The Darque Side

Chapter One

This was the first day of the rest of his life, and he started it by trying to stand on legs that were still a bit wobbly from his last operation.

He had been told it was the last surgery he would have to undergo, but that even it wouldn’t be enough to completely repair all the damage he had suffered.

Under the circumstances, some might consider the result of his encounter as a badge of honor, like a sword fighter with a scar on his cheek from an opponent’s blade, but the only thing he saw was a limp that would forever slow him down and aid in his identification.

Until the previous day, and for almost a year, the man’s activities had been limited to looking out a window from a hospital bed at people practicing combat tactics on a dirt-covered field while his mind dreamt up schemes of revenge against the United States for what it had done to him and his family.

It seemed as if he had been training just like they were for most of his life, and although he felt good whenever he was able to put that training to use, it had been a while since he was able to carry out the skills he had acquired.

Previous activities he had been involved with in Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen had earned him the praise of his leaders and fellow combatants because of his ability to carry out complex assignments.

Some of those missions involved killing woman and children to aid in the extraction of information from unwilling subjects, and he carried out his duties with relish; whatever the cost, he never failed to fulfill the requirements levied by those above him in his chain of command, and he was indoctrinated so well, he never saw what happened to him and those he loved as ‘pay-back’.

Unfortunately for the man, his activities did not go unnoticed by the US, and his exploits had earned him an unenviable place of honor on the drone-strike list.

For those individuals who commit atrocities and become recognized for their exploits by having their names placed on that particular roster, it wasn’t a good idea to spend too much time in the company of friends and family.

Sometimes when that happened, the likelihood of innocent people becoming involved in a death-dealing situation was extremely high.

Such was the case for the man in the hospital bed, an Iranian terrorist known only as ‘Viper’.

He rightfully blamed the US for his stay in the medical facility where he had undergone several operations, followed by varying degrees of pain and therapy in order to, as the nursery rhyme noted, put Humpty-Dumpty back together again.

On the occasion when he was spotted getting into a vehicle by a drone operator, Viper and those with him were marked for death.

Those in the car never saw the drone circling overhead, or the incoming Hellfire missile that turned the automobile into a conglomeration of scrap metal, broken glass, foam rubber and slivers of plastic.

Unfortunately, among the accumulation of debris were the remains of Viper’s wife and two children, but somehow the targeted terrorist had survived the attack.

Found in critical condition and not expected to live, he endured his long and painful recovery until the only reminders of the missile attack that remained were a lot of scars, the noticeable limp, constant pain, and a growing hatred of anything to do with the US.

In his current frame of mind, and the training he had undergone over the years, he was an excellent candidate for recruitment by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence to undertake a special operation within the US.

Agents had been on the lookout for just such a person, and had been receiving periodic progress reports from the hospital administrators concerning Viper’s recovery.

When the day arrived for him to be released from the medical facility, two Iranian intelligence operatives were ready to approach the man in order to assess his willingness to lead a mission the service had been planning for quite some time.

After Viper was dressed, he sat at a table awaiting the final OK for him to leave, but he saw two men approaching the room that had been his home for so long.

“We came to offer our condolences over the death of your family, but we are happy to see you have recovered so well from your injuries,” one of them said.

Viper said nothing, but he knew the purpose of their visit was not to console him – they could have done that for almost a year, but didn’t.

“We have been studying your exploits since you first committed yourself to jihad and the protection of our Islamic State, and would like to talk to you about undertaking a dangerous mission within the US,” said the taller of the two men.

Viper remained silent, but sat quietly studying the men sitting across the table from him.

They said what their names were, but Viper wasn’t really listening … he knew any name they gave would be false to help protect their true identity.

“We were sorry to learn about the loss of your family to such an unscrupulous act by our hated enemy, but we’re here to offer you a chance to avenge your loss,” continued the taller man.

The recovering terrorist again said nothing, but both visitors observed a noticeable twitch when the death of the man’s family was mentioned, and they knew they had the right person to carry out the assignment.

“What is it you want?” Viper finally asked.

“We have developed a plan to strike fear into the hearts of the American people, and we need a man of your ability to lead a team in carrying out the assignment.”

Viper quietly considered what was being offered.

He had spent several years inside the United States attending different universities in the quest for a political science degree, so language and cultural considerations would not pose any problems.

“Tell me more about the operation and what it is you’re trying to accomplish.”

With that comment, the recruiters knew they had their man hooked, and they started into what turned out to be a four-hour discussion of the assignment. They were pleased to note that the further they got into their plan, the more interested Viper became.

“I think the plan as you explained it is possible, but it’ll take more than one person to carry out everything you want done.”

“You’ll be working with three other team members, and they will be given an overview of the mission. Only you and a Chinese operative, who will have overall control of the mission, will know the details, but it will be up to you to assign duties to the people in your group.”

“I know the Chinese support a lot of our efforts, but I don’t think I want to work under one of them on the kind of mission you described.”

“You have met this person before, and on the occasions when you two worked together, you accomplished great things.”

Viper smiled when he heard the news, because there was only one man they could be talking about: an American traitor who called himself ‘Mr. Smith’.

“I thought he had returned to the US,” Viper said with a questioning look on his face.

The two Iranians looked at each other before the shorter man spoke.

“He did, but let’s just say his allegiance is not with the Americans. His current placement is critical to the success of this operation because of the access he has, and that’s why he’s in overall control of the mission.”

Viper knew from the looks the two men gave him that it would be best to drop the subject, and since he had no problem with the stated reason for the arrangement, he smiled and let the matter rest.

“It has been a while since the two of us worked together, but his addition to the group will surely increase the likelihood of a successful outcome.”

Both of the Iranian Intelligence officers were pleased with the way things were going.

“I don’t know who you decided to put on my team, but I want Skink and Shrew to be two of them,” he said.

All terrorists dispatched to foreign countries to carry out clandestine activities were assigned the names of indigenous Iranian animals to cover their true identities.

Skink and Shrew were identical twins, which made it difficult to keep track of both of them, and the visual differences between the two were contained in scars they had incurred during armed encounters with their enemies. Positive identifications of the two could best be accomplished by comparing their medically-documented scar patterns – a process similar to identifying whales by comparing photographs of the notches in their flukes.

Although both men were older than Viper, the three of them had previously worked together, and the twins had no qualms about following his orders without question.

Being totally committed to the terrorist cause, they were vicious in carrying out their tasks, had no regard for human life, and were more than willing to die for their beliefs if that became necessary.

“That will be arranged. The fourth member of your team, Frog, will handle the technical aspects of your mission. He will establish your communications requirements, as well as cover your tracks electronically,” said the taller man.

“I don’t see a whole lot of problems carrying out the incidents you have listed in your plan, but the logistics involved will require a large support force and a lot of coordination,” said Viper.

It was the shorter man’s turn to talk.

“Mr. Smith has been working on the logistical aspect of the plan for almost a year, and just about everything you’ll need to carry out the operation is already in place,” he said as he removed a thick, stapled document from his briefcase and handed it to Viper.

The plan for the operation listed times, dates and locations where actions were to take place, as well as equipment caches and sites where vehicles would be stashed for his use.

It was obvious a lot of time had been spent putting the operation together on paper, and it was also clear to Viper that a source inside the US, probably Smith, had been providing the Iranians with a lot of information.

“As you can tell from reading the plan, it’s not complete,” said the shorter man. “As events occur, the response will be evaluated and guidance for further activities will be transmitted to Mr. Smith. Necessary changes and unanticipated reactions may require last-minute decisions to be made for the entire operation to be successful.”

As he read through the plan, Viper could see where the last part of the other man’s comment was not only a possibility, it was more likely to be a probability.

“I have questions about the part of the operation that asks me to try to identify someone named Chadeaux, who may or may not exist … that doesn’t make sense.”

The two men sitting across from Viper again looked at each other, and quickly realized he had seen the importance of the rather nebulous request.

“That part of the operation will be up to Mr. Smith to resolve. Apparently, the individual he’s searching for threatened a high ranking Chinese official, but the individual had supposedly been killed years ago. This matter is between the official and Mr. Smith, and although some of the actions that are to be taken by your team will assist Mr. Smith in his efforts, they should not interfere with your overall mission.”

The taller agent took a small piece of paper out of his pocket and wrote a number on it before handing it to Viper.

“You will be issued a secure phone before you leave on the mission, and the number on the paper is the one you will use to establish and maintain contact with Mr. Smith. He’s in a position to be aware of your activities, and will warn you if anything is about to occur that will put you or your operation in jeopardy; he knows the number assigned to the phone you’ll be given. Make sure you study the portion of the plan concerning your emergency exfiltration route, and with Allah’s help, we feel you’ll be completely successful in carrying out this assignment.”

Viper memorized the number and handed the piece of paper back to the man.

“When do we depart on the operation?” Viper asked.

“Final preparations still have to be made for your infiltration into the US, and now that we know the makeup of your team, the documentation needed by all of you can be completed. This will take a little time, but as soon as everything is ready, we’ll be in touch to let you know when your departure will take place.”

“When will I meet the other members of my team?”

“After we contact and brief them concerning the basics of the mission, we’ll make a place available for you to carry out any last-minute training and establish any requirements you have for them.”

“We’ll be ready,” Viper said.

He knew there was nothing he could do to bring his family back to life, but he intended to take advantage of the opportunity to exact revenge for their deaths, and the price was going to be high … maybe even higher than the US could afford.