Encountering Evil: Dark Horse Guardians Book Two

by Armstrong, Ava

  As Ben climbed into the Chevy with Habib, he noticed a few of the men were beginning to cough. Ben rolled down the window and said, "You guys really need to stop smoking those cigars." And Habib was off. He drove Ben to Logan airport where he got into his rental car for the long drive back to Maine. Habib was taking a flight back to a town near the border of Israel. The two men shook hands as they parted. Ben felt tremendous gratitude for Habib's assistance. Looking into Habib’s black eyes he said solemnly, "I could not have done this without you. Be safe, my friend." Habib smiled and said, "We did a good thing, doctor. The women and children will not live under oppression any longer in this place. We destroyed one compound. We did a good thing."

  As Habib boarded his flight, Ben took a roundabout route to get home just in case he was being followed. It was a habit he could not break. He pulled into a lonely rest-stop in the middle of the night somewhere in a heavily wooded area on the New Hampshire border and called the Dark Horse Guardians on his encrypted satellite phone. "Elvis, what's going on in there?" There was a slight delay and Elvis replied, “Nate, Tom and Jake are performing reconnaissance with drones equipped with night vision. We’re watching the men dying on the compound. They went for the Cipro, and all of them have taken it. But thanks to you, it won’t work.” Elvis gave an update, "We hacked their wireless connection and jammed it. None of their cell phones work. Hold on…some new info. They're dropping like flies. Most of them are vomiting. Some have diarrhea. It won't be much longer. I'd say twenty-four hours. We’ve formed a blockade at the gate. Nate has moved inside and is laying low in the trailer you stayed in. He has eyeballs on the situation. As soon as we can extract the women and children, we have the safe house ready. The only delay will be getting their travel paperwork done, but we've got an expert to help with that. So, we are hopeful it will go smoothly. Go home, Chief. Get some rest. We've got it from here." Ben thanked them for their good work and ended the call.

  Leaning against the car door he immediately fell asleep from sheer exhaustion for a few hours. When dawn broke, he woke, took a leak outside, and changed his clothes. He wore a black hoodie, black pants and put a black ski mask into his pocket and pulled on a pair of black driving gloves. He continued his drive to Maine. He had one stop to make before going home to his lovely Lara. He ordered an extra-large black coffee at a drive-thru to wash down another dose of Cipro.

  When he drove past the driveway of the residence that housed Dillon Varney, he parked his vehicle down the street and looked around for cameras. None there. He removed his shoes and took the ski mask out of his pocket and slipped it on and pulled the black hoodie up. The house was an eight-plex apartment dwelling, rundown and the front door was already open. He knew the apartment was on the first floor and walked down the squalid ramshackle hallway to unit 2B. He paused for a moment and listened. It was 5:30 AM. No one was stirring in the building. He used a small tool to open the lock on the door and crept silently to the bedroom of Dillon Varney.

  The 250 pound slob was snoring fully clothed on a stained mattress on an old cast iron bed. Ben slipped a piece of rope around his ankles and tied a knot securing his feet to the cast iron footboard. Then he secured his hands. When Varney began to awaken, Ben put the pillow over his face and held it there as he placed his other hand on Dillon Varney’s windpipe. The large man struggled for a bit, but after eight minutes he stopped moving. Ben checked for a pulse. Gone. He untied the rope and put it back into his pocket. A dog barked in an adjoining room. Ben left though the same door. No one saw him. He walked to his car, got in and drove away. He just saved the taxpayers a tidy sum of money. Dillon Varney would not have to go to court for attacking Lara. But, more importantly, Lara would not have to be put through the testimony and the likelihood this evil son-of-a-bitch would serve a few years and be back out. Justice had already been served.

  ~ Lara ~

  Home from the hospital for several days, Lara had her mother and Rusty as temporary roommates, and she was thankful for that. Rusty thought September 11th would be a good day to visit Clearwater Farm and take a walk on the beach. Although she was happy to be home, Lara felt a wave of anxiety spread over her momentarily as she entered the kitchen where the intruder attacked her. Einstein's happiness distracted Lara from the morbid thought. She kneeled on the floor and rubbed the dog's ears and for a moment all seemed right with the world. Rusty said, “We’re having a sleepover tonight!” Lara smiled up at him, “Oh, you don’t have to do that.” He grinned, “It’s all set. We’ve got steaks on the grill tonight.” Lara’s mother was loading the food into the refrigerator, “Got your favorite ice cream, Lara!”

  The next day the custom ordered draperies made of raw silk arrived and she borrowed Tony and one other guy on his crew to install them. Finally, she would have privacy at night. As she flipped on the television, a breaking news report captured her attention. Apparently, a radical Islamist compound was found with fifty dead men outside of Springfield Massachusetts. There were signs of women and children living there, but they were nowhere to be found. A street vendor who sold handmade hijabs was being interviewed on camera, "There were hundreds of them, I swear. I sold hijabs to them. Women and children lived in this place…"

  Lara's heart nearly stopped when she heard the reporter say the men appeared to have died from ingesting anthrax. Oh God. It was Ben's mission. He killed them all with anthrax. Lara listened closely to the reporter's words, "And, a top terrorist kingpin was found dead here, the elusive Ali Farouz…a man responsible for hundreds, if not thousands, of deaths across several continents. He was a mastermind of terror plots and funded by the Muslims of Peace Foundation.” Ali Farouz was dead. The man trying to kill Bettencourt, Nadia’s father, was dead. Lara had to sit down as she took in the reality of it.

  ~ Nadia ~

  The young blonde who had just celebrated her 17th birthday watched the news on the television in a state of disbelief. He was dead. Her cruel abusive father was dead and she no longer needed to run. Linda Jorgenson entered the room and took Nadia’s hand, "I'm sorry, dear, that you had to learn about your father's death this way." But Nadia did not cry. There wasn’t even a tear forming in her eyes. She had no feeling except that of elation. "You don't understand, Mrs. Jorgenson, I am happy. I am free now. I won't have to worry about him coming after me. It's as if a nightmare has ended for me." Linda looked into Nadia's dark eyes and for the first time seemed to truly understand the horrors the young girl had lived with all of her life. Nadia spoke with amazing composure, "I want to finish my senior year here with you as Vanessa Jorgenson. I love the school and the friends I have made. I love going to temple with you. This is a life I never could have imagined." Nadia watched as Linda's eyes fill with tears. Linda Jorgenson whispered, "Of course you can stay here." Nadia moved toward Linda and embraced her. “I can never thank you enough. You have saved my life.”

  ~ Ben ~

  Pulling into the long driveway of Clearwater Farm late-morning, Ben breathed a sigh of relief. The saltwater farm was quiet and Rusty's car was parked next to Lara's. As he approached the porch door, Einstein was whining loudly on the other side and nearly knocked him over when he opened it. Ben crouched on the floor as he allowed the dog to lick his face and nuzzle him repeatedly with sheer joy. "Good boy, good boy…" Ben noticed he was laughing naturally for the first time in weeks.

  Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lara standing in the kitchen doorway in a pink bathrobe. His heart nearly burst. "Oh, darlin' what a sight you are…" She ran to him and he choked back the tears as he stood and embraced her. Lara was silent and he knew she was crying as she nestled her face into his chest. Ben whispered, "God, I smell awful. I'm sorry, darlin'. I've not showered for a couple of days." Then she lifted her lips to his and kissed him, and he broke down. He could not pretend any longer that he was just returning from a weekend away. After kissing her, he buried his face in her hair and couldn’t stop the staggering breaths that wracked him for a minute. He was unable to speak. />
  He felt Lara cup his face in her hands. He looked into her beautiful eyes as she whispered, "I thought I might lose you." Ben felt the need to assuage her feelings, "Oh darlin' – I will always return to you. It was just another mission." Lara stared at him in disbelief for a moment. "How can you say that? It was horribly dangerous. I saw the news. My God, Ben, you could have died in that awful place. What if they found you out?" Ben remained stoic, "But they didn't…and that's the end of it." Lara didn't seem to be finished with the conversation. She exhaled and said, "No Ben. That's not the end of it." He sensed he would be taking a shower alone.

  ~ Lara ~

  The master bedroom floor was littered with Ben's clothing as he stripped to take a shower. She suddenly felt guilty for confronting him that way. He had just returned from seven weeks in hell. He looked exhausted and emaciated. She knew he hadn't eaten decent food for weeks. Suffering for this cause could kill her handsome intelligent husband and she didn't want to lose him. Not as a martyr. She knew there would be a lengthy discussion about future missions. She decided this wasn't the time to bombard him with questions and a speech about the danger of his Dark Horse operations.

  She didn't want to argue with Ben, she wanted to love him. Missing him for the past seven weeks was difficult, but the attack she suffered made her want to cling to him even more. She tossed her bathrobe onto the floor and got into the shower. Lara smiled as a look of surprise spread over Ben’s face. She handed him the soap and he reveled in the moment, running his slippery hands over her feminine curves. Rinsing both of them thoroughly, Ben faced her as the hot water continued pounding them. With one swift move his strong arms moved around her and before she knew it Lara was against the tiled wall of the shower with her legs wrapped around his waist. His broad hands cupped her bottom. He held her that way for what seemed like forever. It was a wild and primal moment for both of them…a release of pent up tension, anger, frustration and longing exploded within a few minutes. Lara heard her mother’s voice, “Is that Ben? Is he home?” Lillian wandered into the master bedroom but turned to leave when she heard them in the shower. “Shh!” Lara put her finger on Ben’s lips. But that didn’t stop him from crying out with pleasure. Almost unable to breathe, Ben exhaled, “Oh God, you have no idea how great that felt!”

  ~Ben~

  Toweling off with Lara, Ben promised to shave off the beard. He knew she hated it. He smiled as he tackled the chore, first hacking it with scissors, then an electric razor, and finally using a razor blade to shave the stubble off. The top half of his face was tanned and the lower half was now pale, but the beard was gone, half of it in the waste basket and the other half in the sink. He wiped the fog from the mirror and studied his reflection for a moment. He felt like he had aged several years on this mission.

  Anxious to see Lara, her mother, and Rusty, Ben hastily dressed and met them in the kitchen. Lillian hugged him tightly and kissed his freshly shaved cheek. “Wow, what a transformation!” she giggled. Rusty hugged him, too, adding, “We are so happy to see you, Chief.” Lara slipped a plateful of scrambled eggs and bacon in front of him as he sat in the breakfast nook. “Eat this! You look like you’ve been in a prison camp without any food. You must have lost twenty pounds.” Ben laughed, but he knew she was right. He planned to eat and get back to his daily exercise routine immediately.

  After a few moments, Ben had inhaled the bacon and eggs. Lillian and Rusty left for a walk on the beach with Einstein and Ben was thankful to be alone with Lara. He had so much he wanted to say, but uppermost in his mind was the attack she suffered in his absence. Wrapping his arms around her as she sat next to him on the bench of the breakfast nook, he spoke softly, “Tell me about it, Lara, please. I’m so sorry I wasn’t here, darlin’ – I hate myself.”

  ~Lara~

  She knew the subject would come up and she had already done her own paranoid assessment of the whole thing. Looking into Ben’s blue eyes, Lara recounted everything methodically, in a detached manner exactly as it occurred. She felt parched and took a sip of water. “Bettencourt said the guy was one of the furniture delivery guys. He must have been hanging around here watching me toss the tennis ball into the water for Einstein on the beach. God, Ben, I felt so creepy thinking about that. I had no curtains on the windows until yesterday. I wonder if the guy was watching me. Bettencourt said it was obvious that the whole thing was planned. The guy brought chloroform with him.”

  Ben’s blue eyes met hers and she sensed a strange sense of calmness about him. She had expected him to slam his fist down onto the table, promising to get the bastard. She spoke before he could react, “Ben, we have to let Bettencourt handle this. He will take care of it.” She watched as Ben held his head with both hands as if he had a headache. “I’m sorry, darlin’—it’s my fault. I never should have left you alone for so long and in a new house with no security system.” Embracing him she softly spoke, “No, Ben…it’s not your fault. I opened the door. I made a mistake. It was a random act. It could have happened to anyone. But everything is okay. I got lucky. Hawk came by. He beat the shit out of the guy that attacked me. Dillon Varney is going to jail.” Ben’s eyes met hers, “No. He was in jail, but his drug lord bailed him out with the best lawyer money could buy. He won’t be going to jail. He’s in the morgue where he belongs. And that’s the end of it.” Lara closed her eyes for a moment as she grasped the solemn tone of Ben’s words.

  ~Ben~

  As soon as she said his name, Ben wanted to know everything about his wife’s relationship with Hawk. As difficult as it was to admit, Ben knew Hawk saved Lara’s life, and he felt a deep sense of gratitude for his act of courage. Ben whispered, “I need to thank him, Lara. He saved you. I need to tell Hawk personally how much this means to me.” Lara touched his face. “You’ll get a chance to thank him. He will be landscaping our yard. Hawk designed a beautiful low-maintenance garden for us…you’ll love it.”

  The secure satellite phone rang and Ben quickly answered it. He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the women and children from the compound had been extracted and were in the safe house. They were being fed and given clean clothes. Their paperwork was being prepared for their travel abroad. Elvis told Ben that everything was going according to plan. Ben added, “There’s one important thing I want you to handle. There’s a young woman, her name is Rashida. She was badly burned by Salim. I want you to get her to the best plastic surgeon in Boston. Payment will be made in cash, by me courtesy of Ali Farouz.” Ben hung up the phone satisfied and relieved.

  Islam-berg was being dismantled by the local authorities. The bodies of the terrorists were being taken to the morgue. Television coverage was extensive, but no mention was made of Ben or the Dark Horse Guardians. The secure line rang again and it was Kip Larson, Special Activities Director for the CIA. Larson’s voice was as enthusiastic as it got for him, “Great job, Chief. I’ll see you at the designated drop tomorrow morning, the usual time.” Ben simply said, “Yes, see you there.” Before he hung up, Larson added one more thing, “By the way, there will be a substantial bonus for eliminating all fifty of them. I think you’ll be pleased.” The phone call ended as Larson hung up.

  Ben had one more call to make to Moshe and he dialed his Israeli friend and heard his sleepy voice, “Sorry to wake you. I gave you the target, let me know when he’s eliminated. The bastard did something horrific to a young woman here. Also, there’s a bonus for my helper, it will be coming your way. God bless.” Ben looked at Lara and smiled, “Business wrap up.”

  ~Grant Hawkins~

  Today he was meeting with Lara to map out a schedule for the landscaping design to be installed at Clearwater Farm. Hawk was dressed in his work clothes, but they were clean and pressed. He knew that Lara had been a positive influence on him. She made him want to care about himself once again. For the first time in two years, he wanted to get out of bed in the morning and found himself whistling. He was eating better and actually went out with a few guys to a sports bar a cou
ple of times, but he didn’t drink alcohol. Even his crew noticed a change in him.

  As he drove down the long driveway the first thing Hawk noticed was the rental vehicle with a Massachusetts license plate. He pulled his Chevy pick-up next to it and walked to the back porch. Hawk took a deep breath as he knocked on the kitchen door, the one he had breached the day of Lara’s attack. Lara met him wearing white cotton shorts and a faded green T-shirt, looking as beautiful as ever. Her long dark hair was loose and she pushed it away from her face as she opened the door for him. “Hawk, come in…would you like a coffee?”

  His eyes immediately moved beyond Lara to her husband sitting in the breakfast nook. But, he maintained his reserved exterior as he answered Lara, “No thanks on the coffee. I just had one in the truck on the way here. I’m ready to go over the plans and set the date for starting.” Lara waved Hawk toward the breakfast table, “Hawk, this is my husband, Ben. I don’t think you’ve ever met.” Ben stood and met Hawk in the middle of the kitchen. “Great to meet you, Hawk.” Hawk noticed Ben’s grip was strong and the rugged dark-haired man pulled him toward him with his handshake and slapped him on the back. “I want to thank you for stopping here in the nick of time. You saved Lara’s life. And, I’m thankful for that. Actually, I’m more than thankful – I don’t have words to tell you how much I appreciate what you did.” Hawk was overwhelmed and felt a sudden attack of shyness overtake him. But he finally spoke, “I’m thankful, too. I didn’t do much thinking – just reacted really.” A mysterious silence seemed to bond the three of them as they all entered the terrible memory of Lara’s close call.