Chapter 19
"Hey Tony" Kate said as she opened the door. He handed her a bunch of flowers and a box of chocolates. A cliché maybe, but still very sweet. She took them into the kitchen and left them to go and deal with her guest. He was taking her to a fancy restaurant in Maryland. Her red dress moved with her body when she returned to the living room, the love of her life was sitting on the sofa, black suit making him look like very hot. He jumped up when he saw Kate enter. Her dress was slit up to her knee and cut down to the small of her back. Her hair was down and her makeup complemented her face. He took her by the arm and led her down to his car.
"Mac, open up" Chris yelled, banging on her door. He had been standing there for 5 minutes.
"Jesus, calm down" she said, pulling it open to reveal her boyfriend. She had been trying to calm herself down, figuring out how to deal with the fact that she had found out about him being in love with her. She let him in and she threw herself on the couch.
"Are you ok?" he said, really concerned.
"Um…Yes. I think I just need some fresh air" she said, sitting up.
"Come on then" he said, pulling her up. Lets go for a walk. He grabbed her coat for her and closed the door behind them.
"So wait a minute, Abby used to flush your head down the toilet?" they were walking down the street, hand in hand in the snow. She didn't know why he had driven her to Maryland just to walk, why couldn't they just have walked around the streets at her apartment. Maybe it was for the stunning lights.
"Yes" he laughed. "I was really worried about you" he said, bowing his head as if embarrassed, his voice lowering.
"I know" she said.
"Mac,"
"Yes?"
"I love you"
"I know. I love you too" he pulled her around and kissed her; she kissed him back and was so glad that she had him. She pulled away, a puzzled look on her face. "Do you smell smoke?"
"Um…yes" they rounded the corner and saw the flames. There were people standing out on the street, coughing. There was yelling and swearing and people running around, looking for others. She heard one voice above the others.
"Kate!...Kate!...Kate!"
"Tony?" Mac asked herself. She saw the man, it was him. "Tony!" she yelled running to him.
"Mac, what the hell are you doing here? Have you seen Kate?"
"No, were you inside?" she asked, concerned.
"Yes, me and Kate. I think she might still be inside."
"Then what the hell are we still doing here? Lets go find her" Mac said, rushing through the broken and burnt door, Tony following her in but Chris got swept to the side by the crowd.
Mac coughed, throwing her arm up over her face. A beam fell a couple of feet from her head, making her jump to the side. To her left, Tony was having similar problems. He was moving tables to find his love but having no luck. "Shit!" she heard Tony yell, burning his hand on a metal chair.
"You ok?" she yelled over all the noise and burning.
"Yes" she heard in the distance. Then she saw it. A hand, coming out from underneath a turned over table. She kicked it over, but the body found wasn't Kate. It was and older man, coughing and spluttering.
"Tony, help!"
"Did you find her?" he said joining her.
"No but I did find him" she yelled in his ear. "Could you take him out?"
"You do it! I'm gonna stay and look for Kate"
"No, I'm gonna stay! I can't lift him but I can lift her! GO!" he obeyed. He threw the man over his shoulder and ran into the smoke and disappearing from her sight. She moved on, still desperately searching for her friend. Then she saw it. Out of the corner of her smoky eye. A red shoe sticking out from under a fallen ceiling beam. She tried to lift it up but couldn't. She broke a chair and used it for leverage. She managed to lift it two feet and slide the girl out. It was Kate. The beam dropped to the ground and Mac slung Kate over her shoulder. She found the door but it had collapsed. She lay Kate down and tried to kick the door in. it didn't work. "God damn it son of a bitch!" she yelled, pissed off at her failure. The smoke was really getting to her. Her eyes were running and she had a bad cough. After a couple of minutes a pile off ash and wood fell on her shoulder. A shadow appeared in her sight. He ran over and picked Kate up and ran out. Another man ran in and picked Mac up. She felt the cold night air on her face and then she was being sat against a wall. A bright light shone in her eyes and she squirmed out of the way.
"Mac…Mac" she heard, getting louder by the minute. He put the torch away. "Are you ok?" it was Chris.
"Um…Yes" she spluttered. As her eyes became more focused she looked around. Ambulances, fire engines and police cars had arrived. The fire engines were sprouting water all over what used to be the restaurant while the police lights were shining around everywhere while the LEO's took peoples statements. She spotted Tony over by an ambulance, black suit covered in grey ash. He was bending over a woman in a red dress. She was sitting in the back of an ambulance, oxygen mask over her face. Then they all heard the bang. Tony threw himself over Kate for protection while Chris did the same thing to Mac. There had been a bomb hidden inside the restaurant, thank god for the fire, it had saved all their lives. "Holy shit" Mac muttered, she had to admit, Chris' body heat felt great against her. She was getting off topic. What the hell had happened! She stood up, Chris helping her. She was dizzy for a moment but recovered quickly, bracing herself against him. She walked over to her fellow agents. "Hey guys. Are you ok Kate?"
"Um…I think so" she said, removing her mask.
"Well for a change, I was glad that fire happened" Tony joked, a slight quiver in his voice. He had not let go of Kate's hand since he got her out of the building.
"What is it about this job" Mac began. "I have been hit by a co-worker twice, shot stabbed and nearly killed in a fire. Nothing like this ever happened in Pittsburgh. Does this happen to all of you or am I just unlucky?" she joked.
"You're just unlucky" Tony and Kate said, giving each other a look.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.