- Author
- 07/11/2011
- 867 Words
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Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
It Was A Rescue Day - 3. Speaking of Rescues
The bright red bag was universal. An orderly pushing a cart in full hazmat gear was not out of the ordinary. Biohazard tags were a little odd, but not so much that anyone made comment. The fact that the elevator was going up, not down, might have brought attention had it been noticed. Maybe the security alarm going off in the psych ward eight floors up and two wards over had something to do with that. Down elevators, not up were being watched. The guard at the transport station looked at the paperwork, signed off on it, and kept his copy. Biohazard medical waste was exported all the time, nothing new there. That there was so little of it was not his concern. Nor was the fact the orderly took the waste to a smaller, private transport, one that had arrived only half an hour ago. Everything was paperwork perfection.
Bobby stowed the bag and secured it for inspection if they decided to hold one, then went to tell the pilot he was ready to take off. He looked in the cockpit and the small crew quarters and there was no one aboard. Confused, Bobby went down the gangplank to find them.
“Is there a problem?” The guard asked.
“The pilot and crew are not on board.”
“They’re probably at that mandatory meeting all our hazmat transport ship pilots must attend once a year or before the first time they transport for us. Their certification was out of date.”
“Oh.” Bobby resisted the urge to check his watch, “How long does that take?”
“It’s a good couple hours. You should be on your way by supper. But in the meantime, you’ve got to stay with the waste. You know that, right? It can’t be left alone. Regulations and all.”
Bobby nodded. “I understand.”
“I’ll send someone up to you in a bit so you can go get something to eat, maybe if you’re lucky they will be the ones stuck on the transport when it takes off.”
“Nah, this is my free ride to a connecting flight for a trip home. I’ll just hang around, don’t want to miss it.”
“Ah I hear that, got to get the free rides where we can, eh?”
Bobby grinned and re-boarded the transport. The façade dropped as soon as he was inside. Taking a deep breath, he steadied his nerves. This was not the time to lose it.
Puck, however, needed out of the bag, not to mention every second they stayed was one closer to being caught. No, he needed to do more than be calm.
Bobby prayed.
It wasn’t that he believed so much in a supreme being as he had nothing else to occupy his time. In stressful situations his mother often prayed and it just seemed like the right thing to do now. He prayed that autopsy was backlogged. He prayed that no one went looking for Puck’s ‘body’. And most of all he prayed that the pilot and crew would hurry the hell up and get them in free space.
Alarms were still going off inside, but they were only a faint claxon out here. The guard he talked to was replaced by a new one. This one decided to do a thorough search of all spaces.
Puck was tucked up in bed in the forward cabin when the guard came onboard. Barely a third as full as before, the hazmat bag lay in its compartment. This guard didn’t see how full it was before. He poked it.
“These usually only go out full.”
“I didn’t pack it.” Bobby shrugged, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt. “I just volunteered to accompany it – free ride and all.”
“Going to see family?”
Bobby blushed and shook his head slightly.
“Ah, one of those hops then.” The guard winked. “Well that explains why you don’t want to miss it, then.” He poked around the cockpit, left it, then pointed to the only other door off the main cabin. “What’s behind that door?”
“Crew’s quarters.”
“So dirty laundry and sex magazines?”
“Pretty much so,” Bobby agreed and tried to not think of Puck lying just beyond that door.
The guard shook his head, “I remember those days. No one would want to hide in there. Likely stinks too. Keep an eye out and give a yell if you see anything strange, all right? Have a nice flight.”
Bobby's body unclenched as he watched the guard retreat. Where was the damn crew?
Nerves frayed, he quickly followed orders when the crew returned.
Now that they had the required training class - a class the Center charged them to take - the pilot told him they would leave as soon as they had clearance. Annoyed he'd have to pay the added fee, he considered it worth the money when they had clearance in record time. A sigh escaped his lips as they achieved lift off.
“Twenty minutes to free space, sir.” The craft was small enough that the captain didn't use the loudspeaker. “I hope whatever you took from the Center was worth all this hassle.”
“Very much worth the hassle,” Bobby assured him. “Very much.”
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Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
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