VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. _ Christi Dewar spent part of Friday celebrating co-workers' birthdays with ice cream sundaes.
They were a close-knit crew who had a good time with each other.
At 4 p.m., she and her colleagues in Virginia Beach's public utilities call center noted it was "power hour" _ one more hour to buckle down and get their work done before the weekend.
Minutes later, 12 people were gunned down by a person who worked across the hall from Dewar. Eleven of the victims were colleagues.
One of them was Ryan Keith Cox, who went by Keith, a longtime friend she says saved several lives, including hers.
Dewar and Cox started work on the same day in 2006. He would give her a hug anytime she needed one. He always had a kind word to say and drove her home from work when her son couldn't. He had the heart of a servant.
"You knew from the start he would lay down his life for anybody," Dewar said. "And that's exactly what he did."
