As they moved closer, one of the boys spoke. "I think it's a ranger, Dad! We're safe."
Sam lifted her head, regaining her breath. Pull it together, Sam.
David Reingold scowled at the boy. "Shut it already, would ya? It doesn't look to me like she'll be helping us any. By the looks of her, she'll only slow us down."
The boy's shoulders slouched and he went quiet. Even though Sam despised David Reingold and all he stood for, she knew she needed information from him and possibly his assistance. She stood upright and moved forward, introducing herself. "I'm Ranger Tyler. I'm sorry, but I needed a minute to catch my breath back there. I'm assuming you were all on the helicopter that crashed?"
"Great, a brain surgeon," Reingold mumbled under his breath, studying Sam.
"Yes, ma'am and we sure are glad to see you," one of the other boys said. The boy paused, the anguish on his face explaining his difficulty speaking. "My dad and his lady friend are still trapped in the helicopter. We think they might be dead."
Sam cringed. Her eyes darted to Reingold. "What does he mean by he 'thinks' they might be dead?"
Reingold replied, emotionless. "When the helicopter crashed, it landed with its front end hanging over the edge of a cliff. I got the kids and myself out before it slid off the mountain. There wasn't time to rescue my brother and his friend. By some miracle, the helicopter landed between two large rock formations about thirty or forty feet below where we were standing. Didn't matter though. I yelled to them. No one answered. The helicopter was badly mangled. I figured them for dead."
"So that's when you started down the mountain?"
"Hell yeah! We were stranded there for hours. No one came to rescue us. So I decided we'd rescue ourselves."
"What about your brother and Ms. Walker?"
Reingold appeared surprised that Sam knew the name of their other passenger. "What about 'em? Like I said, they're probably dead. Look at us. We're a mess. We'll be lucky to get off this damn mountain before it gets dark."
They were a mess; dirty, wet, scraped up, and tired. She felt bad for the boys, but not for Reingold. "You'll be okay. I've got rescue equipment with me. I'm heading up the mountain to see what's what. I could use your help. They may still be alive."
"Yeah, and better chances are they're not. Look, I don't care what you do, lady. I'm tired of this already. The boys and I are out of here. I'm cold, I'm hungry, I'm wet, and I'm tired of all the bullshit."
Sam watched as two of the boys exchanged glances. Then the one boy spoke. "We'd like to go with you, ma'am, if you don't mind. That okay with you, Uncle David?"
"Suit yourself. I think you'd be better off with me, but do whatever you want."
Another gust of wind blew through, causing everyone but Jake to grab hold of a tree. When the wind subsided, Sam eyed the boys and forced a smile. "What are your names?"
"I'm Nate and this is Trevor, ma'am. You said our dad might still be alive. You really think so?"
"If I didn't, I wouldn't have come all this way to find you. You should go with your uncle though. You'd be safer. I can't risk you kids getting hurt."
"We'll follow you anyway if you don't take us along. Please?"
"Okay, fine. We'd better get moving though." She redirected her attention to Reingold. "I'm sorry you don't want to help us. Continue for about fifteen or twenty minutes in this direction," she said, pointing southwest. "You'll run into a hiking trail. Take the trail all the way to the end. You'll see my patrol vehicle at the bottom. Wait there. I'll call in to have someone meet you there."
"Great. I guess an ounce of help is better than none," he smirked. "Good luck, lady."
"We won't need luck, just faith," Sam said grating her teeth. She took off her raincoat and placed it over the boy's backs, even though they were already wet. "Okay, let's go."
Within roughly half an hour, Sam, Nate, and Trevor reached the clearing where Sam had seen the helicopter blade protruding from the mountain. The rain subsided, but the wind gusts remained severe. Pieces of helicopter debris lay scattered about. Sam ran over to the edge; the boys and Jake right behind her. "Don't get too close," she yelled before dropping to her knees. She held in the tears welling up inside, afraid to look down. She gathered what little inner strength remained and leaned forward. Below lay a mangled Bell 206 Long Ranger Helicopter lodged upright in a wide crevice forty feet below. She cupped her hands around her mouth. "Halie! Mr. Reingold! Can you hear me? It's Sam!" The initial silence was deafening.
"We're down here! We're both okay! Please hurry!"
Halie's voice sent a wave of humbling relief rushing through Sam. Thank you, God. "I'm coming! Hold on!"
"Dad! Dad! We're here too," Nate and Trevor yelled. "We're okay. We're gonna help you."
William responded, "You're good boys. You listen to Ranger Tyler."
Then Halie yelled, "Hurry, Sam. He's not doing so well."
Sam stood and ran toward the tree line. She slid off her backpack and threw it to the ground. She unzipped the main compartment and pulled out her rescue gear. She called their location in to dispatch, along with the information about their current situation and the whereabouts of David Reingold and his son. After the call, she slipped on a pair of cowhide gloves and a waist harness. Nate and Trevor helped her unroll two bundles of rope while she set up a rudimentary sling and pulley system, attaching an anchor ring to a sturdy tree trunk. Finally, she secured an edge guard on the corner stone where she'd been kneeling. "Jake, you stay here with the guys," she instructed. Then she addressed Nate and Trevor. "I'll be back in a few minutes. You think you'll be able to pull Ms. Walker up, once I secure her to the line?"
Nate and Trevor didn't hesitate. They responded in unison.
"Yeah, we can do it."
"Great." Sam waited for the wind gust to subside. She tested the strength of the line, then rappelled down the face of the mountain. Mountain rescue wasn't her forte. The park had a special team for that. Unfortunately for her they were busy in Targhee. She'd rather have had backup, but regardless, her mind was strong, clear, and focused, and she knew what needed to be done. When she'd lowered herself to just above the helicopter, she placed one foot on it for support.
"Sam! Thank God," Halie said.
Sam surveyed the wreckage. "Thank God is right and thank Jake too. He got us here. We're not out of this yet, though. Sit still." The doors were jammed shut between the rocks with no way to open them, but the front window was loose. "Cover your faces. I'm going to kick the window in."
William and Halie did as they were told.
"Careful, Sam," Halie pleaded.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Sam pulled the rope for additional slack and kicked in the window. Lowering herself into the helicopter she said. "You two are a sight." She wasn't sure which of them looked worse. To Halie she added, "I'm getting you out first, then William."
"No, take him first. He's in worse shape than I am."
Eyes half shut, William breathed, "Absolutely not. Take her. She's been through enough thanks to me."
Sam viewed William with a new sense of respect. As she moved closer to Halie, Halie pressed her face against Sam's cheek and whispered in her ear, "I love you so much."
"I love you too," Sam whispered. "I can't tell you how thankful I am you're okay. I don't know what I would have done--"
Halie put her finger to Sam's lips, "Shhh, don't think about that now. I'm okay."
Sam held back the tears. "How are you? Did you break anything?"
"I think maybe a rib or two. It hurts like hell when I breathe or try to move."
"I'll be as careful as I can." Sam squeezed Halie's hand, then let it go. She helped her out of her seat. She slid the rescue sling, attached to the second rope, over Halie's torso and secured it tight around her chest. "I'm sorry, but this is all I have. It's going to hurt like hell once you're suspended in it."
"I don't care, as long as I get out of here."
"Nate and Trevor will pull you up. Once you clear
the helicopter, keep your feet between you and the mountain."
"Okay. Where are David and his son?"
Before responding, Sam checked to see if William was conscious. She whispered, "He didn't think you two were alive. I couldn't convince him to come with me. No surprise."
"Yeah, that's a real shame. Hopefully, his son won't grow up to be like him."
"I hope not either. The guy's going to jail for his wife's murder."
"Murder? He killed his wife?"
"Had her killed. I'll tell you more about it later. Right now we need to get you out of here." Sam double checked the harness, then yelled to Nate and Trevor, "Okay, boys, we're ready!"
As the rope drew taut, Halie screamed. Sam clenched her teeth, feeling Halie's pain. Goose bumps traveled over her arms. She held onto Halie, "Hang in there," she said, directing her through the windshield opening. With Halie halfway to the top, a jet engine like roar of the wind revved in their ears.
Nervousness surged through Sam. "Hurry! Faster!"
Trevor answered, "We're trying, but it's stuck! The rope's stuck or something!"
"It can't be. Pull harder!" Sam glanced over at William. His eyes were still closed. She checked for a pulse. It was weak, but present. She climbed out of the helicopter. "Hang on, I'm coming!" Sam held onto the helicopter with one hand. She angled her face away from the wind and breathed deep, watching in horror as her lover's body slammed against the cliff like a rag doll. Below Sam, the helicopter creaked and slid an inch from its lodging. Sam hung with her feet propped on the rocky cliff, torn over which direction to go.
"Tyler! You okay down there?" Ranger Brown yelled.
"Thank God, Jeffrey! I'm okay, it's Halie! The rope's stuck! Hurry!"
Ranger Brown yanked until he'd loosened the rope. "I got her!"
Sam breathed a sigh of relief. Below her the helicopter creaked louder. "Shit," she said as she lowered herself onto the body of it and crawled inside, peering up one last time to make sure Halie had been pulled to safety.
William's eyes were now wide open. "I thought you were leaving me here."
"You're not that lucky," Sam said, trying to make light of his situation.
"Is Halie okay?"
"I hope so. Don't worry about her right now. Tell me what hurts."
"My right leg. I think it's broken. It's jammed under the damn dash. I may have broken a rib too, I don't know. Everything hurts."
"Okay, let me take a closer look." Sam reached over to release the seat belt. The mechanism was jammed. She tugged several times to no avail.
"What were you whispering about with Halie before? I heard my brother's name, and something else I hope I didn't hear right."
"You probably heard right, but we shouldn't get into that now. We need to get you out of here and to a hospital."
William grabbed Sam's arm. "Please, tell me now. I need to know."
Sam conceded. The time talking would distract him while she figured out a way of releasing his leg. "There's evidence suggesting your sister-in-law's car crash was no accident and that your brother had her killed by hiring two guys to make it appear like an accident." She watched as the disbelief, followed by disappointment, entered his eyes. "He'll be in jail for a long time, Willy. I'm guessing the court will appoint you, or your sister, with custody of Kevin. Probably you, since your sister's on her own with no immediate source of income."
"What do you mean 'on her own?' She's married. Did something happen to her husband? Do you know my sister?"
"That's another long story that I'm sure she'll be more than happy to tell you about one day. Her husband's being held, until his trial date, for spousal abuse."
"Jesus! I should have stayed in touch with her more. I'd have known what was going on. I could've helped her."
"Maybe, but maybe not. It's not something she probably would've talked about anyway, so you may not have known. Now, enough talk."
Unsuccessful in freeing William from the seat harness after several tries, Sam reached into her pants pocket and pulled out her leatherman.
William Reingold's eyes widened.
"Don't worry," Sam said in a joking tone, "this isn't for you." She unfolded the knife and cut the seat belt with the serrated edge. Once she cut through, she pulled him by the shoulders.
William hollered. "My leg!"
The instant he yelled, Sam loosened her grip and ducked by reflex as a rock from above crashed onto the chopper. The sound of rock hitting metal blasted their ears. The helicopter creaked and moaned. The body strained as it inched further from its cradle.
"You okay?" Sam asked.
"I'm fine, but we won't make it if this thing falls again."
"Don't worry, we'll be fine."
"No, I'm telling you we won't make it. You should go. Leave me. I'm practically dead anyway."
"You're talking nonsense. You'll be fine. I'm not leaving you. You've got two great kids waiting for you. They need you." Sam inspected William's leg. The leg was badly contorted. Suddenly Sam said, "Listen."
"To what?" William replied, "I don't hear anything."
"I know. I just realized I haven't heard the wind in like the last ten minutes. I think the storm's passed us by."
"Thank God."
"Yeah, which means a helicopter should be here soon. In the meantime, I've still got to figure out a way to get your leg free." Sam searched the helicopter for anything she could use as a tool to leverage against the dash, but found nothing. "I'm going to lean against the side of this seat and push up on the dash with my legs and see if I can't get some movement. If I do, get ready to pull your leg out. It'll hurt like hell, but there's no other way. It'll take hours if they have to cut you out of this thing and time is definitely not on our side."
"Whatever we need to do, let's do it and get it over with," William said. "I'm ready."
Sam leveraged her back against the passenger seat, placed her feet on the dash, and pushed with all her might. The metal creaked as it moved a couple of inches.
"Ahhh! Dammit to hell that sucker hurts like a son of a-- yowwie!" William had his hands wrapped around his leg as he inched from his seat and fell near Sam. "Ouch, ouch, ouch!"
"It's okay, the worst is over, Willy." "It sure as heck doesn't feel like it, but I hope to blazes you're right." Sam helped him sit upright. Then she heard the distant sound of a helicopter. "Sounds like our ride." "Listen, before they get here, I want to thank you for what you've done for me and my boys. I'll never forget it."
"All in a day's work," Sam said.
"No, it's not. You did more than that, and I know it. I also wanted to apologize for the ignorant comments I made the last time we met. What I said was stupid. There should be more people in the world like you and Halie."
"Thanks, I appreciate that. You didn't turn out too bad yourself."
"Will Halie be okay? I wanted to tell her something."
"I hope she'll be fine." Sam secured the waist harness around William.
"When you get to talk to her, please tell her for me not to worry about Bridger-Teton or any of our other drilling locations.
When I get back, I'll double the protections we've got instituted. She earned that. Oh, and tell her one of the first things I'm going do when I get better is read that article she's been writing."
"I will, thanks, Willy. Now, enough talk. Let's get you out of here. When you get better, give your sister a call."
"I will."
Sam yelled to Jeffrey, who hoisted him up. She watched him ascend thinking, you really can't judge a book by its cover.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
SAM SAT IN a chair next to Halie's hospital bed, staring at the IV in her arm, listening to the methodical beeping of the monitor. Her stomach grumbled from a lack of food, but she couldn't eat. Once William had been secured in the rescue chopper, as wet and dirty as she was, she'd left Jake with Jeffrey, who was officially off duty at the time already and headed straight to the hospital.
Sam was startled by a kn
ocking on the door. The Chief opened it and poked his head in. Sam didn't get up, but motioned him to sit in the second chair near the foot of Halie's bed.
"How's she doing?"
"They diagnosed her with moderate traumatic brain injury. Her loss of consciousness is now almost two hours," Sam said, not taking her eyes from Halie. She stroked her hand. "They ran some tests. The CT Scan didn't show any damage to the brain--no internal injury, bruising, or swelling, but it did show a hairline fracture of the skull. Her heart rate's normal and her pressures are okay, so those are all good signs. But she's got three broken ribs too."
"How will they know if her condition improves?"
"They said the key is her waking up, and the sooner the better. Then they'd monitor her in the hospital for at least another twenty-four to forty-eight hours after that. They'd do another CT scan and compare the results to the original to see if there are any changes. Depending on her situation, they might need to take an MRI too. It's too soon to say, but none if it sounds good to me."
"Keep talking to her and being here for her. She may hear you even if she can't respond. Listen, I brought you a cup of coffee and a sandwich. Figured you probably hadn't eaten."
"Thanks, Chief." Sam slowly let go of Halie's hand and met the Chief's eyes. She wiped the tears that were falling before she took the coffee and sandwich from him. "I called Halie's roommate and got the phone number for her parents. They're trying to get a flight over. I promised I'd keep them posted and call as soon as anything changes. If I'd only known the wind would've let up when it did, I'd have waited with Halie. The rescue crew would have pulled her up safely."
"You don't know that. What if in the meantime, the helicopter slid loose or she went into shock? Plus, it's more likely the injury happened during the initial or subsequent crash. Symptoms aren't always visible right away with TBI's. You're assuming it happened while she was being hauled up the mountain."
Sam knew he was right, but she couldn't talk about Halie anymore. She found the conversation far too draining. Out of necessity, she changed the subject. "Did they arrest David Reingold?"
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