Through Smoke: The Troubled Heroes Series (2 page)

He could feel his cheeks warm up.  “Nah, I just got her out. You guys are the ones who…”

“Don’t be so modest. Who else would’ve gone in that building? Be proud. I’ll see you tomorrow.”  She turned and walked up the stairs before he could respond. 

The cool morning air was refreshing.  It was mid April and in New York it still tended to be pretty nippy, especially
in the morning.
  Michael pulled his jacket tight around him, ducking his head away from the wind.  The traffic was already thick down forty second. As he walked he moved faster than the cars that were lined up at the light.  It was times like this that he enjoyed the fact that he didn’t have a vehicle. 

He stood on the stoop of his apartment and stared down the street, nodding
at Old Man Carlisle, a seventy-
eight year old man that always sat out on the sidewalk in a lawn chair at that time of day.  “Hey Mikey, how was work?”  He puffed on a cigar and looked at Michael out of the corner of his eye.

“Oh you know.” Michael never gave him a straight answer and Mr. Carlisle was always content with that.  It was small talk at its best but he got used to seeing the guy out by the stoop.  “You better stop smoking those, Carlisle, they’ll kill you.” He shot the old man a smile.  Another routine was razzing him about his tobacco usage. 

“Yeah, well so will a five alarm fire, Mikey. Think about it.” Carlisle winked and extinguished the cigar with the heel of his worn boot.

Before Michael went inside he contemplated going down to the hospital where they took the girl from the fire but thought it was probably best not to.  Eva had said she was in good hands and she wasn’t one to lie to him about the well being of one of his victims.

“I’ll see you around Old Man.” Michael opened the entrance and walked the five flights of stairs to his apartment.  He liked taking the stairs over the elevator. While it wasn’t a strenuous workout it still got his pulse going. 

He sat down on the couch and turned the TV on.  Nothing was on but some morning talk shows and cartoons.  Flipping through, he stopped on an old Bugs Bunny episode.  Yawning, he stretched out and relaxed into the cushion, allowing his body to drift off into a deep sleep.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Jolting from sleep, Michael could have sworn he heard a loud bang on his door.  He searched for his cell phone and found it on the floor under his coffee table.  It was two forty-five.  He didn’t intend on sleeping that long.  Another loud knock echoed.  It took him a second to gain his composure.

He walked to the door and peered through the peephole, rolling his eyes at the sight of who it was.  It was Casey, his younger brother.  Any time he showed up on Michael’s doorstep it meant he wanted something.  Opening the door, he frowned at him, already expecting the same act Casey always pulled with him.

“Big bro! Did I wake you?” Casey opened his arms for a hug but Michael turned his back, inviting him in. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” His voice was raspy and he coughed to clear it.

Casey pretended to pout but that quickly passed as he edged toward the kitchen.  He picked up an apple off of the counter and ran it across his sleeve before he took a bite.  “Tough love there, Mikey! Hadn’t seen you in awhile, figured I’d stop by and say hey.”

Michael sat at the kitchen table.  Casey resembled him in a way. They were about the same height; around six foot one with dark hair
,
but Casey was rail thin, more than likely from the years of drug use. 

“Can the act, Casey.  It’s always the same thing when you come around.” Michael loved his brother but he had been taken advantage of one too many times.  He had tried his hardest to get Casey on the straight and narrow but it was a lost cause.  He felt hypocritical when he tried.  He was a troublemaker as a teenager and didn’t feel right preaching to him about redeeming himself.

Casey swallowed a piece of apple and Michael could hear it from across the kitchen.  “I know.” Casey snapped his fingers and paced.  “I woke you up. Good God you’re always an asshole when you’ve been woken up. Want me to make you some coffee?”

Michael ran his hands through his hair as he grew frustrated. “What did you get yourself into this time?”

Casey’s playful expression changed, now more serious.  “I was just wondering if I could borrow like fifty bucks.  I’ve been living off of those damn frozen dinners. I need a change.”

Michael scoffed and leaned back in the chair.  He didn’t need this right now, not after the night he had.  “And what happened to the job you had down at that bodega on Fifth Avenue?”

“You know as well as I do that it doesn’t pay shit. C’mon, Mikey, just fifty bucks. You’re the big time firefighter, I know you can handle it.”

“You’re a moron, you know that?” Michael stood up and grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and refused to offer Casey one.  He reached in his back pocket and grabbed his wallet.  “Hopefully twenty is enough for now cause that’s all I got.” He extended the crisp bill to him. Before Casey could grab it, Michael pulled it away. “You still got that job?”

Casey nodded and tossed the apple core into the trash. “Of course I do.”

“You better not be lying, you know I can find out. And don’t burn that bridge, I got you that job.”

Casey rolled his eyes and reached out for the money. “I still got the job. Thanks bro, I owe you.”

Michael let out a sarcastic laugh and released the twenty.  “You’re damn right you do. I better not find out you spent that on drugs. You know how word gets around here in Hell’s Kitchen.”

“
I need food more than drugs right now
.
Thanks, man.” 

Michael walked him to the door knowing that he had just been lied to. “Stay out of trouble. See you next time you need something.” 

Before Casey could say anything, he shut the door and sat back down on the couch, his mind running a mile a mi
nute.  He took another swig
of his beer and peeled at the label. How could Casey lie straight to his face, his own brother, his flesh and blood? And how come he always gave in to him despite the fact that he knew the money was going to something illegal?  He had a weak spot for Casey. Since they were kids he always protected him. From school fights to hiding things from their mother, he had Casey’s back.

In all reality, Michael felt guilty for Casey’s criminal behavior.  His younger brother always followed him and did everything he did.  At one point Michael was headed in the same direction.  Casey gladly followed suit. The only problem was Casey never found his way back to the good side. 

He jumped when he heard his cell phone ringing, laughing to himself about how jumpy he was acting. Eva’s name flashed across the screen.  Smiling, he opened the face of the phone.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Michael, what’re you doing?” Her voice sounded cheery.

“Just woke up. How’re you?” He finished the last few sips of his beer and scooted it across the top of his table.

“Good, thanks. A few of us are going down to Perry’s Bar for some drinks. Was seeing if you wanted to come along?”

Michael looked up at the ceiling and at first was going to decline but decided getting out of the house might help his mood. “Sure, that sounds like fun.”

“Okay, we’re gonna head over there about eightish or so. I’ll see ya then!”

“Sounds good.” He closed his phone and stared at the TV. He needed something to get his mind off of his brother and a few pool games at Perry’s
just might do
the trick. 

Chapter Two

Michael showered and stood at the front of his closet, contemplating on what to wear.  His hand drifted over some t-shirts and some casual button up shirts.  When Eva mentioned a few of them going out he forgot to ask who exactly.  He had always been somewhat attracted to her.  She had joined the department as a paramedic about four years ago and he had worked alongside her for most of that time.  Eva was the type of girl that he found it easy to talk with but was scared to carry it any farther than friendship.  She was fun but he didn’t want to ruin things.

He grabbed a blue and black plaid button up and a pair of jeans.  It was just beer and pool. There was no need to pull out all the stops.  Besides, he probably wasn’t going to stay too late. He had a shift starting at seven the next morning. 

He splashed on some aftershave and glanced at himself in the mirror. He looked haggard and worn out.  The wise thing would be to stay in and catch up on sleep but he had already told Eva he would be there.  It would be rude not to show up. Grabbing his leather jacket, he smoothed his fingers through his hair and made his way down the stairs.  Perry’s wasn’t too far and he would make the four block walk in a few minutes.

The streets were already filling up with the nightlife crowd.  It was funny, but Michael could always pinpoint the tourists.  He wanted to ask them why they found their way to Hell’s Kitchen of all places they could be in New York.  There were even times that they would stop by the firehouse and ask for pictures and a tour through the station.  They always obliged of course but he never saw the appeal. 

A wall of smoke hit him hard as he entered Perry’s.  It wasn’t overly crowded but a good show of people had already arrived.  It
was eight fifteen and he saw
his group toward the back, all of them sitting at a round table.  Eva spotted him and motioned to him.

“Well if isn’t Mr. McGinnis. Join us, have a drink.” Darryl was already acting tipsy and Michael wasn’t surprised.  The man loved his beer.

Michael ordered a beer and
found a seat.  He took notice of
everyone who was there. Eva, Darryl, Jack who was Eva’s partner on the ambulance, and John, a firefighter he somewhat knew.  He had just transferred from Brooklyn.

“So, let’s make a toast.” Eva held up her glass of what looked like Jack and Coke. 

“Toast to what?” Darryl let out a laugh that was louder than the song that blared on the juke box.  “Let’s just drink up!”

Eva held up her hand and smirked. “Jeez Darryl, we haven’t even been here ten minutes and you’re lit up like a damn Christmas tree!” She paused. “Let’s toast to that amazing save you guys had the other night. Our boy Mikey here kicked some ass!” She grinned at Michael, the look on her face letting him know that she was genuinely proud of him. 

Michael could feel his face heat up. He was probably bright red.  He was never one for the direct attention, but he clanked his beer bottle against everyone else’s drinks and took a long swig.  He couldn’t help but notice how attractive Eva looked.  She always looked good but out of her work clothes she was gorgeous.  Her long brown hair was wavy and her shirt fit against her curves like it was specially made just for her.  Her hazel eyes were full of joy and it seemed like she couldn’t stop grinning. Her smile was captivating. 

“Damn Mikey, you awake over there?” Darryl lightly punched him in the shoulder, jolting him out of his daydream. He feared that they noticed him staring at Eva but thankfully they hadn’t caught on.

“Sorry, was just thinking about playing some pool. Anyone wanna take me on?” He wasn’t the best pool player but he could hold his own.

Eva stuck her hand out to shake his. “You’re on. Word is you’re a pool shark.” She finished her drink and stood up, pulling him toward the tables.  “I think you’re in for a surprise.”

Michael scoffed and tossed her a pool stick. Darryl followed and Michael was almost certain he would be easy to take. He couldn’t play sober, much less while he was buzzing.  He smoothed the tip of the stick with chalk and began to rack the balls.  Eva walked by, her perfume overtaking him. It was refreshing compared to the cigarette smoke that hovered in the room. 

Eva moved the pool stick back and forth between her hands, an arrogant grin forming on her lips.  “Don’t let this fool you, I don’t know how to play at all.”  She paused and watched as Darryl hit the cue ball to break.

“Do you know how to hold it?”  Michael stood next to her.

She let out a laugh and flipped her hair back on her shoulder, leaning
over the table.  She was right. S
he didn’t have any form at all.  Michael hesitated but got behind her, leaning over her back to show her how.  At first it was awkward and he was scared she would pull away
,
but she didn’t budge and allowed for him to get in her personal space.
  He placed his hands over hers. H
er skin was smooth under his.