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“So you and Chris are having fun on the pier?”
Maddie wedged her phone in between her ear and shoulder while stirring sugar into her coffee. The day had not been incredibly stressful, luckily, so she had a few minutes to talk to her brother before getting back to her desk.
She knew Evan had been struggling lately, especially with this latest health setback. Hopefully a fun day at the pier would help bring up his spirits. It helped that he had one of the happiest kids in
Los Angeles with him in the form of Christopher Diaz.
“Yeah, even if I couldn’t go on one of the rides because I’m too tall. Christopher has been teasing me about it ever since.”
She had to cover her mouth to keep her giggling from being heard. Buck sounded genuinely put out that he couldn’t do something with the young boy. She remembered a time when Buck wasn’t tall enough to ride the same rides as her during their rare trips to fairs or Hershey Park. His growth spurt after she left for college had ended that, but she’d never forget his whining about it.
“But it’s been a good day?”
“Yeah. I’m glad we decided on the pier instead of waiting for the next movie. Who would have thought that Jurassic Park would still be this popular in theaters?”
This time, Maddie didn’t bother to hide her giggles. “Buck, I bet if you told that to Chimney, he’d freak out.”
There was a huff from the speaker. “Mads, that’s mean.”
Maddie gave Josh a smile and a coffee salute as she started to make her way back to her desk. “Well, have fun and take lots of pictures. I want to see you having fun today, okay? Keep your mind off of things.”
“Sure thing. We’re going to find a bench to take a break, then we’ll be back with the fun. Love you?”
“And you too!”
She set down her phone and reached to pick up her ear piece. Her brother was happy and having a great day. She could focus on the people of Los Angeles.
Less than ten minutes later, a tsunami hit the Santa Monica pier. As soon as Josh came and delivered the news to her, Maddie dissolved into tears. Evan… Evan and Christopher were gone.
“Dispatch to Captain 118. Do you copy?”
Bobby leaned back against the side of the small boat and responded. “This is Captain Nash. Go dispatch.”
There was a small pause, as if whomever at Dispatch was handling the radio had to take a breath. “Captain, this is Josh Russo. Maddie’s with me.”
Chimney looked up at the sound of his girlfriend’s best friend. “Josh?” he muttered. “What’s wrong with Maddie if he’s calling us now?”
“Bobby,” Maddie's voice came over the radio. It was shaky in a way that the static couldn’t hide. “Buck was on the pier. He and I were talking right before it hit. He had Christopher with him.”
Everyone on the small boat froze. Buck and Christopher were there. Here. Somewhere in this massive amount of water that now covered most of Santa Monica. And they hadn’t known. They thought he was safe at the movies, introducing Christopher to the wonders that was Jurassic Park at Chim’s suggestion.
Hen reached over and pulled Chimney into a quick hug before reaching out for Bobby.
Bobby took an extra second to swallow back the thought that he’d just lost Buck for good this time. “Maddie, Eddie is at the old VA hospital, accompanying another firefighter with injuries. Can you get word to him?”
“I’ll do it,” Josh said, taking back over. “Can you… keep an eye out for them?” The ‘now that you know they’re out there’ was left unsaid, but heard by the entire team.
Hen took the radio from Bobby’s shaking hand, giving him the moment he needed. “We will. You know we will. He’s one of us.”
The three continued through the flooded streets, now with a new mission.