Chapter 12: Oceans 9-1-1
Pacific Federal Bank
The 118 arrived at the bank and Bobby led them in with Chimney following behind as the PIC, Alisa was attached to Ladder 118 as a firefighter-paramedic since the station didn't really have a Squad Company. The closest they have was Alisa, Buck, and Eddie, dubbed the Dream Team in the LAFD. "Airway is cleared and there is no medical bracelet." Chimney assessed the security on the floor of the bank, "Jaws not clenched and his tongue is neutral."
"Okay, get him started on O2, 10L." Bobby looked at the bank staff, "You said there was another patient?"
The assistant manager, Nina, led Buck, Eddie, and Alisa to the bank's vault where they found the manager foaming at the mouth as well. He was exhibiting the same symptoms as the security outside. "His pupils are dilated." Alisa assessed.
"I don't know what we're dealing with here." Buck looked around.
"It could be a nerve agent." Eddie guessed.
"You've seen that before?" Buck asked.
"I've been trained for it." Eddie replied, "Symptoms are all lined up and the fact that we have multiple people down, I can't say for sure until we run some tests."
"Okay, we gotta step away. Alisa, stop what you're doing." Buck ordered and she nodded while carefully moving away.
Everyone went back out and went to Bobby to report their findings. Once done, Bobby called for everyone's attention, "Everyone stop what you're doing. Chim, Hen, step away." Bobby instructed, "I need everybody's attention. We are preparing for a possible chemical exposure incident. That means nobody in, nobody out."
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Alisa looked behind her to find the vault door closing. She rushed back towards the vault, alerting Eddie and Buck. "Alisa, no, don't!"
"Sir, sir," Alisa got in and dropped next to the man who tried to grab her, "I'm with LAFD. We need to get you out of here."
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
"Noooo!" Alisa ran towards the door as it shut.
Bobby: Alisa, do you copy?
"I'm here, Cap. Making myself and our patient comfortable." she replied, going back to the elder male.
Bobby: Don't get too comfortable.
LINE BREAK
"How do we open this?" Bobby asked Nina.
"We don't. The vault operates on a time lock. It doesn't open until business restarts tomorrow." she replied.
"What if it's an emergency?" Buck asked.
"There is a number of the vault company on Mr. Prentice's desk." she replied.
"Show me." Bobby requested and Nina complied as she led him to the desk while Eddie and Buck stayed by the safe.
Alisa: Guys… I think… I think there's something wrong…
"Alisa?" Eddie called, "Alisa? Paramedic Diaz, respond!"
"What the hell is in there?" Buck and Eddie looked at each other.
LINE BREAK
The Hazardous Material Task Force arrived at the bank and the 118 met them in their own hazmat suits once they got in the bank. Bobby had relayed what they found and once he finished, the task force began to carry out Commander Boomer's orders and set up a decontamination station. "What's the status with the vault company?" Bobby asked Nina.
"The vault company is sending in a technician but they're trying to open it remotely." Nina responded.
"What's chances of that working?" Boomer asked.
"Remote but the technician should be here in hours." Nina replied.
"Saw didn't even put a scratch." Buck hissed as he put down the saw.
"Okay," Bobby walked towards the monitor showing an unconscious Franklin and Alisa, "2 people, 72 breaths a minute. We need to drill a hole and get some airflow in there."
"The door's wired, Cap. We're in hot!" Eddie reported.
"..." Bobby looked at Nina, "We need to cut the power."
Evening had arrived and the task force had swept the area and had finished setting up their decontamination station outside of the bank. Once the power was out, Bobby had warned everyone to be careful as they were going in blind. Eddie had the drill ready and started to drill into the vault's door while the others escorted the staff to the decontamination station. "Okay, we're through!" Eddie announced.
"Okay, Chim, restore the power!" Bobby ordered and Chimney did as he was told, "Buck crank up the O2."
"They're wide open, Cap!" Buck announced.
"Now what?" Eddie asked.
"We're gonna crack this safe." Bobby said as if he was talking about the weather, "And I need to make a phone call."
LINE BREAK
Bobby and Michael did the impossible and were able to create a plan to break into the vault. Bobby got his team ready and Hen and Chimney were on standby at the vault doors as he drilled holes on the wall. "Alright, start hitting that as hard as you can, boys."
"It would be my pleasure." Eddie smirked and made the first hit followed by Buck as they fell into a pattern.
"Okay, that's enough for the winch." Bobby noted and he signaled for Jameson.
The others watched as they used the pulley system to pull on the wall but to no avail, it barely made any dent. "Cap, it's not enough." Eddie shook his head as Bobby's phone rang.
"Patient 0 has passed away, others are exhibiting no symptoms." he relayed the message.
"Oh screw this! We need to get them out now!" Buck ran to the driver's seat and started the truck.
"We got no choice, Cap. That's my wife in there along with a patient!" Eddie was ready to crumble again, "I am not going to lose her to whatever the hell that is!"
SMASH!
Buck was able to make a hole in the wall and at the same time, the door opened. 118 looked ready to go on a murder spree.
LINE BREAK
"Alisa! Alisa!" Chimney shook the paramedic.
"Un…" she groaned, "Chim?" she blinked her eyes open, "Eddie?"
"You're going to be fine and your husband's watching you, too." he chuckled.
"Patient?" she groaned again.
"I got him, hun." Hen reassured her.
LINE BREAK
After getting decontaminated and her clothes changed, Alisa was loaded up into the back of the ambulance with Eddie riding in the back after getting decontaminated as well. "Eddie, I don't think it's a nerve agent. It doesn't present the other symptoms." Alisa told him.
"Okay, okay, just relax. Bobby will update us." Eddie kissed her forehead.
"What about Christopher? I promised to read Harry Potter with him tonight." she frowned and felt bad about breaking her promise to her son.
"Tia Pepa and Abuela are watching him at home. We explained to him you got hurt and needed to go to the hospital." he reassured her.
RING! RING!
"Buck?" Eddie answered his phone as they arrived at Cedar-Sinai.
Buck: Eddie, we're being accused of robbing the bank!
"What!?" Eddie yelled.
Buck: They found bags of money in the ladder truck. We don't know how it got there!
"Dios mio!" Eddie looked up at the ceiling.
LINE BREAK
"$300,000 tucked away in the 118's ladder truck. Do you have any idea how it got there?" Mercer asked Alisa.
"How would I know if I was unconscious in the vault?" Alisa replied.
"You're with the 118. You were at the bank when it was stolen." Wash replied.
"In case you did not watch the video feed, which I know you have copies of," Alisa stared at them with a neutral expression, "I was unconscious inside the vault with the manager, who was my patient as well."
"Surely that money would be of help to you." Wash commented, "You have a boy with CP after all."
"Detective, I am not short on cash." Alisa said, "My business is doing good and I am working as a part-time ER nurse and firefighter. On top of that, my husband is also working."
"But it must cost a lot to take care of him." Mercer said, "For you to work 3 jobs."
"I'm a trust fund baby. I'm not hurting for money." Alisa looked at them unimpressed, "Even if I wasn't, my shares in the stock market have a higher value than what was stolen."
LINE BREAK
"Terrorists." Mercer emphasized.
"I don't think I ever said the word 'terrorist'" Eddie looked at them unamused.
"You were the first to suggest it might be a nerve agent." Mercer added.
"And everyone, including your wife, figured you knew what you were talking about. Coming from the military and all." Wash stated.
"It was part of my training. How to spot and how to respond." Eddie replied, "But when she regained consciousness in the hospital, my wife said the symptoms she experienced weren't from a nerve agent."
"300 grand though solves all your problems." Wash raised an eyebrow.
"I've got 3 jobs. Firefighter, husband, and dad. I don't have time to plan a heist." Eddie heatedly looked at them.
"Your wife is working more than you. Didn't that make you feel insecure and the money could have helped?" the detectives looked at him and were alarmed by the fierce glare in his eyes.
"My wife can do whatever the hell she wants. I may have picked up a few more shifts here and there even if we have a joint account but never ever insinuate that my wife's success emasculates me in any way." Eddie's eyes turned cold, "I'm sure you heard this from her but WE ARE NOT HURTING FOR MONEY."
LINE BREAK
"You chose to run back into that vault even when you knew there was a nerve agent, Mrs. Diaz. Why is that?" Mercer asked.
"Because it's my job." Alisa answered.
"Or you provided a misdirection while your friends did the deed." they showed her photos, "So, if you're looking at this, the man was there prior to us arriving."
Alisa plopped the photos back on the table and gave them an unimpressed look, "Again, I've been inside the vault the whole time, unconscious."
"No, you were the distraction." Mercer asserted, "Diverting everyone else's attention over there!"
"So, who's your partner?" Wash asked.
The 2 shivered when they eerily met Alisa's cold but furious eyes.
LINE BREAK
Everyone on the 118's A-shift were interrogated, including Maddie, Athena, and Michael. Athena actually laughed at the accusations thrown at the 118 before looking at them as if they were idiots. They even got the man from the armored car driver in the interrogation room whom Buck and the Task Force noticed. The detectives were trying to pin them down but the trust the 118 had with each other was as strong as steel.
The LAPD was on a manhunt and they're determined to get to the bottom of this.
LINE BREAK
"Okay, Christopher has been at Abuela's since last night, so it should be fine." Eddie walked in circles in the den, "What did your mom say?"
Alisa took a drink of tea from her cup and looked at him, "Just let it play out. If not, she's going to call in one of the lawyers at the firm. LAPD will be dropping by at the same time with a warrant."
"Can we play the immunocompromised card?" Eddie asked.
"I like that plan. Cooperative but make it a wee bit hard for them." Alisa nodded.
KNOCK KNOCK!
Taking a deep breath, Eddie opened the door and was greeted with a warrant to the face. He held up a hand first to read it before letting the officers in. When Alisa stood up from her spot on the sofa, she leveled the male officers with her patented glare when they started rummaging, "I am going to make this very clear… again. In case your superiors forgot to drill it in their heads and yours." Eddie kept his chuckles in, "I have an immunocompromised son with Cerebral Palsy. Make sure to SANITIZE your hands and gloves and RETURN where everything belongs in the SAME manner you FOUND them."
"Bu–" one of them tried to get a word in.
"AM I CLEAR?" she said and they had no choice but to nod, "Great. Now, who wants some tea? I made a fresh pot."
A few hours later, their home looked untouched by the police and Alisa was cuddling Eddie on the patio couch, enjoying the night air. He couldn't help but comment that the police followed her and made sure they were careful. "Mom raised no fool." Alisa upturned her nose in a posh way, "Like I'm going to let some slimy guy take us down and the police ransacking our home for a crime we didn't commit."
"Buck and Maddie's things were thrown all over. I heard Karen was about to blow a fuse." Eddie drank his beer, "Chim was unimpressed when he had to konmari his place again."
"Mama Athena said the police were careful at her house, too but I don't think anyone wants to mess with her." Alisa giggled and kissed Eddie's cheek, "Cap mentioned they even looked at his condiments."
RING RING!
"I'll be back. It's the hospital." Alisa got up and walked a little further from Eddie, "Yes, this is Alisa Kayleigh Strand. Oh, my results?"
"?" Eddie's phone pinged, "La madre que te parió!" he cursed after reading the message.
"You'll never guess what they found in my tox report." Alisa looked murderous, "Scorpion venom!"
"I heard. Athena just let me know. It was in the hand sanitizer she and Hen found in the vault that those detectives missed." Eddie looked just as murderous, "And Hen knows who did it…"
"Who?" Alisa tilted her head.
Station 118
Marty the truck maintenance guy for the LAFD arrived at the 118 with an anxious expression. He looked around for anyone but he only saw the trucks in a normally busy station. When he passed T118, the door opened causing him to jump in fright, "Hey, Marty!" Chim greeted, "Thanks for coming!"
"Yeah, no problem." Marty replied as Chim jumped down from the truck, "I heard you guys were having trouble with the ladder. I'm starting to think you guys don't know how to use it."
"Well," the driver's door on E118 opened to reveal Eddie, "you know how we operate. All those procedures and protocols."
"Maybe you can show us some tricks." Buck said, approaching Marty with Bobby at his side and the firefighters started appearing all over the station.
"Yeah, you seem to know more about these trucks than we do." Bobby smiled, "Like where to hide $300,000.00 in cash."
"What are you guys talking about?" Marty chuckled.
"How are your hands, Marty?" Hen asked from behind with Alisa beside her with her arms crossed.
"That alternative medicine still working for you?" Alisa raised an eyebrow.
Marty looked around and he knew he was caught. He dropped his bag and tools and made a run for it while the 118 watched him run towards the entrance. "Marty Collins," Marty stopped in his tracks when LAPD showed up, "you're under arrest for bank robbery and murder." they turned him around and cuffed him.
"Murder? Who'd I kill?" Marty asked, confused.
An hour later, the 118's A-shift were gathered at the dining table, enjoying the lunch prepared by Alisa and Bobby. There weren't any calls at the moment so they were talking about what led to the bank robbery at Pacific Federal. Buck was trying to wrap his head around it as he tried to reiterate what he heard, "So, let me get this straight," he stated, "The fake nerve agent attack was a distraction for the armored car robbery which was a distraction for a diamond heist."
"Hmhm." Alisa nodded.
"Crime is hard." he sighed.
"Franklin knew the bank and Marty knew us." Hen continued.
"But how do they know each other?" Eddie asked, wiping his mouth.
"Brothers-in-law." Hen answered, "Well, ex-brothers-in-law. Franklin had been married to Marty's crazy sister and when they ran into each other again, a plan formed. Franklin was the inside man. His job was to create a medical emergency in the bank. The kind that would bring in hazmat because Marty knew we would have triggered the Big Bird Protocol. He gets the driver to get out of the car and hand over his belongings. Once the driver was clean, Marty gets rich."
"So, the only way for him to get that money out of the armored truck without causing a scene was to put it in the truck and used us as mules." Alisa concluded.
"That's right." Hen nodded.
"Not a bad plan." Bobby commented, "It could have worked. All he had to do was sneak back in at the right moment and access the truck to retrieve the money. The police just beat him right to the punch."
"How'd the police know where to find the money exactly?" Buck asked.
"Because there was a variable Marty didn't count on. The double-cross." Chimney said, "Marty may have known the LAFD protocols but Franklin knew the bank. Marty's plan was simple but Franklin's was time-sensitive. He told Marty that the best time to rob the bank would be on his last day since he knew there was going to be a party at the end of the business day."
"... they started with Marty's plan but Franklin improvised." Alisa concluded, "Franklin made sure he collapsed inside the vault because he knew what the response would be. All he had to do was lie in the vault and let us do our protocols. He had hours alone but he didn't count on me to come back in and put his hands on me."
"He planned to beat the clock while the power was out and stole the diamonds. $6 million worth of stones." Eddie frowned, "All he needed was a clean getaway. He called the police on us to keep them busy while he tries to get away."
"He just wasn't fast enough." Bobby smirked.
"Marty knew he'd been double-crossed!" Buck snapped his fingers, "He killed Franklin!"
"..." Alisa tilted her head, "I don't think so. From what I heard, he only admitted to the robbery and other felonies except for the diamonds and the murder."
"Exactly." Bobby nodded, "Franklin ate the diamonds."
"He died of diamond indigestion." Alisa and Hen chorused.
"Oh man, getting away with the crime is even harder." Buck sighed.
"Well, at least we're all cleared and that's a win." Bobby smiled and everyone agreed.
"Well, as fun as playing detectives at lunch was," Alisa got up, "I have to head down for my shift at Cedar-Sinai this week since I couldn't last week."
"Thanks again for joining on my first shift back, Alisa." Chim grinned, "It was fun and I hope you join us again on a full-time basis!"
"We'll see, Chim. We'll see." Alisa smiled, "Thanks for breakfast, everyone!"
"See you around, Alisa!" the 118 waved.
"I'll see you out." Eddie got up and escorted her.
"What a gentleman." Alisa teased as they walked down the stairs.
"Cowboy, ma'am." He winked as his Texan accent slipped.
"Whatever you say." she melted at the accent as he walked her to her car and brought her in for a kiss, "Stay safe."
"You too." Eddie smiled, "See you at home." she gave him a peck on the lips and winked before driving away.