The 2 Ryders

Act of God

Carrying on from last chapter.
Tk: Oh, boy, its gonna be a long shift today.
Paul: That is why we are kicking things off with Paul's world-famous spicy sausage rigatoni.
Marjan: Sausage? Really, dude?
Paul: Chill, it's turkey.
Judd: Hey! How spicy are we talking? 'Cause my Scotch-Irish constitution rejection and all things cayenne.
Mateo: I like spicy.
Paul: Yes.
Ev: I do not.
Judd: Chavez, you can have bathroom duty then.
Tk: Somebody's on one today.
Judd: Is it that obvious? I dont know me and Grace had a little, uh.... little disagreement before work.
Ev: Its only really obvious to us because we work with you/ have lived with you most of our lives. And I already know what your little disagreement was a bout she text me. Just talk to her bro, that all you gotta do.
Tk: Do you wanna talk about it?
Judd: Hell no.
Thunder cracks loudly.
Marjan: It's like the end of days out there.
Judd: Chavez, Ev, go take down the colors, 'cause we don't fly the flags in rough weather.
Mateo: What, why--why me?? I got the salad?
All: 'Cause your the probie.
Marjan: Notice how Ev isn't complaining.
Ev: You wouldn't let sweet, little me go up alone would you Mateo?
Mateo: Right. I'm doing this for her none of you.
Ev: This is what it's like i tell you what I'll be glad when this years over.
Mateo: Yeah me too, I bet they don't even wait for us.
Ev: Probably not. Right I got the flag you get the pole?
Thunder cracks and Mateo jumps back going off the edge of the roof.
Ev: MATEO!!
Mateo: HELP!!
Ev: Someone help us out here!!
Mateo: Oh god!
Owen: Mateo!! What happened!
Mateo: I lost my footing on the roof cap.
Judd: Tk, me and you get up to the roof now.
Owen: Marjan, Paul go and get the rescue pad just incase.
Ev: I'm gonna go over the edge!!
Mateo: I dont wanna die!!
Ev: Why would you say that? Oh no Help!!
Tk: I got you Ev. He grabs my ankles so I dont go over.
Judd: Ev let go of one of his hands. I got it alright now the other one.
Mateo: Dont drop me please!!
Judd: I won't I've got you, alright pulling him up. We're all good cap!!
Owen: Pack it up lets move back inside.
Tk: I got the pole.
Ev: I got the flag.
Judd: Come on lets get you both inside.
Owen: You two good?
Ev&Mateo: Yeah we're good.
Paul: My first time saving a firefighter at a fire station.
Judd: Well welcome to Texas.
Marjan: Did you two get the colors?
Ev: Got them right here.
Tk: Holy crap are those?
Owen: Tk what you doing?
Tk: Shutting the door but you guys need to see this.
Owen: Holy crap tornadoes. Judd, you must have experience with this. Whats the protocol?
Ev: Protocol is DEFCON 1.
Judd: She's right. We don't get our asses killed so we can save everybody's asses later on.
Owen: You heard them. Lets get inside.
After the tornadoes hit they're first call is the car driver.
Owen: Keep your eyes open for street signs. Dispatch says the driver's GPS last pinged at 4th and Brazos.
Tk: Theres not a lot of 4th street left, much less street signs.
Owen: Hell of a thing, the randomness of tragedy. One side of the street just lost everything, and the other side looks like it could be open for business tomorrow.
Marjan: Allah the most merciful, help all of them.
Judd: I mean, if he was merciful, he wouldn't have let it happen in the first place, right?
Ev: Judd stop it I know how you're feeling right now but its not the time.
Marjan: I'm not about to question the almighty, but I have faith.
Judd: You sound like my wife.
Mateo: Well good for her and good for Marjan.
Owen: Slow down this is Brazos. Good god.
I look out the window to see a car trapped upside down in an ally wedged between two buildings.
Owen: Hello! Anybody in there! Austin FD.
Nancy: Yes. I'm here.
Owen: We're gonna get you out. Just hang tight.
Marjan: Its not like she has a choice.
Paul: Cap that thing is gonna drop any second.
Tk: We can't get the truck in there. So how the hell are we getting up to that?
Owen: We're not. We're gonna drop down onto it. Tk call in a crane and get it stabilized. Marjan, Paul, harness up. You're gonna be rappelling down from that roof right there.
Marjan: Copy that.
Owen: Take Chavez with you, Ev you help us down here.
Pual: Copy lets go.
Owen: Ryders deploy the rescue cushion.
Judd&Ev: Yes sir.
On the radio.
Paul: Hey, any update on that crane, boss?
Owen: Dispatch says it's hung up across town. We're gonna have to go without it.
Paul: Copy. Copy.
Off the radio.
Ev: Wait who is that going down?
Judd: Looks like Marjan.
The car keeps creeping down the wall.
On the radio
Owen: Paul get her out of there now.
Paul: It's not working, cap. I think the rope is stuck on something.
Owen: Marjan.
Marjan: Tell me you have a new plan, cap.
Owen: I do, but you're not gonna like it. You see the rescue pad. Aim for the middle of it.
Marjan Copy that cap.
Off the radio.
Owen: You three get ready to get them  both of there as soon as they land.
On the radio.
Owen: Alright when I say now. NOW!
Get her off there.
Tk: She's off cap, we're clear.
Owen: Ev, bring her over here.
Marjan fall and lands on the cushion but then the car starts falling. Judd and Tk pull the cushion out of the way.
Marjan: Tell me you guys got that.
Nr: No we uh....
Marjan: Come on how did you not get that?
Judd: Look like someone missed your close up.
The 126 was responding to calls all night. Their 5th one in is a man who can't find his kids.
Ray: Hey! Hey, over here!
Owen: Hey, hey, hey, hey, sir, sir. Sir, we got ot from here.
Judd: Hey, do me a favour. We need you to see the EMS, make sure you get yourself checked out.
Ray: Get off me!
Judd: Hey, hey. Don't put your hands on me, sir.
Ray: My kids are in there! I'm not going anywhere.
Owen: Woah, Woah, Woah, it okay. I'd have done the same thing. I'm a father too, but you gotta calm down so you can help us. How many kids are in this house?
Ray: Two. Ada, she's eight and--and Nico. They were supposed to be safe. I--I put them in the tub. That what your supposed to do, right? I just left for a second to get the damn cat. So why am I the one who's still out here while they're still in there?
Owen: We're gonna do everything we can.
Ray: So what are you waiting for?
Owen: This house is very unstable. I can't send anyone in there until I get signs of life. But when we do, we're going right in. Tk, prep the extraction tools. Judd, Marjan, set up the seismic sensors on the North side. Paul, take the South and West. And everybody, work on your poker faces.
Paul: Copy that cap.
Mateo: What about me and Ev? What can we do?
Marjan: You wanna help probie hand out waters.
Owen: Marjan, is right Ev hand out waters, Mateo go with Paul do exactly as he says when he says it.
Owen: All right we got signs of life on the north side. Lets go people.
Woman 1: Are they really alive in there?
Ev: My team wouldn't be going in if they weren't.
The kids get rescued Owen gives us all a scare but they all make it out Ray unfortunately dies from internal wounds. The camera crews try to fil him after he's dead.
Marjan: Dont even think about it.
Ev: You heard her move back have some respect.
Back at the station. Me and Mateo are cleaning our uniforms.
Owen: Mateo, keep waxing that thing you'll peel the paint.
Mateo: Sorry guess I got distracted.
Ev: No kidding I've been trying to talk to you for the past 10 minutes.
Owen: Scoot over let me get in the middle.
Mateo: Cap we- we can do that.
Owen: Shut up, probie.
Mateo: Yes sir.
Owen: That last call was pretty rough. How you both doing?
Mateo: All I did was put sensors on the house and move the kids away from their dead dad.
Ev: And all I did was pass out water bottles.
Owen: Thats not what I asked you, at the academy, they tell you no matter what you see out there, you man up and you suck it up.
Mateo&Ev: Totally, and we're--
Owen: And its crap. Okay? You try to bottle that stuff up, it'll eat you alive. So how are you doing?
Mateo: Its those kids cap, they just stood there and watched their dad die, and I couldn't help.
Ev: Yeah I feel like I should have seen something was wrong.
Owen: Okay Ev, im coming to you in a minute. Mateo sometimes its not under your control wether you can help or not. Sometimes nothing is. This is for both of you, it doesn't do you any good to beat yourself up about it.
Mateo: Thanks cap.
Owen: Alright Mateo get out of here, that helmet is done. And as for you Ev how could you have seen, none of us did?
Ev: But my training was for a duel firefighter and EMS, None of you have that training.
Owen: Tk does and I dont think he saw anything maybe you need to ask him. I think the only person who suspected was Judd but apart from that at the start of the scene even he didn't say anything. You can't beat yourself up, we saved two young lives today.
Ev: No you guys did that I just handed out water.
Owen: Which might not seem like a lot but it was, because that neighbour hood probably hasn't had water since the tornadoes hit and who knows when they will next have water. That one bottle of water from you might have saved a couple people from dehydration further down the line.
Ev: Yeah and it might not what if even that wasn't enough.
Owen: You were only doing what you were asked, and you did it well. I'm proud of all my team even if all they did was hand out waters. Now go on take a break I'd say there done anyway.
Its the next morning and were all getting ready to go home. I'm going with Judd to see Grace as she needs to see me in the flesh according to her. He just went hiding in their room. Were all just watching a news article about the tornadoes it shows me and Mateo passing out the waters at that house.
Marjan: Wait, what? I almost got crushed by a hybrid.
Paul: I opened up a house with the jaws of life.
Marjan: And  our probie's make the news for what, passing out water?
Paul: This world makes no sense.
Mateo: It was afterwards when I came to help you. Do I look that small in real life.
Marjan: Only your head. Go shine the pole probie.