24
There wasn't much about the super storm that would be considered 'natural', let alone 'normal'. Meteorologists and scientists across the globe agreed on that. The connecting fronts did not form over days; they appeared suddenly on radar screens within minutes, stretching from the South Pacific to the Arctic Circle. The storms actually hit within a two hour time frame over that distance, lasting a total of seven hours. It played havoc with shipping lanes, air traffic, ground traffic, and communication systems. Initially, hundreds were reported missing and presumed dead in the first few hours of the storm…only to start showing up hours or days later, very far from their point of origin, with no idea of how they'd gotten from point A to point B.
"Nothing," Spanner frowned at the screen in front of her. "No big sections, no little bits, no complete hull…nothing! It just isn't possible."
"How close was the Flagg to the Bermuda Triangle?" Firecracker's voice sounded over the radio.
"And could the storm have tossed an aircraft carrier that far?" BlackBird asked. Spanner was with her in Baby, her re-fitted Huey. Firecracker was with Lady Hawk in Lady Hawk's Blackhawk, and Dial Tone was with Lift Ticket. They were all running the same grid from different starting points, all looking for the same thing: The USS Flagg, gone missing during the storm. She wasn't answering hails, she wasn't showing up on radar, and her tracking unit had been either destroyed or disabled.
"Not even that storm should have been able to lift something the size of the Flagg," Dial Tone replied.
"And as for your question, Firecracker…" Spanner said. "We're in the wrong ocean!"
"Hey, it was just a thought," Firecracker defended herself.
"BlackBird to Lady Hawk and Lift Ticket. We got nothin'," BlackBird reported. "And Baby's out of juice. I gotta hit the filling station."
"I'm right behind you, BlackBird," Lift Ticket said. "For the same reason."
"We found something, but…." Lady Hawk's voice sounded unsure. That was not a tone her team or the Joes were used to hearing from her. "It's not an aircraft carrier, it's a hospital ship!"
"A hospital ship?" Left Ticket demanded. "Which hospital ship?"
"The Mercy… whose last known location was 100 miles out of Sydney Harbor," Lady Hawk stated. "We're 10,000kms away from there, and we are looking at the Mercy!"
"If the Mercy is here, could the Flagg be there?" Black Bird asked.
"Lift Ticket to Joe base," Lift Ticket hailed Mainframe. "Mainframe, who we got in the neighborhood of Australia?"
"Right now? Nobody," Mainframe replied. "Everybody is busy here at home with clean-up, retrieval, and rebuilding."
"We'll have to wait to test your theory, Black Bird," Lift Ticket told her.
"For now, Firecracker and I are going to set down and check out the Mercy," Lady Hawk stated. "We'll see the rest of you back on the Nimitz in an hour."
What Lady Hawk and Firecracker found aboard the Mercy shook them, and the entire crew of the Nimitz, to the core. Every human aboard the hospital ship was suffering various levels of amnesia.
"The Chief Medical Officer was having trouble stringing more than two words in a sentence, General," Lady Hawk stood in front of General Colton. She had changed to her dress uniform, but she had yet to get any rest, and looked ready to fall asleep on her feet. "It was…terrifying, sir. Like their minds had been nearly wiped."
"Who was controlling the ship?"
"It was adrift, with no power. Admiral Ledger got a skeleton crew aboard to handle power and navigation. They're heading for San Francisco now," she reported. "General, that type of situation aboard the Mercy is bad enough. If the same thing happened aboard the Flagg…"
"That could be a total disaster," Colton agreed wearily. "And there were Joes aboard the Flagg…"
"Besides Keel Haul, since once a Joe, always a Joe…just like you," Lady Hawk nodded. "Flint, Lady Jaye, Shipwreck, Torpedo, Wet Suit, Deep Six, Bazooka, Dusty, Cutter and Footloose. They were supposed to be testing the new upgrades on the Sharks."
"Do I want to know how you find out half the intel you get your hands on, Lady Hawk?"
"Probably not, sir," she shrugged slightly. Princess found most of it, but Lady Hawk had some tricks of her own.
"I can't spare a full team, not even yours," Colton sighed.
"I don't need a full team, General. Firecracker, because she can handle a Gulfstream as well as I can," Lady Hawk stated. "Not to mention, drive about anything. And I'll need a Joe with enough rank to cut most of the red tape."
"I can't go; I'm still co-coordinating things with Sharp here…"
"What about Hawk, sir? He's fairly good with red tape."
"Usually by ramming through it."
"That is usually the fastest way, sir," Lady Hawk managed not to smile. Colton also had a habit of ramming through the red tape. "I'd do it myself, but I'd get busted back to private, at the very least!"
"Not in that dress uniform, you wouldn't," Colton said wryly. "Especially not if you get results. And OMEGA is already getting the reputation for getting the results they want. Alright, you can take Hawk. Just don't blame me if he is less than enthusiastic about the assignment."
"Fortunately, I am used to dealing with his reactions," she did grin this time. "A life time of driving him crazy by tagging along gives me lots of experience."
"We're going where to do what?" Hawk stared at her. "I've got Joe teams scattered all over the place, and you want me to go half way around the world…"
"To find the Joes you are currently missing," Lady Hawk stated. "Yes, I do. You've got Duke, Slaughter, Leatherneck, Beachhead and Lifeline heading up those teams, Hawk. They know what they're doing. Does it really matter if they report to you or Colton at the end of the day?"
"Thanks for the ego check, sis."
"You're welcome. Someone has to do it," she told him. "Grab a bag and shake a leg, mister! Firecracker's got a Gulfstream ready to go."
"When did Firecracker learn to fly?"
"When I was too busy wallowing in self-pity," Lady Hawk replied honestly. The period following OMEGA's first solo mission had been a very dark time, especially for OMEGA's team leader. She'd wanted to quit. The rest of her team, and a few of the Joes, had fought to get her back on track. "Now will you get a move on? Honestly! Thought you Joes were able to move faster!"
"I know you were taught to respect your elders, brat," he shook his head.
"And my superior officers. You are both… but it gets canceled out in private by the fact you are also the closest thing I have to a big brother. Move it, Hawk! We got Joes to find!"
Finding the Flagg proved to be the easy part. The Australian Navy had found the carrier adrift…and completely empty, with no clue or sign as to what happened to the 2000 people known to be aboard when the storm hit. However, as was the case along the Californian coast, within hours, the Flagg's missing were being found washed up on beaches, floating with life rings clutched in their arms, wandering near coastal areas.
"Various levels of amnesia…no one remembers the storm at all, or how the Flagg got from there to here in so little time," Matthew Fishner was the doctor in charge of trying to coordinate the care for the storm victims, especially the crew of the Flagg. "We aren't even sure if all these people are from the Flagg, or who we may be missing, since not all of them had any form of identification on them when found. In some cases, total skill sets seem to have been completely wiped…"
"Which is exactly what we found aboard the Mercy," Lady Hawk sighed. The two of them, Hawk and Firecracker were outside of an observation window, watching a nurse working with a young seaman on something. "It really is scary to see…"
"Hey! Over here!" Firecracker had moved to another window. "It's Flint!"
"Flint…" Hawk moved faster than the other two to join Firecracker.
If you started the Joe chain-of-command with Hawk, than Flint was third in line. The man was a Rhodes Scholar, with enough special training to make most people dizzy. To see him sitting there now, staring at a wall and muttering to himself, was enough to break Lady Hawk's heart, and shook Hawk to his core.
"If Flint is here, where is Lady Jaye?" Hawk frowned. "He wouldn't have left her, and she wouldn't have left him…."
"There are a few of the females on the next wing," Fishner said.
"Hawk, you and Firecracker go see if you can find Lady Jaye. I'll see how bad Flint is," Lady Hawk suggested.
"I'm his CO…"
"You are also hers. Let me see if I can jog something lose in that by-the-book head before you totally lose hope, bro."
"You need to be careful, Sergeant," Doctor Fishner warned. "Quite a few of the patients we believe to have come from the Flagg are proving to be frustrated and combative."
"Don't worry about me, Doctor. Just find a way to help these people," Lady Hawk already had one hand on the door knob of Flint's room.
"Sergeant Abernathy…"
"Believe me, sir, she can handle Flint," Hawk commented. "He never gets as bad tempered as I have been known to, and the Sergeant has been successfully dealing with me all of her life. Just don't break any of his bones, Sis."
"I never broke any of yours. You did that all on your own," she pointed out lightly. "Go! Go find Lady Jaye and the rest of our Joes!"
"You know she is telling us to find Shipwreck, Hawk," Firecracker rolled her eyes.
"Like your eyes aren't already on the alert for red football jerseys," Lady Hawk snorted. "Just go find all of them, Firecracker." She entered Flint's room and crossed briskly to his side, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Flint."
"Flint?" he looked up at her, his dark eyes troubled. "That sounds right, but…it doesn't, at the same time."
"I call you Flint. Your team calls you Flint," Lady Hawk told him. "It's your code name, not your real name."
"I'm not worried about my name. I have to find…" he struggled to his feet, which was when Lady Hawk realized his left ankle was in a cast.
"Easy, Flint! Sit down, before you damage yourself more." She pushed him back into the wheelchair.
"I have to find her. You aren't her… her hair isn't red…" he was frowning. "You aren't the right age, either…"
"Hawk and Firecracker are looking for her right now," Lady Hawk assured him.
"Hawk…" his frown deepened. "I should know!"
"You do know, Flint. It's just… locked away someplace in your head right now."
"Yeah? So how do we unlock it?" he demanded.
"You're in better shape than a lot of people, Flint. You recognized your code name, you remember her…"
"She has a name. Lady Jaye," Flint stated firmly. Lady Hawk felt like cheering. "I know your face… I can't come up with a name, though."
"Don't worry about it," she patted his shoulder. "Concentrate on Lady Jaye."
"Can't say that idea bothers me much," he grinned slightly.
"Hey Lady Hawk! We found her!" Firecracker burst into the room. "But Mohammed can't come to the Mountain…"
"Come on, Mountain," Lady Hawk released the breaks on the wheelchair. "Let's get you to Mohammed!"
"How fast do you think we can move?" Flint demanded.
"How much trouble do you think you can get me out of?" Lady Hawk teased.
"Let's find out!" He winked. Lady Hawk laughed, motioning Firecracker to handle the door.
When Lady Hawk pushed Flint into Lady Jaye's room in a wheelie position, Hawk shook his head.
"Hey, he wanted 'fast'," Lady Hawk shrugged.
"I do out-rank her," Flint pointed out.
"How do you know that?" Hawk demanded. "You couldn't even give your name, rank or serial number this morning, from what I was told!"
"By not worrying about that, and focusing on something else…. Someone else," Flint pointed at the woman in the bed. Lady Jaye was unconscious, her face paler than usual. "Lady Jaye…"
"Her vital signs are good, Flint," Hawk assured him, even as Lady Hawk was positioning the wheelchair closer to the bed, where Flint could actually reach Lady Jaye. "She should be fine. Now, you two are settled, and I have been informed Keel Haul is upstairs. Lady Hawk, you and Firecracker still have eight Joes to track down."
"You got it, Hawk," Lady Hawk nodded. "Flint, be polite to her nurses. We'll come back to get you later…"
"I am staying where I am at," Flint stated.
"We'll see about that. Keep in mind, her memories may be more scattered that yours," Lady Hawk warned.
"I am still staying. Check in later," he ordered. "By the way, where is Duke?"
"Helping clean up Florida," Hawk replied. "You remember Duke?"
"I just got the name. Faces are easier."
"You are in better shape than most. Wonder why?" Hawk shrugged. "Alright, ladies. Find me Bazooka, Dusty, Footloose, Cutter, Deep Six, Torpedo, Wet Suit…. And I suppose you'd better find Shipwreck…" he tossed a sly look at Lady Hawk.
"I will refrain from making the response I'd really like to, since you out-rank me," she said dryly.
"That's never stopped you before," Firecracker pointed out. "Come on. I've got an idea." She headed for the nurses' station.
"Should I be worried?" Hawk asked.
"Just go find Keel Haul," Lady Hawk ordered. She went after Firecracker.
"Can I help you ladies?" the woman on duty looked worn and concerned.
"I hope so," Firecracker nodded. "I know a lot of people brought in had no identification. Lords know what happen to everyone's tags. But…do you possibly remember a man with a mustache wearing a red football jersey with a blue '14' on it?"
"I seem to recall…" the woman went to a rack of shelves full of boxes. Each box had a room number and bed number marked on it. "It this it?"
"Yes!" Firecracker grabbed the shirt. "Which room?"
"317. I am glad I could connect at least one of those lads with someone who knows and cares."
"Don't suppose you had anyone brought in with a parrot?" Lady Hawk sighed.
"No parrots, sorry," the nurse shook her head. "Most of them are obviously soldiers. A fair few where in uniform. A few I think are divers, but that would stand to reason, wouldn't it."
"Lady Hawk…" Firecracker began.
"Go find Bazooka," Lady Hawk waved her off. "I'll see if I can't find the other seven."
"I'll help as much as I can," the nurse promised. "The name is Elaine Rogers."
"Let's start with the obvious divers. Anyone complaining about noise levels?"
"Oh yes, one of the divers. We had to put him in a private room," Elaine nodded. "Blue eyes, ginger hair, a bit… anti-social…."
"Sounds like Deep Six," Lady Hawk nodded. "Where is he?"
"321, but he requested no visitors."
"Too bad, he's getting at least one."
"I need to check his vitals about now," Elaine noted, glancing at her watch. "I'd be glad of the moral support."
"I'll give you more than moral support if that over-grown guppy gets out of hand!"
Deep Six was sitting up in bed, working on a crossword puzzle, when the women entered his room.
"What, vitals again?" He growled. "Didn't you just do my vitals? And who is she?"
"I did tell you that vitals have to be done once and hour, sir," Elaine said patiently.
"Deep Six, quit growling at the woman for doing her job," Lady Hawk ordered. "Or I will get a tape deck, and a copy of that Greatest Country Hits that Cross Country's got back home, and hook it up in here and make you listen to it."
"Do you have to be so nasty about it?" Deep Six grumbled. "I don't even like country music, do I?"
"I mean it. No more trouble out of you, or I will get hold of Admiral Ledger."
"Yes ma'am. You're awful bossy for a sergeant."
"When you remember who I am, you'll remember why," Lady Hawk smirked. "I'll see if I can't get you some crossword puzzle books, though."
"That would be appreciated."
"There are two more next door," Elaine said, making notes on Deep Six's charts.
Both men were awake, both reading newspapers.
"Wet Suit and Torpedo. At least I am whittling down our MIA list," Lady Hawk said as she entered the room. "And just how much do you or don't you two gilless fish remember?"
"Gilless fish? Little girl, those are fighting words!" Wet Suit growled.
"Yeah? You gonna do something about it, 'Suit?" she challenged.
"When they let me outta here…"
"By then, hopefully, one or both of us will remember why it's not a wise idea to take the bait with this one," Torpedo said. "You know us, lady. I know your face, just can't put a name to it. Do me a favor anyhow?"
"What's that, Torpedo?"
"Make'em stop sending me meat with my meals. I keep telling them I don't want it. I haven't eaten it…"
"Elaine, Torpedo here is a vegetarian. Has been longer than I've known him," Lady Hawk told Elaine. "Where I come from, that's another word for 'lousy hunter', but I've seen this man hunt down Cobra eels and morays, so I can't tag him like that. No meat, no eggs, no fish. Honey, butter, milk and milk products are fine."
"Thanks for the info, Lady Hawk. Torpedo, why didn't you just tell one of your nurses?"
"I did. Doctor Winston wouldn't accept it, and insisted I was to have meat with my meals."
"Joy, one of those. I'll make sure it is dealt with, Torpedo," Lady Hawk stated. "We need you both back. So much for the 'indestructibility' of certain classes of military!"
"Which classes would they be?" Wet Suit demanded.
"There aren't any Marines lying around here with amnesia, Wet Suit. You figure it out!"
"You were a little rough on them, weren't you?" Elaine asked as the two women moved on.
"They are SEALs, Elaine. Don't coddle a SEAL," Lady Hawk shook her head. "They either don't handle it well, or they milk it for all they can get out of it. Especially if they've got a pretty nurse, they will milk it!"
The next room was Bazooka's, and Cutter was there as well. Firecracker sat at Bazooka's side, signing softly.
"Kid's got a nice voice," Cutter said quietly. "I just don't know if he can hear her."
"He has a concussion," Elaine explained. "He is breathing fine on his own, but he's been unconscious since before they brought him in here."
"He rarely takes his helmet off when he's on duty. I wonder where it is?" Lady Hawk sighed. "How are you doing, Cutter?"
"That's a bit of a strange name…" Cutter began.
"I could always call you 'Coastie'," she offered.
"And I could spank your backside for it, too," he snorted. "Cutter works better than 'Mr. X'. I see faces I know I should know, but I got nothing else, missy."
"Give it time, Cutter," she patted his shoulder. "I'm pretty sure it will come back to you."
"You aren't medical. Wrong tabs, Sergeant."
"See, you remember that much," she pointed out. "Nope, I am not medical. Just a friend making sure certain missing Joes are accounted for."
"Nice to have friends."
She heard them as she neared a door she hadn't even planned to enter: Dusty and Footloose, arguing over some sports event on television.
"You two can't remember your own names, but you can still razz each other over stupid stuff, like if either of you have ever played rugby or not?" she demanded as she entered the room. "Honestly guys!"
"I think she knows both of us, dude," Footloose looked at Dusty.
"Sounds like," Dusty agreed. "She sorta looks familiar… but I've said that about every nurse with long red hair who has walked in that door in the last three days."
"That may be because you know two of us with long red hair, Dusty… although neither of us are nurses," Lady Hawk told him.
"Thought something in the scenario wasn't quite right," he shrugged. "Couldn't put my finger on it."
"Could also be the uniforms. You've only seen me in dress uniform twice. Not sure if you've ever seen Scarlett in hers."
"Well, you look fine in yours," Footloose grinned.
"I will thank you for the compliment, Footloose, but warn you not to flirt," Lady Hawk chuckled. "Last time you did, you couldn't get away fast enough when you remembered who I am related to. You two take it easy, behave for your nurses, and don't worry. I need to go report. We are now missing only one of you." Her voice hitched slightly as she said it.
"Aw, you'll find him, Red," Dusty assured her.
"Dusty…"
"Yeah?"
"Don't call me 'Red'."
She went back to check in with Firecracker first. The other woman was still sitting next to Bazooka, who was resting easily. Cutter had turned on the world news.
"Were they ours?" Firecracker asked.
"The only one we are still missing is Shipwreck," Lady Hawk nodded. "I need to report upstairs to Hawk, then really start sifting through this place."
"He's quiet for now," Firecracker sighed, getting to her feet. "Cutter, if he starts getting antsy again, have one of the nurses page me."
"Will do, Firecracker," Cutter promised.
"You can stay…" Lady Hawk began.
"No, you need me more right now," Firecracker shook her head. "It's a big hospital. It's gonna take a lot of sifting."
Hawk was sitting next to Keel Haul's bed, pointing to people in a picture, and encouraging the other man to name them.
"How are you feeling, Keel Haul?" Lady Hawk asked.
"I was starting to feel pretty good…until the pig-tailed tag-a-long showed up a grown woman instead of a ten year old," Keel Haul grimaced.
"Hey, at least you still knew it was her," Firecracker pointed out.
"There is that," Hawk agreed. "Report Sergeant."
"Only one Joe still missing," Lady Hawk replied. "Well…. One and a quarter? Shipwreck and Polly. He may be here somewhere, but he's not on Elaine Rogers' watch. Which only means he's not on floor 7, sections blue or green. There is a lot more hospital to check."
"See if your friend, Nurse Rogers, has friends on other floors and wards that could help us out," Hawk instructed.
"Actually, there is a faster, easier way to check, sir," Lady Hawk said.
"Now that was just weird," Keel Haul complained. "Hearing the Tag-a-long calling you 'sir'!"
"I'm in uniform. I'm trying to keep it professional, Keel Haul," she shrugged.
"What's your 'easier' method of sifting info?" Hawk asked.
"If I can access the hospital's computer, I can run a search based on specific criteria," she stated. "We do know how old he is, what he looks like, his tats…."
"Let's go see what we can do about that."
Three hours later, Lady Hawk faced a hard truth: Shipwreck was not in Sydney Harbor Medical Center.
"This is just one hospital, Lady Hawk. There are a lot of others," Firecracker pointed out. "Dozens, even just in the greater Sydney area."
"And I have already sent your search parameters and the picture you provided to every hospital, clinic, doctor's office and rescue unit." Elaine had been helping them since she'd gone off-duty. "But if the bird isn't with the sailor…"
"And I am really afraid that may be the case," Lady Hawk sighed. "How the blazes do I find one lost parrot in an area where wild parrots aren't exactly news?"
"Most of the people suspected as being from the Flagg were found between Long Reef Point and Vaucluse," Elaine said.
"Wait…map?"
"Map," Firecracker opened one onto the table, and grabbed a pink highlighter. "Long Reef Point, Vaucluse…" she marked both, "and the Flagg was found roughly here, off of Blue Fish Point." She marked that area as well.
"Polly is used to being around people, relying on humans for food?" Elaine asked.
"She can forage for herself, but she is fairly spoiled, too," Lady Hawk nodded. "She'll try pan-handling before foraging."
"Shelley Beach," Elaine pointed. "I'm off tomorrow. We'll leave here early, and check there first. Not only is she likely to get easy hand-outs there, there is fresh water where she'd be able to get at it, and wild growing forage."
"Firecracker, you stay with Hawk," Lady Hawk instructed. "That way, you'll probably be able to spend most of your time with Bazooka, and also keep an eye on the others."
"I can't bully the rest of them the way you can," Firecracker made a face. "And it isn't as if Bazooka will know or care if I'm here or not."
"Just threaten the sailor boys with Keel Haul," Lady Hawk told her. "As for Bazooka…he may be too shy to say anything, but if you're the first face he sees, and not Cutter…he'll appreciate it!"
"Food and sleep, or none of us will be up for anything tomorrow," Elaine stated. "Come on."
Hawk had left word for both young women that he would meet them in front of the hotel at 7:30 the next morning. He expected Lady Hawk to do the driving; she did, when Spanner wasn't around.
He wasn't expecting to see Firecracker behind the wheel of the rental, and no Lady Hawk in sight.
"Alright, what's going on?" He demanded, getting in the passenger's side. "Where is Lady Hawk?"
"Elaine Rogers took her hunting, early. You're still down one sailor and a parrot, Hawk," Firecracker pointed out. "If someone finds Shipwreck on a beach somewhere, they will most likely call for help. An injured parrot with a smart mouth? They may feed her to the closest cat."
"Elaine Rogers is certainly being very… helpful."
"I think it's because Lady Hawk threatened your divers," Firecracker grinned. "It makes the nurses' jobs easier, when they aren't being growled at by a pair of Navy SEALs or a Master Diver with an attitude problem."
"Here we are," Elaine announced, pulling into the car park at Shelley Beach two hours after they'd left the hotel. "There's a restaurant on the far side of the beach, if you want to check there first…"
"We don't have to go that far," Lady Hawk was smiling as she hurried to get out of the car. "Look!" She pointed to a dejected-looking bright green figure hunched on a post at the edge of the sand. "Polly!"
"KT!" the bird's head came up sharply, recognizing the woman's voice. "Lady Hawk!" Polly launched herself from the post…and barely made it to land on Lady Hawk's wrist. She was bedraggled and missing feathers.
"You poor baby!" Lady Hawk cuddled the bird against her gently. "It's alright, Polly. You're safe now, babe."
"Shipwreck?"
"I haven't found him yet, but I will. I promise I will," Lady Hawk smoothed down a few tousled head feathers. "Right now, we are going to take care of you."
"I'm hungry, KT."
"I'll bet. I've got blueberries and macadamias for you," Lady Hawk headed back to the car, where Elaine was waiting.
"KT loves me!"
"Yeah, I do… but you have to call me Lady Hawk for now, Pol. I am on duty."
"Lady Hawk," Polly bobbed her head. "The Hawk's little sis!"
"That's a surprise," Elaine commented. "I'd have guessed your boss was fifteen to twenty years older, and you two don't look that much alike at all."
"He's technically not my boss, or my brother. He is my cousin, and we've always been close," Lady Hawk told her. "Polly, say hello to Elaine."
" 'lo Elaine," Polly said obediently. "Blueberries?"
"If Elaine Rogers is off with Lady Hawk, do you have any idea who to check with for new admitals?" Hawk asked Firecracker when they were walking into the hospital.
"I already did that, sir," a no-nonsense looking woman announced, coming forward. Her accent was American Midwest. Her skin was a dusky cocoa color, matched with eyes the color of peridots. "There have been no new patients in the last 48 hours, and definitely none matching Delgado's description. Doctor Odessa Keith, sir. I'm on-staff at Walter Reed."
"You took care of GPS," Firecracker remembered. "Specialist Maria de Carlos."
"I still see her on occasion," Dr. Keith nodded. "She's quite an incredible young woman. I just wish…"
"You saved her life, Dr. Keith. That was the important thing," Hawk stated. "What brings you to Sydney?"
"A new therapy for this… Translocation Amnesia Syndrome," Dr. Keith explained. "It's a bit unconventional, but we're getting excellent results among the crew of the Mercy."
"Define 'unconventional'."
"Sound and smell," she replied simply. "Two things that seem to have the strongest ties to memory. As I said, it is working wonders with the people who were aboard the Mercy. I'd like to get started here, but my nursing team just got chased out of a diver's room…"
"Deep Six," Hawk and Firecracker said at the same time, looking at each other.
"Excuse me, sir?"
"Willoughby," Hawk explained. "You are aware that all the Joes use Code Names, Doctor."
"Yes sir. And yes, that is the problem. I'm almost afraid to have the team try with anyone else, he got so nasty about it."
"You can try with Cutter and Bazooka. They won't snap at your team for trying to help," Firecracker said. "Since Lady Hawk isn't here, you're going to have to ride herd on Deep Six yourself, Hawk."
"Yeah, thanks," Hawk made a face. "Come with me, Dr. Keith. I take it you're going to be with a certain AWE Striker driver, should I need you, Firecracker?"
"Safest bet, sitting with Bazooka and Cutter," she shrugged. "I got nothing to make conversation on with Torpedo or Wet Suit. If Dusty and Footloose started, I'd be too tempted to bounce their heads together…"
"They actually are good friends."
"I know. They remind me of my brothers," Firecracker said lightly. "Plenty of times I want to knock Steve and Jimmy's heads together, even now."
"All I ask is that you at least check on Wet Suit, Torpedo, Dusty, Footloose, and Jaye and Flint before you park yourself in with Bazooka," Hawk requested.
"That I can do."
"How's it going, Cutter?" Firecracker was bound and determined to stay upbeat in this room, although she'd been close to tears when she'd left Torpedo and Wet Suit.
"We're still trying to find my audio and scent triggers," Cutter replied, shrugging a little.
"Elvis and pizza," Firecracker stated. "One of those pizzas with everything on it."
"We didn't even think of Elvis," the nurse sitting by Cutter's bed admitted. "I'll see what I've got."
Firecracker gave Cutter a thumbs up, and went to sit beside Bazooka.
She'd been there nearly an hour, lost in thought, when she felt eyes on her.
Bazooka was awake.
"Well, hello there, soldier!" she smiled. "How are you feeling?"
"Sore," he replied. "Head hurts."
"I believe it. You apparently lost your helmet at a bad time," she said.
"Oh," he blinked. "Firecracker?"
"Yeah Bazooka?" she wanted to cry or laugh or cheer when he called her by name.
"Sing for me?"
"Any special requests?"
"No," he shook his head. "Just, sing for me, please."
By the end of the week, most of the crew from the Flagg had been released and returned to duty. That included Keel Haul, which meant Hawk spent those days combing beaches and coastal areas, looking for Shipwreck. Since Lady Jaye remained the only Joe in the hospital, and Flint spent his time with her, the rest had formed teams to look for their missing sailor. The only time most of them saw each other was at the supper table.
"We are going home tomorrow," Hawk announced, not looking at any of them. "We found the Flagg. We all have other work waiting for us back stateside."
"Shipwreck is still missing!" Lady Hawk protested.
"And the one doctor is still insisting Jaye can't travel yet," Flint added.
"Lady Jaye is in good hands, and doesn't need an escort to fly home commercially next week," Hawk stated. "AS for Shipwreck…"
"Don't you dare say it, Hawk," Lady Hawk stood. "Don't you dare!"
"No Joe left behind, Hawk," Flint said, ice in his tone and his eyes.
"We don't even know where to look any more!" Hawk pointed out. "We've done all we can. I don't like it, either, but we all have other duties waiting for us."
"Hawk…" Lady Hawk fought down the rising urge to scream.
"We are flying out tomorrow at ten am, Lady Hawk," he was all business. "Anyone who isn't there will be considered AWOL, and appropriate actions will be taken…"
"And does that include Shipwreck, who is still missing, and Lady Jaye, who hasn't been released from the hospital yet?" Firecracker demanded.
"I'm going back over to Lady Jaye, so she'll at least know what is going on," Flint got to his feet. "And visiting hours be damned!"
"I'll drop you off, Flint," Lady Hawk said. "Firecracker, take care of Polly for me."
"Where are you going?" Hawk demanded.
"It's seven pm. That means I have fifteen hours before you break your own rule, sir."
She was pulling into the lot at Shelley Beach before she ever realized that had been her target all along. It was almost ten pm, and there were few people on the sand now. None of the family groups that romped the beach during the daylight hours, or even couples looking for the romance of a moonlight stroll.
She stood on the beach, staring at the water, and let the tears flow down her cheeks.
"Damn it, Delgado! Where are you?" she demanded softly. "Where are you?" She covered her face with her hands and sank to her knees in the sand.
The hand that came to rest on her shoulder was large, warm and calloused from dealing with lines.
"You okay, lady? You really shouldn't be out here alone at this time of night," the voice was deep and hesitant…and the most beautiful sound in the world to Lady Hawk. She came to her feet so fast, she nearly fell. "Easy, woman! You'll sink us both!" Shipwreck grabbed both her arms to steady her. "I'm not gonna hurt you. I just hate to see a pretty girl cry. And it really ain't safe to be alone at night."
"Where have you been, Sailor Man?" she demanded. "Do you know how close we came to going home without you? Or me getting court marshaled? Polly couldn't find you after the storm, and she's been so depressed…"
"Whoa!" He commanded. "Slow down, will ya?" Lady Hawk burst into tears again. With a sigh, he pulled her close. "Don't cry, Kath. I hate it when you cry like that…"
"What did you call me?" her head snapped up.
"Kath. I called you Kath. Why did I call you that?"
"You're the only one who gets away with calling me Kath, since you don't use it in public," she sniffed.
"You'd probably scalp me if I did," he grunted. "Just turn off the water works, okay? You'll make your nose all red, and then it clashes with your hair."
"Very funny, mister," she thumped his chest lightly, then leaned her head against it. "Now, tell me. Where have you been, and how much do you remember?"
"I don't know what I'm doing in Australia," he informed her. "I remember finding you crying before. We weren't by the sea then."
"You found me crying after Wires and Diva died," she nodded. "Answer the first question."
"I was looking…. For something. Something I should have with me, but don't," he said. "Polly! I've been looking for Polly!" He started to pull away.
"Polly is aboard the Flagg, Shipwreck. She's safe," Lady Hawk grabbed his arm. "I found her here days ago. I didn't see you then."
"Not a good idea to stay in one place for long when you don't remember your own name, and don't have any id," he shrugged. "Polly is okay?"
"Right now, she can't fly too well. Her feathers got mangled in the storm. But they are growing back, and she is safe." Lady Hawk told him. "Come on. The faster we get back, the less likely it is that Hawk will have my head mounted on his office wall."
"What about some food first?" Shipwreck asked hopefully. His stomach growled, underlining the point.
"There's a drive-through a few blocks from here. I'll get you something for the ride back," she promised. "You will need to be cleared for travel, then you can catch a shower and a few hours of sleep at the hotel before we need to be at the airport."
"What if the doc won't clear me for travel? Not that there is any reason he shouldn't. I don't think amnesia counts…"
"Then Hawk will just have to keep his threat about court marshaling me, because I am not leaving here without you," Lady Hawk stated. "You get in way too much trouble when there isn't someone around to keep an eye on you."
When they got back to the harbor area just after midnight, Lady Hawk drove straight to the hospital. She wanted him cleared for traveling home asap.
"Name?" the desk clerk asked. Lady Hawk opened her mouth to answer, but Shipwreck put a hand over it.
"Delgado, Hector X., ma'am," he announced confidently. Lady Hawk's eyes widened. "Weren't expecting that, were you….KT?" He teased. She pulled his hand away from her mouth, but didn't release it.
"No, but I am not going to complain," the redhead informed him. "When I walked into Keel Haul's room earlier this week, he was expecting a brat of a ten year old!"
"Ha! Bet he was surprised!"
Of course, Shipwreck's information hitting the hospital's system set up the red flags on the search parameter. Someone called Hawk, despite the fact it was one o'clock in the morning. By the time the doctor on duty had checked Shipwreck over, and signed off on his traveling, Hawk and Firecracker were in the lobby.
"I don't believe it," Hawk shook his head, seeing Shipwreck, in a pair of hospital scrubs, and Lady Hawk walking off the elevator. "You actually found him!"
"Technically, I didn't," Lady Hawk shook her head. She was carrying a bag with his clothes. She knew there was a Laundromat in the hotel, and planned to wash his stuff while he slept. "He found me."
"Really?"
"I saw a pretty girl crying. Had to make sure she was alright, didn't I?" Shipwreck shrugged a little.
"Yup, that's our Shipwreck," Firecracker nodded. "Hey, do you know if Flint is still here with Lady Jaye?"
"Probably. One of us could check…" Lady Hawk began.
"No reason to check, just get me out of here," Lady Jaye stepped off the elevator, fully dressed, with Flint at her side.
"We were just about to grab a taxi," Flint said.
"Going AWOL? I talked to your doctor at 4 pm, Lady Jaye. He wasn't clearing you for travel…" Hawk began, frowning.
"He wasn't clearing any military female for release, Hawk," Flint stated. "He was trying to analyze them all, and convince them the military is no place for women."
"I nearly took his head off a few times," Jaye admitted. "Then we got word Doctor Odessa Keith was here. We decided she had first call, since she is a US Army doctor. The other twelve women are being released in the morning. I cannot stay here one more minute!"
"I hope someone turned that other doctor in," Firecracker snorted.
"I did, as soon as I found out what he was trying to convince Jaye of," Flint nodded. "Odessa Keith did, when she found out, and she filed a second report when she discovered there wasn't a single woman who was not fit to travel."
"Come on, guys. Get me outta here!" Lady Jaye begged.
"Alright, people. Let's go home," Hawk agreed. "All of us!"
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