Dark of Night

by T. F. Walsh

  “Nope. Thanks.” Lu could tell from his closed expression that questions were not actually welcome. She’d figure out things as she went along as usual.

  After locking up her backpack, Lu went to look at the computer. It was relatively new and loaded. She lost track of time and place until she heard a dry cough behind her.

  “What the heck are ya doing there?” One of the guys — damn, was it Bill or Bob? — shuffled uncomfortably behind her.

  “I’m running some standard security programs to search for hidden viruses. They’re pretty common on these multi-user computers.”

  “We got a firewall.”

  “Yeah, I noticed. It can be cracked easily if you know what you’re doing.” Lu refocused on the screen. Not that she needed to; it would keep scanning until it got to the info she wanted, but she didn’t want to deal with whatshisname.

  “Whatcha looking for?”

  “Reports of unusual activity. I probably won’t figure this out for a while. Want me to call you when it’s done?”

  “Uh, yeah sure.” The man still hovered. “You know, we usually call the computer people and they tell us to plug and unplug things until it eventually starts working again.”

  “I used to be one of those computer people. Don’t worry. Your computer is in safe hands.” She smiled at him.

  “If you want to call the company — ”

  “The number’s on the side of the computer, yeah. And I may end up calling them, but it’s always good to check that your computer hasn’t been compromised first.” She watched him closely as she added, “Certain types of sites can cause a lot of damage.”

  “I’m sure you won’t find anything like that.” He backed out of the room. “I’ll leave you to it.”

  So that was it. Lu smiled to herself. He’s nervous about me finding out where he’s been surfing. Hopefully it wasn’t anything really bad she’d have to report. Whistleblowers didn’t tend to last long in any job …

  It felt good digging in the bowels of a computer. Lu was almost annoyed when the alarm tones shook her out of her own little playground. She closed the computer and ran for the pole. She couldn’t be the last one on the truck. As the newbie, that would be too embarrassing.

  She beat Ace by mere seconds, but that was good enough. As they headed out she listened to the details on the P.A.: male, senior, suspected cardiac arrest. It was probably good to get a few test runs in before she had to rush into a burning building with her new coworkers.

  With sirens blaring, they pulled up to a small bungalow on a quiet street. A woman waved frantically from the doorway then darted back inside like one of the little round birds flitting nervously around the lilac bushes. Lu followed the guys up to the house wondering who amongst them was the top medical person. They paused at the doorway waiting for her to enter. Figured she would be the one to deal with the obviously fragile wife.

  “Ma’am.” Lu smiled encouragingly. “Where’s the patient?”

  “He’s in here. He came back from his walk and then he started…” The woman pointed to an older man who looked decidedly gray. She pressed her hand to her face.

  “Can you tell me his name, any medicines he’s taking, and any current or past medical conditions?” While listening to the wife’s responses, Lu could overhear Ace questioning the man who at least was conscious and lucid. She wrote down the woman’s comments and then watched Bill and Ace run through a few tests on the man. The tests confirmed it was a stroke.

  “Do you have some coffee, ma’am?” Lu asked.

  “I just put some on …” She looked surprised at the question.

  “Okay, get a hot cup of coffee, put a good slosh of hard alcohol into it, and we’ll see if we can get your husband to take a bit.”

  The woman hurried to the kitchen. From her quick departure, she appeared glad of the mission. Lu looked over at Captain Reynolds who was watching Bill like a hawk. Maybe I’m not the only new kid on the team? Lu could empathize with Reynolds’s frustration. Bill seemed to take inordinately long checking the man’s vitals. Reynolds pulled Bill aside and Ace took over.

  After the woman returned with the coffee, Lu squeezed in beside Ace and held the mug up to the man’s lips. “Here, just take a quick sip of this.”

  The man did then promptly sputtered some back.

  “That’s good. Just a couple more sips,” Lu told him.

  “What the heck are you doing, Dawson?” Reynolds asked quietly, grabbing the mug back from her.

  “It’s a stroke, right? So you give him hot coffee and booze to increase blood flow to the brain.” She hoped the wife didn’t notice their exchange, but she was distracted by a small collie trying to barge into the room.

  Lu heard an ambulance pull up in front, the doors slam and two sets of heavy footsteps running toward them. The room disintegrated into bedlam as the paramedics further filled the small room barking orders and taking charge. While they were loading the patient onto the stretcher, the paramedic at the guy’s head sniffed suspiciously. “This guy been drinking?”

  “No,” Lu answered. “We just gave him some alcohol to get his blood to the brain.”

  “Great, so that limits what drugs we can give him.”

  “According to new medical data the best thing you can give him is alcohol, so unless you’re worried about mixing his drinks, I don’t think it’s a problem.” She smiled sweetly at the paramedic. “But now that you’re here, maybe we should get our butts in gear and get this guy to the hospital.”

  Lu turned to the man’s wife. “We’ll leave you in these paramedics’ capable hands. I’m sure your husband will be fine.” She clomped out of the room. She heard the rest of her team follow, relieved they hadn’t felt the need to apologize for her actions.

  Who’d have thought Springfield would be more current on medical procedures than the big city? Then again she’d had to present her former boss with reams of medical research before he’d accepted the practice.

  On the ride back to the hall Reynolds let her have it.

  “What do you think you were you doing back there, Dawson? Have you even read the P&P manual? There are a set number of medical responses laid out in the manual and alcohol is not any of them. We’ll leave those kinds of remedies to the naturopaths and witch doctors. Our choices for a patient suffering a stroke or heart attack are nitroglycerin, if not previously administered, or oxygen if required.”

  “Sorry sir, but it’s been proven that — ”

  “I’m not finished. You were also disparaging of the attending paramedics. That is unacceptable, Dawson. You never make a fellow rescue worker look bad in the client’s eyes. We have to work with these men and women on a continuous basis. There will be a note on your record and this will not be repeated.”

  “Yes, sir, but — ”

  “What if the man has some other problem crop up and the widow blames us for nontraditional medical procedure?”

  “Is it better to cover our asses or give the man the best treatment to decrease brain damage following his stroke?”

  “You’re not a doctor, Dawson. I will not have a rogue player on my team.”

  Oh shit, she’d gone too far. Lu backtracked quickly. “Yes, sir. I’m sorry.” God, was she going to get fired on her first day? Could she even go back to retail?

  Captain Reynolds must’ve caught the panic in her eyes because his tone softened minimally. “You’d better be, because I don’t want to have this conversation again.” He looked out the window.

  “Hey, Captain,” Ace hollered from the back. “We need some groceries.”

  The captain let out an exasperated groan. “Okay, pull into the Piggly Wiggly, but make it quick. This isn’t a social call.”

  Lu followed the guys into the store. It wasn’t long before she realized what the captain had meant. With
in seconds Ace was chatting up the chubby cashier with the poufy bouffant and green eye shadow. At a warning glance from Reynolds, Ace ducked away to grab a few items.

  Reynolds paid for the groceries and herded them back to the truck. Outside he turned to Ace. “Why don’t you just ask the woman out?”

  “What?” Ace feigned innocence, but at Reynolds’s snort, he smiled sheepishly. “I can’t help it if the woman likes me.”

  “Yeah. So get off the pot, Ace,” Bill chimed in. “If she already likes you, ya don’t have to keep dragging the rest of us in with you. Or are you hoping we’ll get a call while we’re here and she’ll see you running off to save the day?”

  “I’m waiting for the right time, so back off.”

  By the time they pulled into the station, Lu was sick of hearing about Laurel-Anne. The Piggly Wiggly episode seemed to be a regular installment in the ongoing fire hall soap opera. But at least no one was bugging her and there was no more discussion about medical procedures.

  As Marcus backed the truck into the bay, Lu noticed Reynolds suddenly tense up. While he didn’t express his feelings verbally, Reynolds was extremely chatty in his body language. She glanced around to see what had annoyed him. A tall, lanky man was lounging on the cement stoop, soaking up the early spring sun. He stood up as the truck passed him, his face breaking into a genuine smile. Lu stared at him, unable to look away. The stranger was attractive, but more than that, he exuded charisma.

  “Hey, it’s Morgan,” Ace called out. With a quick glance at Reynolds, Ace stifled his grin. Marcus seemed happy to see the man as well. Morgan followed the truck into the bay, then greeted the guys as they jumped off the runner.

  “What do you need, Byron?” Reynolds’s smile was cold.

  “I have a couple of questions about that fire on Harding Street. I got the fax but there’s a discrepancy.”

  “Sure, c’mon.” Reynolds started toward his office. He stopped when he realized Byron wasn’t following him.

  “So how’s your nephew?” Ace asked. “Tell him I said, ‘Hi.’”

  “Sure. Come for dinner on Sunday. Annie’d be thrilled to see you.” Morgan seemed to finally notice Lu. “I’m sorry, Byron Morgan.”

  “Lu Dawson, new kid.” Lu shook his hand, feeling slightly uncomfortable as the intense blue eyes focused on her. The emotion changed to embarrassment when she forgot to release his hand.

  “Byron?” Reynolds asked impatiently.

  “Yup.” Morgan smiled and then loped off to follow Reynolds.

  They unloaded the groceries before Lu once again commandeered the computer, ignoring Bill’s worried glance. Now she really didn’t want to find anything bad about Bill. She felt a little safer in the job knowing Reynolds already had one lame duck in the hall.

  CHAPTER 3

  The tones blared so loudly that Lu was halfway to the pole before she’d even woken up. Night shifts were the worst. She found it difficult to sleep with a room full of snoring men, and the few times she did, the alarm had gone off. She threw on her turnout gear, boots, and helmet and jumped onto the truck. Her body automatically followed the drill.

  Meanwhile the speakers opened and dispatch droned out the details: a house fire on Baker Street; visible flames; reported by neighbor. Not good. If the flames were visible, the fire had obviously seated before the report came in. At least tonight she was on with the guys she considered the “A” team. Everyone had been through similar training, but in life and death situations, you wanted to be with people you could trust implicitly. Ace was a joker and not in the best shape, but he reacted well under pressure and could think on his feet. Marcus had the brawn and took orders instantly. And Red had the brains and the brawn. Captain Reynolds was cool headed and always in control.

  She watched Ace hoist himself up on the truck and heard Reynolds command Marcus to “light it up.” It would be full lights and siren on this one.

  Lu wished she had a mint; her mouth was so dry and gummy. Fear added to night mouth was not a good feeling. The streets changed rapidly from the business district, to apartment buildings, to separate bungalows and then to the square, modern mansions with three-car garages and security lights.

  Ominous clouds of smoke billowed up to obscure the starlit night as they neared the target. Her stomach clenched in anxiety. The guys were silent for a change. Were they experiencing the same sense of dread? They’d discussed the adrenaline rushes associated with fighting fires many times, but it was taboo to express fear. They all knew fire fighters who’d lost their nerve, and didn’t want to join their ranks.

  As they neared the building Lu’s muscles tightened up another notch. This fire was a bad one. Thirty-foot flames were shooting out the roof of the house, and several of the windows at the front had already blown. Obviously the building couldn’t be saved. She peered quickly at the neighboring houses to see if they were at risk. At first glance they appeared far enough away to be out of immediate danger, but assumptions were a fool’s game. The truck screeched to a halt and the team jumped to the ground.

  “Marcus, Ace, set up the deck gun and wait for orders.” Reynolds sprinted around the perimeter of the building to survey the fire’s progression.

  Lu barely had time to flush the hydrant when her radio squawked to life.

  “We got someone trapped inside. Red, Dawson, bring the Halligan Bar to the back ASAP.”

  “Roger.” Lu radioed back and they ran to comply. Shit, this was going to be a doozy. The side of the building was clean. It looked like the seat of the fire was in the front. They found Reynolds at a small back door next to a boarded-up window trying to wrench out the slats with one hand as he called for backup. Terrified screams from within confirmed his report.

  “Red, get the door.” Reynolds stepped back to continue his size up for the second crew responding. “We have trapped victims needing rescue at the rear of the building.” He listened to the answer then looked up from his radio. “Bellevue 2 are at least fifteen minutes away. We’re on our own ’til then.”

  “Got it.” Red shouted as the door frame splintered. They crouched to avoid the onslaught of smoke and heat, donned their air packs, and prepared to enter.

  Lu got to her knees to follow Red as they crawled into the building. The hallway was dark. Their flashlights bounced uselessly against the smoke and grey walls. Red opened the door immediately to the right to reveal a bathroom. His flashlight highlighted the filthy floor and wastepaper strewn about the tiny room. The screaming was coming from further inside the house and they crawled forward.

  Lu squinted, willing herself to see further into the hallway as she kept her hand within reach of Red’s back foot. Even as low to the ground as they were, the heat on her ears was fucking scary. Too long in the building would turn anyone into a barbecued crisp. The narrow walls opened suddenly to reveal a large room in front of them with rows of shelving units bearing the remnants of an in-house marijuana grow operation. Lu had never seen one before, but from the exposed wiring overhead, the ventilation and watering systems, she recognized it immediately. The plasticized covers on the windows had succumbed to the blistering heat.

  Light from the fire provided some visibility, but the smoke was building up too fast. She blinked fiercely trying to clear her vision. A kaleidoscope of noises assaulted her ears. The roar of the fire sounded like a huge vacuum cleaner sucking everything into its path. The creaking and groaning of the building under assault was competing with the high pitched screaming. It only seemed to be one person. A loud cracking noise made her dodge to the right as a shower of embers cascaded from above. They were running out of time.

  Red continued along the right wall to a locked door. He raised the Halligan, using the adze side to pry the door open.

  Lu sensed the danger a little too late. “No!” she shouted over the splintering of metal and wood. Red half-turned to her with a
look of confusion. Lu reached out and yanked him backwards. He lost his balance and crashed to the floor as a fireball barreled past him from the gaping doorway.

  The fire was accelerating way too fast.

  Lu grabbed his arm to help him scramble to his knees. She could still hear the woman, only she seemed to be in the next room over. Red started back down the hallway, but Lu ignored him, instead crawling toward the woman.

  “No. That beam is coming down!” Red grabbed Lu, jerking her back the way they’d come.

  “The woman — ”

  A loud crash cut her off and she turned to see a burning hunk of beam from the ceiling had crashed to the floor where she’d just been. Red pulled her arm again and she followed him. They neared the splintered door. Reynolds’ voice on the radio ordered them to evacuate. As they ran outside Reynolds grabbed her other arm and the two men pulled her clear.

  “Open up the deck gun,” Reynolds shouted over the radio.

  “Roger.” Ace’s response crackled back. There was the air horn warning blast, immediately followed by a thick stream of water arching onto the top of the building.

  “Break open the west windows to vent,” Reynolds pointed to the least damaged side of the house.

  That was it then. Lu’s stomach twisted. Once they were blasting the fire with water, there was no way anyone could go back inside to rescue the woman. It’d be too dangerous. And the woman was too far inside for them to cut through from the outside walls to reach her. The wailing of Bellevue 2 truck and the ambulance cut through the cacophony. For a brief moment Lu wondered if the second crew could help get them inside. Then she realized that she no longer heard the screams. Shit.

  With renewed vigor she smashed through the slats boarding up the window, but all she could see inside was smoke and fire. She heard an unfamiliar voice issuing orders over the radio. Obviously Bellevue 2 had a more senior commander on board. Reynolds had relinquished control.