On Deadly Ground by Pauline
A
big thank you to Carole H for her help with the picture, and to my beta’s.
Cursing
silently, Lee picked his way through the mist shrouded swamp. He didn’t want to think about what might be in
the grey brackish water. The hot, humid
air sapped his strength as he moved stealthily through the tangle of Mangroves,
making hardly a ripple in the murky water.
I must have been crazy to accept
this assignment, he muttered to himself.
He’d been here less than 12 hours and he was already looking forward to
getting back to Seaview and a hot shower.
The swamp was a
dangerous place, infested with snakes, swamp eel, caiman and mosquitoes, as
well as human animals that would think nothing of killing any-one who got in
their way. He was expected to make
contact with Alex Lambert, an agent that had been working undercover to
infiltrate a US submarine suspected of being involved in smuggling drugs out of
South America to the US, only Lambert had disappeared and no-one had heard from
him. Lee stopped and wiped a sleeve
across his face. It would be dark soon and he needed to find a place to camp
for the night. It would not be a good
idea to continue on in the dark. He
pulled the aerial photo of the area from his breast pocket of his jungle
fatigues and unfolded it. He should be
reaching higher ground and dry land soon, if he didn’t run out of daylight
first.
Half an hour
later Lee found the ruins of an ancient temple rising out of the mire. With relief, he climbed the crumbling stone
steps, grateful to be on dry land. Water
dripped from him as he stood surveying his surroundings. The towering stone pillars supporting grand
curved arches, were covered in moss and lichen. Large stones were scattered around the site
and a carpet of dead leaves and debris covered the floor. He could almost
certainly find enough dry material to get a fire going and dry out his clothes.
He set about
gathering dead branches, leaves and moss to build a fire and within a few
minutes had a fire going. He sat in
front of it, although tempted to take off his wet pants and hang them to dry,
he knew that there were too many biting insects crawling around in the leaf
litter. He did pull off his boots and tipped
them up to drain the water out of them.
It was not going to be a comfortable night.
Later, he sat
on the stone steps, one knees drawn up, his hands wrapped around the leg, and
let his mind returned to Seaview and the conversation he’d had with Chip Morton...
“No, Lee!” Chip Morton almost yelled as he paced in
front of Lee’s desk.
“Calm down, Chip,” Lee got to his feet and walked
around the desk. “I have to go, it’s my job.”
“No, it’s not your job”. Chip halted and turned on his
friend. “ Your job is Captaining Seaview, not playing
James Bond,” Chip continued his ranting over Lee’s latest summons from ONI.
Lee sighed, knowing that he was going to face even
worse from the Admiral when he found out.
“I’m sorry, Chip, but I have to go.”
“Fine, go!” Chip snapped. “Get yourself hurt again or worse. One of these days they are going to ship you
back in a coffin.”
“Chip,” Lee tried again to placate his friend.
“I mean it, Lee,” Refusing to be placated by anything
Lee had to say, Chip turned on his heels and stormed out of the cabin, slamming
the door behind him.
Lee winced and suppressed a shudder at the thought if
his coming mission. He hated the swamp.
***
At first light
Lee packed up his camp, and made sure that the fire was out and was on the
move. Leaving the temple ruins, he moved
into the jungle, following the trail that appeared to have been recently
travelled until he found himself on the edge of a village. The dwellings were ram shackled wooden
shacks, built on stilts above the water.
The sound of an
outboard motor in the distance disturbed the quiet of the swamp and Lee
crouched motionless in the undergrowth at the edge of the track, watching and
listening. He could hear low voices and
the sound of the outboard seemed to be getting closer. Carefully, Lee crept through the undergrowth
to get a closer look at what was going on.
There was an inlet
and a zodiac was approaching the village.
There were two men on board, dressed in black and carrying M16’s; these guys meant business. Lee watched the two men secure the zodiac
under one of the dwellings and climb out.
They were met by another man who came out of the shack. There was a brief conversation before they
all went inside. He continued to watch
as the men re-emerged and formed a chain to load plastic wrapped packages into
the zodiac. Digging into his pack for
the camera that ONI had given him, he took several photos of the men before
sealing the camera into a plastic bag and returning to the pack.
Lee knew that
the zodiac was his lead to the sub. Reluctantly, he slipped silently into the
water and waited for them to finish loading; at least the water was warm. While he watched he studied the zodiac,
looking for some secure hand hold that would allow him to hitch a ride without
being seen from the boat. These guys
did not look like Navy; more like mercenaries. Lee
was beginning to think that this was a job for the DEA. While Lee was officially part of the
Submarine Warfare Operations division of ONI, he often got called upon to take
missions outside of that remit. Lee again found himself wondering where the intel had come from for this operation.
With no visible
anchorage points, Lee was forced to swim underwater for a closer look at the
zodiac. Surfacing near the bow, he found
a towing ring and hoped that it would be strong enough to take his weight.
***
While the men
had been occupied loading the cargo, Lee had slipped aboard the sub using an
unguarded hatch; they probably didn’t expect anyone to be sneaking aboard so
security was lax. There was not as much
room on the old diesel/electric sub as he was used to aboard Seaview. He moved carefully and quietly through the narrow
passageways, headed aft, away from the control room and any crew. There probably weren’t more than twenty men
running the sub. He managed to find a
small storage locker to hide in next to the aft missile room. The torpedo racks were empty so no-one would
come to this area of the boat. It was a
relief to discover that this was not a Navy sub as had been expected but there
had been no sign of Lambert. He
suspected from the looks of these men, that he was already dead, his body
probably dumped somewhere in the swamp. Once the sub arrived at its destination he
would sneak ashore and report. With any
luck there next landfall would be the US.
Feeling the
deck move under his feet, he knew that the sub was underway. The old sub creaked and groaned as she sank
below the water and Lee couldn’t help wondering just how well maintained she
was. Sitting down on the deck, he made
himself as comfortable as possible. He
hoped that it would not be a long voyage or things could get a little
uncomfortable. His clothes were still
wet and after the sticky heat of the swamp he was beginning to feel cold. He removed his boots and wet socks, but he
had no way of drying them or himself. Pushing
a hand through his wet hair, he surveyed his surroundings. The compartment was virtually empty apart
from some old rope, an empty oil can and a rusty tool box long abandoned by its
owner.
Drawing his
knees up to his chest he wrapped his arms around his middle, trying to conserve
the heat that was slowly ebbing from his body.
He wished that he had worn a dryliner under his clothing, but he hadn’t
thought that he would need it with the heat of the swamp. Adding to his discomfort, he had several
bites on his back, legs and neck that itched now that he was out of the
water. Just how the insects had gotten
under his clothes he didn’t know.
***
Chip Morton looked at his watch and entered their
course and position in the log. Seaview
was on her way back to Santa Barbara, where hopefully she would be re-united
with her Captain. Chip hid his
disapproval at Lee’s absence as he returned the log to its place beneath the
plot table. Why couldn’t Lee be content
with Captaining Seaview? Why did he feel
that he had to keep accepting these crazy missions for ONI? All too often Lee came back injured and it
was left to his friends to pick up the pieces.
Maybe NIMR should start sending the bills for Lee’s medical care to Admiral
Johnson at ONI headquarters.
Chip knew that Nelson was not happy about ONI
borrowing his Captain, but in reality, there hadn’t been anything he could do
about it. ONI had their hooks in Lee and
was not going to let go. Admiral Johnson
knew how to play on Lee’s loyalty when he knew damn well that Lee would not
refuse. To make matters worse, they were
not privy to the details of Lee’s assignment, if Lee got into trouble, they
would not be there to back him up.
Chip’s thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Lt. O’Brien.
“Good evening,
Mr Morton. I’m relieving you, Sir.”
“Good evening,
Mr O’Brien. You have the con. Keep on course for Santa Barbara. I’ll see you in eight hours.” Somewhat reluctantly Chip turned and headed
aft; he would have dinner and then hit his rack. He would have preferred to have stayed at
the Conn just in case, but O’Brien would call him if anything should come up.
***
Lee came to his
feet at the sound of footsteps approaching the compartment and moved to one
side of the hatch, ready to tackle whoever came through it. He grabbed the wrist of the first man through
the hatch, pulled hard and then twisted.
He heard bones snap and the gun glittered from the man’s hand. The man cried out in pain and cursed.
Lee didn’t have
time to follow through his attack as the second man grabbed him from behind and
threw him into the bulkhead.
Lee let out a
soft “Oomph,” as he impacted hard, temporarily winded and dazed, Lee shook his
head to try and clear it.
“You all right,
Conrad?” his attacker asked.
“Bastard broke
my wrist,” the man complained angrily, swinging wildly at Lee.
Lee managed to
duck the swing and get in a punch to the man’s stomach. As his assailant staggered backwards, the
second man grabbed the front of Lee’s shirt and slammed him back into the
bulkhead, his head impacted with the metal and for a moment stars danced in his
vision.
“Another move
and you’re dead,” the second man growled, shoving the gun into Lee’s face, he
grabbed the front of Lee’s shirt. “Come
on, the Captain will want to talk to you,” he said, giving Lee a push towards
the hatch.
The man was
probably waiting for Lee to try something, but he wasn’t about to do anything
to get himself shot.
***
Lee was manhandled
into the control room. “Captain, we found this guy in the aft storage locker,”
the man reported.
“Who are
you? How did you get aboard?” The captain, a tall man with sharp blue eyes
and silver grey hair asked.
“Lee Glenn,” was
all Lee was going to admit.
The Captain
unclipped a 10 x 8 photo from his clipboard and placed it on the chart table in
front of Lee. “Well, Lee Glen, it may
surprise you to know that we have been expecting you. We have spy cameras all over the area.”
Lee picked up
the photo; it was of him in the ruins the first night.
“Now, Lee
Glenn, tell me why I shouldn’t just throw you overboard?” The Captain asked.
“That would be
murder?”
“The man arched
an eyebrow and smiled. “And that should bother me? But you haven’t answered my question, how did
you get aboard?”
“It wasn’t
difficult, your men are sloppy,” Lee answered critically as he cast a glance at
the men around him. The crew’s
appearance was also untidy, with scruffy jeans and grubby T-shirts that looked
like they had not seen a laundry recently.
There was a
chorus of profanities from the crew in response before the Captain held up a
hand in a gesture to silence them.
“Maybe I should let my men demonstrate their dislike of strangers that
stowaway aboard this vessel.”
Lee didn’t
answer.
“The bastard
broke my wrist, Captain. I say we fire
him out one of the torpedo tubes,” Conrad spoke up.
The captain
regarded Conrad. “Maybe he’s right, you are sloppy.” Then he returned his attention to Lee. “Lock
him in the brig for now. I’ll deal with
him later,” he ordered.
***
His guards’
bruising grip on Lee’s arm tightened as he was dragged out of the hatch and led
in the direction of the brig. The
unfortunate Conrad’s place had been taken by two other crew members. They obviously weren’t prepared to take any
more chances with him escaping.
When they
reached the brig, the door was unlocked and he was thrown roughly inside. He stumbled off balance and hit the deck
hard. The first man followed him in,
flanked by the other two, who closed the door and took up position in front of
it.
The man grabbed
Lee and hauled him back to his feet before slamming him back against the
bulkhead. “Sloppy are we, I’ll show you
sloppy. You made us look bad in front of
the Captain, now you’re going to pay for that,” the man growled.
Lee stifled a
groan at the bruising impact with the unyielding metal. Using both hands he delivered a chop to both
sides of the man’s torso, just below the ribcage. However, his success was limited as the
other men joined in. The cell was small
and there was not much room to manoeuvre. Lee could normally take care of
himself, but three against one was not good odds. Lee tried to use his feet, but the first man
grabbed his ankle and pulled his feet out from under him. He landed hard and before he had time to
recover, the man dropped a knee onto his stomach, pinning him down. Grabbing the front of Lee’s shirt, he pulled
him up and punched him in the face. Lee
felt blood running from his nose and tasted blood in his mouth. While the other two men held Lee’s arms, the
first man continued to use Lee as a punch bag, landing punches to his face and
body. He finished the attack by driving
his knee into Lee’s groin twice. Lee bit
back a scream at the gut wrenching pain that erupted from the blows, making his
eyes water and his stomach heaved.
“Not so tough
now, are you?” the man scoffed as he got to his feet and stood over Lee. “I
don’t know why the Captain is even bothering with you.” Delivering a departing kick to Lee’s ribs,
the man turned to leave.
Still flat on
his back on the deck; Lee could hardly breathe around the pain, he drew up his
knees, the pain holding him immobile, he could only watch as they locked the
door firmly behind them.
***
Lambert
unlocked the brig and stepped inside.
Lee was lying curled on his side on the deck and Lambert dropped to one
knee beside him. “Lee, what have they
done to you?” he touched two fingers to Lee’s neck to check for a pulse. “Lee,
can you hear me?”
Lee groaned in
response. His left eye was black and
there was a bruise on his cheek that spread down to his jaw.
“Lee, how badly
are you hurt?” If Lee was seriously
hurt, there would be little he could do to help him. He was the only one aboard the sub trained in
first aid, and the first aid supplies were basic. He doubted that any of the crew would care
what happened to Lee.
Lee opened his
eyes and squinted up at him. “Alex? I
thought...you were dead.”
“No,
lucky for you. Where are you hurt?” Alex asked dropping his
hand onto Lee’s shoulder.
“Everywhere,”
Lee grimaced as he struggled to raise himself up off the deck.
Lambert gripped
his arm to he helped him to the bunk.
Lee eased
himself down onto the bunk with another groan, his right hand pressed to his
left ribcage.
“God, Lee, you’re
a mess,” Alex squatted down in front of him.
“Lie down and let me check you over.”
Lee shook his
head. “I’m okay.”
“Yeah, sure you
are. Come on,
let’s see the rest of the damage.”
“It’s only
bruising, it can wait,” Lee resisted, pushing Alex’s hand away as he tried to
open Lee’s shirt. “What are you doing
here, anyway?”
“I’m the cook
and medic. I’m afraid things are pretty
basic around here.”
Lee glanced at
the door. “They’re not worried about me escaping?”
“Guess they
figured you weren’t in any shape to make an escape attempt. Besides, there’s nowhere to run while we’re
at sea.” Alex took a wipe from the first
aid kit and carefully cleaned away the blood from Crane’s nose. “Try and get some rest while you can, I’ll
bring you some food.”
“I’m not hungry,”
Lee told him.
Alex frowned;
concerned that Lee may have internal injuries.
“Okay, but you really should get out of those wet clothes. Once everyone is busy unloading, I’ll come a
get you and we’ll both get out of here.”
“No, you have
to leave me. If you blow your cover it
will mess up the whole operation and we might never get another chance to catch
these guys,” Lee protested.
Alex shook his
head. “I’m not leaving you. They’ll kill
you. Besides, your diversion gave me the
chance to get to the radio and alert the Coast Guard,” he smiled
cheerfully. “There’ll be a reception
waiting for us. Just relax, I’ll see you
later,” he squeezed Lee’s arm reassuringly.
***
Lee felt Alex’s
supporting hand on his arm as they dragged themselves out of the water onto the
beach. The swim had not helped his
bruised ribs, but he was not going to let it slow him down. They had come ashore at a remote stretch of
the southern Californian coast. The
water was chilly and mist was drifting in off the sea. Lee wiped water out of his eyes as they
sprinted up the sand towards the cover of low rocks and vegetation, hoping that
they would not be spotted. It wouldn’t
be long before their absence was noticed.
A bullet
whizzed past Lee’s head and he instinctively flattened himself against the
smooth rocks, stifling a groan as his bruised ribs came into contact with the
hard surface. He took a quick look back
to the submarine; the Zodiac was emerging out of the mist, racing towards
shore. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
Alex moved
beside him as they scrambled over the rocks.
Once again finding himself cold and wet, Lee
was looking forward to getting back to Santa Barbara. More bullets ricocheted off the rocks,
sending sharp fragments flying into the air.
He veered, heading for the cover
of a large tree he could see silhouetted against the night’s sky on the ridge. Where was
the Coast Guard when you needed them?
“You
okay?” Alex asked tightly.
“Yeah, fine,” he replied with a
quick glance at the man beside him. He
was running on adrenaline, he should have taken the chance to eat and catch a
nap while aboard the sub, but his sense of survival, combined with pain, had
prevented him from doing so.
The ground was
rising away from the beach with the sand and rocks giving way to low growing
vegetation and the dark shapes of twisted oaks, sculptured by the weather
appeared out of the night. Bullets
continued to strike close to them as they scrambled over the rocks and into the
thick foliage of sage brush, yarrow and deer weed. The vegetation did not afford much cover and
Lee gasped and cursed softly as he felt the hot sting of a bullet in his right
calf, as he sprawled face down he felt something hit the back of his head and
then everything went black.
***
Chip’s mood was
lightened by the sight of Lindsey waiting for him as he stepped off the gangway
onto dry land.
Lindsey smiled
and gave him a hug and a kiss. “Where’s Lee?
He’s not still aboard is he?” she asked.
“Last minute
assignment, he’s off, heaven knows where.
And if I know Lee, he’s up to his neck in it,” Chip grumbled as he slipped an arm
around her shoulders.
“Oh, I bet the
Admiral is not too happy about that,” Lindsey commented as they walked towards
Chip’s car.
“He’s not the
only one. “ Chip couldn’t help worrying
about Lee, not knowing what sort of trouble he was getting himself into.
“I’m sorry,
Chip – but I’m glad your home,” Lindsey squeezed his hand. “I’m going to cook
you dinner.”
Chip smiled. “Sounds great.” Stopping
beside the car, he unlocked the doors and opened the passenger side.
After stowing
his bag on the back seat, Chip went around and got behind the wheel.
***
His head felt like someone had it in a vice. Lee
blinked, trying to force his eyes to stay open.
Where was he? There was something
on his face and he raised a hand to try and push it away.
“Don’t do that,” a female voice said and his hand
was gripped and pulled away.
Lee turned his head slightly, trying to see who it
was. A nurse stood beside him. “Where am
I?”
“San Diego Naval Medical Center. You’ve
just come out of surgery,” she told him.
He seemed to be floating on the edge of sleep; it
was difficult to concentrate, he was so drowsy.
“Thirsty,” he complained.
“We’ve got you on IV fluids; you can have a drink
when we get you settled into a room,” she smiled.
He didn’t want to go to a room, he wanted out. But
a part of him wanted to close his eyes and let sleep take him. From the throbbing ache in his head and the
drowsiness he knew that he wasn’t up to escaping.
“We’re going to take you to a room now,” the nurse
told him.
There was some activity around him and then he was
moving, being wheeled out through double swing doors and into a corridor. There wasn’t much of a view as he was
wheeled through the sterile environment of the hospital and into an
elevator. The doors slide closed and he
felt the elevator start to move. The
nurse standing beside the gurney smiled reassuringly. His eyelids were getting heavy and he let them
close. He drifted in and out of sleep,
roused by being transferred from the gurney to a bed. Nurses fussed around him, checking his blood
pressure and temperature. He burrowed deeper into the pillow and let sleep drag
him down again, wrapping him in a blanket of darkness.
***
Lee shifted uncomfortably in the back seat of
Alex’s SUV. His head was still throbbing
from the bullet that had grazed the back of his skull and he was still sporting
a bandage around his head. His right leg
was pretty numb following the surgery to repair the damage to the muscle and
tissue. He had insisted on leaving the
hospital, against medical advice. The
doctor hadn’t been happy about it, he’d wanted Lee to stay for a few more days,
but Lee hated hospitals. There was no
way he was going to remain in the hospital for any longer than he considered
necessary.
“You okay back there, Lee?” Alex asked.
“Yeah, fine,” the pain meds they had given him
prior to leaving the hospital were beginning to take effect and he could hardly
keep his eyes open. Alex had been forced
to act as mediator and said that Lee could stay at his place until he was well
enough to return to Santa Barbara. The
drive from the naval hospital to Alex’s home in the San Diego suburban area
seemed to be taking forever. With nothing but the same boring scenery
outside, that seemed to go on for miles, Lee found his eyes drifting shut. Must have been more than pain meds they had
given him, he realised, but right now he didn’t care if it helped him
survive the journey. He was beginning
to think that he had made a mistake in leaving the hospital before he was
really ready.
The next thing Lee knew, they had pulled up in front
of a traditional town house with white walls and red tiled roof. Alex came around to help Lee out of the car. Getting to his feet, Lee felt a little woozy,
due in part, no doubt, to the medication.
He wasn’t sure that he would be able to manage the crutches that Alex
handed him. He would have to use them
for the next week or so, until he could put weight on his injured leg. Jamie
was going to have a field day, Lee reflected gloomily.
“Ready?” Alex asked.
Lee nodded.
He made his way carefully towards the house. The front door was open and a woman stood
waiting.
“Welcome to our home,” she smiled.
Lee blinked at the woman in front of him. She had long, black hair that tumbled around
her shoulders and deep blue eyes. “Thank you, Ma’am,” Lee managed in response. Alex
was just full of surprises.
“Lee, this is my wife, Carlota. Carlota, this is Lee Crane,” Alex introduced.
“Pleased to meet you, Carlota,” Lee smiled.
“Won’t you please come in? You
look tired; let me show you to the guest room.”
Lee nodded, a comfortable bed sounded good. Exhaustion was settling on him, he hadn’t
realised how much the injury had taken out of him.
Alex laughed, “The old Crane charm strikes again.”
“Alex, behave,” Carlota chastised her husband, “you’re
embarrassing our guest.”
Feeling himself blush, Lee ducked his head and
followed the pair. Alex helped him up
the stairs to the bedroom and he had been too tired to argue.
“I stopped to buy you some pyjamas on the way to
the hospital this morning. I think they
are the right size,” Alex told him, putting a shopping bag down on the bed.
“Thanks, I take it you are responsible for the
clothes?” The clothes that Lee had been
wearing were trashed and the hospital had disposed of them.
“Yeah, I couldn’t let you come out wearing a
hospital gown. Do you need any
help?” Alex offered.
“I’ll manage, thanks,” Lee tried not to sound
ungrateful, but the fussing was starting to get on his nerves; he wasn’t
totally helpless.
“Okay, I’ll bring you some lunch later. Oh, and I almost forgot, I thought you might
like a souvenir,” Alex pulled open the drawer of the nightstand and produced
the photo of Lee. “I managed to grab this,” he smiled.
“Thanks, but you shouldn’t have bothered. How come it didn’t get ruined by the
seawater?” Lee smiled as he picked up the photo.
“Actually, one of the coastguard guys retrieved it
from the sub when they searched it. I
think it’s rather good, sort of peaceful” Alex said cheerfully as he made his
way out of the room and quietly closed the door behind him.
***
Lee lay back against the stack of pillows and
pulled the comforter higher. He knew
that he wasn’t strong enough to travel yet, but he was anxious to get
home. His friends would be worried about
him. He turned toward the door as Alex
entered carrying a tray which he set down on the nightstand and looked at
Crane.
“Lee, how are you feeling? Are you hungry? I brought you lunch.”
He wasn’t very hungry, but he knew he should try
and eat something; it must have been 48 hours since he had last eaten
anything. “I’m okay, thanks.”
Alex smile and moved the tray to the bed where Lee
could reach it. “The doctor said that
you need to drink lots of fluids and he left you some antibiotics and pain
medication.”
The pain meds made him feel like a zombie and he
hated taking them. Instead he turned his
attention to the sandwiches and soup. “Smells good.”
“It’s home made.
Carlota is a great cook,” Alex told him, sitting on the side of the bed.
“How long have you been married?” And why wasn’t I invited to the
wedding?” Lee asked before taking a
cautious spoon of the soup.
“A couple of years, I met Carlota while on
assignment in Mexico. It was a bit of a
whirlwind romance.”
Lee smiled. “I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks. Do
you have anyone waiting for you in Santa Barbara?”
Lee paused between bits of his sandwich. “No,
Seaview is the only lady in my life.”
Alex shook his head. “That’s just not natural. You need to find yourself a woman to come
home to,” he told him.
Lee grinned.
Alex was not the first person to make that comment. “I don’t have time
for a relationship.”
“Make time.
Seriously Lee, life’s too short, buddy.
You don’t know what you’re missing.”
***
Lambert sat watching Crane, lying on his back with
one arm resting across his stomach, the hand clutching the comforter; he was sleeping
peacefully for once. Alex had never
understood Lee’s dislike of anything medical, but he respected his wishes and
brought him to his home. Lee hadn’t
wanted to go to hospital, but his leg needed expert treatment. However, almost as soon as soon as Lee had
regained consciousness, he had insisted on leaving, signing himself out and
thus giving Alex no other option. Lee
had certainly lived up to his reputation for being a bad patient and definitely
did not take no for an answer.
Lee had at least agreed to the crutches but was
not really strong enough to manage them.
He was still bruised from the beating he’d received on the sub and Alex
suspected that he was playing down his injuries. In any event, he had managed to badger Lee into
taking the pain meds and finally he had fallen asleep.
Fortunately, Alex had been able to radio the sub’s
position before they left the boat. He
had never been more grateful for the arrival of the cavalry, in the form of the
Coast Guard, a Navy sub chaser and park rangers. He would never have been able to get Lee out
of there alive without their help. Lee had lost a lot of blood from the leg wound
and without proper first aid, might not have made it. The head wound, while not serious, had been
messy and Alex was sure that Lee still had a headache.
In a few days, when Lee was stronger, he would
arrange transport to take Lee back to Santa Barbara. ONI owed Lee big time for
the work he’d done for them over the years; it shouldn’t be difficult to
persuade Admiral Johnson to provide a chopper to fly them. Alex intended to go along to make sure that
Lee got there in one piece and to ensure that he saw a doctor. Left on his own, Lee would just go home and
not bother to tell anyone that he was hurt.
He would doubtless not bother with the tablets either.
His thoughts were interrupted by Carlota slipping
quietly into the room. “Are you coming
to bed? I’m sure that the Commander
would not be happy if he was to wake and find you hovering,” she whispered.
Alex grinned.
That was another of Lee’s pet hates, people fussing drove him crazy. He
eased out of the chair, careful not to make any noise and followed her out. He
had his own plans for the night.
***
Lee lay listening to the silence, trying to
remember where he was. Opening his eyes
helped as he recognised his surroundings – Alex place. For a few moments he remained still, letting
himself wake up properly. The pain meds
left him feeling groggy and as soon as he got home he would flush them down the
toilet. Thinking of which, he needed to
talk to Alex about getting home. As much
as he appreciated Alex’s hospitality, he needed to get back to Santa
Barbara. He’d lost track of the days, but
he must be overdue and Nelson and Chip would be worried about him.
Throwing back the comforter, he sat up and swung
his legs over the side of the bed.
Catching sight of himself in the mirrored closet doors, he cringed. You’re
a mess, Crane. With several days’
growth of beard and his hair curling unruly around the bandage wrapped around
his head he was in need of a shower and shave.
He was about to reach for the crutches when there was a knock on the
door and Alex stuck his head in.
“Good, you’re awake,” he smiled, entering the
room. “After you’ve showered I’ll
redress your leg.”
“Thanks.”
“There are fresh towels in the bathroom and a robe
hanging on the back of the door. Can you
manage?”
Lee sighed, but a small smile crept over his face.
“Yes, Alex, I think I can manage a shower and shave.”
Alex shrugged. “Okay, come down when you’re ready. Carlota is making breakfast.”
“I hope she isn’t going to too much trouble on my
behalf, I’m not a big eater,” Lee told him as he hauled himself up off the bed.
“Yeah, I noticed.
I don’t know how you survive on what you eat,” Alex teased.
***
Lee stood enjoying the warm spray, letting it wash
away the last residue of sleep. It felt
good after everything that he’d been through; he was finally beginning to feel
human again. His head had felt itchy
and he had removed the bandage so that he could wash his hair. He cautiously worked the lather through his
hair being careful not to touch the wound on the back of his head. Ducking his head under the spray, he rinsed
the shampoo from his hair. He would like
to have stayed in the shower longer, but he had most of his weight on his left leg
and didn’t want to end up on his butt; that would be embarrassing.
Turning off the water, he managed to get out of
the shower without any mishaps. He felt
cleaner than he had since he’d entered the swamp, how many days ago? After
towelling his hair almost dry, he hung the towel around his neck and turned his
attention to the several days’ growth of beard; it wouldn’t due to turn up at
NIMR looking like a beach bum. He was in enough trouble with his XO without
giving him more ammunition. His black
eye and bruising on his face looked disgusting somehow made worse by the beard.
There was no way he could hide neither them nor the bruising on his ribcage and
arms from Jamie. Fortunately, there did
not seem to be any lasting damage to the other part of his anatomy that had
been hurt in the beating he’d taken.
Returning to the bedroom, Lee found Alex sitting
on the bed waiting for him.
“I thought I’d do this now, save you getting
dressed twice,” Alex indicated the first aid kit on the bed beside him.
“Okay,” Lee agreed readily, his leg needed
dressing to stop he stitches catching on his pant leg and it made sense to let
Alex do it now.
After pulling on a T-shirt and boxer shorts, he
sat on the bed and watched Alex bandage a light dressing in place; he also
re-bandaged Lee’s head.
“There, all done,” Alex closed the kit. “You ready for breakfast?”
Lee shook his head. “You don’t give up, do
you?”
***
Lee soon discovered that he was not going to be
allowed to get away with just toast for breakfast when Carlota put a plate in
front of him with two ham n’ egg burritos.
He looked pleading at Alex, who just smiled and shrugged.
“Don’t look at me.
I told her you didn’t eat.”
“I’ve never known a man that didn’t enjoy good
food,” Carlota responded as she placed a large bowl of Avocado fruit salad,
yogurt and honey on the table and took a seat opposite her husband.
Lee regarded the food and wondered how much he
needed to eat to satisfy Carlota. But once Lee started to eat, he found that he
was enjoying his breakfast. “I need to get back to Santa Barbara. I’m already overdue,” he told Alex between
mouthfuls of fruit salad.
“Yeah, I thought you might. I pulled a few strings and there’s a chopper
leaving Coronado Naval Base this afternoon.”
Lee nearly choked on a piece of fruit. “I could
have got a commercial flight,” he spluttered between coughs.
Alex grinned.
“Will you calm down? We were on an official ONI mission; I figured they
owed you a ride home. Besides, no commercial
flight would accept you with recent leg trauma.”
Lee was embarrassed that the Navy was providing a
chopper just for him. He was sure that
they had better things to do. Alex must
have known what he was thinking.
“Lee, after all you’ve done for them, don’t you
think they owe you a helicopter ride?”
“I was only doing my duty,” Lee mumbled,
uncomfortable talking about ONI in front of Carlota.
Alex shook his head at him. “It’s arranged, so you
may as well surrender.”
***
Doctor Will
Jamieson hated surprises; there had been too much chaos in his life since he’d
accepted the position of CMO aboard Seaview. Lee’s unexpected arrival by chopper had
certainly caused a hullabaloo at the institute.
The doctor had been unable to contain his own shocked horror at the
sight of Lee Crane standing in the doorway of his office, dressed in green
combat gear; he was leaning on crutches.
His dark hair was an untidy mess of curls and there was a bandage
wrapped around his head. What had Crane done to himself this time? “Skipper!”
“Hi,
Jamie.” Despite the grin, Lee looked
tired and the smile did not quite reach his usually expressive eyes.
“What
happened?” Jamieson was already on his
feet, moving around the desk to help Crane to a chair. “Come and sit down.”
“Thanks,” Lee
put down the crutches and dropped heavily into the chair in front of Jamieson’s
desk.
Returning to
his desk, Jamieson called his secretary. “Becky, could you bring Commander
Crane a cup of coffee please?”
“Certainly
doctor,” she responded.
Jamieson turned
his attention back to Crane. “What happened?
How bad?”
“Shot in the
head, but it’s only a graze,” Lee told him.
“And the
crutches?” Jamieson prompted. He knew
that Lee would not divulge any more than he had to.
Lee’s gaze
dropped to his legs. “Took a bullet in the leg that needed surgery,” Lee said
quietly.
For a moment
Jamieson sat staring at the young man in front of him as several thoughts
flashed through his mind. The Admiral
would go ballistic when he found out. “Should you be out of the hospital?” he inquired
at last. He wanted to examine Crane, but
he didn’t want to antagonise him by fussing.
“Signed myself
out,” Lee admitted sheepishly.
“Stupid
question, I should have know,” Jamieson sighed.
Lee shook his
head. “Relax Jamie, I’m fine.”
“Why didn’t you
contact the Institute? We would have
come and picked you up,” Jamieson wanted to know.
“Because I
didn’t want to exchange one hospital for another and because I wanted to come
home and sleep in my own bed,” Lee told him with a warning note in his voice.
Jamieson knew
that there was no way he was going to be able to keep Lee in Med bay, however
badly he was hurt.
At that moment
they were interrupted by Jamieson’s secretary with the coffee. She smiled at Lee as she put the tray down on
the desk. “I included some cookies; I thought you might be hungry.”
Lee returned
the smile. “Thanks.”
Jamieson
couldn’t help smiling himself. The Crane
charm worked every time, even when Lee wasn’t trying.
“What?” Lee asked as he reached for his coffee and a
cookie.
“I’m glad that
someone can get you to eat, even if it is only cookies.”
Lee gave him a
shy smile.
The doctor
frowned and shook his head. He’d let
Lee finish his coffee and cookies and then he was going to give him a thorough
exam. “I hope you’re not planning on
driving yourself home,” he changed the subject.
Lee again shook
his head. “A friend is waiting outside, and before you say anything, I am going
home to sleep in my own bed. So don’t
even think about trying to keep me here,” Lee warned.
Jamieson threw
up his hands in surrender. “I don’t know why I bother.”
Lee gave him a
mischievous grin. “I’m your favourite patient.”
“And the
worst,” Jamieson shot back. “You realise
that I am going to have to make a report to the Admiral?”
“I guess
so.” Lee shrugged.
“Come on, let’s
get this over with.” Getting up,
Jamieson moved around the desk to help Crane out of the chair.
***
Lying on the
exam table, Lee had to admit that he was tired.
He could quite easily have closed his eyes and slept, but there was no
way he was going to let Jamieson get his claws into him. The journey had tired him and he wanted to
go home and catch up on some sleep before he faced Nelson and the wrath of his
friend and Exec. Chip Morton.
“You’ve got
more lives than a cat,” Jamieson commented as he examined the wound on Lee’s
calf.
Lee knew how
lucky he’d been. The bullet had missed
the bone and major blood vessels; it had entered the back of his calf on a
slant and exited the side. It still hurt
like hell and it hadn’t helped that he’d been some distance from medical help.
Jamieson
frowned in concern. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Lee gave his
head a small shake. “No, Jamie, I’m fine.
I’m tired that’s all.”
“How much blood
did you lose?” Jamieson enquired as he
re-dressed and bandaged the leg.
Lee shrugged.
“Don’t know, I was unconscious a lot of the time.”
Jamieson shook
his head disapprovingly. “Okay, sit up
and let me take a look at that head wound.”
Lee sat up and
swung his legs over the side of the table.
He winced as Jamieson examined the bullet crease on the back of his
head, if he hadn’t fallen as the bullet struck, it would have blown a hole in
the back of his head and he would be dead.
“I think we can
dispense with the bandage. Keep it clean
and be careful you don’t open it up again,” the doctor instructed as he pulled
off his surgical gloves and walked over to the clinical waste bin. After tossing the gloves into the bin he
turned back to Lee. “Your good to go, but I’ll need you back here to have the
stitches out.”
Lee nodded and
slid carefully down from the table. “Thanks, Jamie.”
“Don’t think
you’ve totally escaped. Once the
stitches are out you’ll need to exercise that leg to build up the muscle,”
Jamieson warned as he took Lee’s arm, helping to steady him.
“How long will
that take?” Lee asked as he pulled on
his pants. He was bored already and was
anxious to get back to work, even if it was light duty.
Jamieson
smiled. “If you follow orders I’ll pass
you fit for light duty as soon as you can drive.”
“I could drive
one of the institute cars,” Lee suggested hopefully.
Jamieson shook
his head. “Go home and get some sleep.
We’ll see how things are when the stitches are out,” he ordered sternly.
“Can’t blame me
for trying,” Lee grinned and headed for the door to make good his escape before
Jamieson changed his mind and ordered 24 hours observation.
***
Sprawled in an
armchair, Lee took another swallow of coffee.
He could hear Alex clearing away the breakfast dishes in the
kitchen. Lee had insisted that he didn’t
need a babysitter, but Alex had been equally determined to stay and had
installed himself in the spare room.
Lee had to
admit that it felt good to be home and sleep in his own bed. Last night he had, under protest, taken the
pain pills the doctor had left him and had a good night’s rest. After some cajoling from Alex, he had also
managed a decent breakfast this morning.
He still had to
make his report to ONI and had already written a rough draft. He wondered if Admiral Johnson would send
someone to debrief him as he had been ordered not to set foot in his office at
the institute; much to his annoyance and frustration. He would have liked to have checked on his
boat before coming home, but he wasn’t allowed near the dock either.
Lee sighed
heavily. He knew that he had to give
his leg time to heal, but he was bored and eager to get back to work; he needed
something to do. Just because he was house bound, it didn’t mean that he
couldn’t do something useful with his time.
Then there was
Nelson, although Lee was aware that Nelson did not approve of his continued
involvement with ONI, the Admiral had not tried to stop him from taking the
assignment. Lee suddenly found himself
remembering the first night he’d spent in the jungle, sitting on the temple
steps, reflecting on his argument with Chip.
He remembered the camera; he’d
taken some shots of the temple, thinking that Nelson might be interested. It was a shame that Alex didn’t manage to
retrieve the camera instead of that stupid photo.
He’d been
expecting a visit from his friend and XO.
Chip had been pissed at him before he’d left the boat. He knew that Chip
had not meant the things he had said in the heat of the moment, but still he
felt the need to talk to Chip and clear the air between them. If he was honest, that was partly the reason
for his restlessness.
“How’s the
head? Do you need anything?” Alex asked as he stuck his head around the
door, interrupting his thoughts.
Lee scowled.
“Yes, I need something to do, I’m going stir crazy.” He’d contemplated calling
his secretary and asking her to bring him something to work on. There was only one problem, Donna had not
been to the lighthouse and most people had problems finding it on the first
visit.
“I can’t help
you there, sorry,” Alex entered the room and sat in the other armchair. “Why
don’t you watch some TV, I’m sure you could find something to watch.”
Lee
snorted. A couch potato he was not. “I
would have thought that you’d want to get back to that lovely wife of yours,
instead of babysitting me.”
“Are you trying
to get rid of me? You could hurt a
person’s feelings,” Alex said in mock indignation.
***
Admiral Nelson
looked up from his paperwork and sighed.
He could hear the sounds of an argument coming from Crane’s office. Closing the file in front of him, Nelson got
up and headed out. Lee Crane was
supposed to be at home recovering from his injuries and Nelson suspected that
was the cause of the argument.
He shook his
head as he passed Angie’s desk and she gave him a sympathetic smile. Like the rest of the staff on the command
floor, she was used to Lee’s occasional run-ins with Will Jamieson, Seaview’s
CMO. By the sounds of this one, neither
of them was prepared to back down. Lee
was stubborn, that was what made him such a good Captain, but sometimes that
same determination drove everyone crazy.
Especially when it came to Lee’s health; the man refused to rest when it
was clear to everyone else that he needed to do so.
Reaching
Crane’s office, Nelson opened the door and the voices instantly raised several
decibels. Lee’s secretary was not at her
desk and Nelson guessed that she had decided to make herself scarce until
things calmed down. He entered Lee’s
office to catch the end of the argument.
“I let you go
home on the understanding that you would stay there and rest,”
“That may have
been your understanding, Jamie, but it wasn’t mine.” Lee was standing behind his desk, leaning
heavily on a cane.
“Seaview is in
port; there is absolutely no need for you to be here,” Jamieson told him, his
arms folded across his chest and a determined expression on his face.
“No need,” Lee
waved his free hand at his desk, “there is every need; I have a mountain of
paperwork.”
“You’re the
Captain; delegate,”
“I will not
foist my work off on someone else when I am perfectly capable of doing it
myself,” Lee replied angrily.
Nelson cleared
his throat as he moved into the office. “Gentlemen, do you realise that I could
hear you both in my office?”
“I’m sorry if
we disturbed you, Admiral,” Lee apologised quietly, glaring at Jamieson.
This was the
first time that Nelson had seen Lee since his return and he noticed how pale
Lee looked. “Sit down, Lee,” he ordered gently.
“Will you all
get off my back and let me do my job!” Lee snapped, his eyes burnished with
gold.
Nelson stopped
in his tracks, taken aback by the venom in Lee’s voice.
Lee gave a
heavy sigh. “I’m sorry, Admiral, that was out of line.”
Nelson took a
step closer. “That’s all right, Lee, you’re in pain and its clouding your
emotions.” He reached out hesitantly and
put a hand on Lee’s shoulder. “Sit down, lad,” he urged, half expecting Lee to
shrug him off.
Lee lowered
himself into his chair with a sigh.
“Of course you
know that you have frightened your secretary?” Nelson teased. “The poor girl
has probably taken refuge somewhere until the fireworks stopped. Good secretaries are hard to find, Commander,
I would appreciate it if you would try not to scare her away,” he chastised softly.
Lee gave him a
sheepish grin. “Yes, Sir.”
Lee tried to
keep the pain from showing on his face.
Yes, his leg was aching and had stopped him sleeping. He’d woken in the early hours with cramp and
had been forced to take the damn pain meds that he hated. But that was no excuse for losing his
temper. He knew that Jamie had his
welfare at heart and he shouldn’t have let his anger and frustration get the
better of him. He only wanted to be
allowed to do his job. He sighed and
looked up at the doctor. “I’m sorry Jamie, I shouldn’t have lost my temper, it
was unprofessional.”
“I’m sorry too,
Skipper. After all, you are my CO,”
Jamieson smiled.
“Why don’t we
all take a break and grab a coffee?” Nelson suggested.
Lee appreciated
the gesture, but he couldn’t face the thought of getting up again and walking
anywhere right now. His injured leg
protested every movement.
At that moment
the door opened and Chip Morton stuck his head in. “Is it safe to come in?”
Lee groaned
inwardly. “Yes, Chip, come on in.” The
trio of mother hens was complete and he didn’t stand a chance.
“Chip, you’re
just in time, we were about to adjourn to my office for coffee,” Nelson told
him.
“Admiral, you
and doc go ahead; we’ll be along in a few minutes,” Chip said.
Lee studied Chip;
he’d been expecting a visit from his friend and prepared himself for the coming
lecture. “All right, Chip, let’s have it.”
Chip
frowned. “Lee, I didn’t come here to
criticize you, although I did tell you that you would end up getting hurt
again.”
“Then what?”
Chip moved
around to Lee’s side of the desk and pulled open the top drawer.
“What are you
doing?” Lee asked, slightly annoyed at what he considered an invasion of his
privacy.
Chip rummaged
in the drawer and produced a packet of pills, along with the picture of Lee at
the ruins. “Hey, what’s this, that Kodak
moment? Someone couldn’t resist snapping
a picture?”
“Damn spy
cameras,” Lee muttered, he’d gotten careless, not noticing the camera, but who
puts cameras in a swamp?
“The camera
loves you, buddy,” Chip teased, placing the photo on the desk in front of Lee,
along with the pills. “Take them,” he ordered.
Lee recognised
the pills as Tylenol, picked up his empty coffee mug he handed it to Chip with
a smile.
Chip shook his
head, but took the mug and disappeared, returning a short time later with some
water.
“Thanks,” Lee
swallowed two of the pills and returned the packet to the drawer. “Happy now?”
“Yeah,
ecstatic, you can tell me the full story later.”
Lee struggled
to his feet. “Mustn’t keep the Admiral waiting.” He knew that he hadn’t heard the last of it,
but it appeared that for now, Chip was prepared to let it slide. Now all he had to do was convince Nelson and
Jamie that he was fit for light duty. Maybe
he could distract Nelson with the picture of the temple ruins. Chip hovered by his side as Lee limped
towards the door.
*End*