094:

Richard, Matthew and Steve had flown directly to Cartagena from Ft. Lauderdale Florida, an almost three hour trip, and had been met by the Columbian Coast Guard, who managed to look professional, while also looking ready to spring a trap. Richard seemed less concerned with the appearances than Matthew did, who had just returned from South America recently, and had seen what the Columbian and Brazilian military were capable of. Thugs in uniform.

Richard was more concerned with the revelation he had received while on the phone with Tracy a few minutes previous. He'd vetoed Danny's initial plan to sail their family yacht to Cuba and instead, he'd had Tracy fly to the Keys and rent a large enough yacht to accommodate a small army of his security personnel who had arrived there in time to board and begin the nine-hour trip south. He had every reason to believe that Tracy and Danny would be safe with his men, but he had no reason to believe that his daughters would be safe at all.

"I have found the grandson, Richard. His name is Manuel, and he's diagnosed with Fabry's disease a chronic progressive inherited disorder that attacks and interrupts organ functions. It is rare, and passed from carrier mother to son. This boy has hit a critical stage in the last several years and is being kept alive with state of the art medical procedures. But as I feared, his transplant compatibility is one in a million, and there are simply five matches in the whole known world that might be able to donate and keep this boy alive. Melia and Megan are two of them. They have the jewels, Richard, they are the jewels."

"I get that, Trace. I got it the first time you told me." He sounded snappy and she kept quiet while he digested this, realizing the fear that prompted the feelings of impotent rage at his willful and stubborn daughters. "We've failed them Trace. I've failed them."

Tracy was immediately defensive. "You have not failed them, Richard. Melia is delusional and unstable and has been since she witnessed a murder a year and a half ago. That is enough to unhinge anybody and she's never gotten any kind of help dealing with it. Knowing Melia as you do you should see that she's the kind of person to take matters into her own hands when she feels she's the cause of other people's problems. She rectifies issues, Richard, that's a good trait and she got it from us! It's okay. Misguided and naive, but surely an admirable trait." She took a deep breath, in her mind's eye, seeing Melia's auburn ponytail, her flashing green eyes, her pert upturned nose, her porcelain skin. She was a stubbornly good girl, she was ill-equipped to handle all the unimaginable things that had happened to her, but she did have family and she did have God, and these things would see her through if she.... Well, she couldn't think like that. Of course, she would come home. Maybe the worse for wear, but if they wanted her organs, then she was still alive. And as long as she was alive....

"That doesn't explain the stupid and disobedient natures of Megan, Cassie, and Maille. I can't even imagine what has prompted this." Richard said with real regret in his voice.

"Well, I can explain it. Megan is extremely impulsive and she'll do anything to protect her twin. She's always been that way, the real strength behind Melia's principles. She will do whatever it takes, even disobey us if she feels it's necessary, and she obviously felt Melia had reached out to her for help. It was to her the phone calls came. Of course, it's logical that she would go. Cassie is the brains behind the group; she went to keep them all out of real trouble. Not a fearful bone in that girl's body, just a very real firsthand knowledge of the ways of the world, more so than any of our little starlets. Cassie went as insurance. She's not being disobedient, she's being pragmatic, and she weighed the pros and cons and made a decision. Maille is in love with Kell and right now being tossed to and fro by her feelings. A woman in love will do almost anything to protect the one she loves. That's Maille. It's not that she doesn't think you can do it, they all know you are right behind them, Richard, they count on that fact, they absolutely know you are a step to one side of them and will eventually be a step ahead of them. This isn't some great adventure to them, but it is very logical given the girls we've raised."

"You would defend them." He ground out in annoyance, not mollified at all. The images of four beautiful daughters and two adorable granddaughters murdered and helpless in front of the kind of pigs he was sure they were made him sick. And scared, very scared, the most scared he'd ever been in his whole life.

Unspeakable fear clouded his judgment for just a moment, and then he asked Tracy, the wife he loved more than life itself, to pray for him, to add her strength to his as they searched for and brought home their girls.

*****