Crown of Vengeance Read online

  As usual, he had not needed the use of an alarm clock to rouse himself just before dawn broke. His internal body clock was very well attuned, after more than twenty-three years of practicing his faith. Following his morning prayers, the first of five designated periods of prayer each day, he allowed himself a little slack and dozed in his bed for a while longer.

  After about an hour, the rest of the morning was spent leisurely; taking a long shower, making a small pot of coffee, and suffering through a little television.

  As he had come to expect, the television was inundated with the latest updates about the ongoing war in the Middle East. The US-led coalition’s forces had completed another flurry of thunderous air and missile attacks, and the newscasters were very upbeat about the recent reports from the battlefronts.

  Only one of the aircraft from the coalition forces had been lost in the fray, and that lone plane’s destruction was due to an engine failure, rather than enemy defenses. As Mershad and even the most casual of observers were well aware by now, the fighting was a one-sided affair that was degenerating quickly into a massacre. Unopposed in the skies, piloted and unmanned aircraft struck with unhindered impunity. Missiles launched from sea vessels offshore and military bases in the region raced towards their targets, guided meticulously by the latest systems, backed by the USA’s unrivaled satellite network.

  It was a deeply unsettling war to Mershad for other reasons as well. He could not see where older notions of honor and respect for one’s opponent had a place in the modern ways of combat. It was not a war where adversaries clashed face to face, sword to sword, like the tales of the Crusades in the Middle Ages. Rather, it was one where one side’s technological dominance enabled widespread slaying at a great distance. Operators of remotely controlled, unmanned aircraft could sit in full safety at consoles in air-conditioned rooms, located numerous miles from where their implements unleashed their deadly rain of fire and thunder.

  Mershad could only handle a few minutes of the parade of images, and the accompanying stoic commentary by the ubiquitous retired generals that were surfacing regularly on the networks. He watched the screen with trepidation as a large building was turned into a pile of rubble in an instant, from aerial surveillance footage recording a missile strike’s massive impact. With fear and sadness in his heart, he finally turned the television off.

  In the early afternoon, he decided that the dorm room was too confining and that he needed a little fresh air. Chancing a foray out into the public, he procured lunch at one of the fast food outlets just across the street from his building.

  Doing his best to avoid undue attention, he ordered the food to carry out, taking it back his room to eat in quiet. Once his hunger had been sated, he gathered up some books and his laptop computer.

  Tucking them into a satchel and easing the shoulder strap over his right arm, he set off for a secluded spot that he preferred to visit when he needed space to think. The place was situated near the primary student center building, about a ten-minute walk from his dormitory. The center was located a little farther down on the west side of the campus’s main boundaries, just off the downtown area of Lexington.

  His favored area consisted of nothing more than a lowered expanse of open grass, which sat several yards underneath the street level as it was spread over a substantial sinkhole. A number of fully matured trees were arrayed about the area, forming a dynamic filter that cast direct light and shaded pools about in a number of different combinations and arrangements as each day proceeded.

  It was set away from the main pedestrian thoroughfares of the campus, and the primary access points to the student center. As such, it tended to have a quiet and subdued atmosphere. Some students, like Mershad, had found the place to be a haven for a little time of reflection, or for some uninterrupted study.

  The only frequent group of visitors to the area, and by far the most boisterous, were a bevy of gray squirrels that inhabited the area. The feisty creatures were fun to observe at times, as they endlessly scampered about the soft grass and scurried about the trunks of the trees. They lunged into their network of branches and traversed them with an impressive agility and dexterity that always amazed Mershad.

  Mershad’s ideal spot was a site tucked away almost directly under the street level, where he liked to sit with his back to the trunk of a maple tree.

  Though he could still hear the cars going by overhead, the space afforded him a good nook where he could melt into the fabric of his personal oasis. With headphones on, he was lost in a world of his own.

  Enough light cascaded down through the trees to enable him to study, and the hotter days were always disrupted by the cool, generous shade provided by the trees.

  With the exception of a brief break for some dinner in the student center, Mershad consumed the rest of the day studying his notes and other course work materials. He took a couple of pauses for his appointed prayers, finding relief in the almost total vacancy of the area. During the time that he was there, only a handful of individuals strolled through the area, and none tarried upon the lawn.

  The light of day finally waned, diffusing into night.

  Though Mershad was tired of studying, he found that he did not yet want to leave the gentle confines. Putting his school materials away in the satchel, he stretched his legs out as he leaned back against the tree.

  His eyes shutting, he took a deep breath of the evening air and settled into a serene repose.

  “Mershad! Mershad!”

  The voice startled him and caused him to flinch, even as he felt the light nudges of a hand upon his right shoulder. The sound of the voice, though passive and friendly in both tone and volume, snapped him wide-awake.

  A few lights, whose fixtures were set within straight posts that were set in place at a few key intervals about the area, provided most of the available illumination. The rest came from moonlight, as the night was already a couple of hours old.

  Looking up, he beheld the silhouette of Erika Laesig standing over him.

  The sight of her brought an instant defensiveness to Mershad. Already introverted enough, his discomfort with women was compounded by some particular matters regarding the practice of his faith. Though she was a friend, he had never been quite settled in her presence.

  She was perhaps the strongest female personality that he had ever encountered. He had met her about a year before, in one of his classes. The first time that he had set his eyes upon her, he could not help but notice how stunning she was. About five-foot ten, she had a sleek, athletic build, and her movements were always imbued with balance and grace.

  Though she had visible muscle tone evident whenever she wore short-sleeved shirts or shorts, her muscularity did not taint her femininity in any way. She was every bit a woman, one who exuded unequivocal strength in her appearance and demeanor.

  Mershad had encountered many attractive women before, but Erika’s attributes went far beyond matters of mere physical appearance. Each and every time that he had spoken at length with her, he recognized her considerable intelligence, as well as her real fervor for life.

  She was studying to enter a career in social work, taking a path whose adherents truly had to have some passion about what they were doing. He certainly knew that those working actively in the field did not enter it for any hopes of attaining a great level of compensation. Erika was no exception, exhibiting the type of motivations that went well beyond the financial. She had very firm beliefs and attitudes about the rightness and necessity of what she had set out to do, and was very dedicated to acting upon them.

  Though there was no warrant for it, he had never been able to elude the sense of intimidation that he felt whenever he was in her presence. That was his own problem to sort out, he knew, as she never did anything to intentionally make him feel awkward. If anything, she had always extended a welcoming attitude and warm kindness to him.

  “Hi, Erika,” he responded, his tone coming out a little meek compared to her own. He managed a
grin as he came out of his foggy dreaminess. “So, you caught me napping.”

  Erika sat down on the ground before him, cross-legged. She was wearing a yellow, long-sleeved shirt and some dark jeans that followed her shapely contours very faithfully. Mershad felt a pang of guilt at having consciously focused upon her attractiveness right away.

  She grinned at him. “I should have figured I would run into you out here. I usually don’t go this way, but I just had an urge to cut through tonight, for whatever reason. I shouldn’t have woken you up, but I haven’t talked to you in a while, and I wanted to say hi. Hope you don’t mind. What have you been up to today?”

  Mershad certainly did not mind her decision to awaken him, though he felt awkward saying so. He gestured to his satchel. “Mainly, a lot of study. At least, until dark came. And good that you came, as I might have slept the entire night outside here otherwise.”

  “You are dedicated, and on the weekend too, when you should be relaxing a little,” Erika quipped.

  “No, not overly dedicated, it’s more about anxiety with grades, I think,” Mershad replied, suffering a laugh and still unable to shake the slight, underlying sense of unease. Small talk had never come easy to Mershad, not even with someone that he knew was a person with good intentions.

  Erika laughed softly, with an understanding expression on her face. “I know the feeling, Mershad … believe me, I do … So, what’s been going on with you lately? You’ve seemed pretty down in class this week.”

  “Not much, just trying to stay out of the way of trouble. You know, with the war and everything,” Mershad said morosely. “You know what I’m talking about. The stuff I told you about a couple weeks ago”.

  Erika’s brow furrowed, as her mouth grew taut. Her voice had an edge to it when she replied, “Just people with very small minds. I suppose that it doesn’t help, even when you tell them that this is your country, and has always been your country … that you were born and raised here.”

  “I’ve told a few people that, including the fact that I’ve never even been out of this country. But there’s a whole lot of people that just will not listen to anything,” Mershad replied sadly, shaking his head. “They treat me like I am going to suddenly wrap myself up in bombs and blow myself up. I really wish I could escape everything for awhile. Probably would be much better to be anywhere but here.”

  “People are looking for ways to lash out. Everything around them is playing on their fears, every time they turn on the television or go online…. But it definitely doesn’t excuse their behavior,” Erika said.

  She grew quiet, as if reflecting upon something bothersome, shaking her head slowly as she looked up through the trees for a moment. Erika brought her eyes back down after the extended pause and looked back to Mershad. “I have no way of knowing exactly what you are going through. I just know that you are caught up in the brunt of it all. And not by choice….”

  Her voice trailed off into silence as they sat quietly together. After a few minutes had passed, Mershad finally broke the discomfiting stillness.

  “Doesn’t seem like its all going to end anytime soon. Like it’s all becoming a never-ending war,” Mershad murmured. He glanced over to Erika. “And it’s not like I wouldn’t support going after murderers with a vengeance, especially ones doing it in the name of my religion. I’m not trying to impose anything on anyone, and I’d expect to be resisted if I was.”

  Erika suddenly elbowed Mershad playfully on his arm and grinned brightly. She then teased, “Like if I ever hear that you are working to make me wear head coverings, or try to take my beer away … don’t be surprised if you have my work boot’s indentation prominently displayed on your rear.”

  The two of them laughed together, and her words showed Mershad just how comfortable and honest she was with him. He did not take them as any offense, but rather as a strange kind of compliment.

  “But I’m afraid fear has taken center stage. It paints with a broad stroke, and governs a lot of outlooks,” Erika finished with unmistakable sympathy, after their laughter had died down.

  Mershad glanced up at her, truly appreciative for the sincerity of her sentiments.

  “I couldn’t have said it much better myself, Erika. You do get it, but this is the way that things are, and I have to deal with it, whether I like it or not,” Mershad responded.

  He looked dejectedly back down at the ground, giving his visitor a distinct picture of despondence.

  “Well, do you mind if I stay and hang out with you for a little while?” Erika inquired politely.

  He was grateful for her uncanny perception, as he knew that she recognized Mershad’s current need to have an outlet for the inner pressures that were churning so powerfully inside of him. Her empathic nature was one of the greatest gifts that he saw in her, which he knew would become very valuable to Erika in her chosen career.

  Even so, he did not want to burden her.

  “It is a Saturday night, Erika. I don’t think I’m too much fun to be around lately,” Mershad replied to her. “You need to go out and have some fun.”

  “You assume too much. I may not be too much fun either, you know. All I do lately is work out, work, go to school, and sleep,” Erika commented, a brightening smile spreading across her face. “That does not exactly make for exciting times either, my friend.”

  Her beaming smile brought a lift to his spirits. She crawled up next to Mershad, and leaned back against the tree trunk to his immediate right.

  “So, how come you never call me up to just go hang out or go hiking or something like that?” Erika said. “Sounds like you need to get away from the morons of the world from time to time, and I certainly would take the excuse. As for myself, I’m sick of hanging around guys that have a very limited range of things that they want to do, if you get my drift.”

  He did not doubt that she had attracted a lot of attention from the male student populace during her time at the school, and felt highly complimented that she had just tacitly expressed that she considered him as a different sort of man.

  “I guess, as far as what I’m going through right now, that I don’t want to drag anyone else through it,” Mershad responded.

  “Well, won’t you at least give me a chance to take a stab at it?” Erika ventured. “I’ve got the time.”

  While he truly did not like to encumber others with his problems, he also knew that it was not healthy to leave the emotions stuffed inside of him. The latter proved to be the stronger impulse, as he glanced back over to her.

  “Okay, but you have to let me know if it gets to be too boring, or if you get depressed just being around me,” Mershad stated. He added more firmly. “Promise me that.”

  “I will, I promise,” Erika remarked with a light grin, holding her hands up so that he could see that her fingers were not crossed.

  “So do you know a way for me to escape somewhere, like in some movies and books?” he asked her, smiling. “Do you know of a time machine we can get a hold of? I always like the stories about going into other worlds.”

  “I wish I did know a way we could get one, because I’d use it myself. Believe it or not, I’ve been in a kind of a rut lately, and could use a decent adventure,” she replied. “Every day is getting to be the same old, same old, if you know what I mean.”

  Mershad chuckled. “I know what you mean. Even without this war, I would have to say things are getting monotonous.”

  Her eyes then looked past him, drawing his attention with her gaze as she said, “Now that is a little unusual.”

  Mershad noticed some wisps of vapor that were drifting across the tops of the grass. Some other tendrils were pouring over the lip of the street level just behind them, and cascading down into the grassy area where the mists had begun to pool.

  “That is odd …” Mershad concurred. “I can’t say I’ve watched it come in like that before.”

  “Guess we are in for a foggy night,” she replied, shrugging and grinning amiably again. “Well, it
’s not a problem, is it? Mere fog isn’t going to chase us out of here. So tell me a little more about yourself, I insist. We’ve talked so much in class, but I haven’t had much time just to ask you about you.”

  “I guess you’ve asked for it, then,” he replied, smiling. “Well, here begins your big Saturday night adventure. I guess I’ll give you an overview at the beginning.”

  “I’ve always found it best to start on the first page,” Erika retorted.

  He started into the story of his parents, and his upbringing, as the fog began to accumulate among the trees and grow steadily thicker. It looked almost magical, illumined as it was by the silvery light of the full moon, and creating an effect of being in a different world; even if it was a very small one, with space for just two friends to talk.

  The way things had been going, Mershad did not mind that at all.

  LOGAN

  Though it was an entirely new evening, a Saturday night that offered little chance of interruptions from nitpicking clients, Logan found himself more tense than he had been on the previous one.

  His physical state was no better. His eyes were about to cross, following yet another marathon of monitor screens and tediously detailed adjustments.

  Leaning back in his chair, he moaned at his stiffened lower back, and rubbed at his eyes. Glancing down at his watch, he saw that it was almost midnight.

  “Any second now,” Logan muttered prophetically.

  A few moments later, he heard the distinctive sound of Antonio’s car engine as his friend pulled up outside and parked in front of Logan’s house.

  The engine was shut off a moment later, followed by the sounds of the car door opening and closing. Logan listened to the thuds of the last few of Antonio’s footsteps, as he neared the front door and knocked upon it.