“It looks like a woman,” said AJ. “I’ll work on the footage and be sure. Maybe if I’m lucky I can get a close-up of the face. At least we know someone got out of the palace but they may not have left through normal routes.”
“AJ? Can we get drone footage with lidar to see if there are tunnels or hidden rooms?” asked Ham.
“Of course, we can.” Ham stared at him and AJ laughed, nodding. “Ah, I see. You weren’t asking if, you were asking when.”
“Yes,” nodding Ham rubbing his temples. “When?”
“Let me get Tanner working on the drones. He’s the best person to do this for us.”
AJ left the room and the others chuckled, shaking their heads.
“Be careful, Ham. This job is making y’all old before your time,” said Mitchell.
“Well, at least now we know how our fathers felt,” frowned Gator. “This is not for the faint of heart.” Brooks laughed shaking his head.
“If it were, everyone could do it, brother. You and I both know, we’re it.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Hi boy,” smiled Lennon as the massive Great Dane sat next to her in the gardens. He laid his head in her lap and she laughed at how heavy the head was. She rubbed between his ears and he snuggled closer to her, making her laugh out loud.
“Chaos! Chaos where the fu- Oh, hi there,” smiled Gaspar.
“Hello,” she smiled. “Gaspar, right?”
“That’s right. Good memory. You’ve met a lot of people in the last few days.”
“Yes, but I’m good with faces and names. You and all your siblings look alike, as well as your children. Although, you’re going to have to explain to me how adopted children end up looking like their parents,” she smirked.
“Honey, if I knew that I might win a Nobel Prize,” he chuckled taking a seat beside her. “How are you doing? Anything I can help you with?”
“I’m good. I mean, Brooks has certainly made me feel safe and secure here. I suppose the reporter in me is trying to figure out why Bora would believe he could get away with this. It just doesn’t make sense. Why throw away a great career in the Marine Corps?”
“You know, Lennon, I’ve been doing this a long time. First as an Army Ranger, then as a part of our teams here. Nine and I have been friends for more than fifty years. That’s a lot of missions and security jobs. A lot of corrupt governments, corrupt politicians, sick individuals.
“Hell, my own children were on a stage prepared to be sold to the highest bidder for God knows what purpose. My wife was nearly beaten and abused to death to satisfy the itch of an insane man.”
“God, I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
“If you haven’t met my mother,” he started.
“Oh, I have,” she smiled. “She’s really special.” He laughed, nodding at the young woman.
“Special is the right word,” he said nodding at her. “My mother would say that the good, bad, and ugly all lead us to where we’re supposed to be. The day we found Alexandra, we were training. We were going to be on a different island but something in me changed it last minute. She found safety on that island in an old tree house my brothers and I had built. The very tree house I was going to tear down the next week.”
“Okay, that’s seriously freaky,” she said staring at him.
“Freaky is a good word for it. Alexandra couldn’t have children after her attack. I didn’t care. I loved her, not her womb. That same month, my brothers and the men I call my brothers, rescued those six beautiful children I call my own. Tell me that’s not fate.”
“It’s incredible,” she smiled. “You should have someone write that story.”
“We’ve all spoken about that at one point or another. It’s a lot to write about. The beautiful things we’ve done in this world and that, now, my grandchildren and great-grandchildren continue to attempt to do.”
“Why do you keep doing it?” she asked with a sideways glance.
“Why?” he frowned.
“Yes. Why? The world sucks sometimes. People fighting for no reason. Countries bombing one another for personal or political gain, not caring who they’re killing. Predators, murderers, rapists, child traffickers, it’s everywhere. It makes me so sad and I feel so helpless.”
