her face. She was dressed similar to Lee in dark slacks and an FBI jacket over her buttoned shirt. She paused from recording some imagery with her tablet computer.
“Massive explosion. The entire building is history. Don’t see these very often anymore.”
“Anyone got a theory on the cause?”
“Not yet. With dust and enclosed spaces there’s always a risk of explosions in mills, though all the modern ones are constructed to reduce that chance as much as possible.”
She slid some tables over on the tablet, looking at the data projections. “Still, something like an overheated bearing in an elevator leg might ignite the dust and cause an explosion. That could cause a chain reaction, but…”
“But that wouldn’t bring down the entire building, would it?”
Olivia shook her head. “All estimates indicate negative on that. Best guess is that an explosive was detonated. No evidence to support that yet, but…”
Lee grunted. “Yeah, well it’s a hell of a mess. How many dead?”
“Six unaccounted for. There’s a crew trying to salvage any body parts for identification. Not going to be easy, with the exception of one.”
“How’s that?”
“You’re going to have to see it.”
He sighed and followed her. As they picked their way past debris and salvage teams, he slipped and just managed not to embarrass himself. “Dammit! Muddy as hell.”
Olivia nodded. “The fire department had a time stopping the fire from spreading.”
“What did they do, drop a few loads by helicopter? This place is saturated …”
“I noticed. It’s possible the explosion could have ruptured the main water line…” She led him directly to where an emergency crew crouched together at the far end. On arriving closer it was clear that they were gathered around a corpse.
“One of the day shift supervisors identified him as Guy Mann, employee of six years.”
Agent Lee snorted. “Guy Mann? Guess that’s better than John Doe. You guys have a cause of death?”
One of the medics looked up. “Flatline. That’s all I can tell. No sign of stroke or heart failure. All organs seem to be intact. Almost as if his brain just… shut off.”
Agent Lee peered over their shoulders. The man on the gurney was the nondescript sort. His clothes were scorched and torn in a few places. He lay as though asleep; his lips slightly curved in a peaceful smile.
Lee scratched his head. “Ok, what’s so strange about a dead guy?”
Agent Olivia gave him an exasperated glance. “Don’t you find it strange that the body is almost completely unharmed? Only a few lacerations and bruises. There’s hardly a scorch mark even though he was found in the middle of this wreckage.”
Agent Lee shrugged. “Stranger things have happened.”
Another medic spoke up. “He was covered in some black substance when we found him. We thought he was severely burned. But it was some type of… covering or something. It deteriorated as soon as we peeled it off of him.”
“Some kind of fireproof shield, maybe. Maybe he was responsible for the explosion.”
“It will be hard to prove that now,” Olivia said. “What do you want to do?”
“Process him. Maybe an autopsy will give us a few answers. Check if he had any psyche records, mental illnesses. Known associates. Find out what kind of person he was.”
He turned away as they zipped up the body bag. An emergency worker ran their direction, gesturing frantically. “Over here! We have someone!”
They turn and see a group of emergency workers supporting a blond man. He was covered in soot, bruises and appeared to have a bloody bandage applied over his shoulder.
Agent Lee shared a smile with Olivia. “I’ll be damned.” The entire group scrambled toward the man, leaving the gurney where it sat.
A young woman spotted the survivor from the group of family and friends who gathered
“Massive explosion. The entire building is history. Don’t see these very often anymore.”
“Anyone got a theory on the cause?”
“Not yet. With dust and enclosed spaces there’s always a risk of explosions in mills, though all the modern ones are constructed to reduce that chance as much as possible.”
She slid some tables over on the tablet, looking at the data projections. “Still, something like an overheated bearing in an elevator leg might ignite the dust and cause an explosion. That could cause a chain reaction, but…”
“But that wouldn’t bring down the entire building, would it?”
Olivia shook her head. “All estimates indicate negative on that. Best guess is that an explosive was detonated. No evidence to support that yet, but…”
Lee grunted. “Yeah, well it’s a hell of a mess. How many dead?”
“Six unaccounted for. There’s a crew trying to salvage any body parts for identification. Not going to be easy, with the exception of one.”
“How’s that?”
“You’re going to have to see it.”
He sighed and followed her. As they picked their way past debris and salvage teams, he slipped and just managed not to embarrass himself. “Dammit! Muddy as hell.”
Olivia nodded. “The fire department had a time stopping the fire from spreading.”
“What did they do, drop a few loads by helicopter? This place is saturated …”
“I noticed. It’s possible the explosion could have ruptured the main water line…” She led him directly to where an emergency crew crouched together at the far end. On arriving closer it was clear that they were gathered around a corpse.
“One of the day shift supervisors identified him as Guy Mann, employee of six years.”
Agent Lee snorted. “Guy Mann? Guess that’s better than John Doe. You guys have a cause of death?”
One of the medics looked up. “Flatline. That’s all I can tell. No sign of stroke or heart failure. All organs seem to be intact. Almost as if his brain just… shut off.”
Agent Lee peered over their shoulders. The man on the gurney was the nondescript sort. His clothes were scorched and torn in a few places. He lay as though asleep; his lips slightly curved in a peaceful smile.
Lee scratched his head. “Ok, what’s so strange about a dead guy?”
Agent Olivia gave him an exasperated glance. “Don’t you find it strange that the body is almost completely unharmed? Only a few lacerations and bruises. There’s hardly a scorch mark even though he was found in the middle of this wreckage.”
Agent Lee shrugged. “Stranger things have happened.”
Another medic spoke up. “He was covered in some black substance when we found him. We thought he was severely burned. But it was some type of… covering or something. It deteriorated as soon as we peeled it off of him.”
“Some kind of fireproof shield, maybe. Maybe he was responsible for the explosion.”
“It will be hard to prove that now,” Olivia said. “What do you want to do?”
“Process him. Maybe an autopsy will give us a few answers. Check if he had any psyche records, mental illnesses. Known associates. Find out what kind of person he was.”
He turned away as they zipped up the body bag. An emergency worker ran their direction, gesturing frantically. “Over here! We have someone!”
They turn and see a group of emergency workers supporting a blond man. He was covered in soot, bruises and appeared to have a bloody bandage applied over his shoulder.
Agent Lee shared a smile with Olivia. “I’ll be damned.” The entire group scrambled toward the man, leaving the gurney where it sat.
A young woman spotted the survivor from the group of family and friends who gathered
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