Right Mind
By Chris B.
The one
thing that fascinated Lee Crane most, captain of the Nelson Institute of Marine
Research submarine SSRN Seaview was that everything seemed to proceed in slow
motion despite the actual high rate of speed at which things were occurring. He was captivated by the fact that he was
watching events unfold as though they were advancing one frame at a time giving
him the opportunity to catalog and capture every detail about the horrific
scene rapidly unfolding before him. He
watched as the blue late model ¾ ton Ford pickup strayed across the center line
of the two lane mountain road and made a beeline directly for him. He noted the driver, a young man in his early
20s, short blond hair, moustache and a dark heart-shaped mole on his left cheek,
wearing a blue chambray shirt over a black t-shirt and a small gold cross
suspended from a chain around his neck was either asleep or passed out from too
much alcohol, made no moves to return the truck to its correct side of the road. He noticed the two ladybugs that had been
cavorting on the dashboard of his SUV crash into the inside of the windshield
as he romped on the brakes and the artistic splatter pattern on the center
console as the contents of his cup of coffee dashed against it. He watched as the cars both behind and ahead
of him slammed on their brakes and skidded and skewed across the road trying
desperately to avoid being caught up in the head on collision that was
happening before their eyes.
Lee also
noted that he had absolutely nowhere to go as the opposite side of the road was
a granite cliff face and his side of the road beyond the guardrail was a 200
foot drop to the braided river below. He
marveled at how each of his appendages moved in synchronicity trying to control
his borrowed SUV to keep from taking out other cars and in some small way limit
how terribly he was going to be hit when the truck finally slammed into
him. He actually mentally snickered at
the irony of being taken out while on an ordered leave by his Chief Medical
Officer to relax and stay out of trouble.
As the
two vehicles met he watched in amazement the deployment of the airbags and the intricate
folding and crumpling of plastic, glass and metal twisting into new forms never
envisioned by the vehicle’s designers. He also marveled at how everything
seemed to go silent as he didn’t seem to hear the screeching of the tires, the
grating of his bumper against the guardrail on his right or the sound of metal
and plastic tearing, bending and shattering as the oncoming truck plowed into
him. He felt the pain as the side panel
jammed into his left side and as his head slammed into the side window shattering
it and meeting up with the grill of the errant truck. At that point it all faded to black as it
felt as though his skull caved in on his brain and a blinding white flash
preceded the night.
?????
“Get him
into Trauma Room 1 stat! He’s on the
edge and we’re about to lose him!” called out the emergency room doctor as the
gurney was unloaded from the Flight for Life helicopter on the hospital
roof. A large procession of medical
personnel escorted the gurney into the elevator and down to the emergency room
all the while continuing efforts to save the man sliding precariously close to
death.
“Get him
typed and cross matched for whole blood transfusion, he’s bleeding
internally. Get x-rays of his head,
chest and left side. Notify the ER
surgeon we have a case for him and get him prepped for immediate surgery.”
The ER
staff quickly stripped the man of his blood soaked clothing revealing a massive
array of bruises, cuts, and scrapes. The
doctor grimaced at the obvious trauma sustained in the crash and worked
frantically to stabilize the man’s condition so he could be taken in for
emergency surgery.
As the
rush of activities needed to prep him for surgery came to a halt the doctor let
loose a huge sigh of relief as his patient’s condition began to settle and
stabilize as the drugs and fluids started to work reversing some of the effects
of the accident on his body. “What the hell
happened to him?” he asked the EMT that had accompanied him in from the
accident site.
“Drunk
driver nailed him head-on. Bastard
walked away with a couple of scratches and a hell of a hangover,” the EMT
nearly spat. “According to the witnesses
this guy did an incredible job controlling his car to keep from taking out anyone
else.”
“Well
you and your partner did a fantastic job with the on-site treatment so he at
least stands a chance. He took quite a
blow to the head if he comes out whole I’ll be surprised. So do we have an ID on him?”
“Not
that the State Troopers could find.
There was no wallet on him but they’re running the plates on the SUV to
find out who owns it,” the EMT answered.
The
doctor returned to his patient perused the readouts from the monitoring
equipment and let go a small smile.
“Looks like he’s ready for the surgery; let’s get him transferred up to
the OR now.”
?????
One week
earlier…
“I mean
it Lee; you haven’t taken more than a day off in the last 8 months. You will
take off the next three weeks and get away from NIMR and work, to include ONI,
or I will declare you medically unfit and prohibit you from sailing on the next
mission,” Will Jamieson said as he glared at his commanding officer pacing
furiously across his boss’ office.
“Three
weeks?! Oh come on Jamie I can’t be away
that long. We’ve got a major refit
starting in three days and I’m needed here to help oversee it.” Lee replied.
“Believe
it or not Captain, there are other
officers and men on this boat and employed at NIMR that are equally well
qualified to watch over and direct those activities, isn’t that right Admiral Nelson,” Jamieson responded.
“Yes
Doctor you are correct as usual,” Harriman Nelson, founder of NIMR, replied
evenly trying desperately to choke back a smile. He knew his captain and surrogate son was a
workaholic who lived and breathed his boat and any time he was forced away from
her for more than a couple of days seemed like pure torture.
“Admiral,
come on three weeks! That’s not fair,”
Lee whined. Even to his ears he sounded
like a five year old having his favorite toy taken away for some misdeed. “I mean to Chip and Sharkey. You know how much work goes on during a refit
and the long days required, it’s not fair to dump that all on their shoulders,”
he quickly amended in hopes of salvaging his argument.
“Oh I
think they can manage,” Nelson answered.
“As the good doctor has already pointed out there are numerous people
qualified to carry out these activities plus it gives them much needed
experience in directing such projects.
My god Lee, you’re not being punished.
You’ve earned the time off and need to take it to refresh your batteries
and clear your mind.”
Lee
folded his arms and glowered at both men.
“Fine, be that way,” Lee sulked more than a little unhappy at not
getting his way.
“Lee
this refit is going to run well over six weeks, you’ll still get your
opportunity to see what’s going on and how everything is coming together.”
Harri said as he patted his captain on the shoulder in an attempt to assuage
the sting of being forced to take time off and relax.
“Did it
ever occur to you that I find this relaxing?” Lee offered.
“No. You put in longer days than anyone else and
unless the refit involves upgrades to the officer’s quarters you more often than
not start sleeping on the boat so you’re immediately available should something
come up. In my book Captain that is not
relaxation. Based on previous experience
you’re more wiped out by a refit than you are from most ONI missions that don’t
go well,” Jamie fired back growing tired of Lee’s stonewalling. “Geez Lee what is so difficult about cutting
the umbilical cord between you and Seaview for a little time off? There are
mothers that suffer less post-partum separation anxiety than you. I’m pretty
sure the Admiral is not going to snatch her away from you; the crew would
mutiny.”
“Jamie’s
right Lee, you need the break. I’ll even
be taking time off to go visit Edith and a few friends back in Boston during
that time.”
Seeing a
snowball’s chance in hell of getting what he wanted Lee finally let loose a
huge sigh in resignation. “Okay, it’s
quite obvious I’m not going to win. I’ll
go clear off my desk and then I’m out of here.”
“Thank
you.” Jamieson replied sincerely. “You
need the break Lee for all our sakes.”
?????
“Wow
three weeks, that’s sweet Lee,” Chip replied as he uncapped his bottle of beer
then plopped down on the lounge chair on Lee’s deck.
Lee
glared at him a moment then finally relented and smiled. “Not my idea, believe me. What the hell am I going to do with myself
for three weeks?”
“Damn
bro, you’re that unimaginative that you can’t come up with some way to spend
three weeks with no responsibilities other than to have fun? No wonder Jamie is insisting you take this break;
you are way out of practice. I could
draw up a list of suggested activities for you if it really is beyond your
capabilities,” Chip sniped back with a chuckle.
“Thanks
anyway Chip; I just don’t find computer camp exciting.”
Chip scowled
then spurted a stream of beer at Lee hitting him in the ear. They both started laughing as Lee wiped dry
the side of his face.
“Oh real
mature Morton.”
“So
really have you come up with any ideas for your time off?”
“I’m
thinking about heading up to Alaska to do a little backcountry backpacking and
some fishing. Remember Jack Winter, we
were on the same boat in Norfolk? He
just transferred up there and sent me an invite to come up for a visit.”
“Yes I
remember Jack, you two are dangerous together.
I don’t think Jamie or the admiral would approve of that,” Chip replied
with a smirk.
“That
was years ago, we’ve both settled down quite a bit since then,” Lee said with a
laugh.
“Yeah
right, you two look enough alike to be brothers and have the same affinity for
finding trouble in the most innocuous of places,” Chip snorted in
response. “So what’s he doing up in
Alaska?”
“He
resigned from the Navy and is working with a security company that monitors the
Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and protects it from threats, foreign and
domestic,” Lee replied smiling as he parroted Jack’s description.
“That
sounds right up his alley. So where’s he
living?”
“He’s
out of Valdez, where TAPS terminates. I
think I’ll fly in there hook up with him for a few days then head out to the
backcountry.”
“Sounds
like a good deal, you better not come back without a few hundred pounds of
salmon and halibut. If I have to stay
here and slave over a refit I expect to be well fed when you get back,” Chip
said with a wink.
Lee just
rolled his eyes shook his head and laughed.
“You got it gutter gut.”
?????
As Lee
entered the small airplane terminal in Valdez he was immediately greeted by his
friend. “Hey Lee! Great to see you bro, you’re looking good.”
Jack said as they shook hands then drew Lee into a huge bear hug.
Chip was
right they could have passed as brothers; both were tall, slender,
well-muscled, dark curly hair, olive complexion and devastating smiles that
generally could get them whatever they wanted.
Their exploits during the two years they ran together as LTs in Norfolk
were nearly legendary or infamous depending on one’s point of view.
“Great
to see you Jack, looks like Alaska agrees with you. Man this place is incredible, I can’t believe
how scenic it is. I don’t know which way
to look first,” Lee replied with a laugh.
“You’ve
lucked out, as usual, the weather just broke and the skies are clear. We’ve been weathered in for the last few
days,” Jack answered.
“I can
deal with that. So how’s life up here in
the Last Frontier?”
“I’m not
complaining, great work, super people and all kinds of things to do. You’ll have to come back in the winter and
we’ll do some backcountry skiing; it is truly world class around here. Come on let’s grab your bags and head back to
the house.”
They
quickly picked up Lee’s luggage, tossed it in the back of Jack’s SUV and drove
the 20 miles to his secluded mountain home.
“Wow
some cabin Jack,” Lee said in appreciation as he caught sight of the house.
“Yeah
not too bad is it. I just happened to
hit town at the right time; it came on the market the day I arrived and I fell
in love with it at first sight. Made an
offer the first day I was here. Come on
I’ll show you your room then give you a quick tour.”
The
‘cabin’ was a huge A-frame log structure with soaring 20 foot ceilings, huge
windows displaying a panoramic view of the mountains and surrounding forest,
large slate fireplace, solid wood floors, gourmet kitchen, an immense master
bedroom suite and four well-appointed guest rooms. Outside the windows was a large wrap-around deck
that was currently bathed in the warm afternoon sunlight. The only sounds were the birds, the wind in
the trees and a small stream flowing somewhere in the distance.
“I can
see why you grabbed it up,” Lee said after getting the grand tour.
“Yeah, I
totally love it up here. At night I can lie
in bed and hear the wolves and foxes howling off in the distance and I’ve lost
count of the number of bear, moose and sheep I’ve seen just sitting out on the
deck. It’s like my own private animal
park,” Jack replied with a laugh. “So
what are your plans Lee?”
“I’m
very flexible. I’d like to do some
hiking and camping with a little fishing thrown in. What’s your schedule like, can you come out
and play for a few days?”
“Definitely,
but it won’t be for another week or so.
I told you we’d been weathered in for a while, well I have to go out and
conduct some security site visits that I missed while we were grounded. That should take 10 days max. How about I give you my rig and let you head
back into the mountains to do your hiking and camping then come on in and we’ll
get a charter and go fishing for some ‘but.”
“Sounds
like a great plan, I just don’t want to outstay my welcome. Chip made me promise to bring back some
halibut or else. If I get like rotten
fish, just let me know when I need to push on.”
“No
problem. We’ll spend the next couple of
days doing the Valdez thing and get you oriented. I’ll point out some of the areas you might
want to consider for your jump off point and then I’ll release you into the
wild,” Jack offered with a chuckle and Lee nodded in agreement. “Now that that’s settled come lend me a hand
with dinner. I’ve got some great moose
steaks just waiting for the grill and some excellent local brews to help wash
it down.”
?????
Orientation
to Valdez took about an hour and the rest of the next two days was spent
scouting out trailheads for Lee’s backpacking.
On Monday morning Lee got up early to drive Jack down to the airport so
he could catch his helicopter and begin the security visits along the TAPS corridor. After he dropped him off, he stopped at one
of the local coffee shacks and picked up a coffee and a couple of fresh
pastries then returned to Jack’s place to finish packing his gear, load up the
car and then head out for a week of hiking and camping.
Jack had
given him a backpack to use and he carefully sorted through his luggage pulling
out all the items he needed for his backcountry activities. He threw in a couple of changes of underwear,
shirts, shorts, jeans, lots of socks, bug dope, satellite phone, GPS, food,
cooking pot, water, sleeping bag, small tent and his gun and ammo. He vacillated back and forth between stowing
his wallet with his gear and keeping it in his back pocket. Finally deciding to
decide when he was ready to go he placed it on the sofa next to his pack.
Done
with packing he brewed up a pot of coffee then went out on the deck to enjoy
the morning and eat the goodies he had purchased earlier. Being mid-summer the sun was already up
despite the early hour and he relaxed and watched the forest around him come
alive as the warmth of the day increased.
After a leisurely breakfast he cleaned up the kitchen, grabbed his
backpack, car keys and headed out the door to start his adventure. As he shut and locked the door, his forgotten
wallet slid off the couch and hit the cabin floor.
?????
Pain, excruciating,
unrelenting pain was the first sensation that crushed down upon him. It felt as though his head was going to
explode accompanied by an equally pervasive pain in his side. He moaned quietly trying his best to bite
back the sound. The next thing to invade
his consciousness was the sound of machines quietly counting his heartbeat
followed by a medicinal smell that he always associated with doctors and hospitals.
Finding
it dark, he finally realized his eyes were closed and he tried with everything
he had to crack them open. The influx of
light sent a lightning bolt of pain pinging through his head and this time he
was unable to squelch his groan. He
snapped his eyes shut and tried desperately to regulate his breathing and the
pain lancing through his body.
A moment
later someone touched him lightly on the shoulder and spoke to him. He assumed they were trying to coax him awake
but he couldn’t understand a word they were saying. He cautiously pried open his eyes once again
and observed a fuzzy form in front of his face that finally resolved into a young
woman looking down at him expectantly.
She spoke again but he had no idea what she was saying.
“Welcome
back, how are you feeling Jack?”
All he
heard was blah, blah, blah. He didn’t
understand whatever language she was speaking.
He tried to speak but it felt as though his tongue had been permanently
glued to the roof of his mouth and something had died there. He smacked his lips trying to get the saliva
to flow but he was so thirsty. The woman
walked away and then returned with a glass of water with a straw. She moved the straw to his lips and he sucked
in the cooling fluid gratefully. Once
he’d had his fill he nodded and eased his head back to the pillow.
“Where am I?” he asked.
“What
was that?” the nurse replied.
“Where am I? Who are you?” he repeated.
The
nurse moved to the phone and dialed a couple of numbers. “Doctor he’s awake, but he’s speaking in a
language I don’t understand…Yes, he seems alert and drank some water when I
offered it…Not that I can tell, he hasn’t said a name… See you shortly.”
He eyed
her warily. Somewhere in his confused
mind he somehow thought that they were enemies but he couldn’t remember
why. She moved back to his side and
gently picked up his left wrist took his pulse and recorded her findings on the
clipboard at the end of the bed. A few
minutes later the door to his room swung open and a man in a green shirt and pants
entered.
“Good
morning, I’m Doctor McGraw. It’s good to
see you awake; you’ve had us wondering if you would make it back. Do you know your name? Do you recall what
happened? ”
He
looked at him and focused hard trying desperately to understand what he was
saying. He shook his head slightly
hoping to clear the cobwebs he felt littering his brain. That wasn’t the greatest of ideas as the
movement shot another spike of pain through his head. He closed his eyes and grimaced fighting hard
to swallow the sound.
“My
guess is you’ve got quite a headache if that grimace is any indication.” He moved over to the cabinet and pulled out a
vial and syringe then drew off an amount and injected it into his IV line. “That should ease the pain a bit.”
He felt
the pain begin to abate and sighed in relief as it became a more manageable
dull throb. “Thank you” he said.
The
doctor looked at him for a moment trying to figure out what language he had
used. He pointed to himself, “Eric
McGraw.” He next pointed to the man in
the bed.
Even he
got the point; they wanted to know his name.
“Leon Borodin1,” he replied pointing to himself.
“Good
well that’s a start Leon. Apparently you haven’t a clue what I’m saying and we
need to change that. Margo, please stay with
Leon and make sure he is comfortable and relaxed, I’m going to see if I can
find someone who can translate for us.”
“Yes
Doctor. Do you have any idea what
language he’s speaking?” she asked.
“I’m not
certain but it sounds like Republicese. I’ve got a couple of friends at the Coast
Guard station that might be able to help us out.”
“You
think he’s from the People’s Republic?
What in the world is he doing here?” Margo asked.
“There’s
no telling. There are multiple
opportunities for espionage or other types of mischief the PR could get
involved in in this area. I’ll alert
security to post a guard until we get this sorted out.”
?????
Leon
closed his eyes feeling suddenly tired.
His side hurt, his head hurt and he had no clue as to what had happened or
why he was being held here. They didn’t
seem as though they wanted to hurt him or desired any information from him yet
he still felt extremely ill at ease.
The next
time he opened his eyes was when he heard the door to his room open and McGraw
and another man dressed in a uniform entered.
He slowly focused on them and stared intently at the pair. They spoke briefly with each other and he
heard them mention his name. Finally the
man in the uniform advanced and began to speak.
“Good afternoon Mr. Borodin, my name is Commander
Thomas Adkin of the United States Coast Guard.
Do you understand me?” Adkin said in Repulicese
Leon
nodded.
“Good afternoon Commander Adkin, yes I understand you. Could you please tell me where I am and what
happened to me?”
“Mr. Borodin you were involved in
a car accident about 40 miles north of Valdez, Alaska. Can you tell me what you were doing there?”
“I have no recollection of that
or how I even got there. I am a merchant
seaman from Cordessa, People’s Republic. The last thing I remember was being on a
freighter heading for Mexico.”
“Cordessa
is quite a distance from here, Leon; may I call you Leon? How do you explain your presence here?”
“As I said I have no idea how I
came to be here. I vaguely remember being
adrift in the ocean and climbing in a raft.
I wish I could tell you more but that’s all I can recall,” Leon answered honestly.
“Tom,
please ask him how he feels? I need to
check on his physical and mental condition given the extreme nature of his
accident,” Eric asked.
“The doctor wants to know how you
feel,” Adkin
relayed.
“My head hurts and I feel kind of
sick to my stomach. My side hurts as
well. Can you tell me what happened
please?”
“You were involved in an auto
accident as you were driving up a mountain pass. You sustained a serious head injury, some
cracked ribs and internal injuries. You
have been here in the hospital unconscious for the past three days.”
“Three…days…,” Leon replied shocked at being out
so long.
“He said
his head hurts, he’s sick to his stomach and his side hurts. He also said he has no recollection of what
happened and says he’s just a merchant seaman from Cordessa,
PR. The last he remembers was climbing into a life raft in the ocean.” Adkin
relayed to McGraw.
“Well I
can’t say I’m all that surprised he’s confused. He took quite a shot to the
head and sustained a major concussion in his meeting with the pickup accompanied
by significant swelling of the brain.
Would you let him know we’ll give him something for the nausea and the
pain? Also let him know that I would
like for him to get some rest now and that I’ll be giving him a mild sedative
to help him sleep,” the doctor replied.
While
Adkin explained what the doctor had said, McGraw had moved to the medicine
cabinet and was collecting the appropriate painkillers and sedatives for his
patient. He turned around quickly when
he heard Leon’s raised voice quite obviously refusing what was being offered.
“What’s
wrong?” McGraw asked.
“He says
he doesn’t want the pain killer or the sedative, he says ‘he’s fine’ and not in
need of your potions,” Adkin relayed.
“His words, not mine.”
“Tell
him this is non-negotiable; he needs the rest and this is the best way for him
to get it.”
As Adkin
relayed the message Leon became quite agitated and began pushing his way out of
bed. There was something in the back of his
mind that he must not be detained here or drugged, he had to get out. Adkin and McGraw both pushed him back down
and the doctor injected the medicine into his IV. They held him firmly in place until the
sedative began to take effect. After a
few minutes Leon finally fell asleep.
“That
should keep him down for about 8 hours. Are
you going to post a guard outside his room?” Eric said.
“Yes. There haven’t been any reported boats in
distress or reports of missing crewmen so I don’t see how he could have come to
be in this part of the world. If he had
turned up somewhere in the Aleutians that would be more plausible but here in
Valdez, no way. I’ll see about having him transferred to the base hospital in
Anchorage where they can keep better tabs on him there. So do you have any inkling as to who he is?”
Adkin asked.
“According
to the State Troopers he was driving a car registered to a Jack Winter. He matches the general description but there
was no other ID on him. His car was full
of backpacking and camping gear. I guess
I should probably alert the Troopers so they can verify his identity and if
he’s not Winter they can start looking for him.”
“I’ll
see about getting a team out from the FBI to get prints to try and track down
his identity too. Well I’m going to head
back to my office and give Anchorage a call and set things in motion. If anything comes up give me a call.”
?????
He began
rising towards consciousness like a deep diver coming to the surface. As he came closer to the top the darkness
gave way to the light and he slowly cracked his eyes. The lights were subdued but still stabbed at
his eyes and made his head ring in pain.
There was a deep throbbing ache in his left side and as he moved his
hand down he found his middle swathed in bandages. He thought furiously trying to remember how
he came to be here and found himself to be at a total loss.
He
shifted slightly in bed and that movement sent a wave of pain through his side
and pinged up into his head. He moaned
loudly drawing the attention of the nurse who was completing her rounds.
“So
you’re back with us Leon,” she said.
He
stared at the nurse oddly for a moment.
“Why are you calling me Leon? My name is
Lee Glenn2.”
The
nurse looked at him somewhat startled. “So
you do speak English,” she said with a smile.
Lee
looked at her oddly again. “Of course I
speak English; I’m from Boston, Mass.
Why would you think I don’t speak English?” He quickly looked around the room not
recognizing anything. “Where am I? How did I get here? Who are you?”
“Well
this is interesting. My name is Margo
Watson and I’m a nurse here at the Valdez Medical Center in Valdez, Alaska.”
“Alaska?! What the hell am I doing in Alaska? How did I get here? Last thing I remember I was looking for work
in the Greek Islands,” Lee replied trying desperately to get a grip on the
situation.
“Just
lie back and relax Lee, let me get the doctor and hopefully he can answer your
questions,” Margo answered. She walked
across the room and picked up the phone. “Dr. McGraw, the patient in 210 is
awake. He’s now saying his name is Lee
Glenn and he’s speaking English…Okay, I’ll stay here until you arrive.”
“Please,
can you tell me what is going on, why am I here?” Lee pleaded.
A moment
later Dr. McGraw entered the room followed closely by the guard who had been
stationed at the door. He spoke quickly
with the nurse then walked over to his patient.
“Good
morning, I’m Dr. Eric McGraw. How are
you feeling today?”
“I’ve
felt better. My head hurts and my body
feels like I’ve been run over by a herd of elephants. What happened, why am I here?” Lee asked.
“Do you
know your name?” McGraw asked.
“Yeah I
know my name. I’m Lee Glenn. She says we’re in Alaska, how the hell did I
get in Alaska?” Lee answered.
“Lee
Glenn? What’s the last thing you
remember Mr. Glenn?”
Lee
stared at him a moment then closed his eyes and tried to recollect where he was
and what he had been doing. After a
moment he looked at the doctor, guard and nurse. “I had just jumped off a freighter when it
made port at a small Greek island and was looking for work. I’m a deep sea salvage diver and had heard
there were jobs out there for someone really good at depth. I had checked into the local hotel, room 25
to be exact and then had gone out diving to get a feel for the
neighborhood. There was this girl who
nearly harpooned me with her spear gun and when we got back top side we found
her father drowned on the beach. After
that I got a job offer from a local archeologist recovering relics on the sea
floor and that’s the last I remember.”
The
doctor stared at Lee quizzically along with the other two people in the room.
“What’s
wrong? What happened, how did I get
here? I answered your questions, why
don’t you answer some of mine,” Lee asked as he read their baffled expressions.
“You
were involved in a car accident four days ago, Lee. You’ve been unconscious for three of those
days. When they brought you in you had
no ID, you were driving a car registered to a Jack Winter and the first time
you woke up you in Republicese, identified yourself
as Leon Borodin, a merchant seaman from Cordessa,
PR. Do you remember any of that?”
Lee
stared at McGraw like he was some alien from Mars. “I haven’t a clue what you’re talking
about. I’ve never been to the PR and
have no desire to ever go. I’m Lee Glen
I grew up in Boston, Mass. When I
graduated high school I did a hitch in the Navy and learned to be a deep water
salvage diver. I got out after one tour
and have been kicking around the world wherever the jobs lead me. As far as speaking some other language, I can
order drinks and find the restroom in 5 or 6 but that’s the extent of that and Republicese ain’t one of those
six.”
“Well
I’ll have to differ with you there Lee as you and CDR Adkin held a long
conversation in Republicese the first time you came
around. How do you suppose you can
explain that?” McGraw replied.
“I have
no explanation for that, I’m just telling you what I know right now. I quite honestly think you’re trying to set
me up for something.”
“Why
would we want to do that? What else can
you remember about your life in Boston?
Do you have family? Is there
someone we can call?”
“No, I
grew up an orphan living in foster homes and on the street. I was more than ready to get the hell out of
there once I was old enough to join the Navy.
I got no ties back there or anywhere really other than a sometimes
partner Harriman Jones. Last I knew he
was in Athens but I had kind of skipped out on him because I owed him money.”
“Is he
American?”
“Yeah,
he’s from Boston too. He was a Master Chief
in the Navy when I met him. He retired
about the same time I got out and we started up a deep water salvage business,”
Lee continued.
As he
spoke the USCG petty officer posted as guard quietly wrote down the names and
locations Lee listed. He’d give the
Commander a call when he got a chance and update him on the recent turn of
events.
“Okay
Lee you’ve given us something to go with and hopefully we can get this all
cleared up. I want you to just lie back
and relax. You sustained a number of
injuries in the accident and you need to give your body a chance to heal. I’m going to give you something for the pain
and a light sedative to just relax you,” said McGraw.
“I’m
fine, I don’t need any of your stuff; it messes with my mind,” Lee replied
defensively.
Eric
regarded Lee for a moment reading his body language and gauging just how much
pain the man was actually experiencing.
“Okay I’ll forgo giving you anything right now if you’ll promise to rest
and try and get some sleep.”
“Fine,
I’ll give it a shot. Could I get
something to drink though?”
“Sure,
Margo would you get Lee a glass of orange juice? Also, have some lunch sent up.”
“I’m not
that hungry, I’ll pass on that.”
“Non-negotiable
Lee, you need to rebuild your strength.
Eat what you can, okay.” McGraw answered.
“I’ll be
back in a few minutes Lee with your drink and a nice lunch. The food here is actually pretty good for a
hospital,” Margo said with a chuckle as she exited the room.
Lee
nodded then laid his head back on the pillows as McGraw and the petty officer
exited the room. He reached over grabbed
the TV remote and turned on the set. He
began flipping through the various channels trying to find something to watch. He suddenly stopped his surfing when he came
across a program on The Discovery Channel about the Nelson Institute of Marine
Research and their magnificent submarine Seaview.
He
became transfixed as the host interviewed the NIMR founder Harriman Nelson
about NIMR’s purpose, the types of research they did and his submarine. Lee somehow felt he should know the man; he
was very familiar though he couldn’t for the life of him ever remember meeting
him. He kind of reminded him of Harriman
Jones. The images of the vessel and the men working on the boat all seemed
eerily familiar and the longer he watched the more his head began to hurt. As the image shifted from Nelson to the
captain of the Seaview, the shock was too much and Lee cried out in pain and
passed out dropping the remote which changed the channel when it hit the floor.
?????
A faint
voice could be heard in the distance, but he had no memory of who it was or
what it was saying to him. The only
thing he seemed to remember was that pain always greeted him of late when he
rejoined the conscious world and it was growing quite tiresome. Giving it all he had he forced open his eyes
to find a man who looked like a doctor, another dressed in a uniform and a
woman staring down at him anxiously.
“Lee,
blah, blah, blah,” the man in green said to him.
He
looked up at them confused by what was going on and how he came to find himself
in this hospital room in so much pain. “Where am I?
What happened?” he said in response to their words.
The
looks of surprise on their faces confounded him as they regarded him
incredulously. They spoke amongst
themselves for a moment then turned their attention back on him.
“What’s
he speaking now?” asked Margo.
“Sounds
Arabic if I were to hazard a guess,” McGraw replied after a moment. Turning his
attention to the man in bed he placed his hand on his chest and spoke. “Eric McGraw.” He then motioned to the other apparently
asking for a name.
He
nodded indicating he understood. “I am Lateef Chutani,”
he replied in Pashto. “Please can you tell me where I am and how I
came to be here?” He regarded their
confused expressions then decided to try another tack. “Parlez vous Francais?” He had spent a number of years in France
studying nuclear physics so he was equally fluent in that language in addition
to his native tongue.
McGraw
just shook his head in amusement. “Geez
this guy is a virtual UN all by himself.
Yes I speak French. My name is Eric McGraw I am a physician here
at the Valdez Medical Center in Valdez, Alaska.
Do you know your name; do you know who you are?”
Lateef
nodded and gave them a small smile. “Yes I’m Lateef Chutani
and I’m from Turbat, Pakistan. I’ve been studying abroad in France until I
was called home to take care of a family emergency. How did I come to be here in… Alaska, you say?”
Eric was
becoming more than a little tired with this game having explained the man’s
situation twice already. “You were involved in a serious car accident
5 days ago. You have been awake two
times and both times you have given us a different name and spoken in Republicese and English.
The last time you were awake you cried out in pain and when we came back
into the room you were unconscious. Do
you have any memory of that?”
“No I have no idea what you are
talking about. The last thing I remember
was working with friends and family in the hills near Turbat.” As
he finished that statement a recollection of working on some sort of explosive
device flashed into his mind. He now
realized these were no friends but most likely American officials sent to
interrogate him to gain any information he might have about the Red Jihad and
the rumors they had gotten their hands on weapons grade plutonium3. He knew he had to get out of there now before
they forced him to divulge his secrets.
McGraw
regarded Lateef for a moment trying to decide if he actually suffered from a
multiple personality disorder or if this was some type of ruse to try and hide
who he really was. After he had passed
out earlier, the State Troopers and FBI had arrived and taken his fingerprints
in hopes of finding out the man’s true identity. They were waiting for the results now before
they took further actions.
“Lateef, how are you feeling? Are you in
pain?” Eric asked.
“I have a headache but other than that I’m
fine,” Lateef replied. In actuality his side and head were killing
him but he didn’t need them to know that.
If he disclosed how pain he was really feeling they would no doubt try
and medicate him, which he could not allow.
“I’m just very tired at the moment
and could use some sleep, I think.”
The
doctor scrutinized him more closely trying to tell if he was being honest. He knew he had to be in some discomfort but
he didn’t want to stress the man more than he already was by forcing anything
on him.
“All right, if you say so. If the
pain returns or you have trouble sleeping just press this button and I’ll bring
you something to help you relax.”
“Thank you Doctor, I’m fine for now.” He
responded then settled back into the bed and closed his eyes hoping they would
get the message and leave him alone to plot his escape.
?????
It was
the Friday afternoon senior staff meeting between Nelson and his department
heads used to wrap up items from the week related to the refit and plan for
events the following week. As the
meeting drew to an end Angie opened the door to the Admiral’s office and
entered.
“Excuse
me Admiral, but there is an urgent call from Admiral Hardy at ONI. I told him you were in a meeting but he said
this was an emergency.”
Looks of
concern quickly crossed the faces of everyone in the room, an urgent call from
ONI could only mean one of two things and neither was particularly good. “Fine Angie, put the call through,” Harri
replied as he tried desperately to lower his heartbeat.
“Nelson
here.”
“Harri,
Tom here. We just received notification
of an inquiry on a John Doe in Valdez, Alaska.
The fingerprints that the FBI sent in belong to Crane. I’ve tried getting in touch with him but his
phone goes to voice mail and he hasn’t responded to any of my emails. Is he there with you or elsewhere?”
“No
Lee’s not here, he’s on leave up in Alaska.
Why is the FBI trying to identify him from fingerprints? What’s happened Tom?” Harri answered as he
felt his stomach knot in dread.
“Well
that explains their search, that’s a bit of a relief. Apparently he was involved in a head-on
collision 5 days ago and was unconscious for three. He had no ID on him but matched the
description of the owner of the car so no one immediately followed up. When he finally came to he started speaking
in Republicese and identified himself as Leon
Borodin, a merchant seaman from the PR; that was a cover he used two years ago
when he went in to gather some intel. The doctor told the agent that Leon didn’t
understand English and they had to bring in an interpreter from the Coast Guard
station. When they tried to administer some painkillers he became agitated and they
had to sedate him to settle him down. When
he next woke up he was speaking English and identified himself as Lee Glenn, a
deep water salvage diver working in the Greek Islands. Wasn’t that the cover he used to try and
discover the reason for a spate of vessel attacks related to a hidden subsea
city?”
“Yes
that was the cover he used for that impromptu mission. How badly is Lee injured? Was it an accident
or something more sinister?” At that
question the other men in the room immediately sat up in their chairs.
“According
to the FBI agent he sustained a severe concussion, cracked ribs and internal
injuries. He is apparently on the mend
physically aside from having no idea who he really is. The guy that hit him blew a .2 on the
breathalyzer which is more than twice the legal limit for alcohol intoxication;
the bastard just walked away with a few scratches. The agent I talked to told
me that prior to them collecting his fingerprints he was watching TV then
suddenly cried out in pain and when they rushed into his room he had passed
out. Best as I know he’s still
unconscious. I needed to confirm Lee’s
status before I got back to them to verify his ID and to mobilize intelligence
personnel to his location to ensure he doesn’t divulge classified information.”
“Well
that’s nice to know,” Harri replied sarcastically. “Tom we’re on our way up there now.”
“Hold on
a minute Harri, I’ve got a call from the FBI coming in. Sit tight and let me find out how he’s
doing.”
“All
right Tom, I’ll hold.” Harri
replied. He looked up and was met with a
sea of concerned faces staring at him looking for details having heard only half
of the conversation.
“What’s
wrong with Lee, sir?” Chip inquired. The
other men in the room nodded their heads indicating they had the same question.
“Lee was
involved in a head-on collision and was badly injured. Tom said he sustained a severe concussion,
cracked ribs and internal injuries. He
said the doctors have treated those injuries but the biggest problem is that
every time Lee wakes up he’s somebody else.
I’m guessing because of the head injury his mind is grasping onto ONI
and Seaview cover stories for identities.
When he first woke up he was a merchant seaman from the PR, spoke in Republicese and couldn’t understand English. The next time he came around he was Lee
Glenn, a deep water salvage diver. He
used that cover when we found that underwater city in Greece,” Harri explained.
“Damn, I
had a feeling all those head injuries would eventually catch up with him,”
Jamie fumed. “So what’s his status now?”
“Tom
received a call from the FBI in Alaska and is talking with them now; he’ll give
me an update when he’s finished.” After
five minutes Harri heard Tom come back on the line.
“Harri,
you there?”
“Yes Tom
I’m here,” Harri answered. “I’m going to put you on speaker so I won’t have to
repeat everything you tell me. I’ve got
Morton, Jamieson, Fox, and Sharkey here in the room. What’s the current
situation?”
“Not
good. Lee came to and is now currently Lateef Chutani
and was first conversing in Pashto then switched to French when he realized
they didn’t understand him.”
Chip and
Sharkey immediately paled, scowled and damn near spat on the floor at the sound
of that name. Lee had assumed that
identity while on Seaview as he prepared to go undercover to infiltrate a Red
Jihad terror cell to get his hands on the plutonium they had managed to
obtain. He had so totally morphed into
his cover Chip and the crew were both ready to throw him off the boat. Harri grimaced as well knowing exactly how
reprehensible that individual had been.
Jamie and Darren Fox, head of NIMR security, knew the name but hadn’t
dealt with Lee once he transformed into that person.
“Oh god,
please not that identity. That one cost
us all too much and I’d hoped never to think of that mission again,” Harri
responded.
“I’m
with you on that one Harri. The FBI has
placed a guard on Lee’s room just to be on the safe side since he doesn’t seem
to know his own mind. They were quite
naturally relieved to find out he’s one of ours and don’t have to worry about a
terrorist plot there in Alaska.”
“Thanks
for the information Tom. I’ve got my
staff mobilized and we’ll be on our way to Alaska shortly via FS-1. Hopefully once he sees us his memory will
return.”
“Okay
Harri. I’ve got a man mobilized as well
just so we have double coverage on this.
Give me a call once you get there and let me know how things are going,”
Hardy added.
“Will do
Tom, be talking to you soon. Nelson
out.” Harri disconnected the phone and
looked around the table at the expectant faces.
“Jamie, Chip, grab your gear we’re heading for Alaska. Sharkey contact Seaview and have them prep
FS-1 for immediate departure.” The men
acknowledged Nelson’s orders and moved immediately to carry them out as quickly
as they could.
?????
Lateef
feigned sleep as he monitored how often the doctor and nurse returned to the room
to check up on him. They came in every
15 minutes for the first hour and then it dropped off to once an hour after
that. Having noted that cycle for the
last 4 hours he felt somewhat secure that he could begin making plans to escape
his room.
Ten minutes
after the last bed check, he eased himself out of bed biting back the groan of
pain that threatened to escape as he strained his healing injuries. He eased his way over to the door, looked
through the small window and noticed a guard seated in a chair just
outside. That definitely confirmed in
his mind that he was their prisoner and he needed to get out. He next conducted a complete inventory of his
room and found that in the closet was a pair of boots and a backpack with
clothes and other gear. He rifled
through the bag and pulled out a pair of jeans, t-shirt, and socks.
He
donned the clothing then dug through the pack and came up with a length of rope
and a knife. Next he moved to the window
and looked out. He was pleased to see
that he was only on the second floor located on the backside of the building;
that would make it much easier to go out the window and get away hopefully
undetected.
Lateef
quietly slid open the window then slit the screen with his knife. He peered outside and didn’t see any security
personnel patrolling the grounds or security cameras pointing in his
direction. He smiled at their lax
security and returned to the closet to collect the pack and his rope. He tossed the pack out the window and waited
for a couple of minutes for any security alarms; all remained quiet.
He then
looped the rope around the heat register below the window and gently eased
himself up into the window. He shot a
quick look at the clock across the room; he had approximately 23 minutes in
which to complete his escape before the next bed check was due. As he carefully worked his way out of the
window, he nearly passed out from pain as his arms now supported his full body
weight stressing his ribs and incision as he hung onto the rope dangling above
the ground. He bit back the cry of agony
and quickly schooled his breathing so he wouldn’t hyperventilate and pass out.
He
repelled slowly and cautiously from the second floor window to the ground
below. As his feet touched down he
crumpled into a heap overcome by the exertion and pain. After what seemed forever he found the strength
to push up to his feet, coil and stow the rope, pick up his backpack and walk
slowly into the nearby forest behind the hospital. He was free, but where did he need to go now?
?????
“What
the hell do you mean he’s gone?!” Nelson shouted as he was informed that his
captain was now nowhere to be found. “I
thought there was a guard on his room? Who did the FBI assign a daycare provider?”
Admiral
Hardy was holding the phone a considerable distance from his ear as Harri went
off after he let him know Lee had managed to escape his room. He had debated waiting for Harri to arrive in
Valdez but felt he needed that information now so they could come up with some
plan to track the incredibly elusive Crane down once they landed. “Come on
Harri don’t you think that’s a little unfair?”
“No I
don’t think that’s even the slightest bit unfair. This is the FBI for god sake not some small
town sheriff. What part of covert
operative didn’t they understand? They’re charged with ensuring that highly
trained operatives don’t just walk away. Where the hell was the guard, chatting
up some nurse?”
“He was
at his post outside the door and didn’t hear a thing,” Hardy replied. Of
course he didn’t Tom thought to himself.
“He had checked on Lee when the nurse went in for the hourly vitals
check and when they went in for the next check he was gone. He had gone out the second story window and
was nowhere to be found. At most he had a
30 minute head start on them but they couldn’t find any sign as to which direction
he went.”
“Were
they at least bright enough to put up a roadblock to check vehicles leaving
town and put someone on the port?” Harri inquired derisively.
“Yes
they’ve got one set up at the city limits and then one at the junction of
Highway 1 and Highway 4. They’ve also
got patrols on the docks and they’re conducting overflights with helicopters
and sensors to see if they can spot him on the ground. Look Harri Lee’s in bad shape and won’t be
able to move very fast.”
“Oh I
think you know Lee better than that, that’s why you constantly try to obtain
his services. If he went out the window
in his condition he is at the very least tapping into all that training you’ve
pumped him full of over the years. You
know how resourceful he can be especially when his back is against the
wall. I can’t even hazard a guess as to
where he’d go or what he’d do if he’s still Chutani. Well at least he should stick out in his
hospital garb.” Harri replied. He sat
listening for Hardy’s concurrence with that observation and when it didn’t come
he groaned aloud. “He did just escape in
his hospital jammies didn’t he?”
“Apparently
after the State Troopers had gone through his backpack to see if they could identify
him, they brought it to the hospital as part of his personal effects and it was
placed in the closet in his room along with his boots.”
“Well
now we have a fully equipped covert operative running around the wilds of
Alaska with no clue as to his true identity.
Does that pretty much sum up the situation or are there any other items
of interest I’ve left out?” Harri
snarled.
“Well at
least he isn’t armed,” Hardy added lamely.
“The Troopers confiscated the gun from his pack because weapons aren’t allowed
in the hospital. What’s your ETA for Valdez?
I’ll have someone down there to meet you.”
Harri
looked over quickly at Chip who was piloting FS-1 and got an estimate. “We should touch down in approximately 45
minutes. Has anyone tracked down Lee’s friend
Jack Winter?”
“Yes, Alyeska had him return to Valdez when they were initially
alerted by the Coast Guard that a person from the PR had been found at the
local hospital. They increased their
security level at the marine terminal as a matter of course. I’ll see to it
that he’s there with your ride when you reach the dock.”
“Good. Hopefully he can give us some idea which
direction Lee might go since he was probably the last person to talk to
him. I’ll let you know what we find
out.” Harri answered.
“Thanks
Harri. I’ll pass on any information I
get as well. Hardy out.”
The men
exchanged worried glances after Harri signed off. “So we’ve gone from a difficult situation to
damn near impossible.” Chip said with a disgusted sigh. “With a full backcountry pack Lee could stay
holed up in the mountains indefinitely.
By now he’s probably fashioned a bow and arrow, stone axe and gone to
ground.”
The
other men just rolled their eyes at him.
Unfortunately they all had to admit Chip was probably closer to the
truth than they wanted to admit. If Lee
thought he was being pursued by an enemy he would be almost impossible to find
without an incredible stroke of luck.
“I think
the only thing in our favor at this point in time is that Lee is recovering
from some serious injuries. That’s going
to slow him down quite a bit. I just
hope he doesn’t injure himself further in his effort to get away. I checked with the doctor who is managing his
case and he said Lee went through emergency surgery to stop internal bleeding,
and is sporting a severe concussion, cracked ribs and significant bruising,”
Jamie added. “If he tears open any of that handiwork he could bleed to death
before we can find him.”
Harri
dropped his head and tiredly rubbed at his eyes. “Why does everything have to be so damn complicated
with him?” he asked rhetorically. “We
send the man off to get some much needed rest and relaxation and this
happens. I think I’m starting to come
round to your way of thinking Chip, we do need to hire the man a keeper.” They all snorted in amusement at the thought
of Lee Crane accomplished submarine captain and super-agent running around with
a sitter in tow.
?????
Lateef
made his was cautiously along the edge of the woods hoping not to draw any
unwanted attention. He needed to find
transportation out of this town quickly before they noticed he was gone and
blocked the roads. As he skirted the
edge of the woods he came upon an apartment complex with a number of cars
parked in front. Looking over the
vehicles in the lot he spotted an older Jeep Wrangler that had no doors and a
soft top roof. It looked like the
perfect vehicle to get him out of town with the least amount of scrutiny.
He moved
quietly into the lot and casually strolled up to the car as though it belonged
to him. Although it was nearly 0300 it
was still light enough to easily see the area around him and no one seemed to
be up to spot him as he began his work with the wires. After a couple of minutes the car came to
life and he threw his pack in the back jumped in and drove out of the lot to
where he didn’t know.
He drove
conservatively down what looked like the main drag until he spotted a road sign
pointing the way to Glennallen. Taking that as the way out, he headed down
the road and onto Highway 4. He drove
for about 30 miles until he spotted a secluded dirt road off to the side and
pulled over so he could look for a map in the glove box to hopefully get his
bearings and make a plan to complete his escape.
In his
search of the vehicle, he found an old Milepost Travel Guidebook that provided
mile by mile descriptions of the highways in Alaska and northern Canada in the
center console. He quickly flipped
through it trying to find Valdez.
Finally locating it in the book he was somewhat dismayed to find there
was only one road in which meant it would be all too easy for them to catch him
if he stayed in the car. In addition to the maps he also found a .357 revolver
and a box of bullets which he quickly shoved into his pack.
As he continued
to look at the map something keyed in his mind, a road he somehow remembered
being pointed out to him another 20 miles up the highway. Tried as he might he couldn’t recall who had
told him about this road but given his inability to explain how he came to be
in Alaska he figured it was probably an extraction point. Without a passport he didn’t stand much
chance getting across the Canadian border and if he kept heading north the
American authorities would no doubt capture him quickly. Given his limited options, Lateef threw the
book in the backseat turned the Jeep around and headed up the road to find the
next side road.
He
easily found the dirt road he wanted then turned off the main highway and
headed back along the tree covered route until he ran out of road. There was an area set up for parking and he
quickly scanned the surrounding woods for any indication that anyone else was
there. Not finding anyone around, he
moved the car under a large spruce tree and killed the engine and lights.
Lateef
sighed tiredly feeling exhausted from all the activity he’d engaged in thus far
but there was no time to rest since he still needed to put significant distance
between him and this parking lot fast.
After resting a moment to catch his breath he eased his way out of the
Jeep and gingerly pulled his backpack towards the tailgate then dug through it
until he found his flashlight. He sat
down on the edge of the back bumper and gently placed the straps over his
shoulders. Steeling his resolve he
pulled the pack forward and groaned in pain as he stood up and shouldered the
load. He adjusted the straps centering
the load more on his lower back and hips then flipped on his light and started
up the trail to hopefully find out why he was drawn to this place.
?????
FS-1
touched down lightly on the ocean surface just outside the breakwater for the
small boat harbor in Valdez just around 0500.
Chip deftly steered the little craft into the marina and located the
slip Hardy had told them was set aside for their use. As he snugged up to the dock the two men
waiting for their arrival quickly moved to secure the sub.
Harri
was the first to unbuckle and push to his feet, followed by Jamieson who set to
opening the aft hatch so they could all exit the boat. Chip quickly powered down the little sub and
joined the others gathering up their gear.
They began tossing their bags to the waiting hands then exited FS-1 onto
the dock.
“Chip,
good to see you,” Jack said as he extended his hand.
Nelson and
Jamieson did a double take as they regarded the man that welcomed them to
Valdez. At first looks he was nearly
identical to Lee and it gave them all a bit of a start.
“Jack,
good to see you too, but I wish the circumstances were different. Jack I’d like to introduce Admiral Harriman
Nelson and Dr. Will Jamieson. Gentlemen
this is Jack Winter, Lee’s friend here in Valdez.”
Nelson
stepped forward and offered his hand. “A
pleasure to meet you Mr. Winter.”
“The
pleasure is all mine Admiral, please call me Jack. Doctor, welcome to Valdez. Uh… this is Agent Mark Fineman
from the FBI.”
“Agent Fineman,” Nelson
said shaking his hand and mentally dismissing him. He then turned back to Jack. “Chip wasn’t
kidding when he said you and Lee could pass for brothers. I must admit I had to do a double take when I
first saw you.”
Jack
chuckled. “Yeah that’s pretty much how
Lee and I became acquainted. We were
always being called by each other’s name when we both first arrived at
Norfolk. You can imagine our surprise
when we found out we were assigned to the same sub. Our skipper, Captain Gibbs was less than
thrilled at first claiming he didn’t know which one of us he was yelling at.”
“They
have the same ability to get into trouble too sir,” Chip added. “I believe the city of Norfolk breathed a
sigh of relief when they both rotated out.”
Jack
ducked his head and smiled sheepishly at the jab. “Well we were much younger in those days.”
“What’s
the situation Jack,” Nelson interjected turning the topic to business.
“Well
sir roadblocks have been established on the highway leaving town and at the
junction of highways 1 and 4. There are
roving patrols keeping an eye on the docks and the city streets. The police did receive a report of a stolen
vehicle shortly after Lee had escaped from the hospital so we are assuming that
he grabbed the Jeep and headed up into the mountains. The Coast Guard is flying over the area with
their infrared radar looking for signs of the vehicle or Lee but nothing has
turned up as yet,” Jack reported succinctly. “I’ve also been reactivated by the Navy and
have been read into the situation by Admiral Hardy. Knowing Lee as I do and getting a brief on
the three personas he’s shown so far I think we’ve got our work cut out for us
especially if he holds onto Chutani for any length of
time.”
“So
where do we go from here?” Chip inquired.
“We’ve established
a command post at the Coast Guard station and will coordinate our search
efforts from there. If you’ll come with
me, I’ll escort you over there now,” Jack answered.
“Very
well,” Nelson acknowledged. “Please lead
the way…uh?”
“Lt.
Commander if you wish to use rank sir,” Jack answered.
“Jack
works for me, I was just curious for more formal interactions since you said
you’re back in uniform,” Nelson replied.
They
collected their bags and walked quickly down the dock to the waiting van. They tossed in their bags climbed aboard and
headed for the Coast Guard station.
?????
“Must
keep going,” Lateef repeated over and over again as a means to force himself
further along the trail. His head and
chest were screaming at him to stop and the incision in his torso felt as
though it was about to come apart at the seams. His legs were likewise crying
out for relief, although not broken he had deep bruises on both and they
complained bitterly at having to work so hard in their current condition. He
had no idea how far he’d come but it no doubt wasn’t far enough.
Finally
forced to listen to his failing body he moved off the trail a fair distance and
leaned tiredly against a large tree. As
he regained his breath he listened intently for any sounds that he was being
followed or that there was someone out there that would rescue him from this
hell. His clothing was saturated with
sweat and as he stood under the cover of the trees he began to shiver
violently. He knew he was going to crash
soon so he had to find somewhere to hole up until he could regain some of his
strength.
He
scanned as much of the area as he could through the dense trees and spotted and
large outcrop of rock and boulders; it would have to do. It was a good distance from the trail, would
afford decent cover from aerial detection and the rocks would adequately mask
any heat signature his body or small fire would give off. He quickly scanned his track from the trail
and was satisfied that he hadn’t left any sign of his passage. Pulling together the last of his resolve he
pushed away from the tree and moved carefully towards the rocks and rest.
In
reality the outcrop was a little over a quarter mile from where he had stopped
but it felt closer to 10 as he scrambled over and under rocks, downed logs, devil’s club and any
number of bushes and brush. Each
obstacle felt like a major hurdle as he worked his way towards his goal. As he reached the rocks he was rewarded
beyond his wildest dreams as he found the boulders on the far side formed a
good sized cave where he could bed down and recharge for a while.
Lateef
cautiously crawled into the cave hoping to find that none of the local animals
called this place home. The area inside
was relatively spacious and he found that he could easily standup without
having to stoop. It was obvious that
nothing had claimed the little cavern and apparently humans had likewise not
discovered this place.
He
quickly discarded his backpack to the ground and sighed in relief as the loss
of the load eliminated the strain on his injuries. As he lowered himself to the floor his legs
finally gave out and he landed with a rude plop on the rocky ground. He groaned loudly at the sudden jolt and
keeled over on his side cradling his ribs and stitched up torso. He laid there
panting in pain until it began to fade as his body relaxed.
Once on
the ground he began shivering again so he quickly pulled his pack over removed
and unfurled the sleeping bag. With
considerable effort he doffed his boots unzipped the bag and crawled
inside. After a few minutes the chill
wore off and he dropped off to sleep as exhaustion claimed him.
?????
Entering
the command post Jack led the NIMR crew over to the USCG Station commanding
officer Commander Clemens and made the necessary introductions. Clemens immediately provided them an updated
brief on what had occurred to date and unfortunately thus far no one had
spotted the missing man.
“Thank
you Commander, it sounds like you’ve got everything set in motion,” said Nelson
following the brief. “What’s on tap
next?”
“Well
Admiral I was thinking that teams on foot should head out to the trailheads
Jack identified to your man and begin a search in earnest there. Given the information I’ve been provided on
Commander Crane if he headed into the backcountry the only way we’ll find him
is on foot.”
Jack
nodded in agreement. “That sounds like a
good plan. I showed him four trailheads
located between 30 and 75 miles from Valdez, but there were two trailheads I
heavily suggested to him. I would recommend
that we send out teams to all those sites and that one of us he knows be on
each team so there’s a familiar face he hopefully can key on to regain his
memory. ”
“I think
that would be a wise approach, Admiral,” Jamie added. “That may just be the nudge he needs to make
all the pieces fit.”
“Sounds
like a plan,” Clemens agreed. “We can
send out four teams, if you wish to be part of the search Admiral and would
suggest that you and Commander Morton be the on the teams that hit the two
trailheads Jack identified as the ones he most recommended to Crane. I’ll pair each of you with one of my Search
and Rescue team so you have some backup if you come across him.”
“Agreed
Commander and yes I would very much like to be involved in the search,” Harri
replied.
“Very
well sir. Lt Pearson, please escort the
Admiral and his party over to supply and get them outfitted with gear. Also contact the Quarterdeck and have them
alert the SAR team and get four people to accompany the NIMR team into the
field and make sure they dress in civvies, we don’t want to alarm Commander
Crane in his current state.” Clemens ordered.
“Admiral I want to arm the teams as well, I think it a prudent course of
action given the nature of Commander Crane’s potential personas.”
Harri stared
at Clemens and quickly considered his request.
Given the fact that Lee was now Lateef Chatuni,
a vicious and dangerous RJ terrorist, and if he was totally under the control
of that personality he could be a lethal threat to whoever came across him. To protect the searchers, wounding Lee might
be the only way they could take him if he somehow managed to arm himself. He looked at his men and read their concern.
“I’m
inclined to agree with you Commander. We’re
all fully aware of Lee’s capabilities and if somehow he’s been completely
consumed by his cover we may need to protect ourselves.”
Clemens
nodded. “Pearson, have the armory
standby to issue each team member a side arm as well.”
“Aye
sir,” Pearson replied. “If you will follow me sirs, I’ll take you over to supply
and get you started there while I start the paperwork for the side arms.” Nelson indicated the LT should lead on and
they followed him out of the room.
“Guns
Harri, do you really think those are necessary?” Jamie asked worried that Lee
could end up more injured than he already was.
“Jamie
you never dealt with Chutani. When Lee went undercover he completely
changed adopting that outlook and hatred to get him through the mission. It scared the hell out of us and I know at
one point there were some private questions as to whether he had switched
sides. The man is a brutal killer and I
don’t want to take a chance with innocent lives that he’s completely been
consumed by that character. Also there are
other things in the woods that will be deterred by a gun like bears,” Nelson
answered.
Jamie
nodded at the rationale though not really approving of the idea. He shot a quick look at Chip and could tell he
too remembered Lee’s transformation and had no love for that man. “All right, I’ll concede the point I just
hope it doesn’t come to that.”
?????
He
rolled over and was immediately brought awake by the sharp rock making contact
with one of his damaged ribs. Lateef
groaned in pain and slowly sat up momentarily disoriented as he looked about
the dark cave surrounding him. After a
moment it dawned on him where he was though he had no idea how long he’d been
holed up in his small hideout. He
reached over and pulled his pack over and dug for the water bottle in one of
the side pockets. Finding it he quickly
drained most of it as he hungrily gulped down the cool fluid.
For once
in recent memory he felt almost human as the headache he seemed to always wake
up with had been reduced to a nagging twinge and he actually felt rested. He unzipped the bag and slowly eased his way
out then crawled cautiously towards the entrance to check for company in the
area. Seeing no one immediately evident
he exited his den and moved behind the rocks to relieve himself. Having taken care of that he scanned the area
for any signs that anyone was on his trail and finding none he crawled back
inside.
He moved
back over to his pack and rooted through it a few minutes until he found some
packets of dehydrated food and pulled them out.
Unable to read the directions on the packets he just ripped them open
and added a little water to rehydrate the contents a bit. Not willing to chance a fire he ate them
cold. His body seemed thrilled with the
introduction of food and he warmed up considerably once he finished eating.
He
secured his trash in a small Ziploc bag and stowed it in his pack; didn’t want
to leave any indication he had been there in case there were people on his
trail. He then rolled his sleeping bag
back up, secured it to the pack and pushed it out the cave entrance then
crawled out as well. He stood up slowly
and once more scanned the area for visitors.
Finding none he eased the pack up off the ground and pulled it carefully
onto his back. His body’s reaction was
immediate as muscles cramped and balked at being asked to work again.
Lateef
bit back the groan breathing rapidly through his clenched teeth as he tried to
get his body back under control. He
wanted so badly to crawl back into his safe little cave but somewhere in the
back of his mind knew he needed to get moving to find his contact and be
extracted from this situation. Finally
acclimated to the load once again he pushed off the rock and began plodding
towards the trail and back up the mountain.
He knew
that the trail wasn’t the safest place to walk but given his current physical
condition it was the only way he could realistically make headway. The trek back to the trail nearly wore him
out and he knew any prolonged forays through the trees and brush would leave
him spent and useless in no time flat. Finally making it to the trail be began trudging
his way forward mentally urging his body to keep going.
He had
been walking for nearly three hours by his estimate and the only way he seemed
to make any headway was to instruct his body how to do that. He quietly chanted, “Left foot, right foot,
left foot, right foot…” As he prepared to take on a steep section of the trail
he suddenly froze now aware of voices coming up behind him. He panicked momentarily as he spun around
rapidly looking for some place to hide from the approaching men. As the sudden jolt of adrenaline began to
wear off he succeeded in calming himself down and finally spotted a number of
fallen trees about 50 yards off the trail where he could hide.
He made
his way towards the logs as quickly as he could. He had no idea who these people were and
whether they were looking for him or not.
He crouched down behind the logs in hopes that they wouldn’t notice him
or the subtle signs of his passage through the brush to his hiding place. Much to his horror the men stopped just in
front of his position and dropped their packs as they took a break from their
hike.
?????
Chip and
Lt Paul Marks pulled off the highway and proceeded down the single lane dirt
road towards the trailhead Jack had identified.
As they reached the end they readily spotted an old Jeep parked under a
large spruce on the far end of the parking area. A quick look at the license plate showed that
it was the vehicle reported stolen from Valdez. Chip looked at Paul and smiled.
“Bingo! I think we’ve just found where Lee jumped
off.” Chip said. He quickly pulled out
his cell phone and called the command center to alert them that they had found
the Jeep reported stolen.
“Commander
Clemens this is Morton. We’ve just
arrived at the trailhead and have located the stolen Jeep and it’s clearly
parked to prevent detection from the air.
I’m taking this as a good sign that Lee was the thief and he is
somewhere in the general vicinity.”
“Well
that’s a good start Commander. Is there
any sign which way he went?” Clemens asked.
“No but
I’m assuming he started out on the main trail given his physical
condition. The trees and brush in the
area would make for difficult passage and if he wanted to make any decent time
he would avoid going off trail until he absolutely had to. We’re going to head on up now and will keep
you informed.”
“Copy
that Commander. Check back in with the command post in three hours if you
haven’t encountered him by then,” Clemens replied. Chip acknowledged the
instructions and ended the call. Clemens
immediately updated the rest of the team and ordered the helicopter team to
concentrate their search in that area until further notice.
Chip
next called the admiral to update him.
“Admiral, its Chip. Sir we found
the Jeep reported stolen and I think Lee was most likely the thief. The car was parked to avoid detection from
above which screams of a certain ONI agent I know. We’re heading up the trail now to see if we
can spot him or any sign he passed that way.”
“That’s
good to hear Chip. There’s no sign of
anyone being here recently but we’ll head up the trail a ways as well just to
make sure he didn’t hitch a ride with someone and then jumped off here. Have you contacted the other teams yet?”
Harri asked.
“I
called in to the command post and updated Commander Clemens. He’s going to have the chopper relocate to
this area and concentrate their search here as well. You’re the only other person I’ve talked to
sir.”
“Gotcha
Chip. You keep going and I’ll call the
other teams and let them know what you’ve found. Be careful Chip we have no idea who Lee is at
the moment.”
“That’s
a given sir. The last person in the
world I want to meet is Lateef Chutani. I’m just hoping Lee’s himself or has become
someone else less dangerous. Be talking
to you soon, sir. Chip out.”
“Come on
Paul let’s get going up the trail. I
think the best thing we can do is act as though we’re just locals out for a
hike. Don’t mention Lee Crane or Lateef Chutani. If he
doesn’t think we’re a threat he may just come out and talk to us.”
“That
sounds like a good plan, Commander.”
“Call me
Chip, the last thing we want to happen is to be overheard using rank or any
other titles.”
“I see
your point si…er Chip,”
Paul said stumbling over the title.
Chip
laughed and clapped him on the back.
“Just relax; we’re two buddies out for a nice hike.”
?????
Lateef
sighed quietly in frustration. Why the
hell did they have to stop here? His
head and side were in constant pain as they throbbed and radiated the ache with
each heartbeat through the rest of his body.
He desperately needed to find some place to crash again as his body
rebelled at the notion it had to go further.
He watched the two men intently as they drank from their water bottles
and conversed quietly.
The one
thing he did notice was they both seemed to constantly scan the trail and
surrounding woods as though they were looking for someone or something. It could be something like a bear or moose
but Lateef somehow knew they were looking for him. He focused on the tall blond; there was
something very familiar about him, he had met him somewhere before. His mind scrambled in every possible
direction trying to match the face with a place and then suddenly it hit. It was on some sort of military vessel and he
was an officer of significant position.
He knew the man didn’t like him and although he couldn’t recall how, he
had somehow escaped from that vessel before he could come after him.
As he
started to piece the puzzle together a tortuous spike of pain sliced through
his mind and he was unable to bite back the groan as he sank to his knees
behind the logs. The men suddenly became
very still as they heard the moan. They
both listened intently for another sound and tried to identify where the first
one had come from. Seeing them
scrutinize the area near him, Lateef knew he was in trouble and pulled the
revolver from his pack as he prepared for their investigation of the area
around the trail.
?????
“Did you
hear that,” Chip whispered quietly to Paul.
“Yeah,
sounded like someone in pain. I think it
came from over there by that bunch of downed trees.”
“I think
you’re right. Come on let’s head up the
trail a bit then double back and see if we can find out who made the sound.”
Paul
nodded and bent down to retrieve his pack as did Chip. They both quickly shouldered their packs and
began hiking up the trail. Once they
knew they were well out of sight of the logs they quietly eased their way into
the woods and started working their way back to the trees. Chip swung out about 100 yards from Paul so
that he could possibly catch Lee if he decided to go deeper into the forest.
They
knew he was there, Lateef was certain of that and he knew that they would try
to come in behind him to catch him off guard.
He quickly dumped his pack and moved back to the main trail so he could
hopefully come in behind them and take them out one at a time. The younger man with the light brown hair was
extremely easy to track as he crashed his way through the undergrowth. The blond was not immediately apparent and he
figured he had swung out wider to cut off his retreat back into the woods.
He was
able to ease his way in behind the younger man and with one swift blow he
knocked him out. He quickly pulled off the
man’s pack and dug through it looking for material he could use to bind him. He found a coil of nylon parachute cord which
he used to bind his hands and feet then gagged him with a pair of socks and a
bandana. He also found the 9mm
semi-automatic pistol in the pocket of his jacket along with multiple loaded
clips and two full water bottles; he shoved the gun into the back of his
waistband, the clips into his pockets along with the two water bottles. He patted down the unconscious man and
discovered a cell phone which he immediately destroyed. He had no problem leaving the man alive but
he wasn’t going to make it easy for him to escape or alert any others
following. Lateef grabbed downed branches, twigs and other forest floor debris
and completely covered the man hiding him from sight.
As he
completed all that he had to sit back regain his breath and try to push the
pain down to a more manageable level.
His reserves were about gone and he needed to disable the other man
before he ran out of steam. He quietly
rose to his feet and began creeping through the woods back towards his first
cover. Listening intently as he moved he
could hear the slight rustle of something in the bushes off to his left, it had
to be the other man. Lateef tracked him
as he made his way towards the downed trees.
After a
moment he heard what sounded like someone cursing quietly; the man must have
found his pack. Lateef silently stalked
closer to the blond until he saw him on his knees digging through the
pack. He quietly crept up behind him and
as he drew near, the blond stood up turned around and found himself staring
down the barrel of a gun.
?????
“Lee!”
the blond said. A wide smile spread
across his face as he slowly raised his hands.
“Lee it’s me Chip. Come on buddy
you remember me don’t you?” Chip was
both thrilled to find his friend yet exceedingly concerned at Lee’s
appearance. He was deathly pale, signs
of extreme pain clearly marked his face, he was sweating profusely and
exhaustion screamed from his thin and quivering frame.
Chip’s
words all came out as blah, blah, blah to Lateef. He scowled at the blond now certain he knew
him from the vessel and also knew with certainty that he was in no way his
friend. “Shut up!” Lateef yelled in French at the blond.
Chip
hadn’t spoken French since the Academy and his mind raced frantically to recall
the words so he could try and reason with his friend. “Lee,
come on buddy it’s me Chip. We were
roommates at school and best friends since then. Please put down the gun and let’s talk,” he
managed to get out with difficulty.
“I said shut up or I’m going to
shoot you in the face. My name is Lateef
not Lee,” Lateef
replied as he placed the heel of his left hand on his temple and rubbed it
rapidly trying desperately to quell the pain ricocheting through his brain. “Why
are you following me?”
It took
a moment for him to work through the words but Chip finally got the gist of
what Lee had said. “Lee I’m here to take you home bro, to take you back to NIMR and your
gray lady Seaview.”
He
stared intently at the blond, each of his words seemed like icy needles
shooting through his brain. He had no
idea what he was talking about but it echoed endlessly in his head especially the
words NIMR and Seaview. He finally had
to squeeze his eyes shut to block out the pain.
As his eyes closed he heard the man start to move towards him. He immediately reopened his eyes and cocked
the hammer on the gun. “Stay where you are, in fact turn
around. Do it now!” he nearly
screamed.
Chip
realized that his best friend wasn’t anywhere to be found in the man with the
cocked gun pointed directly at his head.
Reluctantly he slowly turned his back to him, his hands still above his
head. He now feared for the life of his
companion Lt Marks. He should have shown
up by now drawn by their loud conversation.
The fact that Lee had been able to noiselessly get the drop on him did
not bode well for the young LT.
“Where’s my hiking partner?” Chip asked
urgently.
“You need not worry about him, he
won’t be joining us.” Lateef
responded cryptically, leaving his prisoner to draw his own conclusions.
Chip
closed his eyes in despair thinking only of the worst possible meaning. Lee had all the skills to silently terminate
someone if he so desired and apparently Lateef was dialed in to those skills as
well. “Please tell me you didn’t kill him Lee,” Chip asked pleadingly. “Oh god, Lee, please say he’s all right.” The
longer Lateef remained silent the more certain Chip became that he had in fact
dispatched the young man.
Lateef continued
to squint at the man’s back, his eyelids barely cracked open as the light and
his words rattled everything inside his head.
The pain was growing more intense with each second making it hard to
concentrate and even harder to remain on his feet. He had to get moving or he would collapse where
he stood. He raised the gun higher and
stretched out his arm as he prepared to fire.
The
seconds passed by silently and he found he couldn’t pull the trigger. There was something in the back of his mind
fighting desperately to get out that kept his finger stilled. A kaleidoscope of images raced through his mind,
images of him and this man laughing, working, crying, playing together and the
one image of him slamming Lateef into the wall on the boat; it all didn’t make
sense. As the images and emotions warred inside his head he knew he couldn’t
pull the trigger with that much doubt.
He also knew there was no way he could just walk away and leave him here
unrestrained. He stepped forward and quickly
delivered a powerful blow to the back of the man’s head dropping him limply to
the ground. He too dropped to the ground
cradling his head in his hands feeling as though his mind was being cleaved in
half.
As the
pain receded and he brought his breathing under control, he rifled through the
man’s pack and found yet another coil of nylon line. He trussed the blond up as quickly as he
could then patted him down finding another gun, ammo, cell phone, satellite
phone and more water. He smashed the
phones and then stumbled to his feet to repack his backpack with the guns,
ammunition and water. He moved around
the area gathering downed brush and limbs and placed them over the motionless
figure on the ground. With difficulty he shouldered his pack and resumed working
his way further up the trail before someone else showed up.
?????
Chip’s
check in time came and went and the men at the command post started to become
concerned. Repeated attempts to contact
the two men had resulted in nothing with their cell phones going immediately to
voice mail and the satellite phone just ringing unanswered. Those two facts confirmed in Commander
Clemens’ mind that they most likely had found Crane and he apparently had
gotten the jump on them.
“Get me
Admiral Nelson,” Clemens said to his aide.
“Yes
sir.” The JG quickly dialed Nelson’s
cell number and as he answered he passed the phone to Clemens.
“Admiral,
this is Clemens. Sir we’ve lost contact
with Morton and Marks. They’ve missed
their scheduled check in and attempts to reach them on their cells and sat phone
have come up empty. I think it’s safe to
assume they’ve found your man.”
“I’m
inclined to agree with you there Commander and the fact you’re not getting a
response has me worried. If Lee is still
Chutani, that could be a very bad thing. We’re almost back to the trailhead so we’ll
head down to where Morton and Marks jumped off and see if we can find them and
hopefully Lee,” Nelson replied.
“I’ve
had the helicopter over the area for the last hour but they haven’t found
anything yet. They need to break off and
refuel but will return as quickly as possible.
I’ll contact the other teams and have them head
to that location as well.”
“Understood. I’ll give you a call once we arrive at the
trailhead that should be in 30 minutes or less.”
“Copy
that Admiral,” Clemens replied and terminated the call.
“Okay
Robert let’s head on back to the car and down to the trailhead Morton and Marks
took.”
“Yes sir,”
LT Deacon replied. “I take it they’ve
found something sir.”
“They’ve
lost contact with the team and that most likely means Crane found them. I just hope to hell he didn’t do anything too
extreme when he met up with them.”
“Is that
a possibility sir?” Deacon asked.
“Given
the identity Lee has assumed it’s more a certainty. The last thing I want is those men injured or
killed and then Lee having to live with that for the rest of his life.”
?????
As he
staggered up the trail, he suddenly became aware of the low pulsing thrum of a
helicopter in the distance. He looked up
and immediately spotted a large helicopter sporting red and orange colors with
black lettering heading in his general direction. Lateef scrambled as best he could for an
outcrop of rocks off the trail trying to remain unseen by the people in the
aircraft.
He dove
under the rocks and cried out in pain as his ribs and side objected stridently
to the unwanted strain. He curled into a
fetal ball, breathing in and out rapidly through clenched teeth trying
desperately to keep from passing out.
The
chopper seemed to hover over his position then after a couple of minutes moved
off and departed quickly towards the south.
Lateef breathed a deep sigh of relief.
He was uncertain whether he’d been spotted or not but knew he needed to
move further up the trail hopefully to be found by his contact and rescued from
this purgatory.
Garnering
what was left of his strength he pushed himself out from beneath his improvised
cover and stood shakily with the aid of the rocks. He scanned the horizon and stared down the
trail watching for any indication that pursuit was on its way. Feeling relieved that no one was immediately
on his tail he pushed ahead slowly up the trail all the while cajoling his
battered body to take just one more step.
?????
Harri
pulled his sat phone out of the side pocket of his cargo pants at the sound of
the insistent ring. “Nelson.”
“Admiral,
this is Clemens. Sir the helicopter
pilot flying over Commander Morton’s trail just called in reporting that he
spotted a dark haired man darting for cover as they flew along the trail. They were low on fuel and had to depart
before they could investigate further.
Looks like we have the correct trail, sir.”
“How far
up the trail did he spot him? Did he see
any sign of your man or Commander Morton?” Harri inquired anxiously.
“Lt.
Nixon estimated they were 7 miles from the trailhead. He and his crew didn’t see anyone else in the
area.”
“Damn
it!” swore Harri.
“Something
wrong, sir?” Clemens inquired.
“If they
didn’t see Chip or Marks then Lee has made a move against them. I just hope they’re still alive and in decent
shape,” Harri replied. “Commander once
your chopper is refueled and back on site have them start looking for our search
team members. I would suggest they use
infrared and look for heat signatures.
Knowing Lee as I do, if he didn’t kill them they are bound and
camouflaged somewhere off trail. If he
did kill them they should still be able to detect their bodies in the surrounding
brush. Also check on Dr. Jamieson’s
location along with the other team and make sure they high tail it to this
trailhead.”
“Yes
Admiral,” Clemens replied. “Sir we’ve
had offers of assistance from JBER4 to assist in the hunt. Do you think that would be of help?”
“Not at
this stage Commander. Commander Crane
has had extensive training in covert operations along with completing Navy Seal
training. He’s not going to willingly
give anything up at this point. I would
have them stand by if this drags on beyond tomorrow. We could have them deploy at the summit and
work their way back towards the trailhead but I’m somewhat hesitant to bring
more people into the hunt that Lee is unfamiliar with.”
“Yes
sir. I’ll pass that on and have them
standing by just in case. Admiral, I
just got an ETA on the return of the helicopter to your area. They should be back on site in 90 minutes.”
“Okay,
thank you. We’re at the trailhead now
and will start making our way up the trail.
Nelson out,” Harri said as he ended the call. “Commander Clemens said that the chopper crew
spotted someone about 7 miles ahead trying to get out of sight. I think that’s Crane. The two people they didn’t see were Marks or
Morton and that probably means Lee got the drop on them. Let’s get going and see if we can find all
our men. Keep your eyes and ears open.”
“Yes
sir,” Deacon replied as he pulled his pack on and started out towards the
trail.
?????
The pain
was getting worse and there was no way he could go any further. Lateef scanned the surrounding woods looking
for some place to hole up and rest before he collapsed in the middle of the
trail. If the helicopter had spotted him
then he’d need some place that would hide his body heat and as he perused the
area those options were slim. He still
hadn’t spotted any sign that his contact was in the area and that worried him
as well.
Limping
onward he moved off of the trail and finally spotted a number of downed trees
resting against an outcrop of rocks near the edge of an avalanche chute, it
would have to do. He slowly started
making his way towards the snarl trying very hard not to leave any sign of his
passage. As he made his way to his
selected shelter his mind kept flashing back to the face of the blond. He acted as though he knew him and the look
of relief on his face at finding him was readily apparent. He also had to wonder why people kept calling
him Lee.
As he
climbed over the rocks and tree trunks his foot slipped and he twisted
awkwardly straining his injured side. He
gasped in pain as he felt something tear and as he looked down he found a red
stain blossoming across his middle. “Damn!” he swore aloud and pressed his
hand over the torn sutures to stem the flow of blood.
Nearing
his chosen hideaway he scanned the sky around him and was relieved to find
nothing hovering about. He dropped his
pack then gently eased his sweat soaked shirt off and regarded the now bloody
bandage swaddling his middle. He twisted
the shirt in his hand into a rope and tied it tightly around the injury to
apply pressure and hopefully stop the bleeding.
Next he opened the pack and rifled through it until he found another
shirt. It was a light colored button
down, not the most ideal piece of clothing for someone trying to avoid
detection but he needed something on to protect his skin from the branches of
the downed trees when he crawled beneath them to hide.
He
gingerly donned the shirt then dropped to his knees and began pulling out the
brush and debris from under the trees making a small den to rest and hide
in. He pushed his backpack into the
space he had created then followed it in pulling branches and brush in behind
him to hide his refuge. There was barely
enough room for him and his pack and he struggled to get comfortable. He pulled a water bottle, a couple of Power bars
and his sleeping bag from the pack. He
wolfed down the food and water then pulled off his boots, unfurled his bag and
slipped inside. As he laid down
exhaustion and pain quickly claimed him as he passed out.
?????
Nelson
and Deacon quickly made their way up the trail continuously scanning for any
sign of Lee or the two missing men. By
the time they heard the Coast Guard helicopter overhead they had covered over
four miles. Harri grabbed his sat phone
called the command center and requested he be patched through to the helo overhead.
“Lt. Nixon
here sir,” the pilot hailed.
“Have
you seen anything yet Lieutenant?” Nelson inquired.
“Not yet
sir, we’ve just gone active with our thermal imager and are scanning now. Doesn’t look like there are even moose in the
neighborhood at the moment.”
Harri
sighed in frustration. “Well keep your
eyes peeled. My guess is that the
missing team will be quite a ways off the trail and obscured by cover if the
commander got his hands on them.”
“Yes
sir. I have a dedicated operator on the
system. I’m initiating a search pattern
now; we’ll find them all Admiral,” Nixon replied.
“I hope
so Lieutenant. Let me know the instant
you find anything. Nelson out.”
Harri
stowed his phone and they continued their progress up the trail. When they hit the six mile mark they stopped
to take a drink and rest for a moment.
Having eaten a Power bar and quenched his thirst, Harri looked down and
spotted what looked like fresh tracks.
Both sets of footprints headed off into the brush on the right side of
trail. “Chip,” Harri said quietly.
“What’s
that sir?” Deacon asked.
Harri
pointed to the footprints in the soft soil heading into the woods. “They must have spotted something and went
into the trees to investigate.” Looking
further off-trail he noticed a number of small broken branches and scuffs in
the forest loam. Harri pulled out his
phone called the command post and was once more put through to the helo.
“Lieutenant
we’ve found some fresh tracks, I need you to return to our location and conduct
a scan of the area around us. I think
we’re in the vicinity of our missing team.”
“Yes sir
we’ll be there in less than 5.”
Minutes
later the helicopter was overhead and scanning the area near Nelson and
Deacon. The pilot slowly began working
his way out from the trail over the dense forest. “Sir!
We’ve detected a heat signature approximately 50 yards from your
position. I’ll hover over the spot until
you can arrive.”
“Copy that,
we’re on our way,” Harri replied. “Come
on, they’ve found something.”
The two
men moved as quickly as they could toward the hovering craft and visually
scoured the area for signs of Morton or Marks.
Their attention was drawn to a snarl of limbs and brush that seemed
somewhat out of place and ran over to investigate. They began pulling off the cover and were
relieved to find the body of Lt. Marks at the bottom of the pile. Nelson knelt down and placed his hand on the
neck of the motionless man and let out a relieved sigh as he detected a strong
pulse.
“He’s
alive,” Harri said with a smile. “Let’s
get him untied and checked for injuries.”
Deacon
quickly cut the cords and freed his buddy’s hands and feet as Harri removed the
gag. As they conducted their assessment
of his condition they noticed a nice sized lump on the back of his head where
he’d been hit.
“Nixon,
we’ve found Marks. He’s alive and seems
to be okay for the most part. I think
the forest is too dense for you to safely lower a basket to extract him. Check with the command post and find out
where Jamieson is.”
“That’s
good to hear sir. We could lower a
basket to the main trail then carry him back to the trail for extraction,”
Nixon offered. “According to the command
post Commander Jamieson is about a mile from your position.”
“Good
idea. Go ahead and lower a crewman and
basket at the main trail. I’ll send Deacon
back to meet him then resume your search for the other man,” Harri ordered.
“Aye
sir, we’re moving back to the trail now.”
Deacon
was already on his way back to the trail as Harri maintained watch over the
downed man. Fifteen minutes later he
heard the two men making their way through the brush back towards Nelson. The EMT conducted a quick exam of the still
unconscious man and confirmed that other than the blow to the head he was
otherwise unharmed. As they finished
placing Marks in the stretcher and securing him Harri’s phone rang.
“Nelson.”
“Nixon
here, sir we’ve found another heat signature about 300 yards from your position,
we’re hovering overhead.”
“Excellent,
I’m on my way,” Harri replied. “They’ve found another heat signature. Robert you two take Marks back to the trail
and then join me when you can.”
“Yes
sir.”
Harri
took off through the woods as fast as he could towards the hovering copter. As he neared the scene he surveyed the area
and quickly spotted the telltale pile of brush hopefully marking Chip’s
location. He hurriedly began flinging
branches and brush in all directions until he found the prize at the bottom of
the pile.
“Chip!”
Nelson cried out. He knelt down and
placed his fingers on Chip’s neck and was rewarded with another strong
heartbeat. Apparently Lee’s aversion to
taking life was carrying through to Lateef and Harri sighed in relief. He pulled out his pocket knife and slit
Chip’s bonds then removed the gag from his mouth. He conducted a quick exam and found a lump on
the back of his head similar to Marks. Nelson gently rolled Chip over and
lightly tapped the sides of his face trying to bring him around. Chip moaned quietly as he struggled to regain
consciousness.
“Come on
Chip wake up for me. You can do it lad,”
Nelson said softly.
After a
few moments Chip cracked open his eyes and moaned in pain. He scanned the area around him momentarily confused
by the view greeting his return to the conscious world. He was aware of a hand on his shoulder and
followed the hand up the arm to the very concerned face of his boss. “Admiral?
What happened?”
“Easy
lad, just relax. How do you feel beside
the doozy of a headache I know you’re sporting?”
“Uh fine
I guess… Lee!” Chip cried out as
everything came into focus. “Where’s
Lee? We found him here in the woods but
there was absolutely no recognition in his eyes. He’s still Lateef and was speaking French.”
“We’ve
yet to find him. We needed to find you
and Marks first and make sure you were okay before we start looking for him
again.”
“Marks,
is he okay? I asked Lee what he had done
to him but he wouldn’t tell me.”
“He’s in
much the same condition as you. We found
him about 30 minutes ago trussed up like you with a good sized knot on the back
of his head. The EMT is taking care of
him now.” Nelson replied.
“That’s
good to hear. I was really concerned
that Lee had killed him given how he responded to my question,” said Chip. He slowly pushed himself up to a seated
position and groaned in pain as his head let him know it didn’t like the change
in location.
“Take it
easy lad just stay still.”
They
both heard a crashing through the woods followed by a familiar and welcome
voice.
“Admiral
it’s Will, have you found Chip yet?”
“Over
here Will. Yes I’ve found Chip and he’s
okay for the most part,” Harri answered.
Will,
his hiking partner Lt. Jacobs and Deacon made their way through the brush to
Harri’s location. Will made a beeline
for Chip and began checking him over for damage. As this went on Nelson’s phone began to
ring. “Nelson.”
“Admiral
did you find Commander Morton,” Nixon asked.
“We’ve
got him thanks to you and your crew Lieutenant. He was tied up and knocked out like Marks
but he’s come around since I’ve been here.
How’s Marks doing?”
“He’s
going to be fine,” Jamie answered. Harri
nodded and gave him a small smile.
“I’ve
heard he’s going to be okay,” repeated Nixon.
“Sir we’re going to recover him in the basket and fly him back to the
hospital. Do you want us to take
Commander Morton back to the hospital with us?”
Chip was
shaking his head no indicating there was no way he was going to leave before
they recovered Lee. Harri sent an inquisitive
look over to Jamie for his read on Chip’s condition.
“He’s
got one hell of a headache but it doesn’t look like he has a concussion. I would rather send him in but my guess is he’s
not going to let that happen,” Jamie responded as Chip nodded his head
emphatically confirming the assessment.
“No
Lieutenant, Commander Morton is going to stay with us. Take care of Lt. Marks and return as quickly
as you can.”
“Yes
sir. We’ll drop Marks off, refuel and be
back ASAP. Nixon out.”
“You
really up to this Chip?” Harri asked.
“Yes
sir. Lee didn’t look good and we need to
find him quickly. He definitely looked
like he was in pain and was nearly exhausted.
As best I could tell he wasn’t bleeding anywhere but who knows what he’s
done inside.”
Jamie
frowned at Chip’s assessment of Lee’s condition. “That’s definitely not good. Was there any indication that he recognized
you Chip?”
“Not
that I could tell Jamie although before he made me turn around it looked as
though he was fighting to remember something.
There was an odd look of confusion and uncertainty in his eyes. Oh and one other thing he’s armed,” Chip
replied. All the men frowned at that bit
of added information especially Nelson and Jamieson.
“Well
then let’s get back to it. The pilot
said they had spotted someone moving for cover about a mile ahead. Given his condition hopefully he hasn’t gone
much further along the trail than that.”
?????
As they
made it back to the trail they ran into Jack and Ensign Baxter. Harri gave them a quick rundown on the
situation and the last place Crane had been seen. Once updated and refreshed from the hike up
from the parking area Harri and crew started back up the trail in search of
their missing friend. They covered an
additional six miles past where Chip and Marks had been found finding zero
indication that Lee had passed that way.
The helicopter had returned from taking Marks to the hospital and in the
intervening three hours had likewise found neither hide nor hair of the missing
commander. As they neared the summit of
the mountain they had been climbing the men stopped to take a breather and
survey the land.
“Admiral,
based on what Chip told us, I don’t think Lee would have been physically
capable of making it this far. My guess
is he went to ground somewhere off the trail behind us,” Jamie said as he wiped
the sweat from his brow. Chip nodded in
agreement.
“So you
think we should head back down and fan out?” Nelson replied. “The helo hasn’t spotted anything, where should we start?”
“My best
guess would be around the area where they first spotted him sir,” Chip
answered. “Lee looked like death warmed
over and was hard pressed to stay on his feet when he found me. These last few miles haven’t been an easy
climb so I have to agree with Jamie that it’s unlikely he made it this far.”
Nelson
nodded in agreement as he considered their words. “You’re probably both right. Given all that he’s done he’s tapping into
his ONI training so I’m not surprised he’s managed to get out of sight. All right let’s head on back down. We’ll breakup into teams and move off the
trail on opposite sides to look for any signs he’s passed by.”
The men
paired off and fanned out on either side of the trail. Jamie paired up with Harri and they moved
deeper into the brush on the downhill side.
They started moving slowly through the devil’s club and alders as they
worked their way down listening and looking intently for any indication Lee was
around. It was tough going as the
willowy branches and tightly packed bushes grabbed at their feet and packs.
“I’m
worried,” Jamie said quietly to Harri as they walked. “He’s been out here too long and engaged in
too much activity. Odds are he’s already
torn his sutures and is probably bleeding internally. There’s no telling what has happened with the
concussion as well.”
“I’m
worried too Jamie. I send the man off
for a little R&R and through no fault of his own he still manages to find
himself injured and in need of rescue. I
say next time we stick him in the biosphere where he can’t get out and can’t
cause trouble.”
Jamie
smiled and chuckled at Harri’s words.
“Lee and trouble are inextricably tied together; one can’t exist without
the other.” Harri rolled his eyes and
nodded in complete agreement.
They
continued their search as the long summer day drew to a close. They had been at this since early that morning
and were nearly exhausted given everything they’d been through. As they traipsed through the woods they were
tripping more and more over unseen obstacles and had fallen a number of times
tearing up their clothing and hands.
As Jamie
rose from his latest tumble and brushed himself off he looked over at
Harri. “We need to get some rest Harri;
it’s time to head back to grab some food and sleep. In our current condition we could probably
trip over Lee and not even recognize it.”
Harri
glowered momentarily unwilling to break off their search for his captain and
son but as he considered Jamie’s words the truth in them hit home. He sighed deeply in concurrence and momentary
defeat. “As much as I hate to agree with
you, you’re right. I’m beat but I really
don’t want to break off for fear that we may be just on the verge of finding Lee.”
“I know
but if we keep going on like we are we’re going to miss something because we’re
so tired or run the risk of becoming injured ourselves as we trip and fall over
things. I think it best we head in, rest
up and come back in few hours.”
Harri
nodded and pulled his sat phone out of his pocket. He quickly keyed in Chip’s number and
initiated the call. After a brief moment
Chip answered.
“Morton.”
“Chip
after talking with Jamie, we’ve decided it’s time to head back to Valdez to eat
and rest up a bit. I can barely see
where I’m going and we’re constantly tripping over things running the risk of
getting hurt ourselves. How is your team
doing?”
Chip’s
reaction was very similar to Nelson’s when Jamie first made the
suggestion. “I can keep going sir,” he
replied.
“Come on
Chip, its past midnight and we’re all beat especially you after being
attacked. We’re more likely to miss some
important clue because we aren’t alert enough to recognize it for what it
is. We need some food and a little rest
then we’ll resume the search once the sun’s up.”
Chip
gave serious consideration to arguing with the Admiral until he looked into the
faces of Deacon and Jacobs. They were beat;
they’d all been struggling through the dense brush and undergrowth and bore
numerous cuts and scrapes for their efforts.
“Aye, sir,” Chip finally replied.
“We’ll mark our spot and start making our way back to the trail.”
“Good
lad, Chip. I’ll contact the other team
and get them started back as well. See
you soon.” Harri called the other three
teams and got them all heading back to the trail and down to the parking area
so they could return to Valdez to rest, regroup and return in the morning.
?????
It was
0800 and the men reassembled in the command post to prepare to return to their
search for Lee. Those who knew him best
got little rest as their worry for their friend kept them from getting much
sleep. At breakfast they all consumed
cup after cup of coffee trying to kick start their energy and awareness levels
to the highest point possible given their lack of restorative rest.
The
morning brief provided no new information which was of little surprise to those
from NIMR. The Coast Guard helicopter
had completed an early morning survey of the area and had come up empty with no
sign of any activity beyond a bear sow and her cub and a couple of moose moving
around the general area. With the brief
completed they all grabbed their packs and headed out to the waiting vehicles
to return to the trailhead and another day tromping through the unforgiving
trees and brush.
The ride
back to the trail was made in complete silence as they each stared out the
windows lost in their own thoughts. As
they arrived they found the road to the trail secured by the Troopers to
prevent unwanted hikers from entering the area and possibly being attacked by Chutani. Once parked
at the trailhead they quickly bailed out, grabbed their packs and headed up the
trail to resume their search.
The
sense of urgency was high as they all recognized the longer Lee remained on the
loose the greater the possibility he could die from his injuries. It had been almost two days since he had
‘escaped’ from the hospital and by now his condition was probably critical.
As they
reached the area where Morton and Marks had been attacked Nelson drew the crew
to a halt. “I think this is probably the
best point to start from today. Let’s
stay with the teams we had last night, fan out and begin working your way back down
the mountain from where you left off yesterday.
Keep your eyes open for any areas where Lee could possibly dig in and
rest. Since the helicopter isn’t finding
any sign of anything other than animals moving through the woods it’s probably a
safe assumption he’s down somewhere that can mask his body heat. Check in with the command center hourly and
if you find anything call out using the radio.
Any questions?”
Getting
no response Nelson nodded. “Okay, let’s get going and stay sharp.”
?????
He
became aware of a gnawing pain eating away at his insides and with the subtle
move of his head he felt as if it were ready to explode. He raised his hand to his head and then
slowly cracked open his eyes. As the
area around him came into focus he was completely at a loss to explain where he
was. Looking overhead he saw a snarl of
branches, rocks and logs. As he tried to
sit up he noticed that he was for some reason in a sleeping bag and began to
panic feeling suddenly claustrophobic.
He sat
up rapidly and bashed his head on the log above him and nearly passed out from
the pain that radiated from his head down to his toes. When he finally got his breathing under
control he slowly extricated himself from the bag and pulled on the pair of
boots he found at the foot of the bag.
He then pushed tentatively against the brush and branches and sighed in
relief when they readily moved out of the way.
As the
light from outside streamed in he had to close his eyes against the harsh
glare. He eased his way out of the
hollow and slowly rose to his feet.
Nothing in this place seemed right.
He was surrounded by trees and brush and couldn’t for the life of him
remember how the hell he got there.
Standing there he was once again reminded of the ache in his side and
slid his hand down his torso to find a t-shirt and bandages tightly wrapped
around his middle and a damp blood stain on his shirt. He groaned in pain as his hand passed over
the incision that had somehow broken open.
Fear was the next thing to grip him as he fought to recollect who and where
he was.
Trying
to tamp down the panic he slowly sat down next to the rock wall that composed
one side of his shelter and tried to piece together how he got there. As he tried to recall what had happened he
caught snatches of being in the back of box van and it rolling over and over
down a hill. He remembered seeing a
young man with a broken neck lying next to him and being very, very cold. The next thing to come to mind was waking up
in some kind of hospital where the people were rude and unkind. He must have been a janitor there as he
recalled pushing a broom, mopping floors and emptying waste baskets.
As the
memories came his head began to ache and throb with each new revelation. He remembered lots of people being hurt and
having to remove their bodies when they were killed by the people from the
hospital. He saw uniforms and heard
screams of agony and terror. He crammed
his eyes shut and clasped his hands over his ears trying desperately to shut
those memories out. The overwhelming
feeling that radiated within him was the need to escape, to get away from that
place and those people. He wasn’t like them,
he didn’t want to hurt anyone and he wanted it all just to stop.
The
images flew fast and furious past him and he cringed as the treatment the
people in cells received grew more severe over time. Suddenly he locked on a single man. They had just brought him into the facility
but he somehow knew him. He was older in
his late 40’s, azure blue eyes, red hair, stocky build. There was something painfully familiar about
him. He remembered he had to get him out
before they could torture him; he could not let that happen.
He saw
himself preparing, setting things up so he could rescue this man, he saw
himself throw a knife killing the man who took so much pleasure in hurting all
those people. He ran down the hall with
the red haired man over his shoulder and made his way to a van. He got the man in the van and they drove out
of the gate just as the facility exploded.
He grasped at his head once more as the explosion seemed to reverberate
through his skull.
He got
the man out, but who was he? Why was he
so important to him, what made him so special?
The man was hurt and he treated his injuries making sure he was as
comfortable as possible. He remembered
driving then being stopped by police and asked who he was and where he was
going. The answer was there, it was just
on the verge of coming to him as he concentrated with all his will. Suddenly it came rushing back, his name was Peter
Broje and the man was…his father.
Peter’s
eyes flew open as all the pieces fell into place. He was taking his father Yuri home to Cordessa after he had been injured at the facility. He sighed in momentary relief as his identity
came to him but his relief quickly shifted to panic once again as he looked all
around him trying to find his father. A
spike of pain shot through his head and he curled up in a ball. Where was his father? Why was he alone here in this place?
The
obvious answer was that the men from the facility had found them and taken him
away. Peter knew he had to locate his
father and rescue him from the evil men.
They must have hurt him when they took Yuri away which explained the
injury to his head and his side. It was
obvious what he was doing here now, he was tracking them down trying to find
his father to get him back. He would
have to work his way down the mountain pick up their trail and recover his
father before he could be subjected to any more torture by those monsters from
the hospital.
Knowing
now what he needed to do; Peter returned to his makeshift lair and pulled out
the pack inside. He grabbed the sleeping
bag rolled it up tightly and tied it to the pack. He unzipped the pack and looked inside
finding a bottle of water, an energy bar and guns. He pulled out the water, food and one of the
9mm guns. He quickly ate the bar and
slaked his thirst. With that done he
shoved the empty containers back into the pack, zipped it shut, shoved the gun
in the back of his waistband and stood shakily readying himself to pull the
load onto his back.
As he
lifted the pack his side rebelled sending out a sharp shooting pain that nearly
dropped him back down to his knees. He
wrapped his right arm around his middle and slowly pulled the pack over his left
shoulder. Fighting with all his might he
let loose his right arm and eased it back through the right strap and nestled
the pack firmly on his back. His head
swam and his side radiated pain in displeasure at the weight but after a few
moments he was able to stand up, secure the pack and start moving forward to
find his father.
?????
Harri
and Jamie had headed up the trail a half mile before they veered off into the
brush and trees towards the area where they ended their search the evening
before. Although it was easier to see
the obstacles it was still a difficult task making their way through the snarls
and snags at their feet. As best he
could figure they were a little less than a mile off the trail. The terrain was rugged and the area they were
approaching had a rather steep slope as evidenced by the avalanche chute that
had been scoured clear of any large trees and brush by fast moving snow and ice. The area ahead was composed of large boulders
and granite outcrops jutting out here and there.
As they
reached where they ended their search previously Harri stopped dropped his pack
and leaned against a large boulder as he waited for Jamie to catch up with
him. “Let’s take a quick breather before
we start looking in earnest,” he said as he pulled a water bottle from his
pack.
Jamie
nodded and eased his pack off his back, retrieved a bottle of water and dropped
the pack to the ground next to him. He
surveyed the area around him as he drank.
“Leave it to Lee to pick a difficult place to hide out in.”
Harri
rolled his eyes and nodded in agreement.
“Jamie what are the chances he’s still alive?”
“This is
Lee Crane you’re talking about. I don’t
think the man has an off button. He may
be a bit too cavalier about his own health and well-being for my tastes but he
does do his best to take care of any injuries he gets so he can get the mission
completed. I’m still optimistic he’s
alive.”
They
slipped into an easy silence as they sipped on their water and scanned the
surrounding countryside. Harri suddenly
pushed off the rock and focused on an area off to the left near the bottom. “Did you see that?!”
“What,
what did you see? I didn’t see anything.”
“It was
a flash of white passing through the trees I’d say about 100 yards near the
bottom of the chute,” Harri replied as he pointed out the area.
“Was it
Lee?” Jamie asked.
“I
couldn’t tell. I suppose it could have
been a goat or sheep but I doubt they would be this far down into the
brush. You wait here; I’m going to see
if I can spot it again.”
“Okay,
be careful and don’t break anything.”
Harri
moved as quickly as he could through the scraggly alders and other scrub brush
that clung to the mountain side into the chute area. As he neared the section of exposed granite
they had seen from the trail he slowed trying not to alert anyone to his
presence. He moved cautiously out onto
the outcrop and surveyed the area below.
After a moment he saw the flash of white again and quickly determined it
was a man though he couldn’t quite make out his features.
He
fumbled for his binoculars in the side pocket of his pants to get a better
view. Finally getting them out and sighting in on the object of his attention
he realized it was Lee. He was leaning against
a large rock, his pack down on the ground by his feet, his face marked by a
grimace of pain. A tidal wave of relief washed over him finding the young man
alive. The relief was quickly replaced
by concern as he noted the large red stain across the lower part of his shirt.
Harri
called out and waved to him. “Lee!
Lee! Up here, up here son.” Harri turned quickly towards where he’d left
Jamie almost jumping with joy. “Jamie I
see him, he’s down there.”
Hearing
Harri’s excited cries Jamie started running as best he could towards Harri’s
position. As he closed in he was shocked
to hear gunshots and to find the ground in front of him kicked up by the impact
of a number of bullets. He froze
instantly and stared at Harri then down the hill at Lee standing at the bottom
of the chute aiming the pistol at him.
Both men
stared at each other confused by this current turn of events. “Jamie stay where you are, don’t move!” Harri
yelled at him. “I think something has
changed. He must be someone new if he’s
only shooting at you or maybe he’s back to Lee and letting you know what he
thinks of your order to go on vacation.”
Jamie
glowered at him for a moment though mentally appreciated Nelson’s attempt to
ease the tension. “I think you’re right
about the change in identity. See if you
can get him to put the gun down and sit down; even from here I can tell he’s
ready to collapse.”
?????
Hearing
the voice from somewhere above him Peter froze and scanned the rock escarpment above
for its source. He quickly locked onto
the lone figure standing on the edge waving frantically at him. He quickly dug through his pack and pulled
out the small binoculars and focused in on a man. As he stared at him his features became more
defined and he recognized him as his father.
A smile slowly formed across his face as a sense of relief filled
him.
He
watched as Yuri turned quickly and yelled at someone off to the side. His focus quickly shifted in the direction
his father had turned and he spotted another man running towards him. He couldn’t let him take Yuri prisoner or
injure him, not again. He pushed to his
feet pulled the gun from his waistband aimed and fired several warning shots at
the other man’s feet.
The
other man immediately froze and looked down the hill at him. He raised the gun once more and aimed letting
him know that any move he made against his father would be stopped before he
could complete it. He watched as his
father and the man talked excitedly. He
couldn’t hear what they were saying but he guessed it was Yuri warning the man
off.
While
maintaining his aim on the second man Peter moved slowly away from the boulder towards
the center of the avalanche chute. He
watched as Yuri turned back towards him and seemed to be yelling something at
him. Hard as he tried he couldn’t
understand a word he was saying. He
couldn’t tell if it was because of the distance between them or what. All he was getting was blah, blah, blah.
“Father I can’t make out what you’re saying,”
Peter said in Republicese. “Can
you make it down the hill? I’ll keep the
man covered until you’re safely down.”
Apparently
his father couldn’t hear him either as he didn’t respond. Much to Peter’s horror, the outcrop that Yuri
was standing on suddenly collapsed sending his father sliding down the steep
chute on a granite sled. His surprised
and terrified gaze was riveted on his father’s rapid and uncontrolled decent
down the chute. He watched as amazingly he managed to stay on the slab as it
bounced and pinged off of obstacles in its path. As the slab jerked to a stop near the bottom Yuri
was catapulted forward into the scree and uprooted brush skidding to an abrupt
stop on his side just a few yards from Peter.
Peter
moved as quickly as he could to his father’s side and cautiously checked on the
man. He was scraped, bleeding and
currently unconscious. Peter placed his
hand shakily on the man’s throat and sighed in relief when he detected a strong
pulse. He quickly ran his hands down
Yuri’s back feeling for any overt signs of injuries and was once again relieved
to find none. He carefully rolled him
onto his back and checked the rest of his body.
He found
lots of cuts and scrapes; he had a wicked case of road rash, but felt no
indications that his father had broken any bones in his precipitous descent to
the bottom of the chute. He needed to
treat the cuts and try to bring him around so they could get out of sight
before anyone else showed up. As he
prepared to go get his pack he looked back up the hill and quickly spied the
man his father had been talking to making his way slowly down the edge of the
chute. Peter picked up his gun and fired
another couple of warning shots that drove the man back into the heavy brush
for cover.
?????
As the
shots rang out across the mountain the other search teams froze trying to
determine from which direction the noise had come. Chip waited momentarily for a report over the
radio from whichever team had drawn fire.
Hearing no report he grabbed his radio.
“Morton to search teams, report your status.” Every team but Nelson’s reported back.
“Nelson
this is Morton do you read me?” After
waiting a minute and no response Chip repeated the call which was again greeted
with silence. “Damn!” he swore as all
the implications of that silence paraded through his thoughts.
“Morton
to all teams, return to the main trail and meet up at the six mile mark. Confirm receipt of transmission.”
The
other search teams quickly confirmed they had received the message and were on
their way to the rally point to begin the search for Nelson and Jamieson. As they made their way back to the trail they
again heard two shots echoing across the area.
Each team radioed in to verify their position and quickened their pace
towards the trail. As Chip and Jacobs
made their way through the brush his cell phone began to ring.
“Morton,”
he answered tersely.
“Chip its
Jamie,” a winded voice said on the other end.
“Jamie,
are you and the admiral all right? What
were those shots? Why didn’t you radio in?”
“I’m
fine Chip, but the admiral is not. The radio is toast and I just now was able
to get a cell phone signal. We finally
spotted Lee at the bottom of an avalanche chute about a mile in from the trail
and by my guess around the six mile mark where we all jumped off.”
“Oh god,
please tell me Lee didn’t shoot him,” Chip inquired fearfully.
“No, Lee
didn’t shoot him. The admiral had
spotted something down below us and had moved out into the chute onto a rock
outcrop to get a better look. He
discovered it was Lee and began calling to him hoping he could get him to
respond. Well he responded all right by
firing a number of rounds at me trying to drive me away from Harri. We think Lee has taken on another persona
which somehow recognizes the admiral but views me or probably anyone else as a
threat to him,” Jamie explained.
“Anyway
as the admiral was preparing to make his way down the hillside towards Lee the
outcrop he was standing on gave way and he went hurtling down the chute. When he reached the bottom Lee moved to him
and was checking him for injuries. I
started making my way down the slope to come to his aid when Lee looked up and
fired a couple more shots at me forcing me back into the trees. I have no idea what condition the admiral’s in
but from what I could see, he seemed to be unconscious. Lee didn’t look good either and it was
apparent even from a distance he was barely holding it together.”
“Okay,
thanks for the update Jamie I’ve already recalled the search teams and have
them moving to the jump off point. We’ll
work our way in that direction and hopefully find them,” Chip replied.
“That’s
good to hear Chip, but be very carefully approaching Lee. I’d say by this point he’s probably pretty
desperate now that he feels he has to care for and protect the admiral from
whomever he thinks is after them. I’m
working my way down the hill trying to keep out of sight so I should be there
shortly.”
“Copy
that Jamie. Be careful and we’ll see you
soon,” Chip acknowledged then ended the call.
“What’s
up sir?” Lt. Jacobs asked.
“That
was Dr. Jamieson. He said they spotted
Lee at the bottom of an avalanche chute about a mile in from the trail. He
fired on Jamie and they think that he’s now someone other than Chutani, which I think is a good thing. Anyway the admiral had moved out into the
chute to try and talk to Lee when the rock he was standing on gave way and he
went sliding down to the bottom. Jamie
says he’s unconscious and as he was working his way down to help Lee fired a
couple more shots at him to drive him away,” Chip explained. “Come on let’s pick up the pace, meet up with
the other teams and hopefully bring this to a happy ending.”
?????
Peter
staggered back over to his backpack, unzipped it and grabbed the first aid kit and
water bottle. As he pushed back up to
his feet he swayed suddenly as his head pounded, his chest complained and his
vision lost focus as the darkness tried to work its way in. He clamped his eyes shut and breathed as
deeply as he could to gain control over the pain and exhaustion. He couldn’t let it win now that he had
located his father, he had to take care of him and get him off the mountain to
safety before anyone else showed up.
After a
moment he walked carefully back to his father and began treating his
wounds. His was so focused on his task
of cleansing wounds, applying bandages and talking to his father trying to draw
him back to consciousness he missed the approach of the men behind him. Having applied the final bit of tape he
turned around to grab the water bottle and was startled to find a number of men
closing in on his position. Peter’s hand
moved unerringly for the gun in his waistband and he quickly had it aimed at the
apparent leader of the group, a tall man with blond hair.
“Stop right where you are or I’ll shoot!”
he called out. The group pulled to a
halt but made no move to draw the weapons holstered on their hips. “Turn
around leave and no one will get hurt!”
“Lee
it’s me Chip. Don’t you remember me?”
Chip replied noting that Lee was speaking in what sounded like Republicese and unfortunately he had no idea what he was
saying. “Come on Lee put down the gun we
only want to help you and the admiral.”
Peter
fired a shot at Chip’s feet making him take a couple of steps back. “I
don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to. Back away!”
Jack
slowly moved forward to stand beside Chip.
“Lee it’s me Jack, please put the
gun down we only want to help you.”
Peter
stared at the two men intently; there was something there in the back of his
mind trying to tell him who they were.
He clamped his eyes shut and rubbed the side of his head as a wave of
pain ricocheted through his skull. After
a moment he opened his eyes to find the men had moved closer towards him. He immediately raised his gun and warned them
back even as he swayed from a sudden bout of dizziness.
Chip too
stared at Jack surprised to hear him speaking fluent Republicese. Jack shot him a quick grin, shrugged and
mouthed “O N I”. Chip nodded and rolled his eyes; no wonder he
and Lee got along so well.
“My name is Peter, not Lee and I
don’t believe you. If you take one more
step towards us I will shoot you both.
Do you understand me?”
“Peter? I don’t remember a Peter, do you Jack?” Chip
asked after Jack had translated what Lee had said.
“No
that’s a new one on me,” he answered.
“Sorry Peter, you look just like a very good
friend of mine named Lee. Peter you need
to let us help you and the admiral; you’re both badly injured and all we want
to do is take care of you,” Jack replied after a moment.
“You are mistaken, this man is my father Yuri
Broje not an admiral. We are fishermen on the trawler
Sawfish. I’ll give you one more chance
to back off before I start shooting people.
All I want to do is take my father home to Cordessa
so my mother can care for him,” Peter answered all the while gently rubbing
his left temple trying to dispel the mounting pain.
Jack
stared quizzically at Lee for a moment then looked over to Chip. “He says that the admiral is his father Yuri Broje and all he wants to do is take him home to Cordessa so his mother can take care of him. Do you have any idea what he’s talking about?”
Chip
pondered the question for a moment then suddenly it all fell into place. “A year or so ago Lee returned from a mission
in the PR after having to find his own way home following a botched retrieval. He said that he had rescued an old man who
had been trapped by a tree his was cutting down and he turned out to be the
father of a young man who had rescued Lee some years earlier. I think his name was Peter Broje. Anyway Peter
was killed when the vehicle they were riding in was involved in a rollover accident
and Lee assumed his identity to avoid being interrogated and tortured by the PR
as an American spy5. I think
he said the old man’s name was Yuri Broje.”
As the
confrontation went on Jamie had finally made his way down the slope and joined
the group. He arrived in time to overhear
the conversation between Jack and Chip.
“That’s right, I remember him telling us about it after the Christmas
party,” Jamie offered quietly.
“Nice of
you to join us Jamie,” Chip said with a wink.
“You
trying coming down through that crap at any decent rate of speed without
breaking an ankle,” Jamie replied with a scowl.
“So what
do we do now?” Chip asked. “It looks like
he’s ready to drop from the pain and exhaustion. Do we keep playing at this Mexican standoff
until he does or take more direct action?
He’s already shot at us once do we take the chance he’ll back off if we
force the issue?”
“Try
reasoning with him one more time and if we can’t get through to him then we
need to act before he or the admiral dies from their injuries,” Jamie offered. “I don’t think he really wants to shoot
anyone since all he’s done is fire off warning shots so hopefully that will
slow his hand and we can get to him before he hurts someone.”
“Okay
Jack, give it another shot. Tell him his
mother sent us to find them and to bring him and Yuri back home so she can take
care of them. Tell him she’s very
worried about them both. Do you remember
her name Jamie?”
“Uh I
think it was…uh… Natasha. Yes I’m sure of it, it was Natasha,” Jamie whispered.
“That
sounds right. Go ahead Jack see if that
gets us anything.”
Jack
slowly took a step forward very conscious of the gun in Lee’s hand. “Peter,
please you need to let us help you and your father. Your mother Natasha sent us to come find you
and Yuri and bring you back home to Cordessa so she
can take care of you both. She is very
worried about you.”
Peter
rubbed furiously at his left temple, this was all too confusing. He had no idea whether he should trust these
men or not. There was no way he would
let them take his father or him back to that compound and if push came to shove
he would shoot them both before he let that happen.
“I won’t let you take us back to the compound. I will shoot us both before I let you do
that. Please just go away,” Peter
finally responded tiredly.
As the
standoff had worn on Harri regained consciousness and had listened attentively
to the last couple of exchanges between Lee and Jack. He needed to get engaged now before Lee did
anything that he would regret. Slowly he
painfully pushed himself up to a seated position and raised a finger to his
lips to keep the others quiet.
“Peter… Peter…son,” Harri said quietly. “Please
put down the gun, these men are our friends and only want to help.”
Peter
spun around his eyes wide with relief and concern. “Papa,
are you all right?” he said as he sank to his knees in front of Harri.
“More or less Peter but I’m hurt and so are
you so there’s no way we can get off this mountain without their help. Please son you have to let them help us, your
mother is expecting us home and you don’t want to disappoint her now, do you.”
Peter shook
his head acknowledging the last thing he wanted to do was to disappoint his
mother. He shot a quick look over his
shoulder to check on the men behind him and caught them once again advancing on
them. He immediately spun and raised his
gun stopping them in their tracks. “I
don’t trust them Papa, they want to take you back to that cell and hurt you
again.”
Harri
reached out and gently placed his hand on Lee’s shoulder giving it a gentle
squeeze. “Put down the gun Peter. You can
trust me son, these men are our friends.
You’ve been away from home for quite some time so you haven’t had a
chance to meet them yet, but they are only here to help us, I promise.”
Peter
sat motionless for a moment digesting his father’s words. He so badly wanted to trust what he was
hearing but if they were lying to him he wouldn’t be able to save Yuri
again. He was so tired and all he wanted
to do was close his eyes and sleep. After
a moment he felt a gentle tug on his shoulder as his father pulled him backwards
into his arms. As Yuri slowly
encompassed him in a warm and protective embrace Peter finally surrendered
dropping the gun and relinquishing his hold on consciousness as he sank into the
safety of his father’s arms.
?????
It had
been two days since the Coast Guard helicopter air lifted Lee and Harri off the
mountainside and transported them to the hospital in Valdez. It had been a tight race as Jamie and the ER
surgeon worked desperately to repair the damage Lee had done to himself in his
escapade across the Alaska countryside.
He was only now slowly surfacing from the heavy sedation he had been given
to keep him immobile so he could get the rest he desperately needed and to give
his body a chance to heal.
Nelson
too had been the recipient of some intense first aid to sew up some of the
deeper cuts he’d received on his slide down the mountain and to immobilize his
banged up knee and ankle to prevent further damage. Usually one to try and avoid a hospital stay
at all costs, he insisted that he be placed in the same room with Lee until he
came to and they could determine who he was now.
Soft
moans and deep sighs from the other bed quickly drew Harri’s attention as he
watched his surrogate son work his way towards the light. He immediately hit the call button so that
Jamie and Chip would be alerted and could be there when Lee awoke hopefully as
himself and not another persona from his ONI past.
Both men
quickly responded to the call and entered the room. Jamie moved to Lee’s side and began talking
his vitals. “Lee, can you hear me? Come on Skipper it’s time to wake up. Open your eyes for me please,” Jamie said
gently.
There
was that damn headache again he thought as he was drawn towards a voice in the
distance. Somehow this time it didn’t
seem quite as bad although the pain in his side felt as if there were some kind
of animal gnawing its way out. He
groaned out loud as he moved his head and slowly cracked open his eyes. The sudden flash of light was painful and he
quickly snapped his eyelids closed.
“Come on
Lee open your eyes for me please,” the voice called out to him again.
Giving
it his all he once more cracked his eyes open and found things a little more
tolerable. He quickly scanned the room
and a profound sense of confusion beset him.
Where the hell was he? He had no
recollection of this room or why was he in so much pain. How did he get here? As things came more into focus he spied the
worried face of an older man looking down at him. There was another man, a blond with an
equally worried expression staring at him from the foot of the bed and a red
headed man staring at him from the bed across the room.
“Lee
son, how do you feel?” inquired the familiar voice from the man in the next bed.
He
blinked a couple of times and stared at each man in the room trying to figure
out where they had come from as his mind finally actively engaged. “Admiral? Chip? Jamie? What are you doing here?” he
finally croaked out. He was startled by
the huge smiles that spread across their faces and the joyous laughter that
answered his questions.
“Can you
tell me who you are?” Jamie asked after a moment.
Lee
blinked his eyes for a moment then nodded.
“Lee Benjamin Crane.”
“Welcome
back bro,” Chip said as he laid his hand on Lee’s shoulder and gave it a hearty
squeeze.
“Back? Did I go somewhere?” Lee asked still confused
by their reactions.
The men
in the room burst out in laughter, almost giddy with relief that their friend
was quite apparently himself. “Further
than you can ever imagine lad,” Nelson replied.
“Huh? I don’t understand. Where are we and how did I get here?”
“What’s
the last thing you remember, Lee?” Jamie inquired.
Lee laid
back and closed his eyes trying to recall the last thing he did clearly
remember. “I vaguely remember driving up
a mountain road; I was going hiking and camping. I think I might have been involved in an
accident, I seem to recall a blue pickup crossing the center line, but that’s
about it. What happened? How did I get here, how did you all get here?” The fact the admiral was also in a bed
finally dawned on Lee. “Are you okay
Admiral?” he asked anxiously.
“Well at
least some of your memory is intact,” Jamie answered. “In answer to your question, yes you were
involved in a head-on collision with a drunk driver as you were heading out to
do your hiking and camping. After that
things get really strange.”
“Huh?”
“Do you
remember anything else, Lee?” Chip asked.
“I think
I was having some really intense and bizarre dreams. They all seemed so real. I felt like I kept waking up as someone
else. I was being chased by someone and
had to find my way home,” Lee answered.
“When
you came to three days after your accident you started taking on identities
from your ONI missions. You’ve been Leon
Borodin, PR merchant marine, Lee Glenn, deep water salvage diver, Lateef Chutani, RJ terrorist and finally Peter Broje,
PR fisherman. You didn’t recognize
anyone and could only understand the languages your current identity
spoke. It made for one hell of a time
trying to get through to you,” Chip answered.
Lee
stared at them all for a minute not really sure if they were telling the truth
or pulling his leg. “Admiral what
happened to you?”
Harri
smiled again thrilled to have his captain and son back to normal. “This happened while we were out searching
for you on a remote mountainside. I
thought I had spied you at the bottom of an avalanche chute so I hiked out and
climbed on top of a rock outcrop to get a better look. Turns out I had spotted you and as I was
telling Jamie what I had seen, the outcrop collapsed and I went hurtling down
the chute on a granite slab. I was doing
just fine until the thing hit a bigger rock and stopped suddenly catapulting me
through the air to land roughly in the scree and brush below. I got tore up a bit, tweaked my ankle and
knee and knocked unconscious but surprisingly didn’t suffer any significant
damage.”
“Oh god
sir, I’m so sorry.” Lee replied embarrassed to have caused his friends so much
worry and pain.
“It
wasn’t your fault Lee. You’d been banged
up pretty badly in the accident and received a severe concussion. Your mind didn’t properly reset, so to speak,
when you regained consciousness.” Harri replied trying to assuage Lee’s guilt.
As Lee
digested this new information the door opened and Jack entered. He looked quickly at Lee then at the smiling
faces of the other men. “I take it
you’re Lee again given all the relieved faces I see in this room.”
“Hey
Jack,” Lee replied with a smile. “Based
on what I’m being told the true owner returned from vacation so the lights are
on and somebody is definitely home.”
They all laughed thrilled to have Lee back amongst them again.
“So
Jamie, when can I get out of here?” Lee asked a mischievous glint in his eye.
Jamie
shot him a withering glare that would have turned lesser men to dust. “You will stay put until I feel
you’re good and ready to leave. That
will be at least another three days.
You’ve managed to age all of us a decade and have accounted for a lot
less hair on my head.”
“Three
days?! Oh come on,” Lee complained.
“Want to
shoot for a week?” Jamie answered as he folded his arms emphatically.
“Geez
Jamie you’re cutting into my vacation time and as I recall it was your order
that I take off in the first place. The
way I see it, this all your fault anyway.”
Lee bantered back playfully.
Jamie
glared at him and shot him an exasperated harrumph as the other men in the room
dissolved into laughter. It was so good
having things back to normal, at least by NIMR standards.
“Don’t
worry Jamie, I think I’ll stay right here until you say he’s up to leaving that
way he’ll have to behave himself with me as a roommate,” Harri remarked. There was another roll of laughter as Lee
grimaced theatrically and a smug smile spread across Jamie’s face.
“Tell
you what,” Jack cut in as he reined in his laughter. “Why don’t you all come out to my place and
stay with me until Lee’s ready to head back home. I’ve got plenty of room and we can all kick
back and relax while he and the admiral heal up a bit. Lee and I planned on getting a fishing
charter and going after some halibut and salmon so when Captain America here is
released we can go spend a couple of days on the water tormenting fish or vice
versa.”
“That
sounds like an exceptional plan Jack, if you don’t mind the company. This will give O’Brien and Sharkey an
excellent opportunity to manage the refit until we get back.” Chip replied.
“That
would fill my prescription,” added Jamie.
“Plus I’ll be able to keep a weathered eye on my most difficult patients
and ensure they arrive home in one piece.”
“I guess
it’s settled then,” Harri said nodding in agreement. “Thanks Jack we accept.”
“Fantastic. Come on Chip let’s go make a run to the store
so we can get all provisioned up. We’ll
be back in a bit. You two just kick back
and relax.” Jack said as he and Chip
made their way out the door.
“Okay
Lee you just lay back and rest. I’m
going to get your pain medication and a mild sedative to help you sleep.” Jamie
ordered as he watched Lee’s face begin to cloud ready to refuse Jamie’s
drugs. “No argument. The faster you regain your strength and
stamina, the faster you’re out of here; got it!”
“Yes
Jamie,” Lee replied meekly as Harri chuckled quietly from the other bed. Jamie winked at Harri and exited the room.
Harri
looked over at Lee and gave him another relieved smile. “It is so good having you back to normal lad. You had us all very worried and we had no
idea how to help when you were out of your mind.”
Lee
laughed quietly at Harri’s choice of words. “I can’t tell you how much I
appreciate you all coming up to rescue me.
I’m so sorry you were injured in the process.”
“Don’t
worry about it Lee, I’d go to the ends of the earth to bring you back son. I hope you know that.”
“Yes sir
and I hope you know I’d do the same for you and the others.” Lee replied
blushing slightly giving voice to emotions he usually kept safely buried.
“Well
let’s just hope we don’t have to do this again.
After this experience, I’m giving serious thought to Chip’s suggestion
that we start sending a keeper with you on your next vacation.”
“Oh he
did, did he?” Lee snarled then smiled.
“Well I’ll just have to come up with something to teach Chip to keep his
suggestions to himself. According to
Jamie I have at least three days that I can concentrate solely on developing
that lesson.”
They
both laughed as Harri shook his head knowing things were going to get very
interesting once they returned home. He
counted himself extremely lucky to have his captain and son back in the fold
and in his right mind.
The End.
1 Merry Fubar
2 Season
One Episode: The City Beneath the Sea
3
Metamorphosis
4 JBER –
Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson
5 The
Turn of a Friendly Card