"Let's work on doing it in a way that doesn't end up with you being booked for assault, okay?" I whispered as Liz flashed me a grateful smile.
If I was honest, I, too, wanted wipe that smug grin off of Violet Metzler's face. I just didn't know if it could be done.
CHAPTER THREE
Cam
When Tesla and I arrived at the station for my shift, I saw that Danny and the new guy, Victor, were cooking breakfast for the squad. Once everyone had said good morning to Tesla, she settled down in her usual spot next to the television and proceeded to chew on a bone that Mike Kelly had brought from his father's butcher shop down in Pilsen.
"What's up, Connor?" Victor asked as he stirred the scrambled eggs in the pan. "Haven't seen you in a while."
"Not sure why;, I've been here," I shrugged as I picked up a copy of the Tribune and read the headlines. "Where have you been?"
"Around," Victor said concentrating intently on the eggs. "Just making friendly conversation, no need to get your boxers in a twist."
"They're not," I said over my shoulder.
"Guys, c'mon!" Kelly said as he poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table. "We're all in this together today. No need to pound chests or engage in insults, right Connor?"
"Whatever," I shrugged again. "He started it."
"What
did I start?" Victor asked raising his voice. "I was just commenting on the fact that I hadn't seen you in a while!"
"Aw, c'mon, Vangel," I said irritated that he was forcing me to acknowledge him this way. "You're a prick on a good day and you know you are, so let's just get that out of the way and move on with our day."
"How am I a prick?" Victor demanded. "You're the one who broke the rules and forced the Chief to discipline us!"
"That, my friend, was not my fault," I replied without looking up from the newspaper. "And you know it as well as I do."
"God, you are such an ass, Connor," Victor said shaking his head. "You refuse to take responsibility for anything."
"I am more than willing to take responsibility for what I actually do," I said. "But I made a judgment call and lives were saved. I think you're forgetting that you went along with me."
"Did I have a choice?" he spat.
"Guys! Knock it off!" Danny said as he slapped butter on the last two slices of toast and brought the plate to the table. "Cam. Victor. It's over and done with. Why can't you two let it go?"
"He's the one making a big deal of nothing," I shrugged again. "Not my fault."
"Fuck you, Connor," Victor said as he dumped the eggs into the serving dish in a heaping pile and turned to yell, "Breakfast is served! Come and get it!"
The dining area quickly filled with hungry firefighters coming on shift and soon the conversation turned from the grudge between Victor and me to speculation on who was going to win the World Series this season.
"Spring training just began," Mike said with a mouth full of eggs. "You can't possibly know whose going to win."
"I do," Danny said confidently. "I'm positive the Cubs are gonna take it to the series this year. They were ready last year, they just couldn't catch a break."
"Is that what you call it?" Mike laughed. "I'd say they were out of their league!"
After breakfast, Chief Riley called a meeting and explained that there were some big changes coming, but that the brass downtown hadn't given him a lot of information about it.
"If you guys hear rumors about a shake up, just know that there are changes coming," Chief said as he looked down at an official memo from his superiors. "But a lot of the rumors are going to be false, so make sure you check with me before you spread them, okay? It's bad enough that we can't get the whole story, but to have you guys spreading stuff that's totally untrue is only going to hurt us all. Okay?"
"Aye, aye, Chief," Mike nodded as he pointed toward the kitchen and said, "Cam, Danny, you guys are on breakfast clean up. Hop to it before we get a call!"
"Crack the whip, why don't you?" Danny grumbled good-naturedly as he and I did our kitchen duty. As I washed and he dried, Danny talked about his plans for his small construction business. "You know, I've got a few contracts that I'm working on this year. Business is up from last year, and I can see that I might have a chance at some bigger contracts later this fall. You should come work for me, Cam. I can hook you up with some good jobs that pay really well if you need some extra cash for the house and all."