He does.
Straight away.
I look at Dan, who is driving tonight. “Watch him tonight. Keep him back from the working area when we arrive.”
Dan nods once. “Yep.”
That is it.
That is all it needs to be.
AJ is not mine to manage right now. He is an observer, and Dan can keep him safe while I deal with the incident.
I get into kit.
Boots. Trousers. Tunic. Helmet. The familiar weight lands on my body and the softer part of me goes quiet. There is no space for rest rooms or almost-smiles or the way AJ said my name.
There is fire.
There is a possible person inside.
There is weather bad enough to make every decision more awkward.
The doors roll open and the rain hits the yard in hard silver sheets. The night beyond the station is black and shining, every surface slick under the lights.
AJ climbs into the back with Dan’s gesture to guide him, high-vis over his clothes, seat belt on before Dan has to tell him. His face is pale under the interior light, but he is steady. Watching. Absorbing the change in us.
I climb in and pull the door shut.
Then we are moving.
The drive out is wet, dark and ugly.
The wipers work hard and barely keep up. Water runs along the lanes in streams, gathering in the dips, throwing back the blue lights in broken flashes. Once we leave the better road, Millbeck narrows quickly. Hedges press in on both sides. The verges are soft. The rain makes everything look closer and less certain than it is.
Dan keeps us steady.
Control updates us over the radio as we go.
Caller is the neighbour. Detached outbuilding well alight. Elderly male believed to have gone inside for a dog. Wife is with neighbour. Ambulance requested. Police en route. Possible propane cylinder stored in outbuilding.
Dan looks across at me.
I see the thought on his face before he says it.
“Cylinders,” he mutters.
“Yes,” I say. “We heard.”
He gives one short nod, because that is the whole conversation.
No drama.
Just another problem added to the list.
I glance back once.
Mish is saying something low to AJ, probably practical, probably where to stand and where not to stand when we arrive. AJ listens without interrupting. His hands are braced lightly on his knees, but he is not gripping too hard. He is scared enough to understand this matters and calm enough not to make that fear anyone else’s problem.
