Page 94 of Duty Preserved

“This is consistent with everything I have heard. So now we have two different sources painting roughly the same exact picture.”

Donovan picked up his phone and took it off speaker. He turned away and spoke to Jace, seeming to confirm some details I couldn’t hear. Then he ended the call and pocketed the phone.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Willem Nasser. Now we knew our enemy.

“This goes to KWS and the police,” Faith said. She capped her pen. “This is an organized criminal operation, and it is bigger than any one conservancy. The authorities need everything we have.”

“Agreed,” Donovan said.

“What I can do from the KWS side, I will do. But this is beyond what any single conservancy can handle on its own. The police need to be involved. Possibly international intelligence agencies, given the South African connection.”

Donovan nodded. “We will let the big boys handle it, then. In the meantime, we will shift our focus to defensive actions in order to protect our conservancy and the people and animals within it.”

He said it plainly, and I believed him. I had no doubt he was capable of hunting down this man and his crew, but he was making sure to stay on the right side of the law.

Faith gathered everything. The lab reports, the evidence log, my photographic documentation. She added her own notes from the call with the rest and buckled the satchel closed.

“I will be in touch,” Faith said. She clasped my hand again at the door. “Take care of yourself, Sarah. And take care of this place.”

“I will.”

I watched her walk to the Land Cruiser and climb in. The engine turned over and the vehicle pulled out onto the access track, dust rising behind it as she trailed off. She had what she needed. The responsible thing was in motion.

Andrew stepped outside, leaving Donovan and me alone in the facility.

Donovan crossed to where I was standing and put his hand on the small of my back. I leaned into it, just slightly, and felt his fingers press in response.

Simply knowing Willem Nasser’s name and having a better picture of his operation didn’t resolve all our issues. There was still going to be plenty of work to do.

But right now, with Donovan’s hand warm on my back and the evening settling in around us, I let myself have this one quiet moment before whatever came next.

Chapter 26

Donovan

Sarah’s breathing had settled into the deep, even rhythm that meant she was out. My arm was across her waist, and I should have been asleep two hours ago. I couldn’t get there. The day kept cycling in my mind.

The extensive amount of evidence showing how frequently these guys had been doing this kind of thing. The sheer number of previous locations that Faith had shown us was almost overwhelming. To think of that many rhinos butchered helplessly made my blood boil. I couldn’t even imagine what Sarah was feeling about it all.

Willem Nasser. South African poacher.

The enemy had a name now. Naming a problem was the first part in defeating it. And Nasser was certainly making himself a big problem. His crew had funding for decent arms; I was already witness to that intimately. And his crew was disciplined.

Fuck, they were fast to respond.

Almost as soon as we had put our lights on them, they executed an immediate react-to-enemy-contact maneuver. They established overwhelming fire superiority, and then they used that to cover a tactical withdrawal.

I shifted onto my back. The ceiling was a slab of black above me. Sarah murmured and tucked closer, her palm settling flat against my chest.

I could get used to this.

The sound of the engine hit my ears, and at first, I dismissed it as just the regular noise of the camp.

It had dropped to an idle somewhere in the camp. There weren’t supposed to be any vehicle operations scheduled at this hour.

Who the hell is driving around camp right now?