by C. S. Won
Jae was surprised. He never knew his father had gotten into a fight. He did remember seeing him come home one day with his hands bandaged up, but he figured those were just injuries sustained in the line of duty, not from a scuffle.
“Did you know he was in line to become station chief?” The chief asked.
Jae raised an eyebrow. “No, I didn’t know that.”
“Aye, but he declined. Said he had a more important job: raising you. As a captain, he already had a busy schedule, but becoming station chief would have meant even longer hours, and he wouldn’t do it.” The chief reclined in his seat, resting his hands behind his head. “He was honored, of course, and even tempted, but his need to spend whatever little time he had with you took precedence over everything. So, the honor passed over to me, undeservedly so in my opinion. I begged your father to take it, but he wouldn’t have any of it.” The chief snorted. “Most men would have accepted the position without hesitation, but your father had different priorities. More important priorities, I’d say.”
“You’re too hard on yourself, chief. You’re a fine leader. I’ve learned too much from you to say otherwise,” Jae said.
“But your father would have been better.”
Jae left it at that, unsure of what to say. The chief drew his hands from behind his head and clamped them down on his desk. “Besides, I would have—”
The station siren wailed, over their conversation. Jae jumped up from his seat. Outside, footsteps rumbled, firefighters rushing to get dressed in their battle gear.
“Let’s get to it, son,” The chief said, walking around his desk. Jae nodded and bolted out the door.
Chapter 5
They sat together in a circle near the back of the truck, beneath the droning hum of the siren. Jae sat at the base of the circle, near the exit off the truck, staring at the muddled reflection that peered back from the helmet in his lap. Gabe sat to his right, face pressed against the window, gawking at every attractive woman that they passed by on the street. Stephanie, checking to make sure every tool in her belt and pouch were where they were supposed to be, sat to his left. Adam, as he was prone to do, sat away from everyone else, occupying his own space in a corner. A familiar, haughty look was drawn on his face.
Gabe pulled away from the window and turned toward their trusted and capable driver, Tommy Rachetti. “Tommy boy, where are we headed again?”
“Apartment complex on North Ave.,” Tommy said, looking over at his inquirer. “Big ol’ shit storm of a fire, as I hear it. Station 12 is already there, and Station 3 and Station 9 are also on their way.”
“God Almighty, look at that brunette!” Gabe pressed his face against the window again. “I think she saw me looking at her through the window. I caught a glimpse of a smile.”
“You always think you’re seeing a smile, Gabe,” Stephanie said.
“I don’t think; I know. I’m attuned to this kind of stuff.”
“You need to find a new hobby, Kwon. Chasing after skirts is tiresome work. Overrated, even,” Tommy said.
“Are you kidding me? There’s nothing better than spending quality time with a lovely specimen of a woman,” Gabe said.
“I can name three, actually: beer, football, and working on my car,” Tommy said with a chortle. “Trust me, when you get to my age and have been married for as long as I have, the last thing you want to do is spend any amount of time with a woman. No offense, Steph.”
“None taken. I’ve heard worse, believe me,” she said.
“Ease up on the doom and gloom, Tommy boy, Jae here is about to propose to his girl. Don’t try and scare the guy.”
“Shit, I forgot.” Tommy cleared his throat. “What I meant to say was that no two marriages are alike. Jae, I’m sure your marriage will be long, fulfilling, and happy. Unlike mine.” Tommy tilted his head up and looked at Jae through the rearview mirror. Two dull, green eyes peered back from the reflector. “I’m sorry to hear about what happened at Six Flags. I hope things work out better at the park.”
“Thanks, Tommy, I appreciate it,” Jae said.
“Have you prepared a speech yet? A poem? A song? If you need help on that front, I can assist. I have a wealth of experience in that field,” Gabe said.
Jae waved a hand. “No need, I have a little speech prepared, remember? Short and sweet.”
“That’s how they like it, Jae. You’re the man.”
“So you actually intend to go through with this farce?” All faces turned to look at Adam. Jae clenched his jaw. Are you seriously going to start this again, right here, right now? “Tommy had the right of it. Marriage is poison. Nothing good ever comes out of it.”
“I never said marriage was poison, just that my marriage is poison,” Tommy corrected him.
The corner of Adam’s lips slipped into the slightest of smiles. “She’s going to fuck you so hard when she divorces you in a few years, chink.”
“Here’s the dipshit running his mouth again,” Gabe said, leaning forward. “Listen, no one gives a fuck about your opinion. Maybe if you played the game right your ex-wife wouldn’t have run off with another man.”
Adam stared at him with cold intent. “One more word about my ex-wife and I’ll end you, so stay the fuck out of this, chink. This doesn’t concern you.”
“Pigskin lowlife, I really should—”
“It’s alright, Gabe,” Jae said, raising a hand. “Let him say what he wants to say.”
“But—”
“It’s alright; let him speak.”
Adam turned his attention back to Jae. “My advice to you, Yeon, is to fuck her and then be done with it. That’s all women are good for anyways, a wet hole to stick your cock in. Once you’ve had your way, don’t hang around. Get in and get out. If you put a ring on that, all pretenses will melt away and you’ll see the real her, and it won’t be pretty. Trust me if you want to know what’s good for you.”
“You asshole!” Stephanie said, nearly springing out of her seat. “What the fuck is wrong with you? What’s with the constant hostility?”
“What are you so mad about, woman? Don’t direct your anger at me just because you’re almost thirty and still single with no children to keep you company and no man to occupy your bed. Get angry at yourself for being so undesirable.”
“I should punch the shit out of you.”
“And that’s why women shouldn’t be firefighters. Not only are you weak, but you can’t even keep your emotions in check. The only reason you’re here is because of your name: Lenhardt. If your father wasn’t a firefighter before you, and your grandfather before that, you wouldn’t even be here. Do you realize how many favors your dad had to call in just to make sure his little girl got the inside track at our station? Too many to count. Think about that before you spew your misguided anger at me, bitch.”
Stephanie pulled back, face twisted in shock and rage, her hands curled tight into reddening fists. She lurched toward Adam as though she was about to strike him, but something stopped her. She unfurled her fingers and eased back into her corner of the truck, the indignation fading away from her face. “I think I understand now.” A small laugh bubbled from her lips. “I can’t believe I’ve been so oblivious this whole time.”
“What are you talking about?” Adam asked.
“You’re insecure. You always have been, and I’m just realizing it.”
The edges of Adam’s lips pulled back into a hard frown. “I told you; think before you direct your anger at me.”
“You feel small and so you lash out, trying to bring others down to your pathetic level. You crave attention, but no one will give it to you. So you cry out, spewing insults and instigating fights, trying to get all eyes on you. You like to think you’re so important, but no one will acknowledge or respect you, so you sit home alone at night, crying in your sleep, wondering why no one loves you, wallowing and festering in your own pool of anger and hate.”
“Bitch,” Adam said, baring teeth. “What do you know?”
“I know you’re jealous of Jae.”
“Fuck you.”
“Everybody knows it. The dirty looks you give him. The shit you say behind his back. All you do is complain and whine about Jae like some jilted lover. You’re obsessed with him and his success. You see him and wonder, ‘why can’t I be like that?’ But you know you’ll never be like him because you’re not even a tenth of what he is, and it infuriates you. So you try and sabotage him—telling him that his marriage is going to fail, that his life is going to turn to shit, whispering lies into his ear. That shit is so pathetic, but then again, I guess it suits you. It’s who you are and what you do.” Stephanie smoothed out her hair. “I’m glad your wife left you. She’s clearly better off without you.”
Adam banged a fist into the seat next to him. “Fuck you!” He banged it again. “Fuck you! You don’t know shit about me you, mouthy little cunt. If you weren’t a woman, I’d hit you. I swear to God, I would hit you.” He turned his fury to Jae. “You better hope your bitch isn’t as annoying as this cunt, or you’ll—”
The blow drove Adam into his seat. He slumped over to the side, eyes wide, face flushed red, and a trickle of blood sliding down from the corner of his mouth. “Guh,” he croaked, jaw set at a crooked angle. Face twisting in shock, he jerked his head upward and covered his mouth with the back of his hand. Jae stood over him, right hand clenched into a fist, knuckles smudged with blood.
“What the fuck is going on back there?” Tommy said, trying to get a good look through the rearview mirror.
“Jesus, Jae!” Gabe said.
“You . . . you hit me,” Adam said. The words dribbled out of his mouth. “You hit me.”
Jae clenched Adam’s collar and pulled him forward. Jae reared his fist back, ready to administer another blow. “Apologize.”
“What?”
“You can insult me all you like. I don’t care. I try not to let it bother me, but I won’t let you badmouth Madeline or my friends any further. Apologize right now or I’ll hit you again.”
Adam gawked upward, his face a disoriented scrawl of confusion. His teeth were stained pink, and his left cheek was already swelling, glowing like a soft ember. He struggled for a brief moment in Jae’s grip but quickly gave up on that notion, arms falling limp at his sides. Strung out by the nook of his collar, he closed his eyes and exhaled. Unmoving and unresisting, he was at Jae’s mercy. Does he want me to hit him again?
Jae threw him back into his seat. Adam wilted as he landed against the cushion, like a puppet cut from his strings, head hanging against his chest. He didn’t even move to wipe the blood trickling down his chin. Jae walked back to his seat, angry with himself. He didn’t get his apology, but he no longer cared. No doubt there will be repercussions for this. Maybe that was Adam’s plan all along, to get me in trouble.
A snicker echoed behind his back. Jae turned around and saw Adam trying to stifle snorts of laughter. The shock had melted away, replaced by an all-too-familiar arrogance. He still bled, but it didn’t seem to bother him anymore. “Fuck you, chink,” he spat out. Jae curled his hands into fists. “Go ahead; hit me again. I don’t care. Right here.” Adam presented his unguarded cheekbone.
“You’ve lost it, Adam. Christ’s sakes, you’ve lost it,” Gabe said.
Adam laughed in Jae’s face. “You want to know why I keep telling you to stay away from Madeline, chink? Because I know a dirty little secret.” He edged forward, lowering his voice into a furtive whisper just loud enough for everyone to hear. “I fucked her. I fucked her raw, and I fucked her good. And she loved every minute of it.” He pulled back into his seat. “So much for your perfect little angel, huh? You actually—”
Jae’s fist found its way back to Adam’s face in two quick strikes, one sinking deep into his puffy left cheek and the other planting hard underneath his chin. Adam reeled back, blood pumping from his mouth. More strikes would have followed if it wasn’t for Gabe and Stephanie’s quick intervention, lunging uppercuts and swinging right hooks cut short by their combined effort. Jae roared, urging his friends to let him go, to let him kill the bastard. Tommy yelled something from the front of the truck, but Jae couldn’t hear it through the anger steaming his head.
“He’s not worth it!” Stephanie said, wrapping herself around his shoulders.
“Don’t believe this lying asshole!” Gabe said, pulling Jae’s hands back.
Adam was lying slack on his side, spitting out blood, laughing at them while he checked for missing teeth. Please, let me have hurt this motherfucker.
“I don’t care if you believe me or not.” Adam stuck a finger in his mouth, and then spat out a glob of blood. “But your lovely fiancé-to-be is an illusion. She’s nothing but a whore.”
Chapter 6
Jae took his helmet off and wiped the sweat from his brow.
A sea of fire surrounded him, almost completely circling him. Trees nearby faltered beneath the feverish weight of the inferno, shrinking as if in awe of its power. Swirling smoke mingled into spools that drifted upward to bruise the sky black, shrouding the sun in a tinge of grey. The concrete underneath his feet almost seemed to shimmer, like a body of rippling water.
A large crowd had gathered behind a wall of police officers and firefighters. Several of the spectators, lips twisted in sorrow and hands clasped together in prayer, voiced their concerns about a trapped dog or their grandmother’s ashes or some such valuable as tears brewed in their eyes. Their distress fell on deaf ears; the officers barked orders to stand back and keep a safe distance. Bulky, white news vans with large dish antennas had set up camp behind the crowd. Reporters spoke in hushed and dramatic tones, updating television viewers with the grim news, while bearded cameramen filmed the conflagration, coming as close to the fire as they dared before being driven back by an officer.
Jae wiped his brow again. Gabe walked up next to him and tilted his helmet upward. Adam stepped up behind them, still fussing with his busted lip, eyes hidden in shadow.
“What a fire,” Gabe said, whistling. Indeed it was. Firefighters were doing their best to quell the blaze, with half a dozen hoses spraying large mists of water into the fire. Still, it refused to yield. The battle was going to be a long and difficult one.
“There you are!” Chief McAdams hurried over to them from the other side of the parking lot, gut bouncing as he ran. Soot coated the whiskers of his beard in black patches, and a layer of glistening sweat laminated his face, giving him an odd shine of sorts. “I need you to . . . Jesus, Erste, what the hell happened to your face?”
Adam glowered, doing his best to hide his wounds. “It’s nothing, sir.”
“Nothing my ass, it looks like you just went ten rounds. What the hell happened, boy?”
“It was my fault,” Jae said. “We had a disagreement and things escalated. I shoulder the blame.”
Chief McAdams looked at him. “Disagreement? Escalation? You two had a fight?” He threw his hands on top of his head, growling. “I don’t have time for this. Right now, I need you, Gabe, and Adam to head to complex thirteen and assist with evacuation. The fire is fresh on that one, no thanks to this bitch of a fire spreading its spawn everywhere, so that means civilians could still be trapped inside.”
“Me, Jae, and . . . Adam?” Gabe asked.
“Did I stutter, Mr. Kwon? Or are your ears clogged?”
“No sir, it’s just—”
“No problem, chief. We’ll take care of it.” Jae said, intervening before Gabe could say anything further. “What about Stephanie, where is she?”
“She’s with Tommy and the others, helping Station 9 with the hose. Now get your asses moving. Lives could be at stake here.”
“Yes sir.” Jae turned to his assigned partners. “Let’s go.”
The first floor of complex thirteen appeared to have already been evacuated, with every door open and spewing smoke, but they still checked each apartment just to make sure. When that was finished, they climbed up the flight of steps to
the second floor, wading through thick, coagulating smoke. Door 132a appeared in front of Jae as they finished their ascent. Right away the three formed a triangle at its base. Crouching to the right of the door, Jae gripped the knob and applied pressure. It eased open soundlessly. He poked his head in and felt a wave of heat push against his face.
“Is anyone there? We’re here to help,” he called out. No reply came but for the rumbling of the fire. He turned to Adam. “Go in and see if anyone is still in there.”
He looked at Jae like he was mad. “Why? Nobody answered back. This apartment has been vacated already. Let’s move on.”
“We have to make sure. There could be someone unconscious in there for all we know.”
“Stop wasting my time. You goddamn know well enough this apartment is empty.” Adam appeared as though struck by a thought. “You’re sending me in just so you can search all the other apartments yourself, aren’t you? You want the glory for yourself when you save someone.”
“I don’t have time for this. Get in there, or I’ll make you get in there.”
Adam scowled, clearly unhappy with his task. Grumbling through bruised lips, he grabbed his breathing mask, pulled it over his face, and connected it to the compressed air canister clamped to his back. The insufflating of his breath came and went in wheezing, measured drones after switching on the pressure. He stared at Jae through his visor with thin, hateful eyes. Without a word, he slumped on all fours into the apartment, disappearing inside an undulating brume of smoke.
“God, what a child,” Gabe said, once Adam was out of earshot.
“Come on, let’s get moving.”
The door to 132b hung slightly ajar, a stream of noxious vapors spilling through a small crack at the top. Without any prompting, they strapped on their air masks, switched on their oxygen tanks, and nodded at each other before helping themselves in. The search was a quick but thorough one, the apartment long abandoned and left to the mercy of the fire.
Clambering up the stairs to the third floor, they sprinted with their heads low to the first door that awaited them, 133a. Jae took a knee to the right of the door and rattled the knob. Locked. He moved in front of the door, legs bent at a slight angle, and rammed his shoulder into the frame. The door shuddered, but held firm. He unpeeled his Halligan and jammed it inside the crook of the door, leaning into it as he twisted and pulled. The door jerked open with a loud crack, wood chips spraying out in a small shower of splinters. A copper hook chain prevented the door from opening any further, but Gabe took care of that with a stiff kick of his boot.