But. . .?
Johnny set the ladder up so that the top rested against a walkway above. Turning, he noticed Captain Stanley on the HT, calling in for a second alarm. When Gage checked to see if his partner was ready to start up the ladder, Roy was no where nearby.
Where’d he go?
Gage spotted Roy beside the engine waving him over. Johnny trotted to where DeSoto was waiting.
“Help me get the ladder.”
Johnny’s mouth dropped open in surprise when he noticed that the ladder was indeed back on the truck.
“But--” he looked over his shoulder to where he’d just set the ladder up. It was gone. “Where’d--? But the lad--I--Roy, I just set that ladder up! You helped me carry it over there.”
“How could I have? We haven’t gotten it off the truck yet.”
“Yes, we did. We got it off when we first got here.”
“No, we were rolling out the hoses.”
Johnny was getting frustrated. “But I heard ya say somethin’ about the ladder and I know I just set it up!”
Roy looked to where Johnny was pointing. “So where is it?”
Gage glanced from the walkway, to the truck and ladder, to his partner. The younger man frowned and put his hand on the ladder that was on the truck. “It’s right here,” he conceded.
“Exactly. Now help me get it off so we can get it set up.”
“Again. . .” Johnny muttered under his breath.
The paramedics carried the ladder over to the spot where Johnny had just come from earlier. There Gage stood the ladder up, the top of it resting against the walkway above.
Next thing ya know, somethin’ else weird, like Roy leavin’ me behind in a fire or somethin’, will happen. Yeah, Johnny snorted to himself, like he’d ever do that. . .
Note: I always figured it had to be something weird going on for Roy to leave his partner behind and not say a word about him. :o)
