there.” Liz pointed at the apartment building across the street. “I heard a loud noise and windows starting shaking. At first I thought it was another one of the earthquakes that’s been happening lately, but then I looked outside.”
Liz’s voice faltered and her words trailed off, the image of supremely confident agent fading in the face of tragedy. At least it proved she was human. “Have they established a command post? Have you reported in?”
Liz shook her head. “The local departments have protocols in place, but I doubt they’ve been having drills. It’s going to be a little while before we can get things under control.”
Sarah flashed back to 9/11 when she was a fairly new agent with the bureau, stationed in D.C. Any protocol they’d thought they had had been obliterated by the surge of confusion of being attacked on multiple fronts. In the capital and in New York, people had pitched in, protocol be damned. She pointed to the west end of the arena. “Well, I’m headed that way to see what I can do. You with me?”
Liz nodded, seemingly grateful to have someone else take the lead. As they made their way through the crowd to the site of the explosion, Sarah took a moment to look back at the W. The windows of the bar where she’d been less than an hour ago overlooked this scene and she wondered if Ellery was still there. As if on cue, she heard a familiar voice call her name and she saw Ellery headed her way. She told Liz she’d meet her in a moment and stepped aside to wait for Ellery to catch up to her. When she did, Sarah touched her arm. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine. How about you? It’s kind of crazy out here.”
“Definitely. You shouldn’t be here. We don’t know enough about the situation.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “For all we know there could be others.”
“I couldn’t just sit up there and do nothing. I asked the cops at the front entrance if I could help, but frankly I think they’re so paralyzed at the thought something like this could happen, that they didn’t know what to tell me. And then I saw you. You look like you’ve got a plan. I know basic first aid and CPR. Put me to work.”
“My plan is to stay alive and help as many people as I can.” Sarah should catch up with Liz, but she couldn’t help but take a moment to drink in the sight of Ellery. The suit jacket was gone and her sleeves were rolled up past her elbows. The muscles she’d only seen hints of before were now readily apparent. Ellery was strong and she was here. She’d be foolish not to take advantage of her help even if this dashing woman’s presence threatened to distract her. For a second she considered asking about April Landing, but the thought was fleeting. Ellery was here alone, and she’d sought her out to help. She’d be foolish to question it. She reached out a hand. “Stick close.”
She didn’t wait for Ellery to reply before she dove back into the crowd, Ellery’s strong hand firmly gripping hers as she led the way. When they finally made it to the west entrance, Sarah pulled up short. Seeing the damage from a distance was no substitute for standing right in front of it. The glass windows of the hotel had shielded them from the acrid smell of burning rubble and flesh and the piercing cries of the wounded. Relatively speaking, the actual damage to the building was smaller than the cloud of dust and debris had led her to believe, but there was absolutely no doubt it had been deadly for more than just a few.
She looked back to see Ellery’s face harden at the sight of the devastation before releasing her grip. With a simple nod, Ellery strode away toward a group of fireman and started working with them to clear chunks of cement debris from a section of the bomb site.
“Sarah, where did you go?”
Sarah turned to find Liz standing behind her. “Sorry. I’m here now.”
“Great. Come over here. These guys could use some help.”
Sarah took just a
Liz’s voice faltered and her words trailed off, the image of supremely confident agent fading in the face of tragedy. At least it proved she was human. “Have they established a command post? Have you reported in?”
Liz shook her head. “The local departments have protocols in place, but I doubt they’ve been having drills. It’s going to be a little while before we can get things under control.”
Sarah flashed back to 9/11 when she was a fairly new agent with the bureau, stationed in D.C. Any protocol they’d thought they had had been obliterated by the surge of confusion of being attacked on multiple fronts. In the capital and in New York, people had pitched in, protocol be damned. She pointed to the west end of the arena. “Well, I’m headed that way to see what I can do. You with me?”
Liz nodded, seemingly grateful to have someone else take the lead. As they made their way through the crowd to the site of the explosion, Sarah took a moment to look back at the W. The windows of the bar where she’d been less than an hour ago overlooked this scene and she wondered if Ellery was still there. As if on cue, she heard a familiar voice call her name and she saw Ellery headed her way. She told Liz she’d meet her in a moment and stepped aside to wait for Ellery to catch up to her. When she did, Sarah touched her arm. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine. How about you? It’s kind of crazy out here.”
“Definitely. You shouldn’t be here. We don’t know enough about the situation.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “For all we know there could be others.”
“I couldn’t just sit up there and do nothing. I asked the cops at the front entrance if I could help, but frankly I think they’re so paralyzed at the thought something like this could happen, that they didn’t know what to tell me. And then I saw you. You look like you’ve got a plan. I know basic first aid and CPR. Put me to work.”
“My plan is to stay alive and help as many people as I can.” Sarah should catch up with Liz, but she couldn’t help but take a moment to drink in the sight of Ellery. The suit jacket was gone and her sleeves were rolled up past her elbows. The muscles she’d only seen hints of before were now readily apparent. Ellery was strong and she was here. She’d be foolish not to take advantage of her help even if this dashing woman’s presence threatened to distract her. For a second she considered asking about April Landing, but the thought was fleeting. Ellery was here alone, and she’d sought her out to help. She’d be foolish to question it. She reached out a hand. “Stick close.”
She didn’t wait for Ellery to reply before she dove back into the crowd, Ellery’s strong hand firmly gripping hers as she led the way. When they finally made it to the west entrance, Sarah pulled up short. Seeing the damage from a distance was no substitute for standing right in front of it. The glass windows of the hotel had shielded them from the acrid smell of burning rubble and flesh and the piercing cries of the wounded. Relatively speaking, the actual damage to the building was smaller than the cloud of dust and debris had led her to believe, but there was absolutely no doubt it had been deadly for more than just a few.
She looked back to see Ellery’s face harden at the sight of the devastation before releasing her grip. With a simple nod, Ellery strode away toward a group of fireman and started working with them to clear chunks of cement debris from a section of the bomb site.
“Sarah, where did you go?”
Sarah turned to find Liz standing behind her. “Sorry. I’m here now.”
“Great. Come over here. These guys could use some help.”
Sarah took just a
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