Storm Warning
By Keri T.
It was an unusually dark, wet, and windy afternoon on October twelfth, a day that many residents of the Southern California coastal area would long remember. It had been many years since the area had been hit by such an intense storm. This one was forecast to be a bad one. How did the lead Meteorologist Amanda at the local TV station describe it during her weather report the day before?
The approaching storm system was already showing a low barometric reading near it's center and was strengthening rapidly. Amanda explained that it was the remnants of a typhoon that had made its way across the Pacific Ocean from the Sea of Japan. It had weakened significantly out in the middle of the Pacific as it traveled out over colder waters. It had started to gain in strength once it was over the warmer waters near the Hawaiian Islands. Luckily the storm missed all the islands as it continued its south-easterly trek. It was heading for the west coast of North America. All the models were indicating it would make landfall somewhere north of Santa Barbara along the California coast.
The Meteorology Department at the Nelson Institute of Marine Research was keeping a wary eye on the storms progress. The barometric pressure at the center of the storm was continuing to drop. One of the weather buoys off the coast had picked it up on its instruments with a pressure reading of 28.98 and falling and sustained wind speeds of 75-80 MPH. As the storm moved to within 50 miles of the coast all the consensus among the National Weather Service people was that the storm was going to hit Santa Barbara and the institute head on.
Meanwhile as the storm continued its targeted approach toward the Institute, its founder Admiral Harriman Nelson sat at his desk attempting to work his way through a stack of paper work.
Harry couldn't help but notice that outside it seemed much darker than it should be, just as a bright flash of lightning followed by a long rolling clap of thunder suddenly grabbed his attention. The close proximity of the lightning had him feeling a bit unnerved. He laid the papers he had been reading down on his desk. He turned his attention toward the bank of windows that ran along the external wall of his office as he sat momentarily watching the wind blowing all sorts of debris around. As he watched the wind gusting outside and listening to the howling sound it made as it blew over the building he ran one hand through his hair, a habit of his whenever he was faced with a challenge.
It was easy to see that conditions outside were rapidly deteriorating. Harry stood up from his chair, walked over and stood by the windows. He rammed both fists into his pockets as he stood staring out the windows, his lips thinly pursed as he watched the wind gusts ravaging the landscape as the trees and shrubbery were being whipped around savagely.
There were lots of green leaves flying about, torn loose by the wind and bits of palm fronds torn off of trees. As Harry looked out at the sky he couldn't help but notice the odd yellow greenish tinged color. It seemed odd yet familiar. Racking his brain, he remembered seeing that same odd coloring a time or two when he had been stuck in the Philippine Islands at the US Naval base in Subic Bay, because the area was about to be hit by a typhoon. He remembered the way the clouds looked then just before the typhoon hit. A yellow and green tortured jumble of clouds. Doing a mental comparison of what the clouds looked like then and how they looked now, Harry's gut was beginning to tell him that this storm just might be a lot worse than the weather forecasters were predicting. He was hoping his gut feeling was wrong.
Off in the distance Harry could see that some roofing on one of the other buildings was beginning to be torn loose by the wind as some of the composite shingles were flipping up a bit. Seeing that now did not bode well. He theorized the inability of the roofing on that building being able to survive the storm if the winds continued to gain much more strength. This isn't even the main part of the storm, he thought. He looked over towards Seaview's above ground pen, watching as the storm's ocean surge sent large waves crashing up against and over the sea wall that ran along next to it. Just then, another thought crossed his mind. I'm glad that Lee and Chip moved her to the underground pen yesterday evening and out of harm's way.
Harry walked back over and sat back down at his desk. He looked at the paper work strewn before him and contemplated trying to get back to work on the proposal he'd been reading earlier when all of a sudden there was a really strong gust of wind. It was so strong that it howled really loud as it caused something to slam into one of the windows with a loud crack.
The sound caused Harry to jump. Immediately he turned to see if something had just caused one of the windows to break. Still sitting at his desk he carefully eyed each pane of glass; checking for any evidence of a cracked window pane which could easily be blown out by the wind. Luckily he found no cracks but he could tell by the sound of the wind that it was getting stronger and each gust of wind was causing the windows to bow in and out. It was unnerving to the point that Harry decided it was better to stay back away from the large paned windows.
It's a good thing that none of these windows actually face in the direction the wind's blowing from or they'd probably be one or two blown out by now, Harry thought. He certainly didn't like the possibility of being showered and cut by shards of glass. The thought was putting Harry on edge.
Earlier in the day, Harry had opened up all the drapes covering the large windows in his office so he could watch the storm as he worked. Even though most of his Navy service had been spent undersea in submarines and now on his own creation the Seaview, part of him always had a longing to sail in a surface ship and feel the wind at his back. It was that part of him that was always somehow attracted whenever there was a storm approaching the coast line.
Depending on the severity of approaching storms Harry liked watching the rolling surf and waves upon the short stretch of beach visible from the windows in his office at the admin building or home at his large split level house that sat high atop a hill on the institute grounds. Sometimes he liked nothing better than to bundle up and walk the path that meandered atop some of the hills and cliffs at the oceans edge when time allowed. Providing the storm was not too severe, he loved to watch the waves crashing on the sandy beach below or against the adjacent rocky cliffs. There was something about the ocean that had a calming effect on him. Harry found that whenever something was troubling him, a long walk by the sea helped him to sort out his thoughts and gain a feeling of inner peace.
He'd been so deep in concentration reading over a proposal for an upcoming mission earlier that he hadn't noticed how really bad the storm was getting. It was getting dark enough that he checked the time on his watch. Doing so he realized that it was much too dark for only being two thirty in the afternoon. Heavy rain poured down in sheets as gale force winds blew the rain sideways giving it an appearance like a heavy misty fog which significantly hampered visibility.
He could see a fairly good portion of the office parking lot from the southernmost windows. It was empty as most everyone had already left before the main brunt of the storm was forecast to hit. There was another sudden bright white flash of lightning followed by a long roll and clap of thunder that momentarily grabbed Harry's attention to the direction of the lightning strike. He once again turned his gaze toward the parking lot as the thought crossed his mind. "Harry, there is no way you are going to avoid getting completely soaked before you make it to the car, if you try to drive home to the house before the storm gets any worse."
An hour or so later, it was becoming obvious that the storm was gaining more strength. Harry could tell by the howling sound of the wind that the sustained winds were rapidly approaching hurricane strength and the duration of the wind gusts were getting longer. Added to that the heavy rain and small bits of debris being whipped against the window panes and the flashes of lightning that had become much more frequent with loud claps of thunder it soon became obvious to Harry that it would be impossible to concentrate on work. Harry gave up and just sat back in his high back chair behind his desk nervously swiveling back and forth for some time looking out the windows, watching the storm outside all the while marveling as Mother Nature vented her rage upon the earth.
Harry's brilliant scientific mind, always working, always looking for answers, he couldn't help but think; if only there was a way to harness the power generated by the all that wind and lightning, enough electrical energy could be created to power perhaps the whole entire west coast region of the United States and maybe beyond, perhaps… there ought to be a way…why just the wind alone… something could be engineered.
Harry's meanderings were suddenly interrupted and his attention was quickly drawn back to the storm. It quickly became apparent that he would not be able to concentrate on work so he finally decided to call it a day. He stood, turning to pick up his open brief case from the side chair next to his desk to put some papers in it when there was a really bright and blinding flash of lightning along with a huge explosive clap of thunder that seemed to shake the entire building. At that precise moment the lights went out. The wind was blowing so hard against the windows by now that he could see them bowing inwards with the force of each gust. Harry's eyes grew wide. Then he turned and hurriedly finished putting papers in his brief case then closed the lid down, snapping the locking mechanisms shut.
Picking up the brief case he walked over and grabbed his uniform jacket from the coat tree by the door and shrugged it on. Not wasting any time, he quickly buttoned his jacket, then grabbed his black rain coat and hurriedly shrugged it on over his uniform. Lastly he grabbed his cover placing it under his left arm. With his briefcase in one hand and cover under his arm, he opened the door and headed out of his office, locking the door behind him.
It quickly became apparent that power was out in the entire building. Harry instinctively started to check the time on his wrist watch, quickly realizing it was a wasted effort because it was too dark with all the lights being out to even see the face of his watch much less read the time. Harry knew that Angie had left long ago and that her desk in the outer office was cleaned off and neatly organized as always. He was glad that she had the good sense to go home earlier before the storm had gotten really bad. Deep down he was beginning to wish that he had not stayed behind and continued working as the realization suddenly hit him that he was all alone in a dark building in the middle of what would soon most likely be classified as a full blown hurricane.
Damnit Harry, why the hell didn't you knock off and leave when everyone else was leaving? He thoughtto himself. He could feel that little voice inside him, like a scared little boy getting more and more nervous with each passing minute. Then he realized where his thoughts were going and he scolded himself as he fought back his thoughts and got back the brave command demeanor that made the entire crew of the Seaview and the institute employees look up to him and respect him.
Harry hoped everyone had made it home safely and had everything battened down before the full strength of the storm hit. He momentarily stopped to reach inside one of the pockets of his coat as he fished out a small flashlight he'd forgotten he'd put there until now. He pulled out the flashlight and turned it on, illuminating his surroundings so that he could see where he was going. It was getting darker inside the building as it grew darker outside, making it hard to proceed along the hallways without accidentally tripping over something and falling in the darkness. Harry was glad he remembered his flashlight. Last thing you need Harry is to fall down the stairs or trip over anything in the dark, he thought to himself.
As he slowly made his way out into the hallway and towards the stairs his inner fears and worry were starting to creep up on him again. Deep down he wished that Angie or one of the other secretaries had interrupted him earlier.
"Oh come on Harriman," he said out loud. "This is no one's fault but your own. You've got no one else to blame. Get a hold of yourself."
Harry was glad that all the employees had the good common sense to go home long ago. He really was beginning to beat himself up, admonishing himself for not leaving a lot earlier. The storm was getting much more severe now and would most likely only continue to worsen in the next few hours. There were several more very bright flashes of lightning followed almost immediately by huge, loud claps of thunder which was making Harry a bit uncomfortable. He was beginning to get nervous at the thought of leaving the shelter of the building and trying to make a run for his car without being struck by lightning.
Harry thought to himself, "you've really done it this time Harry. I 'm going to wind up getting completely drenched to the skin and hopefully I make it out to my car without getting struck down by a bolt of lightning. On top of everything if I wind up getting sick or something happens I'll never hear the end of it from Jamie or Lee. Way to go Harriman!" he chided himself.
Then Harry began to feel angry and started blaming Angie for not warning him to leave because the storm was predicted to get worse as he started grumbling angrily to himself.
"Why the hell didn't anyone tell me this storm was getting worse?"He stopped and started to chastisehimself."No damn it... The fault is mine. I let myself get too wrapped up in my work as usual and I ignored all the warning signs. I've got no-one to blame but myself for staying too long."
Normally Lee and or Chip would have seen to it that Harry had left the office when they did but they were both working aboard Seaview all day working on some hi tech computer stuff and some upgrades to the air purification warning system. Since Seaview was moored at her secret underground dock Harry imagined that neither of his senior officers were likely even aware of just how bad the storm was getting.
Harry slowly walked down the hallway to the exit that led to the stairway down to the main floor. Since the power was out the elevators were of no use. He could hear the groaning from the stress on the building and the howling of the wind outside. He knew before he attempted exiting the building he would have to put on his cover and put the hood of his coat on over his hat and snap it on tight to keep it from blowing away once he was outside in the wind. Even though the all-weather coat covered him to about his knees the way it was blowing outside he knew we was still going to really get soaked.
Harry with flashlight in hand to light the way, stealthily made his way down the stairs to the main floor, making it down to where he was just inside the entrance of the building. The fierce howling sound of the wind and the sounds of things crashing and banging around outside was really putting Harry on edge. As he shone the light from his flashlight toward the entrance he could see that the wind was strong enough to cause the heavy metal entrance doors to move a bit. He would have to push the door open against the force of the wind with all his might to get outside.
"This will be fun," Harry said out loud to himself in a sarcastic tone as he knew it was going to be a challenge just opening the heavy metal door let alone getting outside. He was beginning to have second thoughts about leaving the safe confines of the building when there was an enormous bright flash of lightning with another explosive, huge loud clap of thunder that seemed to make the whole building vibrate with the sound.
The admin building sat in a low lying area surrounded on two sides by some hills on the institute grounds where as his house sat up on an exposed cliff area next to the ocean. He couldn't help but wonder if it was blowing this bad here at the admin building, just how bad was it at his house where it sat on higher ground and was more exposed. Something inside him however was nagging at him that he had to get home. His thoughts had turned to Aristotle, his well-fed, affectionate, and at times independent Siamese cat. He was getting concerned for the cats' safety. He really wanted to check on his house too. It was his home after all when he was not onboard Seaview. If the cat was outside, he needed to get him inside and safe from the storm.
"Oh well... here goes..." Harry thought as he pushed against the door. It took all his strength to push the heavy metal door open against the force of the wind to exit the building. As soon as he made it outside, a sudden big gust of wind blew the door from Harry's hands as it slammed shut with a loud crashing sound. "Oh shit, that didn't sound good," Harry said out loud.
His temper was rapidly growing as he was now outside the building and in a matter of seconds he was totally drenched. He began trying to fish out his keys from another pocket of his rain coat. Feeling the ring and the keys with his fingers as he tried to get them out he found he was challenged even more because his fingers were all swollen from the dampness and humidity almost to the point that he felt he was literally all thumbs. The keys and key ring were sticking to his hand because both the keys and his fingers were wet and the fabric inside the pocket was also wet and everything was sticking to his hand. His frustration level was hitting in the danger zone by now.
He finally managed to get the keys out of his pocket and fumbled the right key in the lock and tried to turn it. It wasn't bad enough that he was ready to majorly blow his stack when he noticed that the lock wasn't working. "Shit, dammit," he hollered. Evidently when the door was blown from his grasp, the force of it slamming shut must have broken the lock. Right now he really didn't give a shit about the door lock not working. All he wanted now was to get to his car and get inside where it was dry and without the wind blasting the rain at him, stinging his face and eyes. He'd worry about the door later and have Angie notify maintenance to take care of it after the storm cleared and everyone was back to work.
Right now his thoughts were on getting down the outside steps and quickly making his way to his car hopefully without the wind knocking him down or being clobbered by any of the flying debris being blown around by the wind. He grabbed onto the metal hand railing while keeping his head down as he worked his way down the steps, grumbling under his breath all the way. It was difficult holding onto the railing, his briefcase, and the flashlight at the same time but Harry somehow managed.
When he reached the bottom of the steps, he raised his head just enough to gauge how far away his car was and the direction he needed to head in. He let go of the hand rail and just as he started towards his car, it was as though the sky suddenly exploded with massive lightning strikes that seemed to be everywhere all at once. The bright flashes of light illuminated the angry sky above. It was sort of a mixed blessing that at the same time it lit his way so that he could make a quick dash to his car. Keeping his head down and looking something like a football quarterback heading for a touchdown as he grasped his briefcase and flashlight tight against his body running as fast as he could, he fought his way against the force of the wind all the while praying that a stray lightning strike didn't find him before he reached the safety of his car.
Harry was unable to shield his face. The wind whipped the rain with such a force it stung as it hit his face feeling like his skin was being impaled by hundreds of tiny sharp needles. Harry grimaced with the pain and had to squint to keep from being hit in the eyes by the rain. When he was close enough he hit the button on his key fob to remotely unlock the car. The head and tail lights flashed in response telling him the car was unlocked. Thank god, that worked! Soon as he got to the car door he flung it open, the strong wind actually ripping it from his grasp as it swung all the way open with such force that Harry was afraid it might snap off. As he got into the car he tossed his briefcase on the passenger seat while still holding onto the flashlight and shining it where he needed light to see in the darkness. Then he leaned over and grabbed for the door handle as he sat down in the driver's seat. It was quite a struggle. It took both hands and all his strength to finally close the car door. Harry sat for a moment as he tried to catch his breath.
Before his breathing had slowed, shining the flashlight on the car's ignition, he quickly put the key in and started the car. Reaching over his shoulder he grasped the seat belt and started to pull it across his lap when it slipped from his grasp. "Damn it," he cursed, then grabbed the seatbelt and again pulled it across his lap. Since it took one hand to hold the seatbelt in place while using the other to lock it in place, Harry put the flashlight down on the passenger seat while nervously fumbling in the dark as he hurriedly tried to lock the seatbelt, he finally felt it click into place. Harry let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding and began to smile. "Maybe this will work out after all," he thought as he started to relax just a bit.
He turned on the car radio and tried tuning in a station when he found an emergency broadcast from the Santa Barbara Emergency Services. The announcer basically told him what he already knew. The area was being hit with hurricane force winds and the announcer was instructing people to stay inside, that this was a dangerous weather event and warned people against traveling.
Harry took a moment to be thankful that he had the forethought to put the convertible top up on his Ford Thunderbird earlier in the day before he drove into work. Then again the Mercedes with its hard top would have been a better choice. He worried that the wind could send something flying through the fabric of the convertible top making him more vulnerable. Too late to think about that, he thought.
Harry figured it wouldn't be that bad as he only had to travel the short distance to his house. He flipped on the headlights, put the shifter in reverse, and backed out of his reserved parking space. He put the shifter in drive but before he gave it the gas he spotted some of the damage of the surrounding trees in the beam of the headlights. He also spotted lots of leaves and remnants of torn roofing shingles on the pavement. "What the hell are you waiting for Harry? Get going...NOW," he thought to himself as he put his foot on the gas pedal, gunning the engine and spinning the tires he tore out of the parking lot as he started the drive home to his house.
He could really feel the force of the wind pushing against the car as he started to make his way home when a piece of debris slammed against the front windshield resulting in several spiraling cracks in the glass. The impact against the windshield caused Harry to involuntarily duck and turn the wheel as he did. Then he sat up again as he steered the car back to the center of the lane on the road as he also increased his driving speed as he depressed the gas pedal a bit more with his foot. Once again the thought crossed his mind that he should have stayed put but it was too late now. He was already out in the storm and committed to making the trip home to his house. It seemed a little silly but he had to know his cat Aristotle was safe.
Harry could almost hear Lee admonishing him as he drove along. "Admiral, what possessed you to leave the safety of a building built of brick and mortar and steel for a house built of sticks?"
Then he thought about his sister and what her reaction would be. He could just picture her in his mind…pissed off while at the same very concerned for his safety and wellbeing.
"The cat? You went out and risked your life for that cat? What are you even doing with a cat Harry? You're gone most of the time on that submarine of yours or back in Washington DC or off on some secret mission doing god knows what." Harry heard in his mind as he imagined what his sister Edith would have to say to him. He would argue that the cat had saved his life when he was in a car accident and felt he owed him but knowing that his sister possessed the same stubborn streak that he did, Harry doubted that she would be very receptive to his reasoning.
Harry's mind suddenly flashed back to the time when the accident occurred.
The car accident happened a few years ago. Harry was on his way back to the institute after visiting some friends. There had been a passing rain shower in the area after a long dry spell. Harry had to brake to avoid a doe and her fawn that he spotted at the edge of the highway as they were beginning to cross the road. The car he was driving hit an oily spot in the road and the car slid out of control, going off the road. It rolled several times down a steep embankment until it came to rest upright on its wheels, the front of the car facing back up towards the highway above, among some trees in a ravine and basically hidden from any passing traffic. Harry had been knocked out so he didn't remember anything past turning that steering wheel and fighting like mad to regain control of the vehicle. When Harry came to he found he had this filthy scrawny Siamese cat laying on his chest and staring at him with large blue eyes. No matter how he tried to shoo that cat off it wouldn't leave him. The cat had a dirty red collar around its neck. Harry removed the collar to see if there was any identification telling him who might own the cat. The only thing on the collar was a name in somewhat worn and faded lettering … "Aristotle". Harry said the name out loud and got a resounding "Mrrow" from the cat. He vaguely remembered sharing a bit of food that his friends had given him for the road trip with Aristotle. This was probably another reason why the cat stuck by him.
The paramedics that brought Harry in to the local hospital said the only reason they found him when they did was because they had to stop because of a skinny Siamese cat that was in the middle of the road and wouldn't move out of the way. One of the paramedics got out of the ambulance and the cat managed to get him to follow him over to the side of the road where the paramedic saw the wrecked car down in the ravine. They admitted that the car could have sat down there unnoticed for a very long time and that Harry would not have survived. Jamie related all this to Harry when he was fully conscious.
He also learned from Jamie that the cat most likely saved his life by sharing his body heat when he laid on his chest. He asked Lee and Jamie to go back out to the accident site and try to find Aristotle. They were successful. It made for a pretty interesting and noisy trip back to the institute with the cat protesting loudly and clawing at whoever he could reach when he got the chance from inside the pet carrier he was enclosed in.
Harry smiled at the memory and sort of chuckled under his breath just remembering the sight.
Aristotle has been considered a member of the Nelson Institute family and part of Harry's household ever since.
Then Harry's mind snapped back to the present and his full attention was once again on the storm and hoping he could avoid the car being hit by any more damaging debris being blown around by the wind.
He had to make sure Aristotle was inside the house, safe, and protected from this vicious storm and all the debris blowing around. He owed the cat after all. Harry considered him part of the family and truth be known when no one else was around Harry liked to sweet talk the cat. For someone who really never cared for cats before Aristotle had come into his life that fateful day he was now quite attached to the cat and he wouldn't be satisfied until he knew Aristotle was safe.
Harry had worked out a plan in his mind. If the storm is bad enough that it doesn't appear safe to stay at the house, I'll grab Aristotle, put him in the carrier, and we'll both make the trip to the underground pen so that we can both stay on board Seaview where it's safe, until the storm blows over. At least that was his plan.
When he finally arrived at the house, he went to push the button on his garage door opener, stopping himself for he knew it would be a wasted effort with the power being out. He pulled up in the driveway and shifted into park. He would have preferred to park the car in the protection of the garage but since there was no way the garage door opener was going to work that didn't seem very likely.
"Damn it," Harry said out loud. "It'll be a bitch to open that garage door in all this wind."
He also preferred the convenience of being able to go directly from inside the garage to enter the house. Harry pondered the idea of how difficult it was going to be getting out of the car and trying to make it to the front porch to enter the house by use of the front door. He noticed there was a lot more debris being blown around in the air now so he knew he had to move quickly and hopefully make it inside without getting clobbered by any debris being blown around by the strong winds. Nervously looking around Harry wondered again why the hell he didn't just stay put at his office. "Oh hell", it's too damn late to have second thoughts now."
He opened the car door as quick as he could. Luckily the main force of the wind was hitting on the opposite side of the car. He quickly got out grabbing his briefcase and flashlight, turning it on as he was getting out of the car. He quickly shut the car door and tried to run to the front porch of the house. The wind was so strong that it nearly knocked him down. He could certainly feel the force of the wind trying to blow him sideways as he ran toward the porch and the front door. Seeing the debris flying around he tried to keep his head down as he ran. The debris consisted of mostly leaves but there were also torn shingles that the wind had ripped off of some of the nearby structures, including his own house and there were all sorts of debris whirling and flipping around through the air.
Just as he was about to step up onto the porch he felt something hit him with a sharp blow to the right side of his head and face. It hit with such force that there was momentary blackness and he suddenly saw bright twirling stars through a red haze before his eyes as his mind tried to reason what had just happened and as blood gushed from the resulting gash near the hairline on the upper right side of his forehead. He staggered a bit off balance when the full force of another big gust of wind caught him and knocked him down hard, his left shoulder and arm slamming into the edge of the concrete porch.
As he did he felt something snap and he let out a sudden scream of pain at the moment of impact. He made a slow feeble attempt to grab and hold his left arm as he rolled down onto the ground in front of the porch. When he came to rest he was lying face up and fully exposed to the rain pouring down from the sky and the strong gusts of wind and being bombarded by all sorts of debris. Harry had a passing thought, "It wouldn't be long before he would be suffering the effects of hypothermia" as he was already cold and shivering, he was completely soaked from head to toe from the wind and torrential downpour. He could also tell that he was lying in a large puddle of water that had collected due to the ground being a bit lower between the front of the porch and the edge of the lawn next to the front walk where he'd landed.
The resulting pain from the impact was too great for his conscious mind to bear and everything went black as he passed out, his head flopping to one side.
ooOOoo
Lee and Chip were still on board Seaview going over some schematics at the chart table in the control room when the overhead speaker crackled to life.
"Seaview, this is grounds security calling. Repeat...this is grounds security...Seaview, please come in. Over."
Lee and Chip both looked up and at each other at the same time.
"I wonder what that's about," Chip queried.
"Hmm...I have no idea," Lee replied.
Lee immediately walked over to the radio shack shadowed by Chip. Lee switched the radio on to transmit.
"This is Captain Crane. Over"
"Sir, this is Masters. We've been patrolling the grounds sir checking for problems. Sir, this storm is really bad out here. There has been an emergency statement issued by the Santa Barbara Emergency Services warning people to stay inside and not travel. We were checking to see who all is still on Seaview. Over.
"Yes, Masters. Just the XO and I are on board. We are just wrapping up and planning on heading home. Over"
"Captain, it would be best if you and the XO stay put sir. We have hurricane force winds out here and there's lots of debris flying around everywhere. Over"
"Understood. Is there anyone else you haven't checked on Masters? Over.
"We've pretty much checked in with everyone sir. That is all except Admiral Nelson. Over"
"Masters, the admiral was working in his office today. While making your rounds I'd like you to head over there and verify if the admiral's still there. If he's there, I want you to advise him of the travel warning and you can tell him for me to stay put. Let me know when that's done. Over.
"Sir, you want me to give Admiral Nelson an order…sir? Over."
"That's right Masters," Tell him you are passing on an order direct from me. Tell him that Captain Crane said he is to stay put. Is that clear?"
"Aye, aye sir. Over and out."
"Oh man, that was an awful thing to do to Masters. I know him. He's a real upstanding guy," Chip said.
"Well, don't worry Chip. If there's a problem, I'll take the heat from the admiral and I'll make it up to Masters."
"OK Lee," Chip responded with an expression on his face that looked both skeptical and forlorn. He knew what kind of heated response Masters would most likely get from the admiral."
Lee walked over to the big TV screen located by the radar station and turned it on to view what was going on topside. It was getting dark out so it was difficult to see. Both men looked at each other as they heard the howling of the strong winds and were able to see some of the damage made visible whenever there was a bright flash of lightning.
Lee turned to Chip, a look of deep concern on his face. "I had no idea the weather was getting that bad outside. I guess we need to stay put until it blows over."
"Ya, it does look really bad out there. I just hope that everyone had the good sense to stay put where ever they are. Everyone should have their transceivers nearby. You want I should start radioing and checking on everyone to make sure they're all OK?" Chip asked.
"That sounds like a really good idea Chip. I'll finish wrapping up this stuff and you start calling everyone. If it's that bad, I doubt any of the phones will be working. Power's probably out all over the institute grounds."
Just then Lee suddenly looked somber.
"Lee, what's wrong?" Chip asked.
"I don't know. I just got this kind of... weird feeling."
"Weird? How?" ...Chip asked.
"It felt like a cold chill running down my spine. It gave me kind of a creepy feeling. Well, hopefully it's nothing."
"But you don't look like it's nothing Lee."
It quickly became obvious that Lee was feeling anything but normal. He had that strange gut feeling that everything was not all right. He was getting that deep down feeling that something might be terribly wrong. It made him feel very ill at ease and he wouldn't feel right until he knew all his friends and co-workers were safe and sound someplace during the hurricane, especially his best friend and mentor Harriman Nelson. Lee thought to himself, "Where are you, Admiral? Damn it, I hope there is nothing wrong." The more he thought about it, the more it was beginning to gnaw at him.
Chip proceeded to sit down at the radio console and began calling the personnel, one by one...beginning with Chief Sharkey.
"Chief Sharkey, this is leader 1 calling. Do you read me? Over", Chip called over the radio.
At first there was no response, just a lot of static.
"Boy, something tells me this is going to be a long process," Chip quipped to himself as he let out a long winded sigh then flipped the switch to re-broadcast.
"Chief Sharkey, this is leader 1 calling. Do you read me? Over."
Again there was static. Chip was just about to try hailing him again when the overhead speaker crackled to life.
"Leader 1, this is Chief Sharkey calling. How do you read me? Over."
"Chief, this is leader 1. I read you loud and clear. We are in the middle of a weather emergency. Please state your situation."
"Yes sir, Mr. Morton. I'm hunkered down here at home along with some of the guys. Kowalski, Patterson, Riley, Ron, Ray, and Phil. We're all ship shape and A-OK here sir. Over."
"I read you Chief. As long as nothing changes you all need to stay put until this storm dies down. Over"
"Yes sir, everyone knows to stay put until the storm blows over or until we hear differently from you or the skipper. Over."
"Very well Chief. Leader 1. Over and out."
It didn't take all that long for Chip to work his way through most of the crew. Most were bunked down at home and in several cases they were grouped together to keep each other company during the storm.
"Jamie. This is leader 1. Do you read me? Over."
"This is Jamie, Chip. I read you loud and clear. Over."
Jamie, you probably have already guessed we are having a weather related emergency. The Santa Barbara Emergency Services is warning everyone to stay inside and not travel due to hurricane force winds, downed trees and power lines, as well as flying debris. I need an update on your situation doc. Over."
"Chip, Julie and I are safe here at home. Everything is battened down. Is everyone else accounted for and safe? Over."
"We're still checking on everyone. The crew is accounted for. I'm starting on the institute staff. Hopefully everyone stays put and stays safe so we won't have need of your services tonight doc. Over"
"I agree Chip. Please let me know when you've contacted everyone. I won't be able to relax until I know everyone is OK. Over."
"Will do Jamie. Over and out."
Chip continued down the list. Angie and all the rest of the secretaries were all snug in their homes and safe. Lee having finished wrapping things up came walking over to the radio shack.
"Where are we Chip? Is everyone accounted for?" Lee asked, forehead furrowed with a look of deep concern etched on his face.
"I just finished up the list. It would seem that just about everyone seems to be hunkered down and safe from of the storm," Chip replied.
"What about the admiral, Chip. Have you had any contact with him?"
"I was just getting ready to call him Lee. I expect he's still at his office. Surely he wouldn't go out in this mess," Chip replied.
"Call and make sure," Lee ordered.
Chip switched the radio on to transmit again.
"Admiral Nelson, this is leader 1 calling. Do you read me sir?"
Both Lee and Chip waited with nervous anticipation as the speakers above remained silent
"Hail him again," Lee ordered.
"Admiral Nelson, this is leader 1 calling. I repeat. This is leader 1 calling sir. Do you read me?
The sound of Chips voice was quickly becoming tinged with concern.
Again there was nothing but dead silence and static from the storm over the speaker.
"I don't like this. Chip call security Officer Masters," Lee ordered.
"Right," Chip responded as he switched frequencies and began to call the security officer over the radio transmitter.
"Calling security officer Masters. This is leader 1. Do you read me? Over."
After a brief moment of silence, the speaker crackled to life again.
"Leader 1. This is security officer Masters. Over.
"Masters. This is Commander Morton. We are unable to reach Admiral Nelson over his radio transceiver. Have you checked if he's over at the admin building? Over."
"Not yet sir. Sorry. I got an emergency call about a downed tree on a car over on the north end of the compound. One of the dependent wives...a Sheila Cramer was trapped in the car with her two-year-old son. Over," Masters explained.
Chip knew exactly who Masters was talking about.
"Are they alright?' he asked. Over."
"Yes sir. Both the mom and son are OK. Both wound up with a few scrapes and bruises but otherwise they're both fine. They've been checked out at the infirmary and they're both spending the night there or at least until the storm dies down so her husband can come and get them. Over."
"Very well. I need you to get over to the admin building and check on the admiral ASAP. We still haven't been able to contact him by radio. When you get there, report in. Over."
"Will do sir. I'm heading there right now. Expect to hear from me in about 10-15 minutes from now. Over."
"Very well Masters. Leader 1. Over and out."
Masters was at the security office along with some of the other security officers.
"Hey Jake," Masters addressed his junior partner. Come on! We've got to go right now. Commander Morton hasn't been able to raise Admiral Nelson on the radio. There may be a problem."
"Aw man! I don't like the sound of that. I sure hope Admiral Nelson is OK," Jake stated.
"Ya well the sooner we find him the sooner we'll know so grab your gear and get moving!" Masters ordered.
Jake had his gun holstered in his vest. He shrugged on a rain slicker over his vest to help protect against the wet weather.
Masters went into the main break room where most of the other security people were taking a break from their patrols.
"OK, listen up everybody. We have a report that Leader 1 is unable to raise Admiral Nelson on his transceiver. I need you guys to stand by in case I don't find him at the admin building. I want you guys to be ready to head out right away. Stand by the radio just in case. I may need some more volunteers to team up for a search. With this wind storm going on we need to be prepared. Anything can happen."
Masters turned to Jake.
"All right Jake, you're with me. Let's hit it."
They both jumped into one of the security jeeps used to patrol the grounds and headed out down the road and in the direction of the admin building.
ooOOoo
In a fairly short time Masters turned off the main drag turning into the parking lot of the admin building. Since there were no vehicles visible in the parking lot as a precautionary measure he decided to drive up to the main entrance. As soon as he aimed the headlights at the heavy steel doors a tiny alarm went off inside his head when he noticed that one of the doors was ajar and the entrance was unlocked. He pulled out his transceiver and hailed Leader 1 aboard Seaview.
Lee and Chip had been waiting patiently in the radio shack for word from the security patrol.
"Leader 1. This is security officer Masters calling. Do you read me? Over."
"This is Leader 1. What do you have to report? Over."
"Sir, I'm presently at the admin building. The parking lot is empty sir. No sign of the admiral's car. Over."
"Very well. Is that everything? Over."
"No sir," Masters replied. "Mr. Morton. It looks like there is a break in the main entrance of the admin building. One of the entrance doors is ajar and I suspect the locking mechanism is probably broken. Over"
"Report your findings to maintenance."
Just then Lee decided to jump on the radio.
"Mr. Masters. This is Captain Crane. What's your game plan to find and locate Admiral Nelson? Over."
"Skipper, I'm leaving here and heading over to the admiral's house. I'll trace the route that he normally takes from the admin building to go home. I'll report again when we get there. Over."
Lee pushed the button on the mic to transmit.
"OK Masters. Let me know what you find. We'll be standing by for your report. Leader 1. Over and out."
After momentary silence the skipper was still holding the mic in his hand. He started thinking about the next plan of action.
Lee suddenly raised up, making eye contact with his XO.
"Chip, transmit to Sharkey again. I want him and anyone there that wants to volunteer to join the search for the admiral," Lee ordered.
"Lee, do you think something has happened to the admiral?" Chip asked, deepening concern etched on his face.
"I don't know Chip. The fact that we haven't been able to raise him at all...I'm getting a really bad feeling about this. The sooner we find him the better I'll feel. I just hope everything's OK and this gnawing feeling in my gut is for nothing."
"I do too Lee", Chip interjected as he dialed in the frequency of Sharkey's transceiver and proceeded to hail him.
"Chief Sharkey. This is Leader 1 calling. Do you read me? Over."
Chip waited but there was only dead silence except for some intermittent static coming through the speakers.
Chief Sharkey. This is Leader 1 calling. Do you read me? Chief, are you there? Over."
After another brief moment of static and silence the speaker crackled to life once again.
"This is Chief Sharkey Leader 1. How do you read me? Over."
A small smile flickered momentarily on Chips face at the sound of Sharkey's voice over the radio.
"I read you loud and clear Chief. Over"
"What's going on sir? Over."
"Chief, are the other crew members still there with you? Over."
Sharkey turned as he panned the room looking at the inquisitive faces of the other men in the room, Chief Sharkey depressed the button on his transceiver to transmit.
Sharkey swallowed and he took a deep breath before answering.
"Ah yes Sir, Mr. Morton. The men are still here with me. Yes, sir. Over."
As Chip was about to answer, Lee motioned that he wanted to talk to Chief Sharkey and Chip handed him the mic.
Lee depressed the button on the mic to speak.
"Chief Sharkey. This is Captain Crain. I need you to organize the men there into search parties. I need you to go out and search for Admiral Nelson. Over"
As Sharkey was about to answer the captain he suddenly realized he was surrounded by the other men, expressions of deep concern on all their faces. Everyone was ready and willing to do whatever Captain Crane needed.
"The Admiral? Has something happened to him sir? Over."
"I don't know Sharkey. I won't know for sure until someone finds him. Neither Chip or I, or the security patrol has been able to raise him. I feel something may be wrong. How many teams can you set up to search for him? Over."
"There are nine of us here including myself. I can set up at least three...four if we go in pair's. Over."
"Very good Chief. The security patrol was at the admin building and found nothing. They are on their way over to the admiral's house now. They'll be conducting a search as they go. It will take them some time to get over to the other side of the compound where the admiral's house is. You guys are a lot closer. I want you to head straight over to the admiral's house Chief. Get on the radio as soon as you get there and let us know what you find. You got that Sharkey? Over."
"Got it skipper. We're on our way. We should be there in less than 5 minutes. Over and out."
Lee let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as he ran his hand through his hair then started rubbing his forehead...a nervous habit he had whenever he was feeling unusual pressure or when he was beleaguered worrying about his best friend and mentor.
"I sure hope they have some good news for us when they get there," Lee spoke as he thought out loud.
Chip nodded in agreement.
"Lee, maybe he's OK. Maybe he's just in the middle of working on something or maybe his transceiver isn't working. Maybe he just hasn't turned it on yet. You know how he gets when he's involved in one of his projects.
"Ya, maybe," Lee responded. Then he started shaking his head.
"Chip, this doesn't feel like that. You know my intuition usually steers a pretty straight course. No, I just have a gnawing feeling. My gut is telling me that something's wrong. I won't...I can't rest until I know for sure what's going on." That said he looked Chip in the eye.
"Chip, call Jamie. Let him know that we think the Admiral may be in trouble and to stand by...we may need him.
Chip nodded and picked up the mic and depressed the button as he dialed the frequency on the radio to call the Chief Medical Officer and Harry's good friend.
"This is Leader 1. Jamie do you read me? Come in doc. Over."
After a moment he heard the sound of someone yawning over the loud speaker.
"This is Jamie… Chip. What do you need? Over."
"Jamie, the admiral's missing. We haven't been able to raise him for several hours. The security patrol said everyone had left the admin building but we haven't heard a peep from him. Sharkey is headed over to his house with several of the men organized into search teams. The skipper wanted me to contact you to have you stand by. Depending on what the search teams come up with we may need you. Over."
"Oh no. I sure hope he's not out somewhere in this storm. He could wind up with a bad case of hypothermia if he's been hurt and lying outside in this wind and rain. I've got my medical bag here and I'll throw together some warming gear just in case. Keep me posted Chip. I'll be ready to head out the minute you or the captain gives the word. I'm really hoping this is nothing though and he's just wrapped up in one of his projects at home. Over."
"I know what you mean Jamie. We're hoping the same thing...I'll let you know the minute I hear something doc. Over and out."
Just then Julie, Jamie's wife and partner for more than 10 years walked into the living room. She had gone to bed but got back up when she heard Jamie talking over the radio. She yawned and rubbed at her temple.
"What's wrong Jamie? It's getting rather late. You should come to bed and try to get some sleep," she said as another yawn escaped as she began to involuntarily stretch a bit.
"Sorry honey. I can't right now. Admiral Nelson is missing and I'm waiting for word from Lee or Chip. I may have to head out. He could be hurt and in serious trouble," Jamie explained.
At the news about the admiral suddenly Julie didn't feel that tired anymore.
"Oh no, I hope that's not true. You might need my help. I'll be just a few minutes."
Julie then turned and quickly headed back down the hallway. In just a matter of minutes she returned fully dressed and ready to head out with Jamie to give her husband any assistance needed. Julie being a registered nurse and a trained EMT for pretty much all of their married life together and more than 10 years of experience in medicine, she was accustomed to helping her husband in medical emergencies whenever needed.
"Julie, you didn't need to get dressed. You should have gone back to bed love," Jamie said as he put his arms around her. "It's liable to be pretty rough out in this storm and besides...we don't even know if anything's happened to the admiral. It may be nothing."
"Do you think it's nothing Jamie?" Julie asked him as she looked up into his eyes that were filled with obvious concern for his boss and friend.
"From what I've been told so far...nobody's been able to raise him...I'm getting the sinking feeling that something may very well be wrong."
"Jamie, it's obvious I think that you may very well need my help so my darling husband, I wanted to be ready to go when you are. Besides, I couldn't go back to sleep now if I wanted to. At least not until I know for sure that the admiral is OK. You know I would go crazy sitting here worrying about both him and you out in this awful storm."
Jamie pulled her closer to him and they hugged each other tightly. As they stood there in each other's embrace it was obvious that after more than ten years of marriage they were still deeply in love with each other.
"You know my love, I knew you and I were right for each other from the first moment we met all those years ago. I'm so very glad I found you and I think I am a very lucky man to have a wife who feels the same way and is so understanding," Jamie said as he looked down into her deep blue eyes.
"Honey", Julie interrupted, "Hadn't we better get what supplies we'll need together? They could be calling any moment."
"Yes, yes...of course."
They broke off their embrace and Julie went over to a large walk in closet in the entryway of their house that they had set up with all sorts of emergency gear just for occasions like this. Jamie never knew from day to day which one of the crew members might need his urgent medical care and it was more convenient to have stuff on hand at the house rather than having to go into the infirmary to get what he needed.
He walked into the storage area and they both quickly gathered everything Jamie figured that they might need should the admiral be in need medical attention.
ooOOoo
Harry had been unconscious for god knows how long. Consciousness was beginning to peel away at the edges of the darkness that surrounded him. As if off in a very far distance he heard a strange wailing sound that he couldn't quite identify and yet it somehow seemed familiar. As the consciousness worked at scaling back the darkness he became all too aware that some evil demon was stabbing and tearing at him as he began to feel very sharp excruciating pain emanating from his head. As Harry started to become more aware he could hear the sound of someone moaning. Then he realized he was the one moaning and that he was in terrible pain.
Harry tried to speak but could not. He tried to move but his attempt was in vain. His head throbbed unmercifully with each beat of his heart. The pain was bad enough that he was unaware that the right side of his head and face were covered in blood and that he was soaked clear to the skin for he had been laying there exposed to the heavy rain and wind for a long time. He did not feel cold nor was he shivering from being all wet, all signs he was probably suffering from hypothermia in addition to a head injury. The pain was getting so bad, the throbbing in his head worsened to the point that he could begin to feel himself losing consciousness. Harry was somewhat grateful, as the darkness began to creep in and envelop him, he allowed it to take over. As it did, the pain began to fade until once again he was unconscious.
Just then headlights appeared as the jeep Chief Sharkey, Kowalski, and Riley were in drove up the road that led to the admiral's house. It stopped even with the driveway. The heavy rain and strong winds made it difficult to see beyond the driveway in the darkness with power being out.
"That's the admiral's car," Sharkey claimed. "He must be here. Without any light it's hard telling where he might be." Sharkey noticed that all the windows were dark. "There doesn't appear to be any light inside the house. "
"Sharkey, there's no light because there's no power," Kowalski commented.
"Of course the power's out Ski but there should at least be some light from some candles or kerosene lanterns, or even light coming from the fireplace."
"Maybe he's asleep," Riley offered.
"Maybe but I kind of doubt it... I don't like the looks of it. Let's get out and take a look around," Sharkey ordered the men.
Before the three men exited the jeep they covered their heads with the hoods on their rain slickers and tested their flashlights to make sure they were in good working order. Sharkey proceeded to bark out his orders to Kowalski and Riley. "OK, listen up. Riley, I want you to go around the south side of the house to the back of the house, checking for anything as you go. Kowalski, I want you to head around the north side of the house and continue around to the back checking as you go. If you find something signal over your transceivers. When you two meet up in back of the house, if you haven't found anything I want you both back up front ASAP and likewise if I find something I'll signal over my transceiver. You both got that?" he asked.
"Got it Sharkey," Kowalski answered.
"Got it," Riley responded back.
The three of them carefully exited the jeep and hunkered down as they started out.
Sharkey and Kowalski first walked up to the admiral's car and shining the flashlights they checked in and around the car. The car was unoccupied but Sharkey noticed the large spiral crack in the windshield which he caught in the beam of his flashlight.
"Man, the admiral's sure gonna be really pissed when he sees this...that is, if he doesn't already know about it," Sharkey thought. He then pointed with his flashlight indicating he and Kowalski should head in the direction toward the front door and the front of the house. There was so much noise with the howling of the wind and the resounding thunder from each lightning strike plus the crashing of debris being blown against the admiral's car and the house that it was nearly impossible for their voices to be heard over all the noise.
Sharkey knew that if he kept trying to shout over all the noise he would soon not have any voice at all so, he motioned everyone to hunker down by him. Once they were crouched together in a close circle Sharkey began yelling to be heard over the wind.
"I want you guys to take it slow and careful. Try to keep a low a profile as you go. We don't need anyone getting clobbered by all this stuff being blown around." The men nodded their heads up and down in an affirmative response so that the chief knew his orders were being understood. "Make sure you shine your flashlights in wide arcing beams. We don't know where the admiral is or if he's been hurt. We don't want to miss anything so take it slow...but not too slow. You men got it?" He asked. Again Kowalski and Riley both nodded in the affirmative.
Sharkey arced the beam from his flashlight over towards the front porch when he suddenly saw a dark draped shape down on the ground in front of the porch that kind of resembled a mound covered in dark cloth or possibly plastic. He grabbed Kowalski's arm and pointed towards it. Both men stealthily moved toward the dark shape. It wasn't until they were almost on top of it with their flashlights aimed straight toward it that Sharkey suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. Grabbing Kowalski's arm, they both stared at the dark shape realizing that it was actually a man lying on the ground. Sharkey then spied a bit of auburn hair below the bill of the man's cover in the beam of his flashlight which he immediately recognized. Sharkey quickly rushed forward and dropped down to his knees. He quickly felt along the base of his jawline until he came to the junction where he could feel for the beating of a pulse.
"Thank god, the admiral's still alive," Sharkey declared. Pulling out his transceiver and pressing the transmit button he radioed his finding to the Skipper.
"Leader 1. This is Chief Sharkey. Come in please. How do you read me? Over."
Lee and Chip had been quietly sitting and waiting in the radio shack for word on the admiral's whereabouts. At the urgent sound in Sharkey's voice over the loud speaker they both jumped to attention. Lee grabbed the mic.
Leader 1. This is Chief Sharkey. Do you read me? Over," he repeated.
With great trepidation Lee slowly depressed the button on the mic.
"Chief, this is Captain Crane, "Lee said as he spoke into the mic with eager anticipation. "I read you loud and clear. What's your report? Over."
"We found the admiral at his house sir. Looks like he was trying to head inside but didn't make it. Looks like something may have hit him as he got to the porch and knocked him down. Over."
"Is he responsive chief? Over."
"Negative skipper. He's out cold. Can't tell at this point how bad he might be hurt. We need Jamie as soon as he can get here. Over."
"I'm calling him right now Sharkey. If you have anything you can keep him warm with until he gets there. It won't be long. Over and out."
Kowalski motioned to Sharkey and Riley. The three of them hunkered down as low as they could get to the ground and at the same time they surrounded the admiral as he laid prone on the ground to protect him from being hit by more of the debris that was blowing around. Thinking quickly, Kowalski gently laid himself down over the admiral's chest and he placed his arm so that the admiral's face was protected beneath part of his rain slicker. Riley followed Kowalski's example and he gently laid himself over the admiral's legs while Sharkey laid across the lower part of the admiral's torso. Basically they laid across him in a crisscross manner and kept him warm with their own body heat and protected him from the elements. They would remain like that until help arrived.
ooOOoo
"This is leader 1 calling. Jamie, do you read me? Over."
Hearing Captain Cranes voice Jamie grabbed his transceiver and began to transmit immediately.
"This is Jamie, Lee. I read you loud and clear. Do you have word on the admiral? Over."
"Yes. Sharkey's team found him outside his house. He's unconscious. Sharkey couldn't tell if it's bad or not. Just asked if you can get there as soon as possible Jamie. Over."
'On my way, Lee. Over and out."
Jamie and Julie didn't waste any time. They quickly shrugged on their rain slickers and grabbed the gear along with Jamie's black bag then rushed out the door to the garage and jumped in their light beige Land Rover. It only took about five minutes to make the drive to the admiral's house. He pulled up and parked in front of the jeep Sharkey's team arrived in.
Jamie turned and looked his wife in the face making full eye contact. "Honey, I don't know what we are about to find but I just want you to be very careful. We both need to keep a very low profile and look out for flying debris. I don't want to have two patients to take care of."
"No worries dearest. I'll be very careful. I just hope the admiral isn't hurt too bad."
"So do I Julie...so do I."
They both stepped out of the Land Rover. Jamie grabbed his black bag and they both grabbed some of the other gear, primarily a blanket to put over the admiral to keep him warm. Jamie wouldn't know what all he needed until he was able to assess Harry's injuries. They both turned on their flashlights and proceeded towards the front of the house. The sight that greeted the Jamison's made them both stop dead in their tracks. It was strange to see the three men lying down.
Jamie was afraid at first seeing the scene before him that he had more than one patient. As he and Julie got closer he could see that the men were laying in such a way to protect the admiral from the elements and cover him to keep him warm. Jamie shook his head in semi disbelief. He and Julie hurried to the admiral's side. As they did Sharkey motioned the other two to move out of the way so Jamie could get near to start treating his patient.
It rapidly became clear that the blanket would be of little use because the strong wind was blowing it off of their patient before they even got him partially covered. Jamie motioned to his wife to never mind the blanket. He did a quick cursory exam of what he could see of Harry's injuries. Then he motioned the men to follow him back to the Land Rover so that he could retrieve a stretcher to put the admiral on and they could help carry him down the driveway and place him in the back of the Land Rover for transport to the infirmary.
They worked together very quickly and carefully as they picked Harry up and packed him down the driveway, loaded him in the vehicle and the Jamison's climbed into the Land Rover and they were ready to go in short order. Jamie turned to the three men and ordered them to follow them to the infirmary to help with unloading the admiral upon arrival. As the vehicles made their way to the infirmary progress was slowed due to downed trees and power poles in the streets.
During the trip Julie stayed in back with the admiral to keep a close eye on him should his condition change or he woke up on the way. She managed to cut the fabric of both Harry's uniform and coat from his right arm and place a blood pressure cuff on his arm. She took his pulse and his blood pressure. She also put on a stethoscope. She managed to bare his chest and placed the stethoscope on his bare skin to check his breathing. She found it frustrating. There was so much outside noise from the storm that it was basically impossible to detect if he was having any breathing abnormalities. She decided that part of the exam would have to wait until they were inside the infirmary. She noticed that Harry was beginning to stir a little. She held onto his hand as his eyes began to flutter open. As Harry began to wake he let out a moan that was difficult to hear over the loud howling of the wind and the loud claps of thunder. Never the less It was obvious that Harry was in a great deal of pain.
"Jamie...Jamie. Harry's waking up and he's having some pretty severe pain. Do you want to administer anything for pain?"
Jamie shook his head. "No, not until I know to what extent his injuries are. We are probably dealing with a head injury judging by the blood and the gash in his forehead. I don't want him going to sleep if we can prevent it. See if you can check his pupils at all"
"Right," Julie hollered back.
She took a penlight from Jamie's black bag and began checking Harry's pupils.
"What do you see? How are his pupils?" Jamie yelled.
"They look a bit unequal," Julie yelled back.
"Whatever hit him in the head must have hit with a real wallop. He's got a pretty good concussion by the sounds of it."
"Yes dear, I think you're right," Julie commented as she put the flashlight back in the bag then took hold of Harry's hand again.
He was barely conscious but aware of Julie's presence. He was able to give her a small smile just as he drifted off as the darkness over took him once more and he became unconscious again.
"He's unconscious again Jamie."
Jamie nodded his head. "I'm not surprised. Judging by that gash in his forehead he took a hard blow to the head. He'll probably be in and out of consciousness until we can stabilize him," he hollered.
" We need to get him to the infirmary where I can do a thorough exam. Until then I can only guess about some of his injuries and so far I really don't like some of my guestimates. This damn storm is really slowing down our getting there." Jamie checked his rearview mirror and was glad to see the headlights of the jeep Sharkey and the men were in was still behind them."
"I'm glad Sharkey has been able to keep up with us," Jamie yelled.
Julie momentarily turned her head to see the jeep behind them just when there was a sudden loud bang as a large piece of debris blown by the wind slammed into the rear side window of the Land Rover. The resulting impact from the debris hitting made it seem as though the window exploded and the inside of the SUV was suddenly filled with tiny shards of tempered glass flying all over the place. Julie instinctively ducked, throwing herself down over the admiral's still form, she spread her arms to protect and shelter Harry from the flying glass and at the same time managed to shield her face from the flying glass.
"Julie! Are you alright?" Jamie yelled as he involuntarily hit the brake without thinking, suddenly slowing the speed of the vehicle.
"OK...I'm OK," Julie yelled back. "Don't stop Jamie...Keep going," she hollered.
"Look out chief!" Kowalski yelled as suddenly they were looking at a couple of big bright red brake lights staring them in the face. Preparing for the impending impact as the two vehicles were about to collide he put one hand against the dash, hanging onto the back of the seat with the other, and both feet firmly planted on the floor of the jeep.
"Oh shit," Riley yelled from the back seat as his eyes grew big and he quickly braced himself between the front and back seat, expecting the impact any second.
Sharkey slammed his foot down on the brake pedal, pushing with all his strength. If not for the noises caused by the storm, one would have expected the wheels to make a screeching sound but there was just too much noise to be able to hear much of anything else. He fought to keep from crashing into the Jamison's and his boss. Just as he thought he was about to hit them the Land Rover seemed to pick up speed and he avoided hitting it as the jeep fish tailed a bit on the wet pavement. Sharkey had to do a bit of steering to get the jeep going straight on the road again. By this time, he was dripping wet with sweat and breathing rapidly from all the excitement.
"Damn it Jamie, that was close," Sharkey yelled. Both Kowalski and Riley relaxed a bit as they both blew out a long breath neither one had realized they had been holding.
Sharkey continued to follow behind but he decided that a little more distance between vehicles was imperative. He didn't want another close call like that.
Jamie pressed down on the gas pedal giving the SUV a sudden burst of speed. By now they were just minutes away from the infirmary.
"That was too damn close," Jamie shouted. "What the hell happened?"
"I don't know," Julie yelled...
Jamie took a quick glance back in the rearview mirror and he could see that she was visibly shaken.
"Did either of you get cut?" Jamie hollered.
"No, No... We didn't get cut. We're OK...We're both OK," Julie yelled as she made a quick check to make sure that Harry didn't seem to have any new cuts.
"Thank god," Jamie said under his breath, not ever realizing that in all the excitement that he'd almost been rear ended by Sharkey's jeep. Then he noticed a building up ahead...Light emanating from some of the windows.
We're almost there," Jamie shouted." The infirmary is just up ahead. Looks like the emergency generators kicked in so we'll have light to work in when we get there."
Julie, sat upright and gently grabbed hold of Harry's hand in both of hers. She gave it a gentle squeeze as she looked down upon his face, noticing that the parts of his face that were not covered in blood seemed a bit pale in the darkness. She noticed his hand felt unusually cool in hers. She let go with one of her hands so that she could feel the skin on his face and neck. He felt somewhat cold to her. It wasn't too difficult to figure he was suffering from hypothermia. Julie grabbed a couple blankets kept in the back of the Land Rover and quickly covered Harry with them to try to keep in what body heat he had. She was glad they were almost at the infirmary and Jamie could soon get to work on him.
"Admiral, hang in there. We're almost there. Please, hang on," she muttered to herself. Julie would have preferred to softly speak to Harry but there was just too much noise from the wind and all the flying debris. Like Jamie, she too had learned a long time ago that in most instances an unconscious patient can hear people and sense their surroundings.
They finally arrived as Jamie turned into the parking lot of the infirmary followed by Sharkey in the jeep. Jamie pulled around to the back where the emergency entrance was located. He came to a full stop when he was parallel with the emergency entrance.
Sharkey came to a full stop behind the Jamison's, leaving enough space between vehicles to be able to remove the admiral and stretcher. He hopped out of the jeep along with Kowalski and Riley. The three of them quickly and carefully slid the stretcher with the admiral out of the back of the Land Rover and carried him into the infirmary as Jamie grabbed his black bag. He and Julie followed close behind.
Once inside Jamie directed them toward a gurney in the first treatment room. They carefully laid Harry and the stretcher on the gurney. "That's good, now I need you three to leave so that Julie and I can get to work," Jamie ordered. Sharkey briefly looked Jamie in the face with an expression of deep concern then he quickly ushered Kowalski and Riley out of the room so that Jamie could begin treating his patient.
"Julie, I'm going to need scissors and a gown. We need to get him out of these wet clothes," Jamie ordered.
"Right dear," she answered. "Jamie, I noticed before we got here that he's getting feverish."
Before Jamie could really say anything she handed him the tympanic thermometer which he then inserted into Harry's left ear. As he waited to get a reading Julie started the remote blood pressure cuff to get Harry's blood pressure and pulse. After a few minutes he pulled the thermometer out to read. Julie could tell by the look of consternation on his face that Jamie didn't like what he saw.
"He's got a temperature of 91. We need to bring that temperature up. Julie let's get a few more blankets to cover him and we'll need to get some warm fluids into him IV. I want to add an antibiotic in the IV just in case. Once we get him warmed up he could go the other way and develop a fever. Being out there in all that dampness I want to make sure he doesn't develop a nasty respiratory infection. I still want to hold off on any pain meds until we know just what we're dealing with on the head injury. I don't doubt he's going to have a whopping headache when he comes to. Main thing now is to get him warmed up and make him as comfortable as we can until we better know that all we are looking at," Jamie explained. We can administer pain medication once he starts coming around.
Julie disappeared for a few minutes then returned with the items Jamie requested. She placed everything on the counter behind the head of the gurney then moved over and closed the drapes so that they could get Harry undressed and do a full assessment of his injuries in privacy.
ooOOoo
After getting Sharkey's report and learning that Harry might be seriously injured Lee was getting really antsy.
"What's wrong Lee," Chip asked.
"I don't like it Chip. I just can't stand sitting here on Seaview waiting for word about the admiral. What if he is hurt really bad? What if it's worse than Sharkey said? What if he's dying? Chip, I can't just sit here and do nothing," Lee said his words tinged with deep anguish and concern for his dearest friend.
"What do you want to do?" Chip asked.
"I know the storm is really bad but I really need to get out of here and head over to the infirmary. I want to be there when the admiral comes to," Lee's voice trailed off.
"All right Lee, but you're not going alone. That would be a fool's errand in this kind of storm. So... let's grab our rain gear and we both head over there."
Lee turned and made eye contact with his XO.
"You're going with me?" Lee asked, a bit astounded by the offer. Seeing the expression on Chips face he responded, "This fool would be glad to have you along for the ride," Lee commented with a grin.
"What are you waiting for then? Let's grab our stuff and get going before one of us changes our mind," Chip said with a grin as he started to head off towards the spiral stairs leading up to the next level and officers' country.
"Wait, just a minute," Lee said as Chip stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face the skipper...It's really nasty out there. We really ought to put on our foul weather gear...you know black turtleneck, dark pants, sneakers, and black rain coats."
"That's a good idea. Think I'll grab my stocking cap too," Chip added.
"Great idea Chip. Let's go get ready. We won't have to worry about getting our uniforms dirty and having to pay to have them cleaned. Besides, we don't really know just what we might run into out there."
"You are so right, old buddy," Chip said teasing with a wide grin on his face as they both headed up the spiral stairs to officer country to change clothes.
"Old...who are you calling old?" Lee admonished his friend.
After a short time both Lee and Chip left their cabins and hurried down the spiral stairs. Both were attired for foul weather and each carried a flashlight and transceiver. Before they left the Seaview they stopped by stores and grabbed a couple of axes, a portable power supply to use with a hand torch. Normally the torches were used on board Seaview or for underwater projects but the portable power supply allowed one to use one of the hand held torches where ever necessary. Lee figured one might come in handy along with the axes in case they came across any large trees downed by the strong winds, blocking the road on the way to the infirmary or if they spotted someone needing help. He also figured it wouldn't hurt to take along a couple of laser guns.
"Hey, good idea Lee. We can cut through stuff with these if we get something kind of big in our path," Chip said with a grin as he took his laser gun and stashed it in the holster he'd buckled around his waist. Lee did likewise. "What about some warming blankets?" he asked.
Lee thought about it for a moment. "Good idea in case something goes wrong and we wind up stuck out in this storm," he commented. "God forbid," he thought to himself.
They finished packing the gear together that they decided to take with them. Splitting everything into two packs they each grabbed one and headed down the corridor to the spiral stairs that led down to the control room.
They hurried to the ladder that led up to the conning tower. Chip climbed up the ladder first with one of the packs slung over his shoulder. Lee grabbed the other pack, slinging it over his shoulder, he climbed the ladder up to the next level where Chip was waiting. As soon as they exited the control room Lee turned around and closed the hatch and locked it. They then both exited through the side hatch that led onto the deck from the egress hatch just below the flying bridge of the submarine.
Again Lee turned around to close and dog the hatch as Chip looked on. Lee tested the door to make sure it was secured. They both then turned and hurried up the gang plank to the dock and over where one of the fleet cars was parked.
Lee opened the trunk of the car. They each tossed their packs in and he quickly slammed the trunk lid shut. Then Chip hurriedly flung open the car door as he jumped into the passenger seat and likewise Lee quickly jumped in the driver's seat. He slipped the key into the ignition and started the engine. Shifting into drive he drove the car up the ramp that led away from the dock and through a secret tunnel that would take them above ground. Just as the car exited, the sudden force of the wind against the car felt like they were being forced backwards by some immense power.
It was a weird sensation as the high winds slammed against the body of the car as they continued their forward momentum. It was rather surreal as both men watched nervously as the wind whipped all kinds of debris through the air all around the car as they drove down the road. There were bright blue flashes across the sky as power lines succumbed to the high winds as well as bright white flashes of lightning that seemed to be hitting all around in every direction. Suddenly a chunk of debris slammed into the top of the windshield with a loud bang near the top where it joined with the car roof.
The sudden impact and noise caused Lee and Chip to both flinch and duck as a result of natural reflex. It happened so fast that neither one really had time to react. As quickly as the debris hit it was already gone, suddenly whipped off of the car by the wind and blown off in some other direction. Lee was just thankful it didn't break the windshield and that neither of them had been hurt when it hit. They continued on down the road as they attempted to make their way to the infirmary and hopefully arrive in one piece.
Lee could feel the power of the wind as some errant gusts seemed to be trying to push the car sideways. The wind was so strong that he kept both hands on the steering wheel. He hoped it wouldn't take long to drive to the infirmary as driving with the high wind buffeting the car was going to be tiring and he could already feel the strain in his upper arms, shoulders, and muscles in his upper back.
"Man! This wind is really strong," Lee shouted." I've never felt anything this strong here in Santa Barbara before. Why in the world didn't the admiral stay at the admin building? Surely he knew how bad it was getting before he went out in this storm."
"Maybe it wasn't as bad when he left," Chip shouted back. There was so much noise from the wind, debris flying everywhere along with the loud rumbling and claps of thunder.
"Lee, maybe this wasn't such a great idea. Maybe "we" should have stayed put. What the hell are we going to do if we get knocked off the road or worse?" Chip hollered.
"I guess our being out in this storm makes about as much sense as the admiral going out in it. The main thing is we have to get to the infirmary to find out how bad he's been hurt."
"I agree Lee. I just hope that one of us doesn't wind up being Jamie's patient too," Chip said as he looked around at the debris that was being blown all over the place. There were several bright flashes of lightning with loud claps of thunder as they proceeded down the road. Then suddenly another large piece of debris slammed into the windshield. As it did Lee turned the steering wheel, swerving over to the edge of the road and the car started fishtailing all over the place. Lee was sure they were headed straight for the drainage ditch next to the road which had come into full view thanks to several bright flashes of lightning and the beams of his headlights. He was using all his strength to try to steer clear and get back on the road and both he and Chip were concentrating so hard on staying clear of the ditch that the ensuing loud claps of thunder over the howling sound of the wind didn't seem to faze either one of them.
Luckily just as he thought they were done for the wind let up momentarily just enough that he was able to steer the car back onto the road and he was able to regain control of the vehicle and continue on down the road only now he was going at a slower speed than before.
Chip blew out a whistle. "That was "really" close Lee," Chip hollered after he let out a long breath he wasn't aware he was holding.
"That's for sure," Lee echoed. He was glad they didn't get blown off the road. "I hope that doesn't happen again. Ah Chip...just in case...next time feel free to grab the wheel and help steer us back on the road," he hollered.
"Not a problem...Lee," Chip yelled back as he nervously looked around and tried to mentally measure the strength of the wind gust that almost took them out.
"Oh great, looks like there's a tree across the road," Lee shouted over the roar of the wind. "Maybe I can go take that side street we passed a few minutes ago and get around this mess."
"Ah Lee, have you taken a really good look around? I mean there is damage all over. There are trees, power lines and power poles blown down...and if any of those downed lines are "live" ...this could get real dicey out here."
"Chip, what do you mean "could" get dicey?" Lee hollered trying not to sound sarcastic.
"Ya, I guess we are past "could get" Chip said loudly with a sheepish grin. "Do you think this storm has maybe gotten worse since Sharkey and the men found the admiral?"
"Maybe," Lee shouted. "Why don't you turn on the radio and see if you can pick up any broadcasts. If there's anyone broadcasting maybe there's an update on this storm system."
Chip nodded in agreement as he reached over and turned on the car radio.
At first there was nothing so he slowly turned the tuner knob hoping that he would be able to pick up something besides empty static. Just when Chip was about to give up searching for he finally found a station. He had to turn the volume up all the way and it was still a bit difficult to hear everything being said over all the noise.
Lee put his full concentration on his driving while Chip turned most of his attention to what was being broadcast. Actually it was an Emergency Services Broadcast about the storm. The man on the broadcast stated that the worst of the storm had passed. The storm was beginning to weaken as the low pressure center had moved on land and as it continued to move farther inland it was expected to keep weakening.
"Weakening?" Chip blurted out looking somewhat dumbfounded.
Emergency Services was still warning people to stay indoors and warned against any unnecessary travel as conditions were still very dangerous because of the high winds and accompanying thunderstorms. The announcer reported numerous downed trees, power lines, and power poles along with lots of debris being blown around and cluttering all the surface roads in the area making travel extremely hazardous.
"Hazardous? Is this guy kidding?" Chip blurted out. "Oh brother."
The announcer continued...They expected the storm to significantly weaken sometime in the next two to three hours or so.
"I'm ready for this damn storm to be over," Lee quipped as he added his sarcasm. His arms were beginning to ache from having to hold onto the steering wheel with both hands. It was taking a lot of muscle to keep the car from veering off to one side or the other every time a strong gust of wind hit the vehicle.
"Finally, some light at the end of this disaster," Chip yelled as the broadcast ended.
"Ya but unfortunately that isn't helping us get to the infirmary any faster," Lee scoffed.
" I know, I know, Chip shouted as he looked off to the distance as far as he could see in the blackness of the night.
Lee wasn't seeing any way around the giant spruce pine that lay across the road.
"I think we are going to have to get out and see if we can cut enough of the tree so that we can get through here," Lee lamented.
"Lee, don't you think it would be better for us to stay inside the car and maybe back track to see if there's a side road that we missed that might be a little clearer, at least enough to get around than trying to cut through this mess?" Chip inquired.
"No Chip. There's just too much damage all over. I think we would only be wasting time. No... I think we need to give this a try."
Lee put the shifter into park then shut off the motor leaving the headlights on to illuminate the immediate area so that when they got out of the car they would be able to see where they were going and to help prevent them tripping over unseen obstacles. With all the debris strewn about and being whipped around by the wind it made walking and keeping their footing a real challenge.
Both men then got out of the car and walked over by the tree then stopped. They stood there for several minutes evaluating which spot would be best. The idea was to cut the trunk of the tree in two so that they could use their combined strength to move enough of the tree off to the side of the road so that there would be enough room to drive the car around the mess and continue their journey. It looked like they had some large branches to contend with as well that would need to be removed from the trunk before they could even think of moving it
"Chip, I think if we start working at the point there where the trunk seems to be smaller we might be able to make faster progress," Lee pointed out.
"I don't know Lee. That's a pretty large tree trunk and those branches aren't that small either. I think it's going to take quite a bit to get this thing cut so we can move it."
"I know Chip; I know...But we don't have a lot of options right now."
That said Lee walked back over to the car and opened the trunk. He pulled out the two axes they'd brought along just in case...Swinging the axes up and carrying them both over his shoulder he headed back where Chip was still looking for other prospective places to cut and not really coming up with any better options. Lee carefully swung the axes down from his shoulder and stood them both axe head down on the ground. The "clunk" of the axes hitting the ground got Chip's attention. As he made eye contact with Lee, seeing the look of determination there, he reached out and grabbed one of the axes. They began to take turns hacking at the tree with their axes. First Lee took a few swings at it, then Chip.
"It's too bad we don't have a chain saw. It certainly would make it a lot easier and it would go faster," Chip commented."
Lee just gave him a look that said shut up and keep working.
They then both continued chopping away at the tree's trunk first one and then the other. After about twenty minutes Lee decided they both needed to rest.
The wind continued to howl and the lightning and thunder continued non-stop. The only thing on the plus side at the moment is that it had stopped raining. The wind gusts seemed a little less severe in strength than when they first got out of the car. They hoped it was a sign that the wind was finally starting to wind down.
Both men walked over to the car. Lee sort of collapsed as he leaned into the side of the car. Chip on the other hand hopped up and sat on the hood over the right front passenger side tire.
I guess it's a good thing this isn't your precious red Colby or I'd be catching all kinds of hell for jumping up and sitting on the hood. Right buddy?" Chip asked with a cynical tone.
"Humph" Lee made a short snorting sound. "If this was my Colby... you'd be sitting on the wet ground," Lee responded in a sarcastic tone.
"Really? Aw man, that is really cold Lee. That car of yours is more important?" Chip inquired sarcastically.
There was a moment of utter silence as they stared at each other, then suddenly they both burst out in laughter which lasted several minutes. Then they stopped and were quiet for several minutes.
Lee and Chip stared at the tree contemplating what their next move would be.
After a few more minutes Lee shifted his weight as he stood up and started to head toward the tree to begin round two of hacking it in two carrying his axe. Chip hopped down off the car and followed Lee over by the tree carrying his axe, holding it with both hands. When they got close to the tree Lee went first as he lifted his axe up far above his head, with both hands he brought it down with as much force as he could muster and began to chip away at the tree trunk in earnest. Chip raised his axe up and swung it for all he was worth as he chipped away at the other end of the moderate sized vee shaped notch in the trunk of the tree, a result of their first round of chopping with their axes. Together they were chopping at opposite angles that met in the middle. After several minutes they both were sweating heavily and breathing hard. Chip stopped and wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve and let out a long whistle.
"Lee..." Chip said as he paused.
Lee stopped and made eye contact with his friend.
"Lee...What if this doesn't work? Chip asked.
"What do you mean?" Lee asked a very perturbed expression on his face.
"What if we cut this damn thing in two and after everything...we find we can't move it," Chip asked.
"So what are you suggesting...That we quit?" Lee blurted out.
It was obvious to his friend that he was beginning to get agitated by the tone of his voice and the angry expression on his face.
"Look Lee... I'm just saying," Chip began to explain.
"Chip, we can't stop now. I doubt we can get back to Seaview in this mess and I can't stand waiting around and doing nothing while I wait to find out what's going on with the admiral," Lee spat out as his anger and agitation were growing.
"I know how you feel Lee, but..." Chip countered.
I need to see for myself. I need to be there in case he needs me...so that he knows I'm close by. I need to be there...in case...in case.
"All right Lee," Chip responded as he placed his hand on Lee's arm to calm him. "I know how you feel and how it's tearing at your insides. I'll keep working at getting this damn thing out of the way if you want me to."
"Thanks Chip. I think if we keep at it we should be able to cut all the way through it. Then chop off a few of these branches. We just have to keep going. I can keep going. I have to."
Chip nodded in agreement and the two of them started chopping at the tree trunk again in earnest. After a bit when they were both starting to feel they were getting overheated they both stopped to rest when suddenly some headlights of an oncoming vehicle flashed in their direction. They stopped and set the heads on their axes rest on the ground as they both leaned on the handles, using them as support as they stopped to catch their breath and cool off as they watched the oncoming headlights get closer.
Inside Lee cursed the storm for blowing down the tree and blocking their progress but at the same time both he and Chip were thankful for the wind as it helped to cool them down from all their hot and heavy labor chipping away at the tree with their axes.
Finally, the vehicle pulled up behind their car and came to a stop. It was one of the NIMR security teams.
"Captain Crane sir," the driver hollered as he got out of the jeep. "Commander Morton. What are you two doing out in this storm sirs?
"Masters, am I glad to see you," Lee responded. "Mr. Morton and I are trying to cut this part of the tree in two so we can move it out of the road so we can get out of here and over to the infirmary where Doctor Jamison and the admiral are."
As Masters walked over and started to converse with the skipper, his partner Jake exited out the other side of the jeep and walked over to where the other three men were and began to inspect the progress the Seaview officers had made trying to chop the tree trunk in two.
"It certainly looks like you two could use some help with this," Jake commented.
"We sure could," Chip replied as he started to grin. "I don't suppose you guys have a chain saw with you?"
"As a matter a fact sir we do," Masters responded back. "Jake, get the chain saws out of the back of the jeep...let's give our friends here a hand getting this bad boy out of the road."
Jake turned and jogged to the back of the jeep and before Lee or Chip knew it both security officers had started both chain saws and were sawing their way through the rest of the trunk which they had not been able to hack through yet with the axes. They had the tree cut in two in just a matter of minutes. Then they proceeded to cut off most of the bigger limbs that would be in the way when they were ready to move it. When they finished that Masters motioned for Lee and Chip to help push the tree out of the way and before they knew it the tree was at the side of the road and they were finally able to proceed on towards the infirmary. Just in case they needed any more help with downed trees, live wires, or telephone poles Masters and Jake followed Lee and Chip the rest of the way. Fortunately, the rest of the road way was fairly clear except for some smaller debris that was being blown about by the gusting wind.
What normally would have taken about 15 minutes to travel wound up taking about 45 minutes. High winds and debris blowing everywhere along with trees and power poles being blown down in their path Lee had to use extra caution driving the distance to the infirmary which caused the trip to take a lot longer than he liked. He especially had to approach any areas where there were downed live power lines. The downed power lines didn't go unnoticed by the security team. As Masters drove, Jake was on the two-way radio reporting the downed power lines to the NIMR maintenance people so that they could contact Southern California Edison to get repair crews dispatched to repair the downed lines. Masters and Jake allowed extra space as they followed Captain Crane's car.
Luckily they only encountered minor obstacles along the way until they finally arrived in the parking lot at the infirmary. The other vehicle with Masters and Jake pulled up next to their car. Lee and Chip hopped out of the car and ran to the entrance, followed close behind by the two security officers. They entered the infirmary after a minor struggle trying to open the entrance door against the force of the gusting wind. There were a couple bright blue flashes of light off in the distance. The men instinctively knew that another power line had been snapped by the wind. They managed to open the door enough so they could all squeeze inside the entrance just as another gust of wind forced the door to slam shut behind them. Everyone breathed a heavy sigh of relief for finally they had arrived at their destination and they were all safely inside a secure building, shielded from the storm.
ooOOoo
Lee and Chip walked from the main lobby of the infirmary down the adjoining main hallway where they were met by Connors, one of the senior corpsman that worked with Jamie both at the infirmary and on board Seaview. Connors had spent extensive time helping Lee with a long recovery both mentally and physically from injuries as a result of an ONI mission in Naples, Italy some time back. He had been tortured as well as drugged. They had to renovate a couple of the houses, combining them together to make one really huge unit for the skipper to stay in during his recovery time. Connors stayed with him during that difficult time as a live in caregiver until he was fully recovered. As a result, he and the skipper had a developed a really good friendship. Lee had come to address him as "Conn" ...a nickname he had given him and it's been that way ever since.
"Sirs," Connors greeted them. "What are you doing out on a night like this? You shouldn't be out in this storm. It's really dangerous."
"It's OK Connors. We had help from one of the security teams getting here. How's the admiral?" Lee asked. "Can we see him?"
"He's down here," Connors said as he motioned Lee and Chip to follow him down the hallway to Harry's room. "Jamie just finished up his exam. The admiral's been unconscious since he brought him in."
Masters and Jake broke away and headed towards a waiting area so they could take a break and relax after a tense drive in. They would have to go back out if they received any calls on their radios.
As Lee and Chip came into the room their entrance did not go unnoticed. Jamie looked at the two with a scowl on his face. As Lee started to speak he held a silencing finger up to his lips and motioned for them to approach quietly. The admiral lay covered with a warming blanket, his upper chest and shoulders exposed with his left arm uncovered except for the inflatable splint in place to support and immobilize the broken bone in his arm. He had a blood pressure cuff wrapped around his upper right arm and an IV attached just above his right wrist.
Lee noticed right away the swelling and heavy bruising of Harry's left shoulder and arm. He also noticed that the right side of Harry's head, at least the part that was visible had dried and caked blood. He was able to see that there was quite a bit of bruising, indicating that he must have been hit by something fairly sizeable and with a fair amount of force. There was a large gauze bandage over his right eye fastened in place with some strips of surgical tape. He paid particular attention to the oxygen tubing with a nasal cannula running across his face leading to an oxygen cylinder sitting next to the bed.
"Jamie?" Lee whispered.
Jamie motioned them over to the far corner of the room where they could talk in hushed voices and be out of ear shot in case the admiral started to wake up.
"So..." Jamie began as he crossed both arms over his chest...a habit he had whenever he was irritated with an uncooperative patient or he felt one of them had not bothered to use good common sense like now.
"Have all the senior officers lost their minds? What the hell are you two doing out in this hellish weather? Doesn't anybody have any common sense these days or didn't you get the warnings about any traveling in hurricane force winds and flying debris?"
"We were still on Seaview when Sharkey called us about the admiral missing, Jamie" Lee explained.
"We would have been out in it on our way home anyway," Chip offered.
"Just what kind of a lame excuse is that?" Jamie fumed. Then he turned towards Harry. "I can't wait to hear the admiral's excuse for going out in a category two hurricane. I just hope it's a good one."
"Ah hem...Jamie..." Lee interrupted. "How is he?"
Jamie stopped his tirade. He took a deep breath and proceeded to give the men a run down on the admirals' injuries.
"Well he's stable and in serious condition. So far I've been able to determine that he's got a fairly good concussion and he's suffering from hypothermia."
"Hypothermia?" Lee questioned. I thought you only got that in cold weather."
"Actually anyone that is exposed to rain and a lot of wind like the Admiral was can suffer quite a lot of body heat loss if they are exposed for too long," Jamie explained. "He must have been out there for at least three hours. He was out there long enough that his core temperature was down to about 90 degrees. Thank god it wasn't any lower than that or his condition would be much worse."
"But he's stable?" Lee asked, his face etched with lines of concern for his best friend.
"Yes Lee, we have him covered with a warming blanket and he's getting warm fluids through the IV. He's warming up nicely. His core temperature is only down a couple degrees. He should be up to normal body temperature before too long."
"Lee, I noticed you eyeing the bandage on his head. It took five stitches to close up the gash from whatever hit him. When he wakes up he's going to have a whopping headache. I'm sure I don't have to tell you he's going to be grumpy and irritable for the next few days," Jamie started to explain.
"I don't imagine it will be very pleasant for you or your staff either," Lee commented.
"No worse than usual beings as Harry is the patient. Everyone pretty much knows what to expect. We all just go with the flow and get through it," he explained.
"What's going on with the arm and shoulder Jamie?
"We were lucky there."
"What do mean lucky?" Lee asked.
"At first when I examined him I thought he had fractured his shoulder but then on closer examination I found he'd dislocated his arm and badly bruised it. We were able to pop the arm back into the socket without too much difficulty. He did somehow manage to break his pinky finger in the fall. It should heal fairly quickly. It'll be more of a nuisance than anything. We also found significant bruising on the left side along the rib cage. He hit something hard when he went down. I suspect because of where we found him lying on the ground that he must have fallen and hit the edge of the concrete porch when he was knocked out. All the x-rays we took showed a hairline fracture in two of his ribs and the fracture in his pinky finger. It could have been a lot worse. All things considered he was relatively lucky. If he'd fractured his shoulder…well, that would have been a whole different ball game and he would have had to face a much longer recovery time."
"He's going to be in considerable pain for the next several days. He may have to get some physical therapy for that shoulder. It will depend on whether there is significant damage to the ligaments and tendons or not. It's also possible it could lock up on him. With all the swelling and bruising right now it's just too difficult to tell. We'll be putting ice packs on it which should help. All I can do for now is keep an eye on it and hope for the best. He'll have to be on light duty for a while and… well… you know how receptive he'll be to that."
"Yes, Jamie," Lee answered. "I think we are all too familiar with how the Admiral dislikes having to be restricted."
"Yes, Lee, about as well as you or Chip like being restricted," Jamie countered with a bit of a smirk on his face. "None of you are what I would call "cooperative" when you wind up under my care."
"Who?... Us Jamie," Chip offered as he had been listening in the whole time.
"At any rate," Jamie continued, "For now all I can do is try to keep him comfortable and see how he progresses."
"Is that everything Jamie?" Lee asked
"Yes, I think so. We'll keep a close eye on him. He'll have to be watched to make sure he doesn't develop any respiratory issues. If anything starts to develop I'll put him on an antibiotic right away to stave off any infections. It wouldn't help if he were to wind up with bronchitis or pneumonia on top of everything else. I took x-rays of his lungs and so far everything looks fairly normal."
"Mind if I have a look at those x-rays?" Lee asked.
"Sure...I don't see why not," Jamie replied.
Because of the close relationship between Harry and Lee, Jamie knew if the situation were reversed that Harry would be wanting to know the full extent of his younger friend's injuries and that Lee wouldn't mind. Jamie had lost count of the number of times that one of these men had stood vigil for the other.
Jamie suddenly switched the subject. "I don't understand why he was out in this god awful storm. Do either of you have any idea why he went out?
Both Lee and Chip looked at one another and shook their heads in a negative response.
"Surely he had to know how bad it was. I just don't get it. What the hell was so important that he would take such a risk?" Jamie finished.
Lee pursed his lips and began to pace a bit. He was waiting for the other shoe to drop when Jamie started in on him and Chip again for going out in the storm and taking such a fool hardy risk.
Just then they heard the man moaning from across the room as Harry began to stir slightly. They all stepped over next to the bed.
Jamie sat down in a chair that he had purposely left sitting next to the bed and prepared to check Harry's vitals. He reached out and took Harry's right hand in his as he felt his pulse.
Harry began to move his head a bit to one side, sort of an involuntary movement. It was as if he was turning to try and see who had a hold of his hand. He winced from the pain that was caused from that little bit of movement. Even though he seemed to be reacting it was obvious that he was still unconscious. Jamie continued to watch his patient but there was no more movement. It would seem for now at least that Harry wasn't ready to wake up just yet.
A few hours later…
Jamie was beginning to get concerned that his patient had not regained consciousness yet. As he entered the room he looked over at where Lee had moved one of the chairs next to the foot of Harry's bed and he sat sound asleep and sprawled out, his legs stretched out in front of him on the floor. Then he turned to see Chip in another chair on the other side of the bed, also asleep in much the same fashion. Jamie just shook his head as he thought to himself they are both going to be plenty stiff and sore after sleeping that way when they could have had the use of a bed instead in one of the other rooms.
He noted that the admiral still lay there in bed not moving and seemed at first appearance to be asleep but the doctor knew better. Jamie decided it was time that he intervene and see if he could get his patient to awaken. He walked over and sat down in the remaining vacant chair next to the bed and took hold of Harry's wrist to check his pulse and watch to see if that got any reaction but there was none. Jamie leaned over in close proximity to Harry's face and began talking to him.
"Harry," Jamie said in a low whisper. "Can you hear me? It's Jamie...I'm right next to you...Lee and Chip are here also. Harry, if you can hear me, give my hand a squeeze."
At first there was no response and then suddenly Jamie felt Harry's grip tighten ever so slightly. Jamie smiled and at the same time let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
Lee suddenly awakened at the sound of Jamie's voice and sat up in his chair as he waited and watched for some reaction from his best friend and mentor.
Jamie noticed the movement and gave the skipper a small grin.
"Good...Harry, you have been hurt in an accident...If you understand, please give me another little squeeze if you can."
This time Harry's response was almost immediate.
"All right...Harry you're doing great. I know you're probably really tired right now but I need you to try to stay with me...Harry can you do that?"
Again Harry gave his hand a very slight squeeze.
"OK. You're doing really good, Harry. Are you feeling a lot of pain?"
Again Harry squeezed his hand.
"OK Harry...Do you want something for the pain?"
Harry began to move his head to one side and suddenly it seemed as if he had been jolted by an excruciating sharp stab of pain. His lips moved a little as he began to utter some sounds.
"Un...uh...N... No..." Harry sputtered out. His eyes were closed and his words nearly incoherent.
Jamie surmised that his patient though not fully conscious was trying to fight his way to consciousness.
Harry grimaced. His face was etched with pain. He moaned and it was obvious that he was in a great deal of pain even though he was not yet fully conscious. Jamie motioned for one of his nearby corpsman, Connor. Jamie spoke to in a very hushed whisper, "Connor, I want you to fill a syringe with 4 ml of morphine sulfate and administer it IV."
Because of the severity of the pain that Harry was in Jamie wasn't about to let him argue against his giving him any medication that might knock him out.
"Yes sir," Connor whispered. Connor moved swiftly toward a nearby medicine cabinet where he filled the syringe as directed then returned and injected the morphine into the IV tubing. That way the drug was administered without unduly disturbing the patient.
"Harry you need to lay still and try not to move around...can you understand me? You need to lay still. I've had Connor give you something for the pain. It's only a low dosage but it should help you to relax and may make you drowsy."
Harry stopped moving just as he heard Jamie's words. His eyes fluttered just a bit. He was trying to fight the drowsy effect of the morphine but it was quickly becoming obvious that he wasn't being very successful.
Harry made some sounds and his mouth moved. It looked like he was trying to say something but all he could do was utter incoherent sounds that didn't really resemble any recognizable words. The morphine worked quickly as Harry lost his battle to awaken. Jamie watched his still form as Harry lay there, his breathing becoming more rhythmic and deeper as he fell into a deeper sleep.
ooOOoo
Several hours later…the night was beginning to give way to daylight.
Outside, the storm's fury had finally subsided and given way to a clear star filled sky with a half-moon low on the horizon as the sun was barely beginning to rise.
Inside the infirmary Harry still slept. His room was littered with sleeping forms of Seaviews officers. The skipper and xo were both sprawled out in nearby chairs that had been pushed close to Harry's bed but not so close as to interfere when any of the corpsmen came into the room to check his vitals.
Jamie hadn't bothered to go to bed either. He had taken a short cat nap at his desk in his office. It was about a quarter to six in the morning when he stirred and walked into the room to check on his patient. His motions of moving about and checking Harry's pulse, his IV, and observing him as he slept managed to arouse Lee from a fitful sleep.
"Jamie?" Lee whispered.
Jamie held a quieting finger to his lips. He quickly finished his observations and leaned down as he spoke in a very hushed voice..." He's doing better considering. He'll be better off than you are if you don't get some more sleep and someplace else…like a bed." Jamie didn't mince words. His hint to the skipper was straight forward and to the point. "Look Lee, the admiral's still asleep. Why don't you go get some more sleep in one of the rooms next door?
"Maybe later Jamie…Wait, did you say he's sleeping?" Lee asked his forehead furrowed with a confused look.
"That's right Lee. He's sleeping. He's not in a coma," Jamie said grinning.
"I remember now. He was starting to come to and Connor gave him something for pain," Lee recalled.
"That's right," Jamie said as he straightened up, then started to turn like he was going to walk out of the room but stopped suddenly as he stood there staring at Chip on the other side of the bed where he had been sleeping awkwardly sprawled in a chair.
The commotion caused Chip to stir. He just looked blurry eyed at his friends as he turned and went back to sleep, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
Jamie just shook his head as he looked at Chip and thought to himself, I swear that Chip can sleep anywhere and he's no worse for wear…I don't know how he does it.
Looking at the smile on Chips face he thought… Wish I knew what he was dreaming about when he woke up. Maybe he'll share, he thought.
Jamie strongly believed that comatose patients even though they are unconscious can hear people and sounds. He is always careful to pick his words when speaking in the presence of an unconscious patient...especially when that patient happens to be the admiral or one of the Seaview command.
"Harry, the pain medicine should have worn off by now. You really should think about waking up. Harry, can you hear me? I have a couple of sleepy officers underfoot that have been waiting all night and I'd really like to get rid of them...Come on Harry...It's time you started waking up."
Harry could hear Jamie speaking to him but his voice sounded far off as though he was speaking through a thick heavy fog. He tried to open his eyes. Harry thought to himself "if I can open my eyes then I'll be able to see Jamie and let him know that I'm OK." Just as his eyes began to flutter open he felt a severe hot stabbing pain in his head. It felt as though he had just stabbed by a red hot poker. He was only able to open each eye to a narrow slit as the glare from the morning sun coming into his room through the nearby windows hit him right between the eyes or so it seemed.
His reaction was immediate. He quickly shut both eyes very tight to block out the light but it was too late. The pain was nearly unbearable as he let out another pain filled moan. Once the pain subsided he tried ever so slightly to shift position. This turned out to be a bad decision as well. The resulting pain in his shoulder and arm was horrific. He bit back the sudden urge to scream. Harry knew if he gave in and screamed that he wouldn't be able to convince Jamie that he was feeling better.
Jamie seeing Harry's reaction to the bright light quickly directed Connors who had been standing nearby to quickly close the blinds on the windows to shut out the bright sunlight. Harry was beginning to fully wake up. He wanted to move but felt like something or someone was restraining him and he couldn't. His eyes fluttered again as they opened.
Harry couldn't recognize anyone because his vision was blurry from the concussion. He blinked several times trying to clear his vision so that he could better see his friends but it wasn't working. He blinked and he blinked some more but his eyes were still a couple of bloodshot blurs.
"Relax Harry," Jamie offered. "Your vision is going to be blurry for a bit. You have a pretty nasty concussion."
Harry raised his right hand up to feel his aching head and immediately recognized that he had a rather large bandage above his right eye.
"Jamie...What ha...happened?" he croaked. His mouth and throat were very dry. He held his hand on the side of his head and grimaced because of the throbbing pain going through his head in sync with each beat of his heart. "H... how long?"
"You've had an accident. Something apparently rather large hit you in the head and knocked you out. When you went down evidently you had the misfortune to hit something hard on the way down. You dislocated your shoulder and you broke your pinky finger. You also smacked a couple ribs in the process and have a couple hairline fractures," Jamie paused for a moment then continued. "You also had a nice bout of hypothermia by the time we found you. As for how long you've been out...I believe that was your next question?"
Harry gave a slight nod in response.
"I'm not sure," Jamie replied. "It would depend I guess on when you were knocked out."
'Uh...Huh...What do you mean? ...I uh...I don't uh...understand."
"Well, I don't know when you left the admin building and I don't know when you were knocked out. I only know the approximate time that Chief Sharkey, Kowalski, and Riley found you lying out on the ground in front of your house," Jamie explained, the tone of his voice beginning to rise...enough so that it awoke the two Seaview officers who had been sleeping in the nearby chairs.
Lee and Chip both began to stretch to relieve themselves of the kinks they developed from their awkward sleeping arrangements.
"Jamie," why didn't you wake me," Lee asked when he suddenly noticed a pair of steel blue eyes staring at him.
"Admiral, thank god, you're awake. How are you feeling?" he asked.
Harry took in the sight of his senior officer's, both looking rather disheveled with their dark clothing which had spots of dried mud especially the knees of their pants which also looked at bit wrinkled, their uncombed hair, unshaven faces and both appeared to have dark circles under their eyes. They looked more like they had been out on a bender rather than waiting in the infirmary for their boss to come to.
"L... Lee...Chip..." Harry managed to get out.
Jamie in the meantime had disappeared and just as quickly reappeared with a small cup filled with shaved ice.
"Here Admiral. I've got some ice for you to suck on. That will help hydrate your mouth and throat. I expect it's a bit dry from the pain medication I had Connors administer last night. Holding onto the cup with one hand he grabbed the control for the bed and raised the head up just enough so that Harry wouldn't choke as the liquid from the melting ice went down his throat. He held the cup up to Harry's mouth so that he could get some of the ice to suck on. The coolness of the liquid going down his throat as the ice melted felt really good and it didn't take long before Harry was more alert and able to talk without sounding so hoarse.
"That's enough for now," Jamie said as he withdrew the cup and set it down on a night stand next to the head of the bed. "We'll have to take it in small steps to make sure you can tolerate the liquid without getting sick," he explained.
"Yes Jamie," Harry said in a patronizing tone. "I know the drill."
"Lee...Chip. What happened to you two? You both look like you've come back from some clandestine ONI mission," Harry said with a slight grin.
"No, it wasn't anything like that sir," Lee began to explain. "We were out in the storm last night trying to get here to the infirmary when we learned you had been hurt and we had to get out and wrestle with a downed tree. I guess we got a bit muddy in the process."
"Who won? Harry asked with a crooked grin.
Lee and Chip each made a quick inspection of their clothing and then at each other.
"Actually I think it was a toss-up sir," Chip responded.
Harry conjured a picture in his mind of his two senior officers struggling with a large tree and began to chuckle under his breath. Lee and Chip both began to chuckle as well.
Jamie decided it was time to break in.
"By the way Harry," Jamie interrupted. "Can you tell me what you were doing out in the storm yesterday? Do you remember what happened?"
The expression on Harry's face turned a bit sober.
"Do I remember?"
"Yes. Do you remember why you went out?" Jamie persisted.
"Why, is it important?" Harry asked.
"Is it important? Of course it's important. Do you remember?" he asked again.
"Well...it was getting rather late as I recall. I think everyone else had already left for the day."
"Yes, go on," Jamie prodded.
"I remember it was getting pretty windy outside and couldn't concentrate on working any longer so I packed up my brief case, grabbed my uniform jacket and cover, put on my all weather coat and headed out after locking up my office. The power was out so I had to take the stairs down to the main floor. I had a bit of trouble getting out the entrance door because of the wind. I think I remember the wind causing it to slam and break the locking mechanism."
"So then what happened?" Jamie asked.
"I was able to get to my car and ...well, then I drove home to my house," Harry claimed.
"And then," Jamie insisted.
"And then...And then what Jamie?" Harry questioned, his voice getting louder. It was obvious he was starting to get a bit agitated with Jamie's incessant questioning.
"Look...I'm starving. My head is pounding like a bass drum. I really could use some coffee. Can't these questions wait until later?" Harry inquired.
The mention of food perked Chip up. "What's for breakfast doc? I could go for hash browns and eggs."
"I could use some coffee too," Lee chimed in.
"It's a bit early. They don't bring breakfast carts around for another hour or so," Jamie hesitated. "All right then, if you like I can hold my questions until after you've gotten something on your stomach and you've had your morning shot of caffeine."
"Thank you," Harry answered in a sarcastic tone.
"If you like I can give you something to take the edge off that headache," Jamie offered.
"Humph," Harry snorted. "No thanks. I'd like to get out of here later today so that we can start surveying the damage from the storm."
"Oh no... UN uh Admiral. Not so quick. Not with the concussion and the broken ribs," Jamie stated emphatically. "Then there's the dislocation of your shoulder to figure in there too."
Harry just glared for a moment.
"That would be entirely too early," Jamie continued. "If anything, when I do decide to release you, it will be straight home. I won't even consider putting you on light duty until you have gotten some rest and the headache begins to subside. No, you'll be restricted to quarters until I say otherwise."
"I think you're rather enjoying this, aren't you doctor?" Harry stated in a very sarcastic tone of voice and refusing to call his CMO by his name to emphasize his increasing state of irritation.
"By the way, if I even suspect that you don't intend to follow my orders I'll just keep you here until "I" determine you are well enough to be discharged and then maybe I'll allow you to be on light duty," Jamie added.
Harry continued to glare at the doctor.
"Connors will be in with your breakfast tray shortly Admiral," Jamie said as he turned to head out of the room. Before he went out the door he turned back towards his patient.
"By the way, that offer for something for the headache still stands if you're interested Admiral."
"Harrumph," Harry snorted, then turned away.
ooOOoo
A bit later that morning…
"I guess I'll have to check with the kitchen so that they bring in trays for you two and some of the others that have been stranded here all night because of the storm," Jamie stated as he glanced at Lee and Chip.
"Others? Who else is here?" Harry asked.
"Sharkey, Kowalski, and Riley are camped out in the break room along with some of the security people."
"What are they all doing here?" Harry wanted to know.
"I made an executive decision and ordered everyone to stay put here after they helped bring you in. I didn't feel it was worth anyone risking bodily harm going back out in the middle of a hurricane so they've all been camped out here. Julie's here too. She helped take care of you on the way in after we got you loaded up in my Land Rover," Jamie finished explaining then exited the room as he went off to make arrangements for food trays for all his extra lodgers.
Meanwhile, Jamie's absence gave Harry a chance to talk to Lee and Chip without the doctor's eavesdropping. He wasn't taking any chances though. He had Chip go check to make sure he wasn't lurking out in the hallway just out of sight. When Chip came back indicating that the good doctor was not around then Harry figured it was OK to proceed but he appeared a bit apprehensive all the same.
"Admiral… what's going on?" Lee asked sensing that something was really bothering Harry.
"Jamie wants to know why I went out during the storm. He's not going to be satisfied until he finds out. Sometimes he's worse than my sister. Between the two of them I'm not sure which one likes bossing me around more."
"Has he said anything?" Lee asked.
"No, but I have the distinct feeling that he is just dying to know so he can go into his whole tirade… about how I'm supposed to know better than to take that kind of risk and what was I thinking. On second thought, I think Jamie can be worse than Edith. He'll try to keep me in here for a week and still not release me for light duty. You know how he relishes being able to control me. That's what he's after, isn't it?" Harry asked as he first made eye contact with Lee and then doing the same with Chip. Then turned back to Lee, looking into those hazel eyes of his to see if there was any hint there on what to expect from his CMO.
The look on both men's faces and the look in their eyes gave Harry his answer.
"Admiral," Lee began then paused.
"Yes Lee," Harry responded as he waited for Lee to continue.
"If you don't mind telling us, just what were you doing out in the storm?" Lee asked.
"Oh no… not you too? Harry asked with a somewhat incredulous look on his face and yet disappointment in the tone of his voice.
"Admiral, after you were found and brought in to the infirmary… When Chip and I came in and Jamie saw us… he flew into a rage and read us the riot act. He had a royal hissy fit and ripped us both a new one because he didn't like the fact that we ignored all the warnings about the storm and went out anyway. He didn't care one iota why we did it either," Lee replied.
"Ya," Chip interjected. "Jamie was really pissed off at both of us for going out when it was really dangerous. He tore into us pretty good."
"Ya, Jamie also asked if the entire Seaview command had lost their collective minds," Lee added.
"You know, you two were probably in the safest place of all being onboard Seaview in the underground pen. So just why did you two risk going out under such dangerous weather conditions?" Harry asked, the tone of his voice raising an octave and an expression of anger on his face.
Harry had a pretty good idea why his closest friend went out with total disregard for all the warnings being broadcast during the storm and dragging Chip along with him. He knew he could bluff both men into talking if they thought he was pissed off at them and so the game began.
"Sir, you know how Lee is," Chip started to explain and then hesitated.
"Yes, go on," Harry ordered.
"Once he heard that you'd been injured and none of us knew how bad, he just couldn't stand waiting aboard Seaview for word. He decided to go to the infirmary."
"Well, that explains what he was doing out there but how about you Mr. Morton?" Harry asked with gruff tone.
"Well, I couldn't very well let him go alone sir. I mean… Well, what if something happened on the way… he got hurt by a falling tree or something… "Chip stopped as he realized that he was beginning to echo some of Jamie's concerns.
"All right… that explains why the two of you took such a risk. However, it doesn't excuse either one of you, you know," Harry stated. He had to admit that both their reasons for going out sounded much better than his own reason for being out in the storm. Especially since he was the one that wound up getting injured.
"So Admiral," Lee interrupted. "We both told you our reasons for being out last night. How about you tell us your reason for going out?"
Harry let out a long breath as he thought for a moment, realizing that his little game was at an end. Then he reluctantly gave Lee and Chip the answer they'd been waiting for but it was not what either of them expected to hear from their boss.
"You're probably going to be somewhat shocked when I tell you what it was," Harry started to explain with some hesitation in his voice.
"Yes, Admiral, go ahead," Lee urged his boss.
"Aristotle."
"What?" Lee blurted out.
Harry, startled by Lee's reaction, his head suddenly came up... as he almost glared at the younger man.
"The cat?" Chip blurted out.
Harry turned his glare on Chip... his lips tightly pursed.
"Begging your pardon sir," Lee interjected. "I'm sorry Admiral. I didn't mean to react that way. I'm just surprised that you decided to go out in such a dangerous storm..."
"For a cat?" Harry finished Lee's statement with a tone of irritation in his voice, looking both at Lee, then at Chip. Before either of them could respond to his question he continued. "Yes, I went out to find the cat," Harry answered and then paused for a moment.
"I was worried about Aristotle. You know, he saved my life when I went off the road that time. I probably would have died if he hadn't…" his voice trailed off momentarily. "I owe him," Harry finished.
The three men were silent as they exchanged glances.
"Admiral, I think I can somewhat understand your feeling of loyalty to Aristotle after that experience," Lee said.
"But that's only part of it Lee. I'm not sure why but I just know deep down...if something happened to Aristotle...if he became hurt or died...his voice trailing off once more. You know it's really odd though. I never really liked cats before that damn accident. All the experiences I ever had with cats prior to that were bad ones. Never in a million years would I have ever thought that I would become attached to a "cat" of all things," Harry explained.
"He's like family," Chip blurted out.
Harry looked at the XO of the Seaview with a somewhat shocked expression.
"What? No… He's a cat, Chip," Harry emphasized.
"Sir, cats...and for that matter dogs too...they have such strong personalities...I had a cat when I was younger. Before I went in the Navy. I named him Simon. He was an orange tabby. I loved that cat and well...he loved me back. He was my fur kid," Chip explained.
"Fur kid," Harry said as he looked away chuckling lightly under his breath which resulted in increased pain in his shoulder and chest. Harry winced in response to the sudden increased pain. Then looked askance at his XO as he was beginning to wonder just how far Chip was going to go with this tale.
Lee noticed right away the admiral seemed to be in more pain and started to get up from his chair, the look of concern etched in his face.
Harry raised a halting hand. "Lee, it's OK...I'm all right...I'm all right," he repeated in a soft voice.
"Admiral, are you sure?" Lee asked.
"Yes Lee. It was just a twinge." Harry then made a sideways glance at Chip. "It would help if people didn't make me laugh...at least not until I've healed up some." He then looked straight at Chip, a small grin playing on his lips.
"My apologies sir but I am serious," Chip began to explain. Each cat has their own unique personality. I remember when I was a kid we had a big tuxedo cat. My folks let me pick a name for him. I named him Sylvester...like the Looney Tunes cartoon character. We also had a small female dog named Amber. She was one of those heinz- fifty- seven mixes that we adopted at the local shelter. Anyway, when Sylvester was still a very young kitten, Amber would mother him. She'd groom him just like he was one of her puppies. It was the darnedest thing. That cat grew up thinking he was a dog. When he got bigger he would sneak into the cabinet where we stored the dog biscuits. He'd squeeze his way in there and use his paws to get the cabinet door open and then reach in the opened bag and pull out a dog treat with his paw dropping it to the floor for the dog. Then he'd start the process all over again, that cat went back and work at it and get another dog biscuit out for himself. I never have seen any other cat do that. Sylvester was really one smart cat."
"Really...the cat snuck treats for himself and the dog," Harry said as he conjured up a mental picture of the scene in his mind. The thought made him smile.
"Those two were real buddies," Chip continued. "They always slept together. They'd curl up and almost wrap their bodies around each other. They were inseparable until the dog got sick and my dad had to put her down. That was a hard thing."
The thought of the dog having to be put down caused Harry's smile to quickly fade.
Chip paused momentarily as he reminisced about that time then continued on.
"I think cats make good companions," Chip said.
"I don't know Chip," Lee interjected. "Isn't it difficult to have a pet like a cat...I mean especially in our situation when we are gone at sea most of the time?" Lee then turned towards the admiral keeping a watchful eye to make sure he wasn't experiencing anymore twinges of pain.
"Admiral, I don't know that you keeping a cat would work if it weren't for your housekeeper that comes in even when you're gone."
"I know Lee but so far it's worked out just fine the last couple years since I brought him home. I guess I really have become attached to Aristotle. He keeps me company."
Harry suddenly reflected on his statement. "My god, I've got a cat keeping me company. That sounds so pathetic."
"I don't think so Admiral," Chip offered, interrupting Harry's thoughts. "The nice thing about cats is they don't argue or criticize. They can get mad though. You have to kind of watch what you say to a cat. Sometimes they do nasty little paybacks if you yell at them. We found that out with my dad. He used to cuss and yell at another cat we used to have. Almost every time it was the same thing. That cat would sneak into his bedroom later on when he was sleeping or when he was gone because his ship was out on deployment. Every time my dad bad mouthed or yelled at that cat he'd sneak in there and go under his side of the bed and crap on the floor. It was kind of funny in a way. Of course my dad never thought it was funny. Neither did my mom.
"Oh my god" Harry exclaimed. He was surprised that a cat would do something like that. "Guess I'll have to watch what I say to Aristotle when he pisses me off. That kind of a payback I can do without,"Harry commented.
"I expect so sir," Chip replied looking a bit sheepish.
That was a side of cats that Harry didn't know about or find very much to his liking.
"Cats are great though. They're affectionate. They give unconditional love. They're pretty low maintenance too. You can have one of those automatic food and watering bowls. You can leave a cat alone for a few days so long as they're box trained and they can fend for themselves, whereas you can't do that with a dog."
"Oh, and for what it's worth sir...I'm not so sure that cats are all that independent. Simon got so he was very dependent and he was a smart little bugger too. I'd crook my finger beckoning him to come. That hand gesture and direct eye contact. He'd just come right to me. I didn't have to say a word or call his name. People say they understand you by the tone of your voice but I think it's more than that. I think they understand words. I know Simon sure seems to. I watch him and I can see by his eyes that he's actually thinking. I don't think I's all by body language and voice tone. I really do think cats understand exactly what you say a lot of the time."
"Oh come now Chip," Harry started. "I don't doubt that cats are smart but don't you think you're taking this a bit too far?"
"No sir," Chip answered back right away.
Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. This was a side of Chip Morton he had never seen before. He was beginning to think that just maybe his exec was pulling his leg and that this was nothing more than some sort of subterfuge to keep his mind preoccupied. He observed the reaction on Lee's face. He just sat there listening to the conversation with a stone poker expression on his face.
"Lee, you've been listening to what Chip has been saying," Harry said. What's your take on all of this?
"I can't really say admiral. I've never owned a cat and I never had any real exposure to cats when I was growing up."
Harry suddenly had a mental picture of Aristotle…that big Siamese cat and just how he sometimes would look at him with those big blue eyes of his. The more Harry thought about Aristotle and what Chip had said about his own cat. Harry gave a slight shake of his head, dismissing the whole idea. Then Harry snapped back to the reality of the moment as he felt a rather strong twinge of pain which did not go unnoticed by either Lee or Chip.
"Sir…," Lee began then suddenly stopped when he saw those blue steel eyes momentarily glare back at him. Then Harry's expression softened as he pondered the idea of a scientific study based on the ability of humans being able to communicate with cats and dogs. He wondered if anyone had conducted any sort of study or experiments. Then he started to think about Aristotle again and the circumstances under which they both met. Then like watching a movie playing in his mind he rewound to the events of the previous evening.
He couldn't explain why. All Harry knew is that he had an irresistible urge to go and find Aristotle. He went out in a major storm with little regard for his own safety. For whatever reason he ignored his usual better judgement and logic. Going outside, he was leaving the safety of the admin building which by far was a more secure and sturdy structure that could withstand high sustained wind speeds much higher than the house or his car for that matter. Harry's ability to think was getting clearer.
Not that it really helped. No matter how he tried to rationalize it in his mind he could not justify his reason for going outside during the height of the storm to make sure that Aristotle was OK. It just didn't make any sense to him why he had taken such a risk and for of all things a "cat". If he had gone out to rescue someone in distress it would have made sense but to rescue a cat? Jamie's going to think I've really lost my mind, he thought. After what Chip said about his cats...maybe there was something to it. He had definitely become attached to Aristotle. He was having a hard time figuring it out. The only thing that made sense to Harry is that he had indeed become attached to Aristotle and he would have a difficult time living with himself if he allowed something to happen to that cat without at least trying to make sure he was OK.
Before Aristotle became a member of Harry's household he had great disdain for cats for the only other experiences he's had with cats were both bad. On one of the occasions he had been severely clawed on his back and neck by a semi feral cat. Because of that he had little use for cats of any kind.
Then along came Aristotle. Harry was driving a big Buick sedan. He'd been driving along the infamous coast highway, HWY 1 that winds its way along the California coast. There had been intermittent rain showers in the area after a long dry period causing the road surface to be a bit slick. Harry spied a doe and her young fawn next to the highway just as they were beginning to cross the road. When Harry braked to avoid hitting the fawn he hit a slick oily spot in the road and the car went spinning out of control going over and down a somewhat steep embankment. The car rolled several times and finally came to a stop upright on its wheels under a cluster of trees against a large boulder down in a ravine.
Harry had hit his head and was knocked unconscious. He later came to after an extended period of time to find a scrawny malnourished Siamese cat sitting snuggled on his chest. Harry remembered he didn't like cats and tried to shoo the cat away. His attempts to get rid of the cat were in vain and the cat remained snuggled upon Harry's chest for most of the night. At one point Harry was able to determine the cat was a male. He had a dirty red collar around his neck. Harry carefully removed it. He figured it might contain information about his owners. The only thing he found was a name in semi worn silver lettering. "Aristotle". When Harry spoke the name, the cat responded with a loud "Mrrow". So here he had this cat that just showed up from god knows where and spent that cold wet and drizzly night snuggled on his chest inside the mangled wreckage of the Buick sedan until help finally came along some hours later after the accident occurred. It was lucky for Harry that the car wound up being right side up and that Aristotle had managed to cause a couple of off duty paramedics that happened along on the road above to stop and follow him down the hill to where the car rested among the trees otherwise Harry could have been there unnoticed for days and most likely would not have survived the accident.
When Harry thought back about that car accident and how Aristotle stuck around, even though he had tried to shoo the cat off more than once and the favorable outcome of that whole episode, in his mind he began to analyze what Chip had said about his cats and being able to communicate…putting it all together Harry was beginning to think there was more to it than just the typical relationship between pets and their humans that most people took for granted. Harry made a mental note that when he recovered from this latest mishap that just perhaps this would be a good subject to do some in depth research on.
Harry had Aristotle for at least a couple years now since the car accident. Aristotle has been a fairly constant sleeping companion except on those rare times when one of his lady friends stayed overnight. On those occasions he would ban the cat from his bedroom. He found it unnerving to see the cat watching him with those big blue eyes of his during those times when he was being intimate with a woman...kind of like he thought the cat to critiquing his male prowess.
Looking at the expression in Aristotle's eyes Harry would swear he could see the wheels in that cat's mind working. Aristotle could be painfully vocal when he felt like it. The last time Harry allowed the cat to remain in the room, he and his date were in the thralls of love making when all of a sudden the cat let out with a very loud and guttural yowl, almost like Aristotle was disapproving. Apparently he didn't like that his human was showing someone else "so much" attention. Totally disrupted Harry got up and very efficiently expelled the cat from the room, shutting the door, then returned to bed but by then the damage was already done and the aura of romance was gone.
"Ah...hum," Jamie cleared his throat as he stood unnoticed in the doorway to Harry's room.
Harry and the others suddenly turned their attention to the man standing there.
"Just... um, how long have you been standing there Jamie?" Harry asked looking a bit apprehensive.
"Awhile. I was getting pretty engrossed listening to Chip talking about his cookie mooching cat.
"Those were dog treats," Chip interrupted.
"Call them what you want Chip," Jamie answered back. "In our house we call them "cookies". Our little female…she's a Yorkie and Julie named her "Barbie". I can tell you for sure that our little Barbie loves her cookies.
That was a pretty interesting cat tale you were telling. Maybe too long. Admiral, correct me if I'm wrong. You went out in the middle of the worst storm to hit Santa Barbara in... Oh...twenty years...to check on the cat?" Jamie asked with an incredulous look on his face. "You risked life and limb to check on a cat," Jamie continued sounding a bit distant as he was having difficulty believing his boss would be that irresponsible about his own safety.
"All right Jamie," Harry started. "You obviously have something you need to get off of your chest so out with it," he ordered.
"Harry, have you lost your frigging mind?" Jamie questioned, his voice rapidly rising a few octaves. "I honestly don't know what to say."
"I don't buy that Jamie. You always have in mind what you want to say so come on. Out with it," Harry replied, his voice also rising.
"I already gave these two hell for going out during the hurricane," Jamie momentarily glared at Lee and Chip then quickly turned to glare at the admiral. "I can semi understand them going out in the middle of the storm being as they're younger and tend to take foolish risks but I'm totally stumped that someone with your knowledge, your scientific abilities, and logic would ignore everything to go out in hurricane force winds to rescue…a cat?" Jamie said with fire in his eyes and a look of total astonishment on his face. Jamie continued his tirade as he paced back and forth, stomping his feet on the floor as he went back and forth in front of the men.
"I just don't get it. Of all times to decide to play fireman," he hollered.
Harry just laid there in bed watching the CMO rant and pace until he finally wound down.
"Jamie… "Harry began to speak.
Jamie suddenly stopped and turned to look straight into Harrys eyes.
"I know it isn't one of the smarter choices I've made in a long time. But… "
"But what?" Jamie interrupted.
"If it hadn't been for Aristotle staying with me when I had that car accident and later stopping the paramedics you know I probably wouldn't be here now."
"Yes, but that doesn't make up for you going out… "Jamie stopped as Harry raised a hand.
"Jamie, you said it yourself… Aristotle saved my life that night. I still don't know how or why he came to me but he kept me from getting severe hypothermia that night."
"So," Jamie responded.
"So, the fact is I owe him. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I hadn't at least looked for him."
"I get that, but admiral it isn't right that you went out risking your life or injury based on a feeling."
"Jamie, you know as well as I do…how many lives would be lost if we didn't go looking despite the risk to ourselves aboard Seaview? Harry asked with a stern look in his eyes.
"Harry…I can't believe you are comparing the loss of a human life to a cat," Jamie responded.
"Jamie, are you telling me that you or Julie wouldn't mourn the loss of your little Yorkie?"
Jamie pondered the question for a moment then began to shake his head to the affirmative.
"If your Yorkie had been out in the hurricane, wouldn't you have gone out looking for her?" Harry asked.
"OK Harriman, I get it. You make a good argument. I just wish you would be more careful.
"Both Lee and Chip were shaking their heads in an affirmative response.
"I thought I was being careful. I managed to dodge a lot of loose stuff blowing around. I almost made it too. It just happened as I stepped up on the porch of my house that right at that moment a strong gust came up knocking me a bit off balance and I'm guessing that's when something hit me in the head, knocking me out. I don't know how long I laid there until Chief Sharkey found me." Harry explained.
'By the way, where is Sharkey?" he asked.
"I ordered him and his men to stay put. They are bunked down in one of the rooms down the hall," Jamie answered.
"That was pretty sound thinking on your part Jamie. So it would appear that I owe the men for going out and finding me?" Harry said as he turned his gaze toward Lee and Chip. "So, what does a person have to do around here to get some breakfast?" Harry asked with a grin as he turned his attention back to Jamie.
"They should have been making their rounds by now," Jamie said as he looked at the time on his watch.
Just then there was the sound of the breakfast cart coming down the hall as the orderly unloaded each breakfast tray and was delivering them a couple doors down the hallway. The smell of fried hash browns, eggs, sausage, toast, and coffee made Harry's stomach growl.
The men ate their breakfasts with relish. They each refilled their coffee cups as they discussed some of the damages and the clean-up work that the maintenance department needed to get started on as soon as possible. Lee and Chip would see to the budget. Sharkey would be working with maintenance and getting Southern California Edison going on repairing downed lines and restoring power on the institute grounds. There would be a busy work schedule for the upcoming weeks getting everything back in working order.
Harry raised a hand telling Chip to halt his explanation. "All right, I get it. I guess we all made some bad choices yesterday. The main thing is that everyone is OK so I suggest we drop the entire subject," Harry ordered as he stared at each person in the room. "I think you two need to find a couple empty bunks and go to bed and get some real sleep. I expect there will be a lot of cleanup work that needs to be done once everything settles down some," Harry ordered. "What do you say Jamie?"
"I think that sounds like an excellent idea sir," Jamie responded with a small grin.
"Jamie, if you think I'm doing OK I think that order goes for you as well," Harry said as he stared at Jamie with a small grin beginning to play on Harry's lips.
"Yes sir, you are doing fine. May I suggest that you get some more sleep as well?"
"Of course Will," Harry replied addressing Doc Jamison by his first name instead of the usual nickname everyone liked to address him by. They have a relationship that has spanned over several years and with all the near death mishaps that Jamie has managed to pull the admiral through, the two have formed a close friendship as well. Their friendship is a close second to that of his best and closest friend Lee Crane.
It was only on very rare occasions that Harry addressed the ships doctor by his first name in the presence of others. He let his guard slip down a bit which was also evidence that he was feeling in a fairly good mood and was also thankful that Jamie had pulled him through another medical issue as well.
Harry had to admit to himself that he was feeling a bit worn out after everything and was looking forward to a more restful sleep now that he was pretty sure that everyone had come through the storm OK and most everyone had gone off to get some well-deserved rest as well.
ooOOoo
Jamie kept a watchful eye on his patient. Harry was doing well enough that he was released from the infirmary before the week was out following his admission. His house took a lot of repair with having to replace a good many shingles blown from the roof and several broken windows. Thankfully, Chief Sharkey put it on high priority and had seen to it that all the repairs were completed and everything was ship shape and ready by the time Harry was released from the infirmary so that he wouldn't have to stay somewhere else while he continued to recuperate from his injuries. Harry was glad to learn that Aristotle had managed through the storm quite well. He'd nestled in the safety of the back corner of the large walk-in closet burrowed in some extra bedding stored there for unexpected guests. On his arrival home Harry was greeted at the door by his house maid and cook.
"Welcome home Senor Nelson," Maria greeted him with a broad smile. "It is so good to see you feeling well."
"Thank you, Maria. It feels good to be home. I hope you and your family fared well through the storm and everyone is well."
"Oh si, Senor Nelson. It is kind of you to ask. Everyone is fine. Our house lost some of the roof. We also lost a cherry and an apple tree in the backyard but otherwise we all made it through just fine. No one was hurt and the children are all safe and that is what matters."
"You are right Maria. Everyone being safe is what really matters. Everything else is replaceable. But I can't allow my cook to have a leaky roof if it starts raining again. Let me send over some of my men to see to the repairs on your house."
"Oh no, Senor Nelson," Maria replied. "That isn't necessary. My husband Manuel and the older boys, they have already seen to the repairs of the house. They went to the local nursery and purchased another apple and cherry tree. They are already planted in the place of the trees we lost. Thank you, so very much for such a gracious offer though."
"Well if you need anything Maria…anything at all, please let me know.
"Mrrow."
"Oh there you are," Harry said as he caught sight of his big Siamese cat. "You don't look any worse for wear," He thought.
Aristotle greeted him in usual fashion as the cat slowly rubbed himself against Harry's khaki colored trousers purring loudly as his rubbing left light tan colored hairs which blended so closely with the light colored fabric that the cats shedding on Harry's pants went unnoticed by most of his coworkers.
Aristotle continued rubbing against the leg of his human while Harry shrugged off his uniform jacket and handed it to Maria. She neatly hung it in the entry way walk in closet as Harry headed down the hallway to his study with Aristotle following closely behind. He walked over and picked up some of the accumulated mail that sat in a tray on top of the desk.
As Harry stood there, flipping through each piece of mail Aristotle quietly jumped up onto the desk top and strutted in a small circle purring and making short sounds that almost sounded like he was trying to speak. Trying desperately to get attention, all his efforts were going unnoticed as Harry continued flipping through the mail until he came across a post card.
Turning it over, with a quick glance he immediately recognized the handwriting as his sister Edith's and deposited the card in his shirt pocket. "Mrrow," Aristotle let out another meow as he loudly purred. Harry gave the Siamese a small grin as he dropped the rest of the mail back into the tray, deciding that the mail could wait until after he spent some quality time with his cat.
"Miss me old fella?" Harry said with a soft chuckle under his breath and a smile as he gave the cat a quick couple of reassuring pets from head to tail.
"Looks like we both made it through the storm without suffering too much damage." Harry made eye contact with Aristotle as he softly scratched the cat behind the ears with his fingers. He then turned to head over to the mirrored cabinet that hid the wet bar and his special brand of scotch.
Harry pulled a short glass from the cabinet and plunked a couple ice cubes into the glass from the ice bucket that sat on the main shelf of the wet bar. He was pleased that it had been sufficiently stocked with ice which meant that Maria knew in advance that he was coming home today from the infirmary.
Aristotle found himself a seat on a nearby hard stool. He purred loudly as he appeared to knead the surface of the seat with his two front paws. It almost seemed like the cat was smiling as he continued kneading the stool with his big paws. It was obvious that Aristotle was happy to have his human home at long last as he stayed close and shadowed Harry's every move.
Harry unscrewed the cap from a bottle of his favorite scotch and poured a good amount of the amber brew in the glass. Recapping the bottle, he placed it back in the cabinet. Picking up his drink he turned and walked back out to the main living room with Aristotle hot on his heels.
Harry stepped over to the sliding glass doors that led out to the immense deck behind the house. It was a fairly warm afternoon and he'd had enough of being cooped up indoors at the infirmary the last several days. He unlatched and slid the door open. Stepping out on the deck, the cool salt breeze off the ocean and the afternoon sun felt wonderful as he inhaled deeply, then exhaled. Being out back of his house on the hill top with the expansive view of the ocean before his eyes, it was the next best thing to being on the flying bridge of the Seaview as she sailed along on the ocean surface on a calm and sunny day in the open sea. It brought to mind an old Navy saying, "Fair winds and following seas".
Harry sat down in one of the nearby deck chairs and propped his feet up on the matching wooden ottoman. Almost immediately Aristotle jumped up on Harry's lap and starting gently kneading with his big paws. Once he was satisfied he quickly nestled down into a big tight furry ball, all four paws beneath his body and his tail wrapped around him as far as it would go. He sat there contentedly purring and gazing up at Harry with those big beautiful blue eyes and in his own way almost appeared to be smiling. Aristotle seemed very happy indeed.
"Well Ari," Harry said.
"Mrrow," the cat responded back as he continued to purr.
Ari is what he called the cat when others weren't around or within ear shot. He didn't really want people to start calling him and the cat "Harry and Ari". Without giving it any real thought, Harry just started calling him Ari, a shorter version of the cat's name and it sort of stuck. He figured it was a good nickname. Calling him Ari… that was between him and the cat. No one else needed to know.
He sat his drink down on the small side table next to his chair then proceeded to pull the post card from his pocket. Looking at the front of the postcard Harry saw a familiar light house scene pictured on the front. Looking Aristotle in the eyes and grinning he said, "Shall we see what Edie's been up to?"
When Harry was alone with the cat he often talked to Aristotle. He sometimes had the distinct feeling the cat understood his every word. At times he spoke to the cat almost like he was a real person. At times, Harry would talk about a theory he was working on. He would talk it through out loud, then ask the cat what he thought of the idea. It was uncanny how the cat would actually respond. Talking it through with the cat became a good thinking tool and helped Harry work through some pretty tough problems.
Before he started to read the contents of the post card he picked up his glass and took a long sip of the amber liquid. With a satisfied sigh he set the glass back on the table and began to read the card out loud to Aristotle. Harry often liked to sit and stare into the cat's' eyes. They were such a beautiful shade of blue like a couple of blue topaz gems. They were so blue that in a way they reminded him of the ocean on a clear sunny day. He found the cat's' eyes strangely fascinating and almost hypnotic. He wondered what thoughts went on behind those gorgeous blue cat eyes. He found the time spent with Aristotle very relaxing.
Harry continued to recoup after his arrival home. Jamie made several visits and checked on him almost daily. Jamie felt Harry was doing really well and being in a generous mood he allowed Harry to go on light duty a couple weeks following his discharge. By the third week he was back to full duty and kept busy surveying the damage and the status on the repairs being made.
A couple weeks later… most of the repair work from the storm had been completed. Harry watched the bustling activity on the dock from Seaview's' large windows as he sat on the edge of the conference table in the front porch of the boat as cargo was being loaded and final preparations were being finished as the crew was preparing to head out on their first mission since the big storm. He rose to stand as he turned and walked over to the chart table where Lee and Chip were going over notes and checking over the course and speed once they started clearing the dock and heading to their destination.
Harry had almost fully recovered from his injuries and had long since been cleared for regular duty by CMO Jamison. He was just glad to be able to switch his concentration away from the repairs and be back aboard Seaview and going out to sea again on another mission. Though it was a nice break to be home and spend some time in his house his first love was being at sea aboard Seaview. He preferred being away from the daily business of running the institute and left that task in the capable hands of his very competent assistant Angie and the other secretaries.
"All stores are finished being loaded and checked. All top hatches are closed, "Chief Sharkey announced over the ships' PA system.
Grabbing the mic at the chart table, Lee responded," Very well Chief. Report to the control room."
"Aye, Aye, Skipper," Sharkey replied.
"The crew is finished loading Admiral," Lee said as he turned toward Harry.
"Very well Lee," Harry responded. "Everything's done then let's head out."
"Aye Admiral." Turning his gaze to his friend and XO of the boat, "Make preparations to get underway Mr. Morton."
"Aye Skipper," Chip replied. Taking the mic from Lee as he handed it over to his exec; pushing the transmit button he gave the order over the control room PA system. "Mr. O'Brien, make preparations to get underway."
"Aye sir," O'Brien replied from his station near the periscope island. With mic in hand he barked the order, "Make all preparations to get underway."
O'Brien watched as the crew went through the usual motions as he relayed the necessary orders. He could feel the vibrating hum under his feet as the sub's engines came alive and the shifting angle of the Seaview as she began to pull away from the dock and begin movement to the point where she started to slowly ease down as the orders were given to dive the boat along with heading, speed, and depth.
The remaining dock workers watched as the great silver gray submarine disappeared from view as it quickly disappeared below into the secret underwater tunnel leading out to the Pacific Ocean. First the top deck disappeared and then those great Cadillac like fins on the back along with the conning tower until all that remained was the calm dark waters in the great underground cavern. Nelson and the crew of the Seaview, once again, were headed out on another undersea expedition, not knowing what adventures or new discoveries might await them on their next voyage to the bottom of the sea.
The End
Author's notes: The Siamese cat Aristotle is a character borrowed from another Voyage fanfiction author Linda Elliott. The sequence by which Harry and Aristotle met are borrowed from her story Harry and Aristotle written 12/3/03 and previously posted to the Uncharted Waters website. I used it to explain how Harry came to own his cat and how their relationship was bonded.
Voyage to The Bottom of the Sea and her main characters belong to Irwin Allen and the respective production companies.
I am only borrowing the characters and no copyright infringement is intended.
*** Appendix research:
Tympanic Thermometer that measures temperature of the tympanum by infrared measurement - Wikipedia
Santa Barbara Utility – Southern California Edison – Wikipedia
Egress Hatch reference – Seaview 50th Anniversary Tribute to Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea by William E. Anchors, Jr. and Frederick Barr
Symptoms and signs of hypothermia – Wikipedia and various medical webpages
Also consulted with my husband who used to be a Hospital Corpsman in the US Navy and is now retired.
Naval Base Subic Bay was a major ship-repair, supply, and rest and recreation facility of the Spanish Navy and subsequently the United States Navy located in Olongapo, Zambales, Philippines. until it was closed in 1992- Source Wikipedia
Wireless key entry systems first came into use with the 1980 Thunderbird -source Wikipedia
Keri Teach – All Rights Reserved.