Rushing down the stairs without a solid plan in mind for what I do next reminds me that I rushed up the stairs in the same manner. At least this time a couple of ideas bounce around my head before I reach the bottom floor, and the apartment I had been in before. Only this time it's a lot more crowded and chaotic--people seem to be pushing in from the outside? As I take a few seconds trying to process this Trevor almost crashes into me.
"Your friend, or whatever, just got frozen by that girl you were pointing at!" he says, almost out of breath. You gotta be kidding me, I think to myself--no way we're THAT unlucky, right?
"You mean like, time-frozen?" I ask. Trevor gives me a look that lets me know that wasn't even close to what he meant.
"I mean like frozen, ice-frozen. She must be a meta." Shit. All she did before was drive the car, now she's suddenly a skanky Sub-Zero? Barry and Guy walk up behind Trevor, and meanwhile in the other direction the din of the now crammed-in crowd is rising even more, making it hard for me to concentrate. So my partner's preoccupied, therefore no flamethrower, and I'm basically trapped like a fish in a barrel until I can somehow break up this fucking mosh pit and think of something.
"Okay, Trevor? I need you to not ask any questions, but help me shove my way to the center of this crowd and get everybody's attention," I'm half-shouting now because of the commotion. Trevor nods, then turns around and talks into Barry's ear. Now Barry nods.
Barry then lowers his shoulder and barrels his way past me and into the dense crowd, knocking over several unsuspecting bystanders. When he gets near the center of the room, he stands up to his full height and bellows in a deep voice, "EVERYBODY SHUT THE FUCK UP!" And everybody does, of course. After a moment of stunned silence, he continues. "Now, this little lady here has something she needs to say to you, so just sit there and be quiet until she's done talking, all right?"
I could've done without the "little lady" remark, but this guy can get results.
I cautiously step forward, and try to assess the situation as best as I can. People have stopped forcing their way in and when I look out the room's window I can see why--the icy bitch froze most of the ground in front, making it impossible for anybody to walk on. She did me a favor, actually. She's also yelling something but I can't make out the words. It doesn't matter. I can't see Will from here, and I never studied cryonics but I'm guessing he doesn't have much time, so I can't waste any.
I look back and everybody in the room is staring at me expectantly. Or timidly. I take a deep breath. "Okay, everyone, she's after me so as soon as I step outside, none of you are in danger, as long as you stay in here until I take care of this...thing. I am licensed for this sort of work, so, uh, I need you to trust me. First, does anybody have any matches, or a lighter, or...?"
"I've got matches," Guy says. He reaches in his pocket and tosses me a small box that's half-empty.
"Really Guy? I thought you quit?" asks Barry.
"Only cigarettes."
"Oh, right."
Somebody else hands me a lighter, and another person gives me a fuller box of matches. "That should be enough," I say. "Now then, uh...who has something that I can set on fire?"
