CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX


It was dark when they heard a vehicle going past the casa heading for Emilio’s shack. They had finished a lovely but simple meal hours before and a brief siesta, taking turns in the two hammocks while someone kept watch at the door and Abulea Teresa napped on her bed.

Urs and Elena were stretched out together when Carlos hissed a warning as the lights of a van went past the house, continuing on the narrow road and there was a moment of panic as the hammock rolled them into a caged bundle and they had to be rescued by David.

“That must be the doctor with the children,” Urs murmured as the tail lights disappeared.

Abuela Teresa lifted the two jugs of goats milk out of her cooler and placed them in a plastic pail along with the diapers, cereal and bottles, snapped the airtight lid on and set the whole thing in the ‘baby boat’.

“You worked so hard to get this, it would be a shame to leave it behind,” she teased and smiled at Urs who had not been a very successful dairy maid. Elena had thought she would choke to death watching him trying to milk the reluctant nanny, laughed at his relieved sigh when she rescued him and finished the job, her experience on Chuy’s ranchero giving her some expertise.

Each of them got ready for the action they had waited for all day, limbering up muscles unused for hours, checking weapons one more time, not talking much but intent on what was about to happen.

Urs warned Neto and Seb that it was almost time and was told that the yacht had passed by about half an hour prior to his call, running silent and lights out, not pausing at the quiet cove but a trip up the rope by Neto had shown that it was now motionless off the coast opposite the shack. He promised to keep watch for any sign of a boat being lowered to come ashore for the pick up and mentioned that Seb had discarded their camouflage and was warming the engines.

The minutes dragged by… 10 then 15 and all began to worry that something had gone wrong. At 20 minutes they heard the rumble of Hawk’s truck then saw it coming slowly over the ground from the shack. It jerked to a stop in front of the Casa, the driver’s door opened and the truck jerked forward again, then the engine was cut though the lights were left on.

The Casa was in darkness, purposefully but they clearly heard a young voice crying out in a loud, distressed whisper.

“Abuela, esta Flip….ayudame, por favor!!” {Grandmother it is Flip…Help me, please}

The Abuela brushed past the men clustered at her doorway and a tall young boy rushed to her, talking soft and fast, nearly too fast for them to understand but they got most of it.

Hawk was injured, badly bleeding, ‘the man’ and Emilio had gone to sleep and he was frightened.

Urs stepped out of the building and after one startled look the boy tried to run. Urs scooped him up easily with a strong arm about his waist and a hand over his mouth while Carlos and David rushed to the truck, turned off the lights and had a look at Hawk.

Urs took the struggling boy into the Casa and had to choke back a howl of pain as the child bit the hand over his mouth, kicking and struggling to get away.

“Elena, do something to calm him…he bit me… twice… what a brave little fighter.”

Suddenly Flip went still in his arms as Elena took his face in her hands and stared into his eyes, speaking softly.

“Flip, Flip, rest easy, we are friends… “

“Are you Elena? Are you my sister?” the boy said and stared at her, spitting Urs blood out of his mouth. She nodded and smiled at him, not trying to quell the tears that coursed over her cheeks.

Urs sat the boy’s feet on the floor and Elena held her hands out to him. He took her hand and allowed her to lead him into the darkness to sit at the table.

David and Carlos carried Hawk into the casa and lay him on the bed. Teresa began removing the clothing over his chest wound and Urs moved over to crouch by the boy and ask what had happened.

“The doctor came with more children, some babies and they locked us in a room. The babies were crying, hungry he said and they took some medicine in to feed them so they would be quiet. Then the doctor said something to Emilio and when they left the room with the man called Hawk they hit him and Emilio stuck his long fish knife in Hawk’s side. They said something about Hawk being a spy, that the doctor had learned of him in Quibido. They searched him and found a weapon, and money and a packet of the powder Emilio likes, then left him moaning and bleeding on the floor.

“A few minutes later I heard Emilio fall to the floor and then the doctor and they began to thrash about, knocking over chairs and spitting white foam and then they went to sleep…I do not think they breathe now.

“One of the boys tried to take care of the babies, he said they were drugged to go to sleep and we shouldn’t let them but he helped me get Hawk into the truck and I drove it here for help.

“Are you really my sister? The day he killed Mama she told me I had a sister who would come for me, that I had to wait, to be patient and then she closed her eyes and went to be with the angels.”

Elena opened her arms to him and he went to her, relaxing his tense body against hers.

“Yes, Flip… I am really your sister…and this is my husband, Urs and his brothers Carlos and David.”

Flip looked up at Urs, expecting to be punished for biting him but got only a wry smile.

“You are very brave, little brother… and have very sharp teeth,” Urs said with a laugh, as he wrapped a cotton cloth that Abuela had thrown him over his hand and tied it.

“Now we have no time to get to know each other…. We must get the other children out of there before the men from the yacht come for them.” He stood and went to stand by Hawk, waiting until the Abuela looked up and spoke to him.

“I will take care of him. He has lost much blood but is safe here.”

He turned back to the others and noticed that they were all looking to him for instructions…except Elena who seemed to have vanished.

“She went to get something from the truck,” Flip said and seconds later she returned carrying Hawk’s laptop, cell phone and a small plastic card.

“Ghost will be waiting for Hawk’s signal to attack the yacht,” she said as she hooked everything up and watched the screen light.

She keyed in her old pass-code, waited and finally got a reply.

“Owl?”

“Hawk is down. Go now!!”

“Read you.”

They hustled out of the Casa and jogged silently toward the shack, Elena bringing up the rear and speaking softly to her brother, explaining what they were going to do, stressing that he must obey, must keep silent unless requested to explain to the other kids, must be quiet when asked.

He smiled at her, his long legs having no problem keeping up.

“I have had much training in keeping quiet,” he whispered.

They neared the shack, David and Carlos sharing the load of the ‘baby’ boat and approached carefully though Elena was of the opinion that the two men had sampled the powder that Abuela Teresa sent them and were dead.

At first glance the shabby room was empty, a hearth with a few embers of fire against one wall, a small table, littered with beer bottles and dirty dishes in the center, a lantern that was guttering, almost out of oil, all flanked by several chairs that had been knocked over and a twist of plastic on the table with one line of powder and a short straw lying disturbed on the corner. Then they noticed bodies laying amid the cluster of chairs.

Sure enough, both of them were dead, their faces frozen in pain and terror, foam dried around their mouths and their lips slightly blue.

“This was no accident,” David murmured as he stepped carefully past the bodies.

“No,” Elena answered grimly. “It was justice.”

They could hear weeping in another room and Urs motioned for Flip to come forward.

“Will you go in to them and try to calm them. Let them know we are going to get them away from the men who want to hurt them, to safety and a new life…. But they must be quiet.”

Flip scooted into the room, shut the door and they could hear him speaking softly to the others.

“Let’s get these guys out of the way so the kids don’t get scared,” Urs said and began to drag Emilio to the other side of the room and, when he was joined by the doctor, threw a ratty blanket over both of them.

It was only a few moments until the door to the other room opened and Flip came out, carrying a drowsy baby, beckoned behind him and a tall boy of about 10 walked into the dim light of the room, carrying two more, another small child holding on to his shirt and sucking several finger stuffed in his mouth, another young boy about Flip’s age bringing up the rear with the fourth baby.

As Elena and Carlos were talking to the children Urs headset came to life and he heard Neto speaking to him.

“Zodiac, four men…heading for the shack. Five minutes tops.”

“Pick up….ASAP,” Urs replied.

He turned to the group and spoke firmly.

“Company coming. Let’s go.”

Elena swiftly ripped off 5 pieces of tape from the roll of adhesive and carefully placed one on each babies mouth and on the youngest of the boys. They all wrapped the babies inside one large heavy blanket with only their tiny faces showing, tucking them firmly in to the ‘boat’. David picked up the smallest boy and they left via the back to creep along the back of a sand dune, away from the shack. Urs raced on ahead, grabbing a branch by the side of the path as he ran and tying a white strip of cloth from the Casa on it. He reached the beach and drove the end into the sand, scanned the water for a second and ran back to halt the others before they lost the protection of the dune.

He lay sprawled on the top, watching for Seb, felt someone join him and looked to his right to see Elena, Flip right beside her.

She reached her hand out, slid it under his and he gripped it hard, not trusting himself to talk right now.

They heard talking behind him as the four men from the yacht beached their Zodiac and walked toward the dark house. Almost at the same moment he saw their boat, speeding around the point, easing back to approach the shore and stopping broadside about 100 yards out, the motor idling.

They stepped out onto the beach and 3 men came from behind another dune, stripped for swimming. The biggest man was obviously the priest, still wore his white clerical collar, making the whole scene surreal as he took the eldest boy by the hand, the pail of supplies in his free hand and urged him into the water to begin swimming strongly for the boat. David and Carlos had eased the ‘boat’ into the water and were wading until the water became deep enough to swim then they towed their unwieldy craft with the precious cargo.

There was yelling behind them now as the men ranged out along the beach looking for what they assumed were run-a-ways. It would only be moments until they were seen.

The two remaining men had taken the two small boys and were swimming with them, towing them out to safety. Only Urs, Elena and Flip were left on the beach.

“My brother…. Go with Urs… he is a good man, Flip, take care of him for me.” She looked at Urs and saw that he was wrestling with the decision, did not want to leave her but knew that it was the logical move.

“Urs, give me your gun and go. Moor the boat outside of the key to the cove, where it will be sheltered. I’ll come down the rope and swim out to it.”

She held her hand out and he gave her the gun.

“I’ll lure them inland and make my way to the rocks.” She stood on tiptoe to hug his neck and kiss him briefly. “I love you, Swiss Man. See you in a few minutes.”

She slipped like a shadow back over the dune and a few seconds later they heard a shot as she drew the attention of the searching men. Urs and Flip ran for the water and swam hard for the boat, after 30 feet or so, Urs catching the flailing but quiet boy around the chin and towing him.

With the night goggles he saw the ‘boat’ being lifted aboard and David and Carlos reaching down to lift the boys in one after the other. There were three bobbing heads in the water, the 3 Columbians, heading back, not for the beach but at an angle that would take them to the point.

They reached the side of the boat and the welcome hands reaching for them just as he realized how cold the water was this far out. He was only now aware of the gunfire on the beach, getting further and further north as Elena drew them away.

He stumbled to Seb and, shaking with the cold, nerves and strain, gave him instructions.

“Head back to the cove but don’t go in…moor to the north of the key. She’s going to go down the rope and swim to us.”

“Merde…we took the rope down, Urs….. worry that some children would play on it and hurt themselves.”

“Head there anyway…let me think.”

David and Carlos had taken all the children, except Flip who refused to go, into the cabin and wrapped them all in blankets, checked the babies and had come back out blanket wrapped themselves. Neto dropped one over Urs shoulders and then Flip’s, his eyes watering when he looked at the boy and introduced himself. Now he looked at Urs and was silent as Urs told him about Elena.

“She is too short and has too much chest to climb that rock wall. She will have to jump,” Neto said.

“And then they can pick her off while she is in the water. With a lead she could have outdistanced them but she will waste time looking for the rope.”

“Perhaps…” Neto hesitated then strode to the storage compartments meant to hold the day’s catch. As he had thought, Armando had thought ahead and provided a scuba tank, fins and mask.

“There is only one but you could buddy breath.”

Urs resisted the urge to kiss him and began donning the gear as they slowed to glide in next to the rocks outside the entrance to the cove.

Before he removed his head set he keyed it on and spoke to Elena.

“The rope is gone, Liebe. Go to the top and Jump… I will wait for you in the water.” He listened for a moment then heard a double click of acknowledgement, took off his head set and back flipped into the water.

He thought the water had been cold before but in this sheltered spot and with his already wet clothes it felt icy. He surface swam, listening to the sporadic shooting, his fear intensifying when he recognized the sound of a semi automatic weapon, pushed the paralyzing emotion aside and stroked on for the rock wall.

It sounded closer now and he hugged one of the rocks, peering into the darkness, wet his mask and cleared his regulator when the sounds came closer and strained his eyes watching for her.

**