DANGEROUS MERGERS

Chapter Seven

Stephanie heard the soft sound of Enrique's laughter and looked in his direction. She blushed when she noticed that both Enrique and Emilia were smiling at her. Damn, she needed to break her habit of moaning when she ate. But who could blame her? She lifted the large cup to her lips and drained the last of the soup into her mouth, marveling at all the different and wonderful tastes that touched her tongue. She stared down into the empty cup and wondered how it was possible to make what looked like plain old chicken broth taste almost as good as a meatball sub from Pino's.

"You wish more?" Enrique asked and reached for her cup.

Stephanie looked into the small boy's face. Already he was handsome and that smile … tears pooled in her eyes. Shaking her head no, she handed the cup to Enrique. "Don't cry, Senora, he will come." This time, she nodded in agreement, but her tears managed to escape and slid down her face.

oOoOo

Tank handed Ranger the rubberized duffle bag. "Already double checked it, thought you could use the extra sleep."

Ranger nodded his thanks and slung the bag over his shoulder. "I left some written instructions back at the hotel; consider it part two of your promise." He heard Tank mutter a string of obscenities under his breath.

Tank felt his fear and his anger start to surface. Ranger going into Cuba alone was a huge mistake. Hell, they almost didn't get him out the last time he'd ventured in to take care of a personal situation. "Damn it, Ric, you know this is a mistake."

"We've already had this discussion, just remember your promise." Ranger tossed his duffle down into the boat that Leon had idling next to the dock.

"Yeah, I know, but it's a promise I hope like hell I never have to keep." Tank's words were tight. "Just promise me you'll bring you and your wife back safe and sound."

Ranger nodded and gave his friend one last look before Leon steered the boat away from the dock and towards open water.

oOoOo

The two brothers stared out over the dark expansion of water in silence, the boat floating to the exact coordinates Will had given them.

Will watched the small blue blip on his handheld tracking device: right on time. Punctuality had always been one of Manoso's professional qualities. He lifted his night vision scope and scanned the dark horizon. Nothing yet, but they should be coming into view soon.

The rescue craft was disguised to resemble one of the local fishing boats and the crew dressed to match. It wasn't the first time Will had captained such a ship and given the fact that Manoso was a good friend, it wouldn't be the last time he'd be asked to 'go fishing'. It would surprise the average U.S. citizen to know how many ways there were to get in and out of Cuba. All it took was having the right connections and a whole lot of money. Connections to get you in and money to get you out. Will checked the tracking unit for the second time and then scoped the horizon again.

"Hello, Manoso," he whispered. "Pesque directamente adelante." (Fish straight ahead.) He called down to Jackson to let him know that he'd spotted their passengers. "Now comes the tricky part," Will said to himself.

Ranger lowered his own night scope. "Close enough." He had already stripped and redressed in a wetsuit; one designed to block body heat from radar detection. He slung the duffle bag of equipment over his shoulder and turned to position his body on the edge of the boat when he noticed that Leon was wearing an identical wetsuit.

"You're not going," said Ranger, turning his full attention to his brother.

"Yes, I am. Tank and I decided that if his last effort to talk some sense into you failed, then I'd be the one to go in with you. Bottom line, you aren't going in there alone." Leon readied himself for a fight.

Ranger swung his body back inside the boat and stood facing his brother.

"If we're going to fight, let's get it over with, we're wasting time."

Ranger swung his fist and water sloshed in over the sides as the boat rocked side to side. Leon ducked and struggled to stay upright. "Didn't anyone teach you not to stand up in a boat?" Leon grinned at Ranger. "Hey, you're lucky I won out with Tank, he wanted to give you knock-out drugs and leave you behind!" Leon used Ranger's momentary anger to grab the boat's fire ax and swung it as hard as he could into the floor of the boat. Salt water started bubbling up to fill the bottom of the boat. "Better hurry or do you want to go down with the ship?" Leon tossed his duffel bag over his shoulder, flashed a grin at the pissed off look on his brother's face and then he entered the water.

Cursing in Spanish and English, Ranger wondered how in the hell he had lost control of the situation. "I'm going to break both of your legs when we get home," he growled at his brother who was bobbing up and down while he treaded water.

Leon watched his brother enter the water without making a splash. Surrounded in total darkness, both men watched while the small boat sank.

Glancing at the small GPS monitor on his wrist, Ranger began to swim in the direction of Will's ship. Leon matched his brother stroke for stroke. "Wanna race?" Leon asked. "Loser buys the new boat!"

"Oh, you're buying the fucking boat," Ranger grumbled.

"Hey, it's not my fault you threw your new wife out of an airplane." Leon was careful to keep his distance, not sure how his brother would take that piece of humor. When Ranger appeared to ignore his remark, Leon felt safe to continue. "Hell man, I didn't even get to kiss the bride."

"Shit, I should have brought Tank with me, at least he's quiet," Ranger muttered.

"Well, that's gratitude for you. Just trying to lighten the mood a little and all you do is bitch. You know, you really should learn how to enjoy life." Neither men sounded winded as they swam and talked.

"I was enjoying my life." Ranger's strokes became more powerful as his anger built.

Leon increased his strokes to stay even with his brother. "Tank mentioned you have a new target design, said I should ask you to show it to me."

oOoOo

After lunch, Stephanie asked if she could take a bath instead of Emilia giving her a sponge bath. Enrique translated and Emilia nodded. Stephanie almost cried when she lowered herself into the warm water. It felt like heaven. Her muscles still ached, but she was getting stronger and her skin no longer glowed in the dark. When she was finished, Emilia massaged her body with aloe ointment. She awoke a few hours later and dressed in the clothes Emilia had given her. The skirt's fabric was bright with color and the blouse was a white peasant's blouse. Both pieces were a little big on her, but being dressed made her feel even better. She slipped her feet into a pair of worn sandals. There was no mirror for her to check her appearance. Who cared; how she looked was not important. Blending in with the locals was, if she wanted to start searching for a way to find her husband.

She went into the kitchen to see if there was anything she could do. Stephanie was surprised by all the activity that greeted her. Manuel, Emilia and Enrique bustled around the kitchen. Emilia stirred the various pots on top of the old stove. Manuel sliced a loaf of bread at one end of the old table while Enrique carried a small stack of mismatched plates and added them to a larger stack at the end.

"What's going on? Why are they preparing so much food?" Stephanie asked.

"People come and pay to eat, a Paladares." Enrique searched for the right word in English.

"A restaurant?" Stephanie asked in surprise.

"Si! Res-toe-rant." Enrique smiled with pride. "Tonight, Emilia will serve beef." The young boy rubbed his stomach. "And tostones." He closed his eyes and moaned.

Stephanie laughed. Whatever tostones* were, she would bet she was going to love them!

oOoOo

Will stayed on deck until he was sure they were back in safe water before he went below to talk to the Manoso brothers. They were waiting for him when he walked into the small makeshift office. Leon was sitting on one of the small bunks hanging off the wall; watching Ranger pace.

"Nice to see you again, Ric." Will said as he lit a long, fat Cuban cigar. "Congratulations on your marriage, but I've got to tell you, my friend, you need to learn how to treat a woman better." Will clamped the cigar between his teeth and stretched a huge grin across his face.

Ranger stopped pacing and glared at his friend. Leon tried hard not to laugh. It really was comical to watch the unrelenting teasing his brother was receiving over this fiasco.

Will removed the cigar from his mouth and began outlining the rescue plan. "I've sent three men into the area where we calculate she would have come ashore. We know for sure that the 'government' hasn't found her, yet, but they are looking for her as well. My guess is that one of the local resistance groups has her hidden."

"How soon will we be ashore?" The tension in Ranger's voice matched the tension in his body.

"Calm down, Ric. We're doing everything possible. You won't be going into the field at first." Ranger opened his mouth to argue, but stopped when Will shot him a glance. "You want my help, you do it my way. If not, both you and the new Mrs. Manoso won't make it out to enjoy that honeymoon you're supposed to be on." Ranger knew Will well enough to accept his words as facts and not as a threat.

Ranger calmed himself. "What's my cover?"

"A visiting professor from South America. You'll be teaching English at the University of Havana." Will handed Ranger a packet of falsified papers. "Gentlemen, I suggest that tonight you get some sleep. Operation Bombshell begins at dawn."

Ranger groaned. Leon collapsed onto the bunk with laughter.

* Tostones are thick slices of green plantains that are fried then flattened and then fried again. They are served as an appetizer or a side dish.