Free Humanity Unlimited 1: Liberty Station by Terry Mixon

vegetation. The rest of the team had spread out to keep watch for hostiles. They’d meet up at a predetermined rally point. Time to see what other secrets this jungle held.
     

Chapter Seven
     
     
    Jess discovered that going through the jungle without a cleared path was significantly more difficult than walking down an open trail. Progress was slow and the insects were all over them. Time to give up that fantasy about exploring the wilds of Africa in a pith helmet.
    The mosquitos were even move vicious in the deep jungle. The repellant seemed to be attracting them. She swatted them, but more came to take their place.
    The mercenaries took turns hacking at the growth and politely declined her offers to assist. Instead, she followed Harry Rogers. She still knew virtually nothing about him, other than the rumors that she’d heard.
    Those stories revolved around him and his father having a huge falling out when he was younger. Of him joining the US Army and becoming some kind of special operations officer. Him leaving the service to become a mercenary. Obviously, that last was true.
    She still had no idea why someone that hated his father so deeply would get involved in rescuing her. It made no sense. Maybe she should ask.
    “Hey,” she said.
    He glanced over his shoulder at her. “You need a break?”
    “No. Why did you come for me?”
    He smiled. “Because you needed rescuing and my father is paying heavily for the operation.”
    “You and he don’t get along so well.”
    “That’s something of an understatement. As far as I’m concerned, you’re the client.”
    “It seems like I’m missing something important. You’re a mercenary, right? Isn’t this kind of job a little off the beaten path for you?”
    He looked around at the trackless jungle surrounding them. “We’re all a bit off the beaten path, but I get your meaning. No, I do this sort of thing for a living now. Rescuing people stuck in situations they have no way out of. We mainly recover kidnapped children held overseas by non-custodial parents.”
    Jess blinked. That wasn’t what she’d expected at all. “So you’re not mercenaries?”
    “That’s a matter of debate. Liberty SOG has people from the best US military units: SEALS, Delta Force, Marine Raiders, and others less well known. When the government decided to neuter the military, there were plenty of excellent candidates to choose from.
    “We’ve done purely military operations, and honestly, we occasionally still do. But only if the moral reasons for doing so outweigh the trouble. Frankly, with all the problems in Europe, there’s plenty of business that we don’t need to hold our noses over.”
    She understood that well enough. It used to be that only the Middle East had issues with violent groups espousing virulent forms of Islam. Now Western Europe was fighting a cancer in its body. It wasn’t politically correct to call them Islamic extremists, but honesty compelled her to say that was the right name.
    The news organizations, with a few exceptions, and the government preferred to leave the religious part out. They said those people had nothing to do with Islam. That might even technically be true, but those people had no problem using Islam to justify terrible acts.
    The European Union had opened their arms to an enormous number of refugees when the violence in the Middle East and Northern Africa spun out of control. War between Saudi Arabia and Iran quickly spread over the entire area around them.
    Iran used nuclear weapons they weren’t supposed to have on their enemies. Armed with US made defenses, the Saudis and Israel fended them off. Israel, of course, nuked Tehran and several other military strongholds inside Iran.
    Others were less able to defend themselves and millions died.
    That fractured Iran, but didn’t stop the violence. It only shoved it underground. Groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS now openly recruited from, and infiltrated into, any country they could. With