The Heart Beneath. Lindsay McKenna
Even though she was a trained rescuer, that didn’t mean she could just shut off her emotions and do her job; far from it. Callie had lost count of how many times she’d cried while out on a grid search for victims. Whenever she thought about what the families of the victims went through, she was ripped apart inside. No matter how difficult it made her job, Callie didn’t ever want to lose her capacity for sympathy and empathy with others; she would rather suffer the consequences. She knew herself well enough to know that her reaction to Wes was not normal, and probably a symptom of what she called “earthquake mode” emotions.
Maybe Wes was in the same mode; she wasn’t sure. As he stood there, tall and straight, his broad shoulders thrown back as he assessed the Hoyt, he seemed rock solid emotionally. Callie was grateful for his quiet, unobtrusive style of command. Right now, with panic rampant, a calm voice and clear thinking were hard to find. She was glad he was in charge of this operation.
“Let’s get over to the hood of our H.Q.,” he told her wryly. “You need to commence a grid search in that mess, right?” he asked, hooking a thumb toward the pulverized Hoyt Hotel.
Callie nodded and fell into step with Wes. Dusty got to his feet and walked obediently at her side, his body swinging comfortingly against her leg. “Yes, the search grid has to be overlaid on your blueprint of the hotel, and then I’ll search each square foot with Dusty. Hopefully, he’ll locate someone who’s still alive. He’ll also pick up the scent of those who have died. He’s been trained to whine if the person is dead and to bark if he finds someone alive. If they’re dead, I’ll put a bright-red plastic square in that place so everyone knows there’s a body under the rubble. If we find someone alive—” she gave him a hopeful look “—I’ll be radioing down to you and asking you to bring the construction equipment to try and help us unearth the person ASAP.”
Wes nodded, absorbing the information. “I hope you find a lot of live people. Our number-one priority here is to recover survivors. Secondly, we’re charged with getting tents, food and water to the people of this area, as we get supplies delivered here.”
“You’ve got a tough job ahead of you,” Callie admitted. Their arms brushed together as they walked. She moved away slightly to ensure that didn’t happen again. Though she liked touching him, Callie knew it wasn’t appropriate. Still, her heart had pounded a little harder in her breast when she’d made contact with Wes. And he didn’t seem to mind the accidental touch. In fact, he’d slanted a glance down at her, a slight hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
He snorted softly now. “I’m a construction guy, not a rescue trained military officer. I hope I can do justice to this mess, but I’m not sure.” He held her gaze. “And I’m looking to you for help, Callie. You’re the real disaster expert here. I hope you don’t mind if I call you often on the radio and ask for help and guidance when I need it?”
What a delightful surprise, Callie thought, happy that Wes didn’t have trouble relying on her. Usually that was the case when she was paired up with a man. “Sure, I’ll try to be of help to you in any way possible, Wes. No one is ever trained well enough for something like this….” She looked around, sadness entering her voice. “No one could ever imagine the scope of this disaster. I mean…I’ve been in some pretty awful places, especially Turkey, but this is even worse because it has affected such a large region—not just one city, a few square miles. No, this is a horse of a different color, Wes, and frankly, I don’t think General Wilson at the base realizes how bad it is—yet. He will.” Lifting her arm, she gestured toward the suburbs surrounding the Hoyt. “This is a nightmare come true. And we’re in it as it’s unfolding. All we can do is help each other, hold one another, do a lot of crying when people aren’t looking, and pray we make the right decisions.”
Wes slowed as they approached the vehicle. “I know,” he told her worriedly. “Being a civil engineer, I’ve worked in a lot of rough environments, and the one thing that strikes me more than any other with this quake is that the people of this basin are not going to have enough water to sustain them.”
“Right,” Callie murmured unhappily. “Within the week, water is going to be the number one factor in who lives and who dies here. If we can’t get enough water in, people are going to start dropping like flies. It will be babies and the elderly first.”
“You’ve seen situations like this before, haven’t you?” Wes found himself fascinated with Callie. She seemed easygoing, soft-spoken and very responsible. That told him of the steely emotional strength she must have within her heart. And it drew him. She was a woman of incredible compassion and substance, and he’d never met anyone quite like her in his life.
“Yes,” Callie admitted haltingly. “In Turkey, in the major cities we’ve been in to help locate survivors, the pipes carrying water from the reservoirs were all broken up. At first, we saw people working together to collect water and food. But later they began to steal from one another. The fabric of society comes undone real fast in a life-and-death situation like that, Wes, and we’re going to have the same thing happen here. I hope you’re prepared for it. People will turn on one another. They’ll steal, lie and cheat to get water. And if that doesn’t do the trick, then they’ll resort to any means to take what they want.” Her mouth quirked as they stopped at the vehicle. “Later, they’ll start killing for it. That’s when the situation turns ugly and dangerous.”
“You carry food and water on you when you search. Were you a target then, too?” Wes turned and studied her saddened face. For a moment, her eyes glimmered with what he was sure were tears. But she forced them back.
“Oh, yes…we had to have Turkish troops, armed to the teeth, accompany us over the search areas to make sure we didn’t get robbed of the canteen we carried…or the food we had in the pockets of our cammies. We didn’t have much, but when parents see their children dying of dehydration or lack of food, they’ll do anything they have to do to save them.” She saw his eyes flicker with surprise. “Earthquakes bring out the best and worst of humanity, Wes. Sometimes you find that, if you scratch the surface of most human beings caught in such a situation, they’re savages underneath.”
Tilting her head, she added, “And then, when you think humans really are mere savages who have no regard for law, order or society, you’ll run into a man or woman who is positively saintly. I’ve seen miracles happen…and it restores my belief in humanity. I’m sure we’ll see it here, too.”
“Well, whatever happens, this rescue is not something I’m looking forward to.” With a grimace, he added, “I usually work with concrete and steel and it’s pretty unemotional.”
“Yeah…” Callie answered, seeing the pain in his eyes. “Now you’ll be dealing with flesh and blood. A whole ’nother ball game.”
Wes wanted to talk more, but their mission was desperately urgent. Every person buried in the Hoyt Hotel rubble must have a mother, father, brother or sister—some relative frantic with worry. His conscience ate at him. What if someone he loved was buried in that heap of debris behind them? How would he be feeling? Pretty awful, especially if he couldn’t determine if that person was dead or alive. All lines of communication were down, with the exception of battery-operated radios and cell phones. And cell phones were only as good as their batteries. There was no electricity to recharge any batteries once they died.
Wes scanned the area, noting a number of people sitting on the edge of the chewed-up boulevard near the Hoyt. They had to be survivors from the hotel. One man was up on the heap of rubble, calling a name repeatedly and looking for someone. “This is bad. I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. I just hope I can do a good job of leading this detachment. Do the right thing at the right time, with all the limitations we face.”
Hearing the edge in his deep voice, Callie gave him a compassionate look. His eyes were alive with feelings as he surveyed the Hoyt. “Yes, it’s terrible. But I know in my heart you can do this, Wes. I think you’re perfect for it. You’re calm, cool and collected.”
Chuckling dryly, he said, “Bane of the engineer breed, you know? We’re numbers and figures people, not very glamorous, exciting or dazzling