Through Smoke: The Troubled Heroes Series (29 page)

Michael couldn’t help but pace back and forth.  He was anxious.  It was the night before he went in for his first shift after Darryl had died. Now he had to go through all of the firsts without Darryl.  The first morning without seeing Darryl cooking breakfast.  The first morning that there would be no newspaper set out for Michael.  The first call when he would notice his wingman was gone.  At that very moment, he wasn’t sure if going back this soon was the right thing
or not.  It was going to dredge
up old memories he wanted to keep buried.

Not only that, but now he had an even greater worry of Viper.  He had put his hands on Eva.  While he had promised Eva he wouldn’t act out of emotion, he still couldn’t shake the image of his dirty hands on the woman he loved.
He just want
ed
to find him and beat the living daylights out of him but Eva was right.
That’s exactly what Viper wanted him to do and it would just hei
ghten their
problem. 

He felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned his attention from the window.  Eva handed him a beer and pulled him toward the couch. 

“You okay, Mikey?”

Twisting the bottle cap off, he placed it on the end table and savored the flavor of the beer.  “Define okay.”

Eva pulled her hair behind her ear and arched her eyebrow.  “What do you mean?”

Shrugging, Mikey gulped on the lager, enjoying it probably more than he should have.  “It’s just been so long since I’ve felt okay.  Not sure what it means anymore.”

Eva grabbed his hand and squeezed. “Everything is going to be fine.  Viper is going to make a mistake.”

“He already has.  He put his hands on you.  Biggest mistake of all.”

Eva shook her head and pulled him in for a hug.  Her hair smelled so good.  Leaning into her chest, he wrapped both his arms around her as tight as he could.  It was a calming embrace, and one that he needed now more than ever. 

“That’s exactly what he wants you to do.  Act out of haste.  Slow and steady wins the race.  We’ll overcome this.”  She paused and ran her fingers through his hair, sending a chill down his spine.  “Let’s go to bed.  You have a busy day tomorrow.  I think it’ll do you some good.”

Michael finished his beer and tossed it in the trashcan as he followed her down the hallway to the bedroom.  He paused at the end of the hall and stared at a picture he had walked by every day but never really took the time to notice.  It was a picture of him and his dad just a few short months before he died.  They were both in the firehouse driveway,
soaking down the truck
with a hose.  Both of them appeared to be laughing in the picture.  His dad had the hose aimed at Michael, ready to shoot him with the water at any second.  Michael ran his hand over the glass, yearning to go back in time and see his father again.  Life seemed so much simpler.  He couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed like he was in that picture.  All the laughter had faded just a few short months after that picture was taken. 

Eva wrapped her arm around his, lightly kissing him on the cheek.  “If it wasn’t for the old styles in that picture, I could swear your dad was you.  You are the spitting image of him.”

Michael ducked his head and quickly wiped a tear away.  “When have you ever seen me smile like that?  It just doesn’t happen anymore.”

“It will, Mikey.  It will.”

The alarm clock blared at six AM.  Hitting the snooze, Michael fought the urge to just burrow himself under the covers and sleep all day, declining his first day back.  Eva’s cold hands on his back made him jolt to his senses.  It was time to get back on the truck.  She was already up and showered.  She handed him a mug of coffee.

“Get up, lazy ass.  I’ll start breakfast while you’re getting ready.”

“Breakfast and coffee so early? I could get used to this.”

She smiled and pecked him on the lips.  “You better.  Today is the first day of the rest of your life.  Better make it a good one.”

Michael couldn’t help but laugh at how corny that sounded.  Fighting off a wave of nausea, he forced himself to the bathroom.  He savored his shower and took extra time shaving.  It normally only took him about twenty minutes to get ready, but since Eva had gotten him up so early he allowed himself more time to relax and prepare.  He felt like a probationary firefighter again.  It was almost like this was his first day on the truck ever and he had to keep convincing himself that everything was going to be just fine.

They
walked to the station together.  Their initial plan was to keep their relationship under wraps, but walking together didn’t suggest that they were together.  After a quick embrace, she went to the ambulance and he made his way into the station.  He had told himself a million times to be prepared for Darryl not being there. Regardless of the self convincing, it still hurt to not see him in the kitchen, doing the same thing he had done daily over the past couple of years.  Instead, the kitchen was empty.  There was a paper on the table that was rolled up. 

Sitting down, Michael unrolled it and began to sift through the headlines.  Other firefighters would come in and out, welcoming him back and saying their words of encouragement, but for the most part, Michael tuned it out and read the paper, trying to get into as much of a normal routine as possible. 

It was already an hour into the shift and he felt restless.  He couldn’t decide if he wanted an all out busy day or just one to lay back and edge into things again.  Since time was passing so slowly, he was vying for the busy day to get it over with.

Walking into the bunk area, he paused at the bed where Darryl used to sleep.  Ducking his head, he walked back out into the living room, fighting the feeling of being a trapped mouse in a maze.  The alarms sounded, dispatching them to a bodega fire down the block.  Michael had never been so happy to hear the alarm go off.

Viper stood outside Lucky’s bar and grill a little after six o’clock in the evening. Casey McGinnis was a known regular there and Viper was feeling lucky.  It was time to put his money where his mouth was
.  He had been threatening the McGinnis family but hadn’t stuck to his promises.
  Now it was time to prove that he was serious about getting his money or they would have to pay for the consequences.

Edging through the door, he paid his cover charge and found a booth in the back.  He spotted Casey instantly, hovered around a group of people at the bar.  From what Viper could tell, it was mainly the same low life drug addicts Casey was known to hang with.  It’d be a piece of cake cornering him.  Lighting a cigarette, he remained in the back and continued to observe him.  Now that so much was leverage in the situation, he wanted both Casey and Michael.  One just wouldn’t cut it now.  He knew Michael would do anything for his brother.  Targeting Casey first would be a definite way to get Michael really upset and make some bad choices. 

The music was a shade too loud, but Viper could have sworn that he heard Casey tell the group bye.  Patting each on the shoulder, he made his way to the exit.  Viper followed, keeping a good distance to not make it too obvious.  There were too many witnesses.  He had to get him somewhere alone. 

Casey crossed through traffic, weaving in and out of crowds of people.  Viper quickened his pace to stay up with him, searching for a way to accomplish the abduction.  Casey was always a scared guy.  It wouldn’t be a problem intimidating him.  After a couple of blocks, he caught up with him, placing his hand on his shoulder.  Casey quickly turned around, a deer in the headlight look flashing across his face.

“Viper?”

Grinning, he dug his fingers into Casey’s muscle.  “Let’s take a walk.”

It was apparent that Casey was scared to death. He was breathing as if he had just
worked out. Back pedaling, he tried to get away,
but Viper’s grip on him was strong.  “I uhh.. I gotta get going, Viper. What…” He stuttered and could barely get the words out.  This was far too amusing for Viper.

“Where exactly does a piece of shit loser like you gotta go?  You got my money?”

Casey’s eyes were as wide as saucers.  “I told you man, I swear I’ll get it.”

Cocking his head to the side, Viper led him to the back alley where prying eyes were non existent.  He slammed him against a brick wall, getting right up in his face.  “Do you realize that I have given you over a week past the deadline to get it to me?  I don’t think you will ever get it, McGinnis.”  Rearing back, he punched him in the stomach and moved back as Casey hunched over in pain.  “How does it feel, getting people involved who had nothing to do with this at first?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Casey’s words came out in short pants and grunts.

“Your brother, Casey.  He’s gonna die too.”  Viper wagged his finger in front of Casey.  “So many lives that could’ve been spared.  How’s your mother gonna take losing both of you?”

Casey was finally able to fully stand up and Viper took advantage of it, backhanding him across the face this time. 

“Please, leave my brother out of it.” Casey was able to get the sentence out in between moans.  Blood poured from his nose and mouth. 

“Too late.  Now, as I said already, we’re gonna take a walk.  It’s time to get this show on the road.”

“How was your fir
st fire back?”  Eva asked
Michael in the garage after they parked the ladder truck.  It almost felt as if she had been waiting for him by the way she was acting.  Her smile bugged him, like she was mocking him for being out of work.  Maybe his defenses were just up.  He had been dealing with those comments all day and it was getting old.

“I guess okay.  Only thing missing was Darryl.”  He tried to walk past her as he shrugged out of his jacket and turnouts, but she put her hand on his chest to stop him in mid step.  She didn’t say anything.  She just stared up at him, causing tension.  “What is it, Eva?  I really need a shower.”

She bit her bottom lip and tucked her hair behind her ear.  “It’s nothing.  Go take your shower.”

Taking note that they were alone, he ducked his head and kissed her on the lips, quickly pulling away before someone walked in.  “I’m fine.  Getting back to work has been good therapy.”  He patted her on the shoulder as he walked past, looking back to see that she was still standing in the same spot. Something was bugging her. If it was about him, he honestly didn’t want to know.

The shower was refreshing.  He stayed in probably longer than he should have, and was thankful at that moment that the calls were slow.  He couldn’t help but remember a time when Darryl was right in the middle of one when the gong went off for a four alarm fire in Midtown that another company needed help with.  Lathered up completely, he slid down the pole to grab his gear, barely able to take two steps without slipping from the soapsuds.  It brought a smile to Michael as he reminisced.  A smile he hadn’t experienced in quite some time. 

Grabbing his phone, his heart skipped a beat when he saw he had a text message from Casey.  All it read was, “Mikey, help, I’m” and then it was cut off.  Michael read it several more times as if that would finish the incomplete message.  Pulse racing, he replied with, “Are you okay? What’s going on?”  He continued to stare at the phone, wishing that Casey would quickly respond.  The screen was blank.  His mind reeled with the possibilities of the meaning of it.  What did he need help with?  Was he out of money? Was he joking?  If that was the case, Michael already had plans to kill him when he saw him next.

He walked outside and stood on the sidewalk, watching as people walked by, some in a hurry, some obvious tourists stopping to take pictures of the firehouse and other things, some just lost in their own world.  Gripping his phone tightly, he felt at a loss when there was nothing back from Casey.  The message could mean one hundred different things with his baby brother, but with all this new stuff with Viper, he couldn’t help but worry more than usual. 

“Mikey, I need to tell you something.”

Eva’s voice pulled him from his thoughts, but he didn’t turn to look at her.  “Sorry I just left you in there.  I can only take so much more pity before I go crazier than I already am.”

She grabbed his hand and he finally looked at her.  Her expression was more serious than he had ever seen.  Her brow was creased in worry.  “Mikey, when I was out on a call today at a bar your brother frequents, I heard something.”