Another scene I wish we'd had in the movie.
Chapter 12- Cad's Comeuppance
Not even half an hour after Harper left with Julie, the TMST agent showed up on the base. It wasn't Ryker, the guy who had come to Propwash Junction. It was a white and green Jeep Cherokee with pale blue eyes. Like Ryker, she had the letters TMST on each of her sides in dark blue. When the agent introduced herself as Jennifer Hazzard and the forklift with her as Richard Wheeliams, she seemed just as serious as Ryker, but nowhere near as intimidating.
"I don't want to take up too much of your time", she explained. "I understand that this was one of the biggest fires in the history of the park and surely, you must all be exhausted, but I do need to get a statement from each of you and ask some questions."
We all murmured that we understood. None of us were enthusiastic, but it was procedure.
"If it's all right with you, I'd like to start with you, Chief Ranger", Jennifer added.
Blade nodded and followed Jennifer and Richard.
Everyone on the base was questioned, including Maru, Patch and Wildflower, who weren't actually involved in fighting the fire. They ended up talking to Maru for nearly forty-five minutes, so I assumed that they had a lot of questions about Dusty's crash and injuries.
"How are you doing?" Wildflower wondered while Maru was gone. He had left the two of us in charge of Dusty, entrusting us with basic repairs that we could do with our mechanical knowledge and I could do only one good arm and telling us what to do if there was a problem.
I shrugged. "I'm doing okay."
"Truthfully?" she asked me, clearly not believing me.
"Truthfully... I have my ups and downs", I admitted. Ever since I had watched Kimberly fall, I had moments where I was fighting so hard not to cry that it hurt. I still felt awful that I couldn't save her, on top of fearful of whether or not Dusty would recover. And when I didn't feel like that, I just felt numb.
She nodded sympathetically. "Well, I just want you to know, you can always talk to me if you need to. You could talk to anyone. We've all been through what you're going through. Part of the job of a firefighter, unfortunately."
It was my turn to nod. "I know. I appreciate that. I know I should talk about it, but I'm not ready. Not yet." To be perfectly honest, I didn't think I would ever be ready.
"I can respect that", she assured me. "Whenever you are ready, we'll be all ears."
"Thanks", I told her softly.
Thankfully, that was when Maru returned. "How's everything going here?"
We showed him how far we'd gotten. "No problems", I assured him.
The mechanic nodded in satisfaction. "Thanks, you two. I appreciate your help. I'll take it from here."
I let Maru take over and waited anxiously for my turn to be questioned.
I was the last one to be questioned. Waiting for it to happen was torture. Some members of the team were only spoken to for ten minutes while others' questioning lasted almost an hour. Interviewing everyone on the base had taken up the whole morning and a significant portion of the afternoon. I was so nervous, remembering that the last time I ran into the TMST, our town's airport got shut down.
Just like everyone else, I was ushered into the main hangar (except for Dipper, who had adamantly refused to leave Dusty's side and, thus, had to be questioned there). I collapsed into one of the lawn chairs while the two vehicles parked facing me.
"I just have some questions for you", Jennifer informed me. "You just answer honestly and Richard will write down anything you say. Do you understand?"
I nodded. "I do."
"For the record, your name is David Hazelwood?" Jennifer began.
"Yes, I am David Hazelwood", I confirmed, the sound of the forklift's pen scratching the paper making my skin crawl.
"Okay; let's begin with Chief Ranger's crash."
Jennifer asked me practically a hundred questions, covering everything from what happened in the mine, to the roof sprinklers on the lodge, to Kimberly's death (somehow, I managed to get through that without breaking down and crying), to Dusty's crash. I felt more than a little nervous when she asked me who had authorised the decision to fly out after sunset. It had only just occurred to me that we had broken the rules to clear the main road. Usually, such a thought would leave me feeling scandalised, appalled and ashamed of myself, but I didn't. I had no regrets doing what I did with the rest of the team. Dusty was right. Sometimes, you just need to forget about the rules and think for yourself. I could see now that what's against the rules and what's wrong were two completely different things.
Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, Jennifer gave me a half-smile. "Thank you, David. No more questions."
I couldn't get out of there fast enough.
It wasn't over yet, though. Only a few minutes after I left the main hangar, Jennifer gathered everyone together.
"Firstly, I'd like to thank you all for your cooperation and patience", she began. "Secondly, I would like to inform you all that the team is not in any trouble for flying after sunset. While it is against the rules, on this occasion, it was necessary to save the lives of countless civilians."
That was a relief.
"I still need a statement from Mr. Crophopper when he regains consciousness. Although, I believe we can make an official report without one." She paused and added, "I would like you all to stay here-"
"As if we can go anywhere", Dragon muttered.
"-while I ask a few more questions down at the lodge. I'll be back soon for a follow-up."
Then she and Richard were gone.
"Follow-up?" Blade groaned.
"That can't be good!" Maru grumbled.
"Well, we don't know what it's about", Wildflower pointed out, trying to remain positive. "Maybe it's not what we think."
It wasn't. Jennifer returned with Cad, Ranger Jammer, Pulaski, one of the concierges, André, and the Secretary of the Interior. That's when I knew that things were about to get interesting.
"What's going on?" Cabbie asked.
"Superintendent Spinner admitted to rerouting the waterline to the lodge", Jennifer reported.
"I am so sorry!" André apologised hurriedly. "I refused when he told me to. I did not think even Cad would do something like this, but it was too late to stop him and I-"
"André", Pulaski interjected quietly, "it's not your fault."
"What the hell were you thinking?!" Blade growled, practically touching Cad's headlights.
"I had to save the lodge!" he protested.
"I always knew you were too selfish to think of anyone else but yourself and that damn lodge", Blade continued, "but this is a new low, even for you, Cad!"
"I don't see what the big deal is." He shrugged.
"The big deal is your selfishness and stupidity almost got one of our firefighters killed!" Blade snapped.
"Is it my fault one of your firefighters chose to fly with a broken gearbox?" Cad retorted. "No it's not."
I was over his crappy talk. My mom always said that it's okay hate the things people do, but not the people who do them. Well, I certainly hated the things Cad had done and I almost hated Cad himself. That's why I aimed my foot directly at his windshield, almost losing my balance, standing on one leg with only one good arm. My foot throbbed afterwards, but I didn't care. I told you. I don't lose my temper very often, but when I do, watch out!
"None of this would have ever happened if you had evacuated the park and left our water alone, you b**tard!" I shouted. "You really live up to the name Cad, don't you?!"
It took the combined efforts of Blade, Dragon, Macca, Wildflower and Maru to hold me back.
"Take it easy, David", Blade instructed not unkindly.
"He's not worth it, mate", Macca added, shaking his head.
Even though I was shaking and thinking that this was very much unlike me, I had to admit, it felt good. Even when people do bad things, I have tried to be understanding, but this time, I didn't feel like being understanding.
"Don't worry. Cad will not be getting away with this", the Secretary of the Interior assured us. "Seeing as Dusty's crash was a work accident and Spinner isn't legally responsible for Ms. Sutherland's death" (because Kimberly was reported missing before we told Cad to evacuate)" he does not face jail time, but he will no longer be the superintendent of Piston Peak. I expect you out of the park by tomorrow morning"
"What?!" Cad gasped, astounded.
"It's about time", I heard Drip comment.
"You're firing me?!" Cad asked incredulously. "But- but who will take care of the lodge?"
"I'm leaving the park in Ranger Jammer's capable tyres."
That was no surprise to anyone, except Ranger Jammer himself. The Secretary of the Interior had always liked Ranger Jammer. Cad glowered. We all knew that he saw Jammer as a bumper kisser.
"Me?" Jammer questioned in astonishment. "Why, thank you, Mr. Secretary, but I wouldn't know how to run an entire park."
"I'm sure you'll be fine." The Secretary of the Interior smiled at him.
"What am I supposed to do if I can't stay here!" Cad demanded.
I could swear I saw the hint of a smirk on the Secretary of the Interior's face. "I hear Death Valley National Park is looking for a new ranger."
Behind me, the male Smokejumpers choked back snickers. They had told me that Cad despised the heat. Walking or driving into his office was like walking or driving into the Antarctic. Even if he couldn't go to jail, unfortunately, at least he would be miserable. I was reasonably satisfied with the decisions made.
That evening, I sat with the rest of the team, picking at pizzas the local pizza shop had brought us at no charge to thank us for our efforts, which we all agreed was awfully generous of them. I hadn't expected to have much of an appetite, but I felt somewhat comfortable, given the circumstances. Sure, I was still worried about Dusty and Harper and Susannah, plus upset about Kimberly, but I was able to relax slightly because I had become genuinely fond of the rest of the team in our time spent together. It seemed like going through that fire with them had made me feel closer to them. Propwash Junction had always been my only home and family, but now, I felt like I'd found a second one here.
We talked about the day's events for a while before Wildflower spoke up. "So, David. I've been meaning to ask you, how's your wife? Is she okay?"
"She's fine", I reported. "She just felt a little sick; nothing serious. They just wanted to make sure that there was nothing wrong with her or the baby, but everything's fine."
"Baby?" Wildflower repeated excitedly. Once again, her eyes were wet with tears. I assumed these were tears of joy. "Is your wife pregnant?"
"Yeah. She's pregnant."
Maru whirled around, momentarily distracted from his work with Dusty. "What the hell's the matter with you?!" he demanded. "If your wife's pregnant, you should be there with her! What are you even doing here?"
"If I'd have known that, I would have sent you home the moment you got here", Blade added.
I was pretty sure that my face was bright red by then. "Well, the rest of my family needed me too."
"They do", Blade assured me, his voice much softer now. "They need you back home where you belong, taking care of your wife."
I nodded. "I know. I realise that now. It's just... I've always tried so hard to be what people want, to make people happy. So, I thought I could help my hometown by becoming a firefighter. Instead, I left my wife when she needed me and got a civilian killed." A tear rolled down my face, but I wiped it away hastily, a force of habit, really. Part of the perfect façade I put on is not letting people see my weakness.
I've always put too much pressure on myself to be perfect for as long as I could remember. I remembered back in seventh grade, there was a class spelling bee. It wasn't a big deal- the only prize was a small trophy made of cheap plastic- yet, I was so determined to win. And I cried for three days when I didn't. Just like how I cried for a week whenever Chug's antics landed himself, Dusty and me in detention. Then on my twenty-first birthday, my friends convinced me to get drunk, despite my tentativeness. I felt awful afterwards and couldn't follow my friends' advice to give myself a break because lots of people get drunk on their twenty-first birthday.
I guessed being like that came from being raised by a single mom. I realised very early on that it wasn't easy for her to raise me alone and that I couldn't afford to give her any more trouble. So, I studied hard and became a straight A student and behaved myself as well as I could.
"It's sweet that you care so much about your family and friends", Wildflower remarked.
"But nobody expects you to be anything or anyone except David Hazelwood", Maru pointed out.
"That's the thing!" I protested. "David Hazelwood is someone who always puts others' needs before his own, who cares about everyone and everything around him and always wants to help."
"And that's a very admirable thing, David", Blade told me softly, "but you're only human. You're no superhero. You're just gonna have to start doing what feels right to you, not what's right to everyone else."
I nodded in comprehension. It was about time that I start thinking for myself for once, instead of going along with what everyone said or what I thought everyone wanted.
The next morning, I hurried down the path to the lodge as quickly as I could while I was injured (not only from the fire; I was still limping from kicking Cad the day before). "Did I miss anything?"
"Nope." Dragon grinned. "You're just in time."
"Too bad we don't have popcorn!" Drip joked.
Most of the team was there, except for Maru and Dipper. We all watched as Cad emerged from the lodge, bags parked, hood lowered in shame. From inside, some of his staff gave overly-cheery waves, clearly showing Cad that he would not be missed. I felt the urge to do the same. Instead, I gave him my coldest glare as he rolled past. He refused to meet anybody's eyes.
Finally, he disappeared over the hill and he was gone.
"HOORAY!" the Smokejumpers cheered, all of them as loud as Avalanche.
Dragon turned on the song "Celebrations" and we all started dancing. I couldn't help but laugh and join in. When, to me, it felt like the chips were down, I was glad to have good friends to help cheer me up.
