Page 87 of Legacy's Call

Deacon asked, “Can we get to the rendezvous without being seen?”

He glanced at the sky. It was almost sunset. “Yes, but we need to leave the trucks and take in Wolf with the Jeep. No lights,” Ronan said. “And once that’s done, we circle the camp.”

“Hold on. Dude, put both teams, except Wolf, on comms.”

“Copy.” Dude was silent for a minute. “All team members except Wolf are on comms.”

Ronan gave the teams the skinny. “We’re going to deliver Wolf to the doctor. Bandit, you’ll drive him in and help her in any way you can. Jug and Stryker, what would be the best point of entry to get in and behind Gentry’s and Dupre’s tents?”

“The equipment yard,” Jug said.

“I agree. Go through the patch in the fence Mathias fixed after the last breach. Big enough for all of us and a M-240,” Stryker added.

“I can carry the M-240, Skipper,” Jug said. “Problem is, the fucker isn’t picky about what it kills.Anything in its path will be dead. That includes Fleur if she’s in the line of fire.”

“No, we’re going in dark. Both teams are down one because we’re leaving Bandit and Wolf with Shelly. We’re banged up, but we won’t have militia to worry about. If there’s anyone left on post, I’d be surprised.”

“I agree,” Wraith said over the comms. “Habib would have pulled them as soon as we left.”

“Concur,” Jug and Stryker said in unison.

The plan was solidifying. Ronan continued, “Cobra team will go after Mathias. Dude, we’ll need pictures of the fucker so Cobra can identify. They don’t know the camp, but when we come in, we’ll pass his tent. They’ll split off, and we’ll go after Miller. We’ll coordinate entry just in case one of the fuckers has the wherewithal to keep a weapon next to them. We’ll take Miller. Comms will stay on this interface. The IDPs will never know what’s happening, and neither will the rest of the staff.”

“Unless someone gets stupid,” Jug said.

“I hope like fuck they do,” Ronan replied. “But remember, they have Fleur. We might need them to get to her. We’ll go off-road five miles from camp and veer to where Shelly is waiting. We'll go by Jeep as soon aswe have a good cover for the trucks. No lights and little to no acceleration. The generators at the camp will mask our engine noise if we keep it low. After we drop off Wolf and Bandit, we’re on foot. Anyone who can’t hang physically needs to speak up now.”

There was nothing but silence on the comms. “Then let’s finish what they started. Whatever it takes.”

“As long as it takes.” Every last one of them said the words, and Ronan knew he’d march through the fires of hell to get Fleur and stop those bastards. Every man with him would be on his six. There was no force in the world more deadly than a Guardian who was in search of one of their own.

CHAPTER 24

As they slowly rolled onto the small road where he’d met Al for the first time, Ronan glanced at the sky. There was hardly any moon, which was good for them. But they needed to hurry. If the militia didn’t return soon, Miller and Mathias might get antsy and bolt. What that meant for Fleur, he had no idea.

He stood up and motioned for the following Jeep to stop and cut the engine. “Shelly?” Ronan said quietly.

A rustle on his right brought every gun to bear on that side of the road. Shelly emerged and gasped, lifting her arms immediately. “Don’t shoot.”

“Wolf is bad,” Jug said as he moved out of the Jeep and grabbed her arm.

“Where is he?” Shelly was instantly business.

“Back here.” Jug moved her to the back Jeep.

The bushes rustled again, and Rana appeared. She was met with the same weapons. “Ronan?” she squeaked.

“Yes, Rana, right?”

“Yes. I’m worried about Fleur. She was acting different. Suspicious. When the militia pulled out, we knew it was bad news.”

“Tell me what was happening at the camp today.” He needed as much intel as he could get. Rana rubbed her arms. “The normal things. The day wasn’t any different. People were lined up for lunch; there was enough food, and no one went without. The hospital line was longer than normal. Several of the staff had injuries from digging the latrine areas. Blisters from shovel work, one had a swollen ankle from twisting it in a hole they were digging. Miller was checking on the dig. He was with Mathias for a long time. I think Fleur was watching them, but …” She shook her head. “Nothing was out of the ordinary except your convoy and the militia … oh, the ones on post left right after you did. A Jeep came and collected them all. But there are only three vehicles left at their camp.”

Ronan nodded. “Thank you. Do you know where Al went?”

“To find Fleur.” She looked at Shelly. “He told me he saw Miller with a gun. He didn’t want to worry Shelly, so he only told me. Why would Miller have a gun?”

“Miller isn’t who he represented himself as, Rana. We’re going to take care of that.”

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