Disclaimer: Don't own…just borrowing =)
That night, the klaxon alarm rang at about 11:30. Ash sat bolt upright in bed, then sighed as she heard her brothers' steps pounding as they hurried to their respective 'birds. She fell back into her pillows and groaned. She never could sleep when her brothers were on a rescue.
…
"What's up, John?" Scott asked as they jumped into their 'Birds.
"We've got a collapsed bridge in northern Michigan. Water below is cold, just above freezing. There are a few cars in the water, but the big problem is a school bus teetering on the edge of the upright part, about to fall in. There are about 20 kids trapped inside and local rescue doesn't have the equipment to get them out." John reported. "Both sets of doors are un-openable as of now. One set is crushed closed and the emergency door is jammed against the guardrail.
"Thanks John, keep us updated." Jeff said. "We'll need weather conditions and a radio link with local rescue."
John nodded. "FAB"
The boys performed the pre-flight checks with practiced ease, and were soon in the air and rocketing to the scene. John kept them informed to the situation, so when they arrived, they knew exactly what to do.
"You'll have to approach on foot, because the disturbed air from TB2 could push the bus over." Jeff warned.
"FAB, Dad. Alan and Gordon can hook up lines to the bus and then we can pull the bus out." Scott said. "Dad and I can help on the ground." he added.
"Do I have any choice?" their father joked back.
"Sorry Dad" Scott said.
Jeff laughed it off. "I would have said the same thing."
They arrived on scene and disembarked. "Al, Gordon, be careful" Jeff warned as his two youngest boys hooked themselves to safety lines.
"FAB" came the expected reply. The two boys started across the dangerously tilting bridge. Carefully, they approached the bus. The anxious faces of kids peeked out from behind windows covered with frost. Alan and Gordon each took a rescue line and attached it to both ends of the bus. Alan surveyed the work. "I think we need two more lines" he said over the comm.
Gordon cast a critical eye over their work. "Al's right, we should add the extra lines" he said. "Soon" he added as the remaining upright part of the bridge began to teeter forward. "Very soon" he shouted.
"Releasing extra lines" came Virgil's calm voice. Two lines were launched from Two and caught by the bridge's guardrail.
"Lines received, Two. Thanks Virge" Gordon said as he grabbed one line and handed the other to Alan. "Let's get this bus outta here."
…
Scott and Jeff came to the rescue scene and immediately began to help local rescue with the recovery of the cars in the water. The bridge was over a rather large ravine, but it was too narrow for any of the 'birds.
"Is anyone in the water?" Jeff questioned a fireman working nearby.
The fireman shook his head. "They all got out. No one was badly hurt, but we need to get the cars out before they're taken downstream. There's another bridge down there-the ravine gets shallow and there's barely a few feet of clearance- and if we don't stop these cars, they'll smash it to pieces. Warmed up too fast and the water's already caused enough damage. With the sudden freeze, chunks of ice have been coming down and washing out the bridges." He said with a shake of his head.
Jeff nodded. He and Scott helped launch tow ropes to the fallen vehicles and dug away snow and scraped away ice to give the tow trucks traction.
A cheer went up as the bus was lifted away. "Got it!" said Virgil, Gordon and Alan, almost in sync with each other.
The last car was pulled out of the water not much later. Virgil had dropped the bus off at the nearest hospital and was just returning. "Do you need me down there?" he asked as he approached.
"No, Virge, we're coming up now. Everything's done here. Time to head home." Jeff said. He nodded at Scott. "Let's go."
Alan and Gordon had helped with the cordoning off of all roads that led to the bridge and were waiting in a clearing for Virgil to come and get them.
Once all the boys were in their 'birds, they started for home. John's voice broke into their banter. "There's been an avalanche in Russia. Hundreds of people are trapped and there's no way for local rescue to get them all. If you're not that tired…"
"We're on our way." Jeff said. "Where in Russia?"
A/N: I won't be updating for a week or so, as I'll be on vacation and I have massive amounts of packing to do. After that updates may slow down because school starts again and I was overly ambitious and signed up for too many classes. Oops. Anyway, I'll keep writing. Hope you enjoy! =)