Thrill of the Chase

Chapter 3, Thrill of the Chase

"Taz, I know you're angry. We've heard Bradley's side too, and he may have jumped the gun, but you were both right and both wrong, so we've decided it would be best to just let things go. He was understandably concerned for the patient, who'd lost a distressing amount of blood, was in shock, and..."

Taz pulled the phone away from her ear, staring at the receiver, hearing Clarice, her boss, rattle on and on. She was pacing the floor of her small cabin, one of three her father had built for her and each of her sisters on his thirty-acre spread, which was less than fifty feet from the front door of her parents' house. Clarice headed up the emergency services for Johnson County, and she was someone who never wanted to make waves. Taz was well aware that the "we" she spoke of was most likely the Johnson family, who Bradley was related to, who sat on the council and the fire department and held office in Buffalo, where Bradley was from.

"Clarice, he left me there, pulled away. He's reckless and has no respect for authority. And, just so we're clear, Hap's wound wasn't life threatening. Nothing major was hit, and he'd been stitched up and loaded with heavy antibiotics..." She stopped talking, as the heavy sigh coming through the phone had her feeling as if she were whining and Clarice had stopped listening. She didn't have a clue how to get her point across, how to get Clarice to back her and reprimand the idiot she was stuck with. At times, she was sure Clarice was far more interested in fitting into a man's world than doing what was right.

"You couldn't have known that for sure," she replied. "From what I understand from Bradley, the patient wasn't comfortable with you, and he was forced to step in and run the scene."

Her throat closed up. That little shit had twisted the entire situation. "That is not what happened, Clarice. That's not fair. Hap is a good ol' drunk fucker who hates women—" Again the sigh, so she stopped talking. "Fine, but from now on give Bradley to someone else. I'd just as soon work with one of the volunteer EMTs."

The volunteers were three overweight balding guys over fifty who weren't related but looked the same. They were polite, helpful, and always deferred to her, the only paid fulltime female EMT in Kaycee.

"Is this going to become an issue, Taz? Because you know that's not going to happen. Bradley's father is..."

Oh my God, here we go again. She pulled the phone away because she knew exactly how Bradley fit into the equation. He was the useless son of Buffalo's fire chief, and the Johnson family was deeply ingrained in and around Buffalo. Bradley had the attitude and work ethic of a kid who'd never had to work at figuring out what he wanted to do. Everything he did had been handed to him. "I know, Clarice. Thanks for pointing out that Johnson County emergency services is about who you know and not your skill level. I for one will sleep a lot better at night knowing that if I were bleeding out on death's doorstep and needed emergency help, chances are I would get the loser son who can't get a job on his own and needs daddy to pull some strings. Got to say, not reassured at all that he'd put any effort into saving my life."

As soon as it was out of her mouth, she wanted to take it back. That was one of her many faults, the fact that she often spoke before thinking of the consequences. It was one her mother had pointed out time and again would get her into more hot water and trouble than she could ever imagine.

"Taz, I'm going to say this again. Nothing is going to happen, but if you keep pushing this issue, I can tell you that it will be your actions that will be scrutinized. My advice is to let it go. You won't win this one. I advised Bradley the same, considering his father has called and demanded you be written up."

Yup, totally ground into the dirt. It would be best to end this, take the night to sulk alone, and try again in the morning, when she'd had a chance to prop up her pride again. "Fine, but this isn't right, Clarice."