He sent a feeler out in her direction, and he got “nervous” and he got “busy,” but he didn’t pick up on any pain with what his battle buddies called his “mother’s intuition.”
That intuition had saved many of their hides on more than one occasion, so he didn’t give a rat’s ass what they called it.
“I thought that might be the case,” Doli said. “There’s not really a good way to show this to you right now. Just listen. When Mrs. Morrison plowed into the mayor’s SUV, Auralia was swerving to avoid hitting them – it doesn’t matter. It was more complicated than that. It was a mess. The point is Auralia’s car hit Mrs. Morrison’s SUV, and it went through the rails into the river.”
“Okay, three people are in the water. Let me get that information to Logistics so they can send a fast water rescue team out here. The river’s bound to be roiling from all that rain in the mountains.”
“Yes. Creed, listen. Auralia’s car went through the bridge rail.Listen. Before you panic, just listen. It rocked, then it stabilized. She told me to get out through the back window and start filming. I crawled out first. She’s going to crawl out, too. I stopped to help some folks before I called you. Because … well, there are a lot of people doing really badly. Auralia, though, is unhurt. She’s taking it slow and careful, and she asked me to let you know where we are and what’s going on.”
“List her injuries.” Creed could sprint to the bridge and get to her in a matter of minutes. Were “minutes” good enough?
“Listen again. No injuries. Well, yeah, Auralia’s face was abraded when the airbags went off. But no cuts, no complaints.”
“She’s okay.” He pressed the words through a dam of agitation.
“She’s going slow because she has to get out from under the steering wheel and over the back seat. And I saw her working on getting the bullet-resistant vest off. Which you’ll agree makes sense.”
“Perfect sense.” Creed had shifted to a combat breathing cycle meant to keep his limbic system from going crazy so he could stay in the fight. “Her car’s still on the bridge?”
“I was trying to show you a visual. It might be tipped to a sharper angle, but I can assure you it’s still on the bridge.”
“What about Morrison’s SUV?”
“By the time I got out and looked over the edge—at that point the rain was coming down hard enough to obscure my visual field—I didn’t see the SUV. With the current, I think it got washed down the river. From the map Auralia showed me earlier, the waterway thins as it flows around the outside of thefield we were in. If that’s the case, the car should be stuck, and everyone probably can crawl out. I haven’t looked again. I’ve been busy staunching blood. Not mine. Other people’s.”
“Can you look again? I need to let rescue know.”
“No, I can’t let go of this leg. Some lady is holding the phone to my ear. Listen, I’m not talking to you as a reporter here. I’m guessing at what happened. I got out of Auralia’s car, looked over the bridge to the extent that I felt safe, as the cars continued to shift with each new impact. I didn’t see the SUV that went over. I’m guessing it’s downriver. I haven’t seen Auralia, and she hasn’t called me, so I’m assuming she’s still in the car and is moving carefully as she gets out from under the steering wheel and over the seat, then out the window.”
“How far is the drop?” Creed asked.
“The distance was obscured by the heavy downpour. Do you want me to guess?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Okay. It’s far down. But not far enough that I wouldn’t have jumped off the bridge back in high school. Creed, honestly, there are so many people in dire straits right now, I’d keep on with your task and let Auralia figure out her situation. She was thinking about you as I was getting out of the car. She’s sure to call you the second she’s got feet on the ground, so you know she’s safe. What is your team doing?”
“I’m counting cars and counting heads. Gator’s on triage. We’ve got tourniquets going on where needed and mylar blankets all around. Since you two aren’t in immediate danger, I’m going to work my way toward the bridge, gathering this information and passing it on to emergency management as quickly as possible. But, Doli, you have to call me immediately if Auralia’s car …” He couldn’t form the words. He pushed the picture out of his mind.
How many times had he been in battle when, just over the ridge, his brothers were in real trouble, but accomplishing his task meant lives were saved?
He just needed to speed things along.
“Shit,” Doli said, “they’ll be pulling emergency equipment from the entire region. I don’t know how they’re going to get people out of here.”
The phone buzzed through.
“Gotta go. Keep in close contact,” Creed swiped the line open. “Creed here.”
“Striker here. My Logistics rep says you’ve stopped moving. Sit rep.” he was asking for a situation report.
“Getting an update on Auralia. Her car’s dangling off the bridge.”
“She good?”
“Doli, her camerawoman, got out the back window and said Auralia was going slow and careful. Uninjured.” He took a moment to relay what Doli had said about the SUV going in.
“Auralia’s got this. Where are we with numbers?”
