destination coordinates, and told him to lift
off when ready.
The leather jacket she wore was a gift from
David. It had captain’s bars on each shoulder, a flight surgeon’s badge on the
left front, and a name tag on the right side. Ignoring surprised expressions,
she buckled herself into the seat between the flight engineer and the PJ. When
her safety belt was fastened, she looked up to see the pilot and copilot looking
at her over their shoulders. She looked the pilot in the eye, and with the heel
of her right hand on her right thigh, she slowly tapped her fingers. He and the
copilot turned to face forward, and the helicopter lifted off.
Claire put on a headset and used the attached microphone
to brief everybody. Then she said to the PJ, “You were the only one they could
find?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m low man on the totem pole. I
had the duty. Everybody else was bugged out.”
“After this is over, I’ll buy you all a drink
at the low-man’s club.”
▼
On short fall days in the mountains, the sun
sets early, and it was dark when they arrived over the train wreck in the
mountain pass. A semicircle of fire flickered in the wreckage and reflected
from the adjacent mountainside, which blocked the only way out of the flames. Four
passenger cars and an engine were off the track on the inside of a curve, as if
an inside track had failed. That was the good luck, because the other side was
a cliff, and it was several hundred feet to the river below. The bad luck was
that people could be seen surrounded and trapped by the burning wreckage. Some
were lying down.
The fire’s turbulent updraft jolted the
helicopter and caused it to pitch and roll as it hovered over the fire. That
caused the PJ to swing in wide arcs at the end of the hoist cable while he was
being lowered. He turned to face the direction of his swing as he neared the
ground and made a running landing while simultaneously disconnecting from the
cable.
The pilot, who had been working hard to keep
his machine steady over the fire and avoid hitting the nearby mountain, said,
“You’ve got it.” The copilot, wearing night vision goggles, took control and
flew into the dark canyon’s smoother air while the cable was retrieved.
Next, the large bag of medical supplies was
lowered. As they circled back into clear air, Claire began putting on a harness
and said, “I’m going down next.”
After a brief silence, somebody said, “Ma’am?”
“You can all testify as witnesses. The black
box recorder will back you up. This is a direct order. I am going down next.”
There was no “Yes, ma’am” response, but the
flight engineer checked her harness and connected it to the cable while the
copilot circled back to the fire.
Approaching the circle of flames, the pilot
took control again. He hovered over the flames, and Claire began her descent. Despite
the cold air, light from the instrument panel and fire were reflected from perspiration
on the pilot’s forehead as he fought to keep the helicopter steady.
Claire swung at the end of the cable. At times,
it appeared she was going to land in the fire. Trembling with fear, she told
herself, You can do this . You can do this!
As she swung in a big arc near the ground, the
PJ caught her with one strong arm around her waist. Her momentum lifted him off
the ground while he disconnected her from the cable. Then he released her and
made sure they were far enough apart so each could make a safe parachute
landing fall.
Gratefully, she noted his name tag as they
stood up. But before she could thank him, he shouted, “What the
fuck are you doing?”
She looked him in the eye and said, “That
language is not appropriate when speaking to a superior officer, Sergeant
Bing.”
“What the fuck makes you think you’re superior
to me here? ”
“I know more about medicine, Sergeant.” His
eyes flicked down to her flight surgeon’s badge. He did not say anything, but
his face was still clouded by anger. She
off when ready.
The leather jacket she wore was a gift from
David. It had captain’s bars on each shoulder, a flight surgeon’s badge on the
left front, and a name tag on the right side. Ignoring surprised expressions,
she buckled herself into the seat between the flight engineer and the PJ. When
her safety belt was fastened, she looked up to see the pilot and copilot looking
at her over their shoulders. She looked the pilot in the eye, and with the heel
of her right hand on her right thigh, she slowly tapped her fingers. He and the
copilot turned to face forward, and the helicopter lifted off.
Claire put on a headset and used the attached microphone
to brief everybody. Then she said to the PJ, “You were the only one they could
find?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m low man on the totem pole. I
had the duty. Everybody else was bugged out.”
“After this is over, I’ll buy you all a drink
at the low-man’s club.”
▼
On short fall days in the mountains, the sun
sets early, and it was dark when they arrived over the train wreck in the
mountain pass. A semicircle of fire flickered in the wreckage and reflected
from the adjacent mountainside, which blocked the only way out of the flames. Four
passenger cars and an engine were off the track on the inside of a curve, as if
an inside track had failed. That was the good luck, because the other side was
a cliff, and it was several hundred feet to the river below. The bad luck was
that people could be seen surrounded and trapped by the burning wreckage. Some
were lying down.
The fire’s turbulent updraft jolted the
helicopter and caused it to pitch and roll as it hovered over the fire. That
caused the PJ to swing in wide arcs at the end of the hoist cable while he was
being lowered. He turned to face the direction of his swing as he neared the
ground and made a running landing while simultaneously disconnecting from the
cable.
The pilot, who had been working hard to keep
his machine steady over the fire and avoid hitting the nearby mountain, said,
“You’ve got it.” The copilot, wearing night vision goggles, took control and
flew into the dark canyon’s smoother air while the cable was retrieved.
Next, the large bag of medical supplies was
lowered. As they circled back into clear air, Claire began putting on a harness
and said, “I’m going down next.”
After a brief silence, somebody said, “Ma’am?”
“You can all testify as witnesses. The black
box recorder will back you up. This is a direct order. I am going down next.”
There was no “Yes, ma’am” response, but the
flight engineer checked her harness and connected it to the cable while the
copilot circled back to the fire.
Approaching the circle of flames, the pilot
took control again. He hovered over the flames, and Claire began her descent. Despite
the cold air, light from the instrument panel and fire were reflected from perspiration
on the pilot’s forehead as he fought to keep the helicopter steady.
Claire swung at the end of the cable. At times,
it appeared she was going to land in the fire. Trembling with fear, she told
herself, You can do this . You can do this!
As she swung in a big arc near the ground, the
PJ caught her with one strong arm around her waist. Her momentum lifted him off
the ground while he disconnected her from the cable. Then he released her and
made sure they were far enough apart so each could make a safe parachute
landing fall.
Gratefully, she noted his name tag as they
stood up. But before she could thank him, he shouted, “What the
fuck are you doing?”
She looked him in the eye and said, “That
language is not appropriate when speaking to a superior officer, Sergeant
Bing.”
“What the fuck makes you think you’re superior
to me here? ”
“I know more about medicine, Sergeant.” His
eyes flicked down to her flight surgeon’s badge. He did not say anything, but
his face was still clouded by anger. She
Similar Books
