Chapter 12 - The Case Between Them
Grace and Preston hit the deck at the same time.
The black case slid beneath a cargo restraint.
Grace caught the handle.
Preston caught her wrist.
“Release it.”
“No.”
Turbulence threw both of them against the floor.
Grace used her injured forearm to brace.
Pain flashed across her face.
Preston twisted the handle.
“This evidence belongs to the Navy.”
“It belongs to the families.”
“You have no idea what publication will do.”
“To your career?”
“To trust in every rescue operation we conduct.”
Grace stared at him.
“Trust built on six erased lives is already broken.”
Ben secured himself to a floor ring and pulled the case toward Grace.
Preston released her before the crew could witness a full struggle.
The aircraft stabilized.
Nash locked the case inside a reinforced medical cabinet.
Preston stood slowly.
“You think truth is simple.”
“No.”
Grace rose.
“I think drowning people because truth is inconvenient is simple.”
The cockpit called them forward.
The nursing facility was visible.
The auxiliary runway had become a narrow strip surrounded by black floodwater.
Emergency lanterns formed a rough landing path.
Dozens of people waited beneath plastic sheets.
The crosswind struck the aircraft broadside.
The pilot initiated the approach.
Grace moved toward the ramp.
Preston blocked her.
“You are confined.”
“You need every rescuer.”
“I will assign someone else.”
“No one else aboard has my flood extraction certification.”
He knew she was right.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then Everett called from the cot.
“Let her do what you never could.”
Preston’s face hardened.
But he stepped aside.
Grace clipped into her harness.
Ben checked the rescue rope.
Nash prepared the loading team.
The aircraft touched down hard.
Water sprayed across the windows.
The cargo ramp lowered.
Wind and rain exploded into the bay.
Grace looked at the stranded residents.
May you like
“Move!”
👉 As the evacuation began, Everett’s heart monitor suddenly flattened behind her.
