Chapter 6 #2
Not a single person had anything negative to say and there were a lot of good ideas that popped up.
Braun wrote them all down in a text chain that was connected to the firehouse.
Something that would be seen and typed up by Chief Campanelli's secretary.
There were a lot of people working at the station and Kaleo knew it was going to take a few shifts to get everyone and everything straight in his head, but he was going to have a great time doing it.
The meeting had to wrap up because the next shift was about to start.
His shift.
When Kennedy got up to leave, everyone got up along with her.
If his mom had been there, she would have nodded in approval at his manners.
When he called her the next time, he'd make sure to tell her about Kennedy's ideas and see what she thinks about it.
His mom had volunteered for almost everything in his childhood.
School events? Yep!
Afterschool programs!? Absolutely.
Even scouts and hula, his mom was there.
She had to have some ideas on implementation. She wasn't just a planner. His mom was a doer.
The unmistakable sound of a firetruck reached his ears and he looked up to see the Engine assigned to Firehouse Twenty-Nine rumbled onto the wide drive from the road. The massive engine inside the truck purred and prowled as it cruised easily onto the apparatus floor.
He stood there, taking it all in as the truck came to a stop and the doors opened up, spilling firefighters onto the concrete floor.
He had a feeling that he was grinning like an idiot as he stood there, but it really couldn't be helped.
He probably had this same look on his face when he'd gone on that field trip as a child.
It just couldn't be helped.
"Kaleo?"
He thought he heard someone say his name, but just as he was about to turn his head he saw one of the guys on Engine open a side compartment.
Curious, he tilted his head to take a look at how they stored things inside.
"Duke?"
That turned his head.
Kennedy was watching him closely. "What's got you smiling?"
He pointed a thumb at the Engine truck. "It's going to be a bit of a thing to get used to." He lowered his hand and looked at her. "Red," he explained. "Back in Hawaii, they're all yellow."
Kennedy's grin widened. "That would take a little getting used to."
"Really?"
It was the lieutenant moving to stand beside him. "Yellow, huh?"
Kaleo gave him a simple nod. "Every fire truck. Big and small. I guess I just didn't think about how things would be different here." He laughed a little. "Even down to the color of the trucks."
He could see the lieutenant thinking about his words. "The only yellow fire engines I know in Center City are at the airport." His eyes narrowed a little, his face held a look of concentration. "Funny, I've never thought about it before."
Kaleo hadn't expected something like this on his first day at the station, but he wasn't complaining. Not by a long shot.
Kennedy started to walk away and the lieutenant called out to her. "Thanks for coming to us with this opportunity, Kennedy."
She turned to look back at them with a wide grin. "I'm glad you think of it as an opportunity. I was worried that you'd think I was crazy."
Kaleo understood that a little too much. "Crazy can be good sometimes."
Kennedy nodded, blushing a little.
As she talked to Gibson, Kaleo looked at the big clock above the door.
He still had to go into the equipment room and find his turnout gear. If there was a call out, he didn't want to be caught flat footed.
He took a few steps backwards and turned to head back inside when he heard the lieutenant shout.
"Kennedy! Get down!"
The air was split with the sound of several gunshots.
Shit!
He turned his head in the direction of the street and saw a car race off.
He took a few steps toward the door, but couldn't see much more.
Kaleo got down beside the lieutenant and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll get the med kit."
Braun nodded and Kaleo ran to the shelves along the wall. He picked up a med kit while he kept his ears trained on what was happening on the apron.
There was man leaning over Kennedy and he looked pissed.
Well, maybe not pissed, but he had a whole lot of emotions struggling to get out, but he didn't look like he had a lot of experience with it.
He did have the look of a man on the edge.
If he didn't know better, he'd say that the man with his hands on Kennedy's wound was a man in love.
He had the med kit open a half a second later, but an ambulance rolled in onto the apron from the street.
The lieutenant looked up. "Ramsey's here."
Ramsey. Kaleo filed away that name and backed off to wait, a med kit at the ready.
He certainly hadn't expected a shooting at the firehouse.
As the EMTs moved in, Kaleo let out a breath.
Another firefighter came up beside him. "Hey. You're the new guy, right?"
Kaleo nodded. "I'm Kaleo Kenney from-"
"I heard they call you Duke back home."
Kaleo nodded again. "Yeah."
The other man nodded in response. "They've got his in hand."
Kaleo looked over and saw that the other man was right. At this point having more people around was counterproductive.
"They call me Greco. I'll explain more later," he tipped his head toward the door. "Why don't you come with me. I can show you where to find your gear and where to stow your stuff."
Kaleo nodded. "Thanks. I should get things settled in before..."
"Before the action starts?" Greco shook his head. "It's already started, man. Come on. I'll show you the important stops on the tour and we'll make sure you're ready before the next crazy thing happens around here."
LEXIE
On her next break, Lexie stepped outside just in time to see an ambulance rush past the conference building. She stepped closer to the class and felt an odd rock of sensation drop into her belly.
It was an unusual sensation that didn't have a name.
Instinctively she reached for her phone only to remember that she didn't have it with her.
They'd left their phones at the registration desk.
It didn't make any sense.
Kaleo was a firefighter.
She'd seen an ambulance pass by and there was no reason why she should think about Kaleo like this. To worry that he'd been hurt.
No reason, right?
Except she'd be lying to say she had 'no reason.'
They'd only spent a few hours together, but she'd felt a real connection to him.
There was no denying that.
She just didn't know how to get rid of this feeling that something had gone wrong.
Lexie lifted up her hand and used the heel of her hand to press against her heart.
It was crazy, right?
The test room door opened up behind her and a voice called out into the quiet of the hallway. "One hour left! One hour left."
Lexie turned around and shook her head to clear her thoughts.
She really needed to focus.
After the test was over, she'd call Kaleo and see how things were going on his first shift at Twenty-nine.
It was probably just fine.
Right?
The monitor at the door held it open for her to go back into the testing room.
She walked back to her desk and sat down to finish the last handful of questions on the test, but she just couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone wrong.