Stolen Moments by Kajakat Roy could tell from Johnny's body language, something was wrong. The beginning of the shift found Roy changing into his uniform when his forlorn partner walked in. The pained expression on Johnny's face was enough to let Roy know something wasn't right. Johnny sighed. He opened his locker door without saying hello to his partner. Roy was going to say something but thought twice. It was better to let Johnny be. The truth would come out eventually. Roy didn't take Johnny's lack of greeting personally. He knew Johnny too well. After tucking in his shirt and zippering his pants Roy began to leave. He turned around and asked, "Should I save you some coffee?" While Roy was dressing, Johnny was rummaging through his locker, looking for the unknown in the depths of his closet. Entirely lost in his own thoughts, Johnny didn't even notice movement around him, let alone a voice. Roy tapped Johnny on the shoulder. Johnny looked up, "huh?" "Want me to save you some coffee?" Roy asked for the second time. Johnny didn't answer immediately. He thought about it for some time as if the weight of the world depended on his answer. After what seemed to Roy to be an eternity, Johnny answered. "No, I had some at home. At least that wasn't taken." Roy furrowed his eyebrows upon hearing his partner's comment. "What wasn't taken?" Roy leaned against his locker waiting to hear Johnny's answer. "My coffee. That wasn't taken." Not finding whatever he was looking for, Johnny realized he had to change into his uniform. He began undressing. Sensing it was going to be a long shift with his sullen partner, Roy decided to cross the line and continue asking questions. "What was taken?" "Everything. I came home from my date last night and my apartment was broken into." The answer surprised Roy who was not expecting to hear this. "You were robbed?" Sitting on the bench, untying his shoes, Johnny looked up at Roy to answer. "Yes, I was robbed. Somebody broke into my apartment. They went through all my stuff. I still don't know how much was taken. It was like some animal decided to come into my home, take what they want and then leave. It looks like a tornado or a hurricane came through." "Did you call the police?" Roy asked. "Yup. They came over. I was told I wasn't the only robbery in my community. Others were victims too." Johnny looked down at the floor as the emotions were getting to him again. "The cops said even if the guy was caught, it was unlikely I'd get anything back. And it's unlikely the thief would get jail time, although I could go after the creep in civil court. Who has the time? Who has that kinda money? Remember how much Barney charged?" Roy didn't want to remember the time he and Johnny were robbery suspects. He needed to change the topic. "How much did they take?" "It wasn't that they took much, Roy. I don't have lots of stuff. It's the fact that my home was violated." Johnny gestured to his chest as he made that statement. Roy thought about what he just heard. He could only imagine how he'd feel if someone broke into his home, destroying the feeling of safety he tries to provide to his family. Johnny continued, "it was like some animal came in, took what they wanted an' left. My place is a mess. After this shift I'm going to go home and change the locks on my door. I may even get a stronger door." "Is that how they broke in, through the door?" "Yeah. The police said it was easy to break in. Ya know if I thought about it, I was settin' myself up. I know the security wasn't too good, but I thought it wouldn't happen to me." Johnny stood up and looked in his locker for his paramedic pin. He fastened it to his shirt. "Roll call in five minutes." Captain Stanley announced as he peeked into the locker room. "Okay Cap. We're coming." Roy said. He looked at his partner who was staring at the picture of Smokey Bear on the inside of his locker. "At least they didn't take you." Johnny tapped the poster with his left hand and closed his locker door. He joined Roy at the door and the two men exited the locker room. As they walked toward the engine bay, Johnny said, "In our work we see lots of bad things. I just never thought I'd be a victim like this. Ya know what I mean?" A philosophical Johnny Gage was a bit much for Roy so early in the morning. He gave a small laugh. "Yeah, Johnny, I know what you mean. I think you'd rather be hit by a car, or bitten by a snake or contract a monkey virus." Johnny stopped in his tracks when he heard Roy's comments. "No, I don't want that either." He thought for a minute, going over the conversation he had with Roy. Yes, he was a victim, but it wasn't going to stop him from doing what he loved best. A smile came across his face. Roy saw the change in Johnny's demeanor and was thoroughly confused. Not less then one minute ago, his partner was sulking and now an evil grin appeared on his face. "Okay, give it up?" Johnny laughed. I gotta tell you about my date last night. She was amazing!!!! Author's comments: Sometimes good intentions are stolen and others take the credit. Thanks to Fort Sheridan for my protection and my sanity. |