Chapter 13

4

A sudden silence fell over the chaotic fire station. Dane looked around at his colleagues sprawled on the floor, groaning. Those scattered on the floor were drenched in sweat, and some collapsed again after struggling to get up.

What the hell was this situation? He couldn't make sense of it at all. It was hard to believe that his colleagues, who were never lacking in physical strength, had fallen so helplessly. Even though he had seen it with his own eyes.

Even more unbelievable was the fact that this man was standing before him. Dane narrowed his eyes and glared at him. It was the same man he had encountered at the extreme Alphas' pheromone party a few days ago. The one who had carelessly released intense pheromones even in the midst of flames, making two Omegas lose their minds, and laughed like a madman.

Who would have thought this bastard was Greyson Miller.

He had casually knocked him out thinking it was just a passing encounter, never expecting to meet him again.

But there was no time to think further. The man's purple eyes seemed to darken, and he immediately swung the metal crowbar he was holding. The heavy sound of metal cutting through air struck his ears.

"Whoop."

Dane instinctively ducked. After barely avoiding it, he immediately picked up what he had prepared nearby. And then.

Whoooosh!

"Urghkk."

The compressed powder sprayed out mercilessly. The white powder that poured out with enough pressure to swallow even the air scattered everywhere on the strong wind. It filled the interior like a hazy fog, making it difficult to see even a foot ahead.

A gurgling cry burst from Greyson's mouth. The fine powder stuck to his skin and instantly invaded his nose, mouth, and throat. But Dane continued to spray the powder relentlessly at him with an indifferent expression, holding the fire extinguisher with its safety pin removed.

Finally, the man who had been causing trouble lost his fighting spirit and started coughing repeatedly. Though Dane stopped spraying then, Greyson's coughing didn't easily subside. When he could finally breathe, he glared at Dane with bloodshot eyes and gritted his teeth.

"Do you know what you just did?"

Though his voice was heavily suppressed as if trying to forcibly contain his anger, anyone could tell he was tremendously furious. The men sprawled around turned pale and didn't know what to do, but Dane, the actual target of Greyson's fury, showed no particular reaction.

"I just stopped a fight."

At this indifferent response, Greyson's barely contained anger exploded.

"Are you crazy? Don't you know you're not supposed to spray fire extinguishers at people? And you're a firefighter!"

Despite the man's fierce demeanor, Dane looked at him indifferently.

"You're an extreme Alpha. Aren't you immune to drugs?"

"Damn it, this isn't a drug! How can you even say that? You bastard, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

Greyson continued shouting. The man who had been completely composed until now was raging like he had truly gone mad. Though his reaction was threatening as if he might strangle someone at any moment, Dane still responded with an indifferent attitude.

"Was I? Then I guess I was."

At that moment, Greyson's last thread of reason completely snapped.

"You damn son of a bitch! I'll kill you!"

Greyson charged at Dane with a rough shout. Though his momentum suggested he might snap his neck right there, Dane was still watching him with an expression of utter annoyance. Haa, letting out a short sigh, he readjusted his grip on the fire extinguisher. Just as he was about to swing it at Greyson's head.

"What the hell are you all doing!"

At the chief's thundering voice, both of them froze simultaneously. The chief let out an exasperated sigh as he surveyed Greyson who was about to swing the crowbar at Dane's face, Dane who was about to smash Greyson's head with the fire extinguisher, his subordinates in a miserable state, and the furniture broken and scattered everywhere. Though he seemed dazed by the absurd scene, he soon collected himself and raised his fierce eyes at the root cause of this incident.

"What is the meaning of this? Why are you fighting here? I agreed to let you work for just one year, not to let you cause this kind of havoc!"

The chief's words were completely reasonable. When an exceptional hiring is permitted, many conditions are attached. This time too, he had repeatedly emphasized the need to stay quiet and not cause trouble for other employees. He had thought they would endure at least a month, but lo and behold, this disaster happened in less than half a day.

That wasn't the end. This time his reprimand turned to Dane.

"Dane, put that down right now! How could you think of hitting someone with equipment? I didn't say anything when you were at the police station and even sent a lawyer! I understood you coming to work at this hour, but what is this mess as soon as you arrive! How could you disappoint me like this? Huh?"

The employees avoided the chief's gaze without a word as he fumed. Dane reluctantly put down the fire extinguisher, and Greyson also threw down the crowbar. As everyone watched the chief's reaction, he fell into deep contemplation.

Maybe I should just throw away all thoughts of donations and everything else.

Seeing his subordinates' miserable state, he wondered what use new equipment and vehicles would be. He didn't need to ask who had started this situation - it was crystal clear. The chances of Greyson Miller, who had come here using his father's influence, causing such a major incident on his first day were extremely low. This meant his precious subordinates had caused this trouble, but he hadn't expected their resistance to be this severe.

Even though he had specifically asked them.

But at this point, it was impossible to hold Greyson Miller responsible and drive him out. Above all, they were dealing with Ashley Miller. If his son was unfairly dismissed after being hired through special means, there was no telling what he might do. He might demand astronomical damages. Besides that, there must be thousands of unimaginable creative ways he could torment them. Moreover, if he learned his son had been treated so miserably.

He might put me in the electric chair.

"Ungh."

At this horrifying thought, the chief couldn't help but let out an audible groan. After closing his eyes and shaking his head, he immediately surveyed the dim-witted men with a fierce expression.

"I told you to just endure quietly for one year, and you can't even do that? Where did you all leave your brains! If you have brains, you should use them to think!"

Though he wanted to beat these muscle-headed idiots senseless, now wasn't the time. First, he needed to resolve this situation. Yes, starting with that Greyson Miller.

"...Are you alright? Um, you're not hurt anywhere...?"

Though the fact that he had to grovel like this made his heart sink once again, it was too late. The future had been decided from the moment he accepted Ashley Miller's proposal. This kind of situation would probably repeat endlessly for the next year.

Swallowing repeated sighs while examining Greyson, he felt only despair. Ungh, after letting out another groan, the chief finally steeled himself and looked around at the grown men.

"Everyone disperse! You go wash up in the shower over there, you lot go get your injuries treated! Dane, clean this up! Everyone meet at the welcome party this evening. Understood? We're going to forget this happened and start fresh from there, okay? Stop this childish behavior and act like adults!"

After separating the troublemakers while pointing in various directions, the chief finally let out a relieved sigh only after confirming that the disgruntled adult men were dispersing while grumbling.

Just as I expected.

Then he recalled with a pale face. He had known that Greyson Miller would turn his peaceful fire station into complete chaos. He had known it!

The image of the latest fire truck and new firefighting suits flickered before his eyes as he clutched his thinning hair in distress. He had planned to replace the old axes with new ones, get five new fire extinguishers, and buy additional oxygen respirators...