Five weeks later. August 16th.
In Lusty’s apartment.
“Thanks for allowing me to use your soundproof room,” said Dave.
Lusty replied, “Anytime, anything for a friend. So what can you tell me about what happened last month?”
“Oh of those explosions?” said Dave, “If you meant that, well, it’s a new group who are extremists. Of course, what they did falls within the definition of terrorism. But they’re on the list now.”
“What list?” Lusty asked.
“The one that the Government labels as terrorists,” said Dave. “The one that, if apprehended by law enforcement, you’ll face death row.”
Lusty replied, “Before I go to work. Who taught you how to shoot a gun?”
“Family member, she captured her abusive boyfriend,” said Dave, “She forced me to execute him by wrestling a gun into my hand and forced me to pull the trigger of her double-action high-caliber revolver. I was only nine.”
Lusty replied, “She sounds lovely.”
“Nice sarcasm,” said Dave, “Different than how my granddad was when he was in both World Wars and the Korean War. I was told he didn’t want to see what he called ‘kids’ fight a man’s war because they’ll see things they wish they didn’t see. My granddad was thirteen when he fought for the British Army in World War One in 1914. Can’t imagine what he saw in World War One. If you’re going to ask, he fought for the British 6th Division, then for the Second World War, he fought for the American First Infantry Division.”
Lusty replied, “Good to know.”
***
Squad Company 141 Firehouse.
Lusty was sitting at a desk next to the wall between the apparatus bay door for Squad 141 and the other apparatus bay door for the C02 unit. She did some paperwork but closed the door when the CO2 unit was called out.
But when Lusty decided to close the apparatus bay door, some people came in before the door fully closed.
“What’s going on here?” asked Lusty.
A man replied, “We’re taking over this fire station as a political saying.”
“All of you get the hell out of here before something bad happens,” demanded Lusty, “On the count of three, I want all of you out of here, or I’ll call the damn cops so they can start splittin’ wigs!”
When three did pass, they didn’t, so Lusty grabbed the radio wrapped around her. The same man went to grab Lusty’s wrist, only for Lusty to take her right hand and break the guy’s wrist so many times.
Lusty showed right then and there that she is no pushover, and to get the person out of her face, she did a sweeping kick and knocked the guy on his ass.
“Anyone else wants to test me?” asked Lusty, “Any one of you put their hands on me or my fellow firefighters, then you’ll be meeting your maker real soon!”
A female replied, “My parents are still alive.”
“To ‘meet your maker’ means to die,” said Lusty, “You are dumber than a brick. A newborn is smarter than you!”
Lusty grabbed her radio. “Squad 141 to dispatch, requesting a 10-47 to Squad 141 quarters. Some rabble-rousers have taken us over and need immediate police support and riot police support ASAP!”
One man pulled out a Butterfly knife and charged Lusty, only for Lusty to dodge the person, disarm the man, and break his arm in every imaginable way. She cracked both of her knuckles.
“I gave all of you to take a hike, but no, all of you forced my hand!” said Lusty, “Until the cops come, you’re not my problem, I’m all of your problems!”
Out of the group of people, three of them looked at each other, and the three decided to rush Lusty to overpower her. That ended badly because the first one who got close to Lusty, his face met the steel bumper of Rescue Engine, Squad 141.
The second person, Lusty, swept his legs out from under him and stomped on the guy’s face once. The third person, Lusty, punched in the stomach really hard, grabbed his arm, broke it, and with her right hand, she punched him in the face really hard using the palm of her hand.
“I warned all of you to take a hike,” said Lusty. “Now five of them out of twenty are hurt.”
A man replied, “Fifteen of us remain, and it’s only you standing right here in front of us. You can’t take us all on.”
“Maybe I can’t,” said Lusty, “I’ll kill you.”
The same man replied, “I didn’t think of that.”
Another person was about to say something.
“I may be a firefighter,” said Lusty, “But all of my Co-workers are Army or Marine Reservists. I can have them go home and get their weapons to shoot all of you!”
Lusty, she isn’t mincing words, and she is serious too. She even cracked her neck, and she stared them down.
“Who are you?” asked someone in the group.
Lusty replied sarcastically, “I’m with the Reformed Liberal Party. Can we count on all of your votes in November?”
None of them thought that Lusty was being sarcastic.
“Also, you ma’am,” said Lusty, “If you’re searching for a more ridiculous pair of sunglasses. Don’t, because those are the world's most hideous and absurd pair.”
One woman in the group that took over the firehouse was wearing a pair of pink sunglasses with the metal around the lens looking like bottle caps and with circular lenses. Lusty cracked her knuckles.
“If any of you have any brains, which I seriously doubt none of you do have any brains,” said Lusty, “Take a damn hike, or things will be a lot worse than a broken skull.”
A few police cars pulled up outside with five police officers, three having twelve-gauge pump-action shotguns and the other two having their semi-automatic pistols drawn.
“Looks like the cops are arriving now,” said Lusty, “Well, I gave all of you a chance to leave peacefully, but now they’re going to drag all of you out by all of your long hair and hit all of you in your heads.”
Unlike other places, the riot control tactics in Little Bird date back to the 1960s for the Anti-war demonstrations and in the 1980s and 1990s when the riot police borrowed military gear for crowd control and riot control. But the main thing for their riot control are water cannons, dogs, batons, dogs, and mounted police.
After thirty-something minutes passed, there were two truck-based vehicles, long chassis emergency response vehicles that were black and white. Fourteen members in specialized gear, consisting of a dark gray uniform with ballistic armor, displaying "POLICE" on the front right and "POLICE" on the back.
Two had grenade launchers, with the remaining twelve having batons. They gave the group of people a chance to come out peacefully or be forcefully removed, but they had one minute to comply, or they would be coming in hard to remove them by force.
When a full minute passed, the people were still in the firehouse. After a couple of seconds, some of the glass on the apparatus bay door shattered as if it were a tear gas canister. Lusty took them, being distracted and running over, and got an SCBA on so the tear gas wouldn’t irritate her eyes, nose, mouth, and lungs.
Throughout the uproar, the rest of Squad 141 never thought about seeing what was happening, but it wasn’t until the sound of shattering glass and tear gas canisters popped open. The tear gas made them tear up and made them cough.
Lusty opened both of the apparatus bay doors so the tear gas could start clearing out for the safety of her team. The riot police came and removed the group of people, even those that Lusty beat up in self-defense.
Lusty still had a little fire burning in her, and it’s her mama bear side in which she sees herself as a mother bear and considers the firefighters under her command as her cubs. She is also a mother of seven infant daughters whom the first two are twins and the other five are quintuplets, and the twins and quintuplets are twenty-one months apart.
Lusty took the four probationary firefighters under her command and used a garden hose to spray cold water to wash the tear gas off them. She used a sink in the bathroom to wash her arms, but she closed the blinds and locked her office door to change into another pair of station gear so she doesn’t have to keep wearing the same pair contaminated by the tear gas.
When Lusty got dressed, she got James Smith, John Rodriguez, Lincoln, Alpial, Rogers, and Wallace to bring Squad 141 outside, which they washed it down, washed their turnout gear, and cleaned the apparatus bay every square inch they washed it down with water and lots of soap. Before they started to clean the apparatus bay and their engine, Lusty told dispatch that she was taking Squad Company 141 out of service for two and a half hours. Only then would Squad Company 525 have to take over Squad 141 response area, so an entire seventy-seven miles, not thirty-eight and point-five miles.
“When was the last time the drain thing was cleaned?” asked Lusty, “Back in the 1940s or 50s? Three different companies over the years, but none have ever decided to clean them out until now?”
James replied, “Two companies, not three.”
“I’m considering Engine 141 and Squad 141 as separate companies, not one, even though it wasn’t until 1953 when Engine 141 was changed to Squad 141. Also, I’m considering both Engine Forty-Seven and Ladder Forty-Seven as separate, not one. Yeah, don’t lecture me about one firehouse being a task force of one engine and one truck company unless you want to talk about Rescue 17, Rescue 18, HAZMAT, Foam Engines, Squad 525, and our firehouses, are considered SOC Taskforce, which is two random SOC or Specialized units.”
James replied, “What other Specialized companies?”
“Besides HAZMAT and Rescue,” said Lusty, “Before I continue, I want to say that you’re joking?”
James looked at her as if she had no idea what she was saying.
“So you seriously don’t know the other specialized companies in the city?” asked Lusty.
James shook his head from left to right.
“There’s Rescue Operations,” said Lusty, “Dive team, Swift water rescue, Rescue Operations Logistics, Rebreather Unit, the three marine companies, the Mask service unit, Field Communications, Fleet maintenance, High-Rise, and the Four safety Battalion Chiefs.”
James replied, “Oh, I forgot. I have been having a pounding headache. And honestly, I’m slightly hungover. It has been almost two years since my son's death, and today would’ve been his eleventh birthday. Last night, I had a few.”
“James, go home,” said Lusty, “I can’t have one of my firefighters have any hangover. Clean up and go home. I’m looking after your and everyone else’s safety even if you are slightly drunk. I don't want anyone else, not even with a 0.0000000001% BAC.”
James did, but before James could leave, Lusty called him a taxi so he wouldn’t drive and possibly get into an accident.
After this I’m cutting off my left arm and getting a plastic prosthetic, Lusty thought, And probably burn the uniform I have that’s contaminated by Tear gas.
Lusty started to think about what a friend she lost, and that was why she told Lusty she always has to find solace in anything. No matter how sad or terrible it is, someone has to find solace but not enjoy anything wrong.
Lusty didn't like talking about her friends or family—especially her parents. She doesn’t talk about her friends because most of them were killed in 1999 in World War Three, mostly called the ‘Soviet-NATO/BCLBLFDF War.’ But she doesn’t think about how they died and knows that war is not something to consider lightly.
Lusty’s stomach turned upside down because she couldn’t believe that out of all of her friends, she had only Dave, Linda, Asyling, Darick, Mackenzie Ryan, Sonata, Constantine Richter, Mackenzie Waterson, Autumn, James Smith, Marcus, John Rodriguez, Lincoln, Alpial, Rogers, and Wallace.
At least I got my Tetanus shot, probably got something in these drains that have diseases or something that’ll make someone sick if they got an open cut. That was an exciting morning. They were lucky I didn’t have a nail gun or an automatic nail gun.
Lusty looked at the palm of her right hand. Lusty did an excellent job hiding the scar on her right hand. But she’ll gladly talk about how she got it, and when she got it, she never underestimated how dangerous construction tools can be. Not adding that her father told her she could injure herself if she weren’t careful, and her father was also the tenement building groundskeeper.
“We’re done washing the rig,” said John Rodriguez.
Lusty replied, “Well, wash all of the turnout gears from top to bottom, every inch of the jackets, trousers, boots, helmets, masks, SCBAs, and whatnot.”
“What’s eating you up on the inside?” asked John Rodriguez.
Lusty replied, “Nothing is bothering me.”
“Yes, there, something is,” said John, “My aunt always told me that when people usually act moody, they usually have something to hide.”
Lusty didn’t even respond, but she rolled her eyes.
Something in Lusty was bothering her: she wanted to get payback on the people who caused those explosions. She wants to ask Dave if she can help him and others. Still, she already knew that his answer was no, not adding that the people that Dave is with will go after the same people. Well, they’re hardcore and won’t stop for her to catch up, and they’re more inclined to pull the trigger while Lusty would be hesitant and won’t understand what’ll happen also if Dave did allow Lusty to tag along well Lusty wouldn’t have a role. If she volunteered to be a medic well she would’ve been told that all of them have advanced combat medic training so Lusty would’ve been more or less dead weight to them.
While Lusty was cleaning off her arm.
“Hey Lusty,” said Dave, “Thanks for letting me and my quote-unquote ‘friends’ using your soundproof room.”
Lusty replied, “Hey, Dave. Oh can I tag along with you and your friends?”
“Sorry Lusty, you can’t,” said Dave, “The people I’m ‘friends’ with are trained in everything, and you’ll be deadweight. Name something that you can do that they can’t. But the people I work with they’re not like the regular military. My ‘friends’ serve out of love for their country rather than loyalty to the Stratocratic-Police State- Secular State- Guarded Haven- Happy Childhood government.”
Lusty replied, “So another version of the Waffen SS or the Schutzstaffel but not war criminals and not war criminals and not that type of fanatics?”
“Yes and no,” said Dave, “Yes, that they’re very loyal to their country but no they’re not war criminals. But if you want to tag along, I’ll get them to start getting the proper paperwork done immediately. As I said, if you can’t keep up, we’ll leave you behind. Also is there anything else you want to say before I go?”
Lusty replied, “What’ll it cost you to them to get me to accompany you and your friends?”
“Honestly, I don’t know,” said Dave, “But I can say it won’t be easy, though, but when they do, I’ll let you know.”
Lusty replied, “Oh, before you do go. Thanks for visiting our daughters yesterday. They’re going to be the best when they get older. I’m wondering if you and Linda would like to get breakfast tomorrow?”
“Well, I’ll have to check in with her,” said Dave, “Because if one of her brothers sees that it’s just me and you together, well, they’ll think I’m having an affair… The last person who had an affair with one of my family members got a beating they never regretted doing. Better go before Truck Sixteen gets mad that I’m keeping them here a little longer than I said.”
Then Dave left.
***
Two hours later.
Lusty felt like she pulled a muscle in her left arm, so she started to rub it for a bit until she put a heating pad on it so it could relax her left arm muscle. While she did that, she also put Squad 141 back into service.
When Lusty returned to her office, she did paperwork peacefully and quietly. She didn’t mind the paperwork, but she just needed something to keep her mind distracted, and the only thing that she was mostly thinking about was what her daughters would do in the future. She would support them as long as they didn’t do anything criminal. But she has almost five years until they begin school.
“I can’t wait until they begin school,” said Lusty, “Then they’ll make friends and maybe partake in afterschool activities.”
Lincoln replied, “You said something, Lusty?”
“Just thinking out loud,” said Lusty, “Also, where in the hell did you come from?”
Lincoln replied, “The guys were wondering what’s for lunch. We’re not asking you what’s for lunch but we’re not asking you to make it.”
Lusty looked at the clock on the office wall. The clock said it’s 11:45 in the morning. “Round them up. We’re going to go for a ride.”
Lincoln left the door frame to go down to the kitchen.
Stolen novel; please report.
Then Lusty used the phone in her office to call the same place where she and the previous members went to lunch once. When she hung up, she slid down the firepole, and to her surprise, they were all waiting for her to get on Squad 141.
***
In the Eastside, Little Bird Empire.
Lusty, John Rodriguez, Lincoln, Alpial, Rogers, and Wallace got lunch but Alpial got something to eat with either pork or meat. In contrast, Alpial got a tossed salad because his religion prohibits consuming chicken, pork, meat, and alcohol.
Lusty got both a Philly cheesesteak and a few pork chops, John got roast beef, Lincoln got a hamburger, Wallace got a half of a cheese pizza, Rogers got a done Ribeye steak, and as said, Aipial got a tossed salad.
“Well, I bet that was interesting what happened earlier,” said Lincoln.
Lusty replied, “Well, those were violent nutcases. They were bound to do something violent. But the Empire's finest did their job.”
“Empire’s finest?” asked John.
Lusty replied, “The Empire Police Department.”
They ate their lunch in peace. Before returning to their firehouse, Lusty stopped by her old neighbor’s tenement, and she checked on her babies and their well, but they were asleep.
While heading back to their firehouse, they were called to a construction site for a fire at the new city hall construction site.
***
Third floor.
The windows not being in yet, the smoke was going out.
While walking, someone came out behind a wall and held Lusty at gunpoint.
“Get that damn gun out of my face!” demanded Lusty.
Man replied, “Back up!”
While Lusty and the man stared eye to eye, Lusty quickly snatched the gun out of the guy’s hand. “Yeah, how you like it! Doesn’t feel so great when someone points a gun at you as well!”
When the guy tried to wrestle the gun out of Lusty’s hand, there were three rapid gunshots.
The other members of Squad 141 dropped what they were doing and ran to where they heard the gunshots, and what they saw was Lusty holding a Phoenix pistol/w 6.83-inch extended barrel.
“Guy pointed a gun at me,” said Lusty, “I snatched it out of his hand, he tried to wrestle it away from me, and my left hand pulled the trigger three times.”
They saw that she was holding a gun and knew that she owned weapons. But they knew all of her weapons were at home, and she didn’t bring any to work with her. She even knew she could be in trouble for it, but any sane person would’ve known and known that it’d be self-defense, not murder.
It was a fire, but it was smoking electrical equipment on the second floor and the new wiring that someone caught on fire.
***
Two hours and a half later.
“What’s wrong, John?” asked Lusty.
John replied, “Someone called IAD.”
Lusty closed the company officer door on Squad 141. As the Chauffeur/Engineer John said, someone did send IAD.
Great suits from IAD, Lusty thought, Wonder who in the hell called them.
The rest of Squad 141 also saw Lusty crack her knuckles.
“What did they do to you?” asked Lincoln.
Lusty replied, “The center one when we were in the academy, he insulted my mother, and I laid his ass out. Where I’m from, insulting someone else’s mother, if it was a crime, it’ll be a felony, maybe a Death Row offense. When he insulted my mother in the academy, I punched him so hard that I broke his nose and knocked some of his teeth out.”
Lusty took off her bunker gear jacket.
“What can Squad 141 do for you, Nathanial, and your IAD pals?” asked Lusty in a bitter and distrustful tone.
Nathanial replied, “Someone reported that someone in this company assaulted someone with a deadly weapon.”
“Yeah, well, it wasn’t one of us,” said Lusty, “I don’t care what anyone says, even if it’s a dumbass politician. I’m standing by my crew, unlike every other officer who’ll gladly throw their members under the bus to save their asses.”
Nathanial replied, “Yeah, well, we’ll be interviewing all of you separately.”
***
Squad 141 Officer Room.
“IAD Firefighter Nathanial Bard doing an in-person interview with Captain Claire Johnson,” said Nathanal into a Walkman, “Captain. State your name, rank, and badge number for the record.”
Lusty replied, “You already did it for me dumbass.”
“Captain, just state your name, rank, and badge number for the record,” said Nathanial, “I sense some anger.”
Lusty replied, “Then you shouldn’t have insulted my mother in the fire academy! If it weren’t illegal, I would get a manhole cover and beat you with it. But can’t because that’ll be theft of City property and assault. Also, I won’t get a three hundred and fifty-pound cast iron manhole cover because it’s too heavy, and I'm not in the mood to toss out my back!”.
Nathaniel turned the portable recorder off. “You still can’t let it go of what happened at the academy."
Lusty replied, “You called my mother a whore, So yes, I got offended and knocked your ass out in the academy, and I knocked your teeth out and gave you a broken nose.”
“Because your mother was indeed a whore,” said Nathanial.
Lusty replied, “For two things, asshole. For one, my parents are dead, so don’t speak ill of the dead dumbass! And second, my mother was a hard-working saint! She worked down to the bone. So say one more damn bad thing about my mother: you’ll need an intensive care unit at the hospital!”
Lusty was showing pent-up anger she had against Nathanial.
“Well, before we’re done here,” said Nathanial, “We’re going to need to be searching through everyone's lockers and personal belongings.”
Lusty replied, “This may be a police state, but without a search warrant. My crew members have a right to privacy, and if we do get a call, you and your IAD pals can’t search this firehouse because whatever you find won’t be admissible. After all, even a newborn would tell you that without us being here, they’ll think it was planted. Even if you have photographic evidence, it’ll be ruled inadmissible because they’ll tell you it could’ve been taken after you planted it.”
Nathanial knew that Lusty was correct. If they did find anything, whatever they found wouldn’t be allowed to be used against whoever locker they searched without them being right there.
Nathan turned the portable recorder back on.
“This is IAD Firefighter Nathanael Bard doing an in-person interview with Captain Johnson of Rescue Engine, Squad 141.” Said Nathaniel, “Captain Johnson, would you please state your name, rank, and badge number for the record?”
Lusty replied with an annoyed tone of voice, “If it means you're getting the hell out of my firehouse faster, then fine. Johnson, Claire, Captain, Badge number 197945. Please get the hell out of my firehouse before I throw you out the window!”
“Not yet, Captain,” said Nathaniel, “So someone has come forth that someone on Rescue Engine, Squad Company 141, used a firearm and committed an ASW you known an…”
Lusty interrupted, “Assault with a Deadly Weapon. I'm not a fucking moron!”
“Well, the person saying that says that a member of Squad Company 141 used an…” said Nathanial.
Lusty interrupted, “A Phoenix Pistol with a 6.83-inch extended barrel.”
“How do you know that?” asked Nathanial.
Lusty replied, “Me and my crew got a thing going that we don’t keep secrets from each other, and I’m not saying who,”
“How do you know what the gun was?” suspiciously asked Nathanial.
Lusty replied, “Had a neighbor who’s a World War Two Veteran with a Kar98k Rifle, MP40, MAS 38, Carcano M38, MAS 36, and a P38. Hell, he even has Hitler’s Buzzsaw in his living room. Hell, all of my old neighbors have guns. Even Bazookas dating back to 1942!”
Nathanial didn’t believe her, and while it does sound a bit far-fetched on what she said, it’s all true, not adding that one of her old neighbors has a .50 Caliber HMG.
“You know I don’t believe that,” said Nathanial, “None of that is true.”
Lusty replied, “Yeah, I don’t care if you don’t think that is true or not. But it was my neighbors who taught me about gun safety.”
Lusty turned the portable recorder off.
“Word of advice: my old neighbors have more firepower than every police precinct in this city,” continued Lusty, “They were the ones who taught me about guns, so I know types of weapons.”
She turned the portable recorder back on. “Either way, my crew didn’t do a damn thing wrong. So if you would please. Get the Hell out of my firehouse!”
Nathaniel replied, “Well, we must search everyone’s locker and your office.”
“Just to inform you,” said Lusty, “I share this office with three other officers. Everything in here ain’t mine. The only thing in here that is mine is this photo of me and my parents on my twelfth birthday! But I put the photo in my locker before leaving.”
Nathaniel replied, “Well, I need to search your locker anyway.”
“The only thing you’re going to see is pink sundresses with a red ribbon belt and red heels,” said Lusty, “And a photograph. And a few magnetic awareness ribbons. Also, a small magnetic Bisexual flag and a small magnetic LGBT flag.”
***
Locker Room.
Lusty opened her locker.
“Lusty?” said Nathaniel, “So a nickname that has sexual meaning is prohibited.”
Lusty replied, “Maybe if you didn’t have your head up your ass during the academy days, then you would’ve known where I got my nickname. As long it has another meaning, not sexual or criminal.”
She took the single-dial padlock off of her locker door. “See just clothing, a photograph, and a few magnetic awareness ribbons. And the two small magnetic Bisexual flags and a small magnetic LGBT flag. That’s it.”
The three awareness ribbons are a Pink Ribbon for breast cancer awareness, a Red Ribbon for substance abuse awareness, and a Dark Blue ribbon for Child abuse prevention. The photograph is of Lusty during her graduation from the fire academy with her parents on both sides—also there's a small magnetic Bisexual flag and a small magnetic LGBT flag.
Besides Lusty’s dresses, the rest of her locker is empty.
“I’m going to need to search everyone else's lockers,” said Nathaniel.
Lusty replied, “Without them here, it’s a no.”
It wasn’t long until the rest of Squad Company 141 entered the locker room, and their lockers were thoroughly searched through their lockers.
“We’re going to come back later to do another round of interviews at another time,” said Nathaniel, “We’ll come back after a few days to do more interviews and whatnot to see if anyone here is innocent or guilty.”
Lusty replied, not bothering to hide how annoyed she was, “You’re not a detective. But yeah, whatever you say.”
Soon, Nathaniel and the other two Internal Affairs Firefighters left Squad Co 141.
Lusty didn’t even ask the other six what the other two IAD Firefighters asked them because, to her and the others, they keep the rest in the dark so they don’t start to think they can’t trust each other. Still, they told each other what they asked, not adding half of them were asked if they would defend Claire to the end of time, in which they told the two IAD firefighters that they would follow Lusty to Hell and back.
Unknown to Nathaniel and the other two IAD firefighters, well Lusty’s crew, they mean that they would follow her to hell and back because they have earned her respect and vice versa. Even Aipial's religion, women must obey their husbands, fathers, and sons. Still, Lusty has earned his respect despite his religious beliefs.
After all, while Lusty is an atheist and agnostic, she respects his religion and religious beliefs because her parents raised her to respect others and their opinions and religions. Lusty’s parents raised her to accept somebody for who they are, even when they're different from hers or she disagrees with them, and it builds feelings of trust, safety, and well-being.
“Let’s just go on with our work,” said Lusty, “Let’s pretend Nathaniel… Bleh, I don’t want to say that name again. But let’s pretend their visit never happened.”
Everyone agreed, but none asked why Lusty didn’t like Nathanial, with some thinking that Nathanial was Lusty’s ex-boyfriend, an ex-fling, or a one-night stand that ended badly between them. Others think he did something to her in the past or took her out to dinner but decided to bail when the check came.
Still, they know that by her figure that she wouldn’t order a lot of food if she only eats a plate and a half of food at the firehouse and by herself in her apartment or if she goes out to eat even when she was pregnant twice, she didn’t eat a lot and didn’t give in to her cravings as well besides when she gave in to her cravings once for a well-done sirloin steak.
As per Lusty’s wish, they’ll pretend that Nathanial and the other two IAD firefighters didn’t come. Lusty just took her paperwork out of the office and did her paperwork in the apparatus bay and enjoyed when a nice breeze would blow in from time to time, she was starting to get a little bit stir-crazy while doing that so-called interview with Nathanial. She knew she would have to do paperwork when she became an officer, but she thought about breaking Nathanial’s Walkman before and during the interview.
“In the summer sun, we’re dancing in the street. Groovy tunes playing to the dancing beat,” Lusty sang, “With the jukebox blasting out our favorite sound, we’ll shake it up all around the town.
“Hey, baby, baby, let’s do the twist. Come on Baby let’s get lost in the mist. We’re going to grove, shake and shout in this town, there’s no time to doubt. Hair slicked back in our bell-bottom jeans, cruising down the boulevard, living out our dreams, the radio’s blaring the latest hits, We’re rebels without a cause seeing the stage for a blitz.
“Hey, baby, baby, let’s do the twist. Come on, baby, let’s get lost in the mist. We’re gonna groove, we’re going to shake and shout in this town, there’s no room for doubt. Girls in mini-skirts, boys with guitars, we’re chasing stardom, reaching for the stars through the ups and downs, the highs and lows. We’ll rock and roll wherever the wind blows.
“So let’s keep dancing with love in our hearts, united we stand, we’ll never fall apart, in this groovy era, where dreams come true, we’ll make history and leave our mark too.”
Lusty decided to quickly write down the song before forgetting it, and she continued with her paperwork. While she was doing paperwork, she got a hand cramp.
***
Two hours later.
All caught up on my paperwork, Lusty thought, Thank goodness that I’m cross-dominant, which I was ambidextrous but not going to cry over it.
Soon, Nathaniel returned. “Captain Claire, I’m going to need you to come with me.”
Lusty replied, “Like hell, I’m going anywhere with you.”
“Well we did search your apart…” said Nathaniel.
Lusty interrupted, “You did what! I didn’t give you or anyone permission to enter my apartment and I damn well know that a judge didn’t sign off on a search warrant in a heartbeat. So what you did was trespassing, breaking and entering! You committed both a misdemeanor and a felony, you dumbass! So whatever you found in my apartment can’t be used because you committed a crime.”
“Your girlfriend Zofia told me that I could,” said Nathaniel.
Lusty replied, “Zofia and I broke up long ago, so what you did was B&E and whatnot.”
Soon, Zofia entered the firehouse wearing a dark blue shirt, tie, trousers, and cap with a police badge on the left breast area.
“Speak of the Devil,” said Lusty, “Hey, I was right. You’re a beat cop, not a detective. Guess your rich mom couldn’t pay off the right people or sleep around with the people in city hall to have you skip four ranks.”
Zofia was about to say something, but Lusty was right that Zofia’s mother couldn’t find the right person to pay off to make Zofia skip the ranks of Police Cadet, Police officer rank one. Police officers rank two to the rank of Detective rank one.
“Come on Lusty,” said Zofia.
Lusty replied, “Put your Goddamn hand on me, then your face is going through this solid oak table.”
Zofia didn’t believe Lusty, and when Zofia put one finger on Lusty, Lusty smashed Zofia’s head through the solid oak table as she said, and part of the table broke.
“I wonder how the police department is going to react when they find out that a, rookie cop broke into someone’s place while that person didn’t commit a crime,” said Lusty, “Also, you, Nathaniel, what you did was a crime as well!”
Zofia decided to leave to go to the hospital because her face hit the solid oak table and concrete floor. But she had to hold her jaw because it hurt more than the rest of her face.
Soon the fire bell went off for them to respond to a medical run of a person who collapsed due to a possible cardiac arrest. Still, they were canceled while responding because Ladder Company Fifty-Nine got there. After all, they got done with another call and well every fire company in the country of Little Bird has dual roles of fighting fires and responding to all kinds of EMS calls.
It started in the late 1960s and early 1970s when a lot of soldiers coming back from Vietnam would steal military morphine and sell it on the streets until the 1980s when all firefighters from seasoned firefighters to cadets in the academy, were required to get at least a CFR level with a few getting to FF/EMT ranking even though it’s standard on Little Bird for all of the firefighters being labeled as FF/EMT, why it became required for them all to get a basic level in EMS care because of the Crack epidemic at the time.
While they were heading back to the firehouse, Lusty was thinking about how as a child and a teenager, she never saw a drug dealer in her old neighborhood, and that’s because in both Eastside and Westside, being a drug dealer is a capital punishment to the people there because that’s how they see it. The people there see it as on par as killing a cop, and on Little Bird, killing a police officer is a death sentence and is a capital offense.
Before they could return to the firehouse, they were called to a commercial building that was a tire warehouse. Lusty even warned her company that tires are made of synthetic rubber or natural rubber with fabric and wire, carbon black, and other chemical compounds.
***
At the tire warehouse.
“Squad 141 to dispatch we’re 10-84,” said Lusty into a walkie-talkie, “Transmitting a fourth alarm assignment and a 10-87. Also, transmitting a 10-70 on scene.”
Dispatch replied, “10-4 Squad 141. Upgrading box 3-3-2-5 to a fourth alarm assignment with High expansive foam and sending another engine as another water source.”
Lusty tried to open a metal door to access the single-story warehouse, but the door was locked.
“Smith with me,” said Lusty, “Get the Irons to break open this door!”
James Smith did when he gave Lusty the ax while he held the Halligan bar where the lock is, and she struck it a few times to force it between the doors until he could force open the door. When the door opened, some dark black smoke came out.
“Already on it, Capt,” said Smith.
Like a well-oiled machine, Lusty thought, Everyone is doing what they’re trained and assigned to do, and I don’t have to tell them what to do if they’re already doing it.
James climbed the ladder, and when he put the saw down onto the roof and climbed onto the roof, there was a slight creak, and he fell through the roof, breaking both legs.
Lusty quickly put on her breathing apparatus and the sound of it was more than a piece of the sound was louder due to it being more than a piece of aluminum.
Could’ve let him stay with him, then let him rejoin right around when IAD showed up, Lusty thought, But anyway, can’t turn back time now.
Lusty went inside and found Firefighter James Smith trying to make himself a homemade splint in what’s around him until Lusty grabbed him between both of his arms and torso. Lusty dragged him out.
“This is the alternative way,” said James, “Of the damsel in distress cliche. It’s usually the man who saves the woman, not the woman who saves the man. But hey either way at least you’re not others who would leave others behind.”
Lusty replied, “I used to read fairy tale stories too and never cared for the whole damsel in distress thing. If it’s in a medieval setting, I don’t care, but nowadays, I don’t care.”
When Lusty dragged James outside, she removed her mask, put it onto his face, and let him breathe air.
“If that guy from IAD wants you so bad, why doesn’t he just get punched?” asked James.
Lusty replied, “Honestly, I don’t give a shit what he thinks. If he doesn’t like me, I couldn’t give a damn. As long as he doesn't put his hands on me, he won’t have any more problems!”I laid his ass out once during the academy days when he called my mother a whore. Just stay here, James.”
Lusty went to check on the rest of her company, and with a finite water supply, they only used the 2 ½ inch line, and the rest used water and foam fire extinguishers. There was soon an explosion, and the fire heated a forklift tank on the back, but they didn’t even know a forklift was there until it was too late.
They also scattered so they wouldn’t get hit by a flying flaming tire.
“What else could be in here!” said Lusty.
Some more flaming tires either flew or rolled around.
“That’s it on the water!” said Engineer/Chauffeur John Rodriguez, “The tank is emptied!”
“Squad 141, be advised your backup has been redirected to a second alarm high-rise fire,” said a female dispatcher, “Sending additional companies from the other side of the city.”
Lusty sighed after hearing that, not adding that they quickly ran out of the fire extinguishers they had, so all of them just got the shovels they had, which were only two, and used the sand and dirt in the lot and threw it onto the fire. Still, it felt like it would take forever to put out. They had to wait at least half an hour for their backup to arrive.
The foam acted as a barrier, smothered the fire and kept it from reigniting even though it took several hours.
***
Squad 141 & C02 unit Firehouse.
It’s nighttime.
“Alright, go get some sleep,” ordered Lusty, “Don’t know when the next call can come in so go get some sleep and get some rest before the next call comes in." Lusty sat on her bed in the officer’s quarter. "Today was an interesting day."
Lusty laid down, closed her eyes to sleep, and fell asleep like a baby. It wasn’t until midnight that some kind of crackling sound and mechanical grinding got them up. They found out that it was the station's HVAC system.
“When was the last time this thing was inspected or repaired or whatnot?” asked a very tired Lusty.
James replied, “Back in the Spring of ‘84, when I was here subbing for a firefighter who had to take some time off for family reasons. But when I came here, someone from the Facility Division from HQ quickly looked at it and fixed it up. Oh, if you’re going to ask or not, the firefighter who had to leave for family reasons, well, his daughter was in the hospital with terminal cancer and he was where he should’ve been, and in my case, family is more than anything else.”
“I’ll call HQ first thing in the morning,” said Lusty, “No one is going to take a look at this from HQ at 12:02 AM. Be surprised if someone at HQ called someone from the facility division, got them out of bed and set them here to fix it in the dead of night, but I know they won’t.”
Without the station’s HVAC system on it quickly got hot in the firehouse, and it was a hot night even though the guys called Lusty the lucky one because the officer’s quarters are on the first floor while the sleeping quarters for the rest are on the second floor. It quickly became a hot and sleepless night for them.
Lusty couldn’t sleep much due to the heat, so she did the paperwork about the tire warehouse fire and didn’t miss a single detail and put what happened, and she did it, leaving no detail out until sunrise.
***
At the change of shift.
Lusty made sure all of her paperwork was nicely stacked in alphabetical order, and she put them in an envelope marked with bold words that said SQUAD 141 SHIFT A RUN SHEETS. She put them in an outgoing mail, and she’ll send them out when she gets Shifts B, C, and D before the end of the week.
Before she did, she ensured every single one was accounted for because she didn’t want HQ on her neck about one missing run sheet.
Before she left the office quarter room, she called HQ and told them that their HVAC system broke and they would send a technician out during B shift to look at it and fix it if it didn’t need to be scrapped and get a new one.
When Lusty walked out of the firehouse, both Zofia and Nathaniel approached her. They wanted her to come with them peacefully, or Zofia would have to arrest her until Lusty told them both to go away and ain’t going nowhere with them.
When Lusty unlocked her car door and partially opened the driver door, Zofia closed it.
“I didn’t give you permission to touch my car,” said Lusty, “I’m doing the great thing of leaving this conversation. Touch my car again, I'll break your arm.”
When Zofia closed Lusty’s car driver door for a second time and when Lusty opened it again when Zofia put her hand on Lusty’s car, Lusty grabbed Zofia’s right arm and twisted it backward. When Zofia went to grab her revolver, Lusty took it, opened the swing-out cylinder, took out the six .44 magnum rounds, dropped the revolver, and kicked it down the street.
“You can’t do that,” said Zofia.
Lusty replied, “I just did!”
Zofia quickly picked up the bullets off the ground and ran a few feet to get her service revolver. Lusty opened her car door and put her duffle bag in the passenger seat. She closed the door, put the key in the ignition, and drove off.
***
Lusty’s apartment.
Great, I have to pay more to get this fixed, Lusty replied, Yeah, I know I got renter rights for not paying the following month's rent until the door is fixed. It's going to cost ‘bout a hundred bucks to fix. Damn, Zofia, lucky I wasn’t here, or I would’ve smashed her face into the door.
At first, Lusty thought she could fix it, but she decided not to because she didn’t want to make it worse, so she left it alone.
There was soon a knock on her apartment door. She opened it, and it was Dave who told Lusty that she could come onto the mission. But he didn’t hold back that she would have to fight people who won’t hold back on killing her, but she told Dave that she would have no problem shooting.