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5
Luca
I pull the truck to a stop outside the address dispatch gave us—a popular stretch of restaurants on the northwest side of the city.Already geared up, the crew and I hop out onto the street with Marco leading the way as he stops to talk to a suited man I assume is the manager while the rest of us quickly do a visual assessment of the situation.
While helping Alex and Scotty with the hoses, I glance around the scene, spotting a couple of cops trying to keep the crowd back, but then I catch sight of dark wavy hair and a dress I’ve been fixated on since I received a photo of it on my phone a few hours ago.The long legs and kickass black heels on her feet confirm that I am indeed looking at my best friend ...outside a restaurant we’ve just been called to for a kitchen fire.What are the odds?
“What the hell?London’s here,” I say.
“What?”Scotty asks.
“Over there.”I point across to where London stands, her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes glued to a man kneeling on the sidewalk who’s providing first aid to a chef.
“Where?”he asks, searching the crowd.
“Navy dress, three o’clock.”
He turns in that direction.“Nice,” he says a few beats later.
“Quit it.Cap’s daughter, remember?”He’s not wrong though.She looks incredible.It’s almost like she’s on a date and is dressed to impress.Wouldn’t she tell me if she was on a date?
Marco walks up to us, his expression all business.
“Grease fire in the kitchen; sous chef has possible third-degree burn to his forearm so the ambulance has been called for now too.Flames spread up the walls but the manager thinks it’s been contained to just the kitchen thanks to the fire doors.He's also confirmed that everyone has been evacuated so as far as he knows, the building is empty.”He turns my way.“I need you and Rhodes to go assess from inside.Scotty and Alex will follow after when you tell us what’s needed.”
“What am I, a lieutenant now?”
“Think of it as early on-the-job training,” Rhodes says, bumping my shoulder as he moves to the storage compartment on the side of the truck.
“I haven’t made my mind up whether I’m going for it yet,” I mutter as I follow him.
“Then this can be a test.Now stop bitching and follow me.”
“Yes, sir,” I say, earning rolled eyes from Marco.
“Smart-ass,” he says with a smirk.
“Yes, sir,” I repeat.We may be brothers, but on scene, he’s my superior, and as such, he gets the respect that role calls for.When both Rhodes and I are ready, we pull our masks down and walk toward the middle of the street where Marco has moved to talk to the manager.
“Where are we going?”Rhodes asks, his voice muffled.
The manager points toward the restaurant.“Straight through the doors to the bar, then at the start of the corridor at the end is the swinging kitchen doors.”
We both nod in understanding.
I meet my brother’s eyes.“Lonnie's here.With the guy who’s with the chef with the burn.Keep an eye on her.”
He frowns but jerks his chin.“I’ve got her.You’ve got to focus, Luc.”
“Always.”Then I let Rhodes lead the way as we breach the building and follow the instructions we were given.Feeling that the door isn’t hot, Rhodes signals over his shoulder that we will press forward.He slowly pushes it open, but instead of a full-blown inferno, there’s a lot of smoke, the acrid smell of incinerated meat, and a massive industrial oven with two pans full of something smoldering.
Knowing it’ll be quicker just to put it out than get Iowa and Scotty to pull in the hose—as well as minimizing any further damage—I search the walls, looking for the one thing every commercial kitchen needs.
“Bingo!”I shout, running toward the dry chemical fire extinguisher hanging on the far wall.In two strides, I’m tearing it from its holder and disabling the safety mechanism.I point the nozzle at the crackling cooktop.Bracing my legs and locking my arms, I pull the trigger and move the spray from side to side until everything is white and whatever was still burning in a ten-feet radius is put out.
I look over my shoulder at a chuckling Rhodes, who’s holding his handheld radio to his mouth.
“Command, copy?”
