“Were there any problems?” Paul asked.

“No. Liftoff was smooth. We headed out toward the troubled boat. All of us could see the storm growing in force as we got farther away from the cutter.”

“How long were you out there?”

“It took about ten minutes until we spotted a strobe beacon and a bright yellow raft. Their ship had gone down that quickly. The sea was whipping them around.”

Paul took more notes, and Nick used the opportunity to take in a deep breath.

“I got us into position and John hooked up to be lowered down. We knew we had to move fast. The harshness of the storm was escalating.”

“What does that mean, Nick?”

“It means if it grew much worse we weren’t going to be able to help anyone,” Nick said.

“So why didn’t you turn back at that point?” Paul asked.

“Because we wanted to rescue them. All of us agreed to get them out of the water,” Nick said. “It was hard controlling the chopper, and the waves were rising higher and higher. I was watching the status of the storm as Gail kept an eye on John while he was lowered.”

“Then what?”

“We got three of the stranded men out of the raft and into the Jayhawk. The fourth was on his way up. It was looking like a success,” Nick said, his words quiet. “We were so damn close.”

“So what went wrong?” Paul asked.

“Our captain called in, and we told him we were bringing the final man up and then would be heading home. We called in for medics.”

“How was the rest of the crew handling the stress?”

“Like the pros they are . . . were,” Nick corrected. He still couldn’t believe they were actually gone. It didn’t make sense to him. “The last man got up, and John gave us the thumbs-up to go home. I turned us back in the right direction, but the lightning was right on top of us. The wind kept picking up as we tried to outrun the worst of the storm. I had never seen such a beautiful sight as the Orca when we returned, even though we saw her getting pounded by the waves.”

“Must have been a bumpy landing,” Paul said.

“Yeah, landing was a challenge, but we set her down, and all of us breathed a sigh of relief,” Nick told him.

“The medics ran out and took the rescued men off. That’s when one of the guys told us they were missing their captain.” If only they hadn’t left a man behind, his crew would still be alive. If only . . . Those words had gone through Nick’s head a thousand times.

“Wasn’t the storm too severe for flight at this point?” Paul questioned.

“It was bad, but not impossible. Gail and I looked at each other, and there was no question of us going back out. We had to at least try to find the captain,” Nick said.

“Did you ask Pat and John if they wanted to go?” Paul questioned.

“I didn’t have to say the words. I turned and looked at them, and they both nodded. If they had shaken their heads it would have been a no-go. We all agree or we don’t go out,” Nick said. “Gail called control and told them we were heading back out to sea.”

“There was zero hesitation?” Paul pushed.

Nick glared at him. “Yes, there was hesitation, but we decided we weren’t going to leave a man behind―not if we didn’t have to,” Nick insisted. “The storm was so much worse, the skies black, the waves high and dangerous. We saw pieces of the Southern Belle and did a sweep of the area as the wind pushed us around. There was no sign of the captain.”

Paul didn’t ask a question this time. He just waited. Nick appreciated that. This was the worst part of the story.

“The alarm sounded and I checked to find our fuel was low. Gail said we had to go back. She didn’t want to leave a man behind any more than the rest of us did, but us crashing into the ocean wouldn’t help save him.” Nick’s tone was void now.

“I turned the chopper around, and that’s when it all went wrong. A bolt of lightning struck us. I held on to the controls, and felt I was fighting a losing battle, but I was in no way ready to give up.”

“Did you speak to the crew at all during this struggle?” Paul asked.

“What does it matter?” Nick asked. “My adrenaline was pumping so high at that point, I can’t believe I remember any of it.”

“I know, but again, the smallest details are important.”

“We slid sideways, heading for a wave. The sliding cargo door came open, swinging wildly half open, half shut. I told Gail we had to pull up. I put the throttle to the max, making the turbine engines scream. I can still hear the sound. We began to lift, but it was too late. A wave crashed into the side of us, filling the Jayhawk with seawater, then the door slammed shut, keeping it inside. We now weighed far too much,” he said. “I couldn’t get her to pull up.”

Nick hadn’t felt the cold, hadn’t felt anything but a desire to get them out of the situation.

“Gail called in a Mayday, telling the captain we were now left with no choice but to jump from the chopper. She was so damn brave. She turned to me and asked if I was ready before repeating it to our guys in the back.”

“So you aborted?”

“We were so close, but you have to know this all happens so damn fast,” Nick said, running his fingers through his hair.

“Before we could even blink, another wave crashed over us and took us down into the water. We lost communication with each other as we were taken below the water.”