“What makes you say that?” Whitney asked, curious about his reasoning.
“I don’t know Baker, but I don’t think he would be able to get away with his crimes if someone above him wasn’t looking the other way.”
“You make a good point, but Baker could still be the man we’re looking for. If he did have someone covering for him, who could it be? The Coast Guard is federal. Maybe his superior officer? Everyone has a boss somewhere.” When Theo shrugged, she fisted her hands on her hips in frustration. “This is when I need my computer. If I could just do some research, I could really dig into Baker’s background and see who he does business with, who his friends are, things like that. I bet we could answer a lot of our questions with just a few minutes on the web.”
The FWC officer exited the building and approached them, nodding in the direction of the helicopter. “I’m done here. Are you ready to go?”
“Sure thing,” Whitney answered. “Can you drop us off at the local Marshals’ office?”
“I can get you to the nearest sheriff’s office,” the officer answered. “But after that, you’re on your own unless they can help. Kilpatrick and I have been tasked with getting survivors out of the park. We don’t want to delay any longer than we already have, in case there are others that are stuck and in a dire situation.” He grimaced. “I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful.”
Whitney shook her head. “You saved our lives, Officer. We owe you our thanks.”
The FWC officer offered her his hand and she shook it. “You’re welcome.” He appeared pleased but shy at the same time. Had she ever been that new on the job? He looked like he had just graduated from the academy last week.
“Did you know Senators Harvey and Pratt are here?” he said as he motioned to the pilot to start up the aircraft. “They came down from Washington to inspect the storm damage. I think they’re going to officially ask the president to have this area deemed a disaster area so the victims can be eligible for federal funds to rebuild. We’re going to fly them around later this afternoon.”
Whitney saw the stars in his eyes and she smiled. “Are these the first dignitaries you’ve gotten to host?”
“Yes, ma’am. It will be quite an honor.”
Theo got on the helicopter then turned and helped Whitney climb aboard as the rotors started to turn. The FWC officer and Kilpatrick followed her, and the four of them put on their seat belts and then their headsets so they could communicate and hear the pilot during the flight.
The rotor speed increased and the aircraft slowly lifted into the sky. They’d left the doors open on both sides of the helicopter, and a wave of hot, moist air hit them as they rose. Whitney watched as the building got smaller and smaller beneath them, then turned and saw the basket where Shorty’s body lay, wrapped in a body bag. This helicopter and the first responders had been a godsend, and she felt herself relaxing for the first time in days. Perhaps they were going to survive this ordeal, after all. There had been moments when she had truly wondered...
A bullet suddenly slammed into the side of the helicopter. The aircraft dipped and bucked from the force of the shot, and Whitney grabbed Theo’s hand and gritted her teeth. She glanced over at his rounded eyes and they both began looking for the source of the shots. Theo gripped her hand tightly, almost painfully, and his other hand suddenly rubbed his stomach. It was obvious that the sudden rough flight was bothering him, not to mention being shot at once again.
Whitney could just make out the shape of an airboat below them, but it quickly was lost from sight as the helicopter veered, trying to escape the onslaught.
Another bullet suddenly hit the tail rotor and then two more shots also hit in almost the identical spot in quick succession. Small bits of metal flew into the air as the blades broke into pieces. The fifth bullet hit the engine under the main rotor and Whitney could see smoke start to pour from the engine above them. The helicopter started to spin and Whitney gripped the seat for support. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the pilot struggling for control of the aircraft.
“Hold on,” the pilot yelled into his microphone. “We’ve got to autorotate to the ground, and it’s going to be a rough landing!”
The engine had totally disengaged from the main rotor system and the blades were solely being driven by the upward flow of air through the main rotor on top of the aircraft. The engine’s rotational speed had drastically fallen below the rotor rotational speed, so the pilot was desperately trying to fly the helicopter by using the freewheeling unit—a special clutch mechanism that had disengaged the engine from the main rotor and allowed the main rotor to rotate freely.
The tail rose and the nose dipped, and then the helicopter spun clockwise around and around as the pilot continued to struggle for control. The aircraft tipped to the right as it sank toward the earth. The top rotors smashed into the ground first, then broke into pieces and flew in all directions. Several pieces of the shattered rotor suddenly flew into the passenger compartment and lodged into the FWC officer’s side and neck. He screamed in pain before his body silently slumped in the seat belt and a sea of red spread across his shirt. Kilpatrick, Whitney and Theo all reached over to help him, but their efforts were in vain as the helicopter crashed seconds later.
* * *
Theo turned his body the best he could to shield Whitney from the flying debris, but he was being jolted around so much by the crash that it was almost impossible to control his movements. He could see the terror in her eyes and was sure the fear was reflected in his own, as well. When would this nightmare end? The helicopter body bounced once then twice against the ground, the turning rotors breaking the fall a small amount as the remaining pieces embedded themselves into the wet marshy land. With a groan, the aircraft settled then sank another foot or so as water immediately started seeping in through the open door.
Theo moved his head slightly and saw the FWC officer’s sightless eyes staring back at him. Blood still seeped from his wounds, but it was obvious the man was dead. Theo turned his head, frantically scanning the inside of the helicopter. Torn and damaged machinery, broken glass and ripped fabric met his glance everywhere he looked, but his only concern was the other three lives on the helicopter.
Had Whitney survived?
He raised his head an inch or so and looked to his left, amazed that his rimless glasses, while cockeyed, were still on his face. He lifted his right hand, adjusted them and then tried to sit up, forgetting for a moment that the seat belt still held him tightly against the seat. He reached down and unsnapped the belt, then sat up quickly and awkwardly pulled himself out of the straps. The helicopter was tilted at an angle, but he wedged himself against the seat and frame of the helicopter until he was free and able to move around.
Whitney suddenly groaned and moved a bit, and a wave of relief swept over Theo. She was alive, but for how long? He touched her shoulder, then cupped her cheek in his hand, needing to make sure she didn’t have any life-threatening injuries. His heart beat erratically against his rib cage as fear enveloped him.
“Are you okay? Tell me what you’re feeling.”
She didn’t answer right away, amplifying his distress.
Was he going to lose her? A knot of fear still pulsed painfully in his chest as he frantically checked her for injuries. Suddenly he was flooded with images of when he’d been in the emergency room working when his wife had been brought in on a stretcher, bloody and broken. He had checked her, too, and moments later she had died right in front of him. Would the same thing happen today with Whitney? A new and paralyzing wave of panic swept over Theo, freezing his muscles and making it hard for him to even breathe.
Whitney opened her eyes and took a moment to focus. He tried to give her an encouraging smile, despite the turmoil within him. He brushed the hair out of her eyes. “Are you okay?”
“I think so.” She quickly looked around the inside of the helicopter,
then returned her eyes to Theo. They were filled with worry. “How about you? Are you hurt? What about the others?”
“I’m good,” he answered, and said a quick and silent prayer of thanks to God for saving Whitney’s life. “The FWC officer is dead. Pieces of shrapnel from the rotor blade killed him before we even hit the ground. I don’t know about the other two. It looks like Kilpatrick has been knocked unconscious, and I haven’t heard or seen anything from the pilot yet.” Theo watched her carefully as she slowly returned to herself and recovered from the crash. She tested out her arms and legs and relief washed over him. They had been thrown around quite a bit during the crash, but their seat belts had probably saved their lives by holding them fast against the seats.
“Everything seems to be working the way it should,” she said with a touch of awe. “I can’t believe we’re still alive after being shot out of the sky!”
Theo smiled to himself. Even after a helicopter crash, Whitney was able to draw on her inner strength and wouldn’t give up. There were no tears, just resolve and determination. She was one incredible woman. “Let me help you get out of that seat belt.”
They worked together to free her of the straps, then turned their attention to Kilpatrick, who was groaning as he regained consciousness. The EMT’s head was bleeding on the left side where something had apparently struck him during the crash, but it didn’t seem like a life-threatening wound. Together, they helped him extricate himself from the straps and then turned their attention to the pilot, who was still silent at the front of the helicopter.
“Hey, buddy, are you okay over there?” Kilpatrick called. There was no answer, There was also no way to reach the pilot since the crash had virtually blocked off access to the cockpit.
“We’ll have to try to get him from the outside,” Whitney stated as she awkwardly tried to balance herself against the side of the helicopter. “I can’t even reach him to see if he’s alive or not.”
The aircraft suddenly shifted and groaned as it moved in the marshy water, and the three of them gripped the frame to steady themselves. Dirty brown water was slowly seeping into the floor through the cracks and the holes the crash had caused.
“I guess we landed in the swamp,” Kilpatrick quipped, but there was anxiety in his voice rather than mirth.
“Let’s get out of here first and then see what we can do for the pilot,” Whitney suggested.
“Hopefully the crash scared away the alligators and the crocodiles,” Theo added. “But please keep an eye out, just in case. We don’t want one to come after us because we inadvertently disturbed one of their nests.”
Sudden engine noise assailed them. It was so loud, it was deafening. Whitney dove for the Glock 17 strapped to the waist of the dead FWC officer. She pulled the pistol from the holster, then chambered a round and slipped her finger on the trigger. She pointed the weapon at the roof of the helicopter for safety, her body tense but motionless as she assessed the danger.
Theo watched Whitney in silent admiration. Even barely recovered from a helicopter crash, she was ready to defend them all against this newest peril. He knew, like the rest of them, that whoever was out there in that boat was dangerous and an immediate threat. They had obviously been the ones that had shot down the helicopter, and had now apparently arrived to finish the job. Even with Whitney armed once again, he didn’t see how they were going to survive even the next ten minutes. He felt like a sitting duck in a metal cage.
The engine noise increased then abruptly stopped, but the drone of the propeller blades continued as the airboat powered down.
“Come on out of there!” someone ordered from outside the downed aircraft. The voice, heavily accented, was deep and menacing.
“People are hurt,” Theo yelled back. “We could use some help.” He met Whitney’s eye and could tell that she instantly understood he was luring them in so she could fire at will to protect them, if needed. Theo smiled, despite the anxiety growing inside him, glad that they could communicate so well with just a look between them. There was a host of feelings and thoughts he hadn’t even had time to process spinning throughout his head, but he had to focus on the here and now.
“Come out with your hands up. Then we’ll help the others,” the voice answered.
“We need help now,” Theo repeated loudly. “We can’t leave them.”
The helicopter’s angle limited their field of vision, so none of them could really see what was happening outside the cabin, but they heard noises, as if someone was approaching. The next thing they knew, a volley of shots was being fired into the cockpit. They all ducked instinctively at the sound, knowing that, no matter what the pilot’s condition was before, he was now undoubtedly dead.
“The next group of bullets will go straight into the cabin,” the accented voice said once the gun stopped firing. “Come out now or you’re all dead.”
Kilpatrick’s eyes rounded. “Who are these guys?”
“Your worst nightmare,” Theo answered. He turned to Whitney. “Once we’re outside, I’ll try to distract them. Then you take out as many as you can with your pistol.”
“Hold on,” Kilpatrick protested, putting his hands up. “They’ll kill us all for sure if you do that.”
“They’re not here to save us,” Whitney told him quietly. “They shot us out of the sky for a reason, and you saw what they just did to the pilot.”
“Maybe we can persuade them...” Kilpatrick said, his tone hopeful.
“That’s not how they operate,” Theo answered. He turned to Kilpatrick and motioned to the seat where he had been strapped in only moments before. “Stay in the helicopter and don’t make a sound. In fact, put your seat belt back on and pretend you’re dead, just in case they look. It’s the two of us they want. If they think you’ve already been killed, you might just survive.”
Theo turned to Whitney, who was only a few inches away, and touched her cheek gently with the back of his hand. Their eyes locked and he gave her a small smile, knowing this might very well be the last chance he would ever have to talk to her and say what was in his heart. “I’m falling in love with you,” he said softly for her ears alone. Then he turned, leaned over and started maneuvering out of the helicopter door.
SIXTEEN
Whitney was stunned by Theo’s words, yet a wave of warmth and happiness spread over her, despite the seriousness of their situation. Theo Roberts, the smart, handsome, gentle-hearted scientist who had been her rock and comfort the last few days, was falling in love with her! Yet despite the love she had seen in his eyes as he’d spoken, the fear in her chest intensified. Was she going to lose him in a matter of minutes at the hands of the drug dealers? Whoever was waiting outside was obviously armed to the teeth and ready to kill them the moment they climbed out of the helicopter.
She hid the pistol in the waistband of her shorts and covered it with her T-shirt, then followed Theo out the side cabin door. Her feet landed in a sludge of muddy water and vegetation as she pulled herself through the opening, and she shielded her eyes from the sun as she made her way out, hoping there was no unfriendly wildlife anywhere nearby.
Three men waited outside with Theo. Two of them sported automatic weapons that they pointed at Whitney as she emerged. The third, the apparent leader of the group, stood on the bow of the airboat. He wasn’t holding a weapon, but she could see a pistol strapped to his waist. “Anyone else in there?” the leader asked as one of the two riflemen took a step toward her.
“There are a couple of bodies still inside, if that’s what you mean,” she said with derision, hopeful that her tone and attitude would keep them from checking and realizing that Kilpatrick was still alive and breathing. “Shooting a helicopter out of the sky tends to kill people.”
Theo suddenly purposefully stumbled and shoved one of the men holding an automatic rifle. Bullets fired aimlessly at the sky as he tried to recover.
Whit
ney whipped the pistol from her waist and fired once at the man standing on the boat. The bullet caught him square in the chest and he fell forward into the marshy wetland, dead before his body even hit the ground. She quickly turned and fired at the other armed man standing silently to her right and fired again, just as he was bringing the rifle to bear on her. The bullet also hit center mass, and his body dropped to the ground only a few feet away.
“Freeze or that breath will be your last,” a voice commanded as she felt the barrel of a gun press against the back of her head.
Whitney obeyed, instantly recognizing the voice. It was Kilpatrick. Her heart filled with dread as she realized she had made a classic mistake. She had assumed Kilpatrick was a good guy and hadn’t bothered to check him for weapons. In fact, she hadn’t even considered that he could be on the drug dealers’ payroll. Now both she and Theo would pay the price for her mistake.
She slowly raised her hands. Kilpatrick pulled the pistol from her fingers and stashed it in his waistband, then lowered his gun until it was only pointing toward her chest instead of her head. “Go get in the boat. Now.”
She glanced over at Theo, who was standing by the other surviving drug dealer whose automatic rifle was pointed straight at Theo’s chest. The gunman motioned for him to follow Whitney to the boat, and the two of them slowly headed for the bow, struggling a bit as their feet got sucked into the muddy, spongy ground. A thick gray rope lay strung across the marsh a few feet in front of her, and Whitney did a double take as it moved. She screeched and stepped back several steps, pulling Theo with her right before he stepped on the rope. Only it was no rope. The water moccasin raised its head about four inches, his tongue slithering in and out as it cautiously watched them.
Gunfire erupted and the snake disintegrated into pieces right before their eyes. Whitney turned and looked at Kilpatrick, who was standing a few feet away, smoke still wafting from the barrel of his gun. It was interesting that he had killed the snake, but seemed to want to take Theo and her captive. Why didn’t he just kill them outright? She wasn’t anxious to die, but she did wonder about his motives. Did El Jefe still want to question them personally?
Everglades Escape Page 14