There is always one. That's what my Grandpa keeps saying. He is referring to my status as the Reagan family's black sheep. My name is Avery Reagan and I am the black sheep because I chose to become a paramedic for the New York Fire Department. The only person who wasn't happy about my decision was my Grandpa. He believes that I am the enemy. Of course, an old-school cop would say that. My siblings on the other hand don't seem to care. In fact, my twin brother Jamie was relieved when I told him that I joined the FDNY's EMS program. Right now I am going through the inventory. It turns out our last call drained the ambulance of critical supplies.
"The guy's just lucky that we got there on time," My partner remarks.
"Yeah well, there is nothing that we could have done to stop him. As Forrest Gump said, Stupid is as stupid does. Could you pass me a few packs of gauze?" I ask as I double-check the remaining packets.
"Of course," My partner responds as he tosses some.
It has been thirty minutes since then and we finally finished restocking the ambulance. My partner and I rejoin the others in the rec room. They are glued to the TV.
"Alex, Avery, are you guys seeing this?" Our lieutenant speaks up. The headline is not something we want to see as FDNY crews.
"A paramedic was injured as two masked men tried to hijack their vehicle," The news anchor announces. A part of me hopes that Danny is working on the case. After a few minutes, I find myself ignoring the report. There is not much that I can do as soon as the thought crosses my mind the signal bell rings. With that, my partner and I get to work.
"Alex since there is a chance we are going to get ambushed I need you to keep your radio on you at all times," I say as we head to the ambulance.
"Copy that boss," Alex responds. It doesn't take long for us to reach our destination. There is something wrong. We were told that there was an injured woman at this location. I take a deep breath before radioing it in. The next thing I know is the fact that two masked men are dragging us from the ambulance.
"We are going to make this simple. You do as we say and you will live. Don't and you will die," One of the men says. The thing I notice about his demand is the fact that he has an unusual accent.
"No," Alex responds. After a brief tussle, I find myself trapped in a headlock with a gun held to my temple.
"Alex give them what they want. You two should know I radioed it in before you got the jump on us," I remark as I try to pull his arm away from my throat. After uttering something Alex reluctantly heads to the back of the ambulance. Using the distraction I plunge my heel into the man's foot. The next minute is a blur as shots ring out. A police cruiser soon pulls up.
"PUT THE GUN DOWN NOW!" It's my brother. The next thing I know is the fact that I am on the ground trying to prevent Alex from bleeding out while Jamie and his partner chase down the guys. I find myself desperately trying to do everything in my power to keep Alex alive however a part of me knows it is not enough. A part of me knows that based on the amount of blood that is on my hands keeping him alive is a hopeless endeavour. Jamie and his partner soon rejoin us.
"I'm sorry but they had a car waiting for them," Jamie apologises.
"There is nothing that I can do anyway...please call it in," I announce as I pull away. With that Jamie and his partner get to work on securing the scene. I take a seat on the step on the back of the ambulance. After giving the scene a once over Jamie sits next to me.
"Are you ok?" Jamie asks.
"I will be. I just need time to process what happened," I respond as I stare at the blood on my hands.
"I'm going to have to tell Alex's family," I utter
"You won't have to do it alone," Jamie responds. After a few minutes, we are joined by Danny.
"Unfortunately you know the drill, Avery. Just tell me what you know," Danny remarks. His remark is surprisingly soft. I put it down to the fact that we are all family members.
"Well, Alex and I were dispatched to a call involving a lady who supposedly fell. When we arrived on scene. It turns out it was a dummy call to lure us out of the station. A couple of guys jumped us. The next thing I knew I was trying to stop Alex bleeding from his jugular. The blood on my hands is his," I give my statement.
"Is there anything else?" Danny prompts.
"I will let you know if I remember anything. Most of what happened was a blur," I say. The truth is it will take time for me to come to terms with what happened. Not only did I lose a partner I lost a family member. sure he may not have been part of my biological family but if you have worked in the FDNY for as long as I have everyone becomes family.
It has been an hour since then and I am bracing for the worst part of the job. Luckily for me, I am not doing it alone. Not only did my Captain come but my brother made it. I take a deep breath as I knock on the door. A woman soon answers it.
"Mrs Dunn I regret to inform you that your husband was killed in the line of duty," I cut to the chase. There is not much point in sugarcoating it. She lets us in. After a few minutes in silence, Mrs Dunn finally speaks up.
"I told him he should have taken the day off. Please tell me you did everything you could," Mrs Dunn is on the verge of tears.
"I did but unfortunately there was nothing that I could do," I respond. I wish there was more that I could have done. There is just one problem. I can't go back in time to fix what happened. We are soon joined by a young boy.
"Is everything ok mommy?" The boy asks. It is at that moment that Mrs Dunn breaks down.
It is the day after and I am trying to bring myself to eat something but I can't. I keep thinking about the look on Mrs Dunn's face. It sucks as the family dinner is the one event that I actually enjoy. I can feel the eyes of the others as they watch me idly play with my food.
"Is Aunty Avery ok?"
"I'm fine Sean. I've got some drama to deal with at work," I respond. The truth is I don't want to talk about it. Not now anyway.
"Oh, Danny there is something I need to tell you once we are finished with dinner," I add as I have remembered something that might be able to help him. Anyway, I turn my attention back to the food. The conversation soon turns to something else. After an hour of socialising, I am finally ready to leave but before I do I turn my attention to Danny.
"You said you had something you wanted to tell me?" Danny remarks.
"Yes. The guy that made the demand had a funny accent," I explain as we leave.
"That's what the injured paramedic said. Told me he believed the guy was Australian," Danny muses. At least we know that these attacks are related. There is one problem. That means it is likely to happen again.
"Look I know I shouldn't be asking but I would like you to keep me updated," I say.
"Of course.," Danny replies. With that, we part ways.
It is the day after and I am looking at my clock. My alarm is going to go off at any minute. The thing is that means I will have to get ready for work. Despite my Cpatain's insistence, I decided that work was the best place for me to be. Of course, I am doing a twelve-hour shift instead of a twenty-four-hour shift. That is because of the fact that the funeral is scheduled for tomorrow. With a few swift movements, I pull myself out of bed. There is no point in delaying the inevitable. After an hour I am finally ready. Thankfully it doesn't take long for me to reach the station. I can feel the eyes of everyone who is already here bore into me. I quickly exchange my civilian clothes for my uniform. With that out of the way, I head to the ambulance. After five minutes of work, I am pulled out of my thoughts.
"Excuse me I am looking for Avery Reagan. I was told she would be in the ambulance," The voice must belong to my new partner. He must be fresh from the academy.
"That's me. What's your name?" I ask. Hopefully, I don't sound standoffish.
"Erica. I'm sorry that I had to join you under sad circumstances," The newbie responds.
"Don't apologise. It wasn't your fault. Anyway are you fresh from the academy?" I work on getting to know my partner. There is no point in being mad at her.
"Yeah. How could you tell?" Erica seems surprised.
"A hunch. EMT or paramedic?" I continue my line of questioning.
"EMT. I'm hoping that you would help me upgrade to a paramedic certification at some point," Erica responds as she passes me some of the required stuff. After a couple of quiet hours, the signal bell rings. It is an all-hands-on-deck situation. After a few minutes, we have made it to the scene. As soon as our boots hit the ground my Captain barks his orders.
"Reagan, Ramirez you two are on triage. As for everyone else, we are going to hit the building with an aggressive strategy. Pair up and rescue anyone left in the building,"
"Yes sir," we all acknowledge the orders.
"Ok, Erica I want you to focus on triage. If you need help ask. I will treat anyone who needs it," I announce as we set up the area. After a few seconds of waiting the first wave of victims arrives. Erica and I are able to triage them quickly as they all have the most minor of injuries. After an hour we finally have the last victim at the hospital. As Erica and I head to the ambulance my attention is caught by another crew bringing in a GSW. The victim is wearing an FDNY EMS shirt.
"Hey, what happened?" I ask.
"We were ambushed. It was a miracle that the injuries weren't worse," one of the paramedics answers as they scramble to get the victim into the emergency room.
It has been a few minutes since we arrived back at the station and I am trying to relax but I can't. Not with recent events running through my mind.
"Everything ok Avery?" Erica asks. A sigh falls from my mouth.
"No. There is someone who is deliberately targeting the FDNY and I don't like the idea that there is nothing that I can do," I respond as I pull myself out of my chair. The only thing that gives me comfort is the fact that Danny is working on the case.
"Maybe the people doing the attacks have something against the EMS people," Erica responds. Well of course. You don't attack like those men did just for laughs. We are soon joined by the Captain.
"Avery the police commissioner is in my office. He wants to speak to you," He announces. Of course, Dad wants to check up on me.
"Ok," I reply. After excusing myself I find myself in my Captain's office.
"Hey, Dad. I am ok,"
"Captain Stark seemed to think otherwise," My Dad counters.
"ok fine. I'm not ok. I had the blood of a good friend all over my hands. The only reason why I haven't taken any time off other than the mandatory forty-eight hours is because the city needs good paramedics," I explain as I start pacing.
"Breathe. I came here to give you the heads-up that I talked to the chief of the EMS bureau. He promised me personally that he will be taking steps to protect you and the others," My Dad announces his plan.
"You know the only way that we will be protected is if Dannay catches those bastards that did this," I snap. I will apologise later as I am seeing red right now. I take a deep breath.
"And you need to trust that Danny will do his and in the meantime you need to stay protected," my Dad counters. I sigh. The problem is that I do not like helplessness despite the fact that it is a common feeling for paramedics. After a few bits of reassurance from my Dad he leaves. I hope for my sake that he is right. Anyway, I have work to do.
It is the day after and I am getting ready to say goodbye to Alex one last time. I am making sure my dress uniform is neat under the watchful eye of Jamie and Dad. Even though I know I know it's neat I am still a little bothered.
"Let me have a look," my Dad says before adjusting the collar of my blazer.
"Everything is perfect now. We should go or we are going to be late," my Dad reassures me. With that Jamie and I join him in the car. As we head to the venue I find myself staring at the window. The events of that day running through my mind.
After what feels like an eternity we made it to the venue. Mrs Dunn and her son soon join me. After saying a few words we are ushered in. It doesn't take long for me to be invited to say a few words. There is not much for me to say however I will speak from my heart. I take a deep breath as I join the EMS chief on the stage.
"Thank you. The first thing that Alex taught me when I joined him on ambulance eighty-eight was how to do compassion the right way. He always made sure...," I find myself getting choked up. Unlike my Dad, I never had a thing for speeches. I take a deep breath.
"Alex made sure everyone was looked after no matter what the circumstances were. It was through his compassion that I found my feet again after my brother was killed. Words cannot begin to describe how I thankful I was to Alex," I conclude my speech there as I can feel the words catching in my throat. The rest of the service flies by as I reflect on everything that Alex has done for not only me but for those in his care