Chapter 54
‘You’ve got sixty seconds to clear the area, GET A MOVE ON,’ the watch commander shouted, as Ben checked around him, looking for casualties, his vision obscured by smoke, his breathing loud in his ear as he sucked in oxygen through the mask he was wearing.
He could just about see Vick ahead of him, holding up two fingers to indicate two more rooms left to check, pointing to her right. Ben headed to the opposite side of the narrow hallway, pushing open the doors to lean inside.
All clear.
They burst through the double fire doors at the end of the corridor and into the stairwell, racing down the stairs to the ground floor before finally making it out of the building and into the open-air car park.
Even though it was just a training exercise, Ben’s heart was pounding and the adrenaline was coursing through his veins as he pulled the mask from his face and sucked the cool, clean air deep into his lungs, shrugging off the straps of the tank from his shoulders.
‘Good work everyone!’ bellowed the commander. ‘Successful evacuation, no casualties. All bodies accounted for.’
Packing up all the kit and readying the engine for departure, Ben’s thoughts drifted, not for the first time that day, to Jenni. He’d texted her quickly before his shift, but had yet to receive a reply.
He hoped Oscar was home now, and he hoped… What did he hope?
Obviously, he hoped that the cat was okay, but also that he’d still get to see him. He hoped, too, that he would still see Jenni. And he hoped Jenni would still want to see him. Not just see him, spend time with him. Spend more time with him.
He realised with a jolt that the time he’d spent with her over the last week had been the happiest he’d felt for a long time, despite being worried about Oscar.
‘Ben, are you going to actually shut that door or are you just going to stare at it for another ten minutes?’ Vick shouted out to him, interrupting his thoughts.
He slammed the compartment door shut and fastened it, before jumping up to take his seat in the engine.
‘Come on, then, out with it. What’s going on?’ Vick asked, impatiently.
‘Oh nothing. Just that the cat has been found,’ said Ben glumly.
‘Right, but that’s good news, surely?’ asked Vick, puzzled. ‘So why do you look so miserable?’
‘Yeah, it is. It’s just that—’
‘Now you don’t have an excuse to hang out with Jenni anymore?’ interrupted Vick with a shrewd glance.
‘Yes. If you must know. What if he’s the only reason she’s been spending time with me and now it will go back to… normal. Me, on my own again.’
‘Blimey, someone’s having a pity party today,’ said Vick, smiling. ‘Just ask her out and get on with it, Ben, you’re being silly. Either that or kidnap her cat. The choice is yours.’
As Ben took a shower at the end of his shift, he realised she was right. And when he got home, he knew exactly what he needed to do.