“May, calm down,” said Wes. “We were given that by someone who believed her husband might have stolen the objects.”
“You have no idea what you’ve done,” she said, shaking her head. “These are sacred idols from the Micronesian island of Pohnpei and the historic site of Nan Madol. They were designed to protect the island and, more importantly, the basalt lava logs and coral reefs in Pohnpei. Removing them is tantamount to defacing Mount Vernon or Plymouth rock.”
“Jesus,” muttered Ham. “The man who caused Sadie so much harm took those items. He gave them to his wife, saying they were just trinkets.”
“That bastard!” muttered Sadie. “It was my cardinal rule with the team. Don’t purchase any artifacts, don’t take anything, don’t touch anything. I cannot believe that son-of-a-bitch took these!”
“We have to get these back to the island,” said May. “They have to be returned.” Ham nodded, looking at Wes, Patrick, and Christopher.
“I’ll take them back,” said Ham.
“We’ll come with you,” said Patrick. “We can have Evie take us, and we’ll be back by Monday.”
“Maybe I should come with you,” said Sadie, gripping his hand. Ham kissed her and shook his head.
“No, baby, you don’t need to go back there. You stay here, and we’ll take this back to their government. We’ll explain what happened, and then we’ll come home.”
“Okay,” she nodded. “I’ll be right here waiting for you.”
Ham, Patrick, and Christopher found Evie and explained what they needed to do. Luke and Cam agreed, telling them to contact them immediately should anything go wrong. One of the biggest challenges was that Micronesia wasn’t exactly easy to get to.
Evie would need to fly them to Papua New Guinea, then from there, charter a smaller plane to the main island. While they were in the air, Luke and the leadership team made sure that the legal team was aware of what had happened. Recognizing how long the flight would be, even in the jets, they asked Chipper to go with them as well.
“I’ll do some digging into their laws,” said Maggie.
“Appreciate it, Maggie,” said Hex. “You never know if they’re still ruled by some strange island laws or even some ancient law from previous rulers.”
“Many of the islands fall under U.S. protection,” said Sadie. “It’s why I was there. The Federated States of Micronesia govern others. I know that they are highly protective of their antiquities, as they should be. Nations have been trying to take what belongs to them for thousands of years. Most of it ended in the ruin of ecosystems or the destruction of their beaches. We have to do this delicately.”
“I’m sure they can be delicate,” smirked Hex. Sadie stared at the man, shaking her head.
“Have you met my brothers? Have you met Ham?”
“They’ll be just fine, Sadie,” said Wes, hugging his daughter. “Come on, let’s finish decorating so we can dig into those Christmas cookies.” Sadie nodded at her father, but deep down, something was telling her that this would not end well. Whispering to herself, she watched as her brothers and Ham took off toward the plane.
“I sure hope you’re right.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“I’ll just take this into the government building and ask for someone in antiquities,” said Ham as they stepped off the small plane. Evie and Chipper were waiting back in Papua New Guinea with the jet. Christopher and Patrick nodded at the big man, seeing the customs line ahead. They had nothing with them other than small duffel bags with their weapons hidden beneath the stealth netting.
“Good morning,” said Ham to the inspector. Patrick and Christopher were in the line next to him.
“Passport, please,” said the man. He handed him his passport, and the man stared at his face, then at the passport again. “What’s the purpose of your visit?” Ham was careful in his response.
“I’m here to visit some of your government officials.”
“Why?” asked the customs agent.
“I’m just trying to return something that I found,” he said calmly. The agent looked at another man and nodded.
“Please step to the side,” he said. Ham nodded, stepping toward the other man. He didn’t even look at Christopher and Patrick, wanting to keep their affiliation quiet for the time being. “Are there any sharp objects in your bag?”
“No, sir. As I told the other gentleman, I’m trying to return some items that were taken from the islands.” The agent didn’t even bother looking up at Ham. He unzipped the duffel and stared inside. Turning, he nodded to an agent behind him.
“Hands up!” yelled the other man.
“What?” asked Ham.
