All Chapters of The Firefighter Captain's Big Mistake: Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

"Shut the valve!""But Vince, there are still people trapped on the top floor!" I shouted at him.Black smoke billowed out of the windows on the twenty-eighth floor. I could only imagine how desperate Diane Prescott must have been in there.Vince Hudson had a cigarette dangling from his lips, its tip glowing and fading in the dark. He shot me a contemptuous glance. "Blake, are you the captain here, or am I? I told you to wait, so you wait."He jerked his chin toward a balcony on the building next door.A woman in a skimpy outfit was holding up a selfie stick, posing and preening for her phone camera, with the burning building behind us as her backdrop."That's Director Colter Prescott's precious niece. Big-time influencer, millions of followers. She came out specially today to get a taste of real life and film us brave firefighters in action.""We've got to play along, understand? Once she's found her angle, then we go in.""That's a human life! It's not a prop for your photo o

"Stop him!"A few of the guys hesitated, then closed in around me anyway."Move," I said coldly.Nobody moved.They were my brother-in-arms. We'd trained together, answered calls together, and carried fallen comrades out of fires together, never knowing if they'd make it.But now, they'd become a wall standing in my way."Sorry, guys."With a low growl, I put all my strength into it, slammed through the two men in front of me, and charged forward.At that moment, a dark figure rammed hard into my side.It was Vince.He knocked me to the ground.I felt like a few of my ribs might have cracked.The pain knocked the breath right out of me.He straddled me, grabbed my collar, and punched me in the face again and again."You little punk! Give you an inch and you take a mile, huh? Today I'm going to teach you how the world works!"The taste of blood filled my mouth.My vision started to blur.All I could see were my comrades around me, turning their heads away.I saw that i

"I'm sorry," Director Prescott said.A high-ranking official was apologizing to an ordinary firefighter like me.My nose stung, and I almost broke down in tears."Now isn't the time for that." I sniffled and pointed at the fire. "Director Prescott, I request permission to lead a team into the building immediately!"The odds were slim, but as long as there was the slightest chance, I couldn't give up.I put my helmet back on and took the forcible entry tool Larry handed me."Team One, with me! Teams Two and Three, keep working it from the outside! Contain the spread!""Yes, sir!"Amid that thunderous shout, I led an assault team into the building, which had turned into a living hell.The stairwell was thick with acrid smoke and scorching heat.Covered by the hose lines, we fought our way up toward the twenty-eighth floor.With every floor we climbed, the temperature rose, and so did the danger.The walls were scorching to the touch, and chunks of burning debris kept dropping

I stood up and shook his hand.His palm was slick with sweat."Have a seat."The three of us fell into an awkward silence.In the end, it was Director Prescott who broke it."Blake, we came here to say thank you. And to say we're sorry."I was a little confused."Three years ago, Tim had the wrong idea about you." Director Prescott sighed. "After the fire, he wasn't thinking straight. He was convinced that you... that because of your history with Diane, you deliberately..."I understood.I looked at Tim Dillard. He kept his head down, his face flushed bright red."I'm sorry," he said quietly. "Back then, I... I'd lost my mind. I shouldn't have thought that about you."Later, after I read the full investigation report and every witness statement, I realized you were the one... the one who really tried to save them.""I want to apologize for the rotten things I thought back then."With that, he stood up and bowed deeply to me.I didn't move to stop him.I'd earned that bow