"That's it!"
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"Imagine That"
By Ross
"That’s it!" Captain Hank Stanley encouraged his engine crew, as they fought desperately to douse the unseen flames that were licking at their air-masked faces.
Hank was in the midst of conducting yet another unpopular training drill.
"Watch out!" the fire officer warned the three L.A. County firefighters, who were currently crawling across Station 51’s paved parking lot, with charged hoses in their hands. "The fire’s breaking out behind you!"
Two of the men immediately redirected their unopened nozzles.
"You need to constantly be aware of your surroundings!" the Captain continued to coach. "A situation can be safe, one second, and unsafe, the next! Anticipate trouble!"
The hose-hauling trio reached the lot’s far brick wall and halted.
"How’d we do?" Mike Stoker queried.
"Yeah," Chet Kelly chimed in. "Did we get the imaginary fire out, Cap?"
"Yes," Stanley assured them. "You got the fire out. Unfortunately, your two-dimensional thinking has landed you all in the hospital. Because the ceiling just collapsed."
His guys glanced skyward. Then they turned to one another and emitted a muffled group groan.
Chet turned to one of his glum chums. "Hey, Marco. When an imaginary ceiling falls on you, does it make a sound?"
Lopez’s only reply to his friend’s riddle was to roll his eyes.
Kelly suddenly looked a tad less gloomy. "Maybe we should look on the bright side? If we’re all trapped under a pile of imaginary rubble, we won’t have to ‘pretend’ to put out any more of these stupid ‘imaginary’ fires."
Mike and Marco pursed their lips.
Hank directed his attention toward his complaining crewman. "I heard that, Kelly."
Kelly’s eyes took on a mischievous glint and his mustache twitched—twice. "You sure ‘bout that, Cap? I mean, maybe you just ‘imagined’ you heard it…"
Stanley gave his wisecracking crewman a no-nonsense glare. "Right now, I’m imagining you having latrine duty next shift."
Kelly’s amused look vanished. "Ah-uh, Cap—"
"—The next two shifts," Hank quickly cut in.
Chet wisely chose to close his smart mouth.
When their Captain was mad, he could get pretty gosh-darn ‘imaginative’.
The End
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NEW! 05/18/10
Enough is Enough
“That’s it!”
Hank Stanley dropped a stack of papers on the table next to a box, promptly placing his hands on his hips.
“I’ve had it with you two.”
Five sets of eyes turned towards their captain and several mouths dropped in surprise. But two men had the good sense to keep theirs closed, even stepping back a few feet as they anticipated the coming assault.
“I’ve been patient long enough. Looked the other way too many times. This constant bickering has gone too far. Water bombs, flour everywhere, tin cans in the night. But this is taking it too far. I should’ve put one or both of you on report long ago, but I thought you’d get it out of your system. Thought you might grow up a little, especially after putting your lives on the line for each other. But no. It goes on and on, like the never-ending story. Well I’ve had enough. That’s it!”
The wide-eyed stares were enough to dissuade him from continuing, but he was on a full rant now. The Captain of Station 51 stepped forward, staring hard at the two offending shift mates. He didn’t mention names, didn’t need to, he merely cleared his throat and lowered his voice.
“I’m not warning you again. Enough is enough. No more nice guy. This is the last time. If I come in one more time to encounter this situation, you’re done.”
With a swift turn on his heel, Hank strode purposely from the Dayroom, leaving a silent group of firemen in his wake. No one made a sound until his office door clicked shut. Then and only then did they relax.
“Wow, he was really mad this time.”
“Yeah, you’d better watch it Gage. You heard him, one more time.”
“You’re the one that should watch yourself, Chet. If I remember right, the first one was yours.”
Roy rolled his eyes as Mike shook his head. Marco was the one who finally stepped up to clear the table of the empty box.
“Madre Dios. He was talking to both of you. And if you know what’s best for you, there’d better be one waiting for him next shift.”
The answering grumbles were unintelligible from the bay, but never-the-less Hank grinned mischievously. Then sneaking quietly back to slip into his office, he laughed outright behind his closed door. Maybe he’d get that jelly-filled donut yet.
The End!
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