Trial by Fire

"I am not able to do anything with it but continue to operate it according to my standing orders until I receive new orders. I can't sell it, it doesn't belong to me. I can't give it away for the same reason. I will continue to use it to assist refugees until I receive further orders," Regan said.

"At some point it is possible that the refugees may set up some sort of government in exile. At that point I may receive further orders. Until that time it will be my duty to aid those who escaped the holocaust. So far, I have found only these 22 people. Until I find others, I will continue to ensure their safety. Think about this, Senator. There is a bad time coming for your people. Economies worldwide are going to come crashing down and there will be piracy on the high seas. It is likely that some of those pirates will make their way here. Wouldn't you sleep better at night knowing that the US Coast Guard is on duty, protecting your people without charge to you or risk of life and limb to any of your citizens?"

"How much money do you have, Commander?" Prius asked. "I'm not prying here; I'm just wondering if you know how expensive property is on this island?"

"I'll allow the Lieutenant to answer that question," Reagan said.

"May I borrow a pen, Senator?" Joseph asked.

The Senator opened his desk and handed over a pen. "You may keep that," he said.

"Thank you," Joseph wrote on a sticky note on Prius' desk. He slid the paper across the desk. "That is the balance and account numbers of two accounts at Republic Bank in Georgetown."

Prius' eyes flickered as he looked at the number.

"We'll give you time to confirm that account," Joseph said, "but I think you'll find that we have enough money to buy every piece of real estate that is for sale on this island. I inherited a great deal of money, Senator. Commander Thayer has a similar amount in the same bank. He is from an old Virginia family that has extensive holdings in Brazil in mining and petroleum. We are officers in the United States military, but that doesn't mean we live on officer's pay. My niece Emma owns that yacht you see down at the pier. The Ramsey's, the owners of the trawler are also quite well off. Believe me, Senator, we can pay our way."

Prius buzzed for his secretary and handed her the note. "Check that out," he told her.

He leaned back in his chair. He was silent for a couple of minutes. "I'll have to clear this with immigration, but this is my home district. I have a lot of authority here. If all this checks out, I can't imagine turning people like you away. Yes, we would sleep easier at night knowing you were on watch. To tell you the truth we've already begun having some trouble. Four years ago, pirates boarded and robbed a yacht in Tyrell Bay for the first time, and it's been getting worse. I have one police boat. They can't be everywhere and the pirates are getting bolder. We could use the help. Do you have any place in mind you'd like to live?"

"We do actually," Reagan said. "Do you have that list, Lieutenant?"

Joseph opened his case and handed Reagan the list Sara and Angela had prepared.

"This is the list of the properties we want to purchase," he said, handing the list to Prius.

The senator squinted at the list and his jaw dropped. "You certainly do know what you want," he gasped. "This adds up to nearly 20 million dollars! You have 25 properties on this list."

"I have been a real estate developer in the Florida Keys since Commander Thayer and I graduated from Annapolis," Joseph said. "I don't intend to be idle here and the Commander is my partner in this venture."

"Those lots in Craigston add up to be probably 20 acres," Prius said. "What do you plan to do with all that land?"

"Build a headquarters for a real estate development company," Reagan said. "That's where our offices and warehouse will be. We plan to build a free clinic if we can attract a doctor, and a small shipyard. We are purchasing Fiji Beach for a pier and a private beach. We will build private housing for our employees here as well. The Lieutenant will operate out of Catalina Villa. As you can see, we are ready to pump a lot of money into your economy. What do you say, Senator? Will you let us in?"

The secretary knocked and entered. "Both accounts check out," she said.

"But how can I say no," Prius rose and bowed. "Welcome to Carriacou, gentlemen."

"How soon do think we can make arrangements to purchase the properties?" Joseph asked.

"I see no reason why we can't begin now. Come with me and I'll make the introductions for you. First, let me arrange accommodations for your party. I know this island like the back of my hand and I'll make sure you receive only the best."

They shook hands and he escorted them out. They conducted their business with the real estate agent, spent two hours with a local attorney, and the two men walked back toward the boats. Reagan exploded.

"What was that woman talking about, 'both accounts?'"

"I took the liberty of setting accounts up for you and your family while we were in Cozumel," he explained. "You saved our lives Reagan. Every one of us would have died horrible deaths. But, you and your family rode in like knights in armor and saved us. I know I can never repay that, but I can do something. Everyone in your family, including the 'adopted' ones, has enough money to get them a good start in life at whatever they want to do. They can't retire and become decadent, but they have freedom to do what they want to do with their lives. You, on the other hand, can retire if you want. You don't seem the decadent type, but you can be if you want. Don't give me a lot of grief. Just say, 'Thank you Joseph,' and I'll say you're welcome and I still owe you everything I have. I'm done preaching now."

Reagan stopped and stared at him for a minute. There were tears in his eyes. "Thank you Joseph," his voice caught in his throat."

"You're welcome Reagan and I still owe you everything I have."

They both burst into laughter, a few people stopped to stare at two grown men hugging each other and laughing insanely on the street.

Chapter Eighteen

Reagan burst onto the bridge, nearly overcome with excitement. "Pack a bag, kids," he said. "They're letting us in."

The bridge burst into an uproar with everyone hugging and whooping and congratulating one another at once.

"Hey, hey," Reagan called. "I wasn't kidding about packing a bag. They're sending a bus for us. We're going to stay at the Green Roof Inn. The local Senator is putting us up and he says it's a wonderful place."

They all scurried off to berths to pack bags and the excited talk continued as they packed.

"Oh, I don't know what to take, Mason," Kierra was in an agony of indecision."

"Just regular clothes," he told her. "A swim suit too, and something to wear for dinner."

"I don't have anything to wear for dinner," she wailed.

"We'll go shopping," he told her. "Just bring jeans and shirts and a toothbrush."

"I don't have any money," she said. "None of us have any money. How can we go shopping?"

"I'll ask Dad," he said. "We all need new stuff."

The party filled the open bus that pulled up at the pier. They were one seat short but Danni volunteered to sit on Lanston's lap and solved the problem.

"I wanted to anyway," she whispered. "This is all sort of scary."

He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her up tight.

Mason pulled his father aside. "Dad, we all need clothes and stuff. We'll never get the ash out of our clothes. They all smell like cinders. How are we going to get stuff? None of us have any money."

"Well, that's not quite accurate," Reagan said. "I'll explain it to everyone later, but you do have money. For now, you can all just sponge off of Dad like you always have."

"How did you get money?" Mason asked.

"I'm not trying to be mysterious, but I only want to say this once and I'll tell everyone when we get to the hotel. Just get whatever you need."

Reagan spoke to their bus driver for a moment and he agreed to take them to the shopping district and wait until they were finished.

"Okay everyone," he said. "Change of plans. Our clothes are worn out and full of ash we'll never get out. Many of you need personal items. We're going shopping. First stop is the bank to get money and then we'll go get what we need."

Cheers, especially from the women, filled the street. The driver had a big smile on his face.

They stopped at the bank and Reagan and Joseph went in. They did some figuring about the exchange rate and finally decided to give everyone 1000 dollars. Carriacou used the East Caribbean dollar and a US dollar was worth almost three local dollars. They each decided to withdraw an additional 5,000 in case they needed something more.

The bank teller was somewhat surprised at someone withdrawing 32 thousand dollars, but she rounded up the money and supplied a small bag to carry it in. "Don't get robbed," she warned.

Reagan smiled a little at the notion. He had noticed that each of his kids had a sidearm on them somewhere, although he couldn't imagine where Danni was concealing her little .38 auto with the outfit she had on.

They exited the bus in front of a line of shops and the two men handed out money to the shoppers. "I know this seems like a lot of money, but it isn't," Joseph explained. "Three of these dollars are worth about what one US dollar was worth. This is all the money you're going to have for a while, so don't blow it on junk. Get what you need and can wear."

The large group dispersed into smaller groups. Reagan and Sara, Burt and Angela, Joseph and Mason and Kierra found a house that also doubled as a women's dress shop. The girls shopped while the men made encouraging remarks.

"Reagan, if you don't shut up we're going to stay here all day," Sara snapped.

"Oh, I thought that was the plan anyway," he shot back.

Lanston, Danni and Emma found a delightful little shop that sold sarongs and art t-shirts. Danni fell in love with the sarongs and bought three. Emma bought one and Lanston even found one for men. It wasn't really his size, but since it was a wrap-around, he thought it would work. They also bought several t-shirts and Danni purchased the tiniest yellow bikini Lanston had ever seen.

They found a general store that sold jeans and all kinds of shirts and shoes and they soon had all they wanted to carry.

"Hey, Danni, look," Lanston pointed out. "There's a dentist's office. You don't have to worry about your braces anymore. We can just come here."

Danni was ecstatic. "Lanston, thank you. You don't know how much I've worried about that. I knew you were good for something."

The two hours they had allotted passed quickly and the group gathered at the bus and set out for the hotel. It was a large structure, obviously catering to tourists. They took their room assignments and went to drop off their bags.

Alex and Danni were sharing a room next to Mason and Lanston. The rooms adjoined through a door and it was quickly opened.

"Lanston isn't it beautiful," Danni called from her side. She was standing at the window looking out at the ocean.

"I'm going to take a long shower," she called. "Then, do you want to go swimming?"

"Sure," he agreed. "I'll shower too."

"You and Kierra want to go, bro?" he asked Mason.

"No I do not," Mason said. "I've had enough ocean to last me a lifetime. I'm going to take a long shower after you're done and go get Kierra and lie on a bed and watch TV. You think they've got any video games?"

"Call the desk and find out," Lanston said. "Looks like you can rent movies." He pointed to the promotion on the desk." Maybe they have porn. I'm sure Kierra would enjoy some good adult entertainment." They laughed hysterically and Mason went off to find Kierra and check into hotel's services.

An hour later, Danni poked her head into the room. Lanston was lying on the bed in his new swimming trunks with a towel over his face.

"I'm ready," she said. Lanston didn't move.

She went over and pulled the towel off his face. He was asleep. She watched him sleep for a while. He looked so young and beautiful, she thought. She knelt beside the bed and nibbled on his ear. His eyes opened.

"Hello elf," he said. "Are you the golden elf princess?"

"Yes I am," she giggled. "I've come to take you away to my kingdom by the sea."

He cradled her head in one big hand and kissed her. "Will there be more like you there?"

"No, I'm the last elf in the world," she said sadly.

"That's too bad," he said. "I was thinking of starting a harem."

She punched him in the ribs. "Get up, lazy and take me swimming," she said. "One of me is all you can handle."

They laughed together and Lanston tucked her under his arm and they went out the sliding door and down the steps to the beach. She had on one of her new sarongs, a light green, semi-transparent number and one of her new t-shirts with an Adventure Time character on the front. They both carried towels. There didn't seem to be a lot of tourists around. They walked a quarter mile up the beach and spread their towels out on the white sand.

Lanston stretched out on his towel and put his arms behind his head. He sighed in contentment and closed his eyes.

Danni unwrapped her sarong and pulled her t-shirt over her head and dropped them on her towel. She looked around. They could see Union Island in the distance. The gentle surf rolled into the white sand and the deep blue water glimmered in the sun. It was eighty-five degrees and the water looked inviting.

"This is the most beautiful beach I have ever seen," she said.

Lanston opened his eyes and his heart skipped a beat. She was wearing that little yellow bikini. It was just three little triangles of cloth with strings. It clung to her sleek brown body like so many gloves. She was facing the ocean and the bright yellow string caressed the top of her cheeks and disappeared into mystery. He could see a faint tan line that would soon disappear as well. She was the sexiest thing he had ever seen.

"Wow," he said, "me too."

She glanced at him. "Not me silly, Look around."

"I can't," he gasped.

"So does that mean you like it?"

"I like you in it," he said. "Come here, sprite and let me look."

She came over, swinging her hips in an exaggerated runway walk, and knelt between his legs. He reached up and took her hand and pulled her down on top of him. He wrapped his arms around her and then cupped one firm bare cheek in each hand. He traced the thong down into the cleft and squeezed again.

"You have the sexiest butt," he told her.

She melted into him as their lips met. His hands were everywhere, stroking her silky brown skin. She moaned, almost inaudibly.

"It feels almost like you're naked in that," he whispered.

"I know," she said. "But I'm not and you aren't to try and get me out of it."

"I won't," he promised. "You look too good in it. Sometimes you have to leave a little to the imagination."

"You don't think I'm teasing you, like Alex said?" she asked.

"No, sprite," he said. "I love it, but we better get up before I get too hot."

"I love it when you call me that," she kissed him fiercely and then jumped up and ran giggling into the water.

He chased her and they discovered that size did matter, as he was able to run faster through the water that was thigh deep on her, but only knee deep on him. He picked her up and swung her through the air and she flew into the water, turning the fall into a shallow dive.

They played in the water until they were tired. They gathered up their belongings, Danni covered the bikini with her sarong and t-shirt, and they went back to the hotel.

"I'm going to take another shower," she said. "I'm going to take about ten a day for a while."

"Can I watch?" he asked.

"You are so bad," she laughed. "No, you're an evil boy."

She disappeared into her room. He heard the sound of the shower running as his heart raced to the beat of her rhythm.

Reagan knocked on their doors an hour later and told them he was taking them to dinner. The eight of them gathered in the lobby. Mason was wearing kaki's he had bought and a new black polo. Lanston had black pants and a Hawaiian shirt in white with red flowers, and Danni had matched him with another of her sarongs, a red one, and a white shirt with the tails tied up and her navel bare. Sara and Kierra were stunning red headed twins in little black dresses. Alex and Jason surprised everyone by appearing in Coast Guard dress whites.

They caught a bus to Tyrrel Bay and pulled up at a place called Sel et Poivre near the yacht club. Over dinner, they discussed the events of the day and began to plan for the future.

"So, what are your plans, kids?" Sara asked.

"I don't know what our long-term plans are," Alex said, "But I want Danni back in school."

"I won't go unless Lanston goes with me," Danni pouted.

"It's okay, pixie. I have to finish my senior year," he assured her. "I suppose I'll have to start it over. You have two to go. I want to enroll in the university, but I think I'll wait for you and take a year off. Dad, how would you feel about giving me the tug? I want to start a business. I'd like to set up a fleet of them eventually. I was hoping Mason would want to be my partner."

"I'd love to be your partner, but I don't want to spend my time on ships," Mason said. "I don't have the complexion for it. I'd burn to death in a month. I only survived our trip here because the sun didn't shine and I stayed inside most of the time. I can't stand this sun, and Kierra can't either. I would be glad to run the business, but I won't drive boats."

"I can't think of a better owner than you, Lanston. I know you and Danni love that boat," Reagan said.

"Alex and I both need to finish our degrees," Jason said.

"The same for Kierra and I," Mason said. "Kierra had a year to go to get her Registered Nurses license and I have three semesters to go for my bachelor's degree. I don't think either one of us wants to stop there. She wants to be a nurse practitioner and I want to get a doctorate."

"It sounds like you mostly have school planned," Reagan said.

"Yeah, but we have a big problem, dude," Mason said.

"What problem?" Sara asked.

"Well, I had a football scholarship back home," Mason said. "It still cost you guys a lot of money to send me to college. I don't think they have American football here. You both had good jobs at home. Nobody has a job here. I don't even know if there are jobs to be had. We don't have a house to live in, cars to drive or anything. How are we going to live? We can't live in a Hotel the rest of our lives."

"Why not?" Danni said. "I like hotels. Besides, I like having Lanston next door."

"Me too," Alex laughed, "but we can't. We couldn't afford it. What are we going to do, Dad? I know you have a plan. You always have a plan."

"I do have a plan," Reagan said. "Let me tell you about it. You kids don't know it yet, but each of you has a bank account with 500,000 American dollars in it. It is in the Republic Bank of Grenada. That's 1.5 million local dollars. You don't have to worry about money for a long time."

He looked around at a sea of shocked faces. "You're kidding, right?" Mason said.

"I'm not kidding," Reagan said.

"Where did it come from?" Mason asked.

"That's something else you don't know," Reagan told the group. "You saved the life of a very rich and powerful man. It turns out he is a very good and grateful man. He set up those accounts for you as a very nice way to say thank you."

"Who?" Jason asked, although he thought he knew.

"Joseph Altman," Reagan told them. "We had no idea that he was who he was and we saved them because we could and that's the kind of kids you are. He knows that and he will always love you for that and be grateful for that. He knows what kind of hearts you kids have and he wants to make sure you can do and become anything you want. I think the man would give you kids his last dollar, but he has so many dollars it will never come to that."