Brody didn't hesitate, left Rush in the still running car, ran to the door, smashed the glass with the butt of his gun and reached through to open it. He registered Rush behind him as he yanked out his mobile and phoned it in.
"911, what is your emergency."
"This is FBI Agent Adam Brody, I'm at…"
"Two-oh-seven Main Street." Rush supplied.
"Two-oh-seven Main Street, Destiny. I need fire and probably paramedics. At least one apartment is alight and I am evacuating the building."
He rang off. Rush was already banging on a door ahead of him and he followed him, banging on doors, getting people awake and out.
The stairwell was beginning to fill with smoke but neither of them paused as they ran up to repeat the process on the second, third and fourth floors.
"Who should be in the burning apartment." He gasped to Rush as they finished the top floor.
Rush was coughing but paused long enough to gasp back.
"No-one, it's mine."
"Fuck."
Smoke was now coming up thick and fast, the stairwell acting like a chimney, drawing the smoke up thickly from Rush's burning second floor apartment. Covering their mouths with their cuffs, they shepherded the last of the occupants out and staggered out into the snow, coughing and gasping. He reached out but failed to catch Rush as he collapsed on his knees in the snow. The other man threw up comprehensively, whisky and the remnants of bacon sandwiches melting the snow. Rush knelt up again, swaying, the adrenaline wearing off and leaving him simply drunk again. Brody handed him a handful of clean snow and the man scrubbed at his face with it.
"Come on." Said Brody. "We'd better move back."
He hauled the unresisting scientist to his feet by one arm and practically dragged him off to where the car was parked, dumping him in the passenger seat and going to check on the evacuees.
One of the evacuees turned out to have marshalled all the others into some sort of order and as the fire trucks arrived, children were being installed in cars, wrapped in blankets and sleeping bags from the emergency kits everyone seemed to have in the trunk of their car. The adults stood well back in a nervous huddle. Brody approached the organiser.
"Hi I'm…"
"Agent Brody." Said the man.
"Yeah." Brody gave him a rueful expression. "News travels huh?"
The man nodded.
"You're very organised." Brody offered.
"I'm part of the volunteer search and rescue." The man said. "My name's Varro, Mike Varro." He held out his hand to Brody and they shook hands. "Thanks, thanks for getting us up. Tasia and I had just checked on the kids and were taking ourselves to bed."
His eyes flicked to a well used looking SUV with a couple of wide eyed kids of about three and five glued to the windows. A pretty, sensible looking woman in an oversized padded jacket was just closing the boot pulling out what appeared to be a camping stove and a crate of supplies.
"We'll have coffee soon. The truck's always stocked in case we're called out suddenly on a search." Varro said. "How's Nick?"
Brody gave Varro a blank look.
"Doctor Rush," Varro clarified, "he's our next door neighbour."
"I'll go check on him." Brody said looking over at his car. "He's in the car, he'd had a few drinks."
The look Varro directed at the car held a whole world of sympathy that Brody didn't quite understand.
"Tasia!" he called.
She looked over at her husband.
"Another blanket for Nick?"
She nodded and brought over a thick fleece blanket, handing it to Brody. The scientist was still in the car, and despite the fact he appeared to have passed out again, was shivering. Brody wrapped him in the blanket then turned on the car and dialled the heating right up.
He sat himself in the passenger seat and pulled out his mobile. Rush stirred and blinked at Brody.
"Anyone you want me to call?" he asked him.
Rush didn't seem fully awake.
"Have you got anywhere to stay?" Brody tried again. "Any family?"
"First time I saw her, I thought she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, she looked just like, just like h..."
The scientist slumped back into his seat and passed out again.
Brody dialled up Camile. It took her a little time to get to the phone.
"Camile?"
"Brody? Is everything alright?"
"I'm sitting outside Doctor Rush's apartment watching it burn." He said.
"Where's Doctor Rush?" The sound of her voice changed as she put it on speakerphone. "Was he inside?"
"Passed out next to me in the car. He was getting himself drunk in the bar and I offered to drive him home. The apartment was alight when we got here. We're at 207 Main Street, the Fire department are on scene already."
He could hear her moving around and getting dressed.
"I'll be there as soon as possible."
There was a knock on the car window. He looked up startled and saw a girl of about twelve dressed in a ski suit holding two cardboard cups that were steaming. He wound down the window.
"From Mrs Varro, Agent Brody." She said handing them over, she seemed very impressed with his title. The smell of instant coffee wreathed up and he took the cups. She fumbled in a pocket, clumsy in mittens and handed over two chocolate bars and a handful of little plastic tubs of creamer and sugar sachets as well.
"Thank you, ah…?"
"I'm Katie Lee." She said, grinning and looking abashed. She giggled and ran off.
He put one of the cups in the cup holder, and carefully holding the other, closed the window. He turned and shook Rush.
"Hey, wake up."
"Mmmph?"
"Wake up Doctor Rush, there's a hot coffee for you here."
He wafted the cup in front of the man and after a moment Rush's eyes snapped open.
"Coffee?" asked Brody.
Rush sniffed.
"Instant." He muttered disparagingly.
"Beggars can't' be choosers." Brody said, holding out the coffee. "It's hot and wet and coffee."
Rush took the coffee, turned down the creamer but added two sugars and stirred it with the pen Brody proffered.
There was a further tap at the window, a small dark woman in a firefighter's uniform and a man who was evidently the chief firefighter on scene were waiting in the driving snow. Brody wound down the window again.
"Are you Agent Brody?" The woman asked.
Brody nodded.
"I'm Lisa Park, the fire investigator." She said, "This is Marsden."
Marsden nodded at him.
"You're here early." Noted Brody to Lisa.
"Any fire in Destiny is likely to be something that needs me at the moment, and I was only sitting at home reading anyway." She said.
"Was it you who rang it in?" Marsden asked.
"Yeah, saw it through the window."
Brody looked back at Rush who was sipping coffee and listening to the conversation. He still looked quite drunk.
"I was giving Doctor Rush here a lift back from Becker's."
Marsden ducked his head to look at Rush through the window. Rush blinked at him.
"Mike Varro says it's your apartment, Doctor Rush."
Rush nodded.
"It's gone." Marsden said bluntly. "I hope you were insured."
"Completely." Said Rush.
"When was the last time you were in your apartment." Asked Lisa.
"This morning." Rush said. "I went to Becker's after work."
Brody was impressed with how coherent he was considering how much he'd had to drink.
"We've been in Becker's together since about six." Brody said. "Doctor Rush had a few drinks and I offered to drive him back. When we got here, I pulled in, and when I looked up at the window I could see the flames, just in the one window. I couldn't see them from the road through the snow." The two firefighters nodded at him. "That's when I phoned it in and we went in and banged on all the doors and got everyone out. Once we were out the guy…ah…Varro took over organising all the inhabitants and you arrived."
A sheriff's car pulled into the lot and Brody could see it was Sheriff Young and Camile. It pulled up alongside and they both got out zipping up coats, Camile pulling on a fleecy hat.
They walked over to the car, leaning to peer in.
"Camile, Sheriff." Brody greeted them.
"I need you to get yourselves checked over by the paramedics." Young told them.
Brody nodded in acquiescence but he heard a disparaging grumble from Rush behind him. The firefighters went back to the others still fire fighting and Young and Camile went over to talk to Varro and the other inhabitants, leaving Brody with Rush again.
"Hey," he said to Rush. "You okay?"
"Someone has just tried to kill me, all my stuff's gone up in smoke and I'm sitting here watching the fire department fill what's left of all I own with water."
Brody nodded, tipping his head slightly with an apologetic look. Rush downed the rest of the coffee with a grimace.
"We'd better go see the paramedics." He said. "I doubt the Sheriff will let up until we do."
The paramedic took one look at their sooty faces and Rush wrapped in a blanket and ushered them into the ambulance. They were checked over and after submitting to being poked and prodded the paramedic pronounced them both as having mild smoke inhalation, but nothing that there was any point treating now half an hour after the fact. Then he gave them a talking to for not coming over sooner.
With instructions to take it easy, and to go straight to the hospital should they show any other effects, the paramedic released them.
"Where will you go?" Brody asked Rush.
"There's an apartment up at Icarus for the family to use if they work late. I've got a key. I've a change of clothes in my office as well, I case I need to go from lab to meetings unexpectedly."
"It seems a safe place to go, and we'll be able to find you tomorrow to interview you." He said. Rush scowled. "I'll get someone to drive you if Young says you're good to go."
"I have the best alibi. Of course he'll let me go."
Brody opened the car door.
"I'd better go have a word with Camile. You stay here."
Rush nodded and to be honest he didn't look like he had any intention of leaving the warmth of the car and blanket.
Brody walked over to where the Sheriff and Camile were having a conversation with the fire chief. He slid in next to Camile, zipping his coat up further and pulling up the hood against the driving snow. It was becoming practically a blizzard.
"How is Doctor Rush?" She asked him.
"Sobering up." Brody said. "He was getting himself quietly but thoroughly drunk in Becker's earlier. Becker himself said it was recently, since the accident and fires he'd been doing that." He looked up at the broken window. "What's the damage like?"
"You called it in pretty quickly." Said Marsden. "The damage was contained in the one apartment. It's all out now. Most of the residents will be able to go back in tonight. The hallways will need cleaning and repainting from the smoke and the Varro's apartment was next door and has a little smoke damage. The Atienza's below have water damage in the living room and the floor of Rush's apartment needs checking before they can be let back in, but it's only really Doctor Rush's apartment that's had any major damage."
"How bad?" asked Brody.
"Well, the hallway is gutted, the living room, the kitchen, and the second bedroom are damaged badly from flame, smoke and water damage., the master bedroom door was closed and because of where it is the flame didn't get in. I'm guessing some of the stuff in there will be salvageable." He shrugged. "We'll have to see if the floor is safe enough, to get stuff out tomorrow, otherwise he could be waiting some time."
Brody nodded.
"He's going to stay in an apartment up at Icarus apparently."
He walked back over to the car. He could see Rush was on his mobile phone as he opened the door Rush looked up, evidently still talking to someone on the phone.
"...stay in the apartment. Yes it will be fine..."there was a long pause in which Brody could hear the high pitched tones of a female voice though not make out any details. "Yes, I'll be fine, there's security on site twenty four seven isn't there..."Rush made eye contact with Brody as he listened. "No, there's no need to tell Telford tonight...well obviously...fine, if you must. Yes, I'll be fine, I'll see you later."
Brody gave him a questioning look.
"Someone phoned Miss Armstrong." Rush said darkly. "Chloe's a little worried, she's lost three members of staff to these fires. She's sending someone from Icarus to get me."
"Is she still at the plant?" Brody asked.
Rush nodded "She's often there, often stays over."
The fire chief wandered over and Brody looked up.
"I think he wants to let you know about your apartment."
"I think I can tell that my flat's a write off." Said Rush, but opened the window anyway.
Brody got back out and went to find Lisa Park. She was pulling equipment and supplies from her van and calling to a crime scene investigator who had pulled up next to her. She and he evidently knew each other well. Brody walked up.
"Any chance I can join you for the walk through?" he said.
"John?" She asked the man who was pulling himself into standard crime scene gear.
"You're the FBI fire guy? Be my guest." He said.
John reached into his van and pulled out another white boiler suit wrapped in plastic, tossing it to Brody.
"Suit up."