The First SaR Mission Ch. 12

"That's scary as hell, but I can see that it makes a lot of sense, too. Would you mind, letting me get Aaron, and then going back through what you have told me?"

"No. I'll be happy to."

Anna brings Aaron over and has him listen to the plan that Becky and some of the other wolves had come up with.

Aaron is stunned at the realization: "I had not considered that the whole world would be that interested in us, but, if the scrutiny is as intense as you believe that it is, then, we do need to do anything that we can to tamp it down. Frankly, for all that could go wrong, I think that your plan makes a lot of sense. If we are going to talk to the press, we need to figure out now what we want to say and how we want to come across. You have to know that some shit-ass reporter is going to try to trip us up with tough questions. How we deal with that will be as important as what story we tell them, overall."

Anna speaks up: "The whole prospect of talking to the press scares the hell out of me, but it seems to me that avoiding them would only delay and intensify their interest. I would imagine that we shouldn't attempt to explain things that we don't know enough about. Becky, do you think that the Alpha would be willing to sit with us on the dais to handle questions that involve the retreat and being Werewolves?"

"I would expect that he would insist on being there. There is no doubt that the reporters will ask questions about the resort and the pack."

"Well, Aaron, what do you think? Do we ask the Alpha to follow this plan, or not?"

Anna, honestly, I believe that this is as good a plan as the situation would allow. I think that the quicker that we throw a bucket of 'reality' on this fire, the better off that we will be."

"I suppose that most questions that are asked about the flight, I will field, but you know that the bulk of the questions about turning Werewolf, are going to be directed at you. Are you going to be able to hold up under that?"

"I don't know, but I think so. I am comfortable with the decisions that I have made given the understanding that I had when I made them. I have never been one to cry over 'spilled milk,' nor to dwell on what might have been so, I have to believe that I can deal with them."

Becky says: "I think that you two will do just fine. If I might suggest, talk to George and have him pass the plan along to the Alpha. That way, he will have a chance to arrange things before you land in base camp. George was one of the wolves that were in on our discussion, so he knows the basic idea, but you should tell him exactly what you want to do so that he can tell the Alpha."

Aaron says to Becky: "Thank you, Becky. We will go do that."

[13:30, Saturday, the campsite]

Anna and Aaron discuss the plan with George and ask him to relay it to the Alpha.

[14:00. Saturday, the campsite]

George strips off his jumpsuit takes his radio and the waterproof cloth, all in the plastic bag and climbs to the ridge top.

[14:40, Saturday, atop the fourth ridge]

"Unit '41' to base camp, Unit '41' to base camp"

Jim Bonner has the watch in the radio room.

"Unit '41' t~ ~ase camp, Unit '41' to base ca~p"

"This is base camp, we read you '41,' go ahead."

"Base camp, wou~~ you get the Alpha, ~~r me. I ~eed to pass along requested plans."

"I will go round him up, George. Hey, you are coming through much clearer than you did the last time."

"Jim, the rain is much ~ighter than i~ was then. I guess that must make a diff~~ence."

"Yes, it would, George. Standby while I go find the Alpha."

Just at that moment, Jack walks into the radio room.

"I heard you, Jim, but I couldn't hear him."

"Yeah, this base station has a much better antenna than the handy-talkie does."

Jack sits in front of the radio...

"Hello, George. Is everything ok down there?"

"Yes, Alpha. ~~~rything is fine on ~his end. I needed to pass on ~ome planning requests ~~om the Dawsons."

"Ok, George. What have you got?"

"Well, the Dawsons ~ave found out that ~~~~~ ~s a media circus going on up ~~ere, and have a request ~~ to how to handle it"

"Good, Let's hear it"

"Well, ~~rst, I need to confess ~~at I and several other pa~~ members had been discussing it when that light~~ing bolt first woke Aaron and Anna. Beck~ Winston relayed our ~~inking to them and this is their ~ersion of what they would like to do if you agree. The conclu~~~~ was to hit the ~edia head on while it could be handled in ~~ organized ~ashion, and, ~opefully, minimi~~ the ~umber of reporters trying to get a scoo~ in the future. They might or might not ha~~ a prepared statement, but after ~~at, they want to take questions and keep ~aking them until the press gets bored ~~~ goes away. They would like to set up ~ome sort of raised dais wi~~ a table and chairs; they will both be there in hum~~ form and have both children ~~esent in wolf form. They wo~~~ like you to be there to ~~eld questions about ~~~ retreat and ~~ings that they can't answer. They say that ~~ey are prepared to let the reporters ~o their worst and, just deal wi~~ it. They ask me ~o convey that they have nothing, but ~ood to say about you, the retreat, ~erewolves and the outc~~~ of this in gene~~~ Ok, did you ~et all of that or shou~~ I go through it again?"

"No, George. I think that I got the gist of it. I think that it is an outstanding plan, too. Please, tell them that Mari would be present, as she is handling the press for the pack. George, are they sure that they want to take the press on full force?"

"They ~eel that however ~ad it might be, it would ~~ worth damping the enthusiasm of ~~~ press now rather than having all of the rep~~ters chasing them later on."

"Tell them that is very levelheaded thinking, and that I am impressed. Tell them that we will do our best to follow that plan."

"I ~~~~ tell ~~em, Alpha, do you have ~~~thing for me?"

"No George. All plans remain unchanged. Unless there is some delay the first chopper should arrive there at eleven-hundred tomorrow."

"Thank you, Alpha. ~ will pass ~~at you ~ave said along."

George begins packing the radio back into the bag, but, wears the orange cloth as a poncho and starts back to camp.

Bonner closed the communication: "W-Q-H-B-six-six-seven, channel clear."

"Well, good. The Dawsons sound like smart people. They will be good additions to the pack. I sure hope that they are ready to handle what they will face with the press."

[15:10, Saturday, campsite]

George returns to the camp...

Speaking to Anna and Aaron: "The Alpha said that they would go with your plan as much as they can. He said that Mari, that's his mate and Madam Alpha would be there, too. She is handling the press for the pack. He said to tell you that was very level headed thinking and that he was impressed. So, everything is set."

Aaron speaking to George: "Good. As much as I dread this, I think that the plan that you all came up with is a good one. Now, if we can just make it work."

"Anna, do you think that my clipboard is still on the plane? I would like for us to get a statement together and I need something to write on."

"I suppose that it should be. During the crash, there was a hail storm of loose things flying around in the plane. I have no idea where it is, though."

George says: "I'll go with you. I would rather that there were two of us there if you are going to try to get into the plane. It is awfully close to that rushing water."

"You both be careful."

George and Aaron strip off and head toward the stream and the plane.

Anna turns to her tent to find two cute, buck-naked kids propped up on elbows, raptly listening to Becky telling stories of being wolf. As she steps into the tent Bobby says:

"Mommy, mommy, we're gonna' be Were-wool-evs!"

"You already are 'Were-wool-evs."

Anna sits next to Suzy and runs her hand over Suzy's body. Her skin feels smooth, though it still has a 'blotchy' coloration. She is amazed that Suzy could be so much better in only about a day.

"Becky, I think that you have a couple of converts, in more ways than one!"

"Pups make life worth living. They're going to love living with the pack. You two are going to have lots of playmates to run and play with."

Becky asks: "Bobby, can you talk to your wolf, yet?"

"Well, sorta'. I hear him... Well, not exactly hear ...uh..."

"I know what you mean. It's not exactly hearing, but you know what he is saying, right?"

"Yeah! It's kinda' weird. He's in my head."

"That's right. There are two of you living in one body, now. When you are a little boy your wolf is sort of riding along with you, and when you are a wolf the little boy is just riding along."

"Yeah, I guess that's right."

"Do you know how to change into your wolf yet?"

"Sort of. I just kind of wish for it to happen."

"Well, that's a pretty good description of how it works."

Turning to Suzy, Becky asks: "How about you, Suzy? Can you talk to your wolf, yet?"

"I dnknow. My wuf just wants to play."

"Yeah. You will always have wolf with you."

[16:00, Saturday, base camp]

Jack is 'brainstorming' with Leon...

"Leon, do we have any plywood available?"

"I think so, Boss. It's that one-inch stuff that Loretta uses for the kitchen floor area."

"Tomorrow, before noon, I want you to put us a stage together. My idea is to take one of the trailers that we haul the tents in and move it to the north end of the commons area in the center. Scotch it up at all four corners to make it rock stable. The trailers have those heavy welded steel sides on them, so they should be plenty strong, so put a double layer of plywood across the top for the stage floor. Set one of the dining room tables up on it. If you can, put some sort of skirt around the trailer and table. Get with Jim Bonner and see if he can come up with some sort of PA system and microphones. You'll need to rig some sort of steps to get up on the stage. Can you do that?"

"Yeah, Boss. It sounds doable."

"Grab whatever help you need to make it happen."

"Before 12:00, right?"

"Yeah."

"I'll get it done."

[16:30, Saturday, campsite]

Aaron is speaking to Anna: "Anna, I am trying to put together a prepared statement for us to open with. What do you think that we should say?"

"I suppose that we start with a chronology of what happened from our viewpoint."

"I can do a brief synopsis of the flight and what happened during the crash. Could you do the timeline since the crash?"

"Yeah. Do you have a spare pencil and something that I can write on?"

"Yeah, take the clipboard and pen. I can add my part afterward. I need to think through what I want to say about the flight."

Supper that night was rice with more chipped beef in cream sauce, but there was plenty for everybody. The rain stopped at sundown and fog formed in the valley, but the sky was clear before midnight. Once again, the Dawsons slept in a "puppy pile," This Pleased their wolves.

[20:20, Saturday, base camp]

Berry Thornton finds Jack in the operations room...

"Jack, I finally heard from the NTSB. They have a guy on the way here. He should arrive before noon tomorrow to look at the plane to see if it is intact enough to warrant taking it to a hanger for a teardown inspection. They would like to have the heavy lifter wait around until they make the determination. If they take the plane, then the NTSB will pick up the cost of transporting it to Denver."

"That will work. It's out of Denver, anyway. Thanks, Berry."

"Berry?"

"Yes, Jack?"

"We will be holding a press conference tomorrow for the Dawsons to try to quell the press' fascination with them. Would you like to participate?"

"Sure, Jack. That would be good."

"Well, this is really your operation, so, why don't you open. I'm having my guys rig a raised stage and dais. We will let you finish then take the stage. I honestly don't know how much weight that it will be able to handle."

"That's fine we'll open the ceremony and then clear out and the stage is yours."

"Ok, then. We're planning to start at noon."

"Good, enough, Jack."

With all of the preparations made for the next day, the base camp fell quiet and everyone got a good night's sleep.

[08:30, Sunday, Base Camp]

Leon was hard at work setting up the stage; luckily, the ground was rocky so there was very little mud.

[08:30, Sunday, campsite]

Breakfast was finished and everyone was busy breaking down the camp in preparation to be hauled out in the cargo net.

Becky steps up next to Anna: "Well, Anna, are you ready to get out of here?"

"You know, Becky, had the situation been different, this might have been one of the best camping trips I have ever been on. I dread cleaning up what was our life before, but I am actually excited to be coming to live at the retreat and belonging to the pack.

"Are you nervous about this morning?"

"Hah! I have so many butterflies in my stomach, this morning that I don't need a helicopter to fly out of here."

"You'll do fine. And, maybe they will leave you alone after this."

George, Aaron, and several wolves are out preparing a landing spot for the helicopter. The stream had receded considerably leaving wide, flat gravel banks, where it was only necessary to remove some of the larger rocks to make a good landing site. They placed a ten foot square of the orange parachute cloth on the spot, held down by small stones.

[10:00, Sunday, near base camp]

Jay and a crew had blocked off a portion of the road to make a spot where the heavy lift helicopter could set down to wait. It would temporarily set the plane down about three hundred feet behind the stage, on the slope of the ridge. This placed it where, from the press' viewpoint, it was displayed just above the heads of the Dawsons. The smaller Helicopter would land about one hundred feet behind the stage to unload people.]

[10:45, Sunday, campsite]

The Helicopter could be heard long before they saw it, coming down the valley. The pilot had been told that in order to find the camp he could go to the third valley and then go down the valley about seven miles. He saw the orange cloth and that it was clear of obstructions for at least a hundred feet in all directions. He landed on the orange cloth. The copilot picked up the handy-talkie that he had been given at the base camp and called...

Bell 260L4: "Helicopter niner-niner-seven-Sierra-Xray to Campsite: We are instructed to pick up the Dawsons."

George and Becky escort Anna, Aaron and two little wolves to the copter. The copilot stands next to an open rear door. The two pups bound up into the helicopter's cabin Aaron follows. Becky hugs Anna and tells her that she will do fine. Then Anna climbs in and the copilot closes the door.

The copilot looks back over his seat and...

Copilot: I hope your pets are house trained!

"I hope so too, they were potty-trained years ago. These are my children. We're Werewolves, you know, GRRRR!"

"Oh! Sorry."

Aaron gives Anna a smirk.

[11:00, Sunday, base camp commons area]

The helicopter touches down behind the stage and is met by Jack and Mari, Jack opens the cabin door. He helps Anna down then gives Aaron a hand and two small pups sail out the door, dash around to stand against Anna's legs. Then Jack waves Jim Bonner over and he boards the helicopter. His task is to go to the ridge peak and retrieve the repeater. The helicopter lifts off. Jack ushers the Dawsons into the operations room.

Jack is shaking Aaron's hand while Mari hugs Anna.

"Aaron, I'm Jack McClintock, this is my mate, Mari. It's good to, finally, meet you."

Jack, shaking Anna's hand: "It's good to meet you. Well, how do you feel?"

"Speaking for myself, I feel much better than I did on Thursday evening."

Anna, shading her eyes: "It sure is good to see the sun, again." Everybody laughs.

Jack speaking to Aaron and Anna: "Well I know that this has to have been like a nightmare."

Anna says: "I was telling Becky Winston earlier that if it had not been for the crash and the weather this would have been the most enjoyable camping trip that I have ever been on." Again, everybody laughs.

Mari stoops down and scratches behind the pups ears: "This must be Suzy and Bobby. Hello, I'm Mari, Jack's mate and Madam Alpha of the Full Moon Pack."

Suzy stands looking at Mari, with her tail wagging, while Bobby throws himself onto his back, with all four feet in the air, (his best interpretation of a submissive pose), everybody laughs hard.

Mari says: "Hah! I see someone has been studying pack etiquette! Very good!"

From Bobby: "Woof!" There are more laughs.

Mari says: "Time for a note, here. This pack doesn't stand on formalities."

"So, are you guys ready for this?"

"No! Absolutely not, but we figure that it's necessary."

"Oh, you will do just fine."

"I told Becky, this morning, that I had so many butterflies in my stomach that I didn't need a helicopter to fly out of the valley."

Mari says: "I know how it feels. It took me a long time to be able to stand up in front of the cameras and speak. When they ask a question, just take your time, and consider your answer before you speak. If there is something that you don't know, then, just tell them you don't know. If it's something that you don't want to answer, simply tell them that you don't want to answer that. If you think that you need to, pass the question to Jack or me. We won't let it get 'out-of-hand,' but you can expect for someone that thinks that they are 'God's gift' to reporting to ask leading or 'snarky' questions. Just move on and pick the next reporter, if you don't want to deal with them."

Mari asks: "How do you want to conduct the conference? That is, do you want to open with a statement and then take questions or just go directly to questions?"

Aaron says: "Well, we thought we would each read a statement, basically, giving our viewpoints of what transpired. For me, that mostly consists of what happened up to the crash. Anna actually has much more to say than I do."

"I imagine that I need to explain why I made the request in the first place, and a brief chronology of what happened after the crash."

Then speaking to Jack: "I intend to emphasize that neither you nor anyone else forced the decision on me. Alpha, if you want to explain your position I can then hand it to you."

'I suppose that I should explain some things so, ok, I'll take it after you."

"Mari, will you open for us and introduce the Dawsons?"

"Sure, Jack."

"Berry Thornton and Bob Renford will open the conference then we will take the stage from them."

"Berry Thornton is the head of the State Emergency Management Agency. He was the one that called the pack in. Bob Renford leads the agency's search and rescue team. They were the ones that bowed out of the search of these valleys."

"Is there anything that you need or need to discuss before the press conference?"

From Bobby: "Wuf! Wuf."

Jack answers Bobby: "Why, yes, Bobby. Both of you will be on stage with mom and dad. You two are the stars of this show."

"Anna, Aaron is there anything that you need before we start?"

Aaron and Anna both shake their heads, 'no'.

"Well then, we have chairs off to one side of the stage, and it will begin shortly so, shall we go out and get comfortable?"

Everyone files out and takes a chair next to the stage. Bobby and Suzy sit next to Anna's chair.

[12:00, Sunday, base camp stage]

Berry Thornton and Bob Renford climb the makeshift steps to the stage. Berry Thornton picks up a microphone from the table and moves to center stage...

"Ladies and Gentlemen I am Berry Thornton and I am the head of the State Emergency Management Agency and this is Robert Renford the head of the state's search and rescue teams. When the Dawsons' plane disappeared early Tuesday morning, the agency and the search and rescue teams were called in to find them and with the help of aircraft, we searched a huge area in the surrounding mountains. However, when we came to this fifty square mile area, nearly in the center of our greater search area, we were stymied. Beyond this ridge behind us, lies three valleys separated by high, steep ridges. This area is so unusual that it creates its own weather. The terrain is so, notoriously inhospitable as to have gained its own name. The state geologist office recognizes these three valleys as "The Devil's Claw Marks." The weather has been so bad that not only could we not search it by aircraft but also, once the Dawsons were found, we could not get rescue helicopters into the area to bring them out for nearly a week. Two volunteer Navy Helicopter crews made an attempt and nearly met with tragedy. We were forced to call it off. Our best estimate, even to get into the valleys, to begin to search was three to four days. I am very proud of our search and rescue teams they are the best at what they do. But, God did not equip two-legged men to venture into these valleys."