Page 15 of Alistair

“Where’s the pilot?” asked the man seated near the fire pit.

“We’re not sure. She got help. We know that. There’s no way she got out of the woods by herself. I lost five boys because of that fucking jacket.”

“What about the helicopter? What did you recover?”

“Nothing. Every last piece of it was burned to ashes. I’ve never seen anything like it before.” The man nodded, pursing his lips.

“I didn’t think we’d find anything. I was just hoping. She’ll be hard to get to, but we need the rest taken care of. I can’t risk that someone recognized me. What about the other Marines?”

“We haven’t been as lucky there. We got one yesterday, but the boys couldn’t finish the two from the bar. A bunch of other Marines on the inside came out and interfered. They survived. The one we hit was tougher than we thought.”

“He’s a fucking Marine. What did you expect? I want them all dead,” he growled. Another man walked toward them, nodding at the two men.

“That will be harder than we thought. They’re all under protection now and can’t be reached. Honestly, sir, I don’t think they saw anything or recognized anyone. I don’t think you have a thing to worry about.”

“Really? You don’t think. I don’t think I asked for your fucking opinion. We can’t risk anything stopping this. Nothing. With the new crackdowns on opioids and other drugs, we’re going to make millions on this new drug. They all think we’re making just another opioid.

“We live in a weight-obsessed culture, gentlemen. Women willing to do anything to have their high school or college bodies back. Men worried that their beautiful wives will leave them. All the new weight loss drugs are great, but eventually, people have to get off of them. We’re offering something different. Something unique. Something addictive.

“They won’t be able to get off of them. They won’t be able to turn away from them. They’ll crave them until they don’t crave anything any longer. Those fools think we’re selling opioids. No,” he laughed, “we’re selling something much more addictive. Youth.”

The men all grinned at him, nodding.

“Find out where those Marines are and see if we can get to them. Then, find the pilot. I want to handle her personally.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“We’ve moved the Marines to a safer location,” said Hex. “Matthew finished the work on the eastern island, and they’re out there with guards and weapons. I can’t imagine anyone finding them, but if they do, God help them.”

“Who do we have out there?” asked Cam.

“Magnus, Noah, Noa, Sam, Merrick, and Tango. I’m rotating Eagle and Hawk as well to keep an eye on the bayou.” Cam nodded, the others frowning.

“What about Taylor’s widow? Is she taken care of?” asked Luke.

“You know she is. Claudette, Kate, and Sophia Ann went to see her. She has family in Oregon, so they helped her find a house out there. It’s all taken care of. Her and the kids are settling in.”

“We need to know who was at that raid. Every man or woman who participated is a suspect. AJ and Hiro are working on the list, but once we have it, I want to know everything about every damn person there.”

“Hey, guys,” said Suzette, walking into the conference room.

“Hi. What’s up?” asked Luke.

“I just got a call from someone with the DEA about those drugs they got from the raid. I guess you guys called in a few favors to share information.”

“We did,” nodded Hex.

“Someone isn’t happy about it, but the contact at the DEA thought we should know. The drugs were not opioids. I mean, there were traces of opioids in them, but they were weight loss drugs.”

“Weight loss?” frowned Cam.

“Yep. The rage right now are the new GIP and GLP-1 drugs.”

“Explain, Aunt Suzette,” said Luke.

“The drugs act to reduce the cravings for food. They actually interfere with receptors that tell you you’re hungry.”

“I don’t understand,” frowned Cam. “Someone is making these drugs when they’re already made?”

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