; Mike was several inches taller than she was.
Mike bent down and rolled up each pant leg to reveal her tennis shoes. Meg had snapped the pants, but had to hold them to keep them from falling off. Mike grabbed the belt and thread it through the belt loops, fastening it into the last hole. The pants were still incredibly loose; but at least they stayed up.
Meg slipped her arms through the light blue short-sleeve uniform shirt Mike offered her. He moved to stand in front of her and started doing up the buttons. When he fastened the last one, he grabbed the coat and moved behind Meg, holding it while she slipped her arms into the sleeves.
Her turned her around so she was facing him again and he zipped the jacket. The clothes hung on her as they were several sizes too big for her and Mike couldn't help but think she looked completely adorable.
Meg looked down at herself, and then back up at Mike. "I look like a child playing dress-up."
Mike slipped his hand behind her head and into her hair, pulling her to him as he caught her mouth in a kiss. He quickly deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue past her lips. Meg slipped her arms around his neck and pressed in close to him.
They kissed for a long time, before Mike finally pulled away and pressed his cheek against hers. Meg could feel the stubble forming on his cheeks, rough against her skin. She rubbed her face against his, the roughness sending ripples of pleasure through her body.
"I'm so sorry I got you into this Meg?" Mike whispered into his ear.
"This isn't your fault, Mike."
"I should have refused to call you over."
"You couldn't let all those people die; especially the kids. I'd rather be here than know that kids died in my place."
Mike looked into her eyes. "I won't let you die."
Meg looked down. "You can't promise that Mike."
"I know Captain Stanley; he'll know somethings wrong when I don't show up. They'll find us, Meg. And when we get out of here; I'm gonna take you on an amazing date."
Meg smiled at him. "I'd be happy just cuddling on my couch and talking."
Mike leaned down and kissed her again. "We can do that right here and now," Mike led her over to a wall and sat them on the ground leaning them against the stone wall. He wrapped his arms around her pulling her in close to him. Meg rested her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat.
E
Marco pushed open the apartment door, trying to be quiet while he carried his bag and balanced two soccer balls. He looked at the couch to see if Mike was already asleep, but no one was on the couch. Marco flipped the light switch up, flooding the apartment with light, while both balls fell out of his arms and went bouncing around the small area.
Marco dropped his bag and headed toward the kitchen for a glass of water. He came back out and looked at the note on the table.
"Staying the night at Caroline's. See you at the station" Mike.
Marco sighed and he felt his shoulders slump. "Aw, man."
Marco picked up the note and read it again. "I hope you know what you're doing, Mike." Marco dropped the note back on the table, grabbed his stuff and started heading for his bedroom. He stopped halfway down the hall and moved back into the living room. He opened the coat closet and confirmed that Mike's work bag was gone. "Damn."
E
Chet balanced the small bucket of water on the edge of the shelf, and adjusted the spring holding it in place. He looked down to make sure none of the important equipment would get wet and carefully closed the door. As the lock clicked closed, Chet paused. Something wasn't right. He tried to think about what had bothered him, but nothing immediately came to his attention.
"Where's Mike," Captain Stanley called out, looking for his Engineer. "Has anyone heard from Mike?"
Chet quickly moved away from the closet door as Captain Stanley walked into the bay. "Kelley, what are ya doin'?"
"Nothin', Cap."
Captain Stanley looked at Chet and then at the closet door. Poor Gage, he thought. "Have you heard from Mike," was all he said.
"No, he's not here yet?"
"No, and that's not like him."
They both turned when they heard the phone in the kitchen start ringing. Captain Stanley was in the room grabbing the phone before the second ring stopped. "Station 51, Captain Stanley speaking."
"Oh, um, Hi. This is Caroline," Caroline sounded like she was afraid to talk to him.
"Do you know where Mike is," Captain Stanley asked.
Marco had just walked into the kitchen from the parking lot and didn't realize Captain Stanley was on the phone.
"Yeah, he stayed the night at Caroline's," Marco answered.
Captain Stanley turned to look at him, as did Johnny and Roy who were filling cups of coffee.
"Um, yeah. I'm really sorry, but Mike overslept. He asked that I call you and tell you that he's jumping in the shower now and he'll meet you at the burn site."
"Put him on the phone, right now," Captain Stanley raised his voice. Mike was one of his favorite people, but he was not going to have him throwing away his career over a woman. Hank had to admit some of his anger came from being angry that Mike was stupid enough to stay the night with Caroline. She was just not the right woman for Mike. It was time he had a very serious talk with his Engineer.
"I'm sorry, I can't. He's already in the shower. Look, I'm running late to work myself. I'm sure Mike'll be there soon," Caroline hung up the phone.
Captain Stanley listened as the dial tone began to buzz in his ear. He slammed the phone down. "Jack? Can you stay on duty until we Mike shows up? You can drive his car back to the station."
"Sure," Jack said, looking over at Johnny and Roy. He'd never seen Captain Stanley angry, and right now his face was beat red and there was vein throbbing on his forehead.
E
Meg awoke with a start. Mike tightened his hold on her.
"It wasn't a nightmare," she whispered, seeing the faint signs of light breaking through the stone walls.
"No, sorry."
"What time is it?"
Mike moved his wrist around until he could see the time. "6:20."
"What's our plan?"
"Captain Stanley will walk the house before he starts the burn at 9:00 AM. At 8:30, we start screaming our lungs out and hope they hear us."
"Do you think it will work?" Meg asked.
Mike shrugged, it was better than telling her he seriously doubted it. They cellar was deep and the stone walls thick and Captain Stanley didn't need to get that close to the house to confirm the tape was in place.
E
Captain Stanley walked the perimeter of the house. All the tape was intact. He watched his guys moving in from the surrounding area toward the home as they completed the last sweep of the area before the burn commenced. All his guys, except Mike, Captain Stanley corrected his train of thought. "LA, Engine 51, any word from Fireman Michael Stoker yet?"
"Negative," came the one-word response.
Hank cursed under his breath. "Where is he?" he asked, just loud enough for Roy to hear as he reached the house.
"I'm worried," Roy said.
"Me too. Caroline or no Caroline; this isn't like Mike. I know a guy can get his head turned around over a pretty girl, but Mike is too responsible to just not show up."
"Agreed. Plus, I kinda got the impression the shine was wearing off, if you know what I mean," Roy added.
Captain Stanley nodded.
The other guys gathered around. "Talking about Mike?" Marco asked.
"I just don't like this at all," Captain Stanley said.
"Me either," Johnny agreed.
Captain Stanley looked at his watch. "We can't think about it right now. It's 8:55. Everyone get in place; we need to get this burn started. I called Kate before we left the station; we have to trust her to do her job, while we do ours. Everyone switch to channel 2," Captain Stanley ordered.
He lifted the Handi-Talkie. "Dispatch, we're commencing with the controlled burn. 51 will be unavailable for contact for the next couple of hours."
"10-4, 51. Commence with controlled burn."
Captain Stanley switched the handi-talkie to Channel 2. Dispatch would prevent anyone, including themselves, from using that channel until the burn was over so he and his guys could communicate without any interference. So many things could go wrong in these situations it was imperative they could be in instant contact if necessary.
E
Mike looked at his watch, and put a hand on Meg's arm. "You can stop screaming."
"Why, they haven't heard us yet," her voice already hoarse.
"It's 9:05 AM."
"So?"
"The burn was supposed to start at 9:00 AM. Captain Stanley would've started on time."
Meg looked at him, the fear evident in her eyes. Mike pulled her into his arms.
E
Eric pulled the car into a parking spot at the UCLA library. Kate opened the door and jumped out, rushing toward the building; Eric only a few steps behind her.
"Mrs. Hayward, is Caroline in today?" Kate asked, rushing up to the woman.
"No," Mrs. Hayward set. "Not yet anyway. As I told you before, she is never on time, so she just may be late, but an hour probably indicates she isn't coming in."
"Can you show us where she normally works?" Kate asked.
"Is there a problem?" Mrs. Hayward asked.
"Yes, but I do not have the time to discuss it. I need to see Caroline's work station." Kate and Eric had been in the judge's office as soon as he walked in the door at 8:00 AM. They had presented him with Kevin's background, Cara Lynn's criminal history which turned out to be quite extensive and the evidence they had linking the two of them to the attacks against Mike Stoker. It hadn't taken long to get him to approve placing both of them under surveillance, the problem was no one could find either Kevin or Cara Lynn.
When they'd gotten back to the precinct, Kate had a note on her desk indicating that Mike Stoker had not shown up to work that morning. Caroline had called and said he was going to be delayed, but they were requesting she look for him.
Mrs. Hayward walked them back to the alcove with the microfiche machines. "I need to be upfront as I don't have any coverage. If you need me, come get me."
Eric and Kate began going through the desk, looking for anything that may give them an indication of where Cara Lynn and Kevin had gone.
Kate started rifling through some newspaper articles that were stuffed into a drawer of the desk, rather than in the piles of materials to be scanned.
"Look at these," Kate said, handing the articles to Eric. "They're all the articles on the attacks on Station 51 back when Tim was the one doing them. This is how Kevin got his idea to start with the dumpster fires, and probably to target Mike's apartment complex."
Eric kept flipping through the articles. "Uh-oh, I think I know where they are," Eric said, handing an article to Kate.
Kate looked at the article and then looked at Eric. "I don't understand."
"Don't you ever read the interoffice newsletter?"
Kate just looked at him.
"The LA County Fire Department is doing a controlled burn, today."
Kate looked back at the article headline. "Man dies at hands of LA County Fire Department in Controlled Burn Mishap."
"We've got to get in touch with Captain Stanley," Kate took the articles with her and raced back to the car, so she could get on the radio.
"LA, this is Detective Stryker. I need you to relay me with Station 51, Captain Hank Stanley."
"Negative, Detective. Station 51 has started the controlled burn and are out of radio contact for a couple of hours at least."
"This is an emergency and may be a matter of life and death," Kate said.
"Sorry, Detective. A controlled burn can also become a matter of life and death and we cannot disrupt the radio silence. I can give you the location. "
"Give me the location," Kate said, pointing at Eric, who was already pulling a notepad and pen out of his pocket to take down the information.