Chapter Two
Blaze
“Yo, Draco, you’re with me today.”
I sighed as the fire inspector motioned at me.
Everyone at the firehall knew my name. First and last. Yet, I got called Draco more often than not.
They made it seem like I was the only dragon shifter in Saramto, which I found hard to believe.
There had been plenty of my kind leave the dragon community for other cities and towns throughout my life.
Hopping into the passenger seat, I buckled up. “So, where are we going?”
“Shifter Towers.” He started the truck before driving out the back door of the garage. “It will take a couple weeks for me to get to all the businesses there, but we’ll see how many we can get through today.”
Provided there wasn’t an emergency we got called away for. That happened every now and again when we were out in the community for training or events, but not as often as I’d expected when I moved to the big city.
“Are there usually a lot of infractions?” I wanted to know what to expect, what my duties would involve as his assistant.
“Not really.” He turned right onto Main Street, taking us past the three seventy-story high-rises.
“Mostly blocked fire exits or misplaced fire extinguishers. I rarely hand out any fines. Usually, businesses just need a reminder of the fire code. The buildings themselves are usually well-maintained with up-to-date logbooks. We’ll test the alarm systems and the elevators.
It’s been a while since we got a call about someone being stuck in one of them. ”
“A while?” It wasn’t a call I had responded to since I started with the 347, yet I had been trained on the procedure.
Bruce shrugged, switching into the left-hand lane.
“A few months, maybe? Though most of the time, someone from the maintenance team can get the elevator moving again. The problem is that people use their phones to dial emergency services before thinking to press the call button in the car itself. Many times, they’re out before we arrive. ”
“What do you want me to do in there?” As with any scene we went to, it was best to know as much information as possible ahead of time to do our job quickly and efficiently.
“To start, just pay attention and observe. I’ve seen you on various sites, and you catch things that others don’t.
” He turned left onto a roadway that went alongside tower three before turning ninety degrees to go behind the other two buildings.
It was designated for delivery and emergency vehicles only.
“In each business, I’ll ask you to check different things.
Mostly, you’ll be my eyes and ears when I’m focused on the business owner.
You would be surprised what happens in the background while I’m introducing myself and stating the purpose for our visit. ”
I wasn’t sure if I wanted more details or preferred to learn on the go based on what the day would bring. It wasn’t as if anyone was in immediate danger.
After parking in a spot adjacent to the maintenance entrance for tower one, Bruce turned off the truck then grabbed his messenger bag from the back seat. “Let’s go.”
No heavy coat, pants, or boots needed. No helmet or any other PPE. I felt almost naked without our turnouts as I walked toward the building alongside the fire inspector.
Bruce had just pushed the button beside the maintenance entrance when the door opened, a graying older man who gave off the scent of a goat shifter, on the other side.
“It’s good to see you again, Inspector Stanfield.” He nodded to Bruce then to me. “I expected you to be coming around sometime soon.”
Bruce chuckled. “You, too, George. I expect you to have your logbooks all up to date for me.”
“Of course.” He moved aside and ushered us in. “I’m trying to train the younger ones to keep them filled out, but if it’s not computerized, they want nothing to do with it.”
Bruce patted him on the back. “When the power fails, it’s a good time to remind them why paper records are important.” He sidestepped to stand beside me. “This is Dra— I’m mean, this is Blaze. He’s helping me out today.”
George glanced at my coat then up at me. “Not a probie. How did you wrangle this one?”
“Walked in this morning and said I wanted him with me today.” Bruce gave my shoulder a quick squeeze. “Captain agreed, so I grabbed him and left before he could change his mind.”
I didn’t know whether to be more surprised the inspector knew my real name or that he requested me to shadow him. Though I kept my thoughts to myself, having learned that nothing good ever came from calling out those in my field with more authority than me.
Bruce checked all the binders that George put in front of him, detailing all the drills, tests, and inspections that were done by the maintenance team or professional contractors.
At the end of each, he added his stamp before examining the room itself.
He shone his flashlight into corners and along the ceiling.
“If only everyone were as organized as you, George.” Then Bruce turned to me.
“Quite often maintenance rooms are used as storage rooms, becoming fire hazards instead of the building hub they’re meant to be. ”
After clapping his hands, Bruce folded them together. “Now, all we need is to test the fire alarm while we’re here.”
George nodded. “I’ll let everyone know and then we can go ahead.” He announced over the building’s PA system that the system was going to be tested, giving them a five-minute warning.
We exited the maintenance room into the concourse of tower one once the alarm had been tested and we said goodbye to George. There were many businesses on the first floor alone, and we had seventy floors to visit in one building.
We visited food markets, bookstores, medical clinics, lawyers’ offices, and so many more businesses, each of them with a slightly different checklist of what we looked for.
To get to the next floor, we walked up, ensuring neither the stairs nor the exit doors were blocked in any way.
While it wasn’t the training I was used to, the process required focus and endurance.
For lunch, we went back down to NJ Foods—a place I didn’t know was there until that morning—and bought prepared meals to enjoy before getting back to work. Luckily, we rode the elevator from the main floor up to the twentieth, instead of taking the stairs, to start where we’d left off.
We visited the coding school first, finding only the woman who owned the business there.
“Hi, Madeleine.” Bruce greeted her in a much friendlier tone than any of the other people we’d visited already.
She smiled at him. “I see you’re Inspector Stanfield today instead of Hudson’s dad.”
Nodding, he leaned against the reception desk. “I have to do this as a formal visit even though I know we’ve already discussed fire safety issues.”
“Go ahead.” She gestured down the hall. “The classrooms are open. I’ll just be here doing some admin work.”
From the brief interaction, I assumed Bruce had at least one child, Hudson, and took him to the coding school on a regular basis. Since I missed the Christmas party last year, I had yet to meet most of the family members of those I worked with.
“In a place with so many computers,” Bruce said as we walked down the hall, “it’s important to ensure there are enough outlets for everything so that no outlet or circuit is overloaded. I know Madeleine has had an electrician come in to work on that, but we’re here to check everything officially.”
Within ten minutes, we had checked the outlets, the alternate exit, the fire extinguishers, and all the sprinkler heads before saying goodbye and heading across the hall to the day care.
Unlike the frosted-glass-fronted businesses on the various floors we’d visited so far, the day care had walls all along the hallway except a four-foot pane of glass on either side of the entrance door.
To keep the children in? I didn’t know much about kids and wasn’t in a rush to find a mate and have some.
Not after my last relationship blew up in my face and led to me leaving my family and the town I grew up in.
“Good afternoon.” Bruce sauntered up to the counter where a young omega stood behind the counter, glasses resting on the tip of his nose as he glanced up from the computer to look at us.
“I’m Inspector Stanfield and this is Firefighter Gillinois.
We’re here from Station 347 to inspect all the businesses in Shifter Towers for fire code compliance. May we come in and have a look around?”
His lips pressed together in a grim smile before he removed his glasses.
That’s when I got a good look at him. Combed-backed blond hair, crystal blue eyes, and full cheeks that gave him a boyish charm.
He wore a gray knit sweater with his sleeves pulled up and blue jeans, both of which hugged his body enough to hint at his curves, but not skintight.
And a gold-colored name tag with “Ladon” engraved into it in black lettering.
A very cute omega even though he didn’t seem impressed by our visit.
With a sigh, he crossed his arms. “It’s nap time for our students. Can you do this with the lights dimmed and try to be quiet?”
Bruce chuckled. “How about we go up to the next floor then come back down?”
It was the first time he’d offered to come back later all day. Though this seemed to be a circumstance where that was warranted.
“Who’s here?” a sleepy voice asked from somewhere beyond the desk.
“Is it my daddy?” another voice called out much louder.
“Shh,” was the response before multiple voices had multiple questions for whomever was back with them.
Another grim smile from Ladon. “Never mind. It seems nap time is over. Go ahead in and be prepared to be inundated with questions from all the little monsters.”
Bruce chuckled as he stepped behind me and rubbed my shoulders. “That’s why I brought Blaze along with me.”
Terror filled my veins and my stomach twisted in knots. I really had no idea what to do with kids. With the inspector guiding me ahead, I took one step and then another, fearing what would greet me on the other side.
Yet, as I stepped past the counter, I caught a whiff of something faint and familiar. Another dragon shifter. I quickly glanced over at Ladon and purposefully sniffed for his scent. It was him. I was right. Another dragon did exist in Saramto.
I didn’t have time to ask him where he was from, barely had time to process the idea, before I was surrounded by dozens of children tugging on my hand or my pant leg, each with multiple things to say. I couldn’t make out any more than a single word here and there.
Bruce left me with them and one of the educational assistants while he took the other EA through the inspection process.
So many of the kids wanted me to pick them up so they could touch my face and my hair, or to hold them in the air like they were flying.
It was not what I’d expected when we drove to the towers that morning.
By the time we left the day care, I could barely hear myself think and wanted to shower.
That was my plan as soon as we arrived back at the station.
The cute dragon shifter wasn’t at the front desk when we left. I momentarily considered going back at the end of the day, but I didn’t know how receptive he would be to talking with me. Plus, I didn’t want to encounter all those kids again. I’d had enough of them for one day.