By the time Devon, Thomas, and Andres finished their mop-up in the Philippines, their Vatican investigative team had finished sorting through all the new intelligence material they had collected. When Devon saw the results, he just swore to himself. Will I ever get the Black Dawn Cartel out of my life, he wondered? The cartel was like a starfish; the more you chopped it up, the more starfishes there were. While they no longer went by that name, there were still references made to old members and deceased leaders(taken out by our intrepid warrior), as well as their cells. The new name, while not as catchy, was more to the point: IOHS (International Organ Harvesting Syndicate). Two new leaders of the syndicate were also discovered: Matthew N. Anderson and his second-in-command, Francisco Celsio y Garcia. By all intents and purposes, even more ruthless than the previous leadership. While they still kept their hands in drugs, human trafficking, gambling, and other illegal sources of income, they had now added organ harvesting to their revenue stream. As their new moniker implies, they were keying in on this new source of income in a big way.

As they continued to dig into the data from the new laptop, they soon discovered that the gang in the Philippines was just one of many heads of this evil serpent. In any place where rampant poverty and corruption prevailed, these cells were emerging. The only way to at least slow down their growth was to remove the controlling organ, and that meant traveling to Europe, specifically Germany. Once the leaders were taken out, however, each and every cell still would need to be eliminated. Only then, without its influential leadership and primary sources of financing, would it be possible for the local constabulary to dismantle these cells. The team needed this local support because there were just too many cells for them to eliminate personally.

Even though their work was far from over, at least when they left the Philippines, they could do so with a sense of pride and accomplishment. They had, after all, taken out all the organ-harvesting cells from this archipelago. Now, it was up to local law enforcement and leadership to prevent it from re-establishing itself. Only time would tell if they had the fortitude to prevail.

Now that their job was done, it was time to close up shop. Devon and Thomas drove Helena, Arrigo, Luigi, and Giuliano to the Manila airport, where they exchanged tearful farewells. Their efforts had made all the difference in the world. Once they dropped off and their luggage was off-loaded, Devon and Thomas dropped off their passenger van at the rental agency and continued on back to their now nearly empty rental house.

Before they had left for the airport, the Vatican was contacted regarding all of their gear and what they wanted the team to do with it. It was decided that the best course of action for them was to have Andres distribute it among the local law enforcement departments, so that they could be utilized in their ongoing fight against crime in the islands. It also made returning to Italy much simpler. Now, all that was left was to pack up their personal belongings and contact the property manager to notify them that they were leaving to go back home. Of course, the manager was unhappy, but when he realized he would have two weeks to collect double the money on his rental property, he was quickly mollified. They still had two more weeks left on their monthly rental, but they didn’t care. Devon couldn’t wait to get back to his family. Truth be told, even Thomas was starting to feel a little homesick.

Devon called Jennie to tell her that he had completed his work in the Philippines and was coming home for a couple of weeks’ rest and relaxation (R&R) before wrapping up his mission. She was overjoyed about his coming home, but not as happy about the need for him to leave again. However, she knew how important his work was and that he was helping to make the world a better place.