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Corporal Cassidy, Fabrice, and Kenzy, and a man she didn’t recognize, looking worse for wear, stood on her front porch.
14
Gregory Laguerre, now the soon-to-be president of Haiti after he’d done away with that upstart Baptiste, pulled out a cigar after the press conference and smiled. He snipped off the end and lit it up for a victory smoke.
“Prime Minister Laguerre?” a guard said. He approached with urgency in his step while the press fired questions at him that he had no interest in answering. He’d dropped his bomb on the Americans. No doubt they were getting ready to leave Haiti, and his plan to assassinate Baptiste and assume control of the government went off as planned.
It would only be a matter of time before his goon squad found Cassidy and brought him to justice, or killed him, sadly not before he’d murdered the first lady and her son. He’d been livid when he’d heard about the guard, Emmanuel Benard’s betrayal, but it was just a matter of employing some of the most ruthless men on the island to track down the US Marine, the first lady, and Benard. He was confident his problems would be eliminated by a gang force who was working with him, Les Justes or the Righteous. They were responsible for destabilizing the city and clashes with other gangs but would also be instrumental in supporting Laguerre to power. He would keep his connection to the bully boys under wraps.
People would be focused on the United States Embassy. He would keep the guards there for the time being, but he didn’t much care what happened to the Americans. The sooner they were either eliminated or out of the country, the better.
An aide approached him with a phone. “Sir, Ambassador Towson is on the line for you.”
“Tell him I’m busy,” Laguerre said, waving him away, the failure to execute a clean plan brewing an ache behind his eyeballs.
He took a couple of puffs of his excellent cigar and turned back to the guard. “What is it?” he growled impatiently. His dinner would be ready soon, and he would take the time to secure the cabinet and his presidency while he enjoyed an excellent meal. They would run their democratic election, but after they won easily, he would reap the benefits of ruling without dealing with Baptiste’s attempts to take over. He hated the man on sight and chafed at the political pressures to allow him to be put on the ballot and elected.
Haiti was well-rid of him, his kowtowing to Americans, and his bleeding-heart policies.
“There is no sign of the Marine or the first lady. They have gone to ground.”
“Have Diego continue to search for them. I want them dead by nightfall. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
He dismissed the matter, his mind going to what wine he would choose for dinner.
* * *
The news of the press conference went through the embassy like wildfire. Twister had assessed the man’s arm, or rather wrist, and deemed it a sprain. He’d wrapped it and told him to be careful in the future. He emerged from the man’s office to find full-blown chaos. It had been hectic before with embassy staff shredding documents and preparing for evacuation, but now there was panic in the air, like the tang of gunfire.
Twister had been in many hairy situations, but this one was especially tough. They were on an island with one airport, the embassy was well-fortified, but in the wake of the president’s death, how long would the Haitian police defend them? There was going to be widespread outrage, not just from the Haitians. The Cassidy accusation was going to cause an international incident and the prime minister was depending on that. He wanted them ousted and setting them up as a scapegoat to cover his tracks had been the plan all along.
“Assemble in the conference room,” Tex said over his comm, and he headed to the upper floor of the embassy, dodging people bustling around. The shit had hit the fan, and there was going to be some major fallout. What they had feared had come to pass. The plot to assassinate the president and blame it on the Americans was in full swing.
He reached the conference room where the team was gathering along with the ambassador and the RSO. He slipped inside and the door closed on the chaos outside.
The ambassador, his face grim and drawn, said, “I have attempted to contact the prime minister to get him to rescind his accusation, to let him know that we were aware of the truth, but he won’t take my calls. We have no choice in the matter. We must now evacuate the embassy as quickly as we can.” He took a hard breath. “Currently, we have an obligation to destroy all documents and sensitive material. Once that has been completed, we will be assembling in the lobby and taking vehicles to the airport.”
“We should be ready by nightfall, and that should be the opportune time to get out of dodge. People will be tired, hungry, and thirsty by then,” the RSO said.
“Have the Haitian guards deserted yet?” Tex asked.
“No, as of right now, they are still guarding the gates. People are gathering, but it won’t be long before the group is too big for us to leave. As far as we can tell, they aren’t armed. But we have to hurry. The secretary is sending a C-17 for us, and currently we have forty people still in the embassy, not including us. Assist as much as you can, but before the day is out, I’m assuming you’ll be needed as protection. I will continue to try to reach the prime minister, but I don’t think we can expect any help from him. He’s determined to hang us out to dry. In the chaos, he is going to assume control of the country, and he’ll probably be touted as the hero who stood up to us. We won’t be able to refute his claims until we get back to Washington with our proof.”
The ambassador left with the RSO to work out the security plan, and Twister pushed his way to Tex. “What about Shark and Maddy?”
“They should be heading to the airport as we speak. I’ve told Shark to stay put at the airport and not come to the embassy. There’s no way he could get through the crowds safely.”
Suddenly, Shark’s voice came over the comms. “Tex, we have a major problem.”
“Go for Tex.”
“Corporal Cassidy, Fabrice Baptiste, her son, and a National Guard, Emmanuel Benard, from the palace are here at the residence. Cassidy said he was kidnapped by three Haitian policemen and smuggled out of the embassy in the trunk of a car. He was held overnight, then watched as the prime minister shot the dead president with Cassidy’s pistol and ordered Emmanuel to kill the first lady and her son with the same weapon. Emmanuel refused to murder a woman and her child, freed Cassidy and they all fled the palace. What do you want us to do?”
* * *
Shark waited for Tex’s orders, keeping his eyes on both Cassidy and Benard. Fabrice looked like she was still in shock. She must have just found out about her husband. The baby was fussy. Maddy sat next to her friend, her sympathy in her pretty amber eyes. Cassidy was covering the front just in case they got visitors.
