[attr="class","dibody3"]
"Hello? Up here! We need help!"

Mick looked up towards the top of the staircase. He sprinted upstairs taking two steps at once, while he hastily spoke into the radio on his shoulder. “Noah. I need you upstairs.” Silence. “Noah. Upstairs. Do you copy?” Silence. Mick furrowed his eyebrows at his partner not responding. Well, he guessed it was just him then. It should be fine. No worries to have. All good. Or maybe not.

Once he reached the first floor he whipped his head around to look for the one calling for help. It didn’t take long for him to spot two people close by - a woman seemingly supporting an injured man. He rushed towards them and set his backpack down on the floor. “Got you.” he said, lifting the man from the woman’s arms to rid her of that weight. The man groaned in response, nothing Mick hadn’t experienced already, but he ignored the pleading of putting him down. “Are you alright?” he asked, looking over at the woman, one hand trying to get the emergency backpack back on his shoulder while supporting the injured man.

“We need to get out of the building. The ambulance is right in front-” he said, taking a step towards the staircase before the sound of two gunshots fired downstairs rung through the area. His body tensed and he stood still, trying to loosen the tightness in his chest as the memories of the recent gunman incident came flooding back. His partner didn’t answer and Mick suspected he was still downstairs… hopefully somewhere far away from the rebels. Keeping his voice low and eyes fixed on the stairs he asked, “How well do you know the building? Is there anywhere we could go? Any emergency exit leading downstairs or outside?”

[attr="class","dibody3"]
“It could be worse if you didn’t put him out.” he said, trying to give her a positive and encouraging smile. “You did a great job.” The line felt misplaced, even though it’s something he always tells civilians whenever they got themselves involved - which unfortunately didn’t happen too often or as often as he would like it to happen. The sentence oftentimes just made him feel like an elementary school teacher or dog owner but in the end it works on a lot of people, to calm them down, to make them feel like they managed to achieve something. Sometimes he just wished civil courage wouldn’t be as rare as it was now - especially during these dreadful times where lots of emergency personnel were on the verge of surrendering.

Time. All he needed was time - time to think, time to treat the person’s wounds, time to make a plan on how to get out. The noises grew louder, he tore his gaze from the staircase and looked down the hallway. Maybe a secluded space could work. While his first priority was to get them out, the groaning of the man intensified with the passing minutes and Mick knew, from what he had seen, that he possibly had a third to fourth-degree burn and if he wasn’t treated soon it could have very bad and life-threatening consequences - although, right now the three of them were stuck in life-threatening situations.

He nodded as she told him about the second set of stairs. “Alright. Let’s try. We don’t have another choice.” he said and started making his way down the hallway. The groaning of the man tempted him to shove a sock into his mouth just to keep him quiet so they wouldn’t get caught, but of course, he knew he couldn’t do that… maybe. “I’m Mick, by the way.” he introduced himself as they passed one office after another.

There was a corner to turn but he stopped dead in his tracks as he caught sight of two masked figures. Crap, crap, crap, he thought. The only two choices they had were to back up and return to their starting point or lock themselves in one of the rooms. With only one door near him, it seemed to be the safest choice. Maybe they would just walk past it. He hoped. He motioned towards Sloan to follow him.

Mick opened the thankfully unlocked door and flung himself together with the man inside of the room hoping that she would follow quickly and before they would be spotted.

[attr="class","dibody3"]
"Sloan. I would say nice to meet you, but it would have been nicer if it wasn't under these circumstances."

Mick smirked ever so slightly as he glanced over his shoulder. "Not the first time I hear that." he responded, chuckling in his head. He continued on his way, trying to support the man while keeping the emergency backpack from sliding down his shoulder. Heels definitely weren’t the best choice of footwear to sneak through a building probably now occupied by a bunch of rebels. He quietly hoped the sound wouldn’t attract anyone, but then again, the guys groaning and moans of pain would most likely be the reason they would get caught and not her shoes. Nevertheless, he appreciated it as she took them off, deciding to continue barefoot. As her request of letting her know about any glass on the floor was uttered Mick’s eyes dropped to the floor, giving it a quick examination. “Looks safe.” he replied, moving the man on his shoulders slightly up to get a better grip of him.

Mick carefully lowered the guy on to the floor, positioning him under one of the desks to shield him from view should anyone enter. “Stay with him.” he ordered, speaking softly, before slipping down his backpack and placing it on the floor next to the guy. The paramedic unzipped his jacket, moving the radio to the side as he wriggled out of it and covered the injured person with it. “Ssh.” he told him, though, knowing he was already past the point of being able to think and know what’s going on around him.

He got back up, straightening himself and putting the radio belt back into its place. It occurred to him that it might do no good if he kept it on transmission, just as a brief rustling noise escaped the black device. Mick walked to the door, one easy step after another, and very softly opened the blinds covering the small square window embedded in the wooden door. He squinted at the hallway, looking to the left and the right. Maybe they turned around. One hand found the lock and he pressed the button in. A faint click let him know it was working. Releasing the blinds as carefully as he could he turned back towards Sloan, his eyes wandering between her and the interior of the office.

Mick’s lips were a thin line, clamped together as a hundred thoughts raced through his mind. He removed the radio out of its small pocket holder, flipped it around, and handed it over to the brunette. “Here, take it. If you turn the little wheel on the left top it will turn on and automatically connect to the dispatch channel. Hold the button on the right side to send a message.” he explained, offering her a semi-calm smile, not able to hide all of his nervousness. Mick had been involved in a lot of dangerous and risky situations but this one was new to him.

His gaze shifted to the man hidden underneath the desk and Mick knew time was running out with every minute they had to stay inside the room. He moved back to the door, his fingers hovering over the doorknob when it suddenly swung open with full force, the blinds and glass of the window slamming in his face and sending him stumbling back, crashing against a shelf.

[attr="class","dibody3"]
"What are you going to do?"

“I’m going to try and keep those guys outside if they come this way.” he said, slowly, just so he can make sure for himself what he was going to do because up until now he didn’t really have a clue. They didn’t have many options to choose from and barricading themselves in the room would do no good and there was too little time to move all the stuff around. He was hoping they would just pass by or don’t come near them at all but as he heard them approaching he knew they would surely find them.

After getting hit by the door he had stumbled to the corner, crashing against the floor. It took him a moment to get back to his senses but as soon as someone emerged from the doorway everything seemed to be clear again. Mick wasn’t much of a fighter but he was in the football team back in high school so the only thing he naturally knew was to tackle someone - and so he did. He threw himself at the closest one, not noticing the gun in his hands.

Either way, he was too late. He managed to throw the guy and himself to the floor, once again crashing down against it hard. A whistle erupted from the corridor and the masked man quickly scrambled back onto his feet, disappearing just as fast as he appeared. A quizzical expression found its way to Mick’s face and he turned around, dragging himself up by grasping a cabinet beside him.

He moved to the door, checking the hallway if there was anyone left. “Are you o-” he started saying, his words cut as soon as he turned around to look at where Sloan was standing just a moment ago. But she wasn’t standing there anymore. His eyes wandered down to the floor where she was lying instead. Mick immediately dropped to one knee, his hand searching for the wound on her bleeding shoulder. “Sloan? Hey, you gotta stay with me. Do you hear me? Stay with me.”

His hand reached for the wound as he pressed it on it, applying pressure to stop the bleeding. Glancing at the other guy unconscious under the desk Mick cursed inside his head at the handful he had now. Not only one injured person but two. And not just lightly injured no, one with severe burning and the other with a gunshot wound.

The paramedic looked to his side where he left the bag, grabbing it and moving it closer to him. “Everything is going to be okay. It’s going to be just fine. You are going to be just fine.” he told Sloan, words he said so often he lost count of the many times he had to. Mick struggled to open the zipper with just one hand but he couldn’t let go of the other. He tugged and pulled at it until it finally slid open. He took out a bunch of gauzes first, ripping open the sterile packages with his teeth and pressed them against the bleeding wound.