“She can’t do that!” shouts Pelavin.
“Do what?” Zimmerman snaps. “Deliver a call to action? Of course she can. It’s a free country, kid.”
“If you’re not a New Yorker,” Lila carries on, “but you are, for whatever reason, tuning in right now, I urge you to show your support in other ways. Reach out to the district of Manhattan’s councilors via phone, email, and social media. Tell them your own stories about how a firefighter or EMT has contributed to your life. Show them that defunding an essential public service isneverthe answer. Because right now, literally at this very moment, an emergency meeting has been called to vote on the issue. We only have so much time left to act.”
“Oh, wow,” murmurs another councilor named Marta Davis. She’s looking down at her phone with raised eyebrows. “Peoplemove fast in this day and age. My Twitter account is blowing up with mentions.”
Everyone else looks to their phones, and it seems like the hundred thousand people listening to Lila have not hesitated to answer her call. After all, in the modern era, I suppose it’s not difficult to track down public officials, even if you live elsewhere.
I brace myself, waiting for a sharp rebuke about how inconvenient it is for Lila to have caused an inundation of notifications on their phones, but most of the council appears to be too stunned by the outpouring of support to find the space for annoyance.
That is, except for Banks.
“We’ve had enough of this,” he snarls, stalking back over to the projector.
He yanks the cable out of Porter’s tablet unceremoniously and thrusts the device back into her hands. When he rounds on me, I’m happy to say that there’s a satisfied smirk already tugging at my lips.
“I’d ask that you please vacate the chamber, Captain Hargrove. It’s time for us to vote.”
I nod my chin at Pelavin. “I’m not leaving until he does.”
Pelavin dares to narrow his eyes at me, but the punk is five-foot-ten at most and looks like he wouldn’t know proper protein intake if it bit him in the ass. He seems to realize that I could toss him halfway across the room and quickly avoids eye contact.
“Yes, of course,” he mutters, gathering his mess of belongings from the desk he’s taken over. “Obviously, I will follow the regulations, Captain. Happy voting, everyone.”
I let him go ahead of me.
And, with one last glance back at the ten people about to decide my fate and the fate of those I care about most in this world, I leave the chamber. The only thing I can do now is hope that everything we’ve done has been enough.
Chapter twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Lila
The moment Hale walks through the staff door into the bay, the entirety of Station 47 erupts.
Even people who aren’t on duty have stuck around to wait for their captain’s return. I try to stay out of the way. Even though I’ve played a significant role in this, whatever victory or defeat that is about to be delivered is something thattheyshare.
My company’s future depends on this success, but their entire livelihood hinges on it.
Still, despite my insistence to hover at the periphery once we wrap up the livestream, Evan and Noah keep tugging me into the fray.
That’s how I end up at the front of the crowd, face to face with Hale. Even in his immaculate suit, he looks like he hasn’t slept in at least twenty-four hours.
And he probably hasn’t.
Before I can voice my concern for his well-being, Hale lifts his hands in a universal signal for the dozens gathered to quiet down.
“They saw your livestream,” he says, eyeing me with dark, glittering eyes. “They saw that over one hundred thousand people tuned in—”
“Woo!” shouts one of the rookies at the back.
Hale doesn’t even bother shooting a stern look in their direction. That must mean he’s in a good enough mood. Which has to mean…
“They also saw the surge of support from people all over the country, because it had already started to blow up their phones by the time Banks called a vote.”
Noah shifts beside me. On my other side, Evan is close enough that his elbow brushes against my waist. I want to lean into them, or even walk right into Hale’s arms, but I have to be good. After what happened upstairs mere hours ago, I can’t risk anything else going wrong.
“So, they voted,” Noah says, prompting his captain to continue.
