Chapter 8 (Lieutenants Smith and Carter Found)

Chapter 81

Lieutenants Smith and Carter Found2

“Colonel sir, if I may ask, where are we headed? asked Lt. Anderson.3

“We’re headed to the house of Lt. Smith,” answered Col. Matthieu. “Lt. Smith left yesterday from work to check on her fiancé Richard, the Ambassador to France and formerly of Japan who both coincidentally declared war on us. She hasn’t been heard from since. It is odd because during war situations, she’s the focal point of our country’s defense, and she is also one of the best military minds in all of England. She is a great leader, and without her, our country is lost. She is always around during these times, and for her not to be around, something must be terribly wrong. And to make matters worse, her best friend and coworker Lt. Rachel Carter went looking for her yesterday. She hasn’t been heard from since either. So something is terribly wrong.”4

Lt. Anderson and Col. Matthieu both looked ahead to see that the bridge they were about to cross was blocked off, and military police were at the scene. Col. Matthieu drove up to the blockade with Maj. Jons and Capt. Liles following close behind. The four of them stepped out of their vehicles and walked around the blockade. A few of the military police personnel saw Col. Matthieu passing by, and so saluted him. The person in charge was Capt. Wells. He was Col. Matthieu and approached him.5

“Sir, glad to finally meet you,” said Capt Wells. Col. Matthieu looked around solemnly.6

“What happened here Captain? Why are the Military Police here?”7

“Well sir, a military officer was killed here sir.” Col. Matthieu had a guess of who it was. He closed his eyes solemnly.8

“Who Captain?”9

“Umm, a Lt. Rachel Carter sir. Seems that she swerved to avoid hitting a child who was running on the bridge, went through the rail, and went over into the water sir, then drowned.”10

“Children on the highway? Why?”11

“Well sir, earlier there was a busload of homeless children from the nearby shelter being taken to American Red Cross on the other side of town. Their bus, which was going the other way on the other side of the highway, crashed into a diesel truck and toppled over, killing the driver, injuring a few chaperones, killing ten children, and injuring another seven. Thirty-Five children then managed to get out of the bus and run about the highway. Lt. Carter was trying to avoid hitting one of them. She must have been distracted, and when she turned back to focus on the road, a child must have ran in front of her vehicle. Eight children were hit in total.”12

Col. Matthieu looked over at the broken railing. 13

“So this is what happened to Lt. Carter on her way to…………..” He then grew silent and fell deep into thought.14

“Colonel, sir, what is it?” asked Capt. Wells.15

“Lt. Smith. Lindsey. Something has happened to her. I must get to her house immediately. Captain, create a path for me. I must get through here.”16

“Yes sir,” answered Capt. Wells.17

“I will also leave two officers with you. Maj. Jons will be your immediate supervisor here, but you will still be in charge of the operations. Capt. Liles will also be left with you. He is to report this incident to Gen. Brown upon his return to his base. Maj. Jons, you are to protect this area, and no one, I mean no one is to enter this area or leave this area without your leave. Leave the investigating to Capt. Wells.”18

“Yes sir,” answered Maj. Jons.19

I must go. I just hope Lindsey didn’t suffer the same fate as Rachel.”20

“Yes sir,” answered Capt. Wells.21

“Lt. Anderson, you’re with me. Let’s speedy it up,” said Col. Matthieu. They both then climbed in Col. Matthieu’s car and drove off.22

Richard landed in France and hurriedly got off the plane and headed to his waiting limousine.23

“I must get France to attack quickly. They must destroy England,” he said to himself. Once to the limo, the driver popped the trunk, stepped out of the car, walked to the back of the limo, and proceeded to load Richard’s bags into the trunk. Richard walked to the left side door to let himself in. When he opened the door, to his surprise, the highest ranking Naval Officer, Fleet Admiral Francisco Pizarra, and the highest ranking Military Officer, General Francois Franciua were both already sitting in the back.24

“Please Richie, come in. Nice to see you,” said General Franciua. “How was your trip?”25

“Long,” replied Richard.26

“And your fiancée?” asked Adm. Pizarra.27

“Decided not to come. We split up. I gave her a going away present,” said Richard.28

“Okay, so what do you think?” asked Gen. Franciua.29

“The English are not ready. They will not be prepared for an invasion.”30

“But they know we plan to invade. They know because we told them. We declared war on England!” said Gen. Franciua.31

“Well, they know you want war, and they know you that you will invade. But right now, they are in disarray. My fiancée is the specialist in preparing and warning the army of attacks and where they would take place. But she will be inoperable for a week or two.”32

“Oh, and how is this?” asked Adm. Pizarra.33

“Let’s just say I took care of it. She will not be a problem,” replied Richard. A small evil grin surfaced on all their faces.34

“Good boy Richie,” commented Gen. Franciua. “Now, to the headquarters.” The driver finished loading Richard’s bags and went back to the driver’s seat.35

“To the headquarters in Paris,” commanded Gen. Franciua. They then drove off.36

“Commander, hostiles 200 nautical miles away and closing in fast,” said Lt. Reed.37

“Okay, have everyone man their stations,” said Comm. Lewis to Lt. Reed.38

“Man your stations. Man your stations,” shouted Lt. Reed.39

“What’s our depth Chief Petty Officer Miller?” asked Lt. Reed.40

“400 ft. sir.”41

“Good. Are they headed for us?”42

“No sir, it’s not a submarine,” answered Master Chief Wilkensen 43

“What?” replied Lt. Reed. “Then what is it?”44

“It’s a carrier sir, escorting planes and troops.”45

“Two more on radar,” yelled Senior Chief Michelle.46

“Lt. Zimmerman, how big are these ships? asked Commander Lewis.47

“It depends on the ship.”48

“Another one on radar commander. Looks like a battleship. Another on radar. Now there are five ships. Two more Commander!”49

“What are the ships, what type are they Senior Chief Michelle?” asked Lt. Reed.50

“There’s one carrier, two destroyers, and four battleships.”51

“Okay Lt. Zimmerman, what are the numbers?” asked Comm. Lewis.52

“Well, a carrier carries about 28 planes and 10,000 troops. A Destroyer carries about 4-6 special operation planes and 4,500 troops. A small battleship carries 5 planes and about 25,000 troops. And the large battleships, and there’s two of them here on radar, carries 35-40,000 troops only.53

“My God, so it’s come,” said Commander Lewis. “Lt. Reed. Radio London and tell them that hostiles were spotted 200 nautical miles (about 230 miles) south of southern England. Master Chief, what country is it?” asked Commander Lewis.54

“Looks like from Japan,” answered Lt. Zimmerman.55

“Japan?” answered Lt. Reed.56

“Lieutenant. Call headquarters. Tell them that the invasion is in progress. Tell them approximately 150,000 troops from Japan will land on the southern tip of W. Sussex County by 0600 hrs.”57

“Yes Commander,” answered Lt. Reed. He ran to the command post and grabbed the radio.58

“This is Lt. Reed of submarine Sussex to London Headquarters.”59

“This is Headquarters, 1st Lt. Marshall of London’s 5th Army here. What is it Lt. Reed sir?”60

“The invasion is in progress. I repeat, the invasion is in progress. Japanese forces with 150,000 troops headed our way on seven ships. Will be here by 0600 hrs. I repeat, invasion in progress.”61

“My God. I have to tell the Commodore.” Lt. Marshall got up and started running towards Commodore Chambers’ office, about 65 paces away around 4 corners.62

Lt. Marshall ran around the first corner and bumped into Commander Winslow.63

“Lieutenant, what’s the problem?” asked Commander Winslow, Lt. Marshall’s immediate commander.64

“Sir, Lt. Reed of submarine Sussex is on the radio at command center here at headquarters. He says a Japanese fleet of 7 ships baring 150,000 men is approaching and will be here at W. Sussex’s southern tip at 0600 hrs.”65

“Are you sure?”66

“Yes Commander.”67

“Take me to the radio,” commanded Comm. Winslow.68

“Yes sir.” Lt. Marshall led Commander Winslow to the command center’s Naval Radio.69

“This is Commander Winslow of London’s command center to Submarine Sussex. Do you read me?”70

“This is submarine Sussex. I’m Lt. Reed, 2nd Commander of Submarine Sussex under Lieutenant Commander Lewis.”71

“Okay Lieutenant, what’s the problem?”72

“Sir, seven ships escorting approximately 150,000 troops from Japan has been spotted 230 miles south of West Sussex County and will land there by 0600 hrs.” 73

“Have they spotted you Lieutenant?”74

“No sir. We are at 400 ft. and below their radar recognition, at least for now.” 75

Suddenly, the submarine’s alarm system went off. Red lights flashed on and off. Commander Winslow heard the alarms on the radio.76

“What’s going on Lieutenant?” The submarine was in disarray. Commander Lewis came out of her chambers.77

“Alert, alert. Everyone to their stations,” shouted Comm. Lewis.78

“Lt. Zimmerman, what happened?”79

“We’ve been spotted by an enemy submarine!”80

“What? And no one saw it coming?”81

“No Commander. They are at 800ft,” replied Lt. Zimmerman.82

“They’re climbing. They’re now at 700 ft,” shouted Senior Chief Michelle.83

“Another two spotted,” shouted Master Chief Wilkensen.84

“Commander, three submarines are spotted and are coming for us,” said Lt. Reed to the radio.85

“Return to base, now,” commanded Comm. Winslow. Commander Lewis walked over to the radio and took it from Lt. Reed.86

“We won’t make it. We need help. Send reinforcements. We can hold them off for a while, but we need help,” replied Commander Lewis.87

“No Lewis, retreat. Back to base, now,” commanded Commander Winslow. “Lieutenant, go to Commodore Chambers and alert him of the situation. Have him call Col. Matthieu and Gen. Brown,” commanded Comm. Winslow to Lt. Marshall.88

“Yes sir.”89

Lieutenant Marshall ran for Commodore Chambers office.90

“Commander, get your submarine out of there,” commanded Comm. Winslow.91

“Turn around, head for base, head for base,” shouted Comm. Lewis. Lt. Marshall made it to Commodore Chambers office and busted in the door out of breath.92

“Sir,” he gasped. He struggled for air, trying to grab every bit of air he could.93

“Lieutenant, catch your breath.”94

“Yes sir,” heaved Lt. Marshall.95

“Okay, now tell me, what’s the problem?” asked Commodore Chambers.96

“Sir, submarine Sussex under the command of Commander Lewis,” he gasped for air, now starting to regain his composure, “reported hostiles approaching, and will be here at 0600 hrs at W. Sussex southern tip.” He paused and gasped for more air, and finally, was satisfied. “ 150,000 troops and 7 Japanese ships are on the way sir. Three submarines also spotted against submarine Sussex, and they have no backup sir,” said Lt. Marshall.97

“Okay, tell Commander Winslow to send reinforcements to support Commander Lewis. I will call Col. Matthieu and Gen. Brown,” said Commodore Chambers. “Go, and tell Commander Winslow to lead a submarine team. I want him in the water with Commander Lewis.”98

“Yes sir.” Lt. Marshall ran out the office and back to the Command Center. 99

Captain Bryson was passing by Commodore Chambers office. 100

“Captain Bryson, come,” commanded Commodore Chambers. Capt. Bryson walked into the office.101

“Yes sir?”102

“Captain, I was just about to call your office. We have an invasion in progress as we speak. We have one submarine out, but we need two more because the enemy has three. We do not know who the submarines belong to, but they are hostile towards our crew. Lieutenant Commander Sara Lewis is in Submarine Sussex. Commander Winslow will be in another and I want you in the third submarine, commanding things in the water between the three submarines.”103

“Sir, are you sure? For Commander Lewis is a very capable commander and so is Winslow. Someone else could go into the water with the two of them and Winslow could lead,” replied Capt. Bryson.104

“Yes, this is true Captain, but I prefer you out there, for this is a hostile situation, and war is upon us. Commanders are not the ones to lead submarines into battle, only Captains. Commander Lewis is a capable commander, even better than you, this I know, for she’s led her crews through numerous battles over the years, and Winslow is a good Commander as well, but, Winslow is inexperienced, and Lewis is a lower rank than he is. You are the ranking officer over them both, and you are my best Captain for the job. I want you in there because I know we can win with you, not with any one else. Lewis is not ready yet to fill your shoes, though she is the better leader than you are.”105

“Okay sir, I will go,” said Capt. Bryson.106

“Good, now get going, we don’t have time.”107

Col. Matthieu and Lt. Anderson pulled up in front of Lt. Smith’s house. A car was spotted in the driveway.108

“That’s her car,” said Col. Matthieu pointing over to the driveway. The house was a single story house. It was made of brick red bricks. It had two chimneys on both ends of the home. The roof was made of blue tile and elevated in a triangular shape. The left side extension of the home looked like another house by itself. It was made of the same material as the right side of the house, but extended out to about 35 feet. A chimney was at the end of it. The front of the house had 4 windows with the sides holding two each. The door was in the middle of the right side. It was a red door and opened inward. The front yard had a nice green grass that was well cut and well kept. To the furthest left hand side was a driveway. To the right in front of the house grew roses, daffodils, and dandelions. The roses were arrayed with different colors. Some were red, white, yellow, and red orange. To the right of that grew a pomegranate bush. And at the furthest right of the home grew a lemon tree.109

Col. Matthieu parked his car in front of the house. 110

“All right, let’s go,” he said to Lt. Anderson. He then turned off the engine and they both stepped out of the car. Col. Matthieu surveyed the area. He closed the door with his left hand. Lt. Anderson did the same.111

“Richards’s car isn’t here. He’s gone. But Lindsey’s car is here.” He thought for a second. “Something’s wrong Lieutenant.”112

“Sir?” replied Lt. Anderson.113

“Something’s wrong,” answered Col. Matthieu.114

“How do you know sir?” asked Lt. Anderson.115

“Our country is in a state of crisis. Lt. Smith was having problems with Richard and so went home to talk to him with intentions on returning to the station.”116

“So, what are you saying Colonel?”117

“That she is still here. She hasn’t left.”118

He opened his eyes wide.119

“Let’s go, now,” ordered Col. Matthieu. They ran to the door. Lt. Anderson arrived at the door first.120

“Open the door, don’t worry about the doorbell,” ordered Col. Matthieu. Lt. Anderson grabbed the doorknob and opened the door upon Col. Matthieu’s arrival. Col. Matthieu walked in first, followed by Lt. Anderson. The living room was large and spacious. There was a 42” inch T.V. on the right with large speakers in four corners, making surround sound. To the immediate right as soon as you walk inside the house, stood a wide open door that led to the kitchen. To the furthest left was another door that led to the bedroom.121

“Lieutenant, check through the far door to the left. I’ll check the kitchen.”122

“Yes sir,” replied Lt. Anderson. They went their separate ways with Lt. Anderson walking through the far left door, and Col. Matthieu walking through the door on the immediate right that led to the kitchen. Col. Matthieu walked slowly through the kitchen. But he never really started his search.123

“Colonel. Colonel sir, come quick. She’s here!” Col. Matthieu ran out of the kitchen, across the living room and into the far left door that led to the bedroom.124

“Lt. Anderson, where are you?”125

“I’m here sir, in the bathroom. She’s in the tub, and she doesn’t look good.” Col. Matthieu hurried through the large room and into the bathroom.126

“The water was still running when I walked in. I turned the water off. Looks like she had her head busted. The tub is filled with blood and water.”127

Col. Matthieu slowly walked over to the tub where Lt. Smith laid. He knelt down beside the tub and reached for Lt. Smith’s hand. He held her hand, kissed it, placed it to his forehead, and began to cry.128

“Sir, she was lying over the drainer, making the water unable to drain. When I found her, she was completely submerged under water, but just barely, meaning that the water just covered her up. She was drowning for about 2 minutes.”129

Col. Matthieu, teary-eyed, looked up at Lt. Smith’s body. She was pale, as if dead. Col. Matthieu looked right and saw a purple towel. He reached for the towel, grabbed it, and clutched it to his chest. 130

“Lieutenant, call the military police and medics and get them here now. I do not want to see you until someone has arrived.” ordered Col. Matthieu.131

“Yes sir.” Lt. Anderson left the bathroom. Col. Matthieu lifted Lt. Smith out of the water and covered her naked body with the purple towel and stood up with her in his arms. He carried her over to her bed and laid her down. To the left was a closet, so he walked over to the closet and picked out some clothes for Lt. Smith. Some blue jeans and a light purple shirt and under garments were selected. He dressed his friend in these clothes to cover up her body.132

“I’m sorry Lindsey. I’m so sorry that I didn’t check on you sooner. Maybe then you would be alive.” Col. Matthieu leaned forward and kissed her on her forehead. “I’m so sorry Lindsey!” He dropped his head beside hers and started to cry.133

“Sir, the military police are here and the medics will be here in two minutes,” said Lt. Anderson walking into the bedroom followed by four other men. One of the men walked over to the body while the other three checked the room, bathroom, and the rest of the house.134

“Sir, I’m Lieutenant Hanks. May I look at her,” asked Lt. Hanks to Col. Matthieu.135

Col. Matthieu lifted himself off of the bed slowly.136

“Yes, look at her,” answered Col. Matthieu. “But we already know what you will say. She’s dead. So what I need to know is what happened and what was the cause of her death.”137

“Sir, we’ll get to that in a moment. But first I must examine the body and make sure.”138

“Make sure? Make sure of what?”139

“That she’s dead sir,” replied Lt. Hanks.140

“What the bloody hell do you need to make sure of that for? Look at her! Anyone can see that she’s dead.” Col. Matthieu’s voice was now raised.141

“I’m sorry sir, but it’s our duty to check and see. For we must check for any possibility of saving her life.”142

“Okay, then proceed,” replied Col. Matthieu.143

Lt. Hanks looked her over and checked her pulse beside her neck and her wrist.144

“I feel no pulse. I believe she’s dead Colonel. I’m sorry. But the medics could give you a better answer than I.”145

In walk five medics with medical equipment.146

“Excuse me Lieutenant,” said one of the medics to Lieutenant Anderson who was standing in front of the door. The lead medic was Capt. Sans. He walked over to Lt. Smith’s body and felt for her pulse and felt nothing.147

“Colonel sir, how was she found?”148

“Completely submerged under water by Lt. Anderson. Seems that the water just filled to cover her nose. According to Anderson, she could not have been under for longer than two minutes. Her head was busted and the tub was filled with blood and water.” Capt. Sans felt the back of Lt. Smith’s head. There was a hole the size of a nickel in the back of her head.149

“How cold was the water Lieutenant?” asked Capt Sans to Lt. Anderson.150

“It was freezing. It was really cold. She was purple when I found her.”151

“And who put these clothes on her?” asked Lt. Sans.152

“I did,” replied Col. Matthieu. “Why, did I do something wrong?”153

“No, you might have saved her life,” replied Capt. Sans.154

“What? She’s dead. You yourself said that there was no pulse. I didn’t feel a pulse when I checked her,” said Lt. Hanks.155

“No, I said that I didn’t feel a pulse. I never said there wasn’t a pulse,” replied Capt. Sans. “Since she was under water, cold water, her pulse would be hard to feel, especially through her wet cold skin. With her being in water so cold, her survival chances are high, but her heart rate would have slowed dramatically. As you can see, her pupils are fixed and dilated, and she appears to have no respiration. I will check her heart.” He pulled out his stethoscope from his medical bag and put it on. He placed it on Lt. Smith’s chest.156

“Her heart is beating, and pace is picking up, but slowly. Her lungs are intact, and she is breathing. She’s not dead.” Col. Matthieu looked up wide-eyed and shocked.157

“Get her into the ambulance and to the hospital,” ordered Capt. Sans to the rest of the medics. The medics picked up the stretcher and laid it on the bed next to Lt. Smith’s body. Four medics took hold of Lt. Smith’s body.158

“On my mark, we lift onto the stretcher,” ordered Capt. Sans. “1, 2, MARK!” They lifted her body and placed it on the stretcher. “One, two, three, lift,” ordered Capt. Sans. They lifted Lt. Smith while on the stretcher and ran her outside.159

“Why are you taking her to the hospital?” asked Col. Matthieu.160

“Sir, she may have brain damage. And it seems that she had hypothermia because she was under for a while, for I can tell you one thing, she was under longer than 2 minutes. She was down more like 5 minutes.”161

“So, what has that got to do with it?” asked Col. Matthieu.162

“Sir, since she was under water so long unconscious, she suffered prolonged oxygen level in her blood, otherwise known as hypoxemia. So we must take her in for checkup. The doctor will be able to tell you more and tell you whether it is serious or not.”163