Mission Accomplished

Part II of Rubber Boots, Sweat and Smoke

The ride back to 51 was quiet. Kyle just kept his mouth shut and went with the bounces and turns that were always an adventure in the large truck where the front and back seemed to move independently of one another. Once back safely in the garage he hauled his two-ton backpack to Matt's quarters and went to the kitchen and got a bottle of water and sat down at the small table and grabbed the newspaper that was sitting there. He wasn't really reading it, but he just needed something to stare at. Finally, Matt appeared sans his turnout gear and the smoke that had clung to his face.

"You want to tell me what you were thinking when you slugged that kid?" Matt asked as he sat down across from his son.

"Do you want to tell me why you couldn't have just taken an hour off instead of bringing the entire circus with you?" Kyle demanded an edge to his voice.

"Because you didn't schedule your conflict on a non-shift day. Because I have a responsibility here and you already know that. Because the world doesn't revolve around you," Matt stated matter-of-factly.

"Your classmates know your dad is a firefighter. The secret is out," Kelly said from where he was standing about ten feet away.

Kyle stood up and turned towards Kelly, seeing several of the others behind him. "I know that. But it was a big red wave with hoses, turnout gear and sirens. It was like tsunami of CFD that washed right over the entire school."

"Well," Cruz began as he walked past Kelly towards Kyle, "it's kind of like you are all of ours—a son, a nephew, a little brother—and part of our job is to embarrass the hell out of you."

"Mission accomplished," Kyle said.

"Look, I've always told you that you can defend yourself if necessary and you won't be in trouble with me. But this kid wasn't threatening you."

"Not physically. No. But he is a threat all the same."

Matt's eyebrows shot up as he paused. "You're a smart kid. Plus, your vocabulary has skyrocketed. You sounded like a lawyer in the vice principal's office."

"My English teacher has taken a special interest in me. I get my work done fast so she gives me these paragraphs that use basic words and my job is to use synonyms and spice it up, make it sound more educated."

"To use your words—mission accomplished," Matt said. "Why didn't you just talk to this kid?"

"Because he can't hear me," Kyle said, his voice rising. Matt looked puzzled. "Kids, people like him, can't or won't listen to you. They can't absorb the logic, they can't absorb anything that's beyond them and they feel as if nearly everything is beyond them. They are too high up on the food chain to think. He. Will. Never. Hear. Me!"

"You have to figure out something." Matt said.

"We all run in our own circles. He has his own dark circle and I don't want to get near it. I don't want any part of him or his belief system intersecting with my circle. I just want him to stay away from me and I'm hoping that what happened today will do that!" Kyle said as he turned and headed to the back door he stopped and turned back around. "Sometimes I have to do things my way and not to please you."

Kelly moved to follow Kyle, but Matt stopped him with a shake of his head. Kelly looked down at Matt and then sat down across from his friend taking Kyle's vacated seat. "You can't be upset that he is becoming the person that you've raised."

A half hour later Kyle was about ready to go back inside when Gabby came out. She sat down with her back against the wall just as Kyle was sitting and looked over at him. "I heard you defended my honor today."

Kyle shrugged. "Just tried to shutdown the commentary of an idiot."

"Well thank you. How did he even know who I was?" Gabby asked.

"Earlier this week you picked me up from school and you were speaking Spanish on the phone. He was behind me—lurking—he always seems to be lurking somewhere. He must have heard you and when we left together he put two and two together."

"I could have been your nanny."

"A firefighter's son has a nanny?" Kyle replied.

"Good point." She agreed. "I'm sorry if I caused this."

"What?" Kyle asked. "Don't apologize for this asshole's actions. That's what's wrong—you're apologizing for his actions. He was wrong, not you."

"And you punched him for it," Gabby said with a slight smile. She knew she should admonish Kyle for his language but she just wanted him to get it all of his chest without interruption or judgment.

"Just once."

"Apparently that's all it took."

"I don't think anyone has ever made him accountable."

"Well you did, today. Does he have any friends?"

"Two kids that hang out with him, but I'm not sure if they are actually friends. Tobin has been through a lot of schools."

"How come?"

"I guess he is held accountable when parents of other kids that are never held accountable forced the issue. He's just a jerk and he eventually does enough to be dismissed. That's the word they use, dismissed. Not suspended, not expelled, not tossed out on his ass; dismissed."

"What else do you know about him?" Gabby encouraged.

"He lives with his dad who I guess travels a lot. His mom died of cancer when he was little, and his dad married a trophy wife. Gabby, what's a trophy wife?"

She smiled for a second before she answered. "It means that he married her due to her youth and looks more than for love and compatibility."

"Ahhh. That's about all I know about him and I'm not sure if it's even true. But I think the trophy wife part is, because she didn't look all that interested in being a mom."

"Well, it sounds like his dad is gone a lot and he lost his mother when he was young, just like you did. You have something in common."

"So, what are you saying? That I should befriend him because our mothers are dead?" Kyle snapped.

"No. But maybe this kid is hurting so he acts out. I'm just saying that maybe, maybe if he gives you an opening you should try to help him out. But that's up to you." She stood up and dusted her pants off and went back inside. A few minutes later Kyle followed.

Matt tripped over Kyle's backpack as he entered his quarters and swore under his breath. A kid that is so helpful and bright but always seems to put his damn bag exactly where it will bring its wrath upon the innocent bystander that simply walks through the door. He untangled his leg from the strap and tried to kick the bag over to the corner but it was like moving a cement block. Matt bent over and picked it up and set it on his bed. He then checked his email and found that Kyle already some homework in the inbox. "I guess they send the homework to my address." He said as he pulled the pages from the printer and walked towards his son who was in the kitchen.

"Well duh. First of all, they don't have my email address and they want to make sure you know what I have to do."

"Well get started," Matt said. "I'll order some Chinese food for dinner in a little bit. I don't think we ever got anymore of your food here."

"Yeah someone on third shift ate my fishless fillets. Jerk."

Kyle worked on his homework and ate his dinner as everyone else devoured whatever it was that Cruz and Otis had cooked up. It truly did seem like some odd family scene. One that consisted of a bunch of guys, a few women and some random kid, but there was no denying the strength of the bond that held them all together. After everyone cleaned up and scattered Kyle went towards the bed he always slept in and sat down with his paperback copy of To Kill a Mockingbird.

"Wow, I don't think I read that until high school," Kelly said as he appeared a minute later. "What do you think of it so far?"

"I think that people were assholes back in the 1930's when this book took place, and they were assholes in the late 1950's when she wrote it and guess what? People are still assholes." Kyle said.

"Language dude," Kelly warned. "You're not an ass—a jerk, I'm not a jerk, well maybe sometimes. Your dad's not a jerk. There is hope for mankind. Do you have to apologize to his kid?"

"Not that I've been told."

"Well for your own sake you should forgive him for what he said."

"Forgive him? I could care less about what he thinks. Besides the first step towards forgiveness is realizing that often, the other person is an idiot. And he, is an idiot. Please don't lecture me about how he needs a friend and I should be understanding and all that crap, Gabby already did that."

"Don't need any more friends then?"

"No, I really don't. It's okay that not everyone likes me—because not everyone matters. Especially hate filled ass—jerks. I don't want them to like me because if they did I'm just as pathetic as they are."

"Whoa, when did you grow up? And how did you do it so fast?" Kyle just shrugged. "You have such wisdom already my young scholar."

"I attribute it to Facebook memes."

"You're too young for Facebook."

"Yeah, okay." Kyle said as he stuck his head back into his book.

That night after Matt had checked on his sleeping son he and Kelly sat at the table in the darkened kitchen area. "Any ideas what's up with him?" Matt asked quietly.

"Yep." Kelly responded. "He's angry."

"Oh. Thanks, that sums it all up," Matt replied.

"Think about it. He finds out a few months ago that his mother was murdered and that gave him the foundation that this world holds evil. It opened his eyes. I mean I'm sure he already had some kind of sense of it, but that really brought it home. Now he see's awfulness around him and he's reacting to it. He's angry at what he is seeing, hearing and experiencing. He had an opportunity to fight it today and he did."

"Literally." Matt said.

Kelly smiled. "Yes, literally. But he reminds me of a good friend of mine who is much the same way. In fact, he became an alderman to right wrongs and fight the corrupt system. Matt, he is your son through and through and that can't be bad thing."

A week later Kyle stood outside his school getting ready to walk home when he sensed Tobin behind him. "I know you're back there," Kyle said as he turned around.

"Just waiting for my ride," he said quietly.

"Whatever," Kyle said as he began to walk away.

"Wait." Tobin said loudly causing Kyle to stop and turn around. "Those fire trucks from when you got picked up—?"

"What about them?"

"They were pretty cool." He admitted.

"Really? I was kind of embarrassed by them."

"Why? I mean how awesome is it to be picked up by not one but two fire trucks and then get to race off to a fire."

Kyle just shrugged. And began to walk off again when he remembered his conversation with Gabby. He stopped and spun around. "Do you think you want a tour of the firehouse sometime?" Kyle asked.

Tobin did a double-take as if he hadn't heard Kyle correctly. "Really?"

"Yeah. They give tours all the time," Kyle said as he walked back towards Tobin to get his phone number.

Two weeks later on a Saturday afternoon Kyle stood back with Gabby as Tobin and his father sat in the front seat of 81 as Matt explained specifics of his profession. "Nice job Kyle. You did a good thing," Gabby said.