MAC WALKER'S BENGHAZI: The Complete Collection

by D. W. Ulsterman

  Mac had figured out Danton’s angle.

  “You’re a smuggler. You use the airport and your United Nations credentials to bring in goods that people need, and in a place like this, all blown to hell, they need a lot. You’re getting rich off of the chaos.”

  Mac could see Ella tense slightly as she glanced at Mac from the corner of her eye.

  Danton remained quiet for a moment before breaking out into his wide, brilliant white smile again, waiving his right pointer finger next to his face.

  “Yes-yes-yes Mr. Walker! I accept your description, and plead guilty as charged! I assure you though, my interests go far beyond my own profits. I actually do enjoy being able to bring pleasure to others. Providing food, drink, clothing, transportation, computers, or any other assorted gadgetry – is that not what makes this world go round Mr. Walker? I am an unrepentant capitalist you see, both a provider and recipient of the near boundless possibilities of the free market!”

  Mac looked back at Danton with a mixture of annoyed amusement. Ella, sensing perhaps that Mac’s annoyance might soon overcome that amusement, intervened.

  “Mr. Walker and his men seek transport back to the United States Mr. Danton. The ambassador indicated you are both able and willing to provide it.”

  Louis Danton, who had by then sat down behind his large, oak desk, leaned forward in his chair, his head tilting slightly to the left as he took a closer look at both Mac and Ella.

  “You two have a bit of chemistry, don’t you? I can see it! Romance in Benghazi – how marvelous! I have long believed there is always time for love. Always!”

  Ella had been right – Mac’s patience was wearing thin.

  “I’m here about getting me and my men out of Libya alive. Let’s just focus on that ok?”

  Danton took another sip from his glass and then a long, slow drag from his cigarette.

  “I can do that Mr. Walker – for a price. This isn’t a charity I’m running here you know.”

  Mac couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of Danton’s statement.

  “You’re in charge of the fucking United Nations humanitarian efforts in Benghazi.”

  Louis Danton leaned still further forward over his desk, both smiling and nodding his head at the same time.

  “I know – I know! Such an interesting contradiction don’t you think?”

  “The ambassador says you’re one of us, meaning you are no friend of the globalists that infect the United Nations. That you are working against these radioactive weapons that are here, or heading this way. That true?”

  Mac had posed the question for the sole purpose of pushing Danton away from his comfort zone. It didn’t work. Danton’s mood remained pleasantly aloof, carefree, and completely at ease.

  “Yes, that too is true Mr. Walker. I may be a capitalist, but not one without a certain degree of morals and considerations toward the bigger picture. Such weapons should not be part of this program. I am working to circumvent their use, as I have done in the past, and will do so again. As for your description of the United Nations, again, I would agree. It has become a most vile and corrupt institution, and increasingly dangerous to both our countries. Again, I work to alleviate that danger as much as possible, but to do so, I must work within the beast itself Mr. Walker. Does that make sense to you?”

  Mac shrugged. He could give a shit about the politics of the United Nations, or supposed conspiracies – he just wanted to get his men home safe from this fucking disaster of an assignment.

  “My dad used to tell me you lay down with dogs, you get up with fleas Mr. Danton. Might want to think about that as you spend all this time working within the beast, as you put it.”

  Louis Danton clapped his hands together and laughed as cigarette smoke swirled around his head.

  “Very good Mr. Walker, indeed that too is true! Fleas…yes, there is an abundance of those in this business of mine. Nasty, bloodsuckers they are!”

  “And what about Dasha Al Marri – I assume you know about her?”

  Finally Danton grew quiet, his eyes losing a touch of their humor.

  “Oh yes, Dasha. I know her well Mr. Walker, well enough to know to avoid her if at all possible. A scary one she is. A damn cold piece of work. I understand you recently came to know a bit of her…warmer side though.”

  Mac’s eyes widened in shock. He didn’t expect Danton to know about the night and morning he had spent making love to Dasha. Ella’s eyes looked over at Mac briefly. Was that disappointment Mac saw looking back at him? Or anger? At least it wasn’t indifference.”

  Danton held up both of his hands in front of him.

  “I apologize Mr. Walker, that was not an appropriate comment. Such business is your business, and not mine. Please, forgive me.”

  “Transport from Benghazi, Mr. Danton. Please confirm when you can provide that.”

  Ella’s request cut through Danton’s discomfort, allowing him to change the subject.

  “Yes, tomorrow morning. 9:00 a.m. we have a United Nations transport flight leaving here on its way to Abidjan – the Ivory Coast. From there you and your men can access an Air France flight to take you back to the United States. You simply need go to desk two and ask for Gifford Roche. I will already have contacted him for you to let him know your situation and needs. He and I have done a great deal of business together already.”

  “How much?”

  Mac’s question was left unanswered as Danton finished the contents of his whiskey glass. His eyes then narrowed slightly as he looked back at Mac.

  “Ah, now we enter real negotiations Mr. Walker! Are you up to the challenge?”

  Ella stood up, looked down at Mac and then back to Danton.

  “No negotiations Mr. Danton. You are doing this as a favor for the ambassador.”

  For the first time since meeting him, Mac noted a hint of real danger in Danton’s voice as he too stood up to stare back at Danton.

  “There are always negotiations Ms. Lerner. You asking otherwise will not make it so. As I just said, I am not running a charity here. You wish for me to assist Mr. Walker and his men. That requires some effort, certain risk, for which I expect to me fairly compensated.”

  Mac placed the envelope of forty thousand Euros given to him at the beginning of the assignment on the top of Danton’s desk.

  “That’s forty thousand Euros. It’s all I have.”

  Louis Danton’s hand snatched the envelope and extracted the bills, his fingers expertly counting the amount in just a few seconds.

  “Very good Mr. Walker – we now have a deal. I will reserve a spot for you and your men on the flight leaving here tomorrow, September 11th, at 9:00 a.m. Please do not be late Mr. Walker, I will not hold the flight for you. Also be aware that I am not responsible for protecting you between now and then, or at any time during or after the flight. Do you understand?”

  Mac nodded.

  “Sure, don’t get myself killed. I’ve done a fair job of that so far Mr. Danton, as you have too, apparently.”

  Danton bowed his head slightly, the warm smile returning.

  “That I have Mr. Walker. That I have. If you arrive back here tomorrow by 8:30 I can personally see you and your men onto the flight.”

  Danton extended his hand to Mac, who shook it firmly in his own. Ella turned abruptly from Danton’s desk and began walking toward the door. Once outside they returned to the black SUV left to them by the ambassador. Ella took the wheel, indicating she was more familiar with the Benghazi streets than Mac. He offered no protest, silently taking his place in the passenger seat.

  Halfway back to Ella’s office, Mac attempted to start a conversation.

  “Look, that stuff about Dasha, I didn’t think---“

  Ella cut Mac off, her voice abrupt, though her face again unreadable.

  “Who you choose to sleep with Mr. Walker, however ill advised that choice might be, is no business of mine. I don’t care to hear of the details though, so if you don’t mind, please drop the subjec
t.”

  Mac Walker knew, among other things, survival, chaos, weapons, blood, pain, fear, but through all that learning, he would be the first to admit, he didn’t know shit about women. They were an ever changing complication that remained a seemingly unending mystery to him.

  XXV.

  Jack met Mac at the entrance to Ella’s office. The look on his face suggested trouble of some sort, making Mac worry over the safety of Minnick and Benny, who had been left at the safe house.

  “What it is?”

  Jack looked over at Ella and then motioned for Mac to follow him inside. Jack was on edge again, glancing back behind him as Ella closed the entrance door.

  “I spoke with Minnick about twenty minutes ago. There has been double the traffic going into that compound. Lots of those big U.N. transport trucks. That’s not what’s got them spooked though – there were about ten guys walking outside the compound. A few of them were definitely armed, and at least one of them was taking pictures. This went on for about an hour, and then they jumped back into their vehicles and took off. Before they left though, a couple of them walked across the road and were looking right at the safe house and taking more pictures.

  It was recon work Mac. A shitty, overly obvious Libyan version of it, but that’s what it was. Minnick and Benny think the same. Somebody is planning to move against that compound, and it seems like they suspect they’re being watched from the safe house. We need to pull Minnick and Benny the hell out of there like right now. I’ll go pick them up myself if I have to.”

  Mac offered no disagreement. He had already intended to drive out and get Minnick and Benny already.

  “We’ll both go Jack. Pick them up and bring them back here where we’ll wait out the night and then I got us a flight out of here first thing in the morning.”

  Jack’s eyes widened slightly – he appeared hopeful for the first time in a long time.

  “Danton check out ok? He can be trusted?”

  Mac nodded.

  “Yeah – I think so. He’s an odd one, but seems to know his way around this shithole well enough. He has a 9:00 set up for the four of us, take us to the Ivory Coast and then we catch an Air France flight back to the States. Figure we leave here tomorrow no later than 8:00 a.m.”

  Jack offered Mac a genuine smile.

  “Best fucking news I’ve heard since we got here.”

  Ella walked up to Mac and Jack, her arms folded across her chest.

  “So you two will be driving back out to your safe house then?”

  Mac nodded.

  “Yeah, gonna leave right now. Be back here within the hour, that is, if you don’t mind us staying here overnight?”

  Ella gave Mac a slight smile and shrugged.

  “That will be fine Mr. Walker. You and your men are welcome to stay with us tonight.”

  After calling Minnick and Benny to let them know they were coming to get them, the drive out to the safe house took less than twenty minutes, due in great part to Jack’s penchant for pushing the Hummer to its limit at every opportunity. During one stretch of desert road where the massive SUV neared almost a hundred miles an hour, Jack turned to Mac and grinned widely.

  “Drive it like I stole it man!”

  Mac laughed, even as his knuckles turned white from his tightening grip on the dashboard.

  “You did steal it Alabama.”

  Soon Jack was driving the Hummer past the gated entrance of the safe house, both he and Mac already holding their handguns at the ready in case of any trouble. Before they reached the entrance steps, both Minnick and Benny were outside, both carrying sniper rifles on their backs, and several boxes of ammunition stuffed into their pockets.

  Benny clapped Mac’s shoulder as he moved quickly past him toward the Hummer.

  “Glad to see you man. Things getting’ weird around here Mac. Time to go, time to go!”

  Mac’s phone began vibrating in his coat pocket. The number indicated it was Stephen Mardian.

  “Hello, Mr. Walker. I have further instructions for you.”

  Mac noted the strain in Mardian’s voice. Something was wrong.

  “Are you there Mr. Walker?”

  “I’m here Mardian – what are the instructions?”

  Mardian paused as Mac detected the sound of a brief scuffle coming over the phone. Someone was there with Mardian.

  “Mr. Walker, you know the property you have been conducting surveillance on?”

  “Yeah.”

  The strain in Mardian’s voice was becoming even more pronounced as he spoke.

  “There is a man due to arrive tomorrow afternoon at that location. He is the American ambassador to Libya. We have confirmed he is the one responsible for the weapons transfers in Benghazi. Potentially thousands of weapons Mr. Walker. He has become an extremely dangerous and unpredictable man, who appears to now be working with, and aiding, the anti-American insurgents throughout the region. His actions will cost many lives Mr. Walker, and we are now asking you to reduce that potential number. We need you to save lives Mr. Walker. Do you understand?”

  Mac recalled the ambassador telling him he would be receiving a phone call just like the one Mardian was now conducting.

  “You’re saying you want us to kill a United States ambassador? Are you out of your fucking mind Mardian? We didn’t sign up for this shit. No way.”

  Mac heard more indications of a struggle, and then the unmistakable sound of a gun firing.

  “Hello again Mr. Walker.”

  It was Dasha Al Marri. Mac remained silent.

  “Mr. Walker, don’t be rude. And don’t be one who breaks a deal. We do have a deal Mr. Walker – you took my money, remember?”

  Mac could feel his jaw clenching as his hand threatened to squeeze his phone into oblivion.

  “Where’s Tilley?”

  Dasha’s voice, with its hint of an English accent, betrayed no fear over Mac’s potential fury against her.

  “Mr. Tilley became an unreasonable liability to us Mr. Walker. What is it you Americans are so fond of saying – a pain in the ass. So, that liability was remedied. Permanently.”

  Mac felt gut punched at the news of Tilley’s death.

  “I’m not doing the assignment Dasha. You and whoever you are working with can go fuck yourselves. And when I get back home, you better not be there, because I’m coming for you, do you understand? You, Nigel, whoever else is behind this – I will kill every one of you myself.”

  Dasha laughed, the sound making Mac’s lip curl into a snarl.

  “Oh Mr. Walker – if only your cock were as big as your threats, I might entertain the possibility of keeping you around for entertainment. As it is, I am already entertained enough. You either complete the assignment as agreed, or someone else will and you and your men, will not be allowed to live. Now before you answer, I would suggest you consider my words carefully Mr. Walker, for unlike you, I have the means to see it done. I will kill every one of your men one by one, and allow you to live just long enough to know you were responsible for each of those deaths. So grow up Mr. Walker, and do what you’re told. Kill the ambassador, and save your men.”

  Mac ended the call, the adrenalin coursing through his body, making it difficult for him to think clearly. Benny, sensing how enraged the call had made Mac, was the first to question who it was.

  “Something wrong with Tilley, Mac?”

  Mac took a slow deep breath and looked back at Benny as he nodded his head slowly.

  “Yeah – he’s dead. Pretty sure Dasha had him killed. Think Mardian’s dead too.”

  Minnick’s face expressed confusion.

  “Wait – I just heard you talking to Mardian. How can he be dead?”

  Mac closed his eyes briefly, still working on calming himself down to ensure he was thinking clearly.

  “I was. Heard a gunshot, and then he wasn’t talking no more. It was Dasha.”

  Mac shared the details of Dasha’s threats, as well as the information he had acquired from both
the ambassador and Louis Danton. When he finished, Benny, Jack, and Minnick stood silently staring back at Mac. Benny looked particularly shocked at what Mac told him.

  “My god Mac, if these people think they can kill someone like Stephen Mardian…I mean c’mon man, that guy is connected! Right? Talking about a man who hangs with Senators, who gets invited to dinners at the fucking White House. This woman, this Dasha Al Marri, she’s got enough power to kill off someone like Mardian? How the hell is something like that…”

  Benny’s words trailed off as he continued to stare at Mac, looking for some semblance of sanity in their world gone mad. Jack’s voice ripped through the silence left by Benny, his tone both angry and fearful.

  “I told you! Told you this was all wrong. We don’t do work for the fucking United Nations, or some Middle East bitch! This government is all fucked up. Been that way for years now. We all knew it, but we didn’t want to admit it, right? We were getting paid good, living large, all that shit. Well now what? They ain’t gonna let us just waltz on out of here. Not with what we know. They’re coming for us, and it’s gonna be soon. Fucking Benghazi Mac! I told you dammit!”

  Despite Jack’s understandable concern, Mac found himself more relaxed than he had been just moments before. He looked back at his men and offered a small, knowing smile, his eyes crackling with the energy of a man ready, and more important, willing, to go into battle.

  “Let them threaten us. Fact is, we just might be the four baddest motherfuckers walking this earth today, am I right? They want to come after us Jack? Fine, let them get a taste of what we do. Let them know the hell we can bring.”

  XVI.

  The hours waiting in Ella’s building passed slowly. Though Mac and his men attempted to rest in shifts, none of them were able to fall asleep. They all sensed something would be coming their way. As Jack had said earlier, there was simply no chance they would be allowed to just waltz out of Benghazi knowing what they did. Mac didn’t fear a fight, though he did fear putting Ella and her men in greater danger than they already faced on a day to day basis.