Rafa’s phone rang. Asher answered it. “Answer the next call that comes in.” Then hung up.
He called out from his satellite phone and put it on speaker.
“Who am I speaking to?”
“Mike Carlson. I’m one of the Senior Specialists with Nomad Security. Señora Azua, Eden, Heinrich Becker and I have the phone in a private area. Who are you?”
“I’m Asher Thorne, Petty Officer First Class of the United States Navy. You have an entire team of SEALs here. What’s the situation?”
“We have ten civilians here at the bank. That includes Señora Azua who is wounded.” Carlson answered.
“How bad?” Kane clipped out the question.
“A bullet zinged her across the neck,” Eden jumped in. “No internal damage, but she’s hurting and it’s beginning to bruise around the wound. I’ve got ice on it, so it doesn’t swell any more than it has, I want to make sure her airway stays clear.”
“Have you checked down her throat?” Kane asked.
“Yes.”
“What kind of background do you have? Medic?” Kane continued to drill her.
Here it goes. I hope she’s not a screw-up, cause Kane will eat her for breakfast.
“A year of school that dealt specifically with animals. This included anatomy, physiology, and first aid. Let’s not forget I was the one on my father’s ranch who patched people up. I’ve got this.”
“Besides pray, what are you going to do if her throat swells up and she can’t breathe?” Kane asked skeptically.
“I’ll just have to do a tracheotomy, now won’t I?”
“A lot of cows have needed those, have they?”
“No, but I watched Grey’s Anatomy a bunch of times, doesn’t that count?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “Look, don’t be an asshole. I will not let her die, I will get done what needs doing. I’ll YouTube what I need to, or I figure one of you very capable SEALs will walk me through the procedure. Are we done here?”
“Okay, sounds like you have it covered as well as you can,” Kane relented.
“Carlson, this is Asher again. How many non-civilians do you have with you?”
“There’s me and one other man from Nomad Security, then there are four bank guards. Before you ask, we have plenty of firepower. They were worried about the zombie apocalypse, so they acquired an armory. And I’m not kidding.”
“About the zombies, or the armory?” Ash wanted to know.
“Carlson, you’re out of line,” Eden cut in. “With the gangs around here, it’s been like the wild west, and who in the hell was the Señora going to depend on, the secret police? She wasn’t just protecting the assets of this bank, she was protecting each and every one of her employees.”
There was a long pause.
“She wrote all of that out?” Asher asked.
“She didn’t have to; anyone with two brain cells to rub together would know what was up. And by the way, she has just written down that Carlson is an asshole and that I was right.”
From across the room, Lenora and Cynthia’s laughter joined Rafa’s.
“Seriously, you don’t want to mess with my aunt. She will cut you up.” Rafa said.
“Sounds like Eden will, too,” Asher muttered.
“Now that the armory has been explained, let me tell you about the people we’ve lost.” Carlson’s voice was subdued. “My man was driving three other members of the financial contingent. We couldn’t get anyone to respond via cell or radio, then there was a report on the police band radio of a black SUV that was in a bad wreck with no survivors. We have to assume that’s ours. That could be a smokescreen. We could have people who have been taken by the secret police.”
Asher heard a woman gasp. Was that Eden?
“How did that happen?” Asher asked.
“Patel said Rivers’ SUV had their tires shot out by the secret police. When he turned around to get them, their car had been rammed. He couldn’t stick around.”
“Is there anything else?” Asher asked.
A man answered with a distinct German accent. “I have been in contact with my Chancellor and she assures me that all of the Western allies have been in contact with the American government and have our own special forces members ready to work with you if that is required.”
Asher winced. The idea of having international teams of Spec Ops descending on Caracas made him cringe, and when he looked around the room, he saw that everybody else was feeling the same way. What was worse, they all knew damn good and well that his call had been monitored by Madura’s men.
Great, just fucking great.
“Is this Heinrich Becker?” Max asked.
“Yes, I’m the head of the IMF,” he answered. “And you are?”
“I’m Lieutenant Max Hogan of the United States Navy SEAL Team. Myself and six of my men will extract you from the bank and take you to the airport where a plane will be waiting. You will then be transported to Puerto Rico.”
“What about my six bank employees?” Señora Azua whispered in a harsh voice, then she started to cough. There was a long pause.
“She’s right, Lieutenant Hogan. Are you planning on pulling these people out of Venezuela? What about their families, are you taking them as well? Have you thought this through?” Eden wasn’t strident, she was calmly asking questions on behalf of Suzanne Azua, making sure she was acting in the woman’s best interests.
Max ran his hand through his close-cropped hair.
“One of my men is going to make sure that Señora Azua gets the care she needs. That will be priority number one. Her being here in Venezuela will be natural. As for the other bank employees, they can come here to the Azua hacienda and leave at different times, so that they get home safely.”
“How
