I wrote this in June of 2015. Much shorter story than I wanted, but it was just for fun. You will note my characters are always Scottish, and Simpson are a sept of Clan Fraser…so there you go. Anyway, this short story lived in dormant electrons over the years, but never forgotten. I finally decided to publish it but only after committing myself to write the full-length sequel (although I had no idea for a story).
Around that time in my life I was spending a lot of time in Mexico, which naturally means being aware of the drug cartel threats. Also, I had a doctor friend routinely traveling on the Doctors Without Borders circuit, including very dangerous areas such as the Dominican Republic. So I knew about the armed escorts, the living conditions, the dangers these doctors faced.
And (this just keeps going with the ‘ands’!), I also had a friend who was a three-star admiral. So that was on my mind, and brought in the Navy aspect. From there the story wrote itself. I find I just need a mental, very rough outline, and then I don’t have to worry about the story because it will take care of itself.