by A J Newman
“No, but we had power in Cancun so I would hope things are pretty much normal.”
Mort, Aaron and I spent some time quizzing Aimee about the island, and what we might face upon our arrival.
We were being cautious and stopped 15 miles due west of the island and continued listening to our shortwave and walkie talkie radios.
We didn’t want to be surprised by drug lords or pirates again. The shortwave radio had the usual banter from survivors around this half of the world.
Depending on atmospheric conditions we heard people from a thousand miles away or fifteen. Most were asking for help and some were warning people not to approach their part of the world.
The one common theme was that most were barely getting by and were living off the land. It greatly concerned us that even countries not effected by the EMP blasts were struggling to survive.
“I’m concerned that we might not be as welcome as Aimee thinks. This was a resort island that got away from farming when the tourist industry skyrocketed. The island won’t support 400 thousand people,” said Aaron
I replied, “I was thinking the same thing and am worried that many others like us have left the USA and other countries and flooded the islands and countries in this area.”
Aaron said, “Let’s lay low and listen to our radios before we sail into a trap, or get run off at gun point.”
We all agreed and held to an area 10-15 miles away from the coast. We continued to listen and heard some communications that excited us and other communications that concerned us.
“Aaron, Zack, come here quick!”
“Just a minute.”
“What have you heard.”
“Listen. I’ll translate,” said Davi.
The person was speaking in French.
“…we have the rebels surrounded. They are ready to surrender.”
Another French voice replied, “No, do not take any prisoners. They are traitors. Shoot them all.”
“Sir, there are over a hundred men and women.”
“I said shoot them all.”
“Oui, mon Capitaine, right away.”
Before what we heard sank into our minds, Aimee ran up saying, “That was my father. What did he say?”
Aaron replied, “Did Martenvous have any civil unrest before the lights went out?”
“No more than any country. Why do you ask?”
“Your father just gave the orders to shoot a hundred men and women trying to surrender. There was an attack on a food storage warehouse and the military fought the attackers off and chased them into the mountains where they boxed them into a canyon. Your father gave orders to shoot them all.”
“No, there must be a mistake. My father is a kind and gentle man. He wouldn’t kill his own people. They must be an army from another island.”
I spoke up, “She has a point. There are dozens of islands in the area. It’s easy to see that one might try to steal from the other.”
“We need to keep an open mind, but remain cautious.”
The following day we heard the following transmission that was in English, “Charles, we are heading back to Barbados. Get your people back to the boats. We were given an hour to get out of Martenvous or they would sink our boats.”
“The bastards won’t help us.”
“No, the ship’s captain said they don’t need more mouths to feed and will sink us with their canons if we don’t leave.”
“I think, he meant more black mouths to feed.”
“We are loading now. Will meet you 15 miles south to decide where to go.”
“Roger out.”
The transmission ended.
We also heard normal radio stations giving weather reports, local news and music. The two stations sounded as though there hadn’t been over a year of mayhem in the world. The announcers were very upbeat and joked a lot.
***
Captain Henri Bassot was relaxing by the pool after a hard day’s work, with his mistress by his side.
“Mon Cher, order Champagne cocktails, and a shrimp platter to hold us over until dinner. Please tell my chef to prepare lobster and filets for dinner. Oh, tell him I want a chocolate cake for desert. Let him know to expect 18 guests from the French consulate. We will also have the English and Russians to dinner tonight.”
The tall leggy blonde walked over to the bar, picked up the phone, called the Captain’s assistant and passed the instructions on to her.
He waved at the black woman who served as his maid and said, “Rub some sun block on my back and legs.”
“Oui, my Captain.”
She looked over at him with disgust carefully hidden behind wide bright brown eyes, and a big smile as she saw his naked body. She picked up the sun block, poured some on her hands and began rubbing it on his back, legs and buttocks. He rolled over and she applied the sun block to his chest, front of his legs and then to his private parts.
She was a beautiful 30 year old woman who had been told to serve the Captain or leave the island. She shared his bed when the blonde was not available. She looked up, saw the blonde walking towards them and moved away from him back to her station.
The blonde walked up to Henri, grabbed him and said, “I know you are sleeping with your maid, but don’t have her rubbing your dick in public.”
“I’ll do as I please and you’ll shut up unless you want to become a plantation worker.”
An hour later his senior Chief of Staff came to him to say, “Our radar has spotted two boats about 10 miles east of our coast. I told them to intercept the boats and hold them until they receive your instructions.”
“Mai oui, Andre.”
***
Mort spotted several boats on the radar between the island and us, hoping none were military vessels.
“Zack, we are being hailed by someone claiming to be with the French Navy.”
Aaron had already grabbed the mic and asked in French, “To whom am I speaking?”
“I am Lieutenant Devereau. Who are you, your home port, and where is your destination?”
“We are Americans from the USA seeking a new home.”
“Stop your engines and prepare to be boarded.”
I said, “Aaron, can we out run them?”
“No.”
Aaron answered, “We are cutting our engines but it’s too deep to anchor. One of our boats is a sailboat so it can’t totally stop.”
“Je comprends. Have it put out its sea anchor.”
“We will.”
“Je comprends? What the hell does that mean?” asked a nervous Mike.
Aaron replied, “It means, I understand.”
“Oh, okay, then.”
It was an hour until the ship came into sight. It was a frigate with a 5 inch deck gun and several twin mounted 50. Cal BMGs. The ship stopped about half a mile away with the 5 incher aimed at us and launched two Zodiacs armed with French made squad machineguns.
Each boat had six men who quickly boarded and searched our vessels. We tried to speak to them, but they shoved us out of the way and poked their rifles into our sides.
The leader finally walked up to Aaron and said in English, “Sorry for the rough treatment, but we have had several ships try to land with bad intentions. Some of your homegrown terrorists tried to take over our home a few months ago. I believe you have heard of the Black Panthers and Black Separatist Movement.”
“Yes, they were causing trouble back home before the lights went out.”
“Well thousands of them left the USA and are trying to take over their own Caribbean Island to forge a new homeland.”
“Sorry that you had to go through that. We are looking for a new home and just want to contribute and work hard.”
“Why do you have so many machineguns on your boats?”
“As you probably know there are pirates on the oceans and many bad people out here. Drug gangs are trying to take over the world.”
“I will call our Captain and he will tell me what to do with you.”
“Could you tell Captain Bassot that we have brought his daughter, Aimee, back to him safely?”
Aimee came over and introduced herself to the astonished Lieutenant. He keyed his mic and said in French, “Tell Captain Bassot that we have rescued his daughter, Aimee.”
In a few minutes Aimee was talking with her father and was in tears. She was transferred to the frigate and rushed at full speed to Fort Saint Charles.
The boarding crews stayed with us and guided us into the harbor where our boats were chained to the docks. The boarding crew confiscated our machineguns and all other weapons except for our side arms.
Aaron watched the boarding team leave the boat only to stand guard on the dock.
“Aren’t we glad we hid most of our weapons and ammo? I don’t trust these people.”
About an hour later, the Lieutenant came down to us and said, “I would like to pass on Captain Bassot’s compliments, along with an invitation to your leaders to attend a home coming party for his daughter.
The party starts at 7:00 tomorrow evening. We can provide formal clothes if required. I have to inform you that we do not allow firearms on our streets so please, leave your side arms on the boats.”
We gave them the correct sizes for Davi, Ally, Aaron, Mort and myself. The clothes and some hygiene products were delivered at noon the next day.
We woke up to find breakfast awaiting us in a tent on the dock. There were croissants, cheeses, jams, ham and fruit. Lunch was served in the same tent. The meals were delicious.
At breakfast, Ally nudged me and said, “Am I wrong or are Joan and Forrest always together these days?”
I looked over to the next table and Joan was laughing at something Forrest said and had her hand on his shoulder.”
“Yep, I see the same and have also seen them slip off to the side quite a bit. They swim alone, too.”
“I’m glad she found someone and those children will have a great Mama.”
“And she won’t be chasing your husband.”
“Well, of course there is that, but hey she’s not your type anyway.
I agreed, but thought, apparently out loud, that I was married to Joan for 16 years and how could she not be my type.
Ally pinched my inner thigh under the table and whispered, “Your type is me.”
The time passed as we continued to listen to radio traffic while watching the Fort, and the town from our boats. We saw two more frigates and numerous smaller gunboats come and go, past the dock.
Much of the chatter on the walkie talkies was confusing. There appeared to be an insurrection against the Captain and the French leaders, another rebellion against white rule and the farmers were fighting everyone. It sounded like a hot mess. We even heard some of the Black Separatist propaganda.
“Aaron, I think we have walked into a mess. There appears to be several groups fighting for control of Martenvous.”
“And the Captain has most of the firepower. Let’s try to not piss him off.”
***
“Father, it was terrible. I flew to Cancun from New Orleans a few days before the USA was attacked. Jennifer, Connie and I were on the beach having some drinks and sunning ourselves when it came on the news. The Americans and Canadians panicked the first day and all of them tried to go back home. All flights to the USA and Canada were cancelled. I tried to get a flight for us, but they cancelled all flights the next day. That’s when I got scared.”
“How did you join the Americans?”
“It’s a long story, but we were kidnapped by a drug cartel and made to do despicable things to survive.”
“My poor daughter.”
“We escaped from the cartel’s compound on the north end of Yucatan where Connie and Jennifer were killed by the lions the cartel sent to kill us.
The Americans were hunting food and killed the lion just before it ate me. They saved me and took me with them.”
He hugged her and said, “Oh my God what a terrible experience. We owe the Americans for saving your life.”
“Yes Father. They are good people, and they are just looking for a home. Please help them.”
“We need more good people to help us with this invasion.”
“Father, what invasion?”
“Revolutionaries from Cuba and the USA have infiltrated the black community and convinced some of them that they are slaves and that they must kill all whites.”
“But blacks have most of the leadership positions and have a great life here.”
“The revolutionaries have convinced a sizable part of our less fortunate population that the blacks on our side are also slave holders. We have won most battles, but the constant war has hurt our farming and we are running short of food, which makes the problem worse.”
“Can I go see the Americans?”
“They are coming to our house for your home coming party. You will see them tonight.”
“Oh, tres joie. I want to rest and then I’ll tell you about my entire misadventure.”
“Aimee, did you catch the name of the cartel or any of its leaders?”
“Yes, it’s the Cortez Cartel.”
“Lieutenant, plan a mission to destroy the Cortez Cartel. I believe they are based in Yucatan.”
“Sir, they are 3,000 Kilometers away. We don’t have any planes or ships with that range. We don’t have enough fuel to send frigates either. The same cartel controls the fuel shipped out of Venezuela and we haven’t had a shipment in months. I will put a plan together, but it would be a one way mission.”
“I am sorry. You are correct. My love for my daughter is clouding my judgement.”
“Sir, there is something we can do.”
“And what is that.”
“They get most of their drugs from South America. We can sink their ships with the drugs. It is only about 1,500 Kilometers to the coast of Columbia.”
“That’s still beyond our range. Keep thinking and let me know when you come up with a plan. I must say, however, that I do like the idea of sinking their drugs. Yes, I like it very much.”
“Sir one last thought. The leader of the Cortez cartel is actually from Grenada and lives there most of the time. He has killed all of the Grenadian leadership and rules the country as a dictator.”
“And Grenada is only 290 Kilometers away.”
“Yes, sir, we could mount an attack and eliminate the leader of the men who captured your daughter. Though, most certainly, one of his lieutenants will assume his place, we will, at least, let them know that punishment from our forces will be swift and terrible.”
“Develop a plan to stop the drug trade in our area, and kill the entire cartel contingent on Grenada. I also want fuel from Venezuela.
We must also have fuel for our power generation plant, or we will all, soon be in the dark.”
“Oui, mon Capitaine.
***
Governor’s Palace
Island of Martenvous,
A former French Protectorate
Aimee looked lovely, and gushing, said, “Hello. I am so glad to see you. This is my Father, Captain Henri Bassot. Where are Callie and her husband? I wanted to see them again.”
“Aimee, that is my fault. I just invited their leaders to the dinner. We can have your other friends over tomorrow.”
Aaron replied, “We are pleased to be here with you, and to be in your beautiful country.”
“I must thank you for saving my daughter and bringing her back to me. She tells me that you have had a dangerous trip and are looking for a home. We shall discuss that tomorrow, but I will tell you now that we welcome you with open arms.”
The Captain introduced us to the island leadership and dignitaries before we were served drinks and dinner.
I noticed that the leadership was an equal mix of blacks and whites, but all of the servants were black. I got the feeling that they didn’t have a race problem as much as a rich vs. poor problem.
“Zack, I must admire you and the others for covering over 3,0
00 Kilometers in two small motor yachts. That was quite a trip.”
“It was one motor yacht and a 62 foot Beneteau sail boat. The sail boat was one of the best built and can easily handle long ocean voyages.”
“I am familiar with Beneteau. It is a French company.
So, many of you are soldiers?”
“Only a few. The rest of us had to learn on the fly.”
“My Lieutenant told me that you were also heavily armed.”
“We had several FN249 SAWs and two .50 cal. BMGs on each boat.”
I stopped there when I realized I was giving way too much information. He was asking too many questions for my liking. I wondered where he was going in his mind.
We dined on seafood, steak and numerous vegetables before a flaming desert was served. I hadn’t eaten so well in several years. I got a feeling that we ate enough food to feed a small village of the local people.
There was music and dancing after the meal and I have to say that Ally and I thoroughly enjoyed the party. It was a brief respite from the post-apocalyptic world that had engulfed our lives for over a year but on this occasion, we were carefree and didn’t have a care in the world for over four hours that night.
***
“Lieutenant, you do know that our visitors have a sailboat that can travel around the world without fuel. The crew needs only food and water.”
“Sir, that is brilliant. I will put a plan together that combines our Special Forces and their sailboat. Perhaps we can find another large sailboat. We can attack the drug routes all of the way back to the Yucatan and everything between here and Columbia. We just need to increase the boats firepower.”
“Not exactly my thoughts, but we are on the same page. Learn more about the boat and report back to me.”
***
Aaron, Mort and I were summoned to meet with Captain Bassot the next day for lunch. The note stated that he wanted to discuss our future as residents of Martenvous. We arrived at noon sharp and found another meal fit for a king laid out by the pool.