Rock reached over the side of the boat to life Carine up from the water. She had been shot in the head! Meanwhile, Tracy swam to the shore where the girl was on her knees still pleading not to be shot. “What is your name?” demanded Tracy. The girl told her. She also said she knew nothing about what had been going on here. Tracy asked where she lived. “With my parents and sisters,” she said, “it is the first house down this path.”

Tracy told her to get back home and not to talk with the police at all. She agreed and ran all the way back home. Rock had since carried Angel back to the boat, it did not look good for her either. Everyone was now on board and they went back to the other side of the island, stopping at the dock briefly to let Crystal, Tracy and Macey get off. Sky was there and told Rock and Benson to take the girls to the main island, there was a hospital there.

Annelie and Marlene (our nurse), went along too. Off they went as fast as the boat would go. Poor Benson, he is much like Rock, neither one shows much emotion, but he was crying right now. He realized how serious the wound was for Carine. Marlene could not do much for Carine or Angel, though she tried hard to stop the bleeding.

Back to the dock again. “Is there another boat we can use to go look for the others?” Crystal asked Sky. “Nothing that would be large enough,” she said, “but there are 2 helicopters out looking for them now.” “Where did we get the helicopters?” asked Crystal. “The Major had them waiting on the main island, in case he needed help in a hurry,” she said, “so he sent them out to look for Steve and Kristina, and Storm.” She smiled, she almost forgot to include Storm.

Sky told Macey that the Major was waiting for her on a bench in the hotel garden. She took her around to the side of the hotel. When she saw her Dad she ran to meet him right away! Major ran too and grabbed Macey, giving her a huge hug. “It is sooo good to see you again Daddy,” she said, “I never thought I would! Oh, I must be such a mess to look at!” “Not to me, my little girl,” he said through tears, “you are a beautiful sight!”

They talked for a little while outside, then went to his room. He called Sky and Crystal to come with them. “Crystal is the girl you remember,” said Sky smiling. “Yep, that was me alright,” she said, also smiling. “You two do look like twins,” he said chuckling, “now, you get the best care for those two women and whatever your insurance does not pay, I will.” “That could be a lot,” said Sky, “no insurance company will insure us, they all said we were too high of a risk.”

The Major just looked at Sky. “Then I will pay the whole thing,” he said, “plus, I will find you an insurance company too, the same one I use.” They talked together for quite a while and Macey told her Dad what Angel and Crystal had done to save her. While Angel had stood in front of Macey, Crystal then pushed her to the ground and lay on her to protect her from any more bullets. But Rich did not have a chance to shoot again.

The Major just shook his head. “That is so amazing,” he said to Sky, “I am not surprised you freed Macey, but willing to die for a gangsters daughter is just hard for me to grasp.” Sky and Crystal smiled. “That is just the way we do things Major,” said Sky, “as far as we were concerned, her life was more important than any of ours.” “But what about Steve’s life?” he asked her. She put her head down.

“Yes, even more than Steve,” she said quietly, “that is what we do.” “Do you still want to be part of this PI team?” Major asked Macey. “Yes, yes I sure do,” she said emphatically. “And we will be very happy to have you join us,” said Crystal, still smiling. Then Sky got a phone call from Galyna. “Get them,” said Sky firmly. “Hey there fellas,” said Galyna, “mind if I join you boys?”

To Be Continued.

©2023 Steve McLeod.