Tides of Peril

  Sam reared the rifle back like a lumberjack about ready to strike a biscuit, then slammed it into the man's face knocking him to the floor. Joseph reached for the man's ankles and pulled him into the room. "Let me have him," Sam demanded.

  After a torrent of thunderous kicks to the man's body, Sam caught his breath and mumbled, "Those were from me," then straddled the man's torso, grabbed his head in both hands. As a sharp crack of bones vibrated in his hands, he said, "And that's for my wife."

  "You're a quick study," Joseph said.

  Sam stared up at Joseph, retaining his, John McClane stern expression. "Let's go."

  ###

  The warehouse resounded with mumbles and laughter from unseen guards, while the storm continued to beat against aluminum. It was the perfect audio camouflage. Sam, Joseph and Jake positioned themselves hidden behind stacked crates and pallets under strobes of unstable lighting, waiting.

  "What do we do now?" Jake asked.

  "We go from room to room and find our families," Joseph answered. "Follow my lead." It was a phrase he'd often use while leading a raid while in the military. But that was blazing in on fellow marines in brothels and catching them with their pants down. A favorite stunt amongst MPs.

  As they approached the room adjacent to the one they had been in, Joseph and Sam sprung into action like a SWAT Team on a drug bust. With rifle butts firm against their shoulders, Joseph turned the handle to the door, then kicked it in and entered. Sam and Joseph, with an eye peeled down the top of their barrels, scanned for the slightest movement. Convinced it was still and quiet, they realized it was the same size as the room they had just been held in, without the gurney, tables and chairs. It contained only three mattresses thrown randomly on the floor with a mound of soiled blankets on each.

  "People are sleeping," Jake whispered.

  Rifles still steadied with fingers still on triggers, Sam and Joseph advanced toward the mattresses. "Stay behind us," Sam told Jake.

  Joseph held his hand up motioning for silence then undraped a blanket with the tip of the rifle. Even with a beaten face, he knew who she was. He kneeled beside her. "Maritza, it's me, Joseph. Wake up." Then he examined her body.

  She had been savagely bruised and battered. Needle marks riddled her arm as if she probably had warded off several injection attempts. Her panties were torn and hanging from severely bruised legs. Her makeup had been smeared with tears and blood caked on her face. Her broken fingernails told tales of resistance, but being ripped near her cuticles showed signs defeat. Weeping tears of guilt and regret, he clutched her lifeless body. "Maritza, my sweet Maritza. Wake up, please wake up."

  Joseph remained mourning at Maritza's side, while Sam followed suit with the tip of his rifle, and Jake uncovered the third blanket. Sam stood over two more young girls, both mirroring the condition of the other. Both with bruised faces and blood spotted torn panties, their placid and expressionless faces showed they had endured a nightmare of ravage. He stared beyond their pillaged features into their lifeless eyes, recognizing them as the missing sisters on the bulletin board at the Key West store. He speculated they were well loved and admired, daughters parents raved about to others. Now here they were, side by side on germ invested mattresses, hundreds of miles away in a foreign country.

  Checking for a pulse on the older sister, he thought about how they had been abducted. How they might have been deceived by lies then lured and held against their will. Perhaps they were exploring the marina at night, or offered help by some friendly people. He thought about how he and Maddie had left Emily and Jake alone while shopping that night. He lifted his fingers from her neck, then placed the blanket over her head.

  Jake kneeled beside the younger sister about his age. She had ginger colored hair with a sprinkling of freckles extending over the bridge of her nose to both sides of her cheek. He held her hand and brushed her hair from her face. "Hello? Can you hear me? Hello, little girl."

  "We gotta get going?" Sam said, fearing the worse for Maddie and Emily.

  Jake placed her hand back on the bed, when he felt her hand tense against his. "Please," he heard her whisper.

  "You're okay," he said, surprised. "Don't worry, we're going to save you."

  Joseph held Maritza, whispering in Spanish. "Joseph, I'm sorry, but we gotta keep going?" Sam said, hoping he hadn't changed his mind. "Their gonna notice what's going and come for us if we don't keep moving."

  "We gotta take her with us," Joseph said, wrapping the blanket around her.

  "She's gone, Joseph. Cover her up, and we'll send someone for her when we get out of here."

  Joseph remained fixed on Maritza. "I'll come back for you, my baby. You stay warm and sleep," he told her, then stood with a revengeful determination. "Those bastards are gonna pay."

  "Come on, Jake," Sam said.

  "Dad, we gotta take her, she's still alive. We can't leave her here."

  Sam felt her carotid artery. "Okay," he said, then scooped her up over his shoulder like a bag of fragile merchandise.

  Joseph stood by the door, rifle in hand and ready to implement pain. "Remember, we have to keep quiet. We use the rifles only if necessary," Sam reminded.

  "I don't care what we use, they're going to pay one way or the other."

  ###

  In the adjoining room, Maddie lie face down with her skirt pushed up her back and her buttocks exposed. The other man had torn a strip of sheet to tie around her wrists, and pulled her arms above her head. Another strip was waded and stuffed in her mouth. A slobbish man in a sweaty wife-beater, kneeled behind her with his trousers unsnapped and ready to mount. "Mamacita," he murmured, then flicked his cigar near the rifles.

  Maddie's fight had returned.

  "Make it fast," a guard said, pulling on the strip of sheet pinning Maddie's hands above her head.

  Filomena and Pilar chatted in disgust at the nearby table. "I'm sick of witnessing the abuse these poor girls have to go through," Filomena said. "Why don't we do something? We need to tell Chavez," she added.

  "Remember the last one who snitched?" Pilar reminded. "They beat her senseless and cut her tongue out."

  "Yeah, then drove her into the orchard and left her for dead," Filomena added.

  "Keep her still," the slobbish guard ordered.

  Fists clinched around the sheet, Maddie kicked her legs and squeezed both sides of the mounted man's torso. As she prepared to receive her assault, the door flew open. Sam, Jake, and Joseph stormed in, guns pointed. All heads turned toward the unexpected intruders and before anyone could react, Jake had already brandished the knife from Joseph's belt and bolted toward the man straddling his mother. Joseph was close on his heals.

  Noticing the little girl on Sam's shoulders, Pilar and Filomena dashed to him. "We'll watch over her. Hurry, go help."

  Maddie's attacker stared up at the little boy's deranged face advancing toward him with the point of the knife raised in the air. "Get them!" he shouted, ready to block the knife.

  Jake leaped, thrusting the knife through the palm of the man's hand. The other guard went for his rifle, a move Joseph had anticipated. As the guard reached for it, Joseph's foot slammed into his face, springing the man's head in a fierce whiplash against the wall. Maddie leaped from the mattress. She wrapped the torn sheet around his neck and pulled with all her might.

  Sam scowled at the man trying to slide the knife from his palm. He was the reflection of every guy Sam loathed. He was all the Thad Brewster's and Captain Kent's in the world. He was the new teacher in the school and the flirtatious hotshot kid at the red-light. This man represented the countless number of intimidators before them. He was going to pay.

  Sam's demented glare shuffled the man off the end of the mattress. The man grasped the handle of the knife, but before he could slide it out of his hand, Sam cracked the rifle butt into his face. Blood splattered like spray from an aerosol can. The man slammed onto the floor, defenseless. Sam proceeded with a relentless barrage of kicks, renderi
ng the man unconscious.

  Maddie confirmed the death of the man she strangled then glanced at Sam. He was holding the man's head in his hands while straddling him. With one quick violent twist, Maddie heard the snapping of bones from the man's neck. She stared in disbelief. 'Where in the hell did that come from?' Her mild-mannered husband had become a lethal weapon; transformed into a maniacal monster of raging revenge. The thrill frightened her, but at the same time created an excitement she hadn't felt with him before.

  She embraced Sam and Jake. "Are you okay, Mom?" Jake asked.

  "I am now, thanks to you two. Just still a little weak."

  For the first time she felt safe in Sam's arms. She glanced over at Joseph who was standing near the two women and the little girl. "Who's that man?"

  "He's our new friend, Joseph. I'll explain later," he answered. "We gotta get going now."

  They rose and approached Joseph. "What do you want to do with them?" Joseph asked, motioning to the women.

  "Please señor, take us with you, we can help. I'm Pilar, and this is my sister, Filomena," she begged. "Please?"

  The rough appearance and diminished demeanor of both women resembled beaten dogs. "Si, we don't want to be here either," added Filomena.

  "Okay, both of you take a rifle," Joseph instructed, while withdrawing the knife from the dead man's hand and stuffing it under his belt.

  "How many of these military guys are there?" Sam asked.

  "There's about fifteen, but they're not military men, they're just poor farmers who were recruited as Chavez's guards," Pilar answered.

  "Then why the uniforms?" Sam asked.

  "Chavez thinks the people brought here will be more scared and do what they are told." Filomena answered.

  "Then they haven't had any formal military tactical training," Joseph said.

  "Not as far as we know," Pilar said. "Like my sister said, they're mostly just poor farmers without families. We've never even seen them fire a gun before."

  "Perfect," Joseph said, placing his hand on the door handle. "Let's finish this. Everyone stay behind me."

  ###

  Two thugs conversed in Spanish at a table in the next room. One wore a baseball cap twisted to the back, while the other tall muscle bound man massaged his intimidating biceps. Seated with them in silence, was Ramona.

  Single file, like cattle being herded through the narrow gates on the way to the slaughterhouse, Sam and his group clamored through the door, weapons ready. Startled, the two men rose. The baseball capped thug searched for his rifle, while the muscle bound thug kicked his chair back from under him and rose empty handed. He was built like a brick house, and resembled Carlos.

  Jake recognized his sister on a mattress. Ignoring the others, he darted toward her. Before flinging himself beside her, he kicked away the needle, rubber tubing and spoon on the floor. "Em, wake up. We're here," he said, nudging her. "It's, Jake."

  Filomena shifted the little girl she was holding and grabbed her sister's hand to step out of the path of the approaching men. Maddie rushed to join Jake at Emily's bedside.

  As the baseball capped man worked his way to his rifle, Sam charged him with a baseball bat swing of his rifle, knocking the man off balance. When the man regained composure, he tackled Sam and began pounding him with hard-hitting blows. Sam released his grip on the rifle to protect himself, and began exchanging blows with the man.

  Joseph dropped his rifle and sprung toward the muscled thug with his fist reared back. The thug shook it off, as if it were an annoying gnat, then attacked with both arms stretched out. Joseph slammed another fist into him, but again, the thug was unaffected. Joseph retreated a few steps back and stopped against the wall. The thug advanced toward him with his hands reached out. Joseph's feet lifted from the floor with the strength of the thug's hands around his neck.

  Witnessing Joseph's peril, and fearing a gunshot would be heard, Filomena handed the little girl to Ramona, and joined her sister leaping on the thug's back. The thug released a hand from around Joseph's neck, still holding Joseph off the floor, and threw his elbow behind him. Filomena and Pilar flew to the floor. The thug then resumed his chokehold on Joseph. With little strength remaining, Joseph dug his thumbs into the eyes of his attacker, but his weakened strength wasn't enough to deter the large man. Joseph writhed and twitched, struggling for air, while reaching for the knife tucked under his belt. The thug shook Joseph against the wall, squeezing the last bit of air out of him. Joseph fumbled the knife to the floor near the thug's feet.

  Pilar and Filomena reached for chairs and broke them on the back of the thug choking Joseph. Again, the thug was unaffected.

  Sam and the other man continued exchanging blows to the face. "Get the knife," he yelled.

  Maddie spotted the knife on the floor. She swept it up and plunged it into the back of the man Sam had been fighting. The man rolled off, when Sam rose and finished him, stabbing the man a number of times.

  Without a second to think, Sam sunk the knife into the shoulder of Joseph's attacker. The grip loosened around Joseph's neck, but as his feet touched the floor, the thug wrapped his arms around him, pulling him in tight, then squeezed. Bones were heard cracking. Joseph slid to the floor, incapacitated.

  The thug turned and faced Sam, pulling the knife from his shoulder. Grasping the knife with a sneer, he approached Sam.

  Pilar picked up another chair and with all her strength, slammed it into the thug, tumbling the knife toward Maddie. Before it stopped moving, she gave the it a soccer kick, sliding it on the floor at Sam's feet. As the thug neared him, Sam bent over and retrieved it, sticking it into the thugs leg. The thug wobbled and hit the floor like thunder, face down. Worried the thug would recover, Sam climbed on his back like a cowboy riding a steer, and twisted his neck until bones cracked. "Where in the hell did you come from?" Maddie asked, amazed at the malignant evilness that had taken her husband over.

  Without answering, Sam rushed to Emily. "Em, can you hear me?"

  Emily's short giggle was followed by inaudible slurs. Maddie patted her face as if trying to awake her from a bad dream. Jake picked up a needle from the floor to show his parents. "Put that down," Maddie ordered in panic.

  "At least she's still alive," Sam remarked, inspecting the red punctures on her arm. "We gotta get her to a hospital. See if she can walk."

  Emily's legs buckled like rubber when Maddie and Ramona tried to help her up. "I'm afraid she's not going to be herself for awhile," Ramona said, trying to prop her up again.

  Sam knelt beside Joseph who lay inert on the floor. "Joseph, can you hear me? Can you move?"

  It was a labor for Joseph to keep his eyes opened. "You'll have to go without me," he said, with a defeated tone.

  "Can you move?"

  "I think my back's broken." His grip faded in Sam's hand.

  "Come on, I'll help you up."

  "No, don't worry about me. I'll just slow you down."

  Sam peered around the room, focusing the man who did this to his friend. "Are you sure?"

  Joseph closed his eyes, then whispered, "Save your family before it's too late. We'll be fine here."

  Sam knew who he was referring to when he said, "We."

  With his last breath, he exhaled, "Maritza."

  Sam stared at him like he had just lost his best friend, then covered him with a torn sheet.

  Ramona carted Emily like a rag doll to, Sam. "Please señor, take me with you?" she pleaded. "I have a husband waiting for me."

  Joseph had been Sam's driving force that inspired his confidence. Now he had only himself to rely on. It was up to him to get his family and the others to safety. He agreed to take Ramona with them. Being the largest of the three women, Sam asked if she could carry Emily. She agreed. "Protect her with your life," Sam told her. He then turned to the next largest woman, Filomena. "You carry the little girl."

  Sam handed Jake a rifle. "If you can stand, you can shoot. Do you think you can handle it?"

  Ja
ke stood firm with confidence. "Sure, no problem, just aim and fire," he answered, remembering what Joseph had said earlier.

  He prepared everyone with a rifle then asked, "Is there more ammunition anywhere?"

  Ramona pointed to a cupboard near the table. "There's some in here."

  "Grab it all," Sam told everyone.

  They were like an army troop stockpiling in preparation for a secret ambush. When they finished topping off their weapons, and stuffing the balance of bullets in their pockets, Sam asked, "What's the best way out of here?"

  "There's a door in the front, but it welded shut," Ramona said.

  "Yeah, we'll have to go through the back," Pilar added.

  "How are we gonna get away from here once we're outside?" Maddie asked.

  "They always leave the keys in the truck. We need to get to the truck," Ramona said.

  "Okay then," Sam said, with a sigh. "Stay close and don't be afraid to shoot."

  Sam's motley group reminded him of a crowd of angry vigilantes. "Remember, just point and fire," he said.

  Jake took a practice aim at one of the dead thugs, then mouthed a firing sound. Sam grasped the door handle. "Everyone ready?"

  Chapter Twenty

  Thunder roared. Lightening flashed. Gale force winds whipped through everything in its path, snapping tree limbs like toothpicks, and uprooting small trees. It was a brutal punishment of natures fury, intended only for those courageous enough to venture into its path.

  Headlights of two sedans with tinted windows veered from the highway and meandered down the muddy road toward the warehouses. They had braved the storm, ready to bid top-dollar for the mother-daughter team Chavez had assured them they'd make a fortune on. The cars parked alongside the military transport truck as they had done many times before. Two men exited, each holding briefcases, were greeted by guards holding umbrellas who escorted them into the warehouse.