Code Red (WAYHAUGHT)

Chapter 17

The target was the fuel tanks. A clean shot to take out the plane. Instead, the bullet pierced its thin metal body, punching a hole in Nicole's shoulder from behind, exiting through the front. Waverly felt a sharp sting, as the bullet grazed her cheek, causing her to cry out. Nicole felt the forceful thud of the bullet's entry. The searing pain. She gasped, the realisation she had been shot flooding her body. She couldn't breathe. Agony, as she struggled to stay upright. She felt her shirt become wet. Waverly was shaking, the full impact of what had happened hitting her as hard as the bullet that had just entered and exited her lover. She couldn't speak. Nicole blacked out.

Waverly screamed, going with Nicole as she slumped to the floor. The plane left the ground, the action causing Nicole to regain consciousness momentarily. An agonising moan left her lips. The pilot turned to say they were clear. He saw them on the floor, Waverly using her jacket to stem the blood pouring from the wound. "Help me, please."

The pilot banked the plane to the right. "Put pressure on it. I'll fly as fast as I can."

Nicole let out another agonising moan as Waverly pushed down on the wound. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Stay with me."

They made it out of France, across the Channel, making their descent into RAF Tempsford. Nicole had drifted in and out of consciousness, Waverly stroking her hair, checking her breathing, holding her in her arms. She was covered in Nicole's blood, too traumatised to care. The plane touched down. Nicole moved slightly, her lips attempting to say something, no words coming out. "I'm here, my darling, I'm here."

The pilot had radioed ahead to let ground crew know he had an injured passenger. The ambulance ride was short. Waverly sat beside Nicole, holding her hand, looking for signs of her coming round. She was taken into surgery immediately. Waverly desperate to go with her, held back by a nurse. The nurse comforted her as she broke down seeing Nicole disappear through the double doors of the operating theatre. Still covered in blood, the nurse gently moved her to a side room, instructing another to find clean clothes. They bathed most of the blood off her hands, legs and face. They dressed the wound on her cheek.

Surgery was slow. Doctors operated on Nicole. It was touch and go. She had lost a lot of blood. Out of surgery, they moved her to a small room, allowing Waverly to see her. As she entered, Waverly could see Nicole unconscious, a drip in her left arm, significant bandaging on her right shoulder. She looked barely alive. Waverly felt her knees buckle. She reached for a trolley to keep upright. A nurse came in, grabbing her, just as she was about to fall. The action brought Waverly back into the room. She was helped to a chair, her face white, through exhaustion, through everything she had endured in the last 24 hours.

Waverly stayed with her the whole time. Nurses came and went, bringing food and drink, checking on Nicole. Alan arrived several hours after surgery. He looked pale, worried. He hugged Waverly. They sat together, holding hands, Waverly never letting Nicole's hand go. He thanked Waverly for risking her life to save Station X. The information she retrieved had been handed over on arrival at RAF Tempsford. He had begun to go through it. It provided the missing pieces. He said she could have as much time off as necessary. There was no hurry to return to Station X. Her place was with Nicole.

Dr Holliday came in to check on his patient. A bushy moustache set him apart from the other clean-shaven doctors. He looked kind, concerned. He checked Nicole's pulse, read her notes, nodded his head. "Close call, this one. If the bullet had been an inch to the left, she would not have survived."

Waverly realised if the bullet had been an inch to the left she too would not have survived. That it merely grazed her cheek, was a miracle.

Nicole stirred. She mumbled something, her voice a whisper. Waverly leant over, brushing a few strands of hair off her face. "Hey, I'm here. We made it."

Nicole opened her eyes, looking round, unsure of her surroundings. She saw Waverly standing by her. She felt her hand holding hers. It took her a few moments to comprehend what was going on. "Did we get it?"

"Yes, it's here. Alan has it. It's fine." Waverly paused, realising what Nicole had done for her, tears welling. "Nikki, I didn't think I would make it. You rescued me."

She wanted to embrace her. She wanted to kiss her. She knew she couldn't. Not in the presence of the doctor. She squeezed Nicole's hand, knowing a time would come when she would be able to say thank you fully to the woman who had saved her.

Waverly had been cosseted at Station X. Now she knew what was really going on beyond her cosy existence at Bletchley and it ripped her soul apart. The miserable realisation of a world against itself. How could people be so cruel to each other? Nicole had tried to warn her, but in her naiveté she had assumed it was just Nicole's way of protecting her lover. She now knew Nicole was trying to protect her from the horrors man inflicts on man. She was older, wiser, less naïve.

The girl who left RAF Tempsford had returned a woman.