by TL Reeve
He decided to try the game tables set up by the dunk tank. If anything, he'd spend a little money and get his mom a stuffed bear. She collected the hell out of them, and she'd get a kick out of a carnival bear. As he rounded the corner, there she stood, her back to him, a softball in her hand. She aimed at the three metal milk jugs. The object of the game was to knock all of the jugs off of the table and nine chances out of ten, no one could do it. The games as far as he was concerned were rigged for the operator, not the participant.
Dexter stood to the side and watched. The man beside her laughed as she launched the ball in the direction of the stack. The crack of the softball hitting the jugs rang through the small space. To Dexter's surprise, she used the backboard to ricochet the ball back at the containers, dropping the remaining two. She let out a mighty whoop of surprise then laughed as the guy behind the counter handed her a purple bear.
His breath hitched in his throat. He knew that laugh too, only he’d been graced by a throatier version. One he'd heard in a post-coital haze. Brittney. She handed the bear to the guy who said something to her before stepping away. Dexter closed the distance between them and paused. What did he say after seventeen years? Hey? How are you? I've never stopped thinking about you. He snorted, yeah, none of those sounded like stalker tendencies.
“Excuse me,” he said, tapping her on the shoulder.
She turned quickly then stumbled backward. Shock and confusion marred her pretty features. As cliché as it sounded, she hadn't aged a day. She still reminded him of the young rich girl who wanted to be a weather girl. “Dirty-D?” The way she murmured his name went straight to his groin.
“You remember me?”
“How could I forget you?” She started walking toward one of the other tables.
“I'm surprised to see you,” he said then kicked himself as he followed behind her.
“Yeah,” she replied. “Strange, right?”
Dexter stopped. “Brittney?”
“Yeah?”
She wouldn't look at him. If he didn't know any better, he'd swear she didn't want to talk to him. “Uh, can we talk?”
“About what?” She glanced over her shoulder at him.
“I thought maybe we could catch up.”
She licked her bottom lip and it was then he saw the tremble in her hand and the way her gaze darted from spot to spot, as though she might have been waiting for something. Maybe the guy who'd walked away had been her husband.
“Oh, catch up? I mean, it's not like we had any kind of relationship, right? We kind of had a quickie in the bathroom of that bar not far from here.”
He frowned. She was right. They didn't have anything. They'd been a post-test/pre-ship out hook up. “Right. It's... It's been a long time. It's really good to see you.”
She nodded. “It's good to see you, too. Surprising.” She flashed him her easy smile, the one that made him want to go to his knees and do anything she asked.
“Yeah. It is.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “So, what brought you here?”
She quirked a brow. “Jemma, why? What brought you here?”
“Fire department. This is my station—well, it's our station. I'm a Paramedic/Firefighter for Tarpley.
“Oh,” she said. “So, Big Bend, huh?”
“Yeah. Crazy.” He stopped her as she handed a dollar to the girl standing behind the counter of a squirt gun game. “I would like to just, talk. I... God, this is going to make me sound like a creep, but I thought about you over the years.”
Brittney pushed a lock of her blonde hair behind her ear. “Dexter, I don't know if that's a good idea. I mean... I'm not sure if I can.”
“What's a beer between old acquaintances?”
“I—”
“Mom! Check it out.” A boy, maybe fifteen or sixteen came to a stop beside her showing her his haul from playing the different games. He had long hair pulled back in a bun and the greyest eyes Dexter had ever seen. There was also something else about the boy he couldn't put his finger on. He looked familiar. Way too familiar.
“Rai,” Brittney said. “Just in time. I think we should go. It's getting late and we have to be on the road in the morning.”
“Ah man,” the kid said. “I was just starting to have fun.”
“I know.” She patted his chest. “It was good seeing you, Dirty-D.” She crossed the path and made a beeline to the exit, the boy hot on her heels.
“Likewise.” He stared after her. What the fuck just happened? Had he said something wrong? Why did the boy look so familiar to him? He called her mom. He couldn't shake the feeling he was missing something important.
“What the hell was that?” Tank asked coming up beside him.
“Man, I have no clue,” Dexter answered. “I know her.”
“Must not have made a memorable impression.”
Dexter chuckled. “Asshole.”
“So, what happened?”
“She freaked out. When the kid joined her, she couldn't get away quick enough.” It doesn't make sense.
“You know they're one of the storm chaser teams based here in Texas,” Tank said. “Overheard a conversation between one of the members—the girl with the bloodhound and Calliope. “They're on their way to Nebraska or something. Something about a supercell and kicking off the season with a bang.
Dexter glanced in the direction Brittney practically ran for. “She did say they had to leave early.”
“I could pull a couple of strings find out where they're staying,” Tank hedged.
Dexter shook his head. “Nah. Don't need a prowler charge on my record. Besides, if they’re leaving in the morning, it’s kind of useless.”
His friend laughed. “Suit yourself. But, from what I heard, she's not married, if that's what you're worried about. Never has been, married that is.”
“It's not. Let sleeping dogs lie, asshole.” Dexter headed away from the game booths. “But, I do appreciate the information.”
Tank shrugged. “Your loss, man. If I was you, I'd go after her.”
Yeah...but it was obvious she didn't want anything to do with him. Plus, she had a kid and the guy who'd been talking to her as well. It was stupid of him to think he could just start up a conversation with her like seventeen years hadn't passed or as if they had some kind of relationship. “Thanks for the advice, but it's all good. Come on, we have to start getting ready for late dinner.”
“Oh joy,” Tank said.
Dexter laughed. “Beers on me later tonight.”
“You're on,” Tank said, shoulder checking him.
Chapter 3
Two days later, Brittney sat in a small diner off of the I-80 corridor, staring at the European radar model instead of the US model. Sucked to say, but in the last few years, the Euro model had become more reliable than not. Storm clouds were gathering on the horizon and if they wanted to be in Lincoln by the time the storms flared to life, they'd have to get a move on. According to the data she had, the severe weather would hit about lunchtime, which meant people would be out and about eating or going home early.
She glanced at her team who were also fully engulfed in their work. Her son sat beside her, picking at his omelet while staring out the window toward the direction of the coming rain. Brittney frowned. He’d been oddly quiet since they left the barbecue. Guilt ate at her all night. The one time she’d seen the man who fathered her son, since their little tryst in the bathroom of the bar, and she clammed up.
“Hey?”
Rai glanced over at her.
“We’re going to be fine today. We’re fully prepared for any tornado that might touch down and we have the plan. You have nothing to be afraid of.”
Her son laid his fork on his plate and sighed. “I’m not scared.”
“No?”
He shook his head. “Nope. Curious who that guy was though at the celebration.”
“Oh.” The conversation was bound to come up. “I used to know him.”
“Why’d you run away f
rom him?” Rai had always been a perceptive child.
“He makes me nervous,” she answered. “Not nervous in the way of, he could hurt me, just...”
“Intimidating?”
“Yes. Very. It'd been a long time since I last saw him and seeing him again brought back a lot of memories—good ones—but I'm not sure I'm ready to delve back into at the moment. I need to be sharp today.” Brittney glanced at her team who pretended to be hard at work when she knew they were listening intently.
“Oh.” Rai began to eat. “Makes sense.”
“Yeah, kind of.” She took a sip of her coffee before going over the incoming data. The first tornado watches were going up for the area, including a few severe thunderstorm watches and areal flooding advisories.
“We shouldn’t wait much longer,” she said to her team. “Doing so could strand us on the wrong side of this storm.”
The group gave a collective agreement then took a final bite of their food and swallow of their beverages before gathering their things and paying the check. On the way out, two more teams passed them on the road heading for Lincoln. Before everything was said and done the best of the best would be tracking the front. She knew just about all of the teams, except for the newer ones who were being funded by The Innovation Channel and The Adventure Channel. To her, they weren’t out there to study the tornadoes. They were there to make a profit and in doing so, put other people’s lives in jeopardy.
“Lars, I need you watching the data as we drive. If you see an anomaly, we'll stop and go over it to find the best intercept points. Wylder, I want you to follow us, make sure Spike is buckled in. We don't need any unintentional injuries. Oz, I need you to scan local police and fire as we drive. We don't need any unexpected detours or roadblocks keeping us from our destination.” Brittney handed her keys to Shiro. “You know where we're going.” Then she looked at her son. “You will be in the back of the vehicle with me.”
“I’ll have my camera ready and your blog open working on a post.” A spark of nervous excitement colored her son’s eyes, making the grey swirl as though they were pools of liquid mercury.
“We have our assignments then.” Brittney hated the idea of being a man down, but Calliope needed this time to herself. Brittney couldn't be mad at her friend; she'd be a hypocrite if she was. “Lincoln is our destination. We should be there and set up before the storms arrive. Keep the CBs tuned to channel six, so we stay out of the way of the State Troopers and the other teams.”
They broke apart and headed for their respected vehicles. Shiro got in behind the wheel of the van while Rai closed the sliding door behind him and Brittney. Shiro pulled out of the parking lot and followed the signs to Lincoln. Along the way, another two teams caught up to Brittney’s team then passed them. Let them. She didn’t care. She wasn’t going out for the sensationalism of it. She did it help others.
For the first hour of their trip east, the data had been quiet along with the radar. Then, in York, the satellite lit up like a Christmas tree. The clouds rolled together into a monstrous wall, blotting out the sun in an instant. Rain pelted their vehicle. Visibility had been nearly zero, and for a second, she considered stopping, however, her gut encouraged her to keep going.
“Why are they stopped?” Rai’s question brought her attention to the side of the road.
Several of the teams that passed hers on the way in, were already finding their intercept spots. Too bad they were still too far away. “They think they’re in the best spot to see the storm.”
“Oh.”
“There might be a tornado or two here today, but the majority of the weather is still east of us. This storm... It's nothing in the grand scheme of what we'll be seeing in Lincoln and the surrounding areas,” she said. “If the power of the storms now are any indication for how the rest of the day will go, you're in for a treat.”
“Not sure a tornado is a treat,” Rai replied with a droll state.
She laughed before sobering. “No, not at all, especially to those who might be involved.”
Rai lifted the phone in his hand, pointing it at Brittney. “We’re recording. Where do you think the biggest impact will be today?”
She motioned him forward. “I think this area here.” She pointed to Lincoln and the surrounding towns. “People should be prepared for long tracking storms with potentially damaging winds and a few, if not a moderate amount of tornadic action as well.” The screen began to flash, and Brittney turned it to him. “Looks like York is under a severe storm warning for the next three hours.” She frowned. “Not good.”
“Why?” Rai questioned.
She flipped the map to the reflectivity, watching the way the storm converged with the air. Already there were a few areas she didn't like. She flipped back to the Doppler and blew out a breath. The intensity was incredible. Already small clusters of green were becoming balls of yellow, orange and red. “The storms are popping quicker than even the Euro model anticipated. We should have had about four hours to setup. Looks like we'll have less than an hour now.”
Rai’s gaze hit hers. “What about the people in the area of these storms?”
“Well,” she tried to give him a reassuring smile. “Those teams behind us now will be able to give people in the surrounding communities a heads up if they see anything.”
The crackle of the radio caught Brittney’s attention. “We need to pull off the road.” The seriousness of Lars’ tone had her signaling to Shiro as she picked up the mic for the CB radio.
“On it. We’ll get off here at the exit.”
Shiro eased them off the highway and into the parking lot of a small mom and pop gas station. When Wylder joined them, Brittney got out and went straight for Lars. He pulled his laptop out and placed it on the hood of the SUV. He pressed the enter button and Brittney watched the main cell of the storm system jump to life and pass right over a small community just north of Lincoln the back edge hook would cross over an elementary school along with a busy section of the highway.
“Did you call ahead?”
Lars nodded. “They’re taking precautions as the NWS has requested but they’re not sending students home yet.”
“We need to be there,” Brittney said. “They’re going to want us there.”
“I figured as much,” Lars stated. “We shouldn’t waste any time. I think we have about forty minutes before it hits.”
“Right. Let’s go.”
They hopped back onto the freeway and flew down the interstate on the way to Clark. The small community didn’t even look big enough to hold the moniker of a town. However, as they drove, she looked it up and found there were over a thousand people in the area. Most of the people lived on small farms or mobile homes. She could understand why the school—which serviced K-12th grade—wouldn’t want to let the children out during severe weather. However, if they didn’t have a spot to place all of the children, they were going to be sitting ducks.
Adrenaline coursed through her veins. She bounced her knee, willing them to hurry up and the storm to stay away until they could get into position. This could turn into a dangerous situation. She glanced at her son who stared down at his laptop, his fingers flying over the keys as typed away.
“Listen,” she said. “There are helmets in the rear of this vehicle. I want you to put one on when we stop. I also want you to stay right with me. I can’t have anything happening to you out here.”
“That bad?” he asked, glancing up from his screen.
“Worse I fear.” The gnawing ache in her gut wouldn’t quit. She had a feeling when all was said and done, they will have seen at least an EF3 or EF4 tornado. “I think we’ll be here a few days helping people dig out.”
“More time to get great shots and hopefully help people,” Rai said, going back to work. “Don’t worry about me though. I’ll be okay.”
“I know you will,” she agreed.
“We’re five minutes out,” Shiro announced taking the exit. “Get ready.”
&nbs
p; Brittney’s phone rang. She glanced at the screen but didn’t recognize the number. Instead of answering it, she let it go to voice mail. She didn’t have time to answer it now, she needed to concentrate on the task at hand. Keeping people safe. It rang again and this time Rai answered it. He shrugged when she threw him a nasty look. He knew better.
“Hello, Miss Hart’s assistant, how can I help you?” Rai grinned at her. “She’s busy at the moment can I—”
Rai handed her the phone. “Wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“Of all the times to be... Hello?”
“Brittney?” She knew his voice.
“Dirty-D? What are you doing calling me?”
“Calliope gave me your number. I just... Well, you left in a hurry and she said you were storm chasing.”
Brittney grimaced. “I am.” She was going to kill Calliope when she got the chance. “Now is not a good time, Dexter. I am on my way to intercept a storm.”
“Right. Right! Of course, stupid timing. I should have realized. Well, be careful.”
“Thanks.” She hit the end button then tossed her phone aside. “Damn it, Calliope.”
Shiro glanced up into the rearview mirror and met Shiro’s gaze. “You good?”
She gave a curt nod. “How close are we?”
“Two minutes,” he said. “We’ll pull into a little open area and recheck the data with Lars.”
Brittney clicked the updated information on her laptop and cursed. “Get us as close to the storm as you can without putting us into danger.”
Shiro nodded, taking the first exit into Clark. There was nothing but a diner for a far as the eye could see. However, a blue sign pointed them in the direction of the town’s only school and with it, Brittney assumed would be the proper of Clark. Shiro pulled into the parking lot and made a loop around, giving them the ability to exit within a moments’ notice. When Lars pulled up beside them, Brittney got out and went straight for his SUV.
“What do you see?” She didn’t wait for him to exit before asking questions. They were out of time.
