OA:

I ran across the dry grass, heart pounding fast and body filled with the horror that Maggie was in that van. Smoke was billowing from an open door, thick and dark, and I knew immediately that something else was in it, some kind of chemical. She wouldn't be able to breathe in there for long. Hold on, Maggie.

Panicked thoughts bounced around in my head, screaming at each other to get out of the way, screaming at myself to get this under control. But I couldn't. Because I knew that Maggie could handle herself — the open door was evidence of that — so the fact that she hadn't made it out yet meant something was very wrong. Please, just hold on.

"Come on, come on, come on," I muttered to myself as I scrambled for the handles to open the back of the van. The few seconds it took to throw the doors open felt like an eternity, but time stopped moving altogether when the smoke dispelled enough for me to see through it. "Maggie!" Her hands were tied to something and hanging over the back of the seats she slumped against, and she was unconscious. "Maggie!" I knew she couldn't hear me, but the words came anyway as I pulled a knife from my belt. The fire flared as I reached up to cut her free, and instinctively, I flinched away. For the first time, fear gave way to fury at the people who'd left her here to die, but I tamped it down and kept sawing at the duct tape around her wrists. "I got you."

Maggie stirred at that, eyes barely fluttering open. Her lips moved, and though she made no sound, I knew she was saying my name. It didn't last long, however, her head lolling to the side again by the time my blade finished tearing through her restraints. "Hey hey hey hey, come on," I said, desperation creeping into my voice. I wasted no time sliding my arms under her frame, scooping her out of the van. "I got you. I got you." Please stay with me.

It was going to blow. I knew it just by listening to the fire crackle. Inevitably, the fire would reach the fuel tank and the van would blow, and I had to get her away before that happened. I moved faster, my boots crunching on the dead, wintered ground, and Maggie's hair hanging over my shoulder. When I judged us to be far enough away from the burning vehicle, I gently laid my partner on the ground, supporting her head on my forearm.

Her body was completely limp, and it scared me more than the fire. My Maggie was never still, always pacing, bouncing her knee, or tapping a pen on her desk. This Maggie was lifeless in comparison, though I could see her chest rising and falling in a steadier and steadier rhythm now that she was finally out of the smoke.

Suddenly, her body convulsed and she threw up. I let out a breath as her eyes opened. "Hey, partner."

A smile flitted across her lips. "Hey." She leaned to the side and threw up again, her system seeking to rid itself of whatever poison she'd been breathing in. I supported her body with mine as she took one shaky breath after another.

"There, you're okay," I said gently, sweeping her hair behind her shoulders. Despite the situation, I couldn't help but notice the blonde that had been added to the ends. It looked nice, I supposed, but was about as un-Maggie as you could get. She barely even wore makeup.

"How —" She coughed. "How long was I in there?"

"I'm not sure, but it was long enough that you've earned yourself a trip to the hospital." She groaned, and I grinned. There she was. "Maggie…"

"I know, I know." Her eyes closed, and she sagged against my arm. I could do nothing but look at her, so grateful that she was okay. So grateful I'd made it in time. A few more minutes and —

WHOOSH. I looked over to see fire leap out the open doors, its tongues reaching for the sky as flames consumed the entire van. It was mesmerizing in a terrifying kind of way, and I glanced back down at Maggie. She'd seen it too, was still watching.

I reached for her hand and held it in my own. I didn't say anything, she could read it in my eyes. If anyone knew how much we meant to each other, it was her.

"Thank you," she finally whispered as the fire began dying down.

I had to ask. "Mags, what happened?"

"Josie got…a text. She showed me. It was my file, OA."

I nodded, remembering how I felt when the man in the interrogation room spoke her name, admitting that he sold her undercover status to her enemies. "I know."

"I…tried to convince them it was fake, but they…didn't buy it." She paused and let her eyes drift closed.

"Take your time."

"No…I remember now. Dave — that's who set the van on fire — kicked me to the ground. They talked among themselves…I couldn't hear what they were saying."

Fury boiled up again. The person who tried to kill her had a name now. I vowed to find him. "Did the others know Dave would put you in there?"

"I don't know. Someone…I don't remember who, hit me in the head with something. A shovel…I think? It knocked me out." She coughed. "Help me sit up?"

I nodded and did, mind racing. A shovel. That explained the disorientation, she probably had a pretty bad concussion. She definitely wasn't going anywhere that wasn't the hospital, as far as I was concerned, and I doubted either Jubal or Isobel would contradict me on this one.

"I'm fine."

I raised an eyebrow. How did she always know what I was thinking? "No you're not."

She rolled her eyes, moving her head just slightly, and the sun glinted on something. I grinned. A nose ring. First the blonde highlights, now a nose ring. This just kept getting better.

"What?"

"If you ever wanted to be a real eco-terrorist, you could certainly look the part."

"Shut up," she said, but she grinned back. "They wanted to pierce the top of my ear too, but I said no."

"I'm guessing you won't keep the nose ring, then?"

"Hell no. I'm taking it out as soon as possible and letting it close up."

I laughed, reminding myself once again that she was okay. She was weak, urgently needing fluids and a CT scan, but she was alive. That was all that mattered.