Chapter Thirteen

                                    

                                          
I have finished my internship, I am officially a college graduate, and I am completely exhausted after two weeks in Florida. I am done with Florida summers, and if I could hibernate for the rest of the week, I probably would. Alas, I found the energy to continue where I left off . . . and boy, did I forget how much fun it is to write the Chicago Fire Golden Trio 2.0 . . . or would it be better to just call them the Silver Trio?
It's the first official shift for the rebuilt 126, and the Brettseyride household warns their guests they may be in for one hell of a shift. Meanwhile, back in Chicago . . . well, considering the city's circumstances, Greg and Jason are really glad Wendy wants them in on her investigation.
***
"OK, I'm just going to say this now." The Cosgroves and the Dardens, all four clad in Austin Fire Department jackets, turned from the dining table as Sylvie strutted (there was no other word for it) into the room and twirled on the spot, arms held out in expectation. "I missed this uniform so much."
Frank raised an eyebrow as he took in the all-black uniform she wore, her blonde hair intricately braided into a bun. "You didn't wear that while you were working?"
"Not at Paragon," Sylvie made a face. "I didn't mind the blue . . . but that private company sucked."
"Literally, from what we heard from Nancy," Kelly quipped cheerfully as he handed her a mug of coffee. "What was the owner's goal?"
"Uh, pumping our patients full of as much medicine as we could," Sylvie nodded.
"Couldn't that be bad if someone doesn't need all that medication?" Lily asked worriedly.
"It could be," Sylvie nodded in confirmation. "You could get them hooked on meds, and that is dangerous."
"I've seen it happen," Nolan nodded as he walked into the room next, accompanied by Matt. Frank still had to get used to seeing Nolan in denim and boots compared to his impeccable suits. "If someone gets addicted to meds when they were never needed in the first place . . . "
Frank made a face. "I wish we could charge for that."
"Wouldn't that be nice?" Nolan scoffed.
"So," Ben eagerly looked around the room. "What's the plan for today?"
"Well, assuming Owen jinxed us, we might get a lot of weird calls," Kelly shrugged. "But our goal is for the three of you to accompany as many as possible."
"Awesome," Griffin grinned.
"Of course, if the two of you want to see any of them, too," Sylvie grinned at Frank and Nolan. "You're more than welcome."
"If anything, I'll want to watch the medical calls," Frank admitted as he checked his off-duty weapon. "We know basic first aid for the job . . . and when I say basic, I mean basic."
"Yeah, in that case, definitely ride with 99," Kelly pointed at Sylvie.
"She directed Eddie through improv surgery while in a restaurant kitchen," Matt nodded in agreement.
"Whoa!" Lily spun to look at Sylvie with wide eyes. "You did?"
"Did we hear about improv surgery?" Ben looked at Griffin.
Nolan grimaced. "That was the hostage situation, wasn't it?"
"Yeah," Sylvie scratched the back of her head. "Tommy and Nancy have been lucky in their ventures . . . Eddie and I are the paramedics that constantly get into danger. That was when we answered a call for a pregnant woman in labor and instead got kidnapped by arsonists to save the life of one of them. That was the second time in a year I had to save someone's life at gunpoint."