Page 6 of Ace

His eyes widened and then a grin stretched across his face. “I will!” He took off running.

Her heart grew and ached at the same time. She loved these people. They were happy in the most trying situations, accepting. She wished the rest of the world could fall in love with them as she had.

She gathered the children. “Go find fish like these ones. Bring them to Cook.”

They laughed. “Okay, Miss Gianna! We do that!”

Perhaps a bit later they could be engaged in digging holes to catch fish when the water flooded.

Their homes sat close to the water. All on raised platforms, the homes themselves didn’t often get flooded. But everything beneath was covered in water with every rain, and especially with a typhoon. Perhaps they could also use nets? She didn’t know. She’d get them thinking along those lines.

But now, she needed to get online and see what the holdup was for their normal supply delivery.

The internet café was a hub of activity. She shook her head. How could a nation that had so little still have people totally immersed in the gaming community? She paid for a station and then pulled up her email.

As she scrolled through messages from her mother, deals at her local grocery store back in Virginia, and reminders to renew subscriptions, she felt herself shift back into her American world. She didn’t really like it, but communicating with the outside world was necessary—in this case, vital. A JAG alumni email loaded. And she smiled. She’d loved her time as an attorney for the Air Force. She’d never have discovered her passion, her calling to work with these children, if she hadn’t served.

They were having a reunion this year. She laughed. Looked like she wouldn’t make that one either. She hadn’t been back to any of their events since graduating and serving active duty.

She was always travelling, yes, but she had other reasons for avoiding her JAG class. One heartbreak in a lifetime was enough, and she didn’t think she was over her last one.

After answering the emails that couldn’t wait, she went searching around on news stations first. Everything seemed calm. So at least the issues over here weren’t national or press related. That helped things. As soon as the press became involved, everything became politicized, and then nothing got done. So, what was holding up their shipments? Why had no planes flown overhead?

Her little village was miles from the center of activity. She hadn’t seen what the islanders could boast as a city in over six months. Perhaps there was more going on there that she didn’t know.

She read the last week’s headlines on the local news sites in the most commonly spoken dialect on the island. Hints of a stronger military presence surprised her. She scrolled back a month. Still nothing useful. Then a few more months, and there it was. Her heart clenched. Mantuk.

The Pacific Islands were a constant temptation to all world powers. They switched hands so many times, the islanders no longer cared what their nationality was supposed to be. They just lived their lives, tried to find food, and subsisted as best they could.

But Mantuk had declared a takeover of their whole string of islands months ago. The other powers of the Pacific were not happy. War was even on the table as a possible solution. The more she read, the sicker she felt. There had been a window of time where all foreigners had been asked to leave. She’d missed that by weeks. And now the country was on a sort of lockdown as they reeled from their new government.

But none of this news or even the repercussions had reached her village except for the disappearance of aid shipments and the lack of supplies to restock their stores. Did Mantuk hope to starve them all out?

She skimmed a few more articles and then reached out to her contacts at the Pentagon. And she sent an email to her right-hand man, the guy who kept everything together in Washington DC while she went around the world setting up orphanages. She didn’t know what she would do without him. Tony Simmons.

The email from Tony came immediately. “You’re still there? The Pacific Alliance is talking about stronger sanctions against Mantuk. There’s talk of bringing in another military force. Things are escalating.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you need help?”

“Not yet. I’m not leaving the villagers until I have to.”

“What if you can’t? Gianna, as your friend, I have to strongly suggest you get out even if you have to swim.”

She sent a thumbs-up and then drummed her fingers on the tabletop. She should have been monitoring things better. Immersing herself in the simple lives of these people had been enjoyable. But now she saw the problem of acting as if the outside world had stopped existing.

Gianna sighed. She blamed Dex. Running to the most remote Pacific island she could think of and living in a bamboo hut had seemed like the best way to get over him. Over and over again.

Nope. Hadn’t worked one bit. She pulled up his picture and her heart clenched with an ache that literally hurt.

She fired up her phone. Looked like she needed to talk to someone who knew a little bit more than the local press. She didn’t want to, but she had no choice. The phone rang three times and then her father answered. “Gianna.”

“Yeah. I think I’m in some trouble.”

Chapter 3

The Tandora heat bore down on Dex and his team as soon as they exited his jet.

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