Chapter 1

Toaster was worried about the large bag of weed stashed in the front of his shorts between his boxers and his lower abdomen. When Toaster worried he ate. He also had a powerful hunger brewing since he smoked a pinch of his stash less than an hour earlier. He settled into his red plastic bench seat at the Mickey-D's inside the Wal-Mart where he had been killing time before his meeting. Toaster polished off two Big Macs and a side of fries to satisfy his cravings and was nervously studying the Wal-Mart greeter who was passing out smiley-face stickers and making goo-goo noises at the kids following their parents or guardians inside the store. Toaster glanced at Ronald's watch on the wall and decided it was time to head out to the parking lot to meet Chuck. He adjusted his package, donned his shades, grabbed his cherry coke, and left the cool air-conditioned interior of the Wal-Mart.

Outside the temperature change was dramatic which Toaster first noticed by the blast of heat hitting his body with the full force of a blow-torch on steroids. The second indication was when the ziplock bag inside his pants began chaffing him as the instantaneous sweat on his skin came in contact with the plastic, causing a sticking sensation that felt like the unholy marriage of bare skin and pre-heated vinyl covered seats of a car baking in the sun. He quickly made his way to the meeting place which was in the parking lot's security camera blind spot by the big pine tree where the camper trucks and RV's were parked. Toaster immediately knew he was in the right place because he could always smell Chuck before he could see him. The pungent smell of body odor and urine were all too familiar as he began to hear the rambling words and shuffling feet of Chuck whose physical appearance was more than noticeable yet went unnoticed due to his unsavory social status as a homeless individual.

It is not without great concern and mistrust that one dude can just blindly hand-off his rather substantial and expensive stash to another dude who looks like he would take the shit and never be seen again, but Toaster and Chuck had performed this ritual many times before and trusted that each would be fulfilling their side of the secret bargain and receive their desired rewards momentarily. As Toaster passed by the stench and unsightly mess of Chuck, he reached for his bag and handed it off.

“Don't try to put the lights on T-Man, it's too dark.” Chuck mumbled as Toaster stood and watched him hide the package in his layers of dirty brown clothing.

“See you in a few days Chuck.” said Toaster as he left the parking lot and headed for his bicycle, parked at the convenience store across the street. He got on his bike and pedaled slowly home trying to avoid any further discomfort from the heat of the day.

The first time it happened, Toaster was freaked out and began to doubt his self-control with regard to his casual drug use. But the unusual arrangement began with the appearance of a donation of hard cold cash in his amateur hydroponics lab. Having a large sum of money turn up in your supposedly secret drug lab is not exactly settling to one's fear of getting busted, but there was a note that seemed to explain the situation. The note wasn't enough at the time and the whole thing was spooky enough for Toaster to disassemble his lab and quit smoking for a few months. However, it wasn't until Toaster met the Professor that he began to accept that he could find true immortality by cooperating with him.

The Desert Fire Science Academy in Tucson, Arizona was a small school established in the late 1980's by a retired fire captain and a chemistry professor who had been driven out of mainstream academia by his lack of ability to acquire enough research money for the institution he no longer worked for. The two of them taught prospective firefighters the in's and out's of fighting fires as well as the whole range of information they would need to know before applying to any firefighting outfit in the entire United States. They covered everything from administration to rescue methods and most importantly fire science. The study of what makes a fire live and breathe. Knowing this beast meant knowing how it lived so that it could be killed when they were called upon to do so. Although some of their teaching methods were overly dramatic or unusual, they had a decent success rate and were able to help find work for most of their students upon graduation.

Day 1 of fire science school was typically the day that students faced the reality of their decision to pursue a career in firefighting. As they entered the classroom, Dr. Talcuin greeted them and welcomed them to a new career as Mr. Nomo closed the door to the mobile home that served as the school's only building on the 81,000 square meters of private land on the outskirts of the city. The intent of the day's lesson was to imprint the most fundamental tenet of fighting fires...live to fight another day. Although, when the smoke began to pour through the vents of the mobile home, the students began to panic and start to get the hell out of the room. The professor could usually tell who would go for the door first, but on this particular day, Toaster surprised the hell out of him.

“What the hell is this?” shouted one of the students.

“You guys are fucking nuts!” yelled another.

Toaster slid out of his chair-desk and held his lighter up to the sprinkler above his head. This immediately kicked on a shower of water and everyone in the room gasped in surprise.

“Thank you, Mr. ?” asked Dr. Talcuin.

“Everyone calls me Toaster.” said Toaster.

“Very well, then Toaster, great job. Everyone, outside please.” said Dr. Talcuin.

As they exited the mobile home, another, identical mobile home was setup about 50 meters away. It wasn't there when they arrived and generated a few hushed discussions as the soaked students began to walk toward the new building.

They assembled themselves in the new building and some shook their heads at the strange idea that their instructors would set the classroom on fire for teaching purposes. A few left the soaking mess of the original building for the parking lot to get in their cars to drive home. But Toaster and many others stayed. They listened intently as Dr. Talcuin began speaking.

“Fire, itself, is the combination of 3 essential ingredients. All are equally important, because the absence of any one ingredient will kill the reaction and fail to produce a fire. The fuel is anything that contains enough carbon based molecules to keep the reaction going. The oxidizer is anything that contains enough oxygen based molecules to keep the reaction going. And the heat source is the spark that starts the reaction and keeps it feeding on itself until one of the 3 cannot sustain the fire any longer. Fuel, Oxidizer, and Heat. That is fire. A chemical reaction that can be controlled or allowed to run wild. Under any circumstances, it should never be underestimated. It follows only one rule...live until it cannot live. Your job, is to end its life.”

Mr. Nomo took his turn next. He described the 2 year curriculum to the students and outlined what they would be working on in the coming months and how they would conduct themselves. Physical training and mental conditioning were also required so that the firefighters could prepare for the worst disasters imaginable. The keys to survival were going to be earned through hard work and determination. They would have to learn to work together and overcome any obstacle set before them. As they had just witnessed, any situation was fair game and they could be tested at any moment. In 2 years time, they could become ready for anything.

After class, Toaster prepared himself for the long bike ride home. If he had decided to sign up for this firefighting gig, he was going to have to stay clean. No more late night binge parties or house hopping looking for another hit. He was going to have to force himself to do it. But after his first pop quiz since high school, he felt confident that he could change his ways and actually make a meaningful contribution to society.

Dr. Talcuin then pulled him aside and asked him a question that made his blood run cold.

“We have a research project that is ongoing in conjuction with our instruction at the academy and we'd like you to help out with our Remote Phosphorus Detection program.”

Toaster was astounded that anyone would dare approach him for such a seemingly complex task, but he was also excited that another opportunity had presented itself for him to show that he could change and make a difference.

“When do we begin Doc?” asked Toaster.

“Meet me here after class tomorrow.” said Dr. Talcuin.

He continued to explain that the RPD was a highly experimental program that if successful would assist law enforcement with the eradication of methamphetamine labs and other drug cook houses that posed a danger to the general public.

Toaster had never messed with meth, but he knew its effects. He also knew that he was very glad that he had previously disassembled his own growing operation just in case this little project was in any way capable of implicating him of doing anything illegal. Toaster had already dodged one bullet when he passed the required drug test during the fire science academy application process. He didn't need to make dodging bullets another bad daily habit.