Badge Boys Page 18

  Ivan had nothing to answer with. If they knew, well, they would have known the minute they both moved in with her. This just was earlier than planned. Tough shit. If she came up the hill alive, it wouldn’t make any difference if the whole damn world knew she was his woman. Their woman. Hell. He’d shout it from the rooftops.

  They had no more time to talk. Some of their climbing guys had pulled in. A search and rescue team had pulled in. Charging around the curve like a dinosaur coming to a tea party came a twenty-four footer. A big old fire engine. Heavy. Huge stabilizers on the sides. Perfect.

  Troy and Ivan would take part of the laborious positioning of the rig so it could anchor the climbers. If they were in the right place.

  A coffee/food truck had followed it in. Volunteers were arriving and setting up to provide coffee, tea, water, and juice to the rescue teams along with sandwiches, cookies and doughnuts. This would be a long night. A couple of news vans pulled up at the rear. A couple of CHPs were doing traffic control and started running crime scene tape across the road.

  Damn.

  Oliver’s K-9, running along the edge of the road, stopped and started signaling. It sat and barked. Big dog. Big bark. It was a quarter mile away from where the fire truck was. Not only that, but the sinkhole made it impossible to get the rig much closer.

  Ivan and Troy rushed over and aimed their big flashlights over the edge. “Get a big flood over here!” Ivan shouted.

  “We can rappel over that way,” said one of the climbers. “She’s probably pretty far down.” They did not rush. They were careful. Three men were suiting up for the descent. Others were setting up the rescue basket. Ropes and winches.

  Ivan tried to keep out of the way. His chest squeezed. Heart in mouth? Yeah. That.

  The chopper was all that was needed to complete the chaos. The blades could already be heard. The weather was clear enough so far, although the overcast and clouds that were accumulating made things murky. The bird had a low ceiling. If the clouds lowered, the chopper would have to leave. The winds were low enough so far that a night flight had been authorized.

  Ivan tried to calm down. His lack of involvement in the rescue itself was chaffing. He wanted to climb down the canyon. He wanted to find her. He needed to know she was safe. He pain was visceral.

  He went with Troy over to Oliver. It kept them out of the way of the climbers and their gear. “Can’t see for shit. Does he alert on live and dead people?”

  Troy had to ask. Ivan was wound up to the breaking point.

  “He’s never alerted on a cadaver,” Oliver was quick to answer. “I think your girl’s alive. Probably injured, but alive. He’s making enough fuss that she isn’t that far away either.”

  The dog kept trying to run right over the cliff. Oliver strained to hold him. “I need to reward him and get him in the car. He’s that determined.”

  He reached down and petted the dog, who was standing on all fours, alerted and on point. “Good boy. Good boy.”

  Oliver turned him back to the cruiser with a command, not in English, and the dog obediently marched back and jumped up into his back seat carrier. His handler tossed in his favorite toy and rewarded him with a treat. Oliver spoiled his dogs when they did good. This dog had an excellent track record.

  He spoke to the CHP lead and they radioed the chopper. Using floodlights, they highlighted the cliff area where the dog had alerted. The chopper swung around and moved up the canyon to align with the dog’s alert. It had to watch for treetops, and the brush was heavy. The Cal Trans people had arrived and were rigging strong multi-light stands, aimed down into the deep brush.

  When the chopper hit its lights, it was almost daylight.

  Ivan held his breath. Troy clamped back down on his shoulder, the only thing he could do.

  “They will find her,” he said.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Found...

  Annie rose up on her knees, waiting to hear something. Anything. The dog had stopped barking. For a moment, she had let her heart leap. When the quiet returned, she sat back on her heels.

  If they didn’t find her, she was likely to freeze on the ledge. Yet she didn’t dare move. In a forest in the cold, she would seek out an evergreen and huddle under its boughs. Build a bed of boughs and needles and leaves, and bury in it. If there was snow, she could have built a shelter out of it. Or even out of a combination of boughs and snow.

  She had nothing but the meager supply she had managed to drag out of the truck, before said truck finished its suicide plunge. She had really loved that truck.

  Annie knew she had torn up her hands. She didn’t need to see the dirt and grime and she could feel the broken nails. Her face must be covered with dirt and dried blood. Her hair felt matted with both, topped off with a grocery store plastic bag. If she had the energy, she’d laugh. “Hardly a femme fatale,” she said. “Definitely a bag lady.”

  She sat back against the cliff. Waiting. Exhausted, wanting to just lay down and go back to sleep. She didn’t dare eat more candy. She didn’t dare drink the last of the water.

  Halfway out, she fought to open her eyes when she heard the thrump thrump thrump of a chopper.

  Search and rescue? Up at night? Well, the clouds were high enough. The visibility was pretty damn good for them. She grabbed her keychain and the tiny light. Once it got near, maybe she could try to catch its attention.

  That idea went to hell in a hand basket, as her mother used to say, when the very bright bank of floodlights blasted into the trees, nearly blinding her. She covered her watering eyes. Blinking to try to clear her vision, she heard the chopper coming closer. Then it turned on its light and she had to bury her head in her hands. So much for trying to get its attention. They’d never see her little light. It was drowned out.

  After a few minutes of this, all lights went out. The chopper was still there since she could still feel the downdraft and the sounds from the big bade slicing air remained stationary.

  What were they doing?

  Blinded, she didn’t dare move a finger until she heard the rocks breaking loose. Part of the ledge collapsed.

  She screamed. Then she turned on the mini flashlight to see what had happened. What had happened was she had less than half as much space as she had before the chopper had come close. She ran the little light around to check for cracks, to guess when she should expect to tumble down the canyon wall.

  Instead, the chopper turned on a lower-level beam from a higher height.

  And then she heard the most beautiful words.

  Booming from the loudspeaker.

  “We see her. Straight down from the dog’s alert. We need to back off. The ledge she’s on is unstable. We’ve already caused part of it to break loose. Get those boys over the side. She’s about fifteen hundred feet down. She’s doing an imitation of a bag lady. Clever girl.”

  They blinked their lights and then lifted up and pulled away.

  Annie hugged herself. Fifteen hundred feet. She would never have made it.

  Another rock fell. She wiggled back as much as she could. Froze in place. And prayed they would make it in time. Her heart pounded in her chest. She started packing her tote bag. Ate the candy bar, or as much as she could. Finished the water. Wanted a bathroom then decided to simply squat a few feet from her perch and on the opposite side of the collapse. The Gatorade bottle now put to a use its maker never intended. Better than wetting her pants.

  That activity took all her focus for several minutes. She flung the bottle downhill. “Sorry guys.”

  Back in place, packed up and waiting, a shower of dirt and rocks alerted her to their descent. She hugged the back of the ledge tighter.

  She hoped and prayed that the ledge would hold long enough.

  Chapter Thirty

  Ivan wiped his eyes as the chopper lifted. The search and rescue boys shifted into recovery mode. They fed out their lines and came down to the alert point.

  The sinkhole had spread farther and there were cr
acks in the pavement around it. No chance the big rig could be there.

  “How about a cruiser?” he asked.

  “Worth a try. We can stay anchored to the rig, feed through your axle. Back it up. Keep your engine ready to pull forward just in case.”

  Ivan went and got his unit, spun it around and guided it back to the edge, not too close. Troy gave him directions and took his place near the edge to watch. Ivan sat in the car ready to hit the accelerator if needed.

  Other crews repositioned floodlights, pointing them down as much as possible to help.

  Troy hooked up with the radio frequency of the crew.

  The rescue crew with lamps on their helmets started over the edge, rappelling rapidly down the side of the canyon. It seemed like a long time, but it wasn’t. They were down on target within less than ten minutes. Signaled they were there.

  The basket was dropped fairly quickly, and they pulled Annie into it, with her purse and her tote. She had stuffed everything back into it.

  Once she was strapped in, they gave the signal to haul her and one rescuer back up.

  As the last of the men started his assent, the ledge collapsed and slid down toward the stream.

  They radioed the ranger since it was headed right for him.

  Troy had given Ivan a blow by blow description, including the close call with the unstable ledge.

  The basket was raised enough for hands to lean over and drag it over to solid ground. An ambulance stood by, rear doors open, and a medical team was waiting.

  Annie was carefully unwrapped from the basket, helped to stand, and immediately put on a gurney.

  Troy was there, and leaned in and kissed her. On the mouth. Not a short peck with her. “Glad you’re back.”

  “I’m a bloody mess. Sorry. No pun intended. Where’s my truck?” she asked.

  “Dead at the bottom of the ravine. Very dead. Beat the crap out of. I think one axle is still half a mile up the canyon wall.”

  “I loved that truck.”

  “That truck saved your life,” he said.

  “Where’s twin number two?” Ivan wasn’t there.

  “Revving up the cruiser. He’s helping the team make it back out of the canyon.”

  The guys back on the road, Ivan’s car was unhooked and he pulled it away to safety.

  Troy signaled Ivan and he walked over.

  “How is she?” Ivan asked.

  “Feisty,” the medic said.

  “She’s pregnant,” he said. With that, Ivan leaned over and kissed her without letting her respond. The same lingering kiss as Troy had done. “Scared me to death,” he said.

  Annie touched his cheek. “I wasn’t all that thrilled about it, either. And, just how did you know?”

  He just grinned. “Get to the hospital. We’ll be right behind you as soon as we finish up here.”

  As they wheeled her off to the waiting ambulance, Troy spun him around.

  Ivan shrugged. “I watch her as closely as she watches us. Isn’t it great?”

  “No wonder you were losing your mind. Boy or girl?” he asked, slapping Ivan on the back.

  “I. Don’t. Care.” Ivan said.

  “Should have a girl. Then we’d have one of each. Mom will be in heaven.”

  * * * * *

  After checking vitals, setting up an IV, and putting monitors on Annie, the team shoved her gurney into the back door and closed up. The ambulance took off.

  She tolerated being checked because she suspected the head injury was just a tad serious.

  “My eyes tracking?” she asked.

  “Why?” the medic asked.

  “Because I whacked my head when the truck flipped.”

  “Flipped? They didn’t say it flipped.”

  “I did a nose dive into the sinkhole. Opened right in front of me. Nose down, ass up. Flipped. And then it bounced a few times. And rolled. Then it hopped right over the edge of the canyon.”

  “Sounds like fun,” one medic said.

  “E-ticket ride,” she answered, and wondered if they were even born when Disneyland was first opened. When the rides had ratings and different prices. A-tickets were for little kids. E-tickets were for the most adventurous. She really was too tired to explain.

  “My left arm. My head. My right knee. But no pain meds. Can’t tolerate them. And I’m in the first trimester.”

  She didn’t need any drugs.

  With the sway of the running ambulance, she went right to sleep.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  The captain walked over and joined them. “Truck’s been located. It’s a mess. They will recover it tomorrow in daylight. Try to pick up all the pieces. It’s a watershed area. They will want to limit the pollution. Packing up everything for now and getting out of the way of Cal Trans and their road repair crew. They probably won’t get started until morning. CHP shut off the road back at the turn. They are waiting to button this street up. Back to the barn, boys.”

  Ivan had checked. The K-9 unit had left. “I owe that dog a bone,” he said.

  “You owe me an explanation. About our shooting scene participant witness,” the captain said.

  “Tomorrow. I want to get to the hospital.” Ivan was relieved.

  “Both of you?” The captain asked.

  “Looks like it.” They spoke in unison

  “I’ve heard about you and some of the antics you two have gotten up to. This one of them?”

  “No,” Ivan and Troy said in unison.

  “She’s okay with that?”

  “She’s just fine.” Ivan said. “We’re all just fine. We’re pregnant.”

  “Jesus. I don’t want to think about the paperwork. Tomorrow. My office. Both of you. And wear first name tags. Glad she’s all right.” The captain walked away, shaking his head.

  “Ready for this?” asked Troy.

  “Are you?” replied Ivan.

  “Oh, hell,” was all Troy could say. “You could have told me sooner.”

  “She hasn’t confirmed it. I told you. I just noticed a few things.”

  “What did she say to the medics?” Troy asked. “I mean, in case they wanted to give her something.”

  “She probably said no.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Ivan was outside of the ER, sipping coffee. Troy was right there with him. The few nurses in the area knew who they were waiting for. The younger women tried to make conversation, their eyes glued to the two identical cops. Excitement showed in their very young faces. Ivan could swear he saw the wheels turning in their heads.

  He needed a shower. So did Troy. Heavy SWAT gear and then the panic of finding Annie had left him tired, crabby, and smelling a bit ripe. There was dirt on their uniforms and their faces. Choppers tend to throw up a lot of dust.

  The sinkhole was being evaluated. Something about a water line. There were luxury homes on the hilltops.

  There had been a lot of that lately. The giant road collapse in Del Mar came to mind. The collapse of old infrastructure.

  “She’s still being feisty,” said Troy. “That’s a good sign.”

  “She’s overtired. She needs a lot of rest. As soon as they get done poking her and filling her up with liquid, I want to get her home.”

  “What about her truck?” Troy asked.

  “DOA. They are taking anything she left behind out of it. Somebody fetched her suitcase. Her laptop and books were all right. She’d rescued her own purse. CHP said they’d run the stuff over to the station,” Ivan answered.

  “Nice of them. So. Truck shopping?” Troy seemed to like the idea.

  “I’d like to get her in an SUV. Isn’t that the cart for moms and kids?” Ivan let himself shudder. And SUV? Was he ready for that? He was keeping his truck.

  “Bet you she will want a truck,” Troy said. “The four-door kind. Camper shell. She likes manual shift, which takes heaven and earth to get these days.”

  “We need to talk her into an automatic.”

  “With the same success as
getting her a smart phone? Speaking of which, did they find her bloody cell phone?”

  “Not yet. The suitcase was kind of big. Maybe in daylight. If the battery hasn’t died. She needs a new one in any case. That one had an aging battery.”

  The doctor came to get one of them. “Ivan?” he asked.

  Ivan stepped forward.

  “You are listed on her medical advisory form.” He looked at Troy. “Only one of you.”

  Ivan felt a twinge of sorry for that. Troy looked crestfallen.

  “I’ll get her out. You wait here,” Ivan said.

  It was more discharge papers and directions. Ivan walked in just as another doctor said, “Take these every day. Folic acid.”

  “Got it.”

  “Call your obstetrician. Start regular check-ups. Good luck.” He looked at Ivan, glared actually, nodded, and scurried away, a nurse dragging him to the next port of call.

  “The baby all right?” he asked.

  “I was surprised you knew,” Annie said. She was banged up. Bandaged. Cleaned up, a little. And disconnected. A nurse was waiting for the papers, and was taking the time to also give Ivan a hard look.

  “You’re my girl. I figured it out.”

  “And?” She scribbled her name in all the right places and handed off the paper.

  Once the nurse was gone, he whispered, “Mine.”

  “What is?”

  “The baby. You. We need to get married.”

  “And Troy? How’s he doing with this?”

  “You can only officially marry one of us. Primary rules. I win.”

  “Are you going to beat your chest now?” Annie slid off the bed and tried standing up. A nurse came buzzing in with a wheelchair. Annie gratefully sat down. Ivan took the handles.

  “I’ve got this,” he said, dismissing the nurse. He headed out to where Troy was fending off a couple young things.

  Troy looked annoyed. Relieved. “Annie! Thank heavens.”

  The nurses beat a hasty retreat.

  “Troy,” Annie said. “I can’t believe you guys found me so fast.”