“No Kevin, so five for lunch. It can be meat day.” Erin started getting out frozen chicken.
Solari pulled out some brown rice. “What happened to all of the good bread and pasta? There’s a ton of whole wheat everywhere. Can we buy something else on the grocery run?”
“Don’t even get me started,” Vanessa growled, continuing to chop the vegetables. Erin noticed Aiden had quietly disappeared again.
Five hours later, the rest of the team returned on foot. Captain Williams called a mid-shift lineup, standing them next to their new turnouts.
“This was not the best performance. I was told that Firehouse 15 was the future of Cuyahoga Combined. Today’s performance was not convincing. Doctors playing at firefighting when they can’t seal their masks. Two of my officers showed poor decision-making. One demonstrated a total lack of initiative. Communication problems, questionable decisions, and protocol violations are only the start. There is a teamwork and leadership program this Saturday. I need 15 to attend and represent. Understood?”
“On our day off?” Luna asked.
His face hardened. “It depends on whether or not you think the lives of your team are worth missing a little of your off time. For now, you are going to drill with your new turnouts and SCBA tanks until you are familiar enough with your turnouts that you can do it awake, asleep, or on fire.”
Temper simmering, Luna couldn’t contain herself. “Why did we even get new turnouts when the fire department has been falling apart for years? Isn’t there something better to spend money on other than a logo change?”
Erin thought Captain Williams couldn’t look more pissed. She was wrong.
“Rodriguez, that is a failure of foresight and vision on your part. By changing to Cuyahoga Combined, it allows the suburban departments to be included, as they’re not part of the City of Cleveland. We could have sent the turnouts to a seamstress for rebranding,” Williams drawled, sarcastically.
“That would have been cheaper,” Luna retorted. “I’ve seen the budget.”
The rest of the team, while not fans of Williams, were not ready to follow Luna down this path. Erin had been there often enough with Baker.
“We are not merely replacing turnouts for branding. This firehouse was on cycle for bunker gear replacements as it was. The old turnouts are being resewn and donated for training to volunteer fire departments in rural counties. It’s called goodwill. You should learn how to earn some,” Williams added.
His lieutenant wasn’t done, though. “If you want some goodwill, maybe you should have gotten us new ones that FIT!”
Finally, she’d scored a hit because Williams stopped short.
“In that, you are correct. Chief Baker ordered special, customized women’s turnouts based on your uniform sizing. They will take months to arrive.” He recovered quickly. “Same as Chief Baker also ordered new nine-liter cylinders. These tanks hold sixty minutes of air rather than the usual forty-five,assuming you remember to turn on your air. More air equals more firefighters getting home alive. The most important thing is saving firefighter lives. Don’t you agree?”
An answer wasn’t expected.
Luna flushed. No one moved.
“Anyone else?” He handed the clipboard to the D-shift members. “You are in charge of watching them drill with the new turnouts, even if they are only temporary for the women. Make sure it goes for an hour. You familiarize yourselves because your shift will be doing the same soon enough. Pay extra attention to Carver, even if he’s visiting from the hospital.”
Left alone, the D-shift got out the stopwatch, and everyone began the two-minute turnout and SCBA donning drills. Over and over and over for an hour.
By the time Captain Williams packed up for the evening, everyone was fully aware that Luna was one snarky comment away from spontaneously combusting.
For the second time in one day, Erin got out a bunch of vegetables to smash.
“Who does he think he is? Telling me I don’t care about the lives of my team!Madre de Dios!” Luna fumed, destroying various vegetables on the cutting board. “He guessed there was Freon in the basement and left us down there! He makes me so mad!”
“Don’t you think that’s his point?” Erin asked. She grabbed the remains of a mangled carrot and started munching on it. “He’s off-balancing you. I think it’s some type of weird psychological warfare to expose our weaknesses so he can correct them. Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll keep my head down and mouth shut.”
Vanessa seemed to consider that. “You think? It worked on me and Luna, but he hasn’t tried to do anything like that with Aiden.” She tossed the beef in the hot skillet with a small amount of vegetable broth.
“If you keep out of his way, he won’t poison you with Freon,” Aiden felt the need to point out, placing a soy patty in the microwave for Kevin.
“It’s not my way to stay quiet,” Luna said. “I have strong opinions.”
“We know,” Kevin said, “but so does the Captain.”
“Nothing to say?” Theo teased Carver. “No story comparing this to the time at MetroGen you got high on laughing gas from an anesthesia accident?”
Carver had been staring off into space instead of completing his assignment to set the table. “Sorry, guys. I’ve got stuff. Manika stuff. And Freon thing.”
