Two Years Later

Gideon straightened hi new uniform for the fifth time as he stared at the Fire Investigation and Explosive Ordnance Division doorway. He ran his fingers over the shiny insignia that stated he was now a peace officer. First day, new life. The discreet bandage he wore over his left eye was hidden behind regulation sunglasses. If the deputy chief allowed it, he’d keep the bandage and the glasses on full-time.

Grimm raised his hand, but the door swung open before he could knock. A man shorter by almost a foot stared up at him. The instant grin on his face seemed both welcoming and a bit shady.

“You must be Gideon Grimes. Welcome to your new home.” He smacked Grimm on the back and squeezed his arm a little too tightly. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say the guy was relieved he was here. “Hey guys, look who I found.” He practically dragged him into the room.

Grimm glanced at the guy’s name tag. Reynaldo. Laughter skittered throughout the room. It didn’t take a genius to know there was an inside reason to Reynaldo’s excitement. If they were looking to get a rise out of him, they were destined for disappointment. Compared to the pranks Ryan used to pull, this crew was nothing.

“You’re not hoping the new guy will save you, are you, Reynaldo?” A grizzled Hispanic man sipped from a cup of coffee as he smirked at Grimm’s new friend.

“The deputy chief isn’t back yet, so he doesn’t have anything to do right now, anyway.” Grimm didn’t know Reynaldo at all, but so far, he wasn’t impressive.

Laughter skittered through the group and the coffee drinker waved them off. “Get back to work. We’ll take care of it, but I’d better see that arson report on my desk when I get back. Gimme the keys to the red beast.”

“Yes sir.” Reynaldo grinned and tossed the keys to Grimm’s new champion. “Welcome aboard, rookie.” The smile Reynaldo sent Grimm’s way reinforced his dislike of this man.

He glanced around the room and saw a few welcoming nods and smiles, but the others seemed wary, if not downright hostile. Grimm smirked. This may end up being more of a pain in the ass than he’d hoped.

“Come on. They call you Grimm, right?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Let’s get moving. I’m Torres. I’ll be your training manager so we might as well get acquainted.” He set down his coffee mug and grabbed his ballcap and jacket.

“I’m ready to get started.” Grimm was more than ready.

Torres chuckled. “I like the enthusiasm. It’s refreshing. Follow me. We’ll get your side arm and a holster issued as soon as we get back. I need the DC to sign off on your paperwork. And trust me, the deputy chief is obsessed with running a tight ship.” He eyed Grimm. “Where’s your jacket.”

“It’s in my truck.”

Torres tsked quietly. “You wouldn’t leave your gear back at the firehouse, right? Don’t go anywhere without the standard required equipment. We don’t like to advertise our peace officer status. Draws the wrong kind of attention.”

They hit a stairwell, and Grimm’s stomach clenched a little. Two years had passed, and he still faced that weird catch in his gut when he went down the stairs.

Torres took the stairs two at a time and Grimm focused on keeping up. “You were Station 58, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Great group of men and women.”

Pride in his station still rose inside him. “Some of the best in Dallas, sir.”

“Don’t sir me, kid. I work for a living.”

Grimm smiled. An old buddy of his who’d been in the Marines used to say that. “I’ll try to remember.”

They reached the exit door and Torres put on his cap. “So, what made you come to the dark side? Investigations and Arson aren’t exactly the goal of most firemen. And I gotta say, your recommendation letters were impressive.”

Grimm groaned inwardly. He’d asked the Chief for some help with the transfer package. He must have gone all out. “I never saw the letters. And I transferred because…” He trailed off as they reached a shiny fire engine red extended cab pickup truck. It had a shell over the bed of the truck. The rear door was marked with a distinct yellow and red chevron pattern that touted Arson Investigation in big, bold, black letters.

Torres unlocked the doors and jerked his head toward the passenger seat. Grimm climbed in and noticed the distinct lack of scents he’d grown used to at the Station. No familiar scents of soot or smoke. None of the metal tang that sat on the back of your tongue when you spent all your time in SCBA gear.

The truck roared to life and Torres glanced his way. “Everyone has a history they don’t want to talk about man, but we all want to know more about you.”

“Why?”

Torres chuckled and pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road. “Investigations is pretty pissed that a new guy jumped the line into arson.”

“I was assigned to arson.”

“Yep, but that doesn’t stop senior investigators from believing they’re owed the right to move over to the criminal side. Lucky for us and the rest of Dallas, skill means more than some bullshit dog and pony show.”

Grimm decided right then that he liked Torres.

“Your transfer package was approved over all the in-house guys, but also ten additional outside applicants.”

Enemies at the gate already. The old competitive urges rose up in him. His Captain was right. Maybe this was the change he needed.

“So, I’m curious about you. Why leave the station and come to our side?”

He couldn’t see Torres’s face because of the bandage, but he could feel the man looking at him. “In January of 2015, I took a hit to the head that caused temporary blindness in my left eye. It took me off the roster while I recovered. My Captain suggested I move into investigations and I started my degree shortly after.”

“Is that why you wear the patch?”

Grimm touched the edge of it. “It’s still healing, but my vision is mostly back to normal.” He didn’t want to tell him the real reason he wore the bandage. Hell, he could still see the look of pity on his Captain’s face when he told him the truth right after the hospital stay. Before he knew better than to tell anyone.

“Investigations, that’s not a usual segue.”

Grimm shrugged. What could he say? That his captain watched the descent into madness as the origin of the fire that killed Ryan became an obsession? That every waking moment, he thought he could see his dead best friend. His bulldog worrying of the investigation had led to an eye witness account of an arsonist. One that was still at large. Arson had taken over at that point, but Grimm wanted to find that bastard and rip apart his life the same way it had torn up his. Justice would be cold, harsh, and intense.

His left eye burned the way it always did. When the arsonist was brought to justice, Ryan would be able to rest in peace.

“I’m not sure, but I’m glad he did.” He left it at that. No reason to rehash a past that he didn’t want circulating around his new crew. “So, what is this dreaded task that had Reynaldo so quick to wuss out?”

Torres snickered. “We’re picking up a team mate who is giving his doc a hard time. They asked us to take him off their hands as soon as possible.”

“Hospitals are enough to make anyone cranky.”

“No, this guy is always like this.” Torres pulled into a parking lot behind a brick building.

“This isn’t a hospital.” Or if it was, it wasn’t one he wanted to go to.

“I never said it was.” Torres hopped out of the truck and Grimm followed. He climbed up the stairs to a small loading dock and knocked on the door.

“Any particular reason why we’re coming in through the back?”

“Well, Max makes quite a spectacle when he gets going, and that reflects badly on our division. You understand, right?” Torres was grinning again like he was hiding something.

Grimm knew he was the butt of a joke, but couldn’t, for the life of him, figure out what it was about. If this guy was such a disaster for them, why was he allowed to continue service? Discipline can’t be that different on this side. Could it?

“Get him! He’s loose again. Why didn’t you hold onto him?” A shout from inside jerked Grimm’s attention to the door. Instinct pushed him forward and Torres put a hand on his arm.

“Whoa there, boy. Slow down. That would be Max they’re yelling at.”

Torres knocked and the door opened after a few seconds. A frazzled looking brunette in gray scrubs with the most gorgeous green eyes Grimm had ever seen stared at them with first annoyance, and then dawning realization. “Oh thank God, you finally made it. He’s a better escape artist than ever.” The exasperated edge to her whisky voice made Grimm’s lips twitch in a near-smile. It sounded so familiar, but he couldn’t place why.

“How’s our boy doing?”

“He harassed our new intern until she was a nervous wreck, got the others riled up, and nearly staged a coup. I’d swear he’s laughing at us.” She stared up at Grimm, and he couldn’t mistake the flush spreading across her cheeks.

She was beautiful. He fought the urge to brush a lock of hair that had fallen free from her messy bun. Of course, that smile would turn to disgust the moment she saw his eye.

“Stephanie!” the shout came at the same moment a giant black lab shot through the door and launched at Grimm, teeth shiny white and dangerous. He hit him square in the chest and they both went down, Grimm taking the brunt of the fall against the icy cement dock.

His glasses flew wide as the dog began licking his face without giving him time to breathe.

Stephanie rushed to his side. “Oh wow. He’s never done that before.”

“You mean he doesn’t normally suffocate and drown a man in slobber the first time he meets them.” He spluttered as Max tried to practically crawl into his skin. “I thought you said he was grumpy.”

Torres leaned over Max’s body and gave Grimm a shit-eating grin. “Grimm, meet Max. Looks like you’re going to be best friends.”