That evening
Friday
Eight hours later
Location: CLASSIFIED
Position: CLASSIFIED
1,865nm logged
Time: 17:00
Officially, the island did not exist.
Unofficially, it belonged to the British Government.
Officially, there was neither a state-of-the-art destroyer, nor was there a state-of-the-art mega-yacht anchored in the crystal clear waters of the lagoon. Officially, we were not anchored off the shore of an island with a guard force that had 'shoot-to-kill' orders on anybody unlucky enough to wander ashore without prior authorisation.
The island was a secret. I had no problem with that; I liked secrets. My life was a secret. Almost everything about me, my husband, my family, and my friends was a secret. At that moment, a pair of Royal Navy divers were inspecting the below water sections of the hull of the Atlantic Storm for any damage from the attack. I was furious at what had happened to my yacht. Almost as soon as we had anchored I had taken the tender out to get a good look at my vessel.
There were a lot of bullet holes and plenty of shrapnel damage on the starboard side, mainly, but some to port as well. The bridge windows were damaged, but intact. Watertight integrity appeared not to have suffered, so we were in no danger of sinking. However, the Atlantic Storm would need to go into a shipyard for hull repairs and some new glazing. She had done her job and she had protected us; nobody was injured in any way – for that I was eternally grateful.
We would make cursory repairs to the hull with the help of Commander Perrin's crew, so that problem was solved. Another problem was our exposure – all of the men behind Anne-Marie's kidnapping on that island had died, along with their hired mercenaries and we had jammed all of their communications during the attack on the Atlantic Storm; the credit would go to HMS Dragon for sinking the go-fast boats. That just left the crews of HMS Dragon and USS Churchill.
I would talk to Commander Perrin about it over dinner that night.
..._...
Moored a few hundred yards away from us was a large grey vessel.
She was the Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker, RFA Wave Knight. On our arrival we had been directed to moor alongside the 31,500 tonne vessel, where we received a little over four thousand gallons of diesel to top off our capacious full tanks and quite a few litres of fresh water. We had burnt a lot of diesel while out-manoeuvring the go-fast boats that morning.
Unfortunately, it was just another vessel and another crew of witnesses – nevertheless, I did appreciate the fuel!
..._...
There was one other problem left to be solved, well two actually.
The first was that my youngest daughter had killed a man. She was not yet eight, but she had killed her tormentor and she had shown maturity way beyond her tender years. What was that going to do to her? So far she had not shown any sign of acknowledging those ten bullets that she had fired into that man. I was not keen on bringing it up in conversation yet, either. Cathy had suggested that Anne-Marie might be blanking the event out, or that other events were preventing those crucial memories from coming forward.
Either way, it was a problem would have to be addressed at some stage or other...
..._...
The second problem... Stephanie – she had fought really well, but there were times that she had gone over the top – I was not complaining, but Megan had been worried by Stephanie's behaviour, as had Chloe. She had helped to avenge Anne-Marie and at the time, I had not been bothered with collateral damage on that island. However, back in Chicago – we could not have the girl going off like a loose cannon and killing everything in sight in an undisciplined manner.
I would talk to the girl at some stage.
..._...
On the cruise to our current location, Dave and I gathered Chloe, Megan and Stephanie together. The three of them were the only ones to witness the events inside the residence.
"I need to talk to you three about what happened..."
"You mean when Anne-Marie fired off ten rounds into that cunt?" Stephanie enquired.
"Yeah... At the time, I thought it right to allow Anne-Marie to get some revenge. I could understand why she wanted to hurt the man, but when she asked to kill him..."
"Kind of shocked me a bit, that did... I thought we only had one psycho!" Megan said, tipping her head at Stephanie.
Stephanie scowled but let it pass.
"You can talk!" Chloe chuckled, receiving her own scowl. "I was more than a little surprised that you went along with it, Dave – Mindy, I can understand; she's a nutcase, but you...?"
Dave just smiled without replying.
"Thank you, Chloe... I love you too. For now, please don't say anything to anybody else about what I allowed Anne-Marie to do. I know what it is like to kill at seven-years-old... If Marcus finds out, he will probably kill me – when Danny finds out what his sister did..."
"I suppose it is enough of a shock to find out that your parents are Kick-Ass and Hit Girl. I know, from my own personal experiences, the shock of finding out who is under those masks. I also know the pressure of keeping such a big secret. I also know that I caused shit by constantly wanting to become a vigilante, despite being told that I was way too young – and maybe I was. The poor girl has a lot of crap ahead of her and I for one, will be there for her."
"Well said, Megan!" Dave commented, speaking for the first time. "We'll all be there for Anne-Marie."
Chloe gave Megan a hug and nodded. It was good to see the two of them getting along better.
"Our lips are sealed, Mindy," Stephanie said and the others nodded.
Chicago, USA
'... A Sky News special report… It has been reported that a privately-owned island in the British Virgin Islands was assaulted last night and it is reported that a drug-dealer and his men were killed during the vicious attack by unknown para-military forces…'
Marcus looked up at the TV – he closed his eyes for a moment...
"Please – no..."
"What?" Paige asked.
"It had to be her – it just has to be!"
'... The Admiralty has reported that a Royal Navy warship was involved in action against drug-related behaviour, in the Caribbean where three fast boats are reported to have been destroyed... Reports of a private yacht being involved in the skirmish have been met with the standard 'no comment'...'
Marcus was lost for words...
That evening
Location: CLASSIFIED
Position: CLASSIFIED
Commander Perrin came aboard with his daughter, Cassie.
The Commander's wife was currently topping up her tan in Antigua while Cassie spent a week with her father aboard HMS Dragon.
"Are you guys all right?" Cassie exclaimed, almost the moment she came aboard.
"Yes, thanks to your father, amongst others," I replied, giving Cassie a hug. "I suppose you know..."
Cassie looked awkward for a moment before replying.
"Yes, Daddy told me what you all do 'behind the scenes'," Cassie said before scowling at her father. "Daddy then went on to tell me in glowingly colourful terms what you might do to me if I blabbed – not that it was necessary!"
Commander Perrin showed no hint of shame at having threatened his daughter on my behalf.
"I trust the Commander; therefore, I trust you Cassandra – just keep that warning in mind..." I said darkly, intentionally using the name that I knew she hated to show how serious I was.
We moved onto happier things as Cassie was introduced to the others who had not attended the cocktail party in Antigua. She thought that Megan and Stephanie were very cute – if only she knew them. As for the twins, they were classified as 'sweet and innocent' – again, she obviously needed to get to know them!
..._...
We all sat and chatted in the Main Salon while Cathy, Abby and Chloe prepared dinner. As usual I was banned from the Galley, especially for something as important as that night! Conversation tended to avoid the events of the previous few days and concentrated on happier times. Cassie was keen to find out more about Fusion, as were Danny and Anne-Marie.
Dave took great delight in telling some very embarrassing stories about Mindy Macready and Hit Girl, which got a lot of laughter from everybody and more than a few scowls from me! I was actually pleased that Danny and Anne-Marie could find out more about their adoptive parents; there were to be no more secrets, I had promised them that.
Cathy had appeared at one stage with some of her own anecdotes – I did not ever dream that there was a condition beyond 'total humiliation'. Dave rescued me by telling everybody that I needed to cool off before my face set fire to something!
..._...
Dinner would have been a cramped affair, what with fifteen people, but we managed it by sending the younger kids out to the Aft Main Deck, to eat there, while the adults and the older teenagers remained in the Main Salon. Commander Perrin had brought a selection of wine over with him, plus some beers, too. Some of the beers had already been drunk by Ryan, Dave and the Commander during the 'let's all embarrass the fuck out of Mindy' session, earlier.
For the meal, I allowed Josh, Chloe and Abby to have a drink – it was my yacht after all! They each had a glass of wine, which Josh enjoyed, Chloe tolerated and Abby turned down after a few sips. I had to admit that it was not too bad – I was developing a taste for alcohol. I had no idea if that was good or bad!
"Let's make sure you can still walk when you stand up, my girl!" Cathy warned her daughter who blushed in response.
The meal was good – steaks with corn on the cob; not fresh but we were in the Caribbean after all! Dave had to check on the younger members of the crew a few times as they seemed to be getting a bit rowdy while the sun went down.
..._...
"Commander, how come there were Marines and helicopters at the island?" Chloe enquired – a question on all our lips.
Commander Perrin chuckled for a moment before replying.
"You can thank Spook for that. He got onto his controller, in London, and reminded them – quite strongly I might add – that HMG owed Hit Girl – it was merely an hour later that I received my orders: '... Assist in recovery action at Buck Island without endangering your Command...' I requested extra assistance from USS Churchill and they loaned us their helicopters – they wanted to do more, but they could not.
"Anyway, the moment it was suggested that the Royals were required to go play in jungle swamps, they jumped at the chance. I have never seen the damn Bootnecks so happy! They set off in their little rubber boats as soon as we were close enough. The flight crews jumped at the chance to fire off some real ammunition too..."
"Thank you, Commander – we all owe you our lives..." I said.
"Nonsense, girl – I'd do anything for a pretty lady in distress!"
Cassie blushed with embarrassment – I blushed too, but with pleasure!
Dave stood up towards the end of the meal.
He called in the kids from the stern and had them gather around the table.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to propose a toast. To Anne-Marie Lizewski – for keeping her wits about her, despite her ordeal."
The poor girl blushed bright red as everybody cheered for her. Dave then turned to Commander Perrin and Ryan.
"Commander Perrin, Commander Bennett – thank you for providing your expert assistance. Ladies and gentlemen, the Royal Navy and the United States Navy, in the form of HMS Dragon and USS Churchill!"
It was the turn of the two Commanders to colour slightly as the applause arose for them both and their commands.
..._...
It was well after eleven by the time the Commander and Cassie returned to the Dragon. We were due to depart by 06:00 for the long trek back to Miami and then onto Chicago and home.
It would be good to get back to our, not so normal, lives.