This City Is On Fire

Inside Michael's loft it's silent. No one is moving except me, my footsteps pounding into the floor, echoing through the room. I don't know what I feel right now, I'm shocked and I'm angry to start with. I never thought I'd say it but I'm scared too. Not just for myself but for the others as well. We've entered the battlefield and our army is in no way ready for this war.

Two of Gomez's men made it out last night and there's no doubt that he's getting ready. He knows if he wants to make his move he has to do it now. Finally after one last lap across the room I stop moving, suddenly exhausted and I realized I haven't slept in almost two days. But right know there's no time for that and as the loft door swings open, revealing a very tired looking Michael, I know things are about to take off.

His brow is creased and his jaw clenched tight, if I didn't know any better I would think he was mad. He comes and stops at the counter, his hands flat on the smooth surface as he looks at me long and hard.

"Tell me you didn't know," he says, his voice a low whisper. I shake my head and let out a breath.

"Mike-"

"Tell me you didn't know," he says again, pronouncing each word slowly.

I look right into his eyes. "I didn't know. There's no way I could have." He watches me closely for a moment but eventually he seems pleased by this and he nods, the tension leaving his body. He moves to the refrigerator and pulls out a yogurt, grabbing a spoon from the drawer and bumping it closed with his hip.

"Mike if the police were involved than this may be out of our hands. I mean for all we know we could get ourselves arrested just for hanging around." He nods thoughtfully as he swallows another spoonful of yogurt.

"Right now we need to focus on what we know and what we can take back with us. We may not be able to put ourselves in there alongside Gomez but there's still a lot we can do from the outside." Nodding I lean back in the stool and rub a hand over my face, scrubbing at my tired eyes.

"So what did you guys see?" I ask curiously. Michael had taken Fi and Sam to the loading dock to check out the damage and find out what information we can use to our advantage. By the look on his face I can tell it isn't good news.

"When we got there CSI was all over the place, no one was allowed in. Not even the workers."

Through another spoonful of yogurt, "This is going to be taken very seriously, whenever PD loses one of their own it's like a war zone until they've tracked down everyone who was even remotely related to it." He shakes his head and tosses his empty cup in the garbage, the can rattling as it hit.

I know how hard our job has just become, and I know that we have people counting on us to come through but I can't shake the feeling I have that we should just back down while we can. The only good outcome that's coming from this whole mess is that the cops should be off our back for a while. I look back at Michael who's standing on the balcony and just staring out into the distance and when he meets my gaze I point towards the door to let him know I'm heading out.

He nods and one side of his mouth tips up in the smallest of smiles, letting me know I haven't completely let him down yet. I return it and step outside, the air still cool as the morning sun continues to creep up slowly. I don't know where I'm going but all I know is that I need to be alone, somewhere where I can think and not listen to any more of this talk about last night.

I remember that Maddie is shopping right now so I decide to head back to her house and hide out in my makeshift bedroom for a while. In the car I'm tempted to drive by the dock and see if I can catch a glimpse of anything, but the urge suddenly wears off when I hear Michael's voice in my head telling me to just head home before I get into any more trouble.

I pull up beside Maddie's house, relieved to see she's still not home, and head straight to my room, flopping down on the couch and blowing out a breath. I close my eyes, desperate for sleep and I'm not surprised when I drift into a dream and the world around me slowly disappears.

…

I wake up to someone gently tapping my arm, a soft voice calling my name gently as I begin to stir. I blink the sleep from my eyes and raise my head slightly, meeting Maddie's smiling eyes. She's got a few shopping bags in her hand and her over sized sunglasses are perched on top of her head.

"Sleep well?" she asks through several puffs of the cigarette she's got trapped between her lips. I sit all the way up and and stretch, ignoring the protests coming from my muscles. I look outside and notice it's about five o'clock. I had been asleep for about five hours.

"Eh, at least I slept," I tell her, reaching for my cellphone. Relieved I don't have any missed calls from Michael I toss the phone on the couch and follow her into the kitchen, watching as she begins making dinner.

"Did you have fun today?" I ask, trying to get a conversation going. She nods and smiles slightly, staring down into her pot of spaghetti sauce. I frown, wondering why she seems so distant all of a sudden.

"Everything alright?" I ask, worry mixing into my voice. When Maddie looks up there's a sad look in her eyes, but I'm not sure why.

"I heard what happened last night," she says quietly and my stomach begins to twist.

"We didn't know the police would be there," I said quickly. "Mike and I stayed out of the way." Letting out a sigh Maddie puts down the spoon she was holding and leans against the counter.

"I know I should be relieved that you boys are OK but after hearing about that detective being killed I started to wonder if it's really safe to keep working this job." I swallow hard, looking at Maddie as if she had just spoken in some other language.

"That detective.. He died?" Maddie looks at me somewhat suspiciously and nods.

"Yes, this morning. He had too much internal bleeding they couldn't stop. There was a whole story about it this morning on the news." Standing up I move to the living room, turning on the TV and finding the local news. Sure enough a picture of David takes up the majority of the screen and the reporter speaks before she shows glimpses of the crime scene, yellow tape and police officers in every picture.

I immediately turn it off, feeling sick to my stomach. It's not our fault that David was killed but it's different when it's someone you know who gets there picture on the evening news. I stumble back into the kitchen and sit down, feeling Maddie pat my back reassuringly. Suddenly the doorbell rings and Maddie tells me to watch the food while she answers it. A few moments pass and as I stir the sauce she has heating on the stove I hear my name being called.

Wiping my hands on my pants I peer around the island and see Maddie standing in the doorway talking to somebody. As I approach I can hear the voice become clearer and I almost stop walking and turn around. But Maddie hears my footsteps and turns to look at me, obviously alarmed.

"There's some here to see you," she says before hurrying back to the kitchen. I look back at the door and meet Emma's eyes. They're red and swollen as if she'd been crying and a white bandage is wrapped around her arm. She tries her best to smile, one of her hands holding on to the door frame as if she can't hold herself up any longer. There's dry blood caked around her fingernails, it sends chills through me.

"Jesse, I need your help." Her voice is hoarse and shaky but she doesn't even blink as she looks at me, determination shining in those green eyes. I look at her in confusion and she steps a little closer to me, her breath hitting my cheek. Her voice is a desperate plead this time.

"I need your help taking down Gomez."