Miguel was late for his check-in. He had promised to check in with the seaQuest every 12 hours while he was in Cuban territory. They were unaligned with the UEO, and being caught there as a UEO service member could get you killed. Still, his father had died, and he needed to go home to deal with all the technicalities that involved, and see his sister and brothers. Cuba was still a socialist government, and the Obama administration's loosening of rules regarding American trade and travel to the country had helped them, but not much. Everyone was still desperately poor. Still, there would be sentimental items which Miguel and his family would bicker over.
"Mister O'Neil," Captain Bridger interrupted the silence. "Organize a team to find Mr Ortiz, please."
"Yes, sir." He began calling Crocker's security people.
When he had a team together, they boarded a shuttle and went into Cuban territory. The seaQuest would have to hide because being caught there could be seen as an act of war, but they could be back in American waters in moments. It was only 90 miles from Havana to New Cape Quest. The away team landed in Havana, and started tracking Miguel's movements through a GPS placed into his communicator. He was close, assuming he was still with his communicator.
They closed in on the house, and knocked on the door. A latina woman answered the door. Tim asked her if Miguel were there.
"No, and thank God you came. They came for him at the funeral. The police, they took my brother away."
Tim felt as though he'd been sucker punched in the gut.
"Can we come in?" he asked her.
"I think it's best if we're not associated with the UEO anymore than we already are," she said closing the door in his face.
Tim looked at Crocker. "What do we do?"
"We go to the police station and see if we can find Miguel," Crocker answered.
Tim nodded. They moved double time towards the police station. Much to their surprise, they found Miguel immediately. He was being held in a cell with a window, and he could see and speak to them through the open air room.
"There's only two policemen here," Miguel told them. "You can easily overpower them."
"Great," Tim said, moving with his six men towards the entrance.
He walked in the door, and shot the first guard with his stun gun in one movement. Then he ransacked the unconscious body for keys before leaving him handcuffed to the desk. Finding the keys, he ran through the jail, unlocking every cell so that it wouldn't be obvious they had come in for Miguel. When he had freed the 10 prisoners, including Miguel, they all ran out the door and back to the launch.