"Nah, nothing yet," he said, cutting up a stack of pancakes and drenching them in syrup. "But Chief Riley told me that they'd be making announcements about new positions in the next week or so. Damn, I want to make Lieutenant."
"I hear you," I said, biting into a crispy slice of bacon and chewing slowly. "You think any of us have a real chance?"
"Some of us more than others," Victor muttered at his plate.
"What does that mean, Vangel?" Mike asked as he helped himself to another stack of pancakes.
"Nothing." Victor shrugged. "It just means that some of us are better suited for promotion than others."
"Why do you always have to be such a condescending asshole, Vangel?" Newsome said in an irritated tone.
"I don't, I'm just right," Victor said as he focused on his breakfast and ignored the mumbled curse words aimed at plates. We all had formed an intense dislike of Victor from the moment he entered the station. He hadn’t done anything to make it any easier, either. He had a reputation as a dangerous firefighter and as an arrogant know-it-all who had no problem lording his knowledge over the rest of the guys. He hadn't been popular when he'd first joined the force, and his popularity
level had declined every year. I tried to avoid him as much as possible because every time he opened his mouth, he made my blood boil.
"You hear about that fire on the North Side last night?" I asked, trying to change the subject. "Preliminary investigation says it was arson and that it's linked to the fire we were at last week. Says it's a landlord who is trying to evict tenants by bypassing the proper legal channels."
"If I had to deal with all the crap they have to deal with, I'd probably do the same thing," Victor muttered. The rest of us ignored him.
"Anybody hurt?" Mike asked.
"Looks like some of the building's occupants were taken to Chicago General, but no firefighters hurt," I said, scanning the article again. I had a funny feeling about the recent string of fires, but since I couldn't connect it to anything concrete, I let it go.
Tesla whined to go out, and Newsome motioned that he'd take care of it while I cleaned up breakfast dishes. As I was elbow deep in a sink full of suds thinking about Alex and the way it had felt to kiss her, Victor sidled up next to me and said, "I need to talk to you, Connor. When you're done."
"What do you want, Vangel?" I asked, irritated that he'd interrupted my thoughts.
"I don't think you want to discuss it out here in the common room," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Meet me in the bunkroom when you're done."
"If you're running a new deal," I said. "I'm out."
"Oh, this is something you'll definitely want to be in on, Connor." He smiled, but it was a slimy smile that didn't reach his eyes. I hurried up and finished the dishes and then quickly made my way up to the bunkroom.
Victor was on his bed in the far corner, back against the wall reading a new issue of Playboy. I rolled my eyes and walked over to him.
"What do you want, Vangel?" I asked. "And make it quick."
"You'd be wise to speak a little more respectfully to me, Connor," he said as he put the magazine down, cover facing up. "I've got some information that will interest you."
"What is it?" I asked in a bored tone, knowing that Victor was mostly drama without much evidence.
"Well, it seems that someone has leaked information about the new security team that will be protecting the mayoral candidates this year," he said, looking at me expectantly.
"And your point is?" I shrugged. I knew that it was unlikely that Victor had any real information and that this was a fishing expedition designed to get me to tell him what he suspected, but didn't yet know for sure.
"I think you know the CEO of Chicago Security Company, don't you?" he asked.
"Yeah, Leo Marini. I've known him since we were kids," I said. "What about it?"
"Well, there's some rumors floating around that you're far more involved with the company than just knowing the CEO, Connor," he said quietly as he stalked his prey. The problem with Victor was that he always counted on having more information than he actually had, so I knew that if I continued to play dumb, he'd give up out of frustration.
"And again, what's your point, Vangel?" I asked, looking down at my fingernails and then back up at him. "Rumors fly about everything in this town. Three-fourths of it isn't true, so I'm not sure why you're talking to me about it."
"Look, I was trying to give you a heads up about what's being said out there, but if you don't care, well..." He shrugged. "Then I guess I can take it elsewhere and see what I can get for it."
"You're going to take a dubious rumor to whom, exactly?" I laughed. "I think if you're going to sell information to the highest bidder, you'd better make sure it's actually true first, don't you? Don't make yourself into any more of an ass than you already are, Victor."
I could see the blood rising in Victor's cheeks as he fumed over my insult. He'd been counting on me rising to the bait, and when I didn't, he didn't know where else to go.