Chapter Nineteen
Karl and Ely came inside just in time to hear George speaking on the radio.
"Yes we have seen a strange man. Actually we have been attacked, my wife was assaulted and my daughter raped. My son-in-law shot at the attacker but he is operating under the disability of severe arthritis as well as the long term effects of chlorine gas inhalation and I am wheelchair bound. Our main defence falls upon two young women and two children. Over."
"C M S Pacific here. Roger to modified call-sign George. Regarding our assistance, we can have a flight there inside of an hour. We will need a flat landing area for our chopper and a place to set up two large field tents and perhaps some smaller ones. Do you have medical supplies for the treatment of your injured? Over."
"We have two trained nurses, but one is injured and the other is trying to defend the place. Supplies? We have a few but not enough. The best landing area would be in the goat pasture, At the moment we are relatively safe. We are holed up in my caretaker's cabin, north of the gorge, not the main residence. Over."
"C M S Pacific here. We have an aerial photo of your area and with that description, we know where you are. If you are in a safe place at the moment, remain there. This is important, I repeat, if you are in a safe position, do not move and do not expose yourself. I repeat - do not expose yourself to further attack! We will be there inside of the hour. Over and out"
"Thank you, C M S Pacific, George over and out."
Karl stared at George.
"You didn't call us." He accused. "And why was he calling you George, not using your call-sign?"
George sighed deeply and sat back in his wheelchair staring at the radio, then he turned and stared at Karl. After a few seconds, he spoke slowly. "It happened so fast. I opened contact and they instantly came back telling me not to repeat my call-sign because my location was registered. They asked a couple of questions to make sure it was I. Then they proceeded to ask if we had seen any strange men and if we were in trouble. You came in then and heard the rest. I don't know what's going on any more than you do."
"Damn, now I'm getting worried." Karl said sitting on the bed and staring back at George. "Why do they want to keep where we are secret? How did they know about strange men?"
Then he almost leaped to his feet. "Ely, I think I'd better get out on the porch with a rifle. This is scaring the shit out of me and I'm going to be on guard until they get here."
The rain had eased to a drizzle when they went out on the porch. Looking to the west, they could actually see a clear blue spot in the sky.
"I don't think they meant for us to be outside. They said we weren't to expose ourselves." Ely said quietly as she stood beside Karl, looking out over the clearing.
"I know." Karl said quietly. "You shouldn't be out here. Bruno and I will be just fine. Uh oh, I just thought, maybe we should take him inside. He might not like the idea of the soldiers or sailors or whoever it is that's coming to see us."
"Won't he make an awful ruckus in the house? I don't know if I want to have Keri woken up by that."
"I think you might want to wake her anyway. When that helicopter gets here, the noise from that will probably wake her anyway."
"I guess I should be with her then." She sighed. "I wish they'd let us know more. In all honesty I think even Dad is worried."
"Well, I can tell you right now that the reason I'm out here is because of what that guy on the radio implied but didn't say outright. Now, if you'd hold this rifle for me and keep an eye out for a minute, I'll get Bruno inside."
Ely took the rifle and stood back to one side as Karl moved over to lean down next to the dog.
"Come on buddy." Karl said quietly. "I think it would be better for you to be inside for a bit. "
The dog stood slowly and waited by the door for Karl to pick up his blanket, then seemed to happily followed Karl in through the door. Ely followed even though Karl hadn't asked her to. He raised his eyebrows and she shivered. Karl understood her unspoken sentiment that she felt unprotected and vulnerable. In a way he felt the same thing. David was coming downstairs and saw Bruno inside again.
"Daddy, why is Bruno in the house?"
"There are some men coming in a helicopter and Bruno might raise a fuss if he was outside. I thought maybe you could sit with him and keep him quiet if he was inside."
"Sure." David grinned. "He can be a noisy guy when he wants to be but he's awful good when he's with me."
"Thanks David. He's good with you because he likes you and because you treat him well. I like that a lot too. Now, I'm going back out on the porch until those men get here. If he starts to make a fuss before you hear the helicopter, you let me know, okay?"
"Sure Daddy, I will."
"Do you think you need to be out there?" Ely asked as Karl took back the rifle.
"I don't have to be out there. I want to be out there." Karl said quietly. "You said you thought you felt someone watching you before? Well, when we were out there just a moment ago, I felt the same way. If there is someone out there, I want him to know I'm damn well not scared of him, no matter who he is."
"Karl, you don't have to take chances now. It's not like it was before, we have help coming." She said softly. "You don't have to punish yourself or feel guilty for doing what you had to do."
"I know that and I'm not blaming myself as much as I was before. I know that I was protecting my family and that you all forgive me." Karl sighed and glanced over at David. "You have to understand though, before I was as old as David I was taught the sanctity of life. My family brought me up to respect the ten commandments and when I was taught to hunt, it was by an old native who used to pray for forgiveness to the spirit of the animals he killed. He only hunted when he had to, because he had to hunt in order to survive himself. He always taught me to hunt with dignity and to make sure I made nothing suffer unnecessarily. I can't help but feel guilty."
With that he turned on his heel and walked out the door.
"Stupid macho idiot! Putting himself at risk." Ely growled softly to herself, then marched across the floor to go upstairs and sit at Keri's bedside.
When they talked about it later, Ely, George, Trudy, Linda, and Karl all agreed that the next half hour was the longest thirty minutes they could ever remember spending in their whole lives.
As Karl stood on his front porch, waiting for the helicopter that was coming with help for them, he worried even more than he had before. Just why had the military reacted in the way they had? There was something about this situation that he didn't understand and he was impatient to learn exactly what was going on. He was still weighed down by the feeling of having shot at the rapist bastard, but somehow, the feeling was less distressing than it had been. He did feel that he had been justified though. Perhaps he hadn't killed the bastard after all, but in his heart, he felt almost positive that he had. If he had walked away and left the man wounded, that was almost worse than if he had killed him outright, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He knew that the military people who were coming would investigate when he told them about his actions. All he could do was wait.
While he was waiting, he scanned the area that he could see in front of him, paying particular attention to the places where a person could easily find cover to hide. He still felt that overall sense of being watched, of being spied upon, but he could see nothing out of the ordinary. Then he stared in surprise. The cow and her calf were in with the goats. He frowned, that was one thing he had meant to do but hadn't had time for yet. He sighed, hoping that Ely had been responsible for moving them but at the moment it was the least of his worries.
His gaze wandered outward, past the far side fence of the goat pen, to the line of thin scrub brush along the edge of the gully. He wondered if there actually was anywhere along the steep edge of this end of the gorge where someone could climb up and he knew in his heart that there probably was if anyone were really determined to do it. If someone had been foolhardy enough to climb the steep and narrow track that had been wiped out by the mudslide, then there were places further upstream and perhaps even down in the lower area that would serve as well. Then he realised that if he was afraid of someone coming at them from the other side of the gorge, the bridge was the perfect access. Why worry about climbing up a steep slippery grade when you could just walk along a path?
"Shit, where the hell is that damn helicopter?" He growled to himself, checking his wristwatch once more. He raised it close to his face, staring at it closely, thinking it might have stopped, but no, the second hand moved.
He looked outward again, past the gorge and at the trees and shrubs on the other half of the island. How many times had he admired that view? Mostly untouched, the trees there were huge. No timber company had ever cut them. There really wasn't enough timber there for a large company to bother with and it would have been too much trouble for any small company to tackle because getting that timber to market would have been too difficult. The geography of the island had protected it, leaving that central grove as untouched virgin timber. There were common Douglas fir, grand fir, large leaf maple, even a few Arbutus and the occasional dogwood, not to mention the low growing shrubs and vines. That area of the island had always been a place where he and the others had felt quiet reverence for nature. Now the recent attacks on them by the unknown assailant and the fact that the military were coming so rapidly to their assistance seemed to change his view. That stand of timber now seemed to have taken on a sinister quality. It could hide an attacker. Now, it might be dangerous.
For some reason, he shivered and he glanced up at the scudding clouds, glad that he wasn't riding in a helicopter. He didn't like riding in them at the best of times and in weather like this, there was no way he'd enjoy it in the least. At least the rain was down to just a light shower that seemed to come and go. He looked to the west and saw a lightening in the sky again, then realised that it looked strange, it looked like there was a reddish tint to the light. Glancing at his watch in disbelief, he knew that it couldn't be sunset yet, it was too early. Sunset couldn't be for another two or three hours. He was still staring at the strange glow in the sky when he heard the far off fwump, fwump, fwump of a large helicopter and realised that it was growing louder rapidly.
He stepped back to the door, opening it and glancing inside at David and the dog. "They're coming David." He announced quietly.
"Okay Dad." David answered before Karl closed the door again.
Karl traced the sound of the helicopter, it seemed to be circling the island but he couldn't see it. He lost the sound for a while as it passed behind the rising rock face behind him, then caught it again as it travelled past the sound blocking obstruction. It seemed to be heading farther away, then it was coming back toward him once more. For some reason, the sound seemed to pause and he wondered what was going on. Then after a moment or two he realised it was getting louder, he reasoned that meant it was coming straight toward him. Then the beat changed again. It almost sounded like there were two choppers. What was going on? The sound was coming from in front of him but slightly to his left and grew quite loud. Then suddenly the chopper itself appeared, lifting from where it had been travelling along below the crest of the gorge. Now he was doubly glad he wasn't in that chopper because it had flown between the banks of the gorge, that would have scared him silly.
He'd been expecting a military chopper but this one was bright yellow and red, a Search and Rescue copter. Karl recognised it as one of the triple engine equipped Cormorants that he had heard about but seldom seen. It had scarcely lifted over the bushes and trees at the edge of the gully and Karl noticed a large heavily laden net hung below it.
The pilot must have seen the goats and the cow scrambling away from the sudden noise and he lifted enough to manoeuvre down the pasture away from them. The copter swung toward the house and then held altitude for a moment. Karl saw the huge net load of supplies drop to the ground, not in the goat pasture, but outside the fence near his little orchard. Somehow it was released and the cable was being reeled in. Then the copter slipped away a hundred feet or so and landed back inside the clear area of the goat pen. To Karl, it looked like one side of the copter was open. No sooner had the landing skids hit the ground than several men dove from it, each of them armed with what looked like a standard issue rifle. He watched them fan out and drop to the ground on one knee as they covered each point of the compass. By the time Karl realised that more people and some large packs and supplies were being unloaded from the chopper, the huge door in the side was being slid closed and the helicopter was lifting up and away again. The chopper's total time on the ground couldn't have been more than two or three minutes.
There was a short period when Karl wondered what was going on as the figures milled around and then the whole group began to move toward the gate out of the goat pen. Two of the riflemen had shifted from their kneeling position and had moved out to take up positions that allowed them a commanding field of fire while all the others handled the actual shifting of the supplies that they had unloaded from inside the helicopter. Two figures, who were obviously officers, were less laden but even they carried part of the load. The whole group's move across the grass was surprisingly quick and efficient and Karl was happy to see that they actually used the gate of the pen, rather than trying to go over or through his fence.
He was tempted to go meet them but decided against it. In fact, with the obvious display of readiness that he saw, he actually was quite happy that he didn't have his rifle in his hands and instead had it leaned against the wall. The two figures that he had assumed were officers separated from the others and moved toward him. A the same time the other figures spread out, two appearing to head toward the outbuildings and the rest toward the large load of supplies that had been dropped by the helicopter. He kept track of the pair coming his way, realising that they were a man and a woman. They approached until they were about ten feet in front of him and then stopped in a stiff military pose. The man seemed to be fighting a reflex to salute and Karl almost let a smile sneak onto his lips but fought it back.
"Hello Folks." He did allow himself to smile slightly. "I'm Karl Larson. I guess you could call me the caretaker here and I've got to say that I'm damn glad to see you. My boss's wife got beat up by a thug today, his daughter got raped, and I ended up shooting a rifle at the bastard who did it, while trying to scare him off."
"Lieutenant-Commander Jason Greene, at your service." The guy in the fancier braided uniform said sharply. "And this is Lieutenant Frances Baker. She's a doctor."
"Well then why doesn't Lieutenant Baker go straight into the house?" Karl suggested. "I can fill you in on what I know while she checks out Keri and Trudy."
"Excellent sir." Lieutenant Commander Greene snapped. "Carry on Lieutenant Baker."
Karl stepped aside for the woman to pass him and couldn't resist winking and tossing his head slightly at the L-C as she looked at him, catching a very fleeting twitch of a smile. He forgot to tell her just to walk in. Instead, she knocked on the door. That set off Bruno. Karl had to grin at the quickness of David's reaction at quieting him but was surprised at L-C Greene's reaction, he seemed to instantly tense. Karl decided that the man was not a dog lover.
"Come on up on the porch out of the rain." Karl invited him and was surprised to see him pause. "The dog is more noisy than dangerous and he's well trained even if he's big. Right now my son is caring for him and keeping him under control, so don't worry about him."
"Sir, before I do, we need to know where you would prefer us to set up camp, we will have two large tents and a smaller one and if we could have access to a water supply?"
"Oh, no problem." Karl said quietly. "As long as you don't drive stakes anywhere in the orchard or the upper goat pasture, I really don't care, those areas are where the septic field runs. For water, just run a hose from the tap on the end of the cabin, and if you want electricity, each outside plug will handle about twenty amps at 115 volts."
"You have electricity sir?"
"Yeah, it's a self balancing water-powered generator. Up to a point the more amperage you demand the more it will supply. You're welcome to use it. There's no cost for us."
"We have our own generators, sir."
"Do me a favour and don't use them?" Karl sighed heavily. "I hate the sound of small generators and I hate the hash they generate on my radio."
"But sir, it's policy."
"Okay, if it's policy, then I stand corrected. If you must use them, then I'm going to ask that you set up your tents at the furthest end of the lower goat pasture, as far from this residence as possible."
"Is there a water supply there, sir?"
"Nope, the goats drink the runoff from the rocks or they walk back up here for water. I'd really prefer if you hooked onto our power and stayed closer though. I'd feel safer."
"But sir, our main function here is to protect you and if we're that far away. . ."
"Right, I thought that was the case." Karl snapped back, interrupting him. "Now look, I've had all the fucking bullshit I can take today. Two of my best friends in the world are inside fucked up and fucked over by a mad man. To stop him, I had to shoot at him and for all I know, I might have killed him. I had to exert myself past the point that I know is healthy for me while I was trying to save those women. Considering everything, I think I have a reason for my temper being on a short string. I called you for fucking help and all you can do is stand there and argue fucking policy with me even after I offered you a viable and probably preferable alternative. As far as I'm concerned, you can accept my offer or you can set up your tents down in the goat pasture at the far end. I really don't care which."
Karl turned his back then, his hands clenched into fists. In fact they were clenched so tightly that he could feel his fingernails jammed into his palms. He walked over to the chairs that had been left out on the porch and sat down, then he realised that L-C Greene was still standing in the rain.
"For cripes sake Greene, don't you have enough sense to get out of the rain?"
"Are you inviting me onto your sunporch sir?"
"Yeah, and stop calling me sir." Karl said quietly. "Look, I have a reason for hating small engines. They give me a headache. I had to be around one earlier today and I don't want to be around another one all damn night while your camp is kept operating by emergency generators. If your commanding officers do come by and ask you why you're using our power, you can tell them that your generator engines give me a migraine, okay?"
"May I tell my men that, sir?"
"Of course you can, especially since it's the truth. Go ahead." Karl waved his hand rather negligently and to his amazement L-C Greene hurried off.
Karl shook his head as he stared at the ramrod straight back of the man walking across the yard. Then he noticed another man approaching from the opposite direction, one of the men who had been checking the outbuildings.
"Good afternoon sir. I'm CPO Elgin and I was wondering if I might ask where the path over in those trees behind me leads to?"
"CPO, does that mean Chief Petty Officer?" Karl asked.
"Yes sir, it does." CPO Elgin smiled.
"Okay Elgin, as far as I'm concerned I'm not going to worry about trying to keep everyone's rank straight. That's for your people to worry about. Now that path is what might be the main highway on the island." Karl sighed. "It ain't much, but it's the best we've got. It leads to a bridge over that gorge you guys flew up in the Cormorant and the pilot must have seen it ahead of him even if you didn't. That bridge is the only easy way to get over here from the lower half of the island. The gorge walls are too damn steep to climb easily."
"Thank you, sir. Then you'd consider that bridge to be an important strategic point to control?"
"Exceptionally important." Karl chuckled. "Do you plan on being 'Horatio at the bridge'?"
"No sir, I was thinking more along the lines of being 'Elgin in the bushes' but with a clear shot at anyone on the bridge. I was wondering if you could recommend an area for that purpose." The CPO grinned.
"Well, the only place you'd get a clear shot of the whole bridge would be straight out from the end of it, but you've only got about fifty feet from the end of the bridge to a solid rock wall. Now if you wanted a shot that let you see most of the bridge and definitely either end of it but at the same time allowed you to have a lot better cover, there's a better choice. You just have to come this side of the bridge about a hundred yards and move out toward the gorge. There was a huge dead-fall there and the root-ball lifted right out of the ground leaving a natural foxhole to drop into. The root-ball overhangs the hole and would act as a shelter from the rain. If a fellow had to get away, he could slip out on his belly, down near the edge of the root. Anyone looking for him wouldn't see him do it from ten feet away."
"You sound like you were in the service sir." CPO Elgin replied. "That sounds like exactly what we need."
"Nope, I was never in the service, nothing heavier than the boy scouts, I just notice things like that." Karl grinned. "After talking to Lieutenant Commander Greene, I can honestly say I'm glad I didn't go into the service."
"Oh, L-C Greene is okay sir." CPO Elgin smiled. "He's just not used to command onshore. Also, this is a mixed command, both Army and Navy. He's trying to go by the book and it shows. Put him on a ship and he's great."
"A mixed command?" Karl asked.
"Yes Sir. We have two men that the American army would call 'special forces'. We don't even know their actual rank or their real names. They refer to themselves as 'Lieutenant Springfield' and 'Master Sergeant Winchester'."
"Whoa. I do know a bit about JTF2 and the fact that there are two of them here scares the hell out of me." Karl frowned at him. "You probably didn't realise that you were doing it but you just let me know we are in deep shit. Just what the hell is going on?"
"Sorry sir, I may have said more than I should have now." CPO Elgin blanched. "You'll have to ask L-C Greene about anything like that. I can tell you that for tonight our orders are to set up camp and to make sure that you and your family are protected. Then tomorrow we are to investigate the actual situation and to take remedial action if necessary. That's all I can really tell you for now, sir. Thank you for the help you've given me about the bridge. I'll check that out."
After saying that, CPO Elgin slipped away, leaving Karl alone on the porch with his mind awhirl. Just what the hell was going on? JTF2 didn't send men out on just any mission and certainly not two of them to a tiny little island. Hell, in the whole country there were perhaps three hundred men in JTF2, so they were spread thin. Karl knew that much. Now he was even more worried than before, yet at the same time he felt a relief from the pressure he'd been under. JTF2 men were the elite of the Canadian services, the best of the best. If there were two of them here, then Karl knew they were getting the best protection possible.
"And of course I've pissed of the commanding officer." Karl thought to himself. "Trust me to lose my temper with the wrong man."
He stood up and sighed deeply. Just then he heard Bruno growl low and menacingly. Grabbing his rifle, he walked to the door and looked inside at Bruno to see which direction the dog thought the threat was coming from. Closing the door behind him, he slipped to the far end of the porch, the end toward the people setting up the tents. He turned the corner, rifle in hand. A short, slightly pudgy serviceman was standing there with the ends of two extension cords in his hands.
"L-C Greene sed I wis te git power here sir." The serviceman said quietly, unable to hide a quaver in his voice as he stared at the rifle pointed slightly over his head.
"Oh, sorry about the rifle." Karl sighed, tipping muzzle away. "You have to realise that we've been under a bit of tension here and I'm a bit protective. The outlets are just under that flap by the back door. Do you have enough heavy cord to reach down to your tents?"
"Thank ye sir." The serviceman swallowed quite obviously. "Whit cords we hev ain't as heavy as I would loike sir, but we cen make do fer now, 'til we git anether supply drop."
"Well, if you need heavy ones, there's some ten gauge, three wire heavy extension cord in the shed. I think there are two coils in there. Each should be about a hundred feet long. I'm not sure if standard plugs will work for you, but you're welcome to use the cords if they will and if you need them. Just as long as I get them back when you're done." Karl said quietly. "By the way, I'm Karl Larson and you are?"
"Oh, I'm Leading Seaman Dave Peacock, I'm a radioman and th' closest to an electrician thet we have here, sir. I moight take ye up on that cable, if I could. Where would thet be stored, sir?"
"They're in the back of the goat shed at the end of the goat pen and you might want to use the wheelbarrow leaning against the wall to haul them, they're a bit heavy."
"I'll get a hand as well sir." He turned and cupped his hands to his mouth. "Archer; come give a hand if ye're free."
"Sorry Dave, no can do, still setting up here." Came the answer from another shorter than normal serviceman, but this one was thin and wiry.
"And what do you need a hand with." A gruff voice said from near the back of the cabin as a tall thin individual stepped out of the bushes. "And sir, would you mind pointing that weapon somewhere else. I'm supposed to be one of the best in the service at camouflage and having a rifle point at me for the last few minutes is making me think I've lost my touch, or at least met my match."
"Sorry." Karl grinned, swinging the muzzle to the ground. "Where you were standing, I couldn't see if that was a uniform or just a dirty old rag hanging in the bush. I have this problem with letting dirty rags sneak up on me."
"Bejayzuz Springfield, Ye'd give a man th' jitters snaking up lak thet." Peacock snapped and then he stopped and whirled to look at Karl. "Ye saw him thar thyn, all dis toime an' ye niver sed nuthin?"
"I saw something that didn't look right." Karl grinned. "There was no sense worrying you, Peacock. If it was a man, he was covered. If it was a shadow, I'd have looked a damn fool for pointing it out just outside my own back door."
Peacock looked at Karl, then at Springfield and then he grinned.
"Jus' fer fun Mr Larson, did ye not'ce th' guy as wis wit' Springfield afore?"
"You mean the fellow who slipped into the raspberry bushes earlier."
"Thet's th' one. Do ye know whar he wint after thet?"
"Well, unless he has a twin or he's moved, he's squatted up high, leaning against the chimney on my old cabin."
"Son of a bitch." The man called Springfield grinned at Karl, chuckling softly and nodding at Karl's rifle. "Do you shoot that weapon as well as you observe?"
"I wouldn't swear to that. I know I missed a dog or a wolf this morning and I had two shots at him."
"You couldn't tell if it was a dog or a wolf."
"It was raining pretty heavy and the sun wasn't up yet, I did hear him yelp though."
Springfield just shook his head.
"L-C Greene, could we talk to you please, sir?" He called softly.
The Officer turned and came over slowly. "Yes Lieutenant, what can I do for you?"
"Well, to start with sir, I think we need to reassess this situation and I believe we should let Mr Larson in on the nitty gritty. The man caught Peacock moving around damn near silently while trying to hook up to the power. Not only that, but while he was at it, he caught me checking out his cabin and he's pinpointed where Winchester has taken his bivouac. He's flustered poor Peacock so badly that he's gone back to speaking Newfie."
"Are you telling me that Winchester isn't well camouflaged? Or that you made an error or what, Lieutenant?" Greene asked.
"No Lieutenant Commander, I am saying that Mr Larson is damn good woodsman and probably a hell of a shot with that rifle. He knows the lay of the land here and we don't. He knows exactly what has happened while we haven't a clue. I'm suggesting that you open up and tell him what we think we're up against and he can help us in return, okay?"
"Probably a decent assessment." Greene said after a moment.
He paused and looked at Karl. "Sir, I'm sorry I acted rather officious, you have been under pressure and I am under pressure. This is my first field command in a tactical situation and I could use any help you can offer me."
"Okay, then I apologise for losing my temper and telling you off." Karl grinned. "I have to admit I sure as hell like the support you guys look like you're capable of giving. I've met three of your men face to face and they've all impressed me."
"More than I did, I take it."
"Oh you impressed me." Karl grinned. "Just not as favourably as the others."
Karl could see both Springfield and Peacock doing their best to hide a grin and he swung his head back toward the chairs on the porch.
"Now, I've had a hell of a day and I'm tired. Let's just sit over there and you can tell me about what you think we're up against and I can fill you in on what I know." He said over his shoulder, assuming that L-C Greene would follow him.
When Lieutenant Frances Baker knocked on the door and heard the dog barking inside, she took a deep breath and forced herself to be calm. Something about the confidence of the man she had just passed told her that she was in no danger. If she had been, she had the unaccountable feeling that he would have leaped to protect her. She didn't know him and yet there was something like a trustworthy aura that seemed to radiate from the man.
The barking was quelled almost instantly by what sounded like the voice of a child and then the door opened. She was face to face with a woman who could have posed for a calendar artist or a portrait painter. Tall and dark skinned, she was totally bald and Dr Baker couldn't help staring for a second before she caught herself. Then as she stepped into the room she wanted to stare even harder, only this time it because of the room around her. Somehow this residence seemed to have escaped the ravages of the massive earthquake and its effects. Hell, these people even had electricity.
"Hello, I'm Ely Grant, the man in the wheelchair by the door over there is my father; George. The boy on the floor is my son; David. That's my step mother; Trudy on the couch and that's her daughter Mary-Beth beside her, Mary-Beth is also my step sister;. There are two more people upstairs."
"Hello everyone I'm Dr Frances Baker, or if you want, I'm Lieutenant Frances Baker. Now I can see instantly from the bruising that Trudy is one of my patients. Who are the other two and which one is the most critical?"
"Well, you met one of the less critical of your patients outside, that would be Karl." Ely said quietly. "The most serious patient would be my sister, Keri. She's suffering from assault trauma and she was raped. She's upstairs under the care of our friend Linda. Both Trudy and I are registered nurses and we've done what we can but our resources are limited."
"Please take me to her then." Dr Baker said quietly yet as confidently as she could.
In a moment she was following the lead of the tall black woman up the stairs. As she was on those stairs, the beauty of this home registered deep in her psyche. She almost missed a step as she gazed around her. This place was gorgeous and had been built by a craftsman. Instantly she forced her mind back to the situation at hand, resolving not to let her mind wander. The woman downstairs had obviously been struck several times to suffer the bruising she had on her face. Yet the woman in front of her, Ely, who professed to be a registered nurse, said she was the lesser of the injured. That didn't bode well for this being a quick and painless visit.
At the top of the stairs Ely paused and turned to her.
"My sister, Keri, was choked to unconsciousness, then raped, or rather sodomized, by a very large and very brutal individual. I think he would have done more, but he was chased off by Trudy and then Karl, both of them actually shot at him. I've sedated her with what I had, basically with sleeping pills, and I had her bathed and cleaned. We did use a douche as well as we could but I'm worried that the man might have been HIV positive. To make matters worse, my sister is three months pregnant." Ely spoke in a voice just above a whisper.
"You say she's three months pregnant?" Dr Baker asked quietly.
"Yes." Ely nodded. "That was confirmed by Dr Latimer in Seattle, just a day or so before the earthquake."
"And her husband?"
"Lover, not husband. He's been tested and has an exceptionally low sperm count. They've been trying for this child for years."
"Oh my!" Dr Baker sighed. "You do know that this trauma and perhaps even some treatments might affect the fetus?"
"Yeah!" Ely snapped coldly.
"I am sorry!"
"Yeah, well if Karl didn't kill the son-of-a-bitch when he shot at him, I want to be the one to collect a blood sample from the bastard for testing purposes. I'll be taking it from his penis - after I've removed that from his body for laboratory study and I hope the cock sucker is alive when I do it."
"Oh my!"
"Look, Dr. Baker, I'm afraid that this isn't a situation where I can remain neutral. This concerns people that I happen to love."
"I do understand."
"Okay." Ely took a deep breath and Dr Baker could see her calm herself. "Now, I'm not up on the latest treatment for possible AIDS exposure. I know that a year or so ago it was immediate dosage with AZT and that seemed to work within forty-eight hours of exposure, or so they thought at that time."
"I think that's what I'd recommend is this case." Frances said calmly. "In fact AZT is given to women who are known to have HIV and who are also pregnant as an AIDS preventative for the fetus. Since AZT also acts as a preventative when administered early we will have some delivered here on tomorrow morning's chopper run so I can administer it as soon as possible."
"You didn't come prepared for that eventuality? Even though we'd reported that there had been a rape in this case?" Ely asked in surprise.
"Ms. Grant, when I was rushed out to the chopper, I was told absolutely nothing other than that I was needed because there were several people here who had been assaulted. I know there are medications in the supplies but I came straight inside to check on the condition of the patients. Since that is the case, I haven't checked what was sent in the supplies. I know I can have the drug here tomorrow however and administering it within that time frame is perfectly safe." Dr Baker said firmly. "However we don't know for sure that the attacker had AIDS or any other communicable disease."
"I realise that but when we get either the man or the body of the man who did it, I want either a full tissue or a full blood analysis, okay?" Ely said just as firmly.
"Absolutely! I agree. In fact I'll insist on it." Dr Baker nodded. "Now, let's see our first patient."
Ely led her through the door and into a beautiful bedroom. Again in just a glance, Dr Baker could see the craftsmanship that had gone into its overall effect and it's detail. Then her gaze locked onto the sight of the two women in the huge bed. One was blonde, alert, and had a challenging gaze as if visually assessing her as she approached. The other, a beautiful red head, lay lethargically and Dr Baker could tell at a glance that she had been the victim of the attack. Both her neck and her lower cheeks showed acute bruising.
"Linda, this is Dr Baker." Ely said firmly. "She needs to examine Keri now so she can begin treatment."
To Dr. Baker's surprise, Linda quietly moved aside making room for her. Dr Baker nodded her head in appreciation then lifted her stethoscope and leaned forward to do the job she was trained to do. She instantly found herself totally absorbed in the study of her patient as she always was when she came in contact with any new person who came under her care.
She didn't notice Ely taking Linda aside as they watched Dr Baker's total absorption in her work and she didn't realise that Ely had just elevated her assessment of her ability simply because of the thoroughness of her examination. After several moments she straightened and looked over at Ely as she stripped off the latex gloves she had donned.
"Exactly what medications did you say you had given the patient?" She asked.
"I have them here" Ely handed her the bottle.
It was a common sleep aid and Dr Baker nodded, then opened her bag and took out a syringe. "Do you know if she has any adverse reactions to morphine-based sedatives?"
"She doesn't, at least she didn't four years ago when she was operated on for her appendix." Ely said quietly.
"Good, then we're going to give her a slightly stronger sedative as well as a muscle relaxant and pain killer. It's a three in one treatment, based on one of the morphine derivatives with a few added twists. Although it's been thoroughly tested it's not on the open market yet." She smiled at Ely. "Your sister is getting the one main advantage of military medicine. We happen to be first in line for the newest pain and injury medications after they have been proven safe for human usage."
"It is safe, is it?" Ely smiled back.
"Absolutely. I've used quite a bit of it in the last few days." Dr Baker glanced around the room. "I don't know if you have any idea how lucky you people have been to be here."
She didn't catch the glance that flashed between Ely and Linda as her own face registered the pain of the things she had seen. Then forcing a reassuring smile on her face, she leaned over the red head and lifted her arm to gently swab a spot over a muscle before carefully injecting the sedative and gently massaging the area.
Turning to Linda, she smiled. "There, she should rest easier now. Would you mind remaining here with her though? I would like to examine the other patients, but I will be back."
"Thank you." Linda smiled back. "I don't mind staying here at all."
"Good." Dr Baker closed her bag and turned to Ely. "Back downstairs then, to our other patients. Oh, there is one thing, this large bed? Does she normally sleep here?"
"Why?" Ely asked, then sighed. "Actually Dr Baker, this is Karl's and my home. Dad's has a hole in the roof from a tree and since we were under attack, this was the easiest to defend."
"Ah, I don't suppose you have a smaller bed for the patient?"
"Well, there is the fold out, the hide-a-bed couch over there, but why?"
"If possible, she should sleep undisturbed. Perhaps if we readied that bed, then I could get you to assist me and we could move her there?"
"Now?"
"Now! In fifteen minutes, she will be so sound asleep that she will be total dead weight and we might have trouble moving her." Then she smiled. "As well, that will mean that your husband Karl will be able to sleep with you in his own bed, since I understand he is suffering from over exertion that would be best for him as well."
"Well, let's do it then, he does need the rest." Then Ely grinned. "But Dr Baker, Karl isn't my husband, he's my lover. We aren't married."
Dr Baker didn't comment but as they made up the fold out bed, she had a weird thought. She looked at the almost possessive attitude Linda had toward the patient, Keri. Then she thought of the man she had seen outside and the isolation these people obviously lived in. She paused and looked up at Ely with a frown on her face.
"Ms. Grant?"
"Please call me Ely, I hate being called Miz." Ely protested.
"All right then, Ely, this really doesn't have anything to do with treatment but is this man, Karl, the father of . . . ?" Dr Baker paused, uncertain if she should let her suspicions be known.
"Of Keri's unborn child?" Ely said quietly. "Would it make a difference if he was?"
"Only to your family, not to me. You see if he is the father, then he should be advised of the treatment I propose." She said quietly. "It doesn't make any difference to me at all. To me, she is a patient who needs treatment and I will do my best for her under any circumstance."
"He is." Linda said proudly. "And Keri is happy as hell that she's carrying his child but you might advise me about her treatment too. I'm Keri's lover as well."
Dr Frances Baker stood there, almost in shock. She stared at Linda, then at Ely and finally at Keri.
Karl sat back in the deck chair and couldn't help sighing as he felt the relief from the pain in his knees. He watched as L-C Greene walked up the steps stiff as a ramrod. Karl held back his urge to comment and reaching out his arm, he skidded the other deck chair toward the man.
"I need to sit down and I get a kink in my neck if I have to look up at the person I'm talking to. So have a seat." He offered and in a lower voice he added. "And just this once don't even look around, just sit and relax, you'll think better. You've got some good men out there, let them do their job."
"Is my discomfort that obvious?" L-C Greene asked sotto voce.
"To me it is." Karl sighed softly. "I've been there, had a crew of good men and tried too hard to boss them. Once I eased up, let them do their jobs and just guided them instead of ordered them, it worked far better."
"That's probably very good advice, sir."
"Jeeezuuz Greene, will you guys lay off that fucking 'sir' stuff with me? Please! I'm not in the military and I'm not going to play military with you. I don't give a damn if you're an able seaman or an admiral. I'm going as far as I'm willing to go, just calling you by your last name. Now would you call me Karl, please?"
"You're a cranky old S O B aren't you?" Greene actually grinned, yet there was something about the grin that rang false to Karl.
"You're damn right I am. Right about now I'm cranky as hell, but I think I have several good reasons." Karl sighed. "I've been under a hell of a lot of stress and I can't explain half of the crap that's been going on."
He lifted his hand as L-C Greene was about to speak.
"Just let me explain. First off, yesterday the cow and calf that are out in the pasture showed up out of nowhere. Now you flew around the island. I'm sure you could see that there is no place where they could have come ashore but down in the bay. And there is no fucking way of getting into that bay easily since the first big earthquake caused a landslide that fucking near blocked the channel. At least I don't think there's a way in with a boat big enough to carry that cow and calf, so I haven't a clue how they got here."
"When they showed up, I tied them up temporarily. Then later they disappeared and so did a loaf of fresh bread that was cooling on the front porch. I was able to follow the cow's tracks a bit and she'd been lead away. I'm sure of that because she went in a straight line and cows wander all over as they walk anywhere. Later my dog came home, barely able to move. He'd been stabbed with a spear or shot with an arrow at least twice. Because of that we kept guard and halfway through the night last night, the cow and calf showed up again."
"I was out here just as day was breaking and I saw a stray dog attacking my goats, so I shot at him, twice. I'm sure I missed both times but I was able to see where he had gone and I and Ely tracked him. Since you flew up the gorge in the chopper, I imagine you saw the landslip that happened early today. His tracks lead right to that, so it must have happened either when he was in that area or down below, because there were no tracks leading away. I think he was actually caught in the slide and escaped into the stream. I'm pretty sure of that because I saw him get caught in the tidal rip that empties out of the bay a little later in the day."
"Now, having looked at the way my dog was injured, we decided that there had to be at least one man on the island and we wanted to defend ourselves. I had this rifle and a single shot shotgun but there were other guns on the boat and at George's house. We were scared that if there was a guy here he might get them. Let's see, down on my boat in the bay, there was an old muzzle loading rifle and Keri had a shotgun there for shooting ducks. As well George had a revolver over at his house. Since we needed some supplies from George and Trudy's place anyway, we decided to take the garden tractor and trailer and do it all at once."
"Ely, Keri, Trudy and I all decided to go. We went down to the boat first and then over to George's house. Ely and I loaded up the trailer at George's and since one of the things we had was a toilet we'd salvaged, Ely rode in the trailer to hold it and keep it from breaking as I drove back. Keri and Trudy were following us on foot. On the way back here they were attacked by a madman when they got to a shed we have at the top of the trail down to the bay. Trudy was knocked out and Keri was raped. Luckily, Trudy was carrying a two-way radio and when she came to her senses she called back here. I grabbed the rifle and ran to help them. As it happened, I got there just as Trudy shot at the bastard who did it. She missed and I think I did too, but I shot several more times, trying to hit him as he ran away."
"I pretty well collapsed after that because I was the victim of a dose of chlorine gas once and if I exercise too hard I can't get enough oxygen. Luckily Ely and Linda came with the little tractor and trailer and got all three of us, hauling us back here. When we got back, I literally collapsed and passed out for a while. Everyone else was looking after the two injured women. After I woke up George was telling me about the broadcasts from the military offering assistance and I got busy trying to fix our transmitter. Once I had it fixed, well, you know the rest."
L-C Greene had stared at Karl in fascination as he told the story then he simply shook his head as he turned and looked at his feet for some strange reason. After a moment's thought he lifted his eyes to Karl's.
"I am sorry." He said quietly. "When we swung around the island in the helicopter we did notice the other house and saw the damage to it and the smaller cabin. Was anyone injured there?"
"No, but being in a house that was in an earthquake and had a tree fall on it scared hell out of everyone. I was on the boat so I hardly noticed it until afterward. Since the only real damage here at my cabin was from a rock coming through the wall and smashing the toilet right through the floor in the downstairs bathroom, everyone moved in here." Karl sighed. "Which was a damn good thing because we were all here when the odd shit started to happen later."
"So you mentioned that you've collected all the weapons from the other house?"
"Well, the guns. There are lots of knives and axes and such." Karl looked at him strangely. "Why, is that important?"
L-C Greene took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he stared into Karl's eyes. "If our guess is correct, there could be several men here on the island. It would tie up a lot of loose ends that we've been following."
"Well, don't leave it like that." Karl growled. "I'm a big boy. I'd like to have an idea just what the hell I'm facing."
"All right, I'll explain. Remember now, a lot of what I have to say is supposition but all the clues seem to point to it being true." L-C Greene took a deep breath. "Several days before the earthquake we were tracking a tramp steamer on radar that we suspected was smuggling some form of contraband into the country. In all honesty, we only had two visual contacts with the vessel, one from an aircraft and the second from one of our smaller ships. Since the weather of the west coast of the island was vicious, we couldn't maintain contact. To our absolute amazement when we gained contact again, it appeared to us that they were actually taking the vessel into the Georgia Strait which is very unusual. Usually smugglers don't come into inside waters because of our patrols and we thought if they were we could simply intercept and board them to check out their cargo."
"We were keeping radar contact with them and we deliberately didn't attempt to intercept them. That proved to be a major mistake when we lost contact again later. However it was a good thing in one way because a lot of our smaller vessels were on patrol instead of in harbour when the earthquake hit. Now I'm not sure if you know what happened but the earthquake triggered a tsunami. By the way, you're damn lucky, that long narrow channel coming into your bay acted as a choke to the tidal wave and saved your boat from damage. The majority of our patrols that were at sea survived quite well but the onshore damage was horrendous. Actually because of the direction of the tsunami our main base at Esquimalt came through quite well, many of the other ports we use suffered far heavier damage."
"Anyway, back to the tramp steamer, it was actually thrown onto a reef and we have since taken her. As we suspected she was loaded with some legitimate cargo but hidden deep in the hold there was a major shipment of contraband. From what we have been able to discover from interviewing the crew, there were six gang members aboard who had virtually taken over the vessel but after it was wrecked they escaped in a lifeboat, abandoning the crew and the ship."
"We found that life boat and in it we found the body of a man and his wife. We don't know how it happened but we do know that the couple had a fairly large boat and they actually acted as part time freighters of goods between some of the smaller islands. The load they were carrying on the day of the earthquake included two cows and a calf. We assume that the six gang members took over their vessel and put them aboard the lifeboat they were abandoning, then in a fit of pure viciousness, they killed the man and his wife to prevent them from passing the news of their actions to anyone."
"We lost track of them at that point but there are several clues that point to the fact that they may well be your attackers. First, the crew aboard the abandoned vessel mentioned a vicious black dog that terrified them. They said it belonged to one of the ringleaders of the gang and it wasn't aboard the vessel when we took control. The second point of course is the cow and calf and the third is the vicious attack on the women."
"Now there is a fourth point but it's rather tenuous. Just a few days ago two of our patrol vessels were following a weak radar image early one morning. Our technicians were certain that it was a wooden boat and we actually were attempting to close on it with one vessel while another swung around an island we were passing to intercept its course. As it rounded the island we temporarily lost radar contact then there was an explosion in the vicinity of where it would have been. Our second vessel, which was coming around the island from the opposite direction, didn't pick up any radar contact at all and we were forced to assume that the vessel had exploded and sank. However there was far too little debris and what was there appeared to be so scattered that we had hardly anything left for analysis." L-C Greene sighed deeply. "Another point I should mention is that the island they were circumnavigating happens to be this one. I'm forced to assume that they left behind a cats-paw of some sort designed to explode when radar contact was made with it and they managed to escape in their vessel in some manner. You mentioned that the channel which opens into the bay had been partially blocked by a landslide. If a vessel entered it during one of the tide changes, would it wreck a boat?"
"Oh God yeah!" Karl answered enthusiastically. "Hell, even before the rockslide the only way I could bring my boat through was either at dead high or dead low tides. Shit man, that passage twists and turns like a corkscrew. Besides at full rip the current must be going at least ten or twelve knots. Even at the best of times the water almost looks like it boils."
"So if an inexperienced captain tried it at the wrong time his chances of making it through unscathed would be slim?"
Karl just looked at him and shook his head. "I take it that you didn't actually fly over that area when you came?"
"Well, we did, but I wasn't really able to see much, other than that it was very narrow and quite crooked."
"L-C Greene, when I go in or out with the 'Skolka', I like to have a crew member on the foredeck and another on the afterdeck, both of them ready with push poles just in case. I am exceptionally well acquainted with how my boat reacts and I know I can control it instantaneously. I have made that passage at least a hundred times in the last ten years or so, yet I still only do it at the calmest tides. I wouldn't even try to take a ten-foot inflatable with an outboard through there when the tide is running at any strength."
"In other words, the chances of an inexperienced person coming through it at the wrong time with a boat he wasn't thoroughly used to would be small?"
"No, the chances of him making it then would be zero! He would be wrecked. No question."
"And if it were an inbound tide, would the wreck still be carried into the bay?"
"Hell yeah, it would be spit out like garbage though, all chewed to bits."
"Well, I believe we know how your cow and calf got here and who the attackers are." L-C Greene said quietly.
"Yeah." Karl agreed.
Dr Baker slowly sat down on the freshly made bed.
"Wow!" She said quietly, lifting her eyes to Linda's face. "I'm going to guess you're involved with this Karl fellow too?"
"Does that make a difference?" Linda asked.
"Only if any of you have had sex with the patient."
"Oh for fucks sake, she was just raped earlier in the day." Ely snapped. "What the hell do you think we are, sex fiends?"
"Oh shit, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Dr Baker lamented softly. "It's just that this is the first patient I've ever dealt with in a situation like this. I'm trying to be so thorough about covering all the bases. I really didn't mean to offend you."
Ely sighed, then reached over and rested a hand briefly on her shoulder.
"Well. We are having trouble coping too!" She said quietly. "I'm sorry I reacted so strongly, but . . . "
"Oh I understand the stress for you." Dr Baker sighed. "Not only are you a nurse, but she's your sister and on top of that you've just lived through this trauma. I do understand."
"Thank you." Ely said quietly. "Now should we move Keri?"
"Yes, I guess we should."
Only minutes later, they went downstairs so Dr Baker could examine Trudy. If anything, her examination took longer and after she was done, she insisted that Trudy lay down, giving her an injection as well. Then she insisted on examining George who complained bitterly that he was in as good health as he had been in years. Afterward, she took Ely aside.
"Your father seems fine considering everything, but I'm a bit worried in Trudy's case, I think there may be some internal bleeding. Her blood pressure is quite low."
"It always has been." Ely said quietly. "It's still in the same range as it has been for at least five years. That always astounds doctors because of her age and her diet. We've never been able to find why it remains so low."
"Do you happen to have medical records of these patients?"
"Yes, but they aren't fully updated, the last ones are from almost six months ago I believe. Unfortunately they are all in the safe at the other house."
"I'll need to see those if I can. Would you consider going to get them tomorrow, if we guarantee your safety with an escort?"
"Certainly, we could go tonight if your escort is willing." Ely said firmly.
"Oh I don't think that's necessary." Dr Baker shook her head. "Tomorrow will be soon enough. It's just that I'd like some long term comparisons to their present conditions."
"Is there anything else that I should know for tonight?"
"No, but I do have one more patient, I believe."
"If we can get him to cooperate." Ely sighed. "Karl thinks he's invincible."
"Before I see him, could you tell me his long term problems?"
"Sure." Ely sighed, then explained about Karl's brush with chlorine gas and his arthritis problems.
"And how old is the patient?"
"Karl is only forty-two but when his health acts up he seems like he's sixty-two." Ely sighed softly. "Of course he tries to work like he was twenty."
"Don't all men do that?" Dr Baker smiled. "Now let's go see if we find an old man or a young one waiting for us outside."
"Oh, he won't be waiting for us." Ely smiled. "He may be there, but I'm willing to bet he's up to his armpits in whatever is going on. We'll have to argue with him to get him inside."
Dr Baker could read the love and pride in Ely's voice right along with the concern, so she was smiling as well when they moved toward the door to talk Karl into being examined.