Chapter 8
Justin is taken off the #2 Black hawk and rushed to the trauma unit on the ship. The trauma team checks over Justin's motor functions and his blood chemistry to make sure that the Night Howler is out of his system. Nick and Judy are checked over by Dr. Honey Badger to ensure that they are not contaminated. After Nick and Judy are given the OK, they are taken to see the Captain of the ship, David Reade. Captain Reade informs Nick and Judy that the hospital has been captured by the rioters and there is a plan to retake the area.
The hospital was being raided for the Night Howler serum it was it a box in a safe that 4 to 7 inches thick so no C4 is going to blow up the safe. Nick and Judy were talking to the Dr. Honey Badger who told Justin that "there was swelling by is spine it was a 50/50 percent chance that he will walk again."
Before any one could say any thing a chief petty officer announced over the ship communication that a bogey was approaching the ship. The bogey was actually a plane that was loaded with missiles that could fly at a speed of Mach 3. The missiles were loaded with the Night Howler, which was not known on the carrier.
The defensive systems on the Ronald Reagan were readied for the attack. The Reagan had 6 Gatling guns, and some anti aircraft missiles. There was no time to launch any carrier air craft to intercept the bogey. The nearest carrier patrol air craft were too far away to defend the ship. The bogey plane was a F4 Phantom, which fired 4 missiles at the ship before peeling away.
Unfortunately, the ship's sonar was not working properly, which meant the enemy submarine came in undetected to launch 4 torpedoes. The missiles hit their target on the port side of the ship. The torpedoes hit the ship on the star board side of the ship. It was evident that the Reagan was going to sink in no time. The order was given to abandon ship!
Nick and Judy locate a gurney and load Justin onto it and run to the nearest elevator. They get into the elevator and take Justin to the flight deck to find a medevac copter to fly off before the Reagan sinks. The USS Reagan has a crew compliment of 3200; 200 of them were killed when the torpedoes struck the hull. Captain Reade ordered the crew to shut the 2 nuclear reactors down to 25% strength to reduce the chance of an explosion. Captain Reade wants the crew to take any survivors to Midway Island which is the closest land form to the ship.
Midway island was uninhabited, but it still had buildings and old run ways left over from WW 2. The runways were in terrible shape after so many years of neglect, so it would be problematic for any airplanes to land there. Fortunately, the Reagan had some helicopters that would make landing at the airport easier and safer. Nick, Judy, Justin and Dr. Honey Badger were on the first helicopter transport off of the Reagan. Justin was transported to the old abandoned hospital building that was located near the island airport. Dr. Honey Badger searched for first aid supplies going from floor to floor. In the back of one of the rooms, she finds an old safe. She yells for Nick to come and join her because she knows he may be able to crack the safe code. Sure enough, Nick gets the safe open and inside they find restricted drugs that are used for pain, including morphine. This is a really good find. Along with the other first aid supplies that Nick had already found in another room, Dr. Honey Badger thinks they have enough equipment to treat Justin's injuries and manage his pain. On the way out of the building Nick saw some blankets which he grabbed to wrap everything up in to make it easier to carry.
Nick and Dr. Honey Badger rushed back to the helicopter, and after giving Justin a shot of morphine, Nick started up the helicopter to head for Sand Island. After 1/2 hour battling the wind, Sand Island came into view. Judy was on the lookout for the old artillery spot because there would be enough flat land there to put down the helicopter. Nick is a little nervous about landing because of the wind. It's not until his fourth attempt to land, after bouncing up a couple times, that he finally manages to set the helicopter down safely. But not without a lot of cursing!