101:

                                    

                                          


                          
          
                          
101:
                          
The remains of the helicopter cascaded onto the hapless Pirate vessel, fire burning and catching on fire the deck and the suddenly smashed cabin. In seconds, Billy and three of their guys were jumping over Villarino's broken boat, back onto the pirate's boat and across to their own. The huge body of the copter plunged into Villarino's boat and cut it effectively in two, smashing a fist into its interior and causing a wrenching boom, and screech to be heard as it tore. In just a few seconds, the pirates, or what was left of them, watched from their own deck as Villarino's boat slid helplessly into the blood infested sea, the jutting blades of the helicopter sticking out of the two pieces. More yelling.
                          
Robert shaded his eyes as the pirate boat shuddered, and a crashing piece of debris landed on its deck, smashing a huge hole into it, all the way through it. The remaining few pirates, who had not been killed in the raid, were frantically trying to start their engines, move away from the sinking ship. There were only six of them that Robert could see, and all his own men accounted for. He yelled to them in Spanish to come over to his boat and leave the drowning and damaged cruiser. It shuddered twice with loud groaning and then it too buckled, a heavy crack was heard and it turned on its side, stuck clear through like a watermelon.
                          
The six crew members leaped crazily onto Robert's deck and his men secured them with ropes and lashed them to the hand rails. All were completely disarmed.
                          
Robert kept his gun at the ready, aimed and cocked, his stance defensive, his eyes still focused on the battle scene, realizing that it was almost over, over as soon as it had begun and successful! The captain of the pirate cruiser wasn't among the crew that had survived, so Robert approached them instantly, telling them he had a dingy, and he'd let them go on condition that they stay away from Villarino, or they could choose to come with him. All six chose the dingy. Easily enough Robert's men lowered the small dingy, gave the six the oars and let them board it. Land wasn't far away, easily seen with binoculars. Robert watched as they began to row away, wondered vaguely how many would keep their word, and then grabbed his cell phone out of his vest pocket.
                          
"Richard. I have Melia. Go get Megan." He said. Then he clicked off and grabbed Melia's shaking form once again. "How badly are you hurt?" He said calmly assessing the damage he could see.
                          
"This is all." She indicated her face, with one quickly swelling eye blink.
                          
He turned her face to his. Her cheek was purple and blue, her eye green and yellow and red, mottled with purple, her cut was deep and disfiguring, but she seemed whole. "Your nose might be broken."
                          
She shook her head. "It must look worse than it is, I can barely feel it." She said staring at him. "You came for me. Why did you come for me? Why didn't you just tell my dad what you know?"
                          
"Did you not want me to come for you?" He asked her as the wind whipped his dark hair into his blue eyes, eyes that she suddenly thought were as crystal clear and fathomless as the sea around them.
                          
"I am so glad you are here, but now I've put you in danger and people have died because of me." She moaned looking back to where the remains of the two boats were still floating on now calmer water.
                          
"Died because of their own stupidity." He said. "Your idiocy is just that you disobeyed me and everyone else and went after the kidnappers yourself."
                          
"I know." Was all she could say as he used one finger to lift her chin up and stare into her eyes forthrightly for the second time that hour.
                          
"But I've got you now. And I'm not going to let you go." He assured firmly, a gentle smile playing about the corners of his lips just before he clasped her back with his free hand and pulled her in for yet another kiss, this time less frantic, and more meaningful. Robert closed his eyes and opened his mouth and tasted her, the cut, the fear, the trembling, the electric heat of her.... The desire to hold her and keep her. Melia's return kiss was eager, a smile against him as she melted in his arms, with the babies between them.
                          
"I know." She murmured still pressed to his mouth, not thinking about anybody else except Robert, the man who had come to free her from her own impulsive bad choices. "You owe me a sunrise." Her eyes opened to favor his blue ones with a deep look of gratitude and understanding, before he heard the cheers from the crew, and tossed them all a fist. They cheered all the more, as he kissed his lady fair, and then swept her off her feet, and took her to his own chamber.
                          


                          
*****