Episode 91

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Episode 91

Scene 1:

He saw the fire long before he actually reached ME. The blaze could be seen from miles away and already the firemen and police had roped off most of the Industrial Park. Stephen parked as close as the authorities would allow and jogged closer. There was a line of spectators lining the street, staring helplessly at the flames that licked the top floors of the office building. His gaze swept across the crowd, falling on Jude Fontaine arguing heatedly with some official looking fireman. Maura Conlan stood next to him, looking small and terrified. His gut wrenched at the expression on her face. If she was that upset it could only mean that Luke was still inside and if Luke were inside...

He pushed himself into action, running at Jude and the fireman. "Jude!" He yelled over the bellow of an ambulance siren. "What the hell is going on? Where's Hallie?"

Jude cast a dark look over his shoulder at the sound of his name, his eyebrows drawn together in a worried frown. Stephen saw his eyes flicker towards the building and knew without a doubt where she was. Jude detached himself from the fireman, and met him halfway.

"Stephen, don't do anything rash," he said just as Stephen's brain began kicking around ideas to get her out. He turned a wild gaze on Jude and held back a crazed laugh.

"Don't do anything rash? Hallie is in there! I can't just let her die in some fire," Stephen exclaimed roughly, grasping for reason. "If it were Maura, you wouldn't sit back and let it happen."

"There is nothing you can do," Jude continued. "The fire is out of control. The most we can hope for is that one of the firefighters finds her before it's too late."

"I can't sit back and let her die," he repeated firmly. "Get out of my way, Jude. I'm going in there whether you or those firefighters like it." He pushed Jude to the side, surging forward into a stream of passing firefighters. He paused in front of a firefighter hefting an oxygen tank to his back. "I want to go in there with you," he said in a tone that would allow no argument normally.

"No way," the man returned. "Get outta here and get back behind that police line."

"You don't understand. My wife is in there," Stephen lied. The fireman's expression didn't change.

"Tell me where you think she is and I'll find her," he replied confidently. "But you are not going inside that building. You understand?" Stephen nodded and pointed to the top floors of the building.

"Executive floor. West wing..."

"What's her name?"

"Hallie..."

The fireman cut him off and grabbed a face mask. "I'll find her, just go wait over there." He pointed to the police line before placing the mask across his face. Stephen turned towards the line and the fireman hurried off. Stephen paused and watched him enter the building through the front doors. He would never find her going that way, Stephen realized. Determined more than ever, he ducked behind the truck, stealing some gear. He shed his jacket, dropping it on the ground behind him. He was not going to let her die in that inferno.

Stephen pulled on the yellow fire proof coat that would allow him to pass by the police and into ME. He managed to get into the boots just before someone laid a hand on his shoulder. He stiffened, thinking that he would be found out.

"What are you doing down here still?" He turned meeting the worried gaze of the fire chief. "We just had a report of two people trapped in an elevator between the 4th and 5th floors. Get in there and get them out," he told Stephen, pushing him off towards the burning building. Stephen nodded, breathing easier. Thank God for small favors, he thought hurrying towards the garage entrance. Now if only his luck would hold.

Scene 2:

"I hope Roth doesn't do anything stupid," Jude muttered turning his attention back to Maura. She stared at him, her eyes pure torture. It had been at least two hours since anyone had seen Luke and even longer since Jory had been spotted entering ME. The police were on the scene questioning the employees who had made it safely out at the first sign of smoke. Jude spotted Cass Phelps from PR threading his way through the crowd towards him.

"Mr. Fontaine," he said, coming to a stop in front of them. Jude looked Cass over, glad that there didn't seem to be anything wrong with him.

"Cass, I'm glad you made it out," Jude replied extending his hand to the man. Cass shook it warmly and thanked him. He glanced at Maura before looking back at Jude.

"I just wanted to tell you....something," he returned uncomfortably. Jude nodded and stepped away from Maura, just out of earshot. "I saw Luke get in an elevator with Hallie's secretary just before the fire alarm went off. I thought you might want to know in case..." He trailed off and turned his head to the burning building.

"Thank you Cass. You better get home, make sure your wife knows you're all right." The man nodded absently and floated away towards the street. Luke was in an elevator. There was some hope there after all. "Maura," he said turning back to her, but stopped, the rest of what he was going to say dying on his lips. Rick Upton, stood next to her, gazing down at her with a look of rapture and concern. Trying to play the knight in shining armor, Jude thought contemptuously. He edged closer to them, trying to hear what she was saying to him.

"No one's seen them," Maura murmured.

"They'll be fine, Mo. I'm sure they're having a good laugh about all the worry you're doing right now as a matter of fact," Rick replied brushing a wayward ash off her cheek. "Why don't you come with me? I'll take you home and wait with you there until they show up."

Jude had had enough. "Luke's inside," he interrupted, his voice harsher than he had intended. Maura's eyes rounded in fear. "Cass saw him get in an elevator right before the fire alarm sounded. Doesn't mean anything," he added quickly trying to wipe the fear out of her eyes. Rick glared at him obviously annoyed at Jude's sudden presence.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded, immediately on edge. Maura placed a restraining hand on his arm.

"He brought me, Rick. Please don't behave this way right now," she pleaded.

"Maura's right," Jude agreed. "It won't do anyone any good."

"Of course it won't," Rick replied uneasily. "All right, truce for now. What about Jory? Have you heard anything about him?" Jude shook his head. No one knew anything about Jory. "Who else is in there?"

"Hallie."

"Does Dane know?" Rick cut in sharply.

"Yes." Jude raised an eyebrow at Rick. "Dane got here before we did. Rick...when was the last time you saw Phoebe Cameron?"

"Phoebe? This morning..." he trailed off, a shooting flame catching his eye. "Are you saying she's in there?"

"That's what Dane said when we got here." Rick's composure dropped, the concern showing nakedly in his eyes. "I'm sorry Rick."

"It's all right. Phoebe's smart. She got out," Rick returned just as the glass doors of ME shattered blowing glass over the nearest spectators and police. Moving as if in a dream or a terrible nightmare, Jude threw himself at Maura, pushing her down on the ground, covering her with his own body as glass shards rained down on them.

Scene 3:

"You can sit up now." Dinah breathed easier now that they were farther away from the hospital. She stopped at a light, glancing in the rearview mirror as Tyler sat up. He looked very white and not well at all. Maybe she was making a mistake, she thought briefly. He did need medical supervision and she wasn't a doctor. But the memory of her father glaring down at her cleared her doubts away. She could do this and besides, Tyler asked her for help. She wasn't about to turn him away now.

"Thank you," he murmured. "Where are we going?"

"Well...there aren't too many places I can take you. I can't take you to your home. The police will look there first. And my house is out of the question." She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. There weren't too many options out there.

"Can you drive me to Richmond?" She shook her head, pressing gently on the gas pedal as the light turned green.

"No, it's too long of a drive today. If I'm gone for too long, my father will come looking for me and you really don't want that. I don't want that," she added. She turned right down Valley Street, passing a row of apartment buildings when an idea came to her. "I know!" She smiled brightly, proud of her idea. Making a U-turn, she drove a block before turning into the parking lot of an older apartment building.

"What's this?" Tyler asked from the back seat.

"This," she said, parking the car near the stairs. "This is where Noah lives."

"Noah?"

"Yes, Noah. Well, Noah and Dusty. Friends of mine. Noah is a med student. Well, he will be. He'll help us, I think. And Dusty..." She climbed out and opened the back door for him. "Well, you're cute so I think she'll let it go this time."

"I'm cute?" Tyler repeated quirking an eyebrow at her. Dinah shrugged. "I can't imagine what I must look like with all these bruises."

"They're not so bad, Ty. In fact, they look better today." She offered him her hand to help him out of the car. He hesitated before accepting her hand, pulling himself carefully from the car. His knees shook a little as he got his feet under himself, but Dinah reached over, steadying him with her free hand. "Okay?" He nodded briefly. "Good. Can you make it up the stairs?"

"Of course, I can," he replied tersely.

"Okay, don't get upset. Come on, I don't see their cars but we'll just wait inside for them." She started forward but he pulled her back.

"If they aren't here, how are we going to do that?" Dinah smiled and reached into her purse, digging out a set of keys, waving them at him.

"I have a key," she returned proudly. "Are you coming or not?" He nodded and followed her up the stairs taking them slowly, almost painfully. At Noah's door, she inserted the key and pushed the door open. The television was on and there was a heap of green cloth in the middle of the living room. Puzzled, she stepped inside picking up the shredded material.

"What's that?" Tyler asked, dropping on the sofa. She looked at him, seeing small beads of sweat on his forehead.

"Nothing. Maybe you should lay down," she advised, going to the closet for a blanket. "Are you thirsty? Let me get you some water."

"Actually, I just need some sleep," he replied easing back on the couch, closing his eyes. Dinah fell silent, watching him from across the room and hoping Noah came home soon to help her.

Scene 4:

Maura raised her head, trying to see what was going on around her. Jude's head was near hers but turned the opposite direction. He was saying something she didn't quite understand over the noise of tinkling glass and sirens. She struggled out from under him, lifting herself to her knees. The heat and smoke from the blaze flooded the air around her making her eyes water and her throat tighten.

"Maura!" Jude yelled clutching at her hands. "Go with Rick! Get back away from the building." She stared at him, not comprehending at first. He wanted her to leave? How could she, when Luke was still inside and maybe even Jory too? She shook her head fiercely. She wasn't going anywhere.

"Come on, Maura," Rick said, getting to his feet with a grim look. She shook her head again. "No arguments!" He snapped. He bent to her and jerked her upwards on her feet. She tried to shake free from him but his grip held.

"But Luke..." The protest died on her lips as a group of firefighters emerged from the building. One carried a woman hefted over his shoulder like a dead weight. Luke walked slowly behind them. In a daze but on his feet. Leaping forward, she made a dash for her brother before either man could stop her. "Luke!" She cried rushing at him.

Luke glanced up at her, confusion and concern etched on his face. Relief flooded his face as he caught her, embracing her roughly. They held tight for a moment, before a fireman urged them away from the building.

"It's not stable," he told them, prodding them on. Maura clasped her brother's hand and led him towards Jude and Rick wiping away tears. One brother was safe. They just had to find Jory.

"Glad to see you Luke," Jude remarked as he and Rick joined them in their trek away from the ruined building.

"Not half as glad as I am to see you guys," Luke replied hoarsely. "Where's Hallie?"

Jude and Maura exchanged glances. "We were hoping she was with you," Jude answered cautiously.

"No. I left her in her office," he muttered casting a wary eye upwards to the burning executive suites.

"She'll be all right," Maura said trying to comfort him and ease the worry that she saw in his eyes. He nodded in agreement.

"Of course she will be. She's Hallie Lennox."

Scene 5:

They pulled up to the police station which seemed to be in a utter chaos at the moment. Streets were blocked, people standing around staring at one of the definitive buildings of the Glen in shock. Piper endlessly wrung her hands through one another, fiddled with the hem of Noah's shirt, rubbed her small feet against one another, squirmed, twirled her hair, she couldn't be still. Her nerves were on fire just like ME. She ached from her head to her toe. She felt like any moment, she would breakdown. She simply wasn't a strong person. Moving out, her father doing everything but disowning her, no job to pay her bills, and now Chase.

Regardless of what Piper thought, she needed to see a doctor soon, Noah realized. Or a therapist of some sort, he added catching her jittery movements. He gripped her hand, squeezing it reassuringly, leading her inside the building. The police station inside was in as much chaos as the outside, more possibly. They pushed past a scary looking man in handcuffs, wearing a flannel shirt and ragged jeans who was bellowing at the top of his lungs.

"You can't hold me for nuthin'! You got to charge me wit sumthin'!"

"Sit down, Ed. You're drunk," the desk clerk admonished firmly. He looked at Noah and raised his eyebrows in question. "Can I help you?"

"Yes...we need to talk to someone about the fire at Mason Enterprises," Noah replied.

"You'll want Andy McCormick. He's heading out there right now," the sergeant said, pointing at a tall, dark man dressed casually in jeans and button down shirt who was holstering a gun. Noah thanked the man and approached the detective.

"Officer McCormick? Could we speak with you for a moment?"

The Jones boy and now Mason Enterprises. Conlan's Glen certainly had never had action like this. On his way out, Andrew was stopped by two kids...the girl looking to have experienced quite an incident. Andrew's face gruff from the current chaos of the Glen softened in concern at the young woman and man.

"I have to get out to ME here, so make it quick," he said. His words seemed uncaring, but his tone contradicted it.

"We think we know who may have started the fire," Noah said, realizing quickly that no one had announced that it was arson yet. "I mean...if it turns out not to be an accident," he amended.

"It appears to be arson, but there's no telling until we get in there and inspect the site. Why do you think you know and what happened to your girlfriend here?" Andrew demanded, almost suspiciously.

Piper cringed, clutching Noah's hand like it was her life source. She didn't speak though, she was focusing on a picture on the wall, because the world continuously moved in front of her.

"This is Piper Conlan," Noah said, hoping the name would ease his suspicion. He wrapped an arm around her protectively. "She was abducted this afternoon by Chase Garrett but managed to escape. We think he might be responsible for the fire."

Piper Conlan. Chase Garrett. Of course he knew that name. Genevieve's half-brother. "Chase," Andrew echoed in surprise. "Did Chase do this to you Piper?"

Hearing her name, Piper turned her head towards the detective. She nodded.

"Why don't you sit down, Piper," Andrew suggested and almost in response Piper's knees crumbled under her.

He caught her easily, lifting her into his arms. The detective motioned towards a room off to the side and Noah gladly carried her there. He laid her out on a small cot and began rubbing her wrists trying to wake her. "She hasn't been to a doctor yet," he said quietly to the detective. "I tried to convince her she needed to go...but she's so frightened right now. He had her dressed up in some Scarlett O'Hara dress..."

"Get me an ambulance," Andrew commanded towards a worker standing around. "Now." Following Piper Conlan and her companion into the room, Andrew's adrenaline pumped, but he was calm and level-headed, something that made him an excellent detective. He lived to work in an emergency. "Chase has a rough history...it almost makes sense," Andrew replied thoughtfully, more to himself. "Do you have a rough idea of what happened exactly? What possibly happened to Chase?"

"She pushed him off a balcony...she said that she did anyway...I don't know what happened to him after that. But Piper stole his cell phone." He looked up at the detective. "Do you believe us?"

"I avoid those assumptions," Andrew stated firmly. "But, it shouldn't be hard to find fingerprints, skin under her nails possibly...or...even the most awful...possibly rape." His voice softened at the end at the horror that crossed the young man's face. "Who are you by the way and what's your relation to Piper Conlan?"

"Noah Wallace...I'm..." He trailed off wondering what exactly he was to Piper. Every one knew that Piper and Chase had been boyfriend/girlfriend. He certainly didn't want to be in the same category as Chase. "I'm in love with her," he said instead.

Not one for sentimentality, but a man of compassion, Andrew nodded. He heard more commotion from the main room and leaned out the door to gesture in the direction of the room.

"Well, go in the ambulance with her. I have to get down to ME. I'll find a way to contact you, Mr. Wallace."

"Wait, Detective McCormick." Noah dropped Piper's hand and let the EMT's get her on a stretcher. "When you go to ME...my sister works there. She was there tonight. Her name is Dusty Parrish. Will you...would you look for her please?"

Andrew nodded, "I will," he promised. "Watch over her, she's extremely traumatized," he noted, watching the EMTs place the small girl on the stretcher. She looked even smaller and more fragile on the long stretcher. Her eyes flashed open and she suddenly called for Noah, panic echoing in her voice. As soon as Noah heard his name, he turned, and Andrew left.

Scene 6:

"Just what the hell did you think you were doing?" The fire chief loomed over Stephen, pacing angrily. "You don't know what you're doing! You could have gotten all my men killed!"

"I didn't though," Stephen replied, trying to see what was happening to Hallie just beyond the fire chief. He'd led a group of firefighters to the executive floor and found her in Conlan's office sprawled across the floor. Another fireman had brought her down though, leaving her with the EMTs before going back for others.

"Christ, do you think you're a fucking hero now?" The official was saying. Stephen turned his attention to the man at the question, his brows knitting together angrily.

"If I left it to you and your men, all those people on the top four floors would still be in there and dead by now," he answered coldly. "I didn't get anyone killed, man. Why don't we just let this go? Or would you prefer it if everyone knew that you were willing to let people die? Specifically, a member of the Mason family?" The color drained from his antagonist's face. He shook his head dumbly, dropping his eyes to the ground. "Of course you wouldn't. Are we finished?"

He didn't wait for an answer. Hallie was on a stretcher and being loaded into an ambulance. He had gone through hell to get her out and he wasn't about to lose sight of her now. He flagged the driver down and jogged over to him, shedding his stolen gear as he went.

"I want to go with her," he said, reaching out to the handle of the ambulance door.

"Who are you?" The man asked eyeing him warily. "We can't let just anyone ride in the back."

"That's my wife," he lied again.

"No, it ain't. That's Hallie Conlan. I went to high school with her husband," the driver countered. "Who are you?"

"I got her out of the building," Stephen said changing direction. "I want to make sure she makes it okay." He held his breath waiting, wondering whether he might catch a break or not.

"Okay, get in," the driver replied at last. Stephen grinned and hopped inside the ambulance nodding at the other attendant before sitting next to Hallie. Her face was grimy with smoke but no burns or other obvious injury. He wiped some of the soot from her face with his sleeve careful not to disturb the oxygen mask. She made no move at his touch. Glancing up at the EMT on the other side of her, he raised his eyebrows in question.

"Concussion, we think," the man replied. Stephen nodded and dropped his eyes back down at Hallie. That didn't sound all that bad. It could have been worse. A lot worse. From his seat, he could see the ME building recede into the distance, the fire lighting the night sky. It could have been much more worse than he wanted to think about.