Shattering the Trust

by Sofia Grey

  “Precisely,” said Daisy. “We’ve no idea how bad it’s been. Why don’t we ask? And if it’s not too bad, divert to Auckland instead? It’s an hour from Wellington in the air. It should all be over by the time we get there.”

  He opened his mouth, but Sylvie spoke over him. “If we wait it out in Auckland until the phones are on again, we won’t be so far away.” She swallowed hard. “Please, Jordan. I can’t be so far away. Please?”

  He nodded. “I’m on it.”

  *

  The massive lights under the helicopter lit the ground beautifully. At any other time, Juli would have enjoyed the experience, but not tonight. Not under these circumstances.

  As the pilot swept over the area where the flare was shot, she saw what had happened. A tree lay across a dark SUV. Probably Aiden’s.

  Shit. She had to do something, but what? “They’re my friends,” she said into the mic. “We need to help them. Can you land here somewhere?”

  He spoke to the co-pilot, but then shook his head. “There’s nowhere clear enough here to risk it.” He looked at her over his shoulder. “Could you go down on a rope?”

  “Rope?” she squeaked. “You mean, like a... a winch?”

  He shook his head again. “Nah. We haven’t got a winch. I could hold a position twenty feet in the air, and you could climb down.”

  “Me?”

  “I need Fred here, to monitor the distance to the ground. I’d normally have a third crew member, but we got mustered urgently tonight.”

  Her immediate thought was hell, no. The last time she tried to climb down a rope was in the school gym, and that was a long time ago. The memory of that gym class was burned into her consciousness. Thinking about it made her shudder.

  She glanced across at Jack, who was sprawled with his eyes closed, blood seeping through the dressing underneath the ripped jeans. She was responsible for that. And if she’d tried harder to escape from Yanni, she could have prevented this whole bloody mess from happening tonight.

  She couldn’t do it. Could she?

  With a sense of great trepidation, she unfastened her safety belt and stood on shaky legs. “What do I have to do?”

  The co-pilot passed her a set of sturdy leather gloves, and then uncoiled a nylon rope and dropped it through the open side of the chopper. She watched it tumble gracefully to the ground, a short distance from Aiden’s car.

  “How do we get back in here?” As she asked the question, she knew the answer. “Don’t tell me—we climb back up the rope?”

  He nodded.

  “And if they’re hurt?”

  He shrugged. “We have a good first-aid kit, but if they can’t get up the rope you need to call triple one.”

  Juli laughed aloud, hysteria escaping. She really, really did not want to do this.

  She shoved her cold hands into the gloves and eased her way to the yawning open door at the side. She glanced down, and immediately wished she hadn’t. Nausea filled her throat, and her vision swam.

  She shrank away, her hands trembling and her heart galloping.

  “Don’t look down,” the co-pilot offered. “I’ll help you.”

  Juli looked at Jack. This was why she had to go down the rope. To make up for the destruction she’d been a part of.

  The co-pilot held her hand, and she scrambled into position. She held the rope with both hands as tightly as she could, and wrapped her feet around it, like she remembered from gym classes. “Keep looking up at me.”

  She nodded, her teeth chattering too much for her to speak, and pushed off slightly. She immediately dropped a couple of feet, as the rope took her weight. Christ on a bike, she didn’t like this. She wanted to climb back in. Right this second.

  The co-pilot gazed at her. “Slowly now,” he yelled, the noise of the rotors almost drowning out his words. Jesus, it was ten times as noisy out here.

  “Just fucking do it,” she chanted to herself. It helped.

  She inched down the rope a little at a time, testing the feel of it in her hands. The rain had stopped for the moment. That helped.

  The co-pilot crouched in the open doorway, watching her every movement. He gestured for her to keep going... further... further...

  She inched along, not daring to look down again. It was a good job she wore gloves. Her hands were slick with sweat.

  He made a stop gesture, and she paused. Next thing, he gave a big thumbs up and a broad smile, and she took the quickest glance below her. She dangled a short distance above the ground. Thank God. She made it.

  JuliShe climbed down the last couple of feet and finally felt solid earth beneath her feet. She was tempted to kneel down and kiss the soil.

  For a moment, she forgot why she did this, then with a guilty shock she remembered Aiden’s car and staggered toward it. Her ankle hurt, and she couldn’t put much weight on it, but at least she was mobile.

  “Aiden,” she yelled. “Tanner? Darcy?”

  “Juli?” Aiden leaned against the side of the broken car. “Was that you on the rope?”

  She nodded, breathless with nervous energy.

  “I thought it was the rescue services,” he said. “Have you got Jack with you?”

  “Yes, but he’s asleep, still doped up from the hospital.”

  “Okay. Darcy and Casey are injured, and Tanner’s doing some emergency patching. Is there room in the chopper?”

  “Yes. But there’s no winch. You’ll have to get them up the rope.”

  He nodded and gazed at his watch. “It’s been three minutes, so we’re probably due another quake. We can’t find anything here, and with no transport, it’s foolish to think about staying.” He moved awkwardly to the other side of the car and spoke to Tanner. When they appeared again, Tanner carried someone over his shoulder, while Aiden hobbled forward, helping Darcy walk.

  “You go first, Juli,” said Aiden. “We’ll be right behind.”

  Was it any easier going up? No. It was worse. It seemed miles to the chopper door from the ground.

  She hauled her way up the rope, hand over hand, gritting her teeth and counting in her head. Each upward movement was maybe six inches. If she had to climb twenty feet, that made it forty steps from ground to chopper. Somewhere around thirty, she froze. If she fell from here, she’d break her neck.

  She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t go any higher.

  “Go on, Juli, you’re nearly there. Not far now.” This was the same Tanner that snarled at her earlier.

  She closed her eyes for a moment, counted backward from ten to zero in her head, and then untangled her fingers and started to climb upwards again. It wasn’t as far as she thought. A few moves later, the co-pilot held out a gloved hand, to help her scramble inside.

  That was beyond terrifying, but she did it. She fucking did it. Juli lay on the floor of the chopper, gasping for air and wheezing. Tanner emerged next, the guy still over his shoulders, followed by Aiden, who helped Darcy. They lay sprawled across the floor in a tangled heap, while the co-pilot pulled up the rope and neatly stashed it, then closed the side door.

  “Okay guys,” he said. “Where to now?”

  *

  As Charlie plunged into the swirling water, two thoughts jostled for attention. If he blacked out again, he was a goner. And why the fuck did he never learn to swim?

  He’d thought the water cold when it came up to his thighs. As he bobbed around, working hard to keep his head above water, he realised just how cold it was. Within seconds the lower half of his body was numb.

  It was dark too. The Maglite had slipped out of his hand.

  Something bumped into his side. AJ.

  Charlie grabbed his t-shirt, clinging to him as he tried to think. “I dropped the torch.” Fuck, it was hard to speak. Hands, feet, limbs—all numb.

  What a stupid fucking way to die. The water couldn’t be that deep. He smashed into something hard. The shock wave was brutal, and he moaned.

  It was the back of the car. It loomed out of the water, and A
J scrabbled to get hold of it. He lost his grip, banged his head, and fell back into the water. He went under.

  “No.” Charlie grabbed him by the hair and yanked his head up again. “Don’t you dare fucking drown.” They had to hang on long enough for Lucky to figure out a plan.

  Charlie held AJ’s jacket with his other hand, and dragged him half out of the water, to perch across the back of the car again. Just like old times.

  Okay, that was one benefit of the extreme cold—he didn’t hurt so bad now.

  “Alex. Charlie.” Lucky was shouting them.

  Charlie tried to answer but couldn’t get louder than a croak. He coughed, spat out some water, and tried again. “Here.”

  Torchlight flashed over the mud banks and swept across the water, shining in his eyes. He squinted and waited.

  “I can see you,” shouted Lucky. “You’ve moved downstream.”

  No shit. “Can you get us?” Come on, Lucky. Think of something.

  Lights moved. What was Lucky doing? Hang on—he was driving the car further along the edge.

  Lucky shouted again. “I’m trying to get into position to reach you on the rope. Hang on.” Easier said than done.

  AJ stirred.

  Charlie tugged his hair and watched as his eyes flickered open. Thank fuck. “Welcome back, mate. Stay with me now. Lucky’s trying to get us out of here.”

  “Uh huh.”

  Charlie clung to him, willing him to stay awake. Hoping he’d be okay. That would be the ultimate irony—for AJ to learn he was Charlie’s brother just before they both died.

  “AJ, talk to me. Stay awake.” Charlie forced his mouth to work, his leaden tongue to speak.

  “Whaddya want?” AJ’s voice was slurred. He sounded very drunk. Whether it was with shock, pain, or the cold, it wasn’t good.

  “Lucky’s gonna get us. Hear me?”

  “You helped me save Cal. I couldn’t do it without you.”

  Charlie hesitated. He’d sworn he’d never tell AJ, but right now, when they might not get out of here alive, it was vital he be honest. “He’s my nephew too.”

  “Is it true?”

  “Yeah.” There was an important question he had to ask. “Do you mind?”

  There was the ghost of a smile. “It’s a privilege.”

  He’d think about the implications of this later. If there was a later. “Now stay awake, you shithead. Cal needs both his uncles. Okay?”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Juli half-listened to the rapid discussion between Tanner, Aiden, and the helicopter crew. The chopper flew down from Levin, north of Wellington, and they were heading back there.

  The police and government agents were continuing to look for the oscillator, but there was nothing more that Aiden or his team could do.

  Someone mentioned Lucky and Alex, and Juli paid attention.

  “I thought you said Alex was boarding a jet with Jordan and the others,” she said.

  Tanner swivelled around to face her. In the dim light of the cabin, she saw the blood and dirt streaking his face. “It’s a long story, but they went to Plimmerton. We’re gonna take a look there. See if they’re okay.”

  Juli rolled onto her stomach and pushed up on her knees. Her legs were weak and shaky, as though she’d run a marathon, but she was euphoric. She went down the rope and climbed up again. A freaking rope, hanging out of a helicopter.

  Aiden gave her a half-smile, pulled her up, and helped her into the seat next to Jack, who was stirring.

  Tanner stared at her, and she met his gaze. This time, he smiled and held out a grubby hand to shake. “Thanks for getting O’Donnell and finding us. You did good, Juli.”

  She flushed, muttered a hasty thanks, and turned to hold Jack’s hand.

  Darcy sprawled on the floor, leaning up against the seats, while the other guy lay still, his eyes closed and Tanner examining a gash on his forehead.

  Administering first aid was bottom of Juli’s favourite things. Anything which involved blood, really. But if she could cope with a twenty-foot rope, she could handle a little blood.

  With a resigned sigh, she slipped out of her seat and knelt on the floor next to Tanner. “Can I help?”

  This earned her another smile. “Yeah. Can you get me that bottled water, please? I need to clean this before I apply a dressing. This is Casey. He took the brunt of the tree falling. He may have broken ribs and internal injuries, so be careful moving around him.”

  “I’m on it.”

  Tanner dug through a first aid box while Juli grabbed the water and passed it to him.

  “Here you are. How bad is Darcy?”

  Glancing up at his colleague, Tanner grinned briefly, teeth a flash of white in his grimy face. “How bad are you, Darcy?”

  “Me? I’m always bad.” Darcy managed a faint smile, but it looked like hard work. “My left shoulder is dislocated. Once you’ve popped it back in, I’ll be fine.”

  Juli looked at Aiden. “How about you? Are you okay?”

  His mouth formed a tight line, and he curled his right hand protectively around his knee. “I think I bust my knee.” He spoke slowly, and carefully. “Maybe you could take a look, Tanner, when you’ve sorted out the others?”

  Any further conversation went on hold for the moment. The pilot announced they were approaching Plimmerton.

  *

  Why hadn’t Lucky thrown down the rope to them? Was it too short? Or was something wrong with Callum or Joni, and he couldn’t leave them?

  Hanging onto AJ was getting harder by the minute. The water was rising. It lapped around Charlie’s chest, and he tried to tug AJ higher.

  Was that Lucky, flashing the car headlights? What the fuck was that about? He hadn’t shouted to them for ages. Did he think they were gone? Swept out to sea?

  If Charlie let go, that was where AJ would go, with Charlie following.

  It was inevitable.

  And there was another rumbling. Another quake. What would happen this time? As long as Lucky kept Callum safe for Sylvie, that was all that mattered.

  Charlie twisted his fingers more tightly around AJ’s jacket. Fuck, but he was tired. He closed his eyes. It wouldn’t hurt for a minute.

  *

  As with the Botanic Gardens, the helicopter swept low over Plimmerton, this time with Tanner directing the pilot to the house where they’d stayed. The street was deserted.

  “Maybe they didn’t get this far?” Juli didn’t like to think about this possibility.

  “Maybe.” Tanner stared intently at the map. “We’ll double back. Follow the highway toward Wellington. I take it the phone network is still down?”

  Juli checked her phone. “No signal.” She carried on bathing the head wound. It looked as though Tanner was the only person who’d escaped any kind of injury—useful really, since he was the medic.

  “Hang on,” said Darcy. He pressed his face to the side window. “What’s that flashing light? Down there. Can you see it, Juli?”

  It looked like a bright white light, winking on and off in a regular pattern.

  Aiden craned his head to see it. “Morse code?” He murmured to himself, then sat up a little straighter, wincing as he did so. “Tanner, down there, out toward the sea. It’s somebody signalling S.O.S. Let’s go take a look.”

  *

  Someone yanked on Charlie’s hair. His scalp complained, and the jolt of pain snapped him awake. Shit. He’d been going under.

  “Wake up.” It was AJ. “We’re being rescued.”

  It was the best sight ever—bright floodlights bathing the entire river in white light. A helicopter hovering low above them.

  And a rope dangling from it, with someone hanging on the end.

  *

  Jack awoke slowly and gazed around. The pain in his thigh suggested he was awake, albeit still inside the Mil-8 helicopter with Juli and a bunch of other people.

  He yawned, rubbed his eyes, and looked around again. The men were Darcy and Aiden—both looking pale a
nd in pain—and Casey, unconscious and bleeding on the floor.

  “Hey buddy. Welcome back.” Darcy gave an approximation of a smile, and Juli spun round to look at him, then immediately turned to the open door on the side.

  Jack had no idea where he was. There were gaps in his memory. “Is Tanner here somewhere?”

  “He’s on the end of the rope,” Aiden answered. “Alex and Charlie have been washed into the river, and he’s trying to haul them out.”

  That didn’t sound good.

  Jack pushed himself out of his seat, and pain stabbed through his thigh. It cleared some of the fog swirling in his head. “Can I help?”

  He dropped to sit next to Juli. Beneath them, a long way down, he saw the back end of a car sticking up from of a thundering river. Two men clung to it like limpets on a rock, and Tanner dangled at the bottom of the rope hanging from the helicopter, yelling directions up. Juli and the co-pilot relayed these to the pilot, who slowly eased into position.

  Tanner plucked the first man from the water and deposited him next to a parked car, before moving out across the river. Again, he hauled someone out of the water and transferred them to the bank. He stayed on the ground for a few moments, before climbing up the rope.

  He grinned when he joined them in the helo. “O’Donnell. Did’ya have a good nap? Good of you to join us.” Moving quickly to the cockpit, he issued a series of instructions to the pilot. The chopper rose higher and banked around, while Tanner came back to brief everyone.

  “We need to get to a hospital. Lucky’s driving to meet us at the nearest landing zone—a school field about a mile away. We’ll load everyone up and head for Palmerston North.”

  The co-pilot moved around the cabin, tidying and moving stuff. He joined the conversation. “Aye, Palmy North has the largest trauma facilities in Godzone, and it’s only a short hop from our base.”

  Juli slipped her hand in his and squeezed his fingers. “What about the earthquakes? Is it safe there?”

  “Oh, aye.” The co-pilot smiled at her before returning to his seat. “They hardly felt it. It’s all sweet.”

  Jack pulled Juli closer. She leaned against him, and he kissed her forehead. Yeah, this felt sweet too.

  *