Page 19 of Pierre (Voodoo Guardians #40)

The team was used to sleeping out under the stars. A few of Henri’s men had tents. Well, not really tents. More like blankets and sheets draped over a rope, but it served its purpose. When Pierre felt a tap on his shoulder, he jerked awake, looking up at the face of Henri.

“Sorry. You need to hear this,” he said, waving him toward the edge of the circle. Pierre tapped the feet of Frank and Ham, urging them to follow. At the edge of the circle, two of Henri’s team were kneeling next to a small boy.

“What’s up?” asked Frank.

“He wandered into the camp covered in dirt and blood,” said Henri. “He’s talking, but not in Creole French, Haitian French, or any other French that I know.”

Pierre knelt in front of the boy and smiled at him, taking the damp cloth one of the men held to him.

He wiped the boy’s face, smiling at him.

Then asked him a question in French. The boy just stared at him.

A few moments later, he asked again in Spanish.

The boy’s eyes lit up, but not completely.

Ham knelt down and tried Italian. That was the right language.

“He’s Italian,” said Pierre.

“Italian? Ask if he’s from here,” said Henri.

Ham asked the boy two questions, and the little man just started babbling. He was only five, from Pescara, Italy. He was on vacation in Santo Domingo with his parents when he got lost on the beach. A man offered to help him find his way.

“He’s very smart for only five,” smiled Henri. Ham repeated Henri’s compliment, and the little boy thanked him.

“Who took you?” asked Ham.

In his native tongue, he explained that it was one man who took him to a boat.

He knew that he didn’t need to get on the boat to find his parents; he just needed to keep walking on the beach, but the man made him get in the boat.

There were other boys there as well. He fell asleep on the boat trip and ended up here, but he doesn’t know where here is.

“How did he get away?” asked Henri.

“He says that he hid behind a bigger boy and told him he was going to run and get help. He says that he’s been running since breakfast and is very hungry,” smirked Ham. One of Henri’s men ran toward the fire, filling a bowl with what was left of their meal and bringing it to the boy.

Ham asked him how many men were around him when they got here. Ham frowned at his response, then looked at the others as the boy began eating.

“What did he say?” asked Pierre.

“He said there were nineteen men. He counted them. But there were four women. All older.”

“Older? See if he can be more specific about age,” said Pierre.

Ham asked the boy if they were older like him, or older like Pierre and Henri, or older like one of the younger men at the fire.

He pointed to someone behind Ham, and they all turned to see an old woman shuffling on the streets behind them.

“She must be eighty,” said Pierre. The boy whispered something, and Ham nodded.

“He said grandmother. She was like a grandmother.”

“Where did the blood come from?” asked Henri.

Again, Ham questioned the boy, and between bites, he explained that some of the boys had been hit in the boat. They were hit by the men who were telling them to be quiet. The blood splashed on him.

“Let him get cleaned up and rested,” said Pierre. “In the morning, we need to get him back to the hospital ship and contact the authorities in the Dominican Republic. I’m sure his parents are frantic.”

“I’m notifying them now. We’re going to have them send a helicopter to the ship to pick the boy up.” Pierre smiled, forever grateful for the constant ears of Hiro and the team.

“They’ll be waiting for him at the ship,” said Pierre.

He turned toward the fire, where everyone was now awake.

Dawn was still a few hours away, but considering the distance back to the ship, it might be wise to start now.

“Conn and Fish? You guys take the truck with Henri’s man and get this boy to the ship.

Stop for no one and nothing. Keep him hidden. ”

“My man knows a shortcut,” said Henri. “You’ll be there in no time. He’ll be safe.”

By the time they were ready to leave, the boy was sound asleep in Conn’s arms. He looked down at the sweet face of the boy and his heart cracked.

“Be careful,” said Pierre. “Call if you need help.”

“We’ll be fine, brother. You just find the people who took this sweet boy. It’s a fucking miracle he made it this far.”

They watched as the truck pulled away and then looked at one another. They were looking for almost two dozen people, most of them men, but a group of older women.

“I think this is exactly what we thought. They’re kidnapping boys to be the next soldiers of whatever country wants to pay for them,” said Pierre. “We need to get to Sacred Heart Church.”

“It’s a difficult journey. Sacred Heart is in the mountains. Most people think it’s a chosen place since it has never been damaged by the quakes or the volcano. People will be suspicious of us and perhaps protective.”

“Well, good news is I don’t give a shit,” said Frank. “If they’re involved in taking these boys, I’m going to help my son and these men stop them.” Henri smiled at the big man, nodding.

“You don’t recognize me, do you?” he asked Frank. Frank stared at the man and shook his head.

“I’m sorry, I don’t.”

“I know both of you,” he grinned, pointing to Ham as well. “My uncle, Francoise, helped you many years ago, and you helped him. He was a good man.”

“Francoise!” said Frank. “I can’t believe it! He’s gone?”

“Yes. I’m afraid so. But he instilled in me the need to protect this place and to continue to try. When I saw you walk up yesterday, I was certain you were the men, but I was worried about saying anything. It’s been thirty years, and yet you look the same.”

“Well, I believe you met my grandmother,” smirked Frank. “That should tell you everything you need to know.”

Henri nodded, smiling at the men. When he turned, the camp was already wrapped up and ready to move. He sobered, realizing their task was a big one.

“Let’s go. We have a long walk ahead of us.”