~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Morning finally came. I don’t think I slept a wink all night. My mind was racing. Carlos’s funeral was scheduled for nine o’clock this morning. The winds were up to forty miles an hour probably gusting to around sixty. I’d better make sure Brady could land the helicopter on our ship in these seas.
“Danny, how are the sea conditions out there right now?” I asked the ship’s captain.
“I was just going to call you Rick. We have twelve foot seas I’m going to have to leave soon.”
“Can Brady fly in these conditions?” I asked as I looked at the swaying trees all around me.
“He’s standing right here, I’ll let you talk to him yourself,” Danny said handing the phone over to Brady.
“Brady, are you able to fly in this weather and can you land the helicopter on the Sea Eagle?” I asked out pilot.
“I can fly no problem LT. Take off will be easy, it’s the landing that I’m worried about. I think if Danny heads for Jamaica as soon as I’m off he’ll get to calmer seas before I need to land back onboard. If not I can make the trip to our isle in a little more than an hour. It’s less than 300 miles away.”
“That’s a good idea Brady. Bring Karen with you when you come. I want you to plan on flying directly to Dead Men’s Isle after the funeral if the weather conditions will allow it. If not, land back on the Sea Eagle. Make sure that once you’re back to our isle you keep that bird fueled and fully armed Brady. I’m going to need you in a big hurry once the storm passes.”
“I read you LT. When I come back after the storm, will I be able to pick Patch up or should I use your brother to monitor the FLIR again?” Brady asked me.
I thought about it for a minute. “You may have to attack in the dark, bring Chris. I don’t know what the situation will be like here on the ground. There may be downed trees and power lines to deal with.”
“Okay, you got it. I’m going to get going now with Karen. Danny will have to take care of the tie downs with these seas. I want the helicopter running when they’re taken off or it could slide right off the fantail.”
“The seas are getting that rough?” I asked my pilot. “Danny said you were getting twelve footers.”
“We are but the added weight of the missile pod is affecting the way the ship lists in these heavy seas more than we thought they would. Of course we don’t know how it was before. We never sailed in seas like this since we got the Sea Eagle.”
Soon I could see the approaching helicopter. With the blowing wind I couldn’t hear it coming. Brady landed right in the middle of the street.
“Danny is heading out of here. He’s sailing for Jamaica,” Brady informed me.
“Good, we probably should have had him leave yesterday but with everything that happened,” I left the rest unsaid.
“LT, are you worried about the radio equipment during the storm. Those inside the fort may try to use it while we’re not there monitoring it.”
“I already instructed them to take the radio with them. Also to sever the power so they can’t bring their own to use. Sam is going to unhook the antennae so they can’t send a signal.”
“That should pretty much take care of them,” Brady said approvingly.
Chris had come along with Karen and Brady to pay his respects at the funeral. “I never got the chance to meet Carlos Rick. But from what I’ve heard he must have been special.”
I sadly nodded my head. “He was all of that and more Chris. Only once or twice in a person’s life you find someone who is inspirational to you. For me it was Carlos Estaban.”
“I heard that you were asked to say a few words today at his funeral,” Karen said as she looked at me with sadness in her eyes.
“Yeah, I don’t know how I’m going to handle it. It’s been a long time since I’ve done it,” I said, thinking back to the funerals of my three lost Navy Seals.
The church bell started to toll mournfully. It was a call for everyone to come to the funeral. We stood outside as a group and watched as the villagers came. The only team member missing was Danny. He was busy getting the Sea Eagle out of harm’s way.
We entered the church and took seats that were reserved for us. Karen and I sat in the front pew with Francisco’s family. We were to become Juan’s new parents. The padre did his part of the service and asked me to step forward to say a few words about Carlos.
“I first met Carlos Estaban only three weeks ago. It was the day that I found the man who was to be an inspiration to me. Here was a man who escaped the communist regime of Fidel Castro. A man who worked hard once he got to his new home and went on to college and earned a degree.”
“He threw his new life away to try to help the people of Cuba. His thoughts were of the people of Bayarno village. He came back home to Cuba to try to make a better life for his people. In doing so he discovered that he was a father. Maria was pregnant when he left but she unselfishly kept it from him hoping he could find a better way of life for himself.”
“Carlos had a mixture of emotions when he arrived. He had the unbridled joy of finding out he was a father. He was so, so proud of Juan, his heart sang. He married Maria and together they became a family.”
“He told me that he came back with his college degree like a knight in shining armor. Thinking he could make a difference in the lives of his people. Only to be beaten down by those who have control over your lives. This enraged him to a point that he fought back. Carlos wasn’t going to go quietly into the night again leaving the people he cared about to fend for themselves. He was going to try everything humanly possible to make it a better life for all of you.”
“In so doing he paid for it dearly. First his wife, his love, was killed by the men of El Diablo Alcazaba. Then he had his own life stolen from him only three weeks later. Both Maria and Carlos thought of Juan with their last breaths. Maria while dying on the helicopter made Carlos promise to her that he would take Juan out of Cuba. She wanted him raised where he could live free and sleep at night the way an innocent child should be able to sleep.”
“Carlos spoke to both Francisco and me about Juan. He was sure that he was going to die before leaving Cuba. He wanted to honor Maria’s last request and make sure Juan escaped from here. I promised Carlos on his deathbed that Karen and I would raise Juan as our own. That Juan would never again have to fear falling to sleep at night. Today, right after Carlos’s burial Juan will be leaving Cuba for the last time. He has suffered enough pain for Cuba and deserves a better life than he can find here. ”
“I have such a deep, deep respect for Carlos. I plan on naming my first borne son after him to honor his memory. It’s the least I can do for such a great man.”
“But before I leave Cuba we have unfinished business with El Diablo. We are going to finish what Carlos has started. Francisco will take his brother’s place as the head of the guerrillas. Tonight we have a hurricane coming but once it passes we will bring the reign of El Diablo to an end. It’s the least we can do to honor Carlos and all of the sacrifices that he made for you.”
I stepped down from the pulpit and sat back down in the pew by Karen glad that my part was over.
We walked out of the church and followed Carlos’s casket into the church’s cemetery. Slowly the casket was lowered into the grave with ropes. The padre said a few more words as the box was lowered into the ground.
The wind was picking up with the approaching storm. Rain was coming in bands in advance of the torrential rains that would soon be upon us. We picked-up Juan’s things from his aunt and uncles house and it was time for him to say his final goodbyes to his uncle’s family and leave. We got him loaded into the helicopter for the flight to Jamaica. The entire village was there standing in the rain to see him off. It was such a sad day for everyone involved.