Disclaimers: These characters aren't mine; I'm still poor, etc.
The daughter is heading back to college, so hopefully there will be more time to write! Thanks for all the kind reviews.
Thinking back on it, Johnny had wanted to knock Chet on his butt for years. He could imagine blowing up at his crewmate after one prank too many or a really inappropriate wisecrack, but he never thought he'd lay Chet out to save his friend's life. At any other time, Johnny would have found the sight of The Phantom sitting stunned on the floor hilarious if not for the life-threatening situation he was running headlong into.
Flying across the parking lot, John practically dived into the driver's seat.
"Give it to me," the man ordered.
John pulled the watch out of his pocket and passed it over his shoulder without looking at his captor. The paramedic heard the man let out a long sigh as he snatched the timepiece. Then the gun was pushed up to his ear.
"Drive."
Johnny threw the Rover into reverse and sped out of the drive, away from his friend, away from the station, away from the random strangers this man had threatened to kill. Hot tears stung John's eyes; for as much as he wanted to protect everyone, he knew he was speeding away from any semblance of safety. And there was no real reason for the killer to keep him alive.
Focusing on the road ahead, he drove silently, occasionally stealing a look in the rearview mirror. With the sweatshirt's hood still pulled up, the man's face was partially obscured, but John could see his captor was taking panting breaths. Mentally reviewing the man's earlier symptoms, the paramedic felt certain his diagnosis was correct.
John's mind raced through different scenarios to try and escape. He could crash his car into a pole or slow down and bail out, but he didn't want to risk an innocent bystander getting hurt. He could try to reason with the man to let him go, but that didn't seem likely. He could come up with some pretense to stop the car, and then overpower the killer.
None of these options were good. Noticing the man clutching his midsection again, John decided on a different course of action. Clearing his throat, he summed up his courage. "So how long have you been a diabetic?"
•
•
After the captain informed his crew that they were stood down for the next two hours to cooperate with the police investigation, Marco went outside to do a few chores. He needed some fresh air, away from the other guys. He had noticed the tension in the station ratchet up after Vince and Cap placed their respective phone calls. It jumped a few degrees higher when C-shift returned. Leaning against his car, Marco said silent prayers for his missing comrade.
After their frustrating false alarm at Villa Mall, the men of C-shift had been ready to call it a day, but they couldn't change in the locker room; Vince Howard had ordered it off limits. He did relent to let them get their clothes and change in the latrine or retrieve their car keys and just go home. Naturally curious, the crew had asked Mike for details, but he had remained closed-mouthed as he checked out the engine. He concentrated on his job as best he could, but the engineer was distracted.
Roy absently stirred his coffee, although he hadn't added anything to it. If Johnny were trapped in a structure fire, he would know what to do. If his partner had a broken leg, he would know what to do. But Johnny was missing, presumably in danger, and Roy could nothing about it. He stood silently, lost in what-ifs.
Chet, on the other hand, kept an ongoing monologue running under his breath as he sat at the table. "Man, all I did was come to work early. I didn't want to any of this to happen. I didn't ask Gage to throw a stupid note at me."
Even though he still felt angry that Chet had let Johnny leave, Roy knew his coworker was blaming himself more than he ever could. "It's not your fault, Chet," Roy said with a sigh.
Kelly flattened his hands on the tabletop and threw his head back. "Roy, I don't want Gage to be in trouble or hurt. If I knew what was going on, I would've… If he had only told me…"
"I know," Roy said quietly and poured his coffee down the drain.
•
•
Sonny Molino didn't really believe in coincidences, but he had to wonder when Vince Howard called at the same time the detective sat down at his desk and opened the Bonita Williams case file. What Vince reported about John Gage and the situation at Station 51 caused the hairs to stand up on the back of his neck.
"I'll be right there," he said.
His instincts told him whatever was going on with the fireman was tied to his case. Grabbing his coat, Molino ducked his head in Capt. Phillips' office to let him know the latest developments before heading out. Reasonable traffic allowed him to make good time to the firehouse, and Vince met him at the door.
"Sonny, thanks for coming so quickly." Vince escorted him to the locker room where Captain Stanley waited. "Detective Molino, this is Captain Hank Stanley."
"Good to see you again, Captain." Sonny extended his hand. He had recognized the captain immediately from the scene of the fire.
"Hope you can help us find our missing man," Stanley said.
Molino surveyed the papers on the floor. "Tell me again, Vince."
"Station 51 was the company that responded to the fire at Emerson Canyon Park," Vince began. "When they were parked below the canyon rim, Paramedic John Gage found a pocket watch. He kept it here in his locker. Like I told you on the phone, Gage apparently tore his locker apart today before his shift was supposed to start. He went running out of this room and knocked down one of his coworkers, Chet Kelly, and ordered him not to get up. Kelly told us Gage had a cut on his head and look terrified. Gage also threw this note at Kelly."
Looking at the index card Vince handed him, Molino studied it. "What does this say?"
"According to Roy DeSoto, Gage's partner, this word is 'Help.' Then this line says, 'Watch Body Park.' And this says, 'Key to AC.'"
Captain Stanley noticed Molino's bushy eyebrows raise a fraction of an inch at the contents of the note.
"I called you because of the connection between finding the watch at the park so close to the crime scene and Gage's apparent disappearance," Vince said. "Plus the watch is now missing."
Molino looked in John's locker. "And these papers and clothes were in Gage's locker?"
"Yes," Stanley said.
"OK. Captain, you can have your locker room back," the detective said. "May we use your office?"
"Of course."
Watching the two officers leave, Cap pinched the bridge of his nose and wondered if he had any aspirin in his desk. "Roy, Chet, Mike, Marco, over here!"
When the men assembled around him, Cap took a deep breath. "Detective Molino is here. He's the one we talked to at the Emerson Canyon fire. He's given us the go-ahead to use the locker room, so why don't you guys pick Gage's stuff up off the floor?"
"Sure, Cap," Chet mumbled.
"Roy, I've been calling John's and there's still no answer, so I've requested a replacement to cover his shift," Stanley said reluctantly.
His senior paramedic nodded mutely.
"You all right, Roy?" Marco asked.
"As OK as any of us are doing right now, I guess." Roy knelt down to pick up an index card. Johnny's handwriting, much clearer than his scribbled note, listed a medical term in black ink with a "clue" written on the other side in red. Roy smiled sadly. His eager young friend constantly wanted to learn more, do more, to get better at his job and help more people.
"Johnny, where are you?" Roy asked under his breath.