being responsible for a portion of the blame.
Nothing was said about the fact that the man shouldn't have been in the program. He was a "mama's boy" who'd been accepted only because his father was a Washington bigwig.
Although Curt wasn't punished per se, the incident tarnished his record and precluded further advancement. He was devastated and ultimately furious over the episode. He felt the government had let him down after he had given his all for his country. When the time for his next reenlistment came up, Curt took an early out.
Steve's experience had been different. After a lengthy and frustrating application process, he'd finally been accepted into Green Beret training, only to have to drop out during the initial twenty-one-day assessment course. It was not his fault, he'd come down with the flu.
When he learned he had to start the whole application process again despite everything he'd done for the army, he followed Curt's example, and with a sense of disgust and betrayal left the military.
After a series of odd jobs, mostly involving private security, Curt had been the first to join the New York City Fire Department. He liked it from the start, with its military-like hierarchy, uniforms, inspiring mission, pride, and interesting equipment. Without any sort of ordnance, it wasn't the Marine Corps, but it was close enough. Also on the positive side was the fact that he could live in Bensonhurst.
Soon Curt was encouraging Steve to follow suit and take the civil service test. With some wrangling after Steve had gotten himself hired, they managed to get themselves assigned to the same firehouse and ultimately to the same engine company. Their story had come full circle.
They were back living in Bensonhurst and were once again best friends.
"I'm not going to chicken out, " Steve said morosely. "I just think we're asking for trouble. The building's not scheduled for a fire inspection. What if they call the firehouse? "
"Who's to know they're not scheduled? " Curt said. "And what difference does it make if someone calls? The captain's on vacation. Besides, we're out doing legitimate inspections, and I happened to have found out there'd been a violation on the fed building's last inspection. If a question arises, we're just checking to make sure the violation has been corrected."
"What kind of violation was it? "
"They'd installed a small grill in the ground floor sandwich kiosk, " Curt said. "Probably some food service manager just thought of it as an afterthought. I doubt they even pulled a permit. It got put in without a dry chemical Ansul unit.
We're just making sure they rectified the oversight."
"Let me see, " Steve said.
"What, you don't believe me? " Curt questioned. He slipped the copy of the violation from beneath the clasp on his clipboard and held it up in front of Steve's face.
"Well, I'll be a rat's ass, " Steve said after glancing at the form.
"That's perfect."
"Did you doubt a former Marine? " Curt quipped.
"Screw you, " Steve said kiddingly.
The two men continued toward the entrance, moving like military men with their heads high and their shoulders squared.
"This is going to be a perfect operation, " Curt said under his breath.
"The largest FBI office outside of FBI Headquarters in D. C. is in here.
Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps. It's going to be payback big time for Ruby Ridge."
"I just wish there were more a.T.F agents here, " Steve said. "Then we'd be avenging Waco and the Branch Davidians at the same time."
"The government's going to get the message, " Curt said. "Have no fear about that."
"Are you really sure Yuri is going to come through? " Steve asked.
Curt pulled his friend to a stop for the second time. People skirted them.
"What is it with you? " Curt asked, keeping his voice low. "How come all this negativity all of a sudden? "
"Hey, I'm just asking, " Steve said. "After all, the guy's kind of a kook. You've admitted that yourself. And he was a
Nothing was said about the fact that the man shouldn't have been in the program. He was a "mama's boy" who'd been accepted only because his father was a Washington bigwig.
Although Curt wasn't punished per se, the incident tarnished his record and precluded further advancement. He was devastated and ultimately furious over the episode. He felt the government had let him down after he had given his all for his country. When the time for his next reenlistment came up, Curt took an early out.
Steve's experience had been different. After a lengthy and frustrating application process, he'd finally been accepted into Green Beret training, only to have to drop out during the initial twenty-one-day assessment course. It was not his fault, he'd come down with the flu.
When he learned he had to start the whole application process again despite everything he'd done for the army, he followed Curt's example, and with a sense of disgust and betrayal left the military.
After a series of odd jobs, mostly involving private security, Curt had been the first to join the New York City Fire Department. He liked it from the start, with its military-like hierarchy, uniforms, inspiring mission, pride, and interesting equipment. Without any sort of ordnance, it wasn't the Marine Corps, but it was close enough. Also on the positive side was the fact that he could live in Bensonhurst.
Soon Curt was encouraging Steve to follow suit and take the civil service test. With some wrangling after Steve had gotten himself hired, they managed to get themselves assigned to the same firehouse and ultimately to the same engine company. Their story had come full circle.
They were back living in Bensonhurst and were once again best friends.
"I'm not going to chicken out, " Steve said morosely. "I just think we're asking for trouble. The building's not scheduled for a fire inspection. What if they call the firehouse? "
"Who's to know they're not scheduled? " Curt said. "And what difference does it make if someone calls? The captain's on vacation. Besides, we're out doing legitimate inspections, and I happened to have found out there'd been a violation on the fed building's last inspection. If a question arises, we're just checking to make sure the violation has been corrected."
"What kind of violation was it? "
"They'd installed a small grill in the ground floor sandwich kiosk, " Curt said. "Probably some food service manager just thought of it as an afterthought. I doubt they even pulled a permit. It got put in without a dry chemical Ansul unit.
We're just making sure they rectified the oversight."
"Let me see, " Steve said.
"What, you don't believe me? " Curt questioned. He slipped the copy of the violation from beneath the clasp on his clipboard and held it up in front of Steve's face.
"Well, I'll be a rat's ass, " Steve said after glancing at the form.
"That's perfect."
"Did you doubt a former Marine? " Curt quipped.
"Screw you, " Steve said kiddingly.
The two men continued toward the entrance, moving like military men with their heads high and their shoulders squared.
"This is going to be a perfect operation, " Curt said under his breath.
"The largest FBI office outside of FBI Headquarters in D. C. is in here.
Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps. It's going to be payback big time for Ruby Ridge."
"I just wish there were more a.T.F agents here, " Steve said. "Then we'd be avenging Waco and the Branch Davidians at the same time."
"The government's going to get the message, " Curt said. "Have no fear about that."
"Are you really sure Yuri is going to come through? " Steve asked.
Curt pulled his friend to a stop for the second time. People skirted them.
"What is it with you? " Curt asked, keeping his voice low. "How come all this negativity all of a sudden? "
"Hey, I'm just asking, " Steve said. "After all, the guy's kind of a kook. You've admitted that yourself. And he was a
Similar Books
![Four-Alarm Blaze [Southern Heat 4]](https://fs.dianahicksbooks.com/546059/thumbs/152x264/four-alarm-blaze-southern-heat-4.jpg)
