by Jamie Davis
“Good, I’m glad to hear it,” the Chief responded. Dean could hear the relief in his voice. “You both just stay put until the police get there and check things out. We’re still conferring on what to do next. We’ll have a plan on how to handle this soon. We’re working with hospital administrators, too, since this might involve a member of their staff. Stay put for now. I’ll be back in touch when I have more information.”
“Okay, Chief,” Dean said. “We’ll hang tight and wait until you get back to us.” The Chief said goodbye and hung up. Dean looked at Ashley. “Well, that puts a damper on a rather nice evening.”
“Just ‘rather nice?’” Ashley asked with a sly smile. “I thought it was way better than that.” She swung her legs off the bed, placing her bare feet on the floor. “I suppose we should get dressed. The police are probably going to want to lay eyes on us to make sure we’re alright.” She started walking across the floor, picking up the items of clothing she had discarded as Dean had removed them the night before. She slid on her panties and slipped on her bra. Dean started looking around for his clothes in the pile on the floor. Ashley hooked a toe in the waistband of his boxers and flipped them up to him with a flick of her knee. Soon they were both dressed again and sitting on the edge of the bed in the dark room.
“I’m sorry to drag you into this, Ashley,” Dean said.
“You didn’t drag me into anything,” she replied. “I told you. This is why I’m here. This conflict is important. In some ways, it feels bigger now than just a problem in Elk City. There’s something else in play here. You’re part of it and I’m here for you, but there's more.”
“I’m glad you’re so confident,” Dean said. “I’m kind of freaking out inside.”
“I understand that,” Ashley said. “I just have faith in something higher. I know that I have a purpose because I’ve been an instrument of change many times before. I’m not saying it will be easy, or without sacrifice, but it’s always been worth it in the end.”
“Faith,” Dean repeated. “I always thought of that as something some minister on TV talked about. You talk about it as if it’s real.”
“Oh, it’s real, Dean,” she replied. Ashley slipped arm around him, gently rubbing his back with her hand. “Faith as tiny as a mustard seed can be used to move mountains. It’s true. I’ve seen it.”
“I don’t know, Ashley,” Dean said, looking into her eyes. “I’ve never had much faith in anything higher than me. Certainly not like you are talking about.”
“That’s why I’m here, too,” the angel replied. “I’m here to restore your faith. I’m here to restore faith for many people, and you’re going to help me.”
Dean got up from the bed and crossed to the window, looking outside up and down the street. He didn’t see anything this time either but he was worried for their safety.
“Do you see anything?” Ashley asked.
“No, but I’m not sure what I’m looking for,” Dean responded. “I’m concerned about our safety. Someone could have followed us here from the restaurant.”
“Nobody followed us,” Ashley said. She sounded very confident.
“How can you be sure?” Dean asked.
“It’s a perk of the job,” she said. “The Eldara are hidden unless we wish to reveal ourselves. I wanted privacy, and I have always masked myself when returning here. You were masked with me when we left the parking lot downtown. I’m sure no one followed us.”
“What, we turned invisible or something?” Dean asked. He had learned over the past few months at Station U that some things he previously thought were impossible were very possible. But invisibility?
“Not invisible, just… let’s just say that we were not worth noticing,” she answered. “If someone had looked our way, they would have been distracted by something else as we passed by. I have used that technique for a long time to secure my home. It’s habit by now. It’s important to have a sanctuary. I’ve learned that over the years.”
“So this is like the ‘Bat Cave’ or Superman’s Fortress of Solitude?”
Ashley giggled. “You’re too cute, Dean,” she said. “Sure. If you want to think of it that way, then yes. Question, though? If I’m Batman, does that make you Robin?”
“Hey!” he said. The door buzzer below sounded and interrupted his comeback line.
Ashley crossed to the door of her apartment in the living room. Dean followed. She keyed the intercom. “Yes?”
“Elk City Police, Ma’am,” the voice downstairs replied. “I’m sorry to bother you. We’re looking for a city employee, paramedic Dean Flynn?”
“He’s here; we’re fine. Come on up.” She pressed the door release for a few seconds and then let go.
“If there’s some sort of distraction field, how did they find us?” Dean asked.
“They weren’t sure they were in there right place, even though you gave the Chief the exact address,” Ashley explained. “If I had said that you weren’t here and that I didn’t know you, they would have returned to their station and reported that they couldn’t locate us.”
There was a knock at the door. She looked through the peep-hole. “May I see your identification, please?” she asked through the door. She continued to look through the peep-hole and seemed satisfied with what she saw because she stood back and unlocked the door, opening it.
Two uniformed police officers and a detective with his badge showing clipped on his belt stood outside. The detective spoke first. “Detective Kineally,” he said showing his photo identification in a flip-open wallet. He slid the ID back in his pants pocket. “Ms. Moore, Mr. Flynn. I’m here to check on your well-being. You were told to expect us?”
“Yes,” Dean said. “I talked to my Chief. He told us you were coming. Is there anything we can do?”
“No,” the detective said. “I just needed to lay eyes on you and verify you were alright. I’m going to leave Officers Burke and Platt here outside your apartment building for the rest of the night,” he glanced at his watch. “As much as is left, anyway. They’ll leave when they see you leave.”
“Is there any information on who is responsible for the fire?” Dean asked.
“Nothing concrete,” Detective Kineally said. “Although, there was a security camera recording across the street that may have seen the individuals involved before they put their masks on. We’ll catch them. These types always make mistakes.” He looked from Dean to Ashley. “Okay, I’ve seen you both. That’ll satisfy the higher-ups. If you need anything or have any trouble, Burke and Platt here will be just outside in their patrol car.”
“Thank you all very much for your concern,” Ashley said. “We’ll let you know if we need anything.” She closed the door and turned the lock as the police officers and detective started to head downstairs to the street.
Dean watched her turn to face him and lean back against the door, striking a dramatic pose. “Oh, I do declare. Here we are trapped in this apartment,” she said in a mock southern accent. “Whatever shall we do for the next two hours until we have to leave for work?”
Dean smiled. He was falling in love with this woman. There was no doubt about that. He could feel it more each time they were together. “I’m sure we can think of something Ma’am,” Dean said advancing towards her. “Don’t you worry. I’m a trained medical professional.”
She laughed in delight and ducked under his reaching arms, racing past him back to the bedroom. He chased after her, shutting the bedroom door as he went through it. This was definitely not a Batman and Robin situation.
Chapter 39
Dean’s return to work at Station U that morning was more eventful than he would have liked. The police officers outside of Ashley’s apartment followed him as he dropped her off at the hospital, and then continued tailing him until he arrived at the Station. He noticed another patrol car there in the parking lot, although this one was empty. He waved at the officers, who had been outside of Ashley’s apartment, as he climbed out of his pickup. H
e walked over to the station doors, used his key to unlock it and went inside to the squad room.
There was another police officer seated in the station in one of the recliners. He looked up as Dean entered, noticed his uniform, nodded and went back to looking at the tablet computer he was holding. Brynne was already there, and Bill and Lynne were packing up their stuff to leave. Freddy was in the kitchenette whipping up breakfast. It filled the squad room with delicious smells of food that had his mouth watering.
“Hi guys,” he said. “Exciting night, I guess?”
“Dean, you have no idea,” Bill said. “We’ve had police following us everywhere since the fire. Luckily we didn’t have any calls. I’m afraid we’ll scare away some of our patients.”
Lynne came over and nodded to the police officer on the recliner. “Officer Waters is here watching the station. His replacement will come by around lunchtime.”
Dean went over and the officer set a plate of what looked like a western omelette down to reach up and shake his offered hand. “Dean,” he said, “Dean Flynn.”
“I recognized you from your photo,” Officer Waters said. “We’ve had people looking for you most of the night. I’m Rick.” He picked up his plate and took another bite. “I have to say, you paramedics have it nice here. You have your own live-in chef and everything.”
“Freddy is in-between homes for a while, and we couldn’t just have him out scaring kids on the street.”
“That’s for sure,” the officer replied. “I’m just glad nothing happened to you. After that photo of you and your date came in to Headquarters following the fire, we weren’t sure what had happened.”
“We’re both fine,” Dean replied. “We didn’t even know anything was wrong until my partner finally got through to me on my phone. I’m a pretty sound sleeper, so I didn’t wake up for the other calls.”
Bill and Lynne were headed out to the parking lot to leave, and Rick got up to follow them and check on things out there. Dean looked at his partner across the room after the officer left the squad room.
“What’s happening out there, Brynne?” Dean asked her. “This is crazy. Does James know anything?”
She looked up from where she was sitting in front of the computer. “He’s been talking to police and fire department leaders, as well as the Mayor. They’ve all assured him that they will protect the Unusual community,” Brynne said. “James isn’t taking any chances, though. He has beefed up security for his properties and Rudy has called in outlying members of the pack for additional support.” Rudolf, or just Rudy to his friends, was James’ second in command for the Elk City area. He was also a werewolf and the pack leader for the region.
“James is most worried that there’s going to be an open confrontation that will get caught on someone’s cell phone video and posted on the internet,” she continued. “Some of Rudy’s pack are making statements that they’ll do whatever they have to do to protect themselves. You can’t blame them.” Her phone chirped, and she glanced at it and froze.
“Damn.”
“What?” Dean asked. “Is that James?”
“Yeah. He just sent me some still frames of the surveillance or security video from last night before the fire,” Brynne said. “Here, take a look.” She turned her smartphone screen and showed him a photo there. Dean instantly recognized his paramedic predecessor in this job, Zach, and some other guy, dressed all in black on a stretch of sidewalk downtown.
“Well, that seals it,” Dean said. “If Zach’s involved, there’s now a tie-in to me.” He shook his head and looked away. Was all of this somehow his fault? If he had handled things differently when Zach first reached out to him, would events have turned out differently?
Brynne must’ve been channeling James’ mind reading capabilities. “Hey, Probie!” she said sternly. “This is not your fault. That guy was messed up and he will answer for it. He should have never been put in this job.”
“Well, I was supposed to be his messed up replacement,” Dean said. “We know that Mike’s tied up with this somehow even if the Chief isn’t sure. He recommended me for the job. Clearly he thought I would follow in Zach’s footsteps.”
“And yet you didn’t,” Brynne consoled him. “You’re a good paramedic and a decent guy. Mike miscalculated his play on this one. My guess is that he thought you’d be bitter about being assigned here after graduating first in the class. He probably hoped that would turn you against the patients when you found out who they were. He was wrong, right?”
Dean nodded. Mike might have been right in his assessment about his student being bitter, except that Dean liked a challenge, and the patients here were even more challenging to treat than normal humans. He not only had medical problems to treat, but he also had to wrap his brain around their Unusual nature as part of formulating a plan of care. It also helped that Brynne was so dedicated to her work, and was a good preceptor for him as he continued in his probationary period.
“What turned Mike against this job?” Dean asked. “Based on what everyone says he was the best Station U paramedic there was. I thought he just moved on to the academy as part of a promotion, but now I have to wonder.”
“Mike was my preceptor when I started, and later my partner,” Brynne said. “There was a point early on where we were getting resistance from the Unusual community about getting treatment from human paramedics and doctors. That changed when I showed up at an accident scene involving James and Rudy. There were injuries, and I handled not only the injuries, but protected their identities and Unusual nature.”
“James decided that he needed to take the initiative to introduce the Unusual community to some of us,” she continued. “I started shadowing him on his rounds as their leader. I helped manage several tough medical issues that had been going untreated. The stories of what I and the other medics at Station U were doing started to spread through the community of Unusuals and we started getting more calls.” Brynne shook her head. “The problem was that James and I became close during that time frame. Mike didn’t like it, in much the same way you didn’t, but even more protective. He refused to let me live my life, and he eventually confronted James about it.”
“That couldn’t have gone well,” Dean speculated. “What happened?”
“It should tell you how far James has come in modern times,” Brynne said. “He listened to Mike’s concerns, and tried to explain to him that everything was fine. When the concerns turned to open threats, I turned to the Elk City leadership and filed a formal complaint of discrimination and bias. From what I’ve heard, Mike didn’t even deny it. But, he’d been on the job too long, and had too many friends in high places, so he didn’t get fired. He was sent to the academy under the pretense that he was burned out from the streets. Unless he does something overt, his job is protected by the union, so unless he screws up again, he’ll retire there. The good news is that he’s an excellent instructor. You certainly turned out okay.”
“Yeah,” Dean thought aloud. “He’s a great instructor. I thought the best of him and respected him.”
“It’s hard when you realize that your heroes are human, Dean,” Brynne said. “I used to respect him, too. I guess in some ways he still has a lot to offer to emergency medical services as an instructor. But he’s also a bigot, and he’s mixed up in this whole thing somehow. As long as he works at the academy and headquarters, he’s got a pipeline of information about what is going on, and he can funnel that info to Zach and others in The Cause. The Chief suspects it, but can’t convince Mike’s other friends at HQ and City Hall of that fact. So, he stays - and more importantly, he stays in the loop.”
They just stood in silence for a few moments until the quiet was broken by the police officer’s return from the parking lot.
“All set out there,” Rick said as he came into the squad room. “You guys mind if I put something on the TV? We don’t usually get to watch the tube during the day shift.”
“As long as it’s not ‘The View,’ I don�
��t care,” Dean joked. He looked at Brynne. “I’ll get started on the shift checks on the gear and the ambulance.” She nodded and went back to her work on the computer. Dean went into the ambulance bay still thinking about how screwed up this whole situation was. All he could do, all he had the power to do, was to keep his head down and do his job. Ashley seemed to think that, at some point, him doing his job was going to be the thing that shifted the situation here in Elk City one way or the other. She had told him that he just needed to keep doing what he was doing, and when the time came, he’d know the right thing to do. It was a good thing she had such faith in the higher order of things. He only had faith in her, but maybe that was how it was supposed to be. Still he wanted to be out of his probationary period and be a full paramedic.
He started in on the medication checks, looking at expiration dates and counting to make sure they had the right amount. He always thought such redundancy was pointless. He knew Bill and Lynne had done the same thing in the last hour of their shift to make sure everything was stocked up before they left for the day. But, he guessed that being careful and methodical was part of the job, so he kept on going. He was finishing up that job when the first call of the day came in over the ceiling speakers.
“Medical Box 724, Ambulance One-Nine-One, respond for emergency maternity at 1267 Ridge Road,” the dispatcher’s dispassionate voice said over the radio.
Dean zipped up the last bag he was checking and stowed it back in its compartment. He was climbing down from the back of the ambulance and shutting the doors when Brynne came in from the squad room. As usual she headed to driver’s side, and he turned and went around to climb into the passenger side of the cab. He put the ambulance on the street with dispatch via the radio as she pulled out through the parking lot and then activated the lights and switched on the siren. Then they sped off to the call.
Dean was excited. He’d seen a baby delivered during his hospital rotation, but this might be his first chance to deliver a baby himself. It was surprisingly rare for paramedics in most systems. Most mothers made it to the hospital before the baby was ready to come. Now and then, though, they got the opportunity assist in a birth. He shifted in his seat as Brynne drove, running through the important steps he remembered about the process of childbirth in his mind.