Page 22 of Rett

“He’s not a Green Beret?” asked Luke.

“No. He’s regular Army but apparently has a lot of pull. He seemed to have a burr up his ass about Ramos and what was happening down there. They called the three of us in…”

“Who is they?” asked Cam. The brothers looked at one another, then back at Cam. “Who specifically called you in?”

“General Ryder. He said we were being lent out to Barber and his unit. They told us to find Ramos but not to do anything except take photographs, send them back, and get the fuck out. We were to look like tourists. They even asked that we stay in separate areas so that no one would be suspicious.”

“They split you up,” said Hex.

“Well, yeah, I guess they did,” said Eazee. “We stayed in different parts of the area but met up every night to get the photos and see what was happening with the business.”

“And what did you see?” asked Luke.

“Luke, what the fuck is this all about?” frowned Rett.

“Please, Rett. Just answer the questions. For us.” He nodded, looking at his brothers.

“We found his compound, and the drugs were flowing pretty heavily in and out of there. But it was also women. We took photos, good photos, and sent them back nightly to Barber, copying Ryder on everything we sent.

“At first, it was just simple stuff, like women being pushed into small portable buildings, then loaded into trucks and moved out again. It was a transfer station for everything Ramos was doing. We watched it all for six days. Then we went our separate ways.”

“Who told you to move out separately?” asked Cam.

“Again, it was Barber. In fact, I was originally supposed to go through Honduras, but I got the call from Ryder to go to Panama,” said Eazee. “We said our goodbyes, and I left immediately. East left the next morning.”

“No,” said his brother. “I didn’t leave the next morning. I was supposed to be on a transport to Mexico, but I missed the window because of fucking llama traffic. When I didn’t show up, they left without me. I had to book a commuter flight that only took me to Barquisimeto, and then I rented a car and drove to Cartagena to take a commercial flight. I have the ticket stubs in my wallet.”

“You guys already know my story,” said Rett. “I was supposed to leave the next day as well, but that woman approached me in the bar.”

“This woman,” said Luke, tapping the computer and displaying the face of an attractive woman on the left and a woman beaten to a pulp on the right. In a small corner photo was the tattoo that Rett had seen on her.

“That’s her. That’s the woman,” said Rett, almost relieved at seeing her face again. It was a pretty face. Not beautiful, nothing overtly special or different, but she’d been kind to him until she drugged him.

“This is Rosa Ramos,” said Hex. Rett stared at the men, letting that information filter through his brain. “She was his third wife in nine years. He seems to lose them almost as rapidly as he marries them. You ran, so once they figured out who you were, they couldn’t catch you and punish you for her murder.”

“They knew who I was?” asked Rett.

“No. That’s just it. They didn’t know who you were until after, then they thought they had a gold mine on their hands. An American soldier, a Green Beret at that, killing a local woman. While they were chasing you, someone took advantage of the manhunt.

“A week into your run for your life episode, the Ramos compound was bombed, killing nearly all of his men, burning his drugs, and killing more than a hundred women he had locked in buildings. It wasn’t about you. Not initially, anyway. It was about distracting Ramos and destroying his business.”

“I’m so confused right now,” said Rett, shaking his head.

“They needed someone to take the fall for her murder, and possibly even the compound being bombed, and you just happened to be there,” said Luke.

“The fall for what? The woman?”

“No. That was planned by Ramos. He found her after she drugged you and beat the living fuck out of her. According to one of Ramos’s men, they thought you were dead, which is why they dressed you and left you behind. They thought they would get the police and show them the American who had murdered his wife. He was pissed at her for screwing around with you.”

“What sort of hell is this?” frowned Rett. “What about his compound?”

“Oh, that’s easy. Barber and his unit did it. And they took full fucking credit for it but openly acknowledged the support of three Green Berets that happened to be in the area.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” asked East. “Did he use our names?”

“He said that they were a unique team of identical triplets,” frowned Cam. “I wonder how many of those are Green Berets?”

“I can’t believe this. He sent us in to do his dirty work, then did the easy shit with missiles and drones,” said Rett.

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