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“So they really expect us to search this entire place on our own, huh?” Mya asked, looking at the expansive building before them.
Carlos just shrugged, “Captain Monroe said we were short-staffed, holiday weekend and all that.”
“Lucky us,” Mya deadpanned and Carlos snorted in agreement.
“I guess we should split up,” he said after a beat. “Otherwise this is going to take us all day.”
“Divide and conquer?” Mya asked with a shrug, “Sure, why not? If you think you can stay out of trouble without me, that is.”
“Pretty sure I’ll manage,” Carlos replied with a roll of his eyes. “But stay on comms, just in case. I’m pretty sure the reports of ‘suspicious activity’ is just the result of neighborhood busybodies but you can never be too cautious.”
Mya nodded before glancing back to the building. “How do you want to do this? You do up and I do down, you do west and I do east…?”
“Why do I get up or west?”
“Because it’s the first thing that came to mind.”
Carlos rolled his eyes, but nodded. “Let’s do the east/west split, but I’m taking east.”
“Fine, if you want to be picky,” Mya responded with a fond shake of her head. “I’ll go west and see if we can wrap this up sometime this week.”
“Now who’s being dramatic,” Carlos noted with a raised eyebrow. “It’s not going to take that long. We’ll divide and conquer and get it done in no time.”
“Carlos, this building is enormous. There is such a thing as being too optimistic.”
“What,” Carlos called over his shoulder as he headed for the building before them, “afraid of a challenge, Esquilin?”
He grinned as he heard a scoff from behind him, “You wish, Reyes.”
Thirty minutes later Carlos was forced to concede that Mya might have a point, maybe.
“This place really is enormous,” Mya’s voice said over the radio as if she had read his mind from the other side of the building. “What did they used to make here?”
“Textiles, I think,” Carlos replied as he moved onto the next corridor. “It went out of business when tech became the major industry for the city.”
“How the hell do you know that?”
Carlos chuckled, “My Tio Ernesto is kind of a local history buff.”
“Well it’s good to know, I guess. Doesn’t help get us out of here any faster though.”
“No, it does not,” Carlos agreed wearily as he stepped onto the stairs to the catwalk crossing the corridor. It was pretty high up, maybe he could see more of the area at once, get this done just a little faster. “How are things on your end?”
“Boring and quiet; absolutely nothing to see here. You?”
“Same, so far,” Carlos replied as he paused and took a look around. He certainly could see more, but it didn’t solve the other problem he had. “Though if I’m being completely honest, I have no idea where I am.”
“That’s not surprising,” Mya retorted. “This place is like a maze. I guess keep moving forward and hope for the best?”
“Pretty sure that’s our only option.”
“Well the world’s worst game of Marco Polo is also an option, but we’ll call that a solid plan b, for now.”
Carlos grinned and reached for his radio, ready to make a quip in return with his partner but at that exact moment his next step hit an unstable part of the catwalk and the ground fell out beneath him. He cried out as he pitched forward, arms flailing and searching for some sort of purchase as he began to plummet.
He found it in the next moment, somehow managing to grasp onto the edge of the hole he had created. He took a moment to catch his breath and heard the panicked sound of Mya’s voice calling his name, but it sounded distant. He glanced around and finally located the sound: it was coming from his radio, resting on the floor far below him. Clearly, he wouldn’t be getting help that way.
He shifted and managed to brace his arms on each side of the hole before trying to pull himself up. He didn’t think it would be an issue, but he was quickly proved wrong when a stabbing pain ripped through his side. It momentarily took his breath away and when he stopped and managed to take air back into his lungs he looked down.
It didn’t take him long to find the source of the problem - one of the grates from the catwalk had fallen at an angle and was currently pressing against his left side. When he had tried to pull himself up it had dug further in and had prevented his movement. Given the angle, the only way he was getting out of this on his own was to go down, but the floor was too far away for that to be a viable option.
Carlos sighed and adjusted his grip, bracing his elbows on either side of the hole. His shoulders were already aching from the strain of supporting his bodyweight but he didn’t have much else in the way of options. He threw another longing glance down at his radio, but it did nothing to change the fact that he was on his own. All he could do was hang here and hope for the best, and that help came soon. He shifted and gasped in pain as the grate dug further into his side.
Help, he decided, could not come soon enough.
Officer in distress calls always put TK on edge.
An officer in distress call made by Officer Esquilin, as it turned out, was nearly enough to make him lose his mind.
Which was a fact that had not gone unnoticed by his team. Tommy and Nancy exchanged glances as TK drove, jaw set and grip tight on the steering wheel. He was doing his best to stay calm and professional, but his mind was spinning with all the awful possibilities.
“We don’t know anything yet,” Tommy reminded him evenly after a few more moments of silence. “It might not be anything serious.”
“I know that,” TK agreed. “I’m still worried though. Pretty sure I will be until I know for sure.”
“That’s to be expected,” his captain allowed. “I just need to make sure that you are good to work. Are you?”
TK glanced in the rearview mirror to see her studying him with a calculating and expectant gaze. He nodded firmly, “Yes, Cap. I’m good.”
Tommy studied him for a second longer and nodded, “Okay. I trust you TK and I know that you’d never do anything to put a patient at risk. But if you think it’s too much or you feel yourself slipping, I need to know.”
“Copy that, Cap.”
Tommy nodded before turning her attention back to their surroundings as the ambulance pulled up to the warehouse in question and parked next to the ladder truck. TK was out in a second, appearing at his dad’s side with a hundred questions on his lips. His dad held up a placating hand before TK could even open his mouth. “We don’t know anything yet.”
TK deflated but nodded, reaching around instead to grab their gear out of the ambulance. The rest of the fire crew had assembled by the time he gathered the med bag and he stepped toward the group in time to hear his dad finish speaking with dispatch and turn to the other to start giving the rundown.
“According to dispatch, Officers Esquilin and Reyes were called here to investigate reports of suspicious activity about 2 hours ago. They split up to cover more ground and Officer Reyes was searching the east side when his partner heard a strange sound on the radio. She hasn’t been able to reach him since so we are here to help with the search and provide any rescue or medical attention necessary.”
The update was formal, just like the one he would give before the team entered any situation. But there was an elephant in the front of the building with them and that made this call unlike any other. TK could tell his dad knew as much by the tight set of his jaw and the worry he was trying to hide under a cloak of professionalism. The fact was that no matter how hard they tried to move around it, it was Carlos in danger and Carlos was family, just as much as any other member of the team gathered around the engine.
And to TK, he was so much more.
“I know you’re all worried,” his dad said after a pause. “And I’m sure you all know I am too, but it is in Carlos’s best interest for us to all stay calm and do our jobs to the best of our ability. He needs our A-game, and I know you all intend to give it to him.”
There were nods all around and TK felt a rush of gratitude towards each and every one of his team. It helped him to breathe a little bit easier, knowing that the people he trusted the most would be right alongside him, doing their best to make sure that Carlos was okay.
It was the only thing keeping him sane right now, if he were being honest.
“This place is a maze,” a new voice said and TK turned to see Mya standing a few feet away, fingers fiddling with the cord of her radio, “I barely made it out here to meet you all in time. I don’t have any idea where he was or…”
His dad flashed her a reassuring grin, “Dispatch is tracking down the floor plans now. Grace will send them to me as soon as they have them and I’ll forward them along to our teams. Until then we are going to start searching — in teams, and carefully. We don’t know what happened or what conditions are like in there. Captain Vega, if you and your team can pair up with some of the crew that would probably be for the best. Officer Esquilin, will you be joining the search or would you rather stay out here and help me?”
TK looked to Mya, not surprised when she didn’t even pause before replying, “I’m going in, Captain.”
He nodded and flicked his gaze to TK. He said nothing though and TK figured his dad knew him well enough to know the answer without asking. Yes he was going in after Carlos; nothing was going to stop him.
“Then I want you with a paramedic,” he concluded. “Marjan and Paul, you’re working together since you both have significant medical training. Mateo and Judd, you’re both with a paramedic as well.”
“I’ll go with Mya,” TK announced before anyone else could make a decision. His dad did not look surprised and only nodded.
“Everyone else pair up then and grab some gear. Then we’re going to get started, we don’t know what the situation is but we can assume time is of the essence.”
The others dispersed but TK ignored them and stepped towards his father. “I already have my gear,” he reminded him, “so if you tell me where you want us we can get started.”
His dad studied him for a brief moment and for a second TK’s breath caught as he watched prepared himself to reassure his dad that he had this, that he wasn’t compromised. But in the next moment his dad sighed and TK figured he had done the mental math and decided it wasn’t worth the time they would waste arguing.
“You and Officer Esquilin will get started in the northeast corner. Keep an eye on your phone, I’ll be sending out the floorplans as soon as I get them. Radio in if you need help at all, and be careful. There aren’t enough of us to form a second rescue team.”
“Copy that,” TK replied with a wry grin that was gone almost as soon as it came. With that he nodded to the rest of the team and followed Mya back to the building looming in front of them.
The ache was becoming unbearable.
Vaguely Carlos thought of stories about hikers who got trapped while hiking and spent hours hanging off the edge, dangling above their certain death. He had always found those stories both morbidly fascinating and impressive. As he read them he could never help but wonder how he would fare under such circumstances; if he would have the strength and determination to hang on.
He had never bargained on actually getting an answer to that, but here he was.
In so many ways this wasn’t that bad, he reasoned. He wasn’t hanging on by his fingertips, he had most of his upper body above the hole and was able to use both his arms to keep himself from falling. But there was no denying the pain that was growing with each passing moment. Carlos was trying to keep himself distracted but he knew that it was only a matter of time before the pain was the only thing he could focus on.
But letting go was not an option. He wasn’t sure if the fall would kill him, but it was far enough he wasn’t willing to take the risk. He wasn’t ready to go anywhere yet and he refused to take the chance that someone he cared about would have to deal with the fallout. So he shifted as much as he dared, trying to find a new position, trying to give his shoulders more of a fighting chance.
As he moved the broken piece of the catwalk dug deeper into his side, stealing his breath again. He shut his eyes as he waited for the sharp pain to pass and the familiar ache to return. It did, but nearly soon enough. In the wake of it Carlos ran through his options one more time, just in case he had missed something. The list was very short: figure out how to get out of the hole without impaling himself further, fall to his likely death, or wait for help. Help was his only viable option so all he had to do was last until it arrived.
But as he looked around the vast expanse of empty warehouse, he couldn’t shake the trepidation that followed that thought. He was determined to hang on as long as he could, he just had to pray that help would come before his strength gave out.
TK was certain that this was the longest he had been around Mya Esquilin without her making some sarcastic comment or other. Instead she simply walked beside him quietly, using her flashlight to survey the area around them. He couldn’t say he blamed her. He had thought about speaking a few times, but beyond procedural questions the only thing in his head was the fact that Carlos was in trouble echoing around his mind in stereo.
Mya had described what had happened to TK as they started. One moment everything had been fine, the next Carlos’s banter was interrupted by a cry, and then nothing. She had tried to reach him after with no success. It sent a chill down TK’s spine. Anything could have happened. He could have been attacked, he could have had an accident, he could have walked into something he wasn’t meant to see. His mind was intent on running through all the awful possibilities but he pushed them aside. Picturing the worst-case scenarios wouldn’t help anything. He needed to find Carlos, and he needed to do it fast. He couldn’t spare the focus or the time that spiral would take - not when Carlos needed him. Nothing else could ever top that.
So as they walked he carefully scanned all the surrounding areas, looking for any sign of an accident, for any glimpse of his boyfriend. He was so hyper-focused on his surroundings he didn’t notice Mya freeze in front of him until he collided with her. He reached out to steady her, murmuring an apology, but she hardly seemed to notice the collision at all. He frowned, opening his mouth to ask her what was wrong (what a stupid question, Carlos was missing and everything was wrong) but he was saved the trouble when she said his name. He closed his mouth and turned his attention to where she was pointing, feeling a new dread wash over him.
On the ground about 20 feet from them were broken pieces of one of the catwalks, and something else TK couldn’t identify. He trained his flashlight on it and once it was illuminated TK felt that feeling of dread grow: a police issue radio lying on the ground amongst the broken pieces of a walkway was not a good sign. He looked up, about 40 feet above the ground, to see the catwalk in question and a body hanging through a hole in the middle.
For a moment he couldn’t speak, there were too many emotions rushing through him. They had found Carlos, but Carlos was in danger. He shook all that off though in favor of calling out, “Carlos! Hang on Carlos, we’re coming for you!”
And with Mya on his heels, he ran to the ladder for the catwalk. As he climbed he used his radio to inform the rest of the crew that they had found Carlos, and that they would need assistance. But then they were up on the catwalk beside him and Carlos was looking at him and nothing else mattered.
“Hey baby,” TK breathed as he carefully fell to his knees at the edge of the hole, “we’re here to help you. It’s going to be okay.”
“Took you long enough,” Carlos retorted, but his voice was raspy and the grin he gave them was weak. TK exchanged a quick glance with Mya before he reached for his bag and she slipped down onto Carlos’s other side, heeding his silent request.
“I leave you alone for 5 minutes, Reyes,” she quipped, “and look what happens. You can’t deny it, you need me.”
“Never said I didn’t,” Carlos reminded her, voice still strained. “But I don’t think you could have stopped this even if you were here.”
As Mya kept him occupied TK pulled out his stethoscope and slid the diaphragm under Carlos’s shirt. He moved it around as gently and carefully as he could, making sure to stay well away from the edge, frowning when he noticed diminished breath sounds on one side. Carlos must have been watching him because the moment he frowned, he spoke.
“There’s a piece of the catwalk stuck in my side. I don’t think it’s impaled me, but it’s been pressing against me pretty hard and it’s kept me stuck here.”
TK nodded, reaching for his bp cuff as he continued, “Anything else hurt?”
Carlos shook his head, “Just my shoulders and arms, from holding myself up. Other than that I’m fine.
TK had to bite his lip to stop himself from informing his boyfriend that dangling 40 feet in the air with a piece of metal in his side for at least an hour was not fine , but he ignored it in favor of using his radio to report his findings back to Tommy.
“Is the piece of metal impaling him?” she asked and TK craned his neck to see if he could get a better look at it.
“I can’t see it, but he doesn’t think so. Says he’s pretty sure it’s just pressing into him, but it hasn’t broken the skin.”
“That can still cause some complications so keep an eye on his levels, but if you think you can free him and get him back topside go ahead and start. Just proceed with caution, Strand.”
TK bit back his instinctive response: this was Carlos, of course he was going to be careful. But his captain already knew that, so he settled on a simple “Copy” before he switched off his radio and examined the situation.
“We’re going to have to move that piece that is trapping you so we can get you out of there,” TK told him bracingly, “so you just need to hold on a little bit longer.”
Carlos nodded, “Whatever you guys need to do,” he said, “I trust you.”
His gaze added weight to his words and TK swallowed as he nodded, the unquestioned faith Carlos had in him filling him with both warmth and dread at the thought that he might not be able to save him.
But failure wasn’t an option — not for them, not for Carlos — so he shoved that feeling aside and forced a smile as he began to devise a plan. A moment later he nodded to Mya.
“Mya,” he instructed her, “I’m going to grab onto him and keep him upright, try to move him away from that piece. I need you to reach down and move it away from him so we can get him up. Can you do that?”
She didn’t even pause before nodding, sliding down so she was stretched across the walkway on her stomach as TK wrapped his arms under Carlos’s, taking some of his weight from him. “I’ve got you, babe,” he whispered into his hair as he leaned in close, holding him in place, watching Mya carefully as he worked.
It was only a few minutes before she made a sound of triumph and TK heard the tell-tale sound of metal clattering to the ground below as Mya looked up at him, eyes bright. He gave her a smile, “Great, thank you. Can you help me pull him up now?”
She pulled herself back up to her knees and between them they made short work of getting Carlos through the hole and further down the walkway, as far from the hole as possible. As they laid him down and Mya leaned close, TK pulled himself up and reached for his radio.
“Victim is freed and secure, will need assistance for transport,” he announced and crawled back to Carlos’s side as the voices of his dad and teammates replied, telling him they’d be there soon.
“I can walk, you know,” Carlos objected. “It’s only my arms that hurt.”
“Nice try, but that’s not happening,” TK informed him, reaching out to run a hand through his hair before he continued on with his tests. “Your body just went through a tremendous strain Carlos, let us help you.”
Carlos watched him as he continued his exam, neither of them commenting on the fact that his hands were trembling as he worked.
“I suppose I don’t have a choice, do I?” he asked and TK gave a dry laugh at that.
“No,” he agreed, settling back on his heels and taking Carlos’s hand in his own, “you don’t.”
The rest of the team made quick work of getting to them and in no time they were loaded into the back of the ambulance, Nancy at the wheel as Tommy and TK assisted Carlos in the back as they headed towards the hospital. After a while Tommy sat back and looked at them both.
“You’re going to need further tests and a full exam when we get to the hospital,” Tommy informed Carlos, “but my diagnosis is muscle strain that you’ll be feeling for quite some time. The doctors will be able to tell you whether or not surgery is required, but either way you’ll be off for a while.TK let’s get some ice on them for now, try to bring down the swelling as much as we can for now.”
TK nodded and reached for their coldpaks, carefully arranging them across his shoulders as Tommy shook her head.
“You were very lucky,” she informed Carlos, “and I’m glad it wasn’t any worse. But I have a feeling I’m going to be down a paramedic for a while,” she finished ruefully as both she and Carlos looked to TK.
“What?” he retorted defensively, “You expect me to not take care of my injured boyfriend?”
Tommy only chuckled, “Of course not, and you should take all the time you need. But you may want to reach out to B shift to see if any of them are up to cover some of your shifts. You know how Gillian can get with some of the replacements, it would probably be best to have people she likes, for all of us.
“I heard that!” Nancy retorted from the driver’s seat and TK was about to fire something back when she continued, “But yeah, you should probably do that. Some of the floaters we get are...just see if Nunez is up to covering a few shifts. That would be so much better.”
“I’ll be fine,” Carlos objected from his spot on the gurney between them, “you don’t all need to go through all that. Once I’m home I’ll be fine, you don’t need to miss work for me.”
He glanced between Tommy and TK, the latter of which was rolling his eyes.
“Babe,” he reminded him, “you’re hurt. Have you ever let me fend for myself while I’m hurt?”
“No,” Carlos admitted and TK grinned at him.
“Exactly,” he agreed, leaning down to press a soft kiss to his forehead as Tommy pointedly looked away, “you need help which means I will be there, no questions asked. We’re a team, remember?”
Some of the concern fled from Carlos’s face as he smiled up at him and TK reached for his hand, careful not to move the arm as he threaded their fingers together. Today could have been so much worse but it hadn’t been. They were going to go to the hospital, Carlos was going to get treatment, they were going to move forward.
And no matter what happened TK would be by Carlos’s side the entire time. There was nowhere else he would rather be.