Bitzi (7): emergency (3)

The Bombing

I was at my desk looking over the latest layout when I felt the shaking, a boom radiating through the building. Everyone I could see around me stood and went to the windows. We looked down at the streets below only to see nothing. No smoke, no flames—nothing that could indicate where the sound came from.

"I'm calling security," my secretary announced, picking up her phone as others looked on.

Suddenly flashes started. I looked up and realized it was the fire alarm, the strobes beginning first before the jolting BONK! BONK! BONK! that would fill the building. Everyone looked to me to know what to do, but I turned to my secretary.

She shook her head, "I can't get a hold of security. Should we evacuate?"

"Let's go," I said, having to talk loudly over the alarm. I went to the stairs and held the door so everyone could get out before me. When the line was gone, I walked swiftly around the cubicles to make sure no one else was in the area. After checking the restrooms, I joined my colleagues on the stairs.

Smoke filled the stairwell, a hint of it first before the full cloud filled the area. I put my scarf over my nose, but a lot of the men were stuck tucking their arm or their ties over their noses. The alarm continued overhead, the strobe lights blinding me as I descended slowly behind everyone else.

At the second floor landing, the building's security manager diverted us onto the second floor. Several people from the offices here were stationed along the way, covering their mouths and noses to keep the smoke out, but many had their eyes closed too. They kept telling us to keep going whether they could see us or not. I was starting to feel sick, but I kept walking, following the people in front of me to a stairwell that led to the first floor's warehouse.

Once there, we were finally greeted by an emergency official. A police officer pointed us out the door and to the right. He wore a mask and other protective gear, as did the others we encountered outside. Sirens could be heard in the distance, more emergency officials responding to whatever was happening.

"Do you think that boiler finally went?" Harry grinned when he found me.

I shook my head, "I don't know what happened. There was a big boom, then the alarms went off. I wasn't expecting the smoke," I coughed, still trying to get in all the fresh air I could. My lungs felt scratchy, like I'd been running in the cold, but I was okay. A few of my colleagues were wheezing. I thought of poor Buster—if he were here, he'd need a trip to the hospital for a special breathing treatment.

"No one in Sports knows what happened either. We were just finishing our briefing for the night's assignments, then BOOM!" he chuckled, following me as we were led into another building. It was another office building a few blocks away, but I didn't know the name of it. Police officers were there, and we were funneled into a large ballroom of sorts. Chairs were brought in, but many people were forced to sit on the floor. They needed to rest, so that was their only option. Seeing that I was better off than many, I joined Harry in sitting along the wall. I looked over the room and tried to do a head count. All I knew was that my floor was clear.

As we waited, people kept asking what happened, but no one knew anything. Harry's boiler theory was the most promising. They had just repaired it a few weeks ago for making strange noises, and everyone knew the inspector found that the release valve had issues. A reporter jumped on the story and exposed a similar problem across the entire company. If they were a car manufacturer, people could call a hotline and have the car towed to the dealership for a quick fix, but these were boilers. They were large, complex, and bolted to the floor. You weren't taking them anywhere, and the company used that to their advantage. They were in trouble now, and they clearly disliked us—

I gasped, "Harry, do you think someone did this on purpose?"

"Why would you say that?" he asked, looking up as others turned in my direction.

"Well, we ran that boiler story, and I know the company is upset with us—"

"Upset with us enough to tamper with a boiler? That would mean a lawsuit," Harry laughed.

My secretary poked her head out from around a larger reporter, "I think you're right. That was real smoke from a fire. I don't think it was the boiler, but it could be something else."

Paramedics flooded the room, handing out red cards to anyone who seemed to need a transport. They were pulled out by police officers, who seemed to lead them to city buses outside. Everyone else was given either a yellow or a green card—yellow meant you were experiencing symptoms but you weren't bad enough to go to the hospital, and green meant you were fine. I grabbed a yellow card because I still felt funny, but I didn't want to go anywhere yet.

As they worked their way through, people were called again and led away to smaller circles. We were divided into groups of ten before being led out. I ended up with Harry, my secretary, and seven people I vaguely recognized from other departments. I didn't know any of them.

We were led into a small office that had just enough chairs for the women to sit down. The men stood and waited, and soon an officer entered the room. He closed the door behind him.

"There was an incident in the mailroom of your building. A bomb detonated before procedure could allow it to be removed safely. I want to know if anyone knows anything about this. Have you had any tricky clients? Did you cover any criminal activity that could warrant such a thing," he said, holding up a recorder to the middle of the room.

I raised my hand and brought up the boiler case. It was all I had, but it was worth a shot. The officer looked at the others for information, but no one knew anything. Besides, my answer was good enough for them.

With that over, we were led outside. Our cars were still in the parking garage beside the building, which was blocked off in all directions by emergency officials. Bright lights reflected off buildings in every direction, and some reflected off the windows of news vans from every major network locally. I even saw some national logos—whatever this was, it was serious. We weren't going to get any information until they completed their investigation, but at least we made it out safely.

All of us walked or took city buses wherever we needed to go. I called my doctor's office and asked for a quick exam as soon as possible. They agreed, so I went there on the bus. I texted a friend about picking Buster up from school and taking him straight home. I met him there a few hours later, but I had nothing to tell him. He had questions, and while he readily asked them, I kept them inside. Part of me wanted to know the answers, but I couldn't bring myself to turn on the news.

Early the next morning, my doorbell rang. I answered it to find Harry at my door. I let him inside and led him to the kitchen, where I brewed a pot of coffee. The only light on was the one over the stove. I didn't want to wake Buster.

"You were right," he whispered, shaking his hand before coughing as gently as he could into his arms. "They sent two pipe bombs, one as a package directly to the owner of the company. It didn't detonate, but they found it outside his house. He was on vacation. The other one killed five of our guys in the mailroom. They think it detonated early," he said, looking up with a serious gaze, "They don't know who it was addressed too."

"I'm sure it's all blown to smithereens now. We'll never know—"

"No, they haven't said, but the news outlets said specifically it was addressed to someone important at the paper," Harry said firmly, looking up to me, "What if it was addressed to you?"

"I'm sure an officer would've come over by now if the news people know all that," I smiled nervously, sinking into my chair, "Do you think I should leave town for a while just to be safe. I don't want Buster to hear about all this. He's too young to know what terrorism is."

"I think it's in your best interest," Harry said, shaking his head, "I couldn't live with myself if I didn't warn you. I know you, Bitzi, and I knew you wouldn't want to see the news, that you wouldn't want to know. This is serious though, so I watched for you, for all of us."

I sighed, "Let me call the police and see if that's okay. I'll call my friend in Metropolis and go stay with her. Bo might be too obvious," I said.

Harry liked my plan and waited around for it to be set in motion. As the sun slowly rose over the city, I was given permission to leave town. I packed a bag for Buster and me, then I woke him up with the promise of a McDonald's breakfast. He eagerly accepted, following me out to a taxi. Harry watched us leave with a wary gaze. Thankfully Buster didn't see him. I didn't want him to know how concerned we were. To him, this was supposed to be a surprise vacation, even if I was scared out of my mind.

After three days, Harry called my friend and let me know we were in the clear. The paper still wanted to remain closed, so we returned home. The police let me know my car was in an impound lot—the fee was waived for us, but some of the cars had explosive residue on them. All of them were checked for devices, which I appreciated. I drove away knowing I was safe.

But the bomber still hadn't been caught. They knew the bomb that detonated was addressed to the owner's secretary on the top floor, but that was all. They knew it was the boiler company, but they couldn't figure out who it was. They were still investigating, and while I wanted answers, my livelihood was more important. Now that I knew I was safe, I walked Buster to and from school and tried to get on with my daily life. What happened was tragic, but it was behind me now. I intended to keep it that way.

~End

A/N: Five down, 95 to go. This is for my 10x10 Challenge. For more info, see my profile or PM me. Keep in mind that yes, I'm doing this in a month, but you don't have to. Just let me know if you intend to participate so I can read your responses.