Lady in Red Pt. 02 Ch. 23

"Don't worry so much," responded Gwen. "We're perfectly safe. We only have a week left before the trip is over and we'll be preparing for our wedding. I can hardly wait."

Not wanting to upset Gwen with something beyond her control, Steve chatted with Gwen about the wedding before ending the conversation a few minutes later.

"Is something wrong, Steve?" asked Paula when Steve rejoined everyone at the dinner table at Marsh's. "You look worried."

"It's probably nothing, but Gwen just told me that her ship is going to stop in Somalia. She said that the U.N. swears they'll be safe, and so does Somalia, but I'm not willing to bet Gwen and Charlotte's life on it."

"I've been hearing stories about Big Ben Chancellor, the leader of the biggest gang of pirates on the Somalia Coast," revealed Chip. "Some of my old buddies call now and then. The guy is almost seven feet tall and as strong as Jared, or stronger. He loves to fight, to the death! He always kills his opponents. He's a bad ass dude, to put it mildly. He speaks perfect English. He learned it from the missionaries that gave him his English name. He later killed them, according to rumor. His nickname is 'The Butcher'. I'd say you have reason to be concerned."

Hearing Chip's assessment of the pirate leader's background caused Steve to make an immediate decision. "Stephanie, call the pilots and tell them I'm heading to Somalia immediately. Please get a helicopter here as soon as possible. I can't sit around and hope Gwen will be okay. I'll be leaving within the hour."

"I'll be going with you," stated Billie immediately.

"Make that two helicopters," corrected Jason. "Things have been getting pretty quiet around here. The guys and I were getting bored. We'll just ride along."

"You need to be clear about a few things. I don't know that there'll be a problem. But if there is a problem, I'll be diving in, regardless of international law, agreements, treaties, sovereignty, or anything else. Gwen and Charlotte, and Cheryl, now that I think about it, will be my first concern. If things get hot, I won't be taking any prisoners," promised Steve.

"We'd better get our gear ready," stated Chip as he stood up from the table. "I suggest that we gather up some weapons and take them with us. We don't want to be looking for them if it all hits the fan."

Steve turned to face the somber group of women. "Janice, coordinate security with Mallory. All of you will follow any instructions our security team deems necessary. I don't expect any revenge from that pirate rabble, but if it becomes known that all of us guys are gone, bad things could happen. Everyone meet me in Valhalla in half an hour. We have weapons there."

Jeff Fox instantly realized that this was the drama he had hoped for when he agreed to video the famous friends over the summer. He had recorded the entire exchange between Steve and the others, and he intended to keep doing so.

Everyone living in Asgard gathered in Valhalla to watch as Steve began passing out weapons to the men. They worked the actions and stuffed ammunition and supplies into duffel bags. Each man was given body armor in the form of a vest.

The women of Asgard remained quiet as they watched the men check their weapons and prepare to leave. Not one of them made an attempt to talk their man out of the journey. Becky managed to grab Pete's arm and pull him to her as she kissed him hard. The other women followed suit. Once they had kissed their men, they kissed Steve and Billie and wished them luck.

"This is what we get for falling in love with men like that," observed Lisa as the helicopters lifted off. "Mom, did you notice how no one suggested that Dad stay home, or that it might be too dangerous for him? He's one of them. Every one of those men likes and respects Dad. Your husband may be an accountant, but he's a man the others trust to do his part. I'm really proud of him!"

"So am I," admitted Paula. "I never realized just how brave he was. I hope there's no problem and that Gwen, Charlotte, and Cheryl return safely."

Steve, Chip, Jared, and Jason had a short discussion about where in Somalia the Red Lady would land and where they could find helicopters to take them to the ship. They began making phone calls. It was Jared that solved the problem.

"I know a couple of pilots that I served with in Iraq. There started an import/export business in Somalia. They own two fairly new choppers and are willing to help. They hate 'The Butcher'. He and his men steal a lot of their products and he's killed some of their employees. There had two stipulations. You'll have to repair or replace their helicopters if harm comes to them, and you have to kill that Chancellor if you get the chance."

Steve looked around at his friends and nodded. "I can live with those terms. Tell them we have a deal. They need to be fully fueled and waiting for us at the airport."

"I brought some magnetic Lady in Red signs we use on the big rigs. We'll place them on the helicopters," revealed Jason. "We want everyone to know who we are and who we represent if we go in."

President Rosen was relaxing with his wife in the White House shortly after eleven PM when an aide knocked on his door. Once he was inside he explained the situation.

"The United Nations has sponsored a hospital ship, the SS Charity, that's been delivering medical services to the poor and needy from Southeast Asia to Africa. At this time, our satellites have detected a rather large number of smaller ships headed directly for the hospital ship. Our intelligence indicates that Somalia pirates are planning on capturing the ship."

"They'd attack a hospital ship? Well, when you stop and think about it, the pharmaceuticals would be worth a fortune on the black market. Does it seem likely that they'll have some ridiculous ransom demand?" asked Rosen.

"Sir, intelligence believes that the leader of the pirates is Ben Chancellor, also known as 'The Butcher'. He doesn't allow his captors to live very long. He kills the men immediately. He and his men rape and mutilate any women they manage to capture."

"What's the U.N. doing about this? Have we lodged any complaints with Somalia? How many people are on that ship?" demanded Hanson.

"There are forty two medical personnel and thirty four crew members. Sir, you need to know that Gwen Anderson and two of her friends are on that ship," responded the aide.

"Oh, shit!" exclaimed Rosen. "I forgot all about that. We can't let that bastard get his filthy hands on her! The American public would demand retribution, and I can't really blame them. Do we have any Navy ships in the area? Can the hospital ship outrun them?"

"We have two war ships several hundred miles north, as well as the aircraft carrier Nimitz in the Red Sea. We could have our fighters in the air within minutes," suggested the aide. "The SS Charity had a small engine fire and is dead in the water at this moment."

"God damn it! We can't just blow up those bastards, especially while they're in Somalia's sovereign waters. Let's get some jets over the area, just in case we need them. They can give us visual reports at the very least. I'll be right down to take control of the situation," promised Rosen. "Get Steve Hammer on the phone right now."

Steve was still in the air over East Africa when his phone chirped. Looking at it, he saw a state department number, so he let it go to voicemail. He noticed Jason watching him.

"That was the state department. I don't want to drag Rosen into this. If he orders me to stand down and I don't, there'll be all kinds of repercussions. He needs plausible deniability, and so do I. I can honestly say that no one told me to not kill that big fucker," stated Steve grimly.

"Steve, I'm hearing that there are pirates headed for the SS Charity," revealed Chip. "We'll be on the ground in twenty minutes and it'll take half an hour or so for the choppers to reach the ship. The sun will be just coming up about then. Let's go in from the east. Hopefully the sun will affect their vision. It always works for the guys in the westerns I read."

The Lady in Red group in Sparta had accepted an invitation from Billy Marsh's father to join him for a late evening gathering and to watch the news. Earlier in the evening, cable news had reported that it appeared that Somalia pirates were indeed headed toward the SS Charity, which was now floundering in Somalia waters off the northern coast.

They were drinking coffee and watching the big screen monitors when Paula's phone rang. "Mrs. Anderson? This is President Rosen. You're probably aware that we have a situation involving Gwen and others. I need to speak with Steve, but he's not answering his phone. Can you help me get in touch with him?"

"Mr. President, we are aware of the situation. Steve is not available to speak on the phone at this time, but I'll have him call you as soon as I talk with him. That's the best I can offer."

The conversation ended and Paula spoke to her group. "President Rosen wanted to talk to Steve and can't reach him. If Steve wanted to talk to Rosen, he would have answered his phone. I don't think anyone can turn Steve back now and he didn't want to be in a position to disobey the President of the United States, but I have no doubt that he would do exactly that for Gwen."

Sam Petrosky was summoned to the flight deck before sunup. She looked at her superior officer and knew immediately that something was amiss. "Petrosky, Mercer, you two will be taking off in a few minutes. You will be flying south to give the President a visual on a possible attack on a hospital ship by Somalia Pirates. I think it is conceivable that you may be ordered to fire on them, so be prepared.

"You need to know that a personal friend of the President's is on that ship. If anything should happen to Miss Anderson, President Rosen will be extremely upset," concluded the officer.

"Gwen is on that ship being attacked by pirates?" asked a stunned Sam Petrosky. "Sir, be assured that if, and when, I receive the order to fire, I will terminate those pirate bastards with extreme prejudice."

Proving that the world is becoming a small place, a British broadcast crew had been filming a story along the coast of Somalia. As the events of the day began to escalate, the crew was ordered to climb aboard the helicopter they had rented and fly over the SS Charity and to send back live reports. They arrived over the scene just as almost a dozen smaller boats pulled alongside the SS Charity. Pirates began using ropes and ladders to climb on the larger ship. Gunfire erupted as soon as the pirates' feet hit the deck!

Back in Sparta, everyone's attention was glued to the TV set. American TV networks had secured a live feed from the English station. They watched in horror as the pirates climbed onto the helpless ship and began shooting.

President Rosen was also horrified as he watched the news feed from the English station. Then he was told that two F 35's were approaching the scene.

"It looks like they're too late to make any difference," lamented Rosen. "When they get a visual, patch them in so I can hear them."

Seconds later, he clearly heard the voice of Lieutenant Petrosky. "Sir! There are two helicopters traveling at what appears to be maximum speed toward the hospital ship!"

Everyone clearly heard the commanding officer ask, "What country are they from, Lieutenant? Are they flying any colors?"

"Yes, Sir!" came Petrosky's immediate response. "They're flying red!"

"You don't mean Chinese? Be more precise, Lieutenant! What country do they represent?"

"America, Sir!" came back Petrosky's obviously proud voice. "They're as American as apple pie! They're flying the Lady in Red logo and they appear armed."

"Lieutenant, what would you guess their intentions are?" demanded her superior.

"Sir, with all due respect, they're going to kick some pirate ass. I slowed down as much as I could when I flew by. I had a visual on Steve Hammer. Even though it was a brief glimpse, I could see that he's heavily armed, as are the rest of the crew."

"How many men can fit in those two choppers, Lieutenant?" came the commander's voice.

"I would guess that each chopper has four, maybe five men, beside the pilots. I just passed over the ship now and there's hell to pay there, Sir. It appears that upwards of a hundred pirates have gone aboard. I'll circle back around."

The group in Sparta was watching the news cast in absolute horror when suddenly the camera that had been trained on the ship swung toward the east, and the rising sun. Because of the brightness of the sun, viewers could only make out the dark silhouettes of two helicopters flying just above the water. They were tipped slightly forward, indicating that they were moving rapidly.

"That's the guys!" yelled Kate. "Look! One of them is climbing out and down a ladder. He's getting ready to board the ship! I bet it's Steve!"

President Rosen watched the same scene that the group in Sparta, and viewers all over the world, were treated to. He found himself holding his breath.

"Sir! Steve Hammer is descending a rope ladder in preparation to board the ship," came Petrosky's emotional voice. "The helicopter is going far too fast for a safe dismount. Men with guns are waiting for the choppers to get within range. If there are no orders to the contrary, I'm going to fly very low over the ship, just above the tower. That may distract the shooters a little. It's the best I can do!"