Flawlessly Executed (Dark Horse Guardians Book 3) (17 page)

As Lara approached, her eyes locked with Hawk’s, “You two know one another, apparently…”

Hawk’s eyes seemed to be begging her pardon as he explained, “I’m just showing Abby an example of my work. We met in the grocery store the other night and had dinner. I talked about landscape design, probably a little too much, and she was curious. I hope we’re not intruding.”

Lara yielded, “It’s all right this time. It’s just that this is private property and I wasn’t expecting you. But go ahead with your tour. I’ll leave you to it.”

Noticing how scantily clad Abby was, Lara knew she was working her seductive charms on Hawk and wondered how far she had gone with him. Lara felt as if she had to somehow protect Hawk from Abby, but didn’t know why. Maybe it was because he had come to her rescue at a moment of life and death and she owed him ~ everything. She couldn’t deny the special bond that had formed between them. They were friends, but they shared something much deeper.
He was the guy that saved her life and she’d always be obligated to him for that
. She loved Hawk like a brother.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lara watched as Abby sidled up to Hawk and placed her hand on his perfect bicep. She also could tell that he enjoyed her touch. Hawk smiled at Abby, as if encouraging her.

Lara hesitated. She reasoned that Hawk was a grown man and could fend for himself; but on the other hand Lara knew he was lonely, shy and depressed sometimes and that made him vulnerable…to
what
, she didn’t know. But she did sense that Abby was trouble.

She felt Abby eyeing her as she turned and walked back toward the house. Lara could hear Hawk’s deep voice as he described the plants, but when she gazed back at the couple Abby wasn’t paying attention to a word he was saying. Her body language was clear. She wasn’t interested in the garden, she was interested in Hawk.

Tony met Lara at the back door and pulled her inside. He softly wolf-whistled, “Jeez, who
is
that chick?”

Lara rolled her eyes, “She’s a teacher at the university.”

Tony chuckled, “I wish I was back in school. I don’t think I’d get much school work done with
her
in the room!”

Lara tilted her head, “Really? You think she’s
that
attractive?”

Tony looked through the back window into the garden eyeing Abby, “Let me put it this way, she catches a man’s eye.”

Lara watched through the window as Abby got closer to Hawk and placed her hand on his chest. God, now she was stroking his pecs. Lara thought for a minute she might strip Hawk right there and ravish him. This woman was determined.

Tony laughed, “Ol’ Hawk, he’s got himself a handful right there. Well, let’s get on with business. We need to go through the big list. I have it right here.”

Lara’s eyes were riveted on Abby and Hawk in the garden. From her vantage point it looked more like the Garden of Eden and Eve was just about to feed Adam a bite of her apple.

Tony walked Lara through the completed renovation and the real estate appraiser was there. Tony introduced her to Wes Archer, a thirty-something seemingly pleasant fellow.

“Nice place you’re got here, Lara,…may I call you Lara?”

Her eyes swept over him and she noticed he was wearing a very expensive tailored suit and had removed his tie. “Sure.” She murmured, “What do you think the selling price will be?”

Archer smiled, “Right to the point. I’d say about seven million, maybe even seven and a quarter, at least that’s what I’d list it for.” Archer handed her the appraisal and she tucked it under her arm.

With her work completed at the estate, Lara got back into her vehicle and noticed Hawk’s truck was gone. The image of Hawk with Abby in the botanical garden bothered her, and a little twinge of worry crept into the back of her mind.

Before she pulled away, Wes Archer waved her down. “Excuse me, Lara, sorry to bother you with this…but do you know the name of that woman who was just in the garden back there?”

Lara was puzzled, “Yes, why do you ask?”

Archer replied, “Well, I’m single and I’d just like to get her name and phone number, that’s all.”

She replied flatly, “Her name is Abby, that’s all I know. I don’t have her phone number. Now, if you’ll excuse me…” She put the Mercedes into gear and pulled away exasperated.

~ Ben ~ (Langley AFB Virginia)

“Son of a bitch, if it isn’t the Chief, how the hell are you?” yelled one of the Navy SEALS joining the mission.

Ben slapped him around, “Hey, Tank, you’re getting a little thick around the middle. Too much good food and lying around, I’d say.” Ben chided his brother. Tank was not in the teams when Ben was a frogman; he was in training. But, the two met during work-ups between tours and Tank was one of the guys relieving Ben’s team on the last tour in Afghanistan.

“Can’t say the same for you!” Tank huffed punching Ben in the gut. “How the hell do you do it? You’re rock solid.” Ben rolled his eyes, “Lots of broccoli, weight training and running. Oh yeah, and lots of sex.” The two men laughed.

Eventually, everyone arrived at Langley and the men and Rashida gathered for their last formal meeting with the SEAL Team commander. The two-star rear admiral was a familiar face and he winked at Ben as he meandered through the room greeting each individual. Admiral Pence was a quick-witted, brilliant commander. He was young to be a rear admiral. Ben knew him when he was Captain Pence and he was good man who cared deeply about those under his command.

Ben automatically saluted his superior, “Good Evening, Rear Admiral Pence.”

Pence smiled and saluted with a hopeful look in his grey eyes, “Good God, we’ll make it if we have you aboard, Chief.”

Glancing around the room, Ben knew every one of these guys. He had run into them either during work-ups or tours or in some bar fighting over a chick. He remembered every man’s name and even some of the details about their lives. After the meeting, they were allowed to stand down. The group made their way to the chow hall where a hearty buffet was laid out. For a moment, Ben felt like he was right at home, laughing and joking and swearing with a group of men he’d trust with his life.

At daybreak, three Dark Horse Guardians, half of the SEAL team, and piles of gear and weapons were loaded into a C-130 Hercules. The engines roared to life as the men brought on their personal duffel bags to use as pillows for the long flight to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

The other half boarded another C-130 that was flying into Nevatim Air Force Base in Israel. Ben opted for the plane landing at Nevatim because he wanted to get there before the others to spend extra time with Moshe. The reason for taking two separate planes was
just in case
; he didn’t want to think of the possibilities. The most recent tragedies were still fresh in his mind.

Ben often hoped the U.S. would turn to Israeli methods of combat and learn from the unique and deadly techniques they employed. They were a small country with arguably the best fighting force on the planet. Thus, joint missions like this were not only smart but, in his opinion, the future of military prowess.

Unknown to most Americans, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had constructed three bases in Israel due to the massive amount of American military development in the Jewish State. The premier center of high-tech warfare innovation had always been Israel. But now almost all of the forward-deployed innovative weaponry provided was from this staunch ally. Over the past few years the U.S. spent $50 million constructing Air Force hangars at Nevatim Air Force Base and $50 million on a project to construct Air Force Bases to house Israel’s unmanned aerial drones.

However, for this mission, much newer drones had been utilized by Moshe and The Unit. Among the highest tech indoor drones, were The Ghost, The Mosquito, and The Butterfly. The Dark Horse Guardians and The Unit headed by Moshe had been utilizing information attained by these tiny eavesdroppers to hone their mission to perfection.

It was 10 PM when the wheels left the ground, and the estimated time of arrival was 5 AM. Even though it was a ten hour flight, the worst part was the jet lag. Ben slept a large amount of the time, as was his habit.

The plan was for the SEAL team and Dark Horse Guardians to work with Moshe’s group, The Unit, otherwise known as the Sayeret Matkal, a secretive commando unit dating back to 1957. Training alongside this elite group, the Americans would perform mission prep for six days in buildings and alleys, similar to what they’d encounter. Mock-ups.

Then would come the dangerous part: insertion into the populace. The assassins would place themselves strategically where each hit would take place. Disguised as women in full burkas, the warriors would go to their designated target’s location and observe them for several days, living in safe houses. They would replace actual women who were living there, thus completely assuming an identity.

No longer would the United States fly contractors and special warfare personnel into missions with helicopters, as in the Bin Laden execution.
They’d learned from that mission that the likelihood of things going wrong were enormously high.
The new mission directive was slow and low.

The slow being the raft of human intelligence already living on the ground for months, if not years, to help in setting up the hit. Slow also referred to insertion into the populace, gradual and hiding within plain sight.

The low referred to the low profile the team would keep. They’d not be seen as soldiers, but part of the normal landscape, disguised as the enemy. These warriors were masters of disguise, linguistics and customs. Intelligent men and women willing to risk it all.
This was a different kind of warfare
. Identities were assumed, lives went on as usual, all without anyone noticing.

Hours later, as the C-130 roared toward its destination, Ben awoke and turned to Rashida offering her a bottle of water. She was a dark beauty with eyes the color of caramel. Her facial scars barely visible with concealing make-up, Ben felt certain she’d be perfect for the mission. “Are you ready for this?” His eyes met hers as he sought to gauge her determination. Judging by the fire in her eyes, he’d say it was fierce.

She guzzled the water down and answered him, “Yes, Chief, I’m ready. I will do whatever I need to do. I can take orders. You like my dance, yes?”

Ben smiled, “Yes, you have studied well. You are perfect. I’m just checking with you. I’ve got your back. Don’t forget that. Remember the game we played, it will be exactly like that. Just focus on the clock.”

For months, the consortium of warriors had been playing out the scenario on the Dark Horse gaming site in 3D and Rashida was one of the players for the last two weeks. She learned quickly and had an excellent memory.

Watching everything take place on a high definition screen with precise timing of every movement was not only educational, but the program was sophisticated enough to warn players of hazards not obvious to the human brain. Artificial intelligence, a misnomer really. There was nothing artificial about it. The group had become very proficient at killing on the screen playing the game; now they’d take it live.

~ Lara ~

Lara had invited Rusty and her mother to Clearwater Farm for an early version of Thanksgiving dinner. She had plans to be with Finn and Marcella for Turkey Day. As she pulled into the long driveway at Clearwater Farm, she noticed Rusty’s vehicle was already there. Dinner was being prepped when Lara walked in the back door, Einstein was whining for her attention.

“Gosh, you guys! I didn’t expect all of this!” Lara gushed.

Rusty wrapped his arms around her, “We didn’t want you to do all the work. Hell, you’ve got enough going on right now running the firm and making all sorts of decisions.”

Lara’s mother winked at her, “Yes, dear. We’ve been a little concerned about you lately.”

“Really? Why do you say that?” Lara was on the floor rubbing Einstein’s ears.

Rusty spoke softly, “In our opinion, and mind you, this is just our opinion – we have noticed a slight rift between you and Ben lately. We were wondering, just wondering, if you were feeling a bit depressed since Eliot’s passing.”

Lara’s mother took her hand, “We’re just concerned, honey, that’s all.”

A little shocked, Lara tried to process what they were
perceiving
. Depression. Yes, that was getting better, she thought. But she was filled with anxiety about Abby chasing Ben. What made them think she was depressed? Lara smiled weakly, “What on earth would give you such an idea?”

Rusty piped in, “Well, you gave the bungalow away to Hawk and that was a gift from Ben to you. It meant a lot to Ben when he gave you that. He was so excited and happy. And you seemed so pleased with it. When you turned it over to Hawk, Ben was hurt by it. But, maybe you didn’t notice. Then, you wanted to buy that new truck for Ben and he told you he didn’t
want
a new truck. He wanted to keep the one he has, because it holds special meaning for him. In case you didn’t notice, Ben’s a sentimental guy about some things.”

Lara’s mother added, “And, we’ve noticed that you’ve been spending a lot of time with Hawk. Ben never said a word about it, mind you, but we get the impression…well, maybe Ben’s a little bit hurt by that, too.”