Ambrose made eye contact with her, and she saw something there she hadn’t before. But there was no time to analyze. “Don’t just stand there, Desai. Move.”
“Yes, sir.”
She picked up the fifty-pound Jaws with ease while Evans got the generator.
She must have had a slightly panicked look on her face, because Evans stopped her for a moment. “You can do this. We’ve done plenty of drills.”
His calm confidence helped Riya relax. “Yeah. Okay.”
“We got your back.” He dipped his chin at her in encouragement.
She grinned.Don’t vomit.
“Okay, then.” Evans grinned. “Let’s go save some people.”
The two cars in the middle were smashed together, people trapped inside. The front car was in the other lane, and the back car was on the shoulder. Paramedics were on the scene, too, taking care of the victims who were already out of the vehicles. Police managed traffic.
Riya focused on her job, running to the front of the two smashed cars, barely even noticing the weight of the Jaws in her hands. An older man was trapped with his leg under the dash on the passenger side of the vehicle in front, but the back of the car was also crumpled in. A young woman with a bleeding gash on her head hovered around the car.
“That’s my dad!” she screamed. “I don’t know what happened. The car in front just stopped—I don’t know, I don’t know—”
Riya caught the eye of one of the paramedics already coming her way. “Ma’am. I need you to go with the paramedics and get that cut looked after. I’ll get your dad out.”
“I need to stay... He’s old...”
The paramedic was at her side. “Ma’am, my name is Ariana. I need you to come with me so we can take care of that wound.”
The woman touched her head as if noticing the blood for the first time. She looked at Ariana. “But...my dad.” Her lips quivered. “I can’t leave him.”
Ariana’s voice was firm and soothing. “Ma’am, your father is in good hands. These men—” She stopped and did a double take at Riya. A smile fell across her face. “Thesefirefighterswill take good care of him.”
“You’ll get my dad?” The woman gripped Riya’s arm.
“Of course,” Riya replied, avoiding Evans’s gaze. They weren’t supposed to make promises; she knew that. Ariana directed the woman a small distance away to give Riya and Evans room to work.
Evans had started the generator. “You got a plan?”
Riya nodded. “Let’s get the door off using the cutter and then use the ram to push back the dash.”
“Copy that, ma’am.” Evans nodded his agreement.
Riya nodded, then turned to the victim. “Fire department here, sir. We’re going to cut the door off and get you out. What’s your name?”
The man turned to her, blood dripping from a cut in his cheek. “Harvey. It’s Harvey.”
“Okay, Harvey. I’m Riya. This is Marcus. We’re going to cut you out of here. I need you to stay still. Nod if you understand.”
Harvey nodded. Riya flashed him what she hoped was a comforting smile, since her insides felt scrambled. She turned to Evans with a confidence she hardly felt.Fake it till you make it.“Start it up.”
“Wait.” Harvey looked at her. “You’regoing to cut this open?”
“We both are.” She nodded at Evans.
Harvey motioned to the Jaws. “Shouldn’t he be holding that?”
For a split second, the temptation was there. Evans was more experienced and could definitely cut this man out, whereas this was Riya’s first time.There’s always a first time.The words came to her from the recesses of her memories.Samir.
She gave Harvey the most confident smile she had. “I can manage.” She put the tool in position just as Walsh ran over.
