Chapter 29

After that announcement, I knew I had to let Teri decide how to proceed. Even though the pump was primed doesn't mean that water will flow from the pipes. It was my responsibility to properly read the tea leaves, so to speak.

We held each other for a long time, enjoying skin on skin contact. Teri eventually looked into my eyes and said, "Let's dry off and go inside. I want to check on the kids." So we used the warm water, exterior shower and toweled off, before donning robes and going down. While Teri went to see about the children, Sammy and I made a snack. Actually I made Sammy a snack, and then made us one, since Sammy seemed to like his so much.

When she came back, Teri was changed into casual clothes and looking somewhat shy, or nervous – take your pick. Rather than let the silence rule our evening, I said, "Tomorrow we'll break out the jet skis and teach the kids to drive them. Unless I miss my guess, they will think that is a blast, and it will absolutely exhaust them. The water is refreshing, especially this time of year, before it gets too hot, but being IN the water is tiring.

"You'll see."

Teri smiled and kept her thoughts to herself, but did enjoy the ice cream and cherry pie I set out for her. That told me she wasn't ashamed of herself or angry with me.

We took our ice tea out on the front deck in the dark and watched the water go by. I could hear the occasional fish jump in search of insects to eat, and there was enough light to see when birds flew above the boat. The setting was soothing, and I hoped that would rub off on Teri.

After about fifteen minutes of quiet, Teri said, "What happened today? Who were those people, and what did they really want? I was so scared, and even though I had to be strong for the kids, I nearly wet myself when that man hit our driver and forced us into the van."

She waited for my answer, and I knew I had to tell everything or risk alienating her. "I told you pretty much all I know. I had Norm call your driver to hurry you along so we could leave for the houseboat trip, and your kidnapper answered. He demanded thirty million dollars and my life in exchange for releasing you three.

"The whole thing is complete puzzle to me. I have no idea what they want from me, no clue as to what they think I know about them, and no way to make them understand that whatever it is they want, I don't have.

"I've been shot six times, you saw my scars, and they keep trying to kill me. My guards have killed a whole platoon of them, but they keep hiring more people to try and get me.

"I'll tell you a secret, though. They aren't all that smart. Each time they try to kill me, a whole bunch of them get dead for nothing. At some point they will run out of money, time, or people to throw at me, and then maybe I'll get some peace." I stopped, knowing I'd said too much, and let her turn it all over in her head.

Teri was alone with her thoughts for a long time before she said, "You handled yourself so calmly when you shot those guys in the helicopter. The children didn't see a thing. When it happened, I had them on the floor and was laying on top of them for protection, but I saw you pull that gun and shoot them down.

"When you turned away from the van, after you shoved us inside, there was an almost fatalistic calmness about you that made me have to watch whatever came next. That helicopter and the man with the machine gun were going to kill us all. I knew we were going to die, but then I saw how calm and determined you acted, and knew that you didn't think we were dead, so I waited and watched.

"When you pulled that gun, you never hesitated, and never stopped to think. You just shot the pilot, and then you shot the guy with the machine gun. I saw him try to jump out, but you shot him as he leaped. It was the most unlikely thing, seeing you shoot down a helicopter with a little handgun, and then shoot the man with the machine gun as he leaped out into mid-air.

"I thought I was watching an old Mel Gibson movie, where he shoots every bad guy.

"You were very sure of yourself and very deadly ... When you killed the man with the machine gun, I wasn't afraid. I wasn't even repulsed. As ashamed as I am of my reaction, when you made him stop shooting at us and killed him, I was glad..."

Those words wounded me. For a long time I'd wondered about my ability to kill, not to mention my willingness to inflict horrible pain to get the names of those who did those things to me.

When Teri confronted me with her response to me killing those men, I felt equal parts ashamed of myself for feeling proud of my success, and proud of my success. If I hadn't shot them, they would have killed us. There wasn't an alternative ending for the story. It was kill or be killed, and I have no intention of making it easy on those rat bastards.

Finally able to respond, I said, "I'm not proud of what I did, except that I did it to protect you three. They meant to kill us all, and I wasn't about to let them, and I am so sorry you had to go through this, and even sorrier that you saw me take that helicopter down. But, truly, Teri - I had no choice at the time. Please forgive me."

That's when she did the most unlikely thing possible. Teri smoothly slid out of her seat and climbed up onto my lap. She took my face in both of her hands and said, "There's nothing to apologize for. You SAVED us. When all those armed guards and police ran for their lives, you saved ours.

"I will always remember what you did for us, and not just today, but when you saved us from those awful men in the alley. For whatever reason you appointed yourself our knight in shining armor, I can never thank you enough."