A dad and his kids are playing at the park. The kids take turns going down the slide as their dad watches from the bottom.
"Slide with us, dad!"
"I think I'm too big for the slide," the dad replies.
"Please?"
"Just try it!" the daughter begs.
"Alright, but if I get stuck, don't take pictures."
The dad climbs the jungle gym steps to the slide. He lays down on his stomach and goes down superman style. He makes it halfway through the tunneled slide before getting stuck. He tries shimmying to get free, but that just lodges him in tighter.
"Pull my arms."
His son grabs his arms and starts pulling, but he doesn't budge.
"I saw this happen on tv and they had to call the fire department," the son says as he pulls.
"No! You are not calling anyone."
A nearby mother notices the commotion and comes over.
"Is everything okay?"
"My daddy got stuck in the slide and he can't get out."
"I'm going to call the fire department," she says as she pulls out her phone.
"Please don't. I don't want people to see me like this."
"Don't worry, sir. I'll ask them to come quietly and discretely."
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Eddie, Jo, and Buck are busy taking all the remaining decorations down when the bell goes off. Buck gives Jo a quick kiss and runs to the trucks with the rest of the crew.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
The 118 pulls up to the park, sirens blaring. They grab their gear and head to the slide. Bobby kneels down to look up inside.
"Hi sir, I'm Captain Nash with the 118. How are you doing in there? Is anything hurt?"
"Just my ego," the dad replies, defeated.
"Don't worry. We'll get you out of there, ego in tact. I can't say the same for the slide."
"How do you want to do this, Cap?" Eddie asks.
"If we unscrew this first section of the slide, we should be able to get him loose."
Eddie pulls the drill from the tool kit and starts unscrewing the bolts holding the slide together. The kids stand back and watch, as does everyone else in the park. One by one, Eddie unscrews each screw. The last one finally comes out. Dan, Bobby, and Buck slowly pull the section of slide off the dad as Eddie and Hen hold him up. Together, the group pulls the bottom half of his body, freeing him from the slide. The kids immediately run to their dad to hug him. He keeps his head ducked in embarrassment. The mom who called the fire department joins them.
"Thank you for your help," the dad says.
"I was happy to."
They share a smile, and a spark of something.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
The last piece of evidence of the birthday party goes away as Jo throws away the last streamer. She's tying up the trash bag when James Randall comes into the empty bay.
"Are you a fireman?"
Jo turns around, startled. "No. Do you need help?"
"I need a fireman."
"I might be able to help. I'm a-"
James pulls a gun from his waistband and points it at her.
"I said, I need a fireman!"
Jo throws her hands up." Okay, okay. They're not here right now."
"Where are they?"
"They went out on a call."
James groans, distraught and angry.
"I can call them and see when they'll be back," Jo offers, trying to keep him calm.
"Say anything and I'll shoot you."
Jo slowly reaches for her phone and dials Buck's number.
"Hey."
"Hey. Are you guys almost done?" Jo asks, trying to remain calm.
"Almost. Why?"
Jo looks at James, and his gun. "There's someone here who wants to talk to you."
"Who is it?"
"I don't know."
"What does he want?"
"I don't know."
"Okay. Well we're just finishing up and then we'll be back."
"Can you come faster?"
Buck picks up on her anxiety. "Are you okay?"
"Um, I don't think so."
"Do I need to call Athena?"
"Yea, maybe."
"We're going to leave now and we'll be there in about 10 minutes."
"Okay. I'll see you soon." Jo hangs up. "They'll be here in 10 minutes."
James keeps the gun trained on her.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
James is now sitting across from Jo, not taking his eyes off her. They hear the trucks start to pull up to the station. James jumps up and grabs Jo, putting his arm around her shoulders with one hand while pointing the gun at her head with the other hand. He stops the crew before they pull the trucks in. Buck quickly jumps out, followed by everyone else.
"Don't come any closer!" James yells. "I'll shoot her!"
"Easy, man. We don't want any trouble here."
Buck tries to take another step forward, so James pushes the gun harder into Jo's head.
"I swear I'll do it!"
Bobby steps in before Buck can do anything rash. "You said you wanted to talk, so lets talk. We'll stay out here and you can stay in there."
"You killed my son!" James cries.
"I don't know what you're talking about, sir."
"My son, Gage. He died in a house fire two months ago because of you!"
"Gage Randall?" Bobby asks.
"You let him die!"
"We didn't let him die. There was nothing we could have done to save him. We tried, but-"
"Bull!"
More sirens come down the street. Athena pulls up, backed by several other officers. James tightens his grip on Jo.
"You called the police?" James' voice thunders.
She shakes her head, scared. "I didn't."
Athena comes to the entrance of the bay with her gun drawn. "Sir, I need you to put your weapon down and keep your hands where we can see them."
"This is between me and the firemen. You need to leave."
"We can't do that, sir."
More officers join Athena with their guns drawn.
"I'm not sure why you're upset, but I know it doesn't involve this innocent woman. Let her go so we can talk."
"I told you to leave us alone!"
James points the gun at the officers, not necessarily to shoot them, but to scare them. One of the rookie officers responds by shooting James in the leg. He returns fire. They all take cover behind fire trucks and bushes.
"Do not return fire! We have an unarmed officer in there!"
Once James is satisfied that no one else is shooting, he puts his gun down.
"Shut the door!" James demands.
The crew all look to Bobby for guidance.
"Shut it!" he cries again.
Bobby puts his hands up and walks to the cab of the truck. He reaches in and pushes the button that closes the bay doors. As they close, Buck and Jo lock eyes. All he wants to do is run in there, scoop Jo up and take her to safety. Instead, he has to watch the doors close Jo in with a crazy man with a gun.
James scoots across the floor to sit up against the bench press. Jo stands there staring at him, unsure of what to do.
"Let me get you something to put against that," Jo offers.
"I don't want your help," James hisses.
"Then what do you want?"
"I want you to shut up and leave me alone so I can think of a plan."
Jo sits down in a chair and watches James writhe in pain.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...