Page 103 of Fire and Ice

The room erupted in chatter.

"Oh my God," Derek whispered as his eyes met Jack's. Jack couldn't form a coherent thought as multiple scenarios played through his head. All he wanted to do was get to the scene of the explosion immediately. He forced himself to wait patiently. The minutes ticked by torturously.

Finally another person entered the room.

"The details are hazy but we have confirmation that it's Richard Grayson, he doesn't appear to be injured badly" the man said as cheers and high-fives went around the room. "We have multiple fatalities in a basement explosion."

Jack felt his stomach plummet.

"What about a Maia Pierce?" Viktor asked as he stood up.

The man shook his head, more as a sign that he didn't know, than an outright no. "There was a woman reported to be in critical condition..."

That was enough to send Viktor tearing out of the room, Jack and Derek at his heels.

Viktor, aware that they were following him, said over his shoulder. "I have a chopper on standby, we can take that."

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Rick Grayson gripped his head as he tried to shake off the vacuum that had threatened to swallow him. He could barely hear a thing. He shook Lizveta beside him to get her attention and gave her the thumbs up to ask her if she was okay. She nodded her head, still in a daze.

Forcing himself to his feet, he trudged slowly through the aftermath of an illeoic gas explosion. It had punched a huge hole in the ceiling revealing the first floor. It's surprising that the whole house had not collapsed on them.

"Maia!" Rick shouted. His voice sounded strange and distant from himself. He winced at the carnage and tangle of limbs by the door. His heart sank as he looked at the area where Maia was supposed to be and found nothing. It was like a tidal wave had pushed everything to the back of the room.

"Maia!" Rick yelled again in increasing panic. He started turning over floor boards and God knows what other debris looking for a sign of the red-haired AGS Guardian. He saw the wood table and what looked like a dust-covered limb sticking out from underneath it.

"Oh My God," Rick muttered as he carefully heaved the heavy table away to reveal the unmoving body of Maia Pierce. "No, no, no," Rick sank to his knees as he reached out to feel a pulse. He couldn't discern one and started CPR. Almost immediately Maia coughed and started choking, Rick assisted her and rubbed her back. Then he made her lie down again as he gestured for Lizveta to approach.

"Make sure she stays awake," Rick ordered even if he wasn't sure Lizveta could hear him at this point but she appeared to understand.

Rick walked around the demolished laboratory looking for something with which to hoist them up. He made himself walk over the grouping of dead bodies to see if there was a way to use the basement stairs, but the explosion caused the wall and ceiling to cave-in and block the passageway.

Great job, Maia, Rick thought in derision.

Rick saw the flashing lights first before he could make out the sounds of the siren. He heard someone shouting but could not understand what they were saying.

"Here! We're down here!" Rick shouted.

A fireman peered down the open floor.

Rick pointed to his ears. "Explosion messed up my hearing. I won't be able to understand verbal instructions."

The fireman nodded and disappeared to return with a couple more first responders. They were assessing the stability of the structure. Some of them were shocked at the bloody mess by the door.

While they figured out how to get them out of the basement, they lowered some food, water and blankets to the survivors below. They also lowered a notepad so Rick could write down some contact information that may be useful, like the DEA's Joe Kennedy and what caused the explosion. Rick was tempted to write: Maia Pierce.

After what felt like forever, ropes were lowered and rescue workers started to rappel down. They had to call in people with the experience to deal with such rescue. Two people carrying a stretcher approached them.

"What happened?" the lead person asked.

"She got thrown by the explosion. She was hunkered down over there and ended up over here. I couldn't keep her conscious. Her name is Maia," Rick said.

The paramedic nodded grimly.

"Maia," the man said as he tapped her cheek lightly. "Maia, wake up."

Her eyes blinked and she croaked, "What...where am I?"

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