The Lightning and Montauk: Reality vs. Fiction

By Dr. Julio Antonio del Marmol

The operation to save Yaneba’s uncle is a success. It turns out that Hemingway is working with the Americans, and so it is safe to smuggle the condemned man out of Cuba on the Pilar. A few years later, Julio Antonio is trying to launch a music career, but the government has checked him. No new soloists, as that could create a popular figure which would eclipse Castro’s popularity. To get around it, he creates a musical group, Las Gatos Negros, and for a while they have great success—until the government shuts that down as well. A few years later, he has been extracted from Cuba to the United States, only to discover from O’Brien that his psychic abilities qualify him to be trained at the Montauk Project in Long Island, New York. After graduating from the program in 1980, he soon discovers that the director of the program there leads a Satanic cult operating out of the town of Montauk, a sickening one that as part of their rituals consume the flesh of human babies. He is able to smash the cult, one of his team killing the leader, but the woman who appears to be the second in command escapes. As she never saw Dr. del Marmol clearly, he decides to discover her identity and infiltrate her ring. He is lured away from this mission, captured, and subjected to the same machine he had seen tested in Cuba twenty years earlier—now portable, but his training enables him to block it. In the process of hunting down members of this cult, he also encounters several Chinese Communist Party plots to conduct biological warfare on the world using viruses. The spy at the center of this plot, Yoko de Coco, gets confronted by Dr. del Marmol.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cuban Lightning Publications Int
• Release date: Dec 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9781685880422

Book preview

Chapter 1: Operation Green Moon

Code of Ethics

To our family, everything; to our friends who deserve it, equal love; to our enemies, compassion and pity, with some dignity should they surrender and no longer threaten our safety.

Dr. Julio Antonio del Marmol

According to my research, there is an urban legend the moon turns green when it was in alignment with several planets.  It is portrayed to be the rarest, most extraordinary things that happened in the cosmic cycle.  What we were now putting into motion, if we were successful and had no serious problems, would be like turning the moon green.  I was determined to, with the help of the Supreme Architect, make this happen and in only one night.  That is why we proceeded without fear with our plans.

When we arrived at Che’s Boca Siega’s underground garage with a surprising number of cars.  It was like the underground parking structure of a hotel and filled with automobiles of different makes and years.  It was hard to find an Oldsmobile, as most of the cars there were European:  Bugattis, Mercedes, Lamborghinis, but only one Oldmobile, and we needed at least two.  After searching we found a Chrysler Imperial in the back that was black: a brand-new 1959 car, in fact.  I said, Bingo!  I believed that, in the dark, most of the people in the Army who had never seen these cars in the street, and it wasn’t in general circulation, so we could use this as a car for the escort.  I concluded that there wouldn’t much difference in the darkness between a Chrysler and an Oldsmobile.

I said goodbye to Che’s mansion guards and left. I followed Daniel and Cisneros closely in my jeep as they drove the Chrysler and Oldsmobile back to the compound of the Gentleman of Paris.  Aleida had already cleaned him up and the resemblance Jose Maria had the Redbeard had was astonishing.  After he introduced me to his two actor friends who would have the main roles in this program, and would bear the responsibility for the whole thing going well, they had themselves been transformed completely with prosthetic noses and makeup so that they couldn’t be identified by some fan of their TV program.

I said to them, Great!  Now I’m going to do the next step.  Let me go and get the uniforms.  Daniel and Cisneros will give you guys more details about what we’re going to do.

Very well, Jose Maria said.  Go and get what we need.  All we need for this carnival is your costumes.

I jumped into my jeep and drove to the Hilton.  I left it in the front entry and walked into the front door.  Elisa noticed me and rushed to my hotel mailbox to retrieve a note to wave at me.  She had a big smile and I greeted her.  She handed me the note, I thanked her, and turned around to read it.  It was from my Uncle Emilio, telling me that he had the book by Hemingway.  I went back out and got into the jeep, ripping the note into pieces as I walked but kept them in my hand.  As I drove to my uncle’s house, I let one piece at a time out of my hand to blow away in the wind.  When I arrived, he was there with a thick garment bag hanging by the entry to the porch of his house.  He knew I was under a very extreme time pressure and it was important to save every minute.  Evidently, he was trying to save me the few seconds it would take for me to go inside his house.

I drove the jeep into his driveway; he didn’t even let me get out.  He picked up the garment back and came to the jeep.  He opened the passenger door and hung it there, laying the bottom on the seat.  He looked a little worried and said, Don’t worry.  Everything will be OK.  God is on our side.

I smiled and waved to him with my right arm.  He said, Canen brought extra uniforms, just in case you need to bring more people.

Very good thinking.  Thank him for me, please.

I believe he even put some weapons in there.  Make sure you bring them back, so he doesn’t get into trouble.

Don’t worry.  Unless we all get killed, I’ll bring everything back.

My uncle crossed himself.  Don’t say negative things.  Negativity breeds negativity.

"Well, we have to consider every possibility.  I believe we’ll succeed, but we have to prepare for the worst.’

Please let me know when everything is done.

You will be the first I call when we finish.

Thank you.  OK.  Be incredibly careful, please.  Remember that your work is irreplaceable for our cause.

I smiled.  Thank you very much.  Remember what you’ve told me many times:  nobody is irreplaceable.

He smiled at that and shook his head.  There it goes!  You’re using my own words against me again.  But let me add something I probably forgot to tell you:  all the rules have exceptions, and in this case, you are the exception.  I raised my arm in recognition.  He took a deep breath.  Good luck, my nephew.

Thank you very much.  Don’t worry, OK?  Everything will go well.

He nodded and tried to hide his worry.  He stepped back from the jeep and I put it into reverse to back out of his driveway.  I drove back towards the compound of the Gentleman of Paris, where they were already waiting for me to start Operation Green Moon.

As I arrived the Gentleman said that his two trusted allies could join the group.  One was named Rene, the other Enrique.  This will look more real, he said, because these people always have a large entourage to intimidate people.  The only problem is that they have to wear civilian clothes, since we didn’t count them in with the uniform request.  But sometimes they use escorts in civilian clothes.

I smiled and picked up the garment bag.  I believe God works in mysterious ways.  Our contact codenamed General added several uniforms just in case we needed some extras.  Now you’re telling me you’ve got two extra men.  That will be perfect.  Everything’s looking better and better.  I have no doubts that everything will go as planned even better.  We haven’t had a single hair in the soup, not even an eyelash.  I took him a few steps away from the rest of the group for privacy.  I wanted to ask you something:  what did you offer to these four men, your actors and the other two guys as a reward for helping us?

He shook his head.  Nothing, nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing.  These are patriots, not mercenaries.  These individuals have helped on many occasions and have helped me cover myself multiple times.  They have never broken and have asked nothing in exchange.  All they want is to return the revolution to its legitimate owners, the Cuban people.  Their sons didn’t shed their blood to take one mini dictator to impose a super-giant dictatorship like these communists.  Socialists, communists, whatever you want to call it, it’s all the same dog with a different collar.

I smiled.  I’m very happy to hear that from you.  I don’t really like mercenaries, either.  They aren’t trustworthy and never prove to be ethical.  Anyone can pay them more and they change sides in a second, in the blink of an eye.

The Gentleman replied, I only work with mercenaries in very extreme cases, when I have no other alternative.

I nodded and patted him on the shoulder.  We are in 100% in agreement.

We returned to the group.  They had already dressed in the uniforms, with webbed belts and Soviet standard military and police side arms:  Makarov semi-automatic pistols.  I smiled, thinking that it was no wonder the garment bag was so heavy when I took it out of the jeep.  I looked at all of them, including Daniel and Cisneros, who were functioning as drivers.  I nodded in satisfaction.  After the Gentleman of Paris got dressed in the Commander’s uniform, I thought that if he faced Piñeiro himself, the Redbeard would believe he was looking in a mirror.

We went over the final details and planned to meet at the yacht Pilar.  Ernest Miller Hemingway and I were supposed to meet at the end of the week.  I would have a big surprise for him.  I didn’t think he would mind my borrowing his yacht for the humanitarian deed of saving the life of Yaneba’s uncle.  I wished them good luck and said goodbye.  I gave my final advice to the two actors.  You will have the biggest responsibility, since you’re impersonating the officers, don’t show any weakness to anyone who is a pain in the neck and tries to give you hassles in getting the prisoner.  If they yell at you, yell back at them louder.  This is the tactic they use to try and intimidate others.  Remember, keep in your mind that you’re representing the most powerful and feared individual in all the country.  Remember he is not the Gentleman of Paris, he is Piñeiro.  Put that in your mind.  He is Manuel Piñeiro in person.  He is second only to Fidel Castro himself.

They understood and I felt after speaking with them that they had the intestinal fortitude to successfully do their task.  I had a final wrinkle to iron out, and that was to go pick up the pilot for the trip, Captain Marrero, at one of the Havana piers.  He with a group of freedom fighters would be the ones to take the yacht away from the Cuban coast to take our package to safety.  For them to be able to get on the yacht I would have to be with them in case Gregorio Fuentes had decided to sleep on board that night.  If that happened, I might have to neutralize him.  I didn’t know his level of loyalty to Hemingway, and the writer himself was still a question mark for us, even though my uncle had been running a search to find out who in the intelligence community he was playing for.  Something like that could take a while.  We didn’t want to create any serious problem that would handicap our operations.

I got into the jeep once more and went to find the good friend of my family that Uncle Emilio completely trusted.  Marrero had been around me virtually since my birth.  He was an old sea wolf, serving all our family on vacation and fishing trips to small islands and keys around Cuba.  He was around thirty years old at the time, though his hair was already going white at the temples, he wore a salt and pepper beard, and was accustomed to smoking pipes decorated with Egyptian symbols.  I found out from my uncle later on that he had been working on his team of counter espionage trying to stop the Nazis in their efforts to control South and Central America as well as the Caribbean Islands, especially in the post War hunt for those who escaped.  They had wanted to establish a strong front to get through there and completely control the Americas and surround the US with all her neighboring countries.

I picked Marrero and his three mariners up in my jeep.  On the way to the Pilar I briefed them on what we wanted to do, even though my uncle had given him the main details earlier.  He needed to know what was expected from him to complete the plan.  A little while later we reached the Pilar.  I parked the jeep as close as possible in the marina to the yacht.  We walked along the wooden pier to see if we could board the vessel.  As we drew near to the berth, about fifty feet away, under the clear reflection from the full moon we could see a silhouette of a man that moved along the deck.  I thought that it might be Gregorio and called out to him.  Hey, Gregorio!  How are you doing?  It’s me, the Commandantico, and I brought some friends.  Can we come aboard?

The silhouette jumped overboard on the ocean side and we heard a splash, like something heavy hit the water.  We thought that we were wrong.  It clearly wasn’t Gregorio.  One of the sailors accompanying us grabbed one of the mooring lines, wrapped his arms and legs around it, and climbed aboard the yacht like a monkey crawling along a coconut tree.

He switched on a small flashlight he pulled out of his pocket.  He said, There’s an unconscious man here on the deck.  He went over to the winch to lower the galley so we could board the ship.

We came on board and I recognized the unconscious man:  it was Dagoberto.  Everyone pulled out small flashlights and switched them on.  Between that and the moonlight, Captain Marrero carefully turned the second mate over carefully.  We could see that the poor man had a huge dagger with Egyptian symbols in the hilt stuck in the chest, right in his heart.  His shirt was soaked in blood.  A few steps away from where we found the body was a pool of blood.  A trail of blood led from there seven or eight feet away to where we had found him.  The murderer, evidently in his rush, didn’t even have the time to retrieve his weapon.  Apparently, it had happened just as we arrived along the pier.  The blood was still fresh, not even remotely coagulated.  It appeared Dagoberto had been caught by surprise and attempted to defend himself when he was attacked.  When I called out, the intruder jumped overboard and Dagoberto walked a few steps in our direction.  It was unusual, because the murderer must have known his fingerprints on the weapon would identify him.  The evidence was undeniable, and the detectives would be able to use it against him in prosecuting him, especially with the knife being so unusual in design.  It appeared to be quite expensive and elaborate—there were even precious stones in the hilt.  It appeared to be an Egyptian museum piece.  It crossed my mind that the criminal investigation units of the police probably didn’t exist anymore under the new government.  All the replacements were mostly young kids, completely ignorant without any police experience much less the talent to solve any crime.  That was part of the force the dictator had before, and all the people, good or bad, had been sent home without pay, just because they had been police officers under the Batista regime.

The most important dilemma that we were faced with was what we were going to do with the body.  Obviously, we couldn’t call the police.  That would completely ruin our operation.  The decision was a moral one, and so very complicated.  I squeezed my brain.  Dagoberto was already dead.  That was an undeniable, unavoidable reality.  This bothered me tremendously; I believed that the poor man deserved a Christian or at least a decent burial like any other human being.  Every rule has its exceptions, like Uncle Emilio always said, and we encountered one of those exceptions.  The life of Yaneba’s uncle was at risk, and I had a premonition that Bejasmin would play an important role in the future.  In our brief contact he gave me a vision in which it seemed to me that he would live for many years more than I, past even 2030.  He had a Divine mission to prevent something in that year which would cause a mass extermination and the triumph of this diabolic cult’s drive to control the human race—in this case, what would be left of it.

Captain Marrero already knew the details of our plan.  He made the decision for me, which I really appreciated.  It gave me a tremendous spiritual release, as his sailors had already started to swab the blood off the deck with a bucket of water, detergent, and some mops.  He came over to me.  He was a little worried, with an uncomfortable expression on his face.  He put a hand on my shoulder.  Don’t worry at all.  I don’t want you to have any conflict, especially at this moment.  You must keep your head clear so that everything goes as smoothly as you planned.  These things happen; we don’t always know why, but it’s God’s will.  All we have to do is accept it.  He knows better than we do, why some people depart this world early while others never get to even born.  If we start to analyze that, we’ll wind up in the chicken and egg question.  Everything that happens in the cruel world we live in today mostly don’t have any explanation.  Your friend Dagoberto will be one of those things.  We will give him a Christian burial at sea.  Now I want you to concentrate on what you’ve been planning and to save the life we’re all helping you preserve.  That means there’s only one burial to what we have to do on our trip.

I nodded.  I have no doubt in my mind that this is another revenge of Che’s.  I can see it.

He nodded.  I know, and I believe you.  You can see things we are incapable of seeing.  Don’t let that bother you.  All we’re doing is trying to stop Che and his evil entourage.  Why do you think Che would kill this man who has no importance at all?

I have no doubts that he made another one of his assumptions.  Che probably thinks that Dagoberto is the one who took the loot from his hands that they intended to use to expand their Satanic octopus tentacles with the international communists around the world.  Unfortunately, this innocent man had no idea why somebody wanted to harm him.  He died for something he never did.  That is a remorse I have.

He put his hand on his shoulder.  I understand.  But you cannot blame yourself.  Things happen for reasons we cannot perceive.  Perhaps he was a fanatic and I would rather have that happen to someone else than me.

I would never take his life to take the boat.  I would put him to sleep for a while.

I know.

As we spoke two of the sailors brought several sheets from the cabins and proceeded to wrap Dagoberto’s body in them.  They took a rope and tied the sheets around his body.  They then picked his corpse up and put it in the deep freezer.  In a few minutes, there were no signs of anything having happened on that deck.

While all this was happening, my friends later told me about what happened at the prison.  They had come in and the gates opened immediately as soon as they saw the black sedans.  As they came up to the guard the Gentleman of Paris cracked his window a little, saluted them, and rolled the window back up.  The sergeant on the gate didn’t even dare to ask for any identification.  He yelled, Atten-SHUN!  He sprang to attention himself, ramrod straight.  The other guards stood at attention and saluted the Gentleman of Paris, who threw himself into the role.  The aristocratic demeanor he normally had completed his disguised.

They drove into the enclosed parking lot.  The soldiers of the escort of Captain Valle brought Ernesto Burdom and Francisco Blanco, who followed with their own escorts.  They entered the main gate as I had planned, leaving the Gentleman of Paris in the car with an additional escort.  They were admitted through several gates, which opened immediately for the sergeant in charge of Valle’s escort like a magic act.  They finally reached the private office of Captain Valle.  Both officers saluted him respectfully, and he returned their salutes.  He stood up behind his desk and held his right hand out to Francisco (who was the higher ranked officer).  Francisco pulled the release papers out the envelope and handed them to Valle.  He meticulously examined the papers and nodded.

He said, Signed even today!  Fantastic!  He grinned.  He walked a few steps to Modesto and reached out to fix the flap on his shirt pocket.  It was buttoned, but one of the borders was twisted inwards slightly.  It has to be flawless.  This could catch the attention of anyone.

Modesto said, Yessir, Captain.  Thank you very much.  He saluted Valle and clicked his heels together.

Valle said, God protect us.  Please follow me closely.

A picture containing building, white, black, colonnade Description automatically generated

Figure 1 Prison Interior

They left the office and went to the death pavilion where the prisoners sentenced to the firing squad were held for the 48 hours before their execution.  They went through several security gates as usual, followed by their escort, both the ones visiting and Valle’s own.  When they arrived at the cell of Bejasmin Cesar Loubus, the guard removed the handcuffs on the prisoner.  He put leg irons on the poor man and then handcuffed Loubus’ hands in front of him.  The handcuffs were attached at the waist to a chain leading to the leg irons; standard restraints used in transferring prisoners.  They exchanged salutes and left to go through the death wing and back through the various gates that took them back to where the cars were waiting in the enclosed parking lot.  As they made their way, light level increased as they came close to the massive spotlights in the parking space.  The security grew less intense as they made their way.

For a few minutes, Bejasmin later said to me that it crossed his mind that they were taking him to the firing squad early.  He had been in an agony of uncertainty from the moment they arrived in his cell to remove him.  As he saw the direction they were taking him, he began to relax as it was clear that was not where they were taking him.  Hope returned to his heart at that moment.

When they arrived at the final door, Francisco said to Valle, I believe we can handle it form here out, Captain.  You don’t have to come out.  If we have any problems, I have a copy of that document to show that we’re legitimately taking this prisoner to the Ministry of the Interior.  I don’t want to take up any more of your valuable time.

Valle smirked.  "My compañero, it’s not a bother for me at all.  On the contrary, it’s a pleasure since it’s a part of my duty.  I’m very proud to do my job each day for the revolution.  I want to continue being proud of my efficiency.  Since you arrived until I see with my own eyes that you’ve left without any problems, I won’t be satisfied or rest tranquilly."

They were at the final get with glass doors waiting for the sergeant-major on the other side of the bulletproof glass.  He took more time than normal to open the gate.  Valle yelled at the sergeant-major, What the hell is going on?  Why are you taking so long to open this goddamned door?

The man clicked the intercom.  I’m sorry, my Captain, but Commander Nogueira, the Chief of the Bureau of Prisons, just called me a few minutes ago.  Apparently, someone called him to tell him that you’re removing one of the death row inmates from the prisoners.  He says he needs to speak with Commander Piñeiro before you remove any prisoner.  He wants to know why they are doing this without communicating with him first.

Valle didn’t hesitate.  Sergeant-Major, I am the goddamned maximum authority for this prison.  He jabbed a finger out towards the cars.  "We have Commander Piñeiro sitting in one of those cars, and he is way above Commander Nogueira.  I have in my hand an order signed not just by him but approved by the Minister of the Interior and the Prime Minister’s office!  Do you want to argue with them, Sergeant-Major, or do you want to hold me here until I blow my fuse, and have you arrested for insubordination?  And maybe add a charge of being a counterrevolutionary for stopping the good function of this prison?  We don’t have any time to waste here—this prisoner must be interrogated and out of here right now!"

The sergeant-major inside the glass began to sweat.  Like magic from Providence the Gentleman of Paris rolled down the window, looked out, and got out of the car.  He stood there and looked at his watch.  Captain Valle saw that through the glass doors.  You have five seconds, Sergeant-Major, to open this goddamned door before Commander Piñeiro gets irritated for your wasting his time and making him wait unnecessarily.  I’ll clean my conscience and tell him you’re the one doing this.

The Gentleman kept looking at his watch and shielding his eyes from the reflectors and gesturing his impatience.  The sergeant-major noticed this and began to sweat even more profusely as he looked at the most-feared man in Cuba looking towards the door impatiently.  That was enough for him.  He pushed the button and the buzzer sounded as it opened.  The Gentleman went back to the car and used both hands to adjust his uniform cap so the dome light of the car wouldn’t shine directly on his face.  He saluted the men waiting on the other side of the door, and they all returned his salute.  He gestured towards the second car for the prisoner and got in.

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Figure 2 Prison Gate

Even though Commander Nogueira surpassed Valle in rank, he was the man actually in charge that the sergeant-major had to obey.  As Valle saluted Piñeiro, the window rolled down again.  Now that everyone knew the paraplegic, vindictive Nogueira was on his way to that facility, everything accelerated.  They told the drivers to get out of there as soon as possible.

After they safely left the prison, the cars stopped at a pre-arranged location a few miles from the prison in a dark alley.  Everyone got into Aleida’s van that was waiting for them and removed their uniforms and makeup.  The uniforms were put back in the garment bag in the same way Canen and prepared it along with the weapons and web belts.  As soon as everyone was ready to take off, they said farewell and Aleida followed Daniel and Cisneros, who were to bring the two black cars back to Che’s underground garage.  She was then to bring them to the Pilar to pick me up from the pier there.  The Gentleman of Paris would take his actor friends to their houses in his 1951 Buick while the rest of the participants in Operation Green Moon would return to their respective locations by bus.

Solitario had been assigned to bring Bejasmin to the Pilar in his own car, where he would be dropped off a prudent distance from the yacht, a mile or so away, and then turn around to return to their compound, where we were all to meet up at the end of the operation.  While there, they gave sailor’s clothing to Bejasmin:  white pants, white striped T shirt, and a black beret.  As they drove to the pier, Bejasmin started a conversation with Solitario.

He looked at him curiously, given Solitario’s unusual appearance, like one of Santa Claus’ elves.  He smiled and shook his head.  With his right hand he passed it over his face like he was trying to confirm that he wasn’t dreaming.  He could scarcely believe he wasn’t imagining everything.  Solitario gave him a quick glance and said, I know what you’re thinking.  I can read your mind.  He lightly hit Bejasmin on the shoulder, hard enough to shake him.  Solitario smiled.  This will convince you that you’re really awake.  It’s all real that you’re living right now.  You have the tremendous luck to have by your side this little boy that is the most extraordinary human being I’ve ever met.  His name is Julio Antonio del Marmol.  He is as strange as his last name, but I can assure you without any exaggeration that with the powers he has in his strong mind and the very occult gifts he has from God he did something to me that I will never forget for the rest of his life.  With a little movement of his hand and concentration looking into my eyes, he paralyzed every single muscle I have in my body, even my little wee-wee!  With his hand like this, he gestured upwards, he put me in the air a good fifty feet!  Later with a little twist like this, he twisted his hands, he turned me upside down.  Believe me, I thought I was going to leave my brains on the cement at any moment.  Even though he’s very angry with me, with all the reasons to be because I made him very angry for no reason and I deserved to be punished.  But no, sir!  He not only refrained from punishing me, and this is the most important point I want you to understand, he not only let me down without harming a hair on my head, he brought me down like a feather onto my feet.  Not a single scratch on my body.  That is more powerful than any other thing that a human being can possess:  his compassion.  That extraordinary gift that the only ones possess it is because they are very close to God and His Son, Jesus Christ.  That is the most important reason that he conquered my heart.  Now I’m doing this, risking my ass taking you out of death row and prepared to put down even the biggest of the guards….

Solitario let go of the wheel with both hands to accentuate it.  Cesar said, Please, keep at least one hand on the wheel!  Watch out!

Solitario had grown emotional and teary.  He wiped his eyes on a sleeve.  He raised his finger high while he held the wheel with his left.  His body may be young, he’s only twelve, but his mind is probably thousands of years old.  I don’t know if it’s reincarnation or what, but he is the one who planned this rescue so meticulously and to whom you now owe your life.  According to my information you were to be executed tomorrow morning early.  Bejasmin nodded.  That is when these murderers intended to put you in front of the firing squad.  Is that not true?

Bejasmin nodded again.  Yes, sir.  That is true.  He took a deep breath.  His voice cracked with emotion.  Yes, my friend Solitario.  But remember, always, that God is capable to control who is coming or going from this world and when that is no man can stop it.  Maybe, as you call that little boy, God gave him some powers to execute His divine will.  That is what He did today.  I say thanks to God, first.  His eyes were moist.  After that, thanks to that twelve-year-old boy that I have only seen in my mind.  I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting him in person.

They were approaching the Pilar, so Solitario slowed down and stopped around a mile from the piers.  You see, Bejasmin? he said in the car and pointed to the ship.  I’m sorry, but I’m not supposed to get out of the car.  All you have to do is go to the pier and go to that yacht that has flags of several nations on the halyard.  Do you see it?

Yes.

I have to leave right now, as they instructed me.  That yacht will save your life, and that young man’s waiting impatiently for you.  He looked at his wristwatch.  Go!  Go!  Don’t make him wait any longer.  He must be anxious to know that you are safe and sound.  When you leave and are far away from this country that unfortunately is in the hands of Satan, we will all be a lot more relieved and happier, especially that young boy, el Commandantico.

Bejasmin smiled.  He thanked Solitario as well for his help, who waved it off.  Don’t worry.  I would do this and a lot more for that boy.

Bejasmin walked towards the yacht where we were waiting.  I was on there and said to Captain Marrero, Give him a good hug and turn on the engines.  Our package is here.

Where?

Don’t worry.  He’ll be here in a few minutes.

I didn’t see any car come in or leave.

Don’t worry.

Marrero turned to his men.  Start the engines!  Prepare to raise the anchor.

A few minutes later a tall man, dressed as a sailor, appeared along the pier, walking towards the yacht.  He had nothing in his hands.  It took only one second for us to look at each other as he came near and he yelled, Permission to come aboard your vessel!

I replied, Permission granted.  Come aboard.

Captain Marrero introduced himself and greeted him as he came on board with a big smile of gratitude.  Bejasmin said to me, You knew already I was here before anyone else.  Your friend Solitario left me almost a mile away.  He told me those were his instructions and he followed them to the teeth.

I smiled.  Yes.  If we all did that, we would make more of these missions successful.  But that’s not important now.  The most important thing is that you’re alive and in a few hours in the open ocean, sailing towards freedom and out of danger.  I will personally be in charge of letting your family know through Yaneba so that they can put into motion in an extremely speedy way the passports and other documents for your wife and the rest of your family so they can reunite with you in whatever destination you decide and tell Captain Marrero you want to go.  In that place, of course, we’ll have people facilitating your political asylum.

Very well.  Thank you very much for all you’ve done for me.  I will never be able to forget this.  The death of gratitude is eternal.

I smiled and pointed to my chest.  To me, you owe nothing.  I pointed to the sky.  "All the gratitude you owe is to the Supreme Architect of the Universe.  To Him you owe everything."  I could see Aleida’s van arriving at the pier.  Beneath one of the parking lot lights that I observed Daniel and Cisneros getting out of the van without any problems.  I felt a tremendous relief to know my friends were in good health.

After Bejasmin and I hugged, he whispered in my ear, I want to tell you something you will remember me by for the rest of your life, and to me it’s very important.  You may or may not know this.  It’s very difficult for us to read each other.  Your first seed will be a handsome, strong boy.  Unfortunately, because of arbitrary laws of political system that is being established in this country, you will not be able to keep him by your side for very long.  I recommend you enjoy him for whatever time you have him with you, short or long.  This will be the most beautiful memories you will have in your life:  the happiness and joy of your first wife and your first seed.  You will have with you in your heart for as long as you live in this extraordinary dimension that we’re actually moving in right now as you and I navigate these rough waters.  Thank you very much for allowing me to continue in my mission and complete my circle.  I will be eternally grateful even though I’m grateful to the Great Architect of the Universe.  You deserve a lot of credit, which is why I wanted to repeat that to you before we say goodbye.

I didn’t reply.  We separated and looked in each other’s eyes.  I saw the moisture in his eyes with a couple of unshed tears.  I said my farewells to everyone and left the yacht.

I heard Captain Marrero yell, Raise the anchor!  From the shadows of the moonlit night I could watch the Pilar leave the pier and head towards the open sea with her precious cargo, that special human life that one day will leave a strong mark on humanity.

Chapter 2:  The First Attempt

I walked towards the jeep where my friends waited for me with big smiles on their faces.  They embraced and Cisneros said, Congratulations, Commander.  Your plan came off like one of those filets with bearnaise sauce on it: smooth.

Daniel said, Why a filet?  What not a fruit tartlet with Grand Marnier?

They began to argue playfully about dessert versus main course and I said, Guys, cut it out.  Let’s go!  Talking about fruit tartlets, let’s stop by one of the 24-hour bakeries.  I want to celebrate in the Gentleman of Paris’ compound.

I bought several boxes of pastries, empanadas with chicken, pork, and even fish, and two enormous ice cream cake with Neapolitan ice cream, and of course several fruit tartlets.  We need to celebrate the phenomenal triumph of Operation Green Moon.  I made sure the cakes were decorated with green pistachio that said, Happy Birthday, Green Moon."  Besides of them being the color of the operation, pistachios are one of my favorite nuts.

We arrived at the compound a little while later to find everyone waiting for us.  They enjoyed immensely the food and desserts I brought with me.  Of course, the other bottle of Grand Marnier was used to baptize everything there.  When we finished our feast, we could see the sun coming up.  We hadn’t noticed the passage of time in our joy.  We said goodbye to our friends and went back to the Hilton, where I sent my friends upstairs to rest while I called my uncle to notify him I was dropping a present for him at his house, and drove over there to debrief him and leave the garment bag for Canen.  As I had promised him, he was the first I notified about the success of the operation.  I returned to the Hilton and slept for six hours straight.

We got up and packed our stuff.  We came down to let the front desk know we would be leaving for Pinar del Rio for a while.  We hit the cafeteria for the last time.  After a great, satisfying breakfast, we headed towards Pinar del Rio and home.  A few hours later I stopped at what was supposed to be my house, even though my father had disowned me only a short while before.  I dropped a box of pastries off for my mother, sisters, and brothers.  After I said goodbye to my family (father was always at his businesses in Guane during the weekdays), I drove to Yaneba’s house.  The door was open, and I saw her playing with her long, wavy golden blonde hair, practicing her favorite instrument: the harp.  She saw me at the door and put the harp down.

She ran over to me and gave me the strongest hug she had ever given me, which caught me by surprise.

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Figure 3 Avenue Cabada

I could see the tears in her eyes when she let go of me.  I asked, What happened?  Why are you like this, so depressed and crying?  Has there been a death in the family?

She understood that she had worried me and wiped her tears with the back of her hand.  She replied with a half-hearted, frustrated and pained smile, No, no—it’s not any death in the family or anything bad that happened.  If anything, it’s Divine Grace, the intervention of Providence.  I have a hunch you had something to do with it.

I didn’t completely understand what she was referring to.  Was it to her Uncle Bejasmin?  By the same token, I didn’t know how she could know anything related to him.  It was frustrating and worrisome to think that our plans had been discovered or maybe she had heard something on the radio or saw something on TV about his escape.  I said, a trifle abruptly in my irritation, Please, calm down.  Can you please explain what the Devil you’re referring to?  My tone was grave, and my ears were getting red.  She knew me quite well and recognized that something was wrong based on my sudden change in demeanor.  I was utterly puzzled by all of this.

She understood she wasn’t being explicit enough.  She calmed her sobbing a little so she could be more coherent with me.  Without replying, she turned and went to the table in the middle of the room and snatched up a paper.  It was a telegram.  She handed to me and I saw that it read, We wanted to inform you through this communication of the execution of Bejasmin Cesar Loubus has been temporarily postponed.  It was signed by the Ministry of the Interior.

I felt like my soul had returned to my body.  I understood that she thought I probably used my influence within the highest circles of the government to get a delay of the execution.  In my relief I started to laugh like a maniac, rubbing my forehead in relief.  It was a nervous laugh.  I calmed myself down after realizing that our cover had not been blown.  Truly, Yaneba had no knowledge of what we had been doing.  At that moment, I made a resolution to myself to never worry about anything until I had complete knowledge in hand about what has really transpired, because any assumption could be far off from reality at least 99¾ of the time, especially in a panicked assumption.  Our minds most of the time stray too far away from reality.  I took a couple of steps forward, and this time I was the one go give her a big bearhug.  I could not contain my joy.  I whispered in her ear, still holding the telegram in my right hand, All of this is a lie.  They cannot postpone something they don’t have.  Your uncle is out of danger, out of prison, and by now far away from Cuba.  That’s the only reason for my visit here.

She pushed away gently and looked at me in astonishment.  Really?

Really.

Her eyes were starting out of their sockets.  You’re not kidding, are you?

I shook my head.  How do you think I would joke about something important like this?  Please!  Where is the rest of your family?

My mother and father went to Colonia Española.  You know, the private hospital, because my little sister Elena returned from the capital with severe diarrhea.  All the stress and commotion of a little girl expecting our Uncle Bejasmin being executed completely destroyed her stomach functions and she cannot control her bowels.

I took her by the hand.  "Come on.  Let’s sit down on the sofa.  I want to tell you in brief what happened and how we did it.  I’ll give you more details later, but you cannot tell this to anyone except your mom and dad, and your aunt.  Make sure your little sister isn’t around.  If your father, mother, or aunt talk to anyone about this, I want to warn you, I will be executed along with the friends who helped me.  You understand me, don’t you?"

Yes.  You know I never repeat anything you tell me to anyone.

Well, I have my doubts about that.  I’m pretty sure you said something to your parents in the Capri.  When I saw them there, they didn’t want to talk to me, but when I saw them at the seafood place, they wanted to take me home like a puppy.  I believe in miracles, but I know you had something to do with that.

Oh, no!  I only told them a little in your defense.

Ah, ha!  Ah, ha!

She turned red.  You made me feel bad.  I only did it for you.  I want them to love you like I do.

There’s two ways to hurt people.  One is intentionally, the other is unintentionally.  You have to learn that because you could hurt me unintentionally.  You must learn that ‘no one’ means ‘no one.’  Not even your pillow.

OK, OK.

All right.  You’re on probation.

Yes, yes.  Don’t worry about it.  My father and mother are seriously considering leaving the country as soon as possible.

Very well.  That will be good for you guys.  You’ll be able to reunite with Bejasmin in whatever country he decides to ask for political asylum in.

She locked eyes with me, her eyes bulging out of her sockets in gratitude.  Really, Julio Antonio?  Out of the country?  How did you do that?

Don’t ask me that.  There were other people involved and I don’t want anyone getting hurt.  Yes, I want to make sure you tell this to your mom and dad and Bejasmin’s wife, nobody else.  I said goodbye to Bejasmin in person this morning after we smuggled him out of prison.  Where I said goodbye to him was on the deck of a nice yacht that took him before my very eyes out to open ocean away from the Cuban coast.  She jumped into my arms and kissed me on each cheek.  OK, OK.  Remember what I told you:  nobody should even imagine what we did or what I say to you. 

She took her fingers to the mouth and made a motion like zipping it shut.  With tears in her eyes, she said, You have no idea how much this will mean to my father.  He hasn’t eaten for a week, only an occasional glass of milk.  The other day I begged him to eat some food, and with tears in his eyes he said he couldn’t swallow the food.  His pain was too great for that.  He could only drink fluids, no solid food.

Well, as soon as they get home, because I have to leave now, you can relate this beautiful information to them.  Very carefully, without too much screaming.  Remember, you have neighbors and you cannot know who’s hearing the conversation.  Your mother can make a delicious meal and you guys can celebrate.  Tell your father he can finally eat now.  I don’t want to hear that he can’t anymore.

Why don’t you come tonight and have dinner with us?

Don’t worry about it.  You don’t need to do that.  You need your privacy.

Please, my mom and dad will be delighted after what I told them about you.

Ah, ha!

OK, OK!

What time do you want me to come?

Eight o’clock.  Is that OK?

Yes.  I’ll be here at eight.

We sat for a little longer and I gave her more details about what had happened without telling her about anyone who was involved in the operation.  She asked, Why did you call it Green Moon?

I didn’t have the remotest idea whether it would work or not, and it was a one-in-a-million shot I took.

There’s no doubt in my mind that you’re blessed by God to accomplish what you did.

I’m here because of Him and I will always do His will.  His will certainly was that your uncle should live at this time.

I said goodbye to her and went over to the Rius Rivera Regiment to get some service for the jeep and fill the gas tank.  I had left Daniel and Cisneros at their respective homes, telling them to take the day off until I came to get them again, that it would be one, maybe two days, depending on circumstances.  Once I was done at the Regiment, I stopped by the Commandos office, about a block from my house on Avenue Cabada.  I passed by my house and a wave of sadness swept over me as I wondered if I would ever be able to call it my house again after the argument I had with my father.  The irony crossed my mind once more at my being called a traitor to the revolution; that is what I considered Castro to be.  My father would learn his lesson shortly when Castro would publicly call himself a Marxist-Leninist, and I didn’t want to think about the pain he would experience.

I straightened a few things at the office, practically only saying hello and goodbye to my officers there.  On the way out I saluted them and drove towards the high school¹ where we conducted all our physical training using their athletic grounds for the new recruits to the Commandos were given their physical training using the athletic grounds.  I decided to maintain my reputation and work in order and stopped at the athletics facility to give them a show of reviewing the training, even though it was only for appearances.

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Figure 4 Preuniversity Institute

To my surprise, when I arrived at the school, I saw a huge banner with large letters promoting the big girl’s track meet that would happen that day at about the time I was arriving there.  The name of one of my oldest friends was Noelia Cartayas Carranzas, also known as La Guinea² because of her unbelievable speed.  She had won multiple races nationally in Cuba, making her the pride of Pinar del Rio.  Now, as the island champion, she was trying for a position to represent Cuba in the next Olympic Summer Games in Rome.  As we expected, the trainers we had overseeing our troops suspended practice in order to allow this event to take place.  I parked in the lot and got out of the jeep.  As I did so I could hear the music of the Cuban national anthem playing, which meant the race would be starting shortly.

I walked towards the building through the interior terraces.  The stands of the stadium were packed with spectators, not just the school’s students but also members of families and those of other schools.  I noticed an olive-green Buick Electra 225 series sedan with four men inside enter the parking lot at the same time I did.  I knew they weren’t following me because I was always on the lookout for a tail.  What tripped my warning system was that all the individuals opened their doors at the same time, including the driver, and that they parked near me.  I felt a strange chill from my feet to my head like I had before when danger was near.  That was why I waited before getting out of the jeep and I pretended to tie one of my boots while I subtly unsnapped the safety of my pistol, preparing for the worst.  I made sure that they preceded me so that I could walk behind them.

They were all dressed in civilian clothes, but their haircuts were military.  As soon as I saw them enter the building, I followed them.  I thought I might have been overreacting; the last few days had been crazy, and my radar might have been a little over sensitive.  Once inside, however, I saw that they didn’t go to sit down like the other people.  They went to the exit and remained against the wall where everyone would leave once the race was concluded.  That caught my attention once more.  I thought that since it was so packed, they were trying to be polite and avoid blocking people’s line of sight as they hunted for seats.  I didn’t want to be sigiliarme³.  I tried to convince myself that those four men were just there to watch the race.  Maybe they had a girlfriend there and weren’t there to harm me.

The national anthem, played by the school’s band, was followed by the announcer’s introduction.  In a few minutes, the race will start.  More music played, and the referee told the competitors the rules for the race:  no touching, blocking, tripping, etc., and would be disqualified or have points taken off.  The announcer then said, Ready.  A shot was heard, and the race began.

The little brunette, Noelia, shot out in front like a bullet discharged from a gun, a clear fifty feet before the next competitor.  The others followed, trying desperately to catch up to her, but it was in vain.  She maintained her pace and lead.  The screams of the spectators grew louder as they cheered La Guinea left behind the rest of the crowd.  It was the most important race for the first prize and the honor of representing Cuba in the Olympics.  The shouts of encouragement fueled her to extend her lead over the others save for one from Havana, who slowly began to catch up with her.  The first turn in the track brought her quite close to Noelia.  Havana was gaining momentum.  The admirers of this contender began to yell her name to pump her up some more: Gilda.  Of course, the fans of Noelia shrieked her name.  The difference was that Noelia’s fans were louder, as there were more people from Pinar del Rio, and they drowned out those cheering for Gilda.

Close to the finish line, Noelia’s fans grew more frenzied, screaming a chant: Noel-ia, Noel-ia, rah, rah, rah!  Noelia redoubled her effort as if she had just been injected with multiple vitamins.  She accelerated, leaving even Hilda behind.  She broke the ribbon across her chest as she crossed the finish line.  She set a record for the Women’s 200 Meters in Cuba.  The fans poured down onto the track, lifting her up on their shoulders as the celebrated.

I looked at that petite friend of mine and smiled as I remembered how we had met.  We had become great friends to her only brother, Domingo.  We called him affectionately Mingo as a diminutive.  He had a stutter, and many bullies in our school gave him a hard time.  I always defended him, just like I did with anyone else, even if I had to get into a fistfight.  Mingo’s character was very noble and loyal.  It was his nobility that allowed them to take advantage of him even more than his stutter.  When he communicated to his mother when he brought me home how I had defended him several times, both his mother and Noelia melted as the defender of the young boy.  She was several years older than me; because she was very smart, she also had many other amazing qualities.  She painted, was great in the performing arts.  Though she was older, sometimes people thought she was much younger because of her small size of around four feet.  It was a bit of puppy love between us.  I always had a beautiful and tender memory of those sweet kisses that we stole behind her mother’s back as she tried to teach me to kiss properly.  After so many years, I hold a special place in my heart for those special memories of my youth and will until I die.  And if the Supreme Architect of the Universe allows it, I will take them with me into another life, if possible.

At that moment I looked at my little chocolate kiss on the podium, carried by the other girls, and felt so proud of her.  I had great urge to go into the area, hug her, and kiss her on the cheek.  It was my natural impulse at that moment to congratulate her on the accomplishment that I knew she had trained so hard for.  I looked at the other girls, her fans now, that surrounded her, and didn’t want to interrupt that beautiful moment.  With a big smile of pride on my face, I turned around and said a few words to my Captain Assistant who was in charge of training in the corridor.  After they clear the arena, return to training.  I’ll try to come back later today to do an inspection of the troops.

We exchanged salutes and I started to walk along the corridor.  As I went back into the building, I kept my eyes open, searching for the four men that had made me so suspicious.  They had disappeared, as if they had been swallowed up by the earth.  I thought after leaving there I would go get Daniel and Cisneros, because I wanted to make sure they had their alibis straight, in case something happened.  It meant that their leave would be cut short since we had to return to the capital.  Something had been bothering me, and I wanted to make sure that the possibility I was contemplating wouldn’t compromise anyone involved in Operation Green Moon.  I wouldn’t be able to sleep in peace until I straightened out all those details.  We needed to cover all exits to make sure no one got caught off guard, no matter what questions were asked.  They had to answer any questions properly, innocently, and without hesitation.

With all these thoughts in my mind, I reached the exit door.  I checked my wristwatch.  It was six pm.  The sun was beginning to set, and the sky was aflame with several colors brought on by that beautiful sunset.  I stopped by the front door and looked out into the parking lot, watching people leave.  I decided to depart as well since I saw nothing strange.  I still had goosebumps along my spine from those guys.  I started to walk towards the jeep.  The parking lot was by now empty; those who had decided to leave had already departed.  The only people left were back in the stadium, celebrating.

I told myself as I walked that I had to be careful not to allow paranoia to make me see things that didn’t really exist.  I smiled and thought that perhaps all my thoughts were just products of my imagination because of the bad times I had experienced in the past few days.  I still could hear the machine gun shooting out the windshield on my jeep.  As I walked towards the it, I felt the same chills.  I trembled like a coconut tree in a hurricane.  I swept the area but saw no one.  I opened the door and sat down in the driver’s seat.  I said to myself, I have to control my nerves or I’m going to become a complete paranoiac.

As I started the jeep I looked up in the mirror and saw the face of one of the men from the Buick in the rearview mirror.  Out of nowhere, the Buick appeared, blocking me in front.  Two men were inside, so I wondered where the fourth man was.  I couldn’t leave the parking space.  I tried to open the door to get out, since I felt that sitting there would make it difficult to defend myself, even to draw my pistol.  One guy appeared out of nowhere and put his hand on my left shoulder, blocking the door with his body.  He reached in with his left hand and took the keys out of the ignition.  He said, I need you to come with us.  Commanders Piñeiro and Nogueira need to talk to you immediately.

Keeping calm, I replied, You can tell them both that without any doubt I will see them tomorrow morning first thing.  I’m meeting with Fidel in the Prime Minister’s office, and I have extremely important matters to discuss with him.  If they want to talk with me, they can find me there.

By that time, the other three men had surrounded the jeep, preventing me from leaving the space.  I didn’t know what their intentions were, but I