Page 18 of Legacy's Call

Fleur chuckled. “He knows I’ll just look for another way. Shuttering this camp is a mistake, and I’ve been banging that drum since we were first notified, and that was before all the trouble with the convoys. I’ve written so many emails and made asmany calls as I could. There are more IDPs than facilities, and they’re shuttering us. Ridiculous.”

“It doesn’t make sense. Are you sure you want me to tell my contacts you will meet them?”

“Yes. Until I know the Americans are the answer to the convoy problem, I need to have an alternate plan.”

“I don’t like it,” Rana complained.

Fleur nodded toward the men walking their way. “They’re coming.”

Rana stood up when she did. “I’ll be going.”

“Thank you for getting word to them.”

“Once again, I will not accept your thanks for doing something that could get you killed.” Rana turned to leave. “They will want money.”

Fleur nodded. “I know.” She watched her friend walk away before turning back to the men who were approaching.

She was still working on getting money into the country and the camp. Sending cash in the mail was risky, and she doubted smugglers would take a check. Fleur laughed at her thoughts. Yet, she had an idea. She’d sent an email to her cousin in Virginia, who was her point of contact in the States, and was waiting for an answer. It was risky, but hopefully, itwould work. Money was essential to getting the people to safety, so it would be worth the chance.

She stood as Ronan and his men approached with fuel containers. Damn, they were strong. There was no way she could lift one of those tanks; they carried one in each hand. Ten tanks. Tears formed in her eyes. “You have no idea what that means to us. We can keep the security lights on and run the clinic and communications generators.”

Ronan set his cans down casually. “Lead the way, we’ll follow.”

She wiped her eyes. “This way.” She led them through the maze of paths that had haphazardly developed as survivors moved into camp and built shelters. The first stop was the medical tent. The men filled the generator and left one full container. The container was chained to the generator, which was also chained to a large chunk of buried rock. If anyone wanted the fuel or the generator, they would work for it.

The next stop was the communications tent. The men followed the same process, leaving a full container similarly secured to the generator and anchored. The admin tent was next, followed by the kitchen tent. The last area they reached was thesecurity lighting, which kept the area between the militia and the camp lit.

“Why isn’t there security lighting all the way around the camp?” Ronan asked as his men filled the generators.

She glanced up at him. “When you boil it down, it’s a matter of money or greed, which is basically money.” When Ronan raised his eyebrows questioningly, she sighed and answered, “When we could move people out, we could bring in fuel and supplies. Since the convoys have been targeted, we’ve had to pick and choose what’s fueled. There’s only so much we can do.”

He glanced toward where the militia was camped. “And you chose to light this area instead of using the lighting around the other portions of the camp?”

Her lips thinned as she nodded. “Sometimes your help can become your enemy. I don’t trust the militia to lift a finger to stop anyone from sneaking into camp.”

“Including the militia itself.” He finished her thought for her.

“The unaccompanied women and children in this camp are a means to money. That money isverytempting to people who have nothing. There aregood men in the militia, and then there are the bastards who exploit a ravaged population.” She looked up at him. “Excuse my language, please.”

He glanced down with those dark brown eyes and gave her a quick smile. “You have every right to express yourself. Believe me, I’ve heard worse.” He put his hands on his hips. “I’m working with the militia to help move the convoys again, and you’ve called it correctly regarding the mix of people in that camp. My team and I have set expectations with the new cadre of militia who arrived today. If they want to be paid, they’ll toe the line.”

“Can you pay them more than they could make by selling information on our convoys? Because I think that’s what’s happening.”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. I hope so. Why do you think it’s the militia selling the information? Do you give them advance knowledge of the route?”

“No, we don’t. They don’t know until we pull out of the camp, but the route is obvious once we start because we can only access a few locations that will take our people.”

“You’ll have to show me how you plan and coordinate the convoys.” Ronan crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at his boot. “Perhaps a change in locations is required.”

“Good luck with that. There are twelve camps here, counting us. Six aren’t within our vehicles’ gas mileage, and three are at capacity and can’t take our people. That leaves three camps where we can relocate the people residing here.”

“There may be another way.” Ronan lifted his eyes to hers.

Her gut tightened. “Like what?”

He moved his gaze to the mountains. “There are tunnels not far from here used to move goods and people.”

She gasped and backed up a step. “You know about the tunnels?”

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