LONDON'S BURNING
The Joe Sally Trilogy
Part 1 - Black Hole

Why did love have to be so complicated? He found a girl, and knew she was the one, yet they could not be together. There was a time and a place for sexual conduct, and a professional disciplined service was not it. Geoff Pearce tumbled out the rule book, quickly skating over the parts where the word "sex" was mentioned.

He could not give up on her. He decided he would do what ever it took to allow them to be together. If that meant leaving Blue Watch, or even the Brigade, then so be it. They had been down this road before, but now he realised that Sally meant more to him than anything in the world.

"Joe?"

He realised he was daydreaming as he sat in the back of the pump, checking his BA set. He looked round to see Recall stood at the door, grinning.

"Were you talking to yourself there?!"

Joe looked puzzled, unaware he had said anything out loud. "Um… no!"

George joined them as he climbed into the drivers seat, looking miserable as usual. "You look like that cat with the cream!" he commented to Joe.

"Yeah, well I think I'm about to change my life, mate," Joe grinned and got out of the cab.

George sighed. "Whatever he's on, I'll have some!"

"Have you still not sorted things out with Kelly?" Recall asked as he climbed into the cab.

"Nah," George replied, glumly.

Recall shrugged. "Well, there's room at my place for as long as you like."

"Yeah, thanks, mate."

As luck would have it, Blue Watch were just tucking into a nice beef stew lunch when the bells went down. Maggie offered to keep it warm, but knew she was probably better off binning it. A fire had broken out in a tyre factory.

"That's typical that is!" Sicknote put in his characteristic moan as Blue Watch scrambled into the appliances.

They pulled out of Blackwall and sped towards the blazing factory over on Charlton's ground. Things were all ready spiralling out of control as a burning rubber vapour crept through the air.

Gallons of water would be needed to keep the flames at bay. It was a good working job, at least several hours of hard graft lay ahead. The factory building was a tall, corrugated metal structure. As it was windowless, flames tried to break out through the walls and roof.

Angry orange and yellow flames began to shoot high into the sky, discarding red embers on to the ground below. A TV news crew had also turned up to witness the events. DO Chapman was in charge of the incident and he immediately put the Blackwall crews into action. Employees of the factory were stood around in the car park, well away from the danger. One of them, however, had been reported missing.

"The whole building has been searched, sir," Shadbrook's officer in charge, Carmen Miller, was reporting.

She had been on the scene for sometime with her crew, trying to control the blaze.

"Is there anywhere you may have missed?" John Coleman tried asking, as he stood with her and Chapman.

"Well, the factory owner reckons there's a basement, but it hasn't been used for years," Carmen explained.

"Get a crew to check it out, John," Chapman ordered immediately.

"Do you reckon this is live?" Joe had noticed the news crew.

"Probably," Sally replied.

They were stood next to Blackwall's pump, awaiting further instructions.

Joe grinned. "Perhaps I could find an excuse to walk over that way!"

The TV crew had been advised to keep well back from the danger area, and stood behind the police cordon along with the factory's employees. They didn't seem to mind as their hi-tech camera equipment allowed them to get some good close up shots of the fire.

"They'd probably cut that bit out!" Sally told him. "If they are only recording it for later."

"But the news is on now," Joe pointed out.

"They're not going to have this on all night, are they?"

He grinned. "You never know!"

John Coleman approached them after ending his discussion with Carmen and Chapman.

"I want you two to check the basement out," he explained. "Persons reported. Get rigged, and be careful. The owner says it hasn't been used for years and we seem to have mislaid the plans for the basement!"

"I like a good challenge!" Joe started to shrug on his BA set.

"Yeah, I know you do!" Sally smiled as she did the same.

Then they went over to Hi-Ho, from Shadbrook's Blue Watch, who was on BA Control and monitoring the BA crews already inside the building.

"You guys always get the best jobs!" he moaned as he took their BA tallies.

Joe grinned from behind the face mask. "Don't get jealous, Hi-Ho!"

They were ready to go exploring. Joe went in first and led the way down some cold stone steps into the darkness of the basement. He switched on his torch.

"Is this where they come for a bit of hanky panky with the secretary?!"

Behind him, Sally rolled her eyes. "It's a bit cold," she remarked.

"I heard some people aren't too fussy! Come on."

They pressed on, deeper into the black hole basement, following the powerful beam of light from the torch in Joe's hand.

"Are you laying that line?" he asked suddenly.

Sally stopped. "No, I'm gonna let us get lost!"

He turned to see for himself that she had laid a guideline marking their route back to the surface.

"Sometimes I really worry about you!" he told her.

"I'm glad someone does!"

They continued a little further, splashing through the puddles of water created by the dripping ceiling above them.

"Did you hear that?" Joe stopped suddenly, Sally almost bumped into him.

"What?" she listened, but all she could hear was the drip-drip-splash of the water leaking through the roof as it soaked the fire above their heads.

"I thought I heard something," Joe decided he must be mistaken.

Suddenly, a loud rumble, like a massive crack of thunder, echoed above them. They looked up.

"That's not what I heard!" Joe shone his torch over the ceiling.

As the beam of light passed over the cracks, Sally could see them getting wider as more water gushed through.

She pushed Joe away from the raging waterfall. He fell backwards and she landed on top of him.

"Shall we dance?" he asked, grinning.

They got up to inspect the damage. The waterfall was still gushing through the ceiling, bringing with it bits of wood and other debris the raging river had created, and was slowly flooding the basement.

"Must be a water tank or something," Joe speculated on the appearance of such a large amount of water. "Let's just hope there's another way out!" he shone the torch over the bits of ceiling blocking their path. "Come up here before we drown!" he had found another set of stone steps.

They climbed up until they reached an old, heavy wooden door. Joe tried it, but the door refused to open. He tried side-charging at it, but it still wouldn't budge.

"Fire exit, my arse!" he kicked it, causing the old loose sign on the door to fall off its final rusty nail.

"Well, there hasn't been anyone down here for years," Sally reminded him, as she sat down on the highest dry stone step.

"It doesn't mean they should keep the fire exits locked!"

"Perhaps it's sealed with age!"

He joined her on the step as the river flowed freely below and the locked door loomed above them.

"What now then?" he asked.

"I don't know," she replied.

"You don't know?"

"Do you?"

"Um… no," he admitted.

"Well then."

Joe didn't like to sit down and do nothing. He descended the steps to search for another route out.

The river was still flowing fast as it was on a decline, and it was getting deeper. The water was already above his knees. Sally stood on the last step not submerged in the cold, dirty water. She managed to grab him before the current swept him off his feet.

"Sometimes you can be a real idiot, Joe!" she pulled him back onto the steps.

"Sorry," he apologised. "But we can't just sit here and do nothing!"

"Trying to drown yourself isn't going to get us very far either, is it?" she asked. "Just stay here, they'll find us soon."

"Is that before or after we've snuffed it?"

"Before. How much air have we got?" she checked the gage on his BA cylinder, he checked hers.

"You've got about twenty minutes," she reported.

"And you've got about twelve!"

"Trust me to pick up the half empty one!"

"Did you pick up a radio?" he asked.

"I thought you did."

"I think I lost it down there," he nodded towards the river.

"Well, that's helpful! Next time you want to go paddling, hand me the valuables!"

"So we haven't got one?"

"Obviously not."

"Shut up, or you'll waste your air," he told her.

"I know that," she argued.

"I know that you know that, I was just saying."

"Why don't you shut up and we'll both save our air?!"

A period of silence passed.

"Do you think they're on there way?" Sally asked suddenly.

"How the bugger should I know?!"

"It was a hypothetical question."

"Hyper-what? You've been listening to Sicknote too much!"

They were silent again until her air ran out. She jumped up and ripped off the suffocating BA mask, then started choking from the smoke and fumes that had accumulated in the basement.

Joe told her to share his air. He also wanted to thank her for saving his life twice before.

"It's all part of the job," she replied.

"Yeah but you could have panicked and let me drown!"

"I should have done!"

"Nah, you wouldn't."

She looked at him. "Nah, I wouldn't."

They sat together for a little while longer, until his air ran out too.

"It's cold down here," she commented as he removed his useless BA set.

"If I said we should cuddle up to keep warm, do you think Pearce would have us transferred?!"

She smiled and let him put his arms around her.

"This is a great place for a date," he grinned, trying to lighten up the situation. "Trapped in a flooded basement!"

"I thought we'd sorted that out."

"We did. But I can't live like this, Sal. I think they've forgotten about us," he changed the subject.

"Look on the bright side won't you?"

"There isn't one down here!"

After what seemed like hours, but was probably a lot less, Sally began to feel tired. Joe tried to tell her to stay awake.

"I still want to marry you, Sal. I'm sorting everything out, so there'll be no stopping us. If that's what you want."

He didn't get a reply.

"Hey, come on," he tried to wake her. "We shouldn't be falling asleep on the job!"

She couldn't be bothered responding as she rested her head against him.

"I am that boring?" he asked.

Soon after, he too was silent.

The waterfall had disappeared and the river had evaporated. The cold, dark, basement slowly faded into a warmer, brighter scene. Voices were all around, people chattering and clattering about.

"I told you I would fix it," she could hear Joe's voice, he sounded excited about something.

She opened her eyes to see him stood next to her as she lay in the hospital bed. He was grinning.

"Smoke inhalation," he explained. "Not good for the lungs! You know there was no one down in that basement! One of the workers decided to go home early, without telling the right people! A water tank burst and the whole place flooded after we went down, then the floor above collapsed. It took them ages to find us. Anyway," he changed the subject. "I've got a surprise for you!"

"What's that?" she asked sleepily.

He waved a piece of paper at her. "Form Ten," he explained. "I spoke to Coleman about a transfer this morning."

"You would leave Blackwall, for me?" she asked.

"Yeah, whatever it takes," he held her hand. "I want us to be together."

She squeezed his hand gently, then smiled and closed her eyes again.


London's Burning – The Joe Sally Trilogy ~ Part 1: Black Hole © Karen Moody 27/02/2002