“So that’s why Hudson accused you of pushing him in the ash pit.” Angela waved her brush. “How could he even think to say it when he was in pain?”
“Because he’s a sociopath,” said Tara dryly.
“Don’t you love it when karma kicks someone’s ass who deserves it?” Liz smiled.
“I don’t wish horrible things for people. But when the universe does kick their ass, makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.” Angela straightened, tossing her dark tresses.
Tara stared at her two friends. “I don’t want the crew to find out.”
“Stop worrying what they’d think. They respect you, especially your squad. And they liked how you thwacked Hudson in the bar. That’s the crazy stuff that fills our heads when these things happen.” Liz grimaced.
“Have you ever been threatened with physical harm?” asked Angela.
Liz grimaced. “You think it never happens in my line of work? What rock do you two live under?”
“Sorry, Liz. This is just all so weird.” Tara gave her a sheepish look.
Liz waved away the apology. “You can’t let Hudson get away with it, burn injuries or not.”
Angela had her fighting face on. “From the beginning, my gut told me he was a slithery one. You have us for witnesses. We know you didn’t push him in and Rego knows you didn’t.”
“Did you tell Ryan?” asked Angela.
“There wasn’t time. Plus, I want to handle it myself.”
“But Ryan could help you with this.” Angela looked at Liz, who nodded agreement.
Tara paced. “I know. He saved my ass the first time I met him. I don’t want him thinking he has to rescue me every time I have a tricky situation.”
“But if you want a close relationship with Ryan, you need to be honest. Don’t forget, fire is a small world. He’s bound to hear it anyway.”
“Not only that, if Ryan finds out you told Silva and not him, he won’t like it,” Angela pointed out.
“You’re right.” She should have told Ryan. Too late now.
“Well, you have to tell Silva because he’s your crew boss. Plus, report it to HR. And you should file a police report for threats of physical harm.” Liz put her hand on her hip.
The thought of filing a police report sickened her. “I’ve already played it out. I don’t want to demobe. I’m here to fight fire and I need a good referral for the Lolo Hotshots. I won’t get one if I leave this fire.”
Angela pulled out a toothbrush and waved it. “Get a restraining order.”
“Hudson’s gone. Doubt if I’ll see him again,” said Tara.
“I’d get one anyway.” Liz leaned into her. “Oh, I have other juicy news. After Hudson medevacked out, Rego told Tupa that Hudson bragged about adding weights to Angela’s pack before her fitness test.”
Angela stopped brushing and pointed her toothbrush at Tara. “I knew that rat bastard did it!”
Liz chuckled. “Rego said Hudson was giddy with pleasure for trashing Angela’s fitness test. Aren’t you glad we strung him up on the moose?”
“We should have run him up a flagpole instead.” Tara glanced at her watch. “It’s half past seven, I’ve got to go.”
“First tell Silva. Then go to HR.” Angela finished brushing, sipped water, and turned to spit a fast stream.
“Angela, you have to come with me to tell them Hudson sabotaged your fitness test.” Tara strode out of the shower area.
The women hurried back to Aurora Camp.
“Good luck. Let me know what happens.” Liz unzipped her tent and crawled inside.
“Okay,” whispered Tara as she and Angela approached Silva’s tent. A flashlight was on inside, so he was awake. “Hey, Jon?”
“Yeah,” Silva responded.
“Got a minute?” Tara waited.
Silva unzipped his tent and poked his head out. “Sorry, I’ve been so busy. I’ve been working on the incident report about Hudson.” He lifted a clipboard.
Tara squatted next to him. “I won’t take up much time. Thought you should know I went to HR this morning to report a crew behavior violation, but no one was there. Hudson threatened me last night.”
Silva stared at her, then looked at Angela, who nodded.
“Shit, Waters. You mean with physical harm? That prick! Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It happened right before everyone got up. I didn’t want to wake you. That’s where I went this morning, but HR wasn’t there. And then Hudson had his accident and blamed me.”
Silva’s mouth fell open. “I’m sorry I kept putting you off. You know how it is when the IC wants something done. Do you want me to go with you to HR?”
“No, I can handle it. Angela’s coming with me because we found out Hudson was the one who sabotaged her pack test back in training.”
“Seriously? Oh man.” Silva rubbed his eyes. “I’ll talk to HR and provide a statement of what I observed today before Hudson got medevacked.”
“I’d appreciate it.” Tara rose to her feet.
“Thanks for telling me. I’ll get with HR after you talk to them.” Silva put his hand on her knee. “Are you all right?”
She nodded. “Just tired.”
Silva shook his head. “Everyone knows Hudson’s a loser, so don’t fret about it. People respect you. No one will believe him. I’ll see to it the dickhead gets fired.” His eyes lingered on her with concern.
“Thanks, Jon.” As Tara stood to go, she smiled, remembering the real reason for Ryan’s agitation the last day of training. He never liked Silva hitting on her. She knew that now. She also knew Silva had said those things about Ryan to win her heart. But Silva was a smart guy. He knew his boundaries and had backed off when Ryan made it clear he had won Tara’s heart. She respected Silva for that.
Tara and Angela hiked up to the Incident Command Center in the twilight and entered the tent with the Human Resources sign. A guy and a woman sat at a table working on a spreadsheet.
“Excuse me, can we talk to someone about a
