Chapter 14 – Up or down?
Adam, Sheldon and Lindsay sat glumly on stools in the break area staring at their half-empty coffee cups. Occasionally a lab tech walked past casting them a wary glance. Rumours spread fast in the lab and rumour was that the boss was in trouble and many feared the worst. Adam suspected that they had organized a rota and that a different person would walk by a regular intervals to see what was going on. Lindsay jiggled her cell phone in her hand wishing it would ring. She was tempted to call Danny again but she knew they were in the air. "What's taking so long?" she muttered half to herself. Neither man replied. Ever since Don had called to say they had one of the men in custody but that the others now knew Mac's true identity a sense of despair had insidiously inched its way into the backs of their minds.
Adam took a half-hearted swig of his coffee and grimaced to find that it had gone cold. Clearly they had been sat there longer than he thought. "It'll be fine. You'll see. Mac's probably got the bad guys rounded up and banged to rights and he's hanging around waiting for them to pick him up." Lindsay gave him a tiny smile in acknowledgement of his valiant effort to cheer her up the they lapsed into silence once more.
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Mac probably would have felt like clipping Adam round the back of the head if he had heard those words. For he was hanging around. Literally. The theory had been good. The reality not so much so. He had known all along that he was expendable and that as soon as they had the diamonds they would either cut the rope or just shoot him or both. So on his way down he had set up a secondary climb rope that he had clipped to his harness during his ascent. As soon as he had diverted their attention with the flask he had released himself from the main cord and, with a quick prayer, pushed away from the rock-face. As strange as it was, the feeling of free-falling was terrifying yet also somehow exhilarating reminding him of his first parachute jump in the Marines. However, it's abrupt ending wasn't as much fun. As he reached the end of the rope his entire body was jolted so violently that it felt as though all his limbs were being wrenched from their sockets. He had been flung about like a rag doll. He now knew why bungee ropes were elasticated.
As bad as that was it wasn't as bad as what followed. His theory had been to sail past the overhang upstream of the plane and swing back in underneath the rock ledge to protect him from the shots he knew that Mason and Jowls would send in his direction. He knew he would have to use his legs to cushion the swing. That had been the theory. The reality was that his fall was not as controlled as he would have liked. He had correctly calculated the position of the anchors and the length of the rope but the force to which his already battered body was exposed by the sudden stop caused him to tumble out of control and he smacked into the underside of the ledge with a bone-shattering crunch.
When he came to, his brain could only process one thing. Pain. Overwhelming, mind-numbing pain. It seemed to be everywhere. Every inch of his body felt as though it had been struck with a sledgehammer. He focussed on pulling air into his oxygen-starved lungs. Little by little as he grew accustomed to the discomfort two things became clear. One, he wasn't dead as surely being dead couldn't possibly be this painful and two, no one appeared to be shooting at him which he reckoned had to be a good thing. He couldn't hear Mason or the others. He hoped and prayed that he had given Stacy enough time to escape and that they wouldn't pursue her.
In fact all he could hear was the rush of the river below and the beating of his own heart. Slowly he opened his eyes and took stock of his position. He was hanging under the ledge, the river some fifteen feet below him. The undercarriage of the plane was to his left where he could see the missing wheel from the landing gear and he was slowly rotating as he dangled from the rope. The incessant circular movement made his stomach protest and he squeezed his eyes tight in an attempt to calm the nausea.
He lost track of time but, opening his eyes once more, Mac attempted to raise his arms but discovered to his dismay that only his right arm would work. He grabbed at the rope and attempted to right himself to at least stop the gut-churning rotation but the strength in his arm was gone and he let it drop. Instead he used it to explore the reason for his non-functioning left arm. It took less than ten seconds for him to locate the problem. As soon as his fingers touched his shoulder they could feel a large bulge just in front of his shoulder where the humerus had detached itself from the socket. Mac swore softly to himself as he realized there was no way he could climb with a dislocated shoulder. He only had one choice and that was down. He twisted his head to look down at the churning ice-cold water and the jagged rocks below him. Not good!
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Carl twisted round in his seat. "Okay we coming up on the falls now. To your left." Jo and Danny peered out of the window As Don and Lina leaned across, Carl flew them up and over the falls. The view was magnificent. Desperately their eyes scanned the river bank for signs of activity. Carl took them a little higher as the banks closed in on either side of them. "We're nearing the coordinates," Carl shouted. Jo felt as though she was holding her breath. Carl Rogers leaned forward in his seat as he gently guided the chopper upstream. The river fell away below him as he scanned the surrounding area for a clearing where he could set down. A glint of sunlight reflecting off something shiny drew his attention to the bank up to his left. He eased off a little as he approached. "Well, I'll be … There!" he shouted urgently.
Don leaned across Jo his eyes desperately seeking what Carl had seen.
"There! It's the plane!" Danny pointed. "Among those trees at the water's edge. You can just see the tip of the wing sticking up."
"Oh good Lord!" Jo breathed as they neared. They could clearly see a set of ropes trailing down the rock-face and, partially obscured by the trees and bushes at the base of the cliff, the body of a man dangling at the end of it. "Is he alive?"
"I dunno," Danny placed a hand against the pane of glass. "I can't tell. Can you get us closer?"
Carl shook his head. "No but there's a clearing about a mile upstream. The sooner we put down the better." Much to everyone's disappointment he didn't linger but dipped the nose and moved away. Jo felt a light pressure on her arm and she turned to look at Don who looked as sick as she felt. She tried to breathe but felt as though a tight band was pressing against her chest. The few minutes that it took for them to land seemed like an eternity but Carl brought them to a gentle stop and as soon as the skids touched the ground he was already flicking switches to power down the chopper. "Wait until the rotors stop," he ordered as Danny reached for the door.
"Danny, I need you to take some equipment for me, please." Lina looked at Danny who looked at her blankly for a moment before nodding his head in acquiescence. She could see how desperate he was and how pale. "The bag under your seat. " Again he nodded and reached under his seat. Lina yanked open the door and jumped out. "Bring that too." She nodded to a small case affixed to the wall. Danny could see that it was a defibrillator. He grabbed the bag and pulled the defibrillator from its holder and clambered out after her as she hefted a solid looking backpack onto her own shoulders. Don was out and looking around as Jo and Danny climbed down. Carl powered off the motor and joined them hefting a solid looking pack and a sling full of climbing equipment.
Movement at the edge of the trees caused Danny to turn. Squinting into the sinking sun he saw a small figure step out from the shadows. Hampered as he was by the bag and the defibrillator Danny could do nothing but narrow his eyes against the bright sun and peer until she stepped forward. Her long hair was a mess and her tear-streaked face was pale and dirty but she was instantly recognizable. "Stacy!" Jo and the others turned at his cry. The girl jumped visibly at hearing her name and took a step back but quick as a flash Jo stepped forward.
"Stacy! It's all right. We're with the New York Police Department." Stacy shuffled nervously not knowing whether to believe them. She stared at Jo and the gun on her hip and hesitated backing away towards the trees. "Stacy, wait! It's okay. We're here to help you. My name is Jo Danville and ..." Jo was unable to finish her sentence as Stacy's jaw dropped a look of utter amazement on her face.
"Jo? You're Jo?" Suddenly and much to Jo's astonishment Stacy ran towards her and threw her arms around her waist. Jo staggered a little by the surprise gesture. "Mac said you'd come," she mumbled into Jo's jacket. "He said you'd come for us." Don looked at Jo in amazement whose face was showing such a myriad of emotions he wasn't sure what to think. Taken aback by the sudden appearance of Stacy, Don turned away to scan the tree-line in search of Mac but there was no one.
Jo slipped her arms around the trembling young girl. "It's okay Stacy. You're safe now sweetheart. It's going to be all right. We're here. Where's Mac?"
Stacy's eyes filled with tears as she looked up Jo. "He told me to run. He told me to find you," she gulped. "He made me promise. I had to leave … him. He made me … promise. I'm sorry." Jo's heart sank, a feeling of dread coming over her as Stacy's eyes bored into hers. " I think … I think they shot him."
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