Wishing you a very merry Christmas

Chapter 13th

Captain Lee Crane was getting tired with the heat and humidity. He asked the marines to take turns with guarding. Crane had closed his eyes remembering the last time he was happy in his marriage.

They had taken a few days off once the cruise had ended up in Alaska. Rosemarie was happy that she was going to spend a few days alone with her husband. While the two boys will be taken care of by her sister.

They were heading up north to the casino and hotel with having reservations. She was happy for a change instead of always being upset with her husband always gone on the Seaview. She was able to blame it on Admiral Nelson and with him being greedy.

She had finished with all of her work at the lab and including a new design for the chair in Houston, Texas. Though the first test had failed with the pilot getting injured with breaking his neck. A lawsuit was made against the military and Institute with the family settling out of court with a payment of one million dollars.

During those two days were best time they had together without the anger between the both of them. However Captain Lee Crane knew that something was wrong between them and even the two boys wasn't going to help at all.

Once they had arrived back after the two days. Life once again wasn't the same even though Lee Crane had been injured a number of times during the next year and a half. And she asked him on when he was going to step down as Captain of the Seaview...

He had no answer for her. Even though Admiral Nelson owner of the Institute. He had given an option for his captain to take over the Institute while he will be able to get back to his science projects. There were two other times during the past year and a half that Nelson had asked again with Crane turning him down with his marriage continued to fall apart and Rosemarie needing to get back to her work at the lab full time.

He came back to reality when he heard gun fired with one of the marines firing his weapon at something moving. Lee quickly had gotten up quickly to follow. And finding that two of the marines had been shot as with the third running back with his rifle in hand breathing hard from the humidity.

"What the hell happened Sergeant?" Lee had to asked with caution to the wind with his demeanor.

"Sir I think it was the sniper and I had thought for a moment he was Chinese. I wasn't really sure with him running quick knowing no doubt this region." He replied with slamming his fist against his head with anger.

"Come on lets follow the trail that you think he might of came from." Lee ordered with gathering up his things.

Moments later with climbing the hill. Sergeant Franklin Martins was shot into his back from the sniper as his body rolls down the hill with leaving Captain Lee Crane still alive. His heart rate was racing with his blood pressure as well as he tries to hide behind any protection. While the sniper continued to fire his weapon to hit Lee into his right shoulder and right leg...

His vision was blurred as he tried to hold on with his one arm falling down the hill as his energy is zapped and left on the bottom of the hill. And Crane seeing something coming his way thinking that it might be the sniper. He fired his rifle the best he could before passing out from the shock of his body.

He had hit the sniper with the lucky shot falling himself now dead when a tree branch was embedded into his chest...

Captain Lee Crane passing out from the pain and bloodlost had no idea on whether he was going to die this time with having to say his goodbye to his family and friends.

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The flyer had landed with the rescue team consisting of Kowakski, Patterson, Hanson and most of all Colonel James Reeves putting his foot down with staying on board the Seaview. Plus there were four others to search the island having landed in a clearing. Kowalski had checked the radar for anything on the screen. It had shown that there were five bodies on the screen with only one life sign.

"What does this mean Kowalski?" Colonel James Reeves having been fixed up and jacked up on pain medication. He had promised Admiral Nelson that he was going to find Captain Lee Crane on whether this was going to be his last mission before deciding on retiring from the Marines and enter into the corporate world in California. He had mention this to Commander Rosemarie Crane while he had been on board the Seaview and she liking the idea that one man knew what he wanted in life unlike Captain Lee Crane.

"This system is showing five bodies with only one with life signs. We don't know who is still alive at this time. We have the coordinates for where they are located making it easier to find." Kowalski had to say with Patterson and Hanson pulling out the medical supplies along with a radio to stay in contact with the Seaview.

Colonel James Reeves checked his rifle and water supplies along with his protein bars. He was ready to move with the heat and humidity hitting them.

Everyone moved out with stopping every twenty to thirty minutes to rest and water breaks. Patterson was wiping his face from the sweat along with a small towel from his backpack.

Colonel James Reeves sat down to pop another one of the pills that Doctor Jamieson had given him to keep him moving until the mission was over with finding the five bodies. No one knew which one of those bodies was the captain or even the sniper...