It wasn’t a keyring of keys mind you, but a keyring of lock picks of various sizes. Grabbing a hold of one that looked about like a long skinny sewing needle, Benton jammed the pick up into the lock, and wiggled it around just for a second until they heard an audible click as the padlock unlocked.
Benton quickly pulled the padlock off and cast it to the side as he whispered to Mason, “It’s all yours chief.”
Hoping that he wasn’t about to burst into a room full of gunmen, Mason took a deep breath and slowly turned the door knob before flinging the door open. Mason quickly glanced and gave a nod to Benton and Raina before going in.
Stepping over the threshold, he wasn’t greeted by gunmen but rather the eyes of two terrified toddlers—a little boy and little girl seated in two wooden chairs in the center of the room. As he looked at them, Mason realized that they were tied to the chairs and they seemed to have some sort of tape wrapped around their mouths to keep them quiet.
Looking into their eyes wide with fear—if it wasn’t for the tape, Mason was pretty sure these frightened children would have already been screaming bloody murder. Mason was absolutely sickened to see kids treated in such a manner, but at the same time was thankful that it had prevented their potential screams from blowing their cover and alerting the narcos.
Mason motioned for Raina to grab the kids and get them out of the house. Call him sexist if you like, but Mason knew that Raina’s gentle feminine touch would probably help to ease the children’s fears much more than two big burly commandos like him and Mathew Benton ever would.
As Raina secured the children, and took them back to the safety of the brush. Mason and Benton then raced back out of the structure with plastic explosives in hand. They quickly circled the house planting them under just about every window in the rundown structure, and doing so in such a stealthy manner that they were not seen or heard.
‘No wonder they called Benton the Ghost’. Mason thought to himself. He would be called a ghost too if could keep up this routine. And these folks most certainly wouldn’t know what hit them. With the explosives in place all Mason had to do was hightail it out of there, take cover and hit the detonation switch.
Mason and Benton bolted back into the brush, to find the fairly odd sight of Nelson on his feet, but slightly hanging, handcuffed to a tree branch. Raina was kneeling nearby with the two children who were now untied, and remarkably calmer. Looking over at them, Mason saw Raina speaking softly to the little girl who was holding her little brother tight.
Mason couldn’t quite hear what she was saying but he couldn’t help but be struck by how much it put him in the mind of Bree and how she used to talk to Clara. The feeling was so real it was almost like he was having some sort of flashback right then and there. Benton must have noticed Mason’s distance gaze as he placed a hand on Mason’s shoulder and asked, “Mace man—you alright?”
Mason snapping himself out of it muttered, “Yeah man... Yeah I’m fine.”
He then held up the remote detonator in his hand, and advised, “Aright—get ready.”
Pressing the button, the three strategically planted bombs immediately blew up. The explosions were small but they were powerful enough to shake the walls and blow out the windows in which they were planted.
It was certainly not something anyone inside would be able to ignore. And then predictably enough, the whole compound was evacuated in an unorganized fashion, with five men bailing out of the building in a state of panic. Running right into Mason Walker, Mathew Benton, and Raina Martin’s line of fire.
7
Sorting Through the Chaos
MEANWHILE IN THE UNITED STATES.
After utilizing about three tables worth of napkins, both Clara and Serena felt dry enough to at least get up from the table and head to the door. As Travis walked with them, he again apologized for what must have been the umpteenth time, “I’m so sorry, I’ve never seen him act like that before.”
Serena quipped, “Oh yeah? I guess you don’t know your friends that well.”
Clara was more merciful however and accepting his apology tried to assure him, “It’s alright—it’s not your fault.”
As Travis held the door open, he practically begged, “Please… Just let me know if there is anything that I can do to make it up for you.”
Serena then piped in, “Well—besides punching Mark in the face for us… I don’t think there is.”
Following the girls outside, Travis was insistent however, following them to Serena’s car. Serena not really wanting the entourage at this point, elbowed Clara and whispered to her, “Hey girl, my d-bag detector is just about to go off here. Could you tell your friend to back off already?”
Serena then unlocked her car doors and hopped into the driver’s seat. Clara halfway opened the passenger door before turning to the seemingly distraught Travis and telling him, “Seriously man… don’t worry about it.”
Travis sighed, “I just never imagined that something like this would happen.”
Clara shook her head, “I didn’t either.”
Travis lost in an emotional tailspin and almost begging at this point, came right out and asked, “But this doesn’t have to be the end does it?”
Clara looked at Travis, and couldn’t help but feel for him. He looked absolutely pathetic. “Pathetic but cute.’ She thought to herself.
In the end, Clara couldn’t help herself. Although she knew she should probably just cut it off then and there, she couldn’t help but give the poor guy a
