Hard Man to Kill (Dark Horse Guardian Series Book 4) Read Online Free Page B

let’s go.”
    In the Dark Horse simulation, Ben’s team assembled with Moshe’s unit and they got down to business.  Since September 11 th , 775 detainees had been brought to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Although most of those captured were released without formal charges, the American government continued to classify many released as enemy combatants, a nice phrase for bonafide terrorists.  As of December 2014, 132 detainees remained at Guantanamo.  Over 600 had been released, and their whereabouts were the subject of discussion.  Many of these men were living in banana republics, such as Venezuela, Ecuador, Guatemala and Columbia.  Some were back in Afghanistan, Yemen, Pakistan and Syria now running the Islamic uprising that the Commander-in-Chief refused to call Islamic.  Some had been put into the ground by Ben and his men.
    And, there was a new twist.  Thanks to a group of disgruntled liberals on the Senate Intelligence Committee with a grudge against the current CIA Director, information was about to be systematically leaked to the press.  Ben compared this betrayal to the rat bastard that worked for the NSA and fled to Russia.  The leaking of classified information was earth-shattering to special ops and human intelligence assets on the ground, doing their jobs day and night -- risking their lives. 
    It was only a matter of time before the terrorists who were released would be informed of their impending demise.  But the kill order had been given with a narrow window of opportunity specified.  Thus, time was critical for this mission to succeed.  There was plenty of killing to do, but it had to be done swiftly and with great precision. 
    Coordinates for the first hit were set up on the enormous screens before them. Ben dreaded working in the banana republic even more than Afghanistan.  There would be Malaria to contend with along with Dengue and Yellow Fever, and Chagas.  These parasitic diseases were common for workers in the forests of South America.  He hoped the recent shipment to Moshe’s storage facility of protective combat undergarments would help protect the men, but it was no guarantee.
    Besides the bugs there were leeches and water snakes.  Crocodiles the size of stretch hummers, rats and wild boars added interest to the jungle adventure, along with a long list of predators in the animal kingdom who would be stalking him.  Guatemala was a hell hole.  He never thought he’d prefer the terrain of Afghanistan and Iraq to anything, but the race to the bottom was won by Latin America for fighting hand-to-hand combat in piss-poor conditions. 
    Four hours passed with details, movements, friendlies, safe houses, everything carefully and methodically marked so that each hit would be perfect.  Of most concern, the algorithms found plenty of possible interruptions or errors.  The tension in the room subsided as the men were dismissed for sleep.  This was only the first session and Moshe was taking it easy on the men.  Ben was thankful as he trudged to his bunk and reclined, craving sleep more than anything — deep slumber where he could forget the mission for a few hours.  But sleep did not come easily.  The racing thoughts in his mind would not stop.
    Lara’s shirt served as his pillowcase. He buried his face into it, inhaling her scent.  For a split-second he felt as if she was there with him, and the longing for her began anew.  He pulled the blanket over his body and curled into a fetal position fully dressed.  When he wasn’t focused like a laser beam on the mission, his mind wandered back to her.  What was she doing now?  He imagined she was up because it was 9:00 AM where she was.  He glanced at his phone.  It was 2:00 AM.  He closed his eyes for a moment, then picked up the phone and let it ring through.
    “Hey, mystery man.” Lara answered, and he felt his pulse race.
    “I love you, darlin,” was all he could manage to say.  For some reason he was overcome with