Keece said sadly, “No girl should have to endure this kind of abuse.”
She got Amethyst into a hot bath before turning to Shanta. “How are you? Are you hurt?”
Shanta answered, “Only my pride. Amir, the one I was with, was actually quite gentle, almost kind.” She said and then blushed.
Keece watching her closely, “You liked him.”
Shanta, almost too emphatically, “No!” then almost ashamedly, “I don't know. No. I don’t think so. How could I? He took advantage of me. But at least he wasn’t mean.”
Keece looked her straight in the eyes, “It’s okay Shanta to appreciate attention from men, but never forget who these people are. They are brutal and completely disrespectful of women.”
Shanta looked back, “I know. I don’t ever want to see him again.”
Keece, relieved, but still firm, “Good girl. Now go get cleaned up. I’m proud of you for being so brave.”
Shanta gave her a hug and then started to trot off to the bathroom, but paused before she got there, “Keece, one thing. I think it’s important.”
“Yes?” Keece responded, with curiosity.
“Tell Pele I think they’re creating a virus,” Shanta replied, and then added, “I’m not positive, but I thought I smelled decaying flesh, similar to what you would smell for an Ebola or Marburg virus victim.”
“Thanks, I’ll let him know,” Keece took a deep breath, she knew how accurate Shanta’s sense of smell was. She immediately headed out to find Pele.
Pele looked up as she came in, always happy to see her, “How are they?”
Keece, reported sadly, “Amethyst is pretty roughed up, but she will heal. They both will. I’m not sure how soon the emotional wounds will heal, but they’re tough girls.”
Pele shook his head, unhappy to have exposed any of his family or his closest friend’s families to this situation. “I never imagined any of the kids would be at that kind of risk. I’m so sorry this has happened.”
Keece stepped over to him and gave him a reassuring hug. “How could you know? You did everything you could to protect us.”
Pele gave her an appreciative hug in return. Trying not to dwell on what could not be changed at this point, he moved on. “I did some research on their captors. Amir Rehan is the oldest son of the leader, Ali Rehan’s favorite wife. Hamza is Ali’s younger brother’s oldest son. Our girls were with some very favored ISEX members.”
Keece sarcastically, “Somehow, I don’t feel honored.”
Pele snorted in agreement. “Just be thankful they were the only ones.”
Keece cringed at the thought of either of her daughters in that situation. “Very good point.”
Pele continued, obviously concerned about the girls’ mental as well as their physical well-being, “We’ll get them both counseling as soon as we’re home, everything we can to help them recover.”
Keece debated about sharing one thing with Pele, and then decided to go ahead, “On that note, in some ways I’m more concerned about Shanta’s experience. The boy she was with was actually sweet to her. Which for a girl who is just blossoming in her teens to have her first sexual experience with someone who treats her well could make her more vulnerable.”
Pele looked surprised, “You think Shanta may have a case of Stockholm Syndrome? After only a couple of days of captivity?”
Keece tried to explain, “Not Stockholm Syndrome exactly, she knows ISEX is bad, just some confusion and possibly more vulnerability toward this boy than is warranted. Hopefully any positive feelings she might have toward him will be forgotten or turned into vengeance towards ISEX.”
Pele pulled Keece toward him, “Thanks for telling me. We’ll keep an eye on her and make sure she’s clear on who the enemy is.”
Keece gave him a quick kiss, “Oh, one more thing. Shanta believes it’s a virus they’re working on. She could smell something like decaying flesh, like from Ebola or Marburg virus. And you know that girl can smell!”
Shanta had always had a very sensitive, highly accurate sense of smell. Her parents joked about how it was useless to try to hide candy from her. She could smell it out, even in the best of hiding places.
Pele nodded in agreement with Keece, smiling about the story from Shanta’s youth, but also eager to let the others know. He left the room and headed to the strategy room, announcing, “Virus! It’s a virus they’re planning on using!” to the team.
Chapter 27
The ring from Pele’s phone pierced the quiet room. He jumped up and swiftly left the room, answering softly as he walked through the living room to outside the hotel suite. Most of them had worked into the wee hours of the morning and had only been sleeping for a few hours.
“This is Pele.”
“Pele, it’s General Adams.”
“Yes, General. Thanks for your support on rescuing our children last night.” Pele was very relieved to have all the children back safe and sound.
“No problem,” answered the General curtly. “I assume you would like to get them all back safely on US soil,” he continued.
Pele answered a little slower than the General might have expected, “Yes, of course.”
The General had no idea how involved his family and the other children were now in trying to solve the ISEX plot, so naturally, he would assume they should be sent home. And, really, Pele knew this was probably the right choice, but he still had misgivings about how the military would handle the situation. A small targeted undercover force might be able to de-escalate the mounting pressures without such a high-risk of mass carnage, whether from a virus or nuclear weapons.
As the charter plane lifted off the runway, Pele, seated next to Drew, whispered, “I’m not sure this is the best idea.”
Drew nodded, “I know what you mean.”
The two quietly discussed the pros and cons of leaving the situation in the military’s hands. It was true Pele would still be involved. The military had asked him to report in bright and early tomorrow morning. But Drew and Pele knew the talents of the children could be a huge asset for stopping ISEX.
“I’ve seen these children operate,” Drew whispered. “They’re better than any special forces strike team I’ve ever worked with. And in Robustor suits, with their already exceptional natural abilities, you and I know how effective they could be.”
Pele agreed, “I know. We both know they’re not going to stop working on this. That’s just not how any of them operate.”
Drew again, “I say we form our own special forces team and try to get the military to agree to let us go in, assuming we can create a solid plan of action.”
Keece, seeing them whispering, came over to join them, quietly listening.
Pele was shaking his head. “I can’t expose the children like that. The military, really no one, can know their identities.”
“Does the military have to know?” asked Drew. “Couldn’t we give them code names? If they’re in their Robustor suits, no one can tell who they are anyhow.”
Pele contemplated this for a moment, then asked, “Do you think we could get away with that?”
Drew with a slight sly smile, “Maybe we apply the old principle, ask for forgiveness, not permission. If we execute the mission and then are only willing to expose their code names, the military is not going to have a choice, as long as we’re successful.”
Pele asked seriously, “Are you sure? We’ve already lost one family member. With both Cole and Radi gone I, feel responsible for all the kids. I hate to put them at more risk.”
“I hear you Pele. I know none of them are technically my children, but I’ve been working with them for months now, and I feel almost as responsible for them as you do. But you know as well as I do, if ISEX is successful all our lives will be impacted. I also think the kids would be disappointed if we didn’t let them be involved,” replied Drew seriously.
Keece nodding in agreement, then added playfully, “We all know there’s a good chance they’re likely to sneak of
f and try to stop ISEX either way.”
Smiling knowingly, Pele stood up and peeked toward the back where the children were seated, as if to check to make sure they were still with them, “Very good point. In fact, I think we all know, we’ll be lucky if they’re still on the plane by the time we land!”
They all chuckled, knowing Pele had a point.
“Okay that settles it,” confirmed Pele. “As long as we’re all in agreement,” he looked at Keece to make sure she was on board with the decision, “I’ll check in with the military tomorrow and tell them we’re working on a plan, mostly to stall them. You go ahead and get the children started on a strategy we can execute. But, make sure the children stick to enough of their normal routines so as not to raise any suspicions. Which reminds me, I’m going to ask the military for additional security on Rane. She could still be a pretty desirable target for ISEX.”
The next day the children were allowed to sleep in and take the day to recover before they started school again. Drew suggested they all meet in the training center after lunch.
But the next day, as the children gathered, Drew wasn’t there.
Pace, perplexed, commented to Rane, “Drew’s always on time. Do you think he’s okay?”
Rane, clearly concerned as well, tried not to overreact, “Let’s give it another couple of minutes and then, if he’s not here, I’ll call him.”
They all nervously fidgeted for another couple of minutes, and then Devon couldn’t take it anymore, “I’ll call.”
He dialed. No answer. He tried again. No answer.
Pace chimed in, “I’ll go knock on his door.”
Devon, “I’ll go with you.”
Drew lived in a small guest house on the property. His wife had died a few years ago and his two children were close but had young families of their own. Pace and Devon trotted down the path to his place. It was completely separate from the main house and training center, a true mother-in-law style cottage. When they arrived, they heard groans from inside.
Pace knocked gently, “El Capitan? Are you okay?”
More groans. They quickly opened the door and made their way to Drew’s bedroom. They found him in a delirious fever. Devon was on the phone dialing 911 immediately, “Hurry, it looks like he’s suffering from an infection from wounds to his leg.”
Pace called Keece and Rane next. Everyone rushed over. Most felt helpless once they got there. Keece applied some cool compresses to his forehead. Shanta came to help, but before she could do anything, the ambulance arrived and Drew was quickly on his way to the hospital. Keece rode with him. She texted Pele on the way.
One of Pele’s Orthopedic colleagues met them at the entrance. They immediately admitted Drew to the emergency room. Keece waited eagerly. She had not heard back yet from Pele. His colleague assured her Pele would come over as soon as he could break free. Keece left messages for Drew’s children as well.
About an hour later, the doctor came out.
“I’m sorry Mrs. Rosen, I don’t have very good news. Well, I should say, the good news is he is alive, the bad news is he will likely lose his leg below the knee.”
Keece was stunned, “Oh no! What happened?”
“Well, unfortunately the wound got infected. Probably from one of the times they changed the bandages before he left Egypt. It’s very common to get infections from wounds this severe if medical facilities are not extremely stringent about cleanliness. The small clinic at the hotel, probably was simply not the best place to treat this type of wound, no matter how careful they tried to be while dressing the wound. They typically only deal with minor injuries. This is compounded by the fact that, unfortunately, the bullet had nicked his bone, so the infection, a fast-moving strain, got into the bone of his leg. Almost the only thing we can do at this point is amputate the bottom part of his leg.”
Keece stared at the doctor, speechless.
“I’m very sorry,” he continued. Then he added, trying to be more positive, “The prosthetics these days are miraculous. He will be able to do almost everything he was able to do before.”
Keece’s mind was spinning. She knew the prosthetics were good. Her children had all volunteered for the Challenged Athlete’s Foundation, and it was remarkable what the athletes with prosthetics could do. But it was still such a difficult thing to accept. She felt horrible for Drew.
“Is there any other option?” she asked, almost knowing the answer before she asked.
“I’m afraid not. We’ll lose him if we don’t handle it now.”
Keece nodded, not sure if she was giving permission or simply accepting the inevitable. The doctor turned to return to surgery. Keece let Drew’s family members know. Then she tried Pele again. Still no answer, so she left a message.
Chapter 28
The children were equally shocked by the news. Keece told them to wait until the next day to visit. Drew would be too drugged up to see them that night. Pele called a few hours later, frazzled after a long day of intense military meetings, followed by the news about Drew.
“I talked with Dr. Gonzales.” Pele had called the surgeon. Sounding stressed and upset, he continued, “He assured me the infection was very fast-moving so it would have been difficult to detect in time, but I still can’t help feeling guilty. I checked it before the flight and tried to make sure he kept it elevated as much as possible in route, but I guess I should have checked it after we landed as well. I just didn’t factor in the length of the flight.”
Keece tried to comfort him. She knew he was taking more responsibility than he deserved, “Honey, you know you checked that wound a million times. There were no signs of trouble. Dr. Gonzales said Drew was the only one who could have known in time, but he probably thought it hurt more simply due to the long flight. Otherwise, he would have surely let you know, and you could have done something sooner. You can’t beat yourself up over this.”
Pele still looked distraught, but gave her a kiss, appreciating her support.
Keece spent the day with Drew at the hospital. The children, back at the house, were all restless and edgy, all concerned and anxious about Drew. Rane and Devon did their best to take the lead and try to help distract the younger children by encouraging them to focus on researching ISEX.
“The more we know about their plans, their next moves, their communication channels, their supply chains, their motivations, the better we can put together a plan to thwart them,” commented Devon, as he reviewed the map of their current areas of control.
“Sheesh, Devon, you sound like you’re channeling El Capitan,” teased Zander, getting a giggle from all of them.
Devon grinned and then, doing his best Drew imitation, recited one of Drew’s favorite phrases, “A well-executed smart strategy will always improve your odds for victory!”
Zander groaned, shaking his head and rolling his eyes at the ridiculous imitation, but they all laughed and some of the strain of the morning eased. They turned back to their different tasks, looking for clues to and potential weaknesses in ISEX’s plans.
Calice interrupted, asking with her youthful innocence, “I don't understand, won’t the military do this work?”
Rane gave her a little squeeze.
“The military is definitely working on the problem, but I think they can use all the help they can get. And we might be able to help, so we’re going to do all we can to support them.”
Calice nodded, still looking a little perplexed. It was difficult for her young mind to grasp that a group of children could help outsmart military adults like Pele or Drew, but she would certainly do what she could.
The next morning, they all visited Drew in the hospital. They had heard the news the night before about the amputation. The room was bright and airy, the sun streaming through the windows. Drew was sitting up, looking much better than he had two days before when they found him in his delirious state, but still pale and fragile. He was clearly happy to see all of them, but, despite Keece’s attempts to encourage them to be c
heery, the children were all clearly distraught, some much better at hiding their emotions than others. They were in the room all of about a minute before tears started silently streaming down Calice’s cheeks, which was simply a mirror of everyone’s emotions.
They each gave Drew a hug, as if in a long, somber receiving line.
When he got to Calice, Drew wiped away her tears, “Where’s my brave girl?” he teased her. “You know I might be able to swim faster than you, now that I don't have that extra ballast of a second leg.”
Calice smiled, appreciating his humor, despite the drastic change in his life.
Pele chimed in, “I think you’re really just trying to test my Robustor technology. You want to see how well it works with a prosthesis, now that we finally got it working on a real leg.”
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