Leaving in Eight Hours

‘Smuggling there has gotten out of control,’ Elias said. ‘And armed militias are fighting each other and the army for territory and survival.’ ‘Smuggling?’ Callie asked. An idea struck Elias. ‘Come. I’ll show you.’ He logged onto his personal laptop and pulled up a declassified file. Callie peered over his shoulder. ‘What am I looking at?’ Elias pointed to a map on the screen. ‘The southern border between Engalia and Kurtazagg. Each red dot represents an active drug trafficking operation. Yellow is for smuggling.’ ‘The map’s lit up like a Christmas tree!’ ‘Exactly.’ ‘I didn’t know there are so many drugs coming into the country.’ ‘Mostly heroin and methamphetamine. The traffickers have gotten smarter, using ingenious disguises and strategies to evade law enforcement efforts.’ He pointed to a green dot on the map. ‘And that’s the base where I’ll be deployed to.’ Callie’s heart sank as she processed the gravity of the situation. She had heard about drug trafficking before, but to know th