by Alex Howell
As Clara often told Mason, she was a “big girl” and could take care of herself, but Mason’s fatherly instincts never wanted to take any chances. Besides his enemies have proven on countless occasions that they wouldn’t be above striking out at his most valuable asset—his family.
As they sat in the crowded airport, Mathew wished to bring some levity to their situation as he joked with Mason, “Hey Mace…can I ask you something?”
Mason looked up at his friend, “Sure man… what is it?”
Mathew then tried to appear serious as he relayed, “I don’t want to bring you down or anything, but it’s kind of a serious question.”
After everything they had been through in recent days, having to answer “serious questions” was not exactly something that Mason looked forward to. He had had enough of all the drama, psychobabble, and his own deep introspection into his own past. He wanted to get away from any serious, deep discussions. Haunted by the past, he had already had to interrupt his wedding and postpone his honeymoon due to the unmitigated parade of skeletons that had come out of his closet. It was precisely for this reason that after this latest case had been resolved, the first thing that both he and Raina wanted to do was make a break for it, hop on a plan and head to the white sands of a beach on Hawaii.
Now that Mason was suddenly wanting to ask him something. Mason’s weary mind screamed, ‘Now what?’ He really wasn’t sure where Mathew was going with his line of questioning, but nevertheless, Mason nodded and encouraged him, “Yeah man… go ahead.”
Mason thought that Benton had something pretty serious to ask him but when he saw the grin on Benton’s face and heard him remark in a comic voice, “Could you tell me… Why did the Navy SEAL cross the road?” He knew he was in for a real treat.
Even though he rolled his eyes at the thought of Benton resorting to cheesy jokes, he actually had some pretty fond memories having to deal with military humor. There were many times that he and his comrades had found themselves in difficult, nearly hopeless situations, and the only thing that had kept their spirits up was the small gift of laughter provided by one man’s goofy sense of humor in hard times. And in the midst of their own recent storm of trouble, it seemed that Benton had decided to carry on the grand tradition.
So even though he rolled his eyes up into his head as he did so, Mason went ahead and entreated him, “Okay Benton… Why did the Navy SEAL cross the road? To get to the other side?”
Benton shook his head, “Hell no… He crossed the road so that son of a bitch wouldn’t cross him first!”
This one was so corny that even Clara who usually enjoyed Benton’s jokes, remarked, “Uh…what?”
The punch line was bad and the joke was completely stupid, yet Benton’s facial expression was so ridiculous when he told it, that in spite of himself, Mason couldn’t help but laugh a little bit, before telling his friend, “Benton man… Are you okay buddy? I think you are really beginning to lose your mind….”
Benton feigning indignation at the criticism, retorted, “Well… I have some better jokes in my arsenal…. But they are a little more um…
He trailed off before continuing the thought, “A little more uh… Let’s just say intense… And I uh… just wanted to keep it PG since….”
Benton glanced at Clara and then back at Mason before adding, “Since there are children present….”
Clara took some umbrage at this statement as she leaned forward in her seat and exclaimed, “Children! Give me a break! I’m almost 20 years old!” Prompting Mason to put his arm around her shoulders as he laughed, “But your still my baby—okay?”
Raina had been quietly ignoring the antics, while she kept on eye on the time. Realizing that the plane that was going to take her and Mason on their delayed honeymoon trip to Hawaii, was about to arrive any minute, she announced, “Woah…. It’s almost time for departure.”
Then as if on cue, right when she said the words, the overhead speaker blared to life as an announcer informed everyone in the lobby, “Attention passengers, Flight 301, American Airlines has arrived and is now ready for boarding.”
Mason sat up in his seat and commented, “I guess that’s our plane.”
Mason turned to Raina, “Are you ready?”
She nodded, “Yes”.
Clara wasn’t however as she pouted, “Aww… I’m going to miss you guys.”
Mason, his arm still around his daughter, gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze as he reassured her, “It’s only a few weeks Clara—it’s going to fly by quick enough and the rest of the summer we’ll all be together. I promise.”
Clara sighed, “Oh alright… I suppose.”
Mason and Raina were then escorted by Benton and Clara to the line leading to their plane. And after saying a few heartfelt goodbyes Mason and Raina were off to a Hawaiian paradise to reclaim the honeymoon they had previously thought lost.
THE NEXT DAY ON THE WHITE SANDS OF WAIKIKI, BEACH, HAWAII
As Mason and Raina walked hand in hand along the shores of Waikiki beach, Mason felt that he had finally left his troubles behind him. As he felt the warmth of the sun on his skin, the ocean breeze blowing through his shortly cropped hair, and the firm grip of Raina Martin in his hand, in this moment he felt almost like he had died and gone to heaven.
He gave Raina’s hand a gentle squeeze as he asked, “Is this real? Or am I dreaming?”
Raina laughed softly, as she teased, “Oh you think your dreaming? You want me to pinch you?”
To which Mason answered in a suggestive voice, “Yes—yes I would.”
Prompting Rain to laugh, “You would like that wouldn’t you?”
The couple then stopped and turned to watch the sun as it sunk below the horizon. The oceanic sunset making a beautiful day even more spectacular than it already was. As they watched the sun slipping down below the waves, Mason kissed Raina on the cheek and asked, “Is this real? Or am I dreaming?”
To which Raina softly replied, “Well if it’s a dream… lets just hope we don’t wake up Mason. We can dream about it and think about it forever…. .”
Mason held her tight, as he agreed, “Right baby. Let’s just keep on dreaming together.”
Epilogue
The Wisdom of the Ages
Three weeks later at Onyx HQ in Baltimore, Maryland
The Onyx team are gathered around the conference table in Mason’s basement getting debriefed on late breaking developments. Luke standing before the group informed them, “Alright guys, I’ve got the latest on the hostage case.”
Mason looked up at Luke and encouraged him to continue, “Alright—let’s hear it Luke.”
Luke nodded, “Well, thanks to your efforts the most recent victims of these perpetrators are safe and sound.”
Raina then asked, “And the perpetrators?”
Luke didn’t hesitate, “The perps? Yeah—they are most likely going to rot behind bars…”
Mason knowing full well the liberal supreme court coupled with the liberal president Verne Landers, would most likely hand out significantly less than life.
As such, Mason asked, “Are you sure about that?”
Luke answered, “Yes...”
Mason still unconvinced asked, “How?”
Luke then pulled up a chair next to Mason and sat down, before revealing, “We’ve already got two taped confessions from two of the perpetrators that puts blood on just about everyone’s hands.”
Upon hearing this, Mason sadly thought to himself that they overlooked one other person linked to the terrorists with innocent blood on his hands—himself. During his first mission he was the one who recklessly tossed a stun grenade down a basement, inadvertently igniting an explosion that incinerated a whole family.
Yet in his case, the only conviction he was going to receive for it was his own guilt. Mason kept these thoughts to himself however, as Luke shifted his gaze over to Mathew Benton. Looking at Benton, Luke informed him, “And Matt… I know this is of course an extremely sensitiv
e topic for you… And in a way… I feel obligated to apologize just for bringing it up.”
Luke sighed, “But all the same I think you have a right to know….”
By the gravity in his voice Benton already knew that Luke was probably about to provide some intel about his own family that was murdered decades ago. Seeking to release Luke from his awkward anxiety, Benton extolled, “No please your fine. Please—continue.”
Luke nodded, “The terrorists that we bagged are indeed the same people that murdered your family.”
Benton knew it was coming, yet this verbal confirmation was nothing short of mind blowing. Staring off into space he quietly muttered, “Wow….”
With the snap of Luke’s fingers, it was as if he had finally been given much needed closure after 20 some years of going without it. After Benton paused without speaking for a moment, Mason looked over to his old friend, and with a bit of concern asked him, “You alright man?”
Benton slowly looked over to Mason and stared for a moment before, as if in a slight stupor answering, “Yeah man… yeah…. I’m fine.”
A cold silence permeating the room for much of the rest of the meeting and Luke brought things to a close shortly thereafter with, “Alright gang, well I’ve got some more stuff to do back at the office. If you don’t have anything else for me, you can go ahead and consider yourselves dismissed.”
The group then began to slowly file out of the room. Raina stood up and looking to Mason, waited for him to get up and follow her. Mason glanced over to Benton who was quietly looking down at the table, before looking back to Raina and telling her, “Hey—uh, just give me a minute. I’ll meet you up with you in a few.”
Raina understanding that Mason needed to have a heart to heart with his friend, respectfully agreed, “Sure thing Mason, I’ll be right outside.”
After Raina excused herself from the conference room, leaving Mason and Benton alone, Mason reassured his old friend, “It’s alright man just let it out…”
With his elbows on the table, Benton suddenly put both hands to his face as if he were desperately trying to forestall the cracking of his composure. But despite the thick slabs of concrete walls he had built around himself all these years, the dam finally burst, as he began to wail in pure pain, “Oh… Oh…. I miss them so much... After all this time… I still miss them….”
Words that were choked off by tears as Benton cried into his own hands. Many tough guys would like to say that they never cry, and its true that some may have gone decades without shedding a tear, but if they have ever been through anything in life—especially if they had lost love ones like Benton had, even their tears will eventually find them out.
With this new revelation of his family’s killers being put behind bars, it was indeed a great closure for Benton, but just bringing up the matter like this had opened up the old wounds once again.
Mason sat across from Benton as the tears fell. He was never that great at comforting others, but he was glad that his friend was at least letting his pent-up emotion out. As he softly cried into his hands—unsure of what else to do—Mason was about to get up out of his share and walk over to him, to put a hand on his shoulder and attempt to sympathize.
But a short burst of grief was apparently all Benton needed because as Mason watched, he quickly wiped the tears from his eyes, cleared his throat and regained his composure. Taking a deep breath, he looked to Mason and sighed, “Sorry about that—I should not let my emotions get the better of me.”
Mason shook his head, “No man, there is no need to apologize, you’re only human.”
Benton cleared his throat again before replying, “Yeah… but that’s alright. That’s all in the past now and the killers are behind bars.”
Benton looked Mason in the eyes and declared, “It’s over.”
Mason hesitated to ask his friend, but ultimately couldn’t resist, as he inquired, “Benton?”
Benton replied, “Yes?”
Mason asked, “Did you ever have thoughts of revenge?”
Benton frowned, “Revenge?”
Mason nodded, “Yeah… did you ever consider going out and finding the killers on your own and exacting your own retribution against them?”
Benton frowned, “I’m not going to lie—the thought did cross my mind. But in the end, I knew it was pointless. All violence does is begat more violence—I didn’t need to be a part of that vicious cycle.”
Benton sighed, “My family is already gone, what does revenge do for me? It doesn’t bring them back.”
Benton then admitted, “I’ve carried so much pain and grief over the years, I’ve really had no room for much thought for revenge. Hating the killers won’t bring my family back—it will only bring me down.”
Benton again, relayed, “I don’t do vendetta’s or harbor grudges—in the long run there’s just no point.”
Mason answered quietly, “I see…”
He was amazed at the profoundness of his friend’s words. Benton had been victorious over the cycle of violence and had refused to be sucked into it. Mason knew that he himself had no doubt caused several other people to enter into their own vicious cycles of violence.
And he began to really wonder how many people had come to hate him enough to want revenge. Mason casting these nagging, worried thoughts to the side however, stood up and motioned for his friend to join him as he encouraged, “Alright Matt, let’s go. This is the first day of your new life.”
Mathew Benton stood up and looked out the window at the bright blue sky outside and remarked, “We’ve just got one life to live, we have to live it wisely.”
Prologue
Graduation Day
Mason and Raina Walker stood close together as droves of people crowded around at Stanford University’s “Stanford Stadium” where sporting events, as well as commencements were typically held. Mason’s daughter Clara’s graduation just happened to fall on the anniversary of Mason and Raina’s getting married the previous summer.
It was a large graduating class, and the seats to the commencement had been sold out as if it was a rock concert. Right as Raina was being bumped into and fending off apologies from a bumbling stranger for the third time, Mason whispered into her ear, “Sorry we couldn’t be in Hawaii instead right now.”
Raina remembering how they were cheated out of their honeymoon one year prior due to certain “business” that had come up, laughed, “Don’t worry Mason—I’m used to it. At least this time we weren’t interrupted by bloodthirsty terrorists.”
Mason looking back toward the stage chuckled, “Right.”
The stage was currently empty, but there was a heavy feeling of anticipation in the air as everyone waited for the moment to arrive when their loved ones would come forward. At the moment however, Mason and Raina were just trying to get to their seats.
As they navigated through the crowd Mason himself was bumped into with a wicked elbow to his left shoulder. Getting frustrated he growled, “Hey! Watch out!” just as he was jostled by yet another attendee on his right.
He turned around ready to tell off whoever it was that was literally rubbing him the wrong way. But as he saw who had brushed up against him, his eyes widened and a grin filled his face as he cheerfully exclaimed, “Matt! You made it!
And sure enough, staring back at him was the pock marked but smiling face of his old combat buddy from the SEALS; Mathew Benton. Clasping Mason’s shoulder’s Benton remarked, “Of course I made it! This is Clara’s big day! She’s like a daughter to me—I wouldn’t miss this for the world!”
Taking a breath, looking around and waving at the crowd, Benton remarked, “Woah! Do you see this crowd? I haven’t seen a turn out like this seen I went to an Ozzy Osborne concert!”
Mason chuckled, “Right Matt! Oz Fest 99’ just couldn’t compare to this one could it?”
Trying to stare through the crowd, Benton asked, “So—where are our seats?”
Mason pointed toward the front of the auditorium and inf
ormed him, “Right up front there.”
Mathew Benton smirked, “Front row seats huh? The question is—how do we get to them?”
As if on cue, mere seconds after Benton uttered this question, a boisterous Chris Bradley was heard over his shoulder, inquiring, “It looks like you guys could use some assistance?”
Raina surprised to see Chris, exclaimed, “Chris—!”
Chris’s large frame, worked like a tank, pushing its way through any of the remaining pedestrians that were surrounding them as he greeted them, “Hey guys—thanks for letting me crash the party.”
Mason smiled, “Thanks for coming Chris.”
Bradley nodded, “No problem—and if you guys need a bit of crowd control to get back to your seat. I have just what the doctor ordered.”
Raina knowing that Chris was the resident weapons expert, always coming up with all manner of gadgetry couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow as she asked, “Really?”
Bradley nodded, “Sure!” He then pointed to his ears and revealed, “You may notice that I am wearing ear plugs”
It seemed like a funny enough statement, but looking closer they did indeed notice thick earplugs jammed into his ears. Giving him a quizzical look, Mason asked, “What the hell are those for? To block out the noise of the crowd?”
Bradley shook his head, “No—no, it goes much deeper than that Mason.”
Holding out his hand in the close quarters in which they were huddled he then showed them a small electronic device nestled in his palm. As Mason, Raina, and Matt all huddled around to take a look, Bradley remarked, “Once activated, this baby can part this crowd like the Red Sea.”
Mathew Benton remarked, “Well, okay—what the heck is that thing?”