Crashed and Gone
To neesie-pie for her helpful suggestions, weaving dreams for her support and jtbwriter, the fastest mouse in the West.
Chapter One
Oscar Goldman had always prided himself on remaining calm in any given situation, and he intended to do that here, as soon as he figured out what the situation was. The limo...something had happened to the limo. He'd been riding in the back, holding Jaime in his arms, kissing her the way he'd always wanted to - and she was kissing him back, just as eagerly - when he'd heard bang and then BANG! The second sound lifted the car into the air, shook it violently and slammed it to the ground. They'd careened wildly to the right, then stopped with a stomach-turning c-r-u-n-c-h. Oscar was out of the car and lying on the ground when he'd finally opened his eyes, and now he stood on shaky legs, trying to figure out his next move.
The driver. Oscar decided he should make sure the driver had called for help. He couldn't understand why his brain and his body seemed to be moving in slow motion. He stood where the front of the limo should've been, but found no driver...and no car. Charred and blood-splashed metal was piled in a heap that no longer resembled half of a limo. His eyes came to rest on what was left of the driver, about 30 feet away in the bushes, and he had to turn away and battle hard to regain control of his stomach. Thank God the passenger portion of the car had been reinforced with more strength than an Army tank. Hopefully Jaime hadn't seen what he was looking at. Jaime! Where was Jaime, and was she hurt? Was she alive?
He returned to the door he must've left ajar, and when he pulled it open and looked into the back seat, for the first time in many years, Oscar felt true fear. There were several blood spatters on Jaime's side of the back seat, and the other door was badly damaged, but not from the explosion. It appeared to have been kicked out, bionically. Jaime, herself, was gone.
His head was spinning crazily and Oscar sensed he was about to pass out. With all the strength he had left, he snatched the emergency radio from its pocket in the backseat. It had been specially designed to automatically connect with the nearest secure government emergency frequency.
"Andrews." It was the nearby Air Force base.
"This is Oscar Goldman. I need an ambulance and multiple search teams..." he was beginning to fade, and tried to get in as much information as he could. "My limo's crashed...Valley...View...Road." Oscar sank slowly to the ground beside the car as the world went dark.
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The radio operator dispatched an ambulance immediately, to an unknown location on Valley View Road. Then he turned and called out to the visiting officer in the next room. "Hey, Colonel!"
Steve Austin, in his dress uniform and fresh from the retirement ceremony for one of his favorite generals, poked his head in the door. "You found me; what's up?"
"You used to work for Oscar Goldman, didn't you?"
"Well, I guess that's not the well-kept secret I thought it was. Still do, once in awhile. Why?"
"His car's been in an accident; sounds like it might be a bad one. He asked for multiple search teams."
"Where is he?" Steve, asked, instantly tensed and fully alert.
"Valley View Road - that's all he said, then I think he passed out. The ambulance and the Medivac are out looking for the limo now."
"So am I," Steve called, on his way out the door.
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Steve reached the wreck as the medics were loading Oscar onto a stretcher. He was awake but not entirely coherent. "Oscar, what happened?"
The medic looked grimly at Steve. "He's in shock. And his driver...is over there." He pointed to the now-covered remains of the limo driver.
"Jaime..." Oscar mumbled, sitting up to talk to Steve.
"Mister Goldman, you need to lie back and rest now."
He'd said enough; Steve had heard him. "What about Jaime?"
"She...she's gone. There's blood, and the door..." Oscar fell back on the stretcher, getting weaker by the second, the shock taking its toll.
"Oscar - what do you mean 'she's gone'? Was Jaime in the car?"
"Was...kissing her...and..." That was all he could manage before passing out again.
Steve looked into what was left of the limo. He saw the blood, and knew Oscar didn't appear to be bleeding. Fear gripped his heart. He saw the door, kicked open and hanging by one hinge, and his left eye began scanning the surrounding hillside. Had Jaime left the wreck to go and find help? Was she hurt and wandering out there, lost and bleeding? Or - he couldn't bear to think this, but knew he had to - was this something much more ominous than a simple crash?
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