Chapter 21-The Toughest Two Minutes in Sports
The whole family woke up early that day.
While Alyssa supervised the boys getting ready and got Maggie dressed Kelly stood under a hot shower just to relax and clear his head.
Today was the big day…the one he waited for all year…more than Christmas…more than his birthday…more than his anniversary. This was the day he'd been preparing for for the past six months.
Today was the area event of the Annual Firefighter Combat Challenge…the first step toward an international event where firefighters from all over the US and Canada competed in contests of strength, agility, athleticism and fitness. Squad 3 was defending their title on the obstacle course…also referred to as the Toughest Two Minutes in Sports.
The four man team had to complete five components of the course in full gear…in two minutes or less. Not only did it require high levels of fitness…these were skills they used every day on their jobs.
Squad 3 was the best of the best…and Kelly made damn sure to keep it that way.
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He stepped out of the shower and over to the sink.
And he just about jumped out of his skin when he felt Alyssa's hands slide across his back.
He was so deep in thought…and Alyssa was so tiny…that she managed to sneak right in behind him and he never even saw her.
"Don't do that…"
"I'm sorry , Honey…" she said softly as she reached up and began to massage his shoulders.
Kelly took a deep breath and let it out slowly…feeling the tension drain from his body. Alyssa had some kind of sixth sense when it came to how he was feeling.
He groaned as she hit a tight spot.
"That feels so good…" he told her.
"That's what I'm here for…"
He turned around and slipped his arms around her slender frame and pulled her in close.
"Really? I thought you were here for somethin' else…"
"Not with three kids awake and moving around…" she chided him.
"Where are they?" he asked.
"The boys are downstairs…and Maggie's in her crib. Can't you hear her?"
He stopped to listen…and sure enough…Maggie was chattering away.
God help him when she became a teenager. He could just imagine the phone bills.
He didn't even want to think about it…so he hugged Alyssa tight.
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"You okay, Baby?" she asked.
"Yeah…just nervous energy…I just wanna get this one over with." He replied.
"How's your knee holdin' up?"
She worried about him constantly…and with all the extra workouts to get ready for the competition…plus his regular work schedule…his knee had been giving him problems all summer.
"It's okay." He said.
He hated that she had to worry so much…but that was part of being married to a firefighter. He just didn't like to give her extra reasons…
"You want me to get your brace out?" she asked.
"It's downstairs in my gym bag."
"There's one up here…I ordered a new one a few weeks ago at the medical supply store. I just picked it up yesterday."
She raised up on her tip toes to kiss him lightly.
"I'm gonna go get the princess before she tries to go over the wall." She said.
"Okay…" he agreed reluctantly.
She kissed him again and went to go get the brace out of the dresser drawer and get the baby. And Kelly turned back to the sink and reached for his toothbrush.
Time to get his head in the game.
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Squad 3 had been training extra hard…the competition was so stiff. And once the pairings for the first round were announced…then things got personal.
Their first opponent was Wheaton Fire and Rescue and the man in charge out there was Lieutenant Tom DeBellis. DeBellis was a former member of Squad 5…back before he defected out to the 'burbs.
The CFD guys usually just rolled their eyes when it came to the suburban companies. These guys fought four or five fires a month…maybe. And they got all the choice equipment. Severide had heard that the Wheaton guys got a new rig every three to five years whether they needed it or not. His squad was fifteen years old…the suspension was shot to hell…and it had a cracked cylinder head. He'd lost track of how many tubes of Bond-O he'd used on that thing. And don't even get him started on the busted spring under his seat.
Severide had known DeBellis for over twenty years…the guy was a cocky SOB. Yes, he was well aware some people used exactly those same words to describe him…but DeBellis was in a league of his own.
The guy just wouldn't stay gone. He still had some ties with the CFD, some buddies he still kept in touch with. It was hard to believe anyone could stand the guy…let alone want to be friends with him. But all that spring and summer, every time he turned around, there was DeBellis…showing up at softball games, the bowling alley, whatever.
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Station 51 came off the field, high-fiving and congratulating one another on their win over Station 8. It was a good game…8 had a good team…certainly worthy opponents.
"Ummm…" Casey groaned. "Look what the cat dragged in…"
Kelly turned to see Tom DeBellis coming toward then with a snide expression on his face.
"Shit…" he muttered under his breath. "Here we go…"
"Hey, guys…" DeBellis greeted them with what sounded to be faked enthusiasm.
"DeBellis…" Casey acknowledged the interloper.
"Casey…" DeBellis nodded.
Then his eyes came to rest on Kelly.
"Severide…"
"DeBellis…I thought Wheaton was south of here…didya get lost?"
"Nah…it's such a beautiful day…I thought I'd catch a game."
"You don't have softball out in the 'burbs? I'm surprised…all that time you got on your hands." Kelly said.
Before DeBellis could fire off the next shot, the twins came running over and crashed into Kelly.
"Dad!" Andy said as he threw his arms around Kelly's waist. "Can we run the bases?"
"Yeah…can we?" Jesse asked as he hugged his dad too…
"Sure, guys…" he told them. "Go on…"
"Can you time us?" Andy begged.
Before Kelly could answer Mills cut in.
"I got it, Lieutenant." He said.
Kelly nodded it was okay.
"C'mon guys." Mills told the twins as he herded them off to the field.
DeBellis stared in disbelief. Severide…with kids? Twins, no less?
Then Alyssa appeared pushing the stroller where Maggie was fast asleep. Her little clip on fan was working overtime in the heat and the whirling sounded like a swarm of mosquitoes.
She handed Kelly a towel…and a bottle of ice cold Gatorade.
"Here you go…" she said with a smile.
"Thanks, Babe…"
He took the pro-offered gifts and wiped the sweat from his face before he leaned down to kiss her. Then he heard a sound somewhere between a laugh and a snort. He looked up and DeBellis was grinning like a damn Cheshire cat.
Severide's expression hardened.
"Tom DeBellis…" he said tersely. "My wife, Alyssa…"
DeBellis sneered…or maybe that was supposed to be a smile. And the hand Kelly had around Lyssa's waist tightened into a fist.
"I never thought I'd meet the woman who'd actually marry Kelly Severide." DeBellis said.
"Now you have…" Alyssa replied in an icy…chillingly flat tone.
The men from Station 51 took a collective step back. After ten years, they recognized that tone of voice. It meant Alyssa's Sicilian temper was about to let loose. And there were no fire trucks to hide behind.
But Andy and Jesse unknowingly saved the idiot from what was sure to be a slow and agonizing death when they came running back over to Kelly, their faces all red and sweaty.
"Dad!" Andy said. "Can we go with Uncle Pete and Aunt Gabby to the diner?"
"We need to get your sister home so she can nap in her own bed." He told him.
"We can ride in Uncle Pete's car!" Andy said, like that solved everything.
"I'll bring 'em back in a couple hours, Lieutenant." Mills told him.
Kelly nodded again and the twins let out a cheer.
As Dawson and Mills steered them over to the parking lot…DeBellis snorted.
"That's too sweet…"
"Don't you have anyplace better to be?" Kelly asked.
"Yeah…like maybe go harass some senior citizens or something?" Otis added.
"It's an awful long ride out to Wheaton." Casey told him pointedly.
DeBellis looked from one man to the next and decided a tactical retreat was probably in his best interest.
"See you around, boys…" he said.
"Not if I see you first!" Kelly called after him.
As they watched the asshole walk away…
"Who let him into the city in the first place?" Otis said in disgust.
"He must've slipped past the roadblocks…" Casey replied.
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They watched for another moment or two.
"Oh well…" Otis changed the subject. "I vote we get outta this heat. C'mon…Molly's is opening early. Special CFD Happy Hour."
"I'm in…" Cruz said.
"Me too." Casey said. "Sounds like just what the doctor ordered…"
"We gotta get the baby home…" Kelly told them.
"Eh…" Hermann said with a wave of his hand. "Bring 'er along. When she wakes up we'll get her a Shirley Temple…in a sippy cup."
That got a laugh.
Alyssa looked up at Kelly.
"You should go, Babe…you earned it." She said. "I'll take Princess Maggie home."
"You sure?" he asked.
She popped up on her toes to kiss him.
"Go on…I'll see you later."
She headed to the parking lot.
"C'mon Lieutenant…" Hermann said. "You just got yourself a hall pass…"
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They all dearly hoped they'd seen the last of Tom DeBellis…but no such luck. He kept turning up…at softball, bowling, and the pool hall…like a bad penny. So far he hadn't had the balls to walk into Molly's…and the men kind of made an unspoken agreement to keep the poker games strictly in house. Kelly's house, that is…no outside players.
But then the pairings for the first round of the challenge came out. And Kelly knew Squad 3 had to come out on top. There was simply no other option. They'd been number one for three years in a row…and if he lost now, he'd have to leave Chicago. Maybe even Illinois.
Paper in hand he strode out to the apparatus room and up to Squad's sacred table. He slammed the paper down in front of him.
"Guys…we're going up against Wheaton in the first round."
There were some general grumblings..and Mills reached out to take the paper and read the bad news for himself.
"As of right now…we're all in training." Kelly said. "We're working out for at least three hours every day…cardio, core strengthening, lifting, distance running, wind sprints, stairs…and anything else I can think of. No more junk food…and a two beer per day limit."
There were howls of protest.
"Two beers?" Capp sputtered in disbelief.
"Three hour workouts?" Mills whined.
"Guys!" Severide had to raise his voice to make himself heard. "Guys! This is a matter of pride here…we're three time champions!"
He leaned forward, hands on the table.
"I am not gonna lose to a douche bag like Tom DeBellis! Now…we're a team. Anybody who's not willing to lay it all on the line…"
He cocked his head in the direction of the door.
"There's the door…don't let it hit ya in the ass on your way out."
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The new training regimen was tough on everyone…and Kelly doubled his efforts. He already worked out two hours a day. Now he did four. He regularly ran three miles…now he did at least five.
The only thing he didn't worry about was the food. Lyssa took care of all that.
And more than once she nearly got him killed.
She started packing a full sized Igloo cooler every time he was on shift. He'd nearly doubled his usual food intake…and he was always snacking on something.
One morning he sat down at the table in the common room for a mid-morning snack…a huge bowl of cut up fruit and a great, big Honey Raisin muffin. But before he could even take a bite…he felt half a dozen eyes on him.
"What?"
"That's what we wanna know?" Mills said.
"What happened to the 'no junk food' rule?" Capp asked.
"This isn't junk food…it's fresh fruit…and a muffin."
"Doesn't a muffin count as junk food?" Capp asked Mills.
"Last time I checked." Mills replied.
"Well…I'll have you know, Lyssa made this…and it turns out there's this trick she plays on the kids where she puts vegetables in cookies and cake and muffins. This thing's got sweet potatoes and carrots…and a bunch of other stuff ground in." Kelly told them.
Hermann pulled up a chair.
"I heard about that." He said. "She showed Cindy how to do that when the little guy wouldn't eat his vegetables."
"Thank you." Kelly said.
Then he looked up at his squad…who was still not convinced.
"See?"
He got more of the same when he pulled out his lunch. But he didn't care. He ate like a king…and the rest of them could just go kiss his ass.
Besides, Lyssa promised she'd get him the biggest stuffed pizza in Chicago as soon as he brought home that trophy. That…and a very special dessert.
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But it eventually all started to come together. Squad 3 was stronger than ever. They were running farther, faster…lifting more…and some of the Truck guys had even jumped on the band wagon as well.
Severide and Casey ran through the neighborhood one evening…
"Not bad for a couple old guys, huh?" he quipped as they stood in Kelly's driveway, leaning over to catch their breath.
They'd just gone eight miles…
"Who are you callin' old?" Kelly asked.
Casey was nearly a year older than Severide.
But Kelly sure felt old sometimes. He'd turned forty-four that year…and that was positively ancient for someone in his line of work. These extra workouts, regular shifts, softball…and the twins were in baseball now. They'd moved up to Little League this year…and Andy was already a starting pitcher. A regular chip off the old block.
Plus all that, he and Casey were putting a new roof on the garage. Some days…his knee would be absolutely killing him. Lyssa was having to dig deep into her bag of tricks in order to find things to ease the pain…and talk him off the ledge.
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What's that saying about if you want to make God laugh? Tell him your plans? About a week before the competition, disaster struck.
They were at an apartment fire…it was an old building…not in the best condition. Okay…falling apart. The thing was probably built in the early 1900's…and the wiring was possibly original. At least that's the way it looked from the crude repair work the firefighters saw around the building.
Either that or all the rats Kelly saw scurrying through the halls as he made his way up to the top floor had been gnawing on those wires…
There was an elderly couple trapped on the third floor…and Kelly couldn't help but think of the Garibaldi's as he raced up the stairs. He kicked in the apartment door and entered a smoke filled hallway not even an arm span wide.
"Fire Department!" Kelly hollered. "Anybody here? Call out!"
The entry hall gave way to a larger room and they nearly tripped over a body.
It was the old man.
"Capp! Take him!" Severide yelled. "I'll find the wife!"
Capp scooped the victim into his arms and Severide continued to move to the rear of the apartment.
"Fire Department!" he yelled again. "Call out!"
He stopped to listen…and over the roar of the flames he could make out a weak sound…barely.
"Oscar? Oscar? Where are you?"
Severide followed the cries to a back bedroom…where he found the wife.
"Oscar?" she called again.
She was fading fast.
Kelly went to the hospital bed set up in the room…and glanced around at the medical equipment. He didn't have a lot of time. Once the flames got in, there was enough oxygen there to blow the whole block to hell.
Again, he flashed back to Mr. Garibaldi.
He reached into the bed and tried to lift the old woman…only to find she was tied with four point restraints!
He searched frantically for his knife in the pocket of his jacket. He flipped it open and cut the ties. One…two…he felt his way along the bed rails…three…one more…where the hell was it? Four!
He quickly folded the blade and shoved the knife in his pocket and reached for the woman.
She'd already passed out from the smoke.
Then he heard Capp's voice over the radio.
"Mayday! Mayday!" Capp yelled. "Stairs collapsed! I'm down! I can't move!"
Shit!
That was not something you ever wanted to hear…but it also pointed out a bigger problem.
"Hey!" he called out. "I'm still up on three! I need a ladder at the rear window!"
He laid the victim back in the bed and slammed the bedroom door shut. He started busting out windows to vent some of the choking black smoke.
Now the team had to split their focus. They had to get Capp…who was injured from the sound of it…and Kelly.
After what seemed like an eternity Severide heard the ladder scrape against the side of the building. He rushed to pass the victim out to Otis the second his face appeared at the top.
Otis started backing down the ladder with the old woman over his shoulder. Kelly took one last look around and he saw the orange glow through the cracks in the door. The flames were in the apartment. He went out the window and down the ladder.
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The moment his feet hit the ground he took off at a dead run around to the front of the building. Just as he got there Casey came through the front door carrying the old man…Oscar. Mills and the new guy, Clark…were right behind him supporting Capp between them. Capp wasn't putting any weight on his left leg.
"What the hell happened?!" Severide demanded.
As the officer in charge, he was responsible for the safety of his men…he should have been there.
"Stairs collapsed on one!" Capp said, gritting his teeth in pain. "We fell down to the basement apartment!"
Shay and Dawson came running with the gurney…and Mills and Clark helped Capp onto it.
"What is it?" Shay asked.
"My leg!" Capp told her. "I can't move my leg!"
Kelly watched as the paramedics took him away.
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Back at the firehouse, he showered and changed…and waited for Shay and Dawson to get back with word on the elderly couple…and Capp.
He was pacing the floor in the apparatus room. Mills and Clark sat at the squad table watching Kelly's every move with anxious anticipation. Finally, Ambulance 61 pulled in…and Shay and Dawson climbed down off the rig.
The ER over at Lakeshore was nuts! Besides the old couple and Capp…there were two more victims from the apartment fire. A little girl who'd run back inside looking for her kitten…and the postal worker who was passing by and saw her…and run in after her.
The grandson of the old couple had shown up and was making such a scene that the ER clerk had ended up calling the cops.
Severide stopped his pacing and waited…and waited.
"Well?" he finally asked, his voice cracking with frustration.
The two paramedics looked at one another…each one pleading with the other to just go ahead and tell him the news. Neither one wanted to have to do it.
Casey, Cruz, Hermann and Otis had come out of the common room.
Everyone was waiting.
"Well?" Severide asked again.
Shay sighed.
"Do you want the bad news? Or the worse news?"
Kelly was in no mood for guessing games and before he could blast his best friend, Casey spoke up.
"What's the story on the victims?" he asked.
"The postal worker and the little girl are both gonna make it." Dawson said. "They're suffering from smoke inhalation…and the postal worker was burned on his back and his legs. But they'll be okay…eventually."
"And the old couple?" Kelly asked.
"The wife's in bad shape…she's unresponsive." Shay told him. "They were gonna move her up to ICU and do a brain scan tomorrow to see if there's any activity."
"Did anybody know why she was tied up?" Otis wanted to know.
Kelly wanted to know that too. He had wasted at least a minute…maybe longer trying to get the restrains undone. That time could mean the difference between life and death.
"I overheard the grandson saying she was an Alzheimer's patient." Shay said. "Apparently she got out a couple times and got lost."
"And the husband didn't make it." Dawson added. "He was probably dead by the time you found him. He was a cancer survivor…and he had diminished lung capacity. The grandson said he'd had a lobe removed…"
Everyone was silent. Knowing all this didn't make it any easier. It was still a bad way to go.
There was one more person they had to know about.
"And what about Capp?" Kelly asked.
"He broke his leg…two places." Shay said quietly.
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More silence. That was definitely not what they wanted to hear.
"We're gonna have to forfeit." Mills said.
Forfeit? Let DeBellis win? No way…no way in hell…
"Over my dead body…" Kelly said, spinning around to face the two remaining members of his team. "I'll run two legs if I have to."
"They won't let you double up." Clark pointed out. "Four man teams…no exceptions…you know the rules."
Kelly's mind was reeling. There was no fucking way he was going to just lay down and let Wheaton have his trophy. He'd never hear the end of it!
Forfeit! That word wasn't even in his vocabulary!
Maybe one of the Truck guys could fill in. Casey was fast…Cruz was strong. Maybe he could reach out to one of the guys on another shift. There had to be a way. He just had to find it.
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The answer hit him right between the eyes the next night at home. The kids were in bed…and Alyssa was making him a protein shake in the kitchen. He lay across the sofa just absentmindedly flipping through the channels when he stopped on channel 5.
He was watching a re-run of Chicago Fire…and there was Craddock…and Kelly watched him shinny up a drain pipe to rescue some girl who had crawled out a window.
He reached for his phone.
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Craddock arrived the next morning at seven…just like Kelly had told him to.
"What's goin' on?" he asked. "What's the big emergency?"
Kelly looked at him seriously.
"I need you, man…I need you to deliver an Emmy winning performance of a Chicago firefighter."
Craddock was lost.
"Come with me." Kelly said and he turned around.
Morgan followed him into the living room. Kelly pointed to the couch and started playing with his tablet. He cued up a video…and handed it over.
Still wondering when all this was going to start making sense, Morgan took the tablet and pressed 'play'.
He studied the pictures on the screen and he felt the blood draining from his face.
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This was insane!
When the clip was over he stared up at the Lieutenant…his mouth open…his eyes wide.
"You want me to do this?" he asked, and his voice cracked.
"I need you to do that." Kelly said emphatically.
He went on to explain…about the three consecutive championships…the douche bag Lieutenant out in Wheaton…all the smack he'd been talkin' all summer long…and how Capp's injury put them in a position to have to forfeit.
"And you think I can do this?" Morgan asked incredulously. "No offense to your training me and everything, but I'm not a real firefighter. Remember?"
"I know you can." Kelly said. "I'm gonna train you myself. I'll be there every step of the way. But I've never…ever…asked you for a favor, Hollywood. And I'm askin' now."
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The next three days were the longest and the hardest of Morgan's life. Severide took a personal day…and they went out to the course…and Severide showed him every component of the challenge. He explained what each obstacle simulated…and he drilled him…over and over.
Turns out…Craddock did the best on the tower climb. So he was gonna be the man to start it all off.
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The day of the competition arrived…and Kelly came down the stairs where the family was waiting.
Lyssa had already packed the cooler with the water and the Gatorade and the protein bars. She'd packed a second cooler with juice and water and snacks for the kids…and already gooped them up with sunscreen.
They were ready to go.
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There were a bunch of other competitions first. The Truck guys had to couple a hose line to a hydrant…and put out a trash can fire…there were races and relays, sans gear…the wusses. There was a contest to see who could chop through a solid wood door the fastest.
There was tons of stuff for the kids…races, tug of war, climbing wall, an obstacle course that the twins couldn't wait to try…Safety Town…face painting.
Maggie giggled when the clown drew a bunny face on her.
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Of course, Kelly had to run into DeBellis…how could he not?
"I…uh…heard about Capp." He said. "Tough break…no pun intended."
"Don't worry 'bout us…we'll be fine." Kelly told him. "Worry about your own team."
"You're that confident, huh?" DeBellis asked. "Maybe you wanna put your money where your mouth is?"
"Anytime, man…"
"Hundred bucks?" DeBellis offered.
Kelly scoffed.
A measly hundred bucks?
"Why not make it interesting?" he asked. "Why not make it a grand?"
"You got that much money to lose?" DeBellis asked. "Oh…I'll be happy to take it off your hands."
"Deal." Kelly replied, holding out his hand.
The two rivals locked eyes…each looking for a weakness to exploit.
Finding none…they shook hands to seal their bet.
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At the appointed time…he collected his team…they all geared up…and fell in behind their leader as they strode out to the course.
Each man took his position.
And at the sound of the gun, Craddock took off, running up the stairs of a five story tower carrying a forty five pound length of hose on his shoulder. Once he made it to the top, he dropped the hose he was carrying…and grabbed a rope. Clark was already up at the top, Next they had to work together to hoist a forty pound hose roll…the men called it the doughnut…up to the top.
His arms were burning as he pulled with all his might. Whatever happened…Craddock knew he was not gonna be the weakest link!
He fought through the pain and they pulled the doughnut in seconds before the Wheaton guys.
Then Clark took off down the stairs…and he jumped onto a steel sled. Again, you had to use your upper body to pound the hundred and sixty pound center beam five feet with a nine pound sledge hammer.
When he had completed this challenge…Clark handed off to Severide…who had to run along a hundred and fifty foot course, a maze of staggered fire hydrants, to get to the hose drag. He lifted the fully charged line onto his shoulder and dragged it seventy five feet, through a pair of swinging doors, and fired a stream of water at a stationary target.
Mills was the anchor man. Kelly handed off to him and Mills had to drag a hundred seventy five pound dummy a hundred feet…backwards. He crossed the line at one minute forty nine seconds…just a couple footfalls ahead of Tom DeBellis.
They had done it! Four consecutive years…Squad 3 was the team to beat!
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Kelly went to collect his winnings.
"Okay…pay up, DeBellis…" he said.
"You cheated!" DeBellis accused, going toe to toe with Severide, jabbing his finger against Kelly's shoulder.
"How do you figure?" Kelly asked…as he brushed his shoulder…like he was shooing an annoying insect away.
"He's not a firefighter!" DeBellis hissed.
"No, but I play one on TV." Craddock quipped.
Mills and Clark both chuckled.
"See!" DeBellis said. "Your guy even admits it!"
But Severide looked bored.
"I'm going to the officials!" DeBellis went on. "You'll be disqualified!"
Kelly just smirked.
"Do you really wanna push this?" he asked quietly, pitching his voice so only DeBellis could hear. "Do you really want it to get around that you guys got beat by a pretty boy Hollywood actor?"
He looked over to Craddock.
"No offense…" he said quickly.
"None taken…" Craddock replied.
DeBellis glared at Severide…trying to bluff his way out of this.
Severide just squared his shoulders…and crossed his arms over his chest…waiting…patiently.
There was a tense moment…Craddock, Mills, and Clark…along with the three Wheaton guys…waited to see who was backing down.
Finally…DeBellis cracked…and reached for his wallet.
Kelly held out his hand as the loser counted out ten C notes…
When the last one was laid on the pile, Kelly closed his fist around the cash.
"See ya next year DeBellis." He said as he and his team walked away to celebrate their victory.