Pirate's Pleasure
Chapter 5
Search and Rescue
Walker sat at his kitchen table, feeding Angela half-heartedly. It had been three days since Sydney and Gage had left for Houston and three days since anyone had heard from them, except for the Coast Guard who received a distress call from Sydney onboard the yacht, "Pirate's Pleasure".
Alex called down to her husband from upstairs. When he didn't answer, she came down the steps and into the kitchen only to find him staring at Angela, who was cooing at him.
"Walker, didn't you hear me?" She asked.
"Um? Oh sorry Alex. I guess I'm just a little preoccupied."
She knew without asking what was on his mind. "No news?" She asked.
He shook his head. "No and I called the Coast Guard station this morning. They haven't found them yet." As Walker spoke, the phone rang.
"I'll get it." Alex said as she picked up the phone. "Hello. Yes sir, one moment." She turned to Walker. "It's the Coast Guard station in Houston."
Walker took the phone from her. "Walker." He answered.
"Ranger Walker, this is Commander Holcomb, U.S. Coast Guard Houston."
"Yes sir."
"Ranger, I wish I were calling with good news." The Commander started as Walker braced himself for the news he didn't want to hear.
"Are they . . .?" He asked.
"We haven't found them. We found the yacht, "Pirate's Pleasure" just off of the Louisiana coast. Onboard we found the Captain, Deke LaFleur and the body of Cameron Vega. Lefluer's been taken into custody and the yacht's been brought back to Houston. It's been impounded."
"Is LaFleur talking?" Walker asked, hopefully.
"No sir. I spoke with the Police Captain just before calling you. I have his name and number if you'd like to discuss the case further with him." The Commander gave Walker the information.
"Thank you Commander. Are your people still searching?"
"Yes sir. The hurricane is impeding the search, but we plan at least one more go around before we call it off."
"I understand." Walker replied. "Thank you again for calling." Walker hung up the phone and with his hand resting on the receiver, hung his head.
"Walker?" Alex asked the unspeakable question with her tone of voice alone.
"They haven't found them. They found the yacht that they were on and the Captain has been arrested, but he's not talking." Walker picked up the phone and dialed the number that the Coast Guard Commander had given him.
"Captain Capshaw." The voice answered.
"Captain, this is Texas Ranger Cordell Walker."
"Yes Ranger Walker, I've been expecting your call."
"What can you tell me Captain?"
"LaFleur isn't talking. We found a revolver onboard covered with his prints and we know that it's the same gun that was used to kill Vega. This weapon is minus three rounds."
Walker swallowed, knowing that the other two rounds could have very well been used on Gage and Sydney. "Captain, I'm on my way down there."
"Good luck Ranger. A hurricane is moving in and half of Houston is moving out."
"Don't worry about that. I'll get in. Set me up in an interrogation room with LaFleur when I get there."
"You've got it." The Captain replied, rubbing his chin in wonder of how Walker planned to get LaFleur to talk.
Walker hung up the phone and called Trivette.
"Hello." A female voice answered.
"Erica, hi, it's Walker. Can I speak with Trivette?"
"Sure Walker. Just a minute." She handed the phone to Jimmy.
"Hey partner, what's up?" Trivette asked as he took the phone from his wife.
"Pack a bag. We're leaving for Houston. I'll pick you up in about 20 minutes."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's going on Walker? Have they found Gage and Sydney?"
"The Captain of the yacht is being held in Houston. Cameron Vega's body was found onboard and LaFleur's not talking."
"No sign of Sydney and Gage?" Trivette asked, full of concern.
"No."
"Walker . . ."
"Don't say it Trivette. Just don't say it."
*******
The waves continued to pelt the lifeboat and Sydney struggled to stay awake. Fatigue was beginning to set in. She held Gage closer and tighter, afraid to let go.
Gage suddenly and sharply gasped for air and winced at the pain in his side.
"Gage!" Sydney yelled.
"Syd." He called out, his voice barely above a whisper.
"I'm right here. I'm here Gage. You're going to be OK. We're both going to be OK."
He looked into her eyes, nodded slightly and let his eyes slowly close again.
"Gage!" Sydney called out, shaking him slightly. "Gage, please wake up! Gage!"
********
"Francois! Wake up, Francois!" Josephine called out as the small boat rocked in the turbulent sea.
Bouchard's eyes fluttered open at the sound of her voice. "Jo? What happened?"
"You passed out."
"I need to stay awake." He replied firmly.
"Yes. Yes Francois, you do. I do not know where we are or where we are going."
Bouchard lightly laughed. "Neither do I." A wave of pain passed through his side and he winced.
"Francois?"
He exhaled slowly as he pressed tightly over the hole in his side. "I'll be alright Jo. If I do pass out again, just keep an eye out for land. We can't do much with maintaining a course in this storm."
"But you are not going to pass out again, are you?" Josephine asked as she held him a little closer.
"I'm trying Jo. I'm trying."
******
Walker arrived at the Trivette home 20 minutes after he had hung up with Jimmy. "Are you ready?" He called out.
"You bet." Trivette stopped in front of Erica. "You know I have to go."
She nodded. "I know. Be careful and call me."
"I will." He kissed her again and then joined Walker in the RAM. "So, what have we got?" He asked.
"The Coast Guard found the yacht and the Captain was the only one on board, with the exception of the body of Cameron Vega. They also found a revolver, which was missing three rounds. One was found in Vega, the other two are unaccounted for. That's all I know."
Trivette nodded his head while staring out the window. "The other two rounds could have taken out Gage and Sydney." He said quietly.
"I know." Walker replied without emotion.
The remainder of the trip was pretty silent. Walker pulled into the parking lot of the Houston Police Department and then he and Trivette went straight to Captain Capshaw's desk. "Captain Capshaw?" Walker asked.
The Captain extended his hand. "You must be Ranger Walker."
"That's right." Walker nodded. "And this is Ranger Trivette." Each Ranger shook hands with the police Captain.
"I didn't think you'd want to waist any time getting to this guy, so I've had him on standby to be brought up."
"Thank you Captain." Walker replied, taking off his hat.
"Here, you can take interrogation room 3. There's a two-way mirror, but there's no one in the other room." He pulled Walker to the side. "Ranger, make him talk. I'm sure he knows exactly what happened to your two Rangers."
Walker nodded. "Oh, we're not coming out until he does talk." He said with determination.
The police Captain nodded and then turned to one of the Deputies. "Bring LaFleur up." The Deputy nodded.
Walker and Trivette sat down in the room, waiting for Deke LeFleur to be brought up from his holding cell. The door opened abruptly and Deke was forced into a seat, his hands and legs, secured.
"Deke LeFuuer, I'm Ranger Walker and this is Ranger Trivette. Let's cut to the chase. Where are Rangers Gage and Cooke?"
"Who?" Deke responded.
"The happy honeymooners that you were taking on a cruise. Kyle and Leslie Brentwood." Trivette interjected.
"Oh, I had a couple scheduled, but they never showed up." Deke lied.
Walker fixed his intense gaze on Deke's eyes. "That's odd. Ranger Cooke sent out a distress call for aboard the "Pirate's Pleasure". How do you explain that?"
Deke squirmed under Walker's stare. "Alright, yes, they were onboard, but Cam shot them and threw them overboard." He lied.
"What did he shoot them with?" Trivette asked calmly.
"A revolver. The police have it."
"Um." Walker said, still never taking his eyes off of Deke. "It's kind of funny that only your prints were found on that gun." He paused. "You know what I think? I think that you killed Vega and then you did something with the two Rangers. We know that a lifeboat is missing from the yacht. Where is it LaFleur?" Walker asked strongly.
"I don't know. I must have lost it."
"You don't just lose a lifeboat. Did my Rangers take the boat?" He asked even more sternly, taking a standing position.
When Deke didn't reply, Walker's hand reached across the table for his throat. Deke tried to turn towards the door where the Deputy was standing guard, but the Deputy purposefully turned away when Deke looked towards him, showing him that he was turning his back on whatever happened in the interrogation room.
Trivette laid a strong hand on Walker's shoulder, urging him to ease up before he choked the man to death. Walker let go.
*******
After Walker and Trivette left for Houston, Alex flipped on the TV and listened to the weather. She watched as the weather map showed the hurricane beginning to turn Northeastly and prayed that Gage and Sydney would somehow make it through this alive.
As the lifeboat rocked back and forth, Sydney thought that it appeared that they were headed out of the storm. She could see a somewhat lighter sky ahead of them. "We're going to be OK Gage. The storm must be turning, we're almost out of it." As the storm continued it's Northeasterly path towards the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts, the lifeboat had caught a current that was pushing them back towards Texas. "Please, please let someone find us soon." She prayed silently. Just as she finished, she heard what she thought to be a helicopter in the distance.
"I hear a helicopter Gage! We're saved!"
The Coast Guard chopper continued it's trek back towards Houston. Still searching the waters below. "There's no sign of them, let's head back, we're low on fuel."
"Roger that." The pilot said as the helicopter began to turn away from Sydney and Gage's position.
Sydney waved her arms frantically, almost upsetting the small lifeboat. She screamed upward to the sky in the direction of the helicopter. "HEY! WE'RE HERE! WE'RE HERE!" Her tears of frustration began to flow when she realized that they hadn't seen them and were leaving.
******
Josephine cradled Francois' head. He had passed out again, in spite of his best efforts to stay awake. The storm had let up and she was finally able to see around them, but all she could see was water, water and more water.
"Oh Francois, this is hopeless. Our boat is too small to go anywhere fast and we have no food or water. We will certainly not last long this way." She said her thoughts aloud and was taken by surprise when Francois responded.
"We'll be OK, Jo. We got away from Lafitte for a reason. You have to believe that we'll be OK." He said weakly.
Josephine nodded. "If you say so Francois."
******
Walker stared at Deke. "Would you like to try to answer that question again?"
Deke nodded fiercely. "The woman took the boat. She had it in the water before the guy . . ." He stopped short of confessing to shooting Gage.
"Before the guy what?" Trivette asked.
"He fell in." Deke thought this sounded better than letting the Rangers know that he had shot him. "I didn't stick around to see if he made it into the boat or not, but the woman was definitely in the boat."
Walker stepped towards the Deputy. "Get me a nautical map." The deputy nodded and quickly brought Walker a map, which he spread out on the table in front of Deke. "Show me where you were when the lifeboat went into the water." He demanded.
Deke brought up his bound hands and pointed at an area just south of the Louisiana coast. "Here. We were about here when she put the boat in."
Walker marked the spot Deke had given and then he and Trivette turned to leave. "You had better hope that those two Rangers are alive. If they're not, you can bet I'll be back and I won't be as nice as I was this time."
Captain Capshaw stopped the Rangers in the hallway. "Did he talk?"
Walker nodded. "Yes. I need to get to the Coast Guard station, can you point us in the right direction."
"What did he say?" Holcomb continued.
"He gave us the coordinates where the lifeboat was put down by one of my Rangers. I need to get to the Coast Guard station now, Captain."
"Sorry." He gave Walker the direction and then he and Trivette once again climbed into the RAM.
******
When they entered the Coast Guard Station, Walker and Trivette were escorted to the Commander's office. "Commander Holcomb will be with you in a moment."
"Thanks." Trivette acknowledged.
Moments later, the Commander entered his office and greeted the Rangers. "What can I do for you Rangers?"
"Fill us in on the search for my two missing people." Walker stated flatly.
Commander Holcomb looked down and paused before answering Walker, but he then looked at him directly. "We've called off the search Rangers."
Trivette showed a look of astonishment. "You've what?!?" He exclaimed.
"Our chopper just got back from a very extensive search along the outer edges of the hurricane and found nothing. Rangers, I'm sorry, but it appears that your people didn't make it."
Walker's face was fixed. He laid the map on the Commander's desk. "Look again." He said quietly.
"What was that?" The Commander asked.
"I said, look again. I have the coordinates where at the very least, one of my Rangers dropped a lifeboat in the water. I want another search and I'll be going up with them." He stood to leave.
"Ranger, I don't know how you're used to doing things in Dallas, but we just don't have the manpower to keep up a futile search. You need to face facts, your two Rangers are gone." The Commander bellowed.
Walker turned and faced him, his face full of anger. "We WILL be going up again and we WILL search this area. I want a chopper and a pilot ready within the next hour, if you can't find a pilot, then I'll take her up myself!" Walker shouted and then slammed the Commander's door on his way out.
"Ranger Walker!" The Commander shouted. He turned to Trivette. "I can't make this happen."
"You had better try, because I'm quite certain that my partner will be going up in an hour with our without your permission." Trivette walked out the door to join Walker.
"Walker, what was that in there?" He asked.
Walker shook his head. "I don't know Trivette. I just know that we need to look for them again. I need to look for them."
Trivette placed his hand on Walker's shoulder and nodded his head. "You had it right the first time Walker, we need to look for them."
*******
Sydney dipped a piece of her shirt into the waters of the Gulf and dabbed at Gage's forehead. He was still burning up with a fever and his body shook violently at the touch of the cool cloth. "Shh. It's OK honey." She whispered as she continued to try to cool his brow.
A slight moan came from his lips and his body shuddered again as he tried to draw a deep breath. He opened his eyes slightly. "Jo?" He asked as he looked at Sydney.
"No Gage, it's Syd."
"Syd?" He repeated quietly, his strength leaving him.
"Shh." She brushed her hand through his hair. "Shh."
He closed his eyes. Unconscious again, his mind began to drift back to Bouchard and Josephine.
*******
"Francois! Francois, I see land!" Josephine shouted as she shook Bouchard.
"Um? What is it Jo?"
"Land, I see land!" She announced as she pointed north.
"Here, give me the paddles." He said as he reached towards the oars that had been placed inside the boat. Wincing as a sharp pain hit his side.
"Francois, stop! You are going to start bleeding again! I can do this." She took the oars from him as his face turned ashen and he eased himself against the edge of the boat.
Josephine began to paddle towards the land. She fought the waves and currents with the expertise of an old sailor.
"Where did you learn to do this?" Bouchard asked quietly as he watched this incredible woman in front of him.
"What, guide a boat?"
He nodded. "My papa was a sailor. My mother died when I was small and papa, he would take me out on the sea with him when he was traveling short distances. He would let me take the stern and feel the power of the wind and then when we were home, in Paris, he would take me out on a small nearby lake on his fishing boat and there, he would let me paddle it back to shore after we had caught dinner."
"You amaze me Jo. You're so beautiful, but you're not like any other woman I've ever met. You aren't afraid to try things, heck, I don't think you're afraid of anything."
"Ah, but I am afraid Francois. I am afraid of the feelings I have where you are concerned." She confessed, blushing slightly. "I have never fully trusted a man . . . until now."
Bouchard smiled. "Nor I a woman, until now."
The boat bumped as Josephine brought it to a rest on the sandbank, just short of the beach. "We are here. Can you stand?"
"I'm not sure." He replied as he leaned on Josephine for support.
"Here, I will help you." She wrapped her arm around his waist and led him to the beach. "We have a few hours of daylight left, we should set up a camp. Shouldn't we?" She asked as they both lay on the beach, still in each other's arms.
Bouchard nodded. "Yes, we should. If you'll gather the firewood, I'll make us a shelter."
"You are in no shape to be building anything. I'll gather the things to make the shelter and you get the firewood."
Bouchard started to protest, but he knew that she was right. His side had finally quit bleeding, but if he strained himself, he knew it would start again.
Soon, Josephine had gathered palm fronds, branches and vine to piece together a decent shelter for the night. She worked for an hour pulling it all together, tying the branches in place to form a roofing and then laying the fronds on top, tying them in place to keep them dry, should it begin to rain again.
It didn't take Bouchard long to gather the firewood and get a small fire going. "I'll try to catch us some dinner."
"Are you sure you are up to it?"
He nodded. "I also saw some berry vines while I was getting the wood. Maybe you and I can go gather some later."
"I would like that." She tied the last piece of palm frond in place and then stood under the makeshift shelter. "There! It is done."
"And it is good." Bouchard replied, proud of her work. "We won't have to worry about getting wet tonight." He smiled.
Josephine returned the smile. "Francois! You are bleeding again!" She noticed the red stain forming on his bandage. He looked down and winced slightly at the sight of the blood.
"Come, sit down, let me take a look." She patted a rock under the shelter. Bouchard joined her there. She removed the bandage and made an unhappy face as she looked at the red, tender, swollen flesh surrounding the bullet hole. "It looks infected."
She lightly touched it and Bouchard shuddered all over, suddenly feeling very nauseous. "Jo, I'm going to pass out again." Before Josephine could move, he fell over into her lap. She gently lowered him to the ground and pulled out the dagger she had taken from his room.
When Bouchard came to, Josephine stood over him, dagger in hand. "What are you doing?!?" He asked in astonishment.
"Easy Francois. I will not hurt you more than necessary. The wound must be sterilized. I have laid the handle of the dagger in the fire until it is white hot, now I need to place it inside the wound so the blood vessels will close and you will be alright."
"You can't do that, Jo."
"I must do this Francois, or you will die."
"How do you plan to hold the dagger without cutting your hand?" He asked as he saw the white-hot handle of the dagger.
"I will take care of that. You will lay still and let me do this. I will not bury you here Francois." She wrapped a strip of Bouchard's shirt around the blade of the dagger and held it tightly as she prepared to sterilize the wound.
Bouchard grabbed her hand just before the dagger reached his skin. "Is there any other way Jo?" He asked.
"Do not be such a baby. It will hurt far less than being shot."
"And how would you know what being shot feels like?" He asked.
"Because, my dear Francois, I have been shot before. My brother's gun went off while he was cleaning it and the bullet passed through my shoulder." She explained as she wiped the area clean with water and then quickly filled it with the handle of the dagger.
Bouchard screamed and passed out again as the searing pain shot through the bullet wound.
She mopped his forehead again with a wet cloth and then laid down beside of him.
******
An hour had passed and Walker and Trivette returned to the Commander's office. "Well?" He asked.
"Come with me Rangers." They followed the Commander down a corridor and emerged outside where a search and rescue helicopter was fully loaded and waiting. "Good luck Rangers."
"Thank you." Trivette said as they loaded themselves onboard.
Once the Rangers fastened their harnesses, the pilot lifted off and using the map Walker had given him as his guide, headed towards an area just south of the Louisiana coastline.
"Rangers, the Louisiana Coast Guard is working with us on this one. We've already given them the coordinates and they're out searching as we speak." The pilot radioed back to them.
Walker gave a thumbs up sign.
Hours later, they were over the spot where Sydney had dropped the lifeboat in. "Rangers, the sea isn't like land, we can't exactly track them, but we can judge the currents and take the most likely course."
Walker nodded.
The pilot began to travel over the area he had marked out on the map.
******
Sydney had fought the fatigue as long as she possible could, she had fallen asleep, Gage's head still in her lap.
A distant thumping sound caused Gage to stir. "Syd?" He said softly and then tried to lift his head. The sudden movement in her lap woke Sydney.
"Gage?" She said softly.
"What's that sound?" He asked, closing his eyes against the bright sunlight.
She listened carefully. "Helicopter. Oh my Lord, it's a helicopter!" She got to her knees and began to wave her hands frantically.
Walker and Trivette had both grabbed a pair of binoculars and were searching the waters below. Walker looked twice to be certain he wasn't seeing things before alerting the pilot. "THERE! THERE THEY ARE!" He shouted.
The pilot looked down and as he spotted them called out in his radio. "Roger that Ranger Walker. Beginning rescue procedures." He radioed the nearest Coast Guard cutter and gave them their coordinates. The cutter sliced through the water at high speeds towards Sydney and Gage's location, while the rescue crew inside the helicopter prepared for a jump.
The pilot turned on the loudspeaker and announced the Sydney and Gage. "Remain inside the boat. We will come to you."
Sydney gave him a thumbs up sign and sat back down. Gage was once again unconscious. She took his head into her lap again. "We're going home Gage. It's going to be OK. We're going home."
As the dive team reached the lifeboat, Sydney explained to them that Gage had been shot. "Are you alright ma'am?"
"I will be. I'm tired, cold and hungry, but I'll be fine when I know that he's fine."
"Alright. We're going to take you out first since you're not injured. Mike, why don't you prepare the hoist and take her up in the chopper. We'll load him on the cutter when it gets here."
"No!" Sydney protested. "I need to stay with him."
"Ranger Cooke, we need to get you to St. Mary's hospital to be checked out. We'll be airlifting Ranger Gage there too as soon as we know that he's stable. Please, ma'am. It has to be this way."
She nodded reluctantly and allowed a harness to be placed around her as she continued to cradle Gage's head. She bent and kissed his cheek. "I love you." She whispered. "See you soon."
"Are you ready?" The diver asked her. She nodded and he motioned for the chopper to winch her up. Walker and Trivette were by the door of the helicopter, waiting for Sydney. They each wrapped an arm around her and escorted her to a seat.
"Sydney? Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Walker asked.
"I'm fine. LaFleur shot Gage. He's been burning up with a fever for several days."
"Is he conscious?" Trivette asked.
"In and out." Sydney replied, closing her eyes tightly.
"What's wrong Sydney?" Walker asked.
"I'm so tired."
"Tired, dehydrated and malnourished." The EMT onboard announced as he started an IV in her left arm.
The helicopter landed on the helipad at St. Mary's Hospital in Lafayette. Sydney, who by this time had been placed on a gurney, was immediately taken off and whisked towards the emergency room. "Walker!" Sydney yelled.
Walker was by her side in an instant. "I'm here Sydney."
"Gage?" She said quietly.
Walker turned questioningly to the pilot of the helicopter. "The other Ranger?" The pilot asked. Walker nodded. "As soon as we get her inside, we're going back to the cutter to pick him up and bring him here."
"Thank you." Walker replied and turned back towards Sydney. "Did you hear that? As soon as I know anything, I'll let you know, OK?"
She reluctantly nodded. "Walker, don't let him die." She whispered as the EMT's took her inside.
"Trivette, you stay with her. I'm going back with the pilot."
Trivette nodded. "I'll be here when you get back."
The Coast Guard worked as quickly as the could against the strong currents to get Gage out of the lifeboat and onto the cutter. The rescue was impeded by the high tide coming from the storm surge. It took much longer than expected.
Once onboard the Coast Guard cutter, the EMT's were working fervently to stabilize Gage. "He's lost a lot of blood. How are his vitals?"
"BP's dropping fast!" One of the attendants shouted.
"Do you have his blood type?"
"O positive."
"I need three units. We're going in. We've got to stop this bleeding or he'll never make it to St. Mary's."
The attendant returned quickly with one unit of blood.
"I said three units!" The doctor shouted.
"We only have one." The attendant replied.
"He's going to need three. Screen everyone on this ship and find me more!"
"Yes sir." The attendant replied as Walker entered the room and rolled up his sleeve. "I'm Ranger Walker. Gage and I are the same blood type. How is he?"
"Not good Ranger Walker." The doctor stated, looking up at Walker. "You're certain that you're O positive?"
Walker nodded. "I'm sure. We've done this before." He stared at Gage and remembered another time when it was him laying on the table and Gage rolling up his sleeve.
The doctor looked at the attendant. "Get Ranger Walker on a gurney, we need to do a direct transfusion."
Walker quickly hopped onto the gurney and the attendant went to work preparing the tubing for the transfusion.
Suddenly the room was filled with loud beeping. "He's flat-lining!" Another attendant shouted.
Walker sat up quickly and stared at the young Ranger. "Come on Gage! Hang on, buddy!" He said quietly as he watched the medical team go to work, trying to revive him.
The nurse started to draw the curtain between Walker and Gage, but Walker stopped her. "I'm responsible for him being here." He said quietly and the nurse loosened her grip on the curtain.
The doctor shouted orders and the team members quickly obeyed them. Walker breathed a sigh of relief when a rhythmic beeping sound came over the monitors again.
"He's back!" Someone shouted and the remainder of the team nodded towards each other.
The attendant who had started preparing Walker's arm for the transfusion returned to the task. "He's OK?" Walker asked.
"He desperately needs more blood. The sooner we get this tube going, the better off he'll be."
Walker nodded. "You'd better get going then."
*******
The morning sun woke Josephine early. She rolled over to check on Bouchard, but found that he was not laying beside of her. She quickly got up and began to look for him. "Francois!" She called out a few times.
"I'm here Jo!" He yelled back from the beach. "I have breakfast." He laid two fish in front of her.
"I see that you are feeling much better this morning." She smiled.
Bouchard nodded. "I'm real sore, but yes, I feel much better."
"Good." She replied and then looked down at the fish. "Francois, I have nothing to cook these in."
"Just scale them and lay them in the fire Jo." He replied. She made a face at the thought of blackened fish. Bouchard laughed, which caused him to grab his injured side. "Trust me. It will be good."
"Only because I am so hungry." She laughed.
Later, after the fish had cooked, the two of them sat under a palm tree and ate while staring out across the Gulf of Mexico. "It amazes me how it can look so beautiful now and have been so deadly the other night." Josephine said as she bit into the fish again.
Bouchard nodded. "The sea is like a woman. She has many faces Jo. You just have to learn to respect them all."
Josephine leaned closer to Bouchard and they shared a kiss. It began as a brush of their lips, which only left them both hungry for more. Soon, they were unclothed and making love in the sand.
"Oh, Francois!" Josephine screamed out when Bouchard entered her. "I am yours Francois. Only yours." She whispered.
"And I am yours Josephine." Bouchard kissed her lips passionately and continued to grind inside of her until they both came in unison.
Josephine screamed out again as she climaxed. "Francois!"
*******
Onboard a ship, in the not too distant horizon, a spyglass was trained on the new couple. "I have decided that I want her Bouchard, and I will stop at nothing to have her!" Lafitte said quietly, but was still overheard by his brother, Pierre.
"Jean, can you not see that this woman will only be trouble for all of us? Leave them here on the island. They cannot go anywhere. They are exiled here. They will live and die here." Pierre pleaded.
"No Pierre. Only Bouchard will die here. Josephine will be mine."
"Captain, we were on our way to the Keys. The Spanish fleet will be approaching soon."
Lafitte put away the spyglass. "Yes I know. Make record of our current coordinates. We will go and defeat the Spanish fleet and then I will come back and take my Josephine!"
The ship slowly made a turn and headed South without the knowledge of Bouchard or Josephine.
*******
Hours later, Gage's eyes began to open. Walker still lay on the gurney next to him, his eyes closed in exhaustion. Gage looked at him. "Walker?" He whispered.
Walker's eyes immediately opened. "Gage?" He smiled as he saw that Gage was awake. "Hey, how are you feeling?"
Gage hesitated. "Tired." He whispered.
Walker nodded. "You should be. You've been through a lot in the past three days."
"Syd?" Gage asked.
"She's at St. Mary's hospital. They'll be taking you there soon."
Gage looked dazed and confused. "Where are we?"
Walker smiled. "We're onboard a Coast Guard cutter. Gage, do you remember what happened?"
Gage nodded slightly. "Shot. LaFleur shot me." He blinked his eyes several times and then continued. "Syd got the lifeboat in the water and I guess she got me inside. When I woke up, we were in the middle of the Gulf, in a hurricane."
"You're both very lucky."
"Is Syd OK?" Gage asked, beginning to worry.
"She's fine. She's tired and dehydrated, but she's fine."
The doctor entered the room and took Gage's vitals. "Very good." He said as he finished up. "How are you feeling Ranger Gage?"
"Tired."
"That's to be expected." The doctor flipped through Gage's chart. "We performed surgery while you were aboard. The bullet wound you sustained severed a few larger blood vessels and you had lost a tremendous amount of blood by the time you were brought onboard. Honestly, you wouldn't have made it through another night out there." The doctor patted Gage's hand. "The chopper's on standby and as soon as I get a couple of EMT's in here, you're going to be transported to St. Mary's."
Gage nodded. "Thanks, Doc." He shook the doctor's hand.
"You're quite welcome, Ranger."
Walker stared at Gage and shook his head, a bewildered look on his face.
"What?" Gage asked.
"I just can't believe how close you came to dying. You flat-lined right after I got here."
"I did?" Gage asked.
Walker nodded. "Scared me to death."
"Sorry."
Walker half-smiled and started to speak when the EMTs entered. "Alright Ranger Gage, let's get you onboard the chopper."
*******
Gage was being settled into a room at St. Mary's when Alex and Erica entered the hallway finding their husbands sitting in the waiting room.
"Alex! Erica!" Walker exclaimed as he and Trivette both stood and hugged their wives.
"Hi honey." Alex replied. "We had to come. I know the two of you probably haven't slept at all since you came down here and we thought we might be able to relieve you a little." She paused. "How are Gage and Sydney?"
"They're both doing good." Walker stared. "Gage and I just got here. They kept him onboard the Coast Guard cutter until he was stable."
Alex reached for his arm and he pulled it back quickly as she pressed on the area where the needle had been inserted for Gage's transfusion. "What have you done?" Alex asked.
Walker rubbed his arm. "It's nothing."
"Walker!" She demanded.
"Gage needed blood. They only had one unit onboard, so I gave him a direct transfusion."
"You didn't tell me about that." Trivette said.
"I didn't think about it." Walker replied.
"No wonder you look so tired." Alex said as she stroked his hair.
"Rangers, you can see Ranger Gage now, if you'd like." A nurse announced.
"Thank you." Walker said as they followed her to Intensive Care.
"You two go on." Alex insisted.
Walker and Trivette entered Gage's room. His eyes were closed and an oxygen tube was in his nose. He looked as though he was in pain and the two senior Rangers started to leave. "Walker." Gage whispered, apparent that it hurt him to breath.
Walker stepped closer to the bedside. "I'm here Gage." Gage held out his hand and Walker immediately took it.
"Tell . . .Syd . . . I love . . . her." He gasped for air between each word.
"Hey buddy, you're going to be OK. The doctor said that you're going to be a little sore while the drainage tube is in place, but you're going to be OK." He smiled at his friend.
"Really?" Gage asked. "I don't . . . feel OK."
"You need to rest." Trivette interjected.
"Hey . . . Trivette."
Trivette smiled. "Hey yourself."
"Gage, we're going to leave now so you can get some sleep." Walker stated, letting Gage's hand go. He nodded and closed his eyes again, falling asleep to the steady sounds of the monitors.
Walker and Trivette stepped into the hallway and were once again greeted by their wives. "How is he?"
"Tired and he's in pain."
"Can't they give him something?" Alex asked.
"They have. It's the drainage tube. The doctor said he had quite a bit of internal bleeding and they had to drain the gunshot area."
Erica made a face. "Sounds very painful."
"I'm sure it is." Trivette replied, recalling the last time he was shot.
"Can we see Sydney?" Alex asked.
"Sure. She's in room 212. If she asks about Gage, tell her he's OK and that he's resting."
Alex nodded, knowing that Walker didn't want to tell Sydney that Gage was in pain or anything else that had happened since she was brought in because he didn't want her to worry.
Erica and Alex knocked on Sydney's door. "Come in." They heard a quiet voice answer.
As they entered, they noticed immediately how tired Sydney looked. "Hey guys." She said.
"Hi yourself honey." Alex replied as she hugged her friend. "How are you?"
"I'm alright. Just a little tired." She yawned as if punctuating her sentence. "Have you seen Gage?"
Erica shook her head. "He's resting right now. Jimmy and Walker checked on him."
"How is he?" Sydney asked.
"He's going to be fine sweetie. He's sleeping right now." Alex answered.
"I want to see him." Her voice trailed as she drifted off to sleep.
"Poor thing. She's exhausted." Alex said as she gently laid Sydney's hand on the bed and she and Erica left the room.
********
The following morning Walker arrived at the hospital early and went in to check on Gage. He could hear him before he got to the door. "I'm fine! I just want out of here!"
"Mr. Gage, you're going to have to calm down or we'll have to put you in restraints!" A nurse retaliated.
Gage looked at her in frustration. "I need to know how Ranger Cooke is!" He yelled again. "Can you please find out for me?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't give you information on other patients."
"Ranger Cooke is my partner!" Gage fumed.
"And she's doing fine." Walker insisted as he came into the room.
"Walker! Finally someone who'll tell me something." Gage scoffed.
"Ranger Walker, he's still in intensive care and he doesn't need to be upset." The nurse reminded Walker.
"Then why didn't you just tell him that Ranger Cooke is resting and she's fine? Can't you see that you've just agitated him more by not telling him anything?" Walker came back at the overbearing nurse.
"Umph!" She griped, turned on her heel and left.
Gage shook his head. "I can't stand that woman!" He fumed.
"Easy Gage. She's gone now. If you don't watch, you're going to pop your stitches."
"Walker, I don't want to have to deal with her again. Get me out of here, please!"
"Whoa!" Walker smiled, realizing that Gage was nearly back to himself. "Yesterday you thought you were on your death bed and now you're ready to go home."
Gage winced slightly as he pulled himself into a sitting position. "I just want to see Syd, Walker. How is she?"
"I haven't seen her this morning, but yesterday evening she was tired."
Gage nodded. "I really put her through the ringer on this one."
"Yeah I know. She keeps asking about you."
Gage smiled. "She does?"
"What exactly is going on between the two of you anyway?" Walker asked.
Gage's face began to turn red. "Ah, nothing really. Why?"
"Are you sure it's nothing? I mean, to look at the two of you, one would think you were seeing each other."
"That's because we are." Sydney announced as she wheeled herself into Gage's room.
Gage's face lit up as she neared the bed. "What are you doing here?"
"I had to come see you for myself. I couldn't stand it another minute." She smiled, parking herself next to Gage's bedside.
"I'll leave you two alone." Walker started, but turned around when he reached the door. "So, you two are seeing each other then?" He asked.
They both nodded.
"That's great! You both deserve to be happy." He started towards the door, but stopped when Gage called out to him.
"Hey Walker, did you find the weapons plans onboard the yacht?"
Walker nodded. "Yes. Cameron Vega had planned to sell them to someone in Florida. We haven't found the contact's name yet."
"But the plans have been recovered." Gage asked again.
"Yes, both of them and Deke LaFleur has been charged with three counts of murder; The Pratt's and Cameron Vega and your attempted murder in addition to the charges concerning the weapons plans. He'll be going away for a long time." He looked at Gage.
"Good." Gage nodded, a look of determination on his face.
Walker smiled at the two Rangers. "Both of you take care." He then stepped out, closing the door behind him.
"So do you think he's mad?" Gage asked.
Sydney shook her head. "No, I don't think so." She then focused on Gage. "Are you OK?"
He nodded. "I'll be fine. I still have this tube thing in my side, but the doctor said he may take it out this morning. If he does, I can go home soon."
She smiled. "Good, because I'm not heading back to Dallas without you."
"Oh really?" He smiled with a look of satisfaction. "And why is that Syd?"
"Because I love you Gage." She said quietly. "I really, honestly love you and I'm just sorry that it took almost losing you for me to realize that." She leaned forward and their lips met in a passionate kiss.
"I love you too and I can hardly wait to be out of here and have you in my arms again."
"Soon Gage, soon." Sydney responded as she held his hand and ran her fingers through his hair. "By the way, who is Jo?"
"What?" He asked.
"Back in the boat, you woke up once and called me Jo."
He thought for a moment. "Oh! I had the wildest dream while we were out there!" He said in realization and then proceeded to tell her his dream of Bouchard and Josephine.
THE END
Search and Rescue
Walker sat at his kitchen table, feeding Angela half-heartedly. It had been three days since Sydney and Gage had left for Houston and three days since anyone had heard from them, except for the Coast Guard who received a distress call from Sydney onboard the yacht, "Pirate's Pleasure".
Alex called down to her husband from upstairs. When he didn't answer, she came down the steps and into the kitchen only to find him staring at Angela, who was cooing at him.
"Walker, didn't you hear me?" She asked.
"Um? Oh sorry Alex. I guess I'm just a little preoccupied."
She knew without asking what was on his mind. "No news?" She asked.
He shook his head. "No and I called the Coast Guard station this morning. They haven't found them yet." As Walker spoke, the phone rang.
"I'll get it." Alex said as she picked up the phone. "Hello. Yes sir, one moment." She turned to Walker. "It's the Coast Guard station in Houston."
Walker took the phone from her. "Walker." He answered.
"Ranger Walker, this is Commander Holcomb, U.S. Coast Guard Houston."
"Yes sir."
"Ranger, I wish I were calling with good news." The Commander started as Walker braced himself for the news he didn't want to hear.
"Are they . . .?" He asked.
"We haven't found them. We found the yacht, "Pirate's Pleasure" just off of the Louisiana coast. Onboard we found the Captain, Deke LaFleur and the body of Cameron Vega. Lefluer's been taken into custody and the yacht's been brought back to Houston. It's been impounded."
"Is LaFleur talking?" Walker asked, hopefully.
"No sir. I spoke with the Police Captain just before calling you. I have his name and number if you'd like to discuss the case further with him." The Commander gave Walker the information.
"Thank you Commander. Are your people still searching?"
"Yes sir. The hurricane is impeding the search, but we plan at least one more go around before we call it off."
"I understand." Walker replied. "Thank you again for calling." Walker hung up the phone and with his hand resting on the receiver, hung his head.
"Walker?" Alex asked the unspeakable question with her tone of voice alone.
"They haven't found them. They found the yacht that they were on and the Captain has been arrested, but he's not talking." Walker picked up the phone and dialed the number that the Coast Guard Commander had given him.
"Captain Capshaw." The voice answered.
"Captain, this is Texas Ranger Cordell Walker."
"Yes Ranger Walker, I've been expecting your call."
"What can you tell me Captain?"
"LaFleur isn't talking. We found a revolver onboard covered with his prints and we know that it's the same gun that was used to kill Vega. This weapon is minus three rounds."
Walker swallowed, knowing that the other two rounds could have very well been used on Gage and Sydney. "Captain, I'm on my way down there."
"Good luck Ranger. A hurricane is moving in and half of Houston is moving out."
"Don't worry about that. I'll get in. Set me up in an interrogation room with LaFleur when I get there."
"You've got it." The Captain replied, rubbing his chin in wonder of how Walker planned to get LaFleur to talk.
Walker hung up the phone and called Trivette.
"Hello." A female voice answered.
"Erica, hi, it's Walker. Can I speak with Trivette?"
"Sure Walker. Just a minute." She handed the phone to Jimmy.
"Hey partner, what's up?" Trivette asked as he took the phone from his wife.
"Pack a bag. We're leaving for Houston. I'll pick you up in about 20 minutes."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's going on Walker? Have they found Gage and Sydney?"
"The Captain of the yacht is being held in Houston. Cameron Vega's body was found onboard and LaFleur's not talking."
"No sign of Sydney and Gage?" Trivette asked, full of concern.
"No."
"Walker . . ."
"Don't say it Trivette. Just don't say it."
*******
The waves continued to pelt the lifeboat and Sydney struggled to stay awake. Fatigue was beginning to set in. She held Gage closer and tighter, afraid to let go.
Gage suddenly and sharply gasped for air and winced at the pain in his side.
"Gage!" Sydney yelled.
"Syd." He called out, his voice barely above a whisper.
"I'm right here. I'm here Gage. You're going to be OK. We're both going to be OK."
He looked into her eyes, nodded slightly and let his eyes slowly close again.
"Gage!" Sydney called out, shaking him slightly. "Gage, please wake up! Gage!"
********
"Francois! Wake up, Francois!" Josephine called out as the small boat rocked in the turbulent sea.
Bouchard's eyes fluttered open at the sound of her voice. "Jo? What happened?"
"You passed out."
"I need to stay awake." He replied firmly.
"Yes. Yes Francois, you do. I do not know where we are or where we are going."
Bouchard lightly laughed. "Neither do I." A wave of pain passed through his side and he winced.
"Francois?"
He exhaled slowly as he pressed tightly over the hole in his side. "I'll be alright Jo. If I do pass out again, just keep an eye out for land. We can't do much with maintaining a course in this storm."
"But you are not going to pass out again, are you?" Josephine asked as she held him a little closer.
"I'm trying Jo. I'm trying."
******
Walker arrived at the Trivette home 20 minutes after he had hung up with Jimmy. "Are you ready?" He called out.
"You bet." Trivette stopped in front of Erica. "You know I have to go."
She nodded. "I know. Be careful and call me."
"I will." He kissed her again and then joined Walker in the RAM. "So, what have we got?" He asked.
"The Coast Guard found the yacht and the Captain was the only one on board, with the exception of the body of Cameron Vega. They also found a revolver, which was missing three rounds. One was found in Vega, the other two are unaccounted for. That's all I know."
Trivette nodded his head while staring out the window. "The other two rounds could have taken out Gage and Sydney." He said quietly.
"I know." Walker replied without emotion.
The remainder of the trip was pretty silent. Walker pulled into the parking lot of the Houston Police Department and then he and Trivette went straight to Captain Capshaw's desk. "Captain Capshaw?" Walker asked.
The Captain extended his hand. "You must be Ranger Walker."
"That's right." Walker nodded. "And this is Ranger Trivette." Each Ranger shook hands with the police Captain.
"I didn't think you'd want to waist any time getting to this guy, so I've had him on standby to be brought up."
"Thank you Captain." Walker replied, taking off his hat.
"Here, you can take interrogation room 3. There's a two-way mirror, but there's no one in the other room." He pulled Walker to the side. "Ranger, make him talk. I'm sure he knows exactly what happened to your two Rangers."
Walker nodded. "Oh, we're not coming out until he does talk." He said with determination.
The police Captain nodded and then turned to one of the Deputies. "Bring LaFleur up." The Deputy nodded.
Walker and Trivette sat down in the room, waiting for Deke LeFleur to be brought up from his holding cell. The door opened abruptly and Deke was forced into a seat, his hands and legs, secured.
"Deke LeFuuer, I'm Ranger Walker and this is Ranger Trivette. Let's cut to the chase. Where are Rangers Gage and Cooke?"
"Who?" Deke responded.
"The happy honeymooners that you were taking on a cruise. Kyle and Leslie Brentwood." Trivette interjected.
"Oh, I had a couple scheduled, but they never showed up." Deke lied.
Walker fixed his intense gaze on Deke's eyes. "That's odd. Ranger Cooke sent out a distress call for aboard the "Pirate's Pleasure". How do you explain that?"
Deke squirmed under Walker's stare. "Alright, yes, they were onboard, but Cam shot them and threw them overboard." He lied.
"What did he shoot them with?" Trivette asked calmly.
"A revolver. The police have it."
"Um." Walker said, still never taking his eyes off of Deke. "It's kind of funny that only your prints were found on that gun." He paused. "You know what I think? I think that you killed Vega and then you did something with the two Rangers. We know that a lifeboat is missing from the yacht. Where is it LaFleur?" Walker asked strongly.
"I don't know. I must have lost it."
"You don't just lose a lifeboat. Did my Rangers take the boat?" He asked even more sternly, taking a standing position.
When Deke didn't reply, Walker's hand reached across the table for his throat. Deke tried to turn towards the door where the Deputy was standing guard, but the Deputy purposefully turned away when Deke looked towards him, showing him that he was turning his back on whatever happened in the interrogation room.
Trivette laid a strong hand on Walker's shoulder, urging him to ease up before he choked the man to death. Walker let go.
*******
After Walker and Trivette left for Houston, Alex flipped on the TV and listened to the weather. She watched as the weather map showed the hurricane beginning to turn Northeastly and prayed that Gage and Sydney would somehow make it through this alive.
As the lifeboat rocked back and forth, Sydney thought that it appeared that they were headed out of the storm. She could see a somewhat lighter sky ahead of them. "We're going to be OK Gage. The storm must be turning, we're almost out of it." As the storm continued it's Northeasterly path towards the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts, the lifeboat had caught a current that was pushing them back towards Texas. "Please, please let someone find us soon." She prayed silently. Just as she finished, she heard what she thought to be a helicopter in the distance.
"I hear a helicopter Gage! We're saved!"
The Coast Guard chopper continued it's trek back towards Houston. Still searching the waters below. "There's no sign of them, let's head back, we're low on fuel."
"Roger that." The pilot said as the helicopter began to turn away from Sydney and Gage's position.
Sydney waved her arms frantically, almost upsetting the small lifeboat. She screamed upward to the sky in the direction of the helicopter. "HEY! WE'RE HERE! WE'RE HERE!" Her tears of frustration began to flow when she realized that they hadn't seen them and were leaving.
******
Josephine cradled Francois' head. He had passed out again, in spite of his best efforts to stay awake. The storm had let up and she was finally able to see around them, but all she could see was water, water and more water.
"Oh Francois, this is hopeless. Our boat is too small to go anywhere fast and we have no food or water. We will certainly not last long this way." She said her thoughts aloud and was taken by surprise when Francois responded.
"We'll be OK, Jo. We got away from Lafitte for a reason. You have to believe that we'll be OK." He said weakly.
Josephine nodded. "If you say so Francois."
******
Walker stared at Deke. "Would you like to try to answer that question again?"
Deke nodded fiercely. "The woman took the boat. She had it in the water before the guy . . ." He stopped short of confessing to shooting Gage.
"Before the guy what?" Trivette asked.
"He fell in." Deke thought this sounded better than letting the Rangers know that he had shot him. "I didn't stick around to see if he made it into the boat or not, but the woman was definitely in the boat."
Walker stepped towards the Deputy. "Get me a nautical map." The deputy nodded and quickly brought Walker a map, which he spread out on the table in front of Deke. "Show me where you were when the lifeboat went into the water." He demanded.
Deke brought up his bound hands and pointed at an area just south of the Louisiana coast. "Here. We were about here when she put the boat in."
Walker marked the spot Deke had given and then he and Trivette turned to leave. "You had better hope that those two Rangers are alive. If they're not, you can bet I'll be back and I won't be as nice as I was this time."
Captain Capshaw stopped the Rangers in the hallway. "Did he talk?"
Walker nodded. "Yes. I need to get to the Coast Guard station, can you point us in the right direction."
"What did he say?" Holcomb continued.
"He gave us the coordinates where the lifeboat was put down by one of my Rangers. I need to get to the Coast Guard station now, Captain."
"Sorry." He gave Walker the direction and then he and Trivette once again climbed into the RAM.
******
When they entered the Coast Guard Station, Walker and Trivette were escorted to the Commander's office. "Commander Holcomb will be with you in a moment."
"Thanks." Trivette acknowledged.
Moments later, the Commander entered his office and greeted the Rangers. "What can I do for you Rangers?"
"Fill us in on the search for my two missing people." Walker stated flatly.
Commander Holcomb looked down and paused before answering Walker, but he then looked at him directly. "We've called off the search Rangers."
Trivette showed a look of astonishment. "You've what?!?" He exclaimed.
"Our chopper just got back from a very extensive search along the outer edges of the hurricane and found nothing. Rangers, I'm sorry, but it appears that your people didn't make it."
Walker's face was fixed. He laid the map on the Commander's desk. "Look again." He said quietly.
"What was that?" The Commander asked.
"I said, look again. I have the coordinates where at the very least, one of my Rangers dropped a lifeboat in the water. I want another search and I'll be going up with them." He stood to leave.
"Ranger, I don't know how you're used to doing things in Dallas, but we just don't have the manpower to keep up a futile search. You need to face facts, your two Rangers are gone." The Commander bellowed.
Walker turned and faced him, his face full of anger. "We WILL be going up again and we WILL search this area. I want a chopper and a pilot ready within the next hour, if you can't find a pilot, then I'll take her up myself!" Walker shouted and then slammed the Commander's door on his way out.
"Ranger Walker!" The Commander shouted. He turned to Trivette. "I can't make this happen."
"You had better try, because I'm quite certain that my partner will be going up in an hour with our without your permission." Trivette walked out the door to join Walker.
"Walker, what was that in there?" He asked.
Walker shook his head. "I don't know Trivette. I just know that we need to look for them again. I need to look for them."
Trivette placed his hand on Walker's shoulder and nodded his head. "You had it right the first time Walker, we need to look for them."
*******
Sydney dipped a piece of her shirt into the waters of the Gulf and dabbed at Gage's forehead. He was still burning up with a fever and his body shook violently at the touch of the cool cloth. "Shh. It's OK honey." She whispered as she continued to try to cool his brow.
A slight moan came from his lips and his body shuddered again as he tried to draw a deep breath. He opened his eyes slightly. "Jo?" He asked as he looked at Sydney.
"No Gage, it's Syd."
"Syd?" He repeated quietly, his strength leaving him.
"Shh." She brushed her hand through his hair. "Shh."
He closed his eyes. Unconscious again, his mind began to drift back to Bouchard and Josephine.
*******
"Francois! Francois, I see land!" Josephine shouted as she shook Bouchard.
"Um? What is it Jo?"
"Land, I see land!" She announced as she pointed north.
"Here, give me the paddles." He said as he reached towards the oars that had been placed inside the boat. Wincing as a sharp pain hit his side.
"Francois, stop! You are going to start bleeding again! I can do this." She took the oars from him as his face turned ashen and he eased himself against the edge of the boat.
Josephine began to paddle towards the land. She fought the waves and currents with the expertise of an old sailor.
"Where did you learn to do this?" Bouchard asked quietly as he watched this incredible woman in front of him.
"What, guide a boat?"
He nodded. "My papa was a sailor. My mother died when I was small and papa, he would take me out on the sea with him when he was traveling short distances. He would let me take the stern and feel the power of the wind and then when we were home, in Paris, he would take me out on a small nearby lake on his fishing boat and there, he would let me paddle it back to shore after we had caught dinner."
"You amaze me Jo. You're so beautiful, but you're not like any other woman I've ever met. You aren't afraid to try things, heck, I don't think you're afraid of anything."
"Ah, but I am afraid Francois. I am afraid of the feelings I have where you are concerned." She confessed, blushing slightly. "I have never fully trusted a man . . . until now."
Bouchard smiled. "Nor I a woman, until now."
The boat bumped as Josephine brought it to a rest on the sandbank, just short of the beach. "We are here. Can you stand?"
"I'm not sure." He replied as he leaned on Josephine for support.
"Here, I will help you." She wrapped her arm around his waist and led him to the beach. "We have a few hours of daylight left, we should set up a camp. Shouldn't we?" She asked as they both lay on the beach, still in each other's arms.
Bouchard nodded. "Yes, we should. If you'll gather the firewood, I'll make us a shelter."
"You are in no shape to be building anything. I'll gather the things to make the shelter and you get the firewood."
Bouchard started to protest, but he knew that she was right. His side had finally quit bleeding, but if he strained himself, he knew it would start again.
Soon, Josephine had gathered palm fronds, branches and vine to piece together a decent shelter for the night. She worked for an hour pulling it all together, tying the branches in place to form a roofing and then laying the fronds on top, tying them in place to keep them dry, should it begin to rain again.
It didn't take Bouchard long to gather the firewood and get a small fire going. "I'll try to catch us some dinner."
"Are you sure you are up to it?"
He nodded. "I also saw some berry vines while I was getting the wood. Maybe you and I can go gather some later."
"I would like that." She tied the last piece of palm frond in place and then stood under the makeshift shelter. "There! It is done."
"And it is good." Bouchard replied, proud of her work. "We won't have to worry about getting wet tonight." He smiled.
Josephine returned the smile. "Francois! You are bleeding again!" She noticed the red stain forming on his bandage. He looked down and winced slightly at the sight of the blood.
"Come, sit down, let me take a look." She patted a rock under the shelter. Bouchard joined her there. She removed the bandage and made an unhappy face as she looked at the red, tender, swollen flesh surrounding the bullet hole. "It looks infected."
She lightly touched it and Bouchard shuddered all over, suddenly feeling very nauseous. "Jo, I'm going to pass out again." Before Josephine could move, he fell over into her lap. She gently lowered him to the ground and pulled out the dagger she had taken from his room.
When Bouchard came to, Josephine stood over him, dagger in hand. "What are you doing?!?" He asked in astonishment.
"Easy Francois. I will not hurt you more than necessary. The wound must be sterilized. I have laid the handle of the dagger in the fire until it is white hot, now I need to place it inside the wound so the blood vessels will close and you will be alright."
"You can't do that, Jo."
"I must do this Francois, or you will die."
"How do you plan to hold the dagger without cutting your hand?" He asked as he saw the white-hot handle of the dagger.
"I will take care of that. You will lay still and let me do this. I will not bury you here Francois." She wrapped a strip of Bouchard's shirt around the blade of the dagger and held it tightly as she prepared to sterilize the wound.
Bouchard grabbed her hand just before the dagger reached his skin. "Is there any other way Jo?" He asked.
"Do not be such a baby. It will hurt far less than being shot."
"And how would you know what being shot feels like?" He asked.
"Because, my dear Francois, I have been shot before. My brother's gun went off while he was cleaning it and the bullet passed through my shoulder." She explained as she wiped the area clean with water and then quickly filled it with the handle of the dagger.
Bouchard screamed and passed out again as the searing pain shot through the bullet wound.
She mopped his forehead again with a wet cloth and then laid down beside of him.
******
An hour had passed and Walker and Trivette returned to the Commander's office. "Well?" He asked.
"Come with me Rangers." They followed the Commander down a corridor and emerged outside where a search and rescue helicopter was fully loaded and waiting. "Good luck Rangers."
"Thank you." Trivette said as they loaded themselves onboard.
Once the Rangers fastened their harnesses, the pilot lifted off and using the map Walker had given him as his guide, headed towards an area just south of the Louisiana coastline.
"Rangers, the Louisiana Coast Guard is working with us on this one. We've already given them the coordinates and they're out searching as we speak." The pilot radioed back to them.
Walker gave a thumbs up sign.
Hours later, they were over the spot where Sydney had dropped the lifeboat in. "Rangers, the sea isn't like land, we can't exactly track them, but we can judge the currents and take the most likely course."
Walker nodded.
The pilot began to travel over the area he had marked out on the map.
******
Sydney had fought the fatigue as long as she possible could, she had fallen asleep, Gage's head still in her lap.
A distant thumping sound caused Gage to stir. "Syd?" He said softly and then tried to lift his head. The sudden movement in her lap woke Sydney.
"Gage?" She said softly.
"What's that sound?" He asked, closing his eyes against the bright sunlight.
She listened carefully. "Helicopter. Oh my Lord, it's a helicopter!" She got to her knees and began to wave her hands frantically.
Walker and Trivette had both grabbed a pair of binoculars and were searching the waters below. Walker looked twice to be certain he wasn't seeing things before alerting the pilot. "THERE! THERE THEY ARE!" He shouted.
The pilot looked down and as he spotted them called out in his radio. "Roger that Ranger Walker. Beginning rescue procedures." He radioed the nearest Coast Guard cutter and gave them their coordinates. The cutter sliced through the water at high speeds towards Sydney and Gage's location, while the rescue crew inside the helicopter prepared for a jump.
The pilot turned on the loudspeaker and announced the Sydney and Gage. "Remain inside the boat. We will come to you."
Sydney gave him a thumbs up sign and sat back down. Gage was once again unconscious. She took his head into her lap again. "We're going home Gage. It's going to be OK. We're going home."
As the dive team reached the lifeboat, Sydney explained to them that Gage had been shot. "Are you alright ma'am?"
"I will be. I'm tired, cold and hungry, but I'll be fine when I know that he's fine."
"Alright. We're going to take you out first since you're not injured. Mike, why don't you prepare the hoist and take her up in the chopper. We'll load him on the cutter when it gets here."
"No!" Sydney protested. "I need to stay with him."
"Ranger Cooke, we need to get you to St. Mary's hospital to be checked out. We'll be airlifting Ranger Gage there too as soon as we know that he's stable. Please, ma'am. It has to be this way."
She nodded reluctantly and allowed a harness to be placed around her as she continued to cradle Gage's head. She bent and kissed his cheek. "I love you." She whispered. "See you soon."
"Are you ready?" The diver asked her. She nodded and he motioned for the chopper to winch her up. Walker and Trivette were by the door of the helicopter, waiting for Sydney. They each wrapped an arm around her and escorted her to a seat.
"Sydney? Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Walker asked.
"I'm fine. LaFleur shot Gage. He's been burning up with a fever for several days."
"Is he conscious?" Trivette asked.
"In and out." Sydney replied, closing her eyes tightly.
"What's wrong Sydney?" Walker asked.
"I'm so tired."
"Tired, dehydrated and malnourished." The EMT onboard announced as he started an IV in her left arm.
The helicopter landed on the helipad at St. Mary's Hospital in Lafayette. Sydney, who by this time had been placed on a gurney, was immediately taken off and whisked towards the emergency room. "Walker!" Sydney yelled.
Walker was by her side in an instant. "I'm here Sydney."
"Gage?" She said quietly.
Walker turned questioningly to the pilot of the helicopter. "The other Ranger?" The pilot asked. Walker nodded. "As soon as we get her inside, we're going back to the cutter to pick him up and bring him here."
"Thank you." Walker replied and turned back towards Sydney. "Did you hear that? As soon as I know anything, I'll let you know, OK?"
She reluctantly nodded. "Walker, don't let him die." She whispered as the EMT's took her inside.
"Trivette, you stay with her. I'm going back with the pilot."
Trivette nodded. "I'll be here when you get back."
The Coast Guard worked as quickly as the could against the strong currents to get Gage out of the lifeboat and onto the cutter. The rescue was impeded by the high tide coming from the storm surge. It took much longer than expected.
Once onboard the Coast Guard cutter, the EMT's were working fervently to stabilize Gage. "He's lost a lot of blood. How are his vitals?"
"BP's dropping fast!" One of the attendants shouted.
"Do you have his blood type?"
"O positive."
"I need three units. We're going in. We've got to stop this bleeding or he'll never make it to St. Mary's."
The attendant returned quickly with one unit of blood.
"I said three units!" The doctor shouted.
"We only have one." The attendant replied.
"He's going to need three. Screen everyone on this ship and find me more!"
"Yes sir." The attendant replied as Walker entered the room and rolled up his sleeve. "I'm Ranger Walker. Gage and I are the same blood type. How is he?"
"Not good Ranger Walker." The doctor stated, looking up at Walker. "You're certain that you're O positive?"
Walker nodded. "I'm sure. We've done this before." He stared at Gage and remembered another time when it was him laying on the table and Gage rolling up his sleeve.
The doctor looked at the attendant. "Get Ranger Walker on a gurney, we need to do a direct transfusion."
Walker quickly hopped onto the gurney and the attendant went to work preparing the tubing for the transfusion.
Suddenly the room was filled with loud beeping. "He's flat-lining!" Another attendant shouted.
Walker sat up quickly and stared at the young Ranger. "Come on Gage! Hang on, buddy!" He said quietly as he watched the medical team go to work, trying to revive him.
The nurse started to draw the curtain between Walker and Gage, but Walker stopped her. "I'm responsible for him being here." He said quietly and the nurse loosened her grip on the curtain.
The doctor shouted orders and the team members quickly obeyed them. Walker breathed a sigh of relief when a rhythmic beeping sound came over the monitors again.
"He's back!" Someone shouted and the remainder of the team nodded towards each other.
The attendant who had started preparing Walker's arm for the transfusion returned to the task. "He's OK?" Walker asked.
"He desperately needs more blood. The sooner we get this tube going, the better off he'll be."
Walker nodded. "You'd better get going then."
*******
The morning sun woke Josephine early. She rolled over to check on Bouchard, but found that he was not laying beside of her. She quickly got up and began to look for him. "Francois!" She called out a few times.
"I'm here Jo!" He yelled back from the beach. "I have breakfast." He laid two fish in front of her.
"I see that you are feeling much better this morning." She smiled.
Bouchard nodded. "I'm real sore, but yes, I feel much better."
"Good." She replied and then looked down at the fish. "Francois, I have nothing to cook these in."
"Just scale them and lay them in the fire Jo." He replied. She made a face at the thought of blackened fish. Bouchard laughed, which caused him to grab his injured side. "Trust me. It will be good."
"Only because I am so hungry." She laughed.
Later, after the fish had cooked, the two of them sat under a palm tree and ate while staring out across the Gulf of Mexico. "It amazes me how it can look so beautiful now and have been so deadly the other night." Josephine said as she bit into the fish again.
Bouchard nodded. "The sea is like a woman. She has many faces Jo. You just have to learn to respect them all."
Josephine leaned closer to Bouchard and they shared a kiss. It began as a brush of their lips, which only left them both hungry for more. Soon, they were unclothed and making love in the sand.
"Oh, Francois!" Josephine screamed out when Bouchard entered her. "I am yours Francois. Only yours." She whispered.
"And I am yours Josephine." Bouchard kissed her lips passionately and continued to grind inside of her until they both came in unison.
Josephine screamed out again as she climaxed. "Francois!"
*******
Onboard a ship, in the not too distant horizon, a spyglass was trained on the new couple. "I have decided that I want her Bouchard, and I will stop at nothing to have her!" Lafitte said quietly, but was still overheard by his brother, Pierre.
"Jean, can you not see that this woman will only be trouble for all of us? Leave them here on the island. They cannot go anywhere. They are exiled here. They will live and die here." Pierre pleaded.
"No Pierre. Only Bouchard will die here. Josephine will be mine."
"Captain, we were on our way to the Keys. The Spanish fleet will be approaching soon."
Lafitte put away the spyglass. "Yes I know. Make record of our current coordinates. We will go and defeat the Spanish fleet and then I will come back and take my Josephine!"
The ship slowly made a turn and headed South without the knowledge of Bouchard or Josephine.
*******
Hours later, Gage's eyes began to open. Walker still lay on the gurney next to him, his eyes closed in exhaustion. Gage looked at him. "Walker?" He whispered.
Walker's eyes immediately opened. "Gage?" He smiled as he saw that Gage was awake. "Hey, how are you feeling?"
Gage hesitated. "Tired." He whispered.
Walker nodded. "You should be. You've been through a lot in the past three days."
"Syd?" Gage asked.
"She's at St. Mary's hospital. They'll be taking you there soon."
Gage looked dazed and confused. "Where are we?"
Walker smiled. "We're onboard a Coast Guard cutter. Gage, do you remember what happened?"
Gage nodded slightly. "Shot. LaFleur shot me." He blinked his eyes several times and then continued. "Syd got the lifeboat in the water and I guess she got me inside. When I woke up, we were in the middle of the Gulf, in a hurricane."
"You're both very lucky."
"Is Syd OK?" Gage asked, beginning to worry.
"She's fine. She's tired and dehydrated, but she's fine."
The doctor entered the room and took Gage's vitals. "Very good." He said as he finished up. "How are you feeling Ranger Gage?"
"Tired."
"That's to be expected." The doctor flipped through Gage's chart. "We performed surgery while you were aboard. The bullet wound you sustained severed a few larger blood vessels and you had lost a tremendous amount of blood by the time you were brought onboard. Honestly, you wouldn't have made it through another night out there." The doctor patted Gage's hand. "The chopper's on standby and as soon as I get a couple of EMT's in here, you're going to be transported to St. Mary's."
Gage nodded. "Thanks, Doc." He shook the doctor's hand.
"You're quite welcome, Ranger."
Walker stared at Gage and shook his head, a bewildered look on his face.
"What?" Gage asked.
"I just can't believe how close you came to dying. You flat-lined right after I got here."
"I did?" Gage asked.
Walker nodded. "Scared me to death."
"Sorry."
Walker half-smiled and started to speak when the EMTs entered. "Alright Ranger Gage, let's get you onboard the chopper."
*******
Gage was being settled into a room at St. Mary's when Alex and Erica entered the hallway finding their husbands sitting in the waiting room.
"Alex! Erica!" Walker exclaimed as he and Trivette both stood and hugged their wives.
"Hi honey." Alex replied. "We had to come. I know the two of you probably haven't slept at all since you came down here and we thought we might be able to relieve you a little." She paused. "How are Gage and Sydney?"
"They're both doing good." Walker stared. "Gage and I just got here. They kept him onboard the Coast Guard cutter until he was stable."
Alex reached for his arm and he pulled it back quickly as she pressed on the area where the needle had been inserted for Gage's transfusion. "What have you done?" Alex asked.
Walker rubbed his arm. "It's nothing."
"Walker!" She demanded.
"Gage needed blood. They only had one unit onboard, so I gave him a direct transfusion."
"You didn't tell me about that." Trivette said.
"I didn't think about it." Walker replied.
"No wonder you look so tired." Alex said as she stroked his hair.
"Rangers, you can see Ranger Gage now, if you'd like." A nurse announced.
"Thank you." Walker said as they followed her to Intensive Care.
"You two go on." Alex insisted.
Walker and Trivette entered Gage's room. His eyes were closed and an oxygen tube was in his nose. He looked as though he was in pain and the two senior Rangers started to leave. "Walker." Gage whispered, apparent that it hurt him to breath.
Walker stepped closer to the bedside. "I'm here Gage." Gage held out his hand and Walker immediately took it.
"Tell . . .Syd . . . I love . . . her." He gasped for air between each word.
"Hey buddy, you're going to be OK. The doctor said that you're going to be a little sore while the drainage tube is in place, but you're going to be OK." He smiled at his friend.
"Really?" Gage asked. "I don't . . . feel OK."
"You need to rest." Trivette interjected.
"Hey . . . Trivette."
Trivette smiled. "Hey yourself."
"Gage, we're going to leave now so you can get some sleep." Walker stated, letting Gage's hand go. He nodded and closed his eyes again, falling asleep to the steady sounds of the monitors.
Walker and Trivette stepped into the hallway and were once again greeted by their wives. "How is he?"
"Tired and he's in pain."
"Can't they give him something?" Alex asked.
"They have. It's the drainage tube. The doctor said he had quite a bit of internal bleeding and they had to drain the gunshot area."
Erica made a face. "Sounds very painful."
"I'm sure it is." Trivette replied, recalling the last time he was shot.
"Can we see Sydney?" Alex asked.
"Sure. She's in room 212. If she asks about Gage, tell her he's OK and that he's resting."
Alex nodded, knowing that Walker didn't want to tell Sydney that Gage was in pain or anything else that had happened since she was brought in because he didn't want her to worry.
Erica and Alex knocked on Sydney's door. "Come in." They heard a quiet voice answer.
As they entered, they noticed immediately how tired Sydney looked. "Hey guys." She said.
"Hi yourself honey." Alex replied as she hugged her friend. "How are you?"
"I'm alright. Just a little tired." She yawned as if punctuating her sentence. "Have you seen Gage?"
Erica shook her head. "He's resting right now. Jimmy and Walker checked on him."
"How is he?" Sydney asked.
"He's going to be fine sweetie. He's sleeping right now." Alex answered.
"I want to see him." Her voice trailed as she drifted off to sleep.
"Poor thing. She's exhausted." Alex said as she gently laid Sydney's hand on the bed and she and Erica left the room.
********
The following morning Walker arrived at the hospital early and went in to check on Gage. He could hear him before he got to the door. "I'm fine! I just want out of here!"
"Mr. Gage, you're going to have to calm down or we'll have to put you in restraints!" A nurse retaliated.
Gage looked at her in frustration. "I need to know how Ranger Cooke is!" He yelled again. "Can you please find out for me?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't give you information on other patients."
"Ranger Cooke is my partner!" Gage fumed.
"And she's doing fine." Walker insisted as he came into the room.
"Walker! Finally someone who'll tell me something." Gage scoffed.
"Ranger Walker, he's still in intensive care and he doesn't need to be upset." The nurse reminded Walker.
"Then why didn't you just tell him that Ranger Cooke is resting and she's fine? Can't you see that you've just agitated him more by not telling him anything?" Walker came back at the overbearing nurse.
"Umph!" She griped, turned on her heel and left.
Gage shook his head. "I can't stand that woman!" He fumed.
"Easy Gage. She's gone now. If you don't watch, you're going to pop your stitches."
"Walker, I don't want to have to deal with her again. Get me out of here, please!"
"Whoa!" Walker smiled, realizing that Gage was nearly back to himself. "Yesterday you thought you were on your death bed and now you're ready to go home."
Gage winced slightly as he pulled himself into a sitting position. "I just want to see Syd, Walker. How is she?"
"I haven't seen her this morning, but yesterday evening she was tired."
Gage nodded. "I really put her through the ringer on this one."
"Yeah I know. She keeps asking about you."
Gage smiled. "She does?"
"What exactly is going on between the two of you anyway?" Walker asked.
Gage's face began to turn red. "Ah, nothing really. Why?"
"Are you sure it's nothing? I mean, to look at the two of you, one would think you were seeing each other."
"That's because we are." Sydney announced as she wheeled herself into Gage's room.
Gage's face lit up as she neared the bed. "What are you doing here?"
"I had to come see you for myself. I couldn't stand it another minute." She smiled, parking herself next to Gage's bedside.
"I'll leave you two alone." Walker started, but turned around when he reached the door. "So, you two are seeing each other then?" He asked.
They both nodded.
"That's great! You both deserve to be happy." He started towards the door, but stopped when Gage called out to him.
"Hey Walker, did you find the weapons plans onboard the yacht?"
Walker nodded. "Yes. Cameron Vega had planned to sell them to someone in Florida. We haven't found the contact's name yet."
"But the plans have been recovered." Gage asked again.
"Yes, both of them and Deke LaFleur has been charged with three counts of murder; The Pratt's and Cameron Vega and your attempted murder in addition to the charges concerning the weapons plans. He'll be going away for a long time." He looked at Gage.
"Good." Gage nodded, a look of determination on his face.
Walker smiled at the two Rangers. "Both of you take care." He then stepped out, closing the door behind him.
"So do you think he's mad?" Gage asked.
Sydney shook her head. "No, I don't think so." She then focused on Gage. "Are you OK?"
He nodded. "I'll be fine. I still have this tube thing in my side, but the doctor said he may take it out this morning. If he does, I can go home soon."
She smiled. "Good, because I'm not heading back to Dallas without you."
"Oh really?" He smiled with a look of satisfaction. "And why is that Syd?"
"Because I love you Gage." She said quietly. "I really, honestly love you and I'm just sorry that it took almost losing you for me to realize that." She leaned forward and their lips met in a passionate kiss.
"I love you too and I can hardly wait to be out of here and have you in my arms again."
"Soon Gage, soon." Sydney responded as she held his hand and ran her fingers through his hair. "By the way, who is Jo?"
"What?" He asked.
"Back in the boat, you woke up once and called me Jo."
He thought for a moment. "Oh! I had the wildest dream while we were out there!" He said in realization and then proceeded to tell her his dream of Bouchard and Josephine.
THE END
