"I'll take that as a 'no'."

"A big one. I'm about ready to just chuck it all."

"Don't do that just yet. I may have someone who can help."

"Oh? Who?"

"A friend. She's an excellent criminal defense attorney and I've heard she's recently narrowed her practice to handle cases just like yours."

A pang of hope lit my heart before I could stop it. "Really?"

Ice smiled crookedly, laying a hand atop my wrist. "Yeah, really. Her name is Donita Bonnsuer and if she's still talking to me, I'll try to hook you up with her. Maybe she can help."

"Still talking to you? What happened?"

She shrugged. "We had a little difference of opinion."

My curiosity gene kicked into high gear. "Over what?"

"She wanted to represent me at my trial. I refused. End of story."

"Oh, come on, Ice! You've gotta give me more than that!"

Rolling her eyes, Ice looked over at Corinne, who was sitting beside me, then back to me. "Angel, there really isn't any more to tell than that."

"Of course there is! Why wouldn't you let her represent you?"

"A couple of reasons. One was that this was a case involving some very bad individuals who, as you now know, will stop at nothing to get what they want. I didn't want her tangled up in the middle of all that."

I nodded. "That makes sense. The other reason?"

Her eyes twinkled as the corner of her lip smirked upward. "A bit of conflict of interest. She's an ex-lover."

My jaw dropped, but before I was able to investigate that interesting little bombshell, I was interrupted by the strident ringing of the fire alarm. Seconds later, Sonny, face and uniform smelling strongly of smoke, ran into the library, her breath coming out in heaving pants. "Quick! The laundry room's on fire! There's about twenty women trapped in there and Critter's one of them!"

Ice and I jumped up from the table at the same time, though her longer strides led her more quickly from the library and toward the site of the fire. The klaxon rang loudly in my ears and was soon joined by the screams of terror coming from within the laundry room. Smoke plumed out into the prison proper from the long hallway housing the laundry facilities and I choked as I ran closer to the conflagration, pushing the milling, panicking inmates and guards aside as I tried to keep Ice within my sights.

I skidded up to the doorway just in time to hear Ice demand to know what had happened. Pony was there, a panicked look on her face. The doorway itself was on fire, a beam of some sort having fallen diagonally across it preventing entry or exit from the room.

"I think it started with one of the dryers," Pony choked out, her voice hoarse from the thick smoke that bellowed from the room. "A whole table of sheets went up like a bomb. Critter and I tried to get out as many as we could, but then that beam fell down and trapped the rest inside. Please, Ice, you gotta do something!"

By this time, several guards had arrived carrying buckets of water and thick towels. Ice grabbed two towels, dunked them into the water and tied off one around her lower face and draped the other over her head, covering her hair and neck.

My stomach sinking through my feet, I grabbed her arm, whirling her to face me. "You can't be serious! Ice, don't go in there! That's suicide!"

Pulling my hand from her arm, Ice pushed me back into Pony, who clamped me tightly against her body.

"Ice!! No!!"

Taking a step back to stand against the opposite wall, Ice took in a deep breath, then launched herself at the door, diving through the small space above the burning beam. I saw her tuck and roll as she landed, then spring quickly to her feet and run almost directly into the fire.

Wrestling myself away from Pony's tight grip, I grabbed one of the buckets and threw the water on the fire blocking the doorway. Steam hissed out at me as the flames drew away for a moment, only to spring back to life quickly. Sandra pushed me aside to add her own water, then tossed down the pail and accepted another from the quickly forming bucket brigade made up of inmates and guards alike.

The fire in the doorway went out just as the first of the trapped women was propelled out into the hallway, gasping and choking, sooty tears making ghoulish tracks down her blackened face. I gently passed the woman down the human chain of onlookers just as another came stumbling out, followed quickly by another.

I looked up to see Ice carrying another woman in her arms. She ran up to the door and thrust the limp body into Pony's sure grasp before turning back for more. She'd made it just a step or two away from the door when a huge explosion sounded inside the room. A large tongue of fire belched out from the charred doorway, instantly turning one of the guards into a human torch.

Without thought, I stepped forward, tackling the woman onto the floor and smothering the flames with my own body. My hands were instantly burned, but I continued to beat the fire out with them until more people arrived with wet towels. Then I jumped away, patting out the smoldering areas on my own uniform.

"Angel!" Pony yelled.

I turned. "What?"

"Your hair! It's on fire!!"

Reaching up, my hands burned again as I touched the flames that seeded themselves in my long hair. I almost lost consciousness as a towel, heavy with water, came flying down over my head, dousing the flames and obscuring my breathing and vision. Yanking the towel away, my first sight was of Pony's concerned face peering closely into my own.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

I took stock of my body. My hands were red and swollen and I'm sure I looked a mess with half my hair missing, but I was okay for the time being. "I'm alright," I confirmed. When I looked back into the laundry room, all I could see was an unbroken wall of fire just beyond the doorway. My guts twisted up inside of me as I realized the implications and I had to fight not to vomit on my feet. "Ice!!" I screamed, fighting to be heard from beyond the blockade of flames.

Hearing nothing in return, I spun to glare at Sandra. "Where in the hell is the fire department?"

"They're getting here as quick as they can, Angel."

"Fuck that!" I screamed, grabbing a few towels from one of the guards and throwing one to Pony. "I'm not waiting for the fire department! People could still be alive in there!"

Running back toward the door, I used the towel to try and beat down the flames. After a second, Pony joined me. I felt a push against my other side, and when I looked, I saw Sandra stepping in, a determined look on her face as she tried to help douse the fire.

Buckets of water flew over and around us, dousing us and the fire in an attempt to beat it back. Another towel was handed to me and I tied it around my face. I was already choking from the smoke but wasn't about to stop what I was doing. I would help get this fire out or die trying. Stopping was not an option. Hang on, Ice. God damn it, you'd just better hang on.

It was soon very obvious that we were fighting a losing battle. For every small step we made, another explosion would chase us away and the wall of flames would rise up once again. I began to sob as I continued to beat at the flames as if they were a living thing. I could hear myself screaming incoherently as rage filled me, eclipsing everything else.

Several pairs of hands reached in to pull me away. I snarled like a wild beast, refusing to be turned from my task. My throat was raw from screaming and my eyes stung from smoke and heat and heartbroken tears.

Sandra and Pony worked together, one grabbing me high, the other, low, literally lifting me off of my feet and carrying me away from the fire. I thrashed and squirmed, my balled fists hitting any inch of flesh I could in an attempt to get free.

Their combined strength was too much for me and I screamed Ice's name as the wall of flames became smaller and smaller in my tear-trebled vision.

Big men in bulky suits and breathing units pushed past us in the narrow hallway, bearing axes and thick hoses with which to fight the fire. Thanking any and every god who would listen, I let myself go limp in the grip of my captors, and when they relaxed as well, I squirmed out and away from them both, running back down the hallway screaming Ice's name.

Pinning myself between a firefighter and the wall so I couldn't be recaptured, I watched as the men quickly and efficiently doused the flames with the high powered spray from their hose. Within moments, the fire was out, leaving behind a thick, black, oily smoke that continued to stream out into the hallway, choking us all.

What was left of the laundry room was almost pitch black. The light from the hallway invaded scant inches into the room. One of the firemen lit a high powered flashlight, illuminating the interior.

I moaned and retched as the charred remains of human beings became all too visible in the brilliant light. Water dripping from within the cavernous room was the only sound to be heard.

"Nooooooooooooo!"

A voice I didn't even recognize as my own filled the silence as I rushed forward, deftly dodging the outstretched arm of the fireman.

Bodies littered the floor, many burned beyond recognition. I stumbled over them, running onward, searching, sobbing. The sound of running footsteps grew loud in my ears and when a heavy hand came down on my shoulder, I whirled and punched a very surprised fireman in the chest, sending him back several steps.

Turning again, I stumbled forward, my mind screaming as my heart pounded out my wild grief. Another ceiling beam laid out across the floor and I ran to it, slipping in the dirty water that pooled on the floor.

Pinned beneath the beam was Ice, the bottom of her uniform burned almost totally off her body. Beneath her, protected by her long frame and tight embrace, lay two more women, one of which I could easily identify as Critter. All three forms were totally motionless.

"Oh God," I sobbed, squatting down to my knees and reaching out a shaking hand. "Ice? Oh, God. Ice? Please wake up! Please!" I touched the skin of her upper face. It was still warm, but that could have been from the fire. Her neck was obscured by the beam crushed against her back and her arms were pinned beneath the two women she'd tried to save.

Standing up quickly, I grabbed the still smoking beam, not caring that my hands were being scalded. With an effort that came from somewhere outside of my natural ability, I moved the beam upward an inch or so, then pulled it toward me, grunting with the strain.

Within seconds, several pairs of hands came to my aid, pulling the beam completely away from the trapped women. I dropped to my knees again, reaching beneath the towel that still covered Ice's mouth and nose, searching blindly for a pulse.

"Oh, thank you, God," I sobbed, finding one. It was weak and thready and much too fast, but it was there. "Oh God...Oh God...Oh God...Ice, c'mon now. It's time to wake up. You can do it. Just open your eyes. Let's see those beautiful baby blues, alright?" I reached in, grabbing her shoulder and shaking it hard. Her head lolled with my motions but she remained deeply unconscious.

Rough cloth brushed against me as one of the firefighters squatted down next to me. I turned to him, grabbing the fabric of his coat and pulling his upper body toward mine so that we were face to face. "Do something!" I wailed, not caring in the least how desperate I sounded to him or anyone else.

He covered my hand with his own gloved one, making no attempt to pull away. His dark eyes were compassionate as they looked into mine. "We have to wait until the paramedics get in here, Ma'am. We don't want to move her yet."

"Why not? She could be dying for all you know!"

"That beam that fell across her back was very heavy, Ma'am. There's a good chance it may have damaged her spine. If we move her now, we could make things worse. Just wait a few more minutes. The paramedics should be here by now, alright?"

Releasing my grip on his heavy jacket, I reached down and eased the towel from around Ice's soot-blackened face, then brushed sweat-soaked bangs back from her high forehead with shaking fingers. As if my gentle touch was some sort of magic elixir, her eyes blinked open, a moan coming softly from her cracked lips. "Angel?" she croaked, her voice raw.

Yet another sob came up from my throat and I covered my mouth with my free hand. "Ice?"

"Angel?"

"Ice! Thank God! You're awake!"

She blinked her stinging eyes rapidly, then winced as she tried to move. "Is that what this is."

I put a restraining hand down on her shoulder. "Don't try to move, Ice. Part of the ceiling collapsed on your back. You could be really hurt."

The firefighter added his hands to mine. "Best to do as she says, Ma'am. The paramedics are on their way."

Getting her strength from I don't know where, Ice managed to shrug us both off as she rolled from atop the pile of bodies she had tried to protect. "I'm fine," she said hoarsely. "See if you can help these two."

"Ice . . . ."

"I'm alright, Angel." Overcome by a sudden spasm of coughing, her body convulsed, drawing in against itself as she heaved and gasped for breath. I saw, with great relief, that her arms and legs appeared to be moving freely, though I guessed the pain of her injuries was intense.

As I stepped over to help her, the paramedics rushed in with their equipment and stretchers, quickly working over the bodies of Critter and the other woman. To my surprise, and happiness, both women were alive, though still unconscious. Critter's golden curls were caked with sweat, soot and water, but I could see her chest rise and fall in a regular, though shallow, rhythm that caused the first smile to break over my face since the fire started.

The other woman was older, more frail. I knew she worked in the laundry room, but didn't know her except to wave to in the hallways. She had some nasty burns on her face and arms and her leg was cocked at an impossible angle at the knee where it had been trapped beneath the heavy beam that had fallen across Ice's broad back.

As the two women were being cared for and made ready for transport, a third paramedic joined me at Ice's side, slipping an oxygen mask over her face. Her paroxysms of choking immediately eased with the fresh flow of air into her breathing passages.

After the paramedic was sure she was breathing freely, he grabbed her right arm and swabbed it with a pungent alcohol wipe, while his other hand held an IV cannula, intent on piercing her skin with it. Seeing what he was about to do, Ice ripped the mask from her face and pushed him away, snatching her arm easily from his grip. "No."

Throwing down his contaminated equipment, the man grabbed another packet from his kit while simultaneously making another grab for his uncooperative patient's arm. "Look lady," he sighed, exasperated when Ice wouldn't willingly hand over her flesh to be pierced. "I need to start an IV so we can get you to the hospital, alright?"

"No hospital. Just take care of those two and the others. I'm fine." Her calm assurances were belied by another fit of coughing which passed through her body.

I grabbed the oxygen mask, but her hand lashed out and batted it away. "No hospital," she repeated in a raspy, wheezing voice. "I'll . . .go to the infirmary . . .but . . .no hospital. I mean it."

The paramedic looked helplessly back at his superior, who in turned looked over at Sandra, who'd moved in to join us just as Ice awoke. Sandra and Ice locked gazes, heating up the air between them with the intensity of their stares. A free woman had a choice to refuse treatment. A prisoner had none.

"I'm alright, Sandra," Ice rasped out in a tone that brokered no argument.

I could see the indecision in the head guard's eyes. When Ice was completely set in stone over something, she was a person you most definitely didn't want to cross paths with. Yet Sandra was a very strong, and headstrong, woman in her own right.

After a moment she nodded slightly, blinking to break eye contact with Ice. She turned to the waiting supervisor. "She'll go to the infirmary with me. Our doctor's coming in from home. If she even blinks the wrong way once she's there, I'll take her over to the hospital personally. Fair enough?"

"It's highly irregular, Mrs. Pierce," the paramedic supervisor stated doubtfully. "Sickness from smoke inhalation can show up hours after the event. There's a good chance someone could die before you could even get them to the hospital. I highly recommend against this course of action, Ma'am."

Sandra looked back at Ice, who shook her head once in a savage gesture. Though I wanted to convince Ice to go to the hospital, I knew that not even my persuasive skills could sway her decision. Instead, I kept quiet, watching the silent interplay between the parties. After another long moment, Sandra seemed to deflate, her shoulders uncharacteristically sagging. "I'll take full responsibility for the prisoner," she finally said. "Our infirmary is fully stocked and should be enough to see to her needs for now."

The supervisor looked as if he was going to argue the matter further, then simply sighed. "You'll need to sign this AMA form then, Mrs. Pierce. I'm going on record as stating that this is against my better judgement and that this woman's life may well be at stake."

"I'm aware of that, and I'll sign anything you like. Let's just get this over with so that the other women can be treated."

Rifling through his papers, the supervisor eventually came up with the correct one for the situation and handed it to Sandra on a clipboard. Grabbing the proffered pen, the guard scrawled her signature and handed pen and clipboard back to the waiting paramedic, nodding curtly.

Reading over the signature carefully, the man stuffed everything back into his kit, then gestured to the others to gather their things for the ride back to the hospital with their injured charges. I stood quickly and gently kissed Critter's soot-streaked forehead, silently wishing her a speedy return to health as she was wheeled from the carnage.

When I turned back, Sandra was gently helping Ice to her feet. My lover winced and gritted her teeth against the pain of her injuries. Though the bottoms of her uniform had been burned away, her legs didn't seem to be badly burned and for that I was grateful.

When she was fully upright, Ice tried to shake off Sandra's assistance, but the large woman would have none of that and eased one of Ice's long arms around her shoulders, slipping one of her own arms around my friend's narrow waist. Then she leveled a no-nonsense glare at me. "You too, Angel. And before you try that oh-so-innocent act with me, I can see your hands from here. You're just lucky I didn't sic the paramedics on ya."

Quickly, before Ice could see, I hid my burned hands behind my back and adopted my best contrite expression. "Yes, Ma'am," I said, trying hard not to smile. Truth be known, so much adrenaline was pumping through my body that I couldn't even feel my hands, let alone know if they hurt or not. I was sure that would come later and I wasn't looking forward to it.

That night in the infirmary was the first we had ever spent together. Unfortunately, we couldn't do much, not even talk. My hands were liberally slathered with burn ointment and heavily bandaged, while Ice was stuck lying flat on her stomach, her burned back likewise bandaged and an oxygen mask secure over her face. And believe me when I tell you that seeing the graceful curve of Ice's backside as it rose from the pristine sheets of the hospital bed made for one very frustrated Angel.

We'd both been stripped, scrubbed and tended to by the very kind, if a bit elderly and doddering, penitentiary physician, Dr. Soames and his trio of efficient nurses. He tsked and muttered and harrumphed his way through the examination, but despite his gruff mannerisms, his hands were very gentle and soothing to my burned palms and skittish spirit.

After he was finished treating the both of us, he had his nurses administer some pain-killing injections, then dim the lights and lock us in for the night. One of the nurses would keep an eye on us through the reinforced glass window of the adjacent office.