Page 14 of Pierre (Voodoo Guardians #40)

By the time they walked back toward the docks and saw the secure gates ahead, it was nearly dark. Unfortunately, the gates were not. They were lit up like a Christmas tree, with hundreds of people standing at the gate begging to be allowed through.

“What do we do?” asked Ambry.

“Stay close. No one let go of the other,” said Pierre.

He took the lead, holding fiercely to Ambry’s hand, while Butch took her other one, then took Marjorie’s hand. Fish grabbed her other hand, then linked hands with Conn, Winslow, and then Tucker.

As big as the men were, they could barely move, sandwiching the women between them. Deciding they needed a new approach, they surrounded the women in a circle, still linking hands and moving as one large unit. Crowds pushed aside, but Ambry called out for them to stop.

“Stop! Pierre, stop!” she yelled.

“We can’t,” he said, turning to see her face.

“They’ve been hurt,” said Marjorie. “We have to help them.”

“You don’t know where they’ve been or what they’ve done,” said Butch. “We need to get you two back to the ship, and then we’ll help.”

“No, we need to help now,” said Ambry. She looked up toward the gates, spotting a familiar head, then two, then three. “Look! They’re here! Dad! Frank! Ajei!”

“Who are those people?” asked Marjorie.

“The cavalry,” smirked Pierre, pushing through again. They were sitting in the back of a large military truck, a makeshift aid station ready for whoever needed it.

“Ajei!” yelled Ambry, working her way toward the woman.

“Ambry! Damn, it’s good to see you guys. We need help.”

“What the hell happened?” asked Pierre.

“Hi to you too,” smirked Frank.

“Sorry, Dad.” He hugged him, slapping his back, and Frank smiled at his son, then kissed Ambry’s cheek. Her father did the same, shaking Pierre’s hand. “What happened?”

“We’re not sure. We got here to give some relief to you guys, and the team was met with this. The kids are saying that someone chased them, and they ran here.”

“Get scrubbed,” said Ajei. “We need help. Frank and Ham are decent medics, but they’re not the best.”

“I heard that,” frowned Ham.

“It’s okay, we’re ready,” said Marjorie.

“Ajei, this is my commanding officer, Major Marjorie Witten.”

“Just Marjorie,” said the woman.

“Great. Just Marjorie and Ambry, you guys take this line here. Minor cuts and bruises, a few need stitches. Pierre! You and your boys do some triage for us. Those who need more attention put in the lines to the left. Urgent care, take them through the gate to the tent.”

“Who’s in the tent?” he frowned.

“We are asshole! Move it!” yelled Doc, standing in the entry with Cruz, Kennedy, and Virginia.

“They came,” smiled Pierre.

“What the hell did you think we’d do?” growled Ajei. “Get moving!”

“Yes, ma’am. You heard her,” said Pierre, nodding at his men. “Let’s figure out who needs what.”

By the time they figured out who needed what, it was nearly midnight.

The lines were thinning as people were bandaged up and moved along.

There was a tent full of nearly thirty people who needed more than just a quick bandage, and another tent of about ten people who would need surgery.

Whatever had happened, created chaos in the city once again.

“What happened?” Pierre asked the young man lying on the table. He stared up at Pierre, surprised that he spoke his language. When Frank repeated the phrase, he realized that these weren’t average Americans. They knew Haitian French.

“We were trying to save the boys,” said the young man. “They take our boys. The children.”

“Who? Who took the boys?” asked Pierre.

“We don’t know. We were just trying to get them back. A group of men and women came toward us with knives, slashing at us. We didn’t have any weapons.”

“Were they Haitian?” asked Frank.

“I’m not sure. Some were dark, some were lighter, all spoke our language. But that means nothing. They were taking boys from the church, the one on the hill in the old part of the city.”

“That’s where we were this morning,” said Butch. “How many children did they take?”

“A dozen. Maybe more. The woman was yelling, screaming for help, and we just ran toward her. That’s when all this happened.” Frank frowned at the young man, then looked around at the patients still being treated.

“Is the woman here? Did anyone bring her here?” he asked.

“There wasn’t a need to. She’s dead.”