Nice to see Kelmin kept the ball in play. Swatting it back into the court if someone wants to tackle 'D'
C is for Captain
As he walked into the diner, Hank recognized the man almost immediately. He looked a little older than Hank remembered, but he was sure he didn't look like he'd gotten any younger himself. Hank headed over to the booth with a smile on his face, offering his hand.
"Dick. Been a quite a few months, hasn't it?"
Dick's thoughts had apparently been elsewhere, but he looked up and smiled in return as he took the offered hand.
"Hank. Yes, yes it has been. Good to see you again. Thanks for meeting me here."
"Thank you for asking. So – this is about me taking over at 51?"
"It is. Sit down."
He waved the waitress over, holding up his own coffee cup for a refill and indicating Hank as well.
"I know you and I have different styles and the men will adjust to your way of doing things pretty quick. They're a good crew, Hank. If you looked at them one at a time, you might think they'd never pull off working as a team without a lot of sparks, but that's not the case. Just thought I should give you a heads up on them. Especially a couple of them."
As Hank took the coffee cup that the waitress brought over, he frowned slightly.
"Why a couple of them? Are you saying they're troublemakers?"
"Oh no. Not in the least. Just things you'll want to keep an eye out for. I guess the best way to explain myself is to give you an example. Ever work with a paramedic squad before?"
"Nope. This will be my first."
"None better for you to learn the ropes with then. Gage and DeSoto are the top team in the field. Roy DeSoto was one of the very first out of the classes and he's the older of the two. Family man and generally pretty level headed. Good at reading a situation in the field and adapting. Doesn't tend to go in blindly. Then – there's Gage."
Dick took a sip of his coffee.
"John Gage is great at his job, but the man is a walking contradiction. And he's one of the ones you'll need to watch out for. He tends to downplay any injury his gets or ignores them altogether. Normally Roy won't let him get by with that, so if Roy even makes a mild suggestion that John might need to see a doctor? Make that an order. I don't think John deliberately tries to hide injuries, but he's a high adrenaline type. I honestly don't think he realizes sometimes just how hard he was hit until hours after the fact. And by then something that might not have been too bad if it had been tended to immediately might have turned into more of a problem."
"When you really have to watch out for that is when one of our crew is hurt. Especially Roy. Roy's kind of a weird mix of partner/mentor/best friend/older brother to John. Roy's equally protective of John, but it's not like they baby each other in the field and, if a civilian is down, you don't have to worry about their priorities. I've seen them tending to people that weren't as hurt as they were themselves. Eh – you'll see it for yourself when you go on your first call with the squad. I know some folks question the wisdom of partners being too close, but the pluses I've seen outweigh any minuses. They can react almost like they're one paramedic acting in two bodies."
Hank silently sipped on his coffee, taking mental notes. Trust DeSoto's call on his partner's health. Gage is good at taking care of everyone but himself.
"Okay, so I assume Gage is one of the couple to watch, but not DeSoto. Who's the second one?"
"That would be one of your lineman, Chester Kelly. Most everyone calls him Chet. He's a practical joker and he will on occasion take things to extreme. Especially where John is concerned, which I think is because John gives him such great reactions rather than any personal problem with John. I don't think Chet has a mean bone in his body, but he doesn't have good sense on how far is too far, if you get my drift. He may get on your last nerve on occasion, but don't pull back the reins too hard. Believe it or not, he's a real safety valve. I guess I should explain that."
"Because of the paramedic squad, the station gets exposed to more life and death situations up close than your average station. The guys have filled in for and assisted the paramedics - holding a pressure bandage in place, helping extract a victim, even getting on the biophone to Rampart and relaying messages between the paramedics and the doctors when the guys have their hands full. All of them have pitched in with John and Roy. All of them have come back to the station with other folks blood on them more than once. They all handle it well for the most part, but sometimes, quite naturally, it gets to them. Now and then, a hard laugh at a really stupid joke lets them decompress. I find it's a good gauge - the funnier the guys find Kelly, the more tense things had gotten. If they just roll their eyes or groan at him? You'll know that things are at a pretty even keel."
"Kelly doesn't have any good jokes?"
"None that I've heard. Most of them were old when his father was a lad. Also, he's fond of the occasional water balloon, that lad. Lands latrine duty a lot."
"That's three of the crew. What about the other two?"
"They're both a bit like Roy. Steady and level-headed. Your other lineman is Marco Lopez. If he's really upset or startled, he'll lapse into Spanish, so that's a good indicator for you of where his head is at. Great cook, but hope you don't mind a little bite to your food."
"Last man is Mike Stoker, the engineer. A man of few words - or as Kelly occasionally jokes, no words. Mike's not unfriendly. He's hangs out with the guys and will even laugh at some of Kelly's stinkers. But he doesn't feel like he has to talk just to fill the silence. Not that silence is much of a common occurrence with John and Chet around. Those two could talk the ear off of a statue. I'm surprised Roy's still got a right ear, to be honest."
"Does seem an unusual mix that you have."
"That they are. Just one other thing, Hank. My boys? They will take what you say to them to heart, whether they show it or not. You come across as constantly negative to them, morale's going to nosedive. Don't know what it is in their past that makes them react that way, but John and Chet especially will go deep into their shells. They'll still do their jobs and do them well, but it will be like you turned off all the lights inside here. Not that you shouldn't lay into them if they need it, but they're good. All of them. Best crew I've ever captained. I hate to leave them, but I know I'm leaving them in good hands."
"I appreciate the vote of confidence, Dick. I guess tomorrow, I'll get to see A Shift all for myself."
"That's the reason I wanted to talk to you today. Tomorrow, I'll just be there long enough to introduce you to the men and say my goodbyes. Two captains on a shift is one captain too many."
Dick finished off his coffee and seemed to lose his words for a moment. Then he got on his feet and offered his hand this time.
"Take care of them for me. They're your boys now, Captain Stanley."
Hank rose as well and shook his hand.
"I'll do my best, Captain Hammer."