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A bit confused over what had just happened, Albert Zoeniga forced himself to stand. He had been shielded from the blast by the positions of the others who had held him in their grip. They had stood between Albert and the old miners' barracks.

Dazed Security Agents littered the street and sidewalks. More than a few moaned in pain from an undignified and painful landing, slamming into curbs and light poles and such. Those Agents who had been holding onto Albert Zoeniga now struggled to hold onto consciousness, fighting to regain mental clarity. The Security Leader's nose bled due to the bullhorn smashing into his face, driven by the powerful force of the blast.

Agent Osmo Martin sat up, rubbing his side.

Albert Zoeniga’s eyes widened, taking in the view of what remained of the first miners' building- almost nothing! Most of the walls were gone, and those small sections of wall that were left, still attached to some odd portion of the roof, soon buckled and collapsed, unable to support the weight of the fragment of roof. When these sections fell, they added to the rubble filling a large crater which had been created by the flash explosion. But most of the building had been simply vaporized, and the tiny particles drifted down like dirty snowflakes.

Some of the debris smoldered and smoked. Flames broke out in many places in the pile of ruins. Soon, these fires joined each other and became a blaze that lit up the dusk.

Color crept back into Albert Zoeniga’s face while he fixed his gaze upon the awful scene. His heart exclaimed, "Nooo! Jane! Jane!" He dashed forward to the site of the instant demolition. "Jane!" He wanted to run into the middle of the mess and hunt for Jane, rescue her, but the fire became too intense. The groom darted about the perimeter, seeking a way into the chaotic rubble to find his wife, but no matter from which direction he attempted egress, the heat pushed him back.

Wobbly, Osmo Martin finally stood on his feet. In shock, he watched his poor friend run about, calling for Jane. The rest of the Security Team seemed as confused as young Agent Osmo Martin. No one tried to grab Albert, or prevent him from trying to climb into the burning rubble, as he now did.

Security Leader Clyden, bewildered, muttered, "It- it just blew up! The building blew up!"

Osmo Martin asked, "What- what about the people inside?”

Albert Zoeniga found the fire too big to work his way past. He walked back and forth along the edges of the disaster, back and forth, looking for the way in, to his bride, crying out, "Jane! Jane! Where are you?!"

Osmo Martin's question about the people caught in the blast brought Sec. Ldr. Tretl Clyden back to his senses. He held his gushing nose with one hand, and with the other yanked out his security cell communicator. "This is Security Leader Clyden. We have an incident! We're at the old miners' headquarters- what used to be the HQ. We need a fire containment team pronto, before the fire spreads to other buildings- We need them like NOW!”

Many citizens had already reported the "incident" ahead of Sec. Ldr. Clyden. The fire department had already dispatched a crew.

Albert Zoeniga slowed his pacing back and forth, around the perimeter, slower and slower. He stopped, standing at a corner of the blast site, peering into the fire. He turned away and looked instead at Sec. Ldr. Clyden and Agent Osmo Martin on the sidewalk. Albert glared at them; he glared at his friend Osmo.

Veins throbbed in Albert Zoeniga’s temple. He shouted, demanding, "How... could you... do such a thing?! How could you?? We- Jane and I- we just got married- mere minutes ago! And now- now, she- she's gone! And it's your fault! You killed them all!"

Taken aback by the fierceness of the fury in Albert Zoeniga’s face, Clyden defensively sputtered, "Hey, we- I didn't expect this to happen--" He closed his mouth then. Why must he make an accounting of himself to this guy?

Albert sank to his knees, muttering, "Oh, Jane, Jane! Why? Why??"

Siren whining, a fire engine roared down the street and onto the scene, arresting the Security Leader’s attention. From the vehicle, a dozen firefighters hopped out, the Fire Chief in the lead. He surveyed the area and issued orders, hustling his men into position. Hoses were unloaded and connected to hydrants. In a moment's time, the firemen were spraying water onto the flames.

"Hurry, get this under control," Sec. Ldr. Clyden shouted to them. "There were some people holed up inside, and maybe we can save them!"

Clyden knew this gaffe looked bad, and the negative publicity to follow this was sure to anger Gov. Xavier.

The Fire Chief asked, "Why would anybody be holed up inside there?"

Sec. Ldr. Clyden explained, "They were lawbreakers, and we were here to capture them."

Puzzled, the Chief wondered, "Well, what made it blow up? Looks like an energy fuel explosion hit it... No wonder. This is the old miners’ quarters from before. If the miners had any fuel ore left behind in there, and, depending on how pure it was, anything could have set it off. Anyway, you won't find any survivors in there, I am pretty certain.”

While the firemen fanned out with their hoses, to tackle the blaze from different directions, the Security Agents backed up and out of the way of the firefighters. One of the firemen grabbed Albert, dragging him to the side. "Sir, Sir, you can't stay there. Let us do our job! Please,Sir, move away, Sir!"

Sec. Ldr. Clyden grumbled, "Now look what those trouble-makers have done! Gov. Xavier will have a fit over the way this turned out!"

Agent Osmo Martin answered, "I doubt the trouble-makers did it on purpose! I- I can't see any bodies or anything in that mess- I fear the Fire Chief is correct about nobody left alive!”

"I guess so, Punk. I think they were all vaporized, burnt up, just like this building they were hiding inside. Stupid trouble-makers!"

The Security Leader walked over to an arriving ambulance. He spoke with a medic briefly, who then gave him a box of cotton. Clyden shoved a wad up his bleeding nose.

Osmo Martin scouted about for Albert Zoeniga, to see if he could do anything for him. In the confusion, no one had taken him into custody, and Albert Zoeniga must have realized there was nothing, absolutely nothing he could do for Jane or the others, and so he had faded from the scene.

Osmo Martin worried for his friend. What must Albert be feeling now? What must he be thinking? And what must he be thinking about his old friend and boyhood companion Osmo Martin?

Osmo Martin hung his head in shame.

(c) 2012 drk