Sor (Voodoo Guardians #29)

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“Well, Matthew wasn’t wrong,” said AJ. “We need to get to Cambodia first. It’s no surprise to any of you that the Chinese went to the suspected locations like the house was on fire. They found seventy-one boys between the two mines. All of them were either orphans or had been taken from their parents’ farms or homes in remote locations.”

“How many died?” asked Sor with a serious expression. AJ stared at Sor, unsure if he should answer. “AJ?”

“They think hundreds. They’re still working on finding the bodies and skeletons, but it was done the same as the photos suggested. There was an unalome on the walls. We warned the Chinese to move forward with caution as we don’t believe that monks have anything to do with this.”

“How did that go over?” frowned Luke.

“Like a lead balloon. There have been reports of monks being herded onto trucks and taken to prison. We can’t help them right now, but we have to get to the others.”

“Still no sign of DeWitt?” asked Sor.

“No, brother,” said Hiro. “Nothing yet, but I’ve been able to tap into passport databases and run a search. I doubt he’ll use a passport, but you never know. How smart was this guy?”

“He wasn’t an idiot. At least the man I knew wasn’t an idiot. He has a college degree in international studies. He was a decent teammate. I don’t know. I think knowing what I know now, it’s hard for me to think of him as anything except a dick.”

“I get that,” nodded Eric, “but we have to try and get into his head. I think now that he knows you know what’s going on, he’ll be less likely to come for you and Nell. Doesn’t mean we won’t still be vigilant, but at this point, he’s going to have a lot of people looking for him.”

“What did the Cambodian officials say?” asked Cam.

“That’s another story,” said AJ with a long breath. “I think we need to face the facts that someone is covering for him. They said there were no mines in Cambodia, and if there were, whoever was working them had the government’s permission.”

“Alright. That’s pretty damn clear. But it might also create some issues for us getting into the caves and getting the kids out,” said Eric.

“We could create a distraction, pulling the guards away,” said Nathan. He turned to his brother who nodded at him, then JB, Tobias, Michael, and Nathan Luke.

“Dad’s right,” said Michael.

“Right? Right about what, the distraction?” asked Sor.

“No,” he smirked. “How we do the distraction.”

“Wait. I didn’t hear – never mind. Okay, so you guys have a plan for the distraction. But those kids are deep in those caves. We need to get in there, get the kids out, and blow that mine.”

“That’s the plan,” smirked Frank. “I inherited a lot of great things from my father, but the best was his love of making shit go boom.”

“We’ll drop here at Sre Veal,” said Hiro. “The caves are near Phumi. It’s going to be a hike to get there, but we can’t use vehicles to get in.”

“How in the hell are we getting out?” asked Leif.

“Airlift,” said AJ. “The birds will be in stealth, and you’ll have seventeen minutes from the time you emerge from that cave to get those kids on one bird and you on the others. Seventeen minutes.”

“Shit. Seventeen minutes,” muttered Cowboy.

“Seventeen minutes, junior,” smirked Joseph. Cowboy flipped him the bird as the men chuckled nervously.

“Gather all the gear,” said Cam. “We leave at 1900 to put us down in the dark in Cambodia. Joseph, Nathan, JB, Tobias, Nathan Luke, Cowboy, and Michael, you’re in charge of the distractions. Rett, East, Ethan, and Kiel will be looking for an alternative route out of the caves. Dom, Cade, Wade, Abe, Conor, U-Jin, Leif, Sebastian, Sor, Frank, and Garr will go in and get the kids.”

“This has to be perfect, gentlemen. If we’re caught by the Cambodian military, we’ll be charged and jailed, or worse,” said Eric.

“Well, there’s some happy news,” frowned Conor.

“You’re right. It’s shitty news, but it is what it is. We’ve been in worse locations before. This will be no different. There are at least seventeen varieties of venomous snakes in Cambodia. You’re going to need to wear protective gear at your calves and carry anti-venom serum.”

“More happy news,” said Dom.

“We’ve got to get to those kids,” said Sor. “If nothing else, let’s just get the kids out and blow the caves. I can go back and get DeWitt later.”

“Like fuck you will!” yelled Luke. “Listen, Sor. I know you’re used to operating on your own a lot, but we operate as a team. There are nine other men with you for a reason. Don’t you fucking dare go off on your own. Clear?”

“Clear. Sorry,” he said. The entire room chuckled, and he shook his head. “I’m a polite guy. What can I say?”

“All good, Sor,” said Leif.

“What now?” asked Sor.

“Gather your gear. We’ll load the birds with the rest. Spend dinner with your wives and family, kiss them goodbye, and ask Grandma to say extra prayers for us all,” said Luke.

“You’ll be careful, right?” whispered Nell in front of the others. All the wives were saying goodbye, hugging the men, kissing them. Others were double-checking the gear.

“I’ll be careful, babe. I promise,” he said, kissing her. She looked at Miller and Tailor loading huge cases of something, and she frowned.

“What’s that?”

“I don’t know,” he said, shrugging. “Could be anything.”

The men all turned, and Miller smiled, giving a nod to his son, Frank. He placed his hands at his head and mouthed the word ‘boom’ while his hands flew open and out. There were low chuckles, and then Luke looked at his uncle.

“Uncle Pierre? What is that?” he asked.

“Supplies, mon neveu,” he grinned. Tailor laughed, walking away from the birds. When Alec walked up with another case, Luke stepped forward.

“No. Hell no, not more,” he said to his other uncle.

“What? It’s food. Mama sent me up with it. Sandwiches, cookies, raw vegetables, not my choice, hers.”

“Fine,” said Luke, shaking his head. He heard loud sounds behind him and turned.

“Oh, shit!” yelled Nathan, jumping back from the bird. Alvin was at the doorway, staring at the men. “Dad! What the hell?”

“He wants to go,” said Trak. “He thinks he could be helpful in the caves.”

“Trak, as much as we love Alvin, and we do,” said Cam, nodding at the gator, “he can’t fly into Cambodia with us. If we get in a hurry to leave, we might have to leave him behind.” Trak frowned at Cam, then looked at Alvin. The gator immediately left and walked back toward the bayou.

“What about dogs?” asked Sor. “We could use a dog in there. It might calm the kids down.”

“That’s a good idea. Take Zeus,” said Luke.

Moments later, Zeus was happily on board, and the rest of the men were as well. When the birds were out of sight, Kate, Ajei, Sophia Ann, and the other wives took Nell back to the cafeteria. Emelia took Nell’s hand.

“Come on, honey. It’s going to be a long forty-eight hours. At least.”