Finally, a day that was clear and sunny. Lana peeked outside, and the bright light nearly blinded her. The ocean and lighthouse were lucid. Other than a few gulls squawking and flying, everything was calm and surreal. The brightness made it look warm outside, and that excited her.
She looked at Mike with exuberance. "Do you realize this is the first day since I've been here that it's been sunny?"
"You're right, but it's still cold," he needed to remind her.
"Who cares about the cold, I'm getting cabin fever. I want to sit on the back porch and look at the ocean. The guys could use the fresh air too. Please Mike will you go outside and sit with me?" She leaned over and sweetly asked by whispering in his ear, "Mike I haven't been outside since the grocery store and I need the fresh air and so do the men. Come on baby."
"Yes we could use the fresh air. You'll stay on the back porch?" Under normal circumstances, he did not allow anyone under protective custody to go anywhere without securing the place. Although she wasn't officially under his custody, she emotionally was under his care. He would love to go out and sit with his baby doll, and he couldn't wait until summer so they could lie in the hammock that he puts on the porch every spring. For the time being, her safety was his greatest concern. He could send the guys out to check out everything. He thought she would be safe if she stayed on the porch. The house was surrounded by water, and it would be difficult to maneuver around it without being seen by an agent. Mike knew the routine of the marshals like the back of his hand, but his gut instinct knew not to let her out of his sight.
"Of course I'll stay on the porch, and there's only ocean around me so I'd feel safe." She didn't want to stay on the porch, but she would do whatever it took to obtain freedom.
All the men had gathered in the kitchen drinking coffee and were talking about their day.
"Okay guys, who wants to go outside with me?" She asked while bundling up.
None of them had to be asked twice.
She walked out on the back porch. Joe stayed on the porch with her and the rest of the men walked around the beach. They took in deep breaths and blew out steam. Mike was right—the cold froze her to the bone. The temperature gauge hooked on a nail hovered around five degrees.
It was so cold her first breath burned her lungs.
The lighthouse across the cove stood bold against the clear blue sky. It had its own peninsula with a private road."Hey Mike, can we go through the lighthouse?"
"I believe so. It might be open during certain hours of the day. I have seen people picnic over there during the summer. Do you want to take a tour?"
"I would like to go through all of the lighthouses around here, even the haunted ones."
"I think that can be arranged," he said while watching the bay for boats or people on the water. Mike scanned the lighthouse and viewed the only door. He noticed the door had a heavy padlock on it, and it looked isolated, not a soul around for miles.
Next to Mike were a couple of agents who were carrying guns. They were dressed in
camouflage right down to their hats covering their faces.
Joe walked around on the porch and finally leaned on the post closest to Lana. He looked around and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, and Lana sat right next to him where he could get to her in a flash. Her back leaned against the wall, and she was only a few feet from the door. That would give him plenty of time to rush her back into the house if he needed to move her. He was quick and could respond accordingly.
The men who stood a distance away smiled at Lana's coat. She had decided to wear Mike's coat, and it was a little big, making her look like the little brother in the movie A Christmas Story. They couldn't help smiling a little when she attempted to sit in the rocking chair, she could hardly bend at the waist.
Joe certainly understood what Mike saw in her—she was a breath of fresh air, so full of energy and fun. "Lana what brings you to this part of the country?"
"My cousin died a few weeks ago, and I needed to get away for awhile." She was amazed she didn't get upset and cry when she mentioned James. That was a first for her. She remembered her first night, and how she stood on this same porch and cried for her cousin. That seemed like years ago.
"I'm sorry to hear that; has the trip helped?"
Lana loved Joe, but she did wish he would move to the other side of the post because he blocked her view of the ocean. "The trip has helped tremendously, and Mike has helped most of all. Don't tell him this, but when I first talked with him, I pictured him as a short squatty fellow.
When I first met him, I was shocked by his appearance. Most of all, I got irritated that he would answer my questions with one or two words."
They both laughed. "Yeah, Mike is to-the-point kind of guy. I have to admit, we have seen an enormous change in him the last couple of weeks. You have made a big difference; he's a happier person."
Joe couldn't look her in the eye, and she knew he was keeping a secret. If he played poker, he would undoubtedly lose. He did not have a poker face. "Okay, you have to tell me the scoop.
What did Mike say about me?" A woman always likes to hear what her man thinks of her.
"You know he'll have my head if I talk about him, but I will tell you some things he said.
The first day after you arrived, he mentioned you."
"What did he say?" She had to know.
"Well… he commented that he had rented his beach house to a lady he thought was attractive. Of course, we all asked your name, and he told us. We joked with him about how you probably gave him a fake one. We teased him and told him that you were probably the black widow, and you've had seven husbands, and you've killed them all by cutting off their heads."
"What did he do?"
"At first he got embarrassed, then he teased back."
"Go on."
"We looked you up on the computer to make sure you didn't have a criminal record, and you were as clean as a whistle. I also think Mike looked you up to see if you were married. I can tell you when he found out you were married only once, his demeanor changed. He seemed so happy."
"Shame on you all," she said as she slowly, and with difficultly, moved forward in her seat.
"Then what happened?"
"We were shocked that Mike had met someone. He never talked about any women at work.
We always asked him, but he always changed the subject or told us that it was none of our business. If we knew that he had a date, we asked him how it went. He would not talk about it, until you."
James told her one day the right man would come along, and he was right. He had. And at this very moment she was staring right at him. Love filled her heart and passion filled her soul.
Never did she think she could love so much that happiness oozed out her being. Everyone around them noticed, they could tell her happiness by listening to her voice on the phone. That's the way love should be. It may have taken her nearly fifty years to find it, but this love was worth the wait.
Suddenly, she was distracted. In the distance, the corner of her eye caught something shiny, or a glare. Maybe it came from the lighthouse, but she wasn't sure. She stood up and squint her eyes, trying to focus toward the glare. Then she realized it was a window opening at the top of the lighthouse as the sun reflected off it. She saw something sticking out of the window, something long and black. Oh my God! A gun! "Run, Joe." She immediately pushed Joe to the side a split second before the shot was fired. Joe tumbled to the porch floor. Everything happened so fast.
The bullet hit her in the left kidney, the force knocked her back into the rocking chair, and she slid down onto the porch floor. The pain was unbearable. She wanted to stand. Instinctively she thought if she could stand up she would be all right, but she couldn't. The pain, she moaned!
Blood gushed out everywhere, all over her hands and in her eyes, she could hardly see, she tried to blink it away. The gray siding had streaks of blood running down it. She closed her eyes, she didn't want to see. Why couldn't she breathe? If I catch my breath, I can get up. Please God…
help me with the pain… help me breath… help me stand.
Joe rushed to her side first, and he was covered in her blood. She could hear Mike yelling something as he ran up to her. Come help me Mike, help me stand, help me breathe. Thoughts raced through Lana's mind. She moaned.
She reached her hand to him, and she knew he could help. He would know what to do. He would take care of her. "Joe?" She asked as she pointed to him. He's hurt, help Joe. She could stand if they would help her. She would feel better if she could stand. Splotches of blood sprayed everywhere; all over her, all over the porch, all over Joe. Mike, help me breathe. Someone, please help me. They didn't listen. Didn't they hear her?
Mike yelled, "Someone get an ambulance! Baby, Joe is fine." As he put pressure on her kidney, the pain was horrible, excruciating. Mike pushing on her side felt like being underneath the blade of a lawn mower, every turning of the blade caused more throbbing pain.
She moaned in agony.
Oh God! Help me help her, Mike thought. He worked feverishly to get all the jackets off her, blood gushed out every opening of the coat making the task slippery. He knew if he didn't stop the bleeding, she would bleed out, so he worked frantically. When he couldn't get them off fast enough, he just starts ripping everything off as quickly as he could tug. "Damn it Joe, help me get this shit off her."
Joe ripped at her coat, then he tried to lift her sweater.
She was unknowingly squirming because of the pain, and this made the blood flow more volatile. Mike and Joe tried to keep her still while they worked.
"Lighthouse," she said turning her head from side to side, whispering lighthouse a second time.
Mike took a quick glance toward the lighthouse but saw nothing. She kept coughing and sputtering blood. Mike went into a panic because he knew this didn't look good for her.
Through the blood and tears she looked at Mike and saw fear. He never looked like this before. What was wrong with her baby? Coherence left her body, and she was oblivious to everyone and everything.
He knew she wouldn't make it, she couldn't breathe without difficulty. As the clothes came off, Mike saw the gaping hole. Blood spurted out like a water fountain.
Joe helped, doing everything Mike told him to do. His face turned white. Mike knew she would die from loss of blood, so he did the only thing he knew to do.
He stuck his finger in the hole where the bullet went in, right through the kidney. He knew it would help stop the blood loss.
The pain was more than she could endure—she lapsed into unconsciousness.
"Thank God she passed out, I can't stand her to be in such pain," Mike said while still trying to stop the flow of blood. "Joe put pressure on her back. Stop her from bleeding out, hurry."
Joe gagged, and he put pressure on it, and he yelled for an ambulance this time, screaming at the top of his lungs. "Someone get a fucking ambulance over here." Blood caused her to gag and sputter. Joe helped tilt her up so she wouldn't drown. They couldn't figure out where the blood in the mouth was coming from because the hole showed it had been clean shot. It was too low for the lung to be hit.
Raymond ran up, saw the horrifying scene and knew she probably wouldn't make it. Her face showed that. At first glance, there was blood and kidney splattered all over the wall, chair and windows. He could hear her gurgling. "The bullet probably shattered, and a piece went into her lung. Let's apply pressure and lift her up so the blood will go down instead of going into her airway."
"Thank you Raymond, I just can't lose her, how could this happen?" Mike was frantic.
For the first time in fifteen years, Raymond saw Mike lose his composure. Mike totally lost it. Raymond didn't have time to deal with Mike or Joe, his main focus right now was to save her life.
In the distance, he could hear the ambulance and police coming. Mike knew if they didn't hurry she would die. Oh God, he didn't want to think about that. Her breathing was shallow, and her skin had turned ashen. Mike knew death's look. He looked at Raymond and asked, "What else can we do?"
"Nothing, just keep doing what we are doing now."
The agents showed the medics to the porch at the back of the house. The medic took over for Mike. "Let go sir, we have everything under control." Mike had to trust him.
The second Mike pulled his finger out of the wound blood spurted everywhere. "Help her!
Can't you see she's bleeding to death," yelled Mike to the medics.
Raymond pulled him to the side and said, "Let them do their job Mike. They're trained for this."
One of the medics asked, "Does anyone happen to know her blood type?"
Mike and Raymond answered simultaneously, "A+"
Since Mike was not in the right mental state, Raymond stepped into high gear and took over the investigation. The police were dispatched to the lighthouse immediately, and Raymond had to follow up in hopes of catching someone. He walked over to Mike. "Why don't you and Joe go with Lana to the hospital and I'll take over here."
"I will," Mike said standing as close to Lana as he could get. He wanted to make sure they didn't neglect her. When he noticed they were rough with her to stop the bleeding, his heart sank.
He was always so gentle with her. His heart rose to his throat. If this happened under different circumstances, he would deck anyone who was rough with her.
Joe left for the beach heaving his guts up when Raymond walked up to him and put his hand on his back. "Hey bud, why don't you go with Mike to the hospital? We need two to go, and I figured you would want to go."
"Raymond, she saved my life. How do I live with that? I'm supposed to protect her and instead she saved my life." He paused to take deep breaths. "My God, her kidney was hanging out her back by a piece of skin!" He heaved again.
Raymond tried to console him, but he didn't have time for this. "She just reacted when she saw the shooter. That's just the way she is, you know that. But right now she needs you to be strong. Mike needs you to be strong. Get ready to go because they will load her on the gurney in a few seconds."
They picked her up and quickly carried her to the ambulance because of the rough terrain.
Within a few seconds, the lights and sirens were blaring, and they were on their way to the hospital. Mike sat in the back of the ambulance near the door. The medic worked frantically to save her life.
The medic called in her stats, "Blood pressure is 70/50 and dropping, and she has lost several pints of blood. We are unable to stop the bleeding, and we are prepping her for surgery."
The doctor on the other end of the radio asked, "Give me information on the entrance and exit of the bullet."
"The entrance is about one-half inch in diameter and the exit took most of her left kidney.
The exit hole is about one inch in diameter." The tech took a deep breath and added. "This is the biggest gunshot hole I've ever seen, and the caliber has to be at least a fifty. She's lucky."
A fifty caliber, my God how did she even survive that? Mike knew that size bullet could blow up a watermelon and how her small body survived was a miracle. The distance slowed the bullet, and that might have saved her life. Mike got sick just thinking about his baby going through so much pain. It was so difficult to sit there and have no control over the situation.
"We are calling in the surgeon and preparing an operating room. Try to keep her stable,"
said the doctor on the other end of the radio.
"Our ETA is one minute." The medics didn't think Lana would make it. The loss of the kidney and blood was so much, and from their professional experience, they thought there was only a ten percent chance of survival—maybe less.
Mike sat in the back watching them work on her. He couldn't watch when they plugged the hole. They wrapped something around her waist, like an ace bandage with tubes sticking out of her side. When they finished plugging the hole, they stuck a needle in her lungs to pull out blood.
That helped her breathe a little better. It didn't look good, and he felt helpless. "Do you think she will live?" He wasn't sure he wanted an answer. Everything was rerunning through his head.
How did they miss the shooter? He did this for a living, finding killers, terrorists, and bad people.
"Believe it or not, I've seen worse. You would be surprised how much a body can endure."
As they drove up, a team of doctors and nurses waited at the emergency room entrance. The doctors gave orders to the nurses while they assessed the gunshot wound. Blood pumped out of Lana's body as fast as they could put it in. All Mike wanted to do was to be at her side and never leave. For the first time in his professional life, he didn't know what to do.
Mike followed her as far as they would let him—now it was a waiting game. Mike knew all too well how to wait.
*****
During all the commotion, U.S. Marshal Sniper, Colby Franklin, and his spotter were locked in on the lighthouse waiting for any movement. They were trained to drop, set their sights and be ready to shoot, and they had dropped within seconds after the shot was fired. Nothing moved at the lighthouse. They never saw him leave, and they had a clear view of the only door. The only explanation was that he exited through a window on the far side and had a jet ski or some kind of small motor boat waiting. The reefs were high enough he could slip out on the other side and ride off to safety.