Duty

‘Th… …other… bo…  …ort’

Adam thumped the radio. More crackling and static, drowning in the fire’s roar.

‘Help! Please!’

A woman screamed from the hallway. Adam glanced at his team, sweeping for survivors of the explosion. The protocol for comms going down was clear. Retreat.

‘Help! Please!

The firefighters nodded. They’re grown-ups, they could assess the risk - Adam told himself. He sprayed the flames with an extinguisher and pushed towards the voice. They found a cassette recorder on the floor, wired to another device, as Adam’s radio came back alive:

‘There’s another bomb. Abort!’

‘Help! Please!’

The tape ended.

Click.