The Hitman

The Rescue

Brook Aldridge's POV

"Where is he?" I cried over the wind.  I peered over the edge of the helicopter down at the water, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear.  "A storm's picking up, and we don't have much time."

Charles shook his head. "Maybe we should leave him. Go get the children and come back."

I whirled back around to face him and pointed a finger at his chest. "You want him to die!" I shouted, but Charles simply shrugged. "We are not leaving them under any circumstance."

Nick's father held up his hands. "It isn't my fault if your children die." I opened my mouth to say some choice words, but thought better of it and went back to scanning the water for signs of movement. For anything to at least tell me he was alive.

Where are you, Nick?

Nick Sievers' POV

I needed oxygen. Now. My entire body was throbbing, and my lungs felt like they were about to explode. Every cell in my body was screaming for oxygen, yet I kept fighting. I kept fighting because I had to. Because if I took a breath, it was all over. Slowly, black began to seep in at the edge of my vision. I needed to breathe. I needed to breathe.

I tugged at the driftwood, because just pulling Jay's arm out of it would quite possibly kill him before I could reach help. Yet the wood refused to move. Months and years of sand had buried the driftwood deep into the channel's bottom.

How long had Jay been down here? How much more time did he have before he died? I shivered, and it wasn't from the cold water. I couldn't let my friend end this way, with oxygen only several feet away.

My fingers, now scratched and bleeding from the effort, dug furiously at the sand. Billows of the stuff flew up in my face, but I refused to stop for even a second. Scarlet blood curled upward to join the inky darkness.

Saltwater stung my eyes, and I paused momentarily to blink it away. Yet I didn't have time to go back up to the surface. My daughters' lives were on the line.

I planted my feet on the sandy bottom and pulled upwards, using all of my remaining strength. Come on, come on.

The wood slowly shifted. Encouraged, I began pulling with renewed strength. 

Black danced in my vision. I began to feel faint.

Just then, however, the driftwood came loose. I  smiled in victory before my eyes slowly closed and I fell back, lifeless, in the water.

Brook Aldridge's POV

He hadn't come up yet. Five minutes had passed.  It's nearly impossible to hold your breath that long. At least, nearly impossible when you're actively doing something.

I was just about to dive in after both of them when Charles caught my shoulder. I glanced toward him, but his eyes weren't on me. He raised a trembling finger toward an approaching helicopter.

And the side distinctly read FBI.