CHAPTER NINETEEN
“What the fuck happened out there?” growled Ham.
“He had two dozen, maybe three dozen men, Ham. Well trained. We weren’t having a fucking picnic out there. That’s the first time in my history here that anyone has come close to us,” said Rush.
“I agree,” said Tobias. “Either he’s been secretly training Bolivians and drug dealers down there, or he’s recruited ex-teams guys.”
“That’s all we fucking need,” muttered Gator. “But it also might explain how he’s gotten so much done. What about Rita Ruvienne? What was she like?”
“She appeared calm, but a hint of fear to her. She didn’t want to leave because she said it would be seen as cowardice.
She said the people in the area were hiding her and not to worry because they were ‘her people’.
I don’t know what that means but she was determined to leave with some little kid wielding an old rifle,” said JT.
“Are you guys feeling okay?” asked Jak.
“We were actually feeling great until you guys bit our heads off,” smirked Rush.
“We didn’t mean to do that,” said Ham. “We were worried for you.”
“I know,” said Rush nodding at his friend. “I won’t lie to you. We were enjoying ourselves for a while there. Then the jungle started acting like a fucking asshole. It reminded me of why I hate fucking jungles.
“But I can tell you this, Bora was an expert. He knew that jungle like the back of his hand. Anyone else would have died out there.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better,” said Gator.
“It didn’t make us feel better either. Rita said if we could take care of the cartels, she would handle Bora, but I’m not sure how she’ll do that,” said Rush.
“Maybe she has help as well. Not just the peasants and farmers, but maybe some of her husband’s old cabinet,” said Ham.
“No. That’s not it,” said Priscilla walking into the room. “Hi, boys. Glad you’re home safe and sound.” They all smirked at her.
“What do you mean, Priscilla?” asked Gator.
“Ruvienne was extremely private, remember? He didn’t trust anyone. Not his wife, not his cabinet, no one. He wasn’t close to anyone and they damn sure weren’t close to him. They wouldn’t help Rita because they probably didn’t know her very well.
“The White House believes that she’s dead. They are under the impression that a new leader will be elected soon, once the military can get the cartels under control long enough for an election to happen.”
“That’s ridiculous,” muttered Rush. “They don’t give a shit about an election. Someone is just going to take over and that will be the end of it until they kill him or her and do this all over again.”
“Listen, I don’t give a shit who takes over Bolivia,” said Jak. “What I care about is stopping whatever fucked up plan Bora has and bringing him in for those he’s already killed.”
“Then we have to go back down there,” said Rush.
“No. No fucking way,” said Gator.
“Gator, brother, we have to get him and he is entrenched down there right now. If he gets to Rita Ruvienne before we do, she’s as good as dead. She refused to come with us but we saw what he could do. He’ll find her and we all know what he’ll do to her,” said Rush.
“We need to think about this,” said Ham. “Something is seriously off about all of this and I’m not sure what the hell it is. Priscilla, can you continue to work your contacts at the bureau and see what they can tell us?”
“Of course,” she nodded. “I’ve left a message for the POTUS as well. We’ll see if he calls me back.”
“If he doesn’t, we’ll sick Nine and Gaspar on him,” smirked Gator. Priscilla left the room, passing Brooks and Mitchell as they walked into the room.
“What did we miss?” asked Brooks. Tobias stared at the twins shaking his head.
“A fucking shit show.”
“Well, that clears things up,” said Brooks.
“Aren’t you supposed to be on your honeymoon?” asked Jak.
“Don’t insult me. We’ll go when all this is settled, not before.” AJ stuck his head into the room.
“You’ve got a call,” he said nodding his head toward Brooks.
“Let me guess. Bora?” AJ nodded as the call was patched through to the conference room. Bora’s dirty, red face appeared and Brooks grinned. “What’s up Bora?”
“You think you’re smart because your four buddies made it out alive. They won’t be so lucky next time,” he growled.
“Oh, I don’t think it’s luck at all. They were just better than all of you,” said Brooks.
“No. No, they just got fucking lucky. They won’t be lucky next time. I did notice how you weren’t with them. Scared Jordan?”
“Not in this lifetime,” he said clenching his teeth. “You know, you’re calling us an awful lot, Bora. Are you still trying to track our location? It would just be easier if you told me where you were and I’ll come and meet you.”
“You think I’m fucking stupid? I know you’d bring your entire damn family. I’d be a sitting duck no matter how many men I have. You have no fucking clue what you’re doing, Jordan. Stay away from me. Stay away from Bolivia and leave Ruvienne to me.”
“Now, see that’s what we can’t do. We can’t allow you to get near Ruvienne. We will be taking her, sooner rather than later.”
The screen went black and Brooks stared at the men around him. They were right. Something about all of this was not sitting well with him.
“What now?” asked Ham.
“I think we have to speak to the cartels,” said Rush.
“Are you fucking nuts?” asked Gator. “Do you understand that we have intercepted millions, possibly billions of dollars in business from them? They are not going to open the door and invite us in for tea.”
“No. But they might be interested to know we want Bora as badly as they do,” said Brooks.
“Brother, they want Bora to help them. They think they’re all on the same team,” said Rush.
“They think that, but we know it’s not true and we have to prove it to them. We set up a meeting. In the open. At the border.” Everyone stared at Brooks wondering if he’d truly gone mad. Mitchell stood, gripping his brother’s shoulder in solidarity and nodded at the other men.
Ham looked at Jak and Gator, the other two senior leaders present. He nodded to them.
“Get everyone into the auditorium. Everyone.”