by Alton Reich
> The three agents turned the corner, and found themselves facing a door, > still swinging on its hedges. They pushed the door open, and saw a > staircase, leading up and down. There was no sight of the fleeing figure in > either direction.
> "I'll go up," Jordan volunteered, "Jim, down. Vanessa, check his room."
"Right," Jim replied and he degan pounding his way down stairs.
Jordan swung around the staircase railing and ran up the stairs two at a time. He heard the door on the second floor close behind Vanessa.
He reached the top of the stairs, and peered cautiosly throug hthe small window in the door leading to the third floor hall. Nothing moved.
Jordan slowly opened the door, dismayed that it creaked despite his care. He moved into the hallway with his gun ready. He tried the first classroom door he reached and found it locked. He looked through the small window into the darkened room and saw nothing of interest.
He worked his way down the hall looking in locked rooms and checking out those that were open. Several were occupied by teachers who may have been curious about the gun wielding man in their class rooms, but didn't say anything to him.
Suddenly the fire alarm began to sound. Jordan began to make his way back toward the stairs when he thought he heard the sound of gun shots from outside. He ran into one of the open class rooms and threw open the window. He looked out into the parking lot and heard another shot. He saw Donald Bordan pitch forward onto the pavement while a black sedan drove past him. The car turned the corner at the end of the building and stopped for a moment.
Jordan leaned out and caught a glimpse of a man run out of the school building and get into the car before it pulled away.
"Damn," Jordan swore. He blinked his eyes and realized they were being stung with smoke. He looked down and saw smoke billowing from the window of a room below him.
Vanessa's down there, he thought.
Jordan ducked back inside and sprinted back to the stairs. He ran back down to the second floor and crashed through the door. He holstered his gun and grabbed a fire extinguisher from a mount on the wall. "Vanessa!" he called out.
He looked in each room as he made his way quickly down the hall. When he reached the computer room, he could see Vanessa lying on the floor with flames leaping around her. He tried the door and found it locked.
Jordan smashed the window in the door with the base of the fire extinguisher sending shards of glass flying into the room. He reached in, unlocked the door and pushed it open. He pulled the pin on the fire extinguished and sent it flying down the hall. Moving quickly, he entered and sprayed the fire around Vanessa. Jordan knew he couldn't extinguish the fire with the portable extinguisher, but he had to get Vanessa out of the room.
Working from the doorway, he cleared a path to Vanessa. Jordan ducked low to the floor and wade his way to Vanessa. He dragged her from the room and a short distance down the hall.
Several firefighters appeared at the end of the corridor dragging a hose with them. One stopped and hoisted Vanessa over his shoulder while the other three plunged into the computer room with the hose.
Jordan followed the fireman out of the building where he was met by Jim.
"Bordan's dead," Jim said flatly.
"I thought so," Jordan replied, "They're cleaning up shop here. I wonder who else knows enough to need disposal."
NRPG:
I think we're wrapping up here. I would like for the agents to manage to hold on to the file they currently have. Zenya can probably get her hands on the computer, too.
Peter and Sau Woon: Over to you for the aftermath of the fire.