Unlike throwing the baseballs, throwing make-shift fire bombs off the roof would take no finesse. There was no target they were trying to hit. Their only goal was to cause a big enough disturbance that someone would call 9-1-1. This task would be easy compared to everything else they had tried, and with the whiskey still running through their system, far more enjoyable.

The idea of 'throwing fire' that Liv had created in her mind had been rough. She knew knew shirts and alcohol were very flammable, and combined, she imagined they would be doubly so. But it was easier thought than done.

Once they made it back to the roof, it came down to trial-and-error as they tried to find the best way to light the shirt on fire without lighting themselves on fire. They also had to think sustainability, as they wanted the fire to stay lit for as long as possible on its way down to the ground. And there was the simple problem of getting a whole shirt into the narrow opening of a liqueur bottle.

"Why don't we just smash the neck?" Ezra asked.

He took a bottle and demonstrated by hitting it against the sharp corner of the ledge. The neck shattered and left him holding a base of the bottle with a wide opening. He grabbed a shirt and shove it into the amber liquid, making sure to avoid the jagged edges.

"Done."

Liv noted three different problems with the design but she stopped herself from spouting them out and started with a question.

"Not bad. But what if the shirt falls of out the bottle?"

"It will still be on fire." He moved to break another bottle but she caught his hand to stop him.

"But it has to fall at least fifty floors to catch someone's attention. That's a lot of powerful wind between the shirt and the ground. A lot of wind that could extinguish the flame. Plus, I think the longer we can keep the shirt, alcohol, and fire together, the bigger the reaction will be."

He handed her the bottle. "It seems I am out of my league when it comes to starting fires."

She took the bottle. The neck was narrow so she searched for the smallest shirt she could find. "What if we soaked the shirt?" She poured half the contents of the bottle over the shirt, "and then..." she twisted the shirt as tight as she could and began to feed it into the opening of the bottle. She managed to get it far enough in that the small tip of the shirt was touching the alcohol. "There."

Ezra gave her contraption an impressed look.

"This way when we light the shirt on fire, there will be a small delay before the fire reaches the rest of the alcohol," she explained.

"Allowing it time to fall closer to the ground before it explodes. It's genius."

Ezra Lexington thought her idea was genius. It was a silly thought to have given their situation, but Liv couldn't stop the stupid smile that pushed its way onto her face. She was grateful Ezra's attention had already shifted to the bottles. She stored the compliment away for a later time.

"We should test it," she said, her eyes on the bottle that rested carefully on the ground.

"I don't think so." He kept pouring bourbon on a shirt as he spoke. "The thought did cross my mind, but the risk outweighs the benefit. Think about it. Fire and alcohol are going to create some sort of explosion. But if we test it, we run the risk of the people in the building seeing it and coming to find us. Our biggest asset right now is that the men searching the building don't know we exist. But that could change once we start chucking fire off the roof."

He was right. After their run-in with the man, she had kept the walkie-talkie on an audible volume to monitor the communication between the men.

Even though she didn't know the language they were speaking, she knew that if they discovered the body of their fallen mate and realized someone else was in the building, the panic in their communication would be easy to understand. But so far she had only heard them exchange a few sentences. They didn't know about Ezra and her, but that was likely about to change.

She nodded as she moved to help him roll the shirt. Side by side they built their fire bombs, starting with the smallest shirts. When they ran out of shirts that could easily fit into the bottles, they began tearing the bigger shirts in half to make them more manageable. In the end, they had twenty bottles ready to throw over off the roof.

"We should split up, and throw bottles off both sides of the building," Ezra said as they began to line the bottles up on the wall. "It will increase our chances of getting someone's attention."

"Good idea."

"I like to think I have them every once and awhile."

She laughed and bumped his shoulder jokingly. "Only every once and awhile? Is that all it takes to be a top lawyer nowadays? And here I was thinking it was actually hard work."

"Hard work? I don't think so. Why do you think I have a mini-bar in my office?" he said dryly.

She laughed in surprise. Being self-deprecating was a skill she didn't think he had.

"Well, if we make it through this, you can treat me to a drink." She grabbed a bottle and held it up as if giving a toast.

"It would be my pleasure." He grabbed a bottle a clinked it against hers. "And now..."

"For the big finale."

He looked at her in horror. "That's far too foreboding."

"What were you going to say?"

"I was going to say this is the best part of the night."

"But I thought the best part was..." She tried to make a joke, but as her brain flipped the events of the night it couldn't just pick one thing out of the whole bunch of crazy.

He smiled grimly.

"Too many fun parts to choose." He said it like he wanted nothing more than to get through the night and forget everything that happened.

He grabbed more bottles and moved past the door leading back downstairs to the opposite side of the roof.

It only took a few minutes to get the bottles evenly split and lined up on opposite sides of the roof. As Liv carried the last two bottles over to the other side, Ezra walked with her. It wasn't necessary, but she was grateful he joined her for the last walk.

A serious air had fallen over them as they had walked back and forth. It was somber with a strong undercurrent of desperation. If this failed, Liv wasn't sure what they could possibly do next. Mostly likely there were still options, more things they could try, but she wasn't sure she would have the fight left to try.

She add the last bottles to the line and turned back to Ezra. She didn't have to search his face to see he was struggling with the same doubts and anxieties. She reached for his hand and he easily took it. She gave it a reassuring squeeze and he returned it. They both knew any words spoken would be empty.

It was strange to have her thoughts and feelings so inline with someone she barely knew. A few hours ago they had been strangers on an elevator. The most they had shared was his judgment of her shoe-less feet. Now, it felt like they shared a brainwave. She imagined the connection wouldn't last if they made it out, but she was thankful for the strength it gave her in the moment.

"Alright," he said, handing her one of the lighters. "Ready?"

She took it and nodded even though she didn't feel it. His lips turned up into the shape of a smile without any of the feeling. It brought a smile to her lips. She knew it was only for her benefit and she was grateful for his attempt. If the women of the office could see him now.

Without questioning herself, she stepped forward and kissed him.

She had to go up on her tiptoes to reach him and she rested her hands on his arms to steady herself. Her lips brushed against his, as soft as a gentle breeze. A thank you.

She moved back as she sank to her regular height but Ezra rested a hand on her arm to keep her from going too far. He searched her face, a curious crease between his eyes.

"What was that for?" he said almost as a laugh.

She shrugged. "We're about to throw fire off a roof. It's been a long night. This probably won't work. In fact, it might backfire on us," she rambled on. "I'm glad I have you with me. And, I might still be a little," she held her fingers inches apart to demonstration how little she really meant, "just a little tipsy."

His smile grew as her list did. When she finished he pretended to think about it for a moment before he pulled her close, raising her up onto her tiptoes. He paused, his mouth just an inch from hers, "Well, in that case..." he said, before he kissed her.

He kissed her with abandon, like he had his own list of reasons that were egging him on. They didn't let it last long enough to get carried away, but as they pulled away Liv felt like every nerve ending was on fire. He fixed her with a steady gaze. She nodded. They were ready.

He strode across the roof like it was a courtroom he was ready to dominate. She turned back to her row of bottles, and selected one with a long neck. He whistled when he reached the other side. The roof had felt big as they had walked back and forth, but now that they stood apart, it felt expansive. She could just see his outline but it was small. If she took one step to her right, he would be completely hidden behind the structure containing the door.

He raised a bottle and she did the same. Liv held her bottle over the edge of the roof. The shirt caught fire instantly with a burst of light. The brilliant flames warmed her face for a moment before she threw the bottle. She leaned over the edge, watching as it fell. Halfway down, the flame reached the rest of the alcohol in the bottle and there was second burst of light. She didn't wait for it to hit the ground before she grabbed the next bottle.

By the fourth bottle she had found a rhythm of lighting and throwing. As she reached for her last bottle, she paused to look over at Ezra. She smiled as he threw the last bottle with the same form he had used to throw the baseballs. He watched it fall for a moment then turned to her. He made a striking movement, like umpires did in baseball and she laughed.

He started to walk towards her and she decided to hold off on lighting her last bottle until he joined her. But he never got that far. When he was halfway across the roof they heard the pounding of footsteps and faint voices. They both froze, their gazes darting to the door. The men had seen the fire.

Liv looked back to Ezra, but he had disappeared. Her chest tightened in panic as she called to him, but he was back before his name left her lips. Suddenly, he was in front of her, very close and talking very fast. He pulled the bottle free from her grasp and shoved something heavy into her hands. The gun.

"You have to hide! Right now!" His tone was tense but barely above a whisper as he shoved her back towards her side of the roof. "Go!"

"But.."

"No. Stay hidden until help comes."

"Ezra!" she said, moving unwillingly as he pushed her along. "Don't...." But her words were cut off by a loud shout coming from the stairs.

"Go!"

He pushed her one more time before he ran towards the other side of the roof. He pulled out his lighter and whirled around to face the door, waiting to light the shirt on fire. This wasn't right. She took a step towards him, but his eyes bounced from the door to her and he gave her a threatening glare. She stopped. She hated him for putting her in this position. If she didn't hide, they would both get caught.

She spun, looking for a place to hide and found an electrical box in a dark corner of the roof. She ran for it. The space was small and she had to turn sideways in order to fit. She was just tucking her legs out of sight, against her chest, when the door to the roof banged open. Her whole body tensed. The air filled with deep voices shouting.

After a minute, the shouting died down and Liv could hear Ezra. "No harm done. I was just having a little fun!"

He had added a lazy swing to his voice making him sound drunk.

"Hey! Gentle with the shirt buddy, this is Italian."

There was grunting from one of the men.

"Listen, I think this is just one big misunderstanding. Lets go back to my office. You look like you could use a drink. Do you like tequila? We can sort this whole mess out."

One of the men spoke again and this time Liv understood some of the words he spoke in English. Something he said made Ezra laugh loudly.

"I will admit I might have had one too many drinks..."

Ezra's voice was filled with humor but the man talking to him didn't return any of the feeling. His response was harsh, but not harsh enough to keep Ezra from responding.

"Fine. Maybe it was more than one two many drinks."

The men began to speak quickly in their language and Liv wondered if Ezra's plan was brilliant or insane. The men did not sound pleased, but from what she had heard, they hadn't taken any extreme measures to subdue him.

Suddenly, one of the men's voices sounded right next to Liv. Her stomach lurched in fear. They had found her. Her fear kept her from looking around to find the man who had discovered her hiding spot, while a part of her hated she wanted to cower in her hiding spot.

The voice spoke again, a loud as if the man was right beside her, but this time it came through with static. She looked down at the walkie-talkie still hooked on her waistband and let out a sigh of relief.

She quickly turned the volume and turned her ears back to Ezra and the men. One of them said, "move".

"Alright. I knew you couldn't say no to the tequila," he laughed.

"Quiet," one of the men barked.

"My office is on this top floor," Ezra said. "We won't have to go far."

"Silence." The words was followed by the sound of slap. Liv winced. Ezra didn't talk anymore.

Liv listened to the footsteps crunching on the gravel and a moment later the door leading to the stairs slammed shut. 

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😱 What!?!?! You did not just do that to me! We get a GREAT KISS!! Then Ezra is captured! How could you! How could you!!!

I see your kiss and Ezra captured and raise you one: Ezra dies.

*faints*

*slaps Joy's face a couple times with no results. Turns to readers* Well, she's out. I might have been lying a bit about that Ezra dying. Let us know what you thought.

Vote, comment, follow or Joy might never ever wake up again.