Where There’s Heat – By Aliza Mann #3
So, she had taken offense to the resources remark? Christ, he should have known. “That’s not what I meant, and I think you know that.” The pounding headache tightened around his skull as he explained. He needed to get out before they were trapped in the ring of fire.
“Doesn’t matter what I thought, only what you said. Get inside the car,” she said, then opened her door, got in the driver’s seat and crossed her arms.
Mike opened the door and sat beside her in the passenger seat. The tension between them was thick as lumber. “Let’s go. We need to get to Palisades Drive. That’s where Daniel is. Once we get you back to the command post, we’ll get a vehicle and come back to finish, time permitting.”
“I can wait for you to finish?—”
“No, you can’t. I can’t risk putting you in danger. You’re a civilian with no training, and we need an emergency vehicle anyway in case someone needs our help,” he said, trying like hell to keep his volume in check. Charity Davis had the ability to make him crash out like no other.
“Alright. I guess that makes sense. As long as you needed to go anyway. I couldn’t bear to think that some resident was trapped due to me and my cat.” Then the car was in motion, backing down the driveway and onto the street.
A deep gray smog was thickening around them as they navigated the street with ever decreasing visibility.
Mike knew from experience that the battle going on with other neighborhoods in LA County was a losing one.
His stomach twisted at the thought. Losses to fires were intense, but to have wildfires of that scale occur in LA was unprecedented.
The drought, winds, and the sheer size of the population made for a deathly cocktail.
People had loved ones and communities that could be lost, so he needed to keep his head in the game.
At the moment, all he could think about was his loss, his potential loved one seated next to him.
It was a stupid, stupid thought. The woman hated him.
He could feel her seething even then as they made a left turn closer to the beach.
“We’ll have to move slowly so we can see him through this smoke.
” Even as he said the words, he wished they could move faster.
He was not going to endanger Charity even more than he already was.
Lifting the comm on his harness, he pressed the knob to communicate with Daniel.
“Daniel, watch for a late-model, black Audi crossover vehicle. Heading your way,” he said.
In a few moments, an affirmation came back. He glanced over at Charity and noted her set jaw and white knuckled grip on the wheel. “We’re going to be okay,” he assured.
“I know,” she bit out.
“I—uh… I’m sorry for saying you were wasting resources.
” While he was never one for sentimentality, and he knew what he meant when he said it, there was never any intent that she wasn’t worth the extra hassle.
She was definitely worth the arguments, the time, and the energy.
He just couldn’t concentrate when she was around.
He’d never been able to, since the first day he met her.
So, he could apologize for the misunderstanding.
Besides, how would she know? He’d certainly never told her as much.
If only because he knew she could never feel the same about him.
“Um hmph.”
He waited for a moment – hoping she would say she understood, or she knew what he intended, but nothing came. “I can be a little gruff at times, and I know?—”
“A little gruff? You are literally Billy Goat Gruff…”
“Okay, I am McGruff the Crime Dog. Happy?”
“Yes. I appreciate you airing out the bullshit and acknowledging your gross dereliction of kindnesses,” she said.
“You don’t need to use fifty cent words to call me an asshole.”
“Is that Daniel,” she asked, obviously unconcerned with his efforts to apologize.
He leaned forward to see through the thick ash beginning to fall from the sky.
He could make out a figure a few homes down the road.
“Yeah, that’s him.” The yellow suit with white and black reflective strips helped significantly.
“Pull up and over to the right,” he directed. “Dan, I see you. Coming to you.”
“Roger that,” came over the receiver.
“You know, no matter what you believe… I didn’t mean for my comments to come out that way.
I don’t ever want to imagine a world without you in it,” he said, then hurriedly exited the car.
At least, when he got back in, he wouldn’t be alone.
She was likely classy enough not to beat him down in front of others, even if the feeling wasn’t mutual.
And though she may not feel the same way, he’d said it.
Mike needed her to know at least some of what he felt for her…
What had he said when they were on the top of that smoky hill?
He couldn’t imagine a world without her…
Safely back at the command post, she waited for him to return.
It had already been some hours and things were getting dangerously close to their location.
Soon, any non-fire, EMT, police, and emergency services personnel would be moved to locations south to await an all clear of sorts.
The winds had escalated, and search and rescue efforts continued in many parts of the city.
Charity had only briefly heard Michael’s voice over communications a few times.
Each time, her heart had raced, and she could breathe a small sigh of relief.
But he, like so many other first responders and residents of LA County, were out there doing the best they could.
The situation was so much more worrying than a relationship.
The way they’d left things hadn’t helped either.
All anyone could do was pray for their safety and well-being.
In her case, it was a little bit more. Had they not been so adversarial, perhaps not waiting for a life-or-death situation, a cataclysmic event to occur before professing their interest in one another, Charity wouldn’t be sitting there on the edge of her seat wondering what he meant.
She walked over to look at the digital map of the city showing hot spots, active fires based on atmospheric heat signatures, and tiny dots representing first responders to track their movements throughout the county. She stared, wondering which of the dots represented Mike.
“We’re doing our best we can to save as many lives as we can today, Councilwoman Davis.” The Command lead, Hanna Sarmento, had sidled her for who knew how long.
Charity had been so deep in thought, she hadn’t even noticed.
She glanced over at Hanna with her short, cropped hair and the arresting compassion etched in her expression.
She attempted a consolatory smile and nodded.
“I know you will. We have premier public services in LA County. I have no doubt you will bring everyone you can out of this safely,” she said before returning her attention to the boards in front of her.
The answer was textbook, but Charity was struggling to focus on anything else.
The battle of what their relationship would turn out to be was heavy, yes.
But she was also concerned about him. Had been since she’d watched them roll out of the post a few hours before.
It was too dangerous for her to leave, and he’d been right before when he told her it would strain resources for her to place herself in harm’s way in fire zones, let alone to go looking for him.
Yet, it was what she wanted more than anything.
“Well, if you need anything, please let me know. We are receiving updates as often as possible.” With that, Hanna left her to stare at the movement of the blinking lights and each zone turn from red to yellow and back again.
Fires were reigniting thanks to the unrelenting winds.
It was what they’d planned for, but being in the active fire, things were way more intense than she’d ever imagined.
“Hanna,” Charity called out. “I do wonder if there’s something I can help with?
Maybe at one of the makeshift hospitals?
I don’t have medical training, but I can help family members locate their loved ones.
” Having a meaningful task would help keep her mind off Michael…
Mike, but she kept that part to herself.
“Yes, they have been overrun with evacuees who’ve been separated from their family members. You’ll have to go in one of the EMT units. We don’t want to add any more cars to the traffic snarls and some of the roads are impassable.”
“That’s fine. Anything. I just can’t sit by and watch all this.
If I can help in any way , I want to be of service.
” Despite her Mike dilemma, she would help others.
She’d meant it. In an ideal situation, she would want to talk over where they stood, but it wasn’t ideal.
Nothing about any of it was fair, but she had a duty to support her community.
If the first responders’ bravery showed her anything, it would be to put the safety and needs of others before her own.
Those instances where people depended on their government were the exact reason she was voted into office.
Politicians who ignored the requirement of servant leadership did not deserve to be officials, in her opinion.
“Follow me. We have a unit heading out now. You can tag along.” Hanna turned and headed for the exit.
Once they’d flagged down the EMTs heading over to the medical area, Charity turned to Hanna. “Can you do me one more favor?”
“Sure thing, Councilwoman…”
For the first time, she missed the way Mike had called her Councilperson…
What a silly thing to notice, she thought.
“Will you let Chief Henry know that I will be around… whenever he’s ready?
” It was vague enough to sound like the delivery of some generic missive, but she hoped he would understand what she meant.