October 31st, 2006.

It was a warm tropical Autumn day but since Little Bird is a tropical country they really didn't have a change of seasons. Lusty used to hate the month of June because from the 1st to the 21st of June it would and will rain non stop. Ever since becoming a firefighter she changed her tune about it because the intense rain helped them fight fires and the chance of wildfires from starting. But at the cost of the river flooding and landslides, trees, shrubs, bushes, and other flora in Little Bird helps to slow down the floods and landslides through directly intercepting rainfall and promote higher soil infiltration rate meaning more rainwater is absorbed into the ground rather than running off and causing floods.

It’s a dry day today but Lusty can see it’s going to cause a few fires here and there but might cause a wildfire. But she then sat down on the bumper of Squad 141 and cleared her mind because whatever call may come to her it could either be a false alarm, a major emergency or more often it’s something in between. But because they’re the last stop gap from the city collapsing, Lusty liked that they can go to anything even if it’s not within the fire department’s jurisdiction like going to tenant-landlord disputes in which it’s a police department jurisdiction.

“Halloween is here,” said Lusty, “Well today is an ACH day.”

Dynamite replied, “ACH?”

“Anything Can Happen,” said Avalanche, “I know that if someone scares me as a Zombie, well if it’s a man then I’m kicking them right in the balls or punching them in the throat. If it’s a woman then I’m punching them in the throat. If it’s a real zombie then I’m taking Lieutenant Johnson’s Tomahawk to their head.”

Lusty replied, “You know it’s alright to call me Lusty. I prefer to be called Lusty than to be referenced as Lieutenant Johnson. Alright if there’s another higher-up than Battalion Chief Marcus then yes refer me as Lieutenant Johnson but around Marcus then it’s alright to call me Lusty. But I prefer to be called Lusty over Lieutenant Johnson. Hell, my old turnout coat before becoming Captain had both Lusty and Johnson but I got that hanging up in my closet at home and maybe the week after next I’ll bring it and show you.”

“Okay then,” said Dynamite, “But after this you’ll find me at a bar drinking whiskey, rum, brandy, or bourbon. But that’s if we get just calls that just happen on Halloween. I would rather fight a high-rise fire than deal with Halloween. Lusty, what were your shifts like on Halloween?”

Lusty replied, “Mostly dealt with people who took drugs that made them whacked out of their damn minds. The drug affects users' brains by turning them into basically zombies, mindless and prone to attack people so they can bite them. However, this naturally isn't infectious to victims. But a lot of people got attacked and nine out of ten times whoever took the drug got shot in the head by the cops who thought they were actual zombies."

“Sounds like they need to visit my aunt and uncle,” said Avalanche, “They’re therapists but to me my aunt and uncle trained to help people with their issues, not criticize them. Not adding that they’re not viewing it as a worthwhile career while also not respecting how I enjoy making a difference as a firefighter.”

Soon the bell went off for a fire investigation in a house.

***

In a house.

“I have no idea what the buttons say,” said Avalanche before pressing one where soon roll down doors came and blocked the doors and windows.

Lusty replied, “I don't know what the button says so I'll just push it?"

“Definitely regretting that decision,” said Avalanche.

Lusty ran over and started to bang on the aluminum rolled-down door with her fist. “Hey let us out!”

Even though the three are trapped inside Dynamite decided to talk about how the instructors at the academy have vastly different methods of training depending on what the trainee needs and with former military members. At first they have to show that they’re not in an hostile environment and that they didn't have to keep scanning the horizon for threats. Dynamite explained that when she came home and took her papers and walked and did not do another tour in the Marines. Everywhere she went she viewed everyone as potentially hostile, and she always suffered from headaches but after a while her eyes and head had to adjust to constantly scanning the area for threats.

While Lusty was still banging on the door.

“I got a friend in the Third Infantry Division Heavy Weapon Section as a gunner on a 150mm mortar,” said Dynamite. “He told me that every day they would fire one thousand rounds of High Explosive, Incendiary, and White Phosphorus rounds but whenever they fired White Phosphorus my friend always said ‘Burn, hahaha!’ and honestly I would’ve been the same. But I think what caught the Soviets off guard was that within two hours of their invasion the Fort Suction Militia and the Fort Suction Police Department delayed the Soviets enough to buy time for the Little Bird First Army to be mobilized. I don’t think the Reds were expecting to fight cops, engage professional soldiers, armored vehicles and attack helicopters.

"The Reds were probably expecting that it would be like the Normandy Campaign in World War 2 when Allied Forces pushed out of Normandy and into France. But whenever the Reds tried to break out they were always blocked and pushed back and those who surrendered or those who were medics well the Geneva Convention turned to the Geneva Suggestion. Oh whenever the Reds would’ve used civilian row boats to cross the river they were forced to swim or drown or shot by a .50, .30, or a 7.62mm machine gun even while they were defenseless in the water. Or whenever we shot down a Soviet helicopter and whenever the crew would bail out our ground forces would shoot at them while parachuting down even though all that’s illegal but firing on airborne forces who are descending by parachute aka paratroopers is not prohibited. Hey the Soviets came here and they should’ve figured out that we would’ve turned this place into their grave.”

After two minutes they heard a saw rev up until there was an electrocution sound.

“That isn’t good,” said Lusty, “I think Irving or Samuel or Michael or Eric got hurt, or got hurt, Avalanche go find the fuse box and turn the damn power off before someone else gets electrocuted.”

Avalanche went to find the fuse box and when she did open she shut off the power but it gave her an electrical shock, a very painful one so when Lusty and Dynamite went to go check on her they heard Avalanche say “Hot Wings.”

It got dark so they turned on their flashlights and wondered how they were going to get out of there.

“Squad 141-4 to Squad 141-5 do you copy?” said Dynamite into the walkie talkie, “Squad 141-4 to Squad 141-1, Squad 141-3, Squad 141-6, or Squad 141-7 do anyone copy? Squad 141-4 transmitting in the blind does anyone copy? I repeat Squad 141-4 is transmitting the blind guard, anyone copy?”

There was only radio static.

Lusty replied, “I think my mom warned me about something like this when I was a preteen gal. One Friday night I spent the night with a friend and watched Saturday morning cartoons with her. Watched about how criminals always get caught by super heroes. My mom told me ‘The bad guys on those shows you watched on Saturday mornings?

"Well in the real world a lot of these guys…Well, these guys are not like those guys. They won't exercise restraint because you're innocent. They. Will. Kill you if they get the chance. Do not give them that chance.’ Hell my dad always believed that graduating from one grade to the next was stupid unless it was graduating from Elementary to Junior High to High School but graduation for each grade was stupid to him.”

“And I had a friend in the air force who was buddy-spiked by his own side,” said Dynamite. “During an aerial dogfight the other fighter pilot couldn’t see him through the cloud and gotten a tone and thought he locked on to a Soviet jet wasn’t until three seconds later when he flew through the cloud and saw the roundel of the Little Bird Air Force on a wing fly by and part of the jet on fire. Of course he always liked to fly at Angels 20 or twenty thousand feet.”

Lusty replied, “And Macaroni before she left to go back to her home state of Alabama she said that the city of Empire to her looks like a generic, post-war American city and that it people in the '50s and '60s thought the future would be like in the 80s to the start of the millennium.”

“Lieutenant how did you get out of your sixty-day suspension not even within a month?” asked Dynamite

Lusty replied, “The numbers is one where this department is almost on thin ice with the numbers and doesn't want to lose any more members due to the war. At least back during the Second World War the ones who either went voluntarily or were drafted at least there was still enough to cover for those who left and still had enough for others to take leave but this ain’t 1942-1945 when the city was a lot smaller than it is since 1960 it grew a lot bigger to accommodate the people who came here either for basic training for the Third Marine Division or the Twenty-First Airborne Division or for the Third Fleet.

"Or for the ones who worked in the factories making military gear and grew to accommodate for the people who had children in the post-war era but nope still the same as it was but the fire department, police department, medical, education and sanitation have been the same since 1958. Hell, have you read the newspaper this morning?

"To help relieve the lowered numbers the Mayor wants to trim the city’s fire department by 60%. Yeah closing the companies that don’t have the manpower is one thing but with 60% it’ll force the city to close down other stations and the ones who are in the closed down houses would have to find work elsewhere because no one well no one I know won’t want to get a paycheck without working for it. Not adding that’ll affect fleet maintenance as well.”

After a while, both Lusty and Dynamite were thinking about how they could get out.

they could think that it doesn't involve them touching the fuse box again because Avalanche is hurt and electrocuted.

“I hate celebrities and elected officials,” Lusty said out loud.

Dynamite replied, “Is it because they’re surrounded by bodyguards? Is it because they want to liberal politics? Is it because when the Lieutenant Mayor back in 1988 when he disbanded the Empire Police Department and Empire Island Patrol Barracks back in ‘88-90. He wanted anarchists and criminals to roam the streets because the dumbass was mad that back in the ‘70s the Empire Police shot his father dead because his father had a homemade flamethrower and threatening public safety then threw a hissy fit when the Governor ordered the Marines and the Paratroopers to do quote-unquote ‘police’ the city and those caught doing petty crimes and felonies weren’t arrested but shot and killed and the ones who were unlucky they had to bleed out to death. But the few who rioted about it faced specialized APCs and specialized tanks that shoot Napalm at 172 meters for thirty-four seconds. Is it that?”

“Oh I just hate how they think we’re all the same,” Lusty said. “But news flash we’re not the same. They live in multimillion-dollar mansions, have desk jobs, or own businesses and if they own their own businesses then they just go in every Friday to hand out paychecks unless they hired someone to go and hand out paychecks instead of doing it themselves. I run into burning buildings to save others, even saving people I don’t like…”

Dynamite interrupted, “Besides several people who were executives for Echelon Enterprises who met the business end of your Tactical Tomahawk.”

“As I was saying,” said Lusty, “We’re not the same. They live in comfort that people like my parents only could dream of having. Yeah, they market how cheap AC is but when I was a kid and teenager the AC I had with my parents was taking a pamphlet or opening a book and flipping it back and forth against your face so the breeze could cool your face down or just put your face into a sink full of cold water. Oh just opening a fridge or freezer to have that to cool you off well my dad would’ve yelled ‘You’re burning electricity! You’re wasting money!’ and that’s because my parents made the money to afford an AC but they would go through money to pay bills and soon didn’t have the money to buy an AC because what my parents made was just enough for the two to live off of if they didn’t have a child and how since I’m their only child so they had to spend some more money they wish they could’ve kept as pocket change.

"AC units cost $415 and after a year they just had enough to get a real Christmas Tree and presents. They never saved to get another car. The one they had they sold when I was an infant because they couldn’t make the money to put into it for transportation and maintenance for it. But the rich who I hate keep marketing things as if everybody and their dog can afford it! Where I’m from a majority of people carpool to work because they don’t have the money to get their own car. The answer is no where I’m from. If someone walks into the bank and applies for a loan the moment they start walking away the loan officer will mark the paperwork with denied because the banks view the people of Eastside and Westside they’ll stereotype them as a financial risk of the bank not getting their money back alongside with interest.

"I never took out a loan from a bank because if they would gladly stereotype my friends and family as a financial risk then I don’t want to borrow money from them. I only stereotype my ex-girlfriend and her mother as rich bitches but I don’t stereotype anyone by their race, gender, religion, and political views or my parents get out of their graves and beat me with a rolled-up newspaper like how a dog owner would. I’ve been stereotyped because I’m part Native Little Birden from my mother side and the people who stereotype me as a savage well my foot gladly met their nuts.”

Dynamite replied, “I wouldn’t know you’re part Native because you’re white from your father. Guess it’s a dominant gene thing. I'm not a scientist or researcher but a once Marine Combat Engineer turned Firefighter. Wish I had a demo charge with me so I can blow down one of these rolled-down doors to smithereens! I loved blowing shit up though.”

Dynamite then decided to take a look around and she found a switch by moving things off of a wall. She flipped the switch that restored power and unlocked and opened the security doors and rolled down security windows.

They were able to have Avalanche go to the hospital for some mild electrical burns. He was taken to the hospital for mild electrical shock and burns as well but both will make it.

“If it was me who got shocked like Avalanche or Irving then I would’ve just said ‘Bring me a shot glass and a bottle of whiskey… Leave the bottle’ but hey us Marines are tough,” said Dynamite, “Hope Avalanche does make it though.”

Lusty was about to say something.

“She challenged me to a rematch at a game of chess,” said Dynamite, “Instead of cleaning my house for a month it’ll be for a year. Not the rest of the year but for an entire year.”

They did their overhaul and looked around but Lusty thought it’s some kind of safehouse or something like that she didn’t want to know but after moving some stuff around they then headed back to their firehouse.

***

Back at the firehouse.

“So you’re telling me that the morons at City Hall are going to cut the city’s fire department budget by 60% instead of just closing the understaffed companies?” said Dynamite, “But slashing the budget by 60% will just force about 50% of the department to close the doors and make the members of the closed firehouses out of a job because the remaining 40% of the budget will go to the other firehouses.

"Other firefighters on thin ice make them burned out and more stressed for having to cover a larger response area but God forbid if there's a wildfire and those remaining companies get called to fight the wildfire as well. So the department is going to be between a rock and a hard place. What were the runs that Squad 141 went on throughout 2005?”

Lusty replied, “Six thousand Eight Hundred and Twenty Five. Five hundred and Thirty-nine All hands fire, Six Hundred and Thirty One Second Alarm fires, twelve hundred EMS runs even though it was mostly of elderly people having a hard time breathing or don’t have the medicine they needed because their insurance refuse to pay for it, and four hundred and fifty-five Technical rescues and MVA’s.”

“What’s the point of insurance if they just try to use red tape and not pay out and blame you for everything,” said Dynamite

Lusty replied, “My parents had life insurance, and with me being the beneficiary well they blocked me from getting my parent's life insurance even though one agent did help me go through the loopholes. I used the money to give my mother a burial while I let the military give my dad a military funeral because he was in the Marines. But at the same plot I got the tri folded flag in a triangle box. Some jackass said that my dad was gay for hugging another man but when my dad did hug another guy he just had to where my dad told the recruit in the Marines my dad said ‘Breath out kid or you’ll go Purple. Everyone’s scared. Whoever says their not is a damn liar.’ and when the recruit marine asked if this will be bad my dad replied ‘It’s always bad.

"As bad as it gets, but you stick by the Marine next to you and he will stick by you. They’ve lost a lot of their friends throughout the years. They think if they don’t know you then they don’t have to grieve for you if you get killed but they’re wrong. No Marine in this division will let you down.’ The guy called my father gay and I punched him for insulting my dead father. I’m not sorry but my dad just comforted the scared young Marine of how he knew how and that was from his mother because whenever my dad was scared his mother would hug him and when he was a child his mother always held him to comfort him.

"Actually once when I was seven and had nightmares for an entire week my dad got me out of bed and handed me a baseball bat and told me to go get dressed. Hence, I did because I kept having nightmares and night terrors about monsters getting my parents. Still, I had a bat, my dad had his rifle and my mom had his standard issue pistol and we searched the apartment and around the outside of the tenement building. Before we went back to bed my dad asked me if we scared the monsters away and I told him yes and I went back to bed but he and my mom kissed me on the forehead before they went to bed. No, I couldn’t sleep with my parents because my parent's bed was only made for one person not two but my mom took up 90% of the bed because my dad felt like she deserved most of it.

"My dad was always told that his girlfriend was going to send him a Dear John letter one day or that she had broken up with him but when my dad got back from ‘Nam he was happy that she waited for him even though everybody and their dog was telling her of how wrong it was to date a ‘Baby killer’. But my dad was different from the Company Artillery Commander who after the war my dad Artillery Commander he was well my dad put it ‘Quiet boy and likely didn't want to bother anyone’ and hung himself. My mom was always loyal to my dad and no matter how many times her friends would tell her to break up with my dad she never did and waited five years for him to return and the first thing my dad did when returning was taken my mom dancing but a lot of places would’ve let my mom enter but didn’t allow my dad to enter because of my dad fighting in an unpopular war but if my dad couldn’t enter then my mom wouldn’t enter.”

“I bet if you weren’t a…” said Dynamite.

Lusty replied, “If I wasn't a single mother when the war broke out I would’ve signed up in a New York Second. I would’ve done my best to fight with the Marines. My father was a Marine and my grandad was a Marine Logistics officer fighter.”

“A Marine Logistic officer fighter ain’t a thing never was,” said Dynamite.

Lusty replied, “He was trained to be a logistical officer but in ‘42 he was a part of the first wave of Marines in the LBMC to fight the Japanese and he just had a double action .38 Revolver and a typewriter. Actually he was somewhat lucky because a bullet missed him by two inches and that bullet almost hit him right in his nuts.”

“You could’ve just said that he was a Logistical officer who was either pressed into frontline service or that the Officer or Sergeant walks up to you and says ‘Look, you're reassigned to that guy's rifle platoon because his last guy got killed in the front line, have fun, Replacement!’ If that doesn't put a damper in your expectations of surviving the war, nothing will.”

Lusty's voice held a somber tone as she recounted a haunting memory, "I remember the first time I asked my father about Vietnam. With a distant look in his eyes, he simply said, 'Wait until you see it.' Confused, I prodded further, 'See what?' His response chilled me to the bone: 'What a man can do to another man.' He once told me about a fire mission where they used white phosphorus, Willy Pete. Over the radio, a Marine Lieutenant's voice was cold and detached as he ordered, 'Don't shoot, let them burn. No, they're cooking now.'

"It's disturbing to realize that in the heat of battle, the lines between good and evil can blur. Even in Europe, where our army and the 9th Marine Division fought, some actions were reminiscent of the brutal SS. A relative of mine had no mercy for any SS soldier who tried to surrender, coldly commanding, 'Shoot that guy,' without a second thought. The stark reality is, my father seldom spoke of the war, and when he did, it left me wishing I had never asked."

Dynamite nodded, a pensive expression on her face, "It's always wise to ponder the weight of our questions. As a child, we're often shielded from the brutal truths of warfare by sanitized portrayals in movies and television. You know, where gunshot wounds are marked by a simple red stain and explosions just knock people down cleanly - all in the name of sparing veterans from reliving trauma and protecting the innocence of children.

"Our movie industry goes to great lengths to avoid showing the gruesome realities of war, often censoring or editing out scenes of gore and profanity to maintain a certain image. But when a film dares to depict the raw brutality of combat, it's invariably slapped with a restrictive rating. I remember sneaking into an R-rated war movie at seventeen, thanks to my then-boyfriend at the movie theater. Even he understood that certain things just can't be shown on screen, especially during daytime TV broadcasts. There's a whole list of dos and don'ts they have to adhere to: no profanity, no suggestive nudity, no glorification of drug use, no sexual perversions - the list goes on. And they must tread carefully around sensitive topics like religion, national flags, and public institutions. All to prevent offending viewers and to maintain a semblance of decorum. It's a delicate balance, trying to tell the truth of war while still protecting those who watch from the comfort of their homes because they want films to either be moral or proper.

"Honestly I can see why films are censored because a lot of people, veterans and children don’t want to see what a flamethrower can do But yeah we have people who have to watch a movie and write down what should either be edited out or censored and the films and shows getting approving, redacting, or banning motion pictures that it considered ‘sacrilegious, obscene, indecent, or immoral’ or might pervert morals.”

Even though Dynamite has a tough personality, Lusty picked up that her voice was showing emotion.

“You’re worried about Avalanche aren’t you?” asked Lusty.

Dynamite replied, “Yup she’s a friend. A close friend.”

“Uh huh right,” said Lusty, “Your voice used to sound the same when I dated Zofia for fear of losing her. You love Avalanche don’t ya?”

Dynamite was about to say something but didn’t.

“If you and Avalanche did date then I would have to transfer either you or her to another station on the other side of the city,” said Lusty. “Or have you or her work another shift here then neither of you can. But two people who work the same shift while dating or in a romantic relationship they would never, ever be allowed to work at the same firehouse if they were in a romantic relationship, due to the conflict of interest on hand.”

***

Lusty opened the door to her penthouse, took a shower and after taking a shower she just wore a towel around her and went to go and do laundry.

In the laundry room of her penthouse when the phone rang. So she answered it and she was called up to the 12th Police Precinct in the district of Highwood.

She went into her bedroom and just put on her last Sunrose dress with a red ribbon around her torso where her belly button is. She also put on her heels as well. She was now regretting waiting until she had one dress remaining before doing the laundry but she has her dresses alphabetized for the days she didn’t work on. Her mother always taught her to get a jump on things before it’s too late and she’s lucky that she had a dress before taking a shower. She’s lucky she had a dress remaining because if she didn’t she didn’t want to wait around her penthouse wearing a towel around her torso and wait for a dress or something to wear.

***

Outside the Empire Police Department Twelfth Precinct in Highwood, a city cloaked in its own sense of grandeur, the air was thick with the kind of tension you could slice with a knife.

"Whew, Lieutenant! You're a lifesaver. You gonna slap me with a write-up for tonight's little escapade?" Dynamite quipped, a roguish twinkle in her eye despite the close call.

Lieutenant Lusty, whose name belied her stoic demeanor, tossed a look over her shoulder, as if to make sure the walls weren't listening. "Well, Dynamite, as far as the Fire Department's concerned, and my own very flexible conscience, your little pyrotechnic performance was off the clock. Unless those paper-pushers have suddenly decided to police our off-duty shenanigans, then officially, this whole fiasco never happened. You clocked out, went home, end of story."

The pair sauntered out of the precinct, the weight of the night's troubles seeming to lift with each step.

"Let's get you home," Lusty offered, her tone softer now, almost motherly.

Dynamite, ever the maverick, shot back, "If by 'home' you mean the nearest watering hole, then lead the way!"

Lusty raised an eyebrow, her voice laced with a mix of concern and incredulity. "No, I mean your actual home, where there's zero chance of you turning a peaceful bar into a scene straight out of an action movie. I'm not in the mood to explain to the brass how one woman single-handedly turned five Army boys into hospital cases, complete with jaw reconstructions and a whiskey bottle throat implant.

"And let's not forget the little war you waged against half the precinct. Twenty-two armored officers down, and that's not even touching on the taser-resistant antics. The way you took them down, you'd think they were made of cardboard, not Kevlar. But hey, no charges from the boys in blue—they must've mistaken it for a typical Friday night throwdown."

Dynamite let out a snort, the corner of her mouth twitching up in a half-smirk. "Well, the first guy got fresh, painted a whole domestic picture with me in an apron. Couldn't let that stand, could I?"

Lusty couldn't help but chuckle, a quote from the depths of high school English class surfacing with ease. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," she recited, the words of William Congreve as fitting now as they were in 1697.

Dynamite's retort came quick as a whip. "Okay, grandma, time to wheel you back to the old folks' home."

The laughter that bubbled up from Lusty was dry as desert sand. "Ha! If only Twelfth grade English was that memorable."

After a drive filled with the kind of banter only old friends—or partners in crime-fighting—could share, they arrived at Dynamite's surprisingly well-appointed abode. As Dynamite stumbled out and promptly kissed the ground, Lusty's words were tinged with amusement. "You're plastered. Let's get you inside before you start giving the lawn a sobriety test."

Dynamite's military pension, a modest sum that somehow kept the house in better shape than its owner was.

Lusty got out of her car and helped Dynamite to her house door and saw that Dynamite’s house is well put together and that her military pension of $131.10 from when she was a Technical Sergeant in the Marines but to Lusty she thinks and knows that Dynamite can just live off of her monthly military pension because how much she makes from her military pension she has enough to live off of and don’t need to work again. But to Lusty, she thought that's why Dynamite got a job so she won’t be bored sitting at home.

Then Lusty decided to do some more background check of Dynamite and found out that for a while she was a dispatcher during a wildfire and whenever people kept calling in because they stayed instead of evacuating they waited until it was too late. The ones who stayed until it was too late that those who called and when Dynamite answered she always just replied to the callers “Sorry there’s no available fire company to help you to get out. They’re all up on the line fighting the fire.”

But Lusty also found out that during the fire that Dynamite would call the nearby prisons and penitentiary so that inmates who are convicted prisoners who serve as wildland firefighters as a means of not sitting in a cell for fourteen/fifteen hours a day.

Lusty went back to her penthouse apartment. When she opened the door she found Macaroni sitting at the dining room table catching up on her missed school work.

“Was able to fix my Dad’s will with my dad and my dad evicted my mom out of the house with the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office evicting her yesterday,” said Macaroni. “Well my mom deserved it. She got kicked out and my dad said that he was going to evict her and there was nothing she could say to change his mind but I didn’t know that my dad started the eviction process last month. Guess he didn’t tell me because he just wanted me to focus on my studies rather than focus on what was going on back home. I don’t blame him because if I was a mother and my kids were off at university then I wouldn’t want them to worry about what’s going on back home.

"But my mom thought I would have her back doing the ‘Daughter always favors the mother the son always backs the father’ card but I pulled a reverse card and pulled the ‘Daughter backs the father’ card. My dad even though he would work fifty hours a week but he always took time to teach me how to cook, take care of myself, and even taught me how to fix a car because he pulled me off to the side after teaching me how to change a tire and change oil my dad took me aside and said ‘Mackenzie I’m teaching you how to do this so you don’t have to go to mechanic shop where mechanics would take advantage of you for not knowing how a vehicle operates and they’ll try to make more money out of you and tell you that your vehicle is breaking down and make you get repairs you don’t need and I’m teaching you this so you can do it at home than being taking advantage of’. I should’ve just become a mechanic instead of being out here. After all, have you ever seen one of those homefront movies where the best mechanics are women?”

Lusty replied, “Okay for one that was back during both World Wars when all branches of the military took in a majority of the male mechanics to be Engineers, in Maintenance companies, and in the Navy in Damage Control to fix torpedo ruptures, repairing weapon systems that go down or get damaged, fixing rupture of pipes, damage from grounding and running aground or hard berthing against a wharf.

"Not adding fighting fires unless if the ship gets critically damaged in battle or in a storm then they have to go to a drydock for repairs and those repairs are varied and can last a few weeks to months or longer unless if this was the USS Yorktown which was in drydock for three days to get the Yorktown ready for the Battle of Midway. I know my history and I know foreign history. And I can see why Little Bird didn’t sign the London Naval Treaty on restricting our naval tonnage. I mean throughout the Great Depression I mean year during the Great Depression here on Little Bird industrial production fell by 23%, wholesale prices fell 22% and Foreign trade fell by 21% where Industrial production was at 98%. Wholesome sales was at 89% and Foreign Trade was at 99%. Our Economy may have shrunk by 5% but we avoided the Great Depression by first, by large fiscal stimulus involving deficit spending; and second, by devaluing the currency. I think it’s called the Keynesian economic policies. But by 1933 a year after the LBN Cadence and Flurry was launched our country avoided inflation and moved to reduce the deficit spending that went towards modernizing our military as of modernization by 1933 Standards.

"Even though throughout the ‘30s we did make ten more carriers. I think one way we avoided the Great Depression is by looking at the rest of the world and put the right people in place to manage our economy. I mean our Government hired advisors who were Captains of industry, Economists, War Industrialists, Finance Graduates, and Agricultural Capitalists. I mean yeah during the Great Depression our Economy was in a Civilian Economy but in October of 1939 it was changed to Early Mobilization and got ready for the Second World War and changed to a Total Mobilization economy that supplied our military for what they needed.

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"Hell in 1932 a year after the Japanese invasion of Manchuria our top military advisors sat down with the president of Little Bird and swore to the President that come Hell or High Water that any invader would pay a bloody price for trying to Capture Little Bird where everywhere the Army, Navy, Marines, and Airforce would fight a bloody defensive battle and fight an battle of attrition and hit and run tactics more or less. Hell during the Second World War even though we fought alongside the Allies but we considered the Allies to be a potential enemy because of the saying ‘Keep your friends close but your enemies closer’ but hey sometimes your friends will be your enemies and your enemies can be your friends.”

“Yeah and I know that after this I’m going to go get either Prime Rib or Chicken or Beef Stew or Lamb fry or Lobster Bisque or Cracked Wheat and Milk or Peach Cobbler or Chili or Roast Beef or a juicy burger not Fish stew I don’t like fish. I like seafood but not fish,” said Macaroni. “Or just run down to the store literally and get a milk chocolate bar or candies for a buck twenty. I can see how stories here make a profit not because of the city’s like it’s a post- Second World War city but because the stories can keep the prices low enough to fit what people make in a year well weekly.”

Lusty replied, “Yup keep the prices low enough to make people come in and make sure there’s a supply and demand is in check. Supermarkets do the same of keeping the prices low and try to keep it lower than the other guys' competitors. Buy cheap, sell less for less than the other guy, and make your profit on high volume and fast turnover. I mean a lot of mom and pop shops and a lot of smaller stores sell chocolate bars, and other candies for fifty cents to a dollar while bigger stores can buy the same but sell them for pennies on the dollar.

"I mean stores that sell less than local places because they get twice as much and sell it for a lower price for a higher turnover rate. I mean a lot of candies are sold on Friday nights, the weekends and when school is out because kids and teenagers go into the stores to buy candy from getting a dollar or two from mom and dad or from their paycheck from their part-time job. Unless if this is the movies then they sell candy for ten cents. I mean you could take a dollar to go to the movies and get a ticket for $0.25, popcorn for $0.15, candy for $0.10, soda for $0.05, and Icecream for $0.10 all for $0.25”

“Last time I went to the Movies back in the United States it was $6.41,” said Macaroni. “Alright I’m going to go get something to eat and I’ll bring you back something.”

Macaroni then closed her book and put the papers into the binder and left them on the kitchen table and as said she went to go get lunch.

Lusty returned to do laundry which she wasn’t expecting to bail a coworker out of jail but it was something she wanted to do but can’t do anything about it. But after folding her clothes and putting them away after getting them from the dryer was when Macaroni came back and she got Lusty an Italian sausage on a hotdog bun with sauerkraut which Lusty ate before going clothes shopping. But she got clothing that fits her tomboy personality and as a backup incase if she ever runs out of dresses to wear when they get dirty and she would rather have some more clothes just in case.

When Lusty returned.

“Do you know why I love it here?” said Macaroni, “It’s because of the cars. You want to know why I love vintage cars?”

Lusty replied, “Give me five minutes.”

Lusty to a piece of paper of Macaroni’s three ring binder and wrote:

Simple Design: Older cars were designed simply and were not equipped with a lot of sensors or electrical equipment. This simplicity means there were fewer chances of any malfunction.

Cheap Maintenance: The repairs for old cars do not cost a lot of money compared to modern cars. Spare parts for old cars can easily be bought and interchanged with other models.

Durability and Sturdiness: Older cars are often considered more durable and sturdy. In the 80s and 90s, manufacturers built their vehicles with more robust parts to avoid potential damage to their reputation because they couldn’t precisely predict a component’s longevity.

Aesthetic Appeal: Some automotive enthusiasts claim that older cars looked better and had a timeless exterior design. They were built at a time when designers had more freedom.

Cost: Since older cars were built simply, there wasn’t really a need to charge a large amount of money for them.

Simplicity: Older cars, especially those pre-1990, were simpler in design. For instance, the gas pedal in an older car has a wire that goes right from the pedal into the carburetor, whereas in a modern car, the gas pedal hooks into a sensor that feeds a control box.

Lack of Electronics: Older cars had fewer electronic components, which can be a big headache when it comes to fixing a vehicle. With a modern car, you have to troubleshoot both the electronic and the mechanical systems.

Mechanical Intuition: With some mechanical intuition, you can get really far in a car repair on an older vehicle. You can follow a car part and easily identify where it goes and what it does.

More Space: Older cars were designed with more open space under the hood, making it easier to reach components.

“Here on Little Bird, depending on where you go on Little Bird you’ll see vehicles from the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s,” said Lusty, “But now if it’s military vehicles then there’s a little bit more electronics like Radios and other stuff that the military uses. But here on Little Bird we rather keep things simple so that people at home can do it and not waste more money for repairs they don’t need or what not.”

***

Fire Station Sixteen

Lusty got off Squad 141 apparatus. Both Lusty and Squad Co 141 saw that Ladder Company Sixteen was on the street with the cab lifted over where the members of Ladder Company 16 were doing their daily maintenance.

“Hey Lieutenant, how can I help you?” asked Dave while checking the tire pressure of Ladder Company Sixteen.

Lusty replied, “I really don’t want to know why it’s usually the young or poor that fight in war.”

“Young men are born and at the command of older men with more power charge into a war. They will throw their lives away to go fight some battle on behalf of another and think nothing of it,” said Dave. “They die in trenches or God knows where far from home having given their lives so some fool would have the money from whatever they get it from. I mean some countries think they can police the world because they're a superpower or what not. But here on Little Bird while yes we may be a superpower but we don’t go to other countries without starting a declaration of war on said country. I mean the Little Bird Revolution from 1700-1007 that was a declaration of war by the Little Bird tribes on Blister Canyon or the First World War that was a declaration of war on the Central Powers, the Second World War was a declaration of war on the Axis, the Korean war that was a declaration of war on North Korea and the Communists, same with Vietnam, Iraq for the Gulf War, and the Soviets and the Warsaw Pact for the Third World War. But we are in less wars than a lot of countries because we won’t throw our soldier's lives away for foolishness.

" But the rich never fight in the wars because the rich want their kids to be protected so they can have an inheritance. Also who makes more money during the war? Does a Private make more money by making $158.70 a month or does a business owner who supplies the military with their gear or supplies who makes millions a year. Who makes more? Who’ll make more in a month? Does a Lieutenant who makes a monthly salary of $180 or does a soup factory owner who makes a million dollars after expenses are paid who gets more? Who wants a war to keep going on does the average G.I. or a business owner or a factory owner? The Average G.I. I talked to they’re just normal people who were nice guys and gals once upon a time. Now they’re just trying to take care of their buddies and protect his/her/their home but saw or experienced something that broke them on the inside and now just want to end the war and go home. Or they were your regular neighborhood boy/girl who has been conscripted into the army, has absolutely no interest in war, hates it all, and has only his survival at stake.

"Often terrorized and brutalized by his or her own officers and noncoms. Extremely likely to desert, sell their own side out, and/or kill their would-be comrades. They don’t want to fight the war any longer. Some business owners and factory workers I talked to don't want the war to end because they’re making more. Who wants the war to last in Russia? The Men and Women who earn between $130/month-$200/month or the people who earn $345/month and it’s that high because a lot of them want to work overtime to take advantage of the Little Bird Wartime Workers Act which makes people who work in a factory turned into a defense plant earn twice as more than working in a civilian plant and those who work in a civilian plant makes $172 a month.

"If your parents were still alive and if I didn’t donate my sperm so you could be a mother so if your parents were still alive and you weren’t a mother wouldn’t your parents worry about you while you’re fighting the Reds?”

Lusty replied, “Yeah my parents would’ve worried. Well at the same time, they wouldn't let me play out in the streets playing street hockey while someone waited to yell for us to get out of the road if a car came. Whenever I got hurt my parents were always two sided. They would say ‘Are you okay’ or ‘Where did you get hurt’. Then at the same time they’ll change their tone and say ‘Well that’ll teach you not to do it again’ or ‘I told you not to do it yet you did it and I tried warning ya not to do it but you did and got hurt’. Only if Zofia had the same type of mother then she would be alright instead of a snobby bitch.”

“And my dad raised me with ‘If I tell you not to do something and you still do it and get hurt then don’t cry about it.’ That was harsh but it just made me curious to do dumbshit as a child and always got hurt and my dad told me that I shouldn’t have done it but I did,” said Dave. “But at least I didn’t do what my friends did of taking my dad’s car on a joyride and my uncle Clark when he was a teen in the early 60s he took their father’s car on a joyride in lower Manhattan and got it wrecked and from 1964 to 1965 my dad always kicked my uncle Clark right in the ass once a day whenever he didn’t work for the New York City Fire Department. And you’re down one member.”

Lusty replied, “Wait what?”

Lusty turned around and noticed that Dynamite was missing.

“I swear if I find her at a bar then I’ll have to yell at her,” said Lusty.

Before Lusty and the rest of Squad 141 could radio or search for Dynamite she came back where she went to the shop on the corner and got a pack of cigarettes and a can of chewing tobacco.

“Hey cousin why do you all do this job?” asked Macaroni.

Dave replied, “We love it. It’s the best job in the world. It’s not a 9-5 doing the same thing with this job. It helps me and my company want to come to work because you never know what the day will bring. Actually once when I was on Engine Sixteen before being swept across the floor to Sixteen Truck actually once had a day we didn’t respond to a single fire.”

“It’s the ultimate,” said Lusty, “Do everything and go everywhere. Waterwork, SCUBA, Car Accidents, Rigging,Excavations, Fires. You name it.”

Macaroni replied, “Swept across the floor?”

“It means you go from another company to the next in the same firehouse,” said Dave, “Same firehouse but you go from one company to another. Same house but at least I’m still around my friends and co-workers.”

Lusty responded with a knowing smile, "This isn’t your standard Sixteen apparatus. This is Truck Twenty-Four from the Fire Department of Clearlake, a result of a mix-up in shipping and manufacturing. You see, the original Truck 24 was destined for Fort Carson, not Clearlake. But when you’re dealing with a thousand orders split between five hundred Engine Companies and an equal number of Ladder/Truck Companies, errors are inevitable.

"This truck, designed for a town, is equipped with two booster hoses on each side, ready to tackle frontline attacks, grass and brush fires, wildland fires, and even dumpster fires. It’s a 26-ton beast, built with reinforced steel, sporting a stainless steel 100 ft ladder. It rides on six bulletproof, reinforced tires and is powered by a high-horsepower, supercharged 600 horsepower engine.

"It has two batteries - one to power the truck and another for the Engineer to switch to during emergencies to conserve fuel. With a fuel capacity of fifty-six gallons, it has an operational range of three hundred miles and a maximum speed of 60 MPH. It can seat four comfortably, but the other three will have to stand.

"The number 24 is displayed on both sides of the vertical compartments because there’s no room on the Chauffeur and Officer doors that bear the FDCL Patch, nor where the other two sit, which boldly states ‘CLASS ONE FIRE DEPARTMENT TOWN OF CLEARLAKE’ in white.

"My guess is that this truck is here because towns often lack the budget for fleet maintenance. The members handle maintenance, but if there’s a problem they can’t fix, either the city of Empire or Las Adventure will take the broken apparatus and provide one of their spares from fleet maintenance. I learned this from an old neighbor who used to service fire apparatus during monthly maintenance. He even crafted a wooden model of a rescue squad for me and explained that their primary role is to rescue firemen.

"As for music, I love it, and I love to sing. But the music industry isn’t for me. A small percentage of talented artists don’t make enough money, and the record industry takes most of the profits for themselves. Being an independent artist is even more challenging. Those who sign with a record platform often give away the rights to their songs, meaning the label can do whatever they want with the music, and the musician has no say. The music industry is a business, and labels are in it to make money. They often don’t give artists a fair share of the profits unless they absolutely have to.

So, it was a choice between being a musician and earning pennies on the dollar or being a firefighter. I could’ve become anything, but I think my parents wanted me to secure a government job or a job that wouldn’t make me relive the hardships I faced as a child."

Dave replied, “Yeah okay then”

“My dad when he walked with me to the fire academy so I could apply for the next class for the fire academy outside my dad said to me was ‘You don't have to be ready,’ he assured me softly. ‘Just be honest with yourself and the people involved. If you're unsure whether it's worth the risk, then maybe it's better to wait,’ my dad advised and I replied ‘Are you...are you suggesting that I shouldn't go through with this? That perhaps it's too much of a risk?’ then my dad said ‘I'm saying that you should consider your options and make an informed decision. It's crucial to remember that there's nothing wrong with wanting to do a career that’ll make a difference in people’s lives but this ain’t a show or a movie where you’re going to see a lot of things that not everyone can handle and you’re going to see things that no amount of therapy will fix.’ My dad wasn’t a firefighter but he was in the Marines during the waning years of the Vietnam war,” said Lusty. “He was right but I think he was hoping I would either get put into a slow house or a firehouse that mostly dealt with fires not seeing things on EMS runs and things that people don’t want to talk about. And like my dad I don’t talk about what I see on the job. Guess it’s a coping mechanism.”

Dynamite replied, “That’s why booze was invented during the Neolithic Man era.”

“The Watersons don’t drink booze or alcohol they drink firewater,” said Dave

Lusty replied, “Firewater? What’s that?”

“Strong liquor,” said Dynamite, “Hey Captain, your family sounds like the type of people I’ll hang out with! Or party with.”

Dave replied, “How much did she have to drink on her day off?”

“Enough that when one army guy who came home on furlough he slapped her on the ass and told her how she would be the perfect wife to him and the perfect mother to their future children,” said Lusty. “All five got their jaws dislocated and the fifth guy got a broken jaw and a whiskey bottle shoved into his throat.”

Dave replied, “In my eleven years of being a firefighter and of all of the medical runs I’ve been too I never seen or heard someone shoving a whiskey bottle down someone’s throat. Did they have to call the Cavalry to calm her down?”

“She went through almost sixty cops and three taser shots before being subdued by the cops then I get a call two hours later for me to get her out and I got her out and she thought I was going to take her to another bar so she can drink and probably start World War Four. Lucky they didn’t have to call the Militia to come out or remove a whole Mechanized and Motorized Division from the war to come and subdue her.” said Lusty, “But no I didn’t see no Mechanized Cavalry outside of the bar. Well we better go. Also what’s Macaroni doing here?”

Macaroni replied, “As part of my fire science class which works alongside the fire department to teach us about fire science for whatever reason. I got three random firehouses I have to ride along with during any shift. The firehouses I was given were Sixteen, Thirty-Three and Five-Two-Five.

"I ride around for an entire shift just doing typical activities: practicing firefighting techniques, communication using radios, practicing first aid, maintaining firefighting gear, firefighting drills, and responding to emergency calls. And watch them but don’t enter any emergencies just standby the apparatus and watch and after both structure and brush fires then I can go into the buildings while wearing the turnout gear and walk around. At least I’m excused for the three days I do this for so it’s today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.”

***

Back at the firehouse.

Lusty was walking by the locker room when she heard Dynamite and Avalanche talking in private. But when they heard footsteps they quickly changed their subject about how Little Bird industrial is high because the country has a lot of people who work in manufacturing to make goods and products that get shipped across Little Bird and Little Bird don’t really rely on foreign manufacturing. Lusty then walked by and Dynamite and Avalanche went back to their main conversation that Lusty didn't know about.

Lusty at first thought that Dynamite was convincing Avalanche or telling her about her true feelings about her but rather keep it professional or what not but Lusty just got that out of her mind quickly got rid of that thought because she didn't care about other people relationships with others and rather not get involved in other people’s personal lives. But if they were then Lusty would’ve told her that if Dynamite and Avalanche did date then she would want them to be focused on the job 100% while on shift while she would find a firehouse for either or transfer to as per department policy.

When Lusty went by the other locker room entrance she heard Dynamite tell Avalanche that she likes her more than a friend but she knows that they’re only friends and that’s it because to Dynamite she feels like Avalanche can’t handle her because Dynamite like her nickname is unpredictable and every day when not working or when off shift she’s at a bar getting into a fist fights that require a lot of cops to subdue her and have their lieutenant get her out of the jail. But Dynamite feels like she’s going to push her luck with Lusty.

“Hey Lieutenant I want to say thanks for getting me out of jail yesterday,” said Dynamite.

Lusty replied, “Don’t mention it. But next time leave the details about how you managed to fight an army and sent five people to the hospital with one of them having a bottle wider than someone’s mouth stuck in their throat. Some details are better left in the dark.”

“I got it, I'll leave details out for now on,” said Dynamite.

Lusty replied, “I don’t tell everyone what I do for a living because I have kids as well. Last person I told I’m a firefighter. Well, the guy told me that firefighters shouldn’t have children because they don’t stop and think about the trauma they’ll leave on their children's psyche. I told that jackass fair and square that if you go into any firehouse in the city a ratio of eight out of ten guys and gals are firefighters because their mother or father was a firefighter and so on and so forth.

"I mean my friend Captain Linda Richter-Waterson her family is generation of firefighters dating back to the city founding with the Empire Volunteer Fire Department back in 1710 and some members of her family from the Nightingale Tribe different clan than mines but her family in the Nightingale Tribe the ones who either left or stayed they they started fires for lighting, warmth, and cooking and the ones who left to start a new life and help the settlers in the city fought fires. Don’t know if there’s any irony in that of starting fires then later putting them out but to me it’s different though.”

Lusty and Dynamite then went their own ways and Dynamite went to the kitchen for a cup of coffee and Lusty just walked around to keep her legs stretched.

“Hey Lieutenant, you got a minute,” asked Avalanche.

Lusty replied, “Yeah Avalanche what you got?”

“How do you manage you look like your nineteen?” asked Avalanche.

Lusty replied, “Mostly having a healthy lifestyle, sleep, and consuming a healthy diet and supplements with vitamins that nourish the body from the inside out.”

Lusty and Avalanche then parted ways.

An hour and a half in, the fax machine buzzed to life, demanding Lusty's attention. She snatched up the paper: a $2000 invoice from Firehouse Fifteen for a rescue saw. This didn't sit right with her. Before confronting the brass at Fifteen, she turned to her crew.

"Why are we being billed $2000 for a saw?" Lusty demanded, her tone firm, brows knitted.

Dynamite looked baffled. "What saw?"

"The rescue saw from Truck Company Fifteen," she clarified sharply.

Dynamite's memory clicked. "I borrowed it for a drill, but trust me, it went back. I even left a thank-you note."

"If I start a fight with them, there's no undoing it," Lusty warned, her eyes scanning her team. "Don't let this backfire on us."

With no further adieu, Lusty stormed into her office, dialed the Lieutenant at Fifteen, and let loose. "If you've got an issue with my team, have the guts to call or show up in person. Don't hide behind a fax!" She crumpled the invoice and dunked it in the recycle bin, her message clear.

The Lieutenant's retort crackled through the line, but Lusty was unshaken.

"Try billing me for wasting your time. How about I bill you for wasting my time?" she shot back, unamused. "But get this straight: my team doesn’t have your saw. And if you dare slander us again, I'll expose the toxic culture of your firehouse. I've heard vague jokes and off-color jokes with more punch than your weak insults. And don't bother with sexist or racial slurs; I've heard them all. Try something original, if you can." Her voice was icy, the challenge unmistakable.

When Lieutenant provoked Lusty with yet another cutting remark, she didn't hesitate to retort with fiery conviction.

"Look, my mom may have had outdated views about gender roles, thinking women belonged at home, but she still worked hard to provide. And despite her fears, she never tried to stop me from becoming a firefighter," Lusty declared with a fierce edge to her voice. "My parents used to joke that I was mostly harmless, but that couldn't be further from the truth. If you're looking to throw down, just pick the time and place. And believe me, whatever you've got to say, it won't faze me in the least!"

As the Lieutenant's insults continued over the crackling line of the old-school landline, Lusty simply arched an eyebrow with an “are you for real” expression, her face the very picture of incredulous disdain—wasted, of course, on the unseen voice at the other end. But when the taunts turned to her late parents, her blood boiled over.

"You've crossed the line," Lusty snapped with venom, her rage palpable. "I'm going to come over there, and when I'm done with you, you'll be the one needing to toughen up. You'll regret ever starting this."

After slamming the receiver down, Lusty reflected on one of the most valuable lessons her parents had instilled in her: never to tolerate disrespect or be anyone's pushover. They'd also taught her to steer clear of dubious dealings and to stand her ground with integrity. As she gazed at an old photograph of her in her firefighter's dress uniform, flanked by her proud parents, she penned "Happier times" across the bottom, a bittersweet tribute to the strength and support they'd given her—a strength she would channel now more than ever.

Lusty never told anyone that even though its been ten years since her parents died but everyday and everyday she tells herself that if they were still alive they’d know what to do because everyday in reality she’s confused and don’t know what to do and in reality she never moved on and never gotten her life fully back on track and that was the main reason why she became a mother to help herself and feels like it’s what her parents wanted her to do as a only child and her parents were always there for her and she wants to do the same. Even though she has friends and a girlfriend who love her unconditionally and support her for who she is even some of her friends consider her as a sister but that’s because some of her friends like Dave and Linda are firefighters and they view her in the same light of the whole brotherhood/sisterhood.

Lusty then got up and got her company and they went to firehouse fifteen.

***

Firehouse Fifteen a two-story brick, tsunami and earthquake-proof building. But the apparatus bay ain’t tsunami proof but the rest of the building is.

“I’ll be back in five minutes,” said Lusty while getting off of Squad 141 apparatus.

“In 1982 the Little Bird Building Code says that any building along the water or in the path of a Tsunami to be Tsunami proof but also to be Earthquake proof and resist Earthquakes as strong as a 8.9 on the Richter Scale. Even though this ain’t the Ancient times but we still make our buildings to be excessively stiff and strong. But it wasn’t until the 1930s when the Little Bird Works Agency before the Little Bird Beauru of Labor was made that the Works Agency had

employed millions of job seekers mostly men who were not formally educated or lightly educated to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads and retrofitting of current buildings.”.

Avalanche replied, “No one asked for a Structural or History lesson Dynamite.”

Of course when they got there they found the members of Firehouse Fifteen watching tv with the show being a Wartime Cartoon.

“Hey Lieutenant, come on let’s fight,” said Lusty, “Or as my father would’ve said was ‘better hope God is in a good mood’ or in other terms prepare for a fight. You wanted one now you got one.”

***

Outside.

“Do you think these Tsunami Hazard Zone signs and Tsunami Evacuation Zone signs scare people and the harbor workers?” asked Dynamite.

One of them was about to reply until there was the sound of glass shattering and the six of them saw the Lieutenant of Ladder Company Fifteen on the concrete and shattered glass on the ground around him but he slowly got up with glass moving around.

“Yeah I bet that’ll teach you not to talk about someone’s dead parents!” snapped Lusty, “Now suck it up you little bitch! Hey Engine 15, 15 Truck this Lieutenant needs Medical attention!”

As Lusty started to walk to get back on Squad 141 where the officer sits at.

“What do you think?” asked Irving.

Ranger replied , “If you had to work in an area where a Tsunami can destroy and you have to see signs like every half a mile that you’re in a Tsunami Hazard Zone and Evacuation Zone wouldn’t that scare you?”

“So I asked a dumb question?” said Dynamite.

Lusty replied, “What do you think?”

Before Dynamite or anyone could say anything.there was a beeping sound.

“Squad 141, Engine 82, Engine 16, Engine 23, Engine 47, Ladder 141, Ladder 82, Ladder 16, Ladder 23, Ladder 47, Rescue 18, Battalion 18, Mass Casualty Unit 2” said a dispatcher, “Warehouse fire and industrial accident.”

Lusty replied after grabbing the radio, “Copy Squad 141 responding.”

***

In the unstable confines of a warehouse, Lusty found herself in a precarious situation.

"Can you feel your foot or lower leg?" she asked the man trapped alongside her. She quickly realized that any attempt to move the debris could cause the cavity to collapse.

"I haven't felt it for half an hour. Breathing's difficult too," the man replied.

Upon examining him, Lusty elicited a pained groan when she pressed on his chest, indicating a possible lung injury.

"Squad 141 to dispatch," Lusty radioed, "Requesting a trauma surgeon at my location."

"Copy 141, checking availability at nearby hospitals," Dispatch responded.

"What would a trauma surgeon do that you can't?" the man asked.

"Perform an amputation. All of us firefighters are trained in pre-hospital care, not surgical procedures," Lusty explained.

Soon, a Firefighter/Emergency Medical Technician (FF/EMT) arrived to assist Lusty.

"How long until the trauma surgeon arrives?" Lusty asked.

"Ten minutes," the FF/EMT replied.

"We don't have that kind of time," the man said, "You'll have to do it."

Lusty radioed, "If necessary, airlift the surgeon to our location."

"Negative 141, the trauma surgeon is already en route," Dispatch informed her.

Marcus interjected, "Lusty, we need to pull back. It's getting more unstable."

"Just go," the man urged.

"Lower a Sawsall to me," Lusty commanded.

After a few minutes, the Sawsall was lowered down by a rope. Two minutes later, Lusty emerged from the hole.

"It's a recovery operation now," Lusty declared, then radioed, "141 to dispatch, cancel the trauma surgeon."

Lusty recalled her academy days when her instructors emphasized that despite their training, firefighters can't always save everyone. Unlike her subordinate, Madalinie "Dynamite" Harmony, who coped with her PTSD through alcohol, Lusty preferred to grieve privately.

Suddenly, Dynamite's voice came over the radio, "It's like a raging inferno in here! Everything's going up all at once!"

"Dynamite, what are you doing inside the building?" Lusty demanded.

"Our aggressive interior fire attack strategy fell out of practice due to the product of the city's dense population and buildings. This is a defensive operation, not offensive! We can’t fight fires as it was pre-1990s due to different materials in buildings being made different than it was a trillion years ago." Lusty defended.

Marcus added, "It's both. 16, 23, and 82 are on defensive operations, protecting exposures and controlling the fire's spread, while 47 and 141 are conducting offensive operations from the exterior. Captain, what's your 360 size-up?"

Dave, the captain, responded, "Type I - fire-resistive construction. Walls, columns, beams, floors, and roofs made of non-combustible or limited combustible materials. Probably about twenty years old. From the windows, I could see that the fire was fully developed.

"It's an all-steel construction, and steel structural members elongate when heated and may fail at approximately 1,000 F. The windows are all gone due to the heat shattering them. There are five roll-down aluminum doors for trucks and freight trains to deliver or retrieve goods. Expect stacked and high storage. The building is so heavily involved in fire that survival inside is unlikely."

Suddenly, a loud sound echoed.

"My guess is that it's so hot in there that the trusses are about to give, or the roof is going to collapse," Dave continued, “The center of the warehouse is probably hot like a blast furnace and blast furnaces can get up to 3,000 F. My guess is that the roof and trusses will give in any second to a few minutes unless if we work a fast miracle or just let it burn down to the ground.”

There were some more metallic sounds.

“I want structural and building engineers down here,” said Marcus, “I want someone who knows this building better than I do from the inside out and outside in. I want to know how long this warehouse will keep standing if we don’t work a fast miracle. Gonna radio in a half city wide alarm.”

Avalanche was walking by stretching another supply hose but she replied, “A what?”

“A half of the city alarm brings half of three three. How since there’s five fire attacking companies here a half city alarm will bring in six more companies to make it up to eleven,” said Lusty. “If it was a city alarm then it’ll be all twenty-three. Now go and hook up that 4’’ hose to bring in additional water.”

After a couple of minutes. There was a loud crashing sound.

Lusty was using a remote control. She was using the firefighting drone where she was keeping it steady so it can analyze the fire and try to predict of what’ll catch on fire.

“Excuse me chief, I'm Emily Harper, a structural engineer you requested for,” said Emily.

Marcus replied, “What can you tell me about this building?”

“Got a fifteen year old three story building,” said Emily, “Probably got 2000 degrees of fire. I know who the builder was on this where he got credentials higher than the roof.

Marcus replied, “Not interested in who the guy is. Don’t care if he built the pearly gates of Heaven or the gates of Hell. But what can you tell me about the possibility of it collapsing?”

“The possibility of that happening is great but I really can’t tell from out here,” said Emily, “But I can tell you that it’ll happen but can’t tell from out here. Do you think you have the intention of beating this fire Chief?”

Marcus replied, “That’s my intention.”

“Can you do it within the next hour and a half?” asked Emily.

Marcus replied, “Can’t answer that.”

“Well within the next thirty minutes I think it’s gone one way or the other,” said Emily.

Marcus replied, “From one fire to another. And I had an offer from Air Ops from a police unit to shoot out windows and I told Air Ops that we’re fighting a fire not making an action movie.”

Until a higher officer arrives Marcus just randomly assigned newly arriving company to either fight defensively or offensively but how hot the fire was that even the strongest and mightiest streams they had would evaporate into steam but more attack and supply hoses are laid down

The fire has full possessional of the warehouse and soon started to destroy interior walls but the fire is visible for miles and soon the exterior walls started to give way. They know that the building is lost but the fight continues but the main road becomes a congested parking lot by both hoses and apparatus that can’t enter the main operational area due to the main area already being blocked by hoses and apparatus as well.

“Well the media is here,” said Lusty, “Everything attracts them like moths to the flame or moths to lights.”

Due to the police being there they kept the news reporters at bay but Macaroni was there as per of her day ride along.

“What are you doing here, Macaroni?” asked Lusty.

Macaroni replied, “I was told to stand here by the rig and not to touch anything and stay out of everyone’s way.”

“This ain’t a game,” said Lusty, “If there’s people in there it’s a recovery not a rescue. This ain’t a traditional fist fight.”

Macaroni replied, “Yes I know. My dad once said, ‘Mackenzie, remember: it's not about how many times you fall, but how quickly you stand up again.’ But I’m staying out of the way and letting the professional do their job.”

Lusty then went back over to Marcus due to she’s a Lieutenant and is the most experienced officer under Battalion Chief even though Marcus has a aide even though he’s mostly either talking to Marcus or putting in requests to dispatch while Marcus is just overseeing the operations and giving orders to Lusty who relay orders from Marcus to either the companies on the scene.

The few that were arriving on which side of the warehouse that collapsed they should go to even though Marcus and Lusty are friends and they don’t address each other as Lieutenant Johnson for Macrus talking to Lusty or Lusty calling him Marcus over Battalion Chief Marcus of how close they are.

***

The next day at home.

“I’m going to make a steak with mashed potatoes for lunch,” said Lusty.

Macaroni replied while making coffee, “Hey Lusty, how do you have the loyalty of your company?”

"Whatever I say, goes. No questions, no arguments," said Lusty, “If they want to always second guess me or argue with me then I’ll gladly transfer them to another house or another Battalion.”

Macaroni then left to run some errands and before she has to return back to university for her next class.

“Whatcha doing?” asked Macaroni.

Lusty replied, “Going down memory lane.”

“Blast from the past,” said Macaroni then looked at the photo which says “FDEB or Fire Department City of Empire Bayside which is one of many nicknames for the city of Empire that even the locals call it and tourists.

Lusty replied, “There’s thirty-seven of us in this photo. Well, thirty eight adding me. Bayside is one of the many nicknames of the city.”

“Hey Lusty, why are people on the Eastside more happy about you being Bi even though…

Said Macaroni

Lusty replied, “Even though homosexuality was much less accepted than how it was in the world at the time. But people had two choices in the Eastside and it was either show your homophobia and treat the people whom they call as family you either separate the ones who are Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. I mean it was decriminalized in 1963 and the gender identity is that Transgender people are allowed to change legal gender without required surgery.

"There are still those people who hate others for being themselves but the government passed a law back in 1983 allowing same-sex marriage and full adoption rights. But in 1994 was when the government made a law that explicitly protected from discrimination in employment, housing, and access to public accommodations. But this country ain’t perfect though because we have those people who are well. In my words, those people who think we don’t exist to me they’re morons. But on the Eastside to them they rather keep someone as a friend than make them into an enemy. Even though Eastside is a district or just an outline on a map for the rich and politicians but Eastside well the idea of crime can exist in a with no more centralized legal structure.

"Any sort of wrongdoing will typically be met with the same sort of response — everyone in the settlement attacks you. Take a step into a place you aren't allowed, steal a bottle of Cola, or simply act like a Jerkass to the wrong person then expect violence because the Empire Police won’t do a damn thing because their response times to Eastside and Westside… fewer police and slower response times in poorer districts while in more middle class and richer neighborhoods their response time is near instant and send more officers wielding submachine guns and shotguns or automatic or semiautomatic rifles and submachine guns or automatic or semiautomatic rifles and shotguns and wearing body armor as if they were responding to a bank robbery with armed robbers.”

Macaroni was about to say something.

“The few times the cops been in Eastside I was stopped and questioned by the cops because to them because I looked out of place or suspicious,” said Lusty, “But Little Bird is just a country with the social, political, and technological status quo of The ‘40s, '50s, and ‘60s. My parents remember the days when they were kids when their was radioactive food, drinks and medication was once sold as ‘healthy’ in the early days when radiation was poorly understood and it wasn’t until 1969 when the Little Bird Bureau of Agriculture and Medicine banned radiopharmaceuticals and regulating them as drugs and that was completed in 1971. But nowadays the use of radioactive materials in consumer products is heavily regulated to ensure public safety

Macaroni replied to change the subject, “Why are you looking at your class photo?”

“Not many left from my class,” said Lusty, “Some died due to the occupation, others died due to the war from ‘99-00 or the war that’s going on. Simons was the top of the class. We nicknamed him ‘Topper’ because he always got very high grades when we took tests like the written and final exams. He died in a mattress warehouse where he got lost and couldn’t find the line because it was removed but flaming mattresses fell and buried him alive. He was a nice guy but he also thought he was smart enough to think what the fire’s thinking. He is

There’s me in the third row far right next to the edge of the stand thing. There’s Emily Smith she was over at Firehouse 14 for eight years before starting her own company that made better bunker gear.

"Jacob Johnson always pushed his limit. Olivia Williams, she always thinks high and mighty than herself.Ethan Davis he always played pool after the academy and after three solid weeks we stop giving him money because he always beated us at pool, Ava Brown she gladly take a Haligan bar to Zofia.Liam Miller the loner last I heard he put in a transfer over to Engine 122 in our nation’s capital after that day in September.

"Sophia Wilson she ran for Alderwoman and tried to get her bills passed that would help local first responders to get the necessarily funds they need for new turnout gear, new gear, new equipment and whatnot but all of her ideas hit a brick wall because a first responder proposing a bill to help first responders it’s going to look hinky or something like that so they throw mud into the water but she always blocks their bills with her one vote.

"Mason Taylor aka Mr. Give me a wrench and I can fix anything. Isabella Anderson she must have a damn computer chip in her head because in a New York second she knows how much feet of hose needs to be stretched in a fraction of a second. Aiden Martinez thought he could do this job for a paycheck. One day after he couldn’t take the heat of this job he gave his Lieutenant a self-termination letter saying he quit.

"Harper Thompson aka Ms. Never leave anybody behind even if a building was coming down she ran back in to save a fellow firefighter. Lucas White aka Mr. Can’t keep his helmet on for five seconds and he died because of it. Mia Harris teaches at the fire academy on her days off teaching members how to turn off electrical stuff without waiting for the power company to dispatch an engineer. Elijah Jackson needed a damn straightjacket because he’d run into a burning building without an SCBA and it cost him his life.

"Addison Garcia doesn't know what she is smoking but she can look fear into its eyes and make fear become her personal bitch. Amelia Martinez was the type who was bouncing around like a little child before entering the fire tower that simulates how hot structure fires can get. Logan Robinson thought that it would be always busy that he would be like an Linebacker in football. Zoe Davis aka Punk Rebel. Riley Turner aka Ms. Landscaper. We grew up in the same tenement building and helped my dad with landscaping. Jackson Wright aka Mr. Pessimistic and will only say negative things all the time. Lily Hall. She’s no longer a firefighter where she’s on long term disability and only earns 75% pay. Carter Adams died when he panicked and tried to get out but his airmask tube got caught on something and his mask came off and asphyxiated to death.

"Grace Parker, she's the only one who took advanced classes to be an ARFF at Empire Airport. Owen Turner aka Ms. Wants to run faster without walking with purpose to understand the situation and that’s why she’s dead because she never stop to walk with purpose or in other terms she kept running into situations before understanding and if she did then she would’ve known that a fire in a steel mill with temperatures at 1100 F and didn’t go in wearing a Entry suit, Proximity suit or an Approach suit. Chloe Mitchell. Me and her had a little fling during our academy days but she’s more of a gun nut than me. I should give her a call one day. Daniel Clark aka Mr. Preacher always praying while going to a call. Harper Baker always calculates things to check them out.

"Jackson Cooper. Scarlett King the Engineer and is skilled in fighting Electrical fires. Wyatt Scott or Mr. Boilover because he specializes in Class F fires aka Cooking oils and fats.Penelope Hill aka Ms. Firefighter Reporter because she talks about fires like how a news anchor talks while reporting the news. Oliver Turner aka the budgeter where she wants to spend less of the weekly firehouse money on shopping runs. Ava Parker or Ms. Optimistic.Samuel Hall he’s the firehouse cook because his family owns a franchise of ‘50s diners like the one you go to Macaroni.

"Stella Adams she’s an FF/PM or Firefighter Paramedic but she’s over on Fourteen Engine at the Ports. Like Madeline ‘Dynamite’ Harmony she was also a Marine but unlike Dynamite who was a combat engineer Stella was a Marine Combat Surgeon. Finally we have Benjamin Martinez or Mr. Tinker spent his time tinkering with things before being electrically cured to death in a high rise fire due to wires falling out of the ceiling.”

Macaroni replied, “You should catch up with them to make up for lost time. With Chloe you and her had a fling. When was the last time you two talked?”

“She was with me in the hospital delivery room when I gave birth twice,” said Lusty. “One of my daughter’s I named her after her because she was a friend and still is. But I don’t like talking about my friends because it’s like once we all turned 17-18 we all went our separate ways.”

“What’s the economy like here on Little Bird?” asked Macaroni, “To change the subject.”

Lusty replied, “In response to Macaroni's probing question about Little Bird's economic landscape. Our economy is a dynamic fusion of three distinct systems.

"First, we have a market-based economy that governs general goods. This system is a dance of supply and demand, where decisions about investment, production, and distribution are choreographed by the rhythm of price signals.

"Second, we have a mixed economy. This system is a harmonious coexistence of private businesses and government services, including public utilities, safety, military, welfare, and education. It also advocates for regulatory measures to shield the public, the environment, and state interests.

"Last, we have a centralized planned economy. This system is a meticulously orchestrated symphony where the distribution of goods and services, along with the investment, production, and allocation of capital goods, are guided by comprehensive economic plans. These plans can either encompass the entire economy or be tailored to specific categories of goods and services.

In the wake of the First World War, we witnessed an industrial renaissance in the Factory District. This land, once barren and neglected, was transformed into a bustling hub of activity. During the late 1880s and into the early 20th century, we had limited capital, and the war served as a catalyst, sparking life into this dormant economy.

"Thus, in 1919, almost a year after the war's end, the city and the Government initiated the construction of colossal heavy industries in this underdeveloped economy. This bold move was made without waiting for capital to accumulate through the expansion of light industry and without leaning on external financing. The First World War played a pivotal role as people invested in War bonds, which promised lucrative returns. Before the First World War, the few wars that Little Bird fought were financed by the Government and the banks through affluent financiers.

While we do encounter economic downturns from time to time, we've successfully steered clear of severe depressions. Thanks to our Centralized Planned Economy, we boast of Zero Unemployment. And although we operate as a mixed economy, we encourage businesses to compete, even though the majority are vying for government contracts. After the First World War, we established the Little Bird Price Administration Office and Little Bird Military Price Administration Office, akin to the American Price Administration Office during World War 2 and Office of Economic Stabilization. These offices play a crucial role in maintaining economic stability."

"When was the last recession on Little Bird?" Macaroni asked.

Lusty answered, "There have been several recessions in Little Bird's history. The first one was the Military Recession of 1705-1707. It happened after the Little Bird Revolution, when the native and settler soldiers demanded payment for their service. The government was broke from expanding along the rivers and building new settlements. For two years, the unpaid troops raided farms, ranches, shops, and markets for food and money. Anyone who resisted them faced overwhelming odds and violence. The second one was the Copper, Brass, and Gold Panic of 1719. It was caused by a loss of trust in the coins, which were debased and counterfeited. The commerce froze and the economy of many regions collapsed. It took new paper money to restore confidence.

"The third one was the Great Little Birden Recession of 1859-1919. It lasted for almost a century, though the first decade was more of a deflation than a contraction. The investments in railroads and buildings declined during this period. World War I almost ended the recession, but it also triggered a severe hyperinflation in Europe that disrupted the trade. This led to a short but sharp recession in 1919 when the wartime production stopped and the returning veterans flooded the labor market. The fourth one was the Postwar Recession of 1945-1946. It was due to the transition from a wartime to a peacetime economy. The same happened in the Korean War Recession of 1953 and the Vietnam War Recession of 1975.

"The fifth one was the Empire Recession of 1997-1998. It was a local recession that affected only the city of Empire, when many businesses moved to other parts of Little Bird and reduced the production. But other places here on Little Bird had to step up production to fulfill the business in the city of Empire. Hell during our hyperinflation for awhile the Government spent more money than it earned but it wanted to print money to cover the deficit but soon economical experts just said ‘Fuck you you ain’t printing money because it’ll make the prices rise leading to more inflation’ hell the economical experts the government hired they increased the interest rates so high it made borrowing more money more expensive. It was to restart the war economy in peacetime.”

The timer went off and Lusty got the London broil steaks out of the oven and put them on the plates for the two to eat.

“What do you think some of the soldiers when interviewed about the Soviet invasion said about it?” asked Macaroni while eating the steak.

Lusty replied, “Some of them said ‘I’m from Fort Suction and I say kill 'em all! There isn’t enough Napalm, Willy Pete and Incendiary rounds in storage for us!’ and honestly they wanted payback for the Reds for invading their home city.”

***

Outside of the apartment building.

“Get away from me I’m having some bad luck this month!” said Zofia while walking on her new foot patrol.

After a second on quick thinking.

“Hey Zofia you don’t have bad luck,” said Macaroni. “The reason why bad things are happening to you is because you’re a dumbass. You’re used to having mommy and daddy paying for things you wanted until daddy told you to fuck off but your mommy kept paying for things so without money she can’t keep feeding you on a golden spoon with diamond encrests from a golden platter with the golden platter having diamond increstants.”

Zofia snapped back, “Do you know who you’re talking to?”

“Yeah it’s called get out of my face before you meet the cornerer and meet your maker,” said Macaroni. “So get out of my face.”

Zofia replied, “If I’m in your face then you better know it bro!”

“For starters brush your damn teeth,” said Macaroni, “Also your loss.”

Macaroni did a hook punch on Zofia ma

king Zofia fall down then Macaroni went and got into her car and went back to University for her classes before she missed her next class. But she’s excited for her fire science class because this class is teaching how dangerous chemical fires can be and teach about how chemical fires are different due to how many chemicals there are and how they react differently to different extinguishing agents.

Lusty soon came out of the apartment to go get Dynamite again who’s in a police station and as again she started a fist fight in a bar. Like last time Lusty took Dynamite home but this time she didn’t need any help getting to her house.