“And going in?”
“You’ll sail separately,” Nathan said. “From all appearances the Setiawati will be doing what ferries do. Meanwhile you, and your boats, will be on patrol.
“Then shortly after dark, the day after tomorrow, the task force will come together at Bataan in the Philippines. Captain Dancy?”
The commando cleared his throat. “Our lot will roll off the ferry in the vehicles you saw outside, and drive to the prison. Mr. Dalisay and Commander Greer will guide us.
“Once we have the POWs in protective custody, we’ll turn all the rest of the prisoners loose. They’ll run every which way, making it difficult for the authorities to know what’s going on. Then, using the same vehicles, we’ll return to the ship.”
“And that’s where your boats come in,” Parker added. “I think it’s safe to say that both the Filipinos and the Chinese will give chase. And Setiawati will be easy to catch.”
Ryson could imagine it. Planes, boats and even ships would be sent to intercept the ferry. “Tell me something,” Ryson said. “Are both the vehicles and the ferry expendable? If so, we can load the soldiers, the POWs, and the ferry crew onto my boats.”
Nathan looked at Parker. “What about that?”
Kelsey shrugged. “It would cost the government something like a million U.S. to buy the Setiawati. You’d have to speak with my father.”
“Realizing that you’ll most likely lose the ferry either way,” Ryson put in. “It will represent a rather large, not to mention slow, target.”
“There’s that,” Nathan agreed. “I’ll look into it. In the meantime, I suspect you’ll want to discuss tactical concerns with Captain Dancy, Commander Greer, and Mr. Dalisay.”
“That makes sense,” Ryson agreed. “Is the ferry captain around? We should bring him into the loop.”
“I will serve as captain,” Parker put in. “I have an unlimited master’s license.”
A mariner with an unlimited master’s license could command any ship regardless of type, tonnage, power or location. And the fact that Parker had such a ticket was impressive. And an important asset where the family business was concerned. Parker was sitting only inches away and Ryson could see the curiosity in her eyes. She was waiting to see how he would react to a female captain. “Perfect,” Ryson said. “Let’s get to work.”
***
Borgo Catholic Cemetery, Manado Indonesia
The rising sun threw three black shadows across the yawning grave, as the wooden coffin was lowered into the ground, and a Catholic Priest named Father Wijaya led the mourners in the Lord’s Prayer. Then he added some words of his own.
“Her true name was Maria Avilar. But when it came time to choose another name, one which would offer hope, Maria chose ‘Mary.’ The name of Mary, mother of Jesus, blessed be her name. Now, with the mother Mary in mind we recite her prayer, knowing that Maria would be pleased.
‘Hail Mary,
Full of Grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary,
Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of our death. Amen.’”
Greer wasn’t Catholic. Or anything else for that matter. But the words moved him. And as he went forward to kneel by the grave, tears trickled down his cheeks. Mary, because that was how he continued to think of her, had been struck by a shard of metal that entered her body from behind, and came out through her chest.
Greer had been battling to keep the plane in the air and fly them to safety. So, rather than distract him—Mary died quietly—with her hands clasped in front of her.
Then, after the plane hit the water Dalisay, in what could only be described as an act of heroism, managed to cut through Mary’s seatbelt and drag her free of the sinking plane. She was wearing a PFD. And that, plus Dalisay’s efforts, kept her afloat until sailors on the Fractus were able to hoist her body out of the water.
Now, as Father Wijaya, Dalisay and four gravediggers looked on, Greer spoke to her. “I am so very, very sorry. I urged you to come. I said you would be safe here. And I thought you would be. But there was something more on my mind as well. A desire to learn all about you, to spend time with you, and to look into your eyes. I’d like to believe that you felt something similar.
“I hope you’re out there somewhere, in a place where you’re happy, and I will be able to find you.”
Greer stood, nodded to the grave diggers, and turned to Father Wijaya. “I’d like to make a donation Father. Please make sure that someone tends to Mary’s grave, and those of the people buried around her. If you’ll give me an address, I’ll send money from time-to-time.”
Wijaya produced a business card. And Greer gave the priest most of the emergency pay the navy had given him. The money was sorely needed. Although Catholicism was one of the six approved religions in Indonesia, less than three percent of the country’s population were Catholics, and budgets were tight. A fact which accounted for the toppled monuments and the rampant weeds that threatened to overwhelm the graveyard.
“It shall be as you say,” Wijaya said, as he accepted the money. “Once Maria’s headstone is finished, I will make sure that the workers install it properly.”
Greer thanked the Father, and with Dalisay at his side, made his way back to the waiting taxi. The ferry was going to depart at 1500. And both men would be on it.
***
Aboard the ferry Setiawati, Manado harbor, Indonesia
The ferryboat’s main cabin was packed with naval personnel, both American and Australian. The purpose of the gathering was to announce assignments, coordinate missions, and resolve problems. The first problem was the fact that the American hydrofoil captains were pissed off, because they’d been left out of Operation Free Eagle, and the Aussies were going to get all the glory. And Ryson was aware of that thanks to a
