Lee spent the next hour becoming increasingly uncomfortable in his bent over position. Meanwhile, his thumb and forefinger turned bluer and grew more numb. Lee obsessively checked his watch, counting down the minutes until they neared Seaview. Meanwhile, Chip slept like a baby. Lee couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. However, in just a few more minutes, Chip would be awoken by the buffeting. Then it would be Chip's show to finish.
Lee played out the scenario to come detail by detail. He'd countdown to deceleration and prepare himself mentally for one more round of buffeting. The vibrations would be worse this time, as they decelerated from Mach 3 to a modest 200 m.p.h.. After that, they'd land in extremely rough seas and attempt to dock in a moving target impacted by enormous ocean swells. Lee hadn't quite figured out how that was going to work yet, although he had an idea or two. Then there would be the effort - by others, not him - to replace the pump and relays in those same swells and roils. Nope, nothing fun lay ahead. Yet Chip, bless him, slept like a baby.
An alert from the autopilot broke off Lee's internal litany and let Lee know that the time had arrived to brace himself for the transition to subsonic speed. For nearly forty seconds, FS1 buffeted, violently at first, then easing, then back to violent before the final easing, during which time Lee cried out some choice words, using language that he always strived to avoid for decorum's sake. As the ride smoothed out, Lee panted to his friend and Exec. "Yours to finish now, Chip."
Chip didn't answer.
From Lee's miserable bent over position, Lee eased his head back to look at Chip. Lee had seen Chip sleep through some rough patches, but he couldn't conceive of Chip sleeping through that turbulence and Lee's cursing.
"Chip, what's the matter with you? Wake up!" Chip didn't respond. The most Lee could do was kick out at Chip with his right leg. He made minimal contact with Chip's left. Chip seemed to stir, but barely. Lee kept shouting at Chip even as he began a series of steps he dreaded. Using his left hand, Lee unstrapped his restraints. He awkwardly reached across his body for the autopilot controls and stabilized the ship in a holding pattern.
"Chip, please, talk to me!"
Nothing.
"You better not be faking, buddy," Lee railed as he reached back to the left side of his seat and pulled the hacksaw free. The duct tape came with it, sticking to the outside of Lee's left hand and wrist. The tape twisted and pulled on Lee's hairs as he struggled to slip the hacksaw into position between the console and his attached hand. "Better make this quick, Lee," he encouraged himself.
Lee sawed confidently through the top of the duct tape, knowing he wouldn't hit the shank of the hook for a bit. He didn't think it would hurt much, but then he didn't anticipate how badly instinct would make him try to pull the hand off the shank. He had to fight that.
"Last chance to make me not do this, Chip!" No reply from Chip meant that Lee had to initiate sawing the hook shank. Fast or slow, he debated, knowing fast would hurt more but thinking it would be over quicker leaving less time to fall prey to pulling the hand off the hook. After a timid start, he went for fast. More choice words were hollered. The jerking from the sawing hurt badly enough, but the snapping off of the shank caused it to shift some, sending a flame of pain radiating. Lee cursed again.
Free, finally. Unfortunately, the impaled hand didn't feel better for having been liberated. If anything, it hurt worse from all the movement. Lee briefly looked at the front of the wound. The gauze on the front side had fallen to the floor. Not much blood had been absorbed on it. A fresh patch of blood flowed over a semi-congealed one around the shank. "No time," Lee said aloud. He pulled the gauze off the floor, placed it over the shank which barely protruded from the wound, and pushed the remnants of the sliced duct tape around the front of his hand hoping to keep the gauze in place.
"Chip!" Lee called again.
Receiving no answer, Lee arose and moved over to Chip. He shook Chip's shoulder as he looked at his face. He wasn't sleeping and he looked a bit bluish.
"Damn." Lee pulled the regulator from his own mouth and awkwardly replaced Chip's regulator with Lee's. Lee stepped to the back of Chip's chair. The regulator tube had pulled nearly completely away from the tank. Lee pushed it back on. He stepped back around to check on Chip. His color had improve dramatically. Lee slipped Chip's former regulator over his own mouth and nose, took a deep breath, then took it off and tried to rouse Chip.
"Come on, buddy. I can't finish this on my own. I need you." Moments passed without a reaction. "Chip, I'm serious here. Come on. Wake up. We have miles to go before we sleep."
"Whaaa, what's with the poetry?" Chip slurred.
Lee sighed in relief. Then he realized he wasn't taking in air himself. He popped the mask back on and took another deep breath. "Your regulator tube fell off and you nearly asphyxiated."
"Oh. Lee, you're free. You didn't pull it out, did you?"
"It's still bloody in there."
"Speaking of there, where are we?"
"Near the boat. Get yourself together because docking isn't going to be easy."
"Right. How are you doing?"
"Fine."
"Looking forward to seeing Will for a change?"
"Get me there and we'll discuss it further."
"Right, miles to go before we sleep."
"One of us did."
"Sorry that I almost died and deprived you of a good rest."
"I didn't mean it that way."
"I know. Do we have Seaview's coordinates yet?"
"No. I've been kind of distracted. Would you call in?"
"My pleasure." Chip leaned forward for the mike. "Maybe it would be smart for us to switch regulators back before you sit down," Chip said as he watched Lee move back to his chair, struggling to maneuver the regulator behind his chair left-handed.
"Good idea." Lee handed over the regulator to Chip, who handed the other back once Lee was seated. "I have discovered that I'm not quite entirely competent left-handed.
"Is this where I make a joke about when you ever are 'entirely competent?'"
"Skip it and call Seaview. The sooner we get aboard, the better for everyone."
