Panama Red: A Dirk Lasher Thriller by David Edward

Author:David Edward [Edward, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-10-30T23:00:00+00:00

His grandfather had looked at him. Yes, Dirk. I’m sorry; your mom is gone. She is not coming back.

Ever? Little Dirk asked.

A pause. No, I’m sorry. Not ever.

Who is going to take care of me?

Grandpa’s big, strong hand patted his head. I am going to take care of you, Dirk.

Why? A natural question from a child.

Because we are family. It’s what family does.

But Thomasito and I are not family, Lasher thought in the here and now. How do I explain I am doing this as much for myself as for them? I’ll describe it to him as best I can.

Lasher answered, “Thomasito, I lost my mom when I was very young. I never knew my father. I know what an unexpected loss of family feels like. I vowed in my life to help keep anyone else from having to endure that feeling if there was anything I could do about it.”

I might as well deal with this next part; they won’t be more open to it than right now.

“There is more to this, though. It’s not all goodwill.” Lasher walked over to the window, a habit he had when he was thinking deeply.

“As far as the DEA knows, you are my team of US Army commandos. They know the truth about what we need to do, but I was a little vague on some of the details.”

“Jefe, I appreciate the help,” Thomasito said earnestly, looking around the room, “but hoss, we don’t look anything like American soldiers.”

It was true they did not.

“I have a solution for that. First, Tomas, it’s going to be you and me. We can only bring two other people. Who do you want it to be?”

Thomasito looked at his friends. Other than the kid, they all wanted to help. They obviously knew Maria and Sofia and wanted to assist in getting them back.

“Leo and Julian, you two are coming with us,” Thomasito said. Both men looked relieved. “Diego”—the third man—“I need you to stay here and keep my house safe.”

Smart, Lasher thought. That’s good leadership. Everyone gets something to do so they can feel like they are contributing.

Lasher walked over to his two duffle bags and dumped them onto the floor, next to the makeshift map he had made. He tossed shirts like the one he was currently wearing to each of the men identified as going on the raid. He also gave the P226s to Thomasito, Leo, Julian, and Williams and two ammo boxes each. He kept the last P226 to the side. He would give that to Mariana tomorrow morning.

Everyone’s eyes lit up. You would have thought it was Christmas morning, each person getting the gift they had been hoping for.

“Everyone gets a haircut, including me. We’re going to look like a unit.” Lasher unboxed the clippers he had bought and handed them to Williams. Most soldiers, by the time they re-upped their enlisted contract, had become proficient barbers with clippers. It was an easy way to save money on the constant need to keep your hair short and within regulation.

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