Within the freight bay, ...

Lisa found herself wrapped in a tight embrace by strong arms. It was a disconcerting feeling, something totally unexpected. She felt her knee-length linen skirt sliding upward as he set her on her feet, exposing far more of her legs than she felt comfortable having seen. As she tried to get her hands down to control the whipping of the material in the sharp eddies of breeze that blew as the cargo bay door closed, those arms released. Still, though, firm hands held her shoulders and guided her toward a fold-down seat. It was padded, thank goodness, or the quick manner he pushed her into it might have raised some bruises.

Quick gestures pushed her knees apart. She resisted, but not successfully. Her assistant knew what was needful, and he was not going to let the niceties of politeness keep him from making sure she was safe. His hand shot out and fumbled for just a moment between her legs, pulling up a buckle that was part of a five-point safety harness. As soon as Lisa realized what he was about, she allowed herself to relax. Before the short web harness that went between her legs and up to the waist belt could push her skirt down and inward, he must have gotten a good eyeful of her panties.

However, when he stood, his face showed no trace of lascivious expression. The eyes were cool, deep blue, and calm. The mouth was set straight, and he put out a hand that was huge to be shaken.
"Dermot! Dermot O'Brien!" he shouted to make himself heard over the clatter of the rotor and the whining roar of turbine engines straining to jack them into the sky and hurtle them toward Edinburg at maximum velocity. "I'm Flynn's cousin!" Reaching the required minimum thousand-foot altitude, the nose of the huge machine tipped alarmingly down and to Lisa's inexperienced senses it felt as if she had entered an elevator that could travel, not only vertically but, sideways as well. They did continue to climb, but most of the energy the pilot applied was directed at hurrying them along their way. Lisa gulped at what the motion did to her insides, but managed not to embarrass herself. She tried to smile, and to answer the friendly offering.

"Lisa! Lisa Douglas!" She shook the offered hand, although he released hers almost immediately. O'Brien's face took on a scowl as he tried to fathom the fragmented sounds he strained to make out through an ear protection set. At last he waggled his head and pointed at his ears. Stomping toward another seat, this one on the far side of the fuselage, he unfolded it and sat with far more care than he had used while putting the frail girl into hers. He buckled the seat harness first, and then released the tether hook from the web harness he still wore. Still holding it with care so it did not swing and violently bash him, he used a waist-mounted remote control to reel the tether behind the hook back tightly onto its drum.

Lisa sat in silence for the rest of the brief trip. Even through the muffling ear protection set that O'Brien had pointed out to her, the noise gradually made her more and more deaf. When they arrived at the roof of the Edinburg University Hospital and settled onto the the marked 'copter landing pad, O'Brien already was up and moving. He reversed the procedure by which he had gotten her into the chopper, leaning out at a ridiculous angle to deposit her quite gently on the concrete roof. What Lisa had not expected was that as soon as she was safely upright and had her balance, he released her and then kicked his feet free of the edge of the loading door. Dropping neatly with a one-third reverse flip, he too landed on his feet, exhibiting considerable grace and economy of movement. It was obvious that he had performed that maneuver many times. The hook detached almost instantly and the web shot back inside the body of the aircraft. Reaching out, he grabbed her hand, enfolding it and half her forearm in his own large one.

"Come!" he bellowed over the noise, and Lisa found herself with little chance or reason to deny the summons. She followed him in a stumbling run, only on the way out realizing that five deadly rotor tips were whistling directly overhead. Instinctively she crouched, which slowed her, but O'Brien tugged and she shot forward. No more was said until they were inside the roof entry and had hurried into the elevator. As soon as the door shut and they were in isolated quiet, Dermot turned toward her. There was a look of cold fury on his face.

"You get to go in and see him! Why?" She had no answer. "Only his parents, if they were alive, which they are not, or his wife, which he doesn't have either, could get in to see him. Even his sister ... his sister for God's sake! can't get in. We have no idea what is going on with him beyond the staff assurances that 'We'll tell you if there are any changes.' Not good enough. Not by a long shot!" Dermot regarded her with serious distaste. "So why ...?" But she still had no answer, and shook her head with dumb disbelief.

As the door opened, he hissed a request. "Will you for the Love of Christ please find out how he is and tell us?" Lisa nodded her agreement as he propelled her through the hallway to the door of the Intensive Care Unit. There a stern security guard looked at her identification, checked his electronic list, and jerked his thumb toward the doors, at the same time opening them with a hidden switch. As Lisa started forward, the guard stepped in front of Dermot, looking up in challenge to the much larger man.

Lisa entered, hearing only one word behind her. The doors closed with a whisper that her noise-deafened ears almost missed entirely, as she barely made out Dermot's somewhat frantic voice.

"Please ...?"