Page 100 of Keeping Laryn

Her only chance was being rescued, but she wasn’t anybody special. Didn’t know any generals in the Army. Didn’t know any politicians. Didn’t have any contacts who would fight on her behalf. There were only a handful of acquaintances at the last school where she’d worked who might even wonder why she never got a hold of them when she was supposed to return to the States. Her parents had died a few years ago, and she had no siblings or other relatives that she was close with.

She shivered, even though it wasn’t cold. It was the opposite, actually. Tilting her head up to the sky, she let the ever-present rain mingle with the tears on her cheeks. She’d never thought much about dying, and now she couldn’t think about anything but. Her body would never be found, it would just decompose in this rainforest and disappear into the ground. Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust.

“Mandy, I’m scared.”

Taking a deep breath, Amanda tightened her arms around the little girl in her lap. Sharon was seven, and had been extra clingy lately. But who could blame her.

“Me too,” she whispered. “But it’s going to be all right. We just have to be strong.”

She didn’t actually think itwasgoing to be all right, but there was no way she was going to add to Sharon’s fears. To any of the children’s fears. Taking a deep breath, Amanda dug deep for the optimism she was known for.

“Someone will come for us, right?” Michael asked from her right. He was twelve, and had made himself Amanda’s protector.

“Of course,” she told him, lying through her teeth. The truth was, no one was coming. They were on their own. But she’d rather die than admit that to any of the children. They were all they had, and they’d stick together throughout this ordeal. No matter what lie ahead of them.

“Who are these kids and why does the government care about them?” Edge asked. He didn’t sound irritated, just curious.

Buck was just as curious. They were used to being sent into battlefields with Navy SEALs or Delta Force operatives. Shuttling them in and out of dangerous terrain and situations while they searched for HVTs or other terrorists the US wanted to take out.

But currently, they were in a meeting with their superior at the naval base, and he’d just informed them that two of them were being sent to South America on a rescue mission, while the rest were heading to Mexico to help with some of the extreme flooding that country had experienced as a result of the latest hurricane to blast the East Coast.

“And why only one team?” Chaos asked.

The colonel held up a hand to stave off further questions. “I know this is unusual.”

It was more than unusual, it was…weird. Strange. Fucking confusing. Buck waited impatiently for some answers.

“The vice president has a vested interest in Guyana. As a young man, he did a stint in the Peace Corps. Working as a math teacher in a remote village in Guyana. Throughout his career, he’s kept in contact with people still working in the area, and they reached out to him a few days ago about an alarming situation. Venezuelan soldiers kidnapped a group of school children and took them into the rainforest across the border.”

“Why?” Buck blurted, exasperated with the slow explanation.

The colonel frowned and continued speaking. “We aren’t sure. The general consensus is that it has something to do with forced labor or consignment into the military.”

“But these are kids, right?” Casper asked.

“Yes. But even ten-year-olds can hold and shoot a rifle.”

Buck was disgusted. Once upon a time, Venezuela had been the paradise of South America. But over the years, the dictatorial government had stripped rights and forced its citizens to live under strict authoritarian rule. If they were now kidnapping innocent children from neighboring countries, would an annexation be far away?

“These twenty-three kids are a symbol. If we can rescue them, we’re telling Venezuela that we see what they’re doing and if they continue, the US won’t turn a blind eye,” the colonel went on. “But we want to keep this on the down low for now. Rescue the kids. Make our point without making this a huge international incident. How the government reacts will dictate the president’s next move. He’s not willing to go to war over this, but he agrees with the vice president that something needs to be done.”

“And we’re that something,” Obi-Wan stated.

“Yes. Because you’re the best at nighttime operations. You can get in, get the kids, get out.”

“What’s the plan?” Casper asked.

“We’ll go over that once it’s decided who will be headed to the Amazon, and who will be going to Mexico. Oh, and onemore thing. There’s an American involved. A volunteer at the school. A teacher, Amanda Rush. Our intel says she wasn’t supposed to be taken, but she refused to leave the kids. It goes without saying that it’s vital to recover her, because she’s the excuse we’re using to cross into Venezuelan airspace.”

That didn’t sit well with Buck. He had very fond memories of some of his teachers growing up. He was the poor kid. The one who never fit in. Didn’t have many friends. And his teachers treated him with kindness. Encouraged him. Made him believe he could do anything he wanted to do…including becoming a pilot. Their government using this Amanda person as anexcuseleft a bad taste in his mouth. Especially because, apparently, she’d put herself in danger to protect the kids under her care.

“I’ll go,” he said, before turning to Obi-Wan and raising a brow, belatedly realizing that the decision to go to South America wasn’t his alone. His copilot had a say too. Thankfully, his friend nodded in agreement.

“Any objections?” the colonel asked the others. When there weren’t, he said, “Briefing tomorrow morning at oh-six-hundred. Wheels up for both groups at thirteen hundred. The president and VP want this done quickly. Dismissed.”

Buck had a ton of questions, but they’d hopefully be answered in the morning. For the moment, all he could think about was Amanda Rush. Where was she? What was happening to her and the kids? Was she all right? Was she even still alive?

That last question had him frowning. Anyone who volunteered their time to help kids in need was worth their weight in gold. And thinking about her being hurt or killed because she refused to leave the orphans under her care to the mercy of their kidnappers, disturbed Buck in a way he couldn’t understand or describe.

He was ready for this mission. To find Amanda and the kids and bring them to safety. He couldn’t save the world, as he’d once thought when he’d first joined the military, but maybe, justmaybe, he could do his part in saving one little corner of it. Amanda Rush’s corner.