Water Under the Bridge || Evan Buckley [2]

chapter twenty five

Buck removed his sunglasses, "Did he say "treasure"?

Soon the 118 learned what the civilian man about this "treasure" that kept him alarmed and reluctant to leave the cliff. They watched the report on Channel 8 News about a famous author, Hollis Harcourt had passed away recently. Not only did he leave his legacy of his books yet a significant message to his fans and the audience on the news broadcast.

A chest filled with treasure worth five million dollars.

Hollis shared this treasure chest that will be buried somewhere in the city. Of course, he left a clue citing a poem in relation to his books in the video of the announcement.

"I walked along the river's edge, to hide my secret treasure. This poem is terrible." Chimney read aloud to the team as they lounged around and investigated the poem.

Josephine chimed in, "A heron soared, a gray bridge roared, a bullfrog croaked 'Good measure'." She read the second line.

"It's less of a poem. And more of a riddle." Bobby gathered.

Chimney scoffed, "Fine. It's a terrible riddle."

"I stopped beneath a willow tree in the narrow place. And then I saw the light beam fall upon my treasured place." Hen finished the rest.

Eddie quipped, "You know, the guy on the cliff...he asked me about willow trees." He recalled the interaction from the dispatch call.

"A real-life treasure hunt." Buck began, excitement lit up in his eyes. "Wouldn't it be..."

"Dangerous."

"Reckless."

"Stupid."

"Chaotic."

"Probably not even real."

Bobby, Hen, Eddie, Josephine, and Chimney commented in unison.

However, their remarks weren't going to damper the blond firefighter's optimism. "What if it is? How cool would it be to find it?" He exclaimed.

"You know, this poem riddle thing is getting a lot of traffic." Hen pointed it out to the group.

Bobby agreed with Hen, "Yeah, which means our friend Clyde is likely not the last emergency we're gonna see from this treasure hunt."

"Your reporter friend's news story's probably not gonna help out with that." Eddie darted at Buck who deflated.

"She's just doing her job. Reporting the news." Buck defended. Even though he and Josephine mended their relationship after he ran off with Taylor to solve Sue's accident, there was an awkwardness when it came to the redhead reporter.

"Well, tell her to stop." Chimney spat out. The alarm rang signaling other members of the firehouse were dispatched to a call. "We got enough work without people creating their own emergency." He said, rising out of his seat.

Bobby hummed, "Well, at least it was the midday news. Maybe the whole thing dies off." He left the group after Chimney.

"Before anyone actually dies. I guess." Hen remarked.

Josephine suppressed a laugh, "Love that you think it'll die off, Cap." She followed the latter with Eddie trailing her to the kitchen.

Josephine hummed in pleasure as she rolled her head back against Buck's shoulder. Her eyes fell onto his arm at the edge of the tub where she hovered hers over his. The couple unwind together in a bubble bath. She felt tender kisses against her bare shoulder moving towards her neck and jawline. This was what they needed after the hectic rescues since the news broadcast of the famous author's scavenger hunt for the treasure spread. The 118 along with the first responders in the city were quite occupied with civilians scattered and finding themselves into trouble.