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“Then why do you need a pilot?” I pulled into the spot he’d directed me to and hopped out of the truck.
Lucky turned to walk backwards toward a small building next to a helipad. “Because last night his daughter gave birth to their first grandchild and he went out and got shitfaced. Are you going to help me or not, Zach?! Fuck, I don’t have my jump bag.”
Before Lucky could take another step, I quickened my stride and grabbed his arm. “Listen to me and listen good,” I said in a no-nonsense voice. Lucky’s body was shaking violently but he kept his mouth shut as his eyes met mine.
“Xander is going to be okay, do you hear me? I know you’re scared for him, but you need to put that away right now and focus on the job at hand because fear has no place up there.” I pointed at the sky. “Now tell me what you need to do next.”
Lucky pulled in a deep breath. “Get the equipment and check everything twice,” he said. He pulled in another breath.
“Good, now go,” I said. “I’m going to do my walkaround.” I gave Lucky’s fingers a squeeze and then followed him to the helipad and began inspecting the exterior of the bird while he ducked inside the building to check in with Chas. Thankfully, it was the same model as one I’d flown in the army and everything looked familiar. After checking it out, I made my way inside and introduced myself to the older man in charge and began asking questions about his maintenance protocol, insurance coverage, and rescue equipment. He asked for a copy of my license, and I emailed everything over to him from my phone.
It only took a few minutes, but by the time we were ready to load up, Lucky was bouncing nervously on his feet.
“Deep breath,” I reminded him. “Remember that these procedures are in place for a reason.”
“I know that! Fuck, Zach. Just do it. Stop talking about it.” He threw himself into the back of the helicopter and began organizing equipment.
I didn’t blame him for his anger and frustration, but it was something I’d need to make sure was completely gone by the time he hooked on the line. There was nothing more dangerous for all involved than a distracted rescuer. Chas was on the radio with the park service, and I realized we needed an updated weather report before we headed out. Finally we were ready to lift off.
“Strap in,” I called to Lucky through the radio. “Remember, you’re not getting on that line without an emergency pack. When we land at the loading area, I want you to strap it on and make sure there’s a handheld radio in it.”
“Got it.”
I already knew from a follow-up call to Bennett that Xander only had his phone with limited cell reception. So far, he’d only been able to get texts out. The rest of the search crew was about two hundred yards away, but they couldn’t get any closer because of the soft, wet ground and the evaporite rock in that area.
We landed half a mile away in a clearing where some emergency vehicles had gotten as close as possible to the site. Bennett was there with several other men, including my brother.
“Jake’s here,” I told Lucky in case he didn’t see him in the group. “He’ll have a jump bag and all the medical kits.” Thank god Jake was a doctor. If one of the victims was injured, Jake would be ready to treat them as soon as we pulled them out.
Once we landed, Bennett and Jake approached. Jake offered to help prep the longline when he realized what we were doing, but Bennett was quick to pull Lucky aside.
“You’re not going up there,” he shouted to Lucky over the noise of the rotors. “I know you’ve done some search and rescue, Lucky, but this is different. This is serious.”
“I know,” Lucky said while connecting the belly band and triple-checking the equipment. I took the opportunity to clip an extra harness onto the back of his equipment belt as well as a coil of rope he could use to make another one if needed.
“Lucky,” Bennett pleaded. “You can’t just insert yourself into this situation when the danger is—”
Lucky turned and put both hands on Bennett’s shoulders, meeting his eyes. “Dad. I’m a certified longline rescuer. I’ve completed advanced training in airborne alpine rescue. I know it’s hard for you to believe me, but I need you to trust me right now. I need to go now before the ground becomes even more unstable or we lose more access. But I swear to you, I am going to get him out of there.”
Bennett’s pale face was lax in disbelief as he continued to hang on to Lucky’s arm with an iron grip. It was Jake who interceded. He put his hand on Bennett’s shoulder. “Come on, B. Let’s let them work. My brother knows what he’s doing. This is what he did in the army.”
