Chapter Twenty One
Dr. Baker was getting ready to go to the house to visit her three patients when she heard the sound of two loud voices coming her way. Carrying her medical bag in readiness, she stepped outside to see Springfield striding toward her with a big grin on his face while L-C Greene was walking at his side, haranguing him for acting without direct orders from his provisional superior officer, even if it was a task that he would have been assigned.
"Lieutenant Commander Greene, might I break in." She interrupted.
"Oh." L-C Greene paused. "Yes Lieutenant, what is it?"
"Springfield, did you get that blood sample from the rapist?" She demanded, turning to face him directly.
"Yes Ma'am, there are two samples of his blood in here." He handed her a small plastic case. "We didn't want to go off half cocked, so we took a blood sample from each of 'em. Actually two from the guy that had been shot and two from a guy who's in bad drug withdrawal. They're colour coded, the red coded one and the black one are from the rapist, the blue and green ones are from the druggy and the other one's yellow. Trouble is we're short one sample, one guy is still running free."
"Thank you, Springfield. I'm really only interested in the rapist's blood sample for now. Are you certain it's the right man?"
"He was the right size and he matches the description. On top of that he'd been shot right where ol' Karl said he'd shot the bastard, that's really all the proof I need." He grinned. "His name is Karpichov, K-A-R-P-I-C-H-O-V, Dimitri Karpichov and I'm willing to bet there's an Interpol file on him a mile thick if they want to check."
"Lieutenant Commander Greene, would you get that chopper here now, please. He's to fly these blood samples to the nearest working blood lab and have them tested for all communicable diseases. I'll make out the paper work while we're waiting for him to land." The doctor said sharply.
"But we need to find that fourth fugitive now and... "
"Sir, this is a medical emergency. I need the chopper NOW!" It wasn't often Dr. Baker lost her temper but at the moment she knew she was close. When it looked like he was still going to balk at her demand, she forced herself to take a deep breath before she spoke. "Our mission here was to protect these people from further harm, capture the smugglers if we possibly could, and to provide relief to the sick and wounded. This blood represents the possibility of a biological threat to the woman who was attacked. I need that test done as soon as possible to protect one of my charges and to keep her from the possibility of further harm."
"You could just put her on AZT even if it was temporary and then we could finish our survey... "
"Why give her a medication that may be unnecessary and could actually damage her health or the health of her unborn child? We're talking about a pregnant woman here for Christ sake!" Springfield broke in. "All your chopper is finding now is more damn cats. Hell, we've even caught all but one of your smugglers and with him, it's only a matter of time. Which reminds me, Winchester is all alone with three prisoners, shouldn't you be getting your men off to assist him?"
"But arrange to get the chopper here first." Dr. Baker added. "I'm going to fill out the forms for the tests that need to be done."
"All right, I'll get the copter to make one more swing in over the lowland area as he comes back. That way we'll get at least get one more try to get a heat trace on the man Springfield lost." L-C Greene said quietly. "You'll need to have your shipment ready in about five minutes."
He walked off, ramrod straight and without a backward glance.
"Well! Son of a bitch." Springfield said very quietly. "Now it seems I've lost a fugitive."
"You stepped on his toes and he's career military." Dr. Baker frowned. "What did you expect? He was bound to find a way to cover his ass and if he can make you look like you might have screwed up a bit at the same time, he will."
She turned on her heel and walked back into her tent to fill out the forms she needed to send with the blood samples. She heaved a hearty sigh as she signed them, glad that she would soon know whether she would have to put Keri on medication or not. Springfield had given her a little extra time but she hoped she didn't need it. She could only hope that the testing of the blood would start immediately after the lab got it. A few minutes later, she was running across the goat pasture to give the chopper pilot her package.
"Here you go." She shouted up at him over the sound of the idling engine. "I need you to get this to a med. lab as quick as you can and I need the results back quickly too, so please ask them to hurry. There's a note inside to tell them which samples to do first and what I need to know. Okay?"
"Yes Ma'am. L-C Greene said this had top priority. There's a med. lab in Duncan that's only a few minutes away and they're gearing up now to do your test, I'm in radio contact with the Police there and they've made arrangements. Do you want me to have them radio the results here, to Peacock?"
"Please. If you would, that would be marvellous."
"Okay Ma'am, will do. You'd best get back. I'm lifting off PDQ."
He wasn't kidding, Dr. Baker had hardly gotten out from under his rotor when she felt the blast of air as the pilot revved his engine and lifted. The wind surge almost blew her off of her feet. By the time she had caught her balance and had turned to watch him, the chopper had swung around and was already lifting rapidly as the pilot aimed toward Duncan. Reflexively, she looked at her watch, 07:49 and she'd said she would be at the house to 'make her rounds' at 08:00. She smiled, not worried that Springfield and company had interfered with her schedule. In no more than six or eight hours, she would know what treatment she was going to follow with Keri.
"Damn, I hope that bastard is clean." She sighed to herself as she went to pick up her medical bag before heading to the house.
When Karl had gone back inside the house after seeing the meals that were served while he was talking to L-C Greene and his crew, he wanted real scrambled eggs as well as home made bread for his toast. When he explained why to Ely, she broke into delighted laughter for a moment. She couldn't help it, the idea of making scrambled eggs from a package of premixed eggs somehow struck her as funny and Karl's reaction tickled her even more. Yet as she started to prepare his meal, she felt slightly guilty about laughing while her sister was upstairs, perhaps infected with a killer virus and certainly in pain from the brutal treatment she'd received. To her surprise, Karl seemed to understand when she explained her feelings to him a few moments later.
"I feel a lot the same way, but there are other feelings that bother me worse right now." He sighed. "I can't explain it, but I feel sorry that I didn't kill that raping bastard. Yet another part of me feels elated that he might still be alive to give a blood sample. That will last until I know that the blood tests on him are conclusive, by then I hope the Navy has him off the island. If I see him after that, I'm not sure what I'll do."
"Have you told anyone, L-C Greene, or this guy, Springfield?"
"No, I suppose I should."
"After breakfast." She sighed softly. "You aren't really comfortable with the Navy being here are you?"
"With Greene? No, I'm not really comfortable, but I trust him to a certain point. The thing is that I can't get a handle on the way he thinks and because of that I do mistrust him somewhat. Springfield is a different story, he's a good man."
"From what you tell me of Springfield, I'd think he was a rebel, I'm surprised he's in the service at all."
"Oh, he's not a rebel, but he's been trained to assess a situation and then act quickly on the facts. He's not rebellious, but he is independent. Greene reacts, mostly to orders but also to situations, he needs the structure and the order of the regular service. I think that would slowly drive Springfield around the bend. They are totally different in that way, and yet I'll bet that either of them would distinguish himself on a field of battle in his own way. I happen to think that they're both patriots. It's just that they each have a different way of showing it."
"I suppose I can see that." Ely agreed rather tentatively.
They shared another cup of coffee and talked for a while, then heard the helicopter come in to land nearby. Karl decided he had to go outside just to see what was going on, but by the time he got out on the porch, it was racing away. He did notice the doctor hurrying toward the tents, but since everyone seemed busy, he didn't want to be too nosy about what was happening. He knew he'd hear what was going on eventually, so instead of worrying about it, he decided to sit outside and think for a while. Karl had hardly gotten seated when he noticed Bruno's ears perk up and he heard the tiniest noise behind him. He grinned to himself.
"Damn it Springfield, if you're going to come onto my porch, could you please use the stairs just once." He said quietly, guessing who it was just from the dog's reaction. "I keep worrying that you'll hurt yourself when you're clambering over the porch rail."
"You old bastard." Springfield broke into laughter. "How the hell did you know it was me? It could just as well have been Winchester."
"Nope, Winchester hasn't made friends with Bruno." Karl smiled. "Pull up a chair, tell me about your little sortie."
"Sorry, I can't take the time." Springfield said quickly. "I just wanted to tell you that the blood samples are going out on that chopper that just left here. By the way, you hit that Russian bugger right where you said. He was wearing a Kevlar vest though, so you didn't kill him. What you didn't say was you hit him in the shoulder too. He's lost a lot of blood from that wound."
"In the shoulder? I didn't know I hit him there." Karl said honestly. "If that wound was from a bullet that came from the front, it had to be from my first shot, I was shooting while running flat out and he dived into the brush as I fired. If the wound was from the back, it would have been from the rounds I pumped into the bushes. I know I aimed high, so it would have been a ricochet if one of them hit him. Now why don't you have time to talk?"
"Well, Winchester and I kind of dropped into the camp down below and he's still down there, sitting on three guys. L-C Greene wants us to go down with most of the crew, armed to the teeth, and pick them up. As well, he wants to use the whole crew to beat the bushes for the last guy."
"Well, watch out for those damn pigs while you're at it, they're dangerous if they're riled." Karl said quietly. "And if you bring that son-of-a-bitch up here, make sure you guard him so that Ely and Linda can't get at him. Me too for that matter. Either that, or have a chopper here to move him out right away."
"Karl, I'm going to forget I heard that, and if I were you, I wouldn't make a threat like that where L-C Greene can hear it."
"Lieutenant Springfield, that was not a threat, that was a promise. I'm afraid everyone in this household considers that man to be a slur on humanity, lower than any varmint. We've grown used to looking after ourselves and when varmints cause us a problem, we take care of it." Karl's voice had dropped until it was almost a whisper. "I really couldn't guarantee the man's safety if he were brought up here, do you understand?"
"Perfectly." Springfield agreed softly. "I'll explain to L-C Greene that it might be dangerous for the prisoner's health."
"Remove the 'might be' from that sentence and it will be much more truthful." Karl sighed. "I'm sitting here, feeling somewhat inadequate as it is because I had to call you people in to defend my friends and family. Having him brought here would be like having him flaunted in front of me and it just might be too much."
"Inadequate? You? Not in any way I ever noticed." With that Springfield walked down the steps and rejoined the others as they bustled around the tents, preparing for action.
Karl sighed deeply and it took a few moments before he got his emotions under control. He was still sitting on the front porch, enjoying the last of his cup of coffee and his solitary morning cigarette as Dr. Baker came walking up.
"Karl, do you smoke?" She snapped accusingly as she frowned.
"On occasion." Karl sighed, having been through this with both Ely and Trudy. "I smoke one cigarette in the morning and sometimes one at night. I know that it's not good for me, but... ?" He shrugged. "Well, sometimes a cigarette and a cup of coffee seem to help me to put my head together and then to top it off, if I've taken a pill for arthritis, a cigarette seems to make that work better as well."
"Is your arthritis bothering you this morning? You seemed to be moving quite freely when I saw you earlier."
"I'd just woken from a good sleep." He smiled. "Besides I had a lot of other things to concentrate on. That seems to help. Right now I'm trying to psych myself up to helping Ely get that new floor and the borrowed toilet installed in the main floor bathroom so George doesn't have to climb the stairs to go to the can."
"I see." She sighed. "Could you tell Ely and the others that I have to go down with the crew to treat the prisoners that Springfield and Winchester caught this morning? I won't be available at oh eight hundred like I thought. I have a small envelope of pills here for Ely to give Keri if she awakens and needs them, could you pass them on to her?"
"Certainly, but Ely's just inside, why don't you talk to her?"
"I shouldn't really, L-C Greene will have a fit if I hold up his sortie." She glanced over her shoulder, then turned back to Karl and smiled. "But... well, perhaps talking to her would be best."
She quickly slipped across the porch and at Karl's suggestion that she "Go right on in." She opened the door and looked inside. Ely greeted her instantly and she returned the greeting with a smile.
"Look, they've caught most of the fugitives and I have to go check on their condition." She stated quickly. "I'm hoping Keri slept relatively well all night long?"
"She did, at least according to Linda. To be honest, I slept like a rock, but I'm sure I'd have awakened if she'd made any real disturbance." Ely answered.
"Good, I'm glad to hear you both slept." The doctor smiled. "I was a bit worried, so I did drop in late last night."
"So I heard, I'm surprised I didn't wake up."
"You must have spoken to Linda. Everyone else was sleeping soundly but she and I had a short discussion." The doctor smiled, then grew more serious. "Look, I'm going to have to hurry because Springfield and his buddy captured three of the four fugitives and I'll have to treat any wounds or problems they have in the field, then perhaps ship them off to a hospital. In the meantime, you're going to have to keep an eye on Keri."
"Did they catch the bastard that... ?"
"They caught the man that we believe attacked Keri and Trudy, yes. In fact his blood sample is on its way for testing right now. He's been rather badly injured and is one of the people I have to treat, I understand he has at least two gunshot wounds. Now, in case it takes a while before I can get back, I've brought you some tranquillizers just in case Keri wakes and is badly upset."
"Doctor, she's just entering her second trimester, should she be taking anything like that at all?"
"Well, I'd rather she took tranquillizers than sleeping pills and Ely, would you please call me Fran?"
"Okay Fran, but won't the tranquillizers affect the baby?"
"They can't help but have some effect so I'd like you to keep the dosage as small as possible. I've printed out some instructions for you to follow, just try to keep her reasonably calm and quiet. I'll be back as quickly as I can."
"Thanks Fran, you've been wonderful." Ely smiled, taking the envelope then stepping forward and hugging the smaller woman. "I hope you're going to be okay with those damn thugs."
"Don't worry. I have an armed escort. Springfield and Winchester, I'll be fine." Fran said with a grin, then turned quickly to head for the door, not wanting Ely to see the tears that came to her eyes.
She hurried out the door and past Karl who frowned slightly at her hurried passage. Back at the small tent she shared with Able Seaman Gillian Mathews, she quickly picked up her medical bag and an extra small pack of supplies meant to treat anyone suffering from wounds in the field then hurried to the main tent to talk to L-C Greene. As soon as she entered the tent he walked over to her rapidly.
"Lieutenant Baker, have you ever rapelled down a cliff?" He asked brusquely.
"Yes Lieutenant Commander, I have." She said confidently. "Is that how we're moving to the lower area?"
"You, Springfield, and Elgin will go in that way. Mathews will remain here to guard the camp unless you feel you might need her nursing skills."
"Since this is a field situation, I believe I can ask one of the others for any assistance I might require." She snapped, not really happy to be without one of her usual nursing assistants. "I'll make do."
"Well, we will be moving in from the water side to transport the prisoners away. I'm unsure how we will get them off the island, it appears that they would be in danger if we brought them here to camp."
"Ah, yes." She nodded. "I don't think you seem to realise how deep the feelings run when someone is assaulted and raped."
"Whatever!" He said coldly. "And of course you've sent our support helicopter off on a wild mission to deliver blood samples that could have just as well have been taken from the prisoners when they landed. Which means that we don't have it for transport ourselves or our prisoners."
Dr. Francis Baker wasn't a large woman, but at that moment, she felt like she grew a foot taller just from sheer anger. Had Springfield not chosen that moment to break in their conversation, she might have been facing a court martial for attacking a superior officer.
"Sirs." Springfield interrupted. "If we are to ready those men for transport as soon as possible, we should get going, and I'd like to remind you both that we still have one fugitive on the loose."
"Oh, Yes, very well, carry on." L-C Greene ordered abruptly and turned his back on them.
Gritting her teeth and heaving a heavy sigh, Dr. Baker turned to Springfield.
"Are you and I going back down the cliff the way you did earlier then?" She asked.
"Yes Doctor, We'll have Elgin go down first to set up guard at the bottom just in case and I'll accompany you down. I'll handle your supplies."
"Yes Springfield." She sighed once more and tried to smile. "In this case, I'll follow your lead."
Fifteen minutes later, Dr. Baker was dangling on the end of a rope and found herself grinning at Springfield as they slowly rapelled down the sheer rock face. At the bottom he turned to her as they unhooked.
"You seemed to enjoy that" He said quietly.
"It's been a while. I used to climb and I found that rapelling was perhaps the best part. Well, except for the idea of going where a regular person couldn't or wouldn't go." She smiled at him as she stretched and twisted slightly to relax, then reached for her medical bag. "I have work to do now though. Show me my new patients please."
"Yes Ma'am. Come on Elgin, this way." Springfield said quietly.
When she saw how the first prisoner had been trussed and saw evidence of his wounds, she felt upset, then thought of Keri and Trudy. Deciding that perhaps the bonds were necessary she allowed most of them to remain but she insisted that the gag be removed instantly and that the prisoner's arms and legs be released from their common tie.
"And what will you do if he starts screaming and cursing at you?" Springfield asked even as he was cutting the plastic straps.
"I plan on sedating him." Dr. Baker snapped, opening her bag and preparing a needle then slipping on latex gloves. "I don't intend to try to treat wounds like his with him awake and screaming."
She suited her actions to her words, finding a vein in the prisoners bare arm and injecting a large amount of sedative, then she had Springfield assist her to roll him onto his back in order to get at his wounds easier.
"Oh, there you are Winchester, have you seen anything of the fourth guy?" Springfield asked as the other JTF2 man came up to them silently.
"Nope, checked some noises in the bush, just pigs." Winchester answered shortly.
Dr. Baker heard their talk, but hardly let it register, she was busy. First she checked the prisoner's temperature and heart rate. He seemed to have a slight temperature, but his heart beat was strong and steady. He was going to make it. As she cut away the cloth, she cursed the Kevlar vest, it was tough to remove. Finally in exasperation she asked for help and both Springfield and Winchester came to her aid. When she did a quick field dressing of both of the major wounds on the huge man, she couldn't help noticing that the wound on his chest showed a tremendous amount of bruising and just the pressure of placing a bandage on it caused him to flinch. He obviously had broken ribs. The wound in his shoulder appeared to have both an entrance and exit opening, so she didn't have to worry that the bullet was left behind. Actually the wound looked quite clean, surprisingly clean considering the rag that had been roughly tied over it, however it appeared to have bled profusely, his shirt was soaked.
"Springfield, you immobilized this man did you?"
"Yes Ma'am."
"I see you're wearing gloves now, but did you touch him with your bare hands? If you did, do you have any cuts or abrasions?"
"No Ma'am, I wore standard heavy field gloves." Springfield smiled. "In the last few years that's become standard procedure on any operation of this sort."
"Good, remind anyone touching him or any of his clothing to wear gloves." She said sharply.
"I did pass that point on to the others this morning while you were inside seeing your other patients."
"Good, now I'd better see to the other two captives."
Neither of them had major wounds but they both appeared to be suffering slightly from exposure and both of them were quite gaunt. When she checked their arms, they both appeared to be drug users.
"Are these men all Russians?" She asked, noticing that neither of the last two were wearing similar style clothing to the first man.
"Nope, not according to the ID they were carrying, The dandy with the shakes there is Georgio Bonnetti, and the little guy with the glasses is Bruno Iverson." Springfield answered her.
"They both appear to be drug users, I hope you've handled them the same way, I mean with protection for yourselves."
"You really have a thing about disease don't you?"
"I'm a doctor. I've treated AIDS patients. If they are clean, there is little chance of catching the virus from touching anyone with HIV or AIDS. However, these men are filthy. They have blood and body fluids on their clothing. Two of them appear to be intravenous drug users and the third seems to enjoy violent sex, those activities place all of them in the high risk category for carrying some form of STD. I'm suggesting strongly that you take care when you are in contact with them." She sighed as she stood up and stretched before bending to her pack of supplies and removing some small packages.
Then she turned to Springfield. "I've sedated all of these men so I'm a bit worried about cold and exposure. Could you men help me get them all wrapped in emergency blankets?"
"Yes Ma'am."
"Elgin, any word on your radio about what's going on with evacuating these men to a hospital or ship board." She asked.
"L-C Greene and the others are on their way and he's called for the chopper to come back." Elgin answered. "Both of them should be here in a half hour or so."
"Well, I suppose we have nothing to do but wait." She smiled. "I'd like to thank you all for your help."
"No problem Ma'am." Springfield grinned at her, appreciating her thank you.
Springfield was impressed. The doctor had made sure the big galoot was sleeping soundly, then she'd cleaned and treated his wounds and had then treated the other two prisoners as well. She hadn't insisted that their bonds be released, but she had certainly made sure that they were a lot more comfortable than they had been and now she was showing patience as they waited.
"Elgin, can you handle the guard duty while Winchester and I scout a bit? We should see if there's a place where that chopper can land, as well as seeing if we can find any sign of that fourth fugitive."
"Certainly sir." Elgin answered.
Leaving Elgin and the doctor with the prisoners, Springfield and Winchester moved off. Springfield's first action was to check out a small area of low shrubs and grass that was only a hundred yards or so from the campsite. After determining that a helicopter could easily land there, he moved off toward the sound of the rushing stream. At least fifty feet or so from the clear channel he found that he had to stop, any further and he'd have to wade. The little stream wasn't that small right now, it had overflowed its banks and was flooding part of the bottom land, possibly because the tide was high, making the stream back up.
Winchester, who'd moved downstream a short distance, caught his attention with a quiet whistle and pointed out into the bay. Greene and his contingent were paddling toward them in inflatable rafts and were trying to paddle against the current of the stream as it flowed into the bay. Springfield waved them downstream hoping that there was an easier place for them to land, no sense in trying to land where the inflatable could be torn on some underwater bush or something. In actual fact, L-C Greene and his crew managed to land the rafts on the bank of a small knoll in a grassy area and had them drawn up well out of the water with the men ashore and adjusting their kit by the time Springfield reached them.
"Well Lieutenant Springfield, what have you to report?" L-C Greene demanded.
"Very little sir, the doctor has the three prisoners treated and ready to move out. Secondly, we found an area we can use for the chopper to land. So far there doesn't seem to be any sign of the fourth fugitive. Since we were assisting the doctor for most of the time, we haven't been able to do much of anything else."
"Right, let's look at this landing area first, we'll need to have the prisoners ready to fly out in under half an hour and from the sounds of things, they'll be flown directly to Esquimalt."
"Yes sir, this way."
L-C Greene approved of the landing area they had chosen and they hurried to carry the three prisoners to a point nearby, then as soon as they heard the helicopter approaching, they set off a smoke signal. While it was coming in to land, Greene ordered the two JTF2 men and most of the other troops off to search for the fourth fugitive keeping only three troops and the doctor with him.
"Spread out, beat the bushes and find that man." Greene told the men. "I and these men will wait here in case you flush him out and we'll manage the loading of the prisoners. One more thing, be careful not to get attacked by those wild swine, I've been made to believe that they can be dangerous if they attack so watch your step. That's all. Care on."
He watched as the men moved off, then turned his attention to the comatose prisoners. After a second he frowned deeply and gestured at them sharply.
"Before we load those men on the helicopter, they will have to be retied with their hands in front of their bodies. Tied like that while they're under sedation, they could injure their arms and shoulders."
"But sir, what if they awaken while in transport? They have much more freedom of movement if their hands are in front of them and that could be dangerous." Dr Baker protested.
"Well, have you sedated them for long enough that they'll remain unconscious during transport to Esquimalt or not?"
"Yes sir, but I based the amount of sedative on a field estimate of their body mass. I can't guarantee the accuracy . . ."
"Oh nonsense, I trust your judgement Lieutenant Baker." He turned back to the seamen. "You heard me, redo those restraints for transport."
Dr. Fran Baker felt that L-C Greene was wrong in his actions with regard to the restraint of the prisoners but there was nothing she could do about it. At least he sent one of his men along to guard the prisoners for the flight. As well, he had the chopper ferry Dr. Baker back to the upper plateau but insisted that the copter pick up Able Seaman Mathews in her place. She would fly to Esquimalt with the prisoners to act as a medical presence since Dr. Baker refused to leave because of her other patients on the island.
When Fran had hurried out of the house, Ely followed her out to the porch, but was surprised that the doctor never even paused to speak to Karl.
"Damn." She swore quietly as she watched Fran hurry off.
"What's wrong?" Karl asked quietly.
"I don't know, I hugged Fran to say thank you for all the help she's been giving us and she looked like she was going to break into tears, I hope I didn't do something to upset her."
"Ah, I understand." Karl sighed softly. "I think you just surprised her by acting as a friend. Can you imagine being a doctor and working with a cold ass, so-'n-so like L-C Greene? She's probably starved for friendship and affection."
"I hope that's all it is." Ely sighed. "I guess I worry too much about incidentals."
"Oh I don't agree there" Karl smiled and walked over to hug her gently. "I think you worry about things that need some thought."
"Well, right now, I'd better go worry about the rest of my family." She sighed. "Dad's already got the kids helping him to monitor the radio and Trudy is trying to relax some of her aches out in the tub, but I'd better go upstairs and relieve Linda for a while. What are you going to do?"
"Is Trudy having her bath downstairs?" At her nod, he grinned. "Well, once she's out of there, I'm going to fix the floor and put in that toilet we brought from the other house. But for now, since every time those Navy boys fly in with a chopper they make the goats go nuts, I guess I'd better get someone to give me a hand and herd them all into the lower pasture."
"Do you think it would be safe for the David and Mary-Beth to help you? I mean with the Navy here, it should be, shouldn't it? I think they'd like that a lot, just getting them out of the house for a little while would be good."
"That sounds good to me." Karl grinned. "That's if you can talk George into parting with them for long enough to let them help."
"Huh." She snorted. "Just watch me."
Karl wasn't surprised when David and Mary-Beth came out on the porch in only a few minutes, but he was surprised that Linda came with them. She walked over to him and handed him the .45 revolver.
"I'm coming along and carrying the little pistol." She said abruptly. "Even if half the fucking army was here, I'd want you and I armed if these kids are going to be out there right now."
"But, they've caught the guy who... "
"So what?" She snapped, interrupting him. "They caught three guys, who says the fourth one isn't even worse? I'd insist on rifles, but since we're going to be running around chasing goats, handguns are easier to carry."
Karl knew enough not to argue, perhaps in a way she was right. He wasn't surprised when they were intercepted by the young woman on guard duty who wanted to know what they were up to. When he explained, he had to refuse her offer to have the Navy crew do the job, telling her that he and the kids needed the exercise. While Karl, Linda, and Mary-Beth started the herd of goats plus the cow and calf down the field, David ran ahead to open the gate to the lower pasture, then he circled around to help with the herding. By the time they had done the job and were heading back toward the house, the military crew was just moving out, leaving only the radio operator and a pair of guards behind.
Since Trudy was still relaxing in the tub, Karl spoke to George for a few moments, then wandered out and talked to the radio operator before going back to the house. By the time he got back, Trudy was out of the bathroom, so Karl got busy on restoring the bathroom to full working condition. He had help from David and from Ely at times, but mostly he worked on his own and in only a short time he had the floor and the plumbing roughed in. All he needed to do was to reseat the toilet itself and connect the water. By the time he'd fought the toilet into place he was quite tired and since it was time for lunch anyway, he decided to take a break before tackling the job of jury rigging a water supply.
Everyone except Linda and Keri were ready to sit down to lunch when they heard the helicopter come in and land down below. For some reason that he would never be able to explain, Karl decided he wanted to see the helicopter take the prisoners away. He excused himself from the table and walked out onto the porch.
When the helicopter lifted from down below and then landed in the goat yard, Karl was surprised to see the young woman who had been acting as a guard waiting for it and even more surprised to see her climb inside after the doctor climbed out. When the young woman's body came flying back outward, knocking the doctor to the ground, Karl wheeled and grabbed his rifle from inside the door, then set off at a run toward the gate to the field.
As he ran, he saw the copter actually quiver as if something large were being thrown around inside it and then the huge body of the man that he had seen before came leaping out. Karl didn't pause to think, he simply stopped, raised his rifle, and shot. His shot was echoed by one from the helicopter and another from the remaining Navy guard who stood near the goat shed. Although Karl levered another shell into his rifle, he knew it wasn't needed. This time a Kevlar vest wouldn't do the crook any good, he hadn't aimed for the man's chest. Even while he was reloading his rifle, Karl was running toward the fallen bodies of the doctor and the young woman. By the time he had reached them, both women were showing signs of movement and the helicopter pilot was looking out the door.
"Hold it sir. Drop your rifle and stay where you are." The pilot ordered, holding a pistol aimed at Karl.
It took Karl an instant to realise that the order was meant for him and he stared at the pilot in surprise, but he slowly lowered his rifle.
"It's all right Captain." He heard the guard call from behind him. "This man lives here. He's one of the people we're protecting."
"Right." Dr. Baker said shortly. "Only, I'd say in this case he was the one protecting us. Thank you, Karl. Good shot."
"Jesus Christ, how did that big bastard get loose." The pilot snapped.
The little service woman who had rolled from on top of Dr. Baker sat up. Sitting up, she muttered; "He was loose. He just exploded upward and he kicked me. He kicked me so hard that I flew right out of the chopper."
She gasped, then and holding her chest, she seemed to crumple. The doctor shifted to look at her closely, then grabbed her wrist.
"Captain, radio back to L-C Greene and get some help up here. We've got a woman who needs to be carried on a stretcher and a dead man who needs to be loaded back onto your helicopter. Don't anyone touch that man for now though. Leave him where he is for the moment."
"Yes Ma'am." The pilot disappeared back inside the chopper.
"Wilcox, in my pack there are some emergency blankets. Cover the dead man with one and give me one for Mathews." Dr. Baker ordered the guard who had come up. "Don't touch any bodily fluids of the dead man and wear some of the latex gloves out of the medical pack."
"Yes Ma'am." The guard said quietly moving to obey her
"Are you sure the son of a bitch is dead?" Karl growled. "The cock sucker came back to life on me once before."
"Yes Karl, I don't even have to look, however right now I have a young woman here who probably has broken ribs. I'm the only doctor around, but I'm also the senior officer here, so I'm in charge. I want you get to hell back to the house and stay there. I'll speak to you later."
"Yes Ma'am." Karl said quietly and walked slowly toward the house.
Keri awakened in Linda's arms but the first thing she thought of was the bathroom, then she realised that she hurt badly. Oh, and was she ever thirsty, her mouth was bone dry. All she could do was moan.
"Oh, you're awake." Linda sighed and then to Keri's delight, she helped her sit up and held a glass of water to her lips. "Ely said you'd be very thirsty."
After Keri's first sip of water, Linda pulled the glass away.
"Sorry Love, but Ely said to just let you sip a bit at a time, not gulp too much at once." She sighed, her eyes brimming with tears.
Keri nodded, able now to lick her lips and try to smile.
"More?" She pleaded, her voice a croaking sound.
Another sip, then a pause, another sip and suddenly Keri had to go to the bathroom. Her guts almost tied in a knot as she cramped up.
"Toilet!" She groaned.
It was all she could do to get to the toilet even with Linda helping her. She hurt so much it was hard to move but once she was there, the relief was tremendous. Keri actually moaned as her bladder drained.
"Are you okay?" Linda seemed so tender, so caring.
"Oh God, it's such a relief." Keri couldn't help it. The feeling was so intense that she actually felt tears come to her eyes.
Linda smiled at her and began to run the tub full of water.
"When you're done there, how about a nice warm bath?"
"I guess, but... is it raining?"
"No, it looks like it might, but I don't think it is now."
"Then could you help me to step out on the deck? I don't know why, but I just want some fresh air first."
"Honey, if I have to go downstairs and throw your dad out of his wheelchair, we're going out on the deck then." Linda smiled at her.
"Oh, I might be slow, but I think I can walk." Keri smiled back. "I do hurt though, so let's take it easy."
They made it out to the deck and when Keri saw the tents, Linda explained that Karl and George had called in the Navy people. Linda had just told her that Karl hadn't killed Keri's attacker, but that two special agents who were there with the Navy had caught him, when they heard the helicopter. They watched it land and then watched in shock at the happenings that followed. Keri had gone white and whimpered when she saw her attacker dive out of the helicopter and then gain his feet, but she had heaved a sigh and collapsed after he was shot. Somehow, Linda managed to get her back to bed, then ran downstairs to get Ely.
Keri's eyes were open when Linda and Ely came racing back into the room.
"Is he dead?" She demanded. "Did Karl kill that bastard this time?"
"We don't know yet." Ely answered.
"Well find out!" Keri demanded. "I've got to know."
Ely hurried downstairs, meeting Karl at the front steps to the porch.
"Keri wants to know, is that bastard dead?"
Karl just nodded, then slowly collapsed into one of the deck chairs as Ely raced back inside. At the moment he felt very old.
When L-C Greene had insisted that the prisoner's arms be fastened in front of them for the flight, Dr. Baker had protested, but she was alone in her protest, so as she climbed into the helicopter herself, she felt uneasy. Just to be sure, she did a quick check on the prisoners after she was inside the chopper. All of them seemed to be fully relaxed and still under the influence of the sedative that she had administered, but then it was meant to last for a minimum of an hour, she relaxed slightly during the short flight up to the plateau.
As the chopper settled in for a landing, she heard a slight grinding noise that she couldn't place, but not being an experienced flier, she simply thought it was another of the odd sounds a helicopter makes. As soon as she saw Able Seaman Mathews appear at the open door, she handed out her pack and her medical bag, then climbed out herself. While she bent to pick up her burden, Mathews was boarding. Dr. Baker was completely unprepared for Mathews body to come hurtling backward out of the helicopter to land atop her, sending both of them sprawling on the ground.
Even as she hit the ground and had the breath knocked from her, she twisted, trying to get free of Mathews weight, trying to get up, trying to free her sidearm so she could use it to protect herself. She knew instantly that one of the prisoners had broken free and that he was dangerous. She knew that she had to get up and help the single guard who was still in the copter but Mathews' body held her down, slowing her movement. She saw the huge prisoner get to his feet, saw him physically throw the remaining guard like he was tossing a fly. Then the massive felon was leaping out, regaining his feet, somehow he was free and on the ground outside the helicopter.
He was towering over her, his eyes like gimlets as he glared at her, still she struggled to move, fought to protect herself and time seemed to slow. She knew the gigantic towering menace was going to kill her, yet she was helpless. She saw his hand lift and somehow had the time to notice the blood on his wrist, he'd injured himself as he'd struggled to get free. That hand was a claw and she knew it was going to tear her throat open...
Then she heard a shot and immediately saw the glowering face balloon for an instant, then turn to mush and be thrown to one side against one of the gigantic shoulders. Almost instantly she heard another shot and then a third, both coming so close together they were almost simultaneous. The towering body was hit, thrown to the side and away from her as it crashed to the ground. Finally she managed to get a grip on Mathews body and begin to press her aside to gain her freedom.
Her mind was still operating at tremendous speed, she was high on adrenaline. Somehow she knew that the first shot she had heard had been Karl's. The sound of the shot had been different from a military weapon. The second shot was a military rifle and the third a pistol of some sort. She struggled to regain her feet and she saw Karl coming toward her, his rifle at his hip but still pointed and ready.
"Hold it, sir. Drop your rifle and stay where you are." She heard the pilot order and saw that he was holding a pistol aimed at Karl.
She saw Karl pause and stare at the pilot in surprise, but lowered his rifle.
Instantly her mind dropped into command mode. She had to be a doctor, but since she was the highest ranked officer on the site, she had to make decisions instantly. She began to set things into order, simply telling people what to do and operating by rote. She even ordered Karl to move away.
"I want you get to hell back to the house and stay there. I'll speak to you later." She told him brusquely.
"Yes Ma'am." He said to her surprise and she took an instant to stare at his retreating back, he didn't sound like himself.
She realised she didn't have time to worry about that right now. Ordering Mathews to lie still, she moved to the chopper to see about the condition of the other two prisoners and the guard. Both prisoners seemed to be still under the influence of the sedative, but the guard was lying buckled over a seat in an awkward position. Just from the angle of his arm, she knew he was injured, perhaps he had a dislocated shoulder. Leaving him, she turned to the pilot who was just putting down the microphone from the radio.
"Captain, are you done with your calls?" She asked.
"Yeah, that stupid ass wanted to know what you did wrong, ma'am. I set him straight that it was his fault for tying that crook's hands where he could get free."
"Thank you for your support, Captain, but you shouldn't have done that, he is a commanding officer."
"Ma'am, this is just between you and me, but he's a commanding ass. I should have backed you up on the issue of their hands, but I was busy with the chopper and missed my chance. I don't care who knows how I feel, I'm a civilian pilot and not regular military, I just got drawn into this because I was needed, so fuck the palaver and the bullshit. I tell 'em like I see 'em. Now, how long do you expect that we'll be on the ground?"
"Oh... uh, well... we need help to move people, and as well we shouldn't shift things until there's been witnesses to what went on. Why, is there a problem?"
"Fuel Ma'am." The pilot sighed. "If I let the chopper idle for long, I'll need fuel before I can go anywhere."
"Then it would help to shut down?"
"Yes Ma'am."
"So do it." She ordered. "Peacock can handle radio traffic."
"Oh, the batteries will be good for a while, this thing is rigged for extra batteries because of all the cameras and gear it carries." The pilot smiled as he set about shutting down the craft.
"When you're done shutting down, I could use a hand here." Dr Baker said as she turned back to the injured guard.
"Can I help with that, Ma'am?" Wilcox, asked from outside the door.
"No, you're on guard duty. I want you to keep an eye out." She snapped. "Would you check on Mathews please, is she breathing okay?"
"Yes Ma'am, she's fine." He answered. "She appears to be in pain and her breathing is shallow and laboured. Her heart beat is rapid but steady. However, she's still under stress, if she has broken ribs, that's within the norm."
Dr Baker looked up at him in surprise. "Do you have medical training?"
"Not really, but I was a volunteer fireman before I got into the Navy." He answered. "I used to attend a few EMT calls. Mathews will be okay if she get's proper care."
"Okay, you may be flying out on this chopper later because of that EMT experience. I still need you to keep guard for now though." She replied, trying to ease the injured sailor into a better position.
In only a moment the pilot was helping her and they got him turned, then settled on the floor. She found that he had a dislocated shoulder, a broken jaw, and probably a concussion. From his laboured breathing, she suspected he had cracked or broken ribs as well. She just didn't have the facilities to treat either him or Mathews properly.
"Damn, this man needs to go to the hospital, so does Mathews." She announced. "But I have to take a chance, we need to reseat his shoulder now. It can't wait or it will require an operation to put it back into position. Wilcox, get in here a moment, we'll let the Flight Captain here keep an eye out from the cargo door. I need you to hold this man's body steady while I try to put his shoulder joint back in place."
"Ma'am, I've done that before and sometimes it takes a lot of strength." Wilcox said as he scrambled into the chopper.
"I know Wilcox, but what I'm more worried about is having him shift inadvertently, we could puncture a lung with the end of a broken rib if things went wrong."
They carefully positioned both their patient and themselves and then began by gently applying pressure. To the surprise of both of them, they had hardly applied any pressure when the man's shoulder made a dull popping sound and seemed to jump back into place almost on it's own.
Dr Baker looked at Wilcox and smiled. "Thank you, Wilcox."
"Yes Ma'am." Wilcox said quietly. "That has to be the easiest replacement of a dislocation on the books."
"I think when they x-ray this man, they're going to find that he has damage to that socket from previous injuries." She said quietly. "It popped into place like it had been dislocated before."
"Someone's coming on the run." The pilot broke in at that moment. "In uniform though."
Wilcox was out the door, on the ground, and standing guard almost instantly, then he snorted.
"It's Springfield, Ma'am." He said, then chuckled. "Of course he'd be the first guy back. He's on the ball. Oh, there comes Elgin too, Ma'am. That's not a surprise either."
Dr Baker breathed easier at that news. When Springfield got to the chopper, she explained in detail what had happened. While she spoke, she was finishing any treatment she could on the guard and then doing what she could do for Mathews.
Springfield was furious that L-C Greene had insisted the men be retied with their hands in front but managed to conceal his anger. When Dr Baker asked about L-C Greene and the rest of the men, he had to tell her that he and Elgin had been ordered to climb up and assist her, but that all the others, including Winchester, were still hunting the last fugitive. He watched her grit her teeth but was surprised when after a few seconds of thought, she spoke calmly.
"All right, if that's the way things are, that's what they are. Wilcox, you will go in the chopper just in case an emergency crops up with either of our two injured. Elgin, you go too, you're there mainly to guard the two prisoners. We'll wrap up the corpse of the rapist in another of those emergency blankets to make sure no one touches him for now and we'll send him along." She turned to the pilot. "You'll fly directly to the base at Esquimalt and get these patients under care as quickly as possible. That is if you have enough fuel, if not and if you have to land for fuel anywhere else, you'll be the only one to leave the helicopter during refuelling. Understand?"
"I can make Esquimalt fine, but that leaves you with just one man here, Ma'am." The pilot protested.
"We'll do just fine." She said firmly. "We've got Peacock on the radio as well."
"What do we say when they want a report about the situation?" Elgin asked.
"Just tell the truth." Springfield said quietly. "There won't be any whitewash on this situation."
"Yes Sir." Wilcox snapped
Springfield saw that Wilcox had to work to keep the smile off of his face and guessed that he had little love for L-C Greene. He imagined that Wilcox's report was going to be somewhat caustic and wouldn't leave out anything that had happened. He shrugged, knowing that part of that report would show that he, himself, had actually gone outside of L-C Greene's orders, that didn't really bother him much, he'd been reprimanded by the regular forces before, this wasn't going to be something new.
It only took a few minutes before the chopper was loaded and it had lifted off. Once they were in the air and levelled off in flight, the pilot turned to Wilcox who was riding in the jump seat.
"Does she really know what she's doing? She does only have the one effective man."
"Hmph." Wilcox snorted. "She's got Springfield, Peacock, and ol' Karl, that's about equal to a fucking regiment."
"I don't get you?"
"Springfield is JTF2, that means the best of the best in all of the forces. Peacock is not only a great radio op, but he's also a crack shot. Karl put a shot in that big galoots head at about a hundred yards... while running as hard as he could. To top that off, I heard a rumour that Karl claims the women in the house can out shoot him four ways from Sunday. Right now that place is like a killer bee's nest that's been disturbed, anyone walking in there and trying to raise trouble would be in deep trouble themselves. I'd rather tackle getting into Fort Knox than try to attack that place."
"Oh, I forgot about the civilians." The pilot was a lot quieter.
"Well, the rumour was that Karl warned L-C Greene that if the guy who raped the women showed up on their doorstep, they'd treat him like a varmint. I'd say Greene should have listened a little closer."
The rest of the flight back to Esquimalt was made with hardly any conversation.
As the helicopter flew off, Dr Baker and Springfield both sighed softly, then turned and stared at each other.
"Why did you sigh, Springfield?" The doctor asked quietly.
"I should have 'accidentally' held that sleeper hold just a bit longer when I put Karpichov out, then neither of those people would have gotten hurt." He answered honestly. "But I'll deny I said that if you repeat it."
Dr Baker smiled. "And I was thinking that I should have either given him a larger dose of sedative because of his size or insisted that Greene leave his hands double tied and behind his back."
"I can't believe Greene had the bastard's hands retied. In the front?" Springfield asked incredulously.
"Yeah, I protested, but he said the men were asleep, so what did it matter. Having them tied in front was supposed to make it easier to transport them and as well, he said it was more humane. He didn't want to have anyone in his command accused of maltreating a prisoner."
"Well, those plasti-cuffs were temporary anyway. Why didn't he at least use regular handcuffs? I know he had several pairs issued for this mission, this was a police action and we were expecting up to half a dozen arrests."
"I really don't know anything about that. But I'd best get busy. Right now I want to check in with Leading Seaman Peacock. First to report to Esquimalt that the chopper is coming back with two injured personnel, two prisoners, and a body. Then secondly I want to check if there are any preliminary results from those blood tests. After that I want to see Keri and Trudy to see how they are doing. I wish we had one more man up here to spell you off. Before you do anything else I'd like you to speak with Karl. I think his having to actually shoot that big brute upset him badly and I think he'd listen to you if you told him it was necessary."
"Oh don't get him wrong. He knows it was necessary but it probably still upset him. By the way, if you want, I can have a man here in under a quarter hour. Remember there are still two men at Karl's boat. I can have Gatling send up his mate. He'd be fine on his own for a while."
"Which would leave him alone on the boat with a fugitive still free and running loose in that area? I don't like that either. I suppose we can make do for the two-hour round trip the chopper will take getting to Esquimalt. Either that, or I'll get help from down bottom, L-C Greene has got to be made to understand that we need help up here. Now I have to get over to Peacock. You can check to make sure that the area is relatively secure, then please talk to Karl."
"Ma'am, I would like to have a second man here. In fact, I pretty well need him." Springfield said quietly. "He can always rush back to the boat if necessary. Besides, Greene's going to want to keep the men down there for support of his hunt. What worries me is that the guy they're hunting for may have found a way to climb up the cliffs and is up in this area. I'm not as pessimistic as Karl about someone scaling those cliffs."
"My military training isn't up to yours, Springfield, so you do what you think best." She said as she turned away. "I'll warn Peacock to have a sidearm handy though, since you think we may have a surprise visitor."
"Now. I really don't expect to be under attack..." Springfield started to say, but his voice trailed off as he realised he was only speaking to her back as she hurried away.