Page 23 of Pierre (Voodoo Guardians #40)

The team on the mountain continued to wait for the return of Sister Josephina, but she didn’t seem to be in a hurry to come home. When someone inside the church finally decided it was time to check on the kids, they had a big surprise.

“Anyone notice that little bastard isn’t carrying food or water with him?” asked Pierre. “They had no intentions of feeding those kids.”

“Which means, they hoped to have them prepared to leave today,” said Ham.

When the commotion started, no one moved, wanting to ensure that they were in full sight of everyone. The looks from the young soldiers told them that they were suspects, but they couldn’t figure out how they would have gotten all those children out of the house.

One of the men walked up to them, kicking the bottom of their feet with the butt of his rifle. Frank stood, taking a step toward the young man. His eyes widened in fear, and he stepped back.

“You hit me like that again, and you’d better be prepared to use that rifle,” he said in flawless Haitian French. The younger man’s eyes went wide, realizing that he understood everything they’d said.

“Where is the nun?” asked Frank.

“She is delayed,” said the boy. “Where are the children?”

“What children?” asked Frank with a sincere expression, tilting his head. “There were no children here last night. Only you and us.”

“There were children. In that house over there,” he said, staring at the men with suspicion.

“No children, my friend,” said Pierre. “Just us and, of course, the voodoo.”

All of the young men turned toward them, their eyes suddenly alight with fear. Shaking their heads, they backed away from the group of men.

“That got their attention,” smirked Ham.

“They’re always afraid of the voodoo,” said Pierre. “It’s something I remember clearly as a child. I’ve had about enough of waiting on Sister Josephina. I think it’s time we went on a manhunt. Or woman hunt, as it were.”

“I’m going to ask you one time,” said Frank, taking a step closer to the young man. He raised his rifle, nervous and shaking, pointing it at Frank. Frank just laughed, shaking his head. The rifle’s safety was on. He gripped the barrel, yanking it from the younger man’s hand.

“Don’t ever point a rifle at a man unless you plan to shoot. And damn sure don’t point it at a man who knows how to use one better than you do. Where is the sister?”

“I-I don’t know. We never know. We wait for her, and she tells us what to do.”

“Where were you to take these children?” asked Pierre.

“We don’t know. We never know.” Pierre turned to Butch and Tucker.

“Tie them up and leave them in the basement of the house. Make it really good. Lots of extra zip ties.”

Not one of the young soldiers thought to raise their weapons again.

They peacefully set them down, afraid of the big men who’d touted voodoo as their protector.

With zip ties at the ankles and wrists, they were left in the damp basement of the house, the floorboards replaced and nailed down, and the men went searching for Sister Josephina.

“Hiro, AJ, or Tanner, anything you can tell us that would help this little search?” asked Frank.

“It won’t help you, but it will give you some perspective. Unless Sister Josephina is somehow related to Mama Irene, she’s dead. Her birthday would have been last Thursday, and she would have been one hundred and eighty-three years old.”

“What the hell?” muttered Ham.

“There was a Sister Josephina in Haiti and surrounding countries for many, many years. She died, or at least they think she died, as she stopped all communication about ninety years ago. Back then, it was letters and telegrams. She chose this church because of its proximity to the mountain, wanting to prove that it wasn’t the devil, but just nature.

Suspicion is that the volcano erupted, and she died in the lava flow.

“No one was sent to take her place because of the unrest here. There are no pictures of Sister Josephina, other than a very grainy photo from a hundred years ago. The woman who was at the first church was legit. She was there just as she said. Whoever this person is, she’s not with the church.

But again, I don’t think you’re surprised by that at all. ”

“No. Not at all,” frowned Pierre. “Where do you think we should look for her? The docks make sense to me, but she wouldn’t be anywhere near the mercy ship. They won’t allow transports near those vessels.”

“ Port Au Prince has a massive port with less than stringent docking rules. That place is a hotbed of illegal activity, and if I had to guess, that’s where she would be taking those kids.”

“Could you do a little drone magic for us?” asked Pierre, crossing his fingers.

“ I can do better than that. I’m maneuvering satellites as we speak to get some clearer images. I’ll send drones as well, but the satellites will be the most reliable.”

“Have I ever told you how much I love you, AJ?” smirked Frank.

“No. But I love you guys too. Be safe.”

“The satellites should give us clear images of the docks,” said Ham. Tucker and the others stared at him.

“Satellites? You guys have your own satellite system?”

“Well, I’m not sure we’d call it our own, although we do have a small one,” smirked Pierre. “Let’s just say our boys have become very good at borrowing things when they need them.”

“Unbelievable,” smirked Butch. “Listen, I don’t care what we have to do. I just want to get back to the ship, hug Marjorie, and make plans for the future.”

“Wow, that was fast,” said Tucker. “Going for number five?”

“Maybe. Or maybe we’ll just take it slow. She’s different, and if Ambry likes her, she has to be a good person.”

“I’m happy for you, brother,” said Pierre. “My folks have been married more than thirty years now. My grandparents have been married more than fifty, and my great-grandparents, well, that’s another story, but a very, very long time.”

“You guys are the real deal, man,” said Tucker. “We always hear of you, of the legends. The Robicheaux Rangers. The famous SEALs. We hear the stories and think it’s all bullshit, but having been around you guys for a few days, it’s no bullshit.”

“I used to think the same thing,” smirked Ham.

“When my teammate, Jak, was here, I knew who he was but didn’t call it out.

He was very secretive about it. It’s hard to do that when your last name is Robicheaux.

Then I met Frank and the others and thought to myself, holy shit – they’re for real. ”

The men all laughed, nodding as they walked back down the path. The sun was coming up high in the sky, but in the distance, there were storms coming. Nothing cooled this place off. It only made it muddy and more humid. But it might be a break for them.

“How did you meet your wife, Frank?” asked Butch.

“We grew up together. She was a bit of a problem child,” he smirked. “Her father was in the Army and married the sister of a legendary MARSOC.”

“No,” laughed Butch.

“Yep. Rory Baine.” Their eyes went wide, and Pierre laughed, shaking his head.

“Your wife’s uncle is Rory Baine.” He said the words in a flat, disbelieving tone, and Frank just laughed.

“Yep. He’s the absolute best and a beast. I wouldn’t cross him for all the money in the world,” grinned Frank.

As thunder boomed above them, lightning off in the distance above the ocean, the men nodded at one another, picking up speed. Pierre took the lead.

“Let’s see if we can beat this storm without getting our asses struck by lightning.”