December 28th
I sat in the rolling leather chair in the kitchen of the firehouse.
“What are you doing here?” asked Carter.
I replied, “Oh the people you know couldn’t keep me trapped. I was out in three days. You'd be surprised how predictable those profit-driven prisons are. The same routes and some parts aren’t like government-run. You’d be surprised how pretending to be sick to have a guard come in only to be knocked out and keys taken…”
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December 19th
As I was walking down the street getting my cardio exercise when a car came next to me where I was soon jumped and put into said car.
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Same day in an unknown area I had to put on an orange jumpsuit.
This will be fun, I murmured to myself.
I was then put into a line where I was taken to a building in which I saw cells on three floors and lined up in which it was reminiscent of old school prisons with either iron or steel bars instead of a steel door. I was then put into a cell which besides concrete but has an old cot hanging from the wall and a half broken sink.
By the uniforms I’ve seen it was a profit driven prison but I started to think of how to get out but after a day I lied down in the cot. I decided to pretend that I was getting sick or hurt. Soon enough a guard came and fell for my ruse. I was able to quickly overpower the guard, knock him out where I took his keys, security card and keys.
My first stop was to the administrative wing where I went to a computer. I deleted my fake sheet as if it never existed and I made my way outside using either keys or the keycard to open them. But when I went outside I timed my runs to avoid the searchlights but I had to go back in but I made my way to the visitor area and I was able to walk out of the front door to the parking lot where I just hotwired a car and left.
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Present day/December 28
“My dad always said,” I said, “That out of the Seven heavenly virtues I’m temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility. Also if anyone is going to ask, I had a loving Christmas with my dad and my girlfriend and my girlfriend’s children.”
Oijia replied, “How did you burn your hand?”
“Hot grease while making sausage on Christmas Day for breakfast,” I said. “First time I wore a dress in a very long time too, whereas the last time I wore a dress was for my senior picture back in 2001. Jesus eight years since I last wore a dress but back in 1998 when my mom wanted me to wear a dress I refused but when my dad told me to wear a dress for picture day then I did in a heartbeat. Funny, my dad got a yearbook with me in it from 1988 to 2001 for every grade from first to twelve grade but had to send said yearbooks to a relative so my so called mother wouldn’t sell them for money. But at you didn’t have to deal with a mother like that.”
I then picked up the independent newspaper and started to read it until the bell went off.
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At a house, I just grabbed a pike pole and a water fire extinguisher off of our rig and that’s because I was assigned to the Can position for today instead of being on the nozzle position.
I went into the house and I took the pike pole and started to pull down parts of the ceiling in the living room that something else that fell down where more of it fell down.
“What the hell is that?” I asked before picking it up to see that it’s money.
I then grabbed my radio, “Lieutenant better get PD in here. Got money which looks unmarked.”
I used my boot to stomp the fire out on the dollar bills when Lieutenant Valkyrie came in with Carter and Pengelle on a 1 ¾ inch attack line. Carter just turned the hose on which the force knocked me down and Carter gave a little chuckle.
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Back at the firehouse.
I watched the TV in which was documentary in which it was called “Lawless Empire” which the city was from 1970 to the late 90s and it mentioned how maintaining law and order was not really there and how the district my girlfriend is from Eastside and the district of Westside was plagued by fire.
Also they mentioned how back in 1979 the city approved the construction of a nuclear plant but it wasn’t approved until the Three Mile Island incident happened and while it got done being built in 2002 but didn’t begin until 1995. But people were told that it was safe and nuclear power was harmless but in 1999 a nuclear meltdown in the Little Bird city of Fort Carson in which people around the plant got sick from the nuclear radiation but the officials in Fort Carson said that it was safe and the radiation levels were safe during the meltdown. But when asked again they would give another answer which people across Little Bird concluded that they were either being lied to or the officials who are trying to reverse the nuclear meltdown had no idea what they were doing.
As I was watching it Carter started to chew me out for some reason and called me a parasite on the city. However, I punched him and told him that I came to Little Bird in a legal way where I still have my entry permanent. The Little Bird Extended Learning Visia has then gotten a work permit to get a part-time job. When I started to date my girlfriend Claire then I took the citizenship test to become a dual citizen of Little Bird and the United States. Still, if he doesn’t like it then that’s his problem not mine but according to the Little Bird government, I’m a citizen of Little Bird and the United States since the meaning of dual citizenship.
I even somewhat mentioned that it’s not the first time that I’ve been on Little Bird about how I had a cousin who watched me for a bit if no one in my family back in the States couldn’t watch me and how my dad would’ve liked to have my great granddad to keep watching me. But since he’s 109 years old he doesn’t want to take that chance of him passing away when I was a kid unable to do anything.
Carter just kept running his mouth and started to say more hostile things but I tuned him out. He just got so bad about it that Pengelle, Schmit, Oijia and Lieutenant Valkyrie called him out and told him to shut up. But when Carter said something bad about my father that was when everyone besides him left the room.
“What did you say about my father?” I said in a threatening tone.
Since my tone changed from a Southern United States accent to a more threatening one Carter now he was nervous or scared.
“You know what I’ll just have Lieutenant Valkyrie fire me again so I can just go and apply to be a cop and when that happens I’ll pull you over and act like it’s a normal traffic stop. But instead of asking for your license and registration I’ll just pull out my handgun and unload the entire magazine into you. Then I’ll write it up as self defense because well according to my girlfriend the cops won’t see if it’s true or not but honestly since I first arrived you have been a thorn in my side. Also don’t worry if that does happen then I’ll sue you and the department for gender discrimination and I’ll sue you personally! Then I’ll kick your ass personally as well!”
When Carter opened his mouth again and started to talk well, I just punched him hard enough to knock him down.
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In the apparatus bay.
Lieutenant Valkyrie, Schmit, Pengelle, and Oijia were watching what was going on when my father arrived asking. My dad asked where I was when Lieutenant Valkyrie pointed into the dining room-kitchen.
When he saw Carter knock me down he muttered, “Oh shit.” I just got back up on my feet and I knocked Carter down and out in one very heavy punch.
I then came to them.
“He’ll live but he’ll have a huge headache later,” I said. “Hey Dad.”
My dad replied, “Not going to ask what happened but I came to see if you want to spend the day tomorrow?”
“Sure,” I replied, “We can do that.”
My dad replied, “Hey Lieutenant, is it okay if I can hang around my daughter for a bit today and not get in y’all way?”
Lieutenant Valkyrie replied, “Sure you can.”
Retreating from the bustling energy of the day, we found ourselves back in the comforting embrace of our dining room-kitchen. The television hummed softly in the background, its flickering light casting dancing shadows on the walls. The documentary I had been engrossed in had shifted to the news, a stark contrast to the historical tales I had been following.
The news was abuzz with a heated debate that had gripped Little Bird - the question of crime and punishment. Some advocated for leniency, arguing that the current punitive measures were too harsh. Interestingly, many of these voices belonged to the entitled affluent elite, individuals who had been fortunate enough to live lives untouched by the harsh realities of crime.
On the other side of the spectrum were those who staunchly defended the strict laws. Among them were local business owners, who feared that any relaxation of the laws would be akin to rolling out a red carpet for potential criminals. They argued that it would send a dangerous message - that crime was not met with serious consequences.
Little Bird had a reputation for its firm stance on law and order. The last significant change in our laws dated back to the 1910s, when child labor was prohibited and the minimum working age was established. It was a testament to the country’s commitment to protecting its citizens, especially the young and vulnerable. The laws had stood the test of time, remaining largely unchanged even in the face of pressure from powerful entities like cartels and mafia families.
One of the most controversial laws on the books was the automatic death penalty for cop killers. It was a clear message from Little Bird - we value and protect those who protect us.
The news segment then shifted to another contentious issue - the 1937 Little Bird First Act. This act, which prioritized the welfare of Little Bird and its citizens above all else, had its fair share of detractors. Some of the country's wealthier residents were calling for its repeal, arguing that it was time for Little Bird to extend its generosity beyond its borders.
As I sat there, absorbing the complexities of these debates, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride. Little Bird, for all its quirks and idiosyncrasies, is a country that cares deeply about its people. It was a place where every voice mattered, where every opinion was heard. And as the night deepened, I knew that no matter what changes the future brought, Little Bird would always remain a country that put its people first.
The news segment then shifted to a topic that was close to my heart - the Empire Police Department (EPD). The EPD was planning a significant expansion, aiming to deploy an additional ten thousand officers onto our city streets. This was a considerable increase, considering the current strength of our force:
* Patrol: 3,780 officers
* Detective: 756 officers
* Traffic: 151 officers
* Homicide: 113 officers
* Burglary: 113 officers
* Bunco: 113 officers
* Ad Vice: 113 officers
* Arson: 76 officers
* Other: 76 officers
* Highway Patrol: 315 officers
* Auxiliary: 189 officers
* Housing Police: 126 officers
* School Safety: 126 officers
* Other: 1,008 officers
The EPD was also revamping its recruitment strategy, a move that was long overdue. The news report highlighted the stark contrast between the recruitment processes of the EPD and the Fire Department of Empire (FDE). The FDE has a system where they conduct classes and select a random number of people for training at a given time. The EPD, on the other hand, allowed applicants to sign up and attend the police academy for a month before being assigned to a beat.
The news segment took a turn, focusing on the crime rates in our city. It was a rollercoaster of a story, with peaks and valleys that traced the ebb and flow of crime over the years. From 1970 to 1995, crime rates had soared to an all-time high. Every year, the numbers climbed, painting a grim picture of our city’s safety. The murder rate was 3 out of 10, arson was at a staggering 9 out of 10, drug-related crimes were at 8 out of 10, and other felonies were at a worrying 9 out of 10.
Then, in 1996, there was a dramatic shift. Crime rates plummeted, offering a much-needed respite. However, this period of calm was short-lived. By 2003, crime rates had spiked again, reaching levels that rivaled those of the previous peak. The city was even forced to grapple with a paramilitary group known as the Night Prowler, which was involved in activities labeled as terrorism.
Fast forward to 2009, and the landscape had changed once again. Crime rates had dropped to an all-time low, a stark contrast to the turbulent past. It was a testament to the tireless efforts of our law enforcement agencies and the resilience of our community. The streets were safer, and the sense of fear that once loomed over us had dissipated. It was a reminder that even in the face of adversity, our city could rise above and create a safer environment for all its residents. It was a victory, not just for the police department, but for every single citizen who called this city home.
The news segment then transitioned to a fascinating update about the Empire Police Department’s (EPD) fleet of police interceptors. These sleek, supercharged vehicles were being revamped to become the fastest law enforcement cars on the streets. The upgrades included a state-of-the-art touchscreen dashboard that provided officers with four tactical options: roadblock, spike strip, helicopter support, and a new innovation called EMP. This EMP feature, an advanced version of the kill switch used in bait cars, could fire an electromagnetic pulse at a suspect’s vehicle, effectively disabling it.
Despite these technological advancements, the EPD had no plans to phase out their current ammunition. The Full Metal Jacket, Hollow Point, Frangible, Armor Piercing, Overpressured, and High Velocity rounds would continue to be the standard issue for patrol officers. But keep doing it’s two different policing styles of both community and problem oriented styles of policing
The news segment concluded with a story about the planned renovation of Empire Metro Central. This iconic structure, built in the 1920s, was set to undergo a massive transformation. The original construction, approved in 1913, had been delayed due to the outbreak of World War I and didn’t commence until January 1, 1919. It was finally completed in 1923, connecting all of the city’s underground subway railroad lines to one centralized location. The original cost was $100,000 in 1913, equivalent to $300,000 in 1920s money. However, the proposed remake was estimated to cost a staggering $1 billion. Despite the hefty price tag, the renovation promised to breathe new life into this historic landmark, ensuring it continued to serve as the heart of the city’s transportation network.
The moment the fire bell shattered the silence, I knew it wasn't just another call. Pengelle and Oijia were quick to speculate a single vehicle accident, but Lieutenant Valkyrie and I sensed something more sinister—a fire. Our instincts didn't fail us; a fuel tanker had collided with a gas station, igniting a blaze that roared with fury.
Lieutenant Valkyrie's voice was calm but urgent over the radio, "525 to Command, we have a fuel tanker crashed into a gas station. We're transmitting an HAZMAT Level 2, requesting Foam Level 2, and a Second Alarm assignment. Also, dispatch a Still and Box alarm."
Claire, my girlfriend, had once explained the unique lingo of the Fire Department City of Empire. While many officers stuck to the 10 codes, others, like Lieutenant Valkyrie, preferred plain language for clarity during multi-alarm fires.
I reached for the 1 ¾ inch attack line on our Rescue Engine. It's built like any fire engine but boasts a 1000-gallon water tank, a 25-gallon foam tank, and a pump capacity of 500 GPM. In contrast, a foam engine carries 1000 gallons of specialized foam, either High Expansion or Alcohol Resistant, and is designed for specific fire scenarios. The Foam Task Forces, a trio of engines, are equipped differently—the first and third are standard fire engines with foam capabilities no water, while the second is a behemoth with eight wheels, a front-mounted hose, and compartments brimming with firefighting tools but made for rough terrain as well and can be fitted with either two bulldozer blades or hedgerow cutters the same kind that were mounted on Allied tanks in the Normandy campaign in World War 2.
As I deployed the hose, Lieutenant Valkery's voice cut through again, instructing the police to secure the perimeter of two blocks and evacuate nearby buildings. If the tanker exploded, the aftermath would be catastrophic.
There was some popping sounds now which wasn’t good in which Lieutenant Valkery was already on it where she radioed dispatch to have Empire Utilities to shut off the power where the fire is burning on the wires but soon there was an explosion of a gas pump exploding so Lieutenant Valkery told Schmit to back it up because their twenty-five-gallon foam tank won’t last long because while the foam is used to cover fire but the area is too big for the 25 gallons so they’re going to need more.
I just used the foam to cover the area around and on the fuel tanker but as the moment our 25-gallon tank ran out was when Foam Task Force 33 came where the second foam engine used its monster deluge gun and covered the entire area of the gas station with foam that smothered the fire in which the foam cool the fire and to coat the fuel, preventing its contact with oxygen, thus achieving suppression of the combustion but once the fire was out we used water to put the fire out on the utility pole but we used our deluge gun to put the fire out on the wires.
We left and let the Foam Task Force to clean up the foam but we did a quick overhaul of the inside of the convenience store which a majority of the store wasn’t damaged by the fire but a majority of the glass shattered due to the heat but a majority of the goods were far enough not to catch fire.
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At a store.
I picked up a copy of the store paper.
“We’re going to shop smarter,” I said while looking at store paper.
led them through the aisles, pointing out sale items and explaining the benefits of buying in bulk.
“See this?” I asked, holding up a large pack of toilet paper. “It’s cheaper per roll than the smaller packs. And we all know how quickly we go through this at the firehouse.”
Next, I showed them how to use coupons. “These little pieces of paper are like gold,” she said. “They can save us a lot of money if we use them right.”
The team watched in awe as I navigated the store like a pro, filling their carts with sale items and bulk goods.
“My dad taught me all these tricks back in Alabama,” I said, my voice filled with pride. “He taught me how to keep track of prices on common items because they fluctuate. He showed me how to use coupons, the importance of always having a list, and other ways of being a strategic shopper.”
I paused, a nostalgic smile playing on my lips. “When I moved to Empire for education at the age of 22, I had to put all those lessons into practice. I found this small grocery store, a bargain shop that specialized in sales and cheap prices. It had eight aisles labeled ‘Frozen Foods’, ‘Produce’, ‘Bakery’, and ‘Beverages’. There were signs both inside and outside the store, promoting sales on dog food, cola six packs, milk, eggs, bread, and beer.”
The team listened, captivated by my story. “But the best part,” I continued, “was when I was at Arcane University. I lived off of noodles. Macaroni and chicken-flavored instant noodles, to be precise. That’s how I got my nickname.”
I also shared her personal experience of her first independent grocery shopping run back in Killen, Alabama. My father had given me some valuable advice: set a budget, buy what they need not what I want, buy what's on sale, choose quality over quantity, know the market price, shop during a sale, do research, bring coupons, and make a list of what they needed. This made her shopping trip quicker and more efficient.
Despite my strategic shopping and budgeting, I confessed that I couldn't resist buying a box of mint girl scout cookies. But even with that indulgence, I managed to stay within her budget of 200 bucks. After strategic shopping, I had spent 160 bucks and had 40 bucks remaining. This was a testament to my smart shopping skills and the valuable lessons I learned from my father. My story served as an inspiration to the rest of Squad Company 525. They realized that with a little planning and strategy, they too could become savvy shoppers.
My frugality was not just about saving money, but also about making the most of what she had. I admitted that being frugal was a good thing because it allowed her to keep a few extra bucks in her pocket. However, I also acknowledged that not everyone was as disciplined. Some of my friends back in Alabama would set a budget but would often go over it because they didn't bring coupons or make a list, and would end up buying things they wanted rather than what they needed.
I then shared a story from the summer of 2002. Using a list, coupons, and my dad's loyalty card, I was able to prepare a meal of BBQ Chicken with green beans and mashed potatoes for just five dollars because everything was on sale. Over the next two nights, I prepared Spanish Chicken with Rice and Sausage and Red Beans.
- The BBQ Chicken with green beans originally cost $8.22, but with the loyalty card and coupons, it was reduced to $4.21.
- The Spanish Chicken with Rice was priced at $6.59, but after applying the loyalty card and coupons, it cost only $4.39.
- The Red Beans and Sausage dinner was priced at $4.18, but the loyalty card and coupons brought it down to $3.98. She also added a cake to the meal, bringing the total to $5.01.
Despite sticking to a budget, I didn't mind going over by a penny. In total, I managed to prepare three dinners that would have cost almost twenty dollars at retail price, but I got it all for fifteen dollars.
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Back at the firehouse.
“Hey dad help us go and bring our groceries in?” I asked with two paper bags on my arms.
My Dad replied, “Sure. Y’all went on a huge grocery run…”
“Yes I showed them how to be more strategic shoppers,” I said. “Your ways that you taught me so I showed them.”
My dad replied, “That’s great. Also Carter came too. Also watched the news in which the city’s lawmakers for whatever reason wanted to see what soft on crime would look like so they’re going to implement and relax the laws for a month and they say that it’ll be better than stricter laws.”
Lieutenant Valkery then came and said that they had to go on another run to get another pen because he's just dried up so we went to an office supply store to get some more.
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At the office supply store.
Lieutenant Valkery reached for a pack of pens priced at a dollar fifty. Macaroni stopped her and pointed out another pack of pens on clearance for ninety cents. I also showed them that the binders, originally priced at three dollars and fifty cents, were on clearance for ninety five cents.
I also shared some advice about printers. I explained that while cheap, low-end printers might seem like a good deal, they actually use a lot more ink than more expensive printers. So, in the long run, it’s more cost-effective to invest in a higher-quality printer.
I also encouraged the team to look under the tables in the store. Often, items under the table are at least 75% off. Spending a few extra minutes to look through these boxes could lead to significant savings.
Finally, I reminded them that while it’s good to make a list and plan ahead, it’s also important to keep their eyes peeled for in-store sales. With these tips, I was not only teaching her team how to shop smart, but also how to be more mindful and strategic in their spending habits.
On their way back to the firehouse, I shared another shopping strategy with the team - stacking savings. I explained that some stores would allow customers to make a profit while shopping. If a customer had a lot of coupons for a particular item and the overall total went into the negative, it meant the store owed the customer money. However, most stores wouldn't give money back but would allow customers to add more items to balance it out and bring the total back into a positive number on the register.
I also shared my shopping habits from her time at Arcane University. I would go shopping once a month and mostly stocked up on instant noodles. I would buy pallets of them, not individual ones, especially when they were on sale for as low as twenty-five cents per pallet. Once, I bought so many pallets of noodles that she had to remove some from her car trunk and put the rest in the backseat and front seat of her car. I ended up with nothing but instant chicken-flavored noodles with corn, carrots, and green beans in the cup. I had enough noodles to last her for a whole month and a half, and it was all worth the five bucks she spent.
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Back at the firehouse.
“Thanks for the tips,” said Oijia. “Better than having Carter do the shopping. Carter does the shopping, he just throws what he wants into the cart and I know that for a fact because I was married to him for almost two years. So thanks for the tip.”
I elbowed her, “Did y’all… You know wink, wink, nudge, nudge?”
Oijia was taken aback, “Heavens no. We don’t have a child nor ever made love. Carter at first was Prince Charming until it was too late to realize that he wasn’t Prince Charming but the troll under the bridge.”
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“Well my dad thought he was married to a princess even though his family and my so called ‘mom’ family warned him he was walking into a trap but he didn’t need it,” I said. “But my so-called mom was just an addict but she hasn’t done anything warranted to be called mom. But if my ‘mom’ asked me to do something I always fought her because she may have given birth to me but that’s all she has done to me whereas my dad has done more work than her. I swear if my mom comes here I’m gunning her down. But go, you can talk to my dad, he'll confirm what I just said.”
My dad put everything away while we were out. But Oijia went to go talk to him while I just got a pot and filled it up with warm water where I boiled the water where I put Chicken breasts into the boiling water. I put Barbecue Sauce on the side was Barbecue Sauce and once I was done boiling the chicken I then drained the water, put the barbecue sauce onto each piece of chicken and went to put it into the oven while I made fresh green beans and sweet peas.
Once we got done with lunch which my dad in which he said that the city starting to relax on crime will be disaster and the city will become a lawless place by saying:
“The Bible teaches that when a society breaks God's laws, nature will rise up as an enemy and make it impossible to live in the land. The inhabitants will be uprooted and thrust out, and many will die in famine, war, and natural disasters,” my dad said. “Of course in this case remove natural disasters and famine.”
I replied, “Dad this ain’t church but sure why not. I already predict a 37% increase of crime at a minimum and a 90% increase of crime at a maximum and one of those will be arson. Hey Lieutenant if you don’t mind…”
Lieutenant Valkery interrupted, “Empire was voted while yes voted to be an Tourist hotspot but it was voted for the most dangerous city in the world with gun violence, police brutality, knife violence, buried alive. You name it.”
Pengelle replied, “When I was over on Twenty-Three Engine in the mid eighties when I was a probie we responded to a rubbish fire between 2:20 and 3 AM and here comes a pimp or some guy wearing what people would describe what a pimp wears and he comes strolling down the street wielding a butterfly knife and walked by us as if we weren’t there.”
“Y’all allow switchblades or butterfly knives?” my dad asked.
Oijia replied, “According to the Little Bird Statue Code 69, Section 44. Legal – Only Bowie knives or knives of "like kind or description" are restricted from carry in a vehicle or concealed about the person or outside of one's own property without good reason. Knives are prohibited in certain locations (schools, airports, hydroelectric facilities, nuclear facilities, utility facilities, polling places, and on the grounds of organized public events and gatherings. Persons under 21 may not carry a switchblade or any kind of knife definable as a deadly weapon concealed on their person.”
Oijia pulled out and put it on the table where Carter has a Boot knife, Pengelle has a Smatchet knife, Lieutenant Valkery has a hunting knife, and I had an SOG Knife. Lieutenant Valkery says that Steven Richter has a folding pocket knife. But we just use the knives as makeshift cutting tools or to cut through things that an ax can't without hurting someone like through a seatbelt.
I then read a book in which Carter took the book and held it sideways only to say, “How can people read books? It’s just gibberish words.”
I replied, “A lot of people read books to escape reality and a lot of people like me use their imagination. What reading and writing level are you? I was to say first grade if you cannot read a book and I was taught to read and I got a 12th grade reading level.”
Soon the fire bell went off and the dispatcher gave us the address of the old high school that had been shut down due to a newer one being built. But the dispatcher used simple words of saying it’s a still and box alarm which is just four engine companies, four ladder companies, 1 Squad, 1 Rescue Squad, one Battalion Chief, one Deputy District Chief, one Command Van, 1 Ambulance, one fire investigation Car, and one EMS Field Officer.
While Lieutenant Valkery was donning her bunker gear she also looked at the map which also has the dangerous buildings list and the shutdown school is on the map and is marked with a red x.
We then left but as I was facing backwards I saw my dad walk into the firehouse watch house which is known for members who want to be left alone.
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At the abandoned school.
Lieutenant Valkery grabbed her radio and she told dispatch that to upgrade the alarm to a fifth alarm but I just ran around the abandoned school but I reported back after giving my three-hundred-and-sixty-degree size up.
“Lieutenant, the second floor is fully involved,” I said. “Some glass shattered on the back and got heavy thick smoke in the back.”
Since the abandoned school is marked with a red x it means it’s unsafe for people to be inside so Lieutenant Valkery just ordered that we’re going to surround and drown it. She said that if someone was inside then it wouldn’t be a rescue but a recovery because with the shattered windows and shattered glass means the fire is hot enough to shatter them which is hot enough to kill someone.
It took several hours but we weren’t allowed to go inside. That was a good thing because about half an hour into the call the hardwood floors on the floor started to collapse down onto the first floor then the interior wall fell then finally the outer wall started to give way after the roof caved in.
The old school in Eastside was more than just an eyesore. It was a haunting reminder of a tragic past. My girlfriend Lusty, who attended the school in the 90s, often referred to it as a death trap. She wasn't wrong. The school, which was closed a few years ago, bore the scars of a history marred by fire and loss.
From 1992 to 1996, the school was engulfed in flames seven times. Overcrowding was a significant issue. The school was designed to accommodate 1800 students, but it housed a staggering nine thousand. During those four years, five thousand students lost their lives in those fires. The firefighters, many of whom were veterans of the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, World War 2, and the Korean War, did their best to save as many students as they could. But the scale of the tragedy was overwhelming.
In 2008, the old school was finally shut down for good, replaced by a new, modern building. The new school was spacious, designed to house ten thousand students, and complied with every fire code to prevent such tragedies from happening again. But for many parents, it was too little, too late. The city council had repeatedly ignored the fire department's warnings about the old school's dangers, reopening it time and again without any significant renovations. Each fire was a preventable tragedy, a repeated cycle of loss and grief.
The former mayor, Ms. Abigail Marteniez, tried multiple times to get approval to build a new school. She had a vision for the city of Empire, a vision of progress and improvement. She wanted to tear down dilapidated housing and build affordable apartments for the impoverished. She dreamed of transforming Empire into a glass and steel utopia. But the city council rejected her ideas, dismissing them because they favored the poor and unfortunate. The new school stands as a testament to her efforts, a beacon of hope for a brighter future. But the memory of the old school, and the tragedies it witnessed, remains a stark reminder of the past we must never forget.
The citizens of Eastside held the city council accountable for their reckless actions. The old school, built in 1959, was a ticking time bomb, lacking the modern fire codes that became standardized in the 70s and 80s. Despite the fire department's repeated warnings and shutdowns, the city council would recklessly reopen it, claiming it was safe.
When the city council members ran for re-election, the residents of Eastside made their voices heard. They voted for change, electing new representatives who truly cared about their district. The previous Alderman for Eastside, who showed little concern for the district's issues, was replaced.
Eastside has its share of challenges. There's only one firehouse, Engine Co 47 and Ladder Co 47, and the police from the 9th Precinct have a vast patrol area, leaving Eastside often unpatrolled. Response times are long, and while Engine and Ladder Company 47 do their best, their response time in Eastside is still between three to five minutes.
The district is plagued with dilapidated buildings, a legacy of the arson rages from the late 60s to the early 90s. School dropouts are at an all-time high, surpassing rates from the early 1900s. Teenage pregnancies and motherhood are on the rise. But the people of Eastside are resilient. They're not mindless. They may be poor and unfortunate, but they're educated and ready to challenge the city council's lies.
In the early 1980s, the city decided to relocate Engine and Ladder Co 47 to Highwood, the affluent district of the city. But the people of Eastside didn't sit idle. They educated themselves, noting down the fire alarm box numbers, and timing the fire department's response, which was usually around 12-15 minutes. They taught their children that education is the best weapon against a system that doesn't serve them.
“About time this place goes up in smoke!” Lusty said with gratefulness and happiness in her voice, “Damn place was a death trap and is finally going to go!”
It was interesting to hear my girlfriend talk in a tone that she’s grateful seeing the high school she went to go up in flames but how dilapidated it was and how much of an eyesore it was. I could understand her happiness because I wanted to see the house I was raised in. I want to see that go up in fire with my so-called mother inside.
Every inch of the old abandoned school was flooded with water where every window was hit with water by either a fire hose or a deluge gun. The citizens of the district also came and watched it burn down as well in which they’re grateful that it’s finally going up and going to be torn down this time.
It took a few hours but we were able to put the fire out but a majority of the abandoned and closed school was going to be torn down but after the fire we packed up and went back to our quarters.
________________________________________________________________________
Back at our firehouse
“Hey Mac,” said Lieutenant Valkery, “You and your dad are…”
My dad replied, “Yes we’re very close because she had me to look up to and one reason we’re close is not because of our father-daughter bond. But it’s Loyalty. She knows that I can come to her for any problem I have and if she has any problem then she can come to me and ask for any help. I’m really enjoying these Empire Dogs.”
It gave me a chuckle. Empire Dogs is a unique hotdog of Italian Sausage on a Chicago Bun with either onions or Sauerkraut.
“So Macky,” my dad said, “Tell me more about your girlfriend. In your own words.”
I replied, “Besides being from Eastside. Lusty, she’s my Clairebear. She’s a tough but relatable woman. She’s born from resistance and adversary. She abhors every single politician in this damn city. Despite every single Alderman/Alderwoman is a District Representative where there are eleven Aldermen. But Every District Rep from Eastside always promised to deliver but once their Alderman ends up in office they always sing another tune. Claire remembers how the 7th District, which is Eastside, their Aldermen always promised to build a youth center, to increase police presence, to increase fire protection and the list is endless. But once their Aldermen get into office they forget where they come from and they ignore their constituents and help other districts. Oh, Eastside needs increased police protection? Yeah increase the budget of the PD but increase police protection in wealthy neighborhoods.
"How long do you think police response time is for Eastside? That’s right longer than it should be where in middle-class and rich neighborhoods the police response time is almost an instant. Claire remembers how her district Alderman promised to build a youth center and park but nope that money went to Highwood to renovate their country club. Each district is allocated an amount of money where Eastside where Claire is from and the mirrored district of Westside are both allocated $250,000 each and that’s for maintenance of Utilities, Police, Fire, Sanitation, Education, Health, Environmental and Transportation.
"I guess the main reason she became a firefighter is because of her past where the abandoned school caught fire. In the past from 1992 to 1996 the high school she went to caught fire seven times and overcrowding was the main cause of many students' deaths because a lot couldn’t get out in time. According to her a lot of parents just watched but a lot of parents knew that their son or daughter didn't make it because a lot of firefighters would have carried the dead out on those military stretchers with a white sheet over the body but many parents at first would’ve checked the clinic or the nearby hospitals to see if their sons or daughters were there but once they found out that their son or daughter wasn’t there. So they had to make the unholy visit to the city morgue but some parents couldn’t identify who their child was without getting dental records to confirm who they were. Or according to Claire that all schools have an AFA or an Automatic Fire Alarm that’s suppose to automatically summon the fire department even if it’s smoke investigation but the second fire it didn’t send out the AFA because some of the old wires were burnt away so it burnt for three minutes until someone walking by the school pulled the street alarm box. School alarm is…”
Lieutenant Valkery interrupted, “A 4-11 or in simple terms a four-alarm fire.”
“Now it’s a fourth alarm assignment with four additional Engine Companies,” I said. “Even has a list.”
I then took my dad to the old box alarm assignment list which is on the apparatus bay in which it says:
Still alarm: 2 Engines, 2 Trucks, 1 Battalion Chief
Box alarm: 4 Engines, 4 Trucks, 1 Battalion Chief
Pin-In-Accident: 1 Engine, 1 Truck, 1 Rescue Company, 1 Squad, 1 Ambulance, 1 EMS Field Officer
Expressway Car Fire: 2 Engines, 2 Truck, 1 Battalion Chief (one engine stays off the expressway to tag a hydrant if needed)
Water Rescue: 1 Engine, 1 Truck, 1 Squad, 1 Battalion Chief, 1 Ambulance, 1 Dive Rescue or Swift Water Rescue Unit, 1 helicopter, 1 Rescue Squad
Specialty Rescue: 1 Engine, 1 Truck, 1 Rescue Squad, 1 Squad, 1 Battalion Chief, 1 Ambulance, 1 EMS Field Officer
Building Collapse: same as normal STILL & BOX response, with Collapse Rescue, Engine 14, and Truck 14
High Rise Still alarm: 4 Engines, 4 Trucks, 1 Battalion Chief, 1 Rescue Squad, 1 Squad, 1 ALS Ambulance, 1 EMS Field Officer
Still & Box alarm: 4 Engines, 4 Trucks, 1 Rescue Squad , 1 Squad, 1 Battalion Chiefs, 1 Deputy District Chief, 1 Command Van, 1 Ambulance, 1 OFI Car, 1 EMS Field Officer
2nd Extra alarm: Additional 4 Engines, 4 Trucks, 2 Battalion Chiefs, 1 District Chief, 1 Air Mask Truck, Media Affairs
3rd alarm: Additional 4 Engines, Assistant Deputy Fire Commissioner/Deputy Fire Commissioner
4th alarm: Additional 4 Engines, Fire Commissioner
5th alarm: Additional 4 Engines, additional 3 ladder companies
R.I.T. Response: 1 Truck, 1 Squad, 1 ALS Ambulance, 1 Battalion Chief, 1 EMS Field Officer
EMS Plan 1: 5 Ambulances, 1 Engine, 1 Truck, 1 Battalion Chief, 1 EMS Field Officer, 1 Assistant Deputy Chief Paramedic
EMS Plan 2: Additional 5 Ambulances, 1 EMS Field Officer, 1 Deputy Chief Paramedic, 1 Triage Van, 1 Command Van, 1 Deputy District Chief, Media Affairs
EMS Plan 3: Additional 5 Ambulances, 1 District Chief, Chief Paramedic, On Call Physician
Level 1 HazMat: 1 Engine, 1 Truck, 1 Rescue Squad, 1 Squad, 1 Battalion Chief, HAZMAT Company, 1 HAZ-TAC Ambulance
Level 2 HazMat: Additional 1 Engine, 1 Truck, Deputy District Chief, Safety Officer, EMS Field Officer, Air Mask Truck, Mobile Command Van
Level 3 HazMat: 2 HAZMAT Company, Haz-mat Deputy Chief, Special-called companies
School Fire: 8 Engine Companies, 4 Ladder Companies, 2 Squad Companies, 1 Rescue Company, 2 Battalion Chiefs, 1 Division Chief, 1 Deputy Division Chief, 1 Deputy Chief, 1 Command Van, 1 Field Communications Unit, 1 Air Mask Truck, 1 Water Tender
1st Alarm: 1 Engine or Squad, 1 Ladder
2nd Alarm: 2 Engines, 2 Ladder Companies or 1 Engine Company and 1 Squad Company
I educated my father where there’s a desk in the apparatus bay and he saw the list.
“I still wonder how those old call boxes work?” my dad said.
I replied, “That’s interesting but they work by sending a code to the nearest firehouse where the guy or gal who sat at the desk would bring out these punch cards. Like here for Box 333 on Flurry Street in Eastside. For Box 333 on Flurry Street it’s Engine 47, Engine 525, Ladder 47 Rescue Co 17, and the Chief from the 18th Battalion goes. Of course these punch cards were made back in 1918 before the Squad Companies were made but 525, and 141 when they were made it more or less said ‘Hey how since these two companies have more manpower but all these thirsty-so guys are exempted from military service’ no wait here’s the cards that were made in the 1990s but it says the same but it replaces Engine 525 with Squad 525. Well according to the old book says Squad Companies were nicknamed ‘Manpower Companies’ because back then they were used to supplement manpower to understaffed companies throughout both World Wars to assist companies with men who were drafted to fight in the Wars leaving a lot of companies understaffed.”
Before my dad could respond.
“It wasn’t until the 1950s when Squad Companies were reorganized to be in Special Operations and one rare nickname for the Squad Companies was ‘Mini toolbox on wheels’ because of responding to any emergency a Rescue Squad could go to but with the chassis of an Engine Company but just carried tools not found on an Engine or a Ladder Company,” I said. “But in the late 90s into the early 2000s they wanted to expand the Squad Companies to form more of them but they proposed to transform several Engine Companies into said Squad Companies but the plan was controversial because the people would just see them as nothing but as a normal engine company because many of the calls they would’ve gone too would’ve been done with just a single ladder company. Not adding look at some of the photographs of the 1920s into the 40s which well look.”
My dad then looked where some of the photographs have the rescue engine either say “Engine”, “Enhanced Engine” or “Squad” but primarily throughout the 20s into the 40s it mostly says “Enhanced Engine” on the side.
“So what’s the city like?” my dad asked.
I replied, “Well back in the 90’s when Ms. Abigail Marteniez became mayor after an emergency mayoral election she proposed to spend 4.4 billion dollars on the city of Empire to turn the city from a wretched hive where from 1970 to 1995 the city was a dysfunctional, crime-plagued, vermin-infested, polluted, grimy, sleazy, seedy, corrupt, racially-divided, poverty-ridden, morally-and-financially-bankrupt Wretched Hive filled with Apathetic Citizens, hostile jackasses, violent psychotics, violent psychotics with badges, drug addicts, deviants, a crumbling infrastructure, and not enough parking spots. But Ms. Martinez proposed to turn the city into a glass and steel utopia with glass towers, clean streets and nobody at the poverty line. While the citizens of Empire loved the idea but the rich, and the other politicians didn’t like the idea because it would benefit the many than the few. Well as they say ‘The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few’ but some property owners purposefully made their properties' rent sky high to squeeze out blue-collar, skilled and unskilled workers out the more desirable regions of the city into crime-ridden slums. But that didn’t happen because it was illegal and it would be forcing families to uproot from their residence. But the program called ‘Empire Reimagined’ was dead on arrival because the program was estimated to cost a minimum of 4.4 billion dollars to a maximum of 11 billion dollars.”
I then took my dad to a map of the city that was called “Proposed Better Empire” in which the proposed model of the map that the city had four new police precincts the 94th, 95th, 99th, and 100th Precincts, the Fire Department with three new stations with the 136th, 137th and 138th stations, a few new hospitals, updated infrastructure, and new roads and a few new elevated highways to help alleviate city traffic.
I told my dad that while the program was called the “Empire Envisioned” Project but the public dubbed it as the “Martinez Program” because she was the brainchild of it but the City Council and the Aldermen of the city. In which the city’s Aldermen they’re voted in to be their district representatives as well the Empire City Council and the city’s eleven Aldermen they all voted in rejection for her project because she wanted to turn the city into a glass and steel utopia with clean streets and to move people out of the poverty level. After all, Abigail Marteniz she’s from Eastside like Claire so she knows what it’s like to grow up poor and know what it’s like to live from paycheck to paycheck.
Not adding that she had more of a better dream of the city where she wanted to capitalize on the city being a financial, tourist, and industrial hub where the city of Empire's GDP is Eight Billion Dollars from the city from being a Financial hub, and industrial hub not add that each year that millions of tourists come each year. Not adding that when Ms. Abigail was elected in an emergency mayoral election due to the previous mayor dying in a mysterious way and the Lieutenant Mayor who took over as Mayor he disbanded the Police Department because he abhorred the police department for killing his father who was trying to kill his wife with a homemade flamethrower. But when the Empire Police Department was reestablished in 1990 there was huge understaffing where in 1988 before the Mayor disbanded the EPD the city had five thousand cops and split into two shifts but when the EPD was reestablished in 1990 the city only had fifty cops so once again the Marines and Paratroopers from the Third Marine Division and Twenty-First Airborne Division had to “police” the city again then I told him that unlike the United States that has the Under the Posse Comitatus Act, the US military personnel are not legally allowed to operate on US domestic territory where on Little Bird there is no rule or act that prevents the military operating domestically even though when ordered to police it means they’re authorized to use lethal force on any criminal either it was a misdemeanor or felony.
I even told him that from what Claire and a few others said that the people who hate the cops and have been wanting the city to either defund or to abolish the police department. They rethought their stance because when the military patrolled the streets because the military have a shoot first ask questions later mentality not adding some people really got tired of hearing the sound of marching boots on the sidewalks and the sound of military 4x4 jeeps, 6x6 trucks even APCs, IFVs and tanks patrolling the streets. But the Commonwealth of Mountain invoked the 1914, 1939, 1941, and 1956 Insurrection and Homeland Defense Act which allows the Commonwealth of Mountain to use the military as a police force if need be if either the police or home guard later changed to militia fails so each battalion of the Marines and Paratroopers were assigned to a district of the city to patrol on foot or by car, truck, or APC and that any fire in the city they would’ve responded along side with the fire department to keep people moving. But people weren’t going to fight the military because as said that they have to shoot first and ask questions later way and that if getting close enough well the main fighting knife and bayonet for the Little Bird Military is a 16’’ steel blade with a few having a 12’’ or 10’’ one.
I even told him that unlike the United States that replaced the .45 with 9x19 rounds. While Little Bird is in a military alliance with Blister Canyon and Lava Falls, which formed the BCLBLFDF or Blister Canyon Little Bird Lava Falls Defense Force, they really don’t have any standardization. The Little Bird Military still uses the .45 for it’s sidearms, while BC uses 9mm and LF uses 10mm.
“Can I get a picture of you in your gear?” my dad asked.
I allowed it so I put on my turnout gear where my dad was able to take a photograph. He even noticed the two patches with the one on the right sleeve being the city patch of a six sided patch with a red-orange phoenix with its wing spread opened rising out of the fire with the city name above the phoenix.
After my dad was able to get a few photographs from his phone. I showed him around but when I showed him our rig I told him that Squad Co 525 their rig is customly built because of how the firehouse was built back in the early 1800s for Volunteer Company 330 back when everyone rode on a horse or on horse and buggy and to make sure our apparatus can get out it’s customly built 2-door open-air flat half roof, and everything else but it’s still 23 ft long, 12 ft tall, and 7 ft wide because the apparatus bay door is 8 ft wide and 14 ft tall while every other engine company is 23 ft long, 8 ft tall, and 8.5 ft wide. I went on saying how it's smaller than what we’re used to seeing back in the states of them being closer to 35 feet long, 9 feet wide, and 9 feet tall.
“What are all of these photos for?” asked my dad.
I replied, “History. The first photograph was when the company was first formed on October 1st, 1914 but every ten years they took a photo to look back on the guys who came and gone which they started doing that in 1920 but a lot of the photographs are from memorable jobs in the past.”
I then even showed him a sign on the desk for the fire alarm box which the sign says:
BELL SYSTEM
1 LONG RING- EVERYONE
2 RINGS- CHIEF
3 RINGS- ENGINE
4 RINGS- TRUCK
5 RINGS- AMBULANCE
Before my dad could even say it I told him that I’m also a certified diver as well and mentioned that the swimming pool that they trained us in is very deep of it being 200 ft deep and that there’s no lights in the swimming pool and told that it’s suppose to simulate blackwater and deep water diving. But they have Rescue Squad and Water Rescue Team Instructors because for a Squad Company we’re allowed to go down to ninety feet, rescue companies are allowed to dive down to one hundred and eighty feet while the Water Rescue and Swift Water Rescue companies are trained to dive down to two hundred feet. But for a rescue in the Mesopelagic Zone, Bathypelagic Zone, Abyssopelagic Zone and the Hadal Zone are off limits because of the increase of water pressure and that it won’t be a rescue but a recovery but thirty three feet of water pressure will start to slowly crush the bone and each thirty-three feet down the pressure gets more intense even both Rescue and the Water Rescue Teams will hesitate to keep going down for how far they’re trained to dive down too.
But I also told him that the sign on the desk was stupid because if someone at the desk receives three rings it’ll send us how since they’re the only Engine company but before he could say anything I told him it’s a Rescue Engine.
Soon the fire bell went off calling a Level 2 HazMat at a subway station several blocks away so we went. When we got there we just put on our Level A HAZMAT suits which I dubbed Silver Suits because they’re silver but we grabbed every meter and thermal cameras we could carry but we went in as Engine and Ladder Co 47 arrived. In which they’re not HAZMAT certified but they’re job is to provide some minor first aid and to block off the street with tape.
***
Inside is the tunnel.
“Hey Lieutenant I highly doubt this can be in here!” I said into my radio.
I was staring at a dangerous goods symbol on the side of the train which was of a white diamond with a skull and crossbones with the words “INHALATION HAZARD.”
When Lieutenant Valkery came over and saw it she grabbed her radio and said into it that to cancel the HAZMAT Level 2 but to upgrade it to a level 3 because inhalation hazards are outside of a Squad Company jurisdiction coming to HAZMAT situations and now the other HAZMAT Company is coming. But one thing I never understood was why for HAZMAT Company 32 it says on the driver side HAZARDOUS MATERIALS COMPANY 32 while the Officer side says HAZARDOUS INCIDENT TEAM while HAZMAT Co 33 says HAZARDOUS RESPONSE TEAM on the driver side while the officer side says NBCRNA (Nuclear Biological, Chemical, Radiological, Nerve Agent) TEAM. But both have the word Specialists on them though.
Lieutenant Valkery then mumbled that whoever at the Empire Transit Authority allowed a train carrying dangerous goods through a civilian subway system is going to be given Hell because of dangerous goods being carried through civilian subway systems been prohibited for a century but some companies are willing to bribe those to look the other way but Little Bird has people and organizations in place to prevent that to prevent corporate executives from getting off from a slap on the wrist and to prevent businesses that are incredibly shady, corrupt, criminally negligent or downright murderous and to prevent corrupt politicians.
But that’s what I like about Little Bird is that this country has a police force that investigates any reported corruption going on and has it so that victims of corruption can report abuses of power, such as bribery and nepotism. If it happens then they can take those individuals to court where they have publicly viewable Corruption trials to allow civilians and the media to view efforts to bring corrupt individuals to justice and that the organization can Immediately freeze the assets and accounts of key individuals suspected or involved in major corruption offenses and prosecute them. However, according to Lusty, there have been times when the corrupt individuals tried to bribe the judge into favoring in them but there have been times when Judges even cops have been arrested for corruption even in the middle of trials.
We just saved as many as we could but whenever we found someone we brought them up to the HAZ-TEC ambulances where Hazmat Emergency Medical Technicians or Hazmat Paramedics took over. But many people were too late in which many of the Hazmat Paramedics would just radio that many of the patients are DOA but would transport for safety.
I don’t think it was an accident, I thought, But it’s for Lieutenant Valkery to chew out that person who allowed it to happen but first off how in the Hell did it get down there?
Battalion Chief Reuben took over Chief Richter’s job due to the latter’s retirement. But he had PD evacuate a two block radius, blocked off the streets, and had the entire perimeter labeled as not safe for people but also had the orange line shut down for an unspecified amount of time. Even when the MTA director asked what he was going to do for the people who ride the orange line he told the MTA director to put out extra buses because the Kenzie Street Station was shut down until PD could find how in the hell the container got down there to be transported by rail.
We then got decontaminated. We had to stay in a pool with cold water and got scrubbed down with our HAZMAT suits on and then had to remove the HAZMAT suits and then got scrubbed down again with our turnout gear on minus the helmets and for a precaution. Then we had to do it again in our underwear just in case and before leaving we each had to get checked out by a Hazmat Tech EMT or Hazmat Tech Paramedic.
____________________________________________________________________________
Several hours later.
Lieutenant Valkery came into the kitchen where Pengelle and Schmit, like normal, are playing cards. My father and I were talking, and Carter was watching the TV where Oijia headed upstairs to get some rest.
“Alright listen up,” Lieutenant Valkery said after cracking her knuckles, “Just got three different faxes from the PD Lab, FD Lab and the LBCONBCRNAD (Little Bird Corps, Nuclear, Biological, Chemical, Radiological, Nerve Agent Defense) saying that at the Kenize Street Subway station was Tabun. Before anyone says it the answer is yes that Its production is strictly controlled and stockpiling outlawed by the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993.”
Lieutenant Valkery then left the kitchen to return to her office which I assumed she was going to go and tear the EMTA a new one but I just know that if we weren’t HAZMAT Certified then a lot more people would’ve died. But at the same time whoever allowed it to come into the subway system is going to be given hell for it as it was one of those things that could’ve been avoided.
But Lieutenant Valkery has all of our reports that we wrote down from what we did and saw while we were down there. I took my time to fill out my report where I actually had to ask for a second form to continue from what I saw and what I did but Carter was the first one done while he did it in cursive but he just wrote a paragraph and turned it in to Lieutenant Valkery.
____________________________________________________________________________
In the morning.
I returned to my apartment where I found my father asleep on the couch where usually he’s up by 5:30-6 AM but since it’s 7:50 AM he’s still asleep. He is sleeping in never happened.
I then just went into the kitchen where after a few minutes the sound of sizzling bacon and sausage awakened him.
“Rise and shine sleepy head,” I said to my dad, “I’m making your breakfast of a coffee with no cream or sugar, lightly toasted bread with fried egg with sausage and bacon on top and another slice of lightly toasted bread on top cut in half to be a rectangle. Guess you don’t like it when a sandwich is a triangle due to it somewhat resembles a folded up flag and by God this family got a lot of triangle flags from the military.”
When I was younger and when I would sleep in my dad would’ve said the same thing of calling me a sleepy head. But I just made him a cup of coffee but how he can drink it between 155 degrees to 185 degrees Fahrenheit. He always said that he has been drinking coffee since he was conceived and gotten used to how hot it can be and how his parents always gave him coffee and always said that he doesn’t like cold coffee. I agree with him for that but I don’t like coffee that’s hot enough to burn the hide off of my tongue or throat. But my dad likes it like that.
When I was making it soon the phone rang so I answered it. It was Lieutenant Valkery. Several anonymous complaints have been filed against the company and they’re so severe that out of the six out of seven will be temporarily moved to new companies across the city. Before I could even ask I was told that I’m not going to Squad 141 due to Claire being there but I was told that for some time I’m going to move over to Squad Co 769 a new Squad Company that was recently put into service in Upper Eastside and recently means yesterday.
But Lieutenant Valkery and I have a feeling that it was Carter who did it. But we really can’t call him out but we really can’t call him out due to they were filed anonymously. According to the Fire Department City of Empire and the Little Bird National Fire Prevention Bureau that there’s an unwritten rule that you don’t snitch or call out others unless if it’s a good reason like if a member was doing something shady on the job but how since that wasn’t happening then it’s not really there.
After eating breakfast I then went over to HQ and demanded to see the complaints in which I was told no. I told the person I wasn’t going to leave until I saw it but us Watersons while we don’t throw temper tantrums. But I was going to go and see it one way or another in which the people at HQ Lusty warned me about them.
Instead of getting people who do the job into administrative positions but they hire what Lusty calls sycophant bureaucrats or as Lusty says “They rather put sycophant bureaucrats into positions of jobs they never done so they can do all politics and look out for their employers best interests not the employees that they serve” not adding how my cousin Dave is a Union Represenative there’s been times where Dave been prevented from representing those facing any disciplinary action but he always told them that if he’s prevented from seeing those whom he was selected to represent. Then that would open up a lawsuit against both the department and the city of Empire in which would violate the 1977 Civil Servant Legal Act which allows all types of Civil Servants to have access to legal representation or to seek out legal help if need be.
The Act more or less is expanded from the 1969 Legal Service Act which allows people accused of crimes to get legal representation until it was modified in 1983 after a riot in the city of Empire after a criminal got off free even though all of the evidence said that he was guilty but somehow he got off on a technicality. But after the riot it made a lot of lawyers refuse to take on cases that are that severe but they only reject cases that involve children who were the victims because that’s usually a lot of negative press.
It took a few hours but as said I didn’t leave until I left after seeing the complaints which was all fake anyway but the person who showed me the false complaints told me that me, Lieutenant Johnson, Captain Jones, Captain Richter, Captain Richter-Waterson, Chief Marcus, Captain Waterson are apart of a dying breed called “Old Guards” even though I’m not an officer but my girlfriend, my cousin once removed, and the rest have the nickname of “Old Guard” because they don’t give a damn about politics but they’ll defend the firefighters under their command come Hell or high water.
I then spent the rest of the day with my dad at both the shooting range and a golf course. Then I took him for a tour of the city starting with Eastside since that’s where my girlfriend is from. We saw people working hard still rebuilding after the arson for profit scam several years ago by Echelon Enterprises.
Many people while losing memories they cannot regain due to photographs they couldn’t save but many are just rebuilding their old brick tenement buildings that were built between 1899/1900-1914. While many others were just being new glass and steel mid-rise and high-rise apartments, part of the new highway/freeway is being built in which they’re digging down and pouring concrete at a 50 degree angle while putting up soundproof walls for the future traffic.
I then told my dad that the people in Eastside it’s fill of hope and pride but underneath it is fear and anger but the people never back down. The people are well educated that they don’t need the system and have proven time and time again that people can fight city hall and win. The people have been fighting the city government since 1966 but didn’t increase until 1968 when the city of Empire started to blame the residents of Eastside for the increase. But it wasn’t their fault because the wirings in the tenements were outdated and their then new appliances would overload the obsolete wires causing fires. Then in the 80s when the city relocated Engine and Ladder Co 47 then all hell broke loose where the people spent four years fighting city hall to regain their fire company but lost many people and that Eastside uses the abandoned lots as community gardens. Which city hall destroyed to put in bars and other places that would benefit the city not them so the residences boycotted said businesses until they went out of business then reclaimed the lot and restarted their community gardens that grows organic healthy food but in retaliation the city shut off all water in Eastside which backfired horribility. Many people died and many fire companies had to go to Eastside and stretch their supply lines for blocks almost a couple of miles to use the hydrants in Downtown or Uptown and that normal one alarm fires would’ve been radioed as two or three alarms that a simple kitchen fire would just be a second alarm fire.
“What did great grandmom do in the war?” I asked.
My dad replied, “Secretary for the war department. Her job was to type letters of condolences to families across the United States and said letters of condolences she typed mostly just said that someone's son or husband, brother, cousin, nephew died to rid the world from the three Axis powers. Also the answer is yes she even received some of the notifications saying that one of her brothers or cousins died in the war because sometimes the military couldn’t find their mother so she was their next of kin to be notified. Or as she told me that her first day was after the Battle of Kasserine Pass in which her distant cousin who is your great granddad was in the battle. But she always told me that she had no idea how she could’ve done the job to send the military to someone saying that someone seventeen to twenty-seven years old died. But the men in the family at the time fought in the war but they treated the enemy as inhumane and unfeeling but in reality on both sides of war no one isn’t an unfeeling warrior - but humans. Mortal, terrified men. In the end who we call enemies are still people fighting for different ideologies and beliefs. Except for you.”
“Hey this job we’re fighting a war that been raging since the dawn of humanity when humans since the Ancient Rome where Roman Emperor Nero formed a group of slaves, Vigiles, in AD 60 to combat fires using bucket brigades and pumps, as well as poles, hooks and even ballistae to tear down buildings in advance of the flames. The Corps Vigiles patrolled the streets of Rome to watch for fires and served as a police force. The later brigades consisted of hundreds of volunteers, all ready for action. When there was a fire, the men would line up to the nearest water source and pass buckets hand in hand to the fire. Rome suffered a number of serious fires, most notably the fire on 19 July AD 64 which eventually destroyed two thirds of Rome.
"Later In Europe, firefighting was quite rudimentary until the 17th century. In 1254, a royal decree of King Saint Louis of France created the so-called guet bourgeois ‘burgess watch,’ allowing the residents of Paris to establish their own night watches, separate from the king's night watches, to prevent and stop crimes and fires. After the Hundred Years' War, the population of Paris expanded again, and the city, much larger than any other city in Europe at the time, was the scene of several great fires in the 16th century. As a consequence, King Charles IX disbanded the residents' night watches and left the king's watches as the only one responsible for checking crimes and fires,” I said, giving my dad a history check.
My dad was about to say something but didn’t say anything. But when he did say something he talked about how he visited a museum the other day. But he said that he mumbled that he overheard someone say that they couldn’t believe that they keep live weapons in a public place but my dad said that he mumbled that museums have weapons but they take the precaution to make them being unable to fire because they disarm them beforehand.
“Now Goddammit,” I said, “I asked for this yesterday and here it is today. A day late and a dollar short.”
My dad was about to say something until I told him that I insulted Carter’s intelligence about how I could read a book but he took it and looked at it by holding it sideways and asked how someone could read a book with nothing but text with no illustrations. I told my dad that it was a criminal fiction book that I paid three bucks for to keep from Arcane University because it’s one of those books that’s so fascinating that someone could read it a million times and still be fascinated about it.
I told him that while Arcane University looks great on the outside but on the inside it is the total opposite. The Campus Police have a policy of “Don’t tell, don't report” meaning certain crimes go unnoticed because of a lot of the sororities and fraternities. Their former members are alumni so that’s why I said that even when the school said I had to live on campus for one year but that didn’t stop me from living off campus in my great-great-granduncle Jimmy “James” Richard Waterson the 1st Villa and never went to the dormitory I was assigned to live in because the moment I got there I’ve done my research before deciding to move into my great-great-great uncle's villa that he got as a summer home back in 1951 for his wife and kids.
After that I then took my dad on a tour of the city while pointing out monuments, and landmarks. I even told him about how the people are raised and taught to respect other people’s opinions and not always be one sided because each of us is entitled to our opinions like how Claire and I have different opinions on things but instead of arguing about it they rather not talk about what opinions they have because to them that avoids conflict because there’s been time. We almost argued over our opinions but we rather just calmed the air and just put it behind us and not talk about our opinions on things if it’s just going to cause chaos.