Coincidence - Alan May [88]
“I agree,” Sharon said. “And we were lucky. The hijackers pretty much left us alone. As long as we didn’t interfere with them, they didn’t interfere with us.”
“Right,” Mary said. “It might have been a different story entirely if they hadn’t kept their distance—especially that one guy, the really evil-looking one.”
“Juan,” Dave said.
“Juan. He could strike fear into your heart all right,” Mary went on. “But he spent most of his time in the first-aid room with his brother, thank God.”
“Kids are so resilient anyway, aren’t they?” Sharon said. “And so inclined to think of themselves as immortal. In that respect, they probably managed better than we did. Now that the danger is over, I’m betting they’ll be able to put it all behind them fairly quickly, except as a great adventure to tell their friends back home.”
Tom was nodding his head.
“That’s my guess, too. I sure haven’t seen any signs of any lingering emotional problems. And as we all know, you’ve got to be a trouper to be selected as a Floatie in the first place. They are all pluckier than your average kid or they wouldn’t be in the program.”
Anika smiled. This was exactly what she had hoped to hear and expected to hear. She would still have to talk to the students herself, naturally, and Elliott would have to check them out, to make absolutely sure they were okay, but there was little doubt in her mind that they would want to continue with their semester at sea. And, of course, if any of them did not feel able to go on, they could be put on a plane for home as soon as they got to Easter Island. If the good weather held out, that should be in just under four days.
“But what we don’t know is what the parents’ reaction will be,” Mary said, her expression clouding. “It’s one thing to be in the middle of a precarious situation yourself—especially when you’re young—but quite another to imagine your child in danger.”
“And at least you know exactly what’s happening when you’re part of it,” Tom added. “If you’re thousands of miles away and know only that something terrible is going on, your imagination would be going wild. You’d be fearing the worst every minute. The not knowing would drive you crazy.”
“Fortunately,” Anika said, “the parents weren’t told anything until the hijackers were in custody. It was a really difficult decision for BWA to make. Kathleen told me her first instinct was to call the parents immediately, but the RCMP advised her not to. Edward was off in South Africa on a recruiting trip, but when she finally reached him, he concurred with the Mounties. They figured that as soon as the parents knew, the media would know, too. That would have undermined the plan to trap the bad guys.
“They were right, too. Kathleen said she’d hardly hung up the phone after calling all of the parents to let them know what had happened and reassure them that the kids were safe before the media began calling, demanding interviews. Apparently the phone hasn’t stopped ringing since.
“Kathleen was thinking she might have to ask Edward for a raise, as media darling is not in her original job description.”
“Ah, I can see just her rising to the challenge,” Tom said.
“How did the parents take the news?” Dave asked.
“Quite well, most of them. A couple were upset at being kept in the dark so long, but even they came around eventually. Most seemed genuinely pleased with the way everything was handled. As Kathleen said, the ends pretty well justified the means.”
“Very true,” Tom said. “The hijackers most likely would not be safely in the brig now if the word had gotten out sooner.”
“‘Hijackers safely in the brig,’” Anika repeated. “You have no idea how delightful a phrase that is to me! I will never forget the sight of the Coast Guard crew handcuffing those men and leading them away. That horrible, horrible Phillip …”
Her mouth twisted down at the memory of Phillip. She pulled herself together after a moment.
“You know, I actually went to the brig—no, not to spit in Phillip’s face, though that’s a tempting thought. No,