xp_logs | Here We Come To Save the Day

[EDIT: Many thanks to x_dazzler for both the mission idea and all her help with the log.]

The rain hammered down on the form huddles next to the emergency vehicle parked on the near edge of the ravine, the barking of the dogs inside clearly audible to Logan despite the crashing of the thunder and the shouts of the people milling about. In the background he could discern a low keen of grief, pleading words whispered over and over again, a lifeline of hope that was quickly eroding.

"Sir!" a man spotted him, detaching himself from the group of people who had been working over a plastified map on the hood of the truck, each holding down a corner on the wildly fluttering paper. "I'm afraid you can't be here, sir, this is a police and volunteer zone... only..." he trailed off, eyes narrowing. "Wait. You're the one they sent down from Massachusetts? Someone thought they saw a plane land down not far from here..." The wind whistled about them wickedly, screaming through the circle of cars and people, tree branches whipping in the wind with slashing motions.

Logan nodded shortly. "Army's here an' I'm it." He scanned the vicinity and then focused on the man in front of him. "What'd the dogs find, anythin'?" He suspected the weather would prevent any kind of scent tracking by the dogs. It would help, though, to know if they'd found a general direction before he went off in search of the child.

The small device Hank had handed the team before they left cackled in his ear, lowly, and Scott's voice resonated dimly. "Logan, the coms are working, but there's something odd in the area interfering with the signal." There was a pause, white noise interfering. Or perhaps Scott thinking something over. "If you need to turn this off, that's fine. We'll keep tracking you. Hank's getting that signal loud and clear."

The man spoke to him at the same time, not knowing about the com unit. "If you can find her...," the man shook his head, torn between skepticism and hope. "Dogs got nuthin'," disgust lacing his voice. "It's been storming like this for a few days now and with the melt... there was nothing for them to find even a minute after she wandered out, and she's been gone for hours now!" he stopped, taking a deep breath. "Chief said I was to give you this." He handed over a plastic bag, containing something bright and yellow within. A small t-shirt, neatly sealed away.

Logan waited to respond to Scott and instead took the bag from the man. He slid open the zipper and pulled out the shirt, covering it with the plastic bag as he held it up to his face. He took a deep breath, pressing the shirt to his nose, and rubbed it along his cheek, unconsciously animalistic, while he committed the scent to memory. "Got it," he said, a faint hint of growl in his voice, as he shoved the shirt back in the bag and gave it back to the man.

There was a long stare at his actions, but the man said nothing, eyes hooded underneath of the rim of his wide brimmed hat, rain hammering mercilessly on the police officer's rain coat he was wearing. He just stepped back, waving at the other officers to let Logan through. Another officer however stepped up, thrusting something for him to take. "Radio. They're not working half the time for some reason, we think it's something about the storm, but sometimes they do work." The voice was cracker and raw, the result of hours of screaming a child's name in the rain. "Her name is Rose."

Recognition flashed and faded in Logan's mind, but he nodded, accepting the radio. "Rose. She's how old, again?" His growl had passed and part of his mind was still rushing to catalogue the various facets of the scent he'd gotten from the shirt. Laundry detergent, fabric softener, soap, shampoo, conditioner, and girl.

"Four," was the strained reply. "Older sister lost her in the storm." Another voice in the background, low crying, apologies murmured over and over again, faded into and out of his perception. "Not the kid's fault," the officer continued tiredly, weaving on his feet, steadied by his partner, a cup of hit coffee sealed against the rain thrust in his hand with the firm order to drink now. "Apparently one of the thunder crashes spooked their dog. Got lose, ran into the forest, Rose followed before her sister could stop her." The first man spoke up. "The dog came back but we lost it again when we ran the first search with the dogs. They've only had it a few days, but apparently Rose and the mutt were inseperable."

There was a long pause, as each man realized what had just been said. "Are," was the fierce, stunned correction. "Are inseparable. God."

Logan looked away, toward the ravine, and nodded. A four year old girl and a dog, lost in the rain for a few hours. He could do this, the scent would still be traceable, a little. "Got anythin' I can scent th'dog from?"

"Nothing at hand. And the dog isn't our priority." Firm words, regret somewhere deep within, but unyielding nonetheless. A hint of coffee flavored the air, washed away quickly by the torrents of water falling from the sky and the wind hammering through the clearing.

A bit of impatience entered Logan's tone. "Y'said they were inseparable. If I can't scent 'er, I coulda scented the dog." He waved a hand. "Whatever. We set t'go?"

Puzzlement from the men who hadn't seen him received the shirt, the knot of people about him having grown slowly. "We were told to just do whatever you asked, sir," the coffee drinking officer said, shivering for a moment before steadying himself. "If you need anything else..." Glances were exchanged, but it was clear it would be too late to fetch anything that might have the dog's scent on it now.

"If you meet the dogs here," a young officer, still a boy really, tired bright blue eyes peering at him anxiously, "would you be able to tell a new dog scent out there? I mean, separate from the ones we did send out, and the girl's dog?"

Logan snorted. "Y'think all dogs smell th'same, kid? They're jus' like people, every one of 'em's diff'rent." And then it hit him, what the boy was saying. "Yeah. Yeah, that'd work." His eyes narrowed and he looked over at the car that held the dogs, then back at the boy, giving him his full attention. "C'n we do it one at a time, make it easier t'separate 'em?"

"Yes sir!" A flurry of motions, the young man opening the door as he waved over other officers, who uncoiled belts and stood nearby. A few sharp orders, not unkind but firm - from the boy himself, only one dog emerging as ordered, the others quieting their barks as they realized they were on duty once more. A glint of pride showing in blue eyes at their ready obedience, even as the dogs looked alertly from within, ignoring the rain and weather entirely. Snapping his fingers, the boy brought only one allowed out towards Logan slowly, a black lab that trotted steadily at his side, tongue lolling out as he looked about alertly.

Logan knelt on the muddy ground -- he'd have worse than dirty knees by the end of the night, he was sure -- and held out a hand to the dog. The dog approached, attracted by Logan's man-animal scent, and sniffed him, as Logan did the same. This one smelled of kennels and kibble and training, but also had a personal scent reminiscent of grassy fields. He looked up at the officer and nodded. "Thanks."

Each dog was brought out, obeying the boy in charge of them perfectly - another lab, and two German shepherds, the last one brought from another car and limping slightly, the smell of medical ointment reaching Logan's nose. This one was stopped a few meters away from Logan, and the boy called out over the storm. "He got hurt while searching, and I put ointment on the wound. It smells pretty strong, will that be a problem for you, sir? I know it can mess up the dogs sometimes, that's why I was keeping him apart from the others in case we tried a dog search again."

Logan shook his head firmly. "It'll be fine. Jus' hafta work harder, 's all." He waved his hand in the air. "Already got 'im. Get 'im back in th'car so's he don't get infected or somethin'." He pushed himself to his feet and looked at the young officer again. "Thanks."

The dog leaned on the boy, who gave Logan an indecipherable look. "No sir. Thank you," he nodded once, and led the dog away towards the waiting car, another officer holding the door open for him as he helped the dog in, and leaned inside to check up on the wound.

Logan nodded at the crowd gathered around, determined to at least offer a civil facade, then walked away. He focused on his surroundings, then spoke quietly to Scott. "Turnin' this buzzin' fucker off, now. Catch y'later." He flicked his earpiece without waiting for a reply and walked into the trees, hoping to catch the right scent. Just barely within eyesight of the crowd behind him, he reached up and threw himself into the trees for a better view of the ground, just in case his nose failed him.

If the ground was slick with mud, the trees were slick with wet, dead moss. He moved further in, carefully choosing his footing on the tree limbs. He got a hint of a scent, the dog, but it was mingled with the scents of the other dogs and Logan quickly determined that it was heading back toward the police. He pushed further in, eventually dropping to the ground again and walking for a while.

The wind whipped scents around Logan like so much detritus and the rain washed them away almost too quickly for him to catch and catalogue them. Almost. It'd been at least half an hour since he'd left the police line when he heard the rush of the river. The noise was nearly enough to drown out everything else, but not quite. He could hear barking, faintly, in the background. And as he drew closer to the sound, a small child's frightened screaming.

The dog's barking was sharp and high, interspersed with an odd ululating sound, as though it were crooning to the child, cut off sharply now and then, the sudden silences always soon followed by a shrill wail of terror. The roar of the river flared up, drowning out both child and dog momentarily, Mother Nature not caring one whit for the struggle for life unfolding under her wrath.

Logan followed the sounds to the river and saw her immediately, up to her neck in water with a husky standing nearby, barking sharply. He slid down the slope to the river and waded into the water.

The barking intensified, the dog lunging against the leash tangled in the branches once more, nearly strangling itself in its attempts to get to the girl, slipping in the mud before scrambling up to its feet again with a disconsolate whine. Rose, clinging to an overhanging branch, head and arms the only part of her body not submerged by water, opened her eyes and saw Logan wading towards her and cried out, nearly loosing her grip in the process.

"Hang on, punkin!" Logan shouted, pushing more quickly through the water. The dog would wait until he'd gotten the girl. "Rose, punkin, just hang on," he called soothingly. "I'm almost there. You're gonna be okay." He finally reached her, the water chest-high on /him/, and pulled her into his arms. "You're gonna be okay," he said again.

Undecided for only a moment, the girl then transferred her death grip from the branch to him in a heartbeat, a flash of lightning highlighting her face just as her arms tightened fiervely while she clung to him desperately. "I was so scared!" she wailed, trembling in his arms, shivers wracking her body, sobs cutting off her words. "And Blue Eyes kept trying to jump in and I told him no but he kept trying and-" she dissolved in tears, coughing as water lapped up to her face.

"Shh, punkin. You'n Blue Eyes're gonna be fine. Let's just get back t'shore." Logan held her tightly in his arms, pushing through the too-cold water toward land. When they reached solid ground, he headed straight for the dog, releasing Rose with one hand to untangle him. Once he had, he slipped his hand through the loop in the leash and wrapped his arm around Rose again. "Let's get y'home."

She nodded, small cheek pressing against his wetly even, one hand uncurling from around his neck to reach down towards the sodden dog, talking to his child in the way huskies do, a low warbling song of welcome. Teeth closed around the girl's fingertips gently, the dog going up on his hind legs once to lick at her arm, his human no longer in the river but out and safe now, all that matters.

Logan trudged through the woods with Rose on his hip and Blue Eyes at his side, stopping once to put her down and hand her the leash. He stripped off his jacket and wrapped it around her, then picked her up again and slid the leash over his wrist. They continued like that all the way to the police barricades.

Rose clung to him like a limpet the second he picked her up again, not loosening her hold for an instant as she spoke to Blue Eyes in a cooing babble for part of the trip, voice fading out for a few minutes once as she dozed off lightly, warmed by the jacket wrapped around her. The lights from the police barricade brought her back to awareness however, Blue Eyes barking once sharply in reponse to the police dogs baying inside the cars. Lights wavered throught the pouring rain as police officers directed flashlights in their direction, shouting out as soon as they were spotted.

Logan blinked at the sudden change in lightning as one of the flashlights shined in his eyes. He searched by scent for the young policeman who'd helped him with the dogs and for the older officer who'd first spoken to him.

"Don't shine the lights in his face man!" an exasperated voice called out, barely heard over the din of the wind as the storm went on relentlessly. "Over here, sir!" a familiar voice called out, the scent associated to it the one Logan had been looking for, the boy reaching out to help assist with the dog in fact, crooning in welcome. Blue Eyes was having none of it however, keeping close to Logan and the child he carried, stubbornly refusing to be seperated from his human. The young policeman didn't even try to argue, merely offering a helping hand - among many others - to Logan, instead, as happy cries went out through the assembled people, coursing down towards a truck at the far end like the tide, to inform Rose's family of her return.

Logan walked through the crowd, a little disconcerted by the cheerful welcome. He followed the policemen leading, heading toward Rose's family. The dog nearly tripped him, trying to stay so close.

Voices rose and fell around them in excited babbles, a medic bustling through the crown firmly in that way possessed only by healers to pause the procession long enough to ascertain that Rose wasn't immediately hurt, before politely inquiring after Logan, especially once a very firm shriek had made it clear Rose had no intention of letting go of her savior - the accompanying growl from Blue Eyes at her protests drawing a wince from most people, but a very amused look from the police dog handler.

Logan's arm tightened around Rose when she shrieked. He shook his head firmly at the doctor and waved the hand with the leash in. "Don't worry 'bout me, doc. Ain't nothin' y'can do my body can't."

"Hmpf!" Rose added to that, the sound only audible to Logan with the rain still crashing about them, lightning streaking across the sky. But her expression said it all, drawing a startled chuckle from the medic, and a broad smile from the older officer who finally made his way through the crowd. "This way," he gesture, the offivers and volunteers milling about parting to let them through... even as a voice called out, hope bright and sharp. "Rose? Baby? Did you find her, is she here?"

Logan shouted over the din and the storm, "Got 'er right here!" He pushed through the crowd, heading for the voice. "Rose, punkin, say somethin'" he muttered in the little girl's ear.

"M'not letting go!" was the instant reply, lower lip sticking out under a stubborn looking scowl before Rose blinked and turned, finally hearing her mother's voice cutting through the storm as she called out to her daughter. "Mama? MAMA!" Arms tightening around Logan's neck she called out excitedly, trying to see over the crowd that was parting far too slowly for her taste all of a sudden - until her mother burst through, followed by her sister.

Rose's elder sister was sobbing as she threw herself forward, arms locking around both Logan and her sister as she babbled tearfully, shoulders shaking as she reached up to touch her little sister in near disbelief. "You're ok, you're ok, we were so scared oh god you're ok..." She was followed seconds later by the mother, the woman merely quietly leaning over to press her cheek to her daughter's, who still clearly refused to let go of the man carrying her, whispering quiet thanks over and over again to Logan.

Logan stopped as soon as Rose's sister grabbed him. When her mother arrived, he loosened his hold on Rose, thinking she might want to go to her.

Far from that, in fact, as she clung to him stubbornly, reaching out to pat her mother's cheek as she realized that her entire family was crying, tears soon finding her as well, the four of them forming a small knot at the center of a circle of policemen and volunteers. Someone draped a blanket over Logan's shoulder, umbrellas soon arriving and opening above their heads, forming a small, temporary shield from the storm.