Boys In Blue - Troy Quinlan (Gonzo)

7. Counselling?

Chapter 7: Counselling?

Whippet drove the jet ski as I was on the mat, it bounced every time we went over a wave. The jet ski began to slow up, so I guessed that we were near the 'body like object.'

"Have you found it?" I asked Whippet.

"uh yeah, it isn't good though" He said, looking back at me.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Deceased" He said, a grim look on his face. He then grabbed the radio that was strapped to his life jacket. "Yeah, Jet ski to tower, it's a deceased body, doesn't look older than 20, male" Whippet said.

"Copy that" the radio replied, it sounded like Hoppo.

"Are you gonna be alright holding him on the mat?" Whippet asked me.

I nodded. It was a part of the job and I guess I just had to get on with it. Whippet helped me position the guy on the mat and then I sat there and held him on.

"Hoppo to jet ski" The radio said.

"Go ahead" Whipped replied.

"The police boat said they'll be there within an hour" Hoppo said.

"an hour?" Whippet exclaimed. "Alright, are you sure you don't want us to bring him back to the shore?"

"No, that's a negative. The police do not want you to come within sights of the beach" He replied.

"Looks like we're stuck out here for up to an hour" Whippet said, looking at me. I weakly smiled.

Why would someone so you want to end their life? Well it may not have been that case, it could have been suicide or they fell off the cliff. We'll never know.

"You're doing really well, especially as it's your first one in your first week here" Whippet said to me.

"Thanks mate" I smiled. "Have you done it before?"

"Uh we had one a couple years back, not quite like this. They were unconscious on the waters edge and we had to do resus and defib, though nothing worked" He said.

30 minutes later we were still out in the ocean just waiting for the police boat to come. Whippet and I made small conversation though the atmosphere was tough and neither of us knew really what to talk about.

"uh Whippet?" Hoppo said on the radio.

"Yes Hop?" Whippet replied.

"Police boat said they'd be 20 minutes" He said.

"Okay, that's outrageous though" He replied.

"I know, we're all pretty ticked off in the tower as well." Hoppo said.

After nearly an hour of waiting the police boat finally arrived. We handed the dead body over to them and they thanked us before taking it and leaving. Whippet turned to face me.

"Want to drive the ski back in?" He asked me.

"Sure" I replied.

He passed me the radio and I strapped it to my life jacket. I radioed the tower, telling the police had taken the body and we were on our way in. Whippet sat on the back of the ski and wrapped his arms around my torso so he didn't fall off as we sped back to shore.

When we got there, Reidy and Troy took the ski and put it back on the trailer. Whippet and I went into the bit under the tower and washed off the vests and safety gear before walking upstairs, into the tower. Hoppo was in there, with Chappo and Maxi who were probably also on duty there.

"Well done guys, that's not an easy thing to deal with. We'll be having a debrief about it the day after tomorrow, so you're more than welcome to go." Hoppo said.

"Thanks" I replied quietly.

"You guys take the rest of the day off. Kendall, just before you go, can you come to my office?" Hoppo asked. I nodded and he left the tower. Troy came up into it.

"We heard" He said.

"C'mere" Maxi spoke, opening his arms for a hug. I walked over to him and let his strong arms wrap around me. Troy came up behind me and hugged me, so I was in between the two of them.

"Thanks guys" I said, they chuckled and let go. I gathered all of my stuff and said goodbye before going across the path into Hoppo's office.

"Hey Kendall" He smiled.

"Hi" I replied.

"Finding a dead body like that is not easy, for anyone but especially being a transfer and having to deal with it in their first week, that;s some tough stuff. We do offer counselling, if you'd like it. It's not from us, it's a professional counsellor to speak to, or you could just rely on the care and support from us here at the beach" Hoppo said.

"Thanks but I don't want counselling. I'm sure your support will be okay" I replied.

"Alright, well, we'll see you tomorrow." He said. I nodded and said goodbye before leaving.

I walked home, because Troy would bring the car home later. I walked into the house and set my stuff down by the door. Jesse appeared from the living room.

"You're home early, where's Troy?" He asked.

"Still at work, Whippet and I got sent home. We had to go out on the ski, round to near the gold course and get a deceased. We had to wait an hour for a bloody police boat" I said quietly. Jesse didn't say anything, he just hugged me. I smiled at him as we separated before going upstairs and taking a shower.

What a day........