New team

27.Third chance

Hi! This chapter wasn't supposted to turn out neither so long nor with such an end, but it is the best I could think of so far. So I hope it won't be too bad for you;-)

As expected not too long after that fire in Penny's old house took place, the old team got to meet police officer Malcolm Williams. Liam spent almost whole hour recalling the events from that evening as Mr. Williams was taking very detailed notes, judging by the amount of pieces of paper he asked Station Officer Jones for.

"I'm telling you. We need to talk to her," Liam looked at his friends confidently. "It seems strange, don't you think? All these fires lately, Station Officer Jones' strange behavior and on top of what Andy told me," Liam counted on his fingers.

"We don't have enough information, Liam," Julia argued. "Don't you remember what it was like last time?" She reminded.

"We're starting to go overboard," Chris reacted. "Let's think logically," he suggested, but Julia's sudden snort, which just as quickly turned into uncontrollable laughter, made him unable to continue.

"You and logical thinking?!" Julia asked teasingly once she had managed to calm down. "Chris, you can't think straight."

"You didn't..." he wanted to retort, but he bit his tongue.

"I think I know someone who can help," Tony announced timidly.

"You're thinking about Hannah, aren't you?" Liam turned to him, silently ignoring the staring contest between Chris and Julia.

"Yes," Tony nodded. "I know she's in Newtown now, but all three of us have the day off, so we can catch the bus and drive over."

And as if on cue, as soon as he said this, Station Officer Jones entered the common room with a gloomy face, which, however, was nothing new for him. But when he looked up at them from the paper and sighed, the firefighters knew it wasn't about their boss's grumpy nature. Liam gestured to an empty chair at the table and, to their surprise, Station Officer Jones accepted the invitation. This had happened quite often since they started getting along, but the last few weeks had once again alienated the team from their leader.

"Is something wrong, boss?" Tony asked in a hesitant voice after a minute of silence.

"Main has reported further fires north of Newtown," Station Officer Jones replied in an emotionless voice. "But that's not what I'm coming to you about," he announced after a short pause. "Eddie called in sick and I need three of you here at the firestation this afternoon."

"You go," Liam said to Julia with a knowing wink. Julia nodded slightly in response. "It'll be me, Tony and Chris," he reported before his two colleagues could make any complaints.

"Thank you, Liam" Station Officer Jones nodded and wrote something down on a piece of paper. "That's all for now," he announced and left the room.

They sat in silence for a minute, waiting for the footsteps on the stairs to quiet down, and only then continued their little meeting.

"Then our plan is over," Chris sighed, rubbing his face in his hands. "There's no point in bothering Hannah if we can't all be there."

"Maybe staying here will be good for you," Julia teased him. "You haven't been doing well at practice lately."

"Julia, Chris, calm down," Liam asked. "Because of you I can't think," he complained. "Maybe it's actually better that only Julia goes. In the worst case scenario, she'll only buy us time if she talks to Hannah. And if she meets a certain someone, maybe we'll be able to kill two birds with one stone in one afternoon" he rubbed his hands with excitement .

"I'm not sure, Liam," Chris replied. "What if we're just getting further away from the solution, constantly looking for new answers? Besides, the three of us haven't convinced Penny, let alone one?"