Reggie's ribs ached from his beating, but he'd been in pain before. He was watching the guards, looking for a weakness. His military background was coming to the fore and he found himself relying on instincts he thought long and buried. They weren't very competent, their guards. He doubted if many of them had any military training.

While he had been sat watching, he noted a new tension ripple through them. Three of the eight mercenaries had left about twenty minutes ago, and most of the remaining guards were spending more time watching out of the windows rather than watching them.

The only guard left who was making any attempt to do his job had almost all his focus on Reggie. It was the same guard who had given Reggie a beating the moment his two mates had dragged him outside. Reggie just glared back at the man as he stood over him. He was standing temptingly close with his gun lazily aimed at Reggie's navel.

One of the guards at the window called out to his colleagues and Reggie's guard finally turned his head. Reggie burst from his crouch; he had already manoeuvred himself in a position to strike. He grappled the gun from the man's grasp, caught him in a head lock and choked the guy before he could call out. He stopped short of breaking the guy's neck, but only just.

Reggie was relying on part of himself he had buried after leaving the army. It was the part of him that let him survived the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was the hard, desensitised, battle worn part he had grown to fear.

Now there was a gun in his hand Reggie had to resist the urge to pull the trigger. The guard who had called from the window didn't even notice Reggie as he charged at him with the rifle butt, knocking him unconscious. The third guard seeing two of his colleagues dropped so ruthlessly by just one man, dropped his gun and raised his hands in surrender. The last two men by the door weren't so smart and charged in to tackle him. Reggie broke one goon's knee with a well-aimed kick and then shattered the other guy's nose with the rifle, knocking him out.

The rest of the hostages watched the whole violent scene play out, speechlessly. Eventually they realise the consequences of Reggie's heroic actions. Jackson was the first to react, getting up and grabbing the rifle from the surrendering guard.

The others slowly joined him hauling their former guards into the middle of the room.

After his burst of action, Reggie bent down to catch his breath. He felt a hand on his back and tensed for action, but it was only Camilla. She smiled at him.

"My hero." she whispered.

"Now what do we do?" asked Jackson.

Reggie realised all the expectant faces were looking his way. It looked like he was in charge

He surveyed the scene.

"First we need a guard at the two entrances." said Reggie.

"I'll go." said Ryan, picking up one of the fallen rifles.

"I've got the other." said Jackson, the rifle he'd claimed still in his fist.

"Only shoot as a last resort." Reggie warned. "We don't want anyone to realise we are free."

"What about the kids?" Kendall asked. She was still sat in the corner with Griffin, her head wound was an obvious concern.

"And Erica." added Opal. "Don't forget about Erica."

"That is our next priority." said Reggie. "Who else knows how to use one of these? We need someone to guard our prisoners." He held up another rifle.

Griffin had raised his hand but Reggie was surprised by the click of an automatic weapon being cocked just behind him. He turned to see Opal with a gun in her hand.

"I got this." she said pointing the gun unwaveringly towards the prisoners. "I may not approve of guns, but I'm a country girl at heart so I know how to use 'em. You concentrate on getting us out of here!"

…

Their next move required planning. It was risky to leave the cover of the dining hall but a quick look outside made it obvious that the only other building their captors considered important enough to guard was Bianca and Marissa's bungalow. Which meant the kids and Erica had to be in there.

"I need one volunteer." said Reggie. "I can see a way of getting to the kids."

Both Ryan and Griffin stepped forward.

"Have any of you had any military experience."

Both men shook their head.

"Have any of you been under fire."

Griffin was the only one to nod.

"Then it's you." said Reggie. "You stay close, you stay alert and you follow me."

Reggie then turned to Ryan before he could protest that it was his kids that were in danger.

"Your job is just as important." he reassured him. "I want you to get back to your post by the door. You need to watch the house and to signal me about the troop movements."

He showed Ryan the hand signals he would need to indicate danger and direction; teaching them to Griffin at the same time so he could recognise them.

"Are we ready?" Reggie asked.

"Ready." they said as one.

"Then let's bring our babies back safely. We'll give the pirates one less bargaining chip."

…

Ryan had been very impressed by Reggie. He had no idea Jackson's adopted son had so many unexpected depths. He'd heard about him retiring from the military, but had not expected to see so much strength and skill up close. He was transformed from a laid back family man into a real Rambo.

Reggie had made a good plan as well. Getting the kids back wasn't just a priority for their worried parents. They were a weakness that the pirates could exploit if they found out about their rebellion.

From his post from the main door, Ryan could see activity down in the bay around the helipad, but no one was venturing up towards the dining hall. One man was pacing back and forth on the veranda in front of the bungalow where they thought the kids were being held, but there was no one else in sight.

Just then Ryan noted movement to the back of the bungalow. It was Reggie and Griffin, skirting along the side of the building. Ryan signalled the location of the guard and Reggie nodded.

Ryan could only watch in wonder as Reggie, waited for the guard to turn and pace away from him before he launched himself over the railings of the veranda and throttled the guy without him making a sound. That was a skill.

Reggie turned back to check with Ryan that the coast was still clear, before signalling for Griffin to follow him into the house.

…

Reggie stepped into the entrance of the bungalow. There was tinny music coming from the next room. If the layout was anything like the one in his bungalow then that would be the lounge. Reggie signalled for Griffin to wait and stepped forward to peer around the door frame. There was one man sat on the couch with his back to the door. All his focus was on one of AJ's handheld computer games. Reggie took him out in seconds.

Still making pains to be silent Reggie stepped into the corridor, pushing doors open as he went, checking the coast was clear before moving on. So far the rooms were empty. The last door at the end of the corridor had a chair jammed under the handle; that had to be where they were keeping the kids. As much as he wanted to rush forward and save them, training dictated that you be thorough, so he kept his pace slow and measured.

Finally Reggie reached the door with the chair wedged against it. He pulled the chair free and then took a deep breath, nervous about what he would find on the other side of the door.

He signalled for Griffin to move up and join him.

"If there is a guard in there, I will take him. You get the kids out, understood?"

"Understood."

Reggie nodded to the count of three and then turned the handle and pushed open the door.

They were met by seven scared and delighted faces. The kids were all there safe and well. Reggie didn't have enough arms to hug everyone, but was going to try.

"Have you saved us?" AJ asked proudly. "I knew you would save us!"

Reggie put his finger to his lips.

"We need to stay quiet." he insisted. "Can you do that? We are going to get you out of here but we have to do it quietly."

The kids all nodded; even Ayesha, who he knew was too little to really understand.

"When we get outside, we need to stick together; move quickly and make ourselves as small and as hidden as possible, okay? Pretend we're commandos on a mission, yeah?"

"Yeah." said AJ, already taking one of Gabby's hands while Miranda, in silent agreement, took the other.

Griffin had scooped Ian up into his arms while Reggie did the same for his daughter. He was pleased to see Spike take Emma's hand as well.

"Okay, let's go," said Reggie leading the kids towards the door of the bungalow, "Fast and quiet."

…

Ryan almost ran out from his lookout point when he saw Emma and Spike emerge from the bungalow with the other kids. When Reggie froze on the porch watching in his direction, Ryan realise he was waiting for the signal that the coast was clear.

Ryan glanced down towards the bay, there wasn't another pirate within a hundred yards. They all seemed to be hurrying in the opposite direction. He signalled the all clear and then watched as the group ran down the side of the bungalow towards the back door of the dining hall.

Ryan turned back to the others.

"He's got them. They are on their way." he informed the others. He had never seen so many faces transform from despair to delight.

There was the sound of movement from the back and then an army of little feet came charging in to find someone to hug.

Ryan caught Emma up in his arms and kissed every part of her so relieve to have her back and safe. He carried her over to where Kendall was being reunited with her boys to cast his eyes over Spike and make sure he was unharmed.

Opal and Francois were making a huge fuss of AJ, Miranda and Gabby; Camilla was sobbing over Ayesha. Everyone had someone.

Then Ryan notice Jackson standing apart.

"Where's Erica?" he asked.

Reggie looked up from his joyous embrace with his girlfriend and their child and gave his father a sad look.

"She wasn't in the bungalow. I don't know where they took her. I'm sorry, dad."

Miranda pulled out of Opal's arms as well.

"And where's our mommies? Are they safe?" she asked.

Opal pulled her back into an embrace.

"I'm sure they are. I'm sure they are still hidden."

Even as she spoke there was a loud noise from outside. An engine starting up: the helicopter. The one uninjured guard suddenly go up and tried to dart for the door, he clearly didn't want to get left behind. Griffin tackled him to the ground.

Reggie gave Ryan a hard look.

"You are supposed to be watching the door!"

Ryan, Jackson and Reggie ran to the window in time to see the helicopter taking off.

"Is that it? Are they leaving?" Jackson asked.

…