"Is that not the Promethean fable, that the fire stolen from the gods will light men their way even while it burns their hands?"
~ Zia Haider Rahman
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Jenna saw it from the second floor window.
She tried to distance herself as far away from the bomb squad as possible, trying not to get in their way. And then, like the millisecond long flap of a butterfly's wing, she saw the enormous explosion.
It was as though a fist of orange flame had decided to punch it's way out of the city. Windows shattered. Smoke and fire rushed out. Thousands of pieces of glass and steel, a deadly rainfall, showered down. Sirens - shrill and deafening- erupted. A huge bite had been taken out of the side and the roof of the building. Jenna was at a loss for words, it was hard to believe it had done so much damage.
She raced down onto the first floor and burst through the set perimeter, ignoring the officers trying to call her back. She only had one thought on her mind:
Jake.
She said a prayer to her mother, hoping that when she arrived, it would only be a figment of her imagination. Please, please don't let him be hurt!
"Jake!" her shouts echoed through the empty streets, getting lost in the blaring sirens and violent water gushes, "Jake!"
A perimeter had been set, sealed off with yellow police tape. Jenna -- as defiant and stubborn as any girl could be -- tried to race passed the perimeter, but she didn't get very far.
"Hey!" an officer grabbed her, "Where do you think you're going?"
"Where's Jake? Is he hurt?!" she blasted through his question, looking for answers of her own.
"The area is sealed, ma'am!"
An ambulance was parked a half a block away from the blast site, that's where Jake was; sitting in the back while a paramedic stitched up the gash in his head.
"He going to be okay?" Lex asked.
"He'll be just fine, but take easy in the field, you," he replied. Jake was about to reply, but he heard somebody shout his name.
"Jake! Jake!" that was Jenna, he'd recognize her cries anywhere.
"Jenna?" he started to stand up, but the paramedic pulled him back down.
"Officer, I'm not done yet," he replied.
"I'll go check it out," Lex said, "And if you have to, restrain Officer Riley," Lex gave him a snarky smirk as he headed for the perimeter. Jake just scowled back.
Lex jogged to the yellow line, where two officers were arguing with -- lo and behold -- Jenna. She seemed frantic, waving her hands in the air and speaking so fast her words were flying a mile a minute.
"Hey, Jenna!" he approached, and Jenna was relieved.
"Lex! Are you okay?" she asked.
"I'm fine,"
"Where's Jake?"
"He's fine too, I promise,"
One of the officers cleared their throats, "Officer Carnahan, this girl's trying to get through the perimeter,"
"It's alright, Elliot. You can let her through. She's with me," he said. Jenna smiled triumphantly and ducked under the yellow line, following Lex to the ambulance.
"Is Jake hurt?" she asked.
"Just a scratch to the head. He'll be good to go in no time,"
"What about the bomb?" she asked.
"We figured out their transportation system. They're using the transit lines underground," he replied.
"What a bunch of dogs," she said, eyeing what was left of Rooney's Department Store as firefighters showered it with water.
Meanwhile, Jake kept his eyes on Jenna while she talked with Lex. She was... a strange girl. He'd never met someone who was so resilient... persistent... stubborn. She was almost -- no, she was just like Katie... with a crime streak in her, of course.
"Is she your girlfriend?" the medic asked. Jake flinched as he applied a swab of alcohol over his cut.
"Uh... no. She's more of a -- it's complicated," he replied.
"Those ones are always the killers," he tsked, "My wife just threw me out of the house. Bitch hates me, but at the same time, she loves me. And I love her... damn shame,"
Jake scowled, "No offense man, but I'm not a bar tender," he said.
"Jake!" Jake suddenly found himself engulfed in a hug, surrounded by the smell of... apples and cinnamon. He suddenly remembered when he'd come home after weekend baseball games, sweaty and tired, and his mom would make apple pie, just the way he liked it. The smell made him feel safe. He didn't react at first, but he slowly reciprocated and hugged her back, tightly.
"Are you okay?" she asked him.
"Yeah... I mean... yeah," he stammered again, he kept doing that.
"He just has a small cut to the head, he'll be fine though," the medic said. Jenna gave him a strange look.
"Uh... thanks," she said, "Do you mind?" the medic scowled and jumped out of the truck, while Jake chuckled a bit and pulled back from Jenna.
"How about you? Are you okay?" he asked her.
"I'm fine," she nodded, "You look like crap, though,"
"Well, that's what getting blown up does to you," he replied.
"Right, I know but... I'm just glad you're okay," she took a deep breathe, "I mean, it looked like a mushroom cap, you know?"
"It sure didn't feel like one," Jake groaned as he stood up, "I need my gun back,"
"Uh, stop. Where do you think you're going?" she asked him.
"To do my job," he pushed passed her and went to get his gun and badge back.
"Jake, you just got blown up! You might have a concussion," she said.
"That's not what the medic said,"
"Yeah, well, Doctor Doolittle seems to say a lot of things other than what's wrong with you," she said.
"Lex!" Jake marched up to him, "I'm good, I need my gun back,"
"You haven't been cleared yet," he said. Jake sighed heavily.
"Come on, man. I've already been out for a whole day, I can't opt out now," he said.
"But you might have a concussion! You should get checked out at the hospital!" Jenna said.
"I didn't ask you for your opinion," he said.
"She's right. You should take a couple hours at least," Lex said. Jake got angry again, he clenched his fists, feeling just as frustrated as he did that first day, when Lex told him there was no getting out of the cordon.
"Jake," Jenna gently took his wrist, "Even just for an hour,"
He sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Fine. Just give me an hour," he said.
Lex glowered back, "Make it two," he said, then he walked away.
Jake shook his head and kicked at a piece of rubble. Jenna jumped back, "You need to calm down,"
"Why did you just do that?" he asked her, "I'm fine. You want me to walk a straight line?"
"My dad had three head contusions, each one made him as loopy as a kid on happy gas. Don't tell me about 'fine'!" she snapped back.
"I'm not your dad, so you don't have to treat me like it," he said. Jenna scowled back, that time, she clenched her own fists.
"You don't have to tell me. My father is ten times the man you are... and he's in a wheelchair," she then stormed away, disappearing in the smoke and rubble. Jake smacked his head, now starting to feel a pain between his eyes. Maybe she was right, he did need to lie down.
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A half hour later, Jake was laying up in a cot set by EMTs on the second floor; a tower of apartments that had been cleared out. He had an ice pack sitting a top his head, while he read through Larritate's bank statements on his computer. He went through every transaction, but none of them were signed off by Milo Brothers' Textiles and Tiles. He knew it, Larritate had to be lying about something, but how did Demir pay for his appointments? There were thousands of names in his billing accounts, and too little time to go through them now. That... and the cellular system was down again.
His eyes read over every damn, tiny letter on the page, but his head wasn't in it. Jenna was right, he felt a lot better when he put his feet up. Something changed in her when he brought up her father; technically, she brought him up though. He didn't blame her for getting defensive, every child's instinct is to protect their parents. He put the laptop down and pulled the ice bag off his head. He swung his legs over the bed side and slowly stood up, luckily, his head didn't start rushing. He knew he didn't have a concussion, he was just fine.
His socks made a soft brushing noise as he headed for the bathroom. He approached the sink and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He still had the ghostly wisp of ashes on his face, and a thin, white and red bandages over his temple.
"You didn't have your helmet strapped on right, did you?" he smiled when he heard the voice. He looked up in the mirror, and there was Katie.
She was leaning against a closed bathroom stall, smiling her usual pretty smile and giving Jake a curious, knowing look. "I never understood why guys ignored common sense. Like, hey! I'm going to ride my bike, I don't need shoulder pads. Who cares if I fall and get cauliflower elbows?"
Jake chuckled back, "Still telling me what to do after all this time," he smiled.
"How are you doing?" she asked. Jake turned and sat up on the sink counter top, now facing her head on.
"Like all I want to do is go to sleep," he replied. Katie stifled a chuckle of her own and looked away.
"What's that girl's name?" she asked.
"Jenna," he shrugged back.
"I take it by your tone you're not her biggest fan," she said. He shrugged again.
"She's stubborn... and a smart ass. And she doesn't take directions," he replied.
"Sounds like somebody I know," she started to smirk. Jake rolled his eyes, but he smiled.
"But I'm doing my job," he replied. Katie sighed and put her hair behind her ear.
"Other than her bad qualities, does she have any good ones?" she asked.
Jake nodded, smiling when he thought about her jokes about hacking her school transcripts, "Yeah. She's a techy, and she's short,"
Katie laughed out, "She's short?"
"Not like an elf or anything, but she's... you know," he held up his hand to about her height, "That tall?"
Katie continued to smile, "Why's she mad at you, then?"
"Who says she's mad at me? Maybe I'm mad at her?"
"You're not mad at her. You're not putting your fist through walls,"
He scoffed, "I've done more physical damage to my body in two days than I have all year,"
"I'm sure your doctor appreciates the medical bill," she said, "But seriously. You should talk it out with Jenna,"
"You sound like a school teacher again,"
"Old habits," she shrugged, "Just be careful, Jake,"
Jake was about to reply, but then he heard his name being called, "Jake!" why was it that Lex always showed up at the most inopportune times. Jake turned back, about to apologize for the interruption, but Katie was gone. He sighed heavily and jumped off the counter, just as Lex bolted in.
"You know you scared me? I thought you ran off or something," he said, "You okay?"
Jake huffed, "I wish people would stop asking me that," he replied, "Where's Jenna?"
"In her room," he started to turn away, but Jake chased after him.
"She's got a room too?"
"We need somewhere to house SWAT. What harm is one small girl?"
Jake started peaking through doors, trying to find any sign of where Jenna might be staying. All the rooms were unlocked, with evidence of hurried abandonment. It made Jake's skin crawl, his eyes running over plates of half-eaten food, TVs still running, and toys left in the middle of the floor. Jake went inside one of the apartments and picked up a stuffed bunny, with beige cotton fur and long, floppy ears. He smiled, and he placed it right on a couch, facing the door and ready to welcome its owner back home, whenever they would come home.
He continued walking down the hallway, until he heard the faint sound of of... Shaggy Rodgers?
"Scoob! One million dollars is enough to buy, like, a hundred and fifty billion hamburgers!"
He recognized that hippie voice, Quentin loved to watch the cartoons on Saturday mornings.
He peaked into one of the doors, and he also laughed out at the sight before him. Jenna was sitting on a couch, jacket slopped down under the bag next to her, shoes kicked off, eating a bowl of cereal, and watching the Scooby Doo Cartoon.
"You enjoying yourself?" his voice made Jenna jump and she nearly spilled her cereal.
"Oh -- jeez!" she grabbed the remote and muted the TV, "Knock, huh? It's not like we're in the middle of a war zone or anything,"
Jake chuckled back, "Where'd you get the cereal?" he asked.
"Vicki brought it for me,"
"Who's Vicki?"
Jenna gave him a flat look, "Agent Reynolds, the only other female with power here. And since McDonald's is closed..." she turned up the TV volume again and continued to eat. Jake spotted the cereal box on the coffee table, Captain Krunchies, the same kind Quentin likes to eat.
"Mind if I join you?" he asked. Jenna looked up at him, then she set down her cereal bowl, pushed her bag and jacket onto the ground, and shifted over for Jake.
"Be my guest," she muffled through a mouthful of crunchies. Jake jumped over the back of the couch, just in time as Jenna was about to grab her bowl again, "You're a real reckless guy, you know that?"
"Look who's talking," Jake scoffed. He grabbed the box off the table and poured some into his hand, then put it into his mouth.
"Sure, go ahead," she mumbled.
Jake swallowed his food and cleared his throat, "Listen, I'm sorry if what I said earlier hit a nerve. I was just angry," he said.
"Yeah, you get angry a lot, I've noticed," she said, "You ever try an anger management class?"
"Never had the time,"
"That's a lie,"
Then he chuckled, "I'm not going to start an argument with you, I just came in to apologize for earlier,"
Then Jenna chuckled, "You know, you really are like my dad. One time on the job, he was chasing a dealer and the bastard came back around and clocked him with a tire iron. He had a concussion, but he didn't take the rest. So the next time he went on a chase, he just about collapsed in the middle of a street,"
Jake looked down as she continued to speak, "I only got pissed at you because you were doing the same thing, and I guess I was just worried about you," she said.
Jake then smirked and looked at her, "You were worried about me?" he asked.
Jenna saw his sly smirk and rolled her eyes, "I just didn't want you to pass out in the middle of a chase, you ass," she replied.
"Uh huh," he took some more cereal and stuffed into his mouth, spilling some onto his lap. Jenna wrinkled her nose.
"Well, I apologized to you. You going to apologize to me?" she asked.
"Why am I apologizing?" he asked.
"Because you're the reason I got pissed off," she said, "And I was the bigger person by apologizing first,"
"You just admitted it, though. You provoked me," he said.
"And you picked at my dad, so you damn well should apologize to me, too," she said.
"Alright. I'm sorry for picking at your dad. I'm sure he's a very good man," he said. Jenna started to smile; she set her cereal bowl down again, and crossed her legs.
"I accept your apology," she said, "But you're still a dick,"
"Well, in that case, you're still a pain in the ass," he replied.
Jenna sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, "So, what do we do now?" she asked, "Rummage around in the transit lines for dynamite?"
Before he could reply, there was a knock on the door, "Hey, Jenna?" Vicki peeked through the door, and she stopped when she saw Jake, "Officer Riley," she nodded.
"You can come in, Vicki. He's cool... for now," she said. Jake gave her a look.
"Vicki?" he asked.
"You call Lex by his first name,"
"Actually, I'm glad you're here, Jake. The assistant manager at Rooney's is staying at the shelter, he was able to give us access to the video tapes at the front of the store. We might have our first prime suspect,"
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A/N: I love that gif of Crystal!!! XD