Page 38 of Legacy's Call

Ronan groaned, “Shit.” That was not what he needed. “I’ve got it covered.”

“Sure.” Wraith chuckled. “Sure, you do.” He grabbed his M-4 and helmet as he left.

“Awful chatty today, aren’t you?” Ronan called after him.

“I’m done,” Wraith called back.

Ronan shook his head and stood up. He needed to find Fleur. He’d just left his tent when Dude came across the comms. “Skipper, you have an incoming call from Alpha. Are you in a secure location?”

Ronan hit his communication device. “Dude, there’s nothing secure about this camp, but hold on. Let me go back into the tent.”

After returning to his tent, he removed his helmet and put his M-4 back in the rack. “Okay, send it.”

“Standby,” Dude said. “Alpha’s online. The connection is secure. I’m clear.”

“How are you doing?” Jacob King asked by way of greeting.

“We’re okay. Working with the militia is always fun. This IDP camp is interesting. I don’t know why I assumed they had UN peacekeepers.”

“Too many camps, not enough resources. If the locals say the militia are working as guards, the NGOs generally take that at face value. What do you want to know about Al?”

“Who’s Al?” Ronan frowned.

“Adil Abdo. We called him Al.”

“Wait, what? Who is we, and how did you know him?”

“The last operation the old Alpha team went on was in Syria quite a while back.”

“I remember that. Talon said something about it. Old guys trying to find their fountain of youth or something.” That wasn’t the case, but he liked picking at his uncle.

“Bullshit.” Jacob laughed. “Al is a good kid. He was thirteen when we were there, and we leaned heavy on him. He knows those tunnels outside Aleppo like the back of his hand. How did you come across him?”

“He’s working the communications tent here.And he was working every day the convoys were attacked.”

Jacob was silent for a moment. “I can’t see him being a part of something like that. His entire family was killed during that damn war, and he survived by working with Guardian. We’ve used him as recently as a year or so ago when we were looking for some radicals we believed were in the tunnels. I think Tango team went on that mission. Hold on.”

Ronan frowned. They had an asset in the camp, and he wasn’t made aware of it. That was unusual.

“Yep. Tango team,” Jacob confirmed.

“Why wasn’t I made aware that he’s here?”

“We don’t have reins on him, Ronan. He’s free to go and do whatever he wants, but when we reach out, he answers. He has a foreign national clearance, and I tagged it just to keep tabs on him. He was a good kid, a good man, now I assume. If he got into trouble and called on me, I’d send help.”

“Then he might have an idea of what’s going on?”

“He could. The kid had his ear to the ground. I doubt that’s changed much. It was a survival technique. Things haven’t gotten much easier in that area.”

“Thanks. That could help.”

“I got your request for supplies. Dude forwarded it.”

Ronan frowned. “Which request was that?”

“Hold on, I have it right here. Lighting units, portable generators, meal rations, medical supplies, and six transport vehicles. I’m assuming that’s for the IDP movement. Before I approve this and get them to you, where do you stand on identifying why the convoys were targeted?”

“We’ve identified the day of the week, which corresponds with Al’s working in the communications tent, but that could be a coincidence.”

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