Backdraft Page #6

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The guys are sleeping upstairs. You're gonna get me in trouble.

This is my office. Impressive, huh?

Yes, it's very nice.

Lot of tradition locked up in this old house.

See those doors?

They lead to the hay loft when they used to have the old horse-drawn engines.

Lot different then.

But kind of the same, you know?

Do you miss it?

You seem like you do.

Well,

when I came back,

I, uh-- I knew.

I knew that I really wanted to be a fireman.

Then why'd you quit?

I should have said I wanted to be a good one.

So show me your fire truck.

Shhh!

[Siren]

[Pengelly] Mask up, lads. Bring that sledge.

[Alarm Ringing]

Where is it?

I don't know. There's alarms goin' off on three floors.

This alarm system's been screwing up since they built--

- 10? 29?

- Yeah.

How do we know if the floor's gonna be on fire?

Well, when the doors open,

if it's hot,

- don't get out.

- [Snickering]

We're gonna start on this side. I'll meet you down at the end.

- All right, come on. Come on.

- High-rise gigs give me the creeps.

Bull, we're early on this one again...

and it ain't even broke out yet. We're one short with Brian gone.

- Wait for the next-in engines.

- Let's catch it before it breaks out.

- You want to learn something?

- Yeah, I do.

Axe, go with Pengelly. Take the other side.

- Don't split us up again. It ain't safe.

- I haven't got time for this.

- Then let me take the lead.

- Do your job; they need a line.

Come on. Come on, Axe.

Oh, you're so very sly; but, so am I.

She's hot and smoky...

but she's not rollin' yet.

- [Fire Bell]

- Sh*t!

[Dispatcher] Hello, 51. You follow 17 in the truck.

[Dispatcher] 11201 South Clark. It's a cancel.

[Dispatcher] 11021 South Clark.

- South Clark.

- What time is it, anyway?

[Siren]

[Truck Horn And Siren]

All right, take it.

Wait, wait. Make sure you check it first.

Oh, yeah.

[Siren]

- Howdy, boys.

- Brian!

- Here we go. Now get that mask back on.

- Right.

Clear!

Stay here.

Check that door for heat, Tim?

Tim!

[Screams]

Watch out, Steve. I got him. Move off.

Put it out!

Stretcher!

[Pengelly] Get the goddamn stretcher.

Everybody over here. Through here. Through here.

Get that stretcher over here.

What the hell happened?

Tim! Tim! How'd it happen?

Breathe, Tim, breathe.

Get him in there!

Come on!

- You're all right.

- Come on! Hang on, kid!

- Hey, Shadow, I got one here.

- Oh, Christ.

Some guy named Holcomb.

Steve.

[Pengelly] Steve.

Steve, you all right?

- How is he?

- He's alive.

- Is he gonna make it?

- They're not saying.

He's in there.

I'm sorry. You can't come in now.

Please stay outside.

I should have been there.

None of us should have been there, Brian.

Don't tell me about the chance I'm taking.

- You were costing me time.

- You didn't wait for back-up.

- You were wrong.

- What the hell is your trouble?

- This part of your investigation?

- You had to do it.

You had to be myth man, taking another fire bare-handed...

- instead of looking out for the probie.

- We need space.

- Is that what happened?

- I had that fire. He didn't listen.

He's a candidate, your responsibility.

You shouldn't have had him up there in the first place.

You burned him, Stephen.

- F*** you.

- Don't you walk away from me.

Yo, Brian. Let's go.

Goddamn it! Get him off!

Come on!

Easy, man.

Loosen up! You're just making things worse.

- Relax. Forget about it.

- Come on. Come on.

- Inspector.

- Alderman.

Chinese sponge cake?

When are you gonna catch the prick that's doing this, Don?

- Don?

- Don't you have any leads?

No, Marty, I don't.

We haven't found any connection between the victims at all.

Jesus Christ. Open your eyes.

You got Seagrave, Cosgrove...

- and now Holcomb.

- Holcomb?

Put 'em together. It's a goddamn list.

I didn't know the name of that victim had been released?

Hey, John.

[Fireman] Morning.

I'll do whatever you want me to do.

I want to help you nail that son-of-a-b*tch that burned Tim.

Show me how.

Thought old Marty was acting a little strange.

He's right. There's residue.

Holcomb is the third victim.

The backdraft was set up somewhere in there.

Fried Holcomb when he opened the inner door.

But the outer door held and it waited for Tim.

In a word, Brian,

what is this job all about?

Fire.

It's a living thing, Brian.

It breathes, it eats,

and it hates.

The only way to beat it...

is to think like it;

to know this flame will spread this way across the door...

and up across the ceiling;

not because of the physics of flammable liquids,

but because it wants to.

Some guys, fire owns 'em. Makes 'em fight it on its level.

The only way to truly kill it...

is to love it a little, just like Ronald.

- Hi.

- Hi.

- I heard your friend's gonna be okay.

- Thanks.

We checked and your boss was partners...

with all the murder victims in a company called Lakeside Dynamics.

He's keeping that a secret. I wanna know why.

- I don't know anything about that.

- You might be able to find out.

- Get me his files.

- Do you know what you're asking?

Yeah.

Four years ago I was punching a cash register.

Two years ago, Marty Swayzak didn't even know my name.

I was bringing the guy coffee.

I practically run that office now.

And Marty-- He believes in me.

I just don't--

You're asking me to throw that all away.

Your boss is a liar.

Stephen?

I'm sorry, Helen. I just couldn't sleep.

Well, what's wrong?

It used to be real clear.

When I was a kid,

what meant most to me about this job was...

no "ifs."

Somebody called the fire department, we came.

We just showed up.

Those guys, they just don't know how much I love 'em.

You don't leave people hangin'.

It holds everything up, doesn't it?

Loyalty.

I don't get it.

"Till death do us part." Isn't that what you heard, Helen?

You go, we go. It's all the same...

piece of sh*t without that, isn't it?

It's the end of everything.

I'm sorry I came.

There's just nobody I can talk to.

I really miss you.

[Stephen] You sure you really want to put grape jelly in the eggs?

Yeah, it's part of my formula. It's an experiment.

- It's an experiment?

- Yeah.

Let's get these eggs going.

- Hey, I want to do that.

- Can you do it?

That's good.

I'll put that in the formula.

- You gonna leave the shells?

- Yeah.

- They're part of the formula?

- Yeah.

I guess you know what you're doing.

- I know what I'm doing.

- Uh-oh.

Mom!

I didn't know you'd be up so early.

Mom, go back to bed. We're making you breakfast in bed.

- Stephen, can I talk to you a minute?

- Yeah.

You keep going there. You're doing good.

He knows what he's doin'.

He told me he likes those piano lessons you got him taking.

It's just I don't want to confuse him, you know.

I knew who you were when we got married.

I knew how you did things.

And--

I mean, you haven't--

I just can't anymore.

I just-- you know,

I gotta worry about Sean.

- Yeah.

- I mean, you're the best.

You really are.

But the chances that you take just--

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