She screamed, and Lionel screamed, and everybody raced to the edge, where they could see that both men had hit and were speared onto an open piece of metal, swinging free from the blast. Lionel’s screams turned into wailing cries.
Berkley grabbed him and held on tight. “I’m so sorry, Lionel, but he’d killed a lot of people over this, and his life would have been a nightmare in prison. I am so sorry for your loss, but you have to go now.” With one last hug, she pushed him toward Troy, who picked him up, loaded him into the helicopter, and buckled him into the last spot. “Get going,” he shouted at the pilot.
The pilot looked at him in shock and looked down at the company man. “What about you guys?”
“We’re covered,” he said, jumping off the runner of the chopper and signaling the pilot to go.
In moments the rotors were turning faster, and the pilot lifted the helicopter straight up, then took off, heading toward land.
Then Berkley noted another helicopter coming toward them from a navy ship in the near distance. “How will we get us all on that?” she cried out.
“Well, our other two guys took Nelson and Mason with them, already in the big lifeboat, and they’ll deliver Idiot and Jonesy to the authorities for us,” he said, “so it’s just the three of us left.”
When she saw a long strap dangling from the helicopter, hanging down with hooks, she groaned and said, “Seriously?”
“Do you trust me?” Troy asked with a big smile.
She threw her arms around him. “Absolutely.”
Axel quickly buckled them up and tugged the rope, so they would start to winch them up.
She looked down at him and panicked. “You have to come,” she said. “Jump on right now. The helicopter can carry us, but this rig is going at any moment.”
Just then another blast came and a massive creaking sound followed. Axel made one jump and grabbed the winch and the hook that was on the bottom. Troy reached down and grabbed his hand, and together they were swept upward as the winch in the helicopter pulled them higher and higher. Axel was the first one helped in, as the most precariously positioned of the three, and then they were looped over, and both Troy and Berkley landed inside the helicopter. She stared in shock as the blasts continued on the rig, with fires now shooting up from multiple areas, as it self-destructed. Of Daniel and Gregor, the company man, there was absolutely no sign. That part of the rig had fallen under the heavy waves, never to be seen again.
*
Troy quickly buckled her in, not sure how much of the look on her face was just her body going into shock to protect her from what had happened or simply a total overload of her brain. He sat down beside her, as they were quickly swept back over to the naval ship. “Are you okay?”
She looked at him, still in shock, and then slowly nodded. “I think so,” she said. “It was Daniel all the time.”
“And it makes sense, right?” Axel said. “There’s no love like family.”
She nodded. “And poor Lionel, I still can’t believe what they did to him.”
“And the women,” Troy reminded her.
She nodded. “At least now we have an idea of who and what happened, so maybe we can get some closure for the victims.”
“The company will have a hell of a time bailing themselves out of this one,” he said.
“Not necessarily,” she said, “but, if you guys give us a hand, then maybe we can get them. There won’t be any criminal charges because it seems all the main players are dead,” she said in a broken tone. “But Idiot and Jonesy? Surely they can land some hefty jail time. And maybe the victims can get a settlement so they can get help to move forward.”
“Exactly,” he said. “Stay positive. These things take a lot of time, but this will work out.”
She reached over and slipped her hand in his. “Thank you.”
He grinned. “Hey, remember that date part?”
“Yeah, didn’t we say Italian?”
“Nope,” he said. “We said Japanese.”
“We said Italian,” she said, staring out at the water. “I distinctly remember Italian.”
“You know something? I’m pretty sure it was Japanese,” he said, “but that just means we’ll have to go out twice.”
She smiled, looked up at him, and said, “I think I can manage that.”
As soon as they disembarked, he helped her to a room on the destroyer, where they were quickly debriefed and then given a bunk room for their own use.
As she walked into the small room, she shook her head. “So how long will we be here?”
“Just a couple days,” he said. “Once we get a little closer to land, we’ll fly you back in again and head home, down to the base.”
“I’m from San Diego,” she said. “You’re from Coronado.”
“Same diff,” he said. He dropped his bag on the floor.
“How come you have gear?” she asked suspiciously. “And I lost everything?”
“Not quite everything,” he said. “I did scoop up your laptop and a few things. It’s in my bag,” he said. “Mine is full of the extra weapons we brought. We didn’t want them to go under if they didn’t have to.”
“I didn’t get a shower. Do you mind?”
“Not at all,” he said, then he explained the navy’s shower system to her, so they could make the most efficient use of the water on board.
She came out soon afterward, wearing a robe. “It’s strange. I know I’m physically clean,” she said, “but, on the inside, I feel dirty.”
“Come on. Let’s lie down and relax,” he said. “You’ve got a couple hours to yourself,” he said. “Then we’ll have to go talk to various people, particularly once we tap into land—the bosses and the military police.”
“Right,” she said, “not to mention the local police and the company reps.”
“Exactly,” he said.
She laid down on the bed with a blanket over her and said, “You know something?”
“What?”
“I think I’d feel much cleaner if you were with me.”
He looked at her for a moment, puzzled. “How does that have anything to do with being clean?”
“Forget clean. Let’s say, renewed. Maybe refreshed. How about restoring my faith?”
“Now that,” he said, “I can get behind.” He walked to the door, made sure it was locked, and then stripped down in front of her.
“I’m barely dressed as it is,” she said, throwing back the blanket. “I only came out in a robe and my underwear.”
“Still way too many clothes,” he said, and, completely nude, he climbed in beside her.
She sat up, quickly divested herself of the robe and her bra and panties, and looked at him. “I didn’t really expect this to happen when I put out that SOS.”
“But you did ask for help, and you never know what you’ll get back.” He laughed. “Besides, I don’t think there’s anything I like better than helping damsels in distress.”
She reached up and placed a finger on his lips. “As long as this isn’t the typical result from all that rescuing.”