FITCH MANSION
The sky is on fire.
That's what it looks like to
Andy
as he watches the flames, looking almost bored with their gutting of the
mansion, reaching up to streak the night sky with terrifyingly brilliant
yellows, oranges, and reds.
Now the lights of the fire trucks
and ambulance have joined the flames in the sky. The emergency lights bounce
off of the almost-black background and disrupt the fluid strokes of the
fire's chillingly graceful display.
Andy watches the fire fighters rush
inside and is instantly awaiting their return. He keeps hoping he will
see one of them emerge, assisting a weary but no-worse-for-the-wear
Brent in walking to safety.
He can feel Maggie's
fingers curled over his shoulder,
trying to reassure him, but it's not helping. Not enough.
"Commander Taylor -- he's still inside?"
Katherine asks as
grimness returns to cloud her relief.
Andy merely offers a nod in response.
"He was trying to clear a path for
us to get out," Maggie says, "but a chandelier fell and--he got caught
underneath it. We tried to get him out, but ..." She trails off bleakly
and then casts another hopeful glance at the house.
Nick
steps forward, coming up right
behind Katherine, and rests his hands on his wife's shoulders. "Who's trapped
inside?"
"A friend of mine," Andy says curtly.
Katherine casts a disapproving glance
in her son's direction and then explains to Nick: "Brent Taylor. The police
commander."
Nick is sure that he sees a flicker
of discomfort roll over Katherine's face as she mentions Brent to him.
He looks back and catches Ryan's
waiting eye. They share the briefest moment of worry before Nick turns
back to Katherine.
"Does anyone have any idea how this
started?" Maggie asks, surprised to recognize that even now, she feels
the need to make conversation.
"Ryan and I were in the study and
we heard Katherine shout that there was a fire," Nick offers.
"I don't know where it came from,"
Katherine says. "I was in the guest bedroom and I thought I smelled smoke.
Before I knew it, there were flames tearing across the carpet ..."
A surge of activity from the house
interrupts the conversation. The assembled group turns to find a firefighter
rushing back down the driveway. He doesn't so much as pause as he hurries
past the group and goes straight for one of the paramedics. After a quick
exchange, the firefighter heads back for the house, trailed by a group
of paramedics and a stretcher.
"Did you get him out?" Andy shouts,
hoping to snag someone's attention.
"Yeah," the firefighter calls back,
falling momentarily into a slower sideways jog. "But we've gotta get him
to the hospital right away."
Maggie's grip on Andy tightens, trying
to offer more security, but he feels her hand go cold and fall away as
Brent's motionless body is whisked down the driveway and into the ambulance.
In an instant, the ambulance is gone,
roaring its way to the hospital. But now the sirens don't sound comforting
to Andy -- they sound urgent, desperate.
Please save him, Andy's mind
whispers.
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