Semper Fidelis (10 page)

“Three in the water, Sully, and a lifeboat. Do we know how many men were on the vessel when it ran aground?”

He and Sully doubled checked everything one last time while they waited for the count.

“There were seven men, plus the captain. So you have eight bodies to find. Hopefully there are five men in the boat,” James, one of the medics that went out on the rescues, told them.

“All right. I’m going for the single floaters first. I’ll assess them for injuries and see whether we need a basket or can use a harness to get them up.”

Sully slapped his shoulder to signal he was good to go, and Roger lowered the helicopter closer to the surface. Dean crossed his arms over his chest, took a deep breath, then jumped. He went into the water feet first, and didn’t panic as his head sank underneath it.

Once he broke the surface, he glanced around to orient himself and started swimming toward the first of the orange suits he saw. The waves washed over him, forcing him to work to get to the first man. When he finally made it, the man grinned at him, and said through chattering teeth, “Knew I could count on you to make it.”

Dean pushed all thoughts of Phil to the back of his mind. He owed it to the men riding the waves in the Bering Sea to do his best without being distracted, which was the surest way to get them all killed.

Chapter Five

What had gone wrong?
Phil wondered as he bobbed in the water, floating on his back and staring up into the gray sky. A twenty foot wave had hit the boat on the starboard side, swept over it, and must have been at just the right angle to capsize it.

There was no boat left anywhere that Phil could see, only buoys and rubber tubs used to store things on deck. He glanced around as he hoped to see other orange immersion suits nearby.

Pain radiated from his side and chest, and Phil hissed while trying to ignore it. He must have broken some ribs and his collarbone when he got swept overboard. He was lucky that one of the guys had somehow managed to throw him an immersion suit before the second wave hit that had taken the rest off the vessel and into the water.

With shaking fingers, he activated his Personal Locator Beacon, and after it started blinking, he closed his eyes to take another cautious breath.

Please don’t let Dean be the one sent to save my ass
.
If I don’t make it, he’ll never forgive himself for not pulling me out in time.

“Hey, Rhody, you all right?”

“Bobby, where are you?” he called out, though it hurt like hell to raise his voice.

“I’m not sure what direction I’m in from you,” Bobby admitted. “I just saw your suit, and hoped it was you.” He coughed, and Phil imagined he’d breathed some water in when he’d washed in the sea.

The waves crashed into and over him, and it swelled beneath him. Phil was surrounded by water like he’d never been before. Being on a hundred-fifty foot fishing vessel was one thing. Bobbing in the freezing water like a marking buoy was an entirely different feeling.

“How long do you think it’ll take the Coasties to get here?”

Phil didn’t have any clue, but he wasn’t about to tell Bobby that. Bobby was a greenhorn, and Opilio season had been his first time out on a crab boat. He hadn’t been terrible, just slow, but learning. Now he would have to fight being afraid of the water and a boat for a while before he got back on one.

Phil had seen that happen to a lot of guys who came out to try crabbing, and ended up staying a season or not even making it to the end of one. For some reason, most of them thought that just because they were athletic or strong, working on a crab boat would be easy. Phil usually just shook his head and laughed when the greenhorns strutted around like they were big shit.

They all got the crap knocked out of them within minutes of hanging bait and setting pots. When the captain decided it was time, there wasn’t a minute to breathe in between the crab pots until all one hundred and fifty metal cages were dropped to the bottom of the sea.

“Rhody, you still there?” Bobby’s voice held a hint of panic.

“Yeah. Sorry, sort of drifted off there. Not sure when they’ll get here. Depends on which station they’re flying out of, but they’ll be here. One thing you can count on out here, Bobby, the Coast Guard will do their best to rescue us.”

Phil knew that as sure as he knew his name. Having lived on there all his life, and his family being in the fishing business, he’d seen more than his share of rescues. If crab fishing hadn’t been in his blood, he would’ve become a rescue swimmer. Those men risked their own lives to save others, and that willingness to die to help others was one of the reasons why he loved Dean so much.

His mind drifted through the two years he’d known Dean. The night they’d met, and how—when they’d parted—he hadn’t been able to imagine never seeing Dean again. So he’d rearranged his life to ensure that whenever Dean could get leave, they could meet up somewhere.

Never once had he thought about asking Dean to leave the Coast Guard. His lover wouldn’t be the man Phil loved if he wasn’t a rescue swimmer. Phil wasn’t worried, though. Once he told his parents about Dean, then they could spend time together in Dutch Harbor without worrying that his family would find out.

Phil lifted his hand to wipe the water off his face, and stared at how it shook. His skin was tinged blue, warning him that his body temperature must have been dropping, even though he couldn’t tell. The immersion suit helped keep him warm, but only for so long. He had no idea how long he’d been in the water by now.

As his strength started to wane, and he struggled to keep himself floating instead of sinking into the water, he heard the steady thump of blades chopping through the rough wind. After rolling over on his back, Phil stared up into the blue sky, then spotted the orange and white helicopter coming toward him.

“Thank God,” he whispered at the sight of the Coast Guard coming to the rescue.

Phil waved his hand above his head, hoping someone spotted him as they passed over. His entire body protested those movements, and Phil realized if he wasn’t careful, he could end up puncturing a lung with a rib.

As he watched, one man jumped from the ‘copter close by him. He didn’t try swimming to the diver, knowing it could end up injuring him further. Also, with the way the waves swelled and crashed around him, Phil could easily end up missing his rescuer.

Finally, a hand rose above the water from beside him, then a body appeared as well. Phil blinked at the smile the man wore, because who would smile in the middle of the freezing cold sea?

“Hey, man, looks like you’ve had a little problem here.” The man rested his fingers lightly on Phil’s shoulder. “I’m Major Clinton, and do you think if I hook you to a harness you’ll be okay to be hoisted up?”

“You’re not Coast Guard,” was all Phil could think of to say. The cold had to be seeping into his brain, and slowing his thoughts.

“Nope. I’m Air Force. My PJ unit came up here to do some cross training with the Coast Guard.” Clinton encircled Phil’s wrist, and he figured the major was checking his pulse.

“Oh okay. I’m Phil. I think I broke some ribs and my collarbone when the first wave slammed me against the railing,” Phil informed him, accepting without question that his savior was part of the elite Air Force Pararescuemen, or PJs as they were known as in the military.

Clinton nodded. “Thanks for letting me know. I think I’ll have the guys lower down the basket, and we’ll get you in there instead of attaching the rope to you.”

“Might be a good idea.” Phil blinked. “Which station did you come from?”

After letting the men in the helicopter that he needed a basket lowered, Clinton turned to look at him. “We’re out of Dutch Harbor.”

“Hmm…did Kodiak get called out on another rescue?”

Kodiak wasn’t as close as Dutch Harbor to where the Angela Kayla went down, so it made more sense for them to answer a different mayday.

“Yes. Another boat ran aground around False Pass, and was taking on water. The Kodiak unit went out to get them.”

Phil wasn’t sure if he needed to know that Dean was out in this weather as well. He liked the idea of his lover being safe, warm, and dry on Kodiak.
False Pass? What idiot takes his boat through False Pass during a storm?

While he tried to think about what boats were down in that area, the basket had been lowered.

“All right, Phil. This is going to hurt like hell, but I’m going to try and get you in with as little movement as possible.”

He nodded, and didn’t try to help Clinton. The PJ knew what he was doing, having trained like Dean to rescue people in the worse conditions imaginable. Of course, PJs tended to go after downed pilots and special ops guys behind enemy lines more than fishermen. Dean had told him about the PJs during one of their monthly dates, and he had a lot of respect for them.

Before he realized it, he was in the basket and being lifted to the helicopter. The down draft of the blades washed over him, beating against his body until he grimaced in pain. Phil kept his eyes closed, feeling the basket swing back and forth.

Someone must have grabbed hold of the cable, then swung him inside the ‘copter. The buffeting disappeared, and Phil opened his eyes to see another PJ and two Coast Guard swimmers.

One of the Coasties, Josh, grinned at him. “Hey there, Rhody. Sorry to hear about your boat, man.”

“Thanks, Dan.” Phil gasped as he was shifted from the basket to a spot on the floor.

“Bill told me what your injuries might be. I’m a medic, so I’ll take a look at them for you, but we need to get you out of this suit and wrapped in some blankets.” The strange PJ reached out to tug on the zipper of Phil’s immersion suit.

Phil frowned. “Bill?”

The PJ chuckled. “Yeah. Major Clinton down there.”

“Oh.” It made sense. “Josh, is Dean still out on the rescue?”

Josh nodded. “They pulled seven guys out of the water, so they’re still looking for the eighth.”

“What about my crew?” Phil might not have been the captain of the Angela Kayla yet, but he did consider all the men working on her his crew.

“Well, we’ve just extracted you, but from the PLBs we’re tracking, all of your guys are accounted for. Cap wasn’t out this trip?” Josh asked while he helped the PJ strip Phil.

“Nah. He had some appointments he had to take care of. He was planning on meeting us when we went in for our first off load and take over. We were going to dry dock the Angela this summer and do a complete overhaul, but I guess we don’t have to worry about that now.”

Phil couldn’t help being happy that his dad hadn’t come out with them this time. Pops was in good shape, but even the healthiest guy would have been hard pressed to recover quickly from that. Now that he was in the helicopter and warm, he found his consciousness slowly spilling away.

It was his body’s way of trying to keep the rest of his organs warm and supplied with oxygen. Josh rested his hand on Phil’s shoulder, then squeezed.

“It’s all right, Phil. We’ve got you and your men now.”

Nodding, Phil was about to relax when he thought about Dean. “Can you let Dean know I’m all right?”

“Sure, Rhody. I’ll make sure he knows. You’re going to end up in Anchorage at the hospital. I’m sure he’ll be able to come and visit you when this is over.”

“Thanks, Josh, and thank you, sir.” He gestured toward the PJ.

“You’re welcome.” The PJ inclined his head as he started unbuttoning Phil’s shirt.

Closing his eyes, Phil tried to let everything go. All that mattered now was getting to the hospital, making sure his men were all right, and seeing Dean so that he could kiss him.

* * * *

Phil glanced up from his bed in Alaska Regional Hospital as his parents walked into the room. His ribs had been taped, and his arm was in a sling to keep him from moving it too much because of his broken collarbone. His mother rushed to him, but her hug was gentle, and Phil appreciated that.

“Glad to know you’re going to be all right, son.” Pops clapped his large hand on Phil’s shoulder.

“Thanks, Pops. Sorry about the Angela Kayla. Did you talk to Simpson about what happened?” Phil had been on deck directing the men while they’d been stacking pots, so he only had a vague idea of what caused the vessel to capsize.

“Simpson said you were hit board side by two rogue waves. They appeared out of nowhere, and he couldn’t turn into them or anything. With the pots on deck, you were top heavy and the water took you over.” Pops shook his head. “Don’t worry about the boat. We’ve lost one before, and we’ll probably lose more in the years to come. I’m just glad you and the rest of the crew are okay.”

A cough drew their attention to the door, and Phil smiled to see Dean standing just inside. At some point, Dean must have stopped to take a shower and change his clothes. His dark hair was still damp, and he was dressed in jeans and a blue sweater. Phil had never seen him look so good.

Without considering his parents, Phil held out his hand. “Dean.”

Dean stalked up to the bed, then took Phil’s hand in his. “I was so relieved when Josh let us know you were safe.”

He could tell by the strength of Dean’s grip how worried his lover had truly been. “That’s why I made sure he knew to let you know.”

God, he wanted to feel Dean’s lips on his, so he could prove to Dean that he was alive and well. His mother shifted slightly, reminding him that there were other people in the room.

When he met his parents’ inquisitive gazes, he grinned and said, “Mom and Pops, this is Senior Chief Dean Jacobson.”

“Mrs. Rhodes, Captain Rhodes. It’s nice to finally meet you.” He held out his hand.

Phil’s mother gave him a bright smile when she shook his hand. Cap Rhodes studied him for a moment, then took a hold of his hand.

“So you’re the young man Phil’s been spending his vacation time with. It’s about time we met you, son.” Cap shook his hand hard while shooting Phil a disappointed glance. “I thought he’d have brought you home to meet us sooner.”

“Umm…” Dean didn’t know what to say to that.