Chapter 6

Bobby drank his coffee quietly, holding back a huge yawn. The night started out as a big mess but progressed into a quiet one. It was now their third quiet hour in a row. Jack and James were sound asleep in the other room and Megan was dozing off on the couch in front of him, wrapped in a thick blanket.

Bobby shivered, as hard as he tried, he couldn't bring himself to sleep and he cuddled into his blanket, cursing the cold building. He chanced another look at Megan and frowned at the expression on her face. She seemed upset and troubled and she tossed and turned so much that he almost considered waking her.

He decided against the idea when she calmed down, preferring to stay out of her way. They had quite a shouting match when she refused to let him join her at the first call.

Bobby rose from his seat when Megan grabbed her coat, but to his surprise and irritation she ignored him and turned to James.

"Are you coming?"

James raised his eyebrows. "What are you doing, Meg?"

"I can't take him with me, James, he's not trained enough."

"You have to take him, Megan, the entire propose of the F.B.I being with us is that they will keep an eye on us. Not to mention, it's a direct order from our supervisors"

"Bullshit!" She stomped her leg. "He can't keep an eye on me if he's helping me treat patients. This entire charade is ridiculous!"

"If the F.B.I thinks he's trained enough then he's good enough for us." Megan sighed in frustration and James rose from the couch. Bobby observed the two friends carefully, Megan's hands were wrapped around herself, her face stony. James tapped his foot on the floor before speaking.

"There's a call, Megan." She nodded her head but didn't move. "I can pull a rank on you and you know it." He said quietly.

Megan's turned so quickly and for a moment, Jack thought she might hit him. "You don't have any rank to pull on me, James." She hissed.

"Either you take Bobby with you or go home." James said quietly, his expression leaving no room for arguing.

"I'm going to call Radcliff." She said and James nodded his head.

"You do that."

"Look, Sheila, I'm only trying to help." Bobby rose from his seat.

"I wasn't talking to you, Manning." He noticed the change of her attitude and the distance she now addressed him with.

"I don't understand your problem, miss." He answered coldly.

"The problem is that you don't seem to understand that your presence in the ambulance wouldn't help anyone, you honestly think it would work? You're working as a paramedic?"

Jack and James took the call while she phoned the station manager. When she finished she was angry, but her manager ordered her to let the F.B.I do whatever they pleased. He couldn't help himself from smiling at her and she walked away from him, slamming the bedroom door behind her.

Two minutes afterwards they received another call.

She hasn't spoken a word to him that wasn't strictly professional and he had to admit he hated every second of it.

The sudden ringing of the phone startled him and he spilled some hot coffee on his hands, cursing quietly. Megan opened her eyes and reached out to the phone.

"Yeah?" her voice was hoarse. "We're on our way." She hung up and dialed three numbers. "James…we got a call, both of us."

Bobby rose from his seat, reaching out for his coat. Megan stretched and followed him outside. Jack and James joined them a few seconds later looking rumpled and tired.

"Washington 52." Megan spoke into the radio.

"Washington 47." James called as well, massaging the right side of his neck.

"47 and 52 you're heading towards 14th street Bridge, on Ohio drive. Coast guard is reporting two people jumping off about five minutes ago. They pulled one from the water, unconscious. They're looking for the other one."

Both Megan and James didn't wait to hear the end of their instructions. They headed forward, driving fast on the icy roads. Jack cursed under his breathe, it was freezing outside and it looked like their night just took a turn to the worst. He looked at James and sighed to himself; this might be the perfect opportunity for someone to hit anyone of them. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed D's phone number, knowing his friend was with SOG tonight.

"I know Jack, we're heading there." His friend answered. "We'll watch your back."

"Okay, good luck. Hopefully, two teams together in one place will lure that bastard from his hiding place."

Megan gritted her teeth when the Ambulance back wheels pulled to the left, sending them flying right on the ice that covered the road. She quickly turned the wheel to the right and the vehicle shook before moving forwards again. Millie from the communication center asked how long it would take them.

"ETA two minutes." Megan said; making sure she turned the ambulance slower on the next round.

Bobby's heart beat furiously against his chest. This was one heck of a call. The Potomac was freezing cold this time of the year. Was there even a chance to find anyone alive?

"Washington 47 and 52 in the scene." James spoke and then rushed outside, Jack followed him. The first body was a male in his early twenties; two men from the coast guard were already performing CPR.

"We're performing CPR for about ten minutes." One of them said. "There is another one still in the water, probably a woman."

Megan rushed towards the coast guard boat that reached the shore. "You got her?" she called. Bobby helped them move the second body and they started working on her. Adrenaline pumped in his veins and Bobby cursed softly when thunder broke and heavy rain started falling.

Megan's hands ached and her body shook from the cold. One of the coast guard men stood next to them with a huge umbrella but it provided no help against the freezing wind and the wet ground. Next to her Bobby didn't stop his actions, counting the pressures he performed. She looked at the monitor; they were working for almost an hour now.

"Bobby, stop please." She said quietly and he raised his head, glaring at her.

The monitor showed a flat line and Megan shook her head. "Time of death 04:45." She spoke softly and then reached for her cell phone, calling another Ambulance to collect the body.

Bobby rested his head in his palms, breathing heavily. He was angry and frustrated. The young woman couldn't be more than thirty. What caused her to jump like that? He felt a hand touching his shoulder and he recoiled from the touch. He met his partner's eyes and sighed. She reached for his shoulder again, squeezing lightly. "I know it's hard, Bobby." He nodded his head and rose from the ground. "There is a fire on F Street. We need to get there, there are some scrubs at the back, and we better change."

He followed her to the ambulance, gladly accepting a small towel. They changed quickly and hurried towards their next destination. James and Jack were already there, treating the injured civilians and firefighters.

"Marcus!" Megan pulled the ambulance to a stop when she noticed one of the firemen signaling her to stop.

"Don't come any closer, Meg. Gas is leaking all over the place. I'm pulling my men out of there."

"Where are Jack and James?" Bobby asked.

"Over there." The fireman pointed to the left where the two of them stood, taking care of a group of confused looking people."

"Are we the second ambulance?" Megan asked, reaching out for the radio.

"Yes, no need for more. The fire is pretty much in control, but a small spark might blast the entire building."

"Washington 52, in the scene." She spoke into the radio. "Let's go and help them."

Bobby followed her, and they started treating the occupants of the burning building. Most of them were in perfect health although they were a little overwhelmed. Some had minor injuries that didn't require the hospital visit. Thankfully, the top floor was the only one that burned and its habitants all managed to get out of there in time.

After finishing their treatment, they remained in the scene. Bobby approached Jack and they sat down on the sidewalk. "The young woman?" Jack asked quietly and Bobby shook his head silently.

"There wasn't much hope." He said. "Did SOG see anything?"

Jack shook his head in frustration. "Nothing, it's like those two shootings never happened. God knows we gave him more than a few chances tonight." Bobby nodded his head and watched when Megan removed her coat and gave it to a young woman with a small baby.

"It's freezing, miss." The woman tried to argue but Megan shook her head.

"It's alright; I'll go and borrow from the firefighters. They always keep an extra coat somewhere. Give it back to me later."

Megan jogged to the fire fighter's vehicle, hugging herself against the sudden cold that enveloped her. Bobby rose from his position on the ground so fast he nearly fell again from the wave of dizziness that attacked him.

Jack startled. "Bobby? What is it?"

Bobby growled and started walking after her. "She's not wearing a vest!"

Jack hurried after him, pulling his cell phone. He called D. "Do you see anything?"

"No, Jack, so far nothing. Did something happen?"

Megan saw Marcus Shore closing his cell phone. "We should be out of here in no time, Megan." He said.

"You got any extra coat in there?" She asked, her teeth chattering.

"Hold on." He walked towards the end of the vehicle, Megan followed him. He found a large box and opened it, searching inside before pulling a rumpled looking coat. He smiled and turned around. "There you g…"

She jumped backwards when something hot sprayed all over her face. She watched as if she was in a dream...not a dream, a nightmare as Marcus fell backwards, his head hitting the pavement, a small hole in the middle of his forehead. She opened her mouth, but nothing seemed to come out. A stain of blood seemed to ever grow below his head, his eyes were dull and empty, his lips were still smiling and he was clutching the heavy coat in his right hand.

Her throat contracted and she felt bile rising from her stomach. She heard footsteps behind her, coming closer and she heard voices. She opened her mouth to cry out and then crumpled to the ground, loosing the entire contents of her stomach.

Bobby started running when he saw them on the ground; he crouched behind her, his body covering her, the urge to protect her almost too powerful. "Are you hurt?" He asked, reaching out to her, checking for injuries. She turned to face him and then turned to the ground again, another wave of nausea overwhelming her.

"D, someone just took a shot at us, one of the firefighters is dead." Jack spoke quietly. He heard the commotion inside the surveillance van "Do you have any visual on anyone suspicious?"

"Megan, were there any more shots?" Bobby asked. She shook her head, her eyes glued to the body that lay motionless on the ground. "Okay, let's go, stop looking at him." He pulled her up slowly and led her backwards. "Come on, let's go..."

"Jack we're picking up a man right now. We'll take him for questioning but it's a long shot."

"It was a clear shot, D, straight to the head." Jack looked around him, scanning the windows of the buildings that surrounded them. "It was a sniper."

In front of him, Megan pulled away from Bobby and leaned against the red vehicle. Bobby grasped her shoulder gently. "Megan?"

She threw up again.