Free The Firefighter's Match by Allie Pleiter

down the wall under those conditions with any line, much less an untested prototype. And your Mr. Jones was not taking the time a smart climber would under the circumstances. Those things turned a small problem with the fiber into a big one.”
    Alex’s throat went dry. “The fiber...”
    “We test for lots of things, but we had not yet started testing for lots of things together.” Doc ran his hands down a series of equations Alex knew were tension test results, fiber composition diagrams and other such calculations. “As it turns out, the right combination of friction, moisture and carelessness can compromise this fiber if you put multiple surges of force on it.”
    “Like a daredevil contestant wanting to make a spectacular landing for the television cameras.”
    Doc nodded. “You know Samuel is not my favorite Cushman,” he began, quoting an old joke between him and Alex, “but in his defense, what WWW did with the rigging isn’t anything close to what they told your brother they would be doing. It was a risky but reasonable scenario the way they first described it. Had it been up to me, I still would have said no, but...”
    “But Sam should have known you can’t count on people like that to stick to plans. Wind, rain, night climb—all they could see was a riveting drama that would make great television. Of course the safer plan got thrown out when a more exciting opportunity presented itself. It was bound to happen. Why am I the only Cushman who could see that?”
    “Because you are not Samuel. And Samuel is not you. Samuel finds the deal and makes the deal. You see the experience, the product, the person.” Doc had a bad habit of waxing philosophical at the wrong moment. He always blamed it on his Italian blood, but Alex thought it more a product of personality than genealogy.
    “I don’t see much of anything right now but disaster.”
    Doc looked at him, his dark eyebrows furrowing in analysis. Alex was none too fond of having that scrutiny turned to him. “It is a disaster,” Doc replied. “A man can no longer walk.” He paused, clearly waiting for something from Alex.
    “Yes.” Alex agreed. “I know. That’s why I came back to Denver to solve this.”
    “Ah, but why did you come back to Denver? I expected to find you in Dubai this morning, not Denver. The Alexander I know would be halfway around the world by now.”
    “You need me here.”
    Doc was one of those people who could spot an evasion from a mile off. It was an infuriating trait, but his eye for minute detail was what made him such a great product development researcher. He said nothing, only popped another fry into his mouth while he produced what Alex and Sam had come to call “Doc’s Eyes of Death.”
    Alex stood up and paced the aisle between the rows of seats. “Okay, I don’t exactly know why I’m here. We’ve ruined a man’s life, Doc. Max Jones will never walk again, his family is an angry army of grief and blame and there’s nothing to be done for any of it. There’s no way to make this right, ever.”
    “And you hate unsolvable problems. They are your favorite thing to run from—we all know that.”
    If Doc was referring to the all-night conversation they’d had the night before he left on his “sabbatical,” Alex didn’t appreciate the reference. He was right about one thing—his relationship with Sam had become an unsolvable problem and he did want to leave it behind. Badly. “I know SpiderSilk was my baby, but this one is all Sam’s fault. I’m so angry at him I don’t know what I’ll do when I see him—but it won’t be productive, I’ll tell you that. I don’t want to be anywhere near him, but I don’t trust him to do damage control. I don’t trust him at all.”
    Doc polished off the last of Alex’s fries without apology and crumpled the bag. “So you are here because you could run? Or because you couldn’t?”
    “I have no idea.” Actually, he did. Only the burning glare of JJ