Truth Avenged (Green Division Series Book 1) (3 page)

“
What happened when he saw you?”

“
He started taunting…me…and he had a sick…grin on his face…I ran, but he got a shot off…when I fell to the ground, he caught…up to me and put the shotgun to the back of my head…”   Her voice grew weak and she paused.  “I didn’t think…my life would end…due to a poacher of all…all the dangerous things I do…”  She stopped.

She was so lifeless next to him.  “
What happened next?”

“
Something must have scared them…because they ran away…I don’t know how…the fat one could run.”  

“
What scared them?”

“
I didn’t see anything.”  That was the truth.  But she didn’t have to see what it was to know.  She rested and calmed down.  

“
Chance, you aren’t telling me everything.  I need to know exactly what happened.”  He broke the silence.

She contemplated whether to tell him.  It would be harder to fill in the gaps with the truth than to omit it, but she trusted this man.  Hopefully he wouldn
’t have her committed.

“
I found a…plane crash…I don’t know much about aviation…but, it has to be World War II era.”

“
You found a plane?”  His voice conveyed his disbelief.

“
I swear…I did…the bag I wanted…you to get…was one of the crewman’s…has the name Squirrel on it…its where you found me…that’s why I need you to make…make sure you get it for me, please.”

“
I will.”  Maybe this woman was crazy.  Perhaps this poaching incident was trumped, or maybe the plane crash was a delusion caused by the shooting incident.  It was likely the second.

“
I know you don’t believe me…I’m not crazy.”

“
I never said you were crazy.”

“
But you were thinking it.”

“
No, I wasn’t.”  He denied, but thought the opposite. 

“
It’s okay…warden…I don’t blame you.  Maybe I’ll get to prove it to you someday.”

“
It’s Tuck.”

“
What?”

“
My name.  It’s Tuck, not warden.  And you’re going to be okay.”

“
You requested LifeFlight…that means this is life…or death…I’m a journalist…give me some credit.”

“
It means I don’t want you to have a two hour ambulance ride to a decent trauma unit when you can take a helicopter and be there in thirty minutes instead.”  Silence lingered in the air, no immediate response to his explanation of why she’d be transported by LifeFlight.

“
I feel like I’m going…to pass out.”

“
No, no.  You’re in this with me, stay awake.”  As he reached down to grab his cell phone, she put her hand atop of his.

“
I’m scared.”  The words fell out of her mouth broken.  Her hand lingered.

“
I know you are.”  Tuck silently sighed.  She made it impossible to check his personal feelings and keep this encounter strictly professional and detached.  The song “Good Life” played lowly on the radio and the significance wasn’t lost on either of them.  He turned his hand over to accept hers, lacing her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. 

“
Focus on me.  Talk to me.  If you can do that, I’ll take care of the rest.”

“
I’ll try.”  It was a miracle she’d lasted all the hours she had.  Tuck tried to reassure himself that since she’d lived for more than seven hours with the wound, it was likely she would survive for another few.  But at the memory of the amount of blood she’d lost, that hope was stunted.  Her grip on his hand weakened.

“
Chance--” 

“
Green, 2358.”

He released her hand to pick up the mic.  “
Go ahead.”

“
Responding ambulance was involved in a…”  Kevin hesitated.  “10-55 and unable to further respond.  We’ve dispatched a second unit which will be en route shortly.” 

10-55 was the code for vehicle accident.

“Fuck!”  Tuck hit the steering wheel with the palm of his hand.  He composed himself.

“
Ah, 10-4 Green.  I’m turning into the gatehouse now, I’ll relay the coordinates shortly.”  He thought about telling dispatch to have the ambulance disregard, in more vulgar terms.  The helicopter would have her before the ambulance got close.  Assholes.  He put the truck into park.

“
I’ll be right back.”

She looked at him helplessly.  He aimed the spotlight onto the large open packed dirt lot and took GPS coordinates of where they would land.  He called dispatch with the coordinates and before he could get off the phone, he heard his unit number being ca
lled on the radio.

“
2354, 2358.”

“
Go ahead Huan.”

“
I’m on the access road now.  What’s your 20?”

“
I’m at the gatehouse.”

“
We’ll be there in fifteen.”

“
10-4.”  Tuck opened the driver’s door and bailed back in the truck.  Her eyes were closed. 

“
Chance.”  He waited for her to respond.  Nothing.  He turned the interior light on.  “Chance, talk to me.”  He reached across the seat and felt her neck for a pulse.

“
Tuck.”  She opened her eyes.  “I don’t want to die.” 

He choked.  What the hell could he say in res
ponse to that?

“
Remember that promise.  You focus on me and I’ll take care of the rest.  I’m not going to let you die.  We’ve got a helicopter coming to get you.”  He smiled.  “You are going to be riding in style, enjoying the scenery.” 

He pushed her ban
gs out of her bloody face.  “You’ll be okay.”  Even he didn’t believe the words out of his mouth. 

“
I’ll hold you to that promise…”  She reached for his hand and he once again laced her fingers with his. 

“
You better.”  He shifted his weight.  “Do you have family you want me to call for you?”

“
My parents.”

“
What’s their number?”  She gave it to him from memory and he tapped it into his phone.  “Do you want to me to call them now and you can talk to them?”

“
No…not like this.”  It was probably better she didn’t.  Panicked parents wouldn’t improve her situation.

What li
ttle bit of color that remained almost instantly disappeared. 

“
Where are you from?”  He tried to keep her focus on him as they waited.

“
I’m from…Whiting.”

“
Ah, a Raider.”  He gave her a reassuring smile.  “You were my school’s rival at football.  Raiders always had a good team.” 

“
You were a Pony.”  

“
Mhm.  We had many good games against you guys.  Then we grew up, huh,” he said.  “So where do you live now?”

“
I live on Sunset Lane in Lyman.”

“
There’s a lot of nice houses up there.  Where about on the Sunset do you live?”

“
I ah, I have a log cabin set off the lake…a few camps after…the boat landing.”  She grimaced.

“
I’ve seen that house.  It’s one of those houses you’d see on the cover of a magazine.” 

“
I don’t know about…that.  It was my parents’ cabin.  We spent all of our…summers at the cabin when…we were kids.” 

The cabin was a three bedroom, two bathroom exquisitely crafted log home with lush flower gardens and an open wrap around porch
.  A large wooden swing adorned the back porch.  It was idyllic.  The house captured his attention one day while he patrolled the lake.  He remembered seeing a woman in the garden as he gawked at the house; it had to be her.

Headlights approache
d.  Huan’s truck pulled aside his. 

“
What do you need us to do?” 
Us
was Ryan Huan and Mitchell Meyers (2353). 

“
Switch over to Fire Tac and coordinate with Lifeflight to get ‘em on the ground.”  Fire Tac was a radio frequency.  Tuck let go of her hand to join them outside.

“
Please don’t leave me…don’t leave me alone…” she pleaded.    

He froze. 
Fuck
.  “You aren’t alone, I’m right here.  I won’t leave you.”  The words came out without thought, instinctually.  Tuck looked back to Ryan and Mitch’s empathetic faces.

“
We got it,” Mitch said.  Both walked to the illuminated lot to double check for any possible objects, branches, rocks, etc. that would interfere with the helicopter's ability to land.  His warm hand covered her ice cold fingers.

“
Thank you…no matter what happens…thank you for everything.” 

“
You can thank me when you’re all healed.  Then you can show me this so called plane you found.”

“
My pack.”

“
I’ll get your bag.” 

“
I feel…I feel like I’m going to…pass out.”  Her speech became very slurred.  She tried to retain her focus.  “Tuck…”  Her voice was barely audible.

“
You’re gonna be okay, hang in here with me.”  She shivered uncontrollably.  He pulled the blanket up to her shoulders.

“
I don’t think...”  Her grip on his hand completely gave and her body went limp. 

“
Chance—”  He tried to rouse her gently.  “Chance, talk to me.”  Nothing. 

“
Son of a bitch.”  He felt for a pulse.  He couldn’t find one.  “Chance, no, no, no.  Come on, wake up.  Wake up.” 

He jumped out of the tr
uck and ran to the other side. “Ryan!”  His voice was urgent, but Ryan and Mitch couldn’t hear him, not over the noise of the helicopter that approached.  He opened the passenger door, stepped up, and tried again for a pulse; the truck was cramped with equipment making it difficult to access her.  He stepped down and in doing so, caught his head on the laptop stand tumbling out of the truck and hit the ground hard.  He recovered swiftly and scooped her from the truck, laying her limp body on the ground.

THUB, THUB, THUB,

The helicopter whirled overhead.  Tuck felt her neck and found a weak pulse.  Her chest rose and fell with each shallow breath she took.

“
Stay with me.”  The sounds of the rotors covered his voice.  His flashlight was on the ground pointed at her.  He left one hand on her neck and watched her breathing, expecting her heart to stop at any moment.  The dirt around them stirred in a frenzy as the helicopter descended toward the ground.  He shielded her with his body, the dirt stinging his exposed skin.

WOOSH, WOOSH, W
OOSH

The helicopter powered down and the dirt settled to the ground where it belonged.  Every time he dead lifted her, it
became more and more taxing.  For the last time, he picked her up and carried her across the field, Mitch and Ryan flanked him halfway there.  The medics opened the door to get out, but before they could do so, Tuck was there with her.  He hoisted and the medics pulled her aboard, not the standard protocol by any means. 

“
She went unconscious a few minutes ago,” he hollered to the medics.

T
hey went to work diligently securing her to a backboard then put a line in her arm.  He watched one of the medics hook up some kind of monitor to her while the other cut away her shirt and evaluated her wound.  Minutes later when they had everything done they needed to before takeoff, they were ready to leave.  Mitch closed the doors and hit the glass giving them a thumbs up. 

“
Tuck, let’s go,” Ryan yelled.  “Tuck, come on!”  Tuck didn’t move.  Ryan and Mitch pulled him away and they jogged back to their trucks.  LifeFlight lifted gracefully into the air and disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

“
2354, Green.”

“
2354 go ahead.”

“
LifeFlight is 10-15 and en route to the hospital.”

“
10-4.  We’ll advise 1910.”  1910 was the ambulance unit.

“
2354, 2351.”

“
I copied the traffic.  I’ll be at the gatehouse in ten.”

“
10-4.”

Chapter Two

“Are you alright bud?” Mitch asked Tuck.

“
What?”  Everything had become surreal.

“
Are you alright?” Mitch asked again.

“
Yeah, yeah.  I’m fine.”  Tuck shook it off.

“
You need to get cleaned up man.”  Mitch commented.  Tuck opened the driver’s door and looked at himself.

“
Holy fuck.”  It was an unnerving sight. 

“
Jesus, you’re covered in her blood.  Did you miss the training on universal precautions?”  Ryan commented.

“
Do you have any water?”  He ignored Ryan’s dig.  Ryan retrieved it and Tuck washed himself off the best he could, then doused his hands in sanitizer. 

“
How did you manage to get her blood on your head?”  Mitch flashed the light on his buzz cut head.

“
Lean down.”  Tuck obeyed and ran his hand over his head.  “It’s your blood.  What the hell did you do?”

“
I ah, I didn’t—”  But the dull headache reminded him.  “I hit my head on the laptop stand when I got her out of the truck.” 

Ryan leaned over him.  “
That’s going to leave a scar.”

“
It can’t be that bad.”

“
You need stitches,” Mitch said.

“
Staples,” Ryan corrected.

“
Enough about the scratch on my head.”  He changed the topic, filling them in on the minimal amount of information she’d been able to give him, minus the plane wreckage.  Sergeant Kerr and a state trooper pulled in next to them.

“
What happened to your head?”  Sergeant Kerr noticed the so called scratch from yards away.

“
He was being graceful as usual,” Ryan, the smartass of the troupe, chimed in.

“
It’s nothing,” Tuck defended.

“
You’re done for tonight,” Kerr said.

“
I’ll get it glued when we’re done here.  It’s superficial.  This is my case.”

“
It’s been reassigned.  You’re injured, get it taken care of.”

“
Mike—”

“
Johnston.”  He shifted into supervisor mode.  He put his hand on Tuck's shoulder and led him away from the three other men. 

“
Have you seen yourself?” He asked in a concerned tone.  Tuck knew how he looked. 

“
Go to the ER, get cleaned up.”  Tuck shook his head, pissed at himself more than anything.  Though he’d promised to stay with her, he wanted to catch the men who were responsible for her injuries.  “Do you have next of kin information?”

“
She gave me her parent’s number.  I’ll take care of it.”

“
Mitch,” Kerr summonsed 2353.  “Bring him to the ER and give me a call when you guys clear.”

“
Will do,” Mitch said.

“
She left her hiking pack not far from the trailhead.  She was adamant about getting it.”

“
We’ll get it.  Now go.  You should have jumped on board with the helicopter.” 

Tuck wished he had.

Reluctantly Tuck got into the passenger seat of his truck and they headed toward civilization.  Once on the main road, Mitch turned to go toward the local band aid station of a hospital.

“
Where are you going?”  Tuck asked.

“
Uh, to the hospital?”  Mitch wondered about the state of his partner.

“
Let’s go to Maine Med.”

“
That’s like an hour and a half from here.  You need stitches, Newall should be able to handle that.”  It was well known you didn’t want to go to Newall Hospital with anything more than a cut finger.

“
I’d rather go to Maine Med.  More people walk out of there alive than Newall.”

“
Alright.”  Mitch turned the truck around and headed toward Killingstone.  He knew Tuck’s motives and they had nothing to do with his chance of surviving a laceration.

Tu
ck pecked in the numbers for Chance’s parents and held his breath. 

“
Hello.”  A tired woman answered the phone.   It was 4 a.m. by the truck’s clock. 

“
I’m sorry to wake you so early in the morning ma’am.  My name is Tucker Johnston, I’m a Maine Game Warden.  Do I have Mrs. Phillips?”

“
Something’s happened to Chance.”  Her voice changed instantly.

“
She’s being brought to Maine Medical Center now and—”

“
No no...Please tell me she is okay... Jacob, wake up...”  Panic set into her mother’s voice before he could continue.  Tuck assumed Jacob was Chance’s father.  “No, no, tell me she’s alright.  Please!”

“
Mrs. Phillips, calm down, take a deep breath.”

“
I’m sorry.”  She followed his instructions.  “What happened?”

“
She was injured in an incident with poachers while hiking yesterday.”

“
An incident with poachers…”  It sank in.  “Was she shot?”

“
She was shot in the abdomen.”

Her mother tried to stay calm, but her panic was barely under the surface.  “
Is she going to be okay?”

The hesitation in Tuck
’s answer gave her cause to believe the answer was no.  She began to cry.

“
She was in fair condition when LifeFlight took off with her.”

“
LifeFlight?”  She repeated the words in shock.

“
Let me talk to him.”  Tuck heard Jacob in the background.  “Where is she being taken?”  He asked Tuck.

“
Maine Medical Center in Killingstone.”

“
We’ll get plane tickets out as soon as we can.”

“
Where do you live, sir?”

“
Seattle.”

“
Washington?”  That was a hell of a flight.

“
Yes.  We won’t be able to get there until tonight at the soonest.”  He sighed.  “Where did she get shot?”

“
In the abdomen.”

Silence.

“Did you catch who did this to her?”  Conviction was strong in his voice.

“
No, sir.  All we know at this point is there were two men involved.  The shooting happened in the afternoon, she spent several hours in the woods until her editor reported her missing.”

“
Paul.”

“
I’ll give you my phone number and you can call me direct if you need anything.  Let me know when you are ready for it.”  Tuck rattled off the number.  Jacob gave him their cell numbers as well.

“
What’s your name?” Jacob asked.

“
Tucker Johnston, sir.  I’m on my way to the hospital now.  I’ll call you back with an update as soon as I have one.”

“
Thank you officer.”

“
You’re welcome.”  Tuck was not an officer, but didn’t take offense to the comment.

“
That sounded like a hard call,” Mitch observed.

“
No different than any parent hearing their child has been shot.”  Point made.

The drive
took a little more than an hour. Mitch managed to cut down the response time with his efficient driving skills, aka blue lights and a lead foot.  They walked into the ER together garnering stares of everyone in sight.

“
Officer, uh, what happened to you tonight?”  A short stout older nurse asked at the intake desk.

“
It’s not mine.”  He looked down at his uniform.  “I’ve been told I need a few stitches though.”  He turned his head to show her.

“
Yes, young man you do.  We’ll squeeze you right in here.  Fill out this paperwork and I’ll be back with you in just a moment.”  She walked back from the desk and out of view.

“
I think I’m going to take a ride to the D&D up the street and grab a coffee while they are putting you back together.  Do you want anything?”

“
Coffee.  Large black coffee.”

“
Coming up boss.”  Mitch walked out the door.  Tuck filled out the paperwork and the nurse reappeared.

“
Young man, come right on back.”  She winked at him. 

“
Thank you.”  He followed her into one of the exam rooms where he waited at least ten minutes for a doctor to saunter in.

“
Mr. Johnston—”  He stopped at the sight of the bloody uniform.  “I was told you have a laceration on your head.  Do you have any other injuries?” 

“
No, sir.  Is there a woman here who was just brought in by LifeFlight?  Chance Phillips?”

“
You know I can’t tell you that.”  He rolled his eyes to the left to indicate she was down the hall.  “You were one of the rescuers I take it?”

Tuck nodded his head. 

“Lean your head down.”  The doctor ordered. Tuck obeyed.

“
I found her.  How is she?”

“
I honestly don’t know.  Is this all your blood?”

“
Hers.”

The sta
tement didn’t throw the doctor. 

“
Let’s start by taking your shirt off.  I’ll get a bio bag for you, though you’d be smarter to throw the shirt and cut your losses.  The state can waste the money to buy you a new one; they are good at wasting money.”  The doctor had a very dry sense of humor.

Tuck stripped
the shirt off and then the vest putting them next to the bed.  The doctor ran through a list of medical questions, followed by checking Tuck for any sign of head trauma beyond the cut.  When he was done his assessment, he stood up. 

“
Have you had staples before Mr. Johnston?”

“
No, sir.”

“
We don’t have many options for closing wounds on the skull such as the one you’re sporting.  It’s either glue, or staples.  With the depth of your laceration, you aren’t a candidate for the glue.”

“
Of course.”  That was his luck thus far tonight, shitty.

“
It should take a dozen, maybe a few more to close the wound.”

“
Do what you have to do.” 

“
You’re an easy man to get along with.”  The doctor smiled.  “I’ll be right back.” 

After a few minutes, t
he doctor was back as promised, unfortunately.  Having a staple gun used on his head was high on the list of disgusting events in Tuck’s life. 

“
Good as new,” the doctor commented after the medieval medicine was performed. He gave Tuck instructions on how to clean the wound and told him to make an appointment to get the wound checked out by his local physician in a few days.  His staples would be removed within two weeks.

“
Thank you.” 

“
Are you going to be here for a while, or are you off duty for the night?”

He was done for the night and
should
go home. 

“
I’m going to stay until you have good news, or if it’s the alternative, until her family arrives.”

“
I will make sure a doctor gives you an update when she comes out of the OR.”

“
Thanks.”  The young sarcastic doctor walked out of the exam room and Tuck escaped to the waiting room.  Mitch had his feet propped up in a chair, hand wrapped around his coffee, reading the morning newspaper.  The sun rose outside sending a salmon blaze through the window. 

“
How’d you make out?”

“
Sixteen staples.”  Tuck’s wound was covered by a white bandage.

“
When you do something, you go for the gold.”  He sipped his coffee and smiled.  “Any news on the girl?”

“
Nothing.”  He sat next to him. 

“
Have you called Sarge?” 

Tuck pulled out his phone and dialed without answering the question.

“Hi Mike.  We’re still at the ER.  I talked to her parents and they are taking the first flight they can get out of Seattle.”

“
Seattle, Jesus.”

“
I know.  Have you found anything?”

“
We’re waiting for sunrise.  Hard to look in the dark when you don’t know what you are looking for to begin with.  Any update on her?”

“
Still waiting.”

“
How did you make out?”