“No, wait until we know what’s going on,” Baller replied.
“I can’t wait; it could be too late.”
I jumped out of our SUV to make my way back to the area where the firefight had just happened. I took care to go a different route so I could get first sight on the rebels and wouldn’t get ambushed by them.
“Wait,” I heard a man’s voice say.
When I turned around, it was Roane running after me. I didn’t have time to babysit anyone and I certainly didn’t want to risk the life of one of the office workers.
“Go back to the SUV; they will get you to the airport.”
“I can’t leave the women,” Roane said firmly.
The look in his eyes told me he was totally serious and there was no way I was going to convince him of anything else. What Roane may have lacked in tactical skill, he made up for in heart, and it would be good to have an extra set of hands if we got engaged. I glanced down and saw that Roane was carrying the semi-automatic gun from Sandbag, which I hadn’t grabbed when I left. So that was another positive to keeping Roane with me.
“All right, stay close and follow my lead.”
We went two blocks out of the way and then approached the square from the west side. But before we got there, we ran across the SUV that the women had been in. Rake was shot dead in the front seat and the radiator looked like it had taken a shot as well.
“Baller, get a cleanup crew to retrieve Rake; he’s dead.”
“What?”
“Now. I’m not leaving until someone is here. I don’t want his body being used for some sick games by the rebels.”
“I’ll be there in five,” Baller said.
It wasn’t the ideal option to have to wait there for Baller, but I had seen rebels string up troops in the middle of the streets as propaganda and I wouldn’t let that happen to my friend.
“Roane, look around and see if we can get some clues as to where the women were taken, or where they went.”
“You think they were kidnapped?”
“No idea yet. They could have been forced out of the vehicle at gunpoint and brought with the rebels, or they could be on the run.”
Roane made a strained face as he contemplated eithe
r of those options and the potential results of what would happen to the women. Neither of us had enough information to know what had happened, so there was no use in getting worked up until we had some more information.
“I’m going to walk up the street and see if I find anything,” Roane said.
“I’ll catch up to you as soon as Baller comes for Rake.”
I stayed with Rake and looked through the SUV to make sure I took anything valuable out of it. It looked like his handgun was missing as well as the extra rounds that he would have had with him. My first instinct was to hope that the women had taken off on foot and were using his gun for their protection, but I still had no real proof.
“Ah, shit,” Baller said when he pulled up next to us. He had gone around the area where we were attached and came from the west. But there was no telling if the rebels were watching us or not.
“Straight to the temple. He didn’t have a chance,” I said as I helped him load Rake into his vehicle.
We had protocol for getting a wounded or killed member out of a war zone and Baller would have to start that process as I continued on trying to find the women. Hopefully, Sandbag had the men safely to the airport by then. It was going to be a long day if we didn’t find the women soon though. They wouldn’t last long if they were out on their own in the daylight.
“Where are the ladies?” Baller asked.
“Not sure yet, I’ll try to track them through these footprints.”
“Let me know as soon as you can. Or radio if you need assistance. But I wouldn’t give too much information over the radio; I don’t trust the signal right now.”
“Understood,” I said and gave Baller a quick handshake before he left with Rake.