Chapter Three
Operating solely by touch, Steve flipped Jaime over, and his heart began beating again when he heard her sputtering cough. She was alive! He could feel that she was badly entangled in something, but instinct told him it was keeping her afloat, and he didn't attempt to free her. His undamaged legs kept up a steady treading of the water beneath him as he cradled her upper body in his arms.
"Jaime?" He could feel her body trembling as she coughed to rid herself of the water she'd just begun to inhale and drew a few shaky, tentative breaths. "Sweetheart? Can you hear me?"
"You...you're alive.." she gasped in a weak, breathy voice. "I - I couldn't find you, and...I thought..." her voice trailed off.
"Jaime, are you hurt?" Steve longed to be able to look into her eyes, to be able to see her, so he could truly help her, but his soul was filled with gratitude that at least he was once again holding her in his arms.
"Nothing hurts," she told him, slowly realizing he was staring blankly into the distance and didn't appear to see her. "But something's wrong. Steve...I can't move my legs."
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The OSI radio room was busier in the middle of that long, fear-filled night, than it was during most of its normal daylight hours. Oscar had one man working solely on trying to contact the boat's ship-to-shore radio and half a dozen others in constant communication with Search-and-Rescue. Rudy Wells was hunched over a data bank that he was beginning to believe had malfunctioned.
"Oscar," he said in a dark voice, "I've tuned into the frequency of Jaime's emergency chip, and I'm getting nothing."
"Nothing?"
"It might mean that the chip itself has malfunctioned, or her bionics are inoperable or not receiving adequate power, or..." the doctor's eyes misted slightly as he pondered the outcome he was unwilling to voice. Oscar patted him on the shoulder, sharing his overwhelming flood of emotions. "I'll keep trying," Rudy said with renewed determination.
"Oscar!" Russ called from across the room. "You're gonna want to take this!"
Goldman took the radio receiver from his assistant's hand. "This is Oscar Goldman."
"Mr. Goldman, this is Captain Ron Adamson, US Coast Guard. We're picking up transmissions from your Search-and-Rescue teams, and I believe I've got information regarding your missing ship."
"Go on," Oscar requested urgently, signaling for Russ to open the lines so the rescue teams would hear the transmission as well.
"Approximately 30 minutes ago, one of my vessels spotted a small boat that appeared to be firing on a second boat. The attacking vessel was intercepted and its occupants detained."
"And the other boat?" Oscar asked anxiously. "What about the second boat?"
"Sir, it appears there was an explosion."
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Jaime and Steve were doing what they'd had a lifetime to practice: working as a team. Jaime was serving as their eyes, and Steve was providing strength and ability. Jaime spotted a coil of rope verbally guided him to it, and Steve grabbed it. He then worked very gently to untangle Jaime's legs from what turned out to be a small piece of the hull with a wooden rail attached. Its hollow curvature prevented it from sinking, and Steve used the rope to carefully lash Jaime to the side that curved upward, keeping her above the water line. In the last remaining light of the setting sun, she'd also seen several life vests and Steve grabbed at two of them, strapping one onto Jaime, whose right arm had now lost strength as well, and putting the other one on himself.
Jaime watched quietly, making sure he'd fastened the buckles on his vest securely. When she was satisfied that he was safe, for the moment, anyhow, she fished around with her left hand, found the longer end of the rope and wrapped it around Steve's chest.
Steve shook his head. "If something happens, I've gotta be able to react fast; I can't be tied -"
"And if I pass out, or even fall asleep, and we drift apart..." Jaime firmly pressed her hand over his as he tried to remove the rope. "Please?"
Steve couldn't see the tears in her eyes, but he heard them in her voice. He gave her hand a tender, reassuring squeeze before threading the rope through his life vest. He felt Jaime's body shiver, and even though he was equally wet and cold, he moved as close to her as he could get, gently enfolding her in his arms. Jaime snuggled against him, her head resting on his chest, as the waves moved them even closer together and storm clouds began to gather in the cold night sky.
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