Chapter 62: The Ghost of the Mangroves
Chapter 62: The Ghost of the Mangroves
The humidity of the Mekong night clung to Sarah's skin like grease as she stepped onto the wooden dock. Hope was strapped tightly to her chest, her small face buried in Sarah’s shoulder.
Three blacked-out speedboats sat idling in the dark river channel, their prows cutting through the floating water hyacinths. Standing on the lead boat, wearing a lightweight tactical vest over a linen shirt, was Leo Vance.
He didn't look like a corporate executive anymore. He looked like a warlord returned to his kingdom.
"Step onto the vessel, Sarah," Leo said, extending his hand. "The drone will guide us to the offshore transport in the Gulf of Tonkin. Your father is waiting for us in Hong Kong."
"Where is Arthur?" Sarah asked, her boots stopping at the very edge of the wooden pier.
"Arthur served his purpose," Leo smiled coldly. "He was the shepherd. He guided the sheep through the wolf territory until the wool was ready to be shorn. He’s gone."
Suddenly, a massive splash erupted from the black water directly beneath Leo’s boat.
A hand wrapped in rusted wire shot out of the river, grabbing Leo’s ankle and ripping him clean off the deck into the murky, predator-filled currents.
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Arthur Hale emerged from the shadows of the stilt pilings, his face coated in black river mud, his tactical knife clamped between his teeth. He hadn't been caught by the lasers. He had been waiting in the water, using the thick mangrove roots as oxygen pockets.
"Sarah! Take the longtail!" Arthur roared as he dragged Leo under the surface.
