“Close the door, please.”
I obey, letting it fall shut behind me.
Hale, looking like he barely escaped a tussle with a hoard of subway rats, runs his hands through his hair. “Banks called for an emergency vote regarding the new FDNY budget. If it goes his way, our funding will be cut by noon today.”
I freeze. “What? How is that allowed?”
“They can vote whenever they like, as long as the budget is decided by the end of the year,” Hale explains in a dull, totally exhausted tone of voice. He’s barely looking at me as he speaks, seeming more like a robot than a human in this moment. “I imagine Banks wants to bolster his campaign before the first week of November, though.”
“Why today, though?” grumbles Evan. “He would have heard about the fire last night, would have known that we responded. There’s visual proof that we saved lives. That Noah, specifically, saved lives.”
“Including mine,” Hale agrees with a sigh and a simple nod of thanks in my direction.
I’m still frozen, though, my brain desperately trying to keep up with this endless cycle of misfortunes.
“It’s bad timing,” Evan continues, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.
Hale grunts in agreement. “I’m guessing someone informed him that I was transported to the hospital. Calling a vote while Station 47’s captain is incapacitated and unable to fight back certainly seems like it’d be his style.”
“But who would tell him?” I chime in. “The fire was contained, like, barely eight hours ago.”
Evan shrugs. “He’s a well-connected man and there was a lot of media present.”
“Fuck.” I plant my hands on my hips, glaring up at the ceiling as if it has the answers written upon it. “Someone should call Lila.”
At the mention of her name, Hale sits up a little straighter and Evan becomes so motionless it’s as if he’s turned to stone.
“Did she…?” Hale frowns deeply, as if trying to recall a hazy memory. “I was only barely lucid at one point, but I swear she—”
I snort. “Broke through the police line and then sobbed over what she momentarily feared was your dead body? Yeah, that happened. I was busy puking, but it definitely happened.”
Hale stares at me like I’ve grown a second head.
Evan clears his throat lightly. “She’s fine. I took her home. To my home, I mean.”
When both of us swivel our heads toward him, he starts jiggling his leg again and avoids eye contact.
I shake my head. There’s too much going on and my brain is on the verge of exploding.
Our captain lets out a long, loud exhale, then pushes his back from his desk. “I do think it would be wise to inform our PR specialist of this update, so one of you can do that. In the meantime, my deputy is coming in early to take over so that I can go home, wash up, and get to the council chamber before thesession begins. I’ll do what I can, but it’s likely our time working together is running out.”
My stomach drops. “But—”
“You don’t want one of us to go with you?” Evan cuts in.
Hale rises to his feet. “You’re off the clock, Reyes. You should be at home in bed. And no offense, Trent, but I suspect your presence in the council chamber would only fan Banks’s flames.”
“You’re probably right,” I mutter.
He moves past me, throwing open the door. I think of a dozen things to say to him, the most important of which is that I don’t want anyone else to be my captain if it’s not Hale Hargrove, but my mouth isn’t able to catch up with my mind and, before I know it, he’s gone.
I glance back at Evan. He’s grimacing.
“That’s it? That’s—what the fuck?” I sputter.
Evan sighs, then hoists himself out of the chair. “We did what we could, man. All that’s left is to wait for the outcome and hope for the best.”
“But—”
