The Tsunami Countdown

FIFTY

12:17 p.m.

20 Minutes to Fourth Wave

When Kai and the others saw the helicopter take off from the Grand Hawaiian, they let out a weary but jubilant cheer. It was quickly cut short by a rumble from far below them. The building continued to resist the force of the water, but it protested mightily. The noise made Kai step up the broadcasting of his Mayday. It would be extremely risky to wait for Rachel’s helicopter to get back. “My name is Kai Tanaka, and we are standing on a white building approximately six blocks from the beach and eight blocks west of the Honolulu Zoo. To anyone who can hear us…”

The power of the walkie-talkie limited the radius to just a few miles, so he was hoping something would fly within range long enough to hear the message. After a couple of broadcasts on the new frequency Rachel had given him, he got an answer.

“Mr. Tanaka, this is CWO Henry Mitchell on Army flight one niner three. I see your party. What is your situation?”

Teresa hugged Mia, and Tom yelled, “All right!”

“You see us?” Kai said to the pilot.

“We’re just passing over Diamond Head.” Kai turned and looked to the east, where saw a Black Hawk helicopter speeding toward them.

“Thank God! We’ve got eight people here.” A huge antenna sprang from the center of the building’s roof, a feature Kai hadn’t noticed from the ground. Three microwave transmitters were perched on the antenna. Kai didn’t see markings on it, but it couldn’t be anything other than a cell phone tower. It would get in the way of any helicopter trying to land. “You’ll have to hover next to the building to pick us up.”

Chuck and Denise, the other couple on the roof with them, saw the commotion and edged closer.

“What’s happening?” Chuck asked. “Did you get someone?”

“A helicopter,” Brad said.

“Which one?” Chuck pointed at the Black Hawk. “That one? Why isn’t it coming down?”

Kai expected the helicopter to start dipping down toward the building, but Chuck was right. It was maintaining its altitude. It would pass over them in a few seconds.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Tanaka,” the pilot said, “but I don’t have any room.”

“Even for a few people?” Kai pleaded. “We have children here.”

“I’m packed to the gills with injured from Maui. I’m heading over to Wheeler to drop them off. I’ll be back for you as soon as I can.”

“How long will that be?”

“I’m running low on fuel, so we need to gas up. That could take thirty minutes.”

“Thirty minutes!”

“Maybe longer. Wheeler’s jammed, and it’s the only place that still has refueling equipment for choppers.”

The Black Hawk roared overhead, tantalizingly close.

Chuck, who had been listening to the conversation, pushed next to Kai and snatched the walkie-talkie from Kai’s hand. Kai stood in shock as Chuck keyed the Talk button.

“Pilot, this is Chuck Bender, and I have ten thousand dollars in cash here for you if you—”

Brad grabbed Chuck’s wrist, pressing his fingers into Chuck’s carpal tendon. Chuck screamed in pain and dropped the walkie-talkie into Brad’s other hand.

“That’s not yours,” Brad said, and handed the walkietalkie back to Kai. Chuck glared at Brad but thought better about taking it further.

“Did I hear that right?” Mitchell said. “Do you think I do this for money? Who was that?”

“I’m sorry, Chief Mitchell,” Kai said. “That was another party here. He does not speak for me. We’d appreciate any help you can give us, but thirty minutes will be too long. There is another wave coming. And I’m not sure the building will even survive that long. We’re hearing a lot of rumbling coming from it. It might go at any time.”

“I’m sorry,” Mitchell said. “I’ll see if there are any other helicopters available. In the meantime, I suggest you keep sending out the SOS. Good luck.”

The sound of the Black Hawk grew fainter, along with Kai’s hopes.

The walkie-talkie squawked again, and Kai thought he’d given up too quickly.

“Kai,” Rachel said, “I couldn’t hear everything that pilot said. Did you get a ride?”

“Rachel?” Kai hadn’t expected to hear her. He assumed she was on her way to being dropped off in the other helicopter, which would be out of range by now. “Where are you?”

“The helicopter was too full, and I drew the short straw.”

“You mean you’re still on top of the hotel?”

He looked at the roof of the Grand Hawaiian and could just make out her tiny figure waving at them. Kai nearly fainted. After all that, she still wasn’t safe.

“Not the best place to be, I agree,” she said, trying to sound brave in her plight. “Do you mind picking me up after the chopper arrives?”

“Honey, we can’t. They don’t have room on the Army helicopter. It won’t be back for a while.”

The pause at the other end was heartbreaking.

“That’s okay,” she finally said. “The pilot that was here said he’d come back for me.” She paused again, then her voice came back more weakly. “But just in case, you better keep calling for help.”

“I will,” Kai said. “Trust me, Rachel. We’re going to make it.”

“I know,” she said, but Kai could tell that she didn’t really believe it.

Stan circled the helicopter over Tripler Army Medical Center looking for a flat space that hadn’t been overrun by evacuees. Every inch of the massive hospital’s grounds was occupied by people, thousands of them. Then he spotted a Navy Sea Stallion take off from a parking lot that had been cleared as a landing zone, and he zipped in to take its place before another helicopter could get it.

The hospital was just six miles northwest of Waikiki, so the trip had only taken a few minutes. Not only did Stan want to get his passengers to safety, he was starting to worry that the damage to his tail rotor was more serious than he initially thought. A high-pitched whine was coming from the tail, a faint sound that someone unfamiliar with the chopper wouldn’t have noticed over the helicopter’s turbine roar. But Stan, who had been flying for over ten years, knew every normal sound his craft made. He had never heard this one before.

After Stan dropped these people off, his plan was to head directly to Wheeler to get it checked out. If it was still okay, he’d refuel and head back.

He maneuvered the AStar until it hovered just above the lot’s asphalt, and then the skids came to a rest on the surface. Two members of the hospital staff, burly men dressed in scrubs, ran over and began helping the passengers out of the helicopter.

Stan pointed at Jerry’s slumped figure behind him and said, “That one first. He’s injured.” After retrieving a stretcher, the men pulled Jerry down and placed him gently on it. Sheila and Doris, who didn’t even turn to thank Stan for his efforts, began to babble about Jerry’s condition as the men wheeled him toward the hospital.

Paige, with the help of Deena, guided her kids down, and they ran straight in front of Stan, away from the tail rotor, as he had instructed.

Deena climbed back into the helicopter and was about to belt herself in, but Stan put out his hand.

“You need to stay here!” he yelled over the throb of the rotors.

Deena was stunned. “What?” she said. “I’m going back to the hotel with you. I’m getting my camera back.” By this time Paige had returned to the helicopter. Her kids stood at the edge of the parking lot, watching them.

“I’m not going back,” Stan said. “I’m afraid the chopper might be damaged.”

“You’re not going back?” Paige said. “You have to!”

“The tail rotor rubbed against something. It might go at any time.”

“You can’t just leave her there!” Paige screamed. “She’s the reason my kids are alive!”

Stan was about to tell her that he was sorry, that he couldn’t risk it, but he stopped when he saw tears streaming down Paige’s face. He remembered the way that Rachel had so readily given up her seat to give the others a chance to get to safety, and he felt a moment of shame for considering not taking the same kind of risk for her.

He slowly nodded and said, “I’ll get her.”

Paige mouthed “Thank you,” and backed away from the helicopter.

Shutting down the engine to do a visual inspection of the tail rotor would take too long. He’d just ignore the sound coming from it. Besides, he wasn’t a pilot because it was the safest thing he could do for a living. His bird was tough; she’d make it.

He glanced at Deena.

“You still can’t come. If I do go down, I’m not taking you with me.”

Deena didn’t glare at him or protest, like Stan expected. She didn’t even mention her camera. She simply gave him a look of understanding. Without a word, she climbed out of the helicopter and walked away.

Stan increased power and lifted off. He waved to Paige and the kids, but they didn’t wave back until he made his turn and headed back in the direction of the Grand Hawaiian.