"Yeah, they said the only thing that stopped the action was the alarm," Victor added as he moved the sizzling bacon from the pan to the plate on the counter. "You take her home and get some?"
"Jesus, Vangel," I said, shaking my head. "It's always about the score with you, isn't it?"
"What else is there?" he asked, looking mystified by my disgust. “We’re young, red-blooded, American males, and women love guys in uniforms.”
“You’re a dick, Vangel,” I said. “I happen to view women as human beings, not a means to an end.”
"Ooooh, it's love!" Newsome said in a singsong voice that made even me laugh. "Conner's in love!"
"Dude, I just met her, it's not likely," I said, waving them all off as I tried to focus on the Tribune's headlines. It wasn’t love, but I certainly liked Alex more than any woman I’d dated in the past few years.
"So, why'd you bring her here?" Kelly asked.
"We went to O'Neil's for dinner and got to talking about our jobs, and I offered to show her where I work since I'd already seen where she works." I shrugged. "Nothing terribly complicated."
"You've seen where she works?" Victor said. "I didn't know you were attracted to strippers, Connor!"
"Vangel, shut the hell up," Newsome said without a smile. “No one wants to hear any more of the offensive shit you have running around in that little brain of yours.”
"What did I say now?" Victor asked as he looked back and forth between me and Newsome. “I’m just talking about getting very real needs met.”
"Why do you always have to take it a step too far, Vangel?" Mike asked as he flipped the last batch of pancakes onto the platter and yelled, "Breakfast is served! Come and get it!"
Victor shot me a smug look that told me he knew exactly what he was doing. I let it go, knowing that pursuing it would not end well, and asked Newsome if he'd heard anything about promotions.
"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.