Last Chance Rescue: adventure fiction and romance novel
Free Excerpt: Chapter 1
© copyright 2008 Tracey Cramer-Kelly and Twigglecat Books. All rights reserved.
The helicopter shuddered and swayed as it lifted off the helipad. Instinctively Brad Sievers gripped the edge of the bench, willing his stomach to calm down.
The chopper was so full he could hardly move, and he felt overly warm and claustrophobic. Though he wore a headset, he could hear the Colorado air pulsing through the giant blades above.
Minutes ago he'd been terribly insistent about tagging along on this search-and-rescue mission; now he wasn't sure it was a good idea. What the hell am I doing? he thought. I'm in advertising, for Chrissakes!
"Okay, listen up," the team leader said.
The movement of the chopper was so foreign to Brad that he had difficulty paying attention. The team leader talked about the missing snowmobilers -- what they looked like, where they were last seen and probable scenarios. He threw out a lot of numbers -- coordinates, Brad realized later -- and assigned teams to what he kept calling quadrants. "And Jessie will take our ride-along in CHIPS," he finished.
Brad had known Jessie Van Dyke since kindergarten -- in fact, it was entirely possible he'd chased her around the playground in "kiss and tell" -- but they'd been only casual acquaintances through high school. He hadn't seen her in ten years -- until he showed up at their high school reunion in Minnesota just weeks ago, hoping to impress his old crush, Aimee Kinderbach -- who blew him off in the end.
He must have had a blank look on his face because Jessie said, "CHIPS is our medevac chopper. It's equipped with heat-seeking equipment, electronic mapping, medical equipment -- the whole nine yards. It's parked at our rendezvous helipad." She tugged on Brad's harness, adjusting the fit like another woman would adjust a tie.
They disembarked on a plateau that was in the middle of nowhere according to Jessie. Brad wouldn't have known it; the plateau was lit up like the Fourth of July, a line of snowmobiles idling to one side. A blast of cold air hit him, making him thankful for the jacket.
Jessie tapped his arm. "This way." She led him around the helicopter they'd just landed in. Behind it was the smaller helicopter, CHIPS. It, too, had its propellers going.
Jessie swung open the back door and plugged in her headset.
"Hey guys," she said. "We've got company tonight."
She indicated that Brad should take the rear-facing seat, and showed him where to plug in his headset. She introduced him to "Pilot Sam" and "Navigator Rick."
"Brad's been hanging out with us and couldn't resist sticking around for the real thing." Jessie settled herself into the seat across from Brad.
A pair of lit-up computer screens in front of Rick caught Brad's attention. "How does that work?"
As if in response to his inquiry, a voice came over the radio. "Checking all systems ... all teams power up."
Lights began blinking on the computer screen. "Every team has a transmitter as well as GPS on their radio," Rick explained. "We can track them from above and the mission coordinator can track them from the base site."
Brad found himself riveted to the lights on the screen as the teams responded one by one: "Ready on Alpha." "Ready on Bravo." "Ready on Charlie ..."
It took him several minutes to realize what the words meant. "Team names?"
Jessie nodded. "Based on the military alphabet. That was the team leader, Dan, calling for the ready-check."
Finally Rick spoke into his mouthpiece. "We have audio and visual on all teams. We are ready to rock and roll."
"Ditto on the ground," another voice said. "Move out!"
The helicopter began to rise as snowmobiles passed it on the right. Out the rear window panel, Brad watched as the launch pad and snowmobile lights disappeared from view. "How do you know where to look?" he asked.
"Sometimes we don't," Rick said. "But in this case, we have fairly reliable information about where they are."
"If we didn't, we may have been put on standby until the ground teams found them -- or first light," Jessie said.
"Or if the weather was really crappy," Rick added.
"Here. Make yourself useful." Jessie was holding something that looked like a cross between binoculars and 3-D glasses. "They're night-vision goggles."
Brad wasn't sure what he was looking for but it felt better to be contributing, so he strapped the goggles on and peered out the window at the ground below. His thoughts drifted to the woman across from him…
Their chance encounter at the reunion had stuck with him after he returned to his new job in Dallas. He tried to forget the way she touched his lapel when she said, "I never would have guessed you for advertising; I didn't think that would give you fulfillment." And the way her eyes searched his when she teased him about being shallow.
And then he lost his job.
And the self-doubt -- was he the reason they'd lost the account? -- started eating at him. He'd been drinking himself to devastation every night, but it hadn't made him feel any better. If anything, that brief conversation with Jessie came to mind more often. So, on a half-drunken whim, he'd driven from Dallas to her home state of Colorado, intending to put her "shallow" comment to rest.
But the conversation didn't go the way he'd envisioned it ...
"Team Foxtrot has a visual." The voice cut into Brad's thoughts, jarring him back to the present. He wasn't sure how long they'd been flying.
"Cannot confirm it's our target," the voice continued. "We'll check it out."
"Are we close enough?" Sam said.
Rick was studying a map on one of the computer screens. "That's southwest of us about 20 miles," he said. "If it's not legit, we can circle back easily and still cover prime terrain."
It was Sam's turn to radio. "CHIPS to back up Foxtrot." He swung the chopper around.
"Affirmative, Chips II."
"Who's on Foxtrot?" Rick asked.
"That would be Micah and Ryan," Jessie said. Brad had just had a long conversation about stock car racing with Ryan, a young Vietnamese-American who was full of jokes.
Fifteen minutes later Rick said, "We're coming up on Foxtrot."
"They look stationary," Jessie said. "I have a visual on their objective ... looks like a wreck, all right."
READ MORE!! READ MORE!! READ MORE!!
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But that's not all. From time to time, you'll receive an email from me with more details about the book, including fictional "interviews" with the characters! (Maybe even other writing or stories!)
I hope you'll stay with me as I introduce Brad, Jessie, Kimmy, Quinn and others, but if you don't want to continue to receive my emails, you can unsubscribe at any time. And I make a promise to you: I will never sell or share your email address! (I hate it when that happens to me!)
So go on a journey with me. Get to know the people of Last Chance Rescue and see for yourself why you should buy the book!
AND THERE'S MORE! MORE, MORE MORE!!
Do you like to know a little about the characters in a book BEFORE you buy it?
Well, as they say...have I got a deal for you! Below you'll find fictional 'interviews' with lead characters from Last Chance Rescue! I hope you enjoy them! (And, of course, I hope you're intrigued enough to purchase the book!)
BRAD SIEVERS, previous advertising executive...
So, how do you know the 'heroine,' Jessie Van Dyke?
Jessie and I went to high school together. But I hadn't seen her in 10 years -- until the night of our reunion. We figured out we'd worked at the same advertising agency, although at different times -- and that was kind of weird.
I understand you had ulterior motives for attending the reunion.
[chuckles] I wanted to see my high school crush, Aimee.
And how did that go?
Let's just say that running into Jessie changed the direction of the whole evening -- not to mention the rest of my life. At one point she made a comment about people in advertising being shallow. She touched the lapel of my suit.
What did you think of that?
That was a bit unnerving, actually. But it wasn't a come-on or anything, that was obvious.
What made you decide to leave advertising and go into search-and-rescue?
That's a pretty complex question...after I was laid off from my job...shoot, Jessie probably knows the answer to this question better than I do.
Why do you say that?
Jessie's got a way of looking in and through a person, if you know what I mean. She'd probably say that I needed fulfillment in my life. The things I used to enjoy didn't interest me anymore and I felt kind of...oh, I don't know...flat.
What kind of 'things'?
Drinking, partying...women. I was a bit...ah...cavalier in my love life before moving to Colorado.
What do you do instead?
Well, the bills have gotta get paid, so I pitch in at my friend's print shop. All that computer tinkering I did in high school has paid off. I sure made a lot more in advertising, though.
What about hobbies?
I play basketball with Micah. I guess you could say he's one of my best friends besides Ryan. He's African-American, to be politically correct. Man, my mom was weird about that; I never realized she's prejudiced until I introduced her to Micah...
What's your favorite part of search-and-rescue?
Other than saving lives? [smiles] Rappelling. Ryan and I go sometimes, just for the hell of it. He's the one who mostly taught me. He's pretty good for a young shit.
How would you say you've changed because of Last Chance Rescue?
Well, that's the whole point of the book, isn't it? The better question is what didn't change. I wouldn't want to give anything away or spoil anyone's surprise, but I will say that I'm no longer cavalier about women and sex.
Any final thoughts?
I just want to say, for the record, that I did not throw up on that first rescue!
JESSIE VAN DYKE, Iraq war veteran, paramedic and search-and-rescue team member...
So, what were you doing before Last Chance Rescue?
I spent twelve months in Iraq as a paramedic before moving to Colorado, and I'd been in Colorado for a couple years when this all started.
What was Iraq like?
I don't like to talk about it much. It was pretty intense.
Didn't you get married after that?
I don't like to talk about that, either. I'm a pretty private person.
What did you think of Brad when you saw him at the reunion?
I thought he was shallow, but it underneath that I could sense a little vulnerability. I was curious what he'd do if I challenged him on it.
Is that why you took him on that first ride-along?
I could see he wanted it badly, and the guys were like, 'ah, come on, let him come.' It wasn't really my decision; it was the team leader's. It was supposed to be a routine search; Brad was not supposed to see what he saw...
How did he end up on your search-and-rescue team?
I have no idea! I sure never expected him to move to Colorado! Or to get out of advertising altogether. That was a pretty big, hairy, audacious thing to do! But I will say, he's damn good at it.
So what do you do to pay the bills?
I work as a physical therapy assistant. It's a pretty sweet deal. They're supportive of the search-and-rescue team and they cut me a lot of slack.
What do you do with your spare time?
I spend whatever extra time I have at Last Chance Ranch. I even 'adopted' a horse named Mistletoe, who'd been on the Premarin production line. And you won't want to miss the birth of her baby, Holly!
Have you been riding long?
I hadn't the first clue about horses when I moved to Colorado; all I knew was that they were the most magnificent creatures I'd ever seen. When I left the service, I had to make a delivery to Madeline, the owner of Last Chance Ranch -- it was a favor I owed a dead friend -- and the moment I set foot there I knew it was a healing place. Once I learned to ride, I was hooked.
I heard you have a 'thing' for cowboys.
[chuckles] I've always been attracted to cowboys. They have very nice behinds and they tend to be the strong, silent type.
How about a certain cowboy in Last Chance Rescue?
No comment!
QUINN BELMONT, Iraq war veteran...
How do you know Jessie?
She was one of our medics in Iraq, and we had some of the same friends. But the way I come back into her life in Last Chance Rescue ... well, let's just say it's a shock to both of us.
Will you tell us a bit about Iraq?
Damn, you don't really want to hear about that, do you?!
If it would help to understand you ...
Look, if you haven't lived it, you can't understand it. We were out there getting sniped at and blown up by suicide bombers and Improvised Explosive Devices. I saw a lot of nasty stuff -- legs and hands blown off, head injuries ... hell, I was injured twice myself.
You lost friends there?
Everyone lost friends.
I heard you lost two of your closest friends.
[Long sip of beer.] My girlfriend ... and Max. Me and Max were close ...
Is that when you started drinking?
I was drinking long before that. Drinking was only the start of my problems when I ran into Jessie in Last Chance Rescue ... and I didn't like that she had all these guy friends. Guys and girls can't be 'just friends,' you know what I mean? She was way too friendly with some of them. Especially Brad.
Sounds like you were jealous.
I wouldn't put it that way. She and I, you see ... we were connected by what had happened to us in Iraq.
But you threatened Brad.
That's an exaggeration. I just didn't like him much. Although I guess it's a good thing he was around the night I overdosed ...
Will you tell us about that?
No can do. You'll have to buy the book!
Coming soon: KIMMY SIEVERS, anorexic horse lover...