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“I’ll explain all of that, baby. I promise.” She held up a finger, walking away from him.
“Excuse me,” said Casey. She walked toward a table of men, smiling from ear to ear, and Rett knew what she was doing. “Good morning, Otto. Hi, Robin. Luc. Gabriel.”
“Hi, honey. Congratulations!” said Robin.
“Thank you. Otto. Luc. Gabe,” she grinned. They stared at her, cocking their heads like little puppies. “I need someone to walk me down the aisle. You’ve all been my protectors since the moment I met you. Unusual things happen here, so I don’t see how it would be all that unusual to have three men walk me down the aisle. What do you say?”
“I say I’d be fucking honored,” smirked Luc.
“You know I’m in. I mean, you gotta have one of us make the wedding pictures look good,” said Gabe, nudging the other two men.
“There is nothing that would make me happier,” said Otto.
“Well, then. It looks like I’m getting married.” Mama Irene grabbed her hand, pulling her back toward the table of wedding experts.
“Come on, honey. We got flowers to talk about, and dresses, and what you want your hair to look like. Cakes. We gotta talk cakes.”
“Cakes? As in multiple?” frowned Casey.
“Baby, we got almost four hundred people here. You’re gonna need a boatload of cakes.”
Rett could only laugh as his great-grandmother dragged her back to the other women. He realized that he had to make a decision as well. Turning toward the men who meant the most to him in the whole world, he smiled.
“Dad? I’d like for you to be my best man.” Kiel smiled at his son, nodding with tears in his eyes. “East, Eazee, all of you. I want, no, I need for you to stand with me.” His brothers and uncles all smiled at one another, giving a head nod.
“We’re all honored, Rett,” said Antoine. “But we have to figure this shit out with Ryder and Barber. It may require you to go back down there if we can’t get them up here.”
“I know, Uncle Antoine,” he nodded. “I don’t want to, but if we don’t, we might never figure this out. We still aren’t even sure if it’s me they want or East or Eazee.”
“Bankston is on the phone,” said Pigsty, walking toward them.
“Back to the meeting room,” said Cam, shaking his head. Some days, it felt as if it never ended. Other days, it was easy, uncomplicated, and simple to resolve. He felt certain that today would not be that day.
Bankston’s face was already on the screen as the men took their seats. Luke had explained what they knew so far, and Bankston seemed surprised, and yet not.
“Gentlemen, sorry to interrupt your breakfast. Luke filled me in on everything. If I had to guess, Barber and Ryder were trying to play both sides of the fence with Ramos, giving him an idea that they weren’t aware of. We received intel that they were taking bribes from Ramos under the table. I had a very long conversation with Secretary Salvador this morning. It seems that the men currently known as Barber and Ryder have encouraged Salvador to continue to work with us, the Americans, by continuing to funnel funds to Ramos.”
“Geez, this guy is fucking ballsy,” said Rett. “He’s making sure that it looks like the Americans will have everything to do with whatever the fuck is going on down there.”
“I have a question for you and your brothers,” asked Bankston. “When you were leaving from your joyous holiday in Venezuela, did you pass near or around Lake Maracaibo?”
“Yes,” they all three said at the same time. They smirked at each other, their uncanny ability to speak in unison never leaving them.
“Alright, I need you to think about that. What did you see?” asked General Bankston.
“I’m not sure,” said Rett. “I mean, I was running for my life, trying to hide. I’m not sure what I saw.”
“I’m not sure either,” said East. “I mean, I was focused on meeting my ride, which never showed up.” Eazee shrugged, frowning at the screen.
“Why is this important, general?” asked Eric.
“What do you boys know about the Nazis in South America post WWII?”
There were murmurs and colorful cuss words echoing throughout the auditorium. Bankston nodded, smirking at the images.
“That’s what I thought. It’s been long suspected, and in some cases proven, that Argentina, Venezuela, and Brazil housed Nazi war criminals post-WWII. Lake Maracaibo has an abandoned mansion on the northwest corner that’s been there for decades. No one is allowed to enter it. No one is allowed to trespass. No one is allowed to buy or rent the property. It’s being held by a property management company, which cannot be found.”
“Well, that’s not suspicious at all,” frowned Eric.
