Chapter 4

The sex for the next few days was incredibly hot and the affections of both women were enough to keep my spirits soaring even through the pain of my rehab. Unfortunately when things are going well Murphy's Law sometimes strikes and this time it struck fast and hard. I received a call on my cell phone from the U.S. State Department. Apparently the cruise ship my family was on had been out of radio contact for about thirty-six hours before a message was received via satellite that a group of terrorists had taken over the ship and were holding the passengers hostage. The message had come in on the same frequency the ship was supposed to be using and at least for the time being the State Department accepted it as real.

I didn't know what to do! Would Dad, Mom, and Shelly make it through okay or would they be killed by some insanely hateful Jihadist? To say I was upset would be putting things much too mildly. I wanted to know what was being done about it and by whom. I asked if they had any special ops teams ready to go in and free the hostages. Of course the person who was actually making the phone calls didn't really know anything about any rescue plans. The only thing they were able to assure me of was that they would be in touch if there were any new developments.

Kalli and Maggie had been our friends and neighbors for years and were almost as distressed by the news as I was. I had been enjoying my time with these two fabulous women and had been busy thinking of the future but now my attention was riveted to the present situation with my family. The story of the cruise ship hijacking was the top news story on all of the major networks within an hour of my phone call from the State Department. Old stories like that of the Achille Lauro were resurrected and "experts" came out in droves to "enlighten" the public on what might be expected in this type of a situation. There were images of the cruise ship, diagrams of the various decks, people using drawings on easels to make their various points, and even a debate of sorts between news personnel of various political bents and biases. All in all it was just too much to deal with and I shut the damn TV off for a while so I could think straight.

Though he didn't often speak of it I knew that my dad was in the military for two tours and had received some type of Special Forces training. He was older than my mom by more than ten years. "Damn!" I thought to myself, "I wonder how Grandma and Grandpa liked their little teenage daughter marrying a guy ten years older than her?"

Why hadn't I thought about that before? They probably had to get parental consent for her to marry at that age. Then I thought about the fact that Dad couldn't have been out of the service for more than a year before they got married. I didn't come on the scene until after they were married for four years so it isn't as if she was pregnant or anything. My mind was filled with questions I'd just never thought to ask before. Now I wish I knew the answers and none of the people who could give them to me were anywhere that I could reach them. Grandma and Grandpa Howard had both passed on a few years back and my parents were in the middle of a terrorist hijacking.

I could hardly sleep that night. Maggie and Kalli took turns sleeping so that one of them could be with me all of the time. I really appreciated their support and I took the time to let them know. Finally I couldn't stand it any longer and as the dawn light came creeping into the bedroom I gave up all pretenses of sleeping and headed down to the living room and flipped on the TV.

A sweep of the cable news networks brought me to a "breaking" story. "According to our sources four teams of Navy Seals were deployed just before dawn in an attempt to neutralize the terrorists and rescue the hostages. Apparently the terrorists were holding their hostages in the central ballroom. The seal teams had things well under control until their presence became known to the two terrorists in the same room as the hostages.

"When one of the terrorists raised his weapon to kill a hostage a brave fellow passenger risked his own life by rushing and successfully disarming the terrorist. The other terrorist shot the brave and heroic passenger and was subsequently killed by a bullet from one of the Navy Seals.

"We will keep feeding you the up to the minute details as they become available to us."

I felt as if the life had been knocked out of me! Somehow, down deep in my heart, I knew that the heroic passenger had been my father! I kept flipping from channel to channel hoping to hear if he had survived the gunshot wound or if it had been fatal. None of the news channels seemed to have that one critical piece of information!

I tried calling into the U.S. State Department and couldn't get anyone there who knew anything about the incident.

It wasn't until the afternoon that I received a call from my Mom. From the very first moment I heard the sadness in her voice I knew that my fears were well grounded. "Tom, I don't know just how to tell you this..." Her voice broke and I heard a man's voice ask "Mrs. Hartman would you like me to speak with Tom?"

I could hear the phone being passed from one person to another and then a man began speaking. "Tom Hartman — I'm Commander Jeffrey Toleson. Son your father is a hero you should be very proud of. It is however with great regret that I must tell you he died saving your sister, your mother, and the other passengers.

"Tom, I'm sorry to have been the one to have told you this — but you need to know. Your mother and sister need you now more than ever. I'm going to send a driver to pick you up and take you to the air base. We'll fly you from there out to where your mother and sister are so that you can be together as a family."

"Can I bring two other family members who are here with me now for support?" I asked.

"Absolutely Tom."

"Thank you Commander Toleson. Please let my mom and my sister know I'll be there as soon as I can."

"I will Mr. Hartman."

The tears were flowing down my cheeks as I thought about my dad and the loss his death would be to our family. How odd that the Commander addressed me as Mr. Hartman; before it was my father who was always Mr. Hartman.

I spoke with Maggie and Kalli confirming with words the news my tears had already conveyed. Both of them were crying with me while we packed enough clothing and things for a couple of days away.

Soon we were picked up by a car with the insignia of the U.S. Air Force emblazoned on its shiny black door. When we reached the air base we were quickly transferred to a waiting aircraft and soon were airborne.

I'm not sure just how to describe what changed in me over the next few days. It was clear to me that my mother and sister had been through a lot and were in no position to worry about all of the details that now needed to be taken care of. From somewhere inside of me I found the necessary energy and resolve to take charge of the situation.

I met with the Army Colonel who was assigned to assist with my father's funeral. I learned my father had been an Army Ranger and had won quite a few medals during his two tours. Do to his heroic actions to thwart the terrorists the President offered to say a few words at the funeral while presenting the Medal of Freedom to my father post-humously. My father's business partner and life long friend Jim Blanchard would also be saying a few words and then I would speak for about fifteen minutes or so.

The funeral service would be conducted at the National Cathedral and my father would then be taken to Arlington National Cemetery where a short ceremony would be conducted by other Rangers who had trained and served with my father.