Missing Piece

By Mychand

 

 

John Gage sat outside on his Land Rover and looked up into the sky.  He couldn’t help but notice the haze that had formed due to the fires that were burning just miles away.  He and his partner along with the rest of the station were on standby.  He knew it would only be a matter of time before they would be called to duty.

 

The fire had been burning for days and had destroyed thousands of acres of land and several homes.  Station 51 hadn’t joined because they were left to assist in other rescue needs.  John and his partner, Roy DeSoto, were both anxious to help their neighboring stations that were already on the line.

 

“Hey, Johnny, dinner’s ready,” called Roy.

 

Gage jumped down from his truck.  “Okay, I’m coming.”

 

Inside the day room the rest of the crew were settling down at the table.  Chet grabbed the bowl of chili and passed it to Johnny as he sat down.  “What’s the matter, Gage?  You look like you’re miles away.”

 

Johnny didn’t seem to notice Chet’s comment.

 

“Johnny?” Roy tapped it partner on the arm.  “Are you okay?”

 

Gage blushed.  “Oh, yeah.  Sorry, I was just thinking about the fire.  I’m sure glad you guys are back here with us this time around.  I hated to be here without you all.”

 

Captain Stanley took the chili from Gage and began to fill his bowl.  “I agree with you there, pal.  I prefer to keep the crew together.”

 

Halfway through dinner, the station was called to a warehouse fire. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was no apparent fire when the crew reached the warehouse.  Firemen Chet Kelly and Marco Lopez entered the building in search of the blaze.  Roy and Johnny waited outside, along with their captain and engineer Mike.

 

Lopez radioed the others to let them know that he only found a small trash fire.  Chet was scanning the rest of the building, but it looked like they had everything under control. 

 

“Trash fire?” questioned Johnny.  “That’s really odd.  There’s no one around here.”

 

Upset, Roy didn’t hide his anger.  “Probably some kid pulling a prank.  Don’t they know we’re already short handed for emergencies?”

 

As the paramedics prepared to leave, they heard Marco yell for help as he carried Chet out of the building.

 

“What happened, Marco?” asked Captain Stanley.  “I thought you said it was just a trash fire?”

 

“It was, Cap, but I found Chet out cold in the back of the warehouse.  His tank and mask are missing.”

 

Johnny spread out a blanket as Roy assisted Marco in laying Chet down on the ground. 

 

“Chet? Chet, can you hear me?” asked Roy.

 

Roy was worried when he received no response from the fireman.  Johnny quickly contacted Rampart and relayed Chet’s vitals as Roy took them.

 

“Johnny, he has a huge lump on the back of his head,” said Roy.  “It looks like someone attacked him.”

 

“And took his tank?” asked Marco.  “That doesn’t make any sense.”

 

Johnny looked perplexed. “No, it doesn’t make any sense at all, Marco.  But don’t worry.  Chet’s got a hard head.  He’ll be fine.”

 

Marco tried to smile.  “Yeah, I’m sure you’re right.”

 

“I do not have a hard head,” said Chet as he began to regain consciousness.  “I heard that, Gage.”

 

Johnny laughed.  “See what I mean?”

 

“Take it easy, Chet.  We’re going to take you to Rampart and have them check you out.” 

 

“Aww, Roy, I’m fine,” complained Chet.  “I don’t need to go to Rampart.”

 

The ambulance pulled up and Johnny assisted Roy in placing Chet on the stretcher.  “You let Roy and me be the judge of that, Chet.  We’re the paramedics here.”

 

Roy decided to ride with Chet, while Johnny followed in the squad. 

 

“Any idea who hit you, Chet?” asked Roy. 

 

“No, I didn’t see a thing.  I thought I heard someone in the back of the warehouse and when I went to check it out, everything went black.”

 

“Well, just relax.  We’re almost at the hospital.  I’ll feel better after they’ve checked you out.”

 

 

 

 

At Rampart, Dr. Morton advised the paramedics that Chet would be fine, but he wanted to keep him over night for observation since he had lost consciousness.  Chet complained, but Roy was able to convince him it was for the best.  Roy and Johnny headed back to the station, knowing that their friend would be in good hands.

 

“Man, that was sure weird, Roy.  I wonder why someone would want to steal Chet’s air tank and mask?”

 

“I don’t know, Johnny.  The county is already short on men.  It doesn’t help to have Chet out.  I have no idea who they’ll send to replace him now.”

 

“Yeah, you’re right.  They’ve already pulled everyone off vacation.  They can’t exactly spare anyone from the wild fire.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chet’s replacement came from B shift.  Tom Michaels offered to do overtime to fill the gap left by the injured fireman.

 

The crew settled down to watch the news of the fire on television while the captain answered the phone.

 

“Yeah?  Okay, thanks,” replied Hank.

 

Putting the handset back on the receiver, he filled the others in on his conversation.  “That was the police department.  They found where someone broke into that warehouse but still have no clues as to who attacked Chet.  They said they’d keep us posted.”

 

“Yeah, well, I’m just glad he’s going to be okay,” replied Marco.

 

The captain patted Marco on the shoulder.  “Me too, pal, me too.  Now, how about we all go and get some sleep.  I have a feeling we’re going to need it.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

The group managed to get a few hours of sleep before being called out on a run.  This time around, they were sent to an old abandoned grocery store.  Smoke was coming out of the back of the building.  Mike pulled the truck around back, as Johnny and Roy followed Marco and Tom into the building.  The smoke from the rear was thick, but the source of it wasn’t evident. 

 

“We’ll check the right section and you two get the left,” ordered Roy. 

 

Johnny led Roy to the right corner of the building.  There were several doors down a long hallway towards the back of the building.  You take the first two, and I’ll take the ones in the back,” said Johnny.

 

“Okay, be careful,” replied Roy.

 

Johnny motioned for Roy to go on, and he moved down the hall towards the back rooms.

 

Roy surveyed his assigned areas and found nothing.  As he headed back into the hallway, he saw smoke coming out of one of the rooms that Johnny had gone to.

 

“Johnny?  Johnny, where are you?”

 

Johnny didn’t answer Roy’s call.  Roy moved quickly to find his partner.  The smoke was thick and he could barely see where he was going.  He only made it a couple of feet into the room before nearly tripping over Gage.  The younger paramedic lay unconscious on the floor.  His air tank and mask were gone.

 

“Johnny? Johnny, can you hear me?”

 

Roy quickly grabbed Gage and lifted him up over his shoulder. 

 

Tom and Marco had seen the smoke and passed Roy in the hallway with the hose.  As the two worked to put out the fire, DeSoto carried his partner outside of the building.

 

Johnny was semi-conscious as Roy sat him down on the back of the squad.  He quickly placed an oxygen mask on his partner’s face.  Johnny could sense was what going on, but his head felt so heavy.  He suddenly began coughing uncontrollably.

 

“Take it easy, Johnny,” said Roy as he squeezed Gage’s arm.  “Just relax and breathe in the oxygen.”

 

Johnny lifted the mask off of his face. “I’m….I’m trying.”

 

Roy grabbed his hand and pushed the mask back in place.  “It would help if you’d leave that alone.”

 

Johnny felt his whole world was spinning.  His head and lungs hurt.  He mumbled to his partner under the mask.  “Roy….dizzy.” 

 

DeSoto caught his partner as he nearly slid off of the back of the squad.  Lowering Johnny to the ground, he placed a blanket under his head, taking note of a large lump in the back.

 

Roy checked Johnny’s vitals as Mike assisted in contacting Rampart and relaying the information to them. 

 

“What happened in there, Roy?” asked the Captain. 

 

“I’m afraid the same thing that happened to Chet, Cap.  Johnny’s got a pretty bad gash on the back of his head.  He also took in a lot of smoke.”

 

“How’d that happen?  I thought you two were in there together.”

 

“We were, but we split up to check out several rooms.”

 

Mike chimed into the conversation.  “Roy, the ambulance is around front.  They’re on their way back here.”

 

Roy quickly inserted an IV before placing Johnny into the ambulance.  The fire was easy to contain and had been quickly extinguished.  Marco drove the squad in, as Roy jumped into the ambulance with his partner.

 

Dr. Brackett met the ambulance at the emergency entrance, and ushered Roy and his victim into treatment room three.

 

“Roy, has he regained consciousness at all?”

 

“Not since I first brought him out of the building, Doc.  He has a pretty bad gash on the back of his head, and he took in quite a bit of smoke.  Someone stole his mask and tank.”

 

Dr. Brackett looked concerned. “I don’t like it that he hasn’t regained consciousness. His lungs sound fine but I think we need a head scan.”

 

Roy waited outside while the tests that were ordered by the doctor were being done on his partner.  Knowing that it would be awhile and that there wasn’t much he could do to assist in the treatment room, he went to the doctor’s lounge for a cup of coffee.

 

 

                       

 

 

 

A half hour had passed when Dixie stuck her head into the lounge.  “Hey, Roy, your partner’s awake and asking for you.”

 

“Is he going to be okay?”

 

“Yep, he’s just fine.  He only had a mild concussion and the smoke inhalation wasn’t as severe as we first thought.  They’re moving him to a room as we speak.”

 

“Oh, guess they want to keep him overnight?”

 

Dixie laughed.  “Oh yes, and he’ll be rooming with Chet.”

 

Roy smiled.  “Great, he’ll just love that.”

 

 

 

 

                                   

 

Johnny had only been in the room with Chet for a few minutes when the two started arguing.  Roy caught the tail end of their discussion.

 

“So, I see you have just as hard of a head as I do, Gage,” mused Chet.

 

“Lay off, Chet.  I don’t feel like arguing with you right now.  My head hurts too much and I really need some sleep.”

 

“Hey, I’m injured over here, too, ya know,” Chet replied, as though his feelings were hurt.

 

Roy swung open the door of the room.  “I think you both need to get some rest.  We’re going to need you back as soon as possible.  I have no idea who they’ll send to replace Johnny tonight.”

 

Johnny opened his eyes slightly.  “Sorry, Roy.”

 

“It’s not your fault, Johnny.  We just need to figure out why someone wants to harm firemen, and steal their air tanks and mask.  We need to be more careful from here on out.”

 

“Yeah…”whispered Johnny as he trailed off to sleep.

 

“You get some rest, too, Chet,” said Roy.  “I’ll be back in the morning to check on you two, and drive you back to your cars if you’re released.”

 

“Thanks, Roy.  I appreciate that.  And don’t worry, I’ll leave him alone.”

 

Roy smiled.  “Okay, I’ll hold you to that.  Goodnight.”

 

 

 

 

                       

 

Roy and Marco headed back to the station to find that the crew had settled back down in bed.  Another member of B shift came in early to replace Johnny. 

 

Morning came quickly and without further incident.  Roy was relieved to find that both Chet and Johnny would be released from the hospital, and could return the work on their next shift.  He met them in the lobby to take them back to their vehicles at the station.

 

“How are you two feeling this morning?”

 

“Despite a slight headache and an annoying roommate, I’m fine,” replied Johnny.

 

“Well, I could have had my own room if you hadn’t come along!”

 

Roy stopped the two before the argument went any further. “Look, let’s discuss this some other time.  I’m tired, and you two need to get home and get some rest.”

 

Neither of the men argued with Roy as they followed him out to his car.  DeSoto dropped them off at the station and headed home.  It had been a long shift and he was glad it was over.  He knew that due to the shortage, they could all be called back soon. Roy didn’t waste any time changing his clothes and going to bed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After some much needed rest, Roy joined his family for dinner.  His wife, Joanne, had just placed the food on the table when he sat down. 

 

“You still look pretty tired, Roy.  Are you okay?” asked Joanne.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine.  We had a rough shift.  Chet and Johnny were both attacked.  Someone stole their air tanks and masks.”

 

“Oh my gosh, are they alright?”

 

“They’re both fine.  They’re the reason I was late getting home.  I had to pick them up from the hospital this morning, and take them back to their cars.”

 

Roy’s son Chris was quietly listening to the exchange between his parents, but couldn’t resist commenting on what he’d heard.

 

“Dad, that sounds just like what happened to these two firemen in that movie I saw last week.”

 

“Oh yeah?”

 

“Yeah, these two guys wanted to use them to rob a bank by starting a fire and smoking everyone else out.  They didn’t get away with it, though.”

 

Roy looked up at Joanne.  “I thought you didn’t want him going to violent movies?”

 

“Aww, Dad, it wasn’t that violent.”

 

Joanne spoke up.  “The advertisements looked harmless.   I’ll have to check further into it the next time.”

 

“Well, at least in this case, it gives me a clue as to where someone might have gotten the idea to steal air tanks from,” replied Roy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roy had been right when he felt they would be called in for duty before their next shift.  Until the wild fires were contained, they would all be putting in long hours.  He called and checked on Johnny before heading to the station.  His partner was already on his way in.  DeSoto met him in the locker room.

 

“How’re you feeling, Johnny?  Does your head still hurt?”

 

Roy ran his hand down the back of Johnny’s head before his partner pulled away.

 

“I’m fine.  It’s still a little sore but I’ll live.”

 

“Well, alright, Junior,” replied Roy.  “Still, I plan to keep an eye on you today.”

 

Johnny smiled.  “You do that, Pally!”

 

                       

 

 

 

 

Station 51 was finally called out to relieve another station at the wild fire.  Roy kept his promise, and didn’t let his partner out of his site.  Of course, babysitting John Gage proved to be a difficult task.

 

While surveying an area around a small neighborhood, Roy lost sight of his partner.  His concern grew as the fire drew closer than expected.

 

“Johnny?  Where are you?”

 

“Roy!” Yelled Johnny.  “I’m over here!  I need your help!”

 

DeSoto followed Johnny’s voice to a small clearing.  Johnny was struggling to get to the other side of a small hill that surrounded the back of a large white house.

 

“Johnny, get back!  What are you doing?”

 

“Roy, I saw them.  They were on the house.  We have to get to the other side of the hill!”

 

Roy ran to his partner’s side.  “Saw who, Johnny?  What did you see?”

 

Johnny grabbed Roy’s arm.  “Roy . . .I saw . . .two kids  . . .”  Johnny’s voice trailed off.

 

“Are you okay, Johnny?” asked DeSoto.  His partner appeared to be slightly sluggish.

 

“Not sure . . .feel . . .funny . . .Roy,” replied Gage. “Gotta help . . .kids.”

 

Roy grabbed Johnny in time to keep him from falling flat on his face. 

 

The paramedic quickly radioed for help.  “Cap, we may have two kids trapped up on the left ridge.  Gage passed out on me.  I’m going to need some up help up here.”

 

“Help’s on the way, Roy,” replied Captain Stanley.

 

As soon as the crew from station 51 located Roy, he grabbed his partner and headed to the medical station.  The others would assist in searching for the kids.

 

Roy laid Johnny down on the cot in the middle of the make shift emergency station.  Dr. Morton, who was volunteering his services for the fire, quickly joined him.  “What happened, DeSoto?”

 

“I’m not sure.  I think maybe it’s heat exhaustion,” replied Roy.

 

Morton checked Johnny’s vitals. “I think you’re right.  We need to hydrate him and get him cooled down right away.”

 

Roy wasn’t able to stay by Johnny’s side for long.  Captain Stanley called him on the radio. “Roy, we spotted the kids Johnny saw.  It appears they’re on top of the house.  And, you won’t believe this . . .”

 

“Don’t tell me, they have air tanks and masks,” replied Roy.

 

“Yep, pal.  They sure do,” replied Hank.  “Looks like we found our culprits.  Now we just need to get to them.”

 

“I’m on my way back up, Cap.”

 

“Don’t worry, Roy,” said Morton.  “I’ll take care of him.”

 

Roy smiled. “I have no doubt.  I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

 

 

                       

 

 

 

Roy headed back to join his co-workers.  The task of rescuing the two boys proved difficult.  They were sitting on their house with a water hose and wearing the air masks that they had stolen.  Getting to them was easy.  Talking them down was the hard part.

 

Marco was able to convince them that the fire department would do everything they could to save the house.  With hesitation, they came down from the structure.  As a precaution, the police were there to escort them out of the area. 

 

“Are you gonna send us to jail?” asked one of the boys.  “I mean . . .for stealing the air tanks.”

 

“Yeah,” said the second boy. “We didn’t mean to hurt anyone.  We just wanted to help protect our house.  My mom was so upset about losing it.”

 

Captain Stanley patted one of the boys on the back.  “I guess you’ll have to talk to the police about that one.  What you did was very dangerous.”

 

                       

 

 

 

 

Roy quickly made his way back to the medical station.  To his dismay, his partner was nowhere in site.

 

“Dr. Morton.  What happened to Johnny?”

 

“I sent him to Rampart,” replied Morton.  “I wasn’t able to get his temperature down out here with the supplies I have.”

 

“Oh, is he going to be okay?”

 

“I’m sure he’ll be fine.  I’ll keep you posted if I hear different.”

 

Roy couldn’t help but be concerned.  He knew it would be hours before he would be able to get an update on Johnny since he had to go and assist the crew with the fire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next morning, A-shift was relieved for duty.  Roy called Joanne and told her that he wanted to stop and check on Johnny before heading home.  He hadn’t heard anything from Morton, who had been busy with minor casualties all evening.

 

When DeSoto reached the hospital, Dixie was manning the nurse’s station.  She immediately spotted Roy.  “Hi there.  I guess you’re looking for your partner?”

 

“Yeah, how is he?” asked Roy.

 

“Well, he gave us quite a scare last night, but he’s just fine.  They’ll probably release him later today.  I think he’s getting tired of spending his nights here.”

 

Roy smiled.  “I bet. Can I see him?”

 

“Sure thing. He’s in room 202.”

 

Roy took the elevator to the second floor of the hospital.  Just before entering his partner’s room, he heard Johnny talking with someone.  Johnny was embellishing on the mystery of the stolen air tanks and how HE had found them.

 

“Hi, Johnny,” said Roy.  “How’re you feeling this morning?”

 

“Oh, hi, Roy.  I’m fine, just fine.”

 

The nurse excused herself from the room, giving Roy a ‘thank you’ look for rescuing her from Gage.

 

Johnny tried to stop her, but she rushed out quickly.

 

“Thanks a lot, Roy,” complained Johnny.  “I was just about to get her number.”

 

Roy laughed.  “Well, you still have the rest of the morning.”

 

Johnny shrugged.  “Hmm, yeah. Guess you’re right.  So, they got to those kids I hear?”

 

“Yeah, and we were able to get your air tanks and masks back.”

 

“Chet called me a little while ago and told me all about it.  He said they wanted to be heroes and save their house.”

 

Roy sat down in the chair beside Johnny’s bed.  “Yeah, well they played a dangerous game doing that.  Can you believe they got the idea to steal your air tanks from a movie?”

 

Johnny readjusted himself in his bed.  “Really?  What movie?  I’d like to see that.”

 

“Uh, I’m not sure.  Why would you want to see that?”

 

“Oh, come on, Roy.  Aren’t you curious to see it?”

 

Roy laughed.  “Well, not exactly, partner.  I think living it was enough for me.”

 

 

Title graphic by Angela Daniel

 

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