Rescue Nights (16 page)

Andrew definitely wasn’t a man who had to whine for sexual favours. So he leant back and enjoyed the view, as, in the interests of expediency, she tucked her camisole into her jean pocket and buttoned up the transparent white shirt.

She shrugged, ‘Not likely to run into anyone in the two metres between here and mine.’

Kate had thought that nothing today could have distracted her from the claustrophobic memories of the dirty water, but the ache between her thighs begged to differ. Walking out tonight had been hell on her libido but she wasn’t ready for the immersion that a sexual relationship with Andrew would bring.

The man had only four months left before he went back on England. Kate had no intention of being left behind, broken hearted. Him holding her as she came would have been a trust given and an experience which would have left her open. Maybe tomorrow, being back in a professional environment would provide her with the distance she needed. However, now that she knew how big, blond stupidly handsome Andrew’s mouth felt on her breast, how much peace of mind was likely?

The next day, the distance thing was holding, sort of, as Kate found busy jobs that had her far away from Andrew. However, the alarm for a new mission meant that avoidance was quickly going to be a memory.

The team made their way to the dispatch room. Margo finished her call before she began the update. ‘Multiple reports have come in of a manic man in his twenties who started swimming straight out to sea. He abused and injured one passer-by who tried to find out if he was OK.’

Great — a drugged up violent man was definitely not on her list of favourite passengers. ‘I’ll need to get into my wet gear. Are you able to get the med bags?’ she asked Andrew

Kate barely waited for Andrew’s nod of confirmation before she headed up to the locker room. Luckily, long practice had her zipping up the back of her wetsuit in under three minutes. She grabbed the rest of her pack. Flippers and facemask could go on in the chopper.

The rotors were turning, even as she hit the helipad tarmac.

Ten minutes later, they were hovering over the now sluggishly swimming man. In the twenty-five minutes he had been swimming out to sea he had managed to get four hundred metres off the coast and didn’t seem to be likely to turn himself around.

‘How far away is the nearest jet-boat?’ Kate asked, not optimistic about the answer.

‘Another twenty minutes at least, they don’t have the full crew gathered yet.’

‘Well it looks like I’m going to have to go for a swim,’ Kate said, wryly.

No rescue was harder than someone who didn’t want to be saved. She could only hope that the exhaustion of the exercise had changed the man’s mind about swimming to his death.

‘That’s the absolute last case scenario,’ said Joe.

First, minimal intervention protocol had to be tried.

Ben reached for the loudspeaker attached to the bottom of the helicopter carriage. ‘We are dropping a flotation device, please place it under your arms. A rescue boat will be here shortly.’

Judging the angle of the wind, Ben directed the helicopter to a point where Kate would be able to drop the lifebuoy down within metres of the swimmer. Her accuracy upon releasing the buoy was spot on, but so far, they weren’t getting any response from the possibly suicidal man.

Ben kept on making attempts to hail the man. However, even as the man flailed in the water, he wasn’t looking interested in either communicating with his potential rescuers or reaching out for the equipment that would save his life.

Watching him swim away from the now drifting flotation device, Kate made up her mind about the course of action needed.

‘I’m going in but once I’m down there, you’ll have to whisk up the wire pretty quickly and I’ll have to wait it out for the jet-boat.’

As she expected, her option wasn’t popular among the rest of the crew.

‘If he’s violent, there is a good chance that he will lash out at you,’ said Joe. ‘I think we should deem it too high a risk and wait for a sea based rescue.’

‘Come on,’ said Kate. ‘He is looking exhausted now, another ten minutes he will be sinking underneath the waves and we’ll be lucky to find him.’

Kate knew that, strictly speaking, the helicopter rescue protocol would dictate against her going down to the water with a possibly violent man, but she truly believed that waiting could mean a probable loss of life.

‘Surely you can talk her out of this,’ said Andrew, his level of pissed-offness coming loud and clear through the radio.

Kate could have kicked him there in the helicopter interior. What was he doing, trying to undermine her discussions with the other men?

‘I’m rescue co-ordinator for these missions, Andrew,’ she said. ‘I get to choose what risks I think are acceptable and I’m doing this.’

She double-checked her waterproof earpiece and the accompanying transmitter. She would carry an extra lifebuoy as well as her personal torp.

‘You can’t make him take the buoy,’ Andrew said. ‘So all you can do is hand it over and get out of his way.’

She had to wait for the optimal moment to swing out of the helicopter, which left her with a few moments to glare her displeasure at the handsome doctor.

As she stepped off the chopper’s rail and the wire took her full weight, she had to admit to herself the sharp feeling of trepidation. All rescue protocols were designed against unpredictability, but a possibly drug crazed rescue victim was the very definition of a rogue scenario.

Her feet hit the water level and once appropriately submerged, she unplugged from her harness and gave the signal for the wire to be taken up. The metal clasps were heavy enough that letting them swing freely could be a danger to both her and the man she was trying to save.

She was only three metres away from him and his slowed swimming speed meant she could easily catch him. Pushing the lifebuoy ahead of her, she relied on her own torp for floatation. Kate was certain that the rescue victim had spotted her. If nothing else, the thunder of the chopper low above should have had him raising his head, but he still continued on regardless.

The boys had been maintaining radio silence as they were giving her enough time to assess the situation, but she could still clearly hear their warnings in her head.

Kate stayed out of arm’s length as she attempted to push the life buoy into the path of the swimmer, but again she didn’t get any response. Kate knew the protocol but she also knew that she didn’t want to be swimming within metres of a man drowning, so she made the only connection she could by getting closer and reaching out her hand to try and push the lifebuoy over his head.

For a second, the swimmer raised his head and she thought maybe that contact would be enough to potentially get him to seek the buoyancy device that would save him. However, looking into his eyes, pupils dilated, she soon knew she was wrong.

He reached out, but instead of going for the buoy he went for her. Kate had been trained to stay out of arm’s length of drowning victims because they sometimes clung and endangered the lifesaver. This was different, she realized, as she felt the sharp stab of pain of him hitting her with a closed fist.

The force of his blow wrenched back Kate’s head. It seemed like his anger had given him a new rush of energy. She struggled to swim backwards getting out of his grasp, but whatever drug he had ingested had given him enough strength to hang onto her arm.

His painful grip on her moved from her arm to her neck, as he shoved her face forward into the water. With the lifesaving torp providing some uplift, he couldn’t push her completely under, but he seemed intent on stopping her breathing. Face first in the water there wasn’t much she could do. Kate had enough medical training to know that it was possible to drown in just an inch of water. In this moment, that seemed to be her destiny.

Somehow, the waterproofed earpiece had stayed in her ear and she could hear Andrew scream at her, ‘Fuck it Kate, fight back, hang on.’

The pain was intense and, for some long moments, Kate panicked. She inhaled salt water and felt the ache as he struck her throat and the water choked her. Andrew’s words shocked her into action and she kicked out with all her strength. Her legs connected and thankfully must have done enough damage for the bastard to release her throat.

Gulping in the lifesaving air, Kate concentrated on getting away. A kick to her abdomen and scrape of nails across her face barely registered as she fought for her life.

Thankfully, she had the advantage of flippers that her attacker lacked. Long practice in the water got her first one metre, then two metres, away.

‘I’m coming down next to you,’ said Andrew, through her earpiece. ‘Try and be ready to reach for me.’

There was enough churning of the water around her that Kate struggled to get orientated. The fear that she would be dragged under the water again was a beast, but she had enough presence of mind to grasp her harness, ready to latch on.

‘I’ve got you,’ Andrew said, as his arms locked around her.

Kate turned into him, and felt the security as he clipped her in.

‘I’ve got you,’ he repeated.

The pull of the wire lifting her from the water had never felt so welcome. Kate could barely react even as Ben pulled her into the chopper’s doors.

Andrew manhandled her into the chopper’s stretcher. ‘How much water did you take in?’ he asked, even as he pushed her into a position where he could unzip her wetsuit.

Kate made an experimental sound in her throat, then controlled her voice enough to ask, ‘What can we do to save him?’

Andrew’s voice was brutal in reply. ‘He can try and keep his arse afloat for the next ten minutes until the jet-boat arrives. Maybe once his lungs start filling with fluid, he might decide to grab the buoy. What I’m concerned with now is how much bloody water did you take in?’

If Kate hadn’t been dazed in shock, she might have objected to the brutally efficient examination Andrew was making of her. Wrenching her wetsuit undone, he got the cold metal of the stethoscope to her chest.

‘Andrew, do we need to get her to hospital? I could drop a float that would allow the lifesavers to find him, dead or alive,’ asked Joe.

‘I’m here, I’m fine,’ said Kate, finally getting enough energy to brace herself upright.

Everyone seemed to ignore her statement as Andrew continued talking. ‘I don’t think she’s taken enough water to be an immediate risk of secondary drowning. I’ll put her on oxygen and we can wait.’

Andrew didn’t seem to be worried about her consent as he looped the oxygen mask onto her face. She could hear him curse as he stripped off the top of his own still dripping flight suit. He certainly hadn’t been appropriately attired to enter the water today.

‘Hold this over your eye,’ he said, giving her a wad of gauze. It was only then that Kate realized that some of the moisture running down her face was blood.

Her throat felt unbearably swollen and she had to concentrate on getting the breath to her lungs. That was probably why she didn’t see Andrew taking the scissors to her wetsuit until it was too late.

She moved her oxygen mask to one side. ‘Margo will get you for this. Do you know how much this wetsuit costs?’

If she wanted to get a smile out of Andrew, she was on a mission doomed to failure. ‘The only thing I want you to talk to me about right now is what hurts.’

Having freed her of her wetsuit, he gently prodded her abdomen, arms and hips. The pain was sharp but nothing seemed broken. Kate was shivering as the adrenaline wore off. When she went to sit up, Andrew didn’t stop her, wrapping her in the silver space blanket. His jaw was set in harsh lines but his touch was gentle.

Over a separate radio channel, she could hear Joe communicating with the jet-boat, ‘If you get him in the boat, you’ll want to restrain him. He almost killed a member of my crew.’

Leaning her head against the chopper window, she could see the man they were circling. His strokes seemed listless, but he was holding his own with the waves. She could now see the jet-boat in the distance; he was probably going to live, whether he wanted to or not.

The helicopter stayed in place, like a sentinel, guiding in the lifesavers. However, as soon as the jet-boat arrived, Joe swung the chopper to chart a course to base.

Ben must have seen the light of protest in her eyes. ‘Nothing we can do with a patient like that,’ he argued. ‘No-one is going up or down the wire, no point in staying just to watch the show.’

Kate closed her eyes. That rescue had gone so wrong, so fast. She could hear over the radio that they were going to be on the tarmac in minutes. It was bad enough that her crew had seen her get so physically overpowered; she didn’t want to look the victim in front of the rest of her colleagues.

‘He is not dead. They got him in the boat,’ Ben communicated. ‘It did take three guys to hold him down though. Whatever drug he’s on, it is not pretty.’

In five minutes, the crew had accomplished their mission. Kate was surprised at her own ambivalence but she kept silent, needing to compose herself before they got to ground.

Looking out the window as they landed, Kate could see that this incident wasn’t going to pass quietly. Every member of staff on shift was there, waiting. She could sense Andrew contemplating the stretcher.

‘I’m walking out of here,’ she said.

In the end, walking would have been an overstatement. With Andrew and Ben on each side, they supported her weight when her legs went to jelly on the solid ground.

Andrew’s aura of command was such that everyone kept their distance as he manoeuvred her inside. Kate smiled for Margo and the team, seeing their concern, but Andrew didn’t even allow for any words of reassurance.

Putting her down in the med supply room, Andrew immediately demanded, ‘Everybody out, I’ve got an examination to do.’

With the door closed and alone with Andrew, Kate’s shaking increased.

Andrew’s face softened as he wrapped an arm around her, the solid strength of his body warming her. ‘You are safe now, I’ve got you.’

All too soon, Andrew pulled away. ‘You’ve got to lie down for me to get a proper look at you,’ he said, as he gently swung her legs onto the table.