EYES - A Buffer/Kate story
Kate glanced absently at the old picture as she cleaned out her file; she and Mike, another time, another life. Somehow it had gotten mixed in with the other papers she had brought with her. She thumbed it absently as her mind relived those days and the heartbreak that had ensued. When was she going to just move on? When would he let her? Suddenly, with a determination she would not have thought she possessed, she tore the picture into tiny shreds and watched them tumble into the can, hoping the tattered pieces of her memory would follow them.
"Hands to boarding stations! Hands to boarding stations!"
The announcement cut across her thoughts- like a knife, quick and cleansing. She smiled. Action, the job, had always been a cathartic force in her life and she saw it as a sign and a welcome diversion. She headed topside.
The boat crew was waiting and she gathered her gear as she got her instructions. Buffer helped her into her vest. His eyes never left her face. She always took it as a sign of respect. He didn't scan her body as he fastened the vest. He simply held her eye. Those unspoken glances telling more than words ever could, both before and after missions, and in times of stress or conflict. She had to check herself to keep from smiling. He never glanced away. Even if she was furious, and there were times when he had pushed her to her limits, he took it in, never flinching, never dropping his gaze: a man's man. That she had earned his respect meant the world to her; that she'd garnered his friendship even more. And as tempting as it was to admire those taut muscles held tightly in check by the confines of the Kevlar, she returned that respect, and their eyes held.
Once in the RHIB she sensed the crew's anticipation. Buffer stood, as always, his foot skimming the waves as they sped towards the suspect vessel. Spider, Bomber and the others tensed and ready, watched from their seats. Although she knew they would obey her every order, she also knew they would follow him anywhere. He leapt onto the deck of the boat even before the RHIB had fully halted, barking orders to his sailors and the prescribed warnings to the suspects. They were carrying illegal immigrants who cowered in fear at the back of the boat.
The crew was rounded up and led to the back with the refugees while the captain was questioned. They started a final search of the boat as the second RHIB began to ferry the prisoners back to the Hammersley. Spider followed Kate and Buffer as they headed to the lower deck. All decks had already been cleared of personnel and they now searched for clues as to the origin of the boat and its passengers.
Buffer and Kate were checking some crates as Spider swung himself down the hatch in an imitation of Buffer's previous move, his face curved in a half smirk as he started to sail through the opening. Kate saw the boyish grin freeze on his face as the air exploded behind him. The air thundered. The ship rocked. Spider flew. The boat lurched, and their world turned upside down.
The explosion must have been massive as the ship started to upend and water flooded in. Spider had been thrown against the wall. The toggle on his vest snagged something as he was propelled forward and his vest inflated as he flew through the air. It cushioned his impact but as the water streamed in it also trapped him high against the wall. Kate was pinned against the opposite wall, her vest and webbing caught in some gear as the water rushed in. The boat continued its turn and began to sink. They had little time to act.
Buffer caught her eye across the room. Every fibre of his being screamed, "Get X!"
He grabbed Spider! He was closer.
His eyes never left her face. Hers followed him, watching his muscles strain against the upward push of the life vest as he forced Spider downward through the gushing water. With Herculean effort he thrust the young sailor through the hatch, and let his jacket propel him upwards. As he saw him safely through, the ship lurched again. They braced themselves as it rolled, cargo and gear pounding the sides as the ship momentarily settled again. The hatch now lay at Buffer's feet, and the water continued to pour in.
He made his way back toward her. She was still snagged against the debris, her vest torn and useless, but its demise had spelled her salvation and she seemed otherwise unhurt. He struggled to set her free. The boat continued to shift. Her vest and Kevlar had been speared by a metal rod and she was securely skewered against the wall, impaled like a fish on a spear. Debris continued to fall and the hatch was becoming unreachable.
"Buffer, leave! Get out!"
He continued to tear frantically at the almost impenetrable material of her vest.
"That's an order." She barked, defiant even as the water threatened to overtake her.
"Not going to happen, X," he drawled, slowly but emphatically.
She glared at him. He stared her down. He was probably the only sailor who would ever openly defy that look and that command and it would take nothing short of this life- threatening situation to evoke that defiance. He would not leave her - ever.
Her eyes flashed. His blazed in return, silently shouting his refusal. The boat shifted again, completing its carousel ride and the hatch closed, and the water rose, and their gazes froze.
With one last effort, his feet braced against the hull, Buffer tore at the spike with an almost animalistic howl and it broke free, propelling them both across the room. He reached for her as they rose to the surface of the water, seeking out the life saving air pocket that was fast diminishing at the top of the hold.
They held each other as the water rose, their eyes locked in silent commitment. Her eyes misted over. They spoke the unspeakable. His caressed her with a warming glance as they waited for the inevitable. She clung to him. He was her strength. She outranked him but he was in no way anyone's subordinate. Their eyes whispered their farewells as even now they honoured duty, and only their eyes spoke.
Suddenly the boat shifted again. Buffer saw the hatch clear momentarily as the boat started to slip downward. He swung her round and clasped her close to him as he kicked off the wall and down towards the hatch. With a strength borne of desperation and the adrenalin coursing through his veins, he pulled them through the dark, murky water, following the trail of air bubbles plotting their salvation. As he kicked off the side, one hand grasping her to his chest, he pulled the cord on his vest and they shot upwards. He wrapped both arms around her, pulled her close, and prayed.
The pressure of the water pushed against her eyelids. Her eyes began to close. She fought the reaction as her mind slipped out of itself and into confusion.
Where are you? Cocooned in his arms, she could feel his strength and sense his presence but it was too quiet. Where are you? Her lids closed, trapping her thoughts, shutting out the world.
Where are you?
I can't hear you
Nor can I speak.
I have no voice.
My thoughts are shattered
carried away with the forceful flow
that stills my voice,
and I feel so alone.
I feel your touch
But it's too quiet.
I can't hear you
Open the shutters
that steal your voive
Speak to me again.
No air. She couldn't breathe. The water, shimmered, wobbled, reached its darkened hand down her throat. Her lungs strained as her body floated and struggled to break free of her frantic mind. The struggle ceased. Euphoria took hold and she felt her mind slide from her body and the arms that held her in their steely grasp.
Buffer felt her body slump and he struggled upward even as the last of his own breath was expelled from his body.
Suddenly, a wavering light appeared overhead. It filtered down, distorted and pulsating through the misty shadows and muffled sounds became crisp screams as they broke the surface in a cacophony of air.
Through a watery haze, Kate glimpsed the RHIB as it cut a quick path to their side and she was held aloft and handed over like a precious prize, coughing and sputtering as the water streamed from her nose and throat.
"We've got her," yelled Swain into his mouthpiece. "Buffer too."
Buffer. Her eyes caught his. A hastened glance. A fleeting word. All is well.
Then duty beckoned as they picked up the remaining survivors and headed back to the ship; the crew now thankfully all safe and accounted for. They were helped aboard under the watchful eye of the Captain and Swain, and to the relief of their crewmates.
"You ok, Kate?" Mike asked.
"Fine sir. Just swallowed a little water."
He smiled at her anticipated response and replied. "Fine, but just to be sure we'll have Swain check you out after you've changed."
"Buffer?"
"Fine, boss."
"Likewise."
"Yes, boss"
Mike's hand grasped his shoulder in unspoken thanks as he passed him. Other hands tapped their relief as they walked below.
They moved with slow deliberation to the change room. The flurry of relieved voices echoed around them. He reached for her vest as he raised his head and brown seized blue and colours merged. The flurry slowed as the sounds around them became a muffled blur. She reached for him. She held his gaze. And their eyes spoke.
Speak to me only with your eyes.
I stand transfixed as they ease me in
past all conscious thought
to the realm of possibility,
where mouths join eyes
and hands engage
and all are merged
in a sea of wild illusion.
Oh those eyes,
those beckoning eyes
draw me in
speak to me of unknown worlds
of paths not taken
but wished upon with whispered steps,
Caressed with a look
sent back to me
bathed in the essence of your soul.
Oh speak to me again.