“He’s gone.”
“What do you mean?” Preacher asked, holding back the suffocating swell of regret tying him up inside.
“He packed up and left late last night without saying goodbye. I saw him with just his duffel from my window.” Her voice broke as she continued. “I tried to catch him, but he had already disappeared.” She covered her eyes and cried softly. Preacher curled his arm around her shoulders and squeezed as several of the other tenants came out of their apartments, just as visibly upset. It was clear Striker had made a difference in their lives.
“Why would he leave like that?” Breakneck said, his young face scored by frustration and grief.
“He can’t face us. He’s ashamed and embarrassed. Afraid we’ll…I don’t know…think less of him.”
“That isn’t going to fucking happen,” Hazard said.
“We’ve got to find him,” GQ offered. Inhaling raggedly, he looked around helplessly.
Iceman hit the wall with his open hand. Preacher stared at him, pieces falling into place with numbing clarity, and he felt sick. Dean wouldn’t want pity. He saw the fear last night in his eyes. He should have realized Striker would take himself out of the situation before he would let his team see their leader’s downfall. The fury on Iceman’s face and in every line of his rigid body was the same feeling that was eating Preacher up, hollowing him out. Somehow, they had failed Striker.
It took a moment before he was able to frame words, his voice numb when he whispered, “GQ’s right. We have to find him.”
There was utter silence in the hall except for the soft cries of the tenets. In that quiet, eight phones chimed.
Iceman swore fiercely and pulled out his phone as the guys followed suit. “We’ve got to go,” he said, tucking his phone into his back pocket.” He turned to Mrs. Kovic. “If he comes back, please call me on this number.” He slipped a piece of paper into her hand.
She nodded vigorously. “I will. I promise. All of you be safe.”
* * *
Fifteen minuteslater they were all gathered in the ready room at the HQ. Rose gave her husband a quizzical look as he entered the room. The two of them were so in tune, she could tell he was upset.
As soon as everyone was seated, she said, “We have actionable intel from a trusted operative who gave us the location of Vak’s compound. It was a stroke of luck that this information came to our source in the field.” She turned as a picture came up on the wide screen. “Our drone took these pictures early this morning.”
It looked like an old resort that had been abandoned, but Preacher could see barbed wire surrounding the big lodge and six cabins. Smoke was coming from the main building’s chimney and guards were roaming the grounds. There was a chopper on a crude helipad.
“Has it been confirmed that Vak is there now?” GQ asked.
“Yes, along with a notorious human trafficker and suspected gun runner, Ja Savic. He’s of interest to the FBI, ATF, and CIA as we have credible intel he’s smuggling arms into West Africa—Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria to support Boko Haram and other terrorist organizations.”
“Joker and his team have their hands full enough. If we can shut down at least one pipeline,” Boomer said. “Then that will ease some of the volatility in Niger, hopefully.”
“Sad news about Ambassador Ogden and his family,” Breakneck said quietly, but his voice carried across the room to Rose, who nodded her expression turning to sorrow.
“Fucking butchers,” Skull growled. If looks could kill, the people who murdered the Ogdens would be dead.
“Yeah, his kids were young,” Kodiak said, his voice full of anger, his face twisting at the horror of what had happened. “I’m sure Joker will exact the right amount of justice on whoever murdered our ambassador and his family. He’s one hell of a leader,” Iceman said with cold retribution in his eyes.
Rose nodded. “He is and I’d still be with them if it wasn’t for NSH,” she said, her voice solemn. She clicked and the screen changed to the picture of a blond man, with close-set brown, sly eyes, a long face that came to a point on his chin, giving him a weaselly look. With a shock of recognition, Preacher sat upright. This was the man in the sedan, the one Karasu was chasing after. That meant…she was the source and technically and more accurately, Preacher had been the source, since he had snagged the license plate number of the car Ja had been traveling in. Which got his mind to roll over on itself.Human traffickerrang in his mind. Was this just a routine mission or had Karasu been in Bosnia for personal reasons? Which begged the question: Why? What did she and this Ja have in common?
He could only go by the look on Karasu’s face to gauge that something terrible had happened to her. His gut rolled at the thoughts moving through his mind. He didn’t like to think about her being at the mercy of merciless men. But had she? Is that what she was referencing regarding her past?
She took a soft breath and said, “This is Ja Savic, a nasty piece of work, murderer, gun runner, and all-around lowlife. He’s wanted in many countries, but has so far been elusive, taking refuge with his lowlife friends, including Vak.”
“What’s the plan, boss?”
Iceman stood and said, “Rose, could you put the map back up?”
She clicked back to the aerial map and then took a seat off to the side.
“I’d say, breach here and here.” He pointed to two locations that had perimeter guards to the north and south of the compound with overwatch at those two locations.” He looked up. “Any questions?”
“That helipad is going to be a squirter’s destination. I’d say we want to take it out with stingers?” Kodiak said.