Page 33 of Sor

“How? Boy, I’ve been friends with every president for the last fifty years. When your sons are saving the world for your country, you get to know their commander in chief. They started to get to know me and liked what I said and how I said it. Sometimes, when you’re a man or woman in power like that, people aren’t always as honest as they should be with you.”

“Grandma, you just have to be careful, okay? I know you meant well and had no idea what was happening, but the president did.”

“Well. My apologies,” she said, kissing his cheek.

“Did you just apologize?” frowned Gaspar.

“Don’t test me, Gaspar. I’ve said I’m sorry a whole bunch of times in my life. This was an honest, innocent mistake. It won’t happen again.”

“Fifty years, huh?” smirked Ghost. “What were they like?”

“Oh, now, see, those are stories I can’t tell,” she smirked. “Cheaters, liars, cross-dressers, even pretenders to be a certain party when they’re really another party. One day, I’ll leave it all in a book for y’all to decide what to do with it. But not today. Let’s go. We got work to do.”

She walked away, instructing some of the other seniors on where to place things or move them.

“Everything okay, Luke?” asked Nine.

“Yeah. I think it will be. I’m just not sure we can trust the president as much as we thought. This one might get ugly. I just want to be sure we get those men home and those kids out of there.” Gaspar nodded at his son, slapping his shoulder.

“Then that’s what we do.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

The Osprey hovered in stealth mode above the wet earth below as the men fast-roped down. Once on the ground, the teams huddled together in blackness.

“We’ve got about ten miles to hike in,” said Sor.

“Let’s stop a half-mile out and split up,” said Joseph. “Our team will create the distraction. You guys get into that cave behind them. If there are men inside, kill them. We don’t have time for any bullshit. We’ve got to get out of there.”

“Move out.”

It might be November, but the jungles and wet rice paddy fields of Cambodia made the air humid, with temperatures hovering in the upper seventies. Occasionally, they would pass an ox or two, or maybe a pig and some cattle, but mostly nothing except sleeping villages. Checking their watches, Sor and the others knelt in a field just before the desired location.

“How much time do you need?” asked Abe, looking at Joseph, Nathan, and the team.

“Give us ten minutes. We’ll tap comms when we’re ready.” Before anyone could say a word, the group had turned and disappeared.

“Is it smart to send just them?” asked Sor.

“Smart?” chuffed Leif. “For who? Us or them?”

“Sor, Joseph, Nathan, JB, Nathan Luke, and Mike were all Delta, like Trak. Rett, East, Ethan, and Kiel were Green Berets, like Zeke. Even beyond that, they’re exceptional trackers, possess the ability to get in and out without detection better than almost anyone, and are the most skilled with knives, other than Trak. Believe me, it’s smart to let them do their thing.”

“Hey, ladies?” whispered Conor. “If you get up on this hill, you’ll get a front-row seat to the action.”

Sure enough, as they belly-crawled to the top of the hill, they settled low and could see the opening to the cave in the distance. Five men stood guard, all talking and smoking in the darkness. The light of their cigarettes put an eerie glow on their faces. They could see the faint outline of two more men just inside the cave entrance.

“Where are they?” whispered Sor. U-Jin tapped his arm, pointing to the sides of the cave. Somehow, they’d run from where they were to the sides of the entrance and were working their way around. Five men on one side, four on another.

One man at the entrance suddenly fell, and the others scrambled, staring into the darkness. When they saw nothing, they knelt beside their comrade. There was a large gash on the side of his forehead. Sor watched, then saw it happen again.

East and Kiel were using slingshots, firing large rocks at the heads of the men so as not to make any noises. As two men were now on the ground, they moved quickly, with ease, taking the other men down with knives. The two men inside the cave walked out, wondering why their friends were lying on the ground.

Just above the cave entrance, Joseph and Nathan squatted, their knives in their hands. When the Cambodians were below them, they leaped down, slicing their throats easily. Pulling the men to the side of the cave, they hid them in the brush and signaled the others.

“Holy shit, that was impressive,” said Sor.

“That’s our team,” said Wade. “We’ve all got our skills. That group just has a special set of skills most of us don’t possess or understand.”

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