Chapter 16

[Janice writes]

We stopped reading there. Bobbi said, "That's a cliffhanger, mom."

"Yes, dear. However, it's late and now everyone will want to hear what happens when we start reading tomorrow night." We all went off to bed.

I was sleeping with Bennie tonight. He murmured, "That was hard, Jan. It is late though."

In the morning, we decided to stay for a day and perform a little maintenance on our planes. It was quiet all day. The only thing that we lacked in abundance was water. The guys got a bus running and, after looking at a map, we decided to go to Shelter Island Shoreline Park and get a little exercise in the afternoon. We arrived and found a beach area. We piled out of the bus with our suits, towels, and snacks.

As usual, my spouses and I swam topless. Jen and Lois wore two-piece suits, as did Bobbi. She was starting to develop. Mel told her she would have to wear a top for a few years until she was fifteen and took lessons from me unless only our direct family was present. She thought it was unfair but complied. We enjoyed swimming and playing. We stayed until well into the afternoon before boarding our purloined bus to return to the airport. We returned to find it still quiet.

We checked our planes and walked the area searching for anything different. Nothing was out of place and we gathered together to cook and eat supper. After supper, we went back to Arnold's story.

[Arnold's manuscript]

I had tears in my eyes as I walked away. I had never been good at confrontations. Tomas was very macho about expressing his opinion and I realized that he and I felt very differently about taking precautions. I had come to like Maria and would miss her companionship. I also had my pride and didn't want her to talk me out of leaving.

I walked three blocks until I found a small house off the main street that had no bad smells. I went inside, removing any traces of my entrance. Inside, I found it was a nice little house. Even though it had power, I used a flashlight to pick a bedroom and pull the drapes carefully across the window. I added a blanket there and another blanket in the bathroom that I used to cover the windows and keep light from being seen. I had some snacks that I used as supper. I sat quietly and saw one of the SUV's traveling through the streets. I guess that Tomas never considered that I wasn't far but was hidden.

By the time it was fully dark, I saw the SUV return to the hotel. My sleep wasn't pleasant but my fear that Tomas was going to get them in trouble kept me from returning to the hotel. In the morning, I woke and went looking for new wheels and food. I was careful and heard the vehicles long before I saw them. I quickly found a hiding place and watched them. They were headed for the hotel.

I agonized over what to do knowing that I couldn't take on two SUV loads of fighters. I had counted ten in the two vehicles. Trying to remain under cover, I began walking back to the hotel contemplating the idiocy of my action since I didn't know what I could do.

I reached the entrance and found no guards though both SUV's were parked in front. I went to each one and disabled it. I went to our SUV's and did the same to them. Now, everyone was on foot. I don't know if it was smart but knowing that we would all be on foot might give me an edge if I could get anyone away from the hotel. I would hope the bad guys would waste valuable time going for their SUV's and then trying to fix them.

I looked in the lobby and saw two men standing there looking around. They were dressed in combat-style camouflage pants and black shirts. They looked ready for a fight. One SUV had had six and the other had had four. That left eight guys. I walked around the main hotel to check out the back area where the pool was located. I arrived there to hear a grunt of pain.

I looked from cover and saw four with Tomas and Dulce. Dulce's hands were raised. Tomas was being tied up tightly. The bad guys were speaking Spanish, of course. One of them said to Dulce, "If you and your boy friend want to live, you need to strip and be good to us. If you fight us, I will shoot him."

Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she began to remove her suit. She was quickly totally naked. Not much more of her showed from when her suit was on her but the difference and forced aspect had to make a big difference to her.

I knew what would happen next. The only question was whether something permanently violent would happen. I was too far away to do anything for them right now. I didn't know where Maria was either.

I decided to look around for the other bad guys and determine what, if anything, I could do after I found Maria. I wanted to help but didn't want to die in vain. I was under no illusions about my abilities in a gunfight or in hand-to-hand fighting. I slipped back to a side entrance of the hotel and went inside cautiously. I went down a side corridor to my old room area. The doors had all been forced. I didn't have to look. No one was going to be there. I decided to look in Maria's room in case her body was there. It wasn't. There was some faint hope that she was hiding.

I was walking slowly back to the same side entrance trying to be very quiet. I went by a partially open door and a female hand reached out and grabbed me, pulling me into the room. I managed to keep quiet and let her pull me into the back of the room. She whispered to me, "Arnoldo, why are you here?"

I whispered back. "I saw the SUV's heading this way and came in hoping to be able to help. I don't know where the rest of them are but there are two in the lobby and four out at the pool with Tomas and Dulce. I wanted to find you first. Now, we can try to help them. Do you have a gun?" She shook her head. I grimaced. "Take my rifle. I will use my pistol. When we get out there, shoot to kill because they will. If we aren't fast, they will take revenge." She nodded.

We slipped outside. As we came close, I could hear rhythmic grunting. I whispered, "They are taking turns on Dulce. Tomas is tied and on the ground. Shoot anyone standing with a black shirt. I'm going to charge in with my pistol. Here are two more clips. Don't be shy about shooting. Be aware that the two in the lobby will be coming."

She nodded. "Start when you hear me shoot or if they start shooting." She nodded again.

I moved out to start getting closer to the group at the pool. I heard the grunting cease with a long moan. I looked and a third man was dropping his pants. Only one was maintaining even a minimum watch. I pulled my pistol, released the safety, and began to walk toward them in a crouched position. I got closer by five paces before the man standing saw me and became alarmed. As he made a move, I brought my pistol up from my side and began to shoot while charging him!

My third shot hit him and, by then, Maria was shooting. He went down and I was shooting any others I could see. One was close to Tomas and I emptied my pistol at him. By then, there were no more targets. I reloaded. I grabbed the ejected clip and tucked it into a pocket. All four of the bad guys were dead. Tomas wasn't moving and was in a pool of blood that could be his or from a bad guy. Dulce was moving slowly but I could tell she was in pain.

I went to Tomas and felt for a pulse. I didn't find one and slowly turned him over. He was staring in death. He had been gut shot. I grabbed one of the rifles and then dropped it. I didn't know it. I did see one I knew and took it along with some clips for it.

I looked at Maria. "Tomas is dead. Take Dulce out toward the water where we walked yesterday and keep heading away from the hotel. I will provide covering fire. Both girls were sobbing and stumbled in the direction that I pointed. I checked the newly appropriated rifle and began to back away from the site watching for people to come from the hotel.

I tripped and fell. Gunfire came from the hotel. From my prone position, I saw both girls fall. I began to shoot back. I don't know if I hit anyone but it did make them keep their heads down. I got to the girls. Dulce had three bullet wounds across her back. The wounds hadn't even bled much. Her death had been quick. Maria was bleeding from a slight arm wound. I cupped my hand over it. They hadn't gone far and a towel from earlier was close. I wrapped it around her arm and pulled her to her knees and we crawled away slowly as the firing started again. It seemed aimless.