I don't own the guys from station 51 and I never have but boy are they fun to invite out to play and Captain Stanley has given permission. Or at least I think he has. I'll make sure they get home by dinner time.
This story is a bit of a stretch but I hope you can enjoy it for what it's meant to be and that's plain old entertainment. Have fun now ya'll.
The Wise Crackin' Package
The delivery driver could feel the sweat dripping off his hands as they clung to the steering wheel as if it were for his life. There was another cry from the package in the back of his van as a police car drove by causing his heart to nearly stop before he felt his pound on his ribs as if it were trying to break them from the inside.
'One more block to go,' he thought as he started to breath again. And then he pulled into the parking lot and around to the delivery entrance. Waiting near the dock were three police cars and a very familiar van.
There was no way for him to run he would be shot dead long before he could turn around, what was he going to do? Slowly he backed his van up to the dock as his shirt was drenched with nervous sweat. Another cry rang out from the box behind him and he was sure the police heard it. What was he going to do?
Stalling the driver studied his manifest sure the police approaching the van could see that he was hiding something. He tried to pretend he didn't see the officer approaching and got up heading back in to the van just before the officer reached the door. Noticing the only other package of similar size the driver had an idea and quickly switched address labels and opened the back doors.
"Excuse me sir," one of the four police officers now surrounding the delivery man startled him, "is that package for the collectors exchange?"
"Why yes it is officer is there a problem?" he heard a shuffle in the other box and prayed the police officer didn't hear it also.
"There could be, can you tell me what's in this package?"
"I'm afraid not officer, I just deliver'em I don't know what's in'em."
The police officer walked around the package tapping on the sides as the delivery driver heard yet again more shuffling in the other box still in the van.
"I do have several more delivers to make," the driver tried to move things along. "May I get this one where it belongs?"
"Of Course," the officer responded as he gestured with his hand. Shifting his hand truck on its wheels the driver moved up the ramp and into the elevator as two cops stepped in with him.
When the doors opened again the delivery man once again tilted the hand truck on its wheels and headed down the hall toward the door marked 'Collector's Exchange,' once through the door he noticed his partner in crime engaged in conversation with two more police officers and a detective wearing a suit. Sighing calmly he gave the store manager a calm blink then presented the manifest to be signed as the dogs moved in to sniff the package just delivered.
With no response from the dogs and the manifest signed the delivery man was free to go and he made a calm haste back to the elevator where he was allowed to enter alone as he heard one of the police officers radio to another announcing they were looking for another delivery van.
The delivery driver hurried to his van and loaded the hand truck not taking time to secure it in place before he climbed behind the wheel and started the ignition. The sound of crying again caused him to hold his breath as he pulled out of the parking lot a little faster than maybe he should have causing the hand truck loose in the back to slide across the bed in the back slamming into the package bringing about instant silence.
The one thing the delivery man knew he had to do was get rid of that package as fast as he could, it was a good thing that his next delivery was just a mile away.
00000
Captain Stanley was in his office wading through his mountain of paperwork when he heard the door bell ring. Waiting a moment in hopes someone else would offer to get it Hank didn't hear any offers, that's when he remembered that the squad was on a run, Chet was cleaning the dorms, and Mike and Marco were hanging hose. Grudgingly he rose from his chair and headed for the door as the bell rang for the third time.
As he approached the door he took in the view of a delivery man with a large box on a dolly, the box was about three feet tall and two feet square and the delivery man looked relieved to see someone in the station.
"Hello, may I help you?" Hank greeted as he opened the door.
"I have a delivery here for a Mr. John Gage."
"Well he works here but he's out on a run at the moment. Can I sign for it?"Hank offered wondering just what his youngest crew member had ordered now and how he was going to keep Chet from opening it before John got back.
"Sure where would you like me to put it?"
Hank gave the box another look and then thought of his office. It was too big for in there, "I guess the best place for it would be in the day room," Hank decided, "right this way."
Hank led the way and pointed toward the corner under the black board as he heard on the loud speaker Squad 51 announcing they were available only to be called out again on a suspected heart attack. "Sounds like it's going to be a while before John gets to open his package," Hank commented as he signed the manifest and guided the delivery man back to the door.
The call of, "Hey, does anyone know what kind of a package Gage is expecting." As Chet finished up the dorm and headed to the kitchen for a cup of coffee and Hank knew if he didn't take his paperwork into the kitchen table to finish it John would find his package opened for him and possibly broken when he returned.
Sitting at the table Hank had only told his irritating line man that he couldn't open the package three times.
"But I can hear something inside, Cap maybe it's a bomb or something." Chet countered.
"Nice try Chet now get away from the box. Isn't there something else you can be doing?"
Chet was finally heading into the bay when Mike and Marco came in for something cold to drink after finishing with the hoses, "So what's this package Gage got?" Marco asked as much to bug Chet as anything.
"What ever it is it's bigger than a toaster but not big enough to be a woman." Mike commented as he poked Chet in the shoulder with a grin.
Just then they all heard what sounded like a small child crying and as they looked at each other and turned their heads to listen they were all sure it was coming from the box. The four firefighters walked toward the box listening carefully when they heard, "I want my mommy."
"Get that Box open now!" Hank ordered and it was Mike who pulled a pocket knife from his belt and opened the blade. "Be careful we don't want to hurt who ever's in there."
"It sounds like a little kid, Cap," Marco commented as he pulled the flap that Mike had cut the tape away from and pulled.
When the last of the tape was cut away Hank stepped up and pulled back the last flap of the box only to have a bunch of brightly colored feathers fly up in his face. As they stepped back to watch the bird fly they followed it around the room and watched as it landed on the kitchen table leaving a deposit on Cap's paper work.
"What on earth does Gage want with a parrot that cries like a baby?" Chet exclaimed as the bird started picking up papers in it's beak and pitching them off the table onto the floor. When the bird flew down to the floor Hank moved to stop the bird from flying into the bay area.
"Maybe he's going to give it to Roy's kids for a gift," Marko speculated.
"If I were Roy it would be over my dead body," Mike countered, "My sister had a cockatiel and it made one humongous mess all the time I can just imagine what this thing will do."
"Quick shut the door we don't want it to get in the bay we'll never catch it there." Hank ordered.
"Who died and made you boss?" The bird challenged as it tried to run between Hanks feet. Moving fast Mike managed to get he door shut.
The next move was to rescue the paperwork. Hank was quickly grabbing for the undamaged papers while Mike was carefully stacking the ones where the bird had tried to white out any mistakes he thought were there.
When the bird flew back up on the table Chet tried to help by coaxing it away from the papers they were trying to gather. "Here birdie birdie, Polly want a cracker?" Chet called.
"Daddy told me not to talk to strangers," the bird responded to Chet attempts at distraction before turning its head till it was almost upside down, "And you're about as strange as they come."
Even Chet had to snicker at that one then the bird flew up and landed in his hair. "Any eggs in this nest?" the bird asked as it pecked on Chet's hair and clawed his scalp. "Just one and it's wooden."
Marco rushed to his crewmate's aid and tried to grab the bird off of Chet's head only to get bitten by the bird's powerful and sharp beak.
"That'll teach you to mess with me bucko." The bird chided before flying off and landing on the TV.
"All right everyone don't move," Hank held his hands out and froze in place watching his crew do the same. "Are you alright Marco?"
"I don't know Cap this finger is bleeding pretty good right now," Marco replied holding his bleeding finger tightly.
"All right lets move very slowly and get out of here." Hank instructed, "Let's not upset him any more than he already is. Hank continued to hold his hands out as his men moved slowly behind him and slipped out the door careful to pull it tight after themselves so the bird wouldn't get out. Once his men were out Hank carefully picked up his papers and backed toward the door as Mike opened it for him to slip through and pulled it shut behind him.
As soon as the door was shut tight Hank turned to his men. "Mike will you see what you can do for Marco's hand. Chet make a sign saying do not open this door and put one on this door and around on the outside door. We'll just keep him inside till Gage gets back and let him deal with it. It's his bird." "I'm going to go see if I can salvage this paperwork let me know if you think Marco needs to go to Rampart."
Hanks way of dealing with his paperwork was to set it on his desk to deal with once he calmed down and return to Marco's side. Chet had taped the first sign on the door and was walking around the building to put the second sign on the outside door.
Marco's hand turned out not to be too bad after all and Mike gave it a good bandage job with the decision that they would stop by Rampart if it bled through.
That is when they heard a Yelp from inside the closed off room and remembered that there was one more team member left behind, Henry.