Chapter 1

The following story is a true story. It didn’t happen to me personally, but it did happen to a good friend and fellow firefighter. For obvious reasons, the names and some of the details have been changed to protect the innocent ... and the guilty!

Being a firefighter is a tough profession. It is tough on the firefighter himself, of course, but it’s also tough on his loved ones. It’s not easy being the wife of a firefighter and I often wonder who is the real hero – the firefighter or his wife. In my department 80% of the guys are divorced at least once. Those remaining are single except for me. I am the very rare firefighter who is married and remained with the same woman all my career!

Dave wasn’t always so lucky. He came to my department from another in another state. He didn’t talk too much about why he left such a good department to come to ours, but we all have our reasons so we didn’t push the issue ... we were just glad to have him on board.

Dave was a good man and he took his job with all the seriousness it deserved. Sure when things were slow he was a cut up, but when the tones went off, he was all business.

Dave was put on my shift and as the Captain he worked under me. But that was only rank – on the fire scene we are all equals. I was responsible for my squad and I directed them in what needed to be done but in Dave’s case, he seemed to sense what was needed so directing him was pretty much pointless.

Dave and I formed a partnership ... he and I seemed to be able to almost sense what the other one would do in certain situations and we were each other’s right hand man. When we rolled up on a car accident, for example, he knew before I said anything what I would be calling for and had it ready. It was a great working relationship and friendship. I got to know Dave almost better than my own blood brother.

Dave had a very attractive wife, Lisa, that came by to see him often at the station. It was always good to see her when she stopped by, spending day after day with these reprobates, it was good to see a woman in the house. She classed the place up when she stopped by!

Things went smoothly for almost a year. Dave was good at his job and had just earned a pay increase. He was also in the running for the next driver’s position when it came around. I didn’t really want to see him get it – being a driver meant he stayed with the truck and wouldn’t be going in the building with me anymore. I would miss my right hand man inside, but I was glad to see his career progressing.

Then one day he came to work and I could tell almost immediately something was eating at him. I didn’t say anything at first – if he wanted to talk, he knew where to find me. But as the day wore on, he stayed quiet and kept to himself. And this wasn’t our Dave. Finally I took him aside into the training office (it was after hours by now and all the officers had gone home for the day).

“Okay Dave, you’ve been quiet and unsociable all shift. I know you well enough to know something is bugging you – you aren’t your normal jokester self. Now what’s going on dude?”

“Yeah you could say something’s bugging me ... or rather someone!”

“Huh? What the hell are you talking about, Dave?”

“Okay I’ll tell you, but this doesn’t leave this office, got it?”

“Dave you know me well enough to not even have to ask that. Now what’s wrong?”

“It’s Lisa ... she’s cheating on me again.”

His words hit me like a sledgehammer. “WHAT? Lisa? Are you sure, Dave?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. This isn’t the first time she’s done this. I’ve never told anyone about this, but she cheated on me back in Tucson ... the reason we came here was to get away from my old department. She cheated on me with another firefighter there ... and it looks like she’s up to her old tricks here now.”

“Do you ... know who it is?”

“I’m pretty sure. I haven’t been able to prove it, but I suspect Billy. There are certain clues that all point to him. Plus he’s a lot like the guy back in Tucson ... blonde, well built, with that smile and those fucking dimples!”

Billy was definitely popular with the women. We jokingly called him a pussy hook ... send him into a bar full of ladies and he’d come out with one on each arm. Billy could get laid in a lesbian bar!

“So what are you going to do?”

“Well, I can’t go to another department. I haven’t been here a full year yet and going to another department wouldn’t solve anything–she’s already shown me that. Besides, I like it here. I’m not going anywhere. But I may have to switch shifts. The reason she can get away with this is because Billy is off when I am working. So I am going to switch shifts to throw a wrench in their plans.”

“Well, have you talked to Chief Harris about this?”

“Not yet. I’ve been waiting to see how much further this would go. Hoping that Lisa would come to her senses. But I’m going to have to ... probably tomorrow.”

“Listen Dave, I really don’t want to see you switch shifts. I mean this isn’t your fault, it’s Billy’s. Well, Billy and Lisa. But you fit in with this shift very well and you and I work well together. I don’t want to see you leave. Do you want me to talk to the Chief?”

“It might help if I had someone with some rank and pull with the Chief. And you already know the story. Yeah, if you would go in to talk to the Chief with me that might help. I mean all he can do is say no right?”

“Dave we are a family here ... I don’t think the Chief is going to allow family squabbles to get in the way of conducting business. We have a job to do and a responsibility here. Anything that compromises that has to be dealt with.”

The next day Dave and I went to see Chief Harris. Chief Harris was as shocked as I was at the news. But he was also very understanding and he agreed with me that since Billy was the transgressor, he should be the one to change shifts.

I wasn’t in the meeting between Billy and the Chief, of course, but I did get the gist of the conversation. Billy was told that we are a brotherhood and that cheating with another firefighter’s wife is not a very good career move. If Billy didn’t have five years invested already in the department, he would have been fired for this. Chief Harris told everyone that Billy had requested the transfer, but Dave and I knew the real story.

With Billy out of the way, Dave turned his attention to Lisa and dealt with the root of this problem. And from here, I will let Dave tell you the rest of this story...

“Hi honey, how was your shift? I hope you weren’t real busy.” Lisa said happily when I came through the door.

“You can cut out the happy housewife shit Lisa, I’m on to you and I’ve already taken care of half of the problem.” I said.

“W-what do you mean, Dave honey?”

“What I mean is that I know about you and Billy. You just couldn’t leave that shit back in Tucson, could you? You know full well that’s why we had to leave. It was either leave with you or leave without you. Either way, I couldn’t stay with my old department. But you just couldn’t leave it back there and now Billy is going to be changing shifts and changing stations so you won’t be tempted to fuck around with him anymore.”

“You told the guys? How could you! Now I’ll never be able to show my face there again!” Lisa said.

“Hold on there ... remember you are the one who did this, not me. And I told the Chief because he’s the only one who could have changed Billy’s schedule. Only the Chief and Tom knows about this.”

“You told Tom too? Oh God!” Lisa was in a panic now as things went from bad to worse for her.