Timing
Life changing events often blindside as they emerge, and for Johnny Turturro, that held true one idyllic day in Southern California.
To celebrate the end of a long involved undercover operation Johnny jogged from Graceland, his house, to his favorite pier early one morning. The salty, crisp, seagull infused atmosphere jutting into the Pacific always revitalized him while the five mile run made the destination worthwhile.
Once his feet hit the rough boards of the boardwalk and then the pier itself he began to slow, and by the time he reached the endpoint where it jutted into the ocean he walked. He spent a minute leaning over the rail to admire a yacht a quarter mile or so away before plopping down onto one of the rough wooden benches.
A sea lion pup called for his attention and he grinned as it kept popping its nose between two rails across from him, plying him with its charm.
Johnny laughed out loud at its bark and stretched his long legs to the spot where he could almost touch the pup's nose with his feet.
It was at that point when his world spun off its axis and that life changing event unfolded in front of him.
A sudden eerie silence descended follow by a whoosh of suctioning sound and that combination activated his instincts and caused Johnny to react. Jumping to his feet Johnny's eyes followed the path of a compact Toyota sedan as it arced off of the boardwalk and into the ocean.
For a moment he froze, but the awareness of what he had witnessed exploded within him. Johnny leapt onto the railing and dived into the cold ocean, not wasting a second stripping off shoes or clothes.
Methodically he timed each stroke to provide the maximum distance in the icy water, aware that swimming as fast as he could would allow him a chance to reach the car before it sank completely.
Both panicked voices and helpful voices called out from the boardwalk but Johnny didn't bother to decipher the messages. His focus stayed upon getting to anyone trapped in the bouncing car.
Despite his feverish race, by the time he closed in and actually placed a hand on the trunk the front of the vehicle had begun to descend nose first.
The driver would drown.
Johnny maneuvered his body towards the driver's door but the sight of two children strapped into car seats in the back shocked him so badly that he simply stopped in place.
This twist completely altered his focus.
Johnny's mind raced while he tread water to keep afloat. He visually inspected the conditions from the interior placement of the kids to the steady sinking of the car's front and determined that he had just a couple of minutes to save the driver before the front completely submerged.
He used one hand to trace the car's roofline and shimmied sideways to the driver's door.
The front windows were completely down, wide open, with water gushing into the compartment. He could not locate a driver.
Someone had to have sailed the car off of the pier thought.
Johnny slid his body into the area sideways and searched the front compartment. Still, he failed to discern a driver.
There was no one there. The driver had sunk, drowned, or floated further in the ocean.
Johnny used the car door to shove himself backwards. He dove underneath and around the vehicle twice but he could not locate a body.
Adrenaline galvanized him.
He could not sacrifice another second on that search. Two very real and very afraid little survivors sobbed from the backseat and Johnny had to rescue them.
Emerging from the cold depths, Johnny gulped until he caught his breath and then appraised the condition of the male and female toddlers. Two terrified little beings reached out to him from their car seats. Focusing upon the restraints he noted that they had been securely tethered.
He would have to work through the restraints and the seat belts.
Gauging the car's tilt he moved targeted the little boy first, afraid that he would go under before Johnny had a chance to figure out to loosen and unclasp his safety belts. Working as quickly as he could he finally managed to unlatch the clip and he snatched the baby towards him. Something held him locked to the seat and Johnny worked his hand around the edge and discerned a clip he had missed.
One muffled click and the baby clung to him, little hands clawing for security around his neck.
He hung there so tightly that Johnny had to reach back and adjust the grip, but he ordered the boy to not let go.
There the child remained for the frenetic time Johnny needed to perform the same feat with the second car seat, but once he freed the little girl, Johnny directed her to cling to him in the same way.
The motion of the waves hastened the sinking of the car, and as submersion picked up speed Johnny used his lower body strength and kicked the edge of the fender for leverage, effectively jettisoning them backwards and out of the way of the disappearing Toyota.
Murmuring to the children he alternated cautioning them to keep their grips and comforting them with promises.
Visually measuring the distance to shore Johnny shifted one baby under one arm and one under the other, double checking to ascertain they could keep their heads above water.
He began swimming with his legs and lower body, progressing slowly and carefully to ensure the safety of his cargo. Once he distanced them a couple of hundred feet from the sinking car help appeared in the form of a search boat. Hands reached down from two men who identified themselves as the ocean rescue unit and they yanked all three of them up and over the boat's edge.
The children refused to turn loose and maintained terrified grips. Johnny slid gratefully against the fiberglass and held them protectively against himself. He regulated his breathing and watched a second boat approach the area in time to witness the car finally disappear from view. One emergency worker idled the boat while the rest of the emergency workers jumped into the water to search for survivors.
As an FBI agent Johnny realized their mission was to locate the driver and any other passengers.
Before he could watch the outcome his rescue boat reached the dock. More helpful hands reached out to secure it and to lift him onto solid ground with the children.
An ambulance waited as they disembarked, back doors thrown open expectantly.
Johnny refused to allow the emergency workers to conduct an exam. "No, I'm fine, just get to the kids. I don't know about them."
The workers attempted to do just that but the kids refused to leave Johnny's embrace. They screamed in terror at any endeavor to separate them from him.
Their heartbreaking wails unnerved their audience and the rescuers hesitated, fearful of further terrorizing the toddlers.
At the suggestion of several onlookers the emergency technicians finally solved the problem by settling Johnny on the bed in the back of the ambulance with the toddlers positioned on either side of him. While Johnny murmured reassuringly to the kids, providing comfort and calming them, expert hands hurriedly assessed and examined the tiny victims.
It appeared that they had made it out of the wreckage with no major injuries, but both needed evaluations from personnel trained in pediatrics. Johnny agreed with the assessment and directed the medical personnel to go ahead to the hospital. He promised he would stay with the children until family members were located.
Johnny waited until the attendants transferred them from the ambulance to a hospital bed.
While narrating his intentions Johnny physically climbed off the bed to give the medical personnel some space, keeping contact with the babies by holding their hands in his.
The children clung to him.
As the exam progressed he convinced them to allow the doctors and nurses to complete their tasks. He spoke soothingly and directed their attention to points of interest in the emergency bay as opposed to what the professionals were doing.
Finally he stepped away to give his witness statement but stood firmly in sight of the children as he did so. The babies regarded him with huge tear stained eyes and wobbling lips, desperate to keep him close.
Law enforcement officers informed him quietly that they had pulled a pocketbook from the car, possible only because the strap had tangled with the seat release lever which kept it from floating. Not one shred of identification could be found in the contents.
Johnny pursed his lips. "What about witnesses at the pier? I had my back turned towards the water but surely someone saw the driver."
"They did- tourists from St. Andrews in Scotland on a guided tour had just arrived and had almost reached the boardwalk when they saw the car. According to the tourists, the driver was definitely female. They pegged her in her early twenties and said she had long dark hair but couldn't glimpse other features well enough to describe."
"That's good, though," Johnny agreed. "Good detail. She's got to be the mother."
"Right, but they all concur that the woman floored it when she neared the boardwalk."
Johnny felt his stomach lurch. He rubbed his temples. "Deliberate?"
"Looks that way." The officer lowered his eyes.
Johnny regarded the children. The little girl definitely was the elder, though she couldn't have been any older than two. Both children had olive skin and emerald green eyes, though the little girl's hair fell in dark brown waves to her shoulders while the boy's dark blond hair was straight.
What would make a woman drive those little beings into the ocean?
Seeing his attention focused on them the little girl held up her arms and motioned for Johnny to come get her.