Page 52 of Rett

“What if there’s artwork here?” asked East.

“It’s not here. They’ve sent it somewhere else, and that’s a fight for another day. For now, today, we’ve won the good fight. Let’s go.”

Every twenty yards, the men set charges along the walls of the tunnels that had been dug only months before. Team Bravo was ready and waiting to blow the mansion on the other side of the lake, causing chaos in the region, wondering what had happened.

By the time the Venezuelan military deployed troops to the area, the submersibles were gone, the mysterious plane had vanished, and twenty-one men were asleep in their seats. Chipper looked back at them, sleeping like babies.

“How do they do that?” asked Autumn. “How do they do something so intense, the adrenalin flooding their bodies, and yet they can shut down and sleep when they stop?”

“Training, honey,” smirked Chipper. “Every man I’ve ever given a ride to was able to do the same. I’d pick ‘em up bloody, broken, sometimes dying, and yet once they were on the bird, they were able to fall asleep. I consider that a great compliment to my flying.”

“I guess it is,” she smiled.

By the time they landed at Belle Fleur, they could smell the bacon cooking in the cafeteria. For a few moments, they just stood at the edge of the property near the landing strip, looking at the lush vegetation around them. The smell of wet moss filled their senses, the rains from last night making everything smell fresh and alive.

The sun was steadily rising over the bayou, the promise of another beautiful spring day coming their way. No matter how many times they’d seen it, it always took their breath away.

Any man in the military would tell you that coming home was always exactly as they remembered. The smells, the sounds, the colors, all of it awoke senses that they believed were dead. This was no different. For the hundredth time, the entire feeling flooded their bodies, and they knew they were home. Home.

Kiel slapped the backs of his sons, shoving past them.

“Come on, boys, breakfast is on, and we have a wedding to get to.”

CHAPTER THIRTY

“You did us a solid, boys,” said Bankston. “We really owe you one for this. Ramos’s men and Barbenza’s men have scattered. The compounds are empty, and the Venezuelans couldn’t be happier. The secretary’s daughter was among those kept at one of the compounds. She’s home with her family now, thanks to all of you.”

“We appreciate that, sir,” said Eric.

“But,” he started.

“But? Are you kidding me right now,” Eric frowned.

“But, let me finish,” smirked Bankston. “We need to find whatever they had in those caves or that was in that mansion. I’ve sent the information to your team there, but Green Sutton needs to be handled. The Paso Brotherhood is moving in on Ramos’s territories. They see this as their opportunity to take over. It makes me wonder if he hasn’t been the recipient of some of those riches we missed out on.”

“We’ll get to him,” said Luke, “but we’re going to do our own recon and figure out what the hell he’s doing down there. We already know that he gave his daughter to Ramos several years ago.”

“She’s been presumed dead for years,” said Bankston. The men said nothing, allowing him to continue to believe that Morgan was gone. “He has a house on the south side of El Paso. Nothing extravagant, nothing to draw attention to himself, but we believe that’s where he is now. DEA has been on him for years, but he can smell them a mile away. We’ll put you in touch with them, and hopefully, you can partner on this.”

“We’ll make sure that we contact them, when we’re ready,” said Luke. Bankston just laughed, nodding at the team.

“You guys are something else. I sure as shit wish you were ours.”

“We are,” said Eric. “We’ve always been yours. We love serving, and it doesn’t matter to us that we don’t get paid by our country. We work for the American people. We protect them. All we ask is that our government protects us as well.”

“I’m damn sure trying to keep that promise, Eric. We’ll be in touch.” The screen went black, and the others looked at one another.

“We’ll deal with El Paso later,” said Luke. “Today is Rett and Casey’s day. It’s also the first day that Morgan will be out without her bandages. Let’s be supportive and make sure she knows that we’re here for her.”

Rett stood in his brothers’ cottage, straightening his tie. It had taken a few days, but with Bankston’s help, they’d all been able to submit their retirement papers and officially be home for good.

“I can’t get this fucking thing straight,” he groaned. “This is the kind of shit I hate about civilian life.”

“Come here,” smirked Kiel. He reached up to straighten his son’s tie and felt himself becoming emotional, remembering the day he tied his tie for his high school graduation. His boys were men. Grown men. He felt a firm grip on his shoulder and turned to see Joseph.

“It sucks, doesn’t it, brother? They were little boys just last week. I know they were. I remember it. I remember them running around playing tag, throwing baseballs and footballs, chasing the girls,” he laughed.

“When did we all get so old?” asked Zeke.

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