Page 29 of Oddly Fine

“Piece of the tunnel fell on one of the perps. I’m gonna need a little help,” Beckett said as he took a deep breath and looked around. Lighting down here sucked, so nothing new there. The passageway was littered with debris. He could see only a few feet in the direction he’d come from originally. He turned to see if he’d be able to go the other way, but the tunnel had collapsed there as well.

“Roger that, Thérault. Rescue team is working on stabilizing the tunnel right now—we’ll be digging you out in a few.” The voice was unrecognizable and could barely be heard over the static.

“Roger that,” he said, because what the hell else was he gonna say?

He pushed the radio back into his pocket and searched in vain for something he could use to lift the slab.

“Alright, Suzy—I’m gonna need you to help me out,” he said, seeing no alternative but to get her to pitch in.

“How?” she asked, clambering to her feet.

“We’re gonna try and lift it off,” he told her, with all the confidence he could muster.

“What?” she asked, sounding puzzled.

“Listen, pretty soon he’s not going to be able to breathe. We have to slip him out from under it. At least partially.” There was a fair chance that while they struggled to lift it, Jimmy might manage to maneuver himself at least some of the way out from under it before they dropped the damned thing. If that happened, the concrete slab might crush his limbs in the process. Wisely, Beckett chose to keep that information to himself.

“Come on,” he said, gesturing towards the opposite corner of the slab. Suzy made her way over, tears still running down her face. Her hands were still zip-tied behind her back, so he got out his switchblade and cut the ties.

“Alright—when I say go, you lift up. Jimmy, you’ll have—just a few seconds to get yourself free, got it?” he told the trapped man whose eyes were wide with fear, but to his credit, he gave a quick nod.

Beckett bent his knees and grabbed the underside of the slab. Suzy mimicked his actions. He looked at her and smiled encouragingly.

“Ready?” he asked her.

“Yes.”

“One, two, three, go!” He strained every muscle in his body to lift the slab. To his absolute amazement, they managed to lift it about an inch, which was just enough for Jimmy to start sliding out from under it.

“I can’t—” Suzy said a second or two later, her entire body shaking with the effort of holding up her side of the slab.

“Move it, Jimmy!” he yelled at Jimmy as he kept trying to wiggle free.

“I’m gonna drop it!” Suzy screamed one second before she lost her grip on the slab. There was no way for Beckett to hold it up all by himself. As soon as Suzy let go, he was forced to do the same, sending the slab crashing to the ground, just as Jimmy scooted away from the damned thing.

“Fuck!” Jimmy cursed weakly as he pressed himself against the opposite wall of the tunnel. He looked a tad worse for the wear—the bullet wound had started bleeding again, and his shirt was in tatters.

“Are you still in one piece?” Beckett asked.

“I think I broke some ribs,” he said, as he pressed a hand to his chest and winced with every breath.

“D’you think it was the giant rock that fell on you or—?” Beckett teased. Jimmy did not look amused.

“Now what?” she asked.

He’d freed her hands so she’d be able to help him, so he stumbled over and without any warning, fastened a new zip tie around them.

“Really?” She looked at him like he was crazy. “We’re in a fucking tunnel with no exit!”

“Like that would stop you from knocking me out and trying to make a run for it,” Beckett responded with a snort. He sat down on one of the stone slabs. It was warm in the tunnel—far warmer than it should have been in December.

“What happened?” Jimmy asked.

“You don’t remember?” the woman asked, startled.

Jimmy hesitated, scratching the top of his head.

Beckett decided to jump in at this point and provide some “helpful” information.