Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
R onan glanced at the map they’d made of the camp. The outposts the militia were supposed to be stationed at were manned today because he’d laid down the law. If they wanted the money Guardian had access to, they’d do what they were paid to do. Habib was still in charge, at least for now. Bilal had left immediately after arriving at the small camp. He did, however, leave the people Guardian had negotiated to guard the area.
As Fleur had said, Habib seemed like one of the good guys. They discussed manning requirements and responsibilities. Habib fought him on only a few points, but they came to a mutually respected compromise.
The cut through the fence by the hospital tent was concerning, and when Jug had told him about it, he’d made tracks to the camp’s structure people. From now on, they would be the first people notified if there were any compromises to the fence line. The fact that the lighting units illuminated the area and no one reported seeing anyone was disturbing. Either the camp occupants didn’t notice or were afraid to report the incursion. Both were unacceptable.
Miller called from the outside of the tent flap. “It’s Dupre, you wanted to talk to me?”
“Come in.” Ronan stood and greeted the guy. He motioned to the ad hoc table they’d set up for him to work on. “I have a few questions and concerns.”
“Sure, sure. What can I do to help you? Oh, man, is that candy?”
Ronan smiled and pushed the canteen cup filled with taffy toward the camp leader. “Have some.”
“Thanks.” He took one, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth, closing his eyes. “Been a long time.”
“I heard.” Ronan sat down. “Last night, there was an incident with the fence line near the medical tent.”
“Yeah. When I found out about it, I told Fleur to tell you. ”
He knew Fleur had been with Shelly when Jug had found out about the cut in the fence. He assumed she’d checked on her friend before coming to tell him, and he’d address the priorities of that visit tonight. “From now on, your structures people will immediately bring this to our attention. Additionally, all outposts will be manned by the militia. Habib and I have reached an agreement for manning and accountability. My men will ensure the militia follows our directives.”
“Thank you. We’ve tried everything in our power to get them to cooperate, but if you have nothing to back up your pleading and begging, they have no incentive to agree or help. And I can talk to the men who manage the fence.”
“I already have.” Ronan waited for the man to object to his straightforward approach.
“Good.” Miller rubbed his face. “Can I tell you I’m glad you’re here until we bug out? We’ve lost some damn good people and too many IDPs. It’s a shame it took loss of life for someone to call in people who knew what the hell they were doing.”
“I agree. However, this isn’t our usual gig. We’re more of the go in, do the job, and get gone type of team, so if there are growing pains, we’ll work through them. ”
“Understandable. What do you need from me?”
“I need some of your people to work night shifts and be additional eyes on the camp.”
“Work at night?” Dupre frowned. “Doing what?”
“Whatever they’d do during the day. Half your teams. Those who only deal with the IDPs, like your medical teams, can all stay on the day shift. Everyone else, sanitation, structures, and logistics, should be split into twelve-hour shifts. That way, we have extra eyes on the camp. Some will have to provide security when the convoys are moving again.”
Dupre shook his head. “Absolutely not. We don’t have any weapons, and our people wouldn’t use them anyway. We’re here to stop war, not to create one.”
“I’m not suggesting you use weapons. We will be with the convoy. The militia will be here. There’s no change from what you were doing before we arrived, but having someone actively monitor the checkpoints and sounding an alarm if something happens is necessary and should have been happening all along.” Which was an understatement. The lack of overall nighttime security was shocking.
Dupre frowned and stared at the piece of container he was using as a tabletop. “We’ve done the best we knew how to do. ”
Ronan leaned back. “I’m not criticizing you for what you’ve done. I’m pointing out areas that need improvement. I didn’t bring you in here to chastise you, Miller. You and I are a team. Our goal is to get everyone out of here without losing anyone else.”
Dupre nodded. “Hindsight sucks.”
Ronan knew the guy was thinking of all the people he’d lost. “It does, but it also illuminates a path forward. We’re moving forward. The past is set in concrete. The future is the only thing we can change, and we’re making the correct changes to move forward and accomplish our mutual goals.”
Miller looked up at him. “How did the meeting with the militia go?”
“Habib is acceptable. I believe he, for the most part, is willing to do what we’re paying them to do. Will they sluff off if we don’t call them on it? Hell yes. That’s why you only had a few posts manned.”
“As I said, we had no way to enforce anything, and the people in charge of ensuring the militia worked with us are on another continent. Getting them to understand what was happening or not happening was like pulling teeth. When I finally got one person to understand, they moved on in the organization and were replaced, and we were at square one again. After years of trying, I finally realized it wouldn’t happen. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much when they said you were coming. I’m used to promises that go unfulfilled.”
“Guardian does what it says. Period.” Ronan crossed his arms over his chest. The guy had been through hell. All the people who worked in the camp had been through the wringer. It was a common experience, it seemed.
“I’m seeing that.” Dupre nodded. “Is there anything else you need?”
“Not at the moment. If there is, I’ll let you know.”
“I’ll go break the news. My people have already worked, most since sunup. Can I give them a day to make the transition?”
“Absolutely. My men will be on duty tonight and every other night until we’re out on a convoy, or we bug you out.”
“That’s the second time you said you would get the convoys going. Have you figured out what happened?”
“No, not yet, but even if we don’t, it’s my intention to put things in motion to get supplies in at a minimum and the people out as a best-case scenario. We were sent here to make it happen. As I said, Guardian does what it says it will do. Every time.”
“I can see that.” Dupre nodded. “Thank you. ”
“No need to thank me yet. Let’s get things moving first.” When Ronan stood, Dupre followed suit.
“Do you mind if I take some of that with me to the sections? Might make the nighttime shifts a little easier to take.”
“I’ll do you one better.” Ronan walked over to their supply trunk, took out a bag of the candy, and tossed it to Dupre. “There’s more when that runs out.”
“Oh, man. You better watch your tent. If the word gets out that you have the good stuff, they’ll be breaking in here.” Dupre laughed as he tossed the heavy bag into the air. “I think you might have just raised morale to its highest point in years.”
Ronan smiled as the man walked out of the tent. Wraith came out from behind the panel that divided the cots from the work area. “Went well.”
Ronan nodded. “You could’ve come out.”
“Nah, you were bonding.” Wraith chuckled.
“He’s not a bad guy. Just stuck in fuck-all circumstances.”
Wraith nodded and sat down. “Jug’s got it bad.”
“Yeah, he does.” Ronan rubbed his face. “I don’t want to have the birds and bees conversation with him. ”
Wraith laughed and stood up. “Don’t forget to have that talk with yourself.”
Ronan lifted his eyebrows and cocked his head. “Excuse me?”
“Happened to walk in the convoy tent this morning. Walked back out.”
Ronan groaned, “Shit.” That was not what he needed. “I’ve got it covered.”
“Sure.” Wraith chuckled. “Sure, you do.” He grabbed his M-4 and helmet as he left.
“Awful chatty today, aren’t you?” Ronan called after him.
“I’m done,” Wraith called back.
Ronan shook his head and stood up. He needed to find Fleur. He’d just left his tent when Dude came across the comms. “Skipper, you have an incoming call from Alpha. Are you in a secure location?”
Ronan hit his communication device. “Dude, there’s nothing secure about this camp, but hold on. Let me go back into the tent.”
After returning to his tent, he removed his helmet and put his M-4 back in the rack. “Okay, send it.”
“Standby,” Dude said. “Alpha’s online. The connection is secure. I’m clear. ”
“How are you doing?” Jacob King asked by way of greeting.
“We’re okay. Working with the militia is always fun. This IDP camp is interesting. I don’t know why I assumed they had UN peacekeepers.”
“Too many camps, not enough resources. If the locals say the militia are working as guards, the NGOs generally take that at face value. What do you want to know about Al?”
“Who’s Al?” Ronan frowned.
“Adil Abdo. We called him Al.”
“Wait, what? Who is we, and how did you know him?”
“The last operation the old Alpha team went on was in Syria quite a while back.”
“I remember that. Talon said something about it. Old guys trying to find their fountain of youth or something.” That wasn’t the case, but he liked picking at his uncle.
“Bullshit.” Jacob laughed. “Al is a good kid. He was thirteen when we were there, and we leaned heavy on him. He knows those tunnels outside Aleppo like the back of his hand. How did you come across him?”
“He’s working the communications tent here. And he was working every day the convoys were attacked.”
Jacob was silent for a moment. “I can’t see him being a part of something like that. His entire family was killed during that damn war, and he survived by working with Guardian. We’ve used him as recently as a year or so ago when we were looking for some radicals we believed were in the tunnels. I think Tango team went on that mission. Hold on.”
Ronan frowned. They had an asset in the camp, and he wasn’t made aware of it. That was unusual.
“Yep. Tango team,” Jacob confirmed.
“Why wasn’t I made aware that he’s here?”
“We don’t have reins on him, Ronan. He’s free to go and do whatever he wants, but when we reach out, he answers. He has a foreign national clearance, and I tagged it just to keep tabs on him. He was a good kid, a good man, now I assume. If he got into trouble and called on me, I’d send help.”
“Then he might have an idea of what’s going on?”
“He could. The kid had his ear to the ground. I doubt that’s changed much. It was a survival technique. Things haven’t gotten much easier in that area.”
“Thanks. That could help. ”
“I got your request for supplies. Dude forwarded it.”
Ronan frowned. “Which request was that?”
“Hold on, I have it right here. Lighting units, portable generators, meal rations, medical supplies, and six transport vehicles. I’m assuming that’s for the IDP movement. Before I approve this and get them to you, where do you stand on identifying why the convoys were targeted?”
“We’ve identified the day of the week, which corresponds with Al’s working in the communications tent, but that could be a coincidence.”
“Could be, but …”
“I understand. Don’t trust, and verify.”
“Yep. What else do you have?”
“Dude is trying to determine what satellites fly over during the times of the attacks and who would have access to each of them as they fly over. A needle in a haystack search, but if anyone can find what we need, it’s Dude and Tink.”
“Do you need anything else?”
“Honestly, I didn’t know we needed what Dude had requested.” Which was the truth. Dude was in charge of keeping them supplied, so it didn’t surprise him that he’d made a requisition for the supplies he thought the camp needed .
“Do you approve the request?” Jacob asked.
“Always.” He was positive the camp could use everything Dude had requested. The only question was … “Where are you shipping them?”
“Al-Tanf Garrison. It would be a long day, and you’d need to take drivers for the vehicles.”
“That can be worked. There’s enough staff here, so I’m sure we can manage. When will it be in country?”
Alpha made a humming noise. “It looks like four days. I’ll give Dude the exact time and date.”
“Copy that. In the meantime, I’m working with the militia. The man in charge seems amenable to instruction, but it’s still early. I’m not counting on total cooperation.”
“See, you can be taught.”
“No offense meant, but screw you, Uncle Jacob.”
Jacob’s laughter was loud and clear. “None taken. How’s the team?”
“Everyone is fine.”
“Good to know. Take care, kid. Whatever it takes.”
“As long as it takes.” Ronan cleared the call and then tapped his piece, alerting Dude, who came online immediately.
“What do you need, Skipper? ”
“You to tell me when I’m requesting six trucks and a fuck-ton of supplies.”
Dude laughed. “Yeah, sorry about that. When I couldn’t figure out how to get one of our transports over you without getting them shot down, I ordered them. Sorry about that.”
Ronan chuckled. “No worries this time, just don’t leave my ass hanging out there like that again.”
“You got it,” Dude acknowledged. “I’m balls deep in satellite information and have more to go through before I can even attempt to narrow down who might have access to the machinery. I’m surprised there isn’t a cosmic freeway disaster up there. I had no idea there were so many. I just cared about the ones we use.”
“Do what you have to do. I know you’re not sluffing on us.”
“No way in hell, Skipper,” Dude pledged. “Need anything else?”
“Yeah, add about ten or fifteen tents to that order, will you?”
“Not enough accommodations over there?”
“Not even close.”
“What size do you need?”
“Ten as big as you can get. Five personal sizes.”
“You got it. Anything else? ”
“Did you order more taffy? I have a feeling our stash is going to be gone soon.”
“Of course, I did.” Dude scoffed. “Did you think I’d forget your crack?”
“Just making sure. You know how cranky we get if we don’t have our sugar fix.”
“Boy, do I. Not fun at all. Take care of yourself over there. Oh, Tink said she sent you the report you asked for. It’s in your inbox.”
“Thanks, I’ll look at it tonight. I’m clear.” Ronan tapped his earpiece and stood up, again grabbing his helmet and rifle. Maybe he was being selfish, but then again, he didn’t care. He’d provide for the IDPs and make sure Fleur and Shelly had their tent. If Jug was half as deeply infatuated with Shelly as he was with Fleur, not having privacy would soon be a problem. Four days. Let the countdown begin.