Aftermath 5: A Nuclear War Survival Thriller by Bobby Akart

Author:Bobby Akart [Akart, Bobby]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crown Publishers Inc.
Published: 2025-01-30T00:00:00+00:00

Thirty-One

DAY TWENTY-THREE

Morning

Aboard the Dixie Bull

Montevideo, Uruguay

THE ORDERLY MADE SMALL TALK with Mickey and Noah as he rolled them through the streets of Montevideo back to the Dixie Bull. He was excited to practice his limited knowledge of English. When they first came into view of the Dixie Bull, cheers erupted from the Bartletts. They completely disregarded the two police officers who’d been assigned to keep them on board the ship. Each of them rushed onto the dock and raced toward young Noah, whose face beamed.

The police officers barely gave it a second thought. They’d been watching the family since their arrival and had determined any heavy-handed approach to their detainment would be unwarranted. They stood aside and let the celebration of Noah’s return take place.

After hugs, kisses, and tears, the orderly assisted Noah in handing out the Dum-Dums to the family. There were even a couple left over for the police officers. Out of respect, Billy urged everyone to return to the ship while he and Mickey thanked the orderly for his help. They also provided a smile and a nod to the guards, who appreciated being acknowledged. Before the men joined the others in the galley, where they doted over Noah, Mickey brought the others up to speed.

“Noah’s gonna be fine, Dad. I’ll say this, though. Another few hours and it would’ve been dicey. You know?”

Billy patted his son on the back. “You handled it perfectly. I mean, the best we could under the circumstances. You know what it’s like when we’re out on the water. You do your darndest to avoid injuries.”

“And to avoid being shot at by missiles, right?”

Billy laughed. “Yeah, that too.”

Mickey relayed what he’d learned from the two military personnel who visited him in the hospital. “Listen, I wanna believe that they’re gonna send search and rescue for Joey. But what if they don’t?”

Billy had given this some thought already. “Yeah, we can’t sit around here and wait. It’s gonna be a long haul with a lot of fuel spent, but we’ve gotta try.”

“I’ll get her ready to sail,” said Mickey. “Why don’t you spend a moment with your grandson and let them know the plan. I might need your—” The rest of Mickey’s suggestion was drowned out by an approaching, low-flying helicopter. It pulled near the Dixie Bull and began to hover.

Tammy had rushed out of the galley onto the aft deck when the commotion started. She joined Billy’s side and shielded her eyes from the wind and sea spray whipped up by the chopper’s powerful rotors.

“Hey, is that our inflatable?” asked Mickey. Before anyone could answer, the fourteen-foot RIB dropped thirty feet and hit the water with a splash. Now directly beneath the helicopter, the rotor wash thrust air downward, causing the RIB to spin as if it were on an axis.

Tammy walked a step away from Billy to point at the chopper. “Look, the door’s opening. Is that Daniel?”

Wearing an orange life vest, Daniel inched onto the skids and held on to a support railing just beneath the opening.

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