“Yes, what you got?”
“One of our friends is returning home,” Tao replied. He had been instructed to keep all cellphone communications short and non-specific just in case anyone like the local cops might be listening.
“Good, I’ll be right there.” Willow hung up and started jogging the several blocks back to the van. They were back in the game.
As Chunk continued to stare at the man and boy, close to a minute passed without anyone saying anything. He could feel Capper and Mitch behind him waiting for directions. He knew with one word from him, they’d have their guns out in a heartbeat, but he wanted to avoid violence if at all possible.
Finally, the old man spoke. “I know of the one you speak,” he said shaking his head. “But she cannot help you or your daughter. I’m sorry you came all this way for nothing.”
The young boy turned to him. “But father, you don’t know that for sure. Malmu was sick, very sick. Not only had she been sick for several days, but also she was an old woman. This man’s daughter is young, vital. Perhaps Alp can help her. We must give her that chance.”
The old man continued to shake his head. “She must pay for her failure,” he replied. “What would my people think of me as their leader if I were to not follow through with the sentence?”
“They might realize that they are led by a man of compassion who is willing to forgive a person’s mistake and give them another chance. Father, Malmu is gone. No amount of punishment will change that. But here comes a man from far away who desperately needs our help. What would Malmu want you to do in such a situation? You know if there’s any chance to help this young girl, she would want us to take it.”
Chunk held his breath as the two talked, afraid if he said anything it might make matters worse. Besides, the young man seemed to be slowly swaying his father to reconsider his decision. Finally, after several more minutes, they turned to him.
“My son will one day be the leader of our village so I must not ignore his advice especially when he speaks the truth. My wife, Malmu, was a most gracious, giving woman. Much more kind and compassionate than the man she married, but I have tried to mellow over time. It has not been easy. As Damba has pointed out, Malmu had not been well for some time. She’d grown frail of late. Perhaps it was too late for her to be healed by anyone. I do not know the power that this Alp is supposed to have. Perhaps she will be able to help your daughter. I do not know, but I must do what I think my dear wife would have wanted. I will turn the young girl over to you. I pray she will be able to help your daughter.”
He turned to his son. “Go get Alp, and tell her I have reconsidered. That as long as she is willing to promise me that she will do the best she can to help this man and his daughter, I will release her.”
Damba reached out and grasped his father’s arm. “Thank you. I can only hope that one day I might make as good a leader as you.”
Turning to Chunk he said, “Stay here. I will bring her to you.”
Chunk felt the knots in his back and neck relax as he took a deep breath. “Thank you, both.” But the two men had already turned away. He felt a strong arm on his shoulder as Mitch walked up.
“So, does this mean we have to sail back through that crap back there?”
Chunk nodded. “Yep, but at least we won’t be going home empty handed.”
Willow's Plans
Lionel picked up the next to the last chocolate covered strawberry and popped it into his mouth. He chewed on it for a moment before turning his attention to the lovely blonde across the table.
“Come on, just one more strawberry. You can do it.” He slid the dish a little closer to Bridgette in an effort to entice here to finish off the dessert.
“I couldn’t really,” Bridgette replied pushing the plate back in his direction, and picking up her wine glass to take a sip of champagne instead. “If I eat one more morsel, I’ll explode and then what a mess you’ll have to clean up.”
“You’re right,” Lionel replied. “I’ve already sent the caterer home so it would be all left up to me. Of course, I could just lock up and burn the house down to hide the evidence.”
Bridgette tried to stifle a chuckle but failed. “Dr. Adams, you have a most unusual sense of humor.”
“Yes, I’ve been accused of that many times,” Lionel replied. Realizing the moment was approaching that the entire evening had been designed for he felt his stomach flip-flop. He took a deep breath in an effort to calm his nerves.
“I hear with enough time you can get used to anything including a weird sense of humor. What do you think? Could you learn to enjoy it say over the next twenty or thirty years?”
“Well, to be honest, I enjoy much of it now,” Bridgette replied. “But tell me more. What did you have in mind?”
It was just the kind of lead-in for which Lionel had been waiting. He pushed back his chair and rose from the table. As he walked around to Bridgette’s side, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the ring box. Kneeling down on one knee, he opened the box and presented it to her.
“What I had in mind was that we’d spend the rest of our lives together as husband and wife. Bridgette, my darling, will you marry me?”
Lionel held his breath as he gazed up into Bridgette’s blue eyes. The look of astonishment slowly melted and was replaced by one of her gorgeous smiles. She reached out and gently stroked his hand holding the ring.
“Yes,” she whispered. Lionel felt like his chest would explode with excitement and love for this woman, but Bridgette wasn’t finished.
“Yes, I would love to spend my life with you as your wife, but I’m afraid I must put one condition on it.”
“And what would that be?” Lionel replied.
“We hold off on the wedding until either the children can attend, or we know for certain what has happened to them. I would love for Heather to be our ring bearer and for the other girls to participate in some way. I just can’t see us trying to create our lives together without some resolution about the children. I do hope you understand.”
Lionel felt the leg that was bearing most of his weight beginning to cramp, so he stood up. Bridgette stood as well. He reached out and took her two hands in his. “I do understand, and I’m willing to wait. Besides, while I don’t really need further motivation to keep searching for them, if I did this would certainly be it.”
And with that he took his bride-to-be in his arms and kissed her.
With the tracker giving the location of the ship, Tao was able to direct Widget on where to fly the drone. It wasn’t long before the drone picked up the lights from the ship heading back to port. Willow instructed Widget to follow the ship but to make sure the drone maintained altitude to avoid detection. As the ship sailed towards the mainland, it became evident that it was heading straight back to its home base with no other stops along the way.
Not long after the drone started trailing the ship, Widget called Willow over to him.
“What is it?” Willow asked, stifling a yawn. After all her hours of walking, she felt like she needed to get some sleep before the ship returned.
“I switched to the infrared camera for night viewing,” Widget said. As he pointed to the monitor, he pulled in for a closer shot of the ship.“I found something interesting. See those heat signals. Those are people on the deck of the ship.”
“So?” Willow asked.
“Well, if I remember correctly, when the ship left dock we’d pretty much confirmed there were only four people on it; the captain, the kid, and two deckhands. But I count at least six signals here, and several of those are smaller than what I’d expect to see.”
“So you think those smaller signals are the cargo we’ve been looking for?” Willow asked growing excited by the news.
“Got to be, right?” Widget replied. “And that’s just the ones on deck or on the upper level of the ship. There could be more below deck.”
“Finally, something is going our way,” Willow declared as she patted Widget on the ba
ck. “Good work. How long before they’ll be returning here?”
Widget did a quick calculation before replying. “My estimates would put them entering the marina in about four hours, just a little before sunrise.”
“Okay, good. Wake up Ted and Ned, and let them take over the tracker and drone.” She noticed the frown on Widget’s face and tried not to smile. “I know. It’s your baby, but the mission is too important to have you half asleep when the action starts. Turn it over to one of them and get some sleep. It’ll only be for a few hours. I’ve had plenty of time to scope out the area and lay out our plan.”
She turned to Tao. “Alert our pilot to be ready to meet us at the rendezvous point just after sunup.”
Willow reached into her back pocket and pulled out her sleep mask. “Wake me if there are any significant changes. Otherwise, don’t mess with me until an hour before the ship is due in port.”
Three hours later, Willow awoke, splashed some water on her face to help her wake up, and gathered her team together to go over the plan one last time.
“Any questions?” She asked as she looked around at their four faces, using this time to take a final assessment of their readiness. When nothing came across her gut radar to suggest any issues with her men, she nodded to each of them.
“Stay awake and watch each others’ back. Our cargo may be a bunch of kids, but remember we’re always fighting Murphy’s Law as well.”
As she and her men made their way through a parking lot of a plush, three-story brick building sporting white columned verandas at one end, she thought, this is a pretty upscale marina. Willow had mistaken the building for a lodge until she saw the words, Wells Fargo, on the front.
Even the banks look like tourist havens in this town, Willow thought, as she directed her men towards the dock with well-practiced hand signals. They watched from their hiding places as the boat pulled into the marina and was secured to the dock.
Willow counted the number of children gathering on the ship’s deck. “Seven girls and the boy,” she spoke into her headset.
“Aren’t there supposed to be eight girls?” Tao asked.
“That’s right,” Willow replied. Maybe one is still below for some reason, she thought, but then realized that made no sense. That must mean one of the girls remained behind from wherever they’d come. She silently cursed to herself. The missing girl meant her mission wasn’t over yet. She knew the Sheik would not rest until all of them were accounted for and on their way to his palace in Dubai.
“Move in on my signal,” Willow instructed. “And remember, no harm is to come to the children.”
As the ship pulled up to the dock, Zunga approached Mel.
“I have done what Khari has asked of me. None of you are ever to talk about where you’ve been today. If any of you ever mention Geluk to anyone, bad juju will befall you. Now take your sisters and go.” He turned and walked away to help his crew tie down the ship.
Mel pulled his sisters together. “That’s my car over there.” He pointed to the parking lot where the rental SUV was still parked.
“It has an additional third seat so we should have enough room,” he added with a smile. “We’ll put a little distance between us and this place just to be on the safe side. Then we’ll stop somewhere and get something to eat. Okay?”
All of the girls nodded except Heather who asked, “Then what?”
Mel smiled at her. She’s going to be trouble, he thought. “Then we’ll lay out a plan with which we can all align.”
“But we left Alp back on that island with a death sentence,” Mia said. “We’ve got to do something. We’ve got to…”
“That was Alp’s choice,” Mel interrupted, the muscles of his jaw tightening.
“This isn’t the time or place to try to sort that out,” Tabitha said. “Alp put me in charge and I say we go along with Mel’s plan. Understood?” She glared at Heather and Mia, daring them to say anything further.
“Okay,” Heather finally replied, “For now, but I still think we need to do something to help Alp.”
“Duly noted,” Tabitha replied. “Now, let’s get out of here. Everyone watch your step.”
They made their way down the gangplank and onto the dock. As they did so, Mel felt a strange discomfort growing in his gut. Something didn’t feel right but he couldn’t put his hand on what it was.
Tabitha, Kirstin, stay alert. Be ready to move quickly on my command.
What’s up, Mel? Kirstin asked as she looked around.
Not sure, Mel thought back. Just stay alert.
As they walked towards the shore, Mel maneuvered himself to be between Tabitha and Kirstin. He reached out and pulled the two girls back so the other girls could go first. Mia and Heather led the way and were almost on shore when a tall, slender woman dressed in all black stepped out from the early morning shadows, an AK-47 in her hands.
“Stop right there,” she ordered. With a wave of her hand, four men stepped out from their hiding places, pointing their weapons at the circle of girls.
“Welcome to Shelter Cove Marina,” the woman said. “Now, kindly place your hands behind your heads and walk this way. Anyone tries anything funny, and I will not hesitate to shoot.” She waved her gun in the direction she wanted them to move.
Shocked looks on their faces, the girls placed their hands behind their heads. With another wave of the gun’s muzzle, they continued slowly walking in the direction the woman pointed.
Be ready, Mel warned. Take a few deep breaths.
He continued to hang back, slowly guiding the two girls with him towards the edge of the dock, staring intently at the woman, his eyes beginning to glow slightly.
I don’t know how to swim, Tabitha projected as she glanced down at the dark waters below.
Me either. Mel felt Kirstin pull back.
Trust me. I’ll take care of you. As he spoke to his two sisters, he noticed the woman’s eyes flicker around as though looking for something. It’s working, he thought, concentrating harder.
“What’s…going…on? Who’s?”
Mel sent one last surge of fiery energy toward the woman who screamed in pain, drawing all eyes in her direction. Now!
He leapt into the water dragging Tabitha and Kirstin with him. As his feet touched the water, he heard a stray shot and the woman shouting, “Hold your fire!”
Then the water engulfed him. He felt both girls try to pull their hands from his, but he held them firmly as he kicked his way underneath the dock. The marina was composed of a network of piers that lined the shore and periodically jutted out into the water. As long as they stayed hidden under them, they’d be safe from detection.
He held his breath as long as he could before surfacing well underneath the dock several yards from where they’d entered the water. He could hear the commotion above as the woman ordered her men to keep an eye on the remaining girls.
“You two, get those girls back to the van. You and you, follow me. We’ve got to find those kids.”
Mel could hear the pain in her voice. He had burned her pretty bad, but still she persisted in her mission. Gutsy, he thought though not very smart. He turned his attention to his two sisters.
Hold onto my shoulder for support. Quiet as you can, slowly kick along with me. You won’t sink. The salt water will keep you afloat.
The two girls did as they were told. Slowly the three of them moved away from the people searching for them from above.
I’ll tell you if we need to go under water. If we do, be sure to take a deep breath and stay close to me. Three of them are still looking for us.
But their luck held. As they kicked their way in one direction, Mel could hear the occasional commands of the woman growing softer as she walked on the dock in the other direction. They continued to put as much distance between them and the people looking for them. Finally, Mel guided them to one of the few boats occupying the marina. He pointed to the ladder running along its side. “Up there, but keep your eyes and ears op
en.”
Soon the three crouched in the darkness on the boat’s deck. “What about the others?” Kirstin asked between chattering teeth.
“Don’t worry about them,” Mel said. “They’ll be fine. Didn’t you hear what she said about not firing? They want us alive and well. I’m sure whoever they work for doesn’t want damaged goods. Besides, we have each other. Isn’t that enough?” He crawled between the two of them and put one arm around each of the girls.
“Let’s go see if we can’t find some dry clothes.”
Home
“Son-of-a-bitch,” Willow shouted, then hunched over as she coughed up a thick clot of blood. That little bastard did something to me. Who the hell are these kids?
“Do you see anything?” She called out to the two men, then coughed again. She realized she’d grossly underestimated the situation. She thought they were just apprehending a bunch of kids, maybe to hold for ransom or the slave trade, but clearly something was different about them; at least the boy. And she’d also not been prepared to search for someone in the near darkness. Of course, the sun would be rising soon but with the sun would come people. Even though it was not yet the tourist season, there’d still be enough people going to work to create havoc on a mission that was supposed to be secret. As she kicked herself for allowing herself to be caught off guard, she saw a couple lights flicker on behind her.
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