Chapter Two - part fifteen

   Once back in Syria James didn't have much time for anything. Ambassador Raffia had been removed and Aarif Asad had been hunted down and executed by his own people. It seemed that he and the Ambassador had worked out a deal. They hadn't wanted the peace plan to work at all. Several other people among both Khebat's and Sargon's people had also been executed as traitors. The remainder of the groups had been working quietly with Sabella and Aadila to finish what had been started. NATO still wasn't welcome outside their secure areas, but they really weren't needed as much now. There was still occasional fighting, but that was more old grudges than power struggles now. It was still several weeks before the convention managed to iron out an agreement and form a temporary government. That government wasn't well received by everyone. Most of the Syrian people were willing to watch and see what happened though, but many of the countries outside of Syria weren't happy at all. That was mostly because one of the first things the new government had done was to petition the U.N. for the removal of all outside forces immediately upon the election of a permanent government.

   The best thing to happen when James got back to Syria was seeing Aadila again. James owed her a lot. It seemed that she and Sabella hadn't liked the idea of leaving him behind to fight. They had stayed out of the fighting, but they had kept him in sight. When everything had started to go bad they had stepped into the firefight. It was them who had rescued both James and Sargon. Sabella had carried Sargon out with help from one of his own men. Aadila had carried James out almost unaided, actually dragging him when he had passed out. James would never forget the look on her face or the words she said when he had tried to tell her thanks. She had suddenly begun to laugh and grin at him. Then when she finally stopped she had been smiling as she spoke while still giggling. "I have been waiting and praying for a chance to carry you the way you once carried me. You are most welcome James Andrew Cooper. I now pray that we will never need to be carried again, but I fear that if I stay near you that prayer will never be answered!" They had all laughed and enjoyed a few minutes of remembering better days. Laughing even more as they wondered... who would have believed that Ironman run and those years on the Hill would ever have become better days for them?

   James remained in Syria for just over another year, though he was able to leave every few months to see Sarah and his family for a few days before returning. The elections were held and the new government took control. Khebat Shadid was elected as President, Omar Nassar was elected Prime Minister, and Sargon Najjar was named Minister of Defense. Actually Sargon had remained the minister of defense. He had managed to stabilize the entire nation and maintain control during the elections as the temporary Minister of Defense. There had been little fighting with both commerce and trade flourishing inside Syria for the first time in decades. As soon as the new government was in place, NATO did begin to withdraw. The only real problem now seemed to be that the west still wasn't wanted or welcome in Syria. That might change in time, but for now it seemed to be turning into an isolated nation once again. They would do business with the west, but only on their own terms. One surprise had been their request for the United States to start plans to establish an Air Base in Syria. It seemed that the new Syrian Minister of Defense and the President of the United States were on a first name basis!

   James had received another surprise before he left Syria behind though. He was awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal for his service towards bringing peace to Syria. Those medals were rarely awarded and almost never awarded to anyone below the rank of General. The only one who could award the medal was the Secretary of Defense. He had made it very clear that James had more than earned this special recognition for his work in Syria. James was still ready to leave all of it behind him. He had done far better at things than he had expected, but he had never truly felt comfortable. He had friends that would last a lifetime there, but he had also left behind enemies that would last a lifetime too. He wanted to get back to work as a pilot. He had managed to get in the required flight time on his trips home, in order to stay qualified, but he was ready to be a real pilot again. Diplomacy wasn't for him, regardless of what other people said! He would have liked to go home to the states too, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. The 77th had been deployed again. This time they were in Europe. Actually they were back in Turkey again. It was still a mess there. James had been surprised he was allowed back into that nation, but it seemed that nobody had been willing to push things much after all those planes were shot down. As a Major, James now had his own flight of five jets under his command. Sarah wasn't in that flight, even though she was still in his squadron.

   Once more James and Sarah were praising God for all that had happened in their lives. In spite of his faith in God James had managed to gain the trust and even friendship of many Muslims. It was that trust and indeed that friendship that had allowed him to complete his duty this time. Sarah also believed that it was only by God's grace that James had survived and been safely returned to her. They made no secret of those beliefs or of their gratitude to God for all that had happened. James had even talked about his faith with many of the people he had dealt with in Syria. He had never pushed his faith or Christ upon them, but he had seldom missed the chance to share it with them either. Once more James knew in his heart that it was God who had accomplished the mission. It was God who had brought peace to a land that hadn't known peace for decades. James had just been along for show.

   They spent another three years deployed in Turkey and Saudi Arabia before they were finally rotated back to home base. The world was becoming a real mess by then. People were rioting and fighting in the streets in virtually every nation around the world on a fairly regular basis now. Mostly it was about the lack of jobs, little food, and even less hope. Many of the most well developed nations were in a constant state of turmoil. In the lesser developed nations it was often much worse. People were starving or dying of various diseases, sometimes thousands at a time in those nations. In some of the larger nations with closed borders, like China and Russia, nobody was really sure of what was actually going on. There was talk of massive riots and killings, but news access was limited by the governments. There were also protests and even occasionally minor riots in some cities in America. The entire world was on edge and it seemed to be getting worse all of the time. James and Sarah were glad to be heading home. It would be nice to be back in a more secure and stable country for a change.