Fire Born (Firehouse 343) Read Free

ladder truck’s line from Rick and another appr oaching him for Engine 14’s as Football and Terry were coming out the door. Their turnout coats were covered in soot and both men’s jackets bore scorch marks; Terry had the old man slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and Football had his wife cradled in his arms. The two were immediately passed off to EMTs, one of which, Chris noted with renewed dread, was Sam Temple, brother to one of the guys in C-Platoon . He cursed again . If Sam was here then so was Karalyn , his partner …
    …a nd Calvin’s daughter.
    “ Sonofabitch ,” he muttered darkly. His spirits lifted only a minor fraction when it became clear that Sam and Karalyn’s rig would be carrying the elderly man to the hospital. It meant that she’d be gone in minutes.
    “Football, Terry—” he started to say, but the men had already headed back toward the hellhole they’d just left.
    “We’ll get them, LT,” Football said simply. Chris had been about to go inside hi mself this time now that Engine 14’s line was under another firefighter’s control, but he’d assumed temporary command of the ground crew the moment their captain had entered the building. Although he hated not being able to search for Calvin personally, his responsibility was still out here, coordinating the scene until the city fire marshal arrived .
    He nodded to their backs as they entered the building. Minutes later Football cursed loudly. “ Sitrep !” he demanded .
    “ Fucking step gave out under my foot ,” the former NFL all-star replied angrily.
    “ I’ve been saying you ’ re getting fat, Football ,” Logan cracked.
    Football snorted. “ Like you’re one t o talk. We call you ‘Airborne’ because of your former profession , pal— not as a reference to how light and fluffy you are .”
    Terry cursed then and Football shouted along with him. “ Shit’s getting real up on three, LT ,” Terry reported tersely. “ Heading to 3C now .”
    “Like the boss said—get in and get out,” Chris replied.
    “ Airborne, get ready to receive us. I don’t want to risk those stairs again ,” Football said. “ Fire’s made them too damn hazardous to traverse, especially with added weight .”
    Chris knew he was talking about the probability that he or Terry would be carrying their captain out of the apartment. Sweat trickled down his spine along with a thin thread of fear. No , he told himself firmly. Don’t go there. Calvin will be a l l right .
    Calvin Maynard was more than just his boss. He was a mentor and a friend, and to lose him was not a possibility he cared to entertain. The women in his life—Tonja and Karalyn —would be devastated, and the men under his command would be leaderless. Chris knew that personally, his death would feel like losing a member of his own family.
    “ Fuck. Oh, shit man .”
    Chris felt his heart squeeze painfully in his chest at the tone of Football’s voice. It was an effort to force enough air through his suddenly too-tight throat to say, “Talk to me, Curtis.”
    It wasn’t often that anyone i n the unit called Football by his given name. When they did , it meant they were trying to keep their head on st raight, and Chris had found himself on the verge of losing it with those four little words.
    His first response was a heavy grunt. “ Cap’s hurt bad ,” he said at last, causing the fist around Chris’s heart to squeeze tighter. “ Ceiling beam crashed down on him and the girl along with half the ceiling—looks like it happened as he was pulling her from the closet. He shielded her with his body but the fucking beam caught him in the neck, right between his helmet and his air tank .”
    Chris swore in the most colorful language he knew—his native Lakota . “Status?”
    “ He’s completely out of it, but I got a weak pulse and his breathing is shallow ,” Football replied.
    “ The little girl is uncon scious, but breathing ,” Terry added. “ Looks like