X enjoyed the feeling of being on the RHIB, with the wind blowing the hair off her face and the steady rocking of each wave. She looked ahead at the boat they would be boarding; it was a large boat unlike the small fishing boats they so often boarded and it was old as well, she could see from the peeling paint and old wood.
She waited for Buffer to board the boat first, as he always did and then followed. Quickly assessing she walked forward "Buffer, Spider you search the… AHH!" The X crashed through the decking and fell to the level below.
"X" shouted Buffer "You alright?" There were sounds of scuffling in the darkness below "Yeah, it's just my head and my arm, I can't move it" There was more scuffling below. "Buffer? There's something down here with me."
Buffer heard a soft yelp and then silence "X?" he yelled again "X? Can you hear me? What's going on?" There was no reply and Buffer started to get anxious.
"Spider, 2Dads, Swain go below and find her now!" Buffer stayed above deck waiting by the hole in the deck for her to respond.
Below decks Buffer heard he radio "X-ray82 this is Charlie82. What is the situation?" This repeated twice and then the boss' anxious voice turned to buffer "Bravo82 this is Charlie82 what is going on?" "Boss, the X has fallen below deck, we are searching for her now" He answered quickly before turning off his radio.
After what seemed like ages Buffer heard a noise coming from the stairs "Did you…" he stopped at the sight of who was at the door.
It was X being held by a strange man. He had a knife to her throat and there was a long cut to her forehead. "X" he cried to no avail, she was unconscious and limp in the man's arms.
"Sir, let her go" He tried to make his voice sound steady and calm but he himself could hear the shake in it. He couldn't stand to see her there so helpless.
Instead of doing what buffer said he dragged the X to the side of the boat. The XO certainly wasn't heavy but the man seemed to have trouble carrying her.
Buffer looked to see what was causing the man's weakness and saw that there was chain around the X's ankles and to that thick chain an anchor was attached.
Realizing what the man intended to do, he yelled "Stop!" Spider, 2Dads and Swain ran up the stairs and on seeing the X rushed towards her and the man, but he just waved the knife around wildly, just missing X's face.
The man carefully lifted the anchor over the railings while taking care that he managed to stay behind his hostage at the same time and also keep the knife at her throat.
Buffer felt helpless as he watched the man lift up the X's petite body and rested her on the railings. He knew he should act, the rest of the crew was looking at him for some sort of direction, but he was paralyzed by his fear for the X's life.
The man looked around at the crew and then silently, pushed her frail body off the boat.
Buffer sparked into action, he quickly lunged at the man, and winced as he felt the knife embed into his thigh. Once he had tackled the man to the ground and was sure that the rest of the crew had him, Buffer jumped into the water diving desperately to find his X, his Kate.
He saw a glimmer in the water as the sun reflected of her golden hair, and he swum desperately to reach her. When he did, his first instinct was to pull her up with him, but then he remembered the anchor.
He frantically looked for a way to free her legs from the weight when he remembered the back up hand gun in his holster. He pulled it out and prayed that he would not miss. He pulled the trigger and the chain broke.
Quickly he unwrapped the X's legs and pulled her lifeless body close to him as he swum for the surface.
When he did, Swain was already reaching out for her and checking her pulse. "There's no pulse, she isn't breathing".
Swain and buffer urgently performed CPR. Buffer breathing and Swain pumping. The whole time Buffer was silently praying for the X to pull through.
"Mate" Swain sad sadly. "Keep going" Buffer growled and Swain pushed on. Both Spider and 2Dads were watching on anxiously. "Come on X, come on" he begged through gritted teeth, as he moved desperately to breath life into her.
Suddenly, the X coughed and inhaled deeply. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open and a confused look spread across her face.
"Pete?" She asked, her voice a faint whisper over the waves in the background. Buffer had never felt more relieved in his life to hear her speak. He breathed a sigh of relief and looked down at her pale face.
"I'm here Kate." He murmured, aware of the rest of the crews puzzled glances in their direction. She smiled softly, it was the first time that he had called her by her real name.
"Good" she replied gently, and reached over to take his hand in hers, before slowly and silently closing her eyes and letting unconsciousness drift over her once more.