Chapter 63

I woke up to the murmur of voices and saw Kat and the Captain quietly talking. When I went to sit up, both of them noticed and came over to the bed. Kat leaned down and kissed my cheek and the Captain stood by with a big smile on his face watching her.

"How do you feel my love?"

"Better now that I see you're not crying and mad at me."

"I was never mad at you, but the sight of you lying on the beach with all that blood all over you scared me half to death. I will speak to you about some important things when the Captain is finished. He has news I think you need to hear before we talk."

I watched as she walked over to a man who appeared to be a doctor, and he poured what looked like tea for them both. The Captain sat down in the chair beside my bed and started talking to me.

"Ah, Mon Ami, either you are very lucky or very skilled. I haven't been able to figure out which yet. The man who shot you was what you call covering all the bases. When the authorities went to the private jet he flew in on, it erupted into another gun battle and almost all the occupants were either wounded or killed. Our President is very upset about what happened to the Attaché and his bodyguards. He came from a very influential family that helped to get him elected. The President is sending a large contingent of his personal bodyguards to make sure that nothing happens this time. The Corporal, with Koma's help, questioned the men we captured because of your quick thinking. They had quite a story to tell us. The church, as you knew it, no longer exists. Most of the members have been arrested or committed suicide. The four leaders who are left are hiding in Chad and the government there is protecting them. The man you shot was the fifth leader and according to the prisoners, he was ordered to leave you and friends alone. It seems they are looking for some kind of disks that disappeared several months back with the death of Boudrie. He came here against the wishes of the rest because he had a score to settle with the girl that you helped escape. One of his bodyguards said he was supposed to marry her, but when you took her, the church made him marry someone else. It is a long and convoluted story, but from what we gathered he promised her uncle he would kill them both before they became outsiders. They both were supposed to be bred to have the leader's children because of some test they had done, proving they both were descendants of their original founder from back in your west hundreds of years ago. When they escaped, the order to kill them was given by Boudrie, who was the lover of the man you killed. When we checked his prints, we found out he had been a Legionnaire with Boudrie when he deserted. They grew up together and had been lovers since childhood. His real name was Beau De Chance, and was an officer in Boudrie's personal guards. All the men who were with him had been in the Armies of several different countries at one time or another. I think I have taken up enough of your time for now. Your wife wants to talk to you before we transport you back to shore. I will keep you up to date as I find out more. I am very glad you weren't seriously injured, Mon Ami."

"Thank you, Captain; I appreciate you looking after my family and friends. Please feel free to come ashore to talk at any time. I see my wife headed this way so maybe you better duck as you pass her."

He busted out laughing and walked out of one of the doors, avoiding Kat as she came toward me with a smile on her face. God, I thought, she is so beautiful it scares me. She came over and kissed me again and sat down in the chair the Captain had just vacated.

"Jon, I know I promised never to interfere in your work, but with the babies I am carrying I think I need to clarify myself a little. Jon, I think for right now, when you are able we should just go home where I can take care of you. According to the doctor the bullet went through your collar bone and did not do any damage to it, but you will be sore and will take several months to heal. Jon, you are my husband and the babies' father, so I want them to get to meet you in person. I don't want to have to tell them stories about you because you went and got yourself killed by this church and its fanatics. Myrna, Sally, and I have been talking and they all feel the same way I do. I have talked to Quanta, and he agrees with me, we should put off the trip to the temple for now. Jon, the doctor did an ultra sound and it is as the shaman said, two boys and one girl. Sally started a pool with the men on shore and they all put names in a hat for her to draw to decide on their names. Jon, before you say anything, remember that she is floating on cloud nine because she is going to be the older sister, and she is so proud of that she is fit to bust. The men think she is one of them and treat her with a respect I have never seen before. She feels the same way about them, and asked for my permission to do it as a way to show them how much she cares. I know you want to name one of the boys after your friend and your grandfather. I told her that, and she was excited to think she would have the final say on whether it should be a first or middle name depending on which is drawn. Maybe I am making a mess of explaining this, but I wanted to warn you so you wouldn't be mad at her. Oh, Myrna is still mad at you, so I would tread lightly until she calms down."

I looked at her in shock for a couple of minutes, running over all she said in my mind. Then the funny part of it kicked in and I started laughing. It took a few minutes for me to get it under control with Kat smiling at me the whole time. I wiped my eyes with a tissue I grabbed and looked at her with a smile on my face before I said anything.