“Of course,” said Chief.
“Listen, what happened to Lucy and Rachel was awful. It shouldn’t have happened and we don’t want to take any chances again.”
“It’s okay, Ernie. It wasn’t your fault. The girls are home and safe now.”
“This time,” said Ernie. “What happens if it occurs again? Anyway. We saw the press conference. I feel like we’re all safe now. You guys need to go home and handle the rest of this. We took a page from your book and called some old friends from the Army.
“Turns out, we got fifteen guys who are sort of lost and looking for something to do. We offered them room and board if they’ll help on the farms, which would include some extra security.”
“No shit,” smirked Leif. “That’s cool, brother. I love that for all of you.”
“I’m not sure why we didn’t think of it sooner,” said Pat. “We were a family once. They were our brothers and we were happy to serve with them. That didn’t end when our service ended. Maybe this will be a new start for all of them.”
“I’m sure it will,” nodded Chief. “Besides, Robicheaux Oil & Gas is going to need good men to handle this massive job. I’m sure there will be opportunities all over the country for them. We’ll make sure they’re the first on the list for interviews.”
“We can’t thank you enough. All of you. If you need our help or for us to testify, we’ll gladly do it,” smiled Ernie.
“I think you’re going to be a very busy man, Mr. Mayor,” grinned Leif.
“Ugh! Don’t remind me,” he frowned. “I’m not sure how I got roped into that. My only solace is that Pat is out chasing kids that were shooting at beer cans behind the school. It was just bb guns, but still.”
He shook hands with each of the men, leaving them to clear out their things. By the time they had everything packed, the choppers were ready to take them home.
“I’ll be glad to sleep in my own bed tonight,” said Brix. Chief smiled at him.
“Well, don’t get too damn comfortable. We’ve still got a long way to go.”
Their welcome home dinner was hot and ready for them when they arrived. Lucy and Rachel were the first to leap into their husband’s arms and promise a more intimate welcome later in the evening.
It was noticeable that there was an entire group of men missing, including some of the senior, seniors. No doubt they wanted in on getting Santori.
“Everything okay with the rest of team?” Chief asked Ham.
“They’re good, brother. You know them. They get bored and look for any excuse to get involved again. This just so happens to be a great excuse and they’re going to give Santori the scare of his fucking life.”
“Do we know where he is?” asked Christian.
“More or less. We’re using all of our assets,” grinned Gator.
“No. No, don’t tell me Alvin and Oscar are helping again,” laughed Sebastian.
“Oh, yeah. Alvin, Oscar, and a few others we haven’t met yet. Gaspar has really taken on his role as speaker to the slithery and furry, seriously. Apparently his connections to the anacondas was extremely strong.
“Although, I have to admit, Luke is doing the same. He and a few others went with them. I think they’re hoping to wipe out Santori’s entire operation,” said Ham.
“Which will only further piss the POTUS off,” Chief frowned. Ham nodded.
“You can count on it. And we’ll be there to make sure he knows that we were the men who did it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
“I need you to send troops to support me!” demanded Santori.
“Are you out of your mind? I cannot send American troops to a drug lord and trafficker. The people would hang me, not to mention congress wouldn’t approve the action. No. No, I’m sorry, you’re on your own.”
“I’ll let them know you were a part of this. All of it! They’ll hang you either way,” said Santori.
“Listen to me you fucking low-life piece of shit. I may not be able to send troops but I damn sure can drop a bomb on your ass if I feel like it. We agreed we would be on our own if something went sideways. How the hell was I supposed to know those fucking ex-SpecOps guys were gonna stick their noses in our business.”
