Chapter 22
CHAPTER 22
R onan held Fleur last night as she slept. He was fully clothed and caught a couple of hours before getting up at four-thirty in the morning. Stryker and Wolf had been relieved by Ace and Rip so they could grab some shuteye before the convoy left. Ronan checked his weapon, ammo, and the fifty in the back of the truck and positioned the SMAWs in the lead and trail Jeeps before Deacon exited his team’s tent. “Sorry, man, jet lag.”
His team came out after him. Wraith laughed. “Y’all look like you partied too hard.”
Ranger groaned. “Jet lag is worse than a hangover. Where’s the food?”
“Got some breakfast MREs over here and some not-so-great coffee, come on,” Wraith called them over.
Deacon made his way over to him. “Sorry, man, jet lag.”
“No worries. I’d rather you get some shuteye and be alert.” Ronan glanced at the IDP camp. People were up and moving. “We’ll move the trucks into position after you get some food. I’ll inform Miller before we move the vehicles and let him know what we’re doing.”
“Noticed he didn’t bring us the documentation yesterday.” Deacon yawned and stretched. “Doesn’t seem to be in a hurry, does he?”
Ronan shook his head, staring at Miller’s tent. “Nope, and that’s another strike against him.”
“Make sure Fleur knows to be careful,” Deacon said. “Let’s grab some of that not-so-good coffee.”
Ronan moved with his brother. “We talked about it again last night before we went to sleep. She knows, and she promised to be careful around him.”
“Good.” He took a cup of coffee from Wraith. “You should come to my team and cook for us.”
Wraith laughed. “Not a chance in hell. I like it here. No offense.”
“None taken.” Deacon smiled and took a sip of the coffee. “This is better than the swill Ranger makes.”
“Ah, screw you, Cap. I messed up once, which had its benefits. No one asks me to make coffee anymore.”
All of Deacon’s team laughed at Ranger. As all the team members settled around the fire pit and ate, Ronan addressed them. “We aren’t expecting to be hit today, but we aren’t letting our guard down. Jug has the fifty and ammo in his truck. I want him in the middle of the convoy, and everyone is nose to tail. No room for any daydreaming. They want these people on the way to camp and any supplies or resources we have on the way back. Seven staff members have been killed on recent convoys.”
“Were they armed?” Ace asked.
“No,” Deacon answered for Ronan.
“What about the militia?” Bandit asked. “Aren’t they supposed to protect the convoys?”
“They were paid as escorts. When the shooting started, they bailed.”
“Fucking cowards,” Ranger ground out.
“We’ve gone through all those emotions already,” Wraith said.
“We have,” Ronan added. “You have ten minutes to finish and get ready. We have a long hard drive there and back today. We aren’t leaving the camp unattended overnight.”
“They okay without us today?” Rip asked, nodding toward the IDP camp.
“They were without us for over four years. The militia on the posts will keep the radical components away, and we’ll be back by nightfall.”
When Fleur came out of her tent looking like a million bucks, he made his way over to her. “Hey, we’re ten minutes away from moving the vehicles. I’ll go over and talk to Miller.”
“Be safe.” She reached up and cupped his cheek in her hand. “I just found you. I can’t lose you.”
“We’re prepared and ready for anything that happens. But I’ll be careful. The same goes here. Remember, be cautious around him.”
“I know. I promise.” When she toed up, he kissed her. “Make your calls and keep your eyes open.”
“I’m heading to my tent to make the calls. Be safe.” He stared at her, wanting to tell her how important she was to him, but they’d said those words last night as they whispered to each other. Words of commitment and filled with all the feelings he never thought he’d find. However, he pulled himself away and walked to Miller’s tent.
“Yo, Miller. ”
“Yeah. Hold on.” The man came to the flap. “Yeah, what’s up?”
“We’re taking a convoy today.”
“What?” The man rubbed his face and looked past him to the Guardian tents. “What?”
“We are taking a convoy today. Fleur is making the notifications. Camp Seven can take almost all your people, and we’re putting a jump on it.”
“But we need to inform the IDPs.” He blinked and rubbed his face again.
“They’ve been informed, and now, you have. Was there any luck finding that documentation?”
“Documentation? Oh, no. I forgot. I’ll look today. You’ll be back tomorrow? Are my staff driving? Fleur?”
“No. Just Guardians.”
“Oh, okay. Sorry, I didn’t sleep well last night. I need coffee.”
“You get that. We’ll be gone shortly.”
“Okay. All right. Be safe.”
“Thanks.” Ronan left, once again confused about the man. His actions were completely opposite of what he’d expected.
Wraith glanced at him and then a double-take. “What’s up? ”
“Fucking Miller. Just when I think I have him pegged …”
Wraith glanced back at the tent. “What happened?”
“The fucker was kind and considerate. Told us to be safe.”
“And …”
“I’m used to him being prickly and an asshole. Things with that guy do not measure up.”
Wraith sat in the driver’s seat. “We should know soon, right?”
“Today on financials. Hopefully, that will give us some idea of who’s involved.”
“Yeah.” Wraith sighed. “Wish we could be in two places at once. Don’t like leaving the camp.”
“Yeah, but our orders are to move these people, not guard the camp. The militia is doing what we asked them to do. We have to trust them to do it for another day at least.”
“Want me to go over and give some monetary enticement to Habib?”
Ronan smiled. “Wouldn’t hurt. Get some money out of the box.”
“I’ll take Ranger with me. We’ll be back before you have to move the vehicles.”
“That works. ”
He watched Wraith hustle into the tent and whistle for Ranger. The man’s head popped up. “Yo?”
“Come with me. We’ll be right back,” Wraith said.
Ranger was up and moving without any questions. Ronan went over each vehicle again, as did the rest of the men. “Fire up the vehicles. I’ll drive Ranger’s over.”
The process of loading each of the trucks was quick. Fleur, Tammara, Rana, and several others ticked people’s names off the list as they entered the trucks with all their earthly possessions, which wasn’t much. Hell, it wasn’t anything. Ronan spoke to each truck’s passengers as they were secured in the back of the transport. He made sure they knew they were to get down and stay down until he told them they could get up if the convoy suddenly stopped. It wasn’t the first time these people had been in danger, and no one asked any questions. They were only hoping for a better place at the journey's end.
“Dude, we’re ready. Put Cobra team on our comms, please.”
“Roger that, Skipper.” Dude was silent for a moment. “Cobra One, this is Panther Six. Do you copy?”
“I do. Glad to join the network for a while.” Deacon’s voice called out to his team members, and they answered. He finished with, “Cobra Team is ready.”
Ronan went down his list. “Panther One and Two are ready. Panther Three?”
“Ready,” Jug said.
“Panther Four?”
“Ready,” Stryker said.
“Panther Five?”
“Good to go, Skipper.”
“Let’s move out. Dude, how long do you have satellite?”
“For your trip there. The trip back, you’ll be without coverage for about half the trip.”
“The way there is more important. We need to keep these people safe.” Ronan glanced over at Wraith. “What did Habib say?”
“He said he would make sure nothing happened at the camp.”
“Do you believe him?”
“Yeah. I have half of his money in my pocket.” Wraith grinned.
Ronan laughed. “Yeah, that would do it.”
The road was mostly paved. There were a few places where they had to go off-road to avoid bombed-out areas, but the trip went fast and without hindrances. They offloaded the personnel, loaded supplies that had been staged and were waiting for the convoy, fueled up, and left within an hour of getting to Camp Seven.
“Skipper, I’m losing coverage. Another satellite will be overhead in two hours.”
“Copy. Everyone keep your eyes open,” Ronan reminded his men.
Ronan kept his head on a swivel. He doubted there would be an attack. It seemed Al was right. Miller left the camp to call in the convoy, and he could do that on his day off without anyone missing him. Fuck. Everything pointed at the man.
“Skipper, Jewell found something.”
“Put Cobra One on this, too,” Ronan said.
“Copy. Cobra One, you’re online with Skipper.”
“Got yah. Go ahead.”
“Jewell found the money.”
“Miller?”
“Not only Miller. He had help. Mathias Gentry.”
Ronan swore, “What? Explain that.”
“Miller and Gentry were connected back in the States. They owned a construction company together. They sold it and made a killing, but the people they sold it to have open charges against them for massive fraud. And guess what? They took jobs overseas but aren’t employed by an NGO any longer. They’re there without permission, working as if they still had the jobs done away with when the NGO they were working for stopped operations in the country. None of the other NGOs knew Dupre and Gentry weren’t employed and just kept doing what they’d been doing. So, basically, they’re invisible.”
“What about their families?” Deacon asked.
“Neither of them has any immediate families.”
“Fuck. Mathias said he had daughters. How much money have these fuckers earned by selling these people and information on the convoys?”
“Millions, and get this, Tink and I worked with Con last night tracking this shit down. The camp hasn’t been closed by anyone. They’ve arranged to purchase the land the camp is on via a shell company. They’re buying it for the mineral rights under the valley.”
“The host country is allowing them to buy land?” Deacon sounded as confused as he was.
“Nope. They formed a foreign-registered company. The person buying the land is a local national named Habib Hamza. Dupre and Gentry own the company, and Habib is their agent of record. ”
“Habib?” He turned to look at Wraith. The man frowned at him and mouthed, What ? Ronan held up a finger. “The local militia rep is called Habib.”
“Fuck.” He could hear Dude’s fingers flying across the keyboard. “How did I miss that?”
“I don’t think I ever told you. There was no need.” Ronan swore. To Wraith, he said, “Floor this bitch.”
The trucks took their cue from Wraith and flew down the deserted highway. Deacon asked, “Can you get eyes on the camp?”
“No, sir.” He could hear the pain in Dude’s voice. “Not for another two hours.”
“Call them,” Ronan said. “Al is working the comm center. I need to make sure Fleur and Shelly know what the hell is going on. Al can get them out of there and keep them safe until we return.”
“Initiating sat phone call, I’ll put him on the line with you, Skipper.”
Ronan waited for what seemed like hours before he heard Al’s voice. “Al, this is Ronan. It’s Miller and Mathias. They’ve been confirmed as the agents inside the fence. Get Fleur and Shelly and get them out of the camp. I’ll meet you where we met before.”
“I copy.” The line disconnected.
“Skipper, incoming!” Wolf’s voice cracked over the comms. “Shots fired from our six. ”
Ronan tapped his comm device and yelled, “All drivers, we have incoming!” They knew what to do, and those massive trucks slammed on their brakes at the same time. When he could, Jug pulled his truck sideways in the road. Wolf and Stryker shot around them and turned. Wolf lifted to the affixed machine gun and strapped himself in. Stryker hit the gas as Ronan strapped himself into the brace attached to the machine gun on his Jeep. Wraith floored it as he drew the charging handle back. The drivers of the trucks deployed, and Jug dropped the canvas on the truck, concealing the fifty-cal.
“On your right. East side.” Deacon’s voice snapped Ronan’s attention to the east. Five vehicles flew up at a breakneck speed.
“We’ve got east,” Ronan said as Wraith veered off the paved road.
“We’ve got south,” Stryker said. The sound of the M-240 mounted on the other Jeep barely made it to his ears as they raced toward the vehicles. A rocket flew past them and exploded into one of the vehicles.
“Take that, fuckers.” Deacon’s words hit him right before another missile flew past. It exploded between two of the trucks, making both swerve. One rolled, and the other driver managed to save the vehicle. Ronan hit the trigger and started spraying the vehicles with armor-piercing bullets. The faction returned fire, and another missile exploded. Ronan spun and shot at three men who were firing at them. The sound of bullets hitting the Jeep registered, but Wraith kept the vehicle going. Ronan spun and sprayed bullets as they barreled past the vehicles.
“Reloading!” Ronan grabbed the belt-fed ammo, opened the top of the machine gun, stripped out the old belt, and slapped in the new one. He slammed down the cover and charged the weapon as Wraith arched and headed back to the attackers. Wraith pulled his M-4 out of the carrier and fired as they approached. Ronan sprayed each of the vehicles with the M0240. They circled again and made their way back. This time, Wraith slowed and then stopped. They looked at the Jeep and then at each other. Ronan unstrapped and jumped down from the Jeep, catching his M-4 when Wraith tossed it to him. He put the weapon’s selector on fire and approached the bodies strewn around the vehicles, but there was only one destination in his mind. He took his toe and turned over the first man he came to. With a sneer of disgust, he went to the second, then the third. Habib. So, it wasn’t the militant factions attacking the convoys. It was the militia. That’s how no militia were hurt.
Ronan tapped his ear. “Status.”
“Stryker is hit,” Wolf said.
“I’ll be fine,” Stryker replied.
“Wolf?” Ronan wanted confirmation.
“I can stop the bleeding, Skipper, but he needs stitches at least.”
“Deacon?” Deacon had a medic on his team.
“Bandit.” The man snapped the call sign.
“Already heading that way,” Bandit said.
“Cobra team?”
“Fine,” Deacon acknowledged.
“Habib is dead. It was the fucking militia that attacked us.”
“Skipper, incoming. From the north.” That was Jug.
“Fuck. Reload. Stryker?”
“I’m driving, I’ll drop Stryker beside Jug,” Wolf said.
“Bandit, take the M-240.”
“Already hooked up, Cap.”
“Holy shit, Cap, there’s a slew of them,” Bandit said.
Ronan jumped back into the Jeep, and they spun out, heading back to the convoy. “Stryker, you’re our eyes. I want to know if they come from any other direction.”
“Copy, Skipper,” Stryker acknowledged.
“Jug, when do they come in range?” Ronan asked.
“About another thousand meters, Skipper.”
“Bandit, arch out to the West. We’ll split them to the East.”
“Copy.” The two Jeeps took off.
“Fire in the hole,” Deacon said. A missile flew straight from the center of the convoy and exploded before it got to the trucks.
“Fire,” Ranger said. Another missile flew as Ronan ensured his belt was full and his weapon was charged. The explosion split the convoy in half before they reformed and came straight at them again.
“They aren’t taking the bait,” Bandit said.
“Hold. They’ll come out,” Ronan said as they kept flying over the broken ground.
As Jug started firing, two more missiles flared at the same time. Ronan and Bandit opened fire, and the three outside vehicles peeled off to come at them. Fuck, the tactic was one he’d seen before. “These guys have training. Don’t let them cut you off.”
“Roger,” Wolf said .
That was the last Ronan heard as a missile from one of the attacking trucks flew past them. It exploded just behind them. Ronan ducked down but kept firing. When one of the attacking vehicles blew up, Wraith drove them through the fireball. Ronan swiveled and fired. A hot sting slapped against his arm. He ground his teeth and kept firing. Explosions popped behind and ahead of them. Wraith was driving like a madman while keeping them from being in the sight of the vehicles that had been attacking. The boom , boom , boom of the fifty cal was a steady beat to the explosions and the higher-pitched staccato bursts from the sixties on the Jeeps. The thwaps of bullets hitting the Jeep spun Ronan, and he opened fire on a truck that was attempting to ram them.
“Floor it!” Ronan yelled and fired at the driver. He watched as the man’s head exploded, and the truck jerked to the right, clipping the rear of their Jeep.
Wraith fought the Jeep for control as Ronan continued firing the M-240. The damn thing went up on two wheels and then slammed down on all four. Ronan’s ribs crashed against the fucking machine gun. “Go around to your left!” Ronan swiveled again. Wraith drove alongside Wolf. Ronan and Bandit peppered the ass of the remaining three vehicles, chasing them straight toward the fifty and the missiles.
“Peel off on three!” Deacon shouted. “One, two, three!”
Wraith swung radically to the left and Wolf to the right, pinning the accelerator to the floor. The telltale booming of the fifty started, and then the missile trails from the convoy to the vehicles. Ronan spun, keeping the trucks in his sights, and watched them explode in fiery balls of metal and fuel.
Wraith slowed the vehicle as Ronan swiveled, keeping his eyes open for any source of attack. “They were funded.” Deacon’s voice came over the comms. “New vehicles.”
“Trained, too,” Ronan said while scanning the debris for anything that could be a threat. “Status?” He glanced down at Wraith. “Wraith is hit.” There was a bloody rip on his arm.
“Scratch. You’re hit, too.”
Ronan frowned and glanced down at his arm. He moved it and then lifted it. “Just a graze.” It would need stitches, but it was minor. “I’ll live.”
“Bandit,” Deacon ordered his man to attend to the wounds with a single word.
“On it,” the man said .
“Wolf?” Ronan asked his man’s status.
“Think I’m okay, Skipper. Racked my head against the M-240’s mount when we almost flipped. Vision is a bit fucked.”
“Get him back to the convoy.” Ronan was immediately concerned. Anytime one of his men mentioned they might be okay, instead of shaking it off, they were hurt. Wraith started the Jeep in that direction.
Ronan dismounted the Jeep and winced. It wasn’t the arm because, although that ached like a bitch, too, his ribs reminded him that the metal support for the machine gun was a fuckton harder than his ribs.
Bandit had Wolf sitting on the passenger seat and was testing his eyes. “He has a concussion and needs to be examined for a possible skull fracture.”
“Let’s get him to the camp. They have a doctor. Dude, get us an air evac.”
“On it, Skipper.” Dude’s reply was immediate.
“Skipper, you don’t need to do that,” Wolf said and then promptly swayed and puked on Bandit’s boots.
Bandit looked at him. “Yes, you do.”
“Let’s get Wolf settled and these vehicles moving,” Deacon said. Ronan couldn’t agree more. Miller and Mathias were going to pay a hefty price for fucking with them.