Page 5 of Kane

Beer and betting went hand in hand for him.

But it had always made maintaining a relationship difficult. Kane had struggled to marry his partying ways with the needs and desires of a partner.

It was atoughbalancing act.

One that Kane had never succeeded in conquering. Avoiding relationships altogether was the answer to that conundrum, at least as far as Kane was concerned.

Now, all that remained was negotiating the final few blocks of New York citizens out having fun before he arrived at Precinct 14 Fire Station, ready to get to work…

‘Yo, Kane! You ready to lift some serious weight?’ McCall hollered from the open gym area of Precinct 14 station. ‘We’re going for some serious PBs today. You in?’

Kane shrugged his shoulders and carried on through the station towards his locker.

The noise was unavoidable.

Well, what would anyone expect from a fire station filled with the gruffest, toughest, and loudest firefighters in a tri-state area?

It was a raucous atmosphere.

And that was putting itmildly.

The station itself was very well maintained. The firefighters took great pride in it. They even went above and beyond and would bring in their own equipment to make sure that they and their colleagues were never bored while waiting for a call.

Non-alcoholic beers.

Protein snacks.

Games consoles.

The latest HD TV sets.

Kettlebells.

Free weights.

Morefree weights.

Oh, andeven morefree weights on top of that for good measure.

Put simply, it was a highly masculine atmosphere. The banter that went back and forth between the men wasn’t for the fainthearted. It was sink or swim. Kill or be killed.

But underneath everything, the men had a great bond together. An unbreakable one. They put their lives in danger in order to save lives. Trust was required. They had to be able to totally rely on one another. Without exception.

And they did.Verymuch so.

For Kane, work was the one place where commitment and trust was never an issue for him.

As Kane got changed out of his civilian clothes and into his standard under-layer of vest and athletic shorts, he listened as the hollering and hooting from his fellow firefighters seemed to get louder by the second.

Kane wasnotfeeling it.

He was grumpy. The fact he’d been up late the previous night drinking was certainly a contributing factor. As was the fact he’d lost a not insubstantial amount of money playing poker.

Kane had cut his partying and gambling down, but it was still very much a part of his routine. In some ways, it was like a stress-relief from the undeniable pressure that came with being a firefighter.

When you know that even a single mistake at work could have deadly consequences, it’s a big deal. Kane held people’s lives in his hands. If he screwed up, it could see someone lose everything. Including their life.

So what if he sunk the beers and gambled when off duty?