Chapter 41: My Attorney

Archara and Carina were standing beside the bed when I woke up. I looked and Charlotte was still asleep, a smile graced her face making her look like an angel.

“Thank you, Daniel,” Archara said softly. “You, of all people, had the most reason to hate her, yet you treated her the best.”

“She looks so happy,” Carina added. “You did well, Daniel.”

I made my way to the en suite and stepped in the shower. Heck! Even the shower in this stateroom was bigger! When I reached the salon, Maura and Eileen were dishing out some sort of shrimp pasta dish for supper and I immediately devoured a plate full before asking for and receiving seconds. Then I made my way to the flying bridge.

This was one of those nights that made you really appreciate the flying bridge being totally enclosed. And heated. There was a cold front moving through, bringing with it some rough seas and drizzling cold rain. We had been lucky so far as this was the first really bad weather we had experience on our voyage. The Serendipity was tossed about, but Roland and Captain Alfred kept talking about how much smoother this was than when they had sailed in a single hull yacht.

Since they were staying close to the helm, I grabbed a seat near them and watched as he piloted the yacht through the storm. They had lowered the sails and switched to engine power to get through the rolling seas.

“Daniel, have you given any thought as to what you’re going to do when we reach Freeport?” Roland asked.

“I’ve been thinking about that quite a bit,” I replied. “Tell me, what do you both think I can expect when we get there?”

“That’s hard to say. You could get a big military welcome with half the US Navy waiting for you. But somehow, I don’t think so. What you did to the Gosden and those two Hornets should be enough to warn them. Oh, I’m sure that the Navy would like to get their hands on you, but they weren’t the ones who decided to pursue you in the first place.”

“Alfred is right. And since the Bahamas are a British Colony, we don’t really know how willing they might be to cooperate with the Americans in this endeavor. I would think not too cooperative, given past history,” Roland said.

“So you don’t think the Bahamian police will try to arrest me?” I asked.

“If they know what has happened so far, I think they will stay as far away from the Serendipity as they can. But they may not have any idea what has happen so far, so we cannot depend on that,” Alfred pointed out.

“Well then, I see four options,” I told them. “One, we could simply sail somewhere else. But that is simply delaying the inevitable. You could also drop me somewhere before reaching Freeport. I think you still might be hassled, but eventually you would go free.”

“But what would happen to you?” Roland asked.

“I would have to find a way to disappear,” I said.

“No. Sorry. Carina would never allow that!” Roland exclaimed.

“Two, they will meet us with force. I don’t believe they could withstand what I would do to them, but it might put everyone onboard at risk. You might even drop me off where they can see me and then we’d duke it out. It could get very messy.”

“Again, No. Not unless they back us in a corner and force our hand.”

“Three, they could meet us diplomatically, either denying us entry to the port or trying to arrest us when we arrive. This would also include any number of delaying or harassing tactics such as confiscating our passports or seizing the Serendipity. Of course, this would mean that the US Government was calling the shots and the list of variables and unknowns immediately becomes unwieldy.”

“That true. We also have American pilots and a French naval officer on board as well as French nationals and women and children. All sorts of stuff that makes us difficult to deal with politically,” Roland pointed out.

“And four, we could find a way to get the story out to the press and then use that to shield ourselves from unlawful persecution.”

“Interesting...” Roland mused.

Captain Alfred began talking about positioning and ship strengths and more sneak attacks. But I could tell that Roland liked the fourth option.

Finally, he looked up and called to his son. “Phillipe, run find your mother and ask her and the other wives to join us on the bridge, would you please?” he asked then returned to his thoughts.

I had a hunch what he was thinking, so I sat quietly and waited on the others.

“I asked Daniel what he intended to do when we reach The Bahamas,” Roland told everyone when they had settled on the bridge. “And he has come up with an intriguing idea. But before we continue down that path, I’d like to ask Samantha and Leigh Ann where they stand in regard to helping Daniel versus their orders to kill Daniel?”

“I won’t speak for Samantha, but as for me, I plan to request a review board be convened,” Leigh Ann said. “Even if it means I spend everything I have to help clear Daniel. In the meantime, I’ll do everything I can to get Daniel and all of us to safety.”

“I feel the same as Leigh Ann,” Samantha said. “But I can’t afford a lawyer right now. And I cannot tell you all how sorry I am for attacking your family like I did. I don’t want to go to jail for it, but I guess I deserve to. I will help you in any way that I can though.”

Roland looked at Carina and then me. I nodded.

“Well, okay then. And ladies, let me assure you that Daniel and our families realize that you were being used and will not be filing charges against you. In fact, I will go on to say that we will help to defend you from anything the Navy tries to do to you.”

You could see the relief, and the tears in their eyes at Roland’s announcement.

“Now, Daniel. Would you run through the four options as you see them?”

Which I did.

“Ignore the first three for a minute and let’s focus on the last one. It’s mostly non-violent. It involves honesty and truth, it’s been successfully done before, and nobody has to lie or hide,” Roland explained. “It’s drawbacks are that it requires outside professional help, time, and a certain amount of intricate logistics, and it could expose Daniel to more attacks later. Everybody follow that? Good! Who has other options or opinions?”

I was surprised when the teens all seemed to look to Charlotte for her opinion.

“Ignoring the first three, although you might want to consider a combination of all four, the question is really where can you find a public relations expert in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean? But besides that, what I think we should do is to keep Daniel hidden at all times when we get there because his biggest weakness is being rendered unconscious. If he’s asleep, he’s pretty much harmless. Also, how do we know they won’t use a sniper again? They’ve already tried to kill him two times.”

“I have a suggestion...,” Isabella said hesitantly. “I mean about a public relations person.”

“Go ahead, Sweetheart,” Archara said softly. She called everybody sweetheart.

“Why not Mrs. Rappeneau?” Isabella said.

“Mom?” Mischa asked. “You want my mom for public relations? Get real!”

“No, I was referring to your grandmother,” Isabella said.

There was general pandemonium for a few moments. During that time, I observed Roland and Carina with their heads close together. Finally, they broke apart and Roland held up his hands for silence.

“An excellent suggestion, Isabella,” he praised the agent. “Does anyone else have an idea?”