Page 50 of Rett

“The U.S. does not want to send more troops down there,” said Luke, staring at the room full of men. “We have no idea who we can trust from the old teams of Barber and Ryder, so while they are allegedly attending a meeting with the Venezuelan government, the troops will be forcibly removed from the country.”

“What about Ramos and Barbenza?” asked East.

“Thanks to Tyler and his amazing abilities to tap into all satellites in foreign countries,” smirked Hex, nodding at the young man, “we know that the two of them are at the north end of the lake and haven’t left.”

“The submersibles will be transported to the site and dropped in stealth mode into the mouth of the lake. You’ll make your way to the location where we believe the mansion is located. Half of you will rush the mansion. The other half will rush into the tunnels.

“Our primary objective is to kill Ramos and Barbenza. We know there may be art there, but it is secondary. I know that might be difficult for you to hear, but killing those two men is far more important at this time.”

“Rett, East, Eazee, Zeke, Kiel, Trak, Joseph, Nathan, JB, and Tobias will be on the primary team. You all look enough alike that you’ll scare the fuck out of them,” said Cam. “Find a way to end them both. I don’t care how.”

“I love that you’re sending Grandpa Zeke and Trak,” said Rett, “but aren’t they supposed to be taking it easy? I mean, I really don’t want wives pissed at me right now.”

“They know we’re going,” said Zeke with a smile. “So is Baptiste.” The men smiled, shaking their heads at their grandfathers. Legends. That’s what they were. True legends.

“SEAL members will run the submersibles. No arguments. They’re the most proficient at it, and they can get you out of there fast if they need to. Comms will be operating from the planes as well as back here.

“We know how many men are in the units run by Barber and Ryder, but we have no idea of the number of men working on this project for Ramos,” said Luke. “We’ve only got one shot to get in and get out. Let’s make it count. Spend a few hours with your families, and report to the runway at 2200.”

Rett spent his time with Casey, just holding her and loving her. He didn’t think it would be this difficult, but it was painful to leave her, wave goodbye, not knowing if he would return. His brothers waited for him on the path, their own bags ready and waiting. They saw the pain in his face and slapped his back.

“We’ll bring you home, Rett. You can count on it,” said East.

“I hope to fuck you’re right. If not, I’m going to haunt all of you for the rest of your lives.”

With one submersible containing the team First Nations, as they called themselves, and the other team, Team Bravo, containing Baptiste, Bron, Dunc, Wade, Tiger, Chief, Torro, Gator, and Ham. From the intel that had been fed to them by Tyler, the First Nations team followed the paths into the tunnels while the other team headed toward the location of the mansion.

“Team Bravo approaching the mansion,” whispered Dunc. The fence surrounding the property was electrified, so the first order of business was to find the power source and cut it. Wade and Tiger followed the perimeter until they located the box. With a few simple cuts, the power was shut off, making it easier to get through the gates.

Simultaneously, Gator and Ham shut down the cameras, ensuring that nothing would be seen from the source. With the training they possessed, they maneuvered themselves closer and closer to what turned out not to be a mansion in the purest sense but rather a mansion in a rugged lodge sort of way.

With the power off, it was easy to see where there were people inside. Small lanterns and flashlights sparked through the floors as the team moved in. With four guards on the outside, Wade and Bron took care of them quickly, sitting them on the side of the house.

Inside the mansion, they found five heat signatures. Directing which ones to go to which rooms, Baptiste became the unofficial commander of the team. With quiet comms, they moved slowly, their stealth technologies providing an upper hand for them.

It was like shooting ducks in a barrel, although they didn’t have to fire one bullet. These men weren’t American military. They were untrained members of the cartel, guarding a house that appeared to have nothing except old furniture in it.

“Tie them up,” said Baptiste. “Tiger, Torro, come with me.” Baptiste walked through the mansion, searching for hidden rooms or cellars below the floor boards. Although there were several hidden locations, nothing was inside. It was all gone. Whatever had once been housed in the mansion was long gone.

“Team First Nations, we’ve got the mansion under control, but nothing inside. Not one piece of art.” Baptiste turned to one of the men now in zip ties. Kneeling in front of him, he stuck the blade beneath his chin.

“Where is it? Where is the art?” he asked. He shook his head, almost looking confused. Baptiste spoke again, this time in Spanish. “The paintings, artwork, where is it?”

“Gone,” he said. “Señor Ramos removed it all. It’s gone.”

On the other side of the lake, the men entered the tunnels cautiously. They could hear hammers and drills in the distance but had no idea what they were doing. A U.S. military jeep was sitting outside the entrance, almost daring anyone to come and find them.

Trak held a finger to his lips, then pointed to their feet, silently telling them to move quietly through the echoing tunnels. Each man on this team knew exactly how to do that. After all, they’d learned from the very best.

Sticking to the sides of the tunnel where it was darker, there were five men on each side. Two hundred yards in, they saw the first men. Four of them. Kiel signed to the others.

Don’t shoot if possible. It will echo like a bitch.

The triplets nodded at their father, smiling. He had a much more robust way of speaking or signing than Trak or Zeke. Killing the guards silently was easy. Continuing to move further into the tunnel, they heard men arguing.

“We want to be paid, Señor Ramos. We’ve kept your secret, and we’ve worked hard to make sure you have your treasure. It’s time we were paid,” said the brave man.

They heard laughter, then the sounds of gunfire and men screaming.

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