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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lamprolign" data-source="post: 1061139" data-attributes="member: 7860">024Been burnedand with both feeton the ground,I've learnedthat it's painfulcomin' down.No use runnin' away,and there's no timeleft to stay.Now I'm finding outthat it's so confusin',No time leftand I know I'm losin'. - Buffalo Springfield, BurnedGabe's mind seemed to float in a murky sea, bobbing in and out of foggy consciousness.  Sirens echoed faintly in his ears, providing an undulating background to women conversing in hushed tones.  The voices were vaguely familiar, but they seemed watery and distant."I think he's hurt pretty badly.""I can see that, Mary.  How much of his sensations can you feel?""It is muted, but I can feel enough to know that his body is in terrible pain.  I think it tripped a breaker in his brain - Gabe has left the building.  What does it look like from the outside?""He is burned everywhere his skin was exposed.  We need to get him back to the Haven.  Poe...""This will make twice that I've carried this bakayarou home.""Be thankful that there's something left to carry, Poe.  Remember, however you may feel about Gabriel Ansgar, our own Mary's fate is inextricably tied to his."Thin arms scooped Gabe from the ground and his head lolled back.  Gabe surfaced just long enough to glimpse flashing red and blue lights in the distance before slipping under another wave of darkness.****The clinking of china worked its way insidiously into Gabe's consciousness.  He breathed in the heavy aroma of baking bread.  One by one his senses reconnected to his brain.  His joints felt locked in place, his muscles screeched when he moved.  His skin felt as if he'd been flipped like a burger on a griddle, especially his face.  Gabe chuckled inwardly.  I don't think this one's done yet.  The face is still a little pink around the cheeks.  Let's throw him back on for a minute.   He opened his eyes to stare at the now familiar tongue-and-groove ceiling of the Haven."Welcome back," Mary greeted him."Uhg...."  Gabe felt his face gingerly."It's still there.  The Sister was able to heal most of your wounds.  We were lucky.""I don't think I agree with your definition of luck."The continued low clinking of dishes told Gabe that he must be in a room near the kitchen.  He propped himself on an elbow to survey the confined area.  There was a single door and no windows.  A small shaded lamp sitting on a light oak bureau cast the only light in the room.  Against the far wall a single overstuffed chair held a dark calico cat that regarded him with an unnerving stare.  "Yeeesh," Gabe exclaimed softly."What's the matter, Investigator?  Don't tell me you're afraid of a little cat," Mary asked innocently.Gabe ignored Mary.  His attention centered on the cat that had risen indolently and indulged in a lengthy full body stretch.  It hopped from the chair and sauntered towards the door, which opened by itself, then closed after the cat.  Gabe looked after it quizzically."Ah, it is good to see you are awake."  The Sister swept into the room carrying a steaming mug and a plate containing several slices of bread dripping with butter, topped by globs of strawberry jelly.  She deposited the plate and mug atop the oak bureau.  "There is a bath down the hall to your right.  You will find fresh clothes there.  Eat quickly and bathe, then join us in the study."Gabe stared at the door as it closed behind the Sister.  His mind wasn't quite running at operating temperature yet.  "What happened?""The bad guys got the little girl."  Mary sounded despondent.  "And we now know that they are blocking our scrying.""You know, magic is not the answer to everything.  I was pretty damn good at getting to the bottom of a mystery before you ever..."  Gabe's grumbling stomach interrupted him."Eat.  The healing magic burns up your body's resources.  You have a lot of calories to regain."Gabe did not require additional prompting.  Before Mary had finished, his hands and face were grubby with strawberry jam and he was washing down the toast with greedy gulps of hot chai.  He couldn't shove it in fast enough.  The nourishing warmth in his stomach spread to his limbs and seemed to clear his head.  At that moment he could have kissed the Sister.  "And bathe, too.  You smell like burnt hair."****Three Families Homeless As Investigators Sift Through Wreckage Of Their Rosemont Homes For Clues To Cause Of Tragic DestructionGabe caught the newspaper headline for a split second.  It flicked away before he could read more as his fellow passenger turned the page.  Gabe looked beyond him to study the bleak Chicago landscape.  The city seemed cramped and claustrophobic, mired as it was in gray low-hanging clouds.  He closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of the L train.  The clacking of the rails beat a steady tempo to the waxing and waning of nearby conversations. "What are you going to do, Gabe?"  Mary broke the silence in his head.Gabe sighed and turned to face the aisle.  First I need to know what information the cops have.  Gabe stuck his lower jaw out as he thought.  Then we're going to look over that house with a fine-toothed comb.  There may be something there that will give us a lead.Mary remained silent.  She was upset, and though her pensive mood spoke well of her character, it did little to further their quest.  Another thought crossed Gabe's mind.  Maybe she was "giving him room" in his head to think.  They were at a loss to find Sarah through magical means.  It seemed that even the link Sarah shared with her mother had been severed.  The little girl's fate rested on Gabe's abilities as an investigator.  He sighed again. Gabe pulled his cell phone from a coat pocket and scrolled through its phone book function.  He pressed the call button when it came to Chris Ebbing's number."Hello!" Chris's voice crackled in Gabe's ear at the second ring."Hey kid," Gabe greeted.  "What are you into?""About twenty feet of raw sewage!  It's been a madhouse since the bombing.  The whole department's in an uproar, feds all over the place commandeering office space and generally making my life difficult.  They don't quite get that there's still all the normal idiots out there making trouble!"Gabe raised an eyebrow in surprise.  He had never heard the typically unflappable photographer sound so agitated.  "I'd say, 'I wish I was there,' but I'd be lying.""Well, I sure wish you were here!  The CSI unit is swamped!"  Chris snapped.  "And now there's a nice new mess in Rosemont that everybody and their uncle is getting involved in.""Really?""I went with the CSI team, and it looked like a friggin' war zone out there.  Bomb craters and everything!  Whatever went down, there was some serious firepower involved.  People keep talking Al Qaeda, but Rosemont isn't exactly a high profile target.  I can't make any sense of it."Gabe grinned ruefully.  If you only knew what really happened.  "Did you guys get anything useful?""Not a damn thing," Chris growled.  "Just some crispy bodies in front of an abandoned house.  We don't have positive IDs yet, but based on their clothes and appearance I'm guessing they were homeless.  Poor bastards were probably just holed up in the old house trying to stay warm.  They got more than they bargained for, that's for sure."Homeless people?  Gabe didn't recall seeing any bystanders.  "Nothing else, huh?""Not a thing.  No vehicles, no witnesses, nothing!  Any word on when you're coming back?""None yet.""Don't make it a permanent vacation.  We need you here, man."  Chris sighed.  "Gotta split, dude.  There's a homicide scene on South Cicero waiting for the camera.""Later, kid.""See you around, old man."Gabe shoved the cell into his coat pocket.  The durable device had survived all his recent scrapes in far better shape than he.  "Homeless people," Mary began.  "I wonder..." Yeah, me, too.  © 2003 Austin Hale</blockquote>

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