Page 8 of Fireman Daddy’s Tempestuous Little

CHAPTER SIX

Drew

“Do you have any idea how lucky you are?” Zane asked.

“I’m pretty sure you’re going to tell me,” I replied.

“Goddam it, Firefighter Bridger,” he snapped. “Stand up straight when I talk to you.”

“Zane, I kicked your ass at soccer when we were in sixth grade and football all through high school. Stop pulling rank.”

“You don’t take anything seriously, do you?” He shook his head. “You ran into a fucking burning house without any gear. You forced the fire authority to take a stand on a boundary dispute we were specifically trying to avoid, and you broke protocol having a civilian call dispatch directly!”

“I’ll tell you what, Assistant Chief Pemberton,” I said. “The next time a civilian has a fire emergency that isn’t politically expedient, I’ll turn her away and let the place burn.”

“That’s not what I’m saying, and you know it!”

“The fuck it isn’t man,” I reply. “If it’s not, then why don’t I call my sister at the Herald right now and tell her this conversation word for word. We can let the public decide if that’s not what you’re saying.”

“Goddam it, Bridger. I swear to God I’m going to bring you up on disciplinary charges for this!”

I smile and stand up. I see the remote on his desk and click the mute button, making the television on the side of his office come to life. A reporter’s voice says, “… due to the quick thinking of Firefighter Drew Bridger, who responded to the call when 911 denied the homeowner access to any fire department.”

“Wait a minute,” the anchor says, “Sally, are you saying the homeowner called 911 and they didn’t respond?”

“There’s a dispute between the city and the county about that area, and neither would take the call. Firefighter Bridger arranged for his company to take the call. He’s already being hailed as a hero and the state legislature is up and arms, threatening an oversight bill if the county and the city don’t work things out.”

“And everyone turned out okay? No injuries?”

“Thanks to this Firefighter, everyone’s fine. Not only that but several priceless books and works of art were saved, works the homeowner inherited from her grandfather, who was one of the most prominent rare book dealers in the country.”

I walked out and said, “I’ll see you at the disciplinary hearing. Hmmm. Soccer. Football. I guess now there’s a new way for me to kick your ass.”

He didn’t reply. He couldn’t. Ultimately, the news made me untouchable, and he knew it. From behind me, Jonah said, “You have to stop baiting that guy.”

I shook my head. “He’s an administrator who never held a hose. Fuck that guy. We’re not a PR firm for Christ’s sake.”

“What you did last night was still reckless, man,” he said. By then we were out of the downtown fire authority offices and headed to his car. “You could have been killed.”

“Oh gee, really?” I said. “I didn’t know firefighting meant I would risk my life. Think of it this way: maybe now the state will pull the county’s and city’s heads out of their asses and we can get back to the business of saving lives.”

He nods. “Can’t complain about that.”

We returned to the squad house and Sergeant Brick met me just inside the doorway with a scowl on his face. “You got a problem, Drew?”

“No, Sergeant!” I bellow in my best Marine Corps voice.

“You think that’s funny?” he retorts. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“If I had a nickel, Sarge.”

“You’ll be lucky to have a nickel when I have you fired for insubordination and negligence! We are firefighters, Drew, not superheroes. You aren’t supposed to be running into burning houses in your damned pajamas.”

“I apologize, sir, my costume was at the superhero dry cleaners.”

Once more, Brick was unimpressed by my humor. “You talk a lot of shit, Drew. It’s gonna get you killed one day.”

“Not today, Sergeant,” I replied.

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