Page 2 of Fire and Rain
Here in Alaska, the weather could change in a heartbeat and varied drastically from one area to another. It might be a calm night over Air Station Kodiak but gusting forty knots with zero visibility a ten-minute flight up the coast.
“Clear skies with gusts up to fifteen knots. Water temp is forty degrees.”
“Nice.” Sean’s primary job was to conn the pilot into position and manage the hoist, lowering the rescue swimmer to the water or the deck of the boat and then lifting him and any patients or survivors to safety. High winds made that job a lot more challenging.
They found Lt. Michelle Yamada, a fixed-wing pilot, staffing the operations duty officer post for the night. She’d already calculated their flight path. “There are no land obstacles in your way. It should be a straightforward evolution.”
James’ gaze was on the map, where the ship’s position was clearly marked. “Any amplifying information?”
Lt. Yamada nodded. “The boat isn’t moving, so they’re getting tossed around by the swells. Apparently, the patient is the only one who feels safe piloting the craft. The woman who called in is the patient’s wife. The patient is unconscious and unresponsive. She thinks he has a pulse, but she’s pretty upset and confused. I asked a corpsman to join you just in case you need extra medical help. Wade Sheppard is already waiting near the helo.”
“Good idea.” James pulled on his helmet. “Let’s go.”
* * *
It wasa short helicopter flight to the position of theMarjorie T, so Sean helped Justin and Wade get the cabin ready for the patient, the three of them preparing for the worst. Sean and Justin had worked dozens of SAR cases together and operated quickly and efficiently. As a corpsman, Wade rarely flew, but he had a higher level of medical training and was allowed to administer medications that Justin could not.
“Once we get the patient into the cabin, I’ll defer to you,” Justin told Wade, the conversation carried over earphones so that everyone could hear over the din of the rotors.
“Copy that.” Wade hung a bag of IV fluids and retrieved an AMBU bag, while Justin got the AED ready. IV tubing. O2. Medications. Pulse Oximeter. Blankets.
An unconscious patient meant a litter rescue, but Sean would wait until Justin had left the cabin to put the litter together. He turned to the window, flipped down his night-vision goggles, and searched the endless ocean for theMarjorie T.
Abbott’s voice came through the headphones. “I wonder what a small craft like that is doing out here in the middle of the night.”
“Good question,” James replied. “Something must have gone wrong.”
There was no fog, but there wasn’t any moonlight either, the darkness broken only by the MH-60 Jayhawk’s lights. They had no photos of theMarjorie T, and Sean wasn’t sure the boat had power or functioning lights.
James’ voice sounded in Sean’s ear. “You’ve got door speed.”
“Roger that. Opening cabin door.” Sean leaned out as cold air rushed in, his gaze on the inky black surface of the swells below.
James tried to pick the boat up on the radio. “Marjorie T, this is Coast Guard Rescue Six-Zero-Three-Eight, do you copy?”
A moment of silence was followed by a burst of static. “Coast Guard, it’s the Marjorie T. I can hear you, but I can’t see you. Help us!”
Sean spotted the vessel bobbing in the water. “They’re at our two o’clock.”
“I see them.” David turned on the helo’s TrakkaBeam, the powerful spotlight illuminating the boat below. “Let there be light.”
“Is the big flashlight giving you a god complex, Abbot?” James joked.
“Marjorie T, Rescue Six-Zero-Three-Eight, we’re nearing your position. Can you give us an update on the patient, over?”
“He still isn’t moving. I think I felt his heart beating.”
“Good copy, Marjorie T. We’ll circle your position and figure out the best way to reach the patient, over.”
Sean made a quick study of the boat and any hazards it might present to a hovering helo. “The boat’s really small, and there are a couple of antennas coming off the cabin.”
David peered out his window. “Looks like our patient is in the stern.”
“I see him.” Sean had already made up his mind. “We’re going to have to put the swimmer in the water. You good with that, man?”
Justin nodded, his gaze on the boat. “I’ll climb on board and assess the patient. Then you can send down the litter.”
“Roger that.” James circled the boat once more.
