Page 14 of Legacy's Call

Ronan smiled as his group let off steam. The meeting between his team and Bilal’s people was structured to show the militia they were working with a superior force. But if that militia decided to take them out, they’d be hard-pressed to come out of the firefight unscathed, even with superior technology and weaponry. That was the why of themeeting. Keep Captain Bilal’s group guessing. Never let them get settled or too close. Those were lessons learned through trial and error, but they were lessons Ronan and his team would never forget. The militia, in most cases—not all, but most—were bands of men out for themselves. Those fighting for freedom were rare; most had been eliminated or pushed from the country long ago. Now, the factions fought each other for resources they could acquire. Resources meant money, and money could buy power.

The militia trailed after Ronan’s vehicle and the towed trailer. Jug was facing backward, watching the procession and keeping an eye on their six. Dude had the airspace cleared, but the satellite had passed, so the road ahead was full of one hell of a lot of unknowns. The GPS was locked on the camp and based on mapping. Dude had given them the smoothest yet most direct route to the IDP camp.

Their point of contact in the camp was the anti-trafficking officer for Children’s Hope International, one F. Buchanan. Ronan knew the guy had been through hell in the last couple of months, so as soon as he got the rundown on how the convoys were planned and organized, he’d make the call if he and his team could protect the camp and the convoys.The information included in the equipment shipment Guardian had flown in stressed the camp's protection. Still, it also included a directive to try to assist in the relocation of the IDPs if at all possible. More personnel and equipment would be inbound, but that would be a minimum of a month away due to the missions currently underway. Suffice it to say, the world was a fucking mess right now, and Guardian only had a finite amount of personnel. Granted, it was double the amount it had had been ten years ago. He applauded Gabby and Charley for the growth of the organization. The girls and Archangel had built a hell of an infrastructure, and the company was thriving, but fuck him standing, he could use some support in country with this mess. However, his team was seasoned by a host of missions, and they’d done more with less.

As they crested a ridge, Ronan saw the camp. Wraith slowed and then stopped. The camp they’d seen in the satellite photographs couldn’t prepare them for the visual before them. A sea of shelters stretched through the small valley. Wraith seemed to catch himself and again put his foot on the gas. As they bounced over the scraggly vegetation heading for the camp, the composition came into view. There were a few tents, but most of the camp was builtfrom whatever the occupants could find. Pieces of tin, canvas, and old clothes stitched together. Ronan noticed how tightly compacted the rows of shelters were positioned as they drove near the camp. Narrow dirt lanes separated the shelters that shared walls, cloth, or sometimes boards. Occasionally, he got a whiff of food cooking.

Wraith drove into the camp and stopped their vehicle in front of a tent with a faded logo and Children’s Hope International printed on the side. From a larger tent to the right, a man strode out directly to them. “Welcome. I’m Miller Dupre, the camp coordinator. We’ve been expecting you. I was relieved when they told us you were coming almost three weeks ago.” He stuck out his hand as Ronan got out of the Jeep.

“Ronan Alexander,” he introduced himself, purposely using the last name that couldn’t lead anyone to the Xavier family or any of their secrets. Major NDAs and background checks would need to be completed before he’d ever consider introducing himself as an Xavier.

“Guardian Security, right? What is that exactly?” Miller asked.

“A federally recognized law enforcement organization stateside. Our missions deal with everythingfrom personal security to privately funded military operations in hostile areas—like this.” Ronan’s attention shifted to the ragtag militia they’d brought with them. They’d stopped outside the camp and didn’t enter. Jug had the M-240 still pointed at them, and he hadn’t stopped observing the convoy.

“The militia’s camp is on the far side,” Miller said. “We don’t let them inside. Our population is mostly unaccompanied children and women. We don’t want any problems.”

“Problems?” Stryker asked as he got out of the Jeep.

Miller nodded. “Some feel that unattended women, girls, and boys are fair game.”

“For what?” Wolf asked.

Miller put his hands on his hips. “Use your imagination. They do.”

“I’ll handle it,” Wraith said and whistled at Jug.

“I got you, man,” Jug said as Wraith walked to the truck where Bilal was riding. The conversation lasted about ten seconds before Wraith turned and strode back. The vehicles powered up and headed to where Dupre said the militia encampment was headed.

“That was the quickest I’ve ever seen a contingentof that size move,” Miller said. “Maybe they’ll be better than the ones we have now.”

“Don’t bet on it,” Ronan said. “We have our equipment and some things for the camp. Not much due to the lack of space in the trailer, but we brought fuel for your generators, batteries, cases of canned food, medicines, and a few other things.”

“God, that’s amazing,” Miller said. “We need everything you can give us. We’re lucky here; we have a well with good water, but water doesn’t keep people alive, and supplies are sporadic. We’ve lost so many vehicles and people that getting anything out or in has been dangerous, and we’re running on fumes.”

“Do you have a place we can set up?”

“Right over there would work. Do you need help unloading the trailer? We could use any medical supplies you have right now, and the fuel wouldn’t be refused either.” Miller rubbed his hands together. “You guys are better than old Santa himself right now.”

Ronan didn’t doubt it. “Give us an hour to unload and set up, and we’ll pack the supplies wherever they need to go. I want to ensure it doesn’t get intercepted by anyone.”

Miller glanced up at him, and he frowned. “There isn’t too much worry about that inside the camp.”

Jug jumped down from his position behind the machine gun. “Sir, it’s our job to ensure there’s zero worry inside this camp.”

Miller rubbed the top of his bald head. “Not sure how to digest that. It’s been so damn long since we’ve had any help.”

Seeing the man tear up a bit, Ronan put his hand on the guy’s shoulder. “We’re not the complete solution, but we’re going to make damn sure your problems don’t get any bigger.”

Miller sniffed a bit and nodded. “Sorry.”

“Ain’t nothing to be sorry about. We get it,” Jug said. “Wraith, you want me to drive this over and start the setup while you and Ronan do the recon with Buchanan?”

Wraith tossed him the keys without comment, and Stryker and Wolf got back into the Jeep and drove to the spot Miller had indicated. Wolf walked a bit away and stood guard as Jug and Stryker started to set up camp. Ronan and Wraith would meet with this Buchanan fellow and then help.

“Is Buchanan available?” Ronan asked Miller.

Miller turned to his right and looked back intothe camp. “Yeah, yeah, I think so. Let me … Oh, here she comes.”

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