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| Page Eight |
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Then he retreated to his recliner and the morning newspaper folded neatly there by C shift. He intentionally didn't read the headlines which covered the bus crash and the journalist sensationalism about how many had died in the slide, moving on instead, to the sports pages. ------------------------------------------- Johnny Gage rubbed feigned sleepy eyes and darted through the kitchen door, jostling with Chet in a vie for the coffee pot. Both firemen grabbed its black handle and Cap said, "When the fur stops flying over there, eyeball the papers you're not going to spill that coffee on.. Take a set and fill them out before lunchtime." Johnny and Chet's amicable mood evaporated when they realized it was the bus run's mortality forms. Gage sighed glumly, "Right Cap, uh, we'll get right on these.. uh, do the investigators want to know complete details?" "As best you can, Gage. And I know recalling back to yesterday isn't going to be pleasant. Just stick to positional details and what ya found." Chet sat on the kitchen table and took a sip of his coffee, still lost in the sobering feel in the room, and poured Johnny's cup full after his own. "What's the point of an investigation, Cap? I mean, the guy who hit the bus was DOA." Cap looked up uncomfortably."Its a suit against the city in an action concerning the mudslide.. Negligience on the part of the highway department for not shoring up that canyon wall to withstand flooding." "That craziness, Cap. Most of those..kids wer-" and Johnny's voice broke as a memory of the little girl who was swept away down the storm drain filtered into his mind. Gage fought the emotion out of his voice and continued.. "...most of those poor kids were gone even before the slide happened." Gage insisted. "Besides, that rainfall was abnormally high. Most inches an hour since the 1920's the Chief said. There's no cause for such a class action." "I know that." Cap said. "But these kids's parents are grieving and you know how that goes. Any outlet's a channel for them." Roy had entered the kitchen quietly, and he refused the third coffee mug Johnny offered him. "No thanks. " he said, sitting on the table next to Johnny. "Are we going to have to testify about those fatalities, Cap?" Hank shrugged diffidently in the negative, "The Chief, this morning, just asked about our run sheets so far. No hearings in sight for any of us yet. I'll,...I'll..let you know as soon as I can about that.." "Thanks.." Roy said softly. Marco piped up. "Hey Roy, how's your boy? Is he ok? I didn't get to hear how he was doing after I left yesterday. Dixie refused to fill me in when she wheeled me out the back door." Roy smiled a half hearted smile. "That's probably because she figured you already had a full plate concerning your own recovery. She most likely, didn't want ya to worry about anything else, Lopez." "Since when does asking about something like that constitute being a burden?" Marco complained. Johnny grinned. "Dix was only looking out for your best interests. Besides, I'll bet she called ya a few hours after you got home with the good news, didn't she?" "Yeah." Marco said. "She did.. But mama said I was sleeping.." "Dix did her job then." he grinned. "She made sure she got the news ya wanted." he concluded. "Not soon enough.." Marco scoffed. Roy thought about that remark thoughtfully and mumbled to himself. "It's never soon enough.." But no one else heard him. Stoker pulled out a chair for Roy. "So,.." he said grandly.. "..don't keep us in suspense. Tell us how he is.." The squeal of the chair's legs on the tile floor broke Roy out of his reverie and he blinked a few times. But his face stayed flat and almost emotionless. "Chris's gonna be fine. He came outta surgery with flying colors. His leg's gonna heal cleanly, and he's handling his best friend Carrie's death as well as can be expected..." he paused when the gang grew reflective for his benefit. "Joanne and I are just glad it's all over with.." Roy said, trying to grin, without confidence. "Chris goes home Friday once the drainage shunts are removed." Cap noticed Roy's lack luster mannerisms. "You ok there, Roy?" he said, setting his paper down. "Yeah, Cap.. I- I'm fine.. Just tired I guess." DeSoto replied. |
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Captain Stanley's gaze bore right into Roy's until Roy thought he was going to start fidgetting under their scrutiny. But finally, Hank sighed. "Ok, you know the support panel's there if you want to go talk to anyone sooner. I've got us all scheduled with the counselors for disaster debriefing this afternoon. The usual routine." The rest of the gang cleared their throats and mumured uncomfortably. They all knew they needed to talk about the run as soon as they could, before its impact could effect any of them even more. "Ok, Cap.." Then Roy noticed the last remaining Code F report form resting on the table. "Oh. I forgot. I'll get right on this.." he promised. "Take your time.. These aren't due at Headquarters until six.." Hank said. The kitchen fell into quiet as each of the gang filled out the grim details of facts and the actions they each had taken during the bus accident. The tension was so thick, Henry started to whine at their concentrated silence. Marco and Chet got up immediately and took their forms and donuts to the couch. Lopez took Henry into his lap and fed him a treat. Stoker faked stretched, without comment, studying his shoes. "Can't hide anything from Henry, can we?" Johnny said to no one in particular. "Nope. He's a hot dog who's a blood hound. What can we hide from a nose that big?" And everyone laughed. Everyone except Roy. "Say, Gage.." Kelly smacked Gage on the shoulder to get his attention from where he was carefully writing on his incident form. "Oww, Kelly now cut that out. Now I'm going to have to start filling this out all over again." Johnny groused. Then he rubbed his arm. "That's a sore spot from yesterday." "Sorry Gage. But listen.. I almost brought this up to DeSoto but he was too busy being a fidgetty father yesterday to pay me any attention." "Gee. I wonder why? Kelly, just get to the point." Johnny said impatiently. "Yeah, Chet. Get to the meat of it already." Marco said from his kitchen seat. |
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Kelly glanced up and suddenly noticed that everyone, including Cap, was paying close attention to him. He immediately got embarrassed. "Now, listen fellas. I just wanted to bring up a conversation with Johnny that was kinda private here, you know what I mean?" Cap's eyebrows rose. "Fraid we don't. In it for an inch, in it for a mile, we figure. Right gang? Anything you need to say about work, we're entitled to know about, because we're just one big, close knit, happy outfit here, Kelly." Gage and the others all agreed with animated nods and gestures. "Speak for yourself, Cap! uh, I mean sir.." Kelly amended. He whined. "Oh, come on guys. For me..?" He sighed when no one looked away. "Ok, ok. I see I have no choice in the matter while I get an answer for myself. I see. Ok,.. all right. I'll just come right out and say it then.. Johnny, do you think I got the right stuff to make the coursework to become a paramedic?" Johnny had been mentally smiling as vultures zoomed in on the summer of Chet's malcontent, but now, Gage nearly spit out the mouthful of coffee he had been swallowing. "What?! " Babble followed instantly. "A medic, Chet?" Stoker parroted. "That's great, Chet.." Lopez said warmly. Cap's face animated in surprise. "Wow, that's news there, Kelly. What made you suddenly decide this?" Roy even perked up a little."Really?" Chet tried to quell them all with shushes and self conscious hand waves. "Gimme a sec, gimme a second here. Let Johnny answer my question first, eh, guys? All right..? Then I'll let you have at it.." Everyone obeyed instantly, all ears and expectant, as they all looked at Johnny. Including Henry. Gage cleared his throat uncomfortably inside the circle of faces surrounding his. "Uh, well.. Chet. You see, uh.. Wow, Gee. I don't know where to begin.." He started over on a different track. "You seem like a pretty good firefighter and I like working with ya and all. But quite frankly, I haven't actually, ever considered this idea before, you know. I think you'd--" The alarm tones went off. |
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======================== ##Station 51. Possible drowning. L.A. Riverbed. One half mile north of Vadnais Heights Boulevard. One half mile north of Vadnais Heights Boulevard. Time out, 8: 02.## ======================== In the garage, Cap thumbed the response mike and replied. "This is station 51, 10-4. KMG 365." And he threw on his turnout coat and beat a hasty pace to the LaFrance. ------------------------------------------------ On scene, a lone hiker, muddied despite the clear day, met them on the roadside margin. He seemed highly agitated. "Glad you got here so fast. Hurry. I couldn't get down there any closer. Uh, man.." he gasped. "What do you got?"Cap fired at him as he stepped out of the truck's cab. "Well, I couldn't believe what I was looking at. I couldn't believe my eyes at first." he panted. "I just couldn't believe it was really a--" The biker suddenly turned green and Johnny and Roy had to catch him when he stopped speaking and when his knees started to buckle. "Whoa, whoa.. now take it easy. Hey. You feeling all right?" Johnny said. "Here, set him over against the squad." He and Roy and Cap managed to get the man sitting on the wet ground. Stoker went for the O2. |
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Gage said to Cap. "I got him. Looks like it's a syncopal episode. His pulse's normal." "Cap, I'll go looking around. Maybe I can find out something.." Roy said, readjusting his helmet. "You do that. Marco, Chet, go with him." Cap said. He pulled out his walkie talkie. "L.A. This is Engine 51. Send an ambulance to our location. We've a man down." ##10-4, 51. Time out 8:14.## Marco, Chet and Roy headed into the brush rimming the man made channel of the L.A. river. The bed was partially filled with a fast flow, and it was clogged with many many downed trees and debris from the flooding of the day before. Then they spotted an orange hiker's pack and mountain bike and an abandoned CB radio lying on the ground. "This is where he must have made our rescue call..." Roy said. "Let's assume he spotted something straight down from here." And he waved Chet and Marco along with him down the next decline. They skidded over the slope of the final levee to the top of the drop off leading into the concrete river system and crawled on their bellies until they were able to see beyond down into the waterway. Marco gasped. A horribly mangled little girl lay twisted in the boughs of a flooded eucalyptus tree with skin so dusky, that there was no doubt that the life signs in her had fled long ago. One arm was broken hideously over her head and the crushed torso was wearing a very familar set of school colors. "Oh, my g*d. It's her.." Kelly heard from Roy. "What?" Chet asked. "This is who, Roy?" he asked through a scrub bush, separating them. But Roy just stood there, dropping his walkie talkie from limp fingers. Chet and Marco didn't see him falter, still being partially hidden in the overgrown field. "Come on, Marco. Let's get closer.." Kelly said, moments later. |
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