The Day Johnny Got His Revenge
Chet Kelly had agreed to do some overtime at Station 110, however when the opportunity presented itself to him to spend the weekend in Vegas with his two brothers, he had spent the entire shift trying to get someone else to cover it for him.
Mike Stoker had plans with his girlfriend to spend the weekend at a bed and breakfast up the coast in Santa Barbara…Marco was helping out at his Uncle Antonio's restaurant…Roy had his very painful annual mother-in-law visit to San Diego…so that left Johnny, who at that point hadn't made any plans yet.
Leading up to that particular shift Chet had been on quite a roll with the practical jokes and water bombs, specifically where his old pal Johnny was concerned, so Johnny wasn't exactly in any mood to do the Irishman a favor.
However by the middle of the shift, Johnny, tired of hearing all of Chet's whining about having to miss out on the Vegas weekend, relented and agreed to do Chet's agreed upon overtime at Station 110.
"I owe you BIG, Gage…anything at all…you name it."
Hearing Chet's famous words, the junior paramedic smirked…he would definitely make Chet pay for his generosity.
Fast forwarding to the next shift, Johnny had strolled into Station 110 feeling quite relaxed, knowing that he was there to ride the engine, and not as a paramedic. As much as he loved being a paramedic, it was a nice change of pace for him not to have to deal with the stress of having to deal medically with any victims.
After roll call, Johnny was talking to the C-shift captain, Captain Baxter.
"It's nice to have you here with us Gage, but I was under the impression that Chet Kelly was supposed to be the man filling in for Thompson."
Shrugging his shoulders, Johnny played dumb. Knowing full well the reason why his friend had begged out of this overtime shift, he was not about to share that bit of information with the captain, who would definitely be none too pleased with the real reason.
"Not sure, Cap. However, I'm sure you'll find that I am a lot less annoying to have around here than Kelly would have been." grinning as he said that.
Hearing the snickers from the rest of the crew, Johnny knew he was correct in his assessment.
Having drawn the dorms for his morning's chore assignment, Johnny decided not to dilly dally, instead choosing to get right to work. He had been in the middle of changing the linen on one of the beds, when the alarms sounded, calling the station to a construction accident.
As the engine arrived on scene at their destination, they immediately saw what the problem was. The mid-sized old wooden building that had at one time been a popular and rather elegant hotel and restaurant, and was in the middle of being gutted and renovated, had partially collapsed, trapping one worker.
Talking to the foreman, a tall dark haired man who looked to be about in his sixties, Johnny and company noted just how upset the man was at the recent turn of events.
"I…I never had anything like this happen to me before. I have an impeccable record. No one has ever gotten even a LITTLE injured on one of my jobs."
Placing his hand reassuringly on the man's right shoulder, Captain Baxter tried to calm him down, and get to the bottom of what happened.
"I…I don't know. The guys were working one minute…and the next minute…BAM…the roof started to go. One man is trapped inside…Conway…Bart Conway. I called for help just as soon as it started to come down."
Nodding his head, Captain Baxter did his best to reassure the man that his men would get the trapped worker out safely.
"Mr…"
"Oh, the name is Andrews…Carl Andrews." The older man offered.
"Mr. Andrews, please try to relax. My men will get him out…just please trust us."
Giving orders to his men, the captain then got on his radio to call for back up just to be on the safe side…mainly if anything should go wrong during the rescue operation.
While the two paramedics got their gear on to go inside the collapsed building, Johnny watched with concern and anticipation, ready to help out should the need arise.
"You guys be careful in there." An anxious Johnny called out, all too used to being in similar situations himself.
The two paramedics ended up not having to go too far inside to rescue their man, as it had turned out that Bart had been on his way out shortly before the roof had started to collapse, and had not been far from one of the exits.
Standing by the door that the two men had entered, Johnny waited to give them a hand with their victim. But much to his and everyone else's surprise, Bart was walking out of the collapsed building between the two men under his own power, and not being carried out.
Leading their victim towards the squad to get checked out, the paramedics were met by a very distraught Mr. Andrews.
"Bart…you…you're sure you're okay?"
Nodding his head, Bart tried to convey to his boss that he was in fact okay.
"I'm fine, Carl…a little banged up but I'll survive."
"Why don't we sit you down right here." Senior paramedic Adam Lacey said to Bart, motioning to the plastic sheet that had been placed on the ground by one of the other firefighters.
Bart was helped to sit down. As he was sitting there, he kept glancing up at his boss who was quickly becoming very pale, and was perspiring rather heavily.
Before anything else could be said or done, the older man dropped to the ground.
Springing quickly into action, everyone realized that it was in all likely a heart attack that they were all bearing witness to.
Doing his part to help the two paramedics, Johnny got on the bio-phone and got in touch with Rampart.
Noting the absence of both a pulse and respirations, Adam and his partner Brian Gibson, immediately hooked up the defibrillator and moved to shock him.
After two tries, Mr. Andrews was converted back into sinus rhythm.
Following through on the treatment orders from Dr. Early, an IV was quickly established, and he was readied for transport. Unable to properly examine their original victim due to the extenuating circumstances, Bart was helped into the ambulance and sat on the bench seat, while Andrews was wheeled inside on the gurney.
Since Johnny was also a paramedic, he was recruited to drive behind the ambulance in the squad to Rampart, should there be a crisis aboard the ambulance, and another pair of hands needed to assist.
Following behind, Johnny was hoping that their heart attack victim would be okay…that was the last thing he thought about. The next thing he knew, he was hit from the side.
A red sports car, in an apparent hurry to get to nowhere in particular, ran the red light in the intersection, just as both the ambulance and Johnny in the squad were going through. There had been enough distance between the two vehicles that enabled the ambulance to skate through the intersection safely ahead of the squad, but left Johnny to get hit.
Not seeing the actual accident, but rather hearing it, Adam had told the ambulance driver to stop and pull over so that he could get out and check on the accident scene. He also told him to call dispatch, and request Engine 110 to be dispatched to the accident scene, as well another ambulance and police, and finally Rampart to tell them of the accident.
Quickly running over to the Squad, Adam first checked on Johnny.
Tugging on the driver's door, he watched as Johnny's head started to loll to the left side.
"Johnny…" loudly called out an anxious Adam. "Wake up…look at me….please."
Hearing the gentle pleading of his friend's voice coming through his fogginess, Johnny opened his eyes.
"That's it…open your eyes. Johnny…can you hear me?"
Tasting the blood from his cut lip, Johnny blinked several times in an attempt to focus his eyes.
Coughing a few times, Johnny let out a few groans before becoming a bit more aware of what the situation was that he was currently finding himself in.
"Johnny, hang in there a minute. I'm going to go check on the other car."
Leaving his temporary crewmate for a few moments, Adam went to the red sports car to check on those occupants.
Looking into the sports car, he noted that there was only one occupant, the driver…a young male who although obviously shaken up, was not in all that bad a shape, at least not as seemingly bad as Johnny had appeared to be.
As he was in the process of trying to calm down the driver, he heard sirens very close by and was relieved to see not only Engine 110 now on scene, but Squad 51, as well.
Quickly and briefly talking to his captain, as well as the two newly arrived paramedics about what had happened, he excused himself to rejoin his own partner and the heart attack victim so they could continue on their way to the hospital.
Going in through the passenger door of the squad, Charlie Dwyer was able to make his way inside the cab to help Johnny.
"Johnny…it's Charlie Dwyer. How are you doing?"
Continuing to lick his bleeding lip, the first thing that came to Johnny's mind, was how he responded to Dwyer's question.
"I think I am going to kill Chet…"
Taken aback by Johnny's response, Dwyer could only let out a soft laugh.
"Johnny…"
Somewhere between Johnny thinking about how much he wanted to kill Chet for getting him to agree to cover his overtime, and thinking about all of the aches and pains that he was currently feeling, Johnny was extricated from the mangled squad, and safely transferred to a stretcher and into the awaiting ambulance.
At Rampart's ER, it was determined that Johnny was very lucky to not have been more seriously injured.
With Roy out of town to San Diego to visit his mother-in-law, it was Hank who had been notified of Johnny's accident.
"How is he?" A very concerned Hank asked Dr. Brackett, as he rubbed his hands, and nervously cracked his knuckles.
"He's fine, Hank…pretty banged up, but he'll live to see another day. He's got a moderate concussion, two cracked ribs, and badly bruised left shoulder and hip."
Letting out the breath that he was holding, Hank exhaled loudly in relief that the news was as good as it was.
"I suppose he'll have to stay overnight here at the hospital, right?"
"For a couple days…then he can go home. You can see him now…for a few minutes. Will you be able to get in touch with Roy, Hank? I would think he'd want to know about Johnny's accident."
"I'm not sure, but I will try. What room is John in?"
"Treatment four. Go ahead in, but only for a few minutes."
After shaking hands with Dr. Brackett, Hank went to room four to see how his junior paramedic was holding up.
Pushing the door open slowly, Hank peeked inside. Catching a glimpse of the injured firefighter, he was glad that the younger man's injuries weren't as bad as they could have been. Johnny was lying on the exam bed, the head of the bed at an incline. He was wearing a nasal cannula, had an IV in his right arm, and was sporting a rather large bandage on his forehead.
"John…" called out a soft but firm voice.
Opening his eyes, Johnny looked up and smiled when he saw who the voice had belonged to.
"Cap…"
"Hey pal." Hank said with a reassuring smile. "I hear you're gonna make it."
"That's always good to know. Cap…?"
Catching Johnny's questioning tone, Hank was sure that his friend was going to ask him about Roy.
"Just so you know, I did try to reach Roy, but he's out of town, John. I know you're probably wondering where he is."
"Actually…I already knew that…Dixie told me. I was wondering about Chet."
"Chet?" a rather uncertain Hank repeated.
"Yeah…I was wondering if you could find him for me, so I can kill him."
Trying to stifle the laughter that threatened, Hank was unsuccessful as a laugh managed to escape.
"He's still in Vegas, pal. He won't be back till tomorrow night."
"When I get my hands on him…I'm gonna wring his neck."
"Well…I understand that you're uh….hurting now, and even frustrated, but YOU are the one who agreed to do this overtime for him…no one else did. You could have said no."
"Said no?" Johnny repeated in disbelief. "And listen to that whining of his the whole shift? No thank you."
Running his fingers through his thick black hair, Hank sighed loudly.
"I'm really sorry that this happened to you, John…but knowing that you're okay, that makes me feel better…and it should make you feel better too. Listen, Dr. Brackett said that I could see you only for a few minutes. I better head out soon. I'll try to get a hold of Roy for you, okay? In the meantime…get some rest, and I hope you feel better soon. If there's anything you need, have them call me."
Closing his eyes, Johnny took a slow deep breath, exhaling it very slowly.
"I will. I appreciate you being here….thanks, Cap."
"Hey, what are friends for? I'll be in touch."
Spending a couple days in the hospital, Johnny was visited by Hank, Marco, and Mike, as well as several lovely nurses. Roy hadn't heard about Johnny's accident until he had returned home late Sunday evening, the same thing with Chet, so they hadn't been in to see him as yet.
Returning to duty on Monday morning, Chet was feeling extremely guilty.
In the locker room Chet anxiously asked Roy about his partner.
"Johnny's going to be okay Roy, right? I mean he's not gonna…gonna…"
Putting his hand on the other man's shoulder, Roy looked at him and smiled.
"He's going to be fine, Chet. I called Rampart this morning. In fact, he's getting released sometime today."
"He is?" Chet asked, surprise in his voice.
"Yep. Dixie is taking him home. According to Dr. Early, Johnny will be able to function fine on his own. Maybe if we get a chance later, me and Harper will stop by his apartment and just make sure that he's okay."
"That would be great, Roy. If…if you do…please tell me that if there is anything that he needs…anything at all…to please call me."
"I will." Roy replied, somewhat amused at just how worried about Johnny, Chet really was.
Back at Rampart Johnny had been sitting up in bed attempting to eat some breakfast, when a very welcomed visitor arrived in his room.
"Good morning, Johnny." smiled Dixie, an exceedingly cheerful expression on her pretty face.
"Dixie…you came." Johnny replied with relief.
"Of course I did. What made you think that I wouldn't be here?"
"I don't know. I guess I'm just anxious to get outta here. You have something for me to wear home?"
Holding up a bag, the nurse continued to smile.
"I sure do. I even brought something else for you to eat…I know you're not exactly a big fan of our cuisine here."
"You got that right."
Opening the white styrofoam container that Dixie had handed him, Johnny was ecstatic at seeing the contents of the container. A ham and cheese omelet, some hash browns, two pieces of rye toast, and an apple Danish were some of the most wonderful things that Johnny had ever seen in his life.
"Dix…this is amazing. Thank you."
"It's no problem, Johnny. I'm just grateful that you're alright. From what I have heard, it's no wonder that you weren't killed or at the very least more seriously injured in that accident. It's the least that I can do for a friend."
"Well, I do appreciate it…really. You wouldn't happen to know when they might spring me, do you?"
"Relax, Johnny. Dr. Brackett assured you that you'd be going home this morning some time…he keeps his word. Why don't you just enjoy your breakfast in the meantime?"
Grinning appreciatively, Johnny nodded his head.
"You're right, Dix…sorry. It's just that I've been a patient here more times than I would ever care to be…and I really don't want to stay here any longer than necessary."
"I understand that, Johnny. But just please be patient."
Shortly after he finished eating, a doctor did come to see him…Dr. Morton.
"Gage…how are you feeling this morning? Any headache? Shortness of breath? Pain?"
Johnny shook his head. "If you're asking me if I'm ready to take on the Ironman Triathlon, the answer to that would be an astounding no…but except for some normal aches and pains, I feel fine, Doc. Please don't make me stay here any longer than I have to. Besides, didn't Dr. Brackett already say that I could get outta here this morning?"
"He did. But it IS my job to make sure that all patients are stable before they get discharged home."
Trying to be patient like Dixie suggested Johnny couldn't help it as a groan escaped his lips.
"I AM stable. Tell him, Dixie."
Standing with his arms crossed against his chest, Dr. Morton glanced amusingly over at the longtime nurse.
"Now Johnny, Dr. Morton just wants to make sure that you're okay. We believe that you are, but how professional would it be if we didn't follow this through all the way?"
Johnny again sighed in frustration. "Okay…okay. Do what you gotta do, Doc…just make it quick."
Giving in, Johnny let the doctor examine him.
Pulling the stethoscope out of his ears, the doctor smiled.
"Okay, Gage. I'm content that you are in fact stable." he commented with a laugh. "And those are YOUR words…not mind. I think a few of your buddies might argue the point."
Rolling her eyes, Dixie took in the playful banter between doctor and patient.
"Are you two finished?" Dixie asked, a smirk on her lips.
"Yes, I believe we are. I'll make sure that a wheelchair is brought to your room. You can get dressed now, Gage. I know how anxious you are to get out of here."
As the doctor started to walk away, Johnny called out.
"Hey…wait a minute. I think you're forgetting something…the papers?"
Tapping the clipboard that he held in his hands, Dr. Morton nodded his head.
"You're right…sorry about that."
Signing the bottom of the paper, he handed it to Dixie.
"Take it easy, John…and I mean EASY."
"I will. Thanks, Doc."
Pushing the tray table away from his bed, Johnny slowly and carefully pushed himself up, and swung his legs over the side of the bed.
"Dix, my clothes, please."
Handing a small black overnight bag to Johnny, Dixie smiled.
"I think you'll find everything you need in there. I'll meet you out here when you're finished."
Nodding his head, Johnny gratefully took the bag from her, and slowly made his way to the bathroom.
After washing up, Johnny put on the blue jeans, white tee shirt, and LA County Fire Department sweatshirt that Dixie had brought for him. Though he managed to get dressed okay on his own, putting on his socks and shoes proved to be much more of a challenge.
With his shoes and socks still in the bag, Johnny came out of the bathroom.
"Dix, you mind helping me with my shoes and socks?"
"Not at all."
Carefully, Johnny sat down in the chair that was beside his bed.
"Pain, Johnny?" Dixie asked with concern.
"A little…it makes bending over a little difficult, not to mention painful."
When Johnny was finally all set to go, Dixie motioned to him to sit in the wheelchair that had been brought to his room while he had been in the bathroom getting dressed.
Going down to the ER, Dixie wheeled her patient past the base station where both Dr. Brackett and Dr. Early were in the middle of transmissions from two squads, but were able to smile at Johnny as he went by.
Met by nurse Sharon Walters who came with them out to Dixie's car, so she could bring the wheelchair back inside, Dixie helped Johnny into the front seat of her blue sedan.
"No more wagon, Dix?" Johnny asked with a grin.
"No. I traded it in for something a little more…me."
Arriving at Johnny's apartment, Dixie helped Johnny to get settled back home.
"Johnny, everything okay?"
"It's fine, Dix. I appreciate you taking the time to help me. I'm just gonna stay here in my big comfortable easy chair and watch some TV for a while."
"If you need anything…"
Grinning and nodding his head, Johnny finished Dixie's sentence.
"Call me…I will, Dix…I promise."
Picking up her purse from the couch, Dixie went over to Johnny and gave him a kiss on his cheek.
"You take care." She started to walk towards the front door, but stopped when a question came to her. Turning around, she looked curiously at Johnny. "I do have one more question, Johnny. On the whole way over here you kept mumbling about Chet. What's that about?"
Letting out a loud laugh, Johnny gave his friend an explanation.
"Well…it's kinda simple really. He was supposed to work this last overtime shift at 110's…not me. Anyway, he was so happy to get out of it…that I had agreed that to work it for him, that he told me that he would owe me big time for it. With him feeling so incredibly guilty for what had happened to me…I figure this is the perfect time to get even with him."
"Even with him?" Dixie repeated.
"Yeah…even. He'd been so incredibly obnoxious these last few weeks. Water bombs…itching powder…taking the lid off the salt and pepper shakers…the way I see it, this is the perfect opportunity for me to get my revenge."
Looking him over, Dixie was a little confused.
"How are you going to get him back? You're not exactly all that mobile right now."
Despite the headache he had, as well as his various other aches and pains, Johnny's expressive brown eyes twinkled with amusement.
"Don't worry, I have a plan. I'll tell you about it tomorrow evening. The deed will be done tomorrow after Chet gets off shift."
Sighing loudly, Dixie shook her head. "I'm not even going to ask. You take care, Johnny."
One final wave and Dixie was out the door.
Making sure that everything he would need for the next several hours was within easy reach for him, Johnny carefully reached for the notepad and pen that was on the small brown end table beside his easy chair, and started to write. This would be fun.
Later that afternoon, after clearing it with Captain Stanley, Roy and his temporary partner Paul Harper stopped by Johnny's apartment to check on him.
Having called about an hour before to let Johnny know they were coming, Johnny told Roy to use his spare key to let themselves in, as getting up and down was still a bit painful.
Hearing the key jiggling in the front door, Johnny smiled in anticipation of seeing his partner. What he didn't count on was the large box that Paul was carrying.
"Hey Johnny…how are you?" greeted a rather relieved Roy.
"I'm doing okay, Roy. Hey Paul."
"Johnny…"
Looking curiously at the box, Johnny motioned for Paul to put it down on the floor.
"What's in the box? Looks like someone is trying to get rid of some junk, and it ended up on my living room floor."
Shaking his head Roy, smiled. "Not quite, Johnny. They're some things from Chet. He feels really terrible about what happened to you."
"Well…he shouldn't really. He had no way of knowing what was going to happen. I just hope he had a good weekend in Vegas."
Continuing to smile, Roy laughed. "I'd say he did. He won 500 dollars playing blackjack. And…"
Before he could continue the story their radio went off.
"Squad 51…man down…Sweet Petunia's Florist…99321 Elmhurst Boulevard…Time out 14:45."
Picking up the radio, Roy responded. "Ten-four, LA…Squad 51 responding. Sorry Johnny, gotta head out. I'll call you later."
"Yeah, thanks for stopping by, fellas."
After the two paramedics had left his apartment, Johnny carefully leaned over the side of his easy chair to glance down at the contents in the box.
There were about ten different magazines, three different boxes of cookies, including Johnny's favorite Oreos, some puzzle books, a bag of chips, and a few other things that Chet knew Johnny liked.
"Chet…this is gonna be too much fun." The paramedic said out loud.
The next morning Chet quickly got dressed.
"What's the hurry, Chet? You do realize that it's only eight o'clock in the morning, don't you? Chances are that Johnny is still asleep."
Chet's expression turned sad.
"I…I hadn't thought of that, Roy. But I really need to see him. I feel so badly about what had happened to him. If I hadn't been so selfish…he wouldn't be cooped up in his apartment right now. I agreed to do the overtime…I should have just done it."
Roy patted his friend's shoulder. "I think you're being too hard on yourself, Chet. Johnny wouldn't see it that way. All he had to do was tell you that he couldn't do it, but he didn't. It was just an accident…no one could have predicted this."
In a flash of inspiration, a wonderful idea came to Chet and his expression went from near devastation to optimism.
Closing his locker door, Chet gave Roy a smile, and said good bye to the rest of his friends.
"Adios, amigos. See you in a couple days."
Making a pit stop before going to Johnny's apartment, Chet was in his glory when he had finally arrived at Johnny's doorstep.
Enlisting Mike Stoker to help him with Chet's "payback", Johnny had the engineer tail Chet.
When there was a knock at his door, Johnny called out.
"The door is open, Chet."
Opening the door, the curly haired Irishman peeked in to see a smiling Johnny waving from his seat in the easy chair.
"Hey there, Chet. Good morning."
The firefighter looked curiously at his friend.
"How'd you know it was me, Johnny?"
"Because I know you, Chet. And I know you feel bad about what happened."
"I…I do. It was wrong for me to ask you to do MY overtime. But that being said…I brought you some breakfast. I stopped off at your favorite diner, Elmo's. Elmo and Grace both said to tell you 'hello, and to get well soon.'"
"That was nice of them. I hope you got something for yourself to eat, too. Company would be nice."
Nodding his head vigorously, Chet was quite adamant about that was in fact the reason why he was there.
"Of course, Johnny. My plans for today were to stay here with you for a while. Oh, and if there's something from the store that you need…I'm your man. You don't even have to pay."
Grinning like the proverbial Cheshire Cat, Johnny's plan was coming together quite nicely.
"Help me up, Chet…we'll eat in the kitchen."
"You're sure? I want you to be comfortable. We can eat out here."
"I'm fine, Chet. I have a couple cracked ribs…and I'm sore…I'm not an invalid."
Chet helped Johnny to sit down at the table, and then went to set the table.
"I even brought some freshly brewed coffee."
"This is all really generous of you, Chet…but it wasn't necessary."
"Yeah, it was."
While eating, Johnny asked Chet about his wild Vegas weekend.
"So tell me about your weekend, Chet. Roy started to, but then he and Paul were called away."
"All I can say is…WOW, what a weekend. I had a great time…won 500 bucks at blackjack. I met this amazing chick…Vanessa. She was something else. We got to see a few shows…Charo, Wayne Newton, and Siegfried and Roy… just unbelievable. But the good time I had paled when I heard about your accident."
"Chet, can we stop talking about that. I really am going to be okay. Now…there are just two more things. One, I want to thank you for the box of goodies that you had Roy and Paul bring over yesterday. It was a nice surprise. And secondly, yes…I definitely have a few things from the store that I need you to get for me."
"Anything at all, Johnny…anything."
"Over on the table next to the recliner, I have a small white envelope with my list on it. Some of the things I want are a little embarrassing, so if you could wait to look at the list until you get into the store, I would appreciate that."
"No problem."
Getting up, Chet retrieved the envelope.
"What store would you like me to go to?" Chet asked, hoping that it wasn't the store with all the older cashiers.
"That store on Freemont." Johnny said in a matter of fact kind of tone, and smile playing on his face as he saw the wheels in Chet's head turning.
"No problem." He replied as he realized his fears were realized.
"You're sure you don't mind doing this, Chet? And you don't want any money for it?"
"I'm positive." Chet said, intent on making it up to Johnny. "Guess I'll go now. Be back as soon as I can."
Smiling, Johnny was looking quite pleased with how things were progressing.
"I'll be here. Thanks for doing this."
Making his way out to his Volkswagon van, Chet was watched from a distance by a waiting Mike Stoker. It would be Mike's job to inconspicuously get some pictures of Chet's errand, and then finish up the job, when he made the final delivery.
Tailing Chet as he left the apartment complex's parking lot and headed to the Stop and Go Supermarket over on Freemont Street, Mike made sure not to be too obvious. If his cover was blown, the fun would be over.
Making his way through some mid-morning traffic, Chet pulled into the supermarket's parking lot. Following behind in the distance, was Stoker.
Parking his van, Chet got out and headed for the shopping cart area.
Once he had his cart, he went inside the store, and pulled out the envelope, tearing it open in the process.
Reading the list, his eyes got bigger and bigger as he read each item:
5 cucumbers
1 lb. of white grapes
2 bottles of chocolate syrup
6 bottles of whipped cream
2 rolls of duct tape (preferably black)
1 box of saltine crackers
1 small jar of K-Y Jelly
1 bottle of mouthwash
1 jar of dill pickles
7 ice packs
2 packages of fresh strawberries
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
1 loaf of rye bread
2 jars of creamy peanut butter
1 pineapple
3 oranges
1 cantaloupe
1 large bag of marshmallows
Again reading through this list, his mind wondered just what Johnny was planning with these items, but a promise was a promise, and Chet was not about to go back on his promise, not after what Johnny had gone through in covering his overtime.
Ducking around corners like he was a private investigator or swat team member, Mike Stoker used his new camera to take pictures of Chet, documenting his friend's reaction to each bazaar item.
After an hour of feeling as though he had been on Alan Funt's Candid Camera, Chet got on line at one of the front check-out lines. As he placed the items on the conveyor belt, starting with the "normal" food items first, he looked up to notice that the cashier was indeed one of the older ladies that he had feared would be there at the register.
Eyeing the smiling Irishman, the woman whose name tag said "Doris", was not exactly smiling.
Still documenting Chet's shopping experience, Mike Stoker using his telephoto lens was taking pictures of the cash register exchange.
"Young man, it might not be any of my business…but what the heck are you doing with all of this stuff? Duct tape? Are you one of those leftover hippies from the 60's? That free love smut?"
Trying to look as serious as he could, Chet shook his head.
"No, ma'am. I am not a hippie. In fact, I am a firefighter. And…and these things really aren't even for me, anyway."
Stuttering from nervousness, even Chet's palms started to sweat as the older woman scrutinized him and his purchases.
Giving him the total, Chet was shocked that the total was as high as it was, but at this point he'd do anything for Johnny. He was just grateful that his friend/sparring partner was alright.
Helping to bag the groceries, Chet paid the bill and hurriedly got out of the store.
At his van, he practically threw all the bags into the back. He wanted to get out of Dodge in the worst way.
Using his skill and guile, Mike Stoker was able to escape being noticed by his friend, and made his way to his truck…laughing to himself all the way. Not only was Mike blessed with good athletic ability and vision, he also had an extremely keen sense of hearing, and was actually able to hear the exchange between Chet and Doris. Boy, would Johnny laugh his head off at hearing this tale.
Again returning to Johnny's apartment complex, Chet parked close to the building's entrance so that he could easily carry the several packages inside.
Putting the bags down on the floor, Chet knocked on Johnny's door.
Still quite relaxed, as he was sitting in his recliner, Johnny called out to Chet to come inside.
"Door's open, Chet."
Watching as Chet came inside with all the bags, Johnny had a hard time keeping a straight face…Chet had actually gone through with everything.
"Did you find everything okay, Chet?"
Eyeing his friend a wee bit suspiciously, Chet only nodded his head.
"Yeah, fine."
Slowly getting out of his chair, Johnny followed Chet to the kitchen area.
"I'll put everything away, Johnny."
"Uh…okay. I'll help though."
"I thought you were supposed to be resting? I got it."
The paramedic shrugged his shoulders, and sat down on one of the kitchen chairs.
"Okay…be my guest."
As Chet started to put away some of the items, he turned to Johnny. He had been about to ask his buddy about what the need for all of this stuff was, but changed his mind. In all actuality, most of the items were normal everyday items that one might use, however it was the randomness of everything, and the combination of items that had Chet a little confused.
Trying to be as nonchalant as he could, Johnny sat there watching his friend put away his groceries.
When Chet was finally finished, he sat down tiredly at the kitchen table across from his friend.
"Well…I guess that takes care of that. Anything else I can do for you?"
Johnny smiled and shook his head. "Nope…you pretty much did everything for me. I really do appreciate this, Chet. I won't forget it."
Sighing loudly, Chet ran his fingers through his curly hair.
"It's the least I could do for you. After…"
"Yeah, I know. I really am fine, Chet. In fact you can go now. I'm pretty beat…think I'll just go lie down in bed for a bit and see if I can't get some z's."
"Sure, no problem. You'll call me if you need anything else?" He asked hopefully.
"You bet."
Getting up from the chair, Johnny followed Chet to the door.
"See ya later, Chester B."
"Yep."
Johnny stood watching as Chet made his way down the hallway. He couldn't help but grin…this was going to be good.
Watching from his truck way over at the other end of the parking lot, Mike Stoker waited until Chet had safely pulled out of the parking lot, before he drove closer to the building and parked. It was his pleasure to help Johnny get Chet back. As a rookie coming up through the ranks of the fire department, Mike too was a frequent victim of practical jokes. He had always vowed to one day help get these guys back…and in a way, this was one of those opportunities for him.
Getting out of his truck, Mike made his way inside to Johnny's apartment where he was warmly greeted by the paramedic.
"Johnny. How are you doing?" The engineer asked, as he shook his friend's hand.
"Better than I was a few days ago. And…I'll be even better when this prank is all over. You got the pictures?"
"Did I? I sure did…it was beautiful. You should have seen him muttering to himself and scratching his head. The kicker was when Doris the cashier lectured him on being a free love hippie."
"I wish I had been there. Well, let's get started. Here's the card that I want you to sign…on behalf of one Chester B. Kelly. I also have the big box in my bedroom. We'll just have to wait about an hour or so for the ice packs to get cold."
"No problem, Johnny. This will be a pleasure to do…anything for a fellow firefighter." responded Mike with a smile.
As Johnny dictated to Mike what to write on the card, Mike wrote it…he had Chet's handwriting down pat.
"Dear Chief Houts,
These are just a few items that I picked up for you and your lovely wife, Margaret. I had heard through the grapevine that your wedding anniversary was coming up, and I wanted to get you something to help you celebrate. I hope you put everything to good use. Enjoy!
Fondly,
Chester B. Kelly
Firefighter, Station 51 A-shift "
"Johnny, I gotta hand it to you…this joke was quite inspired. How'd you ever think of it?"
"Well…it was a show that I had watched while at Rampart that gave me the idea. I just took it and ran with it. You're sure you don't mind doing this?"
The engineer shook his head. "Not at all. I have a good friend who works at HQ and owes me a favor. No problem at all."
After talking and playing some gin rummy for a couple hours, the two men decided that it was time to put Operation Kelly into motion.
While Johnny handed Mike the items to be put in the box, Mike organized them, making sure that the cold ice packs were strategically placed to keep the necessary items properly cold. After all, they didn't want Chief Houts to get a bad case of food poisoning.
Once the box was packed, Mike used the duct tape to fasten the box closed. The final piece was the card that Mike had handwritten in Chet's writing, it was taped to the top of the box with the Chief's name on the envelope.
"All set. I'll get it over to HQ. Then I'll get the pictures developed. If you want, I'll even put a little photo album together for Chet."
Johnny grinned in appreciation. "This is even better than I thought it would be. Sure, go for it."
When Thursday morning rolled around and 51's A-shift reassembled for their shift, the men were gathered for roll call. Paul Harper was still covering for Johnny.
After roll call was over, Hank clapped his hands together.
"Just one more thing. It's for Kelly…a message from Chief Houts. He said thank you for the box of goodies, and the Anniversary well wishes, but if you ever pull a stunt like that again, he'll have you demoted to janitor."
The look on Chet's face was priceless.
"But…but I don't even know what you're talking about, Cap…I swear I don't."
Pulling out the card that had been left with the box, Hank handed it to Chet to see for himself.
"Correct me if I am wrong, Chet, but that IS your writing, is it not?"
"Yeah…but…but…" Chet stammered.
Suddenly a light of realization dawned on him.
"Gage…" He groaned loudly.
"Excuse me?" queried a curious Hank. "What does Gage have to do with this, Chet?"
Chet was about to launch into the entire explanation of the events of his recent shopping trip, but changed his mind knowing that no one would ever believe him.
Suddenly from out of nowhere came a loud voice, followed by the flash of a camera.
"Gotcha! And now Chester B….we are even."
Chet realized he had been had, especially when Johnny had presented him with the small photo album of his day out at the supermarket.
He wondered who took the pictures, but didn't ask.
Mike Stoker was never found out about his role in Johnny's scheme. Not only was Stoker a pretty good photographer, but it turned out that he was quite the forger, as well.
Johnny would always remember this day…the day he got even with Chet.
THE END