In the dayroom, Chet stood stunned. He had never seen his
Captain so angry about anything, not even the raw eggs in his helmet. With a
sigh he shook his head and went to get the cleaning supplies, including his toothbrush.
"I don't get it," he muttered. "This was the ultimate, perfect, flawless
joke. Gage was so sure of himself, so sure that I would lose this time and the
expression on his face when he lost was priceless. This should have been the
prank on the pigeon." Chet was interrupted by the klaxons sending the station
to a trapped child. E!E!E!E!E! Hank watched from the sidewalk as Johnny and Roy calmed the eight-year-old girl. According to the mother, Katie had just received a scooter for her birthday and was playing with in when she fell into the rose bushes. Hank sighed; Marco and Chet were still talking with the owner of the roses who absolutely refused to allow any to be cut. He wondered if they would have any more luck than he did. "How's it going?" Hank called to Roy. "Cap, Katie is so tangled in here I don't see any solution but to cut her out," Roy said. "Who in their right mind would have so many roses so close together to begin with?" Hank sighed. "At this point we can't cut them." "Are you kidding?" Roy asked. "Cap, we have to get her out of here. What's the problem?" "The owner doesn't want them cut." Gage stood so fast it startled everyone. He strode over to the middle aged woman who owned the roses. "Ma'am, we have a young child trapped and in a lot of pain," he said, anger tingeing his normally calm work voice. "We have to get her out. We understand that these plants are important to you but that child is more important. Now would you please tell us which ones we can cut?" Mike quickly stepped in and moved Johnny away. "Easy there pal," he whispered. "Let's let Cap deal with her. C'mon, we can go check and see how Katie is doing." Johnny flinched and pulled away from Mike's hands as he quickly walked back to where Roy was still working with Katie. "Johnny she just passed out," Roy yelled. "We've got to get her out of here now, go get the cutters from the engine." Above the loud protests from the owner, Johnny and Roy cut young Katie loose and transported her to Rampart. E!E!E!E!E! On the way back to the station, Roy and Johnny stopped for lunch at Johnny's favorite hamburger stand. They ate outside, alone, and Roy tried once again to talk to his best friend. "Hey Johnny, I'm really getting worried about you," Roy said. "I've never seen you take one of Chet's jokes so seriously. What's really wrong?" "I failed, Roy," Johnny said in a quiet voice. "Not just by losing that dumb bet but by involving you and Mike. I should never have done it. I don't deserve you guys as friends." Roy was stunned, he'd had no idea that Johnny was beating himself up because he'd gotten his friends involved in the ongoing prank war. Even thought he and Mike had told Johnny it was okay, it was obvious that Johnny didn't believe it. "Junior, what do Mike and I have to say of do to convince you that it's ok?" Roy asked. "We're not mad at you. We just want to help you." Johnny pushed his food away. "I'm not hungry," he said, hanging his head. "I'll go wait in the squad." E!E!E!E!E! Once back at the station, Johnny again retreated to the dorm and curled up on his bunk. Roy checked in with Hank and then went to find Mike. As he walked through the bay, he could hear Chet in the latrine. "I don't believe this, Gage should be the one in trouble," Chet said. "I don't know how DeSoto and Stoker found out about that pay off but they did! I was really looking forward to the fireworks, especially from DeSoto because he's a married man. That Gag always manages to come out on top, he kisses two of his co-workers and I end up in trouble for it. Even Marco took Gage's side and he's supposed to be my best friend." Kelly continued scrubbing the floor with added vigor because of the emotions running through his head. Roy was tempted to go pour a bucket of cold water over Chet's head but held back because he didn't want to get in trouble with Hank. Roy did have an idea though, one he would need some help with, to get back at Chet for what he did to Johnny. Roy continued on to find Mike. E!E!E!E!E! After dinner that night Marco went looking for Stoker, to give him a book from Mrs. Lopez, he found Mike and Roy out by the basketball hoop talking in hushed tones. While part of him was curious as to why they were outside when there was a good movie on TV, Marco let it slide; it had been a long and strange day for everyone, what was a little more craziness around the station. E!E!E!E!E! Late that night, Roy and Mike crept out of their beds and over to a sleeping Chet Kelly. They quickly gagged him so he wouldn't wake any of the others up, and then tied his hands and feet before carrying him into the day room. The station's mascot, Henry, was asleep on the sofa. Mike and Roy gently put Chet on the floor and stripped off his undershirt. While Roy moved Henry, Mike went to the fridge for the liver paste Roy had bought after one of the runs. "Since you're so big on kisses, we thought we'd let you have some loving too," Mike whispered, spreading the liver paste onto Chet's face, chest, and stomach. "After this, leave Johnny alone or you'll have us to deal with again." Chet watched, wide eyed, as he realized what they were going to do to him. Now he knew why Roy had made chili for dinner; Henry's breath would be worse than usual. Mike and Roy put Chet on the sofa. "Don't yell," Roy warned. "We're gonna un-gag you and take Henry to the door with us. He'll eventually work his way back to the sofa. Enjoy your kisses." Roy carefully untied the gag while Mike picked Henry up and they retreated to the door of the break room. "Oh, and Chet," Mike said, as he set Henry on the floor. "Don't let the Phantom make the mistake of coming after us; it wouldn't be healthy." E!E!E!E!E! Roy and Mike were barely back in their beds when the first shout echoed through the station. The others woke with a start, looked around to see who was missing and then everyone ran to the day room. It was a priceless picture; Chester B. Kelly on his back on the sofa with Henry standing on his chest, licking Chet's face. At that point, Chet didn't know what was worse, Henry's breath or his co-workers seeing him. "Who did this?" Hank asked, working hard to keep from laughing. Marco and Johnny didn't have his control; they collapsed against the walls laughing. Roy and Mike smiled at each other, hopefully now Johnny would get back to normal. "Cap can we worry about who later?" Chet sputtered as Henry continued to lick his face. "Just get him off me!" Hank was seriously torn; on one hand he wanted to let Chet suffer a little longer but on the other hand, they needed Chet available incase they got a run. "Ahhhh it tickles!" Chet shrieked as Henry licked his stomach and chest. "CAP!" "Well don't just stand there ya twits go help him," Hank said. The quiver in his voice showed how hard he was trying not to laugh. Marco looked up, tears running down his face. "Cap, he's gonna need a shower. Why not just let Henry clean him up!" "MARCO!" Chet yelled. "Because I said so," Hank replied, putting his hands on his hips. Chet was finally freed by his snickering co-workers and walked towards the showers, muttering about revenge; the sounds of their laughter echoed in his ears. The next morning Johnny found Mike and Roy outside enjoying the sun. He sat down with them. "Hey guys, thanks for last night," he said quietly. "It helped." "I'm glad you're feeling better, Junior," Roy replied. "But Mike and I had nothing to do with it. Maybe the phantom has competition." Johnny's crooked grin made a brief appearance. "I've learned a lesson too," he said. "No more bets with Chet. They're too painful." Roy and Mike looked at each other with a smile. They'd believe it when they saw it. But at least Chet knew Johnny had two very good friends watching his back and would ease up for a while. And Johnny was able to learn what good friends he had at the station. The three jumped when they heard a loud splash and a Spanish curse from inside; the phantom had struck again. Note: I actually did fall into a rose bush when I was eight. I had been riding a scooter on the hill I lived on and the breaks failed. It hurt like a %*!$#@ and I was in bed for a week and a half while all the cuts healed. Fortunately (or maybe not) they didn't have to call the fire department to get me out. My neighbor was steamed, they were her prize roses. feedback for Alexandra |