Page 84 of Burn Protocol

The call that cost the life of CRM Cruz resulted in her witnessing the directional change of the fire. While extracting her crew and getting them the care they needed, she also managed to send out the command to keep the villages in a direct path of the fire safe. But she couldn’t get over the incident. Not even after her crew requested that she receive a decoration for her bravery.

“Elena came here about six years ago. She was at rock bottom. She was crueler to herself than any of us could have ever been. But luckily the change of scenery was good for her. She fought it at first, of course, but after a few weeks I could see her calm down. That’s when I realized how full of potential she is.”

Chief Fernando Salisar took Gonzales under his wing from that moment on. She overcame her trauma under his watchful eye, and learned to turn her passion into skilled leadership. “I’ve never seen anyone as brave as her,” the Chief says, visibly touched by the memory. “Everyone talks about how brave firefighters are for running into burning buildings—like that is the action that takes all the courage—but the real bravery lives in the moments after. The moments where you wash away the ash and soot, where you close your eyes and see the faces of the people you couldn’t save. The moments where your mask falls, and you still come back the next day. Nobody has shown up the way Elena has.”

The true extent of this bravery became visible to me during a frightening call to extract a kid that got stuck in a flooding storm drain. Gonzales did not hesitate but jumped in, headfirst. Her quick wits and fast actions saved another life that day, even if she put her own on the line. “It isn’t something I think about. That’s just who I am. If you start to overthink, you become a liability. And if you question it, you are in the wrong line of work.”

Gonzales might sound pragmatic, but she breathes and lives this belief. She has spent her whole life running toward the danger, being brave for those who can’t. Being a shield to those who need it. Looking back, I know it was inevitable that someone would fall for her. How could they not? I just had not expected it to be me. And at that point I still tried to deny it.

The tipping point came after the Metro Incident, earlier this year. Two trains collided at the Plaça Espanya station, resulting in multiple fatalities and injuries. Engine 2 was one of the first crews at the scene and Gonzales immediately took action. Her people went in twice as many times as the other crews, pulling out three times the number of people. Even though they were on the brink of exhaustion, none of them gave up. “I just think we all wanted to make her proud. She has that effect on us. Gonzales pushes you so hard, but when we pull things off nobody else can, she is beaming like the sun. I think we all live for those moments.” Rosa Fernandes, the only other woman at the station, expresses. “We don’t care if we are tired or thirsty. There are people out there who need us. Every second counts. It used to be Gonzales’ motto, but it’s our crew’s now. I believe it makes us better.”

During the five-hour-long extraction mission, an explosion occurred that took the lives of three people and injured two others, including Gonzales. She sustained a mild laceration on her hip, and some minor bruising. She was sent home for two days to recover and put on administrative duties for the remainder of the week. It was after this incident that I was no longer able to keep my professional distance.

I had seen Elena run into burning buildings, put herself in front of danger, and face the most horrible outcomes before – her expression never changed. It was only then, when she was sent home, that I saw the terror in her eyes and the tremble of her fingers. She had witnessed the loss of one of the victims and couldn’t stop blaming herself. Even though she had no influence on the situation at all. I believed I understood the cost that came with her job. I was wrong. When she shattered in my arms that night, I saw the real extent of what she carries—the responsibilities that she takes on.

That is who Elena Gonzales is. A woman who works herself to the bone to keep all of us safe. Who would give up her last breath if it meant you could have one more. Not to be called a hero, she detests the term, but to answer the calling deep inside her core. She is selfless, brave, smart, and unapologetic. She has earned the trust of her crew, her co-workers, and her Chief, whom she collectively calls her family. Every single one of them is willing to walk into a fire when she is next to them, without having a moment of fear for their own lives. After all, they know Elena has their backs.

Lieutenant Elena Gonzales continues to serve the city of Barcelona, aiming to make it a safer place every single day. And I will continue to love her. Elena not only saved dozens of lives during the time that I shadowed her, but she also saved my soul. Something I am eternally grateful for.

[Cont. on page 24]

Helen’s knuckles turn white as she clenches the paper. I fight the urge to swallow and lick my lips as her eyes dart over the words. Her eyes narrow, but she doesn’t look up. Not once. Not even when she reaches the last paragraph. Her eyes just stay on the paper, and it makes me more than a little anxious.

I’ve seen Helen at her worst. When she was white-hot furious with me, when she was able to skin a man alive for disrespecting a woman’s body, the aftermath of her husband cheating on her with the pool boy. I’ve seen her during all these stages and never, not once, was she quiet. What the hell does it mean?

“Is this real?”

Her tone is ice cold and razor sharp. Her jaw rolls and her breathing is rapid. Fuck. This is it. The defining moment of my career. I can still say it is a joke and that I need more time. It would put me in a bad light with her but might save my job. Yet, the thought of it alone makes my stomach churn. To dismiss Elena the same way she had dismissed me when Salisar first confronted her. I couldn’t do that to her. Especially not after she spoke to her Chief about our relationship yesterday. She chose me, and I choose her.

“Very much so,” I say and slightly raise my chin.

I’ve done all I could do in light of these events. The article has a disclaimer for full transparency and the station has been briefed. The only thing I should have done differently was to tell Helen sooner. But that is not something I can fix anymore.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” she hisses. “You of all people?”

I shrug, and her eyes finally flick up toward mine. They aren’t blazing, as I had expected them to be, but calculating. As if she has already accepted the fact for what it is and now wants to make the best of it.

“You slept with your subject?” she snarls.

I shake my head. “It wasn’t like that. We—”

“How long?”

“A month and a half maybe? Or two… it’s hard to tell, really.”

She scoffs. “Hard to tell?”

“Yes, Helen. It’s hard to tell. This wasn’t just something that happened from one day to the other. It grew.”

Her eyes narrow and she presses her lips together. A deep frown appears between her eyebrows, making her look older than she is. When she speaks again, it is in a slow, dragged-out tone that puts me on my toes immediately.

“You mean to say that you fell in love?”

“Yes, I suppose that’s what I am saying. It’s all disclosed in the article, and the Chief is informed. I was as transparent as I could be.”

She scoffs as she slams the article down on her desk.

“And you are willing to give up your career for this woman? To face ethical scrutiny from every single publisher in the country? All for a woman that you met only three months ago?” she yells as she cocks her head.