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Post by Captain Jack Harkness on Aug 14, 2010 7:10:02 GMT -7
Jack caught the oxygen tanks and nodded to John, "Stay here..." he shouted to the other Captain, "We might need your help."
Swimming back against the current this time, Jack handed Zane two of the oxygen tanks, keeping two for himself.
"Okay... Lets get down there, I think we've waited long enough." Jack was worried, worried they were going to get down there and it was going to be too late. Looking to Zane for confirmation it was safe he held himself ready in the water, ignoring the cold seeping into his bones with stubborn determination.
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Post by Zane Williams on Aug 14, 2010 14:43:24 GMT -7
Zane tucked each cannister into a cargo pocket in his trousers. He gave Jack one last thought from his own water rescue training.
"Don't waste time if they don't understand the air tanks," he advised. "If they get it, great, if they gulp water, get them to the surface and we'll revive on dry land." Try to revive, in actual truth, but he wasn't going to tell Jack that. "I'll get the infant. I know how to keep it from breathing water."
He nodded that he was ready to dive when Jack was.
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Post by Captain Jack Harkness on Aug 14, 2010 14:57:54 GMT -7
Jack nodded in agreement, happy to let Zane take the lead for now. The man seemed to know what he was talking about and it would give Jack a chance to see just what the former ranger was capable of.
He gave a signal to John letting him know they were both going to dive and signalled to Zane, before making his ascent into the depths of the bay.
The water was still clouded but the visibility was marginally better than before, Jack looked to Zane, checking his visibility before looking around for any bubbles or indications of the car beneath them.
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Post by Zane Williams on Aug 14, 2010 15:21:52 GMT -7
Zane followed Jack with an efficient tuck dive and kicked at the angle he reasoned the car would have followed, as they neared the bottom, he pointed at a hazy outline in the cloudy water. They were all going to need to seriously shower after being in this filthy bay.
The car had landed at a slight tilt and wasn't leaking air from the passenger compartment so Zane led them to the lower side. Going in from the underside would preserve some of the air pocket and possibly give them a chance to speak before grabbing the occupants and kicking like mad for the surface.
Zane locked eyes with Jack for a moment before wrenching open the driver's door, pushing the man further in so Zane could wiggle through to the back seat with the infant seat.
"Jack they're still out could, can you handle them both?" He shouted into the air pocket as he began working the baby in the pink ruffled dress out of the straps. The child was bawling with the full force of her little lungs.
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Post by Captain Jack Harkness on Aug 15, 2010 8:48:54 GMT -7
As they entered the car Jack took in the sight of the two unconscious adults in the front seats, he watched as Zane made his way to the obviously distressed infant and nodded in confirmation to the other man.
"Take care of her, I can deal with this." he spoke as he tried to assess the injuries the people had sustained. Two men, both with head injuries but the driver looked ghostly pale, quickly Jack checked for a pulse but nothing was there, the other man in the passenger seat had a strong pulse so he made his decision. He began unbuckling the man, securing an oxygen tank over the passengers face as he did. He kept an eye on Zane as he worked, aware of the time builing against them.
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Post by Zane Williams on Aug 15, 2010 9:01:57 GMT -7
Zane settled the fussing child against his chest and considered the oxygen mask that would swamp her little face. The air in the car was stale and low on oxygen so he tucked the elastic over the back of the mask and took a small puff from the canister into his own mouth and passed it to the baby, rescue breathing style with his own mouth covering her nose and mouth completely.
The child fortified, Zane took a breath for himself, letting the oxygen fill his own lungs in preparation for the assent. he weighed the cannister in his hand and decided there was one more good breath inside. Just enough for his purposes.
"Driver's dead?" he asked Jack dispassionately. They could piss and moan later. Drowning they could maybe fix but death by head injury was pretty much a done deal. They needed to focus on the living. "When we open these doors, it's gonna flood for good. Ready to go?"
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Post by Captain Jack Harkness on Aug 15, 2010 9:20:55 GMT -7
Jack watched Zane's interaction with the child and something clicked; the man had family.
Pushing that to one side for now Jack took a breath or two and nodded to the ranger, carefully shouldering the unconscious man into position. Jack counted to three and pushed the door open with his feet as hard as he could and immediately the cabin flooded. Jack waited for a split second to give Zane a chance of escape first before beginning his own ascent.
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Post by Zane Williams on Aug 15, 2010 9:29:36 GMT -7
As Jack shouldered the door, Zane drew in the second lungful of oxygen, then dropped the cannister and latched his mouth over the baby's face to keep her from taking in water and control the volume of air in her tiny lungs. Jack giving him the lead, Zane slipped through the door and kicked upwards, carefully drawing air from his small passenger's lungs as the water pressure eased on their way to the surface, light and safety. as they broke surface he pulled back to let the little one announce her fear to the crowd that had gathered.
He looked around for Jack and the other survivor.
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Post by Captain John Hart on Aug 15, 2010 9:34:59 GMT -7
John was on dry land, standing now, and arguing with a man who'd owned the annoying flashing camera-box thing he'd just thrown into the water. He was about to simply push him in as well, when he caught sight of Zane's head breaching the surface of the water.
"Took your time!" he yelled, pushing the man to one side. He wasn't going to deny the fact that he had been worried slightly when they hadn't resurfaced straight away, which was a little odd for him, but he only let a little bit of relief into his voice. They were still working, after all.
He ran along the small ledge to get closer to the man in the water, noticing the baby, but looking particularily for any sign of Jack.
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Post by Captain Jack Harkness on Aug 15, 2010 9:44:29 GMT -7
Hauling the man out of the car with him, Jack began slowly ascending to the surface, Zane was gone from sight now and the water had cleared and calmed slightly so the sound of his breathing was all that filled his ears.
Regulating the both of them he gave a push as his lungs burned with the effort of bringing himself and the fully grown man to the surface, but eventually they broke through the surface. Jack gulped a large amount of air as he looked around him and saw Zane with the child, safe in the water. He checked the man he had in his arms and there was still a pulse but he was still unconscious. He swam as hard as he could towards a figure he could make out as John. A crowd had built around the rails where the car had plummeted in and Jack shouted to get some attention.
"Get him up and out of the water, John; help Zane with the child!" Jack managed to push the frame of the man up to the bank as paramedics leant over to drag them both out. Jack delivered any information he could to the paramedics before lowering himself back into the water. Even if the other man was dead, he would still recover the body so he swam back towards the location of the car in the bitter and howling wind.
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Post by Zane Williams on Aug 15, 2010 13:24:23 GMT -7
Zane wanted to swim directly after Jack, but the infant in his arms kept him from doing.
"John, take her please. That car's a death trap." He swam to the side and prepared to hand the little girl up. "Don't give her to anybody else until we know that's her dad."
The front seat passenger might very well be the child's father or could be the man's friend. Zane realized abruptly that he could be a carjacker just as easily. Cardiff was a big city and people in big cities often stole cars at gunpoint. But at the heart of the matter he wanted to catch up with Jack, to be certain their captain wasn't being crushed under the sunken car.
"Hurry up," he called to Hart.
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Post by Captain John Hart on Aug 15, 2010 13:29:24 GMT -7
John lies down quickly to his stomach, reaching down to take the baby, before frowning. No way was Zane leaving him with a kid. Not to go after Jack, of all people, who would be fine. How could he not be fine? Although, in the back of his mind, he did realise that Jack could still drown...which would mean he wouldn't be able to get back to the surface. Drowning repeatedly was a bit to close to the idea of being buried alive, and he flinched.
But still, this was Jack. He wouldn't want a human to risk himself for him, would he? He was selfish like that.
"What? No. You, out, now. You're gonna freeze to death." And you're not leaving me with a sodding kid!
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Post by Captain Jack Harkness on Aug 15, 2010 13:55:26 GMT -7
Jack swam out, he had to guess the distance as he had been more focussed on getting the unconscious man back to dry land than remembering the location he had come from.
Looking back to the dock he roughly estimated the distance when he surfaced was the same so he took a deep breath and took a sharp dive back down into the cold dark water.
He swam down further, it seemed further than last time and he still couldn't see the car but just as he was going to go back to the surface he saw a glimpse of silver and made his way to the sunken car.
Approaching the car he saw the body listlessly supported by the water surrounding it, they eyes were still closed but the lips had taken a blue tinge. Pulling the door he managed to get in and took a breath of the small oxygen tank, it was getting low so he needed to be quick.
He positioned himself over the body and managed to release the seatbelt and as he did the body floated slightly to the top of the car. Jack reached out a hand and pulled the body back, twisting to get them both out of the door.
Something stopped him. Jack's foot had somehow managed to wedge itself between the floor and accelerator and he couldn't move. He let go of the body, hoping it didn't move to much and gripped the headrest of the seat to try and pull himself free.
A jet of bubbles escaped his lips at the exertion and he struggled some more.
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Post by Zane Williams on Aug 15, 2010 16:57:16 GMT -7
Zane looked at Hart and admitted how cold he felt. "Okay, just hold her while I get out..."
He handed the baby off to Hart and turned to survey the water's surface once more. Jack should have been surfacing, the water churning in front of him. Nothing. Not even a bit of change where Zane figured he should be coming up. Then a flurry of bubbles boiled to the surface and the water stilled.
"Damn it!" he swore. Zane never swore. He'd been a ranger for Pete's sake and you never swore in front of the public. Without giving it another thought and without any remorse for lying to Hart, Zane turned and took three powerful strokes, snagged a quick breath and duck dived in the center of the bubbles and kicked toward the bottom where the car was resting.
As he kicked down he quietly thanked his competative nature for giving him the drive to hold his breath for four minutes and five seconds so he could outlast Jimmy Jackson in water rescue class. He could hold on long enough to help Jack with whatever was wrong. He knew he could.
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Post by Captain John Hart on Aug 15, 2010 17:15:09 GMT -7
"Bastard!" John very nearly screamed, lunging forward with one arm in an attempt to grab hold of him. He probably would have done if it hadn't been for the fact that the lunge had almost made him drop the baby, and he had to quickly roll away to keep a firm hold on her.
He scooted back from the edge, subconsiously cradling the baby to his chest as he scanned the water, swearing loudly and repeatedly. He wanted to hit something, seeing as pretty as Zane was, there was no way he was going to risk his life getting him back, and so there wasn't really anything else to do. Plus, he was annoyed. He'd left him with the sodding baby.
The baby which was crying. Damn it. He sighed, shrugging off his jacket and wrapping the bawling, soaking kid in it, and then looked around for help. Anything could be wrong with it...her...for all he knew. Except her voice. That seemed to be working.
He kept his eyes on the water as he approached the ambulancey people though. He'd give Zane five minutes. If he hadn't surfaced by then, he'd be dead, and John would have to be the one to dive in and get Jack. Which he didn't want to do. He was happy being dry.
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