Open Case File [COMPLETED]

The Rescue

You need to have read the previous chapter (Stuck Together) before this. This one is connected to it. Sorry it took me so long to write it.
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"What happened?" Donovan asked.

The speakers let out a low, constant hum of static. The tech woman, Hazel, typed at her keyboard but nothing changed, the static continued.

"What's going on?" Donovan asked again.

"I don't know," Hazel said. "One second we had Agents Owens and Douglas's feed and the next it's gone."

He knew that. He'd been standing there the whole time and knew what happened. But he decided not to argue this point.

"I mean where are their feeds, why can't you get them back?" he asked.

"Give me a moment," the tech said.

Donovan stood absolutely still as she worked. He would not get worried, he wouldn't. It didn't matter if Carter and Mason were alone in an unused metro tunnel, Carter wasn't likely to murder Mason. Even if they fought like they'd both like to see the other six feet under.

Donovan let out a breath. It would be fine, it would all be fine.

"I figured it out," Hazel said, what felt like a thousand years later. "There was a small tremor from a neighboring metro and it seemed to have affected the unused tunnel."

"What does that mean 'effect it'? In what way?"

"I'm not sure, but part of the tunnel could have collapsed."

That was all Donovan needed to hear to be out the door in a breath and knocking on the Director's door the next. Townsend called out 'enter' and Donovan walked into the large corner office.

"Sir," he said. "There has been a snag in agents Owens and Douglas's recon mission in the metro tunnel. Part of it has collapsed. Comms are down. I request permission to gather together a team to go retrieve them."

Townsend asked a few questions but when Donovan wasn't able to offer any more information than what he'd already had, Townsend gave him the go-ahead to retrieve the agents. Donovan assembled a quick team and they geared up.

Donovan didn't talk as they drove through the city to the abandoned metro station stop. He focused on controlling his thoughts, knowing that his worry for Carter's safety could overshadow everything if he let it. So he didn't let it.

She would be fine. Mason would be fine. They both would be fine.

The team descended the stairs into the metro station, flicking on their shoulder lights as they went, their hands ready to reach for their weapons. Simply because it was a tunnel collapse didn't mean it couldn't have been planned.

Donovan led the group to the platform ledge and jumped down, his boots hitting the packed dirt. The air smelled dank and a chill crept over them. Donovan ignored the elements and their foreboding signs. Unholstering his weapon, he stepped onto the tracks and headed into the gaping hole.

Silence broken by heavy footsteps and soft breathing trailed with them as they moved further and further into the tunnel. Donovan kept his pace even, letting his light lance through the darkness. High pitched squeaks spoke of rats and the clicking of claws on metal put the rats next to them.

As they got further in, Donovan became aware of how he could taste dust in the air. It was different than the dirt they'd been inhaling before. It smelled of rock. They had to be getting close. Donovan didn't think about the fact that he hadn't heard anything other than the team. He didn't dwell on where Carter and Mason could have been during the collapse. He didn't imagine the ceiling crashing down on them and crushing them-