Glass shattered and flames leapt from the windows. He scampered to cover the hysterical mother from falling debris, but the moment it seemed clear he leapt to his feet and started running. The charge was cut short when he was tackled to the ground.
"No way are you going in there."
Shoving the firefighter off, Vin pushed himself up. "Ezra…"
"I know your friend is in there. So are two of my men. Stay out of our way and let us figure out what's happening. This is what we do."
Vin forced himself to calm down. He looked over to where the young mother lay on the ground, transfixed in shock.
"A little boy. About four years old. He was on the fourth floor - 420."
"Shit. OK I'll add him to the list. Look, just let us do our jobs. Trust me – we're going to do everything we can."
Vin took a deep breath. Getting past this man wouldn't be hard. He could bolt in there now or circle around to the back and find another way in. But what good would that really do? The last thing he wanted was to divert any attention from where it needed to be, and that was on finding Ezra, Tony and anyone else unfortunate enough to still be in the precarious structure. Forcing himself to acknowledge that he was just in the way now and couldn't help anybody, he finally looked the chief in the face. "I hope your men are all right." Vin walked slowly back to the sidewalk.
"My name is Vin Tanner. What's yours ma'am?"
The young woman looked at him, not fully comprehending what was going on. He had to ask again before she spoke. "Karen. Where's my little boy? Where's my Tony?"
"The chief is looking for them – for him."
She collapsed against him, sobbing. "No, no. I was only gone for five minutes. No."
He grabbed at her as she tried to run into the building again, wrapping her in a tight grip as she pounded her fists on his chest. After a moment she surrendered, dropping her head and shaking in terror. The neighbour Vin had picked out earlier as a building leader walked up to them. "Karen come sit with us. We'll all wait for Tony to come out together. Just come sit with us." Vin smiled his appreciation as the newcomer led the woman back to a cluster of supportive friends.
Looking up at the top of the building, now wrapped in dark smoke with flashes of fire visible through the haze, he couldn't think of a time he felt more useless. With nothing more he could do, he sat on the sidelines, fidgeting and anxious. After a few more tries, he give up trying Ezra's cell phone. There was nothing to be gained and hearing it go to voicemail was eating away at him. He watched as the two injured firefighters were helped out. They'd been on the ground floor, away from the centre of the blast and luckily seemed only shaken up. The explosion had happened at the top - where Ezra was. Where Tony was. Lost in the images that moment created in his mind, he grew increasingly oblivious to his surroundings until his trance was shattered by familiar voice shouting at one of the perimeter guard cops.
"I showed ya my badge - what more do you need?"
"Only official and authorized personnel –" the officer began, with the clear intent of ending his comments with a threat. Vin called over to interrupt as he made his way toward them.
"They're here for me. There will be a few more coming. Apologize to the man Buck. He's just doing his job." The officer grudgingly let them through. JD had the presence of mind to try to soothe ruffled feathers by offering a quick thanks..
"Damn. This is a mess. Tell me it isn't as bad as it looks." Buck was casting his gaze around the scene with concern.
"Gas caused the explosion. I guess it's still to early to know yet what triggered it all.
"You guys get everybody out?" JD asked anxiously.
After a moments hesitation Vin spoke softly. "There's a missing four-year-old kid."
"Shit. Ezra must be beating himself up over that. Where is he anyway?" Buck slowly turned back to face Vin when he didn't get an answer. He felt a pit forming in his gut. "Vin. Where is Ezra?"
"He was still inside when it blew."
"No." JD whispered, looking at the destruction. "How bad was he hurt?"
Vin didn't want to speak. "They haven't found them yet. Don't bother Buck, they won't let you near. I've been trying."
It was the tone as much as the words that changed Buck's plan to rush into the search. With reluctance, he settled himself long enough to take a good look at Vin. "I don't know just what happened, but I'm damned sure this isn't your fault Vin."
"The hell it isn't. He was driving me home. Wouldn't have been within 10 miles of the place otherwise. He wouldn't have run in there to warn everybody like some damned stupid superhero."
The others had arrived in time to hear the last comments. "You really think that's what he would've preferred?" Josiah asked.
"I shouldn't have let him go in."
"When did you get the ability to control Ezra, and how come you never let me in on that trick?" Chris leaned against a patrol car, pulling Vin back to it as well. "You were every bit as stupid about running in there, and as much as it drives me crazy, there isn't a one of us that wouldn't have done the same thing."
"Tell you one thing for sure. He's going to be pissed with you for beating yourself up like this."
"God, I hope so Nathan." Vin looked at the building again. "But I can't quite believe you on that."
They struggled to find something to say. To Vin or to each other, but every thought sounded hollow. They sat watching the effort to control the flames to keep the fire from spreading.
Knowing they were all almost as worried about him as they were about Ezra, Vin tried to find a way to break some of the tension. He looked around him for some kind of inspiration, but all he could see was the devastation, shock and sadness. His eyes settled on one spot and he started grinning, shaking his head lightly as soft chuckle actually emerged. The others were going to think he'd lost it. Maybe he had, but he just couldn't help himself.
Finally deciding he needed to speak before they had him tranquilized, he looked at the team. "Something just occurred to me. You all think he's gonna be mad at me when this is over? Wait till he gets a look at what happened to his car."
They all looked at the crumpled mess that had been Ezra's pride and joy. The windows were blown out, the paint was scorched and blistered. The fabric convertible roof was in tatters with debris littering the interior. Overall, there wasn't an inch of the car that resembled the pristine vehicle in which Ezra took such pride.
Nathan let out a low whistle. "Oh, man. I do NOT want to be the guy who has to tell him about that. He just got it detailed a couple of days ago."
JD glanced up the road and spotted a side mirror resting against the curb. He picked it up and spotted the small ace of spades that the team had stenciled onto it to mark Ezra's first anniversary with them. He'd acted outraged that they would have tampered with the perfection of his car, but every last one of them saw the smile that he'd tried to hide.
"What are you thinking about?" Buck had seen a flash of a grin pass over JD's face.
"Just remembering the night he taught me how to play poker."
"You were playing cards with us long before Ezra joined the team."
Shaking his head, JD explained. "He didn't teach me the rules – he taught me how to play. Sat me down one night after I lost way too much at the table."
"If you're going to continue to gamble at cards and still wish to have sufficient funds to keep a roof over your head and food on the table I believe there are a few basic techniques of which you need to be made aware. Ways which will greatly increase your odds of victory – unless of course I am at the table."
"Don't want to learn how to cheat." Seeing the wounded look on Ezra's face, JD immediately wished he could take it back. "Damn. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I know you don'..." He stopped when he saw the wide smile.
"That, my young student, was your first lesson. Actually two lessons. The first: do not react to the reactions of another. Perfecting the look of injury or indignation is one of the simplest methods to distract an opponent.
JD had the feeling he should be taking notes, because he doubted he'd ever get to hear any of this repeated. "Okay. What was the second lesson?"
"A much more problematic one to master and apply. It is essential to retain the mindset that friendship has no place at the card table."
Nope – that wasn't going to work. "What's the point of playing then?"
"The point of playing is, always, winning."
"Not when we get together. It's just a friendly game."
"Really? And precisely how much money did you lose to your friends tonight?"
Lowering his head slightly, JD conceded the fact. "I see your point."
Not wanting to discourage the young man from ever joining in a game again, Ezra backed off a bit. "You must understand, I have no desire to remove the element of entertainment from the evening. The camaraderie, the social experience, it is all a vital part of a poker night. But do you not agree that at least a portion of the pleasure comes in the victory? And should you not do everything within your abilities to, in a fair and honest manner, focus some of that pleasure in your direction?
"Well, it makes sense when you put it that way. But nothing dishonest."
The sly grin returned. "Heaven forbid. I simply intend to educate you in the methods to hone and develop both your personal powers of observation and your application of guile. You are reasonably adept at the first, but dismal at the latter. And, for your peace of mind, you should know that that is a good thing."
"So I need to learn to be sneaky?"
"No, not per se. But being less obvious would assuredly be an asset. Anyone with a minimal skill at reading people knows what is in your hand the moment you do."
"Don't think so."
Ezra reluctantly pulled out a deck. "This will be the only time we use these tonight. One does not learn this side of poker with cards." He dealt out five hands and had JD pick up the first one. He watched for a moment.
"Low cards, nothing terribly promising. I would wager that you will fold this hand." JD looked at the mess of cards that held nothing. Without comment he picked up the next.
"Ah. Decidedly more promising. Based on experience I would assume that you have at least three of a kind, or possibly two pair. Quite high ranking." Three nines were laid on the table. JD clenched his jaw, tightening every muscle in his body against reacting. He picked up the next hand, determined not to be outed.
"I imagine I will be the one folding this time. You have at the very least of flush, possibly royal. I doubt it is four of a kind, but regardless, I would not waste any of my wealth betting against you."
"How?"
"Observation, plain and simple."
Buck sighed dramatically as the tale ended. "Well that explains why my poker night winnings got worse."
Nathan was shaking his head. "Why would he help you get better to play against him?"
With a grin, Josiah answered, "Much more enjoyable to win on a level playing field."
"And I promise you, I still wouldn't want to play against him in a serious game. But he sure made our poker nights more interesting." JD agreed.
"What else did he teach you?" Nathan couldn't help but wonder and worry just a bit.
"To not share any other secrets with you guys." JD smile faded. "Not that it matters much now. Don't think it will be that much fun to play cards anymore."
"We're not ready to write the last page on that yet kid." Chris challenged.
"They are." He looked up, following JD's gaze. The fire squad captain was coming out of the building toward them.
"We've done the first sweep. There are still hotspots and lots of debris to dig through but…"
"No sign of Ezra or the boy?"
"No. Like I said, there's lots of debris to go through. I'm sorry. We aren't done looking, but I wanted to let you know where things stood. We will keep looking of course."
Chris nodded his thanks. He knew delivering this kind of news was never easy and felt for the man. "Appreciate that. Do you have any idea yet on the cause?"
"If I had to guess based on what we have so far, I'd say a fatal combination of smoking in bed and these old gas lines. We did find a woman's body in the room where it all started." They all looked up at the damage that such a simple act had caused.
The silence was broken by a whimpering voice. "Does anybody know where my mommy is?"
M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7
tbc