They had been inside too long.
His boys had been evacuating the building and fighting the fires but they had been inside far too long. In fact, he had already ordered them out, but…
'Breathe, Hank. No reason to get all worked up. Just… breathe.'
But DeSoto and Gage are still inside the building. Why? He has no idea and they haven't answered their HT since they said there was another section of the building to check.
'Why in blazes didn't I order them out anyway?! By now they could be… Breathe. Roy and Johnny always make it out despite the odds…'
And yet flames are shooting from everywhere, and the structure of the building looks as though it could go at any moment. If they don't get out soon, the whole building might…
'Breathe, dammit, Hank! You know there's no sense in panicking like this… Please, you two… Just come out of the building! I can't lose both of you… Can't break the news to Joanne and those kids that Roy and Uncle Johnny aren't coming home… Just come out!'
As if by magic, the two emerge from the building, almost in slow motion, each carrying a victim.
The two men approach, their facepieces on those they rescued.
"Ah, sorry, Cap," begins the younger of the pair with a cough as he lays his victim down by the Squad, "there was a partial collapse and we had to extricate the victims."
"Well, why didn't you contact us on the HT?!" the captain finds himself exclaiming.
"You see," DeSoto replies, setting down his own victim and starting to work, "we tried, but our HT was damaged in the collapse. We could hear you, but we couldn't answer."
'Breathe, Hank. Your boys are all safe and alright.'
"Just…" he sighs. "Be more careful next time, okay? And when I tell you to get out, get out."
The two paramedics briefly exchange glances as they carry out their jobs, though, this doesn't stop Johnny from looking to Captain Stanley.
"We're alright, Cap," Johnny says, a grin appearing on his face. "Breathe or we may have to put you on O2."
Fin.