CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

They hadn't been back on Belle Fleur property for more than three hours when word came that they needed to pack up and leave again.

"Jean? I got word from Burkhard that Kaplan is planning on moving all the girls, potentially selling them. We've got to move, or they may be lost to us forever," said Major.

"Do we have all the locations?" he frowned. Just having returned from Alaska and their other locations, they were waiting to get news, and it came in the form of their resident nerd.

"I do," said Ace. "I'm sending all the coordinates now. Nine is sending the teams and team assignments right now as well."

They all looked down at their phones and grinned. They were getting a little help from Team Big. Ace stepped forward, reading the assignments.

"Team one, Jean, Miller, Cruz, Pork, Kegger, and Dex. Team two, Trak, Luc, Gaspar, Whiskey, Otto, and Noah. Team three, Alec, Noa, Ghost, Lucia, Clay, Rory, and Ethan. Team four, Max, Titus, Eli, Skull, Nine, and Zulu. Team Five, Ian, Gabe, Rafe, Vince, Tailor, Piper, and Mac. Team Six, Hazel, Major, Jak, Ham, Cowboy, Carter, and King.

"I've contacted U.S. military and cargo ships in the area, as well as Coast Guard services for each country. They're prepared with medical personnel and an exit strategy. Get the girls out, and I promise I'll have a list of islands narrowed down for you to hit and bring those men home."

"Nice job, Ace," said Nine.

He turned toward the other men, knowing that they would be prepared, but it was still his job to remind them that this was no game. It was the real world.

"Get anything you might think you'll need. This will be a coordinated attack. We'll connect and make sure our teams have everything they need. No one makes a move without their full team. Clear?"

"Clear," came the echo of voices.

"Load that shit up. Miller? All the boom-boom you want. I don't care if we have to take an extra chopper for it. Bring it all." The other man grinned at him, grabbing an extra backpack.

"Trak, Team Big, hell, any of you. Don't hold back. Kill every son-of-a-bitch in your path unless he'll tell us where Kaplan is. Then kill him anyway. We're going to send Kaplan one helluva message."

"We wanna go, sir," said Calvin.

Nine stared at the man, realizing they were probably close to the same age. The difference was that Calvin, Damon, and Vic didn't have the advantage of the pond and all the magic of Belle Fleur.

"Calvin, you can help us by staying here and manning comms with Ace, Code, and the others. We need to know you're safe. You're still not one hundred percent, and I wouldn't be a good leader if I allowed you out there like you are now."

Calvin stared at him for a moment, then at his friends. He nodded, extending his hand.

"I wish I woulda had the privilege of serving with you. You're a fine man."

"I'm looking at three of the finest I've ever known," said Nine. "We're doing this for all of you, April, and the men still alive."

"Come home, and we'll have a beer," said Damon.

"That's the plan, brother," smirked Nine. Major came running toward them, his huge body looking like a lineman ready to tackle and kill.

"We gotta go now! Burkhard said he's sold the girls, and buyers are on the way to get them. We're faster, but we have to go." Gaspar nodded.

"Then let's go."

Near Kuala Dungun, Malaysia, team two was hidden in the bushes just at the edge of the compound, grateful that darkness was on their side. Men were scrambling around, grabbing women, pulling them out of the makeshift shelter, and forcing them to take their seats on the benches.

When they were lined up, they were ordered to strip. Obediently, the women dropped what little clothing was covering their bodies, and then a man turned on a hose. He sprayed them down with the water, soaking them to the skin. The women, so used to not being allowed to wash, were almost enjoying it, ignorant of what was to come.

Trak looked at Noah, the big man practically steaming with anger. He nodded at his friend, and they circled around the side of the compound, watching each of the men carefully. The fools were so distracted by the rows of naked girls they never even bothered to see the massive men circling them.

Otto walked straight toward them, yelling something in German.

"Who are you?" asked one of the guards.

"I'm the buyer," said Otto in German.

"No. No, we were told the buyer was Chinese," said the distinctly American accent.

Behind Kaplan's men walking toward Otto in the darkness of the tent, he saw two dark figures moving like panthers in the night. Before the two men reached him, Otto had the great pleasure of watching five men fall silently at the hands of his amazing teammates.

"You know what?" smirked Otto. "You're right. The buyer is Chinese. But no one is buying anything tonight. No one."

What happened in the next few moments was one of the most epic one-sided battles the team had been a part of. Gaspar, with his little brother, Luc, took on two men. While on the other side of the compound, Whiskey picked men off like fish in a barrel. All the while, the women just stood soaking wet, not moving.

When it was done, Noah slowly walked toward the girls with Trak. Most women would have cowered in front of the men or at least grabbed for their clothing. These girls were so mind fucked, they had no idea what was right or wrong.

"We won't hurt you," said Trak. "You are safe now."

"Safe?" asked one of the girls, confusion on her face. She couldn't have been more than ten or twelve. Trak's blood was boiling at the thought of these children and what they'd endured.

"Safe, little one. No one will hurt you or touch you again. We are taking you to someone who will help you."

Once again, the girls were so obedient, so blind to what their lives should have been like it was disturbing and shocking to the men. Two of the girls were unable to walk due to a recent beating. Noah carried the first one, while Whiskey carried the second. Gaspar turned to his friend.

"Trak? Leave nothing. Otto, pile the bodies inside the tent. Send an unmistakable message."

Team four, with Max, Titus, Eli, Skull, Nine, and Zulu, neared B?i Xép, a beautiful beach community in Vietnam. Just a mile from the beach was a living hell for more than twenty young girls.

"No holding back," said Nine. "We're all too old to fuck around and act slick. Kill them all and get the girls out."

"Roger that," they said quietly.

With their own comms quiet, they had no way of knowing where the others were in their process. All they knew was that it was time to move. With six of the deadliest men moving in, the guards had no way of knowing that this would be their last night.

Just as they were about to move forward, Skull saw a guard rip the dress from one of the girls, forcing her to turn so he could beat her. Nine never saw a man that size move so quickly. Skull was gone before the others could follow.

Jerking the leather whip from his hands, he tossed it aside and snapped the man's neck, letting him fall to the ground. Not willing to leave it like that, he fired three bullets into him, then turned in time to kill two men coming toward him.

Eli and Nine looked like they'd stepped out of the OK Corral. Firing with both hands filled with weapons, they moved toward the fight as Max, Titus, and Zulu created absolute melee. When they were done, thirteen men were dead, and only Eli had a scratch on him, and it was caused by a tree branch.

"Eli? You look the friendliest. See if the girls will listen to you," said Nine.

Eli frowned at Nine but knew they needed to get the girls out of there fast. He walked slowly toward them, kneeling before the bench where they were huddled.

"We won't hurt you," he said softly. "We want to get you to safety. Someplace where we can get you food and medical treatment. Do you understand?"

"I-I understand," said a girl with a soft French accent. "I've only been here two years. I think. They've been here their whole lives. I understand what you're trying to do."

"Good, that's very good," smiled Eli. "Come with us, and we'll get you to a ship and safety."

With Eli, Max, Nine, and Titus taking the girls to the ship, Skull and Zulu were left to destroy the compound and leave nothing behind. Finding a laptop and several flash drives, they tucked them in their packs and lit up the sky.

If that didn't send a message, they weren't sure what would.

Teams three and six took the compounds in Jakarta. With more than double the women as the previous compounds, the hardest part wasn't eliminating the guards but getting the women to follow without question or fear. In spite of their training, they knew enough to not cross the border of the compound. As they set fire to everything, Rory calmly explained that there were no borders any longer. They could go wherever they liked.

In the end, Major and Rory stole large flatbed trucks, using them to load the girls and get them to the docks where the transport boats were waiting to take them to the ships.

On board, the medical personnel were so shocked by what they saw many of the young corpsmen and medics had to excuse themselves to collect their thoughts.

"I'm sorry, sir," said one of the medics to Rory. "I've just never seen anything – anything like this. I mean, I have a kid sister their age."

"I know, son. Just be gentle. Lord knows they've never seen gentle before."

When they received word that teams one and five were safely aboard their transports, the team made their way to the massive carrier they would be calling home until they could find Kaplan. With an ability to hold their boats and the Ospreys, the carrier was the only option for them.

"Admiral, we appreciate your hospitality," said Nine. The man stared at the group of men, shaking his head.

"You're all fucking real. I thought you were just myths and legends, but here you are on the deck of my ship as big as fucking life," he smirked. He looked around Nine to see Alec, Tailor, Noah, Skull, Max, Titus, Zulu, and Rory. "Some of you are slightly bigger than life."

"We're real, sir. How are the girls that were brought here?" asked Gaspar.

"A fucking mess. I've seen some sick mind games played in my military career. We all know about psychological torture and behavior training, but that's beyond anything I've ever seen. Do you know where this man is?"

"Not yet," said Trak. The admiral jumped slightly, turning to eye the dark man, and shook his head.

"Like I said. Real. And the islands for the lost POWs?" he asked.

"Our team is working on that as we speak. Do you have enough space for our team?" asked Nine.

"More than enough," he nodded. "Lieutenant? Get them to the showers, their beds, and get them some hot food. Lord knows they deserve it."