Chapter 2
The huge cargo plane took off and quickly climbed to cruising altitude. The crew came back to him several times at the beginning of the flight, trying to make sure that he had everything that he needed. After a while they left him alone when it became obvious that their help was not needed or wanted. Mike needed to be alone with his thoughts. He had to plan for his mission.
He started to draw up his plan in his head. He knew that he was in no shape to go to war. The alcohol had made him soft and flabby. He could take care of that pretty quickly. He would get back in shape pretty quick. The Force had taught him how to do it. He had to brush up on his fighting skills. There was a lot of new technology out now that wasn't around when he was in the Force. He had to lay his hands on some of these toys.
The heavy drone of the plane made him drowsy and he fell asleep before they were out over the Atlantic. He hadn't slept in two days. His sleep was interrupted with pictures of what his brother and his brother's family had gone through before they died. He woke himself up twice screaming. The second time he forced himself to stay awake so that he wouldn't have to see those scenes again. It didn't help much because he saw the things awake that he saw while he was asleep.
The medical examiner for the Embassy had told him, after Mike had threatened him, that his brother had been killed first and probably had not seen what happened to his wife and daughters. Eve had been raped several times and her breasts were cut off while she was alive. The children suffered the worst and they were both disemboweled when the men were done with them. Nine men had been on the boat that the Navy had passed. Nine new soldiers for hell he thought.
He dozed off again and woke up when the plane started to bank as they approached the airport. It suddenly dawned on him that he hadn't thought to have a funeral director meet them at the airport. He would have to make a few fast phone calls when they landed.
The plane touched down with a screech of the tires and he felt the nose wheel contact the runway. The pilot actuated the thrust attenuators and the cargo plane shuddered and slowed. The plane turned at the end of the runway and taxied toward the cargo section of the airport. As they pulled to a stop on the tarmac, he saw four funeral hearses waiting for them. Jake must have called ahead for him.
The four coffins were taken from the airplane and put into the hearses. The funeral director gave Mike his card and told him that he would have to come by the funeral home soon and make the arraignments. Mike told them he would and went to the terminal to get a taxi to his brother's house. He patted his jacket to make sure that the money was still there. The medical examiner had found that his brother had twenty thousand dollars in a wallet strapped to his ankle. Apparently the pirates had been more intent on the women then trying to find out what they could steal. Mike knew that the money wouldn't have saved his brother, Eve or the kids.
The taxi ride from the airport to the house convinced him that he didn't miss being in this rat race. The taxi ride took over an hour to go the twenty miles to his brother's house. Mike sat and watched the traffic with the same expression on his face that he had since he walked out of the morgue after identifying John, Eve and the kids. He knew that it would be a long while before he would be able to smile again. He had things to do. Many people would die soon. When he was done, these monsters would be only a memory. He would make sure that they each died suffering as much as his family had died. He only wished that he had some of the men that he had been on the secret missions with. Some of them were dead and some were alive. The dead ones knew what they were getting into, but they went willingly. Many of the live ones were like him, ashamed that they were alive and better men were dead.
When he got to the house he paid the taxi and lugged his bags up to the house. The personal belongings that were left by the pirates were being shipped to the house by the Embassy. He walked around the house, feeling the spirits of the past owners with everything he touched. It had been five years since he was last in this house and his brother hadn't changed anything except to put a hot tub on the sun porch. The pictures on the piano were of his brother and Eve and the kids. When he saw the pictures the tears started flowing again. He wiped the tears from his eyes and moved away from the piano. There was no time for this. He had things to do.
He found his way to the garage. He smiled when he saw the brand new Jeep Wrangler in the garage. It would be handy for what he had in mind. Mike locked the house and opened the garage door. He pulled out of the garage and searched to see if his brother had a garage door opener for the Jeep. He found it in the glove compartment.
As he drove to the funeral home, his mind started to wander. He would have to find out whom his brother had for a lawyer. He would see what the will said and then he would settle the estate according to his brother's wishes. He had to find out where his brother kept the boat to see if there were any personal effects at the marina. There was probably another car at the marina too. There was a lot to do. It had to be dealt with so that he could avenge the deaths of Robert, Eve and the kids.
The funeral director went over what arrangements were possible and Mike picked the best that was available. The funeral director asked if Mike wanted him to notify anyone in particular and Mike told him that he hadn't been in the country in five years and didn't really know any of his brother's friends. He instructed the director to place a death notice in the paper and set up the viewing times that he thought suitable.
After he returned to the house he started to go through his brother's papers. He found a business card file and saw several lawyers' business cards. One of the cards had a phone number written on the back in pencil. He decided to call that one first. It was a good decision; the lawyer was John's personal lawyer. He told Mike that John had a safe in his home office and that he had the combination. He questioned Mike to make sure that he was really who he said he was and then gave him the combination to the safe. The lawyer told him to come into the office sometime in the next week or so and they would start the process to settle the estate.
There was a knock on the front door that startled him. He was not used to visitors at his house in South America. The locals considered him a crazy gringo and left him alone. When he opened the door there was a pleasant woman, a little older than he was, standing on the front porch. She introduced herself as the next-door neighbor and offered her sympathies for what had happened to John and the family. She told him that some people from the State Department had stopped by to question the neighbors. She started to talk about what great people Robert, Eve and the kids were and she stopped when she looked into Mike's eyes. Mike thanked her and told her that he was glad that she had stopped by. He asked that she notify anyone that she thought should know about the deaths, as he really had no idea who Robert's friends were. She told him she would and hurried back to her house and locked the door.
"What's he like?" her husband asked when she returned home, thinking Mike might want to move in.
"I've just looked into the face of death," she shuddered.
Mike went into his brother's office and found the safe behind some clothes in a closet. He used the combination that the lawyer had given him to open the safe. All of Eve's best jewelry was in the safe plus a lot of paperwork. He pulled all of the papers out of the safe and took them to his brother's desk.
He found the will and started to read through the legalese. His brother had made the will like everything else that he did. He had covered every contingency. What would happen if one of the kids would die, what would happen if Eve died, what would happen if Robert died, what would happen if John and Eve died. He was shocked to learn that if John and Eve both died and the kids lived, that he was to be their guardian. He and Robert had never discussed that. He saw that after two minor bequests, one to Robert's college and one to his church, the estate would go to him. Mike put the papers down. He felt dirty profiting from his brother's death. After all of this was over, he would have to make it right. He might need some of the money though to pull off his plan.
He found a life insurance policy for one million dollars made out to the estate and the deed of the marina slip. Robert had bought a marina slip. Mike didn't even know that such a thing was possible. It was like getting a deed to a piece of water to him. Did anyone really own the water? He thought that the people's deed stopped at the water's edge.
He found the number of the marina and called. The manager of the marina told him that both Robert and Eve's cars were there. Robert had some personal items in a storage shed that each slip had. The manager assured Mike that he would cut the lock off for him when he wanted to get into the shed. Before Mike hung up, he asked if the manager knew of anyone that would be interested in buying the slip. The manager laughed and told him there was a waiting line for the slips and that he would sell it for him for a ten percent commission. Mike agreed and told the manager that he would be picking the cars up in the next couple of days.
"Mr. Owens, about the boat, will it be coming back? I might have a buyer for that boat if you want to sell it."
Mike told him that the boat would remain in South America and hung up. Mike had asked Jake to have the boat repaired and be ready for him when he returned. He had decided to repair the boat in case he needed it when he went after the killers. The boat was not something that you'd want to cross the ocean in, but it was good if you kept the coast in sight and avoided large storms.
The viewings went well. Robert and Eve were well liked in this town and many people came by and expressed their sorrow about what had happened. At the first viewing, a newspaper reporter tried to interview him about what had happened and how Mike felt about the deaths. Mike grabbed the young reporter by the neck and deposited him on the driveway in front of the funeral home. Mike was amazed at the number of people that came to the funeral home to pay their respects. He wondered if there would even be one person that would be sorry he was gone when his time came. He thought not.
The day before the funeral he picked up Robert's car from the marina. The manager had sold the slip already and asked Mike to sign the papers so that he could start the title transfer. Mike was not sure if he had the authority to sign anything yet but he signed the papers and got into Robert's car and drove it back to the house.
Robert and Eve had twin Chevrolet Suburbans. When Mike got into Eve's car he smelled her perfume and had to get out of the car. He had always had a crush on Eve ever since Robert had first brought her home from Europe. Eve knew it and thought that it was nice that her brother-in-law loved her too. He and Eve became close friends, but neither of them pushed it any further. She would often discuss things with him whenever he was home. She worried about the missions that he went on and was always there to greet him when he came back from a mission. Several times she had insisted that he stay with them while he recuperated from his wounds. It was her idea to bring the family down on the boat to see him. She was worried about him.
The morning of the funeral the next-door neighbor offered to drive him to the funeral. He thanked her and assured her that he was all right to drive. He drove Robert's Suburban to the funeral home and the funeral director parked the car in the line so that his car would follow the hearses. The viewing room was packed when he walked in and he walked straight to the coffins. All of the coffins were closed at his request and the mourners gave him time to himself with his family. After he sat down the minister took his place in front of the coffins and went into the ritual that was prescribed for funerals. Mike never heard a word that the minister said. He was talking to Eve in his heart.
At the gravesite the minister said a few words and came over to Mike and said something that he didn't hear. He had something to say to the four of them when everyone left. He had told the funeral director that he needed some time alone with them before the burial. The funeral director started to usher everyone back to their cars discretely and soon Mike was alone with Robert, Eve, Brenda and Bonnie for the last time.
"I promise all of you that I will avenge your deaths in a way that will strike fear in the hearts of anyone that considers anything like this in the future. I promise that the people that did this will suffer more than you were made to suffer. I promise that anyone that had the slightest part in this will die. I will not rest until your deaths have been avenged. Go now and rest in peace. Don't wait for me, there will be no place in Heaven for me after I do what I have to do."
He turned and walked away from the grave. He notice two men standing on the hill about a hundred yards away and he recognized them immediately. He had never seen them before but he knew what they were. There was no mistaking the military haircut, the straight posture that showed the confidence that the men had in themselves and the self-discipline to wait until he approached them, as they knew he would do.
He walked up to them and they both gave him the look that showed their respect for him and also signaled him that they had something important to talk to him about.
"Sergeant Owens, Commander Tyler sent us."