Sorry for the prolonged update. Been a bit busy with exams and such. I like trying to pump out a chapter every week. But sometimes that doesn't work in my favor!

Chapter 18 - Rat on the Loose

A faint light hummed within the confined space while dust danced and hovered unnaturally as it spun in circles within the stiff air. Breathing was difficult and his eyes burned from the eerie light emitting from the crack in the blinds. He tried to bring up a hand to wipe away the itchy sensation but his arms remained cemented to his sides. Bringing his head up, he peered down at his body to see them bound in thick, iron chains. His eyes narrowed in confusion as he began to scan the room and the space he occupied. Swallowing hard, he gawked at the crumbling paint that peeled from the walls while a grey hue coated the atmosphere. The room seemed oddly familiar, but he couldn't put a finger on it.

Soap sighed as he rested his head back against the flat pillow. He stared at the ceiling with an odd sense of content falling over him. Somehow, this all seemed natural and calming, despite the intensity of the strangeness. The only thing that was distracting was the high-pitched buzz that transmitted from a distant location in the room. His eyes pinched shut at the way it scraped against the inside of his skull. The only noise in the room was that obnoxious, electronic ambience that continued to shriek.

He suddenly felt the end of the bed lower slightly, as if a person had just taken a seat. His eyes peeled open as they gazed up at the deteriorating ceiling. The weight at the end of the bed began to scatter and disperse as it climbed its way up the bed. Growing frightened, he brought his head up to stare down. His eyes met up with a figure crawling up the bed towards him. It was a woman, with dark blonde hair covering her face. She climbed across his legs in an unearthly manner while her nails and fingers dug into the covers at his sides. He suddenly realized that this room was the room from the night in the Gracac hotel.

As she drew near, and her hair was brushing into his face, she pulled her head up. Her face parted some of the locks that was once concealing her features. His brow furrowed as it became apparent that the woman hovering before him was Rico. Her eyes looked sunken in and her complexion was grey; lacking its usual pink tones. She brought her mouth next to his ear and breathed against in. Confusion and uncertainty made his body stiffen.

"How are you feeling?" She whispered softly into his ear.

He blinked slowly as his eyes began to roll over to stare at the small, visible portion of her pale face. His lips gradually parted but nothing came out; the lump in his throat blocked his voice. Swallowing what little moisture was in his mouth, he closed his eyes again.

"How are you feeling, John?" She muttered again.

His eyelids pulled open at the sound of his name. Not too often did he hear his real name. It usually only came from the mouths of family. Her hand fell against his chest which rose unevenly with short breaths.

He couldn't answer her. Not only could he not physically answer, but he possessed no answer to give. Her teeth suddenly bit lightly at his ear as her hand began to slide downward and across his chest and stomach.

She continued to murmur near inaudible sentences into his ear and through her teeth. He felt her nose brush against his cheek until it hit the bridge of his nose. It wasn't long until her lips found his and began pushed and caressed against his lips. He tried to move his arms again, as she began to kiss him passionately, but both remained tied to the bed by the chains. Instead, he simply kissed back hungrily.

"Can't speak? Cat got your tongue?" She spoke into his mouth. Her teeth found the tip of his tongue and bit down lightly as she pulled back. She grinned widely as her hand found the rim of his pants and began to work its way down for his member. They returned to kissing as his brow furled. He was growing annoyed with the restriction to his movements as she continued to explore his body and let their tongues dance.

Abruptly, she broke from the kiss to raise up and stare soullessly down at him. He hadn't completely absorb the intensity of her stare until she took the next several moments to gawk distantly at him as she sat against his lap. Then the high-pitched noise returned full-force, causing his chest to shake and his head to ache. She twitched her neck and cracked her shoulders.

Without warning, she rose a knife up into the air. His eyes widened at the sight of it floating within her hand above his face. She slowly lowered it and pressed the tip of the blade into the right portion of his pectoral. He grimaced as she continued to push her weight against it. Again, he tried to move his arms, but they wouldn't budge.

"What's wrong?" She asked in a raspy voice. "What's wrong, John?" He could feel the knife beginning to poke through his shirt. "Do you feel that? Do you feel that pain, John?"

He shook his head and tried to wiggle his body loose. His breathing increased as the knife began to puncture into his skin. Her expression was completely blank as her face gradually shifted features, and began to take on a new form. It was no longer Rico, but some sort of alienated figure that glared down at him with black eyes. He squirmed and struggled, and began to grit his teeth as the knife began to pierce into the muscle. Blood rushed to the open wound as the knife continued to push down with inhuman-like strength.

He tried to scream out, but the only thing that escaped his throat was that same high-pitched humming from before. Only this time, it was much louder. The knife's sharp blade disappeared and dug further into his skin as the noise shook the room.

Soap's eyes shot open, as the pupils widened then slowly shrunk in size. His heart was racing and his chest ached. He pinched shut his eyes and sluggishly brought himself up to pull up his shirt to look at his torso. Nothing there. Except that scar from when he took a knife to the chest. His eyes narrowed in contempt as he let his shoulders drop. Sweat was building up around his forehead and brow; he wiped it away with the back of his hand.

He settled back down into the mattress as he stared wide-eyed at the distant light from outside the tent. He kept the covers off as he gazed blankly. His thoughts were elsewhere and his heart beated within his ears. Trying to get his mind onto something less dark and depressing, he pondered over the first portion of the dream. It caused him to reminisce on that drunken night back in Gracac; it was a night that he constantly ran over in his mind. He couldn't deny he favored the idea of wanting more.

Finally reaching some form of manageable peace, he rolled to his side and exhaled heavily before allowing his eyes to shut.

"Give me back my dice!" Shorty's voice echoed through the camp.

Rico smiled as she used a hose to fill up a bath for Gretel. The shepherd stared at the stream of water with a forced disinterested expression. Rico glanced at her canine. "You're starting to smell again, girl."

Gretel could only sigh and relax into the shade.

Off in the distance she could hear a quick, bellowing chuckle. It was definitely Soap's. His laugh was unique and easy to distinguish. It was similar to that of a deep, belly laugh.

"Yeah yeah, keep laughing you sheep shagger." Shorty's voice came out in an irritated manner. "And stop posing them!"

Reggie drank from a plastic water bottle as he stared up at the fuzzy, purple dice which were dangling high up top from a light post. It blew gently with the faint breeze.

Shorty stomped towards the Scotsman as she grabbed Soap's strong arm and pointed to the top. "Get it down!"

"Not happening. Now is your chance to get some exercise." Soap replied.

"Soap is not your minion, Shorty." Reggie commented after taking another sip.

"Good," she stated, "I don't want him to be my minion. It would mean I would have to look at his face more often."

"You could always just stare at his broad shoulders or the bulge in his pants." Reggie said nonchalantly.

Soap crossed his arms disapprovingly as he lowered his brow. Shorty gagged.

"That's gross. I'm going to go find a ladder." She huffed before striding off in the opposite direction.

Reggie raised a finger to point at Soap with a large shit-eating grin on his face.

"You just know how to make every party in the discussion feel uncomfortable with one statement." Soap stated flatly.

Reggie could only smile.

Off some ways, located in an obscured spot behind some tents, was Rico now attempting to force Gretel into the bath. Gretel's paws sprawled out as her toes opened up to catch herself from splashing into the water.

"Oh come on, girl. This is not your first rodeo." Rico commented before managing to shove her dog down into the water.

Gretel landed with a splurge of water and opened her mouth into a smile. Rico rolled her eyes in mild amusement at the shepherd as she began to wet her coat down. The water began to fade into a light grey while the dirt washed from the dog's fur. She scrubbed behind Gretel's ears and eventually began to talk softly to her shepherd.

After some passing of time, Rico felt content with Gretel's cleanliness and began to reach for a towel. Gretel's ears perked up as she was quick to react and leap from the tub of water to shake off. Rico raised an arm to block the converging droplets of water. Noticing a quick spark in the dog's honey eyes, Rico's eyes widened slightly in panic as she reached out for the scruff of her neck.

"Gretel. Don't!"

But before she could land a hand on the canine, Gretel hopped away and dashed off in a hurry.

"Damn it…" Rico muttered as she rose to chase her dog.

Gretel ran with a wide smile for the middle portion of camp. Jumping over a small crate and rounding the corner of a tent. A few people peered over at the sprinting, excited, matted-down fur ball. Soap turned his head towards the noise and saw Gretel running for him.

"Gretel!" Rico yelled as she popped into the clearing. Her eyes found the dog just in time for Gretel to leap up at Soap.

Flinching, Soap planted his feet before the shepherd slapped her front paws into his stomach. Her paws smacked some air from him as he grunted. Rico caught up and went up to hook the dog up to the leash. Gretel hopped down and slammed her paws into the ground with her rear up.

"Gretel. Come here," Rico ordered lightly.

The dog barked and ran off again.

Soap had to laugh as Gretel proceeded to roll through dirt and cover herself in filth.

"No!" Rico went over towards Gretel's side and clipped her to the leash. Rico shook her head at her. "Great. Thanks, Gretel."

Soap faced them with a smirk. "Need an extra hand?"

Rico sighed. "I think I can manage."

"Doesn't look like it," he cocked his head. "I'm not sure you can handle her."

She snickered. "Haha, right. And you can do better?"

He shrugged. "I can definitely hold onto her better."

Rico outstretched an arm and held the end of the leash up for him to take. "Alright, Mr. Cocky-Pants. I'll accept your offer."

He took the leash from her dainty hand and bobbed his head towards her. "Lead the way, lass."

Following her footsteps, he came upon a tub of water located in an open, isolated spot behind some tents. She turned to face him with bright eyes.

"Here. I'll scrub her and you just keep that leash tight. Hold it at about an 80 degree angle, tighten the leash, and allow some minor slack." She spoke.

He pulled on the leash and brought it towards his chest. "This work?"

She nodded. "Yep. Just like that."

Rico picked Gretel up and placed her back into the pool of water, where the dog sighed with discontent. "Oh hush, girl." Rico murmured.

Soap watched her hands work and gradually loosened the hold around the leash. He was in the mood for some minor teasing. Almost immediately, Gretel felt the give and knew she had more movement freedom. It was followed after with her beginning to thrash around, causing some water to spill over.

Instantly, Rico shot a glare up at Soap who bore a faint smile. "Are you holding on?"

"Aye."

She pointed up. "Tighten it a bit; she's being difficult today."

He tightened the leather strap as he stared down into Rico's annoyed face. It was a cute expression. She blinked at him before she went back to work.

Just as she was finishing, Soap let more slack run through the leash. Gretel sensed the loosening of the grip and abruptly jumped out, bringing the tub of water with her. The pool of water tipped over and split over onto Rico. Soap let his mouth open slightly as he raised his brows in amusement. Rico stood up in a huff and stared down at her now drenched clothing.

She glanced at Soap and pushed his chest. "You jerk!"

He chuckled as Gretel shook off getting them both wet. She ran off again before spinning around and plopping down in the shade.

"She's a free spirit! I can't suppress that." He replied with a brilliant smile.

She shook her arms and looked over herself again. "You did that on purpose."

"What? No." He rolled his eyes across her wet clothes. "You appear damp. You probably should get a towel."

"Thanks. I'm actually soaking wet, asshole."

He laughed lightly again. "Or perhaps you need a tissue?"

She finally smiled and peeled her jacket off to throw into his face. It slapped against his chest and neck. He pulled it away to gaze over at her with delight.

"Keep that jacket. It'll be a little reminder about that one time you were a jerk."

He nodded and raised it up. "Lass, I'd be lucky to fit an arm into this thing."

"Well, I didn't say go around wearing it. Silly."

He looked back at her and smirked. They both fell silent before she looked down to kick at the ground. The light green, undershirt clung to her skin as her pants began to hug around her thighs. She peered back up at him and sighed.

"Well, I probably should go change now."

By the time she had finished her sentence, he had already snatched up the towel-originally intended for Gretel-to hand to her. She threw it around her shoulders and gestured her head up at him as a thought occurred to her.

"So. What's the plan with the informant? Gomez?"

His expression changed as his brow lowered. "Meeting him near the western outskirts. I'm taking Trevor and Shawn down. We want to keep our numbers at a minimum."

"What time?"

"Later. 2200."

"Be careful. There might be a warrant out for your arrest." She commented with her mouth slanted.

"Glad you're showing concern." He responded with a smile that was gradually fading. She simply shrugged and lowered her chin. "But I don't regret what I did."

"With those men?"

He suddenly seemed grim. "Aye."

She raised her eyebrows and stared deeply into his face. "Just...be careful."

His brow furled as he stepped closer; he could sense feelings were still apparent and very present. "Why show signs of worry for me?'

She looked up at him and shielded her eyes again from the sun's light. "Because I care about everyone here. I'm exhausted and I'm afraid of losing more people."

He nodded his head slowly in understanding and fell quiet. She pushed her tongue against the inside of her cheek and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm going to go head to the tent to change." She added before raising her hands back up to do air quotes. "Thanks for 'helping' me."

"Anytime." He replied with a sarcastic tone as his features began to soften.

She smiled delicately before turning to leave; Gretel rose from the shade to go follow her master. Soap watched the two leave before turning to look down at the tipped over tub. He straightened it all up before leaving to find some form of distraction before the big event planned for the evening. They would be going in to meet Gomez armed and intensely cautious. As of now, things could easily be a set-up.

Soap glanced at his watch as he parked the Jeep under a street light in Merida. It was 2143, and just minutes away from the scheduled meet-up with Ricardo Gomez. Trevor leaned forward in the passenger seat to look past the Wrangler's visor. From the back, Shan placed his a hand on each of their seats and peered in between the two.

"Where we meeting this Gomez guy?" He asked softly.

Soap relaxed back and sighed. "Corner of 43rd and 45th, in a back alley. We checked out the spot earlier today. It's well-lit." His sharp eyes glanced in Shawn's direction. "Still keep your guns raised."

"How many men will be with him?" Trevor inquired with a raspy voice.

"Intel said two."

Trevor nodded in understanding.

Soap gestured his head. "Let's move."

The three men pulled themselves out from their seats and exited the Jeep with stern expressions. They got into formation and strided quietly down a street's sidewalk. A small few people that were out in the streets watched the three men with intrigue. Soap guided them silently down the street, passing up some more streetlights. Their firearms remained concealed and tucked away, but were ready for usage if needed.

After a quick, alert walk they came up to the street corner of 45th and 43rd and slinked past the street sign and down a wide alleyway. A side door, with a set of concrete steps, became visible as they approached; a single fluorescent light buzzed above the door where bugs tapped against its surface. It seemed eerily familiar to Soap, it caused his head to ache slightly.

Once they reached the set of steps they all stood facing in different directions, keeping their keen eyes locked onto every angle of their surroundings. Soap glanced a second time at the face of his watch.

"2152." He stated.

All men waited patiently and silently as Trevor drew on his previously lit cigarette; the smoke hovered near his face as it rose and swirled within the damp air.

Suddenly, headlights appears and lit up the alleyway. They peered up towards the light source and stared back firmly. Eventually, the sedan came to a stop and sat idly. Pollutants from the muffler exhaled outward as a faint drizzle picked-up and tapped against their faces. A man rolled down the passenger seat window and stuck an arm out.

"Eh! Gringos!" He shouted. "¿Sabes dónde está la barra de Harper es? (Do you know where the Harper Bar is?)"

At the sound of that last sentence, they all perked up. Soap straightened his posture and nodded. "Sí. En la esquina de la Calle Palmera y de la Calle San José (Yes. At the corner of Palm Tree Street and Saint Jose Street.)"

A brief silence fell over everyone before the doors to the sedan pried open and three men stepped out. Soap looked towards Shawn and spoke quietly.

"Start recording."

Shawn gestured his head in understanding as his hands messed with an electronic device at his side.

A shorter man in jeans and a button-up tan shirt approached them. He peered up and gestured his head. "Hey, gringos." He looked them over. "So you're apart of those...what do you all call yourselves? Private contractors?" His accent was thick.

"That would be us." Trevor confirmed, flicking his cigarette off to the side.

Soap stepped forward and stared down at him. "Señor Ricardo Gomez, I presume?"

He nodded slowly. "Sí. That would be me."

"Good. Then let's just cut to the chase." Soap replied.

"Ah, sí. I am a very busy man, so I understand your sense of urgency. But...we also had an agreement…" Ricardo lowered his chin and outstretched an arm. "My payment?"

Soap's eyes intensified before he gestured for Trevor to step up. "We give you a third now, and the rest after we've obtained all information you've agreed upon."

Trevor rose out a wad of pesos for Gomez to accept. The Mexican stared it over reluctantly. Trevor had to narrow his eyes with mild impatience.

"Problema?" Trevor questioned with contempt.

Ricardo sighed. "How about half? How do I know you all won't take off with the rest of the cash?"

"I think we can all agree that every party involved is required to shed some mild form of trust." Soap spoke with his dominating voice. "If you're unwilling to cooperate and stay committed to the original agreement, then we will be forced to use other means of dealing business."

The three Mexicans before them shifted uneasily while everyone stared with intensity.

Trevor crossed his arms. "So do you want redemption for your brother, or not?"

Ricardo looked up towards the scarred man, only to meet up with his metallic eyes. Gomez nodded slowly. "My brother...Pedro...what they did to him. It was-completely inhuman."

"We've heard." Soap commented.

"Some bastard sold him out," Ricardo looked up with a grim expression, "put the blame off on him!"

The three Darkhorse members had to raise a brow. "What do you mean by that?"

Ricardo had to stare back in confusion. "What do you think I mean? Pedro was made out to be a rat. We he had done nothing. Nothing!"

Soap brought his hand up to hold his chin in thought. "Wait. But your brother was the one who provided us the lead for the shipment in Italy."

"No," the Gomez brother shook his head, "no. It wasn't him. He never would do such a thing. He needed extra money for his family so he was desperate for any form of cash. That's how he got wrapped up with the mob...fucking sick bastards."

"So, it wasn't your brother that provided with that intel for Italy?"

Ricardo shook his head.

"Then who was it?"

"No lo sé. Arsenio and Fernando don't realize that they haven't solved their rat problem. And that rat put his betrayal off on my brother and the whole lot of them believed him because Pedro was the new guy. A laborer."

Soap lowered his brow and stared profoundly into Ricardo's face. "Have any names?"

"I got nothing on the rat. But there has been the name 'Hernandez' showing up on invoices. And a man using the name 'Rio' as a sign-off."

"Hernandez. Are they distributors like Vasquez?"

Ricardo nodded again. "Sí." He then motioned for one of the men to step up. The man's hand gripped a backpack. "I have some documentation and copies of the invoices." He received the bag from his comrade and rummaged through it.

Trevor perked up. "Copies of invoices? You sure you aren't the rat?"

The Mexican's hand seized a small clip of bound pages and rose it out to hand-off to Soap. The Scotsman took it without hesitation and looked over the pages swiftly, before his watchful eye fell back onto Ricardo who shot a strong stare in Trevor's direction.

"No. I'm not the rat. I'm employed by Vasquez as a member of their cleaning crew."

Soap had to raise a dark, eyebrow. "Cleaning crew for what?"

Ricardo put his hands in his jean pockets and shifted his weight. "The pig farm."

"Pig farm?"

"Sí. It's how they dispose of bodies." Ricardo swallowed hard. "I never would have gotten this involved if it hadn't been for my brother's death."

Soap eyed the man before glancing down with a focused gaze towards the pages now in his hands. "So you're essentially a farm-hand. A farm-hand who somehow had access to confidential information pertaining to the Vasquez business." He looked back up. "I can smell the bullocks of that story from a kilometer away. Want to tell me the real story?"

Ricardo's eyes narrowed. "Does it really matter, gringo?" He brought a hand out from his pocket to gesticulate towards the papers in Soap's grip. "I brought you all what you needed. So where's the rest of my payment?"

Soap sniffed and scratched his nose before handing off the papers to Shawn who stood nearby. The large Scotsman crossed his arms and stood assertively. "I'm not done here. I know you possess more information. Tell me more of this 'Rio' and 'Hernandez' involvement."

The Mexican's tongue rolled an imaginary object around in his mouth as he attempted to return Soap's dominating glare. He finally huffed. "Give me another third of the payment."

"Really, man?" Trevor asked with irritation. "How about you just hold up your end of the deal and we can be done with all of this."

Soap raised a hand up. "No. It's fine. Give him another 20,000 pesos."

Trevor nodded in understanding and handed off another portion of the payment. Ricardo accepted it and smiled. "Gracios, gringos." He flipped through the money before looking back up. "Vasquez has began to expand their business."

"How so?" Soap questioned deeply.

"Human trafficking."

Soap sighed through his nose and uncrossed his arms. "What else?"

"There's a smaller distribution warehouse disguised as a copper mine. That's where they distribute and ship out some of their 'blanca'."

"Their cocaine."

"Sí." Ricardo peered over his shoulder, as if to look off towards a distant object as he pointed off. "It's located near the eastern coast by Tulum. They use it to connect their trade back to Cuba. Back to the Vasquez homeland."

Soap stared silently in thought before replying. "Have a map?"

"No."

"Draw up a rough sketch then." Soap ordered, causing the man to sigh. "Let's keep this simple and easy, Gomez. It's a very fundamental request."

Ricardo had to nod with consideration as he received a pen and some scrap paper to sketch upon. Once he finished, he handed it off to Soap who accepted it within large hands. He stared it over briefly before turning to give it to Shawn.

"I think I've provided you with what information I can. I've already greatly risked my life just meeting up with you all." Ricardo commented.

"Right." Soap motioned for Trevor to join his side to hand Ricardo the rest of the payment, but then a loud shriek grabbed all of their attention. They all turned around to face the adjacent alleyway the scream had emitted from. Instinct caused the soldiers to draw out their SIG Sauer handguns, but kept them lowered.

A young girl broke into the clearing. Her clothes were tattered and from the distance they stood off they could see her tear-stained cheeks glistening in the passing street lights. Two men appeared shortly behind her as they shouted incantations after her. Spotting some form of potential salvation, she ran towards the soldiers in panic.

She stumbled into Trevor who caught her with strong arms. The two men halted their sprint and stared into the faces of Soap, Shawn, and Trevor who bore perplexed but intimidating expressions. They two Mexicans panted as one raised a finger to point.

"Hey, gringo…" He spoke through pants. "Give us that girl."

She sobbed and slinked behind Trevor. He looked away from her and back at the men; he spotted revolvers at their sides.

Trevor shook his head. "Why."

The man who had spoke before smiled, whereas the other lowered his brow into a grim expression. "Because gringo, she's my adoring cousin who I'm simply trying to return back home where her mama and papa are awaiting patiently."

"Él está mintiendo! Él está mintiendo! (He's lying! He's lying!)" She cried out.

Trevor had to chuckle at the men. "Right. And I'm Santa Claus. How about you two turn away and head back to where you came."

"Gringo. Don't piss me off."

"No. I don't think you know who you're fucking with right now." Trevor barked back, causing the two men to begin to observe what they were up against. They were definitely outsized by the soldiers, and also outnumbered. Ricardo and his men stepped back into the shadows and away from the threat.

The man laughed. "¿Qué? You gonna fight us, gringo? Gonna start a fire-fight?"

"Depends. Would you like to get a bullet between the eyes?" Trevor glared back with reflective, blue eyes.

The two men stepped up, but Soap and Shawn stepped forward as well, causing the two men to stop in their tracks. The young teenage girl sobbed and panted with fear from her position behind Trevor.

"What is with all of you gringos all of the sudden? Appear from nowhere and now we have four men in the hospital." He stated with a grin. Soap furrowed his brow at them. The man brought a hand up and pointed towards Soap. "Funny. You look a lot like the man our men described."

Soap stepped up further, making his size even more apparent. "Do you want to join your friends? Is this girl here really worth risking your ugly mugs over?" Soap's stare intensified. "You have two options here: either you turn around and go your separate way, or you do something you regret and end up unrecognizable to your families."

The man had to laugh, but it came out nervously, whereas the other looked from his friend to the girl still tucked away. He brought himself closer to the other man and whispered something. The man had to bite the inside of his cheek and gradually increase the nodding of his head.

"Alright. Alright, gringos. Take the girl. Hardly worth our time anyway. Pathetic thing possesses no stamina." He shot a menacing look in her direction. "Hey! Chica! Espero que tengan un buen momento de regresar a casa a la familia que le vendió de distancia! (Hey! Girl! Hope you have a good time returning home to the family that sold you away!)"

"Fuck off before I decide to shoot you now in this alleyway to leave your stinking corpses to the dogs." Trevor snapped.

The men were quick to turn away. Soap raised his head up to say something before they vanished around the corner. "Dile a tus amigos que dije 'hola'. (Tell your friends I said 'hello')."

Silence was quick to fill the space around them. The girl let out an exasperated sigh and she sniffed to regain composure. Ricardo was swift to receive the rest of his payment before the three of them jumped back into the sedan to hurry off.

The three remaining soldiers all turned to release an exhale of tension as they all looked down at the sobbing girl.

"...What do we do with her?" Shawn asked.

Soap returned his handgun to its holster as he placed his hands on his waist. "We can't leave her here." He peered up at the light above the door before looking off down the street. "We're going to have to take her back to camp. We need to find out where her family is."

Trevor and Shawn gestured their heads in agreement. The girl clung to Trevor's arm in desperate terror.

Figuring their night with the informant was reaching its end, they swiftly moved for the Wrangler parked a brief distance away to return back to camp.

UGH! Jesus! So busy! But hey, thanks for being patient :D