Touch the Heavens (21 page)

The first fire truck pulled to a halt. Dan looked up. “Get the flight surgeon!” he yelled hoarsely. “Hurry up, damn it!”

He worked like a madman to unsnap all the confining buckles on the harness, his hands trembling badly. Dan became aware of someone climbing up on the other side of the fuselage. It was Rondo.

“You looked like you needed help,” he said, panting as he came up the final step. Rondo’s eyes widened and he stared at her. “Oh, God...” he muttered. “Is she—”

“I don’t know,” Dan snapped. “Get down on the other side. I’ll lift her free and lower her to you.”

Rondo nodded, heeding his directions immediately. He ran under the Phantom, stopping at the foothold, arms held upward. “I’m ready,” he called. Several firefighters joined Rondo below.

Dan couldn’t stop the fear choking off his breathing as he lowered Chris to the men. She had kept saying calmly she couldn’t see...that she was blind... Were her eyes damaged? Was she truly blinded? Dan climbed down off the bird, kneeling beside Chris as they carefully eased her down to the yellow-ocher earth. Gently he worked the helmet off her head. The blackness of Chris’s hair made them all realize how pale she had become. Dan’s trembling fingers immediately went to her carotid artery at the base of her throat. Her flesh was cool and damp, a bad sign indicating severe shock. Rondo hunched over them.

“Well?”

“Her pulse is hard and erratic,” Dan replied shakily.

Rondo ran his fingers through his hair, staring down at her. “God, I don’t know how she landed that bird. She’s in bad shape.”

Dan twisted his head, glaring up at the pilot. “Shut up!”

Rondo straightened up, surprise written in his tense features. He opened his mouth to say something and then shrugged. “I’m sorry, Dan. I didn’t mean—”

Dan gripped Chris’s arm, fighting back tears that shouldn’t fall, that shouldn’t be seen by anyone else standing there. “It’s okay,” he whispered tautly. He glared up at the gathering crowd. “Where the hell is that flight surgeon!” he roared.

11

D
AN ENDLESSLY PACED
the long tiled halls, head sunk against his chest, hands behind his back. He glanced at his watch again for the hundredth time. It had been over an hour since they had gotten Chris to the base hospital. He had ridden over in the ambulance with her, pressing her hand tightly within his own. Alarm had given way to stark fear as he listened to the attendant and the flight surgeon as they worked over her unconscious form. As they wiped away the blood, he had seen that a small piece of plastic was deeply embedded dangerously close to her left eye. Dan tried to talk himself out of the panic he was feeling for Chris’s sake, but it was impossible.

He replayed the sequence of events in his mind one more time: the T-handle was located in Brodie’s rear cockpit. If he was going to bail out by himself, he shouldn’t have twisted that handle ninety degrees. By twisting it, he had deliberately popped Chris’s canopy against her express orders. Anger, dark and murderous, raged within Dan. If he could only know how Chris was, he could hunt down Brodie...

“Dan! Dan!”

He turned, snapping up his head. He recognized Karen Barber and Mark Hoffman rapidly approaching him. Karen began to run, and arrived breathless at Dan’s side.

“What happened? How is she?”

He patiently told them the entire story, unable to keep the emotion out of his voice. Karen’s face went ashen.

“Brodie!” she breathed. “He said he was going to get her.” She looked up at him. “Oh, Dan! How could this happen? Who would think that Brodie really hated her enough to cause her to crash?” Karen sobbed and Mark came up, placing his arm around her.

“This isn’t the first time pilots have played tricks on one another,” Mark said. “I don’t think Brodie had planned for this to happen. Is there anything we can do?” he asked Dan.

“No...pray, maybe.” He swallowed hard, turning away so they wouldn’t see the tears threatening to spill from his eyes. “She might be blind. Nobody seems to know for sure. Blind...” he croaked.

“Where is Captain Brodie now?” Hoffman inquired coolly.

Dan shrugged. “They were sending out a rescue helicopter to pick him up. Other than that, I don’t want to know.” His voice hardened. “At least not now. I’ll deal with him later.”

“Major McCord?” Dr. Hunter asked, coming up to the three of them.

Dan turned quickly in the direction of the voice. “Yes? How is she?”

Hunter was a man in his early fifties and balding. The doctor’s lined face gave no indication of an answer. “Captain Mallory is semiconscious, and she’s asking for you, Major. If you’ll follow me....”

Dan walked quickly beside him, leaving Karen and Mark waiting in the hall. “How is she, Doctor?”

“We’ve got her on a pretty powerful tranquilizer right now and a painkiller, Major. She’s in a great deal of pain because of the damage sustained to the eyes and that region of her face,’’ he answered quietly. He glanced over at Dan. “I’m not allowing her any visitors for now. And I don’t want you or any Board of Inquiry questioning her. She’s in shock from the incident and needs to rest.”

Gripping the doctor’s arm and pulling him to halt, Dan’s face mirrored his anguish. “What about her eyes? Is she—is she blind?”

“There has been damage to her eyes, Major. I won’t try and tell you there hasn’t.” He shook his head. “It’s incredible to believe that she could land that plane with so much wind tearing at her face.” Sighing, he watched the major intently. “We don’t have an ophthalmic specialist here at Edwards. I can only tell you that the eyes are bruised, the skin around them badly swollen with some deep and mild lacerations caused by the visor being broken off under the force of the wind.”

“But is she blind?” Dan demanded tautly.

“It’s too early to tell, m

Major. Her eyes won’t dilate when light is put upon them, but that may be due to the fact that the injury just occurred. Given a couple of days’ rest, she might be perfectly fine. But I doubt it,” he added in warning.

“So what are you going to do about it?”

“First we’re trying to get her records from personnel to contact her family and—”

Dan’s eyes narrowed. “She was an orphan, Doctor. I’m all the family she has. She’s going to be my wife.”

“I see...” he said slowly, giving Dan a more compassionate glance. “Well, as I was going to say, I’m putting a call into Carswell to get Captain Mallory transferred up there after she’s stabilized. The ophthalmic specialist, Dr. Chen, will be able to diagnose her condition much better than we can.”

Dan wrestled with the explosion of anger and grief. “Let me see her now, Doctor,” he ordered tightly.

Dan stepped into the silent room. Chris lay on the bed, her black hair a stark contrast to the whiteness of the sterile room. A heavy gauze bandage encircled her head, protecting her injured eyes. An IV was suspended above her, the needle in her left arm. She must have heard the door open because she slowly turned her head in his direction.

“Dan?” she called, her voice tremulous.

He crossed the room in three strides, gripping her right hand. “Here,” he returned softly. He stared down at her, an avalanche of dammed emotions breaking loose within him. “You know something, Raven,” he whispered thickly, “you’re the bravest woman I know. And I love the hell out of you.”

He leaned down, gently touching her lips. Her lips were cool and chapped beneath his mouth. He felt her weakly respond. It was enough. Continuing to grip her hand, he straightened up, remaining at her side, watching her closely. “How do you feel?”

Chris ran her tongue across her lips. “Like hell. I hurt all over. My eyes, Dan....” Her speech was slurred from the drugs, her movements jerky and uncoordinated.

“Just a precaution, Raven,” he soothed her, hearing the fear in her torn voice.

She moaned softly. “No, they hurt. God, they hurt so much...the wind...” And she babbled on for a moment, finally quieting when he placed his hand on her hair, stroking her head gently.

“Ssh, Raven, everything is going to be all right,” he crooned. “I’m here and you’re safe.”

“Don’t—don’t leave....”

His heart wrung in anguish over her words. “No, honey, I won’t leave you for a moment. Not even a second.” He stroked her damp hair. “Go to sleep, Raven. You’re tired and you need to rest.”

“My eyes...hurt....”

“I know, I know. But soon they’ll stop hurting, Raven. Sleep, honey. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

A small sob escaped from her. “Promise, Dan?”

He shut his eyes tightly, fighting back his own need to weep. “Yes, I promise, Raven. I’ll be here for the rest of your life.”

As soon as Dan was convinced she was sleeping, he strode out of the room, finding the nearest phone. When he called Operations, his face became set with tension and anger. Settling the flight cap on his head, he stopped just long enough at the desk to tell the nurse where he could be reached in case Chris awoke. Then he told Karen and Mark what the doctor had said.

“Where are you going now?” Karen asked, tears staining her cheeks.

“Over to Ops. They just brought Brodie in,” he snarled softly.

Karen gripped his arm. “Do you want me to stay with Chris until you come back?”

Dan nodded, his features softening for a moment. “Yes, I promised I’d be there when she woke up. This won’t take long. I’ll be back.”

Dan jerked open the door that led to the commandant’s office. Peggy, the secretary leaped to her feet, ready to say something and then wisely decided not to. Dan glared over at her.

“Where’s Brodie?”

“In there. Dan...the colonel is on his way over here. Why don’t you wait—”

His nostrils flared. “Peg, you keep this door shut. Whatever you hear in there, you ignore, understand?”

Peg nodded jerkily, never having seen Dan McCord angry. “I—ah, sure.”

Brodie was sitting on one of the leather chairs, a paper cup filled with coffee balanced in both of his trembling hands. The captain’s face drained of what little color had returned as he saw McCord silently enter the room. The stillness became brittle between them as the captain shakily put down the coffee on the desk.

“You’d better stand up,” Dan snarled, advancing.

Brodie stood, his fists clenched at his sides. He looked exhausted, his green flight uniform still retaining marks of his recent ejection. “Look, McCord, I didn’t mean for the situation to get out of hand. I just wanted to shake her up a little. That’s all. Nobody in their right mind would want to have to eject in a situation like that. Use your head. It was a—”

Dan grabbed him by the collar of his flight suit. “You son of a bitch,” he breathed harshly, “you damn near killed her.”

Brodie threw up his arms, trying to push McCord away. It was useless. Both men were lean, but McCord had the height, and an anger that wouldn’t be stilled.

“It—it was just a joke, damn it!” Brodie pleaded, his eyes widening. “It got out of hand!”

The roar of rage filled Dan’s ears. “A joke! You call twisting that T-handle a joke? An accident? You lying bastard. Do you know she’s over there in the hospital right now because of you? She could be blind!” he roared at Brodie. “Do you hear me? Blind because of your lousy hatred of a woman being a test pilot!”

“But I didn’t mean—”

Dan muttered a snarl, doubling his fist and landing it squarely against Brodie’s jaw. The pilot slammed backward into the wall, holding his bloodied mouth.

“McCord!”

Dan turned, straightening up from his hunched posture.

Colonel Martin glared at both of them. “Captain Brodie! Sit down!’’ he snapped. He swung sharply. “Dan, why don’t you go back to the hospital?”

Shakily Dan turned toward the captain. “You’re going to pay for this,” he breathed harshly. He glared back at the colonel. As much in warning to his commanding officer, Dan spat out, “He damned near killed Chris. She could be blind for life because of him. I’m not letting him get away with this!”

Brodie edged toward the chair closest to the colonel, seeking an ally in the commandant. Blood trickled through his fingers as he tried to stem the flow from the cut at the corner of his mouth. “You can’t prove a goddamn thing, Major,” he growled. “Colonel, it was just a little joke. That’s all. I didn’t plan to eject or put her in a dangerous situation. Hell, the way McCord’s acting, you’d think she’s something special. She’s just an officer like the rest of us. Everyone plays tricks on someone else. It’s common.”

Dan took a deep, unsteady breath, his blue eyes black with anger. “You sick bastard,” he growled ominously, “she’s going to be my wife. And there’s no way in hell that I’ll let any court-martial get away with not taking your wings and kicking you out of the Air Force.” He pointed his finger at Brodie’s stunned features. “And that’s a promise, mister. And if the Air Force doesn’t back me on this, I’ll haul your ass into civil court and see you behind bars where you really belong.” McCord trembled violently, throwing off the hatred and murder that seethed inside him. He looked over at the colonel. “I’m going back to the hospital. If you want me, I’ll be there.”

Martin nodded grimly. “Go ahead,” he answered, his voice losing an edge of its hardness. “And tell Dr. Hunter I want a full report on Chris’s condition as soon as possible.”

Anger drained from Dan, making him feel suddenly weak and shaky. “Yes, sir. They’ll probably be transporting her on a MATS flight to Carswell,” he said slowly, “they have an ophthalmic specialist there.”

“On your way out, Dan, tell Peggy to get those details. I’ll personally make sure we have a C-130 standing by to transport her there.”

Gratefully, Dan nodded. “Thank you, sir.”

“Get going. I’ll talk to you later, Dan.”

Later, as Dan sat on a chair next to Chris’s bed, he realized just how much he had lost control at the commandant’s office. Martin could have had him up on charges for hitting a fellow officer. But he hadn’t. He rubbed his face tiredly, keeping a firm grip on Chris’s right hand. Several times she had become conscious, only to be pulled back under by the powerful sedative. And each time, he would talk soothingly to Chris, watching her immediately relax and stop fighting the effects of the drugs. Colonel Martin had made a visit, and arrangements had been made for Chris to be flown to Carswell tomorrow morning. By the grim look on Dr. Hunter’s face, Dan tried to prepare himself for the worst possible diagnosis.