“Don’t forget the lesbian couple.” I nod at Salem and start the report. “They were my favorites.”
“We don’t do favorites on call. Every life counts.” And blah blah blah. “But yeah, they were my favorite, too. Did you see how pristine their house was?” Nobody needs that much white in a home.
“Yup, I kinda wanted to mess it all up. Give it some color. But their vibe was vibin’ and I was there for it.”
Thirty minutes later, Salem says goodbye but I stay behind, claiming to need the bathroom.
Choosing the latrine farthest from the communal room where everyone is taking a break before the next call, I quickly change into dirty clothes, a tattered wig with long hair, and dark glasses to hide my face.
Oh, yeah. And let’s not forget the fucking beard Parker told me would hide my gorgeous face. Her words.
Hiding in the bathroom, looking like I’ve been living in the woods for the last decade, I check my watch and curse.
This is so bad. So, so bad.
With my hands clutching the sink, I raise my head and stare at my reflection in the dirty, scratched up mirror.
“What the fuck are you even doing?” I don’t dare speak, just mouth the words, shaking my head at how incredibly stupid this is.
Then I remember it’s for Grinder. Our Grinder. Our Diego.
The familiar shrill of the alarm accompanied by the intercom calling out both the on-duty EMTs and all firemen on shift for a full station response sounds and it’s my cue to get ready to run.
The chaos outside the door isn’t surprising, considering we don’t often get a high-rise fire with people trapped inside. At least that’s what I told Parker to say on the burner phone. Now, all I have to do is steal a fucking ambulance.
As soon as all of the commotion is gone and the coast feels clear, I slowly open the door and look around. It’s dark, with the only people here either sleeping or hanging out in the commons. That’s when I run out to the back where our old ambulance is parked, retired from daily use.
The keys are in the ignition. I know because I preemptively put them there this morning when I arrived.
The entire time I’m committing this crime, it feels like I’m living outside of my body. And this isn’t even the worst part.
I drive to the compound, taking as many back roads as I possibly can, and once I’m with the brothers, I feel a little safer.
Parker jumps in my arms and hugs me so tight I’m afraid she’ll pop my lungs.
“You did so good, Spenny! See? Easy peasy!”
Yeah, that’s how I’m about to lose my career too…easy peasy.
Again, I remember why I’m doing this. It’s not like I haven’t already broken the law before. It occurs to me that the women in my life are trying to send me the message that I’d look spectacular in an orange jumpsuit and behind bars.
The brothers load the ambulance, a couple hiding in the back while Parker and I change into real EMT uniforms for the second part of our show.
Trespassing. Then breaking—literally—and entering.
By the time we reach the location, I’ve turned on the red and blue lights and show the guys at the gate my ID. The fake one.
“Who called you?” The big burly guy with a mustache stolen straight out of the eighties is staring at me, waiting for an answer. It feels like he just knows I’m lying, which, in turn, makes a thin layer of sweat build on my upper lip.
“Sir, I don’t know. I just get the addresses with the description of the situation and the name. I’ve got a Mr. O’Malley with possible cardiac arrest.” I don’t know what I was expecting, but being this calm when out right lying to a couple of thugs with big guns isn’t it. “Look, I can leave, I don’t care but, someone in there is dying and every second counts.”
The clean-shaven guy who decided his balding up top could be compensated by growing out his hair waves us in. We don’t have long, this was always the plan. Go in quick and make an explosive entrance.
Then wing it. Again, Parker’s words, not mine.
“Go over there, to the left. See that small entrance? The Reapers’ tech dude said that’s the basement.” Parker is pointing to a side door at the bottom of exterior cement stairs. It makes sense, I guess. In any case, it’s not like we have many options.
I pull up and the guys get out, arms full of weapons.