Page 41 of Beaches

“What now?” asked Alec.

“We get these men home and kill Kaplan.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Ian, Gabe, Rafe, Vince, Tailor, Piper, Mac, Hazel, Major, Jak, Ham, Cowboy, Carter, and King landed on the largest of the three islands. From above, they’d circled several times but saw no signs of life, no fire, nothing to indicate that there was anyone on the island.

Exiting the chopper, they started to walk inland when the men suddenly appeared before them.

“If you’re going to kill us, do it quickly,” said a man. Piper stared at the men, then looked at her teammates.

“We’re not here to harm you,” she said. “We’re a security company here to take you home.”

“Home,” he said softly. “We don’t even know where that is any longer.”

“It’s wherever you want to make it,” said Ian. “We’ll find a home for you. We’ll make a home for you. We just want to get you off this island before Kaplan comes. How many men do you have?”

“Five,” said the man.

“Five? You only have five men here?” asked Tailor, confused at the number. The others had a dozen or more.

“Five men alive,” said the man. “At one time, we had nearly a hundred. Five are alive.”

Tailor walked closer to the group of men, and they all stepped back just a little. Realizing how he must look to them, he held up his hands, and he shook his head, smiling at them.

“I’m not gonna hurt y’all,” he said. “I’m just tryin’ to figure out how long you’ve been here. I can’t tell how old you are from back here. That’s all.”

“Most of us are recent, at least compared to many of the men before us, less than ten years,” said one of the men. “The men that died had been here decades. We had a lot of men from South Korea and China. Just getting them to get along with one another was hard enough, let alone trying to figure out everyone’s stories.”

“Who needs medical attention?” asked Carter, walking toward them with Gabe.

“All of us. We’re all dehydrated, malnourished, bites, sunburn, you name it.”

“Guys! We gotta move now. A storm is moving this way fast,” said Evie. “Hello, boys. Welcome home! Almost.”

“Jesus. Is she our pilot?” asked one of the men.

“Yep, and a damn fine one,” smirked Ian. “Let’s go, fellas. We’ll get you fixed up on the bird.”

Loaded and safe, Evie took off around the island, giving the men one last look at the space that had been their prison. She then put the Osprey in sonic mode, instigating the stealth features, and they were gone.

“What kind of chopper is this?” asked one of the men.

“It’s modified for us,” said Hazel, wrapping a wound on his leg. “Everything you see here is our own creation by some of the most amazing engineers you’ve ever known.”

“Damn. I wish we would have had this when I was in.”

“What happened to you? Why did Kaplan take you?” she asked.

“I’m ashamed to say it, but I thought I’d have some fun. You know, with one of the girls. Except I didn’t realize they were just that. Girls. I got there, and he sent me into the tent. I turned around and walked back out. I mean, shit, she was maybe ten. Didn’t even have breasts yet,” he said, swallowing, shaking his head.

“I’m so damn ashamed of myself. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to touch a woman again.”

“Did you?” asked Hazel quietly, praying the man would say no. “Did you touch her?”

“No. No, I refused, which is what landed me here. But he didn’t take me until he made me watch one of his men take her. That kid didn’t even cry,” he said with tears running down his face. “She was taught not to cry. How fucking sick is that?”

“How were you able to pay? We heard that he charges more than a hundred thousand for a night with the girls.”

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