CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT

It seemed a long way down and she knew that the gunmen had reached the edge, could hear the whirring as bullets zipped passed her, kept her body long and straight, arms extended above her head to make a smaller target, felt her feet and legs enter the water and inhaled a giant gulp of air before her head followed. Her instinct was to stroke for the surface, then a tinge of panic set in when she felt hands touching her, pulling her even deeper and the blessed feeling of a regulator pressed against her clutching hands.

It was inky black in the depths, a blindness that could not be penetrated but she knew those hands that held her, the gentle touch of his long fingers on her face. She sucked in a good breath and passed the regulator back and he wrapped an arm around her and began to swim. She shrugged his hand off and wrapped hers around the straps holding the tank to his back, giving him more power to swim with, holding her breath for what seemed like forever until he passed the regulator to her again but kept on stroking them further and further away from the cove.

He seemed to understand that she couldn’t hold her breath as long as he could and gave her more time with the regulator and more often until at last a faint glow of moonlight began to reach them where they swam 15 or twenty feet down. She knew that they were out of the cove now and when he signaled ‘UP?’ she nodded.

They surfaced carefully, looking around to orient themselves, saw the boat not 20 feet away and surface swam to it. David reached a hand down to her and she flew through the air as he pulled her up onto the deck in one smooth move. Urs passed the tank up and Carlos and Neto pulled him in.

“Seb,” he called out to the anxious face looking from the wheel house. “Let’s get the hell out of here.” He was shaking violently with the cold and relief, completely ignoring David and Neto as they stripped his clothing off and wrapped his shivering body in a thick blanket. He looked up to see Carlos doing the same to Elena and growled ‘Hey!!’ but Carlito just wiggled his brows and whispered back at him….’I have my eyes closed, my Brother!’

They were sent below to warm up in the shelter of the cabin, aided by a good shot of some cognac Neto had found in one of the lockers.

The children were all sleeping now, even Flip who had collapsed in the wheel house and was laying rolled in one of the heavy blankets near Seb’s feet. The babies had been left in their ‘boat’ for now, seeming to draw comfort and heat from each other, the older boy on one of the bunks and the two other young ones snuggled together on the other.

Urs and Elena sat scrunched up together on one of the benches at the table, just together, not talking, sharing warmth and closeness. They were jolted out of their stupour by the faint reverberation of an explosion and went up on deck .

Neto handed Urs the binoculars and when he looked back to the south he saw a huge fire ball on the water just off shore of the village. He passed the glasses to Elena who looked without comment but smiled as she gave the glasses back to Neto.

“It isn’t likely we’ll have to worry about the patrol boat tonight, he’ll be too busy with all the excitement to pay any attention to us.”

Neto and Seb took turns as captain and watch man, refusing any help as the others lay about the deck and slept most of the way to Jaque.

**

It was bedlam when they arrived back at the dusty airfield. The babies picked that time to wake up, the other children were irritable and hungry and the plane hadn’t been brought out of the hidden hangar on to the tarmac yet. The man with the cart did, mysteriously, appear and they crammed into the back each holding a child or two for the short ride.

Urs solved the whining baby dilemma by efficiently changing the diapers on one and pouring a bottle of milk into one of the donated bottles then singing softly to the feeding youngster while the others tried to copy what he had done.

“You do that like you’ve had a lot of practice, Herr Buhler. Is there something I don’t know about you?”

He grinned at her. “Sisters and there’s always one of them producing another baby. I’ve been practicing most of my life for ours.”

She flushed and giggled when he laughed at her.

The jet coming toward them out of the jungle fascinated the older four and they watched with glee as it slowed then stopped near them and the door opened, the steps lowered.

It wasn’t difficult to urge them to board, nor to strap in, two to a seat, nor when they were airborne to come to the table and have a nutritious meal. The babies were put in the bedroom, on blankets on the floor, chairs put on their sides to keep them cooped up if they woke again, which wasn’t likely for with full tummies and the residual effects of the drugs given them by Emilio and his friend they were still groggy. One of the little girls, the one with the longest hair and huge chocolate eyes continued to fret until David picked her up and cuddled her. She snuggled against him and fell asleep again, conquest of this tall American made, though he wasn’t aware of it yet.

**

It was early afternoon when they landed in Puerto Vallarta and were met by Armando who silently handed them the papers for the children and escorted them to two long vans parked at the side of the field.

“The Ladies have transformed one of the suites into a nursery and 2 other suites for the older boys, two to each so they do not feel lonely for a while. You are all well?”

Urs was next to him in the front seat, holding one of the little girls, laughing as she tried to grab his hair.

“Yes, except for being very tired, none of us was injured. Well except by the kids…..Flip bit me a couple of times before he found out we were friends.” He laughed as he held up the hand that Elena had freshly bandaged during the flight. “We could never have accomplished this without your aid, Armando. We will always be in your debt.”

Armando laughed and winked at Urs. “Perhaps I will think of something, but you are family and the fee will be very small. Perhaps an early copy of your next CD?”

Urs laughed and the baby thought this was the world’s greatest game as she patted his face and laughed too, her green eyes, probably from Mayan ancestors, sparkling just like Elena’s when she teased.

The arrival at the house was chaos at first as the women crowded and took babies to the nursery, welcomed their husbands back and mothered the confused orphans.

Cena and Amelia soon took charge and quieted things down, creating order out of confusion, getting the babies washed and fed, the same for the other children and then the older ones were turned loose on the Party lawn to play with footballs while the returning rescuers retired to grab welcome showers, the first in several days.

Urs and Elena showered together, which took quite a while since they both were eager for some…exploring. Finally they were clean and sated, for now, and Urs was able to shave off the 3 days growth of stubble though Elena teased him that she quite liked his dangerous, bad boy look.

He was just finishing up and wiping the last of the shaving cream from his face when Elena came back in the bath room to watch him in the mirror, dressed in one of her light cotton dresses. She had a curious look on her face, not happy, not sad, just a bit confused and unsure.

“What is it Love?” he said turning to her and taking her shoulders in his hands.

“You do understand what happened to Emilio and that hateful doctor, don’t you?”

“Yes, Liebe. They got what they deserved. I just pray that Abuela Teresa will not suffer because of poisoning them.”

She smiled at him. “There is no fear of retribution. Hawk contacted Ghost and they burned the shack to the ground. There are no fancy forensic facilities in Jurado so the affair is closed. But when I contacted Hawk just now, while you were shaving, he had a message for us, from the Abuela. ‘Tell that lovely Urs and his dear Elena that they must name him Antonio. He is destined for greatness.’ Urs she thinks that we are embarazada, with a son.”

His face lit up with joy and he wrapped his arms around her.

“I love that old woman but we should make sure. Don’t they have those test things at the Pharmacy? Ach, mein Liebling, this would be such happy news.”

He felt her relax against him.

“I wasn’t sure if you would be ready for this. Oh, Urs our lives are going to be so full, I keep thinking I’ll wake up and it will all have been a dream.”

“Then we must be having the same dream, sweetheart, and I don’t ever want to wake.”

He kissed her until her legs felt weak and it was a real effort not to rip off his low-riding towel and drag him in to their bed…not that it would have taken any dragging but they had a house over- flowing with people and did have to show a bit of restraint. She grinned at his eager eyes and skipped out of the room. It was definitely going to be any early night.

**