Forgive & Forget (Love in the Fleet) (28 page)

Chapter 31

“I’ve never been on the roof during flight ops, sir, and I’m already a nervous wreck,” Hallie said to the Air Transportation Officer, when he finished outfitting her with disposable ear plugs, a cranial with integrated goggles, and an emergency flotation device.

“Just pay attention, McCabe, and do whatever I tell you. We’re going to walk topside to the back of the island and I’ll point you in the direction of the helicopter. It’s going to be loud out there, with a lot of things happening all at once. Keep your head on a swivel to make sure you don’t walk into the exhaust area of a jet or trip over anything, like arresting gear cables or catapult launch shuttlecocks. And watch out for the tractors and aircraft being towed. Once you get on board the helo, do whatever the aircrewman tells you. From the pilots’ seats back, he’s in charge and he’ll keep you safe.

“Do not enter the rotor arc until the plane captain signals you in by pointing at you and motioning you to come aboard. Walk straight in at the nine o’clock position, directly toward the cabin door. You don’t need to duck as the rotor arc is far overhead but you can if it makes you feel more comfortable. Whatever you do, keep your goggles over your eyes, since the jet exhaust and rotorwash out there can cause permanent eye damage. Now follow me.”

As Hallie and the ATO rounded the island, the noise of jets taxiing and helicopters turning on deck was deafening, even with ear protection. Her heart went out for everyone who worked on the roof on a daily basis. The ATO turned to her and pointed across the flight deck at a helicopter, although it was nearly midnight and her eyes had not adjusted completely to the darkness.

A shiver ran through her when she remembered there was a new moon tonight, which was why Rashid had planned the attack for this evening.

Had that just happened tonight?

She was jerked back from her reverie when the ATO grabbed her by the back of her flotation device and walked her toward the aircraft.

Focus, Hallie, focus.

The helo’s cargo door slid open and an aircrewman jumped out. He flashed a red light signaling her aboard. Hallie ducked instinctively as she walked under the spinning blades. Approaching the starboard side of the helo, she spotted the boots of another flight suit-clad crewman, who grabbed her and whisked her the last few steps. Rising up to her full height, she turned to thank him, and froze, mouth open in mid-speech.

Sky.

Hallie flew into his arms for a brief hug. Then he yelled over the noise of the flight deck, “Hey, Wonder Woman! I just heard what you did!” He kissed her full on the mouth, then grinned. “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking. But cool! Now everyone will think I’m your cowboy. Don’t worry about Bill, sweetheart. Everything’s going to be fine. The Skylark is going to take care of both of you. All the Sierras took the rest of the casualties, so the Skipper radioed me personally to get you where you need to go. Welcome aboard! She’s all yours, Quinn.”

The aircrewman, Petty Officer Quinn, grabbed her by her floatation device and screamed above the noise, “Get in now, McCabe!”

He planted her in the main Sensor Operator’s seat and began adjusting the five-point harness to lock her in. Then he attached a long cord to a “pigtail” on her cranial and spun around to close the cabin door. The noise deadened considerably and Hallie realized she was connected to the helo’s Inter Communications System. She could hear Quinn talk with Sky now as if he was speaking right into her ear.

“Hey, sir, I thought we were doing a Med-Evac. Petty Officer McCabe looks like she’s in pretty good shape to me.”

Hallie heard Sky reply, “Hold your horses, Quinn. We’ve got one more coming. Thankfully Maintenance removed the sonar system from this aircraft for repairs, or we wouldn’t have room for our other passenger. Heads up, Quinn. Here comes our guest now.”

Hallie watched as Quinn slid open the cargo door and jumped out to assist a group of red-shirted “Ordies”—ordnancemen—bearing a patient strapped into a Med-Evac litter. They somehow managed to shimmy the litter into the helo’s tunnel between the enclosed racks of electronics. Hallie leaned forward in her straps to get a better look.

Philip.

A wave of nausea swept over her and she struggled to stay conscious. Although his neck was braced in a cervical collar, his head was swathed in gauze, and an oxygen mask covered his nose and mouth, she could tell from his jawline that it was Philip. Her heart sank further as she took in the bruises and abrasions on his face and the IV bag on his chest, with a line snaking down under the blanket that covered him. It was odd that her first thought was: where are his glasses?

Every breath of life in her cried to get to his side, touch him, kiss him, reassure him that everything would be okay. And she prayed to God it would. But just as she was actually considering unstrapping to go to him, Quinn pulled the corpsman in, slammed the sliding cabin door shut and strapped both of them into the remaining seats.

He flipped a switch on the console. “McCabe, reach down on the left side of your seat and grab the round handle. Now move it forward to lock your harness. Okay, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.” Then he called out, “After-Station secured. All locked aft, ready for takeoff, sir.”

Sky’s co-pilot replied, “Pre-Takeoff Checklist complete, locked aft, locked left, clear left.”

Sky’s voice now. “Locked right, clear right, coming up.”

Hallie felt them rise into a hover over the flight deck, her heart thrumming with the rotors, wishing she could get to Philip. Maybe if she could hold his hand, he would know she was there and it could make the difference between him living and…

Stop. Stop that right this minute.

Believe, Hallie, believe.

Sky’s voice soothed her through her cranial. “Gauges green. Power coming on. One...two…three rates of climb. Safe single engine airspeed. Stabilator programming. Passing through three hundred feet heading to five.”

He said something under his breath to his co-pilot, but Hallie didn’t care what it was. Just hearing Sky’s voice anchored her, let her know that somehow he was helping to make everything all right. Sky was in command here and no way would he let Philip die on his watch.

“Five hundred feet, one hundred knots, altitude hold engaged. Give Tower a call and let them know we’ve got Bahrain TACAN singing sweet and ask them to relay to Bahrain Control that we’ll enter their airspace in fifteen mikes. Speeding up to one-thirty.”

“Copy, Sky. After-Takeoff Checklist complete. Calling
Blanchard
Tower now.”

“Hey, Quinn,” Sky called aft. “Can McCabe hear me?”

“Yes, sir. She’s all miked up.”

“Hallie, you okay?”

She didn’t know how to respond, until Quinn showed her how to engage the
Push To Talk
button. “Just fine, sir. Though I’d really like to talk to Phil—uh, Lieutenant Johnston.”

“I understand he’s still unconscious, but it sure couldn’t hurt. And, hell, he might be able to hear for all we know. Quinn, put a Gunner’s Belt on her.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Hallie, you’ve got five to ten minutes before Quinn will need to get you strapped back in for landing. So keep it short and sweet.”

Quinn moved her to a Gunner’s Belt so she had free movement in the cabin, but remained tethered to the aircraft. “And McCabe, I’m gonna switch seats with you, so you can talk to the patient. Don’t worry about strapping into my seat. All you need is that belt for now.

As soon as she switched places with Quinn, Hallie dropped to her knees beside Philip.

She kissed his cheek gently, otherwise afraid to touch him, fearful it might hurt him. Her hand found its way carefully under the blanket to find his, and she squeezed just a little. Then laying her head down gently on their clasped hands, she prayed. Next Hallie put her mouth next to his ear and talked soothingly to him, even though she felt the stirrings of panic rising back up in her gut. She had taken Philip back out of that closed compartment in her mind, but now she had to keep shutting the door on Rashid’s evil grin.

“Philip, I’m here. I love you so much. You’ve got to come back to me. Remember the lavender lace skivvies I’m going to wear at our wedding? Just like I do every Wednesday night on the news? Just for you? I’ll wear them every day if you’ll just come back. Remember how much you love it when I scream when we’re making love? I promise to scream every time if you’ll just come back so we can get married and make those babies together. Remember Suzanna and little Philip and Billy Gates Jr.? I need you to come back so we—”

“McCabe!”

Sensing the panic in Quinn’s voice, she feared something was wrong with the helicopter, but the faint light of the cabin revealed a red-faced grin, hard to do with his mouth hanging open.

She heard him clear his throat through her earphones. He tried to speak, but started laughing. Finally he said, “Um, McCabe, you’re on Hot Mic.”

Hallie screwed her face up in confusion.

“You must have bumped the ICS switch when we traded places. And...um...Everyone on board just heard what you said.”

Now she heard muffled laughter coming from various crewmembers. Sky’s voice chimed in, “So will the bridesmaids be wearing lavender lace skivvies too, McCabe? I’m up for wearing purple boxer-briefs myself, but only if I’m color-coordinated with the ladies. Hey, maybe you and Bill can do, like, a Victoria’s Secret theme. That would be a wedding to remember.”

Didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except getting Philip the care he needed.

Sky continued. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I probably won’t be at the wedding anyway. Once Bill finds out we didn’t cut you off sooner he’s gonna come back and strangle me anyway. Which would be a good thing, the him coming back part, not so much the strangling part.”

She tuned them all out. The details of her and Philip’s sex life, let alone the admission of blatant fraternization, didn’t matter. Keeping Philip alive was all that was important at this point. She stroked what little of his hair she could find around the gauze and kissed each bump, bruise and laceration on his face.

Careful to click the right button this time, she soothed him as best she could. “It’s all going to be okay, Philip. We’ll be landing in Bahrain soon and then we’ll board an Air Force plane to take us to Landstuhl. I’ll be at your side every minute. Just hang on.” She looked up to see the corpsman watching her, wide-eyed. She smiled at him for good measure. This was a trip he’d not soon forget.

Sky’s voice broke through. “Attention all hands. Attention all hands. This is the Skylark, your beautiful and sexy flight attendant. Thank you for flying with Operation Enduring Freedom Airlines. I have a few parting words before we land. In case you didn’t know, Petty Officer McCabe most likely saved all of your asses tonight with her quick thinking and bravery in CDC. So I am asking you to have the decency to forget everything you saw or heard on this flight that might compromise my best buddy and the love of his life, Hallie McCabe. Actually, it was all just a figment of your imagination. And just to let you know that if you feel it necessary to spread rumors about what you
think
you saw and heard, I will make it my mission in life to go the ends of the earth to seek you out so I can kick your sorry ass all the way to kingdom come. It’s been a pleasure flying with you tonight. We hope you have a pleasant stay in Bahrain or wherever your travels take you. That is all.”

Hallie laughed out loud along with everyone else. What an awesome brother-in-arms Sky was. She couldn’t wait to share the story with Philip. Laughter felt good amidst the tension of the night, and the nasty images that kept clawing at her mind. She knew Sky’s little chat might not keep scuttlebutt from reaching the ship, but at least he’d tried. They were both powerless to do much more for Philip right now, but at least they hadn’t lost their ability to laugh.

Looking directly at Hallie, Quinn clicked through. “I’m good with keeping McCabe’s secret, sir. Only I might need confirmation on the underwear color first.”

An astonished Hallie looked at him, only to discover him winking and laughing out loud at her expense.

Sky responded, “Agreed, Quinn. Too bad she’s leaving the ship. I bet you were looking forward to next Wednesday’s broadcast. But for now, you need to get her strapped back into her seat, as we’re about to check in with Bahrain Control for landing.”

The aircrewman motioned for her to begin the Chinese Fire Drill seat swap with him.

Sky chimed back in. “Hallie, when we land, there will be an ambulance waiting. Sometimes those crews are afraid to enter the rotor arc, so Quinn may need you and the corpsman to help hoist Philip and transport him to the ambulance. Then you and the corpsman go with the ambulance to wherever they’ve staged the
Blanchard
crewmen headed for Germany. We’re shutting down here for the night, so I’ll come find you and Bill at the hospital as soon as possible. Word is, the plane to Germany won’t depart for a couple more hours.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you for getting us here safely. This has been the most insane day of my life. I keep thinking I need to pinch myself and wake up from this crazy dream.”

“Whether you pinch yourself or pinch Bill or whatever other kinky stuff you two do, I’d keep that on the down low for the rest of your trip and your time in Germany.” Sky was interrupted by Bahrain Tower’s call, clearing him to land in the far corner of a parking ramp where an ambulance awaited.

Sure enough, the ambulance crew stood and waited outside the rotor arc. With Quinn on one side and the corpsman on the other, Hallie grabbed the narrowest end of the litter, near Philip’s feet and loaded him aboard. She climbed in after him, then heard Quinn shouting.

Realizing she was still wearing the cranial and flotation device, she promptly removed them and handed them over. “Thanks for everything, Quinn.”

“Good luck, McCabe. I hope your guy’s okay.” Then he grinned. “Let me know when Billy Gates Junior is born. I’ll send a card. And hey, no screaming on the plane tonight, you hear?” He winked before walking back to the helicopter.