Take My Breath Away

Kasie nervously tugged at Wesley's sleeve before he left for the rescue. "Colonel Li, please. Make sure they come back safe and sound. Please!" she begged, her voice shaking.

Wesley broke free from her grip and assured her, "Don't worry. I will." And that was when Kasie realized she was being a bit foolish. She withdrew her hands, and looked down.

After the search and rescue team left, Blair sat on a bench, chin propped up in her hands as she watched the ship sail away. She prayed in her mind, 'Dear God, please bring all of them home safe..."

Half an hour later, the rescue ship that Wesley was in began to slow a little when they were some miles from the coastline.

Wesley carefully observed the area through a set of binoculars, hoping to find an island or anything from Carlos and Debbie's yacht. He knew he could only see about 3 miles out due to the curvature of the earth, but the digital magnification and enhancement were what he was after. No sign of a yacht or his friends, but he did spot a killer whale leaping out and diving into the sea some distance away. It was common to see killer whales around here, so he paid it no mind. He continued to focus on searching for what he wanted.

Time passed quickly. Still, nothing—nothing but the endless sea that stretched to the horizon. Wesley listened to the reports from the rescue team in the helicopters. "One klick south by southeast, nothing. Over."

"Two klicks northeast, no sign. Over."

Still no good news. Wesley was beginning to think this might be a fool's errand.

Wesley continued to look into the distance through the binoculars. The killer whale came into view again, but this time, it was much closer to the boat. 'I hope that big guy's careful. He doesn't need to get caught by our propeller.'

When he was about to shift his gaze away from the whale, something on its mouth caught his eye. 'Is it hurt, or is that just some fish?' He zoomed in for a closer look, but it dove again before he could figure out what that was. When the thing surfaced again, he got another chance.

Wesley quickly directed the lens towards the killer whale again. It swam closer and closer to them. He got a better look. It was dark blue, and seemed as if it were a torn piece of cloth.

Wasting no time, he told the captain to bring the cutter alongside the killer whale.

When he was close enough to observe the orca without the help of the binoculars, he asked the captain to stop the ship. Magically, the killer whale instantly sprang up, breaking the surface of the water, and made sounds, like it was trying to communicate. It sounded like someone was letting air out of a balloon, deliberately making it squeak.

The whale leapt up, and Wesley was able to pull the piece of cloth from the whale's mouth. 'Did it eat someone? That doesn't sound right. They don't do that, usually, ' he thought. He examined the shred of clothing carefully. 'There! That tag! Mazu Resortwear Classic Swim Shorts! That's what Carlos wears!' he thought excitedly.

Next to Wesley, Niles also recognized the piece of cloth. He looked at the killer whale with excitement in his eyes. "Are they alive, though? He keeps swimming in one direction, and then wheeling back to us!"

After another squeal, the killer whale dove into the sea and swam towards the northwest.

Wesley radioed the rescue team in the helicopters, telling them to fly northwest.

On the desert island, Carlos washed his hands and passed the recently shelled lobster to Debbie. "Sorry there's no sauce."

"Okay, never mind." Debbie grabbed the slice of lobster and took a bite. 'It's not bad. Sweeter and lighter than the crab we cooked up, ' she thought.

Then, she tore some off and lifted it to his lips. "Take a bite. It's not bad."

Carlos shook his head. "I'll stick with the fish."

"Why? You don't like lobster?"

"What I like doesn't matter. If you like it, when we get back, we can..." Carlos stopped mid-sentence. After a little pause, he corrected, "If you like it, eat as much as you want. It's cheaper if we catch it ourselves."

Taking in his words, Debbie thought for a short while and smiled. "I really think we'll get off this island."

Carlos looked her in the eye. He grinned. "Me too."

Debbie burst into a fit of laughter. She put the slice of lobster flesh in front of his lips again, this time dancing it around a bit. "Come on, take a bite," she said expectantly.

He opened his mouth and ate a little. The strange fishy flavor filled his mouth at once. He slightly furrowed his brows in disgust. But when he looked at Debbie, she looked content. She was really a trooper.

Debbie shouldn't spend the rest of her life on such a desert island. She wasn't spoiled or ungrateful. That kind of woman deserved every good thing that came her way.

'No way. I have to get her back home, ' he swore in his mind.

A few minutes later, when Carlos was eating the roasted fish and Debbie was munching on the lobster, they heard a loud sound above their heads. They exchanged glances with each other, excitement evident in their eyes.

Simultaneously, they looked up at the sky. A helicopter was hovering up there, and several more were on an approach vector. When she spotted them, Debbie immediately threw away the lobster, sending the carcass skidding across the sand. She jumped up and down, waving her hands vigorously. "Over here! Hey!" she shouted to the helicopters in English. The lead one dropped lower. She could see it was one of the S-76Ds that this country had gotten from their contract with Sikorsky. ZL Group oversaw some of those operations, under the aegis of the Ministry of Transportation.

Carlos clapped the food debris off his hands. Looking into the distance, he grinned and said, "English? Really?"

Debbie asked in doubt, "Didn't you say that it would be better to speak English when being rescued?"

"Normally, yes. But..." He pointed to the cutter with their national flag flying in the wind; the killer whale was right alongside the boat, as if accompanying it.

"Thank God! Someone's coming to save us. Isn't that the big guy? Look, Carlos! It brought them here!" she exclaimed excitedly between laughter and tears, hugging Carlos all the while.

He gently stroked her hair, somewhat rough from exposure to salt water. "Uh huh. They came. We're safe." He said it somewhat wistfully. While they hadn't had the easiest time of it, there was the fact that he didn't have to sit in the office all day, working his fingers to the bone. When he was exhausted on the island, it was from real work. Besides, he was really enjoying spending time with Debbie.

As soon as the rescue cutter stopped a bit from shore to prevent running aground, they lowered a motorized inflatable life raft into the water, and Wesley and Niles zoomed over. When they got to shore, Niles ran up to them, leaving his brother to haul the raft onto the beach. He rushed up to Carlos and Debbie. He arched an eyebrow as he took in the bonfire behind them. "Here we were, worried about you, and you're eating lobster? Seriously, dude?"

Ignoring him, Carlos greeted Wesley with a fist bump and a hug. "Thanks, man!" That was all he said. But the two words carried a lot more meaning than that—something only the two old friends could understand.

Debbie waded out in the water towards the whale. The water came up to her chest, but she didn't mind. She bent over, kissed it and said sincerely, "Thank you so much, big guy! You saved us."

The killer whale let out a cheerful sound and rubbed against her body, just like Piggy snuggling in her arms.

Finally, they piled into the raft and boated over to the cutter. They climbed the ladder on the side of the patrol boat to leave the raft. When they were finally safely aboard, Carlos pulled off Niles' shirt and put it on Debbie. The man's shirt was too large for her, so it covered her from neck to knees.

Bare-chested, Niles wanted to protest, but Carlos shot him a sharp glance, silencing him.

On their way back, the killer whale followed them the whole way, keeping a safe distance from the ship, but close enough to be seen. Seeing its dorsal fin cutting through the surface of the sea, Debbie couldn't hold back her tears. "I'm gonna miss him. Think we'll ever see him again?"

Carlos touched her head and comforted her, "You can come whenever you want."

"But... I'm afraid..." she stammered. She would miss the killer whale, but she didn't want to be shipwrecked again. Understandable, since they had battled not only the natural elements, but supernatural ones as well.

Carlos smiled. Looking at the swimming killer whale, he said, "Tell it you'll come to visit around the bay surrounding the island."

"Why there? Are you afraid people might hurt it?"

He nodded, "Yeah, kind of. We need to protect it."

"Right."

While Debbie was watching the killer whale swimming happily, Carlos radioed land. They were still out of cell range, so it took a little doing to get his assistant Frankie on the line. "Yep, purchase the beach. Launch a public welfare program to protect the marine life around there. Prepare all the needed application forms, materials and submit them to the State Oceanic Administration. And attract some investment. ZL Group will fund 80% of the total investment..."

Finally, they reached the beach. Their other friends were there, waiting anxiously.

When Kasie spotted Debbie, she ran over to her and hugged her tightly, tears welling up in her eyes. "Deb, oh, thank God! You're back. I was so worried about you!"

Debbie hugged her back while comforting her, "Don't cry. I'm fine now."

After confirming Wesley was safe, Blair also ran up to Debbie. "So where did you guys end up?"

"On a desert island," Debbie said. "In some ways, it was bad. In other ways, paradise."