"he has a live grenade buried in his thigh." bobby sighs.
"uh, i thought this thing already went off." evan says, his brows furrowed in confusion.
"the launch grenade has two components: gunpowder which makes it travel and an explosive charge that makes it go 'boom.'" eddie explains.
"okay, so why didnt it go boom?" i question, rocking back and forth on my toes.
"its fitted with a proximity fuse. its a little smart sensor that tells the cal its traveled a safe enough distance from the shooter to explode. from his hand to his leg probably wasnt far enough." eddie says, crossing his arms.
"well, we cant bring him inside a hospital full of people, not with that still stuck in him." bobby says.
"we called the military for help. theyre sending someone up from pendleton, should be here within the hour." tim, the bomb squad leader says.
"he doesnt have an hour." evan shakes his head.
"i can do it." eddie says. "if he doesnt go to surgery soon, he'll die."
"youve done this before?" bobby asks, a brow raised.
"well, none if the guys i served with were dumb enough to shoot a live round in themselves, but im familiar with the ordnance." eddie shrugs.
a second passes, no one speaking.
"im in." evan and I both say at the same time.
"absolutely not." i shake my head at my little brother. "ill go."
"no, ann. you dont get to do that. im going." evan shoots back.
"oh go tell it to a fucking wall. im going and thats final." i roll my eyes.
the guy putting the blast-proof gear on me cant take his eyes away from my chest.
"okay, seriously?" i scoff after he basically sticks the velcro to my pants. "word of advice, buddy: eyes are always higher than the boobs."
i finish velcro-ing my vest myself and meet eddie at the ambulance. he hands me the blast-proof container and lets me step in first, following behind me.
i start the anesthesia to knock charlie out and peel back the gauze covering the live round.
"keep pressure on the wound while i pull it out, okay?" i nod and immediately apply pressure to the area.
eddie sticks the grabber tool into charlie's leg and slowly pulls out the round.
"i have to be careful. the sensor measures the distance traveled based on how many rotations the shell made after the launch. the key is not to turn the shell while we pull it out." eddie speaks to himself.
"nice, so no turning the shell. got it." i nod, my heart racing.
at last, he finally slips the shell out of charlies leg. i immediately grab the box and open the top, watching as he slowly sets it in.
i set the box down slowly on the floor and we wheel charlie out of the ambulance. another medic takes him as i wipe my head. yanking off my gloves, i let out a relieved breath.
"youre badass under pressure, man." eddie turns to me with a grin.
"no, ive just been through enough things to know how to control my emotions." i laugh breathlessly.
"nice work, guys. glad you made it out of there." bobby says, patting us both on the backs.
"guys a professional, man. how was i supposed to be worried?" i grin.
a large blast from behind me causes me to fall into eddie. he wraps his arms around me tightly and turns so he is protecting me in case some debris fly over.
after a second, the noise ends and eddie lets me go, keeping a hand on my back.
"so, you guys hungry?"
-
"hey, maddie, i have a question." i knock on the door just as her phone rings.
she picks it up, and immediately her face drops. i hear a man yelling on the other side and i rush over.
"maddie. hang up. now." i tell her. she stays shocked and so i take the phone and press end. "im going to break this phone and then we are going to go get you a new one, okay?"
she nods, barely even there.
"okay, come on." i grab her hand and drag her to my car. i drive about ten minutes from my apartment and smash the phone into the sidewalk.
the store is only another ten minutes away, and so it doesnt take long to get her a new phone.
she stays in the living area and turns on a show on netflix to keep her mind off of everything as i set up her phone.
i put me and buck as her emergency contacts list so were easy to call and then block every unknown number.
i set her new phone on the counter just as evan comes in.
"doug called her." i mumble.
i hate to turn this situation back to me, but everything that matt did to me keeps flashing back in my head. if he wouldnt have come home early, id have a baby boy or girl with me right now.
"shit, she okay?" he asks quietly.
"nope." i smile sadly, wiping a tear from my eye. "dougs trying to find her."
he doesnt say anything, just sits beside her and lets her lean into him.
"im sorry for bringing you guys into this." maddie sniffles.
"hey, look at me." i sit on the coffee table in front of her. "do not apologize. we are your siblings. we will always jump into things for you. i would rather be in the center of you and danger than let him get to you."
"exactly, mads. we're here for you, for as long as you need." evan says.
"i shouldnt stay here for much longer. staying in one place will just make it easier for him to find me." she says, wiping her eyes.
"i dont think you ahould leave, maddie. you can come to work with us and one of us will always be here with you. he wont have the balls to touch you in a fire station. and we can get you a job at the hospital." i tell her, grabbing onto her hands.
"its okay. i miss helping people, but i cant keep looking over my shoulder." she sighs.
"okay, so you want to help people without the in person contact." a lightbulb clicks at evans words.
"i have the perfect job for you." i grin.
YOU ARE READING
angeline ✔️
Fanfiction"angeline, wont you listen to me, please?" - angeline struggled with an abusive past relationship. when eddie diaz comes along, is she ready for a new relationship? or to have a kid of her own?
