“I’m going to be bringing in trainers,” Mike said. “American and possibly Brit. They’re not mercenaries, but they may end up engaged in combat, given the way the Chechens move. If they do, I want it kept very quiet and I don’t want the Georgian government coming down on us.”
“Guaranteed,” Colonel Skachko said. “I will ensure this through my office; I have the authority.”
“From the Russians the main thing that I need is an intel feed,” Mike said, looking at the two. “If you have concerns on something that you suspect or know is moving through my area, tell me. You should be able to get data on my secure link through American sources. If you have an issue, call me. I’ll do what I can to handle it. Okay?”
“Yes,” the ambassador said, nodding.
“I’ve got limited manpower, which is currently untrained,” Mike said, sighing. “And I don’t actually know what they’re going to be capable of. But on my honor, I’ll do my best to cut out Chechen movement through my area of operations. For the reasons we’ve discussed and because I fucking hate Islamic terrorists. I would appreciate it if Russia gave me a year to see what I can do. I know that’s a long time in a war, but it’s going to take at least that long to get a full grip on the area.”
“I will present that to my government,” the ambassador said, nodding.
“I want to make a last thing perfectly clear,” Mike said, frowning. “I am not an agent of the United States government. I never have been. All I am is a retired SEAL. Don’t go hanging CIA or NSA or any other tags on me. I’m a free agent. I’d just intended to make a tiddly little militia. I’ll do what I can to keep two countries from going to war. But I make no guarantees and I’m getting dick all of support. This is all on my dime. Keep that firmly in mind.”
“And you made your money from a communications company nobody has ever heard of,” Colonel Kortotich said, smiling thinly.
“No,” Mike said, working his jaw, “I made my money from killing people and breaking things. Specifically terrorists and their operations. Your point?”
He had about a million things to do, but none of them were as urgent as getting a cup of tea from the kitchen and cadging another look at those lovely girls. They were still cleaning the kitchen, even now, and quite frequently on their knees with their lovely butts up in the air.
When he got there, though, the girls were up on their feet. Well, three of them were, while the fourth was sitting at the kitchen table, bent over in pain.
“What’s wrong?” Mike asked.
“Irina has a bellyache,” Mother Griffina said, frowning. “I think it is just gas.”
“It really hurts,” the girl said, her face working in pain.
“Lay her down on the table,” Mike said, looking at the girl’s face. She was sweating and pale.
The two old women helped her onto the table and Mike watched as the girl bent to favor her right side.
“Okay, I’m not doing anything wrong,” Mike said, sliding his hand behind her neck. “Think of me as a doctor. This much I think I know about.” She felt extremely warm but Mike didn’t have a thermometer. Yes, he did, come to think of it.
“One of you,” he said, looking at the girls who were standing around. “In my room there is a large black bag. There are three pouches on the outside. In the top pouch, there is a small purple plastic case. Get it.”
“Stay still,” he said to the Irina, laying his hands on her abdomen. “Does this hurt?” he asked, pressing her near the stomach.
“No,” she said. “Maybe a little.”
“You’ll know when it hurts,” Mike said, putting his hands on her left side and pressing near the kidney. “Does this hurt?”
“No,” Irina said.
“This?” Mike asked, pressing into her right side.
The answer was a cry of pain and the girl arched forward.
“Sorry, had to check,” Mike said, shaking his head as the girl he’d dispatched ran in with the plastic box.
The case was supposed to be a holder for soap, but Mike had used it for small breakable items he didn’t want to be without. One of which was a small mercury thermometer. He shook it down and inserted it under the girl’s tongue then took her pulse. It was nearly a hundred and a bit thready. He pulled the thermometer out; she was running a hundred and four degree temperature.
“Okay, we have a serious problem,” Mike said, thinking about the long drive to Tbilisi. “We need to get Irina to a hospital as fast as we can. I’ll need one friend, a good friend, and I’ll take Genadi since he has to go to Tbilisi anyway. You,” he said, pointing at the girl who had brought the thermometer. “Go back up to the room. There is a black box on the top of my dresser. Close the top, unplug it and put it in the small black bag. Then bring them both down here. You,” he said, pointing to the next one. “Go get Genadi. Tell him he has three minutes to pack and be out front. You,” he said, pointing to the last, a really beautiful blonde. “You’re coming with us. She’ll need somebody to hold her hand. This is going to get very bad.”
“Kildar…” Mother Savina said.
“You have to stay here and finished getting the house prepared,” Mike said. “So does Mother Griffina. Get her mother headed to the hospital tonight if you can. In the morning if you can’t. Get a taxi or a car or something. There is a bundle of euros in my top drawer, use those. But we have to leave now.”
“Very well, Kildar,” Mother Savina said, shaking her head.
“Let’s go, Irina,” Mike said, helping the girl off the table. “You’re going to have a very long, very unpleasant ride.”
The girl he’d sent for his jump bag was standing in the doorway holding it carefully when he headed that way.
“Follow us to the car,” Mike said. “Then run and get some bottled water. Where in the hell is Genadi?”
“Here, Kildar,” the man said, looking at the girl who was bent over double in pain.
“We’re going to Tbilisi,” Mike said. “Right now. She has an inflamed appendix, I think. There’s a couple of other things it could be,” he continued, making his way through the foyer. “Mother Savina, have clothes for both girls sent with Irina’s mother. Tell the elders she’s gone to the hospital. And pray we get there in time.”
Chapter Nine
Mike had given Irina two tablets of hydrocodone and three of Keflex when they got to the car. He then roared out of the compound with the two girls in the back and Genadi up front.
“Kildar,” Genadi said as the Mercedes took a corner at dangerous speeds. “You might want to slow down. Killing all of us will save nothing.”
“There’s only so much time,” Mike pointed out. “And it’s, what? Four hours to Tbilisi?”
“There is that,” Genadi said, sighing. “Are you sure it’s the appendix?”
“I’m not a damned doctor,” Mike said. “But I was on a mission one time when one of the team came down with it. I talked to the team medic about it and when you get that sort of reaction it’s pretty much a given. He also said that once they burst, you’re in huge trouble.”
“This I understand,” Genadi said. “But we are in huge trouble anyway.”
“My driving isn’t that bad,” Mike said, chuckling.
“No, that is not it,” Genadi sighed. “Kildar, we are two unmarried men in a car with two unmarried females.”
“Oh, give me a break,” Mike snapped. “If she didn’t go to the hospital, she’d die.”
“You should have brought Mother Savina or Mother Griffina,” Genadi said.