Sue Lynn followed the boys out and wrapped her arms around her husband. After a welcoming kiss, she gave him a long hug. “I am so glad you are home,” she said. “The boys have missed their daddy.”
“And I’ve missed them,” he exclaimed as he dropped his bag and scooped the two of them in his arms. The boys giggled and squirmed as he held them close.
“Did you get the bad guys Daddy?” young Dale Junior asked.
“We sure did. We beat them good,” Ricks said.
“Yea!” both boys cheered and Ricks let them down and took Sue Lynn’s hand. They made their way into the house.
“You look tired,” Sue Lynn said as took his bag and then led him to his recliner. The two boys waited till he had propped up the footrest before climbing into his lap.
“I am. Crawling through that swamp nearly did it for me. I’m getting too old for this stuff,” the 22 year old said with a grin.
Sue Lynn leaned in and gave him another welcoming kiss. “Well, you just relax. I will have dinner ready very soon,” she said. She turned and headed back to the kitchen. “We have fish heads and rice tonight,” she exclaimed over her shoulder.
Ricks chuckled. That was the standing joke between them when she was preparing a big meal. They had met during the war with North Korea. She was about to be raped by North Korean soldiers when he, Paul Hufham and Lee had come up. He had shot the man holding her down and Paul had killed the one getting ready to rape her. From then on, she had done what she could to help the men. At first she didn’t really want to speak, but over the time, she had grown fond of the 19 year old who had helped her. It had come full circle in an air raid shelter when they first kissed. He remembered that kiss and the change it had made in him. From then on, every time he had some time off, he spent it with her. They were married in the middle of a war, surrounded by men who made war. It was the bright spot for all of them when they remembered back.
Then he had lost both legs trying to save a school full of children. They were being held hostage too. He had made a sacrifice to get them all out. Now he was walking around with two more results from that war — his two sons. At first, he was overjoyed when Sue Lyn said she was pregnant. They had been his reason for living. A month later he personally heard the two heartbeats for the first time. Now they were sitting in his lap asking him questions. They were his miracles.
Sue Lynn called them to the table. The two boys, identical twins, rushed to their seats followed by their daddy. After the Blessing, they began their meal of beef stew. Sue Lynn had taken pride in learning American dishes and serving them along with some Korean delicacies at home. The conversation was the usual family things, getting caught up on what was going in, then things got a little more serious.
“I’m going to be heading back out on Monday,” Ricks said.
Sue Lynn’s face saddened. “Why so soon?”
“Have you heard about the mayors who were kidnapped?” he asked. She nodded her head. “Well, you remember Patricia Hammond? We went to their wedding.”
Sue Lynn’s hand went up to her face in astonishment. “She was one of them?”
Ricks nodded.
She shook her head. “Poor Patricia. And poor Admiral,” she said as she recalled the man in the white uniform. Dale and the Admiral had become friends after the war and occasionally talked on the phone. During a stop in Norfolk he had actually stopped by their home in Quantico to say hello. Sue Lynn remembered them both fondly.
“I got the call while I was still down in Morehead City. My team may be the one going to get them,” he told her.
She smiled at that. Paul Hufham and once told her that it was people like her husband who always tried to do the right thing and make things right. She believed it with all her heart. “Then I not worry so much,” she said. “You go get them and bring them home. You stop the bad people.”
“You’re gonna stop the bad guys again, Daddy?” asked young Paul. Both boys now focused their attention on their dad.
Ricks grinned. “Maybe. Some people want us to be ready, so I have to go help out.”
“Can we tell people about this one,” asked Dale Junior.
“Not yet, son. This will be our secret so the bad guys don’t know I’m coming,” he said.
Both boys’ eyes opened wide. Dad had told them before that sometimes it was very important that things be kept a secret. That meant Daddy was going to do something very important. “Will you tell us when it’s okay?” asked Dale Junior.
“Yea, I want to tell Jake off. He keeps saying his daddy is more important than ours,” Paul exclaimed.
Ricks laughed. “Oh yes, I’ll let you know and you can tell him. And if I get a medal, I’ll let you show it to him.”
The boys looked at each other with a grin and exclaimed, “Cool.”
Ricks remembered just two months earlier when Paul had snuck one of his medals into his little backpack and had taken it to the preschool they attended each week. Although most of the children were the sons and daughters of military families, no one had seen the medal that hung from the blue ribbon Paul had put around his neck.
Being back with his family was doing the trick. Dale Ricks, Senior, could feel the tensions leave his body. Later on, after putting his twin sons to bed, he turned his attentions to the one other person that filled his life.
Jim Mitchell had been removed from the cell and placed in a truck mid afternoon. The sergeant accompanied him to see a doctor and had come back later saying Mitchell would stay in the hospital for a few days. A cool breeze had picked up and after showering and donning hospital scrubs, the rest of the mayors had settled down on new straw put in the cell while they were out showering. There was only a common shower room with multiple nozzles, but first the women, then the men cleaned up. Dinner was a fish stew with hard, thick bread which seemed to draw in the broth like a sponge. Only after eating and settling in for the night, did they begin to hear distant drums.
Father Cardoza had a wonderful day. He had filled two flash drives full of photos and was about to turn in when he too heard the drums. Turning toward the source, he noticed the village with the stone buildings was brightly lit. There were also a lot of people standing around the obelisk apparently singing or chanting. He really couldn’t hear what they were doing; only the deep resonating drums carried that far. Looking down the hill, he saw another brightly lit area in the trees.
Curiosity won him over and he pulled out his camera and put on the 400mm lens. The lower set of lights seemed to light up a small compound. There were guard towers there with people in them. To one side was some sort of white paneled truck under the cover of a tree.
Next, he turned his attention back to the small village. As he guessed, there seemed to be several hundred natives dancing in the courtyard. Fires added light to the scene from several places along the sides of the stone buildings. There were also several men stationed a strategic places. They were marked with some sort of symbols and dressed simply in red colored loin cloths. It looked surreal — like something out of a movie. Suddenly it all stopped as a man, painted in gold, wearing a huge, brightly colored ceremonial headdress walked up. He was raising his hands into the air and saying something while turning toward the obelisk. Suddenly a white smoke seemed to rise from around the buildings and along the obelisk. More lights came on as the top of the obelisk seemed to open up and a figure appeared as if by magic. This man was also wearing ceremonial garb from some long forgotten age, but this one was different. He seemed to glitter and sparkle in the light reflecting some sort of gold hue. It was as if the sun itself was pouring from the figure. He held a staff in one hand which he slowly raised high into the air. The people below him kneeled to the ground.