Page 55 of All He Sees
Nicky held onto the seat as the helicopter shot forward. She could barely keep herself in her seat, but Rachel and Danny were holding the helicopter steady. She looked out the window and watched as the island got closer and closer.
She was close.
She was so close.
Soon, they were hovering over a sandy beach, surrounded by green. Nicky could see the forest was mostly made up of trees, their tall trunks jutting with leaves and their branches growing strong toward the sky. The island was almost all forest, but it had rolling hills of plains in the middle.
"There," she said, pointing. "That's where they are."
"I see it," Danny said, nodding. He began to descend the helicopter toward a small opening in the trees. It looked like a clearing of some sort.
Suddenly, the helicopter jerked, as if something had hit it. It rocked back and forth in the air, and Nicky held onto her seat tight.
"What was that!?" she screamed.
In the front, Danny and Rachel were panicking. Danny grabbed the handles and tried to gear the helicopter away--but something else hit them, creating a metallic sound.
This time, Nicky knew what it was.
Through the body of the helicopter was a distinct bullet hole.
"We're being shot!" Nicky screamed.
More bullets hit the helicopter, and all Nicky could do was hold onto her seat. Her heart was pounding as adrenaline raced through her veins. Then, another bullet hit the helicopter, and this time Nicky heard a crack.
She looked out the window. The bullet had punctured the glass, and she could feel a cool breeze in the chopper.
"We're going down!" Danny shouted, grabbing the handles and trying to keep the helicopter steady. He pressed a button and shouted into it: "Mayday, mayday! Helicopter down!" He rattled off the coordinates of the island, and Nicky prayed it was enough to alert the coast guard to come help.
Nicky looked out the window, past the bullet hole in the glass. She saw they were gearing toward the water and knew this was where they were going to crash.
Nicky focused her eyes on the opening in the trees and watched as the helicopter dropped toward the ground. The helicopter was rocking, spinning out of control, and heading straight toward the bush.
Nicky wanted to scream. Instead, she held on tight.
This was it. She was going to die.
Without thinking, she reached over and grabbed Ken's hand. He grabbed hers too, gripping her tight. She held her eyes as the adrenaline of the falling helicopter crashed into her chest. Everything around her spun, making her stomach sick.
Nicky thought about her life.
Rosie flashed through her mind. No. Nicky was supposed to save her. Her life--it had seemed so much more important than this.
Was that just hubris?
Nicky never imagined she would die so soon, before accomplishing her goals. Of course, she knew being an FBI agent came with great danger, but she was Nicky Lyons--she was only twenty-nine, she was a rising star in the BAU--she was supposed to live.
I'm not done yet.
It was then and there, at the moment of her death, that she knew it.
She hadn't done enough.
She hadn't saved enough people.
She was supposed to save Rosie.
She was supposed to save Mira.
