CH 75
Hammersley left port a half-hour later and headed south.
Charge heard about what was happening on the dive boat that Jim and MacGyver were on.
"Sir."
"What is it, Charge?"
"Two Dads is on that boat."
"Are you sure?" Kate asked.
"Yeah, I was supposed to go on that dive with him, but I chickened out and Two Dads went alone."
"Have you tried to call him?"
"Yeah, went to voicemail."
"Okay, well, keep trying."
Elke had lost a lot of blood and was drowsy. Between Two Dads, Jim and MacGyver, they managed to keep her afloat.
"June, how long do you think before we're rescued?" Jim asked.
"It would be a couple of hours."
"Jim, look behind you. Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Jim and Two Dads turn to see what MacGyver is looking at.
"Looks like a sand island," Two Dads said.
"Let's swim to it."
Jim pulled Elke along with him as they slowly swim to the island. Once they reached the sand island, June and Jim remove their flippers, lift Elke onto the sand, and lay her down. Two Dads put the container he took from the boat down on the sand. MacGyver checks Elke's pulse.
"It's steady," she said. Then she quickly checks her wound.
"The bleeding has stopped, which is a good thing, but it's hard to know how much blood she lost while we were in the sea."
"So she's going to be okay?" Two Dads asked.
"Yes, she will be. Now let's see what is in that container."
Two Dads opened it and showed Jim and MacGyver the packets of white powder that were inside.
"There must be at least two hundred and fifty thousand dollars worth of drugs here," MacGyver said.
"Question is, where did it come from?"
"I saw an open red chili bin, and the ice and drinks were out of it."
"The money?" MacGyver asked.
"Money?" Jim asked.
"Yeah, the money would have been under the false bottom of the bin and the ice and drinks on top. You wouldn't even think about how much ice there was in it."
"I agree," Two Dads said as he closed the lid of the container.
"I've been thinking about where we were diving. There was a container ship not even five miles from where we were. With time and distance, and the changeover, it would take no more than…. Twenty, twenty-five minutes," MacGyver said.
"A container ship..." Jim said.
"Yeah, and if I'm right, that container ship is just in the shipping lane."
Once Hammersley was close to the locator beacons, Mike orders the ship to stop.
Then, "Sir, I've got them on the EOD," Dutchy said. There are four of them. It's Two Dads, MacGyver, Jim Roth, and someone else. She's on the ground and not moving."
Kate and Mike walked over to the EOD and could see them there.
"X, call boarding stations," Mike orders. "Then let loose a blast from Hammersley's horn to let them know that we saw them."
The RHIB that was sent out stops on the beach, and MacGyver rushed over.
"I need a stretcher now! X, tell the CO I need a medivac right away! A woman's been shot."
Swain helps her with the stretcher, and they rush to the young women with X and Charge right behind them. Swain and MacGyver take care of Elke, and Kate contacts Mike. A few minutes later, they were all back on Hammersley. Mike watches as Swain and MacGyver take care of the women on the back of the ship.
"Chopper's on its way. What happened?" Mike said.
"The charter boat, it's a front for this, Sir," Two Dads said as he opened the container with the drugs. "Then three men on the boat spotted us and they shot at Elke and Me when I took the drugs. I told her to jump back into the sea. MacGyver and Captain Roth saw us and gave us some of their air. We swam away underwater and then surfaced when we were far enough away from the boat.
I explained what I'd found and what had happened. We had to dive again because they spotted us and were heading straight for us. We dove down to the bottom until we were almost out of oxygen and had to surface. When we did, we saw the boat sailing away. MacGyver told me to activate my emergency beacon, and when we were waiting, we saw the island and managed to swim to it and waited until we saw Hammersley," Two Dads explained.
"Sir, are there any cargo ships in the area?" MacGyver asked.
"There are. We passed one; it was a North Korean ship; why?" Mike answered.
"Was the ship green?"
"It was."
"Sir, I think that is the contact ship."
"You mean for the drugs?"
"For cash. They hid the cash under the ice and drinks in the chilly. They would then swap the chilly for the drugs. I think you better let NAVCOM know and they can let the feds know." MacGyver tells him.
"It will be too late now."
"No, Sir, their boat's due in port in five minutes," Charge added.
"Alright, I'll get on to NAVCOM." turning, he walked to the hatch.
The medivac helicopter arrived five minutes later, picked up Elke and transferred her to Cairns.
"We'd better go and get changed," MacGyver said.
Twenty minutes later, Jim and MacGyver walk up on deck. "That look suits you, Jim," Kate said, grinning. He was wearing navy issue pants and top.
"Thanks, but I don't think so. What's happening?"
"The police arrested the three men from the dive boat thanks to Two Dads' description, and they got your bags. They've been dropped off at NAVCOM," Mike said.
"That's great news. So what's happening now?" MacGyver asked.
"We're going to board that cargo ship," Mike said, looking at the green ship.
"I hope you got the okay from NAVCOM, Sir."
"We have, and Fleet Command has also been informed."
Two Dads and MacGyver were on the boarding team. MacGyer kissed Jim before getting into the RHIB. Jim returned to the bridge to listen to what was happening on the ship.
MacGyver and the others search the ship. Two Dads and MacGyver were on the bridge checking it over.
"MacGyver," Two Dads calls to her.
"What is it?"
"Look at this; it's the same bin as was on the boat."
MacGyver opened the bin. It was filled with fish and ice. She moved the fish aside and saw green cloth. She pulled up one corner to see what's under it.
"Bingo," she said, smiling. Standing up, she called her Captain. "Charlie eight Two, Sir, contact the police. We found a lot of Australian cash hidden in a chilly bin."
"Copy that, good work."
MacGyver put the lid back on the bin, picked it up and passed it to Two Dads. They left the bridge and went down to where Kate and the others were. They arrested the captain and his men.
When the federal police and customs showed up, they took over. They were stunned when they saw the money, and then again when the second RHIB showed up with the drugs and handed them over to the police.
With the handover completed, the crew returned to Hammersley and onto home port to finish their shore leave. A few hours later, they heard that Elke is out of surgery and recovering after removing the bullet from her shoulder.
Once Hammersley was docked, a sailor from NAVCOM walked on board to give Jim, MacGyver, and Two Dads their bags. MacGyver and Jim left for home and enjoyed a hot shower together.
A few days later, Hammersley left port tasked to drop medical supplies off at several small islands. MacGyver and Bird were preparing lunch in the galley as they were heading to another island when MacGyver noticed how pale Bird looked.
"Bird, are you okay?" MacGyver said
"I'll be fine," she replied.
MacGyver grabbed Bird's wrist to check her pulse. She walked over to the phone, picked it up, and pressed two numbers.
"Sir, it's MacGyver. Can you send Swain and X down to the galley?... It's Bird… thanks, Sir," she said, then hung up and looked at Bird.
"Come on, let's get you to the wardroom."
Guiding Bird to the door then down the corridor just as Swain and Kate arrived. They noticed Bird's face.
"Swain, take her temp and BP; her pulse is racing," MacGyver said.
"Sure, come on, Bird."
"Let me know the results," returning to the galley to finish getting lunch on.
"Sure."
The phone in the galley rings..."MacGyver… yes Swain… yeah, that's a good idea. Let me know if there are any changes… okay, thanks,"
When the crew was getting their lunch, Dutchy noticed that Bird was missing.
"Hey, where's Chicken Legs?" Dutchy asked.
"In the wardroom, she became ill half an hour ago. Swain and the X are with her."
"I hope she's okay," Charge said.
"Same here. I'm rattling my brain to find out the cause of her illness."
Then everyone heard... "MacGyver to the wardroom at the rush!"
MacGyver tossed her hat and apron on the bench and ran out of the galley to the wardroom.
"What is it?"
"I don't know, she sweating, her pulse is erratic, and she feels numbness all over her body."
"What's her temperature?"
"Forty-Two, her BP is eighty over forty."
MacGyver walked over. "Oxygen, she's going into shock," MacGyver said when Bird's body started to twitch. Once she is on oxygen, the twitching stops.
MacGyver walks back and forth, thinking, then stopped.
"Wet pants!"
"What?" Kate asked, puzzled.
"Her pants were wet. Remember? On the island? Where you took the supplies over. Bird returned with wet pants."
"I remember, Two Dads was teasing her about it. She slipped in the creek and hit her knee on a rock," Kate said.
Macgyver quickly moved the blankets off Bird then started undoing Bird's belt.
"Swain, remove her boots and socks." Swain removed her boots and socks while MacGyver undid her pants. She covered Bird's hips with the blanket then pulled her pants down and off.
"Bingo!" MacGyver said. There was a boil of some sort on her knee.
"Swain, contact Melbourne and let them know what we've got here."
"What is it?" Kate asked as Swain put on the headset and spoke with the doctor on Melbourne.
"My best guess would be a sea snail bite. They are known to be in creeks and river beds. Their bite can be poisonous if not treated."
"OMG! What are Bird's chances?" Kate asked worriedly.
"Fifty-fifty," the doctor replied.
"MacGyver..." and Swain passed her the headset and spoke with the doctor, then gave the headset back to Swain. Going over to the phone, she pressed Two numbers and called the bridge.
"Sir, it's MacGyver; we need rendezvous with Melbourne at the top of the green. Melbourne is doing the same as they head towards us… yes, Sir, very serious,... sea snail poison… I know, Sir."
"Alright, MacGyver, keep us up to date," Mike answered.
"I will, Sir." Disconnecting, she went about gathering the supplies that she would need.
"Are you going to lance it?" Swain asked.
"Getting a sample for the doctors to test, but they agree with me that it's most likely a sea snail bite."
Kate and Swain watch as MacGyver inserted a syringe into the boil on Bird's knee and fills it with the fluid. She capped it and put it on the tray. Next, she used a scalpel to cut the skin open over the boil.
"Swain, magnifying glass."
Swain holds the magnifier over the cut she had made, and MacGyver looked through it.
"Found it!"
She was using a pair of tweezers when Mike entered the wardroom.
"MacGyver, Melbourne is an hour away," he announced.
"Okay, quiet please, I need to concentrate," MacGyver says.
Using the tweezers managed to carefully remove the stinger and scooped it up with the tweezers. MacGyver stood up and picked up a specimen dish and scraped it on the side, then put a lid on it. Turning back to Bird, she rechecked to make sure that she had gotten it all. Then she cleans and dresses the wound.
"It was sea snail, alright," She said picking up the dish and magnifying glass and passing them to Mike.
"Take a look," she says.
"It looks like a bee stinger," Mike said, looking at it with the magnifier.
"One quarter smaller than a bee stinger," MacGyver explains.
"You did well. I'm sure Bird will appreciate what you've done for her," Mike said.
"Thanks, Sir."
When they met up with Melbourne an hour later, MacGyver was on the RHIB with Swain when they took Bird over to the ship. They handed her over to the medical staff, and Swain passed a bag with the syringe and dish in it to the doctor.
"MacGyver, Swain, you both did well," Melbourne's doctor complimented.
"MacGyver deserves the credit," Swain said.
"We both do Swain. Let's get back to Hammersley. Johnny, you'll keep us up to date?"
"Of course."
"Come on, Swain; we better get back."
"Why in such a hurry?"
"I can hear your stomach rumbling from here since you missed lunch."
"So have you," Swain answers her.
Johnny smiled at them both as the RHIB was lowered into the sea, and they headed back to Hammersley. Turning from the rail, he went to check on his patient.
Hammersley went on to finish their task of delivering medical supplies.
The bridge phone rings.
"MacGyver, it's Melbourne," RO calls out.
Taking the phone from RO, "Petty officer Roth speaking… yes… yes… thanks for letting me know Johnny… thanks for calling. I'll let them know." After finishing the call, she walked over, picked up the microphone, and turned on the PA system.
"Now hear this, MacGyver speaking. I received word from Melbourne. Bird was medivaced to Cairns three hours ago, and after receiving treatment, she will make a full recovery in a few days, that is all. " There was clapping and cheering among the crew.
"That is good news," Swain said.
"Yes, it is. Johnny said if I hadn't removed the stinger and the fluid, she would have died."
Swain put a comforting hand on her arm.
"What does that mean?" RO asked
"The fluid that I removed from the bite was full of poison and with the stinger still in it, the poison was slowly seeping into her tissues. It would have ended up in her bloodstream, and once it was there, she would have had minutes to live."
"She was lucky that you were on board and knew what to do," Mike said to her.
"Yeah. I guess that extra courses I've been doing surely paid off, Sir."
"Yes, I would say that it did."
The next day Bird was sitting up in bed when she saw who walked into the room.
"Captain Roth."
"Bird, how are you feeling?"
"Bit tired but getting better. MacGyver called you?"
"We talked last night and she told me that you were here. She asked me to bring you these flowers," he said, putting them on the bedside drawers.
"Thank you, Sir."
"And these..." he passed her a bag.
Bird opened the bag and laughed. "Thank you, Sir," putting them on the bed tray while Jim sat down and put his hat on the bed. They talk and laugh for an hour, then Jim leaves letting her get some rest.