Life on a Cliff: A Novel by Stephen Russell Payne

Author:Stephen Russell Payne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cedar Ledge Publishing
Published: 2018-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTY–ONE

COMMANDER SAMSON OF STATION SOUTH PORTLAND STARED AT the large, multicolored weather radar screen in the command center. He spoke in a seasoned though urgent voice, the recent crash of a chopper in rough seas heavy on his mind. “On the topo, it looks like there’s a fairly narrow ravine—maybe 200 feet across—that runs from where they’re trapped, east down to a strip of beach. In this fog it’ll be treacherous trying to get a Jayhawk up in there.” He squinted, leaned toward the display, and pointed at several breaks in the cloud cover. “At least it’s not a solid fogbank.”

Lt. Jeremy Cooke, the station’s most experienced pilot, nodded. “I agree, Sir, and offshore there are even more clear spots.”

“Though there’s a fairly fast-moving storm coming up from the south.” The Commander looked at Lt. Cooke. “I know you want to get those people off of there. You’re a hell of a pilot, but you know what I think about cliff rescues, especially with the winds they’re predicting.” He looked at the screen again. “This is a tricky one, not out over open ocean where we belong.”

Lt. Cooke studied another screen. “Potential wind shears are worrisome, but we’ve done these successfully before.”

“Damn fools, out on that cliff—” The commander shook his head. “In the dark, no less.” He turned to Lt. Cooke. “So, what’s your plan?”

“We’ll attempt to come up through the ravine from the shore, see how badly the winds are kicking up. We’ll use our searchlight, of course, but if the fog-glare prohibits it, we’ll depend on the fire department to light up the scene. Hopefully, we’ll be able to see so we can hover low enough to drop the basket and not hit the rock face on either side.”

“Or disturb that cliff, which is already unstable.” He looked the lieutenant in the eye. “If you go down in that ravine, it may be all over.”

Lt. Cooke stayed steady. “If we don’t try, Sir, it’ll surely be over for those two women. If we can’t get into an acceptable position, or they tell us the rotors are causing more of the cliff to break up, we’ll pull out.”

The Commander stroked his chin. “All right. I’ll send a second Jayhawk as backup. We don’t have a boat in the area, but that wouldn’t help anyway. It’ll be you and the local squads. Luckily, those guys up there are good.” He glanced at Lt. Cooke. “But they aren’t Coast Guard.”

“Yes Sir.” Lt. Cooke saluted then walked to the staging room and looked out the window at the flight line where two helicopters were being readied. Pulling on his flight suit, he watched Chris Duvall, his flight mechanic, inspect their sleek red-and-white bird. Even after eight years as a search and rescue pilot, Jeremy always felt a rush as he got ready to fly. He couldn’t imagine doing anything else with his life, even if missions like this were some of the most dangerous. He adjusted his helmet strap then pushed through the door into a gusty wind.

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