Page 3 of Fire and Rain
Sean got down on his belly to get a good view of the craft and all parts of the helo, then conned James into position. “Ten feet to the right.”
It was one of the most critical parts of any rescue. If the helo’s rotor contacted any of the boat’s antennas, it would be lights out for all of them. He kept giving directions as James brought the helo to a hover about fifteen feet above the water’s surface just off the boat’s starboard side. “An easy right. Hold.”
Justin was already in his harness and fins, so Sean started his safety check. “You ready?”
“Yeah, man. Let’s get this guy.” Justin sat with his legs dangling over the water.
“Safety check complete.” Sean gave Justin a little push. “Swimmer is leaving the cabin.”
“Roger.”
Justin took the plunge, disappearing beneath the water.
“Swimmer is in the water.”
Justin surfaced, gave Sean a thumb’s up, then swam with strong strokes toward the boat.
“Swimmer is okay. He’s heading toward the Marjorie T.” Sean watched as Justin reached the boat’s starboard railing and pulled himself onto the craft. “The swimmer is on deck.”
With Wade’s assistance, Sean got the litter ready and attached it to the hook and hoist line. Then he moved back to the open door, waiting for Justin’s signal.
Below, Justin knelt beside the patient, checked for a pulse, then turned to speak to the woman, his words drowned out by the helo’s rotors. He looked up, motioned for Sean to send down the litter.
“Swimmer has asked for the litter.”
“Begin the hoist,” James said.
Sean held onto the line so the litter wouldn’t spin in the helo’s rotor wash. The litter had almost reached Justin when the cabin door opened and another adult male staggered out, hand over his mouth as if he were coughing.
Justin’s voice came over the radio. “Abort! Abort! We need to get everyone off the boatnow. We’ll pick them up in the water. They’re cooking meth, and the patient was exposed.”
Fuck.
“Abort the hoist! I’m putting some distance between us,” James said as the helo moved upward and back. “Prepare to recover our swimmer and survivors from the water.”
“Aborting the hoist. Get out of there, Koseki.” Sean raised the litter, holding tight to the line as it moved slowly upward.
Below, Justin caught the unconscious man beneath the arms and dragged him toward the railing, shouting to the other two passengers to abandon ship.
Were they arguing with him?
Come on!
James spoke into the radio, updating Sector. “The swimmer says they’re cooking meth onboard. We’ve aborted the hoist and put some distance between us and—”
A deafening blast. Searing heat. Flames.
Almost at once, the shockwave hit the helo, ripping the line from Sean’s hand, and hurling him backward. The litter and hook were blown back into the tail rotor. The aircraft pitched, spinning, alarms screaming.
“Mayday! Mayday!” James’ voice sounded in Sean’s headphones as the helo spun out of control, heading for the water. “This is Coast Guard Rescue Six-Zero-Three-Eight! The Marjorie T just exploded. We’re going down! I repeat, we are going down!”
“Justin!” Sean shouted into the chaos.
Then they hit the water with a bone-jarring crunch.
* * *
Eden Koseki slipped quietlyinto Maverick’s room to check on him, her heart swelling as she watched him sleep. He was completely relaxed the way only a baby could be, his downy hair dark against his pillow. It was hard to believe that this sleeping angel was the same little rascal who’d dumped his cup of milk onto the floor this afternoon—and then cried in protest when she’d cleaned it up.
