Page 80 of Burn Protocol

She nods at some specks of mud on the side of Ladder 1. Behind me, Díaz and Fernandes snicker. Torres just raises a surprised eyebrow and glances at the truck. Rivera, Rodriques, and I freeze. It isn’t until Moreno lets out a bellowing laugh, that the tension seems to break. His crew joins in and Torres turns back to me, grinning.

“Got yourself a good one there, boss.”

He tips an imaginary hat and turns around.

“Moreno, you are lucky you are not getting a note on your file for harassment, but let this be the last of it.” He glances over his shoulder and winks. “Alright crew. You heard the lady, let’s go!”

And with that, everyone is moving again like nothing ever happened. The air suddenly feeling a lot cleaner again.

***

“So, now what? What do we do about la rata?”

I bite the inside of my cheek to suppress the urge to grin at Tommy’s new nickname. He more than deserves it. And I know he will never lose that name again. It will be scribbled on his locker by the end of the week. He’ll hear it whispered in the hallways and in the locker room. It will always follow him around, even if he were to change stations, which is exactly what he deserves. But as a lieutenant, I can’t say that. So, I stare at my crew—I look each and every one of them in the eye, Maya included.

“We are professionals. We do our job. We do not punish people here. Leave him to me.” My tone is flat, lacking its usual conviction.

Fernandes scoffs. “The hell we don’t. He betrayed you. He came after Maya. That rata is not to be trusted. He is not one of us…”

“Yeah, she’s right. If he dared to come for you, what will stop him from targeting others? Before you know it he’ll be running to the Chief with every little thing that comes to his ears.”

“The lieutenant won’t let it come to that, right Gonzales?”

Rodriques looks at me intently. His message is clear. I have to act and I have to do it now.

“I said to leave him to me. This will be addressed.”

I glance at Maya and fight the urge to reach for her hand. She looks at me, with those all-knowing blue eyes, and blinks softly. It’s all that I need in that moment. I am not doing this alone.

“If you think I won’t act on this, you are gravely mistaken,” I hiss while returning my focus to the crew. “We don’t eat our own here. That’s not who we are. I will brief the Chief about Tommy today, and you will consider it handled. Am I clear?”

A resounding “yes ma’am” echoes through the room, and I give them a curt nod in return. We all know that la rata will be taken care of regardless. Nobody wants to work with a traitor when their lives are on the line. Tommy is about to feel what happens to somebody who betrays the family. And I am not going to stop them unless I absolutely have to.

“Shall we?”

It’s two in the afternoon and Maya is ready to sit down for the last interview. My stomach churns. Not because I am reluctant to answer her questions. Not this time. No. It makes my heart drop, because after that, Maya will return home to finish her article. No more ride-alongs. No more joking in the cantina. Her laughter no longer flowing through the bay. It will all be over. And I am not ready for that. She seems to feel my distress and grabs my hand.

“You know you’ll still see me every damn day, right?”

I nod, my mouth dry. It won’t be the same, though, will it? Maybe it will be better. I don’t have to worry about her safety, and I get to go home to her. If I even get to keep my job here to begin with. Maybe the Chief will transfer me. We haven’t spoken about what we’d do then. Yet somehow I know it will work out. We will work it out. I nod again and clear my throat.

“Let’s do this.”

“Let’s…”

We settle down in one of the vacant offices. Maya sits comfortably in an older desk chair—she somehow managed to pull up her legs and wrap her arms around them. The sight alone is enough to make me melt. The recorder lies on the table between us, the red light blinking. I bite my lip again as the same nerves rush over me. Are we going to talk about Cruz again? I am not sure if I can bear it.

“I hoped we could do things a bit differently this time,” Maya whispers.

I look at her. She must see a certain expectancy in my eyes because she chuckles. The melodic sound makes me smile. You became soft, Gonzales. Whatever.

“Different how?”

“Well, you know how we spoke about full transparency in this article?”

I hum.

“I’d like to talk about who you are as a person. About us. Like… when you…”