Chapter 82 - Fire Boys

They pulled into the lot at the Fire and Explosives Investigation Branch with only two minutes to spare. Jon and Cate had been silent on the drive over, both lost in their own thoughts. After they climbed out of the Mustang, he followed her into a small, square, flat-roofed cinderblock building.

“Hiya, Mike!” Cate called out, stepping through the door.

“Hey, Cate! C’mon back!” a distant male voice responded. Cate gave Jon a “follow me” tip of her head, then led him down a narrow hallway. They turned left into a doorway, then passed through a large supply room filled with metal shelves containing strange-looking electronic instruments, stacks of metal paint cans, and all kinds of firefighters’ gear.

Jon’s mind flashed back a week, to his encounter with Cate in the FTB’s supply room. So much had happened since then, but here they were, even further apart. He shook his head to himself as he followed Cate out the supply room’s open back door.

When he stepped out onto the concrete patio, Jon found himself confronted by two burly men, leaning against the tailgate of a large navy blue pickup truck. The shorter of the two stood and thrust his hand forward toward Jon.

“Hey Man! Mike Downey! Good to meetcha!” Mike’s blue eyes sparkled merrily and his ruddy face dimpled as he grinned, his words tumbling out enthusiastically.

Jon shook Mike’s hand, giving him a smile in return. “Hey. I’m Jon,” he answered.

The big man stepped forward. “Colin Reilly,” he said, extending his beefy hand to Jon. Colin was red-haired and green-eyed, true to his Irish heritage.

“Nice to meet you.” Jon replied, giving Colin’s hand a firm shake. “Thanks for letting me tag along with you boys today. I hear this is some pretty cool stuff we’re gonna do.”

“Hey, Man, anything for a fellow Jersey Boy,” Mike grinned, giving Cate a wink.

“You from Jersey?” Jon asked, his smile turning more genuine. “What part?”

“Born in Newark, but grew up in Fair Lawn,” Mike answered. “Colin’s from Queens.” He nodded at his more reserved partner.

Jon noticed a tattoo on Mike’s forearm as he waved his hands about animatedly. It was a familiar–looking shield with a number on it. “You were New York Fire?” he asked.

“Yep, Engine 217, Brooklyn,” Mike said proudly, offering his arm for Jon’s inspection. “Twelve years. Came down here in 2004.”

That means he was in the City on 9-11… The thought sobered Jon. “Were you NY Fire, too?” he asked Colin.

“Marine Six. Brooklyn Navy Yard.” Colin answered quietly, giving Jon a crooked little smirk.

“Thanks for your service, guys,” Jon replied solemnly. “To the City and to the country.”

Cate watched Jon closely in his interaction with Mike and Colin. She had met the two men several days after she arrived at the Center, and they had immediately bonded. She had been humbled to learn that both Mike and Colin had been at the World Trade Center when the towers fell on that horrible day. Both had seen many of their brothers perish in the rubble. Mike was from a large family of firefighters, and had lost an uncle and two cousins.

Cate’s heart melted at the respect Jon was showing these two heroes. He gets it… she thought. He really IS one of the good guys.

Mike flashed Cate a grin, then nodded back to Jon. “Thanks. And thanks for everything you and your band have done for us over the years, too.”

Jon just nodded and looked at the ground, then turned his face to Cate. Their eyes met and she gave him a gentle smile, then she turned her attention to Mike. “So, what are we doing first, Mikey? Blowing shit up or burning shit down?”

Mike grinned. “Blowin’ shit up. We’ll do a couple different kinds of charges, then we’ll light up one of the houses and let you guys put it out. Give Jon here a nice, soggy crime scene to overhaul.”

“We’re actually gonna burn something down?” Jon asked, a little surprised. “Like a building?”

“You betcha!” Mike grinned. “We burn ‘em down, then rebuild ‘em and burn ‘em down again. Cool fuckin’ job, eh?”

Jon laughed at Mike’s enthusiasm. “Yeah, Man, cool fuckin’ job,” he agreed.

“Right. Well, we better get movin’ if we’re gonna get to show you everything we want to,” Mike said. He glanced at Jon’s waist, noting the Blackberry in its holster on his belt. “But first, you’re gonna need to leave that here.” Mike gestured toward the device.

“Oh, sorry, Mike… I forgot,” Cate piped up. “I have mine, too.” She gave Jon a little smile. “We can’t take our Blackberries out to the bomb range. Safety precaution.” She chuckled softly at his confused look. “Can’t take the chance of an electronic transmission causing an accidental detonation. That would NOT be good.” She held out her hand. “Here. I’ll take your Berry back to my car and leave it with mine.”

“Thanks,” Jon returned Cate’s little smile, then pulled his phone from his belt and handed it to her.

“Cate, we’ll pull around and pick you up by the gate, yeah?” Mike said, flashing his ever-present grin at her.

“No problem. Meet you there,” Cate smiled. She turned and re-entered the storage room, retracing her steps through the building.

As she strode down the hall toward the front door, she was startled to feel Jon’s phone vibrate in her hand. Without thinking, she raised it to look at the caller identification on the screen. She was puzzled by what she saw. Before she realized what she was doing, she had pressed the button and raised the Berry to her ear.

“Hello?” she said into the little device.

“Um…. Mister Bongiovi, please?” a female voice replied.

Oh SHIT! Cate’s eyes went wide and she gasped as she realized the call she was answering wasn’t her own. She stopped in her tracks, just inside the front door. Oh, FUCK!

“Uh… he’s… he’s not… available at… at the moment,” she stammered. Oh noooo…. Cate felt sick to her stomach at the thought of how Jon would react to her invasion of his privacy.

“Oh.” There was a brief pause. “Is this his assistant? Is it possible to leave a message?”

Cate took a deep breath. “Uh, no, I’m not his assistant, but I would be happy to pass a message to Jo… Mister Bongiovi.” Cate grimaced and squeezed her eyes closed as she sank back against the wall.

“Thank you. Could you please ask him to call Christina Leighton at the Legal Division? I’ve reviewed his proposal and I have a couple questions before I finish up my recommendation for the Director.” Cate’s eyes flew open as she suddenly realized why the voice on the other end of the line sounded familiar.

“Chris?” she asked incredulously. “Chris, it’s Cate Sullivan. I’m Jon’s… Mister Bongiovi’s… training officer. He’s on the bomb range.”

“Oh! Hey Cate! How are you?” Chris asked cheerily. “I didn’t know you were working with him!” Cate heard Chris chuckle. “You lucky dog!”

“Yeah, lucky me!” Cate replied, hoping to sound cheery through her panic. “Um, you just need him to call you back?”

“Yes, as soon as he has a chance, please,” Chris answered. The Director asked me to get my legal review of this proposal back to him after lunch. There are a couple minor points I need Mr. Bongiovi to clarify before I can finish this up. Will he be at the range all day?”

“No, just a couple hours. I’ll tell him to call you over the lunch break. Is that okay?” Cate answered. Now that her initial panic had passed, her curiosity had been piqued. What proposal had Jon made to the Director, and why did it need a legal review?

“That’s fine. Tell him I look forward to speaking with him,” Chris replied. She giggled. “It will be a nice change of pace to hear that sexy voice over the phone!”

Cate smiled. “I’ll tell him that,” she chuckled in response.

“NO! Don’t tell him THAT!” Chris exclaimed. “Just ask him to give me a call, please.”

Cate laughed. “No problem, Chris. I’ll pass the message. Have a good day, ‘kay?”

“You too, Cate. Drop by next time you’re in the building and we’ll grab a soda and catch up,” Chris answered.

“Will do. Bye.” Cate pushed the button to end the call and took a deep breath. What the hell? She replayed in her mind Chris’ comments about a proposal for the Director. What on earth could that be? Cate pondered the mystery for a few seconds, then realized she had a larger problem. She was going to have to admit her mistake to Jon, in order to give him the message. Shit, shit, shit.

Cate groaned and closed her eyes for a moment, pressing the heel of her hand to her forehead. She hoped he wouldn’t be furious. It really had been an honest mistake… she hadn’t been snooping. She had just acted without thinking. But given the tension between them, she wasn’t sure how Jon would react to her admission.