2013.06.03 - The Firefighter and the CEO

Summer has set in across NYC, and the mid afternoon finds the temperature in the lower 80's. The day is clear and almost blindingly bright, and it's perfect weather for things like sitting under a shade tree in a park or eating ice cream. And the latter is exactly what Justin Hammer has sought out to do. Taking a break from the hustle and bustle over at Hammer Industries' facilities, he called up his driver and requested a trip to an ice cream shop near the Staten Island Mall he frequents. The shop, a small, family owned place, actually makes the ice cream in house, and it's one of Justin's favorite places to visit.
A black stretched Lincoln Towncar pulls up in front of the shop and stops, followed closely by a black military-style Hummer . Jack, Justin's driver, exits the limo and walks around to open the door for his boss. The overdressed CEO exits the limo, saying something in a low tone to his driver before walking toward the shop. Jack nods in acknowledgement, then pulls the limo around the building. The black Hummer finds a place to park in the lot in front of the shop, staying in plain view of it's front door.
Earlier on in the day the firefighter had decided that he wanted to get out of his part of town for a while. So much of his time has been spent going back and forth between his home in New Jersey and the firehouse lately, it was time for a change of scenery. Since he didn't have his son this week since he was out of town with his mom he decided to take the bike out. Weather was finally nice enough to go for a ride, and he had wanted to visit Staten Island for a long time now. Cace didn't have much of a sweet tooth, but all of the guys had been talking about this ice cream shop and insisted that he checked it out.
After riding around the island for a while he finally ventured to the part of town where the ice cream shop was located. Pulling into the designated parking area the firefighter peeled off the black helmet and climbed off of the fire truck red motorcycle. Lifting up the seat he placed the brain bucket inside and retrieved a pair of old aviators and put them on. Just as he looked up he saw the limo pull into the parking lot. "Wonder who that is?" He caught himself wondering out loud. Replacing the seat he than unzipped the black leather jacket and started to make his way toward the shop.
Justin strides into the shop like he owns the place. It's reasonably busy, a couple families, some small groups of older kids and even some adults simply enjoying a sweet treat on a hot day. Many of them look up at the man in the neutral grey three pieced suit, and Hammer grins to himself at the attention he's netting. The young woman behind the counter smiles and greets him. "Mr. Hammer, good afternoon. What can we get you today?" Looking over the case, who's contents change pretty regularly, Justin rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Not sure yet, Maria, too many choices," he responds to her, his tone polite though there's a hint of his usual cockiness in the words.
Tucking his keys into his pocket Cace wanders into the ice cream shop not too long after Justin. Looking around for a moment the firefighter couldn't help but smile, looks like everyone else had the same idea he did on this hot day. Pulling off his jacket, exposing one of his black Rescue 1 shirts, the firefighter waited patiently behind the man in front of him. Cace wondered if the limo out front was his. Though tempted to ask he quickly decided against it, not wanting to pry. Maria turned her attention from Justin to the newcomer who was standing in line behind him. "Just a moment sir." Cace nodded, "No problem." New York accent thick in his voice. So, this guy was a regular here? Interesting, definitely not a place you would expect to see a business guy in.
"Oh, you guys made a batch of the Mocha Chocolate chip this week, I'll take a couple scoops of that," Justin says, pointing toward the case. He looks back toward the man in line behind him, giving him a quick once over. The CEO is in paranoid mode, though he's doing a fairly good job of hiding it at the moment. Hammer notices the FDNY t-shirt, and it causes him to arch a brow. "So, you're a firefighter?" he asks the other man while Maria gets his order together.
Noticing the glance the firefighter smirked, Cace's appearance was somewhat intimidating and he knew it, but he never used it to his advantage unless he absolutely needed to. Keeping a respective distance he glanced through the case at all of the different ice creams, each of them looking more delicious than the last. When the man asked him if he was a firefighter he couldn't help but give a sincere smile and nod. It was something that Cace was asked a lot, and it was definitely something he wasn't afraid of showing and was proud of. "Sure am, and can I take a wild guess here? That big black limo belongs to you."
Justin offers a smile to the firefighter. The expression is, like his overall demeanor and how he dresses, over the top and perhaps not completely sincere. "It does indeed," he replies. "It's my little get-around-Town Car." Hammer's idea of humor isn't on the same plain as most people's, so what sounds like a joke to him often sounds sarcastic or condescending to everyone else.
Maria sets Justin's order on the top of the case. "Here you go, Mr. Hammer. Enjoy," she says to him with a smile before turning to Cace. "What can I get for you today, sir?" Justin picks up the paper bowl of ice cream and heads toward the register.
Cace turns around and looks out at the limo as the man comments on it. "Well, that is one way to get around. Sure makes mine look inferior." He admitted, gesturing to the red motorcycle parked toward the end of the lot. "Still love 'er though." He said looking back toward the out of place man in the business suit. "I think mine wins on gas though." Not that money appeared to be an issue for the man in front of him, but that was the humor that Cace had, and money for him was an issue, despite how much he tried to cover it up.
His attention turned to the woman as she sets the bowl on the counter, and that was when he heard a familiar name. Hammer, where had he heard Hammer before? Pushing the thought aside the firefighter looked through the glass case at the ice cream as he pushed his aviators to the top of his head. "What is your favorite?" he asked, looking up at her. "I personally like plain old vanilla." She said with a big smile. "That than, take a couple scoops." Maria nods and starts scooping some of the fresh vanilla ice cream into a bowl for him. "There ya go!" Cace gave her a nod and took the bowl off of the counter and followed after Hammer toward the register. "Hammer huh?"
Justin pulls out his wallet and pays a slightly older woman, perhaps Maria's sister, for the ice cream. He gives her a smile and a nod, and drops a very sizable tip into the tip jar. At the question, the CEO smirks. "That's what Maria said," he returns. "Justin Hammer, if you want the full name." His tone isn't unfriendly, but still cocky. He picks up his ice cream and heads toward a table. There's only one left in the shop, the rest being occupied.
Scratching his head he was forced to think for a moment. He had picked up on the cocky tone in the man's voice but didn't pay much attention to it. Dang, where had he heard that name? "Oh right, the weapons guy." He finally managed, remembering a newscast a few days ago mentioning him and some kind of shooting. After Justin left Cace made his way up to the counter and she immediately waved him away with a smile. "No no, no charge." Quirking his brow he looked at her. "Why?" he asked, somewhat puzzled as he stopped mid way through the action of pulling out his wallet. "Firefighter right?" she asked, smile still on her face. Cace nodded. "No charge, thank you for what you do." Smiling the firefighter gave her a nod of thanks, but still put something in the jar for them. "At least let me give you that." The older woman nodded, accepting a tip at least.
Turning around the firefighter started to search for an open table but spotted none, accept for the one that Hammer had planted himself at. Shrugging he made his way over to the table and leaned on the wall, not seating himself. "So, ice cream any good?"
"Yeah, that'd be me. The weapon's guy," Justin responds as he sits down. The exchange between the cashier and the firefighter doesn't go unnoticed, and Hammer makes a note of what he sees. If he's really going to run for president at some point in his life, he should probably do nice things. Like give emergency services personnel a break. Motioning toward the empty chair at his table, Justin answer's Cace's question. "Some of the best I've had. They make it all here, in house. Good stuff."
Shrugging the firefighter pulled out the empty chair and took a seat across from the CEO. "Yeah, that is the word that has been going around my house, well, in Manhattan anyway. Said it was worth a try." Taking a bite of the ice cream the firefighter leaned back in the chair and relaxed, taking a couple more bites. "Okay, that is good." He said gesturing to the bowl of ice cream with his spoon. "Cap'n will be happy to know that, and now I can vouch for this place."
Justin digs into his ice cream. He doesn't eat like a proper rich guy, though he isn't rude either. "So where's your station at?" he asks the firefighter. He's never really had the opportunity to talk with any sort of first responder, save for the cops he's had to deal with recently. And that wasn't friendly conversation by any means.
Cace was fighting the urge to just inhale the ice cream, aside from the fact that it was absolutely delicious he had also got into the terrible habit of speed eating. "It's in New York City, Hell's Kitchen to be exact." He replied in between bites. "Rescue 1." Pointing to the logo on his shirt as further confirmation. "Ever been up that way?"
Hell's Kitchen isn't the part of town that Mr. Hammer would likely find himself in any time soon. He shakes his head with a bit of a chuckle. "Been near there, but it's not a part of town I usually visit. You're a brave guy, setting up in Hell's Kitchen." He eats lazily while he talks, enjoying not just the ice cream but being away from the office for a few minutes.
Cace shrugs as he takes another bite of the scrumptious ice cream. "Someone has to do it. Yeah, it's a rough neighborhood, but I guess that is what keeps it interesting. Wouldn't want to live there though, I will stick to Jersey." Looking over to the CEO he offered a quick smile. "Ya know, you should come visit sometime, I think you might get a kick out of it." Cace was sure that the other guys at the house wouldn't mind, they give tours all the time, that and use the tours as an opportunity to educate the public on fire safety and among other related things.
Justin arches a brow at the idea. Visit a firehouse? Come to think of it, he's never actually been to a fire station. That sounds sort of interesting, though the idea of going to Hell's Kitchen doesn't sound all that wonderful. Still, the publicity opportunities could be a real bonus. "I didn't know they let people visit firehouses. May have to take you up on that some time. So you said Rescue one, is that different from a regular fire truck?"
A small chuckles escape the firefighter. "Yeah, we sure do. We get school groups at Rescue 1 all the time, and occasionally other groups. Typically we schedule them, but we can make an exception for you Mr. Hammer. I will run it by the Captain and see what he thinks, if you really want to come and check us out." When the weapons manufacturer asked if Rescue 1 had a different rig than that of other fire houses he offered a nod. "Yeah it is. You have quite a few different rigs geared toward different things. Engines, trucks, towers, Haz-Mat, well you get the idea. Our rig is geared toward specialized rescue so it carries different supplies than that of a typical 'fire truck'. We deal with high rise rescue, dealing with high angle rope rescue, vehicle extrication, and underwater rescue. Hudson River is right next door, so we get those quite a bit."
Hammer can't help but admit to himself that he's fairly impressed. He nods as Cace explains Rescue 1's purpose, still working on eating his ice cream. "Quite the resume. How long you been a firefighter?" To be on a crew like that Justin guesses Cace must have a lot of years in. Unless there's a school for all that, but if there is he's never heard of it.
A small chuckles escape the firefighter. "Yeah, we sure do. We get school groups at Rescue 1 all the time, and occasionally other groups. Typically we schedule them, but we can make an exception for you Mr. Hammer. I will run it by the Captain and see what he thinks, if you really want to come and check us out." When the weapons manufacturer asked if Rescue 1 had a different rig than that of other fire houses he offered a nod. "Yeah it is. You have quite a few different rigs geared toward different things. Engines, trucks, towers, Haz-Mat, well you get the idea. Our rig is geared toward specialized rescue so it carries different supplies than that of a typical 'fire truck'. We deal with high rise rescue, dealing with high angle rope rescue, vehicle extrication, and underwater rescue. Hudson River is right next door, so we get those quite a bit."
Hammer can't help but admit to himself that he's fairly impressed. He nods as Cace explains Rescue 1's purpose, still working on eating his ice cream. "Quite the resume. How long you been a firefighter?" To be on a crew like that Justin guesses Cace must have a lot of years in. Unless there's a school for all that, but if there is he's never heard of it.
He nods as he sets the empty paper container down on the table and leaned back in the chair, proud of himself for not inhaling his treat. "Been at this for fourteen years, took a while to get to where I am today. Spent two years with an engine company, moved to a ladder for a couple more years and got myself into advanced training and they put me with Rescue 1, been with them for ten of those years." A small smile spread across his face as he crossed his arms. "And I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else. How long have you been in the weapon's business?" Cace asked out of common courtesy, and he didn't want to bore Justin with talk of his career.
"Yep, hell of a resume," Justin responds. He finishes with his ice cream shortly after Cace does. He pushes the empty cup aside on the table. "Pretty much since I graduated college," Hammer says with a slight wave of his right hand. "Founded Hammer Industries in '97, when I was twenty-three. So going on sixteen years, now." The company has grown a lot in that sixteen years, and has seen more than it's fair share of growing pains. It's that quick growth that has caused some of the problems the corporation has seen.
Cace nods his head in thanks. Fourteen years is quite a long time, but it is dwarfed by a lot of the other firefighters at his house, a couple of them had been there thirty plus years, and one of them is going on fifty years with the company. Secretly Cace hopes he will be able to last that long, if not longer. His eyes widen a bit at the brief history of Hammer Industries. "Now that is impressive, sixteen years? I bet you have your work cut out for you." Cace couldn't even imagine building up a company such as Hammer Industries from scratch, shoot, he wouldn't even know where to start. Not that he would want to attempt such a feat, the firefighter loves what he does. "That is some awesome ice cream, going to have to bring my son here one of these days."
Justin grins at the compliment. "You have no idea," he says with no small air of confidence. To the comment about the ice cream he nods. "You should. This place is great, it's a family business so I have a bit of a soft spot for'em." Hammer has a soft spot for something? There's a shock no one expected. The CEO stands, raching into his suit jacket and pulling out a silver card case. He flicks it open and hands Cace one of his cards. "Keep in touch, wouldn't mind seeing the firehouse one of these days."
Cace nods agreeing that it is a good family place. "Yeah, kiddo would love it." Leaning over the table he takes the card that is being offered to him. After taking a quick glance over it he smiles. "Sure thing, would be more than happy to have ya. I will talk to my captain and see if we can't set up a private tour for ya. I promise you won't be disappointed." Standing the firefighter offers his hand to Justin. "Was nice talking with you Mr. Hammer."
The CEO take's the firefighter's hand and shakes. This guy's not half bad, he has an ounce of respect. "Call me Justin," he says with a slight smile. "And I don't think I caught your name."
"Alright than, Justin it is." The firefighter replied, letting go of the firm handshake. "Ah, I guess you didn't, the name is Gallagher, Cace Gallagher."
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