Page 47 of Hot Zone

I heard murmurs in the crowd, and someone muttered, “I read about this online. It was messed up.”

I ignored the comment and continued. “The fact that homeless people sometimes stayed there was why the firefighter who was injured didn’t immediately realize something was suspicious. He thought the puppy tied up in an otherwise empty room belonged to someone staying there.”

“A puppy?” one of the students gasped.

“Yeah, a puppy. Little did we know, the dog had been left there intentionally as bait. When the firefighter went to rescue it, he checked around the room’s perimeter, looking for its owner. But after he had the puppy untied, he realized time was short, and he crossed the room directly—and stepped into a trap the arsonist had set. He and the puppy fell through the floor.”

“Did he save the dog?” one student asked, while another blurted, “Is he okay?”

“The answer to both is yes, but it was a close call. He sustained a broken leg, but it could’ve been so much worse, and he and his partner have since adopted the puppy.”

I paused, letting the weight of the story sink in.

“The point is, he said he felt something was off about the situation. That’s the awareness I want you to develop. If something feels wrong, pay attention. I’m not saying don’t”—I made air quotes—“save the dog. I’m just saying if your gut tells you something’s not right, be extra cautious.”

I went on, describing the painstaking process of sifting through debris and piecing together the puzzle left behind by the arsonist, pointing out a few other things they should be watching for, like multiple sources of ignition and burn patterns and a sense of unease settled over the room. The knowledge that such darkness existed and that they might encounter it weighed heavily.

Finally, I reminded the budding firefighters before me never to underestimate the power of attention to detail and intuition. “Remember, fires consume buildings and sometimes takes lives. But it’s our responsibility to use every skill and resource at our disposal to stop those who cause harm. Our greatest resource is you—the firefighters who are the first to arrive on the scene.”

When I finished up, I felt pretty good about how things went. The class had seemed to pay attention, and when I’d taken questions at the end, they asked some very thoughtful questions.

Right before I left, a young Black man named Tariq stopped me and asked to speak with me. “I’ve heard your station is the most diverse station in town.”

“That’s true, we are.”

“Does that include religion?”

“Absolutely,” I said firmly.

“So what would I have to do to be assigned to your station? I’m considering moving to Austin, but I would prefer to stay in Vesper if I can. My family’s all here, and so is my Mosque.”

“After you finish your training, give me a call, and we’ll see what we can do. I can’t make any promises because there are only so many openings, but I’ll do all I can to help you.”

“Thanks, Chief,” he said and ran off to join the rest of his class.

I would have to be sure and call Michael, our old station chief, and make sure he knew I got that question. When he was the chief, he spent years recruiting the right crew members to make sure that Station 69 would be a safe place for everyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, religion, or race. If you worked at the 69, you knew that we didn’t play around where that was concerned. If you were one of us, we’d have your back.

That was just one more reason why I thought it was important for me to keep coming here to the school every so often. For too long, we lost good firefighters to the bigger cities because there wasn’t a station that was a diverse, safe place for them to work.

Mars

I wasn’t looking forward to this, but I didn’t want to wait any longer to talk to Steven. I knew he meant well, but I wasn’t going to let him ruin what was happening between me and Samuel. I sent a text letting him know I’d be stopping by the apartment.

When I arrived, Roxy opened the door.

“Hey, Mars. What’s up? Steven mentioned you were coming by. I’ve got dinner almost ready. It’ll just be a few minutes.”

“Hey, man,” Steven called from the living room just as Thor hopped off the couch and came thundering toward me. I kneeled down and gave him some ear scratches before heading into the living room, where Steven was waiting.

“So, what are you doing over here? You get tired of my dad bossing you around and trying to make you eat healthy food?”

“Actually, not at all. And that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

The serious tone in my voice got his attention, and he put down the controller for his video game.

“Okay, what’s up?”

“Listen, Steven, I know you’re just trying to look out for me. And I know you think you know what’s best, but you don’t. You don’t have any say in who I sleep with, and I’m not sure why you’d think you did.”

---