Danny contemplated what to say next. He was only an occasional drinker, and when he did drink, it was wine and never hard liquor. He was about to decline when the councilman interrupted him.
“I could tell you’re not much of a drinker. I know liquor is bad for the liver but it’s good for the soul!” He said, puckering his face after another swig.
Danny gave a light chuckle at the man’s humor.
“We’ve heard you helped with the release of the kidnapped Frenchman two years ago?” Danny asked.
“I just played a small role. How are you related to the person kidnapped?” the councilman asked, looking straight at Danny and Helen. His eyes suddenly filled with intensity.
“We work together as scientists for a biotech company. Blake also happens to be my best friend, sir.”
“What exactly do you do?”
“We’re working on fish migration patterns and finding ways to save them from extinction so future generations will also have the chance to enjoy fresh sushi.”
“Looks like you’re doing good work. Some of the fishermen in the country are using dynamite to catch fish. They destroy reefs that took thousands of years for Mother Nature to build,” he said, putting his empty glass on the table.
“The damage to the reefs is sometimes irreversible,” Danny lamented.
“Unfortunately, there are a lot of uneducated people who don’t care about the consequences of what they’re doing. The fish collected looked horrible and unappealing. Eyes are popped out, carcasses are mangled, and the gills are sticking out. No one would want to buy a fish that looks like it had been chewed up and spat out by Godzilla.”
“It’s illegal, right?”
“Of course it is, but most fishermen who do it get away without getting in trouble because some of the public officials are easily bribed and there is a lack of enforcement.”
Danny was shocked by the Popoy Arevalo’s revelation. He never thought that any fishermen would carry out such a dangerous and destructive method of fishing.
“And who might you be?”
“Helen Glass. I’m the victim’s cousin. I brought the money for Blake’s ransom.”
He turned his attention toward the beach and watched the small banca (a double outrigger) canoes floating by.
“Usually in kidnapping situations, once the ransom is transferred, the hostage is dropped off at an agreed-upon location. I don’t understand why you want to get in touch with Commander Berto. Just wire the money to the account he gave you. It’s too dangerous to try meeting with him.”
“My uncle is paying for his release and wants proof of his life before wiring the money. The only way we could make a bank transfer is by having Blake’s finger and my own scanned together,” Helen added.
“Also, Commander Berto wants the research compound that Blake and I invented,” Danny added. “It’s also a condition for his release.”
Councilman Arevalo put his fingers to his chin and narrowed his eyes as he thought through their situation.
“It doesn’t make any sense. This is the first time I’d heard of such a request. Commander Berto and his ragtag band of thugs are nothing but a bunch of uneducated fishermen. What do they know about scientific inventions?”
“Is there a way we could establish contact through some back channel?” Helen asked.
“We might have a problem locating Commander Berto. He’s most likely hiding out in any one of the hundreds of tiny islands around here. He has a strong network of well-paid informants that protect and alert him. He and his men are able to just get up and go, and escape in their powerful speedboats the moment they’re alerted or detect a Coast Guard patrol boat is coming.”
“Don’t they usually hide in Basilan Island?” Helen asked.
“Yeah, but there are thousands of soldiers stationed there. I think they might have headed our way to avoid being seen. It will be hard to find them.”
“Can you please help us find Blake so we can pay his ransom and take him back home?”
“If I could locate Berto’s spider hole, I’d kill him myself. Men like him have caused so much trouble for my people,” he said, frustration booming in his voice.
“Is there any way we could send the commander a message that we have the compound and the money?” Danny asked.
“We’re willing to meet him anywhere he wants,” Helen added.
The councilman’s dark brown eyes stared deeply into Danny’s. The serious look on his face suggested that he was thinking about how he could help them.
“I’ll see what I can do for you. I don’t want your cousin to die on my watch. It wouldn’t be good for anyone involved and I don’t want anyone—especially an American—to get killed here and have the news media accusing me of doing nothing.”
“Thank you so much, Mr. Arevalo,” Helen said.
The councilman stood up from his chair. “I will send my people to make contact with Commander Berto as soon as possible. Meanwhile, please enjoy our island hospitality.”
* * *
While walking back to his bungalow on the water, Danny passed by Vic sitting with the councilman’s bodyguards around a small table near a coconut tree.
“Danny, come over here and join us,” Vic said.
His initial reaction was to refuse the invitation so he could be with Helen. All Danny wanted was to spend the early evening with her and maybe resolve some of the issues that had been plaguing them since their reunion back in Manila. He wanted to ask her if they could start seeing each other again once this nightmare was finally over and they were back in San Diego. The overnight trip from Jolo had rekindled feelings that had been dormant in his heart for years. But spending a few minutes with the men who’d be risking their lives to help rescue Blake wasn’t too much to ask. The minimum he could do was to get to know them for a while. Walking away from Vic and his men might be construed as rude. Not wanting to offend his hosts, Danny turned to Helen and said, “Why don’t you join Leilani at the gazebo. I need to sit with these guys so they won’t think we’re snobs.”
“I’ll talk to you later,” Helen said, walking away.
* * *
Danny rolled his sleeves up and sat near the men on a wooden bench.
“Just having a little fun in case we make contact with Commander Berto and have to get rolling right away,” Vic said.
“I’m sorry that you have to be involved with our problem,” Danny said.
“Nah…don’t worry about it. We’re doing this for our own people, too. We want the waters to be safe for everyone, not just outsiders. Please, have a drink of this lambanog coconut vodka with us.”
“Yeah,” Alex added. “Fuck Commander Berto and the boat he came in on. We’ll blow him out of the water when we see him.”
The rest of the guys laughed.
Vic poured a glass of lambanog. Swirling the liquor until it created a small tempest, he then dumped it on the ground. Puzzled, Danny asked, “Why did you do that?”
“It’s one of those traditions that makes no sense. It’s supposed to be an offering for our departed drinking buddies and families,” Vic said.
As one of the bodyguards filled the glass halfway with the clear liquid, the alcohol’s strong smell wafted toward Danny. Vic offered him the first drink. Knowing the men might take it as an insult if he refused, he took the glass from Vic’s hand, closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and took a swig. Almost immediately, he felt his sinuses clear as the 90-proof, distilled-coconut concoction flowed down his esophagus. Feeling dizzy, he thumped the glass on the table.
“It’s like drinking jet fuel,” Danny commented, his face turning red.
Using the same glass that Danny had just drank from, Alex poured more lambanog and passed it to Vic. He chugged the brew, his face not flinching, as if he were drinking ice-cold water on a hot summer day. The glass was passed around until everyone at the table drank the homemade spirit.
“Here, have some of this pulutan. It’s an appetizer that makes drink
ing even more fun,” Vic said.
Danny looked at a plate with several pieces of cubed beef on skewers in a bowl of red sauce.
“I bet you don’t have that where you live. It’s called satti.”
Danny took a stick from the bowl and tried it. The taste of ginger, onion, tomato, turmeric, and several other spices that he couldn’t identify mixed on his tongue. As he chewed the foreign-tasting barbecue, it immediately brought delight to his senses.
Danny shifted his gaze in Helen’s direction to see if she was done talking to Lei.
“Your girlfriend is doing fine over there. No one is going to touch her,” Vic said.
Danny quickly shifted his attention back to the bodyguards as they chuckled. He found it ironic that these hardened men who saw death and destruction in the type of work they did could also act like a bunch of high school teenagers when their guard was down.
“Just curious about what they’re doing,” Danny replied, half-embarrassed.
“Would you like to buy your lady friend a pearl ring?” Alex asked.
“I don’t know. It never really crossed my mind.”
“One of our guards works part time at the nearby pearl farm and brought in a ring he made. He was going to sell it to a jewelry store but asked me if you were interested.”
Danny examined the glistening pearl perched on top of a silver ring and imagined it on Helen’s finger.
“How much?” Danny asked.
“$200,” Vic replied.
“I don’t have that kind of money.”
“You have a million dollars to pay for your friend,” Vic teased.
“Yeah…that’s not my money. I’ll pay a hundred. That’s all I can afford.”
Vic took Danny’s hand and dropped the ring into it.
“OK, a hundred dollars. For an American boy, you know how to bargain like a fishmonger.”
“There you go,” Danny said, pulling out a one hundred dollar bill from his pocket and handing it to Vic.
* * *
While the men were merrily consuming the lambanog and getting tipsier by the minute, Danny quietly slipped away and headed toward his bungalow. He found Helen standing alone on the wooden plank and looking over the railing.
“Looks like you’re lost in thought,” Danny said, approaching her.
Helen turned around to face Danny.
He wanted to wrap his arms around her and to caress her like he had done in the past but couldn’t find the courage to do so. Though he was only a few feet away from her, it felt like they were at opposite ends of the Sulu Sea. The thought of his past transgressions prevented him from making a move.
With their halted conversation showing signs of strain, neither one knew what to say next. After a few silent minutes, Danny was glad to see a firefly hovering next to them, blinking its faint green light in the dark night.
“I haven’t seen one since I was a kid,” Danny commented, breaking the awkwardness.
“Do you know fireflies flash their light as part of their courtship?” Helen remarked.
“I also heard that they die two weeks after mating.”
Danny reached for the lantern hanging on the window and intermittently blocked the light with his hand.
“Like this?” Danny asked.
“I think so.”
“Can you read my message?”
“Can’t tell. What’s it about?” Helen answered playfully.
“More like it’s getting late and we need some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.” Danny said, turning toward his bungalow.
“Can you sleep in my room tonight?”
Her request caught him by surprise. His first reaction was to refuse. This wasn’t the time to be alone with her…not yet. It might complicate matters just as they were beginning to mend the fences between them. There were so many issues from their informal breakup that hadn’t been addressed. He worried that what might happen behind closed doors in a darkened room might destroy any chance of their truly becoming a loving couple again. But Danny recognized a hidden plea in her voice. It seemed that she wanted to tell him something that can only be said within the bamboo-latticed walls.
“Do you think it’s a good idea?” he asked.
“I don’t want to be alone surrounded by so many men with guns,” she said.
* * *
Danny hung the lantern in the corner of the room. As the flame sputtered, their shadows outlined on the floor swayed from side to side. He spread his banig on the floor at the opposite side of the room and arranged the pillows and the thin red sheet.
In the hot and humid air, he took his shirt off, laid down on the banig, and placed his hands under his head. Helen stole a glance in his direction. The sight of the interweaving knots of muscles in his arms made her want to move across the room and lay down in the warmth of his embrace.
“I accepted a job offer in San Diego,” Helen said. “And I’m moving back.”
Danny was taken aback by her revelation. Helen was on the fast track in her career in Boston, and that she was willing to sacrifice that position was the last thing he expected to hear from her.
“I thought you enjoy teaching in Boston.”
“Three years are long enough. Everybody I care about is in San Diego.”
With the peace offering that Helen was extending, Danny knew that she was waving the white flag. He wanted to let her know that he was also tired of being alone and wanted to be with her.
“You will make a lot of people happy. Especially me.”
A light breeze blew in from the ocean and carried the sweet scent of the Dama de Noche flower. Legend has it that the scent, only emitted at night, was from a heartbroken princess waiting for her prince to return.
Danny turned toward Helen. He thought of reaching for her hand, kissing her clear-skinned cheeks, and running his fingers through her light brown hair. But he couldn’t find the courage to do it.
The continuous sounds of crickets chirping in the bushes mixed with the soft rumbling of the waves lapping on the shore rushed into the room.
Danny wondered if the scent was a sign that Helen still wanted him. With that thought, he closed his eyes and yearned to end their current dilemma. It was only with Blake’s rescue that the two of them could get back to San Diego and attend to the pressing issue between them…love.
SEVEN
Looking out the window, Danny saw the councilman’s bodyguards gathered around a table as they cleaned their rifles and teased each other while drinking coffee with Vic. A Philippine Navy patrol boat was marooned on the beach. The sight of it concerned him. He wondered if asking for Popoy Arevalo’s help was a good idea, considering he had expressed his desire to do away with Commander Berto. The last thing he wanted was a confrontation between the Kulog ng Timog and the military jeopardizing his mission to get Blake back. Peering toward the gazebo, he saw Helen, her hair neatly tied in a ponytail, having breakfast with Lei and several other women.
Wanting to find out the latest developments, he hurried toward Vic.
“Any news?” Danny asked with slight apprehension in his voice.
“One of our informants just made contact with Commander Berto early this morning. He wants us to meet him at a fixed GPS coordinate in the middle of the ocean,” Vic replied, looking down the pistol’s sights. “I heard he wants you to test the compound in front of him before releasing Blake.”
“Who are all these men with rifles? How come the military is here, too?” Danny asked.
“It’s a two-in-one mission. After we get Blake on our boat and we’ve been safely separated, my men and I will go after Commander Berto and blow him out of the water.”
“Aren’t you concerned that things could go wrong? It’s too risky. Why can’t we just make the exchange and then leave?”
“We need to send a message to his supporters that they aren’t welcome here to conduct their business.”
The councilman approached the grassy area, flanked by two men in military fatigues. He
walked with a confidence in his steps and the aura of the true soldier that he was, unafraid to face adversity to reach his goal. He motioned everyone nearby to gather around him. Danny could hear a pin drop while the men involved in the rescue effort waited impatiently for what the councilman had to say.
Standing in front of his men and support staff, Councilman Arevalo locked eyes with everyone one by one and said, “You all know we’re gathered here today to get a foreign hostage back. But most importantly, we are going to purge Commander Berto and his army of bandits from these islands. It’s time to finally take our island back from those lawless criminals and bring back the days when our people roamed these seas without fear of being kidnapped or harmed. When we meet with Commander Berto and his men, he will want to see Danny demonstrate his experiment to show it works. After that, Helen will make the wire transfer through a satellite phone. As soon as the money clears, the hostage will be transferred to one of our boats. The boat driver will immediately drive away in a zigzag pattern to clear the area and bring Danny, Helen and the hostage to safety. Following that, we will open fire on Commander Berto and his men to eliminate them all for good!” Arevalo said.
The men waved their rifles in the air, hooting and hollering and mimicking the sounds of a battle drum. Danny stole a glance at Helen. All he had ever wanted to do was to get Blake back. Now he and Helen were involved in an island squabble and a military operation to kill a known terrorist. He feared that the councilman’s daring plan was too risky. The chance of stray bullets hitting Helen, Blake or himself was too great. He took a step forward wanting to reason with the councilman not to follow such a dangerous strategy. But as he got closer to the councilman, the men’s chanting grew louder. The die is cast. Anything could go wrong, but he felt powerless to stop the plan in motion. There was nothing else to do but to cross the Rubicon and head into the heart of Sulu Sea. The bloodthirsty men wanted to see the Kulog ng Timog’s blood staining the blue sea.
“What if Commander Berto and his men out maneuver us and escape?” Vic shouted over the men’s hooting.
“We’ve already thought of that scenario. Anyone who slips off the barrage of bullets we’re about to unload will be met by Lieutenant Dimagiba’s fast-attack patrol boat with its armor-piercing machine guns and who will be tracking the progress of our mission,” Arevalo answered, pointing to the military officer standing next to him.
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