Kane sighed now as he looked around at the group. “One good thing is the suits have a plane on stand-by in Guyana. Once we give them notice, they can have a plane waiting in Caracas in two hours to fly them to safety.”
“Exactly, Kane. We need to stay focused on the positive. I have faith in the Super Banker Babes. They’re going to come through.”
Ezio looked at Cullen like he was out of his mind. Which he very possibly was.
Asher just knew there had been sparklers involved in that karaoke contest. He just knew it.
Asher must have hit his head a whole hell of a lot harder than he thought. The birds were beginning to sing, and he had just managed to slog his way through the twenty kilometers of jungle, and here he was looking at a brightly colored food truck. Ash watched as it lumbered up the last little bit of hill toward the clearing.
Even in the dim light, the garish paint job couldn’t be missed. The bottom third was red, the middle of the truck was surrounded with a stripe of blue and the top third and roof were painted in yellow. Just so nobody could mistake it, the blue was covered with stars, so it was clearly a representation of the Venezuelan flag.
Asher and his team all stayed hidden.
Fuck me. A food truck? Please tell me the Super Banker Babes aren’t giving us a ride in that thing.
Whoever the driver was, laid on the horn. It sounded vaguely familiar. For just a moment, Asher was back in his childhood chasing after the ice cream man with his little brother during those hot summer days. He shook his head to get back to the here and now.
“Stay put,” Max whispered.
The music stopped and a woman’s voice began talking in English over the loudspeaker.
“Americans, my daughter sent me. We need your help. Come out where I can see you.” There was no mistaking the authority in the voice. It sounded a little like his maman’s.
I definitely have a concussion.
The driver’s side door opened, and a tiny woman stepped down. She wore a coral-colored pantsuit with her white hair up in a bun. Asher thought she looked like she should have been at a bridge club except for her tennis shoes. Despite the fact that she looked to be one hundred and twelve years old, she was steady on her feet.
“My daughter sent me, she is Suzanne Azua. I am her mother, Lenora. She’s the president of the Banco de la Gente and she said we don’t have much time to…what is the phrase?” She paused, then snapped her fingers. “Dilly-dally.”
Cullen snorted with laughter.
“Cover us,” Max motioned for Raiden to follow him.
“I want to go,” Cullen whined. Max gave him a hard look as he and Raiden moved out into the clearing with their rifles at the ready.
She took a long look at Max and Raiden. “Is it just the two of you?”
“Ma’am, I’m Lieutenant Max Hogan, United States Navy, and this is Chief Petty Officer First Class, Raiden Sato. More of my men will be here in a few moments. Do you mind if Raiden and I have a look inside your truck?”
“It’s not mine, it’s my great-nephew’s truck,” she gave a distracted wave. “You need to hurry.” Then she pulled herself up to her full height, which was almost five feet nothing.
Asher’s lip twitched. He’d bet his last dollar this was legit, but he wouldn’t risk his team’s lives. He continued to carefully monitor the scene in front of him through the scope of his rifle.
“She’s right, they’d better hurry,” Cullen whispered behind him. “I’m hungry, and I smell deep-fried empanadas and plantains.”
Ash grinned. Now he recognized the smell. He really didn’t think the little old lady was driving around members of Maduro’s secret police in a food truck. The two SEALs coordinated their swift entrance into the front and back of the truck.
“Clear,” Raiden shouted.
“Nothing,” Max said clearly as he jumped out of the back of the truck.
Cullen chuckled. “She just rolled her eyes at our lieutenant.”
“Señora Azua, thank you for your patience. We needed to make sure that everything was safe before we got started,” Max explained.
She gave a regal nod. “Can your men come out now? We need to move quickly. My daughter and the others are surrounded at the bank by that pig of a dictator’s men.” Asher snorted with laughter. The lady didn’t have a filter.
Max gave a nod and Asher followed the others out to where the truck was parked.
“Is this everybody?” she asked. “Just eight of you are going to save everyone?” She was clearly skeptical.
Max nodded.
“You better be good,” she muttered in Spanish as she started toward the driver’s door.
At the door, she turned back to the team. “We need to get to my hacienda before sunrise. People are waiting.”
“Who would that be?” Max asked.
“My granddaughter and great-grandchildren.” She began to open the driver’s side door when Cullen stopped her.
“Maybe it would be better if I drive,” Cullen suggested as he opened the truck door for her. The smartass was gone, now he was all business.
She craned her neck to look up at him. “Been driving the streets of Caracas a lot, have you?” She had a glint in her eye.
Kane coughed, trying to disguise his laugh. Everyone could see that Cullen had a fight on his hands.
“Nope, but I’ve driven in Brazil, Africa, and Afghanistan,” Cullen answered. He was the most proficient driver on the SEAL team. Asher knew it would kill him to let this little old lady drive.
She looked him up and down. “This
