Page 11 of Jake

Herias flicked his eyes around each of us in turn. He knew he was a dead man. To be honest, I’d been surprised he’d shown at the airstrip. He’d seriously underestimated the anger and retribution that our cartel would exact.

“Don Romano Russo.”

I was confused. “Who the fuck is he? I’ve never heard of him.” My brothers and I had been working in this country for over a decade, and I’d never heard a word spoken about the man.

“Don Russo is an Italian who came here two years ago after establishing a business in Bougainville. The cartel’s heroin is moved through contacts in Indonesia and on the Malayan Peninsula. He aspires to be the most powerful drug lord in PNG. He has been boasting about taking over your territory in Popondetta next. In his words, gaining control of New Britain from you was like taking fucking candy from a baby. He has no fear of the Kumul Cartel.”

“Why wasn’t my son informed about Russo by his contacts? By you? He has been supplying you with top-grade heroin for more than twelve years. Didn’t you think he was worthy of your loyalty?”

“We couldn’t, Godfather Masterton. He has killed many of our men, threatened our women and children, and stolen the heroin we obtained from you. He has decimated every one of us to the point we rely on him for our survival. For the past two years, when he knew Jake would be in Rabaul, Don Russo’s men would take many of our children and hold them until he left. We no longer knew which of our men were loyal to us and who were reporting our every move to Don Russo.”

Tears filled the man’s eyes as he continued.

“I didn’t know he planned to take Jake.”

“Why weren’t you at the airport yesterday when Jake arrived?” I demanded to know.

“We were, Don Masterton, but there was nothing we could do. Any attempt by us to prevent them from taking Jake would have resulted in all our deaths. He has stripped me of almost all my manpower, so I was unable to confront him at his compound. He would have slaughtered us and killed Jake anyway.”

“None of what you have said explains why you didn’t immediately call Don Masterton. Why didn’t you alert him?”

Herias broke down and sobbed.

“I was scared Don Russo would somehow find out and harm my daughter.”

“You had so many opportunities, Herias. Why didn’t you tell Logan that you knew about Jake’s kidnapping and who had him when he spoke with you about using the airstrip.”

“I wanted to, but I found my wife sobbing when I returned home from the airport. She’d found a note pushed under our door. It was from Russo telling me he had my fifteen-year-old daughter, Haikawi, and if I breathed one word about his existence to anyone in the Kumul Cartel, he would pass her around his men to have their fun. I kept my mouth shut out of fear for my daughter. After speaking with Logan, I discussed what had happened at the airport with my wife and told her you were on your way here. She said this was my opportunity to tell you everything, to trust you to put an end to Don Russo’s reign of terror. I knew you would not come alone and that Don Russo would be no match for you. My wife was right, and it’s past time our living in fear came to an end.”

Herias paused and his gaze fixed on me. “My daughter is innocent, Don Masterton. Please help me to bring her home.”

Okay, maybe he wasn’t a dead man after all. There were so many holes in his story; so many times over the past two years he could have said something, but Herias was poorly educated, and it sounded like he’d felt powerless to do much. I could understand his fear of being found out if he’d told Logan about Jake’s kidnapping. He was terrified his daughter would have suffered at the hands of a man who sounded like a monster—if she hadn’t already. The Kumul Cartel and my father were tough sonsofbitches who didn’t hesitate to enforce our law against those who crossed us, but we didn’t harm innocent women and children.

I placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Father, I’m sure Mr Nobilumo would be happy to assist us in destroying Russo. I don’t believe he would have crossed Jake if he’d had a choice.”

“I will do whatever I can to help, Godfather Masterton, but the eight men outside are all I have left.”

Father gave me an almost imperceptible nod, giving his permission to forgive Herias.

I reassured the grief-stricken man. “You saw our men on the plane when you came aboard, they are well equipped and ready for war. We have extra weapons and equipment, so with help from you and your men, we will have no problem taking Russo out and bringing your daughter home.”

“Thank you. I’m very sorry for betraying you and for what happened to your brother.”

“I don’t consider your actions a betrayal; there was nothing you could do with what little it appears you had at your disposal. What about Jake’s other contacts?”

“They are all in the same position with few men and decimated businesses except Phinneus Martello. He seems to have struck some deal with Russo. He strutted around town like he didn’t have a care in the world while the rest of us were at his mercy. Those who refused to follow his orders have been killed.”

“By the time we’re done, you will no longer be at his mercy. How far away is this compound?” Don Bonello asked the question on my lips.

“Less than a mile away.”

“Connor?” Father deferred to me for our next move. It was his way of showing respect for the fact that I was in charge in PNG.

“Take a seat, everyone.”

Grabbing a notepad and pen, I pushed both in front of Herias. The rest of us watched as the man drew a map of the compound’s location and talked about the security in place.

After an hour, we had a solid plan, one I hoped would work without causing injury to my men.