A Slow Burn // Brian 'Otis' Zvonecek // Chicago Fire ✔️

50 || SHOTS FIRED

The gunshot rippled through the air, inciting confusion and a small amount of chaos within those who remained outside. The crowds surrounding the scene began to scatter and the firefighters that remained outside could only hope that what they'd heard had just been another pipe bursting, and not a gunshot like they feared.

But then again, when do people ever get what they hoped for?

"What the hell was that?" Riley called out, looking frantically around her for answers as she began feeling her heart start to beat faster and her chest tighten over the knowledge that Otis was still inside the house.

Even if it was just a pipe bursting, it could still end badly and that was enough to make her heart almost stop beating entirely.

"Mayday! Mayday! Shots fired!" Stella's frantic voice calling through the radio had Riley's blood run colder than ever before and her stomach sink straight to the floor.

The words echoed in Riley's mind as she tried to figure out if she'd heard them correctly, and the minute they absorbed fully into her brain, she was fairly certain that her heart did indeed stop beating for a second.

Otis was with Stella, she'd seen both of their fluorescent names on their turnout coats before she was ordered out of the house, and it hadn't been Otis's voice that called through the radio... Which could possibly only mean one thing.

"Shots fired... she said shots fired!" Sylvie shouted out, repeating for those who couldn't quite make Stella's words out and fully confirming to Riley that she hadn't imagined it in her frantic state.

A second gunshot echoed through the air, the bullet flying the through the upstairs window as everyone surrounding the scene ducked out of a fear induced habit. Well, almost everyone as Riley could barely breath let alone move.

"Hey, let's go, let's go! I need this area cleared right now. Get everybody back." Boden called out to the firefighters in front of the house, who'd been making their way inside with the hose, as he ushered them away from the entrance before retreating to a safe distance. "Battalion 25 to Main, shots fired, 10144 North Bell Avenue. We need CPD backup right now."

Riley didn't even seem to acknowledge what was going on around her as her entire body had now gone numb. She didn't see Squad exit the house with the second victim in tow. She didn't hear Chief Boden asking the homeowners who was inside shooting. She didn't hear Chief Grissom try and tell her to move back from the house, or feel him try to drag her away. She simply couldn't see or hear anything but the gunshots that would haunt her for the rest of her life.

The scene surrounding her had faded into nothing but a blur as Riley just stared up at the hole in the window. The second story window. The second story where she knew Otis had been searching and it made her furious with herself that she hadn't gone against Casey's orders and gone after Otis anyway, at least that way she'd know if he was okay and she could deal with the consequences of her insubordination afterwards.

After all, insubordination was her specialty. Just ask Chief Pridgen.

It wasn't until she heard the worried voice of Cruz, who had confirmed that Otis and Stella were both still upstairs, did Riley finally snap out of her fear induced trance. Ignoring everyone and everything around her, she grabbed frantically at her radio as she moved closer to the house, her hands shaking so much it took multiple attempts for her to even press the button.

"Brian?" She practically croaked into her radio, already feeling the lump rising in her throat as she hoped and prayed as hard as she could that she'd soon hear Otis's voice respond back to her. To tell her that he was okay and that he was on is way out.