Chapter 19 – A Lil’ Bit of trouble
La Isla de Aquinas – Chapter 19
I don’t know exactly what woke me up. It’s probably my army training, but the minute I hear the gunshots in the distance, I’m completely awake. I look around and notice the three naked preteen bodies around me. My brain quickly springs into action. I get up and start shaking all three kids. As I’m doing this, I hear footsteps at the front door. Moments later, someone bangs on the door and shouts, “Abrir la Puerta!”
“Wake up!” I whisper loudly as I shake their shoulders.
Audrey is the first to wake, immediately followed by Evan. Owen doesn’t move yet, so I give him another shake.
“Wha… whazzup?” Audrey mumbles, still sleep drunk.
“Boys, get to your room and get dressed! Now!” I say sternly and start pulling up my boxers.
They must notice the urgency in my voice, and after another few bangs on the door, they realize it’s serious. Evan and Owen immediately get up and quickly head over to their room. Audrey gets up too and starts searching for some clothes while I pull a t-shirt over my head and walk toward the door.
“Abrir!!” The voice on the other side of the door shouts more urgent now.
I look over at Audrey and see she’s pulled up her panties, and I see her bra disappear behind the shirt she’s quickly pulling down. As she reaches for her shorts, I open the door.
I’m pushed to the side as three armed men enter the cabin. They look like Nicaraguan freedom fighters, judging by the old AK-47s they’re carrying. They check every room and yell at us while pointing toward the corner. Evan and Owen almost run out of their bedroom to join us in the corner. Audrey presses herself against me and hides behind my back for shelter. Thankfully, all kids are more or less dressed, except for me. I still need some shorts and shoes, but it’s the least of my concerns at the moment.
The guy that seems to be the leader shouts something at me in Spanish. But despite the time I spent on the island, I never really mastered the language. I was always the quiet guy in the back, keeping an eye out and letting the others talk. I can make out some bits and pieces, but when they talk this quickly, and I’m under this kind of pressure, I don’t fully understand what they’re saying.
“¿Hablas Inglés?” I stammer.
The leader looks at me and asks, “You alone?”
I nod my head and say, “Yes. Just the four of us.”
He keeps looking at us and clearly tries to determine what our relationship is. Moments later, another guy walks up with our passports. He must’ve found these on the top shelf of the cupboard in the kitchen. Damn! So much for safe-keeping. After the man hands the leader the passports, he browses through them and asks, “You… el padre… father?”
“No. I’m her guardian,” I say, pointing at Audrey. “And their parents are on a tour of the forest up north. We’re just tourists.”
“Come!” he shouts and pulls at one of the twin’s arms to make his point. The boy makes an alarmed squeak.
“Owen!” his brother shouts immediately, stepping forward to help his brother as Owen starts pulling back. There’s a lot of shouting and confusion. I need to take control, so I shout with my army voice, “STOP!” and everyone in the room looks at me.
“We’re coming,” I say calmly to the leader. And to the kids I say, “We don’t have much of a choice here. We can’t defend ourselves, and we just have to see where they take us.”
“But…” Owen starts.
“No buts. We’re going. Make sure to stay close to me, no matter what. I’ll get us out of this mess, I promise.”
Owen sizes me up and nods. I smile to let them know it’s okay and ask the leader, “Pants and shoes?” as I point toward my shorts.
He nods, and I quickly pull them up. “Make sure to wear some shoes instead of your flip-flops,” I say to Owen, who’s currently the only one wearing those.
As I start tying my sneakers, Owen wants to go to his room for his shoes, but the men stop him. A new outburst of shouting and pushing, so I point to his feet and say, “Shoes!”
“Are shoes!” the leader sternly says, and it’s clear his patience has run out.
They start directing us out of the cabin. I managed to tie just one of my sneakers, but I figure I can tie it up later. First, we need to make sure to stay together. As I walk out, I notice the camera bag on the table. Thankfully, everything is stuffed inside, so the guys probably thought it was just regular luggage.
We’re pushed forward on the beach. There’s a lot of fighting going on in the distance, judging by all the gunfire I’m hearing. We’re directed across the beach, and I see a big, former Russian personnel carrier in the distance. There are already some people inside, and they look like tourists too.
When we reach the truck, they start pointing and pushing, wanting us to get inside. I help the kids, and they get in thanks to the hands and support from the people inside. A poke from the barrel of an AK-47 in my back makes it clear I’m not getting in quick enough. I hold back my anger and get inside too.
Inside, there are about twenty other people, and seeing how they’re dressed, there’s no doubt they’re tourists like us. I glance around, and as Audrey presses herself against me on one side, the boys sit close next to me.
“¿Hablas inglés?” I ask no one in particular.
“Yes. We’re all Americans,” a balding man in his mid-forties says.
“We’re from the UK,” a pale white elderly man sputters.
“Do you know where they’re taking us?”
“No. But according to her,” the balding man says as he nods toward a woman, “they’re taking us to the Hilton.”
“Yeah. I heard them talk about it. I speak a little Spanish,” she says, clearly upset by all of this.
“Figures,” I mumble and have to hold Audrey as we’re almost thrown around the cabin due to the reckless driving.
“What do you mean?” the man asks.
“We’re hostages now. They look like Nicaraguan separatists, and they probably think they need us to prevent the US from wiping them out.”
“How do you know this?”
“I… uhm… studied this conflict in school.,” I reply, not wanting everyone to know the real reason and hoping the kids also keep their mouths shut.
“I see. I’m Nate,” the man says, extending his hand for me to shake but quickly grabbing onto the bench as we fly over another big bump.
“Scott,” I say, but my mind is doing overtime on the best strategy to keep us safe.
“Are these your kids?”
“She is,” I say, pointing to Audrey, and as I nod toward the twins, I say, “Their parents are on a tour on the island’s north side. I look after them.”
“Oh,” Nate simply says, and I’m glad he’s keeping his thoughts to himself.
The truck comes to a sudden stop, and immediately someone outside shouts, “¡Fuera de aquí!”
“We need to get out,” the woman says.
We get out, and I see we’re indeed at the Hilton hotel on the boulevard. More armed men surround us, and I notice how poorly equipped they are.
“Phone!” a chubby man with an ancient carbine rifle hanging over his shoulder shouts.
He’s holding out a bag in front of him, and we all need to put our phones inside. I briefly consider if I should just pretend to put it in there, but I can’t risk losing the kids, so I go with the flow. I can always get my hands on another one if I need to.
We’re directed toward the hotel lobby, where another group of people is waiting, guarded by a few men pointing machine guns at them. A big guy with a scar across his face and waving a golden Colt 45 around is waiting for us. I recognize him from pictures I saw on my last mission. This Carlos des Freitas. He’s the lieutenant and right hand of the drug lord wanting to take over the island. I know I need to be careful around him and hope he doesn’t recognize me as one of the soldiers demolishing their poppy fields.
“Welcome!” Carlos says theatrically and looks around the crowd.
His eyes briefly meet mine, but thankfully, he doesn’t seem to recognize me. He starts walking around, making sure everyone knows he’s the boss.
“We are now in control of the island and are now working our way into the presidential palace. You are our guests, and we want to make sure you are all safe. That is why my men will escort you to your rooms, where you will stay until we say it is safe. You are not allowed to leave the room without our permission. Is that clear, Miss?” he asks a trembling woman close to him as he stands extremely close to her, looking her in her eyes.
The woman nods shyly, and I can hear a soft sniff coming from her. I know what he’s doing. This is a textbook scare tactic he’s playing out here in an attempt to keep us under his thumb. I need to play along to keep us all safe. I can always decide what to do when we get to the room.
“We will provide food three times a day. So no need to call for room service!” he laughs, and all his henchmen are laughing with him.
“We want to keep you safe, but we need your help doing so. If any of you decide to break these simple rules, there WILL be consequences! Is this clear?” he says, shouting the last sentence.
All of the hostages nod sheepishly, and Carlos smiles wickedly. He looks at one of the men and nods. “Take them to their rooms.”
As we walk toward the stairs, Audrey slides her hand in mine, and I nod for the twins to walk in front of us so I can keep an eye on them. Behind us, an elderly lady is sobbing and whispering, “Are they gonna kill us, Bert?”
“No, Honey. This is just temporary,” a man whispers back.
We take the stairs, and on the second floor, one of the armed men points at us when we stop at room 211 and opens the door.
“Entres,” he calmly says, but it’s clear there’s no room for negotiations.
We enter the room, and the moment we’re inside, the door is locked behind us, and we hear the muffled voices of more people walking by.
“Fuck! This is bad,” Owen exclaims, and it’s clear he’s close to tears at the moment.
One look at his brother tells me the same, and judging by how Audrey is clinging to me, she’s not in a good place either. So I know I need to step up as the responsible adult here, but there are just too many unanswered questions flying around in my head.
“The fact that we’re here is actually a good sign,” I start.
“A good sign? How?” Evan snaps.
“Look, guys. I know it’s all a bit overwhelming now. But trust me. We’re valuable to them at the moment. I’m sure they put us here, so they’ve got some leverage in their negotiations. They won’t shoot us or harm us in any way. They just can’t afford that. And judging by all the shooting that’s going on in the distance, we’re probably in the safest building on the island right now.”
“Tell that to mom and dad!” Evan snaps again, and I can see a tear roll down his cheek.
I stand next to him and wrap an arm around his shoulders in an attempt to comfort him. I nod toward Owen and do the same to him
“Your parents are with a guy that knows the jungle like the back of his hand. I’m sure he took everyone on that tour with him to a safe place. He’s one of the smartest guys I know, so I wouldn’t worry too much about them. Honestly!”
“You sure?” Evan asks timidly.
“I swear! Tell you what. As soon as I get my hands on a phone, I’ll try to contact him on his satellite phone, okay?”
This visibly puts the boys at ease, and I feel their shoulders relax under my hands. Moments later, Audrey comes in and makes it a genuine group hug.
After we break the hug, I look around in the room and see we’ve got one of the more luxurious rooms in the hotel. We’ve got a small coffee table with a two-person sofa and two comfortable chairs. There’s a small kitchenette in the corner and two king-sized beds to sleep in. This could’ve been way worse.
The boys check out the bed but keep the serious expressions on their faces. So does Audrey. I try to lighten the mood, and as I look out the window, I say, “At least we can still see the ocean from here.”
“I need to take a shit,” Owen mumbles and walks over to the bathroom.
I sit down on one of the chairs and stare outside. Everyone’s clearly feeling a bit glum, and I figure I just need to give them some time to get used to the situation.
“It’s damn hot in here. They must’ve turned off the air conditioning,” Evan complains as he takes off his shirt and throws it on a bed.
As I’m looking out of the window, thinking about this whole situation, I feel worried about the stuff in our cabin. I realize I’m doomed if anyone finds the pictures on the camera or on my laptop. I’ll probably be dragged around town, tied behind a car, and buried to my neck on the beach for me to drown or starve to death. Not a very lovely idea. And I’m still not sure if I’m out of the woods with Carlos, but I’ll deal with that when we get there.
As I was thinking of a way to get everyone’s mind off the situation, Audrey said, ”Hey! I found a deck of cards! Who wants to play?”
Evan and Owen reluctantly agree, but after a few minutes of ‘Go Fish,’ they’re really getting into it, and I’m glad to see the frowns on their faces vanish before my eyes. After we play a few games, Evan offers to fill the bottle and some glasses with water for us, and when he comes out of the bathroom, he’s coughing loudly and tries to hold his arm in front of his face.
“Jesus! Something died in there!” and he makes exaggerated moves with his hands to catch his breath as he stares at his brother accusingly.
I’m glad to see the kids laugh at this, and I can’t hold back a giggle myself. I need to keep reminding myself that the here and now is way more important than worrying about stuff I can’t control.
“Listen up,” I say after the laughter dies down, “you know I used to do army stuff in the past here, right?”
“Yeah…” Owen replies tentatively.
“During one of these missions, we rocked this guys’ boat. One of them was the guy with the big scar on his face.”
“The one with the golden gun?” Audrey asks.
“That’s the one. I don’t think he recognized me, but I’m not sure. But if he does, he’ll probably take me away from you guys.”
“But…” Audrey starts.
“Don’t worry about that. I can handle myself. But if he does, I can’t help you anymore. So just try to stay as safe as you can, and I promise I’ll come looking for you. But if I can’t reach you, there’s a fail-safe. So take this,” I say as I tear one of the playing cards into three small pieces and write a number on it, “and hide it on your body somewhere.”
“What is it?” Evan asks seriously.
“It’s the number of the satellite phone from one of the guys from my team. I trust him completely, and when you tell him I told you to call him, he’ll come and help you immediately.”
“I’ll memorize it,” Owen says with a lot of confidence.
“That’s great, Owen, but I’ll feel a lot better if you hide it inside your underwear, next to your balls,” I chuckle.
“We’ll do both,” Audrey chips in.
“Great! And remember. Tell him I told…”
I’m interrupted by a knock on the door. I Motion to them to hide the card as I get up. They turn their backs to the door and quickly hide the piece of paper.
“Room service!” a dark voice says with an unmistakable laugh in his voice.
Moments later, the door opens, and Carlos walks in with three armed men behind him and a big smile across his face. He looks around and starts smiling as he sees the cards and looks at Evan’s bare chest.
“Playing strip poker?” he laughs, and the men around him start laughing too.
“Something like that,” I reply evasively but feel the tension of the situation build inside.
He looks intensely at me, and if you didn’t know any better, you’d think we’re having a staring contest. After a few moments, he smiles again and says, “I think I know you…” as he keeps looking deep into my eyes.
“I don’t think…” I start, but I’m immediately interrupted.
“You took something very valuable from me,” he continues.
“I think you’re mist-“
“SHUT UP!!” he shouts and hits me on my head with the butt of his gun.
I feel a sting throughout my head, and I see flashes in front of my eyes. But I keep a straight face and don’t give him the pleasure of hitting me. Through the flashes, I see the concerned faces of the kids, but I feel powerless to do something about that now.
“Passaportes!” he snaps and holds out his hand.
One of the men behind him hands him four passports. He opens them one by one and holds the photo in it next to the face belonging to the passport.
“Only the two of you are family,” Carlos says, pointing to the twins, “but even a blind man can see this.”
He grabs Owen’s face around his chin to make his point as he says this. Owen immediately pulls his head back and looks at Carlos with an angry face. Then, Carlos starts laughing loudly and looks at me.
“So why are these kids with you?”
“I…” another smack against my head shuts me up.
“One of my men told me what you told him,” he says quietly and glances at Audrey.
I look at Audrey and see the fear on her face. Carlos extends his hand and brushes Audrey’s cheek. The moment he touches her, Evan moves and slaps his hand away. Immediately, one of the men steps forward and punches Evan in his stomach, causing the poor kid to fall back in his chair.
“Stop it, guys!” I shout as I step forward, immediately presented with the barrel of a rifle pointed at my face. “This is between him and me!”
“Thank you,” he says overly politely. “ So… this pretty girl is more or less your daughter?”
“I’m her guardian, yes,” I say with my heart in my throat.
“So she is very valuable to you, no?”
I don’t respond to that, but the look on my face probably gives it away because Carlos starts smiling.
“You know you took something valuable from me, so…”
“I swear to God! If you…”
Before I can finish my sentence, two men grab Audrey from behind and drag her away toward the door. At that moment, everything happens really fast. Both Evan and Owen jump to their feet but are immediately pushed back down again. Their loud screams of “Audrey!” are cut short, and I can see Owen being hit on his head with a fist by one of the men.
In the meantime, I jump up and aim straight for Carlos. But he anticipated this and elbows me in my face. I try to avoid it, but I trip over the chair and almost fall down. Thankfully, I manage to avoid the elbow in my face by that, but the second I make a move to go for it again, Carlos fires a shot.
For a second, I fear he killed Audrey. But when I see the gun is pointed toward the ceiling and Carlos quickly moves it down to aim it at my face, I feel an enormous sense of relief.
“Shut the fuck up! All of you! I take the girl, and then we are even. For now,” he says, fire shooting from his eyes as he says this to me.
In the corner of my eye, I see the twins standing there, frozen and with a look of fear in their eyes. Blood is seeping from Owen’s left eyebrow, covering the side of his face. I turn to look at Audrey, and I see her open her mouth, but before she can say anything, I’m struck hard against my head, and everything turns black.
“Mr. H…” I hear in the distance. And a moment later, “I think he’s coming back.”
I open my eyes, and it takes me a few moments to focus. I see two similar-looking faces above me, and I’m afraid I’m seeing double for a moment. But when both expressions change, and I see one of their faces is partly covered in blood, I realize I’m looking at the twins.
“Wha…” I hear myself mumble in the distance.
But then I realize I haven’t seen Audrey yet. At that moment, the adrenaline shoots through my body, and I’m instantly alert. I ignore the pain shooting through my head and look at Owen’s bleeding eyebrow. It seems like it’s stopped bleeding and just needs some cleaning.
“Where’s Audrey?”
“Those guys took her. He said…” Evan starts, and I can see the tears forming in his eyes.
“How long ago?” I interrupt him.
“What?” he asks, clearly still upset, but I need to control this situation quickly.
“How long ago did they leave the room?”
“I… uhm…” Evan stammers.
“A little under two minutes ago, I guess,” Owen says.
“That’s good. We’ve still got time then. Evan, look out the window and check the main entrance. If they take her elsewhere, they’ll have to use the main entrance.”
“Okay,” Evan responds, clearly glad to see me taking the lead.
“We need to clean you up,” I say to Owen while I open the bathroom door to get some toilet paper.
I hold the crumpled paper under the tap to make it wet and carefully start cleaning up the mess on Owen’s face. As I’m cleaning him, I ask Evan, “Still no action outside?”
“Nothing. No one in or out.”
“Great. Keep your eyes on that entrance. We’re gonna get Audrey,” I say, determined, and I see Owen’s lips curve into a sly smile.
I look in the mirror and wash away some of my own blood. Now that we’re presentable and I feel the blow to my head didn’t do that much damage, a plan forms in my head.
“Listen up…” I say to the boys as we gather around near the window.
A few minutes later, I’m on the outside of the building, shimmying my way over a small strip of concrete to the next room. As I approach the window, I quickly glance inside to make sure there’s no one in there that can ruin the plan. I only see the two elderly people that were right behind us when we walked to our rooms, and I softly knock on their window.
After another soft knock, the man’s face appears near the window, and his worried look changes into a smile the moment he recognizes me. I can see him saying something to his wife, and he opens the window. I gesture toward our room, and a few seconds later, I see Owen’s legs step out and come over to us.
I enter the room, and as the man helps me get inside, I hold my index finger in front of my lips. They simply nod, and we help Owen get inside. After a few more minutes, we’re greeted by Evan. This time, Owen takes over the lookout task and keeps his eyes focused on the front entrance. I nod for Evan, the man and woman, to follow me into the bathroom. The moment we’re in, I turn on the shower and close the door, leaving Owen in the room, but he just nods understandably. The moment we’re in, I turn on the shower and close the door.
“We have to be quiet. But I need your help. My daughter was taken by these men.”
The woman holds her hand in front of her mouth, and her eyes grow wide.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” the man says sympathetically.
“Yeah. Me too. But I need your help to rescue her.”
“But you said we were valuable to them?” the woman says with a bit of disbelief.
“I know what I said. And right now, this is true. But the moment they realize they’re not getting outside support from another country, they’ll start using us to force these countries to do something,” I say, looking both of them directly into their eyes to emphasize my point.
“Using us how?” the woman asks. The man looks at her meaningfully, and then she understands. “Oh…”
“How do you know this?” the man asks me and wraps his arm around his wife’s shoulder.
“I used to do… well… Army stuff with Special Forces on this island. Can’t say too much about it, but let’s just say I know how it all works over here pretty well.”
“Oh. Okay, that makes sense. I’m Bert, and this is my wife, Annabel.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Scott, and this is Evan. His brother Owen is in the next room, keeping an eye on the hotel’s exit. But we need to hurry. I don’t know how long they’ll keep Audrey in here.”
“How can we help?” Bert says, ignoring his wife’s look of fear.
“I don’t know how many men are guarding the hallways, so we need to find a way to lure one of them into a room. Since they know I’m in the room next door, they’ll probably come with more than one guard. That’s why we’re in here. They’ll never suspect anything. Not this quickly anyway.”
“But how do we lure them in here?” Bert asks, and I can see a twinkle of excitement in his eyes.
“You’ll have to call for help. You or Annabel need to lie down near the window or something, so the guard has to come in.”
“Lie down?” Annabel asks.
“Yeah. Fake a heart attack or something. It doesn’t have to be an Oscar performance because I’ll be hiding behind the door, and I’ll quickly take him out.”
“Won’t the other guards be alarmed?” Evan asks, and I have to hand it to him that it’s a good question.
“Good one, Evan. I’m guessing they don’t have enough men to thoroughly guard this hotel and assume we will behave. Besides that, I didn’t see any advanced comms on them, so that’ll buy us some time too. The only risk is if two guards are close together and one sees the other one go inside. But I honestly doubt they’ve got enough men to do that, so it’s pretty much a calculated risk.”
“You sure you can take him out?” Bert asks, and I see his wife looking at me with a questioning look.
“Trust me. I’ve handled worse guys than these. I can do it with one hand tied behind my back if I have to. And after I’m done interrogating him, I’ll put him in our room so you guys are safe. Okay?”
“Let’s do this!” Bert says.
I take my place behind the door. Thankfully, there’s more than enough space, so the door will open and won’t bump against me. Evan and Owen hide in the bathroom and close the door. Annabel lies on the ground near the window, taking a believable position as if she fell over. Bert kneels near Annabel’s head, looks at me, and we nod simultaneously.
“HELP! HELP ME!” he shouts.
Moments later, he does it again, and I can hear footsteps in the hallway. I nod again toward Bert, and he holds his hands under his wife’s head.
The moment I hear the key enter the lock and the loud click unlock the door, Annabel starts shaking. Then, the door opens, and through the crack, I can see the guard is alone. He stops for a second to assess the situation, but Bert acts quickly.
“Help me! I think she’s having a heart attack!” he says, giving the guard no time to think it through.
The moment the guard rushes over to Annabel, I sneak up behind him. Once I’m close enough, I wrap my right arm around his throat, place my left hand over his mouth, and my right leg locks his lower legs. Then, in the corner of my eye, I see Owen quickly get out of the bathroom to softly close the door.
The guard tries to wrestle himself free, but he doesn’t stand a chance. I choke him until he passes out. When he’s on the ground, I tie his hands and feet behind his back with the rope that hangs from the curtain rail and can be used to close the curtains. Usually totally useless, but very handy in this sort of situation.
Evan started cutting pieces from the bedsheets. Owen puts one of these pieces in the man’s mouth, but not before putting it inside his underwear, rubbing it over his dick and balls first. If the situation wasn’t this tight, I would’ve laughed, but now I just focus on controlling the situation, and I use the other cloth pieces to cover the guard’s mouth and eyes. After he’s secured, I take his AK47 and search his body. I find a spare mag and a big knife, which I place on me.
“You know some Spanish, right?” I ask Annabel, and she nods. “Will you translate, please?”
After another nod, I see the man regain consciousness, and he starts shouting. But because of the cloth both outside and inside his mouth, only the five of us can hear it. I kneel down beside him and place the knife against his throat. I look at Annabel, and I say, “I’m gonna ask you some questions. A simple nod or shake of your head is enough. Is that clear?”
Annabel translates, and the man nods. I can see the tension on Owen and Evan’s faces, but I can only hope they know there’s nothing else I can do.
“Do you know where they took the girl?”
He nods.
“Is she still alive?”
Another nod. He was a bit more convincing this time to make his point.
“If I remove the gag, will you start screaming?”
He moves his head vigorously from left to right and mumbles something inaudible.
“Good. Because the moment I think you’re going to make noise, I’ll slit your throat. Is that perfectly clear?” I say as I press the knife firmly against his throat.
I nod toward Owen, who slowly pulls down the cloth around his mouth. The guard spits out the fabric in his mouth and inhales deeply. I’m on edge here, and the moment he makes a sound, I’ll cut it off with my knife. But the man just needed fresh air, and he doesn’t scream or say anything.
“How many guards are there?”
“Viente,” he whispers, followed by Annabel’s equally soft “Twenty.”
“How many on each floor?”
He explains that the floors only have one guard and that there are four men who alternate between three or four floors. So my suspicion of them being hugely underpowered seems to be correct.
“And where is the girl?”
“El sótano… Basement,” he says.
I do quick math and conclude that they need sixteen men to guard the floors. So that leaves four or five in the basement or maybe outside.
“How many men are in the basement?”
Annabel says he doesn’t know. And judging by his pleading, I think he’s telling the truth. I know enough by now, and I put back the gag, lift the man over my shoulder and look at Bert and Annabel.
“Thank you! I’ll drop this scumbag in our room. I’ll make sure you guys will be rescued the moment I get the chance. Stay inside your room until then, and act like you don’t know anything about this. This guy never saw you, remember?”
“Good luck, Scott! Go and save that little girl!” Bert says as he slaps me on my shoulder.
“Thanks! We will. Come on, guys!”
Once we get into our room, I look at the twins. At first, I wanted them to stay here until I rescued Audrey. But now that I know the numbers, I’m pretty positive I can get the four of us out of here. And not having to go back upstairs gives me a considerable time advantage. But I have to check what they want first.
“Do you wanna wait in here while I go and get Audrey?” I ask. And their response is instant.
“Hell no!” Owen says sternly, immediately followed by his brother’s, “No way!”
“I thought so. As long as you promise to do exactly as I say, and I mean EXACTLY, you can come. But it won’t be pretty!”
“I know…” Evan says, “But we need to help Audrey!”
“Yeah!” Owen adds.
“Alright. Let’s get him in the bathtub,” I say.
Evan opens the door, and I drop the guard in the tub. I look at the boys and nod for them to leave the bathroom. They go without asking or saying anything. I look at the blindfolded and gagged man in the tub and feel sorry for him. I was planning on cutting his throat in order to buy us some more time. But seeing him like this, looking back at how terrified he was when I captured him, and especially how helpless he looks, makes me rethink my initial plan. I’m not on a job now with clear directives. I need to rescue Audrey, not kill every hostile I make contact with.
So I move my face close to his ear and whisper, “Do you understand English?” After a short pause, he nods. I doubt he’s fluent, but he knows enough. “Okay then. I’ve decided to let you live for now. But if I find out you alerted the guards, I promise I’ll make sure that I, or my friends, will find you, your family, and your friends, and we’ll make sure all of you will die the most excruciating death known to men. Is that clear?”
He nods vigorously again, and I think he understood exactly what I said, despite the language barrier between us. His nods and accompanying body language are all the confirmation I need. I check the knots in the ropes again, fasten the gag again, and pat him on his head.
“Take care,” I whisper as I leave the bathroom.
Both boys look at me with worried looks on their faces but don’t say anything. I decide to leave it like this and explain later. Them thinking of me as a ruthless killing machine can always come in handy, so I figure it’s better to leave it at that. I grab the floor plan from the door with the fire escapes clearly marked. These plans aren’t at scale but are usually pretty accurate when it comes to stairs and doors. I examine the plan, look at the boys and say, “To the right, there’s the stairway. It’s close to the elevators. Keep your head down and stay behind me.”
I slowly open the door, check the hallway and move to the right. Behind me, I hear the unmistakable sound of Owen’s flip-flops. So I pause by a big concrete pillar and crouch down. When the boys join me, I point toward Owen’s feet.
“Take those off. Put them in your pants at your back.”
Owen looks questioning at me but takes off his flip-flops and hands them to me. I turn him around, pull back the elastic band of his shorts, put the flip-flops there next to each other, and secure them with the elastic waistband of his shorts.
“There. A deaf man can hear you in these things,” I whisper.
“Told ya!” Evan whispers too and shoots a stern look at his brother.
I ignore them and move toward the stairs. The door to the stairwell doesn’t have a window in it, so I put my ear to the door. After listening intensely for a few moments, I think it’s clear.
“I think we’re good,” I whisper, “I’m not sure, so stay here for a moment.”
I grab my knife firmly in my hand and slowly open the door. But I know it’s wrong the moment I do this. I hear footsteps, and a moment later, a deep voice says, “¿Qué.”
I feel movement beside me, and before I can react, Owen stands up, grabs his dick through his shorts, and starts bouncing on his feet. As the door opens, I hide behind it the best I can, and the man coming out of it only has eyes for Owen.
“I need to pee! Where’s the toilet?” Owen says very convincingly.
“Esta…” the guard stammers, but before he can finish his sentence, I grab him from behind and take him in a neck lock.
I feel him struggling, but I know it’ll only take a minute or two for him to die. As his life flows out of him and his body collapses, I gently lay him down. I choke him for a few more moments. After I check his heartbeat and am confident he’s dead, I place him against the pillar we stopped earlier and make it look like he’s sleeping.
All the while, the boys keep an eye and an ear out in the stairwell to make sure we’re still alone. I grab the man’s handgun and knife and move over to Owen and Evan. I hand Owen the knife and say, “That was some quick thinking! Had he started calling out for his mates, this would’ve become messy. Thanks!”
Owen blushes and says, “I figured he wasn’t expecting to see a kid out here. If I had the time, I would’ve taken off my clothes. That way, the shock would be even bigger!”
“It sure would! He would’ve laughed his ass off when he saw your tiny… oh, wait,” Evan whispers.
“We need to move,” I whisper, needing them to focus. “Here,” I say as I hand Evan the gun. “You know how to use it?”
Evan’s eyes get huge for a moment, then he manages to collect himself as he takes the gun from me. “Yeah. Dad took us to a shooting range last month.”
I quickly explain to both the boys how the safety works and how to reload the gun, and we move down the stairs. When we reach the ground floor, I open the door and feel relieved to see we’re good. We quietly and quickly head over to the reception desk and hide behind it. I search the drawers and find a more detailed map of the hotel floors.
“There,” I whisper as I point to a spot on the map and then at the door a few yards away where it looks like the stairs to the basement must be. We hear footsteps approaching, and I hold my finger in front of my mouth. Both boys nod, and as the steps get louder, I see the fear spread over Evan’s face. I seek eye contact with him and try to keep him calm. The moment we hear the steps moving away, he lets out a soft sigh.
“We can’t kill them all,” I whisper. “Our first priority is Audrey.”
Both of them nod, and we crouch over to the door. I open it, and I can hear talking and laughter at the bottom of the stairs. I carefully start walking down the stairs, and at a corner, I stop and quickly look around it and immediately pull back my head. No one there.
So I move down further, and at the bottom of the stairs, there’s a long corridor. There’s an opening to the right a few feet in front of me. It’s a doorway without a door. I tiptoe over to it, signaling the boys to wait. I need to see inside the room, so I crouch down, put my head around the corner quickly and pull back. In that half a second, I count four people, and in the far left corner, there’s something on the ground that I can’t place yet.
So I glance around again and focus on that part. I see it’s a small person crawled up into a ball. This must be Audrey. But in the back of the room, there’s another doorway. There must be a whole system of corridors down here. This means I have to move quickly and make sure no one escapes through that door. I need to check one more time, but it seems that Carlos is close to both the door and Audrey.
“Fuck!” I whisper softly as I move back to the boys.
We move up the stairs a bit, and I softly explain to them what I’ve just seen.
“Is there something we can do?” Evan asks.
“Yes. I think there’s a way. I’ll enter the room, and you guys try to find that back entrance to the room. I hope I can buy you enough time so you can free Audrey.”
“What about you?” Owen asks worriedly.
“Don’t worry about that. You need to make sure to free Audrey and run for the harbor. There, you need to call the number I gave you, and you’ll be safe. You just need to make sure to get off this island safely and only worry about yourselves. I’ve been in situations way tighter than this one, so don’t worry. I will find you guys. Promise you won’t wait for me!”
Evan nods, and Owen whispers a soft, “Promise.”
“Thank you! This means a lot to me. Now, let’s get these sons of bitches, shall we?”
I get back to the door with the boys right behind me. I check my AK47 and place the spare magazine against the gun so that I can change it quickly, but I still can aim properly. I quickly glance around one last time to make a mental picture of the positions of the men in the room. I take a deep breath, take my close-quarters–combat position to enter a building shooting, and step into the light coming from the room. I hear soft footsteps behind me, indicating the boys are at it too.
My first targets are the two guys to the left of me. They’re talking to each other, and their shoulders are aimed at the door. They’ll be the first with a clear shot at me, so they have to go first.
BANG! BANG!
Two precise headshots, and as the bodies crumble to the floor, I hear panicked voices. The guy to my right reacts quicker than I anticipated. He steps to his right and hides behind the book closet next to him. But I see it’s a wooden closet, and I know exactly where his head is, so I take another shot and hit him through the closet and see him fall down. Three down, one to go.
I take two steps forward, aiming for Carlos, the last living hostile in the room. He’s ducked behind a desk, but I decide to approach him carefully since Audrey’s in that corner too and considering it’s an old metal desk Carlos is hiding behind.
“Show yourself!” I shout as I approach the desk.
On the desk, I see two syringes and a bent spoon. Are these guys doing drugs in here? The syringes are filled, so I guess I interrupted them. I hear stumbling, and a second later, Carlos stands up, holding Audrey in front of him. I recognize her only by her clothes because a black bag is pulled over her head. Carlos’s golden colt is pressed against Audrey’s head, and he’s looking at me with fire shooting out of his eyes.
I aim at his head, but it’s hidden halfway behind Audrey’s, so I need a better opportunity to shoot without the chance of hurting her.
“Try me!” he says with poison in his voice. “I will not hesitate to kill her!”
I see him moving backward toward the door opening in the back of the room. I keep my gun pointed at him and say, “What a big guy you are! A grown man needing little girls to protect his safety. Your mother must be really proud!”
“DO NOT dare to talk about my mother!” he snaps.
Good! This is working. I’ve got him distracted, and I can see him loosening his grip on Audrey. Just a few more inches…
“She told me to say hi to you last night…”
“Fuck you!”
In the corner of my eye, I see Owen’s shadow. Next, I see him looking around the opening, then back over his shoulder, and a slight nod is all it takes. He quickly gets behind Carlos, with Evan on his heels. Owen lifts the knife, and the moment he moves it down, Evan reaches for the arm holding the gun. Owen plants the blade deep into Carlos’s leg while Evan yanks his arm away.
BANG!
The gunshot sounds loud, but when I see concrete falling from the ceiling, I know we’re good, and I move over toward them. I immediately plant my foot on Carlos’s throat and point the gun at his face. The sounds of him trying to catch his breath fill the room, but no one seems to care. Owen pulls the knife out of Carlos’ leg, which causes him to scream while trying to catch his breath. It’s an awful sound, but I couldn’t care less.
“Take Audrey and get to the stairs,” I say to the boys
They pull the bag from Audrey’s head, and I try to make eye contact with her. Her eyes need some adjusting to the light, but after a few seconds, she starts scanning the room. The moment her eyes find mine, the worried look on her face morphs into a relieved one. I feel like we’re communicating on a more spiritual level because somehow, I can feel she’s fine and wants to know how I’m doing. Without saying anything, Audrey smiles knowingly and nods. The boys witness this, and the moment they see Audrey nod, each boy grabs one arm, helps her to her feet, and they start waking out of the room. The moment they leave, I look at Carlos.
“I hope you burn in hell,” I whisper.
Carlos opens his mouth, but before he can say anything, I pull the trigger. Blood and brain matter splash against the floor and wall. I feel absolutely nothing when I look at his half-open head. I just turn around, quickly grab the phone lying on the desk, and run toward the kids. I catch up with them halfway up the stairs. I look at Audrey, and thankfully, she doesn’t seem harmed.
“Are you okay, Lil’ Bit?”
“Yeah. Just a little dizzy.”
“Do you think you can run?” I ask.
“Yeah. I think so,” she says and tries to look tough.
“You need your flip-flops, or are you faster without them?” I ask looking at Owen.
“Without,” is all he says.
“Thanks, guys! You did great in there!” I whisper and give them a quick pat on their backs. “But now we need to move fast. The guards upstairs must’ve heard the shots. So we go for the exit, and when we’re at the street, we turn right and run toward the harbor. You run, and I’ll cover you. Don’t look back. I’m right behind you. Is this clear?”
“Yeah,” Owen whispers back, then looks at his brother. “Ready, Dude?”
Evan returns the look then turns to Audre. “Ready Dudette?” Evan asks, and she nods with a very determined look on her face.
“Three, two, one,” I say and open the door at the top of the stairs.
We’re back in the hotel lobby, and it’s surprisingly quiet. I wave to the kids to run, which they immediately do. When they reach the door, I hear footsteps running toward us in the distance. I hide behind a couch near the exit, and the moment the guy shouts, “HEY!” I get up and point my rifle at him.
Three well-aimed shots later, he falls to the ground and stops moving. I listen for a moment and don’t hear any more footsteps. So I get up and run toward the door too. In the distance, I see the three of them round the corner toward the docks. After a short run, I’m there too, with the sound of gunfire and explosions still clearly audible in the distance.
As I’m approaching the docks, I see them standing to the side, trying to hide a bit in the bushes. When they see me, they step forward and look expectantly at me. I look around and see a lot of boats. They vary from small fishing boats to big, luxury yachts. After a quick look around, my eye lands on a white Jeep Desperado standing close to us. At that moment, my mind is in overdrive, trying to figure out what to do next. I need to get the cameras and laptop I left in our cabin. But I also need to make sure the kids are safe. But then again… they’re not really safe until I get these pictures. This internal struggle lasts a few moments, and I make up my mind after one more glance at the four-by-four.
“Can you find us a boat?” I say, looking at all of them. “It needs to be at least thirty feet. I don’t care about anything else. If it’s that size, we can make it to the US in it. Of course, it’s nice if there are some supplies on board, but we can manage a day without food.”
“What about you?” Audrey asks with a bit of panic in her voice.
“I take this thing,” I say, pointing toward the Jeep, “and drive back to our condo to grab my cameras and laptop. Trust me, we don’t want anyone else to see these pictures. It’ll take me fifteen minutes tops.”
“Right,” Owen says and looks at the boy and girl next to him. “We’re looking for a boat, guys. Do we need keys or something?”
“Sometimes. But most of the time, people just leave it in there, especially on this island. Oh! And check for fuel,” I say as I climb into the Jeep, “and try to stay out of sight, okay?”
“We’ve got it covered,” Evan assures me, and he pulls the gun from the back of his waistband and shows it to me to make his point.
“Be careful,” I say as I turn the key, and the engine comes to life with a loud roar.
“You too. Come on, guys,” Owen says, and both Evan and Audrey start running after him.
I place the AK47 on the passenger’s seat, and I see one of the army hats the guards in the hotel are wearing lying there. I put it on my head, put the Jeep into gear, and drive off. It takes me a few minutes to find the beach entrance. Mainly because I want to avoid driving past the hotel’s entrance.
I manage to avoid two small groups of fighters. Since I don’t know if they’re friendlies or not, I take the longer route. Once I get to the beach, I immediately shift the Jeep into a lower gear and steer to the left, going straight for the last cabin. As I drive by the other cabins, I notice some doors are open. I feel my chest tighten, and my stomach does a backflip when I think about losing these pictures. Then, as I’m rapidly approaching our cabin, I see someone entering it.
“Goddamit!” I whisper under my breath and put the pedal to the metal.
When I’m at the cabin, I hit the brakes hard, grab my rifle, and jump out of the Jeep. I leave the engine running, just in case. I take my usual position with the AK47 pressed against my shoulder and shout, “Come out with your hands in the air!”
“¿Qué Quieres?” I hear from inside the cabin.
After a few moments, the man steps out of the front door and onto the porch with a big smile on his face. He’s holding Audrey’s tiny, sexy-as-fuck white bikini in one hand and the can of coconut oil in the other. He has an AK47 hanging by its shoulder strap over his shoulder, and on his head is the same hat like the one I’m wearing. It’s clear he’s one of Carlos’s men.
“You Mr. Harris, no?” he says with an even broader grin and continues, “Looks like someone had some fun in here…”
“Give me my stuff,” I reply with my rifle aimed at his head.
“Can’t do that. My boss asked me to get all the stuff from your cabin.”
“Carlos is dead. I killed him,” I reply, stepping closer.
“That’s… unfortunate,” the man answers but doesn’t seem impressed.
“Drop the stuff and leave before I kill you too,” I say without reacting to him.
“I’m afraid I cannot do that. El Capitan asked me to search the cabins on the beach. ALL cabins…” he says, and the smile on his face gets even wider.
“Suelta el arma,” I hear behind me, and at the same time, something metal is pressed against the left side of my head, which I can only assume is a gun.
“It means you need to drop your weapon,” the guy on the porch says with a very smug face.
I hesitate about what to do next. If there are more men around, I’m doomed. Especially since I confessed to killing Carlos. But I need to neutralize the man behind me first. Otherwise, I won’t stand a chance.
“The weapon,” the guy says politely but clearly agitated that I don’t do it right away.
“Okay. Just don’t shoot me, please.”
I loosen the grip on my rifle, take it by the barrel, and place the back of it on the ground, where it falls into the sand altogether. The moment I let go of it, I feel a slight decrease in the pressure of the gun against my head. It isn’t much, but enough for me to notice. The guy on the porch clearly feels like he’s in control completely since his rifle still hangs over his shoulder.
I trained in this situation enough to entirely rely on my instincts and experience. So I move my head back a little and quickly pivot to my right. The moment I’ve turned and my left shoulder is toward his body, my left hand grabs the top of the gun. I immediately place my right hand under the gun, slamming it upward, causing the man’s wrist and index finger to break.
I simultaneously punch against his body with the full force of my shoulder, causing the man to stumble backward. Because of his broken finger and wrist, he has to let go of the gun, which I take in my hands, point it at the guy on the porch, and fire three times. Two of the bullets hit him in his chest near his heart, and the other one lands dead center on his forehead. He started saying something, but the bullets cut his words off, and he crumples to the ground. The moment I see him go down, I turn around and fire two shots at the guy behind me. Then, when I’m sure they’re both not a threat anymore, I pick up the AK47 and hide behind the Jeep to check if someone else is coming or not. About a minute later, I’m confident I’m alone, so I run to the cabin, take the camera bag and stop for a second.
I notice Audrey’s backpack lying around, so I grab it, take some food and drinks from the cabinet and fridge, and throw it in the bag. There are a lot of clothes lying around, but I don’t see anything more that’s worth taking with us, and since time is our enemy, I grab both bags, run outside, jump into the Jeep and start driving.
The gunfire in the distance seems to grow louder, so I figure I might as well take the shortest route. I place the rifle in my lap and hold the handgun in my hand to react quickly when necessary. As I drive by the hotel, I’m extra alert but am surprised to see no one moving around in the lobby. It worries me they might have followed the kids to the docks. But when I round the corner, it’s empty too, and Owen is the only one I see, hidden behind a big trash can. When he sees me, he jumps up and points toward a big boat, of about forty feet, that looks very luxurious and has a big sail.
“They’re over there. The key is still in it, and according to Evan, it has some advanced computer-aided steering system and a full tank of gas.”
“Sounds awesome! Great job! Here,” I say as I hand Owen the backpack with the food and drinks.
Evan’s head pops out of the cabin when we approach the yacht. His worried look immediately turns into a smile when he sees me.
“Look what we found!” he exclaims.
“It’s an awesome-looking yacht! We definitely can make it back to The States in this. Are we ready to set off?”
“Scott!” Audrey shouts as she exits the cabin.
Before I know it, she flies around my neck and gives me an extremely tight hug. I hug her back, kiss her on her cheek, and whisper in her ear, “I was SO worried about you back there! I love you!”
She pulls her head back and smiles warmly at me, mouthing, “Love you too.” Next, she looks at the three of us. “Thanks for rescuing me, guys! I never doubted you’d come for me, but I was SO scared down there!” she says and kisses all of us tenderly on our cheeks.
“Of course!” Owen beams proudly as if he rescued her himself.
I know we have to talk about this at a later moment, but right now, we need to get the hell out of here. So I get behind the wheel and look at the dashboard. Thankfully, this doesn’t seem too complicated, so I wave at the twins. They’re both near one of the two hawsers, which they pull from the dock and throw on deck.
The moment we’re no longer connected to the shore, I start the engine. It’s way quieter than I anticipated, which is pretty good news. I push the throttle forward and begin steering the ship away from the dock and toward the harbor exit. Audrey and Owen each look at one side if I don’t hit anything, while Evan is at the back of the ship on the lookout for more of Carlos’s men.
When we’re almost out of the harbor, I hear a big explosion nearby. Moments later, a giant plume of smoke can be seen and judging by its distance, they’ve reached the edge of the city. I turn the wheel one last time to point the bow toward the open sea and then push the throttle hard forward, surprised by how fast the ship accelerates. Owen and Audrey join me at the wheel, and I notice Owen’s worried face. Evan also leaves his post since we’re at a safe distance from the island. I see he’s worried too, so I slow the ship down.
“They’re getting into the city now,” Owen says.
“Yeah. What about Mom and Dad? Can’t we pick ‘em up on the north side?” Evan adds.
“Just a few more miles. Then I’ll drop the anchor, and I’ll call Jack. He’ll have all the intel we need,” I reply calmly, but feeling stressed inside.
I know deep down that they’re probably safe. Jorge, the tour operator, knows the jungle like the back of his hand. And I know for a fact that Jack and my former crew are active in that area too. So the chance of them being killed and me needing to take care of three preteen kids is exceptionally slim.
I stop the boat and look for the button to drop the anchor. Audrey points it out, and I see she’s worried too. So I pull the phone I took from Carlos’s desk out of my pocket.
“Fuck! It requires a PIN!” I whisper.
“Try the easy ones,” Owen replies, and I feel the tension oozing from him.
So I try 0000 and 1234. Both fail.
“Fuck! Just one try left,” Owen says, looking at his brother.
“You’ve got your laptop with you, right?” Evan says, clearly calmer than his brother.
“Right?” I say, questioning.
“I know a trick to resetting the failure count. Try 9876. If it doesn’t work, we’ll use your laptop.”
“Okay. Here goes,” I say as I press the numbers on the screen.
The phone unlocks, and I’m greeted by a background picture of Carlos, holding his golden gun and with two bikini-clad young girls next to him. These girls are probably no older than eight or nine years old and look scared at the camera.
I decide to ignore it, open the phone app, and dial the satellite phone number.
“Hello?” I hear after a minute or so.
“Jack? It’s Scott.”
Jack and I talk for a while, and I quickly learn that they indeed rescued a group of tourists and took them back to their camp for safety. I describe Luke and Miranda, and he’s positive they’re also with that group.
I also learn that the group trying to take over the island is small. A little too small, according to Jack. We agree that that’s probably the main reason why the hotel is so badly guarded. He assures me that they’ll also liberate these people after the Colombian army joins them on the island.
“Can we help? We’re on a small boat, so maybe we can help evacuate?”
“Nah. No need. Way too many people here. The army will start evacuating them as soon as they’re up to speed here. I guess that in a day or three, maybe four, they’ll airlift people off the island and bring them to The States.”
“Then we’ll go there too. Please tell the parents that we’re heading for the Keys, okay?”
“Of course!”
“Thanks, man! We’ll talk when we get there. You know you’re the best, Jack!”
“No problem. Just throw us the next barbecue, and we’ll call it even,” he laughs.
“Deal!”
“Later,” he says, laughing loudly.
I hang up the phone and look at the boys. The look on their faces is terrible. Owen has tears in his eyes, and it’s clear that Evan is trying to act all tough, but his whole body language tells me something else.
I smile at them and say, “Your parents are safe. They’ll probably get to the US in about four days.”
I barely get the chance to finish my sentence as I’m getting tight hugs from both similar-looking sexy boys. Moments later, Audrey joins the hug, and I feel all of the last day’s events flow out of me.
It’s late in the afternoon as I look through the manual of this ship. I had already lifted the anchor and started the engine. The dashboard of this ship is pretty complex, but there has to be some sort of autopilot on it. I just can’t find how to activate it. I start feeling a bit frustrated, but when I look at the deck, I’m greeted by three magnificent-looking preteens coming out of the hull to chill. They’re carrying some food, two bottles, and four glasses, and they walk toward the lounge area on deck. I’m delighted to see them all relax after this exciting and dangerous day.
When I find the part about the autopilot, I feel a bit embarrassed about how easy it is. Just three buttons, the destination coordinates, and the option to use the engine or sails. I choose sails, so we preserve fuel, and after a few more minutes of checking everything and the sails opening up, I’m confident we’re on our way home. Of course, I feel a bit of sadness about how I left my beloved island wash over me, but when I look at the lovely kids with me now, I know I did the right thing.
I glance over and see the three of them lounging on the white, half-circle-shaped couch on the deck. The way they act around each other brings a smile to my face.
“We’re on autopilot now, so it’ll take us around four days to get to Key West. The autopilot will keep us going all night if we want to. We’ll decide what to do once we approach the mainland, okay?”
“Sounds good! Why don’t you join us?” Audrey asks, gesturing toward the couch.
I look at the table and see they’ve also taken the backpack. I’m not sure if we’re good on food yet, so I just have to ask.
“Is this all the food we’ve got?”
“No. Not at all! There’s LOTS of food down there. We can last weeks if we have to!” Owen smiles broadly.
“And we’ve got champagne,” Evan smiles, holding up the bottle.
“Yeah. Apparently, we took some old rich dude’s boat,” Owen chuckles.
“I’ll make sure he gets it back. All’s fair in love and war, so I’m sure I won’t get in trouble for it! And if I do, I’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
With a loud ‘pop,’ Evan opens the champagne bottle, which surprises me. And the moment the champagne starts oozing out of the bottle and onto the deck, we hear a big explosion behind us. I look around, and another big, black cloud of smoke rises up from the island.
“Oh,” Evan says timidly. “I thought we’d celebrate Audrey’s and Mom and Dad’s rescue. But…”
“I know,” I say a bit glumly, “But I’m sure the island will be freed from these assholes. Jack told me the Columbian army is on its way. I just hope there’s something left for them to liberate.”
“I’m sure it’ll all be fine,” Audrey says reassuringly and puts her arm around my shoulder.
“Let’s hope so,” I reply, already feeling a bit less glum about it, and say, “Well, there’s nothing we can do now to help the islanders. We’ll just have to make sure to get back to The States. So let’s toast to being free,” I say as I pick up my glass, holding it toward Evan.
He fills my glass, and the others follow my example, also holding up their glasses. Finally, after Evan fills his own, I raise my glass and say, “Here’s to getting off the island safely!”
Moments later, our glasses touch and Evan adds, “And to the safe return of mom and dad!”
We all approvingly mumble something in response to that and drink some champagne. I can feel myself relax as I feel it slide down my throat and look around me. In the distance to my left, there’s the island, where all evidence of explosions and such is gone, and to my right, the sun starts setting but is still high enough in the sky to be comfortably warm for at least an hour or so.
“So…” Owen starts with the tone in his voice which usually means some smart-ass remark is coming my way. “It’ll be three to four days before we see other people, right?”
“Something like that, yeah,” I reply hesitantly.
“That means I can get rid of these, doesn’t it?” he asks as he pulls on the fabric of his shorts to prove a point.
That little bugger! I know he’s right, but this is the absolute last thing I’m thinking about at the moment. But knowing how much of a pair of nudists they are, I can’t blame them. So I start laughing and say, “I don’t see why not! It’s just the four of us for the coming three days, so why don’t we work on those tan lines. Right, Lil’ Bit?”
Owen starts wiggling out of his clothes, and moments later, his brother follows suit. I assume it takes Audrey a moment for this all to land because there’s no action on her part for a few heartbeats. But when it does, she doesn’t waste any time and is standing there in just her panties, looking expectantly at me. When I look over at the boys and quickly glance at their flaccid dicks hanging over their tight ballsacks, I notice they’re looking at me too.
“What!?” I ask as if I don’t have a clue why they’re looking at me.
As Audrey matter-of-factly slides her panties down her legs, she says to no one in particular, “We’ve got a party pooper on the ship. I repeat… party pooper on board!”
Both boys start giggling, and their little dicks wobble with each movement of their bodies. I guess they don’t want to be a part of this thing between Audrey and me, as they let themselves fall back onto the couch and look at us with obvious amusement.
“Party pooper, you say?” I say with mock surprise.
“Yeah. That’s what I think you are,” she says, looking at me like a true diva with her hand on her hip.
As I once more drink in the sight of her perky, hot, and nubile young body, I softly say, “Guess you need to do something about that, don’t you?”
Audrey’s eyes light up, and I see the twins start to move in the corner of my eye. I willingly am helped to my feet, both boys chuckling and giggling. Before I know it, six small hands are tugging at my shorts and t-shirt. Moments later, I’m as naked as the kids, and their hands are roaming all over my body.
Because of all the groping and rubbing, I fall back on the bench, where Audrey quickly climbs on my lap, kissing me deeply and rubbing her pelvis against mine.
“Slow down, Lil’ Bit! We’ve got all evening, night, AND three days after that. So let’s enjoy it, okay?”
She nods shyly, and as the boys take their spot on the bench and Evan refills our glasses, she whispers, “I put a lot of oil up my bum. I want your thing in it again,” into my ear.
After hearing that, my hard cock twitches violently against her pussy, causing her to smile wickedly before she leaps off my lap and cuddles up next to me on the bench, grabbing her glass.
We make some small talk, but I can feel the sexual tension between us rise quickly. My dick has gone soft by now, and I start to feel more and more relaxed as I lounge around naked with these kids. But the movement in Owen’s lap grabs my attention. With each heartbeat, his dick rises, and he seems oblivious to it.
“Dude!” Evan chuckles as he looks at his brother.
“What?” Owen asks innocently but with a wicked smile.
Audrey and I are looking at each other as she talks about something funny that happened at school a few weeks back, but when she hears the boys talk, she glances over and asks with a twinkle in her eyes, “Need some help with that?”
Owen smiles sheepishly and simply nods. Audrey gets up and crawls onto the table on her hands and knees toward the other side like a cat, reaching out for Owen’s boner. Owen immediately gets the idea and gets to his feet.
Before he can say or do anything, Audrey latches her mouth onto his dick, and a soft moan escapes his throat as she slides her lips down his shaft. Evan immediately gets to his feet too, not wanting to be left out.
“I’m taking turns this time,” she giggles as she looks at the boys, who sheepishly nod again.
She starts alternating between the two hard, adolescent dicks in front of her face. Seeing her working these dicks like an experienced cocksucker makes me vaguely proud about how quickly this girl picks up on this stuff.
I’m watching this spectacle from right behind Audrey’s butt, which sticks invitingly into the air and moves seductively from left to right as she’s sucking the twin’s cocks. I love the look on the boy’s faces, and as I’m watching them and contemplating if I should do something with Audrey, she lifts her head from one of the dicks barely long enough to look back at me over her shoulder, asking, “What are you waiting for?”
I feel a bit silly for still doubting if I should participate. Especially when the boys start urging me on too. They WANT me to join them in their sex play. I have to keep reminding myself about that.
“The oil is next to the couch,” Evan points to me.
Currently, Audrey is working his brother’s hard cock, so Evan is observant enough to notice. I look on the floor, and there’s the can of oil. I don’t know how or when Audrey prepared all this, but there’s no doubt in my mind that she wants my hard cock up her butt and fuck her brains out. My caveman instinct is taking over again. This time, I know she can handle me, so I make very little effort to push him back to let the voice of reason take over.
No. I need to lube up and stick it inside that little girl’s ass. I need to slide it in, fuck her hard, and coat her insides with every drop of cum my balls have to offer. And she’s going to take it like a pro. I just know it! As I open the can of oil and generously coat my dick with it, I see her rosebud open and close in front of me. She’s clearly been practicing how to use these muscles, and it turns me on immensely.
Since I’m all lubed up and horny as fuck, I get to my feet and step forward. My legs are a bit shaky, but as I’m closing in on her backside, I notice how this table is almost at the perfect height. I push my dick down a bit, so it’s practically horizontal, and all I have to do now is take another small step, and I’m pressed against her entrance.
The moment my dickhead touches her anus, I hear her moan loudly. Both boys look at me, and I hear one of them say, “Go for it, Mr. H!” followed by a moan as Audrey switches dicks.
I don’t say anything. Instead, I place my hands on her hips, and I apply just a little bit of pressure to let her know I’m ready for it. When she realizes what I’m about to do, she relaxes her sphincter, and my slippery dickhead pops in with ease. Damn! This girl is a quick learner!
Her ass muscles clamp tightly around my dick, but she isn’t as tight as before. It’s still extremely tight, but now it just feels more… relaxed. My caveman brain is still in full swing, and I start sliding in without worrying too much about Audrey. But according to the deep grunts and moans coming from her, she likes what I’m doing.
As I’m over halfway inside of her, the ship hits a wave, and I slightly lose my balance, causing me to slide that last bit in at once.
“Aahhhh!” she moans loudly, but it doesn’t sound as painful as I expected.
“You okay, Lil’ Bit?” I worriedly ask, my hands firmly on her hips and my hard cock buried to the hilt in her ass.
“Ooohhh… yeah… it’s just… I need a sec.”
My right hand reaches around her, and as I move it down over her lower abdomen in search of that sweet spot, she moans again. The moment my index finger finds her swollen and slippery clit, she instinctively pushes her butt back and starts grunting. I rub over and around her slick button, and as I start moving my cock in and out of her ass, she starts squirming.
I suddenly have an incredible urge to feel her body against mine, and my caveman brain figures there’s an easy way to fix this. So I let go of her clit and wrap my arms around her slim body. My left hand firmly grabs her right boob, and when I feel I’ve got a strong enough grip on her, I pull her up against my chest, making sure to keep my dick buried deep inside her back door.
She squeals as I lift her, but it’s a squeal of delight. Her hands search for support, and after grabbing just air, they land on my hips. But I have no intention of keeping a standing position, so I step back and ease myself slowly down onto the couch as smoothly as possible. As my butt hits the cushion, her ass slides down even further down my cock, and I let out a loud moan. Audrey plants her feet at the front of the couch and pushes herself up a bit before sliding down again. To me, it feels like she’s testing the position we’re in, but I fully understand her need of testing the water.
Her back is still firmly pressed against my chest, and as my left hand keeps kneading her right tit, I savor the feeling of her lovely body against mine. We are slowly starting to fuck again, and we’re getting into a slow rhythm together before long. I sense we’re on the same page here and not aiming for a quick orgasm but a nice, long and intense fucking session. There’s less urgency in our movement but more focus on the things we like. I guess the experience they’ve gained up until now is the cause of that.
Audrey moans something inaudible, and in my peripheral vision, I see some movement. I look at the boys, and as they’re getting over to us, their bobbing boners lead the way, and they’ve got some shit-eating grins on their faces. They kneel down in front of us and between our spread legs. Their faces dip between our legs, and when Audrey lets out a loud, primal grunt, it’s clear what’s the cause of that.
But, moments later, the feeling of a mouth sucking in one of my balls surprises me, and I instinctively push hard into that tight little girl’s ass I’m pounding at the moment. Then, when I get used to the feeling of the lapping tongue and mouth all over my balls, I slow down my thrusts a little. I don’t want to cum yet. I need this moment to last. But the squirming body against my chest has different plans.
“Aaahh… aaahh… aaahh…” Audrey moans, followed by a high-pitched, “cummmmiiiinnngggg…”
Her body stiffens, and her ass muscles clamp around my pumping dick. This isn’t one of the earth-shattering orgasms she had before, and she’ll probably have about half a dozen more before I’m done with her, but I absolutely love the feeling of her shaking body in my arms.
She lets go of my hips and reaches down for the boy who ate her out. The mouth on my balls lets go, and I can see one of the boy’s faces appear, and he lip-locks with Audrey after he gets up completely. He presses his body firmly against hers, and I just love the feeling of this extra pressure on me. I notice his humping motion and feel the tip of his dick rub against my bald balls a few times. His instinct is to aim for a pussy to sink his dick into, take over, and I feel the need to help him.
So I reach around, grab both his ass cheeks and pull him up and toward us. Less than a second later, I feel the underside of our dicks touch, with only the soft, thin flesh of Audrey’s insides separating us. Wanting to keep it as comfortable for Audrey as possible and learning from past experiences, I pull back the moment the boy slides in.
“Aaaahhhhh!!! YESSSS!!!” Audrey practically screams, slams her head back, and lays it on my shoulder.
The boy looks at me with the horniest look I’ve ever seen. Then, without needing to talk, I feel I need to push back in, and he starts sliding out.
“Owen?” I ask hoarsely, guessing the boy’s name.
He just nods, leans in, and starts Frenching me violently. I close my eyes as I’m overwhelmed by all the stimulation my body is receiving. There’s this preteen cock sliding over mine. The hot, tight, and slippery inside of this sexy girl pressed against my chest. The tight ass I’m holding of this sexy Adonis, who’s Frenching me with everything he has inside of him.
I just have to open my eyes again. I want to see everything that’s happening in front of me and memorize as much as possible. I then notice Evan placing the can of oil back next to me on the couch. Moments later, Owen stops kissing me, his eyes fly open, and a loud moan comes from deep within his throat. When I feel Evan’s hips press against my hands, I realize that at that moment, almost every available hole is filled with a cock.
Owen moves his face over in search of Audrey’s, and as Evan picks up the pace, so are Owen’s moans. I need to stay focused because Evan is determining Owen’s pace of fucking Audrey now. I need to match it in the opposite way, which is quite challenging initially.
Evan reaches his face over his brother’s shoulder in search of mine, and we start kissing furiously while picking up the pace. Audrey’s body feels like a ragdoll against my chest, and the primary grunts coming from her are sexy as fuck and extremely encouraging. I also realize that Owen and I are pistoning in and out at the same time now, filling her up as we enter her. There are no groans of discomfort or winching of her body. Nothing like that, just encouraging moans and grunts to fuck her as hard and deep as possible.
Of course, this can’t last forever. I feel Audrey having a few ‘little orgasms,’ as she calls them, but because of all the action, they’re pushed back right away, all accumulating to that one big explosion. As Evan moans into my mouth getting louder and more intense, I hear Owen’s now-familiar high-pitch grunts. He’s close to cumming, but has to match his brother’s rhythm, which is clearly not fast enough, judging by his pleading moans.
And that’s when Audrey sets off a chain event. A big, loud, bellowing scream from deep inside her triggers my point of no return. I slap hard into her with all the force I can master in this position. Her body starts shaking on my chest, and I’m surprised by what happens next. One second, she’s shaking, the other, she’s completely limp.
I know she’s fine, judging by her deep breaths. And since she’s experienced these intense orgasms before and almost acted the same during these, I focus on one of my most intense orgasms ever. As Audrey’s shaking continues, I feel Owen’s ass muscles tighten under my kneading hands. The moment his dick starts kicking against mine and his cute, high-pitched grunts fill my ears, I lose it. The dam breaks, and I slam in one last time, as deep and hard as I can. I feel my balls pull up, touching Owen’s, and the stream of cum fills my ejaculatory tunnel. A heartbeat later. I start coating the insides of my little lover.
I don’t know how many spurts filled her up. All I know is that I almost passed out from the sheer pleasure. Owen’s kicking dick keeps rubbing over mine, and I realize Evan is still pumping his brother’s ass. I’m still spurting too, and the moment Owen’s dick rubs over mine one last time, I feel like I’m coming again. I had never felt this before. I had an orgasm during an orgasm. That’s the only and best way to describe it. Evan’s hips shake against my hands, and the same grunts his brother grunted moments before are filling the air.
All the while, Audrey is still cumming. This lasts a few more minutes, which I find both impressive and highly erotic. But I don’t have any more to give her at this moment. So we lay there in a panting heap of sweaty bodies, all trying to come down from our orgasmic highs. My dick stays hard for a while but eventually slips out with a squishy sound, and cum dribbles out over my dick and balls.
“I can do this all day,” Audrey mumbles between Owen and me, and we all start laughing at that.
But it turned out we almost did it all day long, for four days straight. I had never felt this sexually drained in all my life. We tried every possible position we could think of, even one Owen came up with, where Audrey had to bend forward and had her head between her knees.
Audrey’s favorite was the airlock. We did that one several times, and she just loved having every hole filled with a cock. We also learned that Audrey loved to be covered in cum. And in the end, she wouldn’t let us cum inside her anymore. Instead, she’d lay down on the deck, and the three of us had to spurt over her, hosing her down and covering her in cum.
I’m reminiscing all this as I’m standing at the wheel after disabling the autopilot. I remember the look on the kid’s faces after telling them they need to wear some clothes again. Key West is approaching, and so is the chance of sailing past another boat filled with people. I tell them I can’t explain to these people why there’s a grown man on board with three naked kids. And when I drop the word ‘prison’ again, they all reluctantly go down and put on their clothes.
“This is the US coastguard. Identify yourself,” I hear over the radio the moment we enter the US territorial waters.
“This is Scott Harris bringing back refugees from La Isla de Aquinas. We’re US citizens, requesting to dock in Key West.”
“We were told you were coming. Welcome home, Mr. Harris.”
I look relieved at the kids, who all have broad smiles of relief across their faces. As I glance at Audrey and how amazing she looks in her tank top with her hair dancing in the wind, this brings me back to the hospital right after she was born.
Glenn and I stood there looking at the little baby, lying there under a blanket, peacefully asleep. Glenn wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close. I could even feel he was emotional, and I felt all mushy inside too.
“She’s absolutely amazing, isn’t she?” he asked.
“She’s wonderful! I’ve never seen anything more beautiful.”
“I think she even looks a bit like you,” he chuckled.
“No way! Really?” I replied, feeling flattered.
“Yeah, she does. A Lil’ Bit…”
The End.
Copyright 2022 – Jason Crow
All rights reserved
Hoc erat ultimum cap. Si clausurae opus est, epilogum lege. Sed non auctor est. Mitte mihi nuntium, si hanc fabulam probaverunt.
Another pretty abrupt ending, I admit. But it was always clear to us to end this story after they’re safe and sound back in the US. And the last line being all about the explanation of the Lil’ Bit nickname was E-o-F’s more than an excellent idea!
At first, there would be a little more closure about them getting back home, but that was about it. But I really like this ending. There are lots of opportunities for them to keep their relationship going. Or not. Everything is still on the table, and I like that! This way, you, the reader, are free to imagine a suitable ending that YOU want.
But I know you also invested time and energy in reading this story. So that’s why I removed some of the closing stuff and wrote an Epilogue. But if you think the story is fine the way it is, leave the epilogue alone. If you’re curious about how I see the ending, be my guest. Story-wise there isn’t anything left. The epilogue just ties some loose ends together.
Enough about the epilogue. E-o-F, and I would love to read your comments! How did we do? What was good, what was terrible, what could be better? You know… the works. Just comment on the website or drop me an email at jasoncrowwriter@hotmail.com or jasoncrowwriter@protonmail.com, and I promise I’ll read it. I always try to reply, but if the flow of emails is too great, I might miss one or two.
We hope you enjoyed the story. To me, it was a lot of fun getting to know the characters and imagining how they were developing. I think it’s a pretty rounded story in the end. Not too much action or conflict in it, but more focus on the sexy bits this time.
Thanks for reading, and keep an eye out on the jasoncrow.eu website for more stories, eye candy, watchlists, etc.
Jason and E-o-F
Here’s the download link to this chapter’s audio file: Link
Now that all chapters are published, the complete audio book is available on the story page and in the audio book section. Direct links:
Audiobook:
eBook:
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