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Page Eight Note: Music soundtrack is high quality and slow loading in some cases. Patience. :) |
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Gage was taken aback and his mouth opened and closed many times, but he found he couldn't speak. "I think I can answer that for you, Felicia. But I don't know if it'll give you the exact answers that you've probably been looking for all this time since you learned of your final diagnosis from your doctors... But I can try." DeSoto whispered. Wanting silence, Roy pulled the beeping pulse ox off Felicia's finger. Then he rubbed his lips and crossed his arms together in front of him in deep contemplation. "I...died once." "How?" "On a wire..." Roy answered softly, the distant look still shining in his eyes. "I was dead enough that Johnny and a paramedic trainee found they had to use CPR and a defibrillator on me in order to bring me back to life." "Did it hurt?" Roy's face twisted in memory. And doubt. "I'd be lying if I said it didn't. But I wasn't in pain for long, Felicia. And soon, I was feeling..and seeing things that I couldn't quite understand as actually relating to me in any way. But then I felt... more than anything...that I've ever felt... in my entire life." "What did you feel, Roy? Were you scared?" "No, I wasn't scared. I knew my friends were there. Trying to help me breathe. And awaken again." DeSoto said. "But...I- I remembered that I felt so alone, while it was all happening.." |
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Felicia began to cry silently, silver tears glistening in the growing darkness from the lights of the helicopter controls. But she didn't move. Nor did she take away her tiny hands that were gripping Roy's tightly. Roy began to smile and his face began to dampen in new tears. "But then I felt surrounded by incredible joy, Felicia. It was endless. There were people there.. that I knew... who had gone before I had. And the joy was ....so deep, that I didn't want to leave it. But I knew it wasn't my time to be there and so I left. I left the moment I felt the shock course through my body and... then Karen said that I was breathing on my own again and Johnny was saying something stupid like.. how's he doing? from somewhere nearby. It...was weird.." Roy said, meeting Felicia's eyes. "Really weird. But I can honestly tell you both, that if I were to have to die again.. I...don't think I would fear it. Not at all. For I think I was shown that... death is simply, another change of life. A change that just takes us, somewhere else and into another direction where we can continue to grow and learn.. and love.." he thought carefully. "I think that answers my question very well. It fits what I think I've seen before at the hospital." the little girl said, drying her eyes. "Now I think I can tell mom that I'm not afraid to die when my time finally does come." she whispered... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was three weeks later at the station house. Dixie McCall was happily bringing the last dalmation pup to her new home when the guys finally asked the question. "How's our little gal doing, Dixie? Is she still eating up the sight of passing ambulances and fire engines?" Cap asked. "Every time we see one ourselves, we think of her." "Yeah, we sure do." said Marco. Dixie's smile never quite went away, but it saddened measurably in newly remembered heart pain. "I'm sorry to say this but uh,...Felicia passed this morning boys, around nine a.m. or so. It was painless, according to her mother and Dr. Brackett." she sighed. "I was there." |
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The guys didn't know what to say, all they did was reach out and pet the squirming restless puppy, like the nurse was doing, just to have something to do with their hands. Dixie McCall looked up and her eyes were shining brightly. "Do you know.. that you boys were all she could talk about last night?" Dixie sniffed, hugging the pup. "Her mother wanted me, uh.. to give you this. It's her school paper. The one she said she wanted to write for her Wish." she said, digging into her ample purse. The gang was stunned silent until finally, Chet Kelly held out his hands. "We..we're honored to have to this. Can... can.. are we allowed to read it?" "Of course. That's what it's for, guys. So we can share the world through Felicia's own eyes as she experienced it." With that softly said, Dixie left on silent shoes. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was a long time before the gang decided where was the best place. They finally chose the front driveway in front of the station. And before they turned to the first page, they called Charlie, to spend those moments looking through Felicia's eyes with him. Charlie was nervous. They all were. And just about every fireman held a dog in their laps where they all sat in a circle on the asphalt. Boot, Bonnie and Henry, an ample belly or even just a tiny tail. It didn't matter. The dogs were suddenly needed pillows of support for the sharing to come. And come it did. In bright glowing colors and fresh ideas. Talk of the day spent with Johnny on his ranch playing with the horses, and rich technical descriptions of the afternoon wasted playing paramedic with Henry as the patient on the couch. Chet's water fight and Charlie's swim with the dalmation puppies. It was all there. And it was happy. Something that the whole gang felt they couldn't possibly wish for as wanting anything more for fulfilling the dream of one tiny, unique little girl. "Hey, you know what else?" burped Charlie from where they leaned on lawn chairs against the fire station garage as they digested ample pots of hot cocoa in memory of Felicia. "Huh, what's that?" asked Gage. "Do you know why them dogs of yours were acting so nuts today?" |
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"They weren't acting nuts today, Charlie. Nah..." said Gage, lying through his teeth. "Sure they were. You're lying and you know it. I seen the way all your bunks don't got any pillows on them anymore. Ripped them up did theys? Heheheheh. Wanna know why? And it wasn't because of no pithling earthquake. I'll tell all of yous why. It was a total solar eclipse that happened, that's why." "When? Today? Huh. And here I thought it was just a power fluctuation on the grid. This morning, right?" Cap sighed. "Yep. It happened precisely around nine o'clock. On the dot." Roy and Gage felt a shock at first and then a trickle of warmth, felt deep inside. "Right when she died." murmured Johnny and Roy together, as one. |
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Charlie leaned forward. "What was that?" "Oh, ...nothing,..nothing... So, what do we want to do today to honor Felicia's life. Keep and name a pup after her?" Roy suggested. "Nah. Not too original. We'll think of something. And it'll be something truly special." Chet said. "All we have to do is put our heads together and think about it a bit." Later that night, Johnny had a surprise visitor to his bunk. It was Bonnie. "Heya girl, what are you doing up here with me? I thought you sleep with Henry and Boot in Henry's house out back nowadays." Bonnie just stood up on her haunches and whined delicately. Understanding at once, Gage swept the tiny Yorkshire into his arms and gave her a hug. "Yeah, I miss her, too." he whispered, kissing Bonnie's head softly. "Shhhh, it's ok. Yes, she's gone. Let's just try and go to sleep. Maybe we'll dream about her." he grinned. Soon, ...they did. |
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Captains Roy, Johnny and Hank worked quietly while they did the dishes that were leftover from the donuts that had been served out to everybody at the captains' meeting. The mood in the kitchen was bitter sweet, with memories of Felicia, the little Make A Wish child occupying all of their thoughts. That's until Gage decided that enough was enough. "Say guys, if anyone's got anything to say about teetering on the edge of death, it's me. Remember? *Hiiiisssss.*" he declared happily, mimicking the sound of a rattlesnake attacking and striking out with his fingers. "Don't remind us." Roy and Cap said together on one breath. "We've covered that ground before.." "Yeah, but it's so good in the telling..." Johnny began eagerly. Just as he was about to spin into his snakebite mishap again for the millionth time, the tones went off. *EEEeeeOhhhhOOOOOoooooo* ##Battalion Nine with 905 Wild. Urban snake nest, also report of an abnormal odor. 1714 N. Wilmington. 1714 N. Wilmington. Cross street, Topanga. Time out: 16: 02.## "What th--" Gage blurted out. "What kind of call is that?" |
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Hank started smiling. "The kind that captains check out. We can, you know. Aren't you curious about it?" "Well, sure but.." "But nothing. Let's take the squad out there." Stanley said mischieviously. "It's only a couple blocks away. Officially, we'll be making a house inspection. For safety checks. If there's a broken window anywhere we have to at least report it to the cops, right? And maybe check out the furnace. Who knows, maybe the snakes snuffed out the pilot light crawling around." "That's stretching it a bit much, Cap. Don't you think?" Roy smirked. "Maybe, but isn't that better than having a whole city block blow up in a gas leak if we don't go look?" DeSoto sighed in resignation. Gage immediately got into the spirit of things. "Who's driving?" "The first one who gets there." replied Hank, rocketting out of the room. "And I want to worse than you!" Of course Cap won with his lankier legs and longer stride. That's what had made him win their Twister games, too, in the past. Roy looked at him from the center spot in the squad cab. "Are you sure you remember how to drive one of these things?" "Learned way back when I was still a boy, Roy." he chuckled. "Hang on." Stanley flipped on the bullhorn speaker as they sailed out of the vehicle bay onto the boulevard. ##Gang, going on a courtesy call to that last traffic on the radio. We'll be back in two if we get one of our own.## he hollered, filling the open space of the garage with his booming voice that echoed around like buckshot. Several hands waved from the back yard baseball game going on in acknowledgement as Gage flipped the squad sirens on. Johnny laughed. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss doing this. Man, Roy, this is our own old rescue squad!" he said with a little kid grin on his face. Roy did a double take at his old partner. "Cap, maybe it's a good thing that Johnny ISN'T driving.... Thanks." DeSoto said, eyeing Gage up skeptically. "Don't count your horses before they're out of the stable. I'm well known these days for having a lead foot." Stanley smirked as he put the pedal to the metal. Roy and Johnny's head smacked against the back of the cab window as they accelerated into the fast lane. Gage grimaced, hanging on for dear life. "You wouldn't happen to have our old helmets stashed away back here anywhere, do you?" asked Johnny meekly. "Fraid not." Cap said, still grinning as he crouched over the steering wheel he was holding. "You guys are just gonna have to do without for the sixty seconds it'll take getting there." A minute later, they were there, meeting up with Vince. They had beaten both Battalion Nine and the animal control unit's response. |
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Cap got on their channel. "Squad 51. L.A., 905 Wild and B.T. 9, we're on your scene for a safety check. Reporting back in three." ##Squad 51.## came back the triplicate reply. As the squad's station number's captain, Cap got the skunk striped helmet after a little tug of war wrestling match with the other two with him. Victoriously, he put it on and started up the lawn of the house. Immediately, all three were forced professional, except for the idiot grins on their faces. The joyful grins faded when there wasn't an answer to almost a full minute of their most energetic knocking on the front door. Cap snapped out his orders. "Roy, check the sides, Johnny, the back. Something's definitely not right here and it has nothing to do with a simple animal nuisance call." He slid over on the porch to peer into the windows. Vince joined him. "Trouble?" asked the cop. "Feels like it." Hank answered. "If nobody's actually home, who made the call?" "It stinks.." agreed Howard. "But it's not gas.." Johnny piped up from his place on the ground. He was looking into a deep window well, buried in the thick shadow of a eucalyptus tree. "Look.." he said pointing. Roy, Cap and Vince actually recoiled when a movement scraping across the well's gravel proved to be a ball of muscle-stiff, cold rattlesnakes. "Don't tell me, a winter hibernation hole?" Cap shivered. "Yep." Gage said. "And the window's broken. Probably from some kid poking at em with a stick earlier. They're all really p*ss*d off down there." Hank pulled Johnny to his feet, away from the hole. "Well, how many do you think actually got into the basement?" Johnny looked at him unhappily. "Probably all there was this morning." "That could be dozens. Or more.." Vince gasped. "Now we know why the house owner called." Roy replied. "Come on, let's find another way into the basement. That somebody may be in medical trouble to go along with this huge pest problem if they went down there to find out how bad things really were... and ran into them." Gage set his mouth into a grim line. "That doesn't leave much time." "Let's go.." Hank shouted. |
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Above, Hank started to smile. "I've got just the thing. A protege of Chet's old club invented this last week to outdo Brice's club for innovation points. Roy? Go look inside the rear compartment, in the stokes." "What is it?" DeSoto asked. "A bonafide snake hook." Vince laughed. "Makes sense being in Southern California." Soon, Johnny was handed the metal rod, too, along with an H.T. "I don't know how to use one of these things!" he complained right back. "Better learn fast, we still have to do a search for the house owner before we clear." Hank told him. "We'll coach ya.." "That's what I'm afraid of..." mumbled Johnny, eyeing the surroundings best he could. "Here!" shouted Roy, dropping something else that bounced through the window. Johnny startled badly and the flashlight landed on the tiles, right into the middle of a ball of snakes, who hissed loudly and let out more musk. Gage froze and began coughing at the stench. "Okay.. okay.. sorry! Quit arrowing in on my heat signature. Please..I didn't do it.." he whispered. Slowly, the snakes crawled away from the unfamiliar metal object which Gage soon hooked up into his lap. Turning it on, Johnny aimed it into some darkness he couldn't yet see through. His light beam landed on a pair of female legs, lying face down. "Victim down here. Unconscious! Adult female! Breathing..." he reported. "Only the one?" Hank shouted back urgently while Vince got on his radio to L.A. for more help. Another torch sweep confirmed his finding. "Yeah.." Johnny gasped, trying to get his nerve up to slide clumps of snakes away from the path he wanted to take over to her using the hook. "I can't tell how bad she is.." "Gage, don't do anything rash. Your life's more important than--" Hank started in. "...anything but that doesn't mean a hoot if that lady dies on me, Cap." Johnny finished in annoyance. "I know the risks." There was a long pause from above. "....okay, pally. Just doing my job." "Yeah, well, let me do mine. She's not lookin so good." Johnny said, in a softer voice over his radio. Finally, Gage took that first step. And then another, each time, gingerly nudging and sliding serpents away with the hook. Whenever a bunch threatened to migrate towards him, in long scaley threads, he discouraged them with a blast from the extinguisher. Soon, Johnny's fingers connected with the housewife's neck. He found a strong beat at her carotid. "Good pulse. Maybe a faint only." He reached down and hooked her tongue free from where it was blocking the corner of her mouth. Her harsh breathing eased off. |
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"Good deal." said Hank. "Is she in immediate danger?" Johnny looked around him and saw the circle of sun had moved away from the wall and over himself and his victim. "Yeah, we both are. We're the only source of heat now." "Emergency evac!" shouted both Roy and Hank at the same time. Hank nodded at Roy in agreement. "Use our rope to tie her off. What sized airway, Johnny?" "A six. She'll do with a Berman. But we can't just drag her out of here. We'll both get bitten. They're surrounding us fast. They.. they're..." he began to stutter as an old fear, that first one, began to seep back into his very soul. "Easy there. Think, Johnny. You're a captain now. Think outside the bubble. You're better than you were before. Use what resources you've got. You can do it." encouraged Hank. Slowly, the panic began to fade and so did his useless hyperventilations. He caught the oral airway when it rolled in and he utilized it, double checking to be sure the woman's breaths continued regularly afterwards. A hulking bulk nearby glinted in the reflection of sunlight bouncing off his borrowed Captain's helmet plate. It was silver. Gage shouted. "Garbage can! Cap, A...gar-- I can catch em all...and put them i--" "Terrific, pal. Yes, you go corral 'em. One by one. Just enough to get yourselves out....okay?" Stanley encouraged. "Great idea. Way to think on your feet." "I'm not on my feet, Cap. This is bringing me to my knees." |
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Johnny reached for the second snake.. and canned it. Just like the first. Johnny's eyes began to unblur and some of the warmth began to return to his hands and feet. Finally, his heart rate began to slow down. Unbidden, came a whispered challenge of pure bravado from between his lips. "Oh, yeah? So you all wanna sink some fangs into somebody's legs do you? Come on, I dare any of you to try..." he growled, advancing like a seasoned handler in a pit of spitting cobras. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Later, much later, after a long shower at the station, Johnny had his chance to gloat. "See? So I finally got my revenge. And after all these years.." he said, still coming down from his adrenaline rush. "Did you kill any of em?" Roy asked out of morbid curiosity. "Didn't have to.." Gage told him. "We had to get her out first, remember? Glad she's gonna be okay." "Helped that she didn't have any bites on her." Hank agreed. "Glad we decided to go early. We made a difference.." Johnny said happily. Hank, infected, grinned right along with him. "Helper's high..." Beside them, Roy didn't smile. In fact, he seemed lost to the others in something unpleasant, or even... sad. Finally, he looked up and spoke what was on his mind. "Wish we could have made a difference for one other person, Johnny. Just one, for once..." DeSoto said, his eyes glistening in remembrance. Hank found he couldn't speak and all eyes turned to the bulletin board where an old rusted can still hung, on a nail. |
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************************************************** From: patti keiper <pattik1@hotmail.com> Date: Sat Apr 19, 2008 1:52 am Subject: Christened With Love.. Sploooosh! went the water can as it triggered in the mop closet. "Gage! Dang it all! This is my last shirt!" complained Chet. "If I wasn't such a nice guy, I'd make you spend the money to dry ALL of them out for me...!" he growled and danced in half irritation and half admiration around the vehicle bay as he ran the excess water off his curly head, shaking like a dog. In the kitchen, Gage cupped an ear forward with a few fingers. "Ooo, *tsk.tsk* Is that hot spot number four going off? Man, and he walked into today with both eyes wide open.." Johnny chuckled to Roy, who was clearing the table after breakfast. "You mean you'd soak a guy on a morning as cold as this?" DeSoto smiled. "Sure. Why not? It builds character. And this is my big revenge day for all the cans I ate." he said, hooking a thumb at his chest empathetically. "It's not that bad outside. The sun's out and it's clear as a bell." "Thank G*d we don't have to suffer riding the Crown to calls any more." Hank said, carefully keeping expression neutral at the war playing out between his two men. "Yeah, no open roof to worry about." Marco cracked up. Roy studied Cap with a look that bordered on incredulity. "You're letting them duke this out on purpose aren't you?" he asked him. "Why not? We all saw this day coming, didn't we? Besides, a little water never hurt anybody. Maybe things'll settle down now that Gage's has definitely proven himself to be the better bomber.." Stanley winked, animatedly turning to a new page in the newspaper. Stoker sniggered from where he was doing dishes. "The three year war. Who'd figured that the final battle would play out on a Monday of all days." |
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Johnny snorted. "Of course. Because it's the first day of the work week, his guard was down." Gage explained, still grinning like a banshee. "Perfect day to get him by the throat..." he said, pantomiming a neck twisting in his fingers. "Easy there, pal. You don't want to kill him now, do you?" asked Roy. "Just that practical joke streak in him. I'm tired of always being his easiest target..." Gage said, making a face. "So I'm finally wise-ing up." "It took this long?" Lopez quipped. "Very funny." Johnny simped at him. "Chet's got a complex and very devious mind. Took a while to figure him out." "Okay, I'll give you that one." Marco admitted. They all moused down as Chet emerged from the bay, wrapped in yet another white shower towel in a vain attempt to get the water dark wet staining out of his powder blue uniform shirt before the next call. Gage couldn't resist. "Isn't your first one dry yet?" "It's still dewy outside! Thankyouverymuch. And the sun's not hot enough yet and with no wind..." Kelly told him. "But I gotta hand it to ya, I never saw this day coming. My hat's off to ya." "Glad you liked it." Johnny said magnanimously. "Does this mean you'll lay off now on the Phantom pranks?" Chet fashioned innocent eyes, then started grinning like a fox. "Maybe... Maybe not. This could be the start of World War III." "Now that ....would be interesting..." commented Hank, not looking up from his column. Both Chet and Johnny rounded on Stanley. "Aww, Cap. How can you be the judge of anything? We can't target you in any of this, or we pay for it." Gage moped. "Yeah! That's right." agreed Kelly, standing side by side with Gage. They were in like poses of ire, with elbows on hips. "Privilege of rank, boys. Earn a pair of these and you, too, can be immune.." Cap said, tugging on his collar trumpets. |
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##10-4, Engine 51..## And L.A. summoned an urban rescue unit over another channel. The dispatcher returned. ##L.A., Engine 51. USAR 1 reports an E.T.A of twenty five minutes. All other units tied up.## "What?!" Hank said, throwing down the unkeyed mic in disgust he ran after his men with a K-12 kit, portapower case and crowbars. As he disappeared into the burned out hulk of the house, the birds around him continued singing gayly, undisturbed. *************************************************** From: patti keiper <pattik1@hotmail.com> Date: Sun Apr 20, 2008 12:49 pm Subject: AutoPilot.. Hank got to the edge of the ash lined beach in the back yard and shouted at his men. He spotted all four of them, running for the house. "Don't.. move.. a.. muscle! We're checking this out first!" Gage sputtered, beginning to panic. "Cap, if it's bad, he's got only four min--" "Don't you think I know that? We have to be safe first before we can even BEGIN to think about going in there. Get into fresh SCBA. Grab enough for all of us. We're gonna analyze position, obstacles and guess the total time we might need to enter and work inside the house, and then we're coming right back out here to plan all this out. Marco, keep hailing for him. On his emergency band." Roy was fighting his instincts. "No, wait. Cap, he's not responding. And it's gonna be forever before help arrives. We have to at least take a fast look.." Hank ignored him. "Get into this gear, now. You, and Marco. Full body harness with retrieval lines attached inside hose rollers to prevent abrasion. Wristlets for Chet for a fast out if he not buried and if the space he's in is big enough and vertical. Set up the hand-cranked mechanical winch and tripod." "But.." |
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Then Gage said something else. "Cap, can you ask the B.C. to set aside a special place for our families and any psychological care we might need that's near to but off of the rescue site? To do otherwise will probably... just invite charges of insensitivity later. I... don't want ANYBODY else we know... trying to attempt to enter or stay in the immediate rescue area. Just in case Chet proves to be-.." he broke off, his face twisting. "Yeah, pal. I'll do that first thing. And Relief'll be here too, with food and tents." Another roar of helicopter rotors less familiar than the fire department's suddenly grew louder. Both firefighters looked up to see the bright obnoxious blue and white coloring of Channel 8's television bird. Johnny mock spat onto the charred ground. "Oh, no. D*mn it. Not the press, too!" he choked. "Cap, we gotta send them away.. Now's not a good t--" Hank shushed him with a grip on the shoulder. He was firm but urgent. "Go be our Public Information Officer. That way, they can't scrutinize or question our every move. Be as forthcoming as possible, without compromising the integrity of this operation, Chet, or the rest of the department. I'll let you know the second we find Kelly." "I'll go call Rampart now and then wait for that civvie pilot and those two reporters to land." said Gage, pulling off his mask. Hank watched him walk away from the debris site, fully carrying the weight of the world on his two small shoulders. |
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************************************************** From: patti keiper <pattik1@hotmail.com> Date: Sun Apr 20, 2008 7:27 pm Subject: In the spirit of Free Spirits.. Cap continued to talk to Roy and Lopez as they checked each crevice, nook and cranny near the place the stairwell had been. That location was at the very center of the uneven pile of blackened wood and melted insulation. And everywhere, footing was treacherously slippery from fire hose slag and an ashy fire created mud. Sizzling drips abounded from depths of the charcoiled ruins as steam and water vapor condensed and found its way down towards gravity. Even past their helmets, the slime got in. Hank, too, was soon wet to the skin through his trousers from where he stood as the lookout officer, watching them. "Our continued safety, once we're at his buried location, is going to be maintained solely by continuous forced-air ventilation. We may have to do some hot work to get rid of some of these water pipes. Stoker, keep monitoring conditions. I want to bring the current 8% LEL concentration of our mix down at the base of the pile here to 50% of the PEL." "Cap, that's a lot of pumping to do." Mike said softly. "We'll let's get started." Hank told him quietly. "If this wind keeps up, we'll be able to take our masks off soon." he said, eyeing up the street visible through the black bones of the house's combusted frame. "Roy! Marco! Still watch your radios. Spark risk remains! Use only when you're away from any holes!" "Right, Cap." DeSoto shouted back, giving him a thumbs up hand signal. Approaching sirens gave all the gang a burst of urgent tears when that station's arrival signaled the twelve minute mark with still no positive sign of Chet's whereabouts. ##Station 51, this is Ladder Nine. We can begin a fog over your location at your discretion.## Hank got on his radio. "Ladder Nine. Set up on the north side, upwind. We have no obvious water combustibles. Tolerances are within working parameters. This fire was contained without foam or chemicals two hours, ten ago." ##Heard from your victim?## asked the grizzled captain incoming. Stanley hesitated, not wanting to answer truthfully, but he made his lips move for the job's sake. "Not yet." ##Location?## "Single level sub-basement, central stairwell... exact middle. uh.... U- Under the first floor of plywood and a few rafters." ##Inundation risk?## "None. The drain tiling for this house is still very good. Our water from earlier's not pooling at all, even at floor level." ##I copy that traffic, 51. Sending in two backup team pairs to help with your search and rescue. L.A. reports USAR 1's ETA, as fifteen out.## "Nine, copy. Embers are at depth only, on wood. We had the walls completely gutted out and flooded. No open fire remains near us. Roof collapse is not a threat." Cap said ironically angry, peering up at the square of mockingly blue sky above them. ##I'll be right in... B.C. Seven's here. I'll update him for you, Hank. Concentrate on your lost man now. I got your back.## -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Johnny Gage's fingers fumbled at the catch snaps of the biophone where he crouched on an already spread out yellow shock sheet. He was shaking so hard, he couldn't plug in the aerial antennae. "Here." said Paramedic Craig Brice gently, doing it for him. Startled, Johnny looked up for a long, shocked moment, and then against his will, he began to weep. "It's Chet. He might be gone by now, Craig. The whole floor came down on him." he whispered, almost coming to pieces. "There hasn't been a single..*sniff*...word from him." |
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