Stormwatch - A Rest for the Heart

They were trying to keep up with the demands of the Weapons System Operator who, like Josh, was leery of the 30mm Bushmaster and relied on the 105mm howitzer cannon as his "sniper rifle." As they cranked HEAT rounds into the 105 as fast as the WSO could fire the gun, they could hear the Bushmaster burping as it spewed rounds. The WSO was firing short bursts because the Bushmaster would shake itself off target in a long burst and the sighting radar would have to pause to re-sync the gun to radar. The 30mm was firing well but then there came the 'clank!' of a jam. Craig Dempsey was monitoring the 30mm called, "I can't clear this, I need a hand."

"I'll be right there," said Josh. His guys on the 105, Wyatt Grady and Wayne Engler, "the W's," were doing a fantastic job loading the gun, but at this rate, they'll be up to their knees in empty brass in moments if they don't have someone policing the spent brass. He looked and saw Sgt Ellinore Stadelmeyer, the loadmaster, staying out of the way. "Ellie, can you get the spent brass, I have to step forward."

"No problem," and she stepped up and began grabbing the empty brass casings and securing them in the ammo bin.

Josh moved forward to the 30mm and found a broken round in the chute and realized he had to take the gun offline to clear the broken round. He notified the WSO on the intercom that they had to shut down the Bushmaster, then he and Craig ran through the checklist to safe the gun prior to maintenance. "I'm going to need a pry bar!" he shouted to Craig.

"Rog, be right back!" shouted Craig and he stepped back toward the 105mm cannon where the tool kit was located. Just as Josh began to remove the ammo feed chute from the 30mm Bushmaster there was an incredibly loud bang to his left, even though he was wearing ear protection a loud ringing in his ears blotted out all sound. The entire aircraft jerked and was filled with white... smoke? Vapor? Where was the 105? Where was Craig? Where were the W's? Suddenly, a hand, soft and soothing took his hand and another plane faded into view as Veronica said, "What's wrong Effi? Are you ok?"

Slowly the horror of the smoke-filled AC-130 faded and the plush first-class cabin of a 757 came into view. "It was the tire!" he gasped, "It was the tire that exploded, not the gun." Josh looked around in confusion and realized that he was not on an AC-130, he was on a passenger airplane.

"I don't understand, what tire?"

Josh felt a knife of pain stab into his skull. It didn't matter what he just saw, he had to get his shit together, he's fucked up enough of Veronica's vacation, this is for her. The idea behind this trip was to take her mind off the hell that those freaks Brandon and Emily Mitchell put her through. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." he looked around and the red tint to everything that he saw was fading, "I just..." he glanced through the window and saw that they were in the clouds, the angle of the plane told him that they were still climbing. This plane is safe and healthy. He took a deep shaking breath of relief and said, "I had just remembered a flight where a tire blew."

"Are you ok?" she gasped. His face was covered with sweat and his eyes were wild, the pupils dilated in terror.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he lied. "That was when I got my call sign Bounce 27, remember?" He realized that he was fucking everything up, relax! That was then, this is now.

"Is there anything I can get you?" Concern covered Veronica's face.

"No, I'm fine. This is my first flight in a long time, I'm not going to let one bad landing mess up our vacation." He patted her hand then lifted it to his lips and kissed it. "You know what? Let's get this party started. When that drink cart comes by, I'll have another gin and tonic."

"If you insist." Veronica's smile was not very convincing, but the rest of the flight passed without incident and only one gin and tonic.

~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~

The sun was low in the sky when they finally got off the airplane at Jacksonville, and getting their baggage wasn't much of a hassle, but outside at the arrivals portion of the terminal, the crowd of people waiting to get picked up was immense. They fought their way through the crowd and made their way to the bus stop for the rental cars. "This place could use a people mover," said Josh as they finally got on the bus to the rental agency.

Veronica was pleased that when they were able to step outside it was hot, the perfect antidote to a long, cold, wet Buffalo winter. "Is it always like this?" she asked basking in the warmth.

"Naw, sometimes it gets hot."

Arriving at the rental they found their chariot waiting for them, a brand-new fire engine red Jeep Wrangler Sport two-door with a soft top. "It's perfect," grinned Josh and he loaded their luggage in the back then he gave Veronica a kiss that made them both believe that his nightmares are in the past.

"Where to? The hotel? The beach? Dinner?" asked Josh.

"I don't know," sighed Veronica as she looked around. It felt like it's been ages since she's seen palm trees growing outdoors and she wanted to see it all, do it all right now.

"Let's do both," said Josh and soon they headed north on I 95 and they got off at the Yulee exit then headed east toward Amelia Island. "What would you like to eat? Country? Mexican? Italian? Seafood?" he said as they neared an overpass.

"Seafood!" said a ravenous Veronica, she really haven't eaten all day since breakfast at the 279 Diner.

"Fancy or plain?"

"Don't care! I'm starving!"

"Tourist or local?"

"Just feed me!" Veronica paused and thought, she always eats "tourist" food, it's time for a change. "Let's do local," she said, "on the beach if we can."

"You got it princess," and as soon as they crossed over the Amelia River, Josh announced, "We are now on Amelia Island."

"Whoo hoo! Bring on the food!"

It was after sunset, they were in the cool of the evening now, the streets were dark, but Veronica could see the Spanish Moss hanging from the trees. They finally pulled up to a little place called De Soto's. It looked like a small Tiki bar, the type of which appears magically wherever sandy tropical beaches meet American tourists. It really couldn't be seen from the road; it was behind a house on the beach side of US A1A. There was no parking, they parked in a cul-de-sac across the street and walked back to the restaurant using a beach access path that stretched between houses. It was an open-air restaurant with only eight tables and a bar with an incredible view of the beach and the breeze was gentle and it smelled of the sea. It was late and luckily there was a table open, so they were seated right away. A chalkboard announced the special of the evening, filet of grouper with mango chutney, served with apple slaw, fried corn, served with a cup of conch chowder.

"That sounds incredible!" gasped Veronica, "I can't wait to see their whole menu!"

"That is their whole menu," said Josh as the waitress appeared.

"Well..." interjected the waitress, "We add a second item when the fishing is good," and she pointed to another chalkboard behind the bar which was titled, "Filet o' Fish du jour, and today's fish sandwich was lionfish.

"Lionfish! But they're so pretty!"

"Yes, but they're an intrusive species that are killing the local fish," said the waitress. "And they're quite tasty."

"I didn't realize all that," said Veronica.

"This is her first foray into the real Florida," explained Josh to the waitress, a slim southern girl.

"Oh! Then you'll have to take her to Callahan Speedway tomorrow night, there's a grudge match between the Kendall and Pennzoil racing teams, ten laps, anything goes," grinned the waitress. "My boy is driving for Kendall this year."

"Yes!" cried Josh. Like most locals he was far from wanting to take a friend or a friend of a friend to Disney World again.

"That sounds like fun!" cried Veronica, and that surprised Josh almost as much as the waitress. Veronica looked like a supermodel who was dressing down in the faint hope that people wouldn't know she's a supermodel. That plan always attracts more attention than it deflects but Josh couldn't convince Veronica of that fact. "What? I love the races; I grew up watching three eighths mile dirt track racing in Erie Pennsylvania."

"Callihan with take you back to your roots, that's for sure," smiled the waitress. "I'll be right back with your chowder.

Veronica looked at Josh and saw the delighted smile. "What? I like the races, but I need earplugs."

"I didn't know that you like motor sports," said Josh as the waitress brought his sweet tea. He took a sip and sighed, "Oh that's good." They just don't make proper sweet tea up north.

"I'm not a pit bunny, but I do like the races," she said as the waitress brought her an Arnold Palmer. "I have a friend with a box at Bandimere Raceway, I'll see if we can get an invite for the Mile High Nationals."

Josh's eyes bugged out, NHRA racing? Funny cars and top fuel, that's redneck heaven! "Sure!" he gasped.

When dinner arrived, they found it was delicious! The owner of the restaurant had caught the grouper himself that morning, and with today's catch cooked and sold he came out and played the guitar as the locals listened and enjoyed the warm, clear evening. "Care for a walk on the beach?" Josh asked as they finished dinner.

"Always," she smiled, "but let's go check in first."

"Oh crap, it's late," said Josh looking at his watch, "we may lose our room."

"I called, they know we're coming," said Veronica. She never told him where they were staying, she didn't even text the street address to Josh. Veronica wanted to keep it a surprise, and Josh trusted her completely, which she found thrilling. So many men treated her like she was stupid, besides her dad only Anthony Friedman and now Josh trusted her judgement. They left and walked hand in hand back to the Jeep and kissed in the moonlight.

"I had another flashback on the airplane today," he said sadly.

"I know," she said softly, her eyes studying his, trying to find the root of his pain. "Do you still feel it?"

His face saddened, "I don't know... I never know."

Veronica softened, "Let's go relax, we'll sleep tonight, then maybe paddleboarding before the races tomorrow?"

"Yeah, let's do that," and with that they climbed into the jeep and Veronica navigated them southward to the Amelia Palms, a beautiful hotel facing the ocean.

As they signed in, the clerk showed them a map of the facilities, the jogging and biking paths, spas and gyms. "Is there a chance we can rent paddle boards tomorrow?"

"Of course, Mrs. Gravely, at the recreation desk. They open at six o'clock in the morning."

The words 'Mrs. Gravely' made Veronica's heart leap, and it wasn't missed by Josh either. He was standing behind her and when the clerk called her that he wrapped an arm around her slim waist and pulled her back against him, reveling in her warmth and that particular smell that said "Veronica" to him. "What do you say Mrs. Gravely, it's been a long day, let's go hit the sack."

Veronica turned around in his arms and smiled and gave him a kiss. "That's a very good idea, hubby," and they headed off to their room.

They were both exhausted from the emotional trauma of the day and simply curled together, "is it ok if we just..." Josh sounded embarrassed, "I'm kind of burned out and I..."

Veronica put a hand gently on Josh's cheek, "Its ok sweetie, sometimes marriages get to that point where..."

"I get it, I get it," groaned Josh who was now embarrassed at his exhaustion. "Just give me a moment to crank this baby up and I'll be ready for your..."

"Oh, stop," she gave Josh a kiss. "I didn't mean to question your virility."

"I'm so sorry, I haven't been sleeping well I think, I can't keep my eyes open."

"It's ok, I'm right here." Veronica cradled her man close and thought, "he needs me," and that thought was so important to her, she bent to kiss his forehead and found he was already asleep. She eased out of bed and grabbed her phone and stepped out onto their balcony naked. She loved the feel of the ocean breeze caressing every inch of her skin and vowed to fuck Josh's eyeballs loose tomorrow night after the races on this very balcony.

She leaned on the balcony railing and watched the beach in the distance hoping to see sea turtles come ashore to lay eggs, but she didn't realize they were a bit early for that, the turtles start making their appearances on north Florida beaches in May. However, just in case the turtles come early, the resort turned off all lights that can be seen from the beach. Bright lights confuse sea turtles and cause them to lay their eggs in the ocean rather than make a safe nest for them on the beach.

Veronica peeked in the room and checked on Josh again then made a quick call. "Hey Nick, did you guys get checked in ok?... great, any problems?... Yeah, same with Josh... that's great. Can't wait to see you at breakfast... they open at seven... yup, same with Josh... ok, I'll be the one with a neon pink Georgia Bulldogs cap... Gators huh, Josh never mentioned them, ok see you in the morning."

Veronica sat back on the lounge chair and watched the stars wheeling overhead, just loving the feel of the warm breeze on her exposed skin. There's something about being naked outside. She's worn teeny-tiny bikinis for photoshoots, but the feeling of the breeze on her exposed nipples and pussy makes her feel 10 times more exposed. As she watched the stars wheel overhead, she didn't notice Josh starting to twitch.

Josh moved forward to the 30mm Bushmaster gun and found a broken round in the chute and realized he had to take the gun offline to clear the broken round. He notified the WSO on the intercom that they had to shut down the Bushmaster, then he and Craig ran through the checklist to safe the gun prior to maintenance. "I'm going to need a pry bar!" he shouted to Craig.

"Rog, be right back!" shouted Craig and he stepped back toward the 105 where the tool kit was located. Just as Josh began to remove the ammo feed chute from the 30mm Bushmaster there was an incredibly loud bang to his left, the entire aircraft was filled with white... smoke? Vapor? An incredibly loud ringing noise filled his head, and he tried to look through the smoke. Where was the 105? Where was Craig?

Suddenly the plane jerked three times, Bam! Bam! Bam! It was like someone kicked the tail hard causing the plane to jerk, he heard someone on the intercom screaming "FLARES! FLARES! FLARES!" Then he heard "CHAFF! CHAFF! CHA..." and suddenly the plane was slammed hard, Josh was thrown against the WSO's cabinet, the belly of the plane went dark, and the intercom went silent.

Josh stumbled to a cabinet he knew held emergency lights and grabbed a handful of lightsticks and a big flashlight then headed back to his team. Crap! They were all down and bleeding, and SHIT! Craig was... gone. Oh god, the poor kid looked so terrified... don't think about it, he grabbed a lightstick, bent it until he felt the glass vial crack then he shook it up and it glowed that sickly green that he used to like. He laid the lightstick on Craig so he wouldn't get stepped on, then he swept his flashlight around, there was a huge gaping hole in the starboard side of the huge cargo door big enough to climb through.

Wyatt had a badly broken arm; a bone was sticking out and he was starting to freak out. Josh pulled a sling out of the med kit, bandaged his arm, put him in the sling then sat him down and strapped him in. His other team member Wayne was bleeding from a chest wound and had blood rimming his lips, shit, it was a punctured lung. He pulled his demo knife, cut open Wayne's flight suit, and applied a sterile dressing as tightly as possible to the wound. He was going to give him the morphine, but something told him to hold off, Wayne wasn't screaming in pain, but he might need it later. He handed both of the Ws an active lightstick and said, "I'll be right back."

He flashed that super bright flashlight around and the tail was a wreck, the 105 was canted at an angle, hydraulic fluid all over, where was Ellie? He looked and saw her safety strap was hanging through that gaping hole and sadly shook his head, he teased her for wearing it because they weren't going to open the cargo door.

"I don't trust you jerks," she would always say, and she always clipped the strap onto her web harness and remained a safe distance away from gun operations.

He was already mourning her when Josh saw that there was tension on the safety strap, and he dashed over to the gaping hole. His boots were covered with hydraulic fluid or maybe Craig's blood, and he almost slipped into the hole. Shining the light down into the inky darkness over the rocky desert, he saw Ellie was there, dangling from the strap. Josh's sudden relief turned to terror as he saw that she had pulled out her demo knife and was sawing at the safety strap. "ELLIE! STOP!"

"Josh! It's ok, it's me!" cried a terrified Veronica.

"ELLLLIEEEEEE!" Josh's eyes were wide open, but he was seeing something else, his body covered in sweat, his hands shaking as he implored Ellie to stop something. Veronica was naked, crouched in front of him and she shook his shoulders.

"Effie, please! It's me, Ronnie, I'm right here, please."

Recognition dawned in Josh's crazed eyes, and he melted. He went from a crazed, maniacal lunatic to a shattered, sorrowful man in an instant. "Oh Nica," he moaned, "I'm so sorry... you don't deserve this..." and he broke down into gales of tears.

"No! Effi, I'm here for you," Veronica threw her arms around him, joining her man in tears. "It's ok, I'm here for you, I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere..." Now he started shaking, his body was covered with clammy sweat and the air conditioning kicked in. "Come on, come with me..." she led him to the bathroom where she drew a warm shower, and she coaxed him in with her. It worked before; he calmed down in the airport, it should work again. Just as he was about to step into the shower he whirled, bent over the toilet, and vomited.

"Oh, you poor baby," she wondered what happened that affected him so badly that he lost all touch with reality and twisted his gut around like this. When he finished vomiting, he was shaking worse than before, but Veronica was able to coax him into the shower. It worked at the airport in Buffalo, and it worked in Florida too, under the comforting spray he was able to relax.

Josh apologized over and over as she dried him off and led him back to bed. She finally asked, "What are you so sorry about?"

"For being weak," he said. "My predecessors in B-17s and B-24s, they went up time after time, they got killed by the score, ten guys every time a plane was shot down, it was a slaughter, if a plane made it back they generally had at least one shot up airman, but they kept going back up knowing they were going to die. I got hit once and I freak out."

"Ok, stop this right now," said Veronica, she sounded angry. "You told me you were angry that they took you off gunship duty, were you or weren't you angry?"

"Yeah... I was angry."

"Same as them, you got shot up, but you wanted to go back up and finish the job, right?"

"I don't think it's as easy as that..." mumbled Josh, but she had a point, he was young back then, he was invulnerable, Superman had nothing on him. His scars and injuries from that landing? He got up and walked it off, rub some dirt on it, be a man, he was ready to go back up... until they told him he wasn't wanted anymore.

"Bad things tend to affect us after it's over." She stroked the ugly scar on his right side, and they kissed. When their lips parted, they gazed into each other's eyes. "You can't get rid of me this easy," whispered Veronica.