He was running late for work, and hoped he could get through this traffic quickly. Captain Stanley was a stickler for being on time. He had threatened to suspend his partner the last time he had been late.
As he pulled into the parking lot behind the station, he glanced at his watch. Two minutes to spare! He hurried inside and joined the others in the kitchen.
"Hey, Roy, cutting it a little close, aren't you?" asked Chet Kelly, checking the time.
"Yeah, I had a flat on the way to work," he said, pouring himself a cup of coffee.
"I hope your partner has a better excuse than that," remarked Captain Hank Stanley, as he walked into the room. Roy turned to look at the Captain, and saw that he did not seem to be in a very good mood. Damn, Johnny, he thought, you sure picked a bad day to be late!
Fifteen minutes later, Gage still hadn't arrived. Roy had called his house, and got his answering machine, so he was probably on his way. But Stanley was getting more angry with every minute that passed, and still no John Gage. Fifteen minutes turned into thirty.. and thirty into forty-five. This wasn' like Johnny, thought Roy. Where the hell was he?
Roy checked the Cap's office to find it empty. He decided to call the hospital to see if his missing friend was there. He didn't know what else to do under the circumstances. He waited impatiently as he was transferred through to Dixie McCall.
"Hi, Dix? It's Roy here."
"Morning Roy! How are you today?" Dixie replied cheerfully.
"I'd be doing a lot better if I knew where Johnny was. I can't raise him at home. I was wondering if maybe you had seen him this morning at all?" Roy asked.
"Nope. Haven't seen him. Is there anything wrong, Roy?" Dixie asked worriedly.
"I dunno, Dix. I sure wish I knew where he was. Captain Stanley is going to go off like a rocket if he doesn' show up soon."
"He did say yesterday that he was going to stop by and see how little Georgia was doing. I tell you what, I will ask around and see if anyone has seen him and call you back right away, Roy."
"Thanks, Dix, I appreciate this," Roy said. He hung up and sat back in the chair. Johnny's explanation better be good, he thought to himself, or he might be looking for a new partner.
******
The Captain stuck his head in the office door and asked Roy if he had managed to track down Gage yet. Roy shook his head and told him he was fresh out of ideas.
"I'm giving him another ten minutes before I call in a replacement. He is in more trouble than he can imagine," Cap snapped. He could feel his blood pressure rising. But there was also a feeling of concern. It was not in Johnny's nature to be so blatantly careless about work, especially after being warned previous to this.
"I thought he might have been at the hospital to see Georgia, but....." Roy shrugged his shoulders.
"Georgia? Isn't that the little kid you guys got out of the cot yesterday?" Cap asked.
They had been called out to a baby trapped. When they arrived at the scene, Georgia's mother was hysterical, almost dragging them both into the child's bedroom. A little girl, about 11 months old had got her head stuck between the cot bars and was turning blue. Roy had cut her out just as she went into full respitory arrest. Johny worked on her and brought her around, much to everyone's profound relief. He had taken a shine to the little girl with the big blue eyes and constantly asked about her condition at the hospital all day. He had told Roy that he was going to see how she was in the morning before work.
The Captain glanced at his watch and his face darkened. Time was up, he wasn' going to wait around for Gage to show. They needed a replacement as soon as possible. He shooed Roy out of the room and picked up the phone.
After calling in Dwyer to cover for Gage, Stanley decided to give Gage's landlady a call.
The phone rang and rang at the other end and he almost strangled the receiver with anger. He hung up and stalked into the kitchen. The guys steered clear of their Captain. Normally he was an easygoing kind of guy and it took an awful lot to get him riled. They thanked God that they were not in Johnny's shoes right now. The Captain got himself a cup of coffee and stomped back out without a word.
Stanley sat back down at his desk and counted to 100 slowly. He picked up the phone again and called Mrs Meyers' number in the vain hope that she would answer it this time. Just as he was ready to throw the whole phone through the window, Mrs Meyers answered. Closing his eyes for a second to regain his composure, the Captain spoke.
"Mrs Meyers? Good morning, this is Captain Stanley, John's boss. I was wondering if you have seen him this morning? He hasn't shown up."
"Oh Captain! Hello! No, I can' say I have. Maybe he overslept? Want me to go check and see?", Mrs Meyers asked quickly. She could tell that the man on the other end was not in a very receptive mood.
"If you could, that would be great. I'll wait."
******
Johnny yelled at the top his lungs again, hoping someone would hear him this time. He was almost hoarse with yelling for the past hour and a half. He cursed his stupidity as he stared down at his hand which was firmly jammed in the plughole of the kitchen sink. He had been using a plunger to unblock some grease and as he leant over his name tag had fallen off and scooted down the opening before he could catch it.
"Idiot, you should have called a damned plumber," he berated himself as he wriggled his fingers to keep the circulation going. His arm was numb and his back almost at breaking point from stooping awkwardly over the sink. He had heard the phone ring and Roy's voice on the answering machine. He didn't sound too happy. He could imagine what the Captain would be like. Johnny was too far away to reach the pantry where the cooking oil was kept and he was fresh out of dishwashing liquid. He was stuck with no one to help him.
"HEY! CAN ANYONE HEAR ME? DAMN IT I NEED HELP HERE!" he bellowed with frustration. No answer.
His neighbours had all left for work and he had no idea where his landlady, Mrs Meyers had disappeared to. She usually was around on a Tuesday morning for the gardeners when they turned up. Even they were late today. He jumped when he heard a loud knock on his door.
"Johnny? Are you in there? It's me, Mrs Meyers. Can you hear me?"
"Yes!" he yelled. "Have you got your keys with you? My hand's stuck in the damned sink and I can' get free!"
"Hang on, John! Your boss is on the phone. I'll go tell him and get my keys. Be right back!" she shouted through the door. She hurried down the stairs and back to her apartment. Grabbing the phone, she breathlessly informed Captain Stanley of the situation.
"We'll be right over, thanks", Stanley said and hung up the phone. He strode into the kitchen and told the guys that he had found Gage but they had to go fish him out of his kitchen sink. The others looked at each other in puzzlement as they followed him out and climbed into their vehicles. Stanley put in a still alarm to the dispatcher and then they were on their way.
******
Mrs Meyers looked around frantically for her master keyring. Finding it under a stack of magazines, she ran back upstairs to Johnny's apartment. She unlocked the door and hurried into the kitchen. Johnny was looking very upset even when he tried to give her a smile.
"I'm sorry, dear. I didn't mean to take so long. Your friends are on their way over to get you out, so don't you worry."
Johnny groaned inwardly. The Captain was going to tear strips off him and the other guys would not let him hear the end of this, especially Chet. He would be in for months of ragging. Giving Mrs Meyers a weak grin he thanked her for her alacrity.
"Why didn't you call me to let me know about the sink, John dear? I would have gotten it fixed in a jiffy." She paused for a moment as they heard the engine and squad pull up. "I'll go show them in. Take it easy, honey" she said kindly to her trapped tenant.
"Maybe you should tell Cap that," Johnny muttered under his breath. He could feel that his arm had swollen so much that he could not feel his fingers anymore. He looked up when he heard the guys coming into his apartment. Captain Stanley stood there gazing at him, poker faced then he shook his head.
"I don't know whether to can you or laugh at you, Gage. What happened?"
Johnny launched into the story as the other guys crowded into the small kitchen area and watched as Roy and Dwyer checked out the situation. He didn' dare look at Chet. He could feel him smiling at him. If Chet opened his mouth he would be in big trouble.
"Stoker, turn the water off, will ya?" Roy asked as he grabbed the liquid soap from Dwyer. Marco got on his knees and under the sink to open up the drain. Roy knelt down and shone his penlight up the pipe.
Johnny's hand was white from lack of circulation. He squirted the soap around his fingers and wrist to lubricate it.
"Okay, see if you can' pull your hand out now, Johnny" Roy suggested. Dwyer grabbed Johnny's arm and helped him pull on it gently.
"Cap, can you put some of this soap around the top please?" Dwyer said. He could feel Gage's hand give a little but it needed more soap before he would be free.
Stanley grabbed the bottle and spread the liquid around liberally. He wanted to bawl Gage out big time but he looked so sheepish that he left it alone.
"How's it going, boys? Will he be out soon?" Mrs Meyers asked. She was too short to see what was going on with all the firemen towering around her. Roy gave her a smile and nodded.
"Won't be long now. I don't think there's any damage done."
Roy got to his feet and got a grip on Johnny's lower arm as Dwyer carefully held his upper arm. With a few more sharp pulls Johnny's hand popped out of the drain like a cork from a champagne bottle.
Chet was dying to say something but the Captain had warned him not to open his mouth on the way over. Stanley was still a little ticked off with Gage and didn't want to have to referee an argument between the two.
Johnny straightened up slowly, feeling each muscle in his back and his legs protest. His whole arm was throbbing and his hand began to ache and tingle with pins and needles as the blood resumed its circulation through his fingers.
"Oh boy, it's good to be able to stand up straight again," he said with relief.
Roy carefully checked his hand for any breaks. Apart from a few bruises, his fingers seemed in one piece. The Captain ordered Mike, Marco and Chet back out to the engine with the equipment. Johnny stood there with his head down waiting for the big explosion. Stanley studied him for a minute before speaking.
"Next time call a plumber, Gage. Next time if you are late for work don't bother turning up for the next shift."
Johnny looked up in surprise. He wasn't expecting such a harsh ultimatum. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Roy and Dwyer watched the exchange without interjecting.
"I guess you're within your rights to say that, Cap. But it was out of my control."
Stanley sighed. "I guess it was out of your control, Gage. I just had to get that off my chest. I was gonna go through you when I caught up with you. Just use your brains next time, okay, pal?" He gave Johnny a slight grin and patted him on the shoulder. Johnny returned his smile and nodded.
"Thanks, Cap. I promise next time to think first, act later."
"Can we have it in writing, Johnny?" Roy asked. He knew his partner would be in hot water again in no time.
"I might just tattoo it on your forehead, Gage" the Captain said mock-seriously. "Okay, pack up, guys, we're outta here. Gage you got the day off, but remember this. When you come on shift tomorrow be prepared for some heavy duty latrine cleaning."
"Yes, Cap" Johnny replied contritely.
Mrs Meyers saw them out with John. As the Captain climbed into the cab, she tapped him on the arm. "Weren't you a little hard on him, Captain?"
Stanley looked down at the landlady and gave her a grin. "Some days I feel like I 'm in charge of a kindergarten instead of a fire station, Mrs Meyers."