Fic: Crossing Borders (13/?)
Title: Crossing Borders (13/?)
Author: zarrati
Rating: R for Language, and violent/traumatic themes
Fandom: Parks and Recreation-Leslie/Ben
Author’s note: I apologize again for the long time between chapters, but I hope this was worth the wait. PLEASE be warned that there is a fair amount of violence in this chapter and in the chapters to come.
They say that when you love someone, you want to give them the world. But what do you give one of the most powerful people in said world, one who had thousands at her beck and call? She might not own the world, but she personally knew most of the people that ran it. He was her subordinate, would always be
But this was why his mission was so important to him, even more so now than when he had started. This was his opportunity to give her back something after everything she’d done for him. This was more than a job now, had been for a long time.
He might not be able to give her the world, but he could give her back her world. Things were about to change, he just knew it. With the phone pressed to his ear, he didn’t even try to bite back the grin that was forming as Chris brought him up to speed.
“So, with any luck, we’ll be able to get you two out of there very soon,” Chris told him. “As soon as we have new information, I’ll have it sent over to you.” He laughed ecstatically. “Ben, this is the break we’ve been looking for!”
Ben couldn’t help but smile back, sharing in his friend’s enthusiasm. “I can’t wait to tell Leslie. This is the best news we could have gotten.”
“Well, hopefully it’ll only get better from here.”
“Seriously, man, thank you. For everything.”
Chris’ voice softened. “Of course, my friend. You are both very important to me, and I’m not going to rest until we get you back here safe and sound. Now, do give my best to President Knope.”
“Of course. Bye, Chris.”
He hung up the phone with a quick slam and sprinted to Leslie’s bedroom.
“They agreed.”
She looked up from her book and frowned. “Who agreed to what?”
“I just got off the phone with Chris. He said there was some figurative arm twisting, but Eagleton accepted the UN’s recommendation and agreed to give us what we need to try and identify our unknown extremists.”
A slow smile spread on her face as she jumped up and threw her arms around him.
“That’s amazing. How soon do you think we’ll be able to get I.D’s? The next few days? A week or so?”
Ben frowned. “Probably not as soon as that. They still have thirty days to comply.”
Her smile dropped and she flopped back onto the bed with a groan. “Thirty days? That’s way too long. Who knows what they’ll be able to cover up by then? Who knows how much more damage the group can do before we even find out who their dead members are?”
“These things take time, Leslie.”
She slammed her fist against a pillow. “That’s the problem. Everything takes too much time and I hate it. We wait a month for Eagleton to give us information we should have had ages ago and then what? Wait another month before you link these people to anything useful--if that? Then another to try to track them down? I’m running out of months, Ben.”
He was a bit taken aback by her harsh tone and crossed his arms. “We’re doing the best that we can,” he said sharply. “We’re not just sitting around on our asses twiddling our thumbs. Eagleton is our only hope right now of tracking these people down, and yeah, this bureaucratic bullshit is making everything difficult, but we have no other choice. I’d at least thought you’d be happy that we have something.”
Leslie stopped pulling on the loose threads of the pillowcase and turned to him, contrite. “I didn’t-I wasn’t trying to-” She stopped and and slumped her shoulders. “I know you’re trying your best, and this is good news. I should be happy, but it’s just…” She threw her hands up in exasperation. “It’s just so frustrating. It’s like every time we try to take a step forward, we might as well be moving through quicksand. And Eagleton has been nothing but uncooperative. They’re going to keep dragging their feet for as long as possible.”
Ben walked over and sat beside her on the bed. “They can try, but we have a lot more people on our side than they do. If they know what’s best for them, they’ll cooperate, even if they have to do it kicking and screaming.” He pulled her to him so that her cheek rested against his chest. “I know this all sucks, but I honestly believe that Eagleton has the answers we’re looking for, and we’ll find them. I promise.”
She squeezed him around his middle. “I know you do. Just remember that no matter what I say in some frustration induced rage, I never doubted you and never will.”
“That means the world to me.” He ticked her scalp with his nose and grinned when she giggled into his chest. “I wish I could make you feel better.”
“Just cuddle me. That’s all I need right now.”
He was more than willing to oblige.
~~~~~
Ben chopped the wood methodically, the steady thwack echoing within the thinning tree branches. Time was passing, as it tended to do, and the warm weather of summer that greeted them when they first arrived at the cabin was giving way to the crisp chill of fall.
After the news of Eagleton’s cooperation, it was back to another waiting game, everyone doing their best to feel useful even though there was nothing left anyone could possibly do.
So instead of sitting around the house and worrying, he came out here, to the woods behind the cabin, and chopped firewood. While physically exhausting, he found the monotony of it oddly comforting. He could think out here, the sounds of nature ringing around him in a song unlike any other.
Today, as the sharp steel pierced log after log, his thoughts drifted once again to Leslie. It was a common occurrence lately, even more so than normal. She wasn’t handling the more recent Eagleton updates very well. Who would, honestly?
While Eagleton agreeing to the terms set forth by the U.N. came as good news, it in no way lifted a weight from her shoulders. Agreeing to terms and actually following through with them were two completely different things. For all they knew, Eagleton was just buying time. They never voiced these concerns, not outright at least, because it was better to pretend to be optimistic. She was already under enough stress. She didn’t need his own negativity to add onto hers.
But regardless, it still weighed heavily on Leslie’s mind, greater than anything Ben had ever seen before. Gone were her days spent making scrapbooks and binders, the spontaneous baking binges and game nights. All she did now was wait for the phone to ring.
At night, she clung to him like he was her only lifeline as pictures of a war-torn Pawnee flashed through her nightmares and painful whimpers escaped her lips.
The fire that had always burned so bright and hot within her was slowly fading away, and he was powerless to stop it, just like he was powerless to stop everything else.
She had her moments, moments where she seemed like her old self again. Genuine smiles and laughs that made Ben’s heart skip a beat, but those moments were over far too soon. Sometimes he wondered if it was guilt that was holding her back, that she didn’t deserve to be happy with everything happening in her absence, everything she felt responsible for.
It was definitely a feeling he knew all too well.
But it was so foreign coming from her, so unnatural. He was supposed to be the sad and brooding one, not her. She was goodness and light and pure joy. She was everything good in this world, and these bastards were destroying her without laying a single finger on her.
He sighed as he wiped the tiny beads of sweat from his brow and tossed the axe aside to pull off his sweatshirt. His arms were getting sore, but he wanted to get in a few more swings before he quit for the day. The exercise had worked wonders as a physical therapy technique and rebuilding the muscle loss after his injury.
Just as he reached for the wooden handle, he froze. The hairs on his back stood up in the distinct way that told him that he was being watched. He turned around slowly and found Leslie standing on the back porch, smiling at him shyly.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t notice me.”
“My dear, I am a highly trained military officer with very fine-tuned senses. Besides, you really aren’t that sneaky.”
“I am so sneaky,” she said, putting her hands on her hips indignantly.
Ben walked over to her and slid his arms around her waist, trying to suppress a smile. “No, babe, you really aren’t. What are you doing out here anyway? It’s getting chilly.”
“Can you blame a girl for wanting to come out and enjoy the show,” she flirted. “Some people pay good money for calendars of hunky lumberjacks, and I have one in my very own yard.”
Ben pulled back with a smirk and flexed his right arm. “You think the military was right to trust me with these guns?”
“I don’t know,” Leslie giggled. “I might need to do a more thorough inspection and determine that for myself.”
“I am at your full disposal. You can inspect me anytime and anywhere. For the good of national security, of course.”
“Oh, of course,” she winked.
Ben sighed happily and tucked some hair behind Leslie’s ear. “I like seeing you like this.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “Smiling and enjoying yourself. I know that it’s been hard for you lately. I like seeing you happy.”
Leslie loosely wrapped her arms around Ben’s neck. “You make me happy. I might not always show it, but I don’t know if I could go through this without you.”
He pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “You make me happy, too. Far happier than I thought I could ever be.”
“Good, then we’re even.” She wrapped a hand around his bare forearm. “And I like seeing you like this, too. You’re kinda cute when you loosen up a little.”
“You mean I’m kinda cute when I’m running around half naked.”
“That too.”
“When will you finally admit that you are only with me for my body?”
She cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think I’ve ever denied it. If you thought otherwise, it’s your own fault. After all, you’re the one who looks all confused when I talk to your butt.”
“You have to admit, that’s a little weird.”
“Your butt doesn’t seem to mind. It doesn’t seem to mind most of the things I do to it.”
“I...I can’t deny that.”
Leslie grinned triumphantly. “And that’s why I always win.” She gave him a quick peck on the nose before reaching down to take his hand. “I think you’ve been out here long enough. Come back inside with me.”
He looked back over his shoulder at his axe and pile of firewood. “Maybe in a little. I wanted to work for a bit longer.”
Leslie pouted, her lower lip jutting out in a way that made Ben want nothing more than to run his tongue across it. It didn’t help that she started dragging her finger up and down his exposed chest.
“That’s a shame. Watching you out here got me really turned on. Oh well,” she sighed dramatically. “I guess I just have to go take care of it myself.”
She moved to turn away, but Ben stopped her. “Like hell you are,” he muttered and grasped her wrist to pull her inside.
The firewood could wait one more day.
~~~~~
The cabin was pulsating with energy, music and laughter permeating the wooden walls. There must have been over a dozen people shoved into the tiny cabin. Some of the off duty guards were milling around the rooms with huge smiles and plates of food and cake, while Leslie floated about, ever the perfect hostess.
Having this many people around was something Ben wasn’t used to out here, but he was loving every second, especially because it was all for him.
It never failed to amaze him the lengths that Leslie could go for those that she loved. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to him knowing how she was, but the last few weeks had been stressful enough. He didn’t think she had it in her to do this for him, but she was always proving him wrong in the best possible ways.
His beautiful, wonderful, caring, perfect girlfriend had thrown him a surprise birthday party. In a secluded cabin miles away from civilization, the President of Pawnee had thrown him a birthday party. It almost didn’t seem real, but there he was, sitting on the couch with a lopsided party hat and a belly full of cake.
There had still been no news on their unidentified extremists, so earlier he decided to clear his head and do a patrol of the grounds. When he came back, he was so shocked to see Leslie and almost every off duty agent jump out and yell ‘surprise’ that he almost drew his gun. It took a second for it all to sink in, but by then, Leslie had already run and thrown her arms around him while half a dozen hands patted him on the back in congratulations.
No one had ever thrown him a surprise party before. He hadn’t had a party of any kind since he was a child, but of course Leslie would give him one.
He had returned her hug with equal enthusiasm, crushing her to him and whispering a heartfelt thank you in her ear.
They finally pulled apart after a few ‘ooooh’s’ and catcalls were affectionately thrown their way. He went around and shook everyone’s hand and thanked them for coming to celebrate with him. Andy bypassed the outstretched hand and pulled him in for a bear hug that nearly left him breathless.
“Happy birthday, Major Ben!”
“Thanks, Andy,” he said, patting the Agent somewhat awkwardly on the back. “I’m so glad you came!”
“Of course, man. I wouldn’t miss this for the world. The guys out on patrol wished they could be here, but they told me to send you their best.”
He had been so touched that he didn’t know what to say. It was overwhelming for him, to feel so loved and appreciated and...cared for.
Leslie had come bounding back over, birthday hat in tow, and proudly placed it on his head followed by a quick kiss.
“Okay, everyone,” she shouted. “Now, that the birthday boy’s here, this party can get started. There’s plenty of food, so help yourselves, but don’t forget to leave room for cake!”
Everyone moved towards the kitchen just as Leslie started up the music--his favorite ‘hits of the early 90’s’ playlist. It was perfect, and it was all for him. So he ate his fill, tried not to be embarrassed when everyone sang Happy Birthday around his cake, and blew out the candle. He mingled, he laughed, he jokingly sang along to some of his favorite songs, and now, he was just taking a small reprieve on the couch to soak it all in.
“What are you smiling about?”
Ben looked up to see Leslie resting her hip against the arm of the couch, an amused grin on her face. She had on her own askew party hat, and her lips were tinged blue with frosting.
“I was just thinking about how lucky I am to have you in my life, that’s all. This party is amazing. I can’t believe you did this for me.”
She started playing with his hair and Ben hummed as her nails lightly scratched his scalp. “Of course I did this for you. You are important to me and I love you. I just wish we weren’t stuck up here and I could have thrown you something really spectacular. It was hard enough getting Andy to smuggle me the minimal supplies I wanted.”
He reached up to find her hand, bringing it down to his lips. “This is perfect. Wait, no. Perfect was this morning and you woke me up with birthday kisses and promised me a calzone. Perfect was looking over at you in bed and thinking that I could have a million other birthdays like this with you. What you’ve done here? This is beyond perfect.”
Leslie’s eyes softened and she put down her cup of soda on the coffee table before crawling over the couch and perching herself on his lap.
“Never thought I’d live to see the day when I’m cuddling Leslie Knope on a couch in full view of a dozen agents,” he murmured playfully into her hair. “Maybe birthday wishes do come true.”
“Hmm, I hope you didn’t waste your wish on something you were going to get anyway.”
“No, I didn’t. But I did make a wish, though. An important one.”
She grinned up at him lazily, finally crashing from her sugar high, “Tell me. No, don’t tell me or else it won’t come true.”
When the birthday song finished and everyone else yelled for him to make a wish, he closed his eyes. He imagined finding the people responsible for everything that happened and bringing them to justice. He imagined life outside of here, imagined Leslie free to once again lead her country. He imagined never having to see her hurt or upset again.
He wanted his wish to come true. He needed it to.
“Aww, you are just so cute,” Andy said as he walked up to them. “But anyway, great party you guys. We’re having a blast.”
“No problem, Andy,” Leslie replied. “Thank you for helping me smuggle everything and keeping it a surprise.”
“Anything for you and Major Ben, boss.”
“Sir?” A young agent said from behind Andy. He then nodded respectfully to Ben and Leslie. “Major, Madam President. The shift is about to change so we’re all getting ready to head out and make sure that everything runs smoothly.”
Ben and Leslie stood up and said goodbye to their guests as they filed out of the door, only Andy staying behind to help clean up after the party.
When Ben walked into the kitchen, he found Leslie at the sink washing the pile of dirty dishes.
“I think Andy has everything covered in the living room,” he said while reaching for a dish towel, “so I figured I’d come in here.”
“No way,” she protested. “It’s your birthday. You shouldn’t have to clean up after your own party.”
He crept up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist to nibble on her neck. Her hands were elbow deep in soapy water, so she was powerless against him.
“Ben,” she giggled and tried to squirm out of his grasp, but he held her in place.
“What? I thought I was the birthday boy. You are my present after all, and no matter what you say, I’m going to help clean up because you and Andy already did so much. This is the least that I can do.”
But Ben wasn’t planning on moving from his spot anytime soon. He slipped his hands barely beneath the hem of her shirt and tickled her hips while he continued to pepper her neck with tiny nips and kisses.
“Hmm,” Leslie moaned. “Are you going to help me dry or stand there all night?”
His mouth moved to her earlobe. “Do you really want me to stop?” he whispered.
“Hell no.”
He chuckled darkly and gripped her hips even tighter, pulling them flush against him. He relished in every little sigh and moan that she made, the sounds of dishes clanking in the water as she struggled to hold onto them.
That evening ranked high on the list of best moments of his life. And it was going to get even better once he took his amazing girlfriend to his room and made love to her until they were both too exhausted to move.
At least that was the plan until they heard it, the sound so far away but still unmistakeable. It was a sound that haunted both of them in their sleep.
Their fear was confirmed when Andy came rushing into the room, his radio clutched in his hands.
“Affirmative. We have shots fired on the perimeter,” he said into the mouthpiece before tucking the radio back onto his belt and drawing his gun. “You two, grab your thermal coats and emergency packs right now. I’m getting you out of here.”
The two barely exchanged a glance before sprinting to their rooms, Andy close on their heels.
“What the hell is going on?” Leslie asked the agent as she grabbed the backpack from under her bed.
“I don’t know, but we aren’t taking any chances and waiting around to find out. We’re gonna go through with the evacuation plan.”
Ben grabbed his own pack, securing it on his shoulders before drawing his weapon. “Leslie, take your gun with you.”
She looked at him with wide eyes before reaching into her nightstand and pulling out the firearm.
“More shots fired,” a frantic voice said over the radio. “We have multiple suspects on the grounds. I repeat, multiple suspects coming in from the northeast perimeter.”
“Come on. We have to get out of here and into the woods,” Andy urged.
Ben looked on as Leslie pulled the pack onto her back with shaky hands, nodding to her and Andy briefly before leading the way out of the cabin. Andy pulled up the rear, sandwiching Leslie between them.
They all ran out of the back door crouched down low with their weapons drawn. Ben scanned the surrounding area as they fled, but the new moon gave off little illumination. They were almost to the tree line into the woods, almost to some form of cover when a shot came at them from behind, narrowly missing them.
Andy stopped short. “Run. Keep going. I’ll try to hold them off here.”
Ben nodded and reached down to grab Leslie’s wrist, but she wrenched away.
“No, Andy we can’t leave you,” she cried out.
He turned around and even in the low moonlight, Ben had never seen the young agent look so determined.
“Leslie, you need to get out of here right now. Ben, take her and run. Don’t look back. Just keep going.”
He didn’t have to ask him twice. With a scream of protest from Leslie, Ben pulled a little too harshly on her arm and ran for the cover of the trees.
The sound of gunfire once again rang in the air, this time not only coming from the unknown assailants, but from Andy’s own weapon. Ben could feel Leslie resisting with every step that they took, but he kept dragging her along.
Once they left the clearing and entered the woods, Ben chanced a look over his shoulder just in time to see Andy fall to the ground.
Leslie let out a gut-wrenching cry. “Andy, no! Ben, we have to go back and help him,” she pleaded. “We have to. We can’t just leave him.”
It was killing him, a pit of sorrow and pain forming in his stomach, but he had a job to do.
“No, we have to keep going,” he said once again pulling her as he ran deeper and deeper into the woods. He guessed they must have ran at least a good half mile before stopping, until they could no longer hear the sounds of guns or the footsteps of someone chasing after them.
Leslie collapsed breathless onto a tree, gripping at the trunk as she slowly slid to the ground. The sob that came from her was almost unearthly, fear and anguish and anger bubbling up from the innermost part of her.
Ben knelt down and reached out to her, but she flinched away.
“Don’t touch me,” she howled. “How could you? How could you leave him?”
“I-I had to,” he whispered, his own voice raw with emotion. “That was always the plan. Getting you out comes first. Andy would have never forgiven either of us if we went back for him.”
He wanted to make her understand, but she continued to sob against the tree.
“I’m so sorry,” he choked, digging a palm into his eye. He wasn’t sure if the apology was to Leslie or Andy, but he didn’t even bother trying to blink away the tears. His friend could very well be dead, dead because he gave his life protecting them. Andy deserved his tears, deserved the sorrow he was feeling in every nerve of his body. He deserved to be mourned.
He didn’t notice Leslie turn until she threw her arms around him and buried her face into the side of his neck. Her wet, hot tears ran down his skin in rivulets, mingling with the salt of his sweat.
“How many more, Ben?” she hiccuped. “How many more people have to die for this?”
He didn’t have an answer for her. There wasn’t an answer to give. These people stopped at nothing, killed with impunity. They had no regard for life that was not their own, and Ben and Leslie would be next if they didn’t keep moving.
“Leslie.” He ran a gentle hand down the side of her face. “Baby, I know this is hard but we have to keep going. We don’t know if we were being followed, and we need to get to the rendezvous spot as soon as we can. We should make it there in a few hours if we hike through the night.”
She shuddered against him but nodded, taking a few steadying breaths. He gently pulled her up and readjusted the bag on his back.
“If you need to stop and rest, let me know. Do you want me to carry your bag?”
She shook her head dully. Her eyes were red and lifeless, like she had purged every emotion out of her through her tear ducts. She was shutting down.
He laced his fingers with hers, his gun still held firmly in his right hand. “Come on. Let’s go.”
~~~~~
It was standard protocol to have an evacuation plan, but Ben honestly thought it would never be needed. They had been so careful in everything, their location and hand selecting the agents patrolling the area, that he didn’t think anyone would ever find them.
But he followed the rules, dutifully packing his emergency bag with non-perishable food, a change of clothes, and supplies needed to last a few days in the woods should the need arise.
There was also a preselected rendezvous point several miles from the cabin. It was an old, abadoned ranger station that apparently wasn’t on any current maps. The plan was that if the safehouse was compromised for any reason, they would hike through the woods and await a team at the station to escort them to safety.
Ben wasn’t sure a safe place existed for them anymore, not if this “black knight” and his group were able to find them all the way out in Ron’s untraceable cabin. All they could do now was make it to the ranger station and hope that there would be people waiting for them.
“Are you sure you know where we’re going?”
Leslie’s voice startled Ben. She hadn’t spoken a word in the two hours they had been walking.
“Yeah, pretty sure. We hiked the path a few times. You remember some of those patrols that I was out all day for? This was why. But I have the compass and map in my bag just in case.”
“Do you think there’s anybody left? Do you think they were able to get word back to Chris or Trumple before they…”
“Don’t. Don’t think like that.”
“It’s a valid question, isn’t it?”
At any other time, he would have expected her to be defiant, to defend herself and her thinking, but now she just sounded...resigned.
“Even if they-” Died. Even if they died, but he couldn’t say it. He cleared his throat. “Even if they weren’t able to get a word back to headquarters about the attack, if no one checks in at the regularly scheduled times, it is assumed that something happened and that we went through with the evacuation plan. A team should have been deployed to the rendezvous point when there was no check-in at 0200 hours.”
She barely acknowledged his answer.
He stopped walking and pulled a canteen from his pack. “Let’s stop for a little while. Here,” he held the water out to her, “drink some of this.”
“I’m not thirsty.”
“Leslie, I know you might not feel thirsty, but I think you’re in a mild state of shock and are on your way to being dehydrated. You need to drink some water.”
She turned her head slowly and stared at the canteen in his hand for so long that Ben thought he’d have to bring the bottle to her lips himself. Finally, she reached for it and took a sip.
“Drink a little bit more.”
She shook her head. “I-I don’t think I can without being sick.”
Ben sighed and took his own large gulps. He didn’t know if her shivering was from the cold or not, but she was definitely in shock. He wished she would drink more, but having her throw the water back up would only serve to dehydrate her even further.
“Okay, but promise me the second you feel you can stomach some more, you let me know, okay?”
She didn’t answer him again, but that came as no surprise.
“We need to keep moving to keep our body heat up.”
They continued down the barely visible path at a slow walk. Ben didn’t hold it against her, not after what he was going through right now, but if they had been able to walk at a faster pace, they’d almost be at the station by now. At this rate, they’d be lucky to make it there by sunrise.
They trudged along, over fallen tree branches and exposed roots, listened to the sounds of nocturnal animals screaming at them for invading their sanctuary. They couldn't see three feet in front of them, but Ben was wary to use up the flashlight battery unless absolutely necessary.
The sun was just starting to peak over the horizon, the faint pinks and oranges and yellows cutting through the darkness of the night when they saw the tiny, abandoned station out in the distance.
“We’re almost there,” he said encouragingly to an exhausted Leslie, squeezing her hand through their gloves.
As they stepped out of the woods and onto the clearing, Ben crouched down and kept his gun poised and ready. He didn’t see any activity around, so that meant their escort group wasn’t there yet, and who knew what could be waiting for them inside.
“Stay close behind me, okay?” he whispered. “I’m gonna check to make sure everything is all clear.”
They crept along the side of the building towards the front door. The station was an old fashioned log cabin, much like the one they had been living in the past months. Ben walked as silently as he could up the wooden porch stairs, not wanting the creak of the wood to alert anyone of their arrival.
He pushed the front door open painfully slow, his gun held firmly in front of him. As he rounded into the foyer, he gasped.
Hanging by his neck from the rafters was a man dressed in a Pawnee uniform. It was their rendezvous contact, a young soldier who couldn’t have been more than twenty years old. There was a bullet hole through his forehead.
This young man wasn’t hung. He was shot and left here as a warning. There truly was no safe place left.
“Leslie, we have to go. Now.” He turned around quickly and shoved her out in front of him. “Go! Run!”
She started to sprint down the steps, Ben close behind her until he felt something large and heavy barrel into him from the side, his gun flying across the porch.
Leslie screamed as he wrestled blindly with the man who had knocked him down.
“Leslie, get out of here,” he yelled as he tried to block the man’s blows. He managed to get in one good punch and the man stumbled backwards.
Ben used this opportunity to roll onto his stomach and try to crawl towards his gun, but he felt another crushing weight as the man dug his knee into his back.
Leslie ran, but not in the direction that Ben had wanted. Instead, she hurled herself at the man, but he was far too strong. He backhanded her and she landed several feet away.
For a brief second, Ben wondered why this man was bothering to even fight them. He had an AK-47 slung over his shoulder and could have easily killed them by now.
The two men continued to grapple, and soon Ben felt the large man’s hands wrap around his throat. He fought and scratched, but the man’s grip never waned. His vision was starting to blur as his lungs fought for oxygen, and just before he felt the life start to fade out of him, the sound of a shot rang out.
The hands immediately loosened as the heavy body slumped off to the side. Ben sat up as quickly as he could, coughing and spluttering as he took giant gulps of air. Looking over, he saw Leslie sprawled in the same spot as before but with her gun now pointed out in front of her. Her eyes were as wide as saucers as she stared at the man she had just killed.
Ben turned and crawled over to her, slowly and gently reaching out to take the gun from her shaking hands.
“He was going to kill you,” she whispered. “If I hadn’t stopped him, he would have killed you. I-I had to do it.”
“I know you did,” he soothed. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You did what you had to do.” He helped her to her feet. “We really need to get out of here. There could be more on their way.”
“Where are we going to go?”
“I don’t know. There should be a town not too far from here. We have enough supplies to last us a few days in the woods. I say we hike to the nearest town and try to make contact with Chris or anybody back at the Capital.”
Leslie looked once again at the dead man not 5 feet away from them and nodded mutely. “I think-I think I should probably, uhm, use the, uh…”
Ben’s eyes widened in recognition. “Yeah, uhm, okay.” He remembered the dead man hanging from the rafters. “Wait, no, don’t go inside. I think it’s best if you went in the woods, okay? I’ll wait right here and get anything I can off of this guy. Don’t go far and take your gun with you, okay?”
She nodded once again and sprinted off to the woods. He watched her take cover behind a tree, and when he felt satisfied that she was out of danger, he turned to give her some privacy and began searching the dead man’s pockets.
He heard the crunch of leaves and snapping twigs behind him, thinking it was Leslie until the footsteps grew closer. The tread was far too loud and heavy to be Leslie’s, but by the time he realized it, it was too late. He turned just in time to see the butt of a rifle slam into his temple.
~~~~~
Ben slowly came to. His eyelids felt like heavy weights, and the throbbing pain in his head made him groan out loud. He panicked when he couldn’t move his arms, and it took several seconds before he realized it was because they were tied behind his back.
He struggled against the binds, but considering the rest of him was tied to a chair, it didn’t do him much good. When he could finally open his eyes, he couldn’t see much. The room he was in was pitch black with no visible windows. It was dank, like a basement. He could smell the familiar scent of the mold that most likely coated the cement walls.
His thoughts were fuzzy and jumbled at first. He tried to piece together what had happened, why he was where he was. Then, almost in an instant, he remembered the ranger station. He remembered getting ambushed after Leslie went into the woods.
Leslie. Oh God. He had left her alone, and who knows what happened to her. He had to find her.
He fought hard against his restraints, putting every ounce of what little energy he had into trying to break free. He screamed her name over and over again, calling out to her in the off chance she was somewhere close enough to hear him.
He screamed until his throat was as raw as the skin around his wrists.
The sound of a lock opening drew his attention, and Ben had to close his eyes as light filtered into the room.
He blinked several times, trying to let his eyes adjust, but at first all he saw was the outline of a hulking figure walk towards him. It was the man that knocked him out at the station, the rifle that was used on Ben hanging off of his shoulder.
“You son of a bitch!” Ben screamed, once again thrashing against his bonds. “Where is she? What did you do to her? I swear to god if you so much as touched Leslie, I’ll fucking kill you with my bare hands!”
The man did nothing but smirk.
“You’re nothing more than a pawn too, aren’t you? What? Did you come in here to finish me off?”
“Now, Major Wyatt, what fun would that be?”
Ben was so focused on the man from the station that he didn’t notice the second figure walking in through the door. This man wasn’t nearly as tall or muscular as the first one, but he too had a rifle slung across his chest. He was still too far away to distinguish a face.
Ben growled menacingly, seething through his teeth. “Where. Is. She.”
“Really? Is that how you greet an old friend?”
Ben spit in his direction.
“My, my. You really haven’t changed, have you? Still spunky and tenacious when you want to be.”
“What the fuck are you even talking about.”
The man stepped closer. “Why, I’m hurt.”
No. No, it was impossible. But his voice, it was so familiar, even after all of these years.
“Now you’re catching on, aren’t you?”
“He’s dead. He died in the explosion.”
“You hear that?” the man laughed over at his associate. “I’m a dead man!” He stepped closer and crouched down right in front of him. “Do I look like a dead man, Benji?”
He was so close that Ben could smell his acrid breath and finally see his face. It had aged, just like his own had, but it was him. He would die remembering that face.
“Jimmy…”
“Aww, would you look at that! He does remember me. I’m tingling with warm, fuzzy feelings.”
“But how? You were identified in that explosion. I had proof in my hands that it was you.”
“You know, it’s amazing the things you can accomplish with a little computer hacking. A few clicks here and there, swap a few names, then BOOM! My teeth are suddenly somebody else’s and here you are talking to a dead man.”
“Where’s Leslie? Did you kill her?”
Yurgin scoffed. “Of course not. Not yet, at least. We have plans for her first. I’ve got to say though, I really thought you had better taste, old friend. At least tell me she’s a good fuck.”
Ben lashed out again, but Yurgin only laughed as he struggled.
“If you give her so much as give her a scratch I’ll-”
“You’ll what, Benji? What do you possibly think you can do now?”
Ben fumed in silence. Yurgin was right, he was powerless.
“I wanna see your boss,” Ben demanded. “This fucking “blank knight” who’s running this show and thinks he’s so god damn smart. He tried so hard to play with me like I was some worthy adversary. Well, he has me. I want to talk to him.”
Yurgin crouched closer and Ben could see the whites of his dark eyes.
“Oh Benji, Benji, Benji. I’m a little hurt you didn’t figure it out. I thought you were smarter than that. But then again, you always were a bit of a disappointment, weren’t you?” He smiled the crooked smile that had haunted Ben’s nightmares for twenty years. “I am the boss, and we’re going to have so much fun with you.”