Chapter Text
It was Saturday morning and the start of a new 24-hour shift for the 118, with the first call – a man with his foot stuck through the stairs – successfully behind them. Buck and Chimney were already complaining about their hunger, having skipped breakfast in preparation for the fancy brunch Bobby was preparing.
“Just eat a protein bar or something if you’re so hungry. Someone still needs to pick up the croissants and I haven’t even started on the eggs yet,” Bobby said to Buck, who was acting as if he would die if he was not fed soon.
“Why are we even having brunch and not just breakfast and lunch like normal people?” Chimney asked.
“Because,” Bobby said, “you all wanted something different. Now, if you want to speed things up, you can go pick up the croissants while you wait.”
Buck turned around on his chair. “Ravi!”
“What?” came the answer from the sofa, where Ravi was losing a round of Mario Cart against Hen.
“You need to go pick up the croissants.”
“Why me?” Ravi asked, not taking his eyes off the TV.
“Because you’re the one with the app,” Chimney cut in, walking over to him and leaning on the couch.
“Just so you know, I don’t own the app,” Ravi said dryly. “I just happen to own this thing called a smartphone, and I know all of you have one as well, so you could just download the app yourselves.” He finished the round well behind Hen and handed his controller to Chimney.
“We could, or, since you already have it, you can just do it,” Buck said.
Ravi sighed in defeat and got his phone out of his pocket. “Fine. But these croissants had better be worth it.”
“Trust me, they’re the best in town,” Bobby said. “And while you’re getting them, Buck can set the table.”
Fortunately for Ravi, the café was not too far from the station so he could easily just walk there. It was a small little shop squeezed between a laundromat and a Chinese restaurant that was seemingly never open, and their coffee was a little over-priced without offering anything special in terms of taste. The good thing about the café was that they offered freshly baked goods, which was probably what kept them in business despite the Starbucks down the street.
The bell on the door chimed as Ravi stepped in. It seemed to be a pretty quiet morning, with only two other customers sitting at opposite sides of the café. Ravi moved to the counter, but there was no-one there. He was about to ring the little bell when a freckle-faced teenager appeared from the back room. She fidgeted nervously with the string on her apron and looked at Ravi like he’d done something wrong by coming into the café.
“Hi, I’m here for my order,” Ravi said, lifting up his phone and showing her his order number.
The girl – Avery, judging from the name tag on her t-shirt – just stared at him blankly for a moment. Then she snapped back into reality.
“Yeah, um, the croissants, right?” she asked. “It’s gonna take a while. The oven, uh, it’s a little slow today.” Her hands twisted the string on her apron around so that she almost tugged the knot open.
“That’s fine, I’ll just wait here, then,” Ravi said. There was no way it could take too long, and hey, at least he would be getting the croissants fresh.
Avery stood still, opening and closing her mouth a few times before slipping to the back room again.
She must be new here or something, Ravi thought, or maybe Buck and Chimney are not the only ones who skipped breakfast. After all, the girl had been looking a bit pale.
Ravi looked around at the other customers at the café. In the far corner at the back there was an old man reading a newspaper. The only other customer was a girl sitting next to the window, taking notes on her laptop from the two books in front of her. On a closer look, Ravi realized that he knew this girl.
“May? Hi,” he greeted, stepping closer.
“Huh? Oh, hi!” May said, taking her headphones off.
“Are you really studying on a Saturday?” Ravi asked with a smile. May sighed and closed one of the thick and boring-looking books in front of her.
“Yeah. I have this essay due next week and I needed a quiet place to study so I came here,” she explained.
“Is a library not quiet enough for you?” Ravi asked jokingly as he took a seat opposite her.
“You’d be surprised at how loud libraries can be,” May replied. “What about you? Are you doing a coffee run?”
“Croissants, actually. Bobby’s making us brunch,” he explained.
“Oh, I’m jealous. He made us brunch once, and I don’t think I’ve ever had eggs that good,” May said.
Ravi was just about to reply when Avery emerged from the back room again. He expected her to be bringing out his order, but the only thing in her hands was a key that she was squeezing like her life depended on it. She walked around the counter and was heading towards Ravi and May. Her face looked pained, like she was apologizing for something, and instead of stopping at their table, she walked past them to the door. Ravi heard a small click behind him and turned his head. Avery had locked the door.
Ravi had no time to start questioning what was going on. As Avery reached to close the shades on the window, someone else came out of the back room. He was a tall, skinny man, probably in his mid-thirties. But it was the object in his hand that drew Ravi’s attention.
A gun.
Pointed right at him.
“Everybody, hands up where I can see them! Now!” the man growled.
Ravi raised his hands slowly. He looked at May, who stared back with wide eyes filled with disbelief and panic. She too raised her hands, one of which held her phone that showed just a single 9 that she had dialed.