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Pressing his back to the wall, Nash felt Joe's presence right beside him. Plastered to the wall on the opposite side of the door were Evan and Harvey. Nash put his finger to his lips to warn the others to be silent, although he knew they would take every precaution. Old habits died hard. He motioned for Harvey to stand in front of the door, held up a hand and began to count off silently with his fingers. One, two, three!

Swinging his foot up and out, Harvey kicked in the door and immediately ducked in case Trevor had been lying in wait. The door swung open and slammed against the inside wall, but their fugitive was nowhere to be seen. Nash slipped through the door and quickly stepped to the side. Pausing a moment to let his eyes adjust to the darkness, he motioned for the others to follow.

Once inside, they could all see that this building had been abandoned for many years. Debris and plaster from the walls and ceiling littered the floor. They split up to search the first floor, but came up empty. Meeting back near the door, they shared a look of frustration. Nash shook his head in disgust and whispered to the others the plan for catching Trevor.

"Okay, look, I'll search the second floor. Joe, you take the third. Evan, you have the roof and Harvey, you have the basement. Look sharp and be careful. Getting your selves shot would seriously tick me off. There's way too much paperwork involved in that."

Chuckling quietly, the group broke up. Nash and Joe headed for the west stairwell, while the other two took the east. Harvey caught Evan's arm as they headed for the stairs. "Hey, be careful up there, Evan."

"You know I will, Harv. You watch out for spiders down there." Evan chuckled evilly, knowing his partner's aversion to arachnids.

"Ha, ha. Very funny, Ev. Leave it to Nash to give the basement to the guy with claustrophobia." Falling silent once more, Harvey made his way carefully down the stairs. He could hear the creak of the steps as his partner made his way up toward the roof. Pulling a mini flashlight from his pocket, Harvey said a silent prayer for his friends searching the building above him.

The basement was dark and damp. Crates, old furniture, rolls of mildewed carpet, and other odds and ends littered the floor and piled against the walls. He could hear the occasional scratching of little feet, that he sincerely hoped were just mice. Nice, small, harmless mice.

Sweeping the light around, he made his way along one wall, dodging the junk that was piled everywhere. Hearing the sound of much bigger feet, Harvey played the light over in the corner and brought his weapon up. The beam of the small flashlight caught the drug dealer as he stood to run to the stairs. The light flashed off his shaggy blond hair, and Trevor whipped his own weapon up.

"Don't even think about it Trevor. You got nowhere to go. There are three more cops up there that are between you and freedom. Drop the gun. Now!" Harvey kept the flashlight's beam pointing into the young man's eyes. That might be the only thing standing between him and a bullet.

"Drop it, Trevor! You're not getting out of this building unless you're wearing handcuffs, so just do what I tell you. Now, Trevor!"

The two men, cop and criminal, stood frozen with their weapons pointing unwaveringly at the other, like a strange new type of sculpture. The tableau was broken when a rumble reached their ears, and the floor began to tremble.

Although his entire being was screaming for him to run before he became trapped, Harvey didn't move. A bullet in the back, or trapped down in a dark basement after an earthquake? He couldn't decide which was worse. In that one moment of indecision, his fate was chosen for him. The rumble grew louder.

From the sound and feel, Nash knew it was a pretty big one. The next few days were going to busy for law enforcement in San Francisco. Self-preservation kicked in, and Nash headed for the stairs at a dead run. He started yelling for the others as he sprinted for the exit on the ground floor, hoping they could hear him…but knowing it was useless. He made it to the 'Cuda, stumbling from the ground's movement.

He heaved a sigh of relief when Joe came running from the building a moment later. The ground stopped shaking and they stood by the 'Cuda, waiting for Evan and Harvey to come out. Neither made an appearance.

Sharing a worried look with Joe, Nash grabbed the radio he'd clipped to his belt. "FiveGeorge31 to FiveGeorge42. FiveGeorge42, can you read me? Evan? Harvey?"

Holding their breath, they waited for a response. Joe looked up at the building and frowned. "Nash, do you remember which one of them had the radio?"

Thinking a moment, Nash nodded. "Evan. I remember seeing it in his hand. He was on the roof. He should have been fairly safe up there."

   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the building began to sway slightly, Evan stopped in his tracks and grabbed the nearest solid object. "Oh, great. An earthquake. Just what we need." He silently prayed that the old building would hold up. The shaking didn't last too long, for which he was profoundly grateful. When the building stopped it's unnatural movement, Evan let go of the pipe he was holding onto with a white-knuckled grip. He never would get used to earthquakes.

He quickly jogged back to the stairwell door and turned the handle. The door wouldn't open. He tugged and jerked, but it wouldn't budge. The building must've suffered some damage, he mused. He wondered how in the world he was going to get down. There was only one way down, and this stairwell was it. The other stairwell apparently didn't go all the way up to the roof, and the fire escape had long since fallen off.

Settling him self on a ventilation duct, Evan's thoughts wandered to his partner. He hoped Harvey hadn't been caught in the basement. So lost in his thoughts, he didn't hear his radio at first. "FiveGeorge42. Evan, are you there?"

Unclipping the radio, he held it up and keyed the mic. "This is FiveGeorge42. Nash, are you guys okay?"

"Evan? Thank goodness. The question is, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Nash. Just stuck. The door's jammed and there's no other way down. Looks like I'll just have to wait and get a lift from the firefighters."

"Okay, bubba, just hang tight. They'll be here soon."

"Nash?"

"Yeah, Evan?"

"Nash, are you guys okay. You didn't answer my question earlier."

Nash glanced over at Joe, who just shrugged helplessly. Rubbing his fingers across his brow, Nash sighed then keyed his mic. "Joe and I are fine, Evan. Harvey…Harvey hasn't come out. I'm about to go in and look for him, so don't worry until you have a reason to worry. Got me?"

"Gotcha, boss." Evan dropped the radio to his lap and frowned. Telling him not to worry about his best friend was like telling him not to breathe.

Clipping the radio back on his belt, Nash stared at the building for a moment. "Joe, wait here for the fire department, will you? No sense in having this building fall in on both of us."

"Sure, Nashman. Hey, be careful in there. I don't want to have to be the one to break the news to Cassidy, okay?"

"You said a mouthful, there, bubba." When Nash stepped inside, he turned on his flashlight and shone it around for a moment then headed for the east stairwell. He didn't get very far. The floor, about ten yards from the stairs, had collapsed.

Retracing his steps, he jogged over to the west stairwell and made his way slowly and carefully down the stairs, praying they wouldn't give way. When Nash made it to the basement, he swept the flashlight around hoping to find Harvey. What he found instead was a barricade.

"Oh, man, no." The east end of the basement was now blocked by what used to be the first floor. Nash hoped Harvey was on the other side of that pile of rubble…and not under it.

Standing next to the debris, Nash called repeatedly for Harvey. Whether he just couldn't hear through the rubble, or Harvey was injured in some way, Nash didn't know. Backtracking, he went to join Joe by the 'Cuda. "I can't get to Harvey, Joe. The east end of the basement is blocked by debris. We'll just have to wait for the fire department."

Rubbing a hand over his eyes, Joe leaned against the car. Evan was stuck on the roof, Harvey was trapped in the basement…and he and Nash were unable to help either of them. What a mess.

With the aftermath of the earthquake, it took an hour for the first fire apparatus to arrive on scene. As the firefighters began to gather their equipment, their captain jogged over to Nash and Joe. Sticking out his hand, he gave Nash's hand a squeeze. "Captain Marsh. I understand you have two men trapped in there, Captain Bridges?"

"Yes. Inspector Evan Cortez is on the roof. He says he can't get the door to the stairwell open. That's the only way down. Inspector Harvey Leek is trapped somewhere on the east end of the basement. I tried calling to him, but got no response. We have radio contact with Evan, however." Nash's face clearly reflected his worry and impatience.

Looking up toward the roof, squinting against the sunlight, Capt. Marsh nodded to himself then jogged back to the engine. He gave a few commands to his crew then got on the radio with dispatch requesting a ladder truck or snorkel. Rejoining Nash, he explained the situation.

"Okay, here's what we have. I've ordered a ladder truck to come get your man off the roof. I don't know how long it will take, though. At least you have contact with him. My crew is headed down into the basement to look things over and insert a probe. I'm going down there now, I assume you'd want to join us?"

"You assume right, bubba. Thanks." Gesturing for Joe to stay by the 'Cuda, Nash gave a reassuring nod. "Joe, just keep talking to Evan. Let him know his ticket out of there is on the way, okay?"

"No problem, Nashman. You be careful down there."

Following the Captain, Nash blinked when they stepped inside, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. He felt a hand on his arm, and turned to look into Marsh's concerned face. "I understand how it feels to have a man caught in this kind of situation, Captain Bridges. I promise you we'll do our best to find Inspector Leek and get him out of there."

The two men joined the rest of the firefighters, who were surveying the rubble that blocked the far end of the basement. Captain Marsh walked over to his crew and filled them in. "Okay, the man we're looking for is San Francisco Police Inspector Harvey Leek. Let's get the probe together and see if we can't hear anything. A rescue truck is on its way with the equipment, but let's see if we can't make a little headway until then."

As the men began their assigned tasks, Nash rejoined Capt. Marsh. "Captain, how long is this going to take?"

"It could take hours. It depends on the stability of this debris and what we find when we finally break through."

"Oh, brother. This is bad."

Worried that there was something else going on, Marsh peered intently at the police Captain. "Bridges, is there something I need to know?"

Shaking his head, mentally kicking himself for not thinking about it before they started their search, Nash grimaced. "Inspector Leek is claustrophobic."

"You're right. That is bad."

   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The world turned upside down, and the noise was disorienting. When everything finally settled, Harvey lay where he was for a few moments. He could hear the dirt and debris as it continued to settle, along with the pounding of his own heart. His cheek pressed against the cold, damp concrete of the basement floor. Harvey placed his hands on the wet floor and tried to lever himself up, but found a heavy weight pressing down on his back.

His flashlight had fallen from his hand when the sky fell in, and now cast a strange glow under a pile of wood and pipes. Once again he tried to lift the weight off him, but it was too heavy. Something was keeping it from resting its weight on him completely, but he still couldn't lift it. He opted for sliding out from under it, instead. It took some wriggling, but he was soon free. Digging his flashlight from under the debris, Harvey swept the beam around the floor. He found his weapon only a few feet away. Returning it to its holster, Harvey began the task of searching for Trevor.

"Trevor! Trevor, say something so I know where you are!" Shining the flashlight around, the beam fell on a figure pinned under a large pipe about ten feet away. Making his way carefully over and around the odds and ends that littered the floor, Harvey knelt next to Trevor and felt his neck for a pulse. He sighed with heartfelt relief when he felt the strong beat throbbing against his fingers. Being trapped in the basement was bad enough, but being trapped in the basement with a dead body was something else entirely.

The angle of Trevor's lower left leg was a fairly good indication that the leg was broken. Harvey checked the young man for further injuries but, except for the knot on the back of the head, he didn't find anything. Kicking around the junk on the floor, Harvey found two likely looking pieces of wood that would work as splints. He went back to Trevor and, grateful the young man was still dead to the world, placed one on either side of the broken leg. Using his tie and both of Trevor's shoelaces, he managed to make a reasonable splint.

The jostling the leg took as Harvey tied the last shoelace in place woke Trevor. Hearing a moan, Harvey looked up to see Trevor staring back at him, his face wrinkled in pain. "Sorry, Trevor. I was trying to be careful."

"What happened, man?" The last thing Trevor remembered was pointing a gun at the cop. The same cop that was now helping him.

"Earthquake. I haven't really looked around that much, but I'd say we're trapped down here." At the panic Harvey saw immediately flashing across the young man's face, he hastily reassured Trevor. "Don't worry. There are three more Inspectors above us somewhere, who'll do everything they can to get us help and get us out of here. I tried to get that pipe off you, but it's too heavy. It'll have to wait for the firefighters. Listen, if you think you're okay here, I'm gonna go look around. Maybe we're not completely blocked in."

"I don't think I have a whole lotta choice. The pipe is heavy, but it doesn't seem to be hurting me. I'll be okay. Just get us out of here."

Easier said than done, Harvey thought ruefully. He checked every inch of their small prison, and came to the conclusion that they were thoroughly and completely trapped. The stairs had collapsed, so there was no escape that way. Not good. He wished he'd taken the radio, instead of Evan. Thinking of Evan, Harvey hoped his friends had made it safely out of the building.

Going over to sit next to Trevor, Harvey turned off the light. Trevor's panicked squeak echoed in the small space. "Turn it back on! Turn it on!"

Twisting the light, he turned it back on and flashed it at Trevor. The young man was panting like he'd just run a marathon. "Hey, you better slow your breathing down, kid. You're liable to pass out. You're not scared of the dark, are you Trevor?"

Taking a deep, shaky breath, Trevor shook his head. "I don't like tight places, man. I just don't like not being able to see the walls and the ceiling."

"Oh, this is just perfect. Nash sticks me in the basement, and I get stuck with a drug dealer who's apparently a worse claustrophobic than I am. This is not a good day."

"Yeah, well, I didn't wake up this morning expecting to end up stuck down here, either." Trevor hissed in pain when he inadvertently moved his injured leg.

"Look, Trevor. It's going to take them a while to get us out of here. I have two choices. I can save the batteries in the flashlight, so it'll last us longer. Or, I can leave it on 'til it runs out. Which is it going to be?"

Getting a grip on his fears, Trevor shrugged. "Save the batteries, I guess."

Harvey twisted the light off and plunged them back into darkness. He knew he wasn't the only one to feel the walls start pressing in. This time, however, he'd have to control his phobia. This time, he had someone depending on him and he'd have to keep things together. "I'm going to kill Nash."

   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pressing his fingers against the earphones on his ears, Firefighter "Mac" Davis leaned forward. Waving Capt. Marsh over, Mac whispered a few words. Smiling broadly, Marsh jogged over to rejoin Nash. "Hey, Bridges! I sure hope your Inspector Leek isn't carrying a gun."

Confused, Nash shot the man a puzzled look. "Why?"

"Because, Mac heard him say he was going to kill you." Marsh's smile got bigger as he watched realization spread across Nash's face.

"So, he's alive? Oh, thank God." An immense feeling of relief swept over Nash. Harvey was alive. Now all they had to do was get him out. "Captain, I'm going up to let Joe know how things are and to check in with Evan. Keep me updated, will you?"

"You know I will, Nash. Go on. Let Mr. Cortez know that his partner is alive and ticked."

After letting Joe know that Harvey was alive, Nash got on the radio to pass the good news on to Evan. Evan chuckled when he was told what Harvey had been heard saying.

"Yeah, Nash, I don't think Harv's gonna forgive you for this one. At least, not until he's milked it for all it's worth. Hey, when's my ride coming?"

"I think I see your lift coming now, Evan. It won't be much longer and you'll have both feet planted firmly on the ground. Or, as firmly as they ever are."

"Ha-ha, boss, very funny. Shoulda been you that got stuck up here."

"Evan. Where's your sense of humor, bubba?" Chuckling at the image he had of Evan's face, Nash handed the radio back to Joe. "Keep him updated, will you? I'm going back down to the basement."

   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Nash." Waving him over, Marsh turned and nodded at something Mac had said. Nash walked over to the Captain with a sense of dread. He hoped he wasn't about to be told bad news. "Nash, Mac hears another voice in there with your Inspector. You don't happen to know who it is, do you?"

"I have a feeling that I do. Any way I can listen to confirm it?"

"Sure. Come over here." Leading Nash over to the wall of rubble, Marsh tapped Mac on the shoulder and gestured for the earphones. "Here, Bridges, put these on. The probe should still be picking them up."

Slipping the earphones on, Nash strained to hear voices. Just as he was about to give up, he heard Trevor's terrified voice, then the calming voice of Harvey. With a sigh, Nash handed the phones back to Mac. "Yeah, I know who it is. That's Trevor Lawler, the guy we were here to catch in the first place. There's irony for you."

Nash watched, an hour later, as the additional firefighters and equipment arrived in the basement. Evan and Joe had both joined him in his wait by then. Large lights were set up to make things easier, and men worked feverishly, but carefully, to free the two trapped men.
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Feeling the chill seeping into his shoes, as they filled with water, Harvey shivered. He didn't know where the water was coming from but, considering the rate it seemed to be rising, he was going to have to figure out a way to free Trevor from his entrapment. Otherwise, the criminal was going to drown.

Sweeping the flashlight around, Harvey splashed over to the corner and picked up a four-foot length of piping. Now all he had to find was a fulcrum. Leaving the pipe over by Trevor, Harvey continued his search. It took over twenty minutes of digging, but he finally settled on a large chunk of concrete. Grunting with the effort, he picked up the chunk and lugged it over to the trapped man.

Dropping into place, Harvey wedged the length of pipe under the object pinning Trevor and lowered it onto the fulcrum. Leaning his weight on the other end of the pipe, Harvey strained to move the immovable. He tried several times, but couldn't seem to make much headway. He was also afraid of dropping the large pipe back onto Trevor and causing damage.

As the water, and Trevor's panic, increased…Harvey gave it one more last-ditch effort. Leaning all his weight on the pipe, Harvey pushed the lever and felt movement. Sweating with the effort, he blinked the salty moisture out of his eyes and tried again. This time, the big pipe moved enough for Trevor to free himself. "Move, Trevor! Hurry."

Needing no further urging, Trevor pulled his legs out from under the pipe, wincing as his broken leg dragged through the water and bumped against hidden objects. "I'm free!"

Dropping the pipe with a splash, Harvey wiped an arm across his brow and tried to catch his breath. After a few deep breaths, he waded over to help Trevor to stand. Glancing around, he spied a stack of crates over in the corner by the collapsed stairwell. Half carrying, half dragging Trevor, he got the injured man settled on a crate. At least he could keep the young man out of the water.

"C'mon, Nashman. I really need some help in here."

   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dropping the earphones on the floor, Mac jumped up and ran over to whisper something in Captain Marsh's ear. The Captain gave the man a worried look. "Are you sure? Damn, a pipe somewhere must've burst. Alright, thanks. Get back on the probe, and let me know if you hear anything else."

Watching the exchange, Nash and Evan exchanged looks of dread. Sure enough, Marsh walked over slowly and raised his radio, keying the mic. "Dispatch, this is Captain Marsh. I need the City over here to shut off the water main. I've got drainage into the basement. Okay. Listen, tell them to put on some speed, will you?" Catching Nash's eye, Marsh shrugged. "Mac heard a lot of splashing around in there. Sounds like a water main pipe burst and is draining into the basement. We're making progress, here, but your man in there doesn't need another obstacle. They'll have it shut off in about twenty minutes."

Rubbing a hand over his face, Evan paced around while Nash just nodded his understanding. Time had never moved so slowly.

Time was moving too fast for the two men inside the trapped end of the basement. Harvey tried to judge the rate of the water rise, and figured help had better hurry up. The water was already knee deep. The water was cold as it could be, too, and he shivered as he stood by Trevor. The young man was really shaking with cold, and becoming a bit lethargic. Knowing the injury made Trevor more susceptible to hypothermia and shock, Harvey slipped off his jacket and draped it over the shivering drug dealer.

Here was a moment of irony if ever there was one. Just a few short hours ago, the two of them were pointing guns at each other. Now, Harvey was trying to keep the man alive. If nothing else, it kept his mind off his claustrophobia. The awareness of the smallness of the space was there, but he was able to control the fear this time.

Harvey tried to keep Trevor alert, but after a while he gave up. The young man was in bad shape, and Harvey couldn't do a thing to help him. The only good news came when the water stopped rising. Shifting from foot to foot, Harvey tried to keep circulation going in his cold legs and feet. He and Trevor were running out of time.

They were running out of time. Marsh looked at his watch then the lack of progress on the barricade. Looking up at the hole the collapsing floor had caused, he made a few calculations. Waving his men over, he laid out his plan. Sending the men out for additional equipment, the Captain went over to explain the new plan to Nash.

"Bridges. Trying to get through that wall of rubble is taking too long, so we're going to try a different route. I'm sending some men up to the next floor. We'll get a ladder down here and they'll go up and cut a whole through the floor that's still intact between here and the east stairwell. They should be able to get to the trapped men, that way. It's risky, with the floor being a little unstable, but we have to take that risk."

"Whatever you say, Bubba. You're the boss here." Nash didn't care how they did it, as long as they got Harvey out of that mess.

It didn't take long for the firefighters to get set up. Three of them climbed the ladder, hauling their equipment with them, and crawled across the floor until they judged they were past the pile of rubble. Starting the saw, they began the task of cutting through the floor. Soon, the only sound anyone could hear was the screaming of the blade against concrete.

   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Singing a Grateful Dead song, Harvey paced in the water to keep his mind busy. "Trouble ahead, trouble behind."* He laughed at that line. "Now, that's the story of my life."

Stopping his wading when he tripped over some unseen obstacle for the umpteenth time, Harvey tilted his head. He could swear he heard something. Splashing over toward the wall, he paused and stared up the ceiling. Shining his fading light, he didn't see anything unusual. Yet, he could swear he heard a noise. Straining to identify the sound, his eyes lit up. "They're coming! Oh, man, it's about time."

Running through the water and submerged junk as best he could, Harvey splashed his way back over to Trevor. Slapping the man on the cheeks, he tried to bring him around. Smiling in satisfaction at the moaning he elicited, Harvey gave him another shake. "Help's coming, Trevor. Stay with me, man. I've got to have the pleasure of throwing your butt in jail."

Just knowing help was on its way and they were going to get out of their tomb, Harvey heaved a huge sigh of relief. He'd been deathly afraid that Trevor wasn't going to make it…and he'd be trapped in that basement with a dead man. Shivering with more than the cold, Harvey tore his mind away from that horrible image.

It seemed like it was taking the rescuers forever to break through. Harvey kept his light trained on the spot where he'd heard the sound, but the batteries were fading fast. He jumped, startled, when a chunk of the ceiling suddenly fell away and landed with a huge splash. A light came through the hole, followed by a dust-covered face.

Giving Trevor another shake, Harvey smiled like he'd just won the lottery. "They're through!"

"They're through!" Marsh turned to Nash, Joe and Evan and gave them a thumbs-up. Now, it was only a matter of pulling the two men out. Fifteen more minutes or so, and they could all go home.

Nash and the others waited impatiently, and were a little disappointed when the first person to be brought down the ladder was Trevor. It was obvious the kid was in bad shape. Turning to Evan, Nash saw him continuing to stare at the ladder. He felt a nudge and smiled at the look of understanding on Joe's face. "Hey, Nash, I'll go in with Trevor. I think Evan would rather stay."

"Thanks, bubba. You're the best. Keep me informed about Trevor, okay?"

"You got it, Nashman." Following the men carrying Trevor, Joe disappeared up the stairs.

A few long minutes later, a wet figure began to descend the ladder, followed by the remaining firefighters.

Harvey found himself surrounded by Nash and Evan. His partner was asking a million questions, but all Harvey wanted was to get out of the basement. Smiling his thanks when one of the firefighters returned his jacket, Harvey slipped it on. "Evan, do you mind if we discuss this somewhere else? I'd really like to get out of here."

Still talking a mile a minute, Evan led the others out into the fresh air and sunshine. Harvey stopped by the 'Cuda and closed his eyes, breathing in great gulps of fresh air. Now that he was out of the basement and Trevor was on his way to the hospital, Harvey began to shake.

Thanking the firefighters and shaking Captain Marsh's hand as they all walked past, back to their engine, Nash turned around to see Harvey's reaction. Clapping him on the shoulder, Nash led him around to the passenger side. "Hey, bubba, what say we get you home and into some dry clothes? I think you've had more than enough fun for one day."

Without a word, Harvey sat in the passenger seat and closed his eyes. It had been a very long day. He wondered how Trevor was doing. He heard Evan and Nash get in the car, then the rumble of the powerful engine as Nash started the 'Cuda. As Nash pulled the car around in a circle, Harvey turned and gave his boss a serious look.

"Oh, Nash, just one thing."

"Yeah, Harv?"

"Next time…you go in the basement."

Laughing, Nash stuck out his hand to seal the bargain. "You got a deal, bubba."

Resting his arms on the back of the seat, Evan smiled. "Yeah, and Joe can have the roof."

END

*"Casey Jones", Workingman's Dead, the Grateful Dead.

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