Fallout
Chapter 17
"What are these for?" John asks as Harper hands him a bouquet of flowers.
"For being our union delegate."
"I was elected weeks ago."
"Yeah, but the results were just officially announced on the union website, complete with your picture."
"Should I look?" John wonders.
"Only if you want to be depressed all day. Just enjoy the flowers. Or you can give them to Bailey later. Can't hurt."
"Why are you so generous and cheerful all of a sudden?" John queries. "Yesterday, you snapped the heads off everyone in processing. And Aaron was actually relieved when he could leave and go shoot that reality show with his mother."
"Pregnancy hormones. They're very annoying, especially the cheerful part. But if they're anything like they were with Lila, I should be cracking the whip again by tomorrow."
"You should warn Aaron," John suggests.
"Understanding that the job involves uncertainty is a vital part of his training," Harper declares.
"True," John acknowledges. "So being pregnant makes you a better TO?"
Harper smiles triumphantly. "That's my story, and I'm sticking to it."
As Nolan pulls up at the perimeter around the fire, Bailey waves him over. "John, we may need a lot more cops."
"Why? What's on fire?"
"We don't know yet. But this is a metal finishing shop, and the paperwork on file with the LAFD says cyanide."
"Right, they use it for plating. I had it done for special orders a couple of times. Isn't it dissolved in water?"
"It might be, depending on how much they have stored. But the problem is, John, if the heat evaporates the water or worse, acid from other vats gets into the cyanide, we could have a toxic cloud. We may have to evacuate the entire area."
"Doesn't the place have sprinklers?" John queries.
"It's plumbed for them, but they didn't activate. We have hoses in there. And we're ventilating. Thank God they don't have anything water-reactive on site. But the situation could still turn into a real mess."
"I'll have to call for a supervisor. That will be Bradford unless Grey decides to come. If it looks like things will go bad, they'll call in the troops. But they won't let substantial portions of the division go unprotected if they can help it."
"Yeah, I get that. Just get on your radio," Bailey orders.
"Doing that now," John responds.
Lucy holds up the radio as Tim takes John's call. "Sounds like this could be really bad," she offers.
"Or it could be nothing," he replies. "But I'll have to start putting things in place, just in case. We're two miles out. You drive while I coordinate. And Lucy, don't get in too close. Sometimes shops like that store chemicals they don't put on their official inventories. Treat it like a drug lab, one that could blow at any time."
"You're a control freak. You know that?" Lucy accuses while changing places with Tim.
"That's because as the street supervisor, I have to be in control," he retorts. "So move it, Chen!"
"Yes, sir."
Nolan comes to the window of the shop when Lucy pulls in. "Bailey says her people think they have things cooled down. The hazmat expert from her house is taking a look now to make sure there aren't any nasty surprises. But if he doesn't find anything, she'll give the all-clear."
"How long until we know?" Tim questions.
"She thinks maybe a half-hour, 20 minutes if we're lucky."
Lucy turns to Tim. "So now what?"
"We wait and…." His cell buzzes. "Yeah, I think we're still on tonight if I don't get caught up in anything else. I'll let you know if I can't make it."
"Was that Ashley about your double date tonight?" Lucy asks.
"Yeah. If we make it. And the couple we're going with is on call too. So the plans won't be solid for hours yet."
"I love that restaurant. I've heard it takes months to get a reservation. What are you going to do if Ashley's friends have to pull out?"
"I don't know, Lucy. Ashley's really been looking forward to this. I don't want to let her down, especially since she's gone out of her way to make peace with Kojo. But depending on how this day goes, it may not even be an issue. Still, there's no reason for wasting time. You should fill out the paperwork while we wait."
"You filled it out yourself when Smitty was your aide."
That's because I drafted him. You volunteered. So get on it."
"Yes, Sir, but you really are a control freak."
"Just get busy, Chen."
Twenty minutes later, Bailey gives a thumbs up. Tim takes the wheel to get back on the street. So far, so good. Now he just has to make it through the rest of the day without too big a crisis.
"How'd you end up going out tonight?" Tamara wonders as Lucy shoves a dress back into her closet.
"Ashley called Tim at the last minute to say the other couple couldn't make it to their double date. That left her and Tim with two extra tickets. I'd been telling him all day how great the restaurant is and how much I've been wanting to eat there. So he invited me along. He was supposed to be showing me he could go with the flow and not be a control freak. But then he lined Chris Sanford up as my date – without asking me first."
"Which makes him a control freak," Tamara observes.
"Uh-huh, but he accused me of being one if I wouldn't go out with Sanford."
"That was sneaky."
"Yeah, it was," Lucy agrees, "but now I've got to figure out what to wear."
Tamara regards clothes lined up on Lucy's bed. "How much stuff are you going to try on?"
"I don't know," Lucy confesses. "I haven't been dating in a while, and anyway, I don't know what to wear for this thing. Tim says it's a fancy party. And it must be if you need tickets to get in. I bought my prettiest dress for when Wesley and Angela were supposed to get married. So it's probably bad luck. And I don't know Chris Sanford well enough to guess what he'd like me in."
Tamara rolls her eyes. "Oh, come on! You bought that green thing you wore to the wedding because you thought it would turn on Sergeant Zaddy. And he's going to be at this dinner."
"He's my commanding officer. I can't have a romantic thing with him. Anyway, he'll be there with Ashley."
"He'll still be there," Tamara insists. "And don't try to tell me you're dressing for Chris Sanford. A couple of weeks ago, you wanted to shoot him."
"Yeah, but that was before he gave Tyler a break. And he helped take down Jason Wyler too. That was a big thing for John and Bailey. Once Chris got past being a reflex asshole, he wasn't a bad guy. And he is kind of cute. Actually, he's very sweet when he's not trying to throw some poor teenager in prison."
"OK. Then your sweet date should be all right with whatever you wear," Tamara asserts. "He's a guy. He'll probably be thinking more about what's under it anyway."
"I'm not even going to ask why you believe that. You haven't told me about when you were swiping yet. And I'm not pushing. But if you want to tell me, anytime, I'll listen," Lucy offers.
Tamara shakes her head. "Not yet. But I'll think about it." She points into Lucy's closet. "And you should wear that. It's hot."
Lucy nods, unhooking a hanger. "Yeah. You're right. It is. And Ti—um, Chris – should love it."