Chapter 49

I watched as Myrna took Michelle and her mother into one of the guest rooms before heading up the steps with Jubal and Farley close on my heels. When we went into the office I dragged two chairs over to the communications console. I grabbed a fifth of whiskey, three glasses, and set them on the floor with us where anyone could reach them. I watched as they poured themselves a stiff drink. While they drank the first sip, I waited and wondered what they had been through, because both of them looked used up. Jubal spoke up first, and from the pitch of his voice I could tell he was dead tired and mad clear through.

"Jon, this has been FUBAR from the beginning. After Farley made contact with Michelle, we set up the cameras and the signal boosters Jimmy gave us. Then we moved into a motel where we could watch and scout the place out. We took turns checking the perimeter every other night to make sure the cameras were tight and to check for any strangers wandering around. The second week we got a call from Jeb telling us to grab Michelle and get out as fast as we could. We were to bring her to his place but he wouldn't tell us why. We moved in that night and went to the house where she lived with her man, if that's what you want to call him. When we got inside and went to the bedroom to get her, we found him sodomizing a young boy who was gagged. Sorry Jon, but I slit his throat when I got over the shock. I knocked the boy out and tied him up, even though I didn't want to leave him there. We found Michelle locked up in a computer room, sleeping on the concrete floor without any clothes. We got her dressed, but she wouldn't leave until we blew the floor safe so she could load a bag with a bunch of computer disks. We made it out and didn't see anyone, but we found out they had a tunnel dug from the compound into your cabin. Jon, whoever was running those shooters was a professional. He almost got all of us, and we had to abandon the truck and take to the woods. We stole a farmer's truck and finally gave them the slip. When we got away, I called Jeb and he told us to head for the nearest airport and to call him when we got there."

He took a break and another sip of the whiskey before resuming his story. When he was through draining his glass, he stood up and Farley got up with him. They unwound the wide ace bandages that they both were wearing under their shirts. I watched with amazement as they each started taking computer disks from under the bandages and stacking them on the desk where I was sitting. When they finished, I would guess there were twenty or so disks in protective cases stacked there.

"Those are what we were able to grab, and Michelle told us to give them to you. She said when you saw what was on them you would know what to do. Jon, I don't know what's on any of those, but she put her life on the line to make sure we got them to bring to you. When we got to a small dirt strip and called Jeb, he said he would send a friend of his with money and a plane to pick us up and for us to stay out of sight until he arrived. It took about an hour before he landed. After he refueled, we flew directly to Arlington where Jeb had a small charter plane waiting which flew us to the Virgin Islands. I called Jeb collect when we got there, and he said we were to go to the embassy immediately and not to leave until he got hold of you. Jeb must have some connections, because when we walked up to the gate, the Marines on duty were expecting us and took us directly to the attaché's office. Jon, we sat in his office for four hours until you called him. By the way, thanks for the ride, because we didn't have enough between us to hire a chopper to come here, even if we had known where you were. Anyway, the attaché made all the arrangements. When we went to the chopper, Michelle's mother was waiting in the lounge. We lifted off immediately and that's when the chopper pilot said he was being followed and for us to strap in. Jon, why the hell would someone put a DOA warrant on the four of us? That's the part I don't understand. I knew one of the Gunny's at the embassy and he told us to follow directions until they could get us out of there. He also told me that once we got here to tell you that he didn't figure this was over yet and for you to keep your eyes open for some unexpected visitors. Jon, that pretty much covers it and we are dead on our feet. Can you give us some place to lie down for awhile until we can recharge?"

"I can do that, Jubal. I owe you and Farley a big one. I will get you both a room and then I need to start making some calls to some friends to see what the hell is going on."

I took them down the steps and ran into Myrna and told her the problem. She said she would put them in the room next to Michelle and her mother. She also told me that one of my men wanted to talk to me. When they walked away, I went out to the patio and all the legionaries that were left were in full battle dress waiting on me. Quanta was standing with them, and when I walked up, he handed me the pistol I had loaned Carver. I tucked it in the small of my back after making sure the safety was on and turned to the Corporal who addressed me.

"Sir, the ship is anchored off the beach and the captain is sending a boat for you to come out. He is assuming the security for the island and will have guards around your home at all times. He also said to tell you that two large boats are headed this way and at their present speed, they should arrive shortly after dark."

I thanked him and handed the gun back to Quanta. I told him to tell Myrna and the women that I would be gone for awhile, and that the house was under guard so not to worry. I also informed him that Jubal and Farley could be completely trusted if he thought he might need help for anything. I ran back to the house and gathered the stack of disks to take with me as I knew the ship had a secure room and a good safe to keep them in. Besides, I would be able to make my calls and the captain and I would take a look at the disks while I was out there. When I got downstairs, the men had been reinforced by at least a dozen more. I was escorted to the beach where a rubber commando raft was waiting. I got in and we headed for the fast cruiser that was anchored about a half mile off shore. When we got close enough, I could see three fully armed legion helicopters on board with their skids clamped so they could be released almost instantly for flight.

We went to the side at the bow where a small door opened, and I was almost able to step directly into the ship. I was met by the captain, who told me his name was Jasque LeMeur, and that I could call him either by his name or Captain. I introduced myself and we shook hands. He informed me that the radio chatter was going crazy since they had anchored off my little island. I just smiled at that and asked if he had a secure room we could use for awhile. He looked at me and asked to see my credentials so I presented my Interpol ID. He handed it back and apologized, but said it was necessary for me to be able to enter any of the restricted areas. He also said that he had been getting four or five calls an hour from an agent called Maurice, wanting to know if they were on station yet. He laughed and said he would have told him to piss off, but one didn't say such things to the assistant director of the Interpol Agency and keep their commissions. I just looked at him in shock, because I hadn't known that Maurice held that position. However, it did explain a lot of things to me. I followed him down into the ship to a door marked with restricted signs, and he punched a code into the pad next to the door. We stepped into the heart of the spy part of the ship's mission in these waters. There were six men in the room at different consoles, and all of them except two looked totally bored. The two I could see were plainly excited and seemed to be listening to radio chatter from a set of ear phones they were wearing. When they saw the captain come in, one of them stood up and addressed him.

"Sir, it's just as we thought. Both boats are smugglers and are well known to us. Our agent just informed us that they both picked up a heavily armed bunch of men and are headed this way. Our agent also said that they all spoke like Americans because their accents were so bad. They are steaming full speed in our direction."

"Keep monitoring their radios and when they get close enough, we will send out one of the helicopters to see what their business is in these waters, since they fly the Dominican flag. Meanwhile, send for Peter. We have some disks he may have to break for us."

"Yes Sir!"

"Captain, I need a secure line to Interpol."

I watched as he tapped one of the men on the shoulder, and when he took off his headset, the captain told him to set me up with a link to the agent that had been calling. They both laughed and he motioned me over to his console. He handed me a headset and told me it would take a couple of minutes to get through. It would come directly to my headset as soon as he answered. I listened and when Maurice answered and I told him it was me, I almost ripped my headset off. He was so excited he was shouting at me.

"Dammit, Maurice, if you shout in my ear one more time, I will punch you in the nose the next time I see you. Now, I am aboard the ship, and we have heavily armed men headed this way as we speak. The captain has put his men on guard duty, but I think there's more to it than that, because there's a General in DC who is involved. I have twenty disks that a girl who was saved risked her life to get to me, and the captain and I are going to see what's on them. Maurice, if it concerns France, I will immediately turn them over to the captain, but if they concern the US, I will send copies immediately to the appropriate authorities. I also think there is going to be a lot of heat over this, so I am giving you advance warning to duck for cover if it gets too heavy. My friend, as you well know, the Church has a long arm and can reach out almost anywhere. I will call you back as soon as we get a look at what's on them. Maurice, if it concerns France the Captain has my full confidence to do what he thinks is right."

"Jon, my friend, I know all about Captain LeMeur and he is one of our best in that region. I have another fast cruiser, just anchoring off the other side of the island as we speak. Do not worry, that is French soil and we protect our own, my friend. I will await your news as to the contents of the disks. There will be plenty of men available to protect your family and friends, you have my word on that. Now, let me talk to the captain so I can brief him."

I took the headset off and handed it to the captain. I stood back, waiting for him and Maurice to finish their conversation. I couldn't hear both sides of the conversation, but the captain was getting agitated from what Maurice was telling him. Knowing Maurice, I figured he was giving him hell about his duty to keep the island safe from intruders. The captain looked at me with narrowed eyes a couple of times, and he said "What" a couple of times. He finally got done and told the operator to contact the other cruiser so that he could speak to the captain. This time I heard both sides of the conversation as he had it on speaker phone so everyone could listen. That's when I found out why he was so mad, so I braced myself for what I knew was coming. As usual with officers, it seemed like they had it down to an art.

"Why have you boarded my ship under false pretenses, Mr. Morgan?"

Before I ventured an answer, I looked around and all the men had big grins on their faces. Shit, I thought, will I ever be able to live a normal life? I decided to be as haughty as I possibly could with my answers because I already knew what was coming. I had been through it too many times to count before I left France.

"I was not aware I had mislead you, Mon Capitan'. I clearly stated who I was and that was checked when you asked for my credentials earlier. Now, may we continue our business? Time is short and I must return to my family as soon as possible."

"You hold our nation's highest honor, but you sneak aboard like a coward. Why is it you didn't demand your right to be piped aboard like you deserve? You have done my ship a grave insult. I am responsible for this, because I failed to recognize the name as soon as I heard it. I was there when the presentation was made, and I believe, if my memory serves me right, you are the only living legionnaire left to carry this honor. I salute you, the Wolf of Algiers, and the men you lost. We are indebted to you for your and your men's sacrifice for our country. My ship and its men are at your service."

He stood as well as the rest and saluted me, then gave me the French greeting as a brother in arms. Damn, this is embarrassing, I was thinking. If I got my hands around Maurice's neck, I would choke him. I then had to waste another hour with the meet and greet in the Captain's mess. When it was finally over, I vowed once again I would choke Maurice the next time I saw him. Knowing Maurice's sense of humor, it would be much sweeter to me when I finally got hold of him, because I knew he had done it on purpose. I also knew these men didn't get much in the way of glory, just a few down and dirty fights with rebels and smugglers. This would spread like wild fire through both ships when they found out who they were responsible for. This would give them a big boost in morale, but I just wished that it wasn't me at the middle of it all. LeMeur was like any officer of the service, looking out for his men and trying to keep the boredom down, thus there wouldn't be so much fighting between the men. I knew as well as any man what boredom and low morale could do to a team of well trained warriors. Being cooped up aboard a ship with nothing to do but PT, gets old damned quick.

We finally made it back to the secure room and I was introduced to Peter, who immediately became all business when he put the first disk in the CD. It was a list of church personnel and what they were paid for their part in whatever compound they were in charge of. The second one was an eye opener for all of us. It was a list of French men and women who ran the churches on several continents. I knew that this was big, because I knew that the list contained some of the church locations we didn't know about. I had it encrypted and immediately sent to Maurice. The third disk was a complete list of arms stashes in five countries, including two French controlled colonies. The GPS coordinates were there as well as a complete inventory for each warehouse. Good Lord, they had enough illegal arms to take over any third world country if they had the armies to do it.