Standing in for Dad

I thought for a moment, "With that information I do not feel right making you go back. Since you are in danger and can provide us with critical information on the crime families in Mexico who have attacked the United States, I can make a request to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to examine you to decide whether you should be allowed to enter the United States as a refugee which is a form of long-term protection similar to asylum status."

"I will give you a personal referral and we can call immediately. It may require further processing with a formal interview at another location involving a DHS official, though. Would you be interested?"

Bella nodded her head vigorously with hope in her eyes. I picked up the phone and asked, "Coms, please get me the Director for Homeland."

Coms laughed, "I have him on speed dial, Sir. One moment."

"Yes, Ambassador, how can I help you?"

The Mexican President and his wife are having dinner at my Embassy and she has just asked for refugee status from the United States. I have determined her life is in imminent danger and that she has relevant, specific, and first hand knowledge of the attempt on our President's life as well as the crime family operations in Mexico."

"Is she with you in a secure location where I can speak to her?"

Bella spoke up, "I am Isabella de Sousa, wife of President Miguel de Sousa. I have first hand knowledge of him being head of a 4th crime family in Mexico and can verify he was involved in the recent attacks in America and against your President."

"Ambassador, are you giving your personal referral for her?"

"I am. I have every reason to believe her, including some recent intel my staff has gathered."

"OK. Done."

"Will she need any further interviews."

"No, Ambassador, word has gotten around that whatever you need, you get. She is, from this moment, a refugee from Mexico with full rights to enter the United States. I will have an FBI investigator give you a call tomorrow morning to debrief her."

"I would appreciate it if you got Special Agent Brannigan to handle this, please."

Homeland laughed, "I think that is the first time anyone has actually requested Brannigan for an interview. He is known as a hard ass."

"We have history, Sir."

"Consider it done."

"Thank you Sir. Hope the rest of your evening is uneventful."

"Thank you and good night, Ambassador. Be careful handling the Mexican President...this could be sticky."

"Understood, Sir. Good night."

I then called in the Captain and the SEAL Lieutenants. When they arrived I gave them the situation: "Well, Bella is now an official refugee in the United States. Seems our Mexican President is balls deep in the attack on us the other night. We need to handle this delicately, though."

"I propose, Captain, that we discretely undo the moorings of the yacht and hold position so the gangway is still usable. After dinner we can move to that location and then dismiss the President. I will need the guards at the gangway as well as a few SEALS in the vicinity in full tactical gear to protect Bella from retribution when I tell the President she is not leaving with him."

Captain Barnes spoke up, "We need two snipers up top now to scope the docks and make sure we have cover as we depart."

One of the Lieutenants asked, "What are the rules of engagement?"

"Once the President is told to leave, if you see an imminent threat, you are weapons free to engage with lethal force."

Bella then said, "He has two men with machine guns in the car on the dock as well as 2 snipers on the building next to the docks. He also has a company of his personal guard inside the building."

The Captain said, "We would need to take them out quickly to avoid casualties on our side. We can manually target two of the Sea Whiz guns to wipe them out in seconds."

"Avoid killing the President if possible. We need him to gather his crime family together so we can take them out in one operation. Also, video tape everything. Wait for the personal guard to fire first before wiping them out. We want to be able to say we were defending the Embassy from an assault by armed men."

Captain Barnes added, "Get this right the first time fellas and we can get out of this unscathed both from the confrontation and from the politicians."

Both lieutenants saluted the Captain and left to get their men ready.

****

Dinner was served in the owner's deck dining area. President Miguel de Sousa approved of the wine for the evening. It was a Kosta Browne Pinot Noir imbued with freshness, tremendous verve, and energy. Vivid aromas of ripe wild strawberry, tangy black cherry, cranberry, and hints of blood orange. Fleshy and delicious fruit flavors were supported by grippy tannins and juicy acidity rounded out the wine giving it delicate elegance and finesse.

All the President said was, "This is good."

The first course consisted of hoers devours of Saltimbocca, served as skewered succulent veal bites wrapped with prosciutto and sage which was braised over an open flame after marinating in chardonnay wine.

Soon after we were on the second course. Ribollita, a thick and hearty Tuscan soup, with cannelloni beans, cabbage, kale and seasoned hard bread.

Miguel was beside himself with all the flavor, "Please Harry! I must steal your Chef!"

Captain Barnes laughed and said, "I am sorry, Mr. President, but that just might really start a war!" To which everyone laughed....thank goodness. "But, Sir, if you really want to be impressed, wait for the main course!"

The main course was an Italian classic, Milanese veal cutlets. To perfect this dish, the chef dipped the chops twice in egg and breadcrumbs to make them extra crisp. To the breadcrumbs he added finely minced basil leaves and finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese. The cutlets were then shallow fried in olive oil and served with lemon wedges and fried courgettes tossed with mint and feta cheese.

The final course was a delightful Mango salad with ripe mango cubes, ripe avocado wedges, cherry tomatoes, chopped red chilies, juiced lime with zest, diced red onion, chopped coriander, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and drained/rinsed black beans tossed and served with seasoned wheat toast chips.

During the final course and as we were discussing some coffee I brought up on a monitor the man whom I had fought on top of the yacht. "Do you know of this man, Miguel?"

"Yes, I know of him. He is Meneo Jerera. He is a known enforcer for one of the crime families here in Mexico. He is a very dangerous man, Ambassador."

"Well, I am sorry to say, he was killed while attacking the Embassy. Would you let those who need to know of his passing?"

Miguel did his best not to react, but the telltale tightening of his jaw belied the smile on his lips that did not reach his eyes."

"It would be most pleasing to make sure the family knows of the death of their best assassin, Harry. May I also tell them how he died?"

"Sure! He made the mistake of challenging me in hand-to-hand combat. I punctured one of his lungs with his broken rib and he died from his injuries."

At that point, Bella excused herself, "I am so sorry, but I need to visit the restroom. Sue? Would it be possible for you to show me where it is?"

Sue was up and helping Bella in a flash. "Sure, Bella, just follow me."

When they had walked into the head and closed the door, Bella grasped Sue's hand. "Sue, that man was Miguel's right hand man! He considered him family! Miguel will stop at nothing to kill Harry and you in retribution! I have already been accepted as a refugee by the United States and I am not leaving this yacht with Miguel. He killed all my family and made me marry him. He is a monster!"

"So Harry is aware of all of this?"

"He is, plans have been made."

"Thank goodness I got him to agree to sex after dinner! I would have been sick to know later that he is the man behind a lot of this!"

"I am so sorry I could not tell you sooner. Miguel is very protective. The prospect of bedding you was the only reason he let me out of his sight."

Sue hugged her and when she pulled away she smiled, "Harry is a good man. If he has set plans in motion, it is a done deal. Now let's go out and make sure Miguel is not alerted to those plans."

Both ladies returned to the table and each kissed Miguel on a cheek as they were seated again. The waiters had brought us Baileys Tiramisu Cocktails to settle dinner. The after dinner cocktail contained a smoothed mix of dark roast hot coffee, sugar, Disaronno Italian liqueur, and chocolate which was set aside to cool. Baileys Irish Cream was then blended with Biscotti and ice cubes until smooth. Mascarpone cheese was folded into the mix and then spooned over the coffee mixture. The top was dusted with cocoa powder, dark roasted very coarse ground coffee beans, and chocolate flakes and curls.

The result was pure decadence and distracted Miguel as we got up with our coffees and went down the elevator to the second deck near the gangway. "Mr. President, I am afraid some urgent business has come up and we need to depart immediately. I didn't want to spoil dinner with it and I hope you have enjoyed your time with us."

As I said this, Bella moved behind Miguel and two SEAL Team members stood between them. Miguel was visibly irritated but turned to collect Bella when he noticed she was protected and isolated from him. "What is the meaning of this! Do you not realize this is kidnapping! She is my wife! Hand her over immediately!"

"I am truly sorry, Mr. President, however, Lady Isabella has requested special refugee status to the United States; a request that has been accepted and approved." And since this is an Embassy, she is on protected soil. Thank you for your company this evening."

With that, we left the President with the SEALS and walked directly into an elevator and up to the 3rd deck where we watched the rest of the proceedings. We got there just as the President was firmly escorted off the yacht and the gangway was being retracted.

The President got on his phone and he evidently gave a go code to the security detail and they swarmed out of the building like ants, rushing the yacht from about 100 yards away as the presidential limousine quickly left the docks. The two assailing snipers were neutralized by the SEAL snipers on top of the 4th deck. "Over watch to bridge, their snipers are down hard, over."

"Bridge to over watch, well done. We are waiting for the presidential limo to clear and shots to be fired before wiping the dock of the rest of the assailants. Keep a sharp eye for other snipers, over."

"Roger, over watch is looking for more snipers. Out."

About 150 soldiers were running up the dock as we were pulling away and a soldier in the front took a shot at the yacht. At that point, the two starboard Sea Whiz stations popped up and spun up. A second shot was fired by the rushing group and the Sea Whiz opened fire and decimated the troops within 5 seconds as approximately 1,100 20 mm rounds strafed through the attacking horde...literally blowing them apart upon impact.

The Captain then yelled on the ships coms, Battle stations! All hands to your battle stations! Helm! Flank speed! Get us out of this kill box!"

Within a minute we were moving past La Galleguita Island and were clear of any immediate threat. Dad called the President, Bill, and gave him a full report. The President immediately called in his situation team and they listened to the SEAL Lieutenants give their AARs as well as the Captain's and my renditions of events. Last, but not least, Bella told the President her story.

"Mr. President, you know me, I am the wife of President Miguel de Sousa. Miguel's crime family has been working with the other three crime families to get retribution for their members being arrested in the United States. He personally was the one who ordered the attack on this vessel by his assassin and military personnel. Some years before we met, Mr. President, Miguel had my whole family killed so he could take me as his unwilling wife."

I then spoke up, "This makes sense now with the leak, Mr. President, Miguel knew of our plans. With your permission I will contact the CIA station chief so they can lock down the Embassy in Mexico."

Bella became adamant, "Mr. President, the CIA Station Chief Ayala is Miguel's niece from his younger brother! She is his spy in the Embassy!"

OK, everyone on the Bridge had to pick up their mouths from the deck after that bombshell. After a moment of radio silence Bill spoke. "Thank you very much for coming forward, Lady Isabella. And yes, I do remember you from the time you and your husband met with us at the White House. Needless to say, your revelations have now informed us that Mexico has indeed declared war on the United States. We will see you when you arrive in country and we need to make plans to deal with this situation."

"Mr. President," Captain Barns interjected, "We could use an AWACS and a couple Hornets for air cover. We can make a beeline to Texas or the Florida peninsula above Cuba. As you know, we can handle a few hostile aircraft, but if Mexico sends a full flight against us it will get dicey to say the least."

The Naval Joint Chief spoke up, "Mr. President, we had a Carrier group out of Pensacola NAS off of the Florida coast and when this whole situation blew up we sent it into the Gulf. They will be in range to provide air cover in 2 hours time."

"Captain Barnes here, Sir, we are currently traveling at 70 knots on a direct line that will put us between Cuba and Florida, we should be able to reduce that time if they steam at flank speed."

"I am making that call right now, Captain. Do your best to hold out till then. I am sending out some F-18 missile trucks with tip tanks, AIM-260 missiles, and an AWACS with some fueling planes your way out of Pensacola NAS to help knock down any attempt to take you out. They should be on station in under 2 hours."

The Joint Chief of the Air Force then joined in, "Admiral, If you can send some F/A-18E/F tankers with that group so they can be supersonic, the Air Force has two KC-135 tankers still in the Gulf that supported the recent special operations in the area. They can vector towards your missile trucks and fill them up so they can stay on station longer."

The Admiral then said, "Let's make that happen, we can cut the intercept time to 1 hour." If they stay on station for three hours they will be out of range of the Mexican helicopters. The only fixed wing aircraft they have are prop Cessnas."

Captain Barnes then asked, "Can we get a satellite tasked to give us some early warning?"

"Yes, we have one over the Gulf that looks for drug smugglers, we can re-task it to look for choppers headed your way."

Captain Barnes then said, "After defending the President and Vice President, we still have 12 SM-6 Block IB missiles available as well as 4 Sea Whiz so we should be able to handle a small strike force. Make sure your boys have their IFF's broadcasting, we don't want to mistake them for bogies."

The Naval Joint Chief responded, "YOU HAVE WHAT?"

The Chairman said, "At ease, Milton, he was authorized. And damn lucky he was or we would be without the President and the VP."

The President then spoke, "Make this happen, Gentlemen." and he got up and left the room. Sec Def!, we are still meeting in the morning and make sure SOCOM is present along with the Director of the CIA."

"Yes Mr. President."

The Naval Joint Chief then asked, "Who are these guys? They just effectively and unilaterally declared war on Mexico!"

The Secretary of Defense said, "Admiral, I am telling you the same thing I told SOCOM earlier, that is above your pay grade."

At that, the phone call was ended.

Captain Barnes laughed his ass off. "You folks sure know how to rattle cages, THAT, I give you."

****

An hour and a half later around 2030 hours (8:30 pm), "Captain you are needed on the Bridge."

"Incoming?"

"Yes Sir."

"The Missile Trucks have them?"

"Yes Sir. They are wanting permission to fire."

"Wake the Ambassador and get him to the Bridge."

"Aye, Sir. He is on his way."

Dad and I got to the Bridge soon after the Captain and Dad called for a SIT REP.

Captain Barnes filled us in, "We have 12 choppers flying in formation, fast and low. They have not responded to hails or to instructions to veer off and are assumed hostile."

I asked, "What do you need from me?"

"Mr. Ambassador, the F-18's are asking for permission to fire."

"Permission granted. They were contacted and warned and we have been attacked before. Take them out, Captain."

Captain Barnes got on the radio, "F-18s, you are granted weapons hot, take out the bogies. I repeat, you have permission to engage the hostile aircraft."

The F-18s were 50 miles behind us at 40,000 feet and the choppers were 250 miles away at 50 feet. The F-18s closed the distance to 125 miles and let loose a volley of 12 AIM-260 missiles.

"Captain, do we have a tactical map of the situation from the AWACS out of Pensacola, Florida?"

"Yes, Ambassador, we do. The AWACS is still inbound but they have the satellite linked into the tactical display." He put it on the yacht's tactical display.

"Captain, why only 12 missiles, won't some miss or double up on a target?"

"Actually, Sir, these missiles talk to one another and divvy up the targets among them. Additionally, they have thrusters for vector changes instead of vanes, so it is highly unlikely the choppers will be able to notch them."

"Notch them?"

"Yes Sir, that is a term for evading the missiles kinetically."

We watched as the missiles selected their targets on their terminal phase and all but one chopper was downed. The F-18's then unleashed two more missiles before they turned to refuel as two other F-18's took up station after refueling. The whole engagement was over in less than one minute.

"Captain, everything on tape?"

"As you requested, Sir."

"Good, archive it on disk and send a separate copy designated as top secret via secure communications to the offices of Homeland, CIA, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State, and the Joint Chiefs."

"Spreading the information around to prevent misuse?" Captain Barnes asked, "Not a bad idea."

"Actually, I have quite a few hats on at the moment and I don't want to get tangled up in a damn stupid turf war. Shit has gotten serious and I just don't have the patience."

Barnes laughed again, "Roger that, Sir."

"Captain, what is your assessment of the risks at this point?"

"Those choppers were highly likely the full complement of aircraft capable of attacking us, Sir. Mexico just doesn't have the capability to wage war against the United States, or this vessel for that matter, beyond what they have already attempted. My assessment is we are in the clear. Before another wave could be mounted, assuming they could mount one, we will be out of range. The satellite says the Gulf is clear. I would have the F18's return to base in another hour."

"Thank you Captain, I will leave that in your hands. Please be sure to thank those air crews for me."

"Roger that, Sir. Go get some rest Harry, James, we got this."

I turned to leave and then looked back, "Bridge Crew: Job well done, on behalf of my family, I thank you once again."

Dad and I walked out of the Bridge and up to the owner's deck only to find Doc, DD, Bella, Sue, Cathy, Leesie, Barbara, Martina, and Ana naked in the pool. Our resident little minx was sacked out in bed. And it was rather obvious DD was having an impromptu counseling session with Ana, Bella, and Martina at one end of the pool.

As soon as Dad and I got in to soak away the tensions of the day, Bella excused herself from DD and came over to where Sue and I were seated on a ledge. Well, I was seated and Sue had straddled a leg. "Harry, Sue, may I join you?"