Chapter 56

Kat and Sally followed me up to our rooms, with Sally still harping about the trip. Sally asked Kat what she was talking about and to my utter surprise, Kat knew all about the temple and what to expect when we got there. I could only guess that Sylveen had told her everything about it and she had already decided we were going to go. Kat and Sally sat down on one of the many couches and started a lively discussion about it as I snuck away to get a shower. This time I needed a nice hot shower to help ease some of the aches and pains from sleeping on that platform in the bridal hut. Although they were covered with thick cushions, I had found out the hard way that the cracks between them didn't induce a good padding between my back and the bamboo slats they were made of. I had just shut the water off and slipped on a robe, when I heard the ship to shore ringing. Kat answered it telling whoever was on the other end that I was in the shower and would call them back. I noticed that her voice sounded a little annoyed as she did so and I wondered who was calling.

Just as I started to walk out to join them, I heard a knock at our door. Sally answered it and let in Myrna, who was carrying a tray with juice and coffee. They all sat down and helped themselves to the drinks, and it was then that I spotted the honey cakes I liked so well. I made a beeline for the table to grab some before they were all gone, and managed to get four of them before Sally grabbed the last one, laughing at me because she had beaten me to it.

"Jon, I got the recipe from the cook and when we get home, I will make a bunch of them for you. Also I want to know about this trip all of you are planning. You might want to consider including me, because it sounds like an adventure I don't want to miss."

Then the conversation went out the door as the three of them set to planning like a bunch of veteran travelers, as if they had all done it many times before. To say I didn't feel excluded would be lying, as they didn't even ask me anything. They did remember to tell me that I had better call Captain LeMeur as he had called and insisted on talking to me. Kat did say that he sounded very upset to the point of being rude to her.

I grabbed my coffee and my last honey cake and headed over to the communications console. I sat down, wondering why he was so upset and about what. I found out quickly enough when he came on the phone.

"Jon, we met both boats coming this way and lost a helicopter in the initial contact. We ended up sinking both of them and didn't recover any survivors. I know you warned us about missiles, but they had heat seekers and the first helicopter didn't have a chance before it was hit. I am sorry I was short with your wife, but I am very irritated at myself for not heeding your warnings. We were able to recover their bodies and I need to ask you a personal favor to me as Captain. I put them both in for medals of valor and I would consider it an honor if you would sign the form also."

"Captain, I would consider it an honor. Can you tell me if any of the bodies had any identification on them?"

"Yes they all had passports from your adopted country. I have them in the code room as we speak being dried out so that we may photograph them. I want to have your friend Maurice make the inquiries as to why they were in these waters and for what purpose. I have been in touch with him, and he says you would be in a better position to look at them and maybe identify some of them than he would be. If I send a boat for you, would you be willing to come out here for an hour or so? I also have a complete list from our sister ship as to what was unloaded from that sub we raised. Maurice says you wanted some of the weapons from it. While you are here, you can go over the list and choose what you want before we sink them in deep water. Jon, when we ran some of the numbers on the weapons, we found out something that has disturbed Interpol greatly. I think we need to discuss this when you come out. I have men covering the island as well as eyes overhead, so your family will be safe."

"I will let my wife know and be ready to go in about a half hour, Captain."

I concluded my conversation and he thanked me as I hung up the Mic. I went back over to the table and told the Three Musketeers, as I was calling them now, that I had to go to the ship for an hour or so, but that I would return soon and we would start making plans to return home. I didn't think anything about the dirty looks from them at the time, but in retrospect, I should have.

When I was dressed, I put my shoulder holster on out of habit and a light jacket to cover it with. When I went outside, I was immediately met by two fully battle dressed legionnaires and escorted to the beach where the boat was already waiting for me. I got in and after a quick trip to the cruiser, I entered the same door as before. Captain LeMeur met me and we immediately headed to the code room. This time we sat at a desk in the back corner away from all the chatter and noise. He pushed two official looking forms toward me and as I read them, I realized it was the after action battle report and why the two pilots were being recommended for medals of valor. I immediately signed them both. The Captain sat back down and stared at me for a moment before speaking.

"Jon, I was told to completely brief you since the President has put you in charge out here until you go back to your home. We unloaded that sub and in the torpedo room, we found several small nuclear devices that are the smallest we have ever seen. They were carefully packed in small briefcases, and I think you call them dirty bombs. There were also fifteen cases of M-16's that, according to their serial numbers, were stolen from a place called Ft. Hood two years ago. They were in the same type of crates as the rest, but those had several European Countries stamped on the sides in their own languages. There were also twenty cases of Sig Saur forty caliber pistols that had no numbers on them. There were also over fifty cases of handcrafted silencers for them, made of top grade steel with extra packing kits for each of them. Jon, do you have any idea where these weapons were headed?"

I looked at him a moment, then told him about the telephone conversation Michelle had overheard between her husband and the other church leader. When I finished, he seemed to light up as if he knew what I was talking about. He jumped up and told Peter to put a call in to Interpol immediately. He came back over with two sets of headsets and handed me one. The call was answered by a woman who snottily told the Captain that Maurice was in a meeting and was not to be disturbed. I listened and started chuckling as the Captain chewed her ass and told her to get him on the line immediately or the next call she answered would be from the unemployment line. She sputtered and put him on hold. He looked at me and grinned, saying that he hated it when she answered and that Maurice needed to hire someone who showed a little more respect for the men in the field. I had to smile, because that thought had entered my head a couple of times over the years. When Maurice came on, the Captain told him the same thing, putting in that he would file a formal complaint with the Battalion General if he was ever spoken to in that manner and tone again when he called. For the first time in my memory, Maurice was sputtering and I almost laughed out loud at his reaction.

"I am sitting here with Jon Morgan, and I think we have figured out where all these weapons are going. He imparted to me some information that came to his attention from one of his guests. I think it will clear a lot of this up. Remember all the assassinations in Nabu in the last couple of months? I just learned that the church is trying to take over a small country for themselves in that part of Africa, and I think that's it. According to our intelligence, there has been an influx of white business men there, but we could never figure out why they were so interested in Nabu. They have no mines or other wealth that would interest these men. Maurice, we both believe they are trying to take over the country to rule it as their own and move the churches there so they can't be prosecuted for all their crimes. If my memory serves me right, the new Prime Minister was educated at Princeton and is white, as is his father who heads the small army the country has. The president there must be warned before he becomes a target himself. We also need more agents on the ground there, to counteract any hostile takeovers before they happen. With the release of all the information in the last few days, I think they will move their timetable up now. Please inform the President so that he can act on the information."

"I will most certainly pass this on, Captain, but why that country?"

"They have a relatively small population and one of the biggest deepwater ports in that region. If a hostile force could control that port, all the surrounding regions would have to knuckle under or face starvation. All of their supplies come through that port. I do not think we have much time to act on this, Inspector."