“You’re a lifesaver. Zayne needs to stay off his foot; he can go with you.” Tuck smiled.
* * *
“Chase Base,this is CG6840. We have a ping and a potential sighting of your missing swimmer. He’s floating near the flagpole of the World War II museum. There are five additional floaters in the area. We are two minutes to bingo. And received a negative on dropping our rescue swimmer,” the Sat phone buzzed.
“Is the target moving?” Julian asked.
“Negative,” the pilot responded.
“Roger, CG6840, can you drop smoke?” Julian’s voice remained all business.
“Affirmative, red smoke dropped.”
“CG6840, can you give me a route? Our downtown building or Chase Care Hospital?”
“Downtown. You can get a vehicle to Loyola and Howard. Sorry we have to leave. Good luck, Chase Base. CG6840 out.”
Kyle listened and gave out the map coordinates to the two boats. “They’re not responding.” He pounded the dashboard. “Kiwi, do you read?” he tried Mia in Houston.
“You…re…br….k…up,” her voice crackled.
“Should we go?” Kyle raised his shoulders.
“You heard them, Loyola and Howard,” Julian said.
“Grab Holland. Take Wes, Bruce, and Rich. I’ll hold the fort,” Kyle said.
* * *
Harper sat calmlyas she questioned and documented each person and assigned them a room to shelter in. She identified any medical issues using another one of Kip’s ideas—color-coded identification bracelets. She noticed Hunt standing quietly in the corner of the large conference room.
“Zayne, why is Hunt watching us?” she asked.
“He’s watching you. I know he’s looking for an assistant.” Zayne waved over the next person in line.
“Isn’t Kevin his assistant?” Harper asked.
“Kevin is an advanced paramedic. He has administrative experience, and he’s Hunt’s…”
“Bodyguard. I should’ve figured that out. You’re mine?”
Zayne laughed. “You’re mine. They know you will keep me behaved.”
“Hi, I’m Harper. How are you doing?” she asked a young girl with straggly hair.
“Thankful. That’s my roommate.” She pointed to the girl behind her. “Can you tell me if a man was brought in? He was wearing a wet suit. We were stuck in our car, and he gave us life jackets. The car crashed, and he was thrown off. He floated away face down in the water.” She described Kip.
Harper’s hands started to tremor. “We don’t have anyone here with that description.” The words came out stilted.
Zayne waved another one of the nurses over. “Can you take Harper’s spot for a bit?” He lifted his crutches. “Put your hand on my hip. We are walking toward Hunt.”
In a quiet corner of the floor’s waiting area, Zayne did his best to calm her. “Honey, she said she saw him floating away. She didn’t say he was dead. Kip is well trained as a rescue swimmer. He grew up in the waves of the Jersey Shore.”
Harper sniffed. “Okay.” She continued to shake.
“Is anyone looking for him?” she pleaded.
“They’ve been looking for him since the sun rose,” Hunt advised. “Do you want to keep going, or do you want to call it a day?”
