A/n: so the lull continues. sort of.
Chapter Eight
Joe showed up to the office the next morning with a large duffle bag full of clothes and a big box that was wrapped with a bright red ribbon. He presented it to his brother with a flourish, despite the glower.
"You're late" Frank growled. "It's nearly 10!"
"Ah, but I have a good excuse. G'wan. Open it!" Joe showed no sign of apology.
Frank sighed dramatically and pulled the ribbon off. Inside was a bullet proof vest. "Stopped by the precinct first to grab this for you. Hope I guessed your size right." Joe grinned. Frank pulled it out of the box and laid it in front of his chest. " I think that added ten years to Mom's life span." Joe bounced away before turning his head back over his shoulder and saying, "Oh, yeah, also called Bruce. He offered the use of the Fire station as a command post and nap spot. The only hotel in town is booked solid now that the campgrounds are off limits."
Frank's only response was to ask him what he meant by that comment about Mom. "Well not that she ever tried to make us stop or anything, but you know she's always worried about all three of us, right? I figure between dad's retirement and our new fashion accessories she's just saved herself ten years worth of worry."
"You mean ten years just for you. Now if only you had thought of this before she went grey!" Frank laughed. Joe very maturely stuck his tongue out before heading toward his office.
Despite Joe's tardiness, they were on the road a little after 1 pm, Frank having brought Sam up to speed on their other cases while Joe finished up some last minute paperwork. Joe drove, allowing Frank to flip through the information Special Agent Connely had overnighted to the office and make some notes of his own. "Weird. Everything started small enough. I even can understand why anyone would assume it was vandals or kids being obnoxious." At Joe's encouragement, he continued. "First reported incident was a pair of tent campers returning from a day of hiking found their tent site had been trashed. Things were tossed around but nothing was actually damaged or been eaten, like you would have expected with a wild animal." Frank flipped through the very neatly organized report. "That happened three more times within a 10 day span, including one family with a pop up trailer that was broken into and trashed. Then about 3 or 4 days after the last one of those, was the rope ridge incident." Frank was referring to the story Bruce had told them when he first approached the boys for help. "That was the first indication that this was more than just pranks. That was a definite safety issue." Frank rifled through the papers a little more.
"But here's where I get confused. Up til that point, everything was banal, although I am not sure the bridge qualifies. But the attacks were brought against inanimate objects, with no one around. Until Becky and the girls got shot at."
'So maybe that's when they started getting nervous. The random acts of vandalism wasn't working to empty the Park." Joe mused. "Although, how much of that is stubbornness on Melody's part, or just no one thinking it was that big of a deal is anyone's guess. So they upped the ante." Joe tapped his fingers against the steering wheel in time with the rock song playing on the radio. "Those girls were the first ones to go anywhere near that copse of trees, right? It's not ordinarily accessible by Park denizens. Hall pointed it out to me and just vaguely said it was part of the Park that was not open to the public. Something about wildlife or some ultra rare flower or whatever." He neatly pulled around an idiot who was obviously paying more attention to the phone in their hand than on the road; as their inconsistent speed and inability to stay in the lane indicated. "But I really don't like those noises we heard. Is it possible to poach trees?!" He was only half joking.
Frank just shrugged. "No idea. But I think that is where we need to start. Question is, how do we do it without attracting unwanted attention?"
"Maybe we need to ask Bruce if there's another way to approach that area."
"Sounds like a plan." Frank concurred. The rest of the drive was spent with them fighting over the radio station and discussion Joe's wildly grandiose plans for a Honeymoon. "Seriously? A cruise?!"
"Why not?" Joe shrugged. "Unpack once, food available pretty much 24/7. Even got a drink package so I can have all the beer I want and Hall can drink those froofy umbrella drinks by the pool all day. Plus in port we can do stuff like swim with dolphins. Girls love dolphins." Joe was smugly confident. "I got a suite, too. Comes with a Butler!"
"What on earth do you need a Butler for?!" Frank scoffed.
"Dude. Do you not have a single romantic bone in your body?!" Joe was incredulous. "Champagne dinner for two on our private balcony served course by course. Rose petals scattered on the bed. Hand dipped chocolate covered strawberries for dessert. I worry about you, Bro. You need a fine woman to spoil rotten." Joe shook his head fondly at his elder sibling. The teasing went back and forth for the rest of the trip. By the time they arrived at the outskirts of Calverton, it was late afternoon. Neither man was hungry, though, so the decided to go straight to the fire station. Frank called Bruce, who said that he would meet them there.
The Fire Station was large and modern looking, with a garage large enough for two full size tricks plus a paramedic rig. The large garage doors were open, and the rigs were gleaming in the late afternoon sun as they drip dried from a recent bath. Joe neatly pulled in to a parking spot behind the building and they quickly headed inside.
"Well this is unexpected." Joe mused as they took in their surroundings.
"Meaning what?" Frank inquired.
"I dunno, I guess I figured it would be something out of an old 70's TV show." Joe shrugged, taking in the spacious and modern interior. They were standing in a large industrial kitchen, with two 8 burner stoves, a pair of stacked ovens and a walk in cooler that Frank opened up and peered into.
"Hey, looks like this is big enough to hold enough food even for you, Little Brother!" he teased.
"Or a pack of starving firefighters." The new voice caused the two Hardys to whirl around. The voice belonged to an older gentleman with white hair cut militarily short and an outstretched hand. "Chief Danson. You can call me Charlie. I assume you are Joe and Frank? Bruce said you were coming." his smile was friendly as he shook their hands. "As for any similarities to Johnny and Roy's old stomping grounds, sorry. This is a volunteer outfit. We subsidize ourselves by hosting Bingos and pancake breakfasts."
"Thanks for letting us crash here, Chief." Frank said.
"Charlie." the jovial man corrected. "Want the nickle tour?" At dual nods, he gestured for them to precede him int the next room. "The kitchen can whip up several thousand pancakes at a time. We also have chili cook offs, and the occasional barbeque. This area is our Community center. We can fit enough tables to serve about 250 meals at a time, and on Saturday nights it gets turned into a Bingo hall that holds about 300 little old ladies." He then led them into a side hallway which held numerous much smaller rooms. "These are classrooms, where we teach CPR and other lifesaving skills to the community . Feel free to commandeer any one of 'em for your use."
Charlie then led them upstairs, which was the recreational area and sleeping quarters for the crew. "Since we are volunteer, we don't have a full crew here at all times, but on any given day there are some. Usually enough to at least get one rig out immediately the call comes in; and Bruce and Eric trade off being our medics." The living room was large, and featured several comfy couches and a large screen TV. Joe noticed at least two different game systems hooked up. Off another hallway was a large bathroom/shower combo with 3 curtained shower stalls and and equal number of toilet stalls. On the door was a magnetic sign that had the words 'Female head' on it. Joe knew right away the other side would have said 'Male head' as he recognized the design from his Navy days.
"So you are co ed?" he commented with a gesture at the sign as they passed on the way to the bunk room.
"That a problem?" Charlie asked with a frown.
"Nahh, just needed to know so I don't wander around in a towel." Joe grinned. Frank slugged him on the shoulder in mock disgust before pushing past into the bunk room.
And bunk room it was. Neat rows of bunk beds stood at attention, all neatly made up. "Ahh, just like the good ole days" Joe sighed in derisive contentment. "All it needs are thread bare curtains and about 3 inches of headroom." Charlie looked at both brothers, watching Joe grin and Frank look puzzled.
"Spoken like a true Snipe" came Bruce's voice from behind them. "At least you had beds. Try living in tents. With no running water for weeks on end." his wide grin showed he was just teasing. "Thanks for coming, Guys." he continued more seriously.
"Anytime. I still owe you." Joe also replied seriously. Even Frank nodded his head, despite his earlier misgivings. They finished the tour, and then Charlie invited them downstairs for dinner. Joe of course, eagerly accepted and even Frank admitted to a few hunger pangs.
Dinner was served family style and consisted of Venison stew, scalloped potatoes and fresh asparagus basted in olive oil and Herbs du Provence. At Frank's slightly embarrassed admission that he would not have expected such a fine meal to come out of a firehouse kitchen, the other firefighters at the table laughed understandingly. "Most people expect nothing more exciting than Chili, but the truth is, most of us have perfected the art of meals that can simmer for hours or can be reheated without flavor degradation." Gloria, one of the three females on the crew said. "And before you ask, no, I can't cook. This feast was brought to you by none other than our Beloved Leader Charlie!" Frank reiterated his appreciation, while Joe just waved a hand in acknowledgement as he was too busy eating to actually speak. Dessert was simple, five different flavors of ice cream to choose from along with a variety of sundae toppings. Frank stuck with simple vanilla and hot fudge, while Joe and Bruce competed for Weirdest Sundae bragging rights. Joe's was predictably enormous; 4 scoops of ice cream, all different, hot fudge, marshmallow and strawberry toppings and crowned with half a can of Reddi Whip and crushed peanuts. But that paled in comparison with Bruce's. While it too only held 4 scoops, he scoffed at a mere 3 toppings. He added caramel and peanut butter, finishing off the can of Reddi Whip and including not only crushed peanuts but rainbow sprinkles as well. Even Joe admitted defeat with a laugh. Frank suggested they get a good night's sleep and get started early the next morning. Joe was all for a nice GTA tournament instead, but Bruce begged off, stating he wanted to get back home to Mitch. Before everyone broke for the night, Charlie apologized in advance "In case we get a call. If you aren't used to it, the alarm can scare the hell out of you."
Luckily that wasn't put to the test, since Frank woke a little after 630 to the smell of freshly brewed coffee. He slipped on a pair of jeans over his boxers and crept downstairs, where he offered to help Gloria get breakfast started. "You can prep the eggs for French toast, thanks." instead of using a griddle, though, she poured the egg mixture over bread slices layered in a baking pan. That was placed in one oven while a few pounds of bacon were arranged on a broiler pan and dumped into the second oven. Frank also noticed the ovens had an auto shut off feature and when he commented, got an embarrassed laugh. "Yeah, uhh , about 15 years ago, before this building was built, there was a call. The oven didn't get turned off and when the crew returned from the call, they had to call our neighbor village to put out the fire." She turned a lovely shade of pink. "My dad never heard the end of it." she indicated where the utensils were kept and had Frank pul out forks, knives and spoons. "So when they rebuilt, a few extra safety features were put in, like auto shut off and the Ansul system." Gloria poured two large mugs of coffee from the industrial sized pot that was set up in one corner of the kitchen's prep area. "Cream?" she asked. At Frank's negative shake, she set one down in front of him and sat in the chair opposite. There was already sugar and a bowl full of brightly colored packets of the fake stuff on the table. They sipped in companionable silence. Frank took the time to observe the firefighter closely. Her hair was about the same shade as his, and curled about her shoulders in damp waves. Her eyes were a light hazel and she seemed a bit distant or aloof, if friendly enough. She was equally appraising of him and did not blush when he caught her at it. "Like what you see?" she asked coyly.
Frank was saved from having to answer that by the arrival of several others, although Joe was not among them. "I should go get my lazy brother up. Otherwise he'd sleep through even one of your alarms!"
"Dream on. Nobody sleeps through it. It can wake the dead." Jess, another of the females, assured him.
"Really?!" Frank mused, a ghost of a smile crossing his face. "I'd love to see his reaction, but I can't sit around waiting for some disaster to occur, more's the pity." Gloria laughed out loud at that, and even Jess grinned.
"Tell ya what." Gloria proposed with an evil glint in her eye. "If he's not up by a decent hour, I'll mention to Charlie that the system hasn't been randomly tested in a while..."
Frank couldn't help it, he grinned wickedly back at the two ladies. "You do that and I'll cook dinner tonight!" Jess was agreeable, but Gloria just narrowed her eyes.
"Can you cook?!"
"I had a Spinster Aunt who lived with us almost my whole life." at that Jess nodded knowingly and even Gloria appeared mollified.
"Nothing spicy. Contrary to popular myth, your average Emergency Services technician doesn't do spicy." she warned him.
"No spicy. Got it." Frank promised. "You okay with mac and cheese?"
"As long as it doesn't come out of a blue box or the microwave, yeah." Gloria warned.
"In my house, growing up, the microwave was used solely to melt butter and reheat pizza at 8 am. If Aunt Gertrude had had her way, we would not have been had one." Frank assured the two ladies.
As the morning progressed, more of the firefighters that had spent the night appeared, and a few new ones arrived including Bruce returning, dragging Mitch along with him. Joe was nowhere to be found. By the time Gloria had cornered Charlie and pitched her evil plan, everyone was eager to get in on the practical joke. Frank had about ten seconds worth of guilt before realizing this was the perfect way to get his younger brother back for about 15 years worth of practical jokes at his expense. "Just have the defibrillator ready, just in case. I kinda need him to solve the case." Frank joked. Bruce grinned and hefted the portable machine in silent agreement.
"Ready?" Charlie asked with a face splitting grin. Frank closed his eyes for a moment, giving himself one last chance to back down. But in the end he couldn't help himself. (If he gets pissed off, I can always tell him it was his idea that I lighten up.) he justified it as he gave the go ahead nod to the Chief. Every quietly crept upstairs although whispered giggles were prevalent. Gloria tucked her arm into Frank's as she led him to the best vantage point to watch the festivities. Her hair smelled vaguely of lavender. As soon as everyone had settled, Charlie slipped back downstairs. Frank barely heard the man's voice as he spoke into the radio. Gloria leaned in and whispered "He's letting the rest of the guys know this is just a test and they don't need to rush to the station. We all have radios. Makes it easier to decide where to head. Some times an individual is closer to the call than the station."
"What about your gear?" Frank whispered back.
"We all keep a spare set of Turnout gear in our trunks. And the trucks carry extra tanks." she replied. And then she snuggled up against him. Frank decided he didn't mind. He leaned in closer, ready to ask some other trivial question when the quiet was shattered by an ear splitting klaxon that had him jumping three feet in to the air. He was so caught off guard he nearly missed the sight of his brother falling from the upper bunk into an undignified heap on the floor.
A/n: I'm not saying I know any firefighters who may or may not have pulled this prank on anyone, but...*grinz*