Page 47 of Kane

‘I’m so proud to have you as my Daddy,’ Cassie said, the water continuing to fall on her smooth skin. ‘You look after people. Itdoesn’t matter that you don’t even know them. You just do it. That makes youso-so-so-sospecial.’

Kane’s heart sang.

Hearing those words from Cassie felt incredible.

Kane hadn’t joined the fire service to get compliments. Or medals. Or anything really. He’d done it to help others.

But hearing someone as close to him as Cassie show their appreciation meant the world.

It wasn’t the time to get emotional though.

It was time to get moving.

‘Why don’t you get on with that new comic of yours while I’m out,’ Kane said. ‘You’ll have to show me what you’ve been working on soon. I’m intrigued.’

‘Hehe, maybe later. It’s still a work in progress and I don’t like to show anything until it’s ready normally,’ Cassie said. ‘But I might make an exception for you, Daddy.’

Kane smiled.

He finished towel drying himself and slung on a pair of jeans and a crisp white t-shirt that were folded neatly on the wicker chair in the corner of the bathroom.

It was time to get to the station.

Andfast.

As he stepped out of the apartment block foyer and onto the street, Kane looked around for his ride.

Then, in a blaze of noise, it arrived.

‘Yo!’ Leon said, lifting the vizor on his bike helmet. ‘you ready to burn some serious rubber?’

Kane laughed.

Kane was no stranger to motorcycles himself. He owned a mean and manly Harley. But it was currently out of commission. In that moment it was sitting in the garage, waiting for essential parts to arrive. That was an issue to resolve another day.

Right now, it was all about the journey to the station.

Leon handed him the spare helmet and Kane climbed onto the rear of Leon’s motorcycle. It was a Japanese model, one of the ultra-fast variety. With its red and black paneling and thick black tires, it was a beast. Which was good. Seeing as Leon had named it exactly that.

‘Okay, Beast,’ Leon roared. ‘It’s time to show Kane exactly how fast you can go. Let’s rip!’

Kane gripped the passenger handles and let out a loud whoop as Kane burst away from the sidewalk with the kind of acceleration that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a racetrack.

‘Jesus, you weren’t kidding, she can certainly tear up these streets!’ Kane shouted, his voice barely audible over Beast’s souped-up engine.

‘No doubt!’ Leon fired back, his attention mostly focused on the road ahead of him. ‘Fuck. Traffic ahead.’

Reluctantly but with very little choice, Leon slowed down as a sizeable traffic blockage loomed ahead of them.

‘Shit. This is the last thing we need,’ Kane said, aware that on an emergency call-in, every second counted.

‘Don’t worry, I know a short-cut,’ Leon said, a knowing tone to his voice. ‘Trust me, I know these streets like the back of my hand at this point.’

With that, Leon turned the motorcycle around and made one, two, then three quick diversions down slender side-streets. Before long, they were burning rubber again.

One final push and they arrived safely outside the fire station.

‘Thank you, bro,’ Kane said, a little breathless from the intensity of the journey.