Chapter 3: Her Authority Had a Paper Trail
By late afternoon, the fire was contained.
Walter’s house was damaged, but the neighboring homes were safe.
Gloria remained.
She had moved to the sidewalk and was now handing out photocopied pages.
Marcus approached her.
“What are those?”
“Neighborhood enforcement notices.”
“From whom?”
“Me.”
She handed him one.
At the top, in bold letters, it read:
COMMUNITY COMPLIANCE NOTICE.
Underneath were complaints about parking, trash cans, delivery vehicles, lawn decorations and “unauthorized emergency staging.”
Marcus looked at her.
“You’ve been issuing these to residents?”
“I’ve been protecting property values.”
“You aren’t authorized to issue anything.”
Gloria folded her arms.
“You firefighters don’t understand community standards.”
Marcus handed the paper back.
“No. I understand that someone called 911 because a house was on fire.”
That finally made her angry.
“You think because you wear that uniform, you’re above everyone else.”
“No.”
“You think people like me don’t matter.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You don’t have to.”
She snatched the paper back.
Then something unexpected happened.
Walter’s daughter, Emily, walked up.
She had arrived from the next county and had been helping her father since the fire began.
Emily looked at Gloria’s papers.
“Did you give my dad one of these?”
“Yes.”
“Today?”
“Yes.”
“While his house was burning?”
Gloria hesitated.
“I was trying to establish order.”
Emily looked at the damaged home.
Then at the megaphone.
Then back at Gloria.
“My father almost died.”
Gloria’s expression tightened.
“I was not responsible for the fire.”
“No,” Emily said quietly. “But you chose the middle of it to make yourself important.”
Gloria’s face reddened.
She lifted the megaphone.
Nothing came out.
She shook it.
Pressed the button.
A weak electronic chirp followed.
The batteries were dying.
Marcus almost smiled.
Gloria slapped the side of the device.
“Work!”
The megaphone produced one miserable burst of static.
Then silence.
Gloria stared at it.
The firefighter beside Marcus whispered, “Looks like command has lost communications.”
Marcus almost laughed.
But Gloria wasn’t finished.
She raised her voice without the megaphone.
And somehow became louder.
