Chapter 5: Recovery and Beyond

I woke up the next morning laying on my back. My leg is bandaged and elevated above the bed. I have tubes in my arm so it is tied to the bed. I look over to my right and there is Patty asleep in a chair. She is so beautiful!

I laid there for a few minutes watching her sleep then a nurse comes in and she wakes up. While the nurse is taking my vitals Patty is hugging me and kissing me on the mouth.

The nurse leaves telling Patty she will come back later.

My mind is replaying the events of last night.

“Rico and Raul?”

“Both dead.”

“Raul saved my life. Where did he get a machete and why did he not use his pistol?”

“His pistol was hit by one of the bullets he took in his side. It was un-useable. He died on the operating table last night. Rico was killed instantly.

“Raul and Rico both were “Indios”. Raised on one of the comarcas here. They were both in the army before they came to work for my family. Raul always carried a machete under the front seat. He grabbed the machete. The woman was waiting around at the front of the store so our “accident” was well planned. She was on what you Marines call “Over watch” There were three in the car. A driver and the two shooters. When the driver saw you shoot the other two he tried to run but daddy’s men caught him. He gave up a couple of more who were waiting for me to arrive. They were going to ransom me for 10 million dollars. Proof of life was going to be a finger. He did not specify which one.” There was that giggle again as she raised up her hand and wiggled her fingers.

“So three are dead and the other three are captured? When will they go to trial?”

“No trial. When Daddy’s men went for them they died fighting.”

“Daddy’s men? You mean the police?”

“No Daddy’s men handled it.”

Now I may be a grunt, an 0303. Infantry Captain. But I know when to shut up.

“They ruined our plans for the night.”

“There will be other nights. Just get well and get out of here.”

The nurse came back in the room and turned on the television.

“You guys are on the news,” she said in Spanish.

The channel came on with a newswoman speaking.

“Last night a Guard at the U.S. Embassy stopped an attempted kidnapping of Señor Gomez’s teenage daughter. Patricia Gomez was accompanying her fiancé, a Captain John O’Malley back to the Embassy when 3 men and a woman attempted to kidnap them by running their limo off the road. Captain O’Malley was able to kill the woman and two of the men while being gravely wounded himself. Two of Ms. Gomez’s bodyguards were also killed in the attempt.”

Then she moved on to talking about some political scandal.

“Fiancé? Teenage? Tell me the truth. How old are you? I thought you said you are a senior at St. Agnes?”

“I have not lied to you, not one time and don’t you dare think I ever will. I am a senior, at the prep school at St. Agnes. You never asked my age you just assumed. I always promised my mother that I would have only one lover in my life, my husband. So that’s makes you my fiancé, right?”

I pulled her down to me and kissed her. “Of course it does. We’ll wait until you graduate high school next year then plan a June wedding. Maybe in Boston where my family can attend...”

“Hell no, we will not wait. We are going to be married as soon as you get out of the hospital. You think I want to go back to school and what? Go to the Harvest Moon dance, then homecoming? How exciting! Not! I was just involved in a kidnapping, my hero, my lover got shot saving me! I watched as he killed three people. Then I helped bandage his wounds. No I’ve had enough excitement. I plan on settling down with my husband and having kids. If I need the answer to a question I’ll ask Siri.”

Over the next month I tried to talk her into going back to finish school but it was like her daddy said, she is hard headed.

The Marines thanked me for my service and medically dis-charged me. Daddy paid for the wedding and the honeymoon. Two weeks in the Penthouse suite at one of his hotels on the beach. He owns three over there and one here in the capital.

We came home and true to her word she went off the pill. A year later we were blessed with our first son. There would be three other boys before we had her a girl. Then we called it quits.

Me? I run the security for the hotels. Lots of benefits and very little work. My kind of job!