Chapter 15 #2
Her gut clenched. Not something she wanted to do while being chased but this was all in a day’s work for Damien. “And Trixie?”
“I’ll deal with her.”
He got on the radio. “Radar, you copy?”
“Copy.”
“We’ve got a possible bogie following us. We’ll need to do it fast.”
“Copy.”
Agus’s boat was still heading towards them.
A loud thud had Mila grabbing the side and glancing forward.
Another debris field. Damien slowed and she scrambled to the bow to direct him through it.
This one was as thick as the one closer to the island and they had to slow to a crawl.
Frantically she used the oar to shift larger trees and planks out of the way.
She glanced back.
Agus’s boat had halved the distance between them.
Where was the helicopter?
The sky in front of them was dark. Would it be running lights? Possibly not.
Damien increased the speed again as the debris thinned. Mila checked where Agus was. The distance had halved again. Perhaps he didn’t think the debris would damage his boat.
A whump, whump noise was faint to her ears. She scanned the sky again and Damien flashed a light on then off, on then off again.
Finally she spotted the dark shape in the sky. It was coming in low and Damien accelerated again so they were out of the debris field.
He put on his night vision goggles. “Get ready,” he shouted.
She crouched in the bow of the boat as the helicopter came directly overhead. The noise was deafening and water flung up stinging her eyes. Agus was now only a couple of hundred metres away.
Trixie cowered.
Mila stroked her while searching for the ladder, but the wind from the rotor blades spat up water around her and made it hard to see anything.
Damien grabbed her, threaded a loop over her head and under her arms and yelled, “Hold on!” He said something into the radio and she was jerked off the boat.
No! She couldn’t leave him behind.
Damien bent to the dog and then she couldn’t see him any more as strong arms hoisted her into the helicopter.
Joker grinned at her. “Nice to see you again.”
“Damien!”
“He’ll be right with us.” Joker pressed her into a seat and strapped her in.
She glanced to the door as the line that had brought her up started rising again.
Damien appeared holding a very nervous Trixie in his arms. A soldier she didn’t recognise grabbed Trixie’s collar and pulled her aboard.
Mila waved her hands to get the dog’s attention, and the soldier clipped on a lead and handed it to her.
She stroked the dog’s fur as she waited for Damien to climb in.
Her breath exploded from her as Radar slammed the door shut and the helicopter raced away.
Damien slapped hands with his teammates and then sat next to her, pulling her into his arms. “You’re safe now.”
She closed her eyes and sobbed.
***
Mila curled into Dobby’s arms on the ride back to the ship. It was too loud to talk, but he noticed the questioning looks from his team. He had to admit if he’d been in their position, he would have had the same expression on his face, but right now he didn’t care what they thought.
Connor, aka Lassie, one of the dog handlers, sat with Trixie, tempting her with a treat until she sat and leaned into him.
The helicopter came in to land and Dobby helped Mila off. He carried her, mindful of her ankle, as he jogged with his men towards the doors inside.
As he placed her on the ground, a uniformed man raced out from a doorway. Mila screeched and threw her arms around him. He hugged her, bending down to talk in her ear.
The thick instant jealousy almost choked Damien until they pulled apart and he noticed the man’s name on his shirt.
Watkins. Mila’s brother.
Hell, he hadn’t realised he was on board.
Watkins tried to drag her inside, but she stopped him and turned back to the team. “How’s Ethan?”
“He’s stable. He’ll fly home tomorrow,” Axle said.
“Can I visit him?”
“He’d like that,” Radar told her.
The rotors shut down, and the noise reduced. “Command wants to know what happened.” Watkins glanced at Damien.
Joker leaned closer. “They’re not happy.”
Of course they weren’t. They had to spend extra resources to pick him up.
“Thanks for getting my sister out of there.” Watkins offered Dobby his hand and Dobby shook it. “These guys told me what they could, and Vance gave his side of the story.” The man rolled his eyes.
“No problem. She should get her scratches examined by a doctor to make sure they don’t get infected and she has a sprained ankle and stitches in her arm.” He could still picture her washing in the rain. It was an image he would never forget. “She could also do with a hot shower and clean clothes.”
“I’ll make sure she gets it.”
“Damien needs the same,” Mila piped up. “He’s barely slept.”
Her brother raised his eyebrows at them both, but said to his sister, “He needs to report in first. Come with me.”
Mila looked at Dobby and he nodded though he wasn’t ready to let her go. “I’ll catch up with you later.” Their private time was over.
She nodded and followed her brother into the ship.
“Where did you get the dog?” Connor asked, crouching down to stroke the uncertain animal. He glanced up, his blond fringe falling into his eyes and he pushed it back with impatience.
“It was the kidnapper’s. It followed us into the ocean while we were escaping and Mila made me rescue it.”
Connor grinned. “Like you would have let it drown.”
If it had threatened Mila, he would have. “It’s got training.”
Connor nodded. “I’ll check her. She’ll need quarantining from the rest of the dogs, but I’ll work something out.”
Dobby smiled. He knew he’d have an ally with Connor.
“What the hell happened?” Joker asked as Dobby’s team moved into the ship to the communal room they’d been using.
Before he could respond a corporal came to the door. “Sergeant Dobson, the Major wants to see you immediately.”
Christ. That was the last thing he wanted right now. “I’ll fill you in when I get back,” he told his team and followed the corporal into the bowels of the ship.
Major Hammond was a humourless, by-the-book man who expected absolute perfection from his men.
This wouldn’t be fun.
He adjusted his uniform, checking the buttons on his shirt were done up correctly and tucking it in. He was still filthy, but it was the best he could do without a shower and fresh clothes.
The room he entered contained not only Major Hammond but also the Colonel and the Major-General, unfortunately not Mila’s mother.
Shit.
Dobby saluted.
“At ease,” the major said.
“Did you extract Mila Watkins?” the Major-General asked.
“Yes, sir. Her brother is taking her to the infirmary and then to get cleaned up.”
“Would you like to explain why you thought it important to abandon your mission to rescue her?” the colonel asked, his tone deceptively mild.
“She helped us rescue Ethan Ward and lured Vance Bradley’s kidnappers away from their home so we could be evacuated.
Vance exposed her parentage to the kidnappers, which made her a valuable commodity.
” He paused to let that sink in. “I deemed she was at risk of being taken hostage and as she is an Australian citizen, I saw it fit to offer my assistance to extract her from the island.”
“Explain in detail,” the Major-General barked.
Dobby gritted his teeth. This was going to take some time.