36.
Chet, Bill and Kelly jumped off the edge of the plane to trudge over towards the pair that had just alighted from the helicopter. Kelly smiled widely when he recognized one of the rescuers to be Mr. Hardy.
"Hey, boss. Welcome to the party!" He said as Mr. Hardy approached. Mr. Hardy, typically not one to show public affection hugged his friend and turned to hug Bill and Chet.
"It's a miracle you all are alive!" Fenton Hardy said. His eyes searched the three in front of him to determine if he was going to be in for bad news. "Are you three alright? What about the others?!" He asked with a note on anxiety. Kelly smiled to his boss and put an arm around him.
"Joe is fine, sir. Just a little banged up but otherwise fit as far as I can tell! The others are all alive as well. Thanks to this guy." He said gesturing towards Chet. "Some kind of electrical thing caused the plane to lose much of its power and knocked Joe out when we were flying through a storm. Chet here took control and landed us!" He said in his brief account. Fenton Hardy looked wide eyed. He turned to Chet and hugged him again.
"Chet, there are simply no words." He said with his voice chocking up. Chet smiled to him.
"really, sir. It was nothing but luck and the grace of God that helped us get down alive." He said as they walked towards the plane. Mr. Hardy gestured to Captain Stewart.
"This is Captain Stewart. He has spotted your fire! Lucky you all did that!" He said. Captain Stewart smiled to the others. Fenton made brief introductions as they climbed up on the downed plane's fuselage.
"Good to meet you all." Stewart said. "Let's get inside and let me take a look at you." The pilot and Mr. Hardy followed the others down through the opening into the plane.
Upon seeing his father drop down from the top of the plane into the cabin, Joe looked up excitedly!
"Dad! Is that really you?" He exclaimed with a look of relief on his face. Tony, Callie and Iola all jumped up to meet the detective and the pilot.
"Yes, Joe. Captain Stewart and I saw the smoke when doing a search in the signal zone. We came up this way because a pair of campers called in and said they heard several dozen gunshots." He said. He looked above to the ceiling of the aircraft noting the many bullet holes in the aircraft which were apparently made to create openings for air. "Which I assume came from here." He finished. He bent down to examine his son. Stewart sat down and took out a medical kit. Joe grinned weakly.
"Yeah, good ole Chet decided he could open the windows that way and got us some much needed air before the ice sealed us in." He said. Mr. Hardy nodded. He looked over at Chet.
"Chet, you've earned your vacation with pay yet again. Thank you!" He said. He allowed Stewart to examine Joe.
"How are you feeling, son?" The captain asked. Joe nodded slowly.
"Pretty weak and sore as I've ever been. I got banged around like a pinball when this thing hit." He said. Stewart nodded while he used a miniature flashlight to look at Joe's pupils. He looked to Fenton Hardy.
"Seems ok, but I think he should definitely get a full body scan to make sure everything on the inside is intact." He said. He looked at the others. "Probably wise to run them all through the hospital just to be safe." He stood up and took out a long swab and a couple bottles of medicine. He walked over to Chet and examined his cut on the side of his head.
"Let me clean that up for you." He said. "By the way, that is one hell of a landing job. You managed to slide this thing between a bunch of nasty trees and basically take a sled ride down the side of the foothill. Almost anywhere else and it would not have been a pretty picture." He said. Chet winced as the captain applied an antiseptic to his cut.
"Well, sir. I am not much of a pilot and I think I just got lucky. It was dark that night. I just as easily could have slammed into a mountain rather than taken the sleigh ride into a snow bank." He said not feeling very comfortable with the idea that he had saved anyone. Callie stood next to him. While she sensed he was uncomfortable with the attention, she put her arm around him and kissed him on the cheek. Stewart smiled.
"Well, you might want to get used to it. You have pretty girls coming up to you and kissing you." He said with a chuckle. Chet reddened.
"Well, this is my fiancé, Callie. She is pretty much entitled to kiss me as often as she likes." He said a little embarrassed. Stewart again smiled.
"Well, you are a lucky man. I am so happy to be here and that we found you all had survived. Any landing that you can walk away from is a good one." He said as he finished applying a bandage to Chet.
Stewart took out his hand radio which worked with the radio in the copter.
"CAR 388 base. This is CAR 29er. Over." He said.
"Go ahead, 29er. We read you. Over." The voice came back.
"Be advised the status 3 was from the downed aircraft. I am happy to report all souls on board have survived. They seem a bit roughed up and medivac will be welcome to help transport. Over."
"29er, we read and acknowledge. Be advised medivac is in route as well as forestry and CSP and County. Over."
"Understood. 29er will advise. Over and out." He said and placed his hand radio back on his belt. Joe and his dad were sitting and exchanging their stories. Captain Stewart cleared his throat.
"Folks, we have a medivac in route as well as other officials. We are going to do our best to get you out of this icebox as soon as possible. In the meantime…" He said pulling up another field pack. "If anyone is hungry, I have a good supply of protein bars and electrolytic beverages. Can I venture to guess you all are hungry?" He asked with a grin. Captain Stewart was almost attacked by the group as he started pulling out emergency food rations from his survival pack. The refreshments were greatly needed and appreciated. Soon, they were sitting as content as possible given the circumstances.
Fenton looked up to his son after listening to a lengthy account of what they had gone through since departing Bayport. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"You know, Joe. What sticks with me is when you said the plane was unsecured when you arrived at the airport. I can never recall a time when Jack or myself has ever found the plane unsecured. Even when it had an order to be prepped, the security was always top notch. But I guess we won't know much until the state police and of course the NTSB get their chance to investigate. I am already troubled by the fact that the plane's ELT was a refurbished unit reinstalled from an older aircraft." He went on to explain what Captain Stewart had explained to him and the reason why pinpointing the plane proved to be more difficult than anticipated.
Chet cleared his throat and looked up.
"So, Mr. Hardy. This may seem a silly question, but can you tell us where the hell we are at? We haven't had a cell signal here, obviously. I was wondering how far off our target we were." He asked. Mr. Hardy gave a half smile.
"Well, Chet. You are at the base of the Red Table range. Which is probably about fifty miles southwest of Vail, Colorado to give you a more well known reference point. Which, by the way, is where Frank hopefully is about now." He said. "I need to get a hold of him as soon as we can, Captain. He is probably worried to death." Captain Stewart nodded.
"We will get you in touch when we are airborne, sir." He said. A few moments later the sound of another chopper came into earshot. Stewart looked up with a smile. "That should be our medivac chopper." He looked down at Joe. "I suggest Joe and his companion…" He started with a gesture to Iola. "Ride in the medivac and they should be able to take you in a straight shot to Denver." Joe and Iola nodded weakly. Fenton Hardy looked up.
"I will go with them." He said firmly. Wanting to ensure he escorted Joe to the hospital so he could get checked out completely. Captain Stewart nodded.
"Sounds fine. You will excuse me while I go out and brief the other unit. We should be ready to get out of here within fifteen minutes." He said. Fenton Hardy nodded and Captain Stewart made his way back up through the exit door of the plane. He looked upon the weary group.
"All I can say is that I am beyond words. I was really holding out every bit of hope for you all to be safe. But when you hear of a plane crash, well, you think the worst. I am just happy everyone is safe. We will get you all to a hospital to get checked out and then back home to rest and recuperate." He said. Chet heaved a sigh.
"Home." He said simply with a smile on his face. He looked at Callie. "How does that hit you, Angel?" He asked as she rested her head on his chest. She smiled. Tears had been running down her face ever since Mr. Hardy had entered the plane and the reality of an actual rescue hit.
"Sounds wonderful." She said. Bill and Tony looked up through the exit door when they heard noises from above.
Momentarily Captain Stewart dropped back into the plane, followed by two younger men wearing orange flight suits and carrying medical packs on their back. Captain Stewart gestured to them.
"Folks, this is airman Watts and Sgt. Brooks. They are with the medivac unit and will be taking a few of you in their unit to the University of Colorado Hospital in Denver. I will also be taking the rest of you for medical evaluation." He said. He gestured towards Joe Hardy. "Guys, Joe here and his girlfriend and father will be in your unit." He said. The two nodded and went to attend to Joe. Stewart turned to the others.
"Well, if you all have seen enough of this plane, how about we get over to my chopper and get you all out of here? The others might need some maneuvering room to get young Mr. Hardy out of the plane safely." He said. Joe looked up with a half indignant look.
"What? You don't need to carry me." He said attempting to jump up. His equilibrium, or lack of it, kept that from happening and Joe sank back down to a lying position. "On the other hand." He said. "Who needs to walk." A passive grin on his face. Fenton Hardy and Iola both looked sternly down at him.
"Joe, there nice men came all the way here to get you safely to the hospital. You are getting the full court press." Iola said to him firmly. Mr. Hardy nodded.
"Yes, let's get you fully checked out, son. Just to be safe." He said. Joe looked at both of them and sighed.
"Well, I know when I'm licked." He looked to the two air paramedics and gestured to them. "Gentlemen, feel free and do what you need to do." He said. They nodded and began checking him over to determine the best means of getting him safely from the aircraft.
Callie, Chet, Bill, Tony and Kelly had managed to climb to through the exit door in the roof and onto the top of the downed plane. Stewart looked over his shoulder.
"Be careful, folks. We have a lot of ice out here." He said. As they slowly made their way off the plane and into the deep snow, they heard the motor of a vehicle. Shortly they saw what appeared to be an emergency vehicle that looked like a UTV designed for use in heavy snow. It had a red and blue flashing light on it. The vehicle was manned by a group of three. As Stewart escorted his charges through the deep snow, he noted Fenton Hardy has appeared on the plane. He gestured to the approaching vehicle.
"Looks like forestry is here." He called over. "You can brief them while you wait for your son to get loaded. I will follow up when I make my report. Law enforcement will also be in touch. I am going to get this group to Denver!" He said. Fenton Hardy nodded and waved he understood.
"Will do! Thank you, Captain! I am sure I will see you soon." He called back.
Stewart nodded and gestured to the group as he led them up to the bright red rescue chopper. He opened the rear passenger compartment which appeared to seat five.
"You all can take seats here. It will be fairly comfortable. Buckle the harness belts around both shoulders." He said showing them how to attach the five point harness belts. Chet helped Callie up into the craft and followed her up. The others followed and were soon all buckled in. Captain Stewart slid the door closed.
The group looked out of the window at the snowy image of the aircraft they had once been flying in. Though it was hard to tell much detail with the plane and surrounding area covered in ice, it sat there, a sobering reminder of how close they came to their demise. Even with the layers of ice and snow, it was all very clear that the plane no longer had any wings. Sheared off by the trees on impact. Callie swallowed hard running the vision through her mind. How their fate may have been something completely different had the plane come in a few feet in either direction.
"Kind of makes you think, doesn't it?" Callie asked aloud. Chet rested his hand on her leg.
"By the grace of God, Angel." He said quietly. Their thoughts were broken as a voice came through an overhead speaker. Captain Stewart spoke.
"Alright, folks. We are going to get out of here and get you all to the hospital for evaluation. Try to rest easy. It shouldn't take all that long. If anyone has any issues please feel free to hit the red button on the panel and that will alert me." He said. With that, the copter motors revved up and a moment later the helicopter lifted up. Captain Stewart turned the craft around and the helicopter moved swiftly back down the foothills of the Red Table base.
While the two air medics were helping get Joe out of the plane with the help of an emergency stretcher designed for air rescue and small spaces, Fenton Hardy was giving his best assessment of the crash to the forestry service and the Colorado State Police. There would no doubt be a lengthy investigation to determine the root cause of the crash. Mr. Hardy wanted to ensure the first responders has as much info as they could get to so they had some good preliminary data to start with. Iola was helping the air medics carry Joe steadily through the dense snow to the waiting chopper. Airman Watts looked over to Mr. Hardy when they passed the group.
"Mr. Hardy, we have a 3 minute ETD." He told him. Mr. Hardy nodded and held up his hand.
"I will be right with you." He said. He turned to the first responders to complete his briefing with them. A couple minutes later Iola saw Fenton Hardy shaking hands with the three officers and turn towards the chopper. He slowly made his way towards it. The medics were strapping Joe down in the back and once secure checked hit vitals again. Mr. Hardy approached the helicopter and to the air medics.
"Are we ready?" He asked above the engine noise. Both gave a thumbs up sign and gestured for Iola and Mr. Hardy to take seats in the rear near where Joe was strapped down. Airman Watts looks to Mr. Hardy.
"We are good to go. Joe is obviously stable so we will both be up front. If for any reason his condition changes just hit the red button on the panel and speak into the speaker. We should have an ETA for Denver of about half an hour or less." He said. Fenton Hardy nodded and Airman Watts turned to get into the front of the chopper. Mr. Hardy climbed up into a seat next to Iola. He gave her a gentle hug and then buckled himself in.
"It's going to be Ok." He said noting the worried look on her face. "They are just being cautious and making sure they don't let him take too many liberties until they are sure he has no broken bones or internal injuries." Iola took a deep breath.
"I know. I am just so tired. Anxious is an understatement. I found out on that I apparently have a pretty good case of anxiety disorder. There were some times I was really feeling like I would flip out. The fact that we survived the crash was amazing I know. But then to almost suffocate after the ice melted all over the plane. I just wouldn't want to relive that feeling ever again." She said looking down. Fenton Hardy nodded.
"You have all been through so much. Trauma is indeed a fitting word for such an occasion. But don't worry. The doctors will be able to help. And long term will be ok as well. We will get you all the help you need. You are part of the family." He said holding her hand. Iola looked to him, feeling more reassured. She gave a nervous smile. She had not often seen this side of Joe's dad. A man who had always had a formal air about him. Seeing the more human and vulnerable side made her feel good. She was comfortable. At least that was her hope she felt deep inside. She looked down at Joe and then at the scene outside as they lifted up. Iola was happy to leave it all behind her.
"Yeah, I think it's going to be ok." She said turning her head from the scene below.