Fire and tears (Book1 of Wolves of Milano)

1. The fire

Vittorio's book

“Team one, car five! Team two, ladder two! Fire on Lombardi street! Children involved!” 

The high voice of the dispatcher sounded over the intercom of the Fire station and Vittorio jumped into action. Today he is the team leader of team two. Just because he was made chief, he will not be left behind. He will work longer and harder to get the office affairs in order, but nobody, and he means nobody, will ever tell him he can’t go back out in the field. He negotiated two shifts with the team leaders in a week. If nothing happened, it’s office day as usual. If the alarms go off, he rushes out with everyone else.

The adrenaline running high, the gear half on and the helmet hanging on his belt, he rushes to the ladder truck and hops in on the passenger side. A wide smile spreads on his face, he has beaten the driver once again. 

“Chop chop, Evan!” He shouts as the driver climbs aboard.

“Hey chief! Are you just loitering around the truck all day to beat me here?” Evan complains cheerfully as they speed out with sirens blazing.

“No. I’m just faster than you are.” Vittorio laughs.

“Yeah.” Evan swallows. “And I know why. I’m just teasing.”

“Not your fault for being human. Don’t beat yourself up about it.” Vittorio sounds stern, but in truth he likes the guy. He is one of the rare humans that know and he never asks stupid questions, he never complains and he is not weirded out by his fellow team mates that are shifters.

“I won’t.” Evan answers, lightheartedly. “Did you recognize the address?”

A shudder runs through Vittorio at that question and he looks again at the display on the dashboard. Oh, s**t! He thinks but dares not to voice his concerns. There is something seriously wrong in this city. The third fire in a group home for orphan kids just this year. Is someone targeting specifically those homes? Is there a young fire bug in the system? Do they have a serial arsonist on their hands? Maybe he should bring this up at the next meeting and get it looked in? Were the other fires investigated? Were they accidental or not? Did they miss something? Damn, the questions, he must focus on the job!

“Damn it! Don’t tell me Anjelica is the oversight for this one, too.” He mutters more to himself than to his driver.

“She is. She’s already there.” Evan answers anyway.

They come to a full stop just in front of a blazing old house. The scene is the same every time. Neighbors and curious onlookers line the street and he only shakes his head. Why does fire and tragedy always bring around gleeful people. They don’t do anything but create more problems for the fire department. He can see the first team making a cordoned area to keep the people away and the ambulance is here to care for the injured. His heart constricts as he remembers it’s children this time.  

Lucky for them and the occupants, it’s a sturdy old brick house. But the woodwork on the top floor worries him. He runs around and extends the ladder up. His helmet on and breathing gear attached, he starts the climb to the roof. Evan is the lookout on the ground and his communicator with the others. He is also there to get the victims off of the ladder and over to the ambulance.

“There are still four kids missing.” Evan tells him on the coms.

“Where are their rooms?” Vittorio asks.

“Top floor. Be careful with the windows.” He smirks at the concern Evan still shows. The kid will learn that nothing shocks the chief.

Vittorio breaks the first of the windows he can reach and pears inside. He can see a small figure hugging his knees and crying. This one will be tough. He gouges the leap and jumps in the room. The kid doesn’t even look up. He grabs him fast and shocks the hell out of the poor guy. 

“Where are the others? Cover your mouth, don’t breathe in the smoke.” Vittorio orders.

“Bathroom.” The little boy answers.

“I’ll get them. You will climb down the ladder.” Vittorio sets the boy on the top of the fire ladder. His arms are long enough to reach it easily. “Start climbing!”

Maybe it was the shock or maybe it was the command in Vittorio’s voice, but the kid climbed fast. That just makes my job easier, he thinks and opens the bathroom door. The sight there makes him angry. The three older boys are in the tub and running water over themselves. Stupid! All of them, he would expect that the teenagers would know better. And he realizes that the door was locked. His shifter strength allowed him to rip it off the hinges. The fire hasn’t reached the top floor yet, but the smoke is filling up the rooms. He needs to hurry and get them out.

“Everyone out of here, now! Out the window and down the fire ladder!” He orders and makes sure to infuse the alpha command in his voice. He might not be the pack’s alpha, but he is the chief of the Professional fire station and to his wolf that makes no difference. He starts climbing down as the last kid is off of the ladder and he can see that Anjelica is there to wrap them up in blankets. He will have to have a serious conversation with her, but later. There is a fire to contain.

Four gruelling hours later, the fire is finally contained. He swipes soot off of his face and looks around for Anjelica. She is nowhere in sight. The street is ominously empty. The neighbors and other onlookers have left. The ten or so kids were taken away and he thinks Anjelica probably left to get them sorted somewhere else. The ambulance is still there and a small frail figure is sitting on the edge of the opened bay door. She is wrapped in a blanket and he can see that she’s crying. The ambulance driver is saying something to her but Vittorio can’t hear what it is. There is just too much noise around. He stralls over to see what is going on.

‘Mine.’ His wolf sounds distant with all the noise, but the word is clear.

‘Who?’ Vittorio wants to know since he can’t smell anything with all the soot in his nose.

‘The girl.’ The wolf answers and Vittorio’s eyes travel over to the ambulance and the scene unfolding there.

“....go. There is nothing wrong with you. I can’t take you to the hospital.” The ambulance driver says as Vittorio walks close enough to hear them.

“I have nowhere to go.” The girl sniffs her tears.

“That is easy to solve. You come home with me.” Vittorio tells her.

“Hey, chief.” The driver greets him and he can feel the annoyance of the man. He only wants to do his job and get away from here and he is stuck babysitting a crying girl.

“I can’t just go with a stranger.” The girl looks up and he almost drowns in her eyes. She’s the one. The girl from his nightmares. Her blond hair is covered in ash, but he can recognise the honey color. And her face is the same, pointed little nose and huge blue eyes, the color of the spring sky. He shakes his head and looks at her again. Hoping he is wrong. He can see she is hugging a younger girl with bandages on her arms. And he knows that the younger girl will be taken to the hospital and the older one will be left behind. Life just isn't fair. 

“I’m Vittorio. Chief of the firefighters. I will give you my phone and you call Anjelica. She can vouch for me.” He tells her.

“Miss. I have to go.” The ambulance driver nudges her away from the other girl. And Vittorio catches her as she stumbles over the blanket. Damn she’s small and skinny as a rail. He can probably circle her waist with his hands.

“What’s your name?” Vittorio asks her. “Is that your backpack?”

She leans into his arms and he is glad that she trusts him that much. He fixes the blanket tighter around her and hugs her. As much as the bulky gear allows him to.  There is a soft sniffle that escapes her lips before she responds. ‘God! She’s skinny. We have to feed her.’ His wolf interrupts his thoughts. 

“I’m Vannessa.” She whispers and glances at the ground. The ratty brown backpack sitting there makes her cry again. “It’s the only thing left that is mine.”

“Where is your winter coat? Was it in there?” He asks her and points to the sad remains of the house.

“I don’t have one.” She answers quietly. “I came home from work to see the kitchen on fire. I dropped everything and got the kids out. The neighbors called Anjelica and the fire department.”

“You seem a bit too young to work.” He comments and leads her to the truck. “You’ll have to sit in the middle. Is that OK?”

“I’m twenty. I only live here because I work for them, too. Anjelica can’t place me anywhere now. She doesn’t have the excuse any more.” Vannessa sniffs again. He picks her up and sets her on the middle of the bench. God, she weighs nothing. And there are no complaints from her, she only answers the basic questions. She is probably in shock of losing her home. He has to be careful about it and not lay it on her too thick. They have time to figure things out. He can wait patiently.

“Don’t worry about that. I will let you have my spare room and I’ll call my cousin to bring some clothes for you. I hope you don’t mind hand-me-downs?” He tells her softly. He can’t believe she brings the soft side of him out. What is it with this girl? ‘I don't know if you have a soft side.’ His wolf smirks. ‘I guess it’s there after all.’ Vittorio answers.

The truck moved and Vittorio didn't even notice when Evan got in as the guy wisely kept his mouth shut. There was no chitter chatter on the way back to the station. And no one said anything as he escorted Vannessa to his office. There was pity in the eyes of the crew, but they kept quiet about it. No use to rub it in her face. And nobody made any attempt at a joke. Even the loudmouth firefighters can be sensitive sometimes.

“Here.” Vittorio hands her his phone. “I unlocked it for you. Anjelica’s number is in there. I’ll go get changed and then I can take you home.”

“Thank you.” She whispers.