The presidential residence was a well preserved example of Spanish colonial architecture. Everything about it felt equal parts grand and old. Both of which left Marcos feeling uncomfortable as he hovered in the hallway outside of President Felix Fernandez's office. He could hear voices coming from the other side of the heavy wooden door as the president carried on some important discussion.

Marcos did his best not to eavesdrop, but every now and then he thought he overheard mention of the task force or the coast guard. While he was grateful to Guillermo for setting this up, he couldn't help but feel like this was probably going to be a waste of time. This close to the hurricane the president was probably far too busy to do much more than talk to the relevant parties and give them all a stern talking to. Meanwhile, Marcos was losing time that should have been spent trying to do what he could to win his crew back.

Guillermo had seemed confident that President Fernandez would do everything in his power to help, however. So despite his misgivings, Marcos had agreed to the plan. He had been greeted at the front gate of the residence by the president's alpha, Diego, and was immediately escorted through to the hallway where he now found himself.

"Come on in." The office door opened slightly and Diego peered out into the hallway. The sun-tanned alpha had been a gardener before marrying the president. Everyone on the island knew his story and most people looked up to him because of it. He hadn't let the difference in their stations get in the way of their love.

Marcos stepped hesitantly into the president's office. It was smaller than he had expected, and filled with antiques that probably dated back to the original establishment of the colony. A large desk filled one end of the room and Felix Fernandez, president of Catalejo island, sat behind it with his hands folded in front of him. He looked thoughtful, but carried an air of authority that most omegas only ever aspired to.

Raphael had had an inkling of it and there was probably more hidden away underneath his protective shell. If only they could have spent more time together. Perhaps they might have been able to uncover the true power locked away within him.

"Diego says that his friend Guillermo speaks very highly of you," began Felix. "He also says that you're the current head of the coast guard volunteers and that you seem to be having some trouble preparing for the hurricane. I have been assured by the anti-drug task force that preparations are complete and there is nothing more to be done." There was a frown on Felix's face as he spoke.

"I...I want to thank you for taking the time to speak with me." Marcos had no idea what sort of propriety or protocol was required when talking to the leader of one's own country. He felt the overwhelming need to bow or something, but ultimately decided that that was stupid.

He cleared his throat before continuing. "The thing is, we were told that the task-force was supposed to coordinate with us. When they came in they took over our full time staff, our best gear, our best boat, and have contributed nothing to the daily operation of the coast guard. The volunteers and myself have continued to handle every distress call. I'm a fisherman and so I patrol the waters around the island every day that I'm out on the water. I know it's only been a week or so, but I've never seen the task force do any patrolling of their own."

As Marcos spoke, he could see Felix's frown continue to deepen. It was clear that the president hadn't been fully aware of the current situation between the coast guard and the task force.

"I didn't come up here to get anyone into trouble," continued Marcos, trying to get to the heart of the matter. "The task force recently used the budget they appropriated from us to buy a new vessel. It's equipped with a lot of high tech gear that would help us out a lot when it comes to rescuing people tomorrow. It's perfectly designed to operate effectively in shallow water situations, like around the reefs or in a flooded town."

"I'm sure you've heard of the alliance we're working towards with the US." Felix rose from his seat and circled around the desk. "This alliance is reliant on the existence of the task force and our ability to patrol our waters. In short, they're using us to crack down on the flow of drugs and illegal goods into their country and we've been using them to protect ours." He exhaled sharply and leaned against the desk. "If what you're telling me is true and the task force isn't doing their job and they're undermining the operation of such a crucial element of our island's safety then something has to be done.

"You may not have wanted to get anyone in trouble, but that's exactly what's going to happen." Felix's hands were clenched into white knuckled fists. He clearly wasn't pleased. "Unfortunately, I'm currently bogged down with coordinating the offers for relief that have been hitting my desk non-stop since this morning. Which means that punishments and direct action are going to have to wait. Rest assured, the coast guard will get the funding they deserve and the task force will be reorganized.

"Until then, I'll be sending several officials down to the task force headquarters. They'll take over operations for now and coordinate with you on the relief effort. Feel free to make use of whatever resources the task force has on hand. We can't afford to keep our coast guard shackled like this."

Marcos could hardly believe what he was hearing. "I...not to sound ungrateful, but you're just going to believe me?"

"Guillermo was instrumental in helping my family. He has earned my trust and my thanks. Anyone that he vouches for is trustworthy in my book." Felix did his best to smile, but it was clear that the news of the task force had hit him hard. Marcos realized that he had probably just created an entire boatload of work for the overworked young president.

"Thank you, President Fernandez." Marcos smiled and shook Felix's hand. "This truly means a lot to me. It will make all the difference in the world."

* * *

Marcos had decided against telling Felix that his crew had abandoned him. There was too much else weighing on the President's mind right now and this was a mess entirely of Marcos' own creation. If he couldn't fix it then he was the one that would have to shoulder the consequences.

It had already begun to drizzle by the time he walked down the driveway that lead up to the residence. If the weather reports were correct, it wouldn't let up again until well after the hurricane had passed. This was just the beginning.

As he sprinted down Main Street, his steps felt a little lighter. He had resources now. The dispatch radio crew would be back on his side. All of the tools and equipment that he had lost to the task force would be at his fingertips again. Even if his crew refused to serve with him he could probably gather together many of the older volunteers. It would be short notice, but hopefully the threat of the impending storm would lend urgency to his request.

Marcos shouldered his way into Guillermo's bar. The room was so silent you could have heard a pin drop. The tables had all been shoved up against the walls. A big long table filled the center of the room and a familiar looking group of men stood around it.

"Teddy?" Marcos stopped short as he took in the sight of his crew, accompanied by Guillermo and a few others. "I don't understand..." his voice trailed off as his eyes landed on the maps spread out across the table. They were maps of the island and specifically La Bonita. Small boat figures had been placed at various points along the map's surface.

"Look, we don't have time to chat about this really," said Teddy, shrugging and looking back down at the map in front of him. "We're supposed to be meeting with liaisons from the police and emergency services any minute now and none of us are on the same page."

"How did your talk with the president go?" asked Guillermo, gesturing for Marcos to move further into the room.

"I...it went well. I was able to explain our needs and he is giving us access to the entirety of the task force's resources." Marcos stepped hesitantly towards the table.

"You mean our resources," grumbled Ruben. There was a chorus of agreements from around the table.

"Either way, we'll have access to the boats, equipment, and the radio dispatch crew once more. I'll be meeting with them first thing in the morning to make sure that we're all on the same page." Marcos was slowly warming up to his role as head of the volunteer coast guard once more. He didn't know exactly what had happened to bring everyone back, but it was clear that right now wasn't the time to question things.

The men around the table moved aside to make room for him.

"We'll have access to the new shallow water boat, as well as the cutter and the pontoon." As Marcos spoke, Teddy picked up three small boat figurines and placed them on the map. "It'll be difficult to figure out exactly where to focus our efforts until we know where we're needed. However, we can assume that the flooding will be the worst around 6th and Coral." Marcos pointed to a spot near the heart of the residential zone."

"I'm pretty sure the police have already evacuated the houses in that area." A familiar voice that Marcos couldn't immediately place, piped up.

"Who said that?" Marcos looked up and scanned the group around the table. His eyes seized on the familiar form of Dominic, Guillermo's old bartender. Marcos' face lit up. "Dom, it's great to see you."

"Likewise," Dominic said with a grin.

The two of them had been fairly close once but had fallen out of contact since Dominic stopped volunteering with the coast guard. Marcos was glad to have someone he could truly rely on at his side for this.

Before Marcos could continue, the doors to the bar opened behind him. He turned back to see four new arrivals stream into the room. They were all wearing plain clothes but he was fairly certain that these were the liaisons they had been waiting for. He only had the barest inkling of a plan, but hopefully that would be enough to come up with a solid plan of action.

"I'm Andrea Barca, chief of Police. This is Detective Ramos Fuentes." The tall woman with killer heels and a severe expression said as she gestured to the detective standing beside her. "I'll be coordinating my forces from our headquarters. Detective Fuentes will be your point of contact with us."

"Marcos Espinoza." Marcos extended a hand towards the police chief. "Head of the volunteer coast guard. We're looking forward to working with you both."

The head of emergency services introduced himself as Francis Martin, but made no further effort to speak up. Marcos caught himself wondering how such a soft spoken man had become the head of anything.

"We were just discussing possible locations that may serve as areas for concern during the storm," said Marcos, gesturing to the map. "We have access to three boats, two of which will be able to operate in shallow waters. One will be limited depending on the depth of the flooding, but may still be useful."

"Wonderful." Andrea stepped towards the table and leaned over it with an appraising eye. "I believe we can coordinate our forces more effectively if we set up several staging areas throughout the city."

* * *

The meeting dragged on much longer than Marcos had expected. Andrea Barca proved to be a capable tactician and once she was made aware of everything available to their operation she managed to come up with a plan that Marcos had little argument with. Francis passively agreed with pretty much every suggestion that was made while the person that accompanied him took notes.

By the time the meeting began to break up, Marcos was feeling a lot more confident and it was clear that his crew felt much the same way. He silently swore to buy everyone a round after this was all over.

"How did you manage this?" asked Marcos as he helped Guillermo put the room back to rights. There were still a few people milling around, including Dominic and Ramos Fuentes, but they were on the other side of the room.

"I just made a few phone calls and asked them to give you a chance. Most of them seemed eager, like they realized they'd made a mistake but were too proud to admit it." Guillermo shrugged after sliding a table back into place. "They were scared and scared people say stupid things. But I think there's something to it. I hope you realize how important it is for you to build up the trust of your crew. A good captain can't afford to have them doubting him in times of need."

"I know," said Marcos, nodding his head in agreement. "I thought I was being smart about the whole thing. I realize I was just cutting myself off because I didn't want to risk going through that kind of pain again. My crew deserves better than that."

Guillermo offered him an approving smile. "You should go and chat with Dominic and that Detective fellow. They're the ones that are going to be out there with you, after all."

"Where are you going to be?" Marcos asked as he finished returning another table to its rightful place.

"Frederico asked Peter and I to join him up at the Forest hotel. It's a little crowded, but I guess he managed to get us in as extended family." Guillermo grinned. "So we'll be nice and dry and well out of harm's way."

"Good, one less thing for me to worry about." Marcos clapped his friend on the shoulder. "Stay safe tomorrow."

"I'll do my best."

"Oye, Marcos." Dominic waved his hand to catch Marcos' attention.

"Go on then," Guillermo encouraged him.

Nodding a "thank you" to Guillermo, Marcos crossed the room to where Ramos Fuentes and Dominic were chatting near the front door.

"You know the soup kitchen is the lowest shelter in town and the one that's most likely to be affected by flooding," began Dominic as soon as Marcos drew near. "Ramos and I were chatting just now and it turns out that both of our omegas will be volunteering at the soup kitchen tomorrow."

"You were hoping we could add it to our patrol?" ventured Marcos, folding his arms over his chest. Hadn't Raphael headed over in that direction yesterday? He'd never actually asked him what he'd been doing there. Was it possible that he was volunteering there as well.

"Since the three of us are in the same boat and Andrea had us in that area anyway it just seemed like we could easily check it out as part of our circuit," Dominic continued.

"Obviously if we end up rescuing anyone we'll be taking them to the nearest shelter," ventured Ramos. "We're not suggesting that we go out of our way and ignore the reason that we're actually out there."

"The thing is..." Dominic exhaled forcefully, "Miguel doesn't want to leave Valentina, our daughter, with anyone else. He's worried about having her away from him while there's so much going on. I don't really blame him, but knowing that they're both going to be so close to the flooding has me even more worried."

"And," continued Ramos, "not to detract from that, but Logan is currently pregnant. If I'm going to be any use at all then I need to know that he's safe."

Marcos felt his stomach lurch. These two alphas were both so protective of their omegas and their offspring. His thoughts instantly went to Raphael and the potential pregnancy that had resulted from their night together. Could he be that same sort of alpha if given the chance?