Chapter Two - part seven

   At the same time others were also thinking about the events of the day, though they knew nothing of what James had just done with the U.N. negotiators. Those others were the men who had been at that meeting with James. All of them were thinking and talking about this new arrival. They were talking about the sudden change in the direction and methods used by this stranger during the talks. The Lion was still traveling back to his own stronghold, located well outside the main city. He had said little since leaving the NATO safe area. Until he was outside the main city all of his attention had been focused on his surroundings. He knew that all of the other groups at that meeting, and even the two groups who hadn't been there, would have liked nothing better than to see him dead. They feared him and wanted him dead, so they wouldn't have to fear him. They also believed that if they could be the one to defeat him, it would give them his power and influence to add to their own. That should be enough to earn them even more influence and power with other groups. It was nothing certain, but it would be a chance at controlling the nation in their eyes.

  Now that he was outside in the more open countryside Sargon left the watching for danger to those who traveled with him. He started to think about this new change in the situation. He had been one of those who had asked for this man to come, but that had been little more than a tactical delay for him. But now he wondered if it hadn't become something much greater than just a simple delay. This man truly was a warrior! There had been no fear in his eyes. In fact there had been a challenge; as well as respect in his eyes. Respect was something Sargon hadn't seen before in the eyes of those trying to negotiate for peace. Before those eyes had held only fear, disbelief, and perhaps even hate. They had held no trust or respect for him or anyone else and he had none for them... but this man was different. First he had come out of the safety of the heavily guarded bunker to greet them at the very edge of the secured area. Then he had spoken to all of them openly and defiantly. There had been nothing soft or timid about his manner or his words. He was young, even younger than Sargon himself, who was considered to be too young to be a leader of any real worth by most outside his own followers. Still this stranger seemed to have more wisdom and certainly more courage than anyone Sargon had seen before. Especially among those who came from outside the country.  It would be interesting to see who and what this stranger really was.

   The days passed slowly at first and then the men started to come in to talk. Though when they came in most still wanted to meet with the full U.N. contingent. They often spent as much time trying to convince the U.N. negotiators that they were the best choice for forming a new government as they did talking with James. There were two groups that didn't want to meet with U.N. though. They wanted to meet only with James, Sabella, and Aadila. One was the Lion, Sargon Najjar. He insisted on that condition or he wouldn't come in again. The other was something of a surprise. In fact it was a total surprise to many, because he had never actually come in before. He always sent someone to every meeting, but seldom was it the same man and they seldom had much to say during the talks. They listened and only rarely spoke. When word arrived that he would come in, the negotiators were ecstatic. That is until they heard his conditions. He would meet only with James, actually with only Aadila and James. Nobody else would be allowed into the meeting. That was the only way he would agree to any meeting. He had been the primary force behind the request for James to come in the first place. The U.N. negotiators weren't happy about being left out, but they were still excited that this man might actually come in personally.

   Omar Nassar was a very powerful man among the Sunni Muslims. Despite all of the fighting and bloodshed he had managed to remain a relatively wealthy man. In addition to his wealth he was known to be generous to those who followed him. He was also known to be a skilled and brutal fighter from the earlier days of the conflicts inside Syria, though he seldom left his secured areas now. Of the six major groups left in contention for power the two that had chosen to meet only with James, and not the U.N., had the most power and influence. Sargon was also a Sunni Muslim, but his power rested in the more rural and poorer areas of Syria. Omar held his power inside the cities, but mostly among the most well off of the Sunni. The other four who had continued to include the U.N. in their meetings had far less influence than either of these two.  Sunni Muslims made up well over half the population of Syria. The most extreme group was headed up by Asu Hussain, another Sunni Muslim. His power was in the cities, but almost entirely among the poorest of the people. Abdel fattah Kassab was the most pro-western and actually had the most influence among the Christians, though he was a Sunni Muslim himself. One of the two James had not met before was Aarif Asad. He was leader of the Alawis Muslims and very dangerous. They had once been in power and had no intention of giving that power up easily. They were almost as anti-western as Asa Hussain's people were. The last of the groups was headed by Khebat Shadid. He was very intelligent and had a lot of influence and outside support, but as leader of the Kurds he was out numbered and had little hope for taking power without help from another group.

Chapter Two - part six

   Everyone had stood as if frozen in place while James spoke. All eyes had been fastened on him. They remained where they were for long minutes before the first move was made by anyone. Then slowly they all resumed their seats. They sat in silence until James started to speak to each of them again. He spoke to each man in his turn. He put each man on the spot about something and each one gave him an answer, but none asked a question of him when he offered him the chance. After they were done James started around again. This time he was asking what they wanted to see happen first in the negotiations. It was a slow process, but each time one of them started to raise their voice or speak out of turn James would slap the table and simply shake his head. It worked, this time! Maybe it only worked because it was such a shocking change and so unexpected, but regardless of why, it did work. They spent almost five hours talking and more importantly, listening. Nothing was settled, but much was given voice for the first time.  The only ones not talking were the U.N. people and the Ambassador. They were silent because most of the problems being voiced were directly tied to the U.N. and NATO presence inside Syria.

  James didn't try to schedule another meeting with the groups all together. Instead he asked each of them to contact him with a time when they could come in alone to talk with him. James wanted to see them one at a time now, before meeting again with all of them together. They had seemed surprised by that, but again the only objection had been from the original U.N. negotiators. James had just smiled and explained that he wanted to get to know the people he was dealing with personally, and he wanted them to get to know him personally too. James had told them that strangers didn't often share secrets or discuss private matters with one another or in public. That was something that friends would do in private. Since they weren't ready to be friends with each other yet, well maybe it was time someone else made friends with each of them first, individually and in private. They had said they could trust him and now it was time to see if they really could. All of the men who he had talked with seemed to be interested in this new idea. They agreed to meet with him again and soon.

  The U.N. negotiators were furious with James and spent nearly an hour explaining how he had just destroyed months of work in one short meeting. Sabella had tried to step in and defend James several times during the tirade, but James had silenced her each time. Finally she had just sat there fuming while they raked them all over the coals for what had just happened. The Ambassador finally demanded that James say something after nearly an hour of this. That was when James finally smiled and slowly stood up. Still smiling he spoke very softly compared to the screaming that he had been listening to from all of them. "Ambassador, I didn't ask to come here. I didn't want to do this. I came because I was ordered to come. Now, I do understand that I am not being diplomatic and handling negotiations the way you would. That said. I am not a diplomat. I am a soldier, a warrior. The men you are trying to negotiate with are also soldiers and warriors. Sir, we don't negotiate the way you do. We study and access our opposition. We look for weaknesses and strengths. Then we form a battle plan. After that is done we take the field and we do battle. Now, I have no desire to fight an actual battle with any of those men. I doubt they really want to do battle with me, but that will change nothing. We are warriors and we can only deal with each other as warriors. I will meet with them and learn what I can from them, just as they will learn what they can from meeting with me. Then we can begin to talk, not negotiate... just talk. Once we learn to talk with each other, if we can. Then and only then can we sit down to negotiate with each other. I am sorry that you don't understand or approve of any of this, but until I receive orders saying different. I will meet and talk with these men on my own terms. You can proceed with negotiations as they were if you wish, but I think these men just sat down to the longest meeting you have had in over a year? I also know that more of them were here together this time. I think that is a success. You may call all of this a failure today, but I call it a beginning. Now if you will excuse me, I need to use a bathroom."

   James had turned and walked out so quickly that nobody had a chance to react. Both of the girls had to scramble to get up and get out along with him. Neither of them wanted to get caught in that room alone with those angry men, not after what James had just said. Sabella followed him down the hall and waited outside the bathroom for him with a huge frown on her face. Aadila was standing across the hall watching her and the door of the bathroom. Sabella couldn't believe what James had just done. Those men could easily destroy his career and he had just treated them like enlisted troops. Actually he had treated them worse than that. Her head was spinning. What had he just done? Aadila on the other hand was smiling, but she knew why Sabella was frowning. James might have just tanked all of their careers. Still she had to smile, because she had seen that look in his eyes and heard that determination in his voice before. Sabella might well be worried and unbelieving, but Aadila was neither of those. That was the look and the voice of the 'Ironman'. It was the same look and determination that had carried them to the finish line when she hadn't believed it possible. She knew that James had just begun this race. He had just picked up the burden and begun to run with it. She knew that he would carry it to the finish or kill himself trying too. Knowing all of that was what made her smile... while Sabella was still frowning.

Chapter Two - part five

   James watched as the first two groups arrived. They both immediately stopped and began to whisper when they saw no clear seating arrangement marked. Before they could do anything the Lion arrived and walked in past them. He too stopped to survey the seating. He frowned at first and then he began to smile. He didn't say anything. In fact he silenced his associate when he started to speak. Then without hesitation he took the center two seats on Aadila's side of the table. He looked at neither end of the table. He simply sat down and had his associate take the seat to his right. Then he waited. By then the last three groups had also arrived. They didn't take long to choose a spot. The most powerful of those groups took the spots immediately across the table from the Lion. Another took the spots between the Lion and the U.N. people. The other one took the seats between Sabella and the other major group. The first two groups to arrive suddenly found themselves with little choice left. One group, the most in favor of hard core Muslim law for a government took the seats between the Lion and Aadila. The other group was the most pro-western in their views and they took the seats on the opposite side, but on the U.N. end of the table.

   Once everyone was seated Ambassador Raffia made a welcoming speech. He had hardly finished speaking when the leader seated next to Aadila spoke up. "Before we go further I want to know what has happened to the others. Were not two more of the factions among my people to have been here? Where are they and why are they not here?" Again the Ambassador spoke up. He quickly explained that both groups had been attacked and driven back before they reached their assigned NATO escorts.  This brought a great deal of complaints and accusations from everyone who had arrived safely, everyone except for the Lion. He remained silent and actually seemed to be pleased with all the disruption. Suddenly Asu Hussain the man who had asked the questions first turned on the Lion. "You sit there in silence, with a smile. Were you the one responsible for those attacks? Did you break the peace and turn against us even before we had arrived? Speak now! I would hear your answer!"

   Sargon Najjar turned to face his accuser and just smiled for a moment. Then he gave a slight shrug and spoke. "I wasn't aware of any peace outside the safe zone. I too was attacked on my way here and I think you know by who it was done. What has that to do with this? Are we here to talk or just accuse one another of what we already know we would do ourselves given the right opportunity?" Now the pro-western leader Abdel fattah Kassab spoke out as he came to his feet. "You dare speak so? You would use our travel here to talk of peace as a chance to ambush us and kill us? I won't remain here to talk with killers about peace for our nation.  You have no interest in peace. You only want blood and power, not peace. These talks are a waste. If we must fear for our lives to even come to talk of peace with the likes of you, then how can there ever be peace? This is foolishness, I will stay no longer." The entire room of people were suddenly on their feet shouting and pointing. Some were already starting towards the door. Only James and Aadila had remained seated. Even Sabella had stood up at first, but she had taken her seat again when she saw that James and Aadila had remained seated. The meeting had lasted only a few moments and looked to have totally fallen apart in a matter of seconds.

   Suddenly, before anyone could actually get to the door James slammed his hand down on the table top, making a tremendously loud bang in the large room. The entire room of people jumped away from the table and turned all their attention towards that sound. James smiled and spoke very softly as he began to rub his hand. "Gentlemen, now that I have your attention. I want to say just a few words before you leave or do whatever you were about to do. I am new to all of this, but I see why it has been such a waste of time. You are all more interested in fighting, and blaming the others for that, than you are in talking about peace or anything else for that matter. I was under the impression that you had asked me to be here and yet you haven't even let me speak. Now if you will sit down and listen to me for a moment I would very much like to tell you what else I, a stranger to all of this, have seen today." James sat there watching and waiting. Once again the Lion was the first to sit down. Slowly the rest followed his lead. The Ambassador started to speak, but once more James slammed his hand down. James spoke sharply immediately after that.

  "I will speak now! You have all asked me to come here and now I intend to be heard!" He was looking at the Ambassador first, but he let his eyes range over everyone. Once he was certain they were going to remain silent for a moment he spoke again. "As I said, you show no real interest in peace, none of you. If you truly want to have peace in this land then it must begin with listening not shouting. Sargon Najjar, I knew when I met you that you knew the others weren't coming. I suspected that you were to blame. Now I would hear you deny that or explain it. I ask the rest of you to remain silent as he does. I have things to ask each of you; when it is your turn you may speak, but I ask that you only answer my questions and remain silent while the others speak. I will give each of you a chance to ask me a question when you have answered mine. Perhaps by the time I have spoken to each of you and you to me we will be ready to do something more than scream at each other. Now, will you answer my question or will you continue to sit and smile Sargon Najjar?"

   The Lion laughed and leaned forward to look around the table before he spoke. "I will answer. Yes, I am responsible for the attacks. I had warned both of them that I wouldn't allow them to interfere with the work Captain Farah was doing in my area and theirs. I told them I would be watching and if they did interfere I would find them and kill them. Before this meeting I had told them if they ever left their section of the country I would kill them. I am a man of my word. They are finished. You will hear no more from those men." James just smiled and nodded his head. He waited for Sargon to ask a question, but got only a smile and a shake of the head. Then he turned his attention to Asu Hussain. "Asu Hussain you accused him of this when you already knew it was true. I believe that he wasn't the only one to make threats and carry those threats out. Were you responsible for attacking him today?" The Ambassador started to protest, but this time Sargon slammed his hand down. Then, without ever saying a word, he indicated that Hussain was to speak. Asu Hussain had grown red and looked around as if for a way to escape, but he finally stood up and spoke. "Yes! Yes I did order my men to try and kill him. His bands of thugs rule the countryside with fear and torture. He doesn't dare come into the city where he would be forced to answer for his crimes. He deserves to die!" Then Hussain turned on the Ambassador. "I won't stay here to be treated like a criminal, while you allow the real criminals to come and go freely. This truly is a waste!" He turned to storm out the door. Kassab had risen to follow him out, but James next words stopped them both short of the door. He spoke the words softly, but they hit hard.

   "You can leave. Nobody will stop you, but I will talk with those who remain. I was asked to come here. I don't know why. I have nothing to offer any of you, nothing except my words and my honor. I am here to listen to all of you. I am here to listen to all sides fairly, because I have no side. I will listen and I will speak, but if you leave I cannot hear your side and you cannot hear what I say about any of this either. Go if you wish, but that will help nothing in the end. Sit down and listen with me! Sit down and talk with me! I promise nothing more than to listen to all of you and to speak honestly to all of you.  I know that isn't much, but it is more than you have now. You are right. There can be no peace like this. It is a waste, but it does it have to be? Each of you has people who will follow you to war, but wouldn't it be better if they followed you to peace? They will die for you, but you could help them to live with you instead. Stay and listen! Stay and talk! If you must scream then scream at me, but I ask you to listen first. The sound of peace is much harder to hear than the sounds of war. Peace comes with a whisper, but war comes with the screams of the dying and the wails of the widows and orphans." 

Chapter Two - part four

    James spent the next couple of days learning as much as he could about the current situation in Syria. This wasn't the sort of thing he had expected to be doing. Actually he had never even dreamed of being involved in anything like this. Finally Sabella was satisfied that James was as ready as he would get. The main U.N. negotiators weren't happy about any of this, but it was the only thing that seemed to have any chance of working at the moment. After the Prime Minister of Syria and most of the Cabinet had been killed in a rocket attack a few weeks ago; the last Syrian government had totally collapsed. The only hope they had left now was in getting some of the many groups fighting inside Syria to come together quickly and form a new government. The problem was that all of them wanted to be the one in control and none of them had enough support among the people to hold on for long even if they did get control. James still didn't see how he could change any of that, but he had to try since they had asked for his help. He still wasn't sure why the Syrians would have asked for him, but he might soon find out. His first meeting with them was scheduled for the next day.

   The meetings were all being carried out within a well secured and heavily guarded NATO area. That secured area was where most of the negotiators and diplomats stayed, even many of those from Syria itself. It was just too dangerous for anyone associated with any government to be outside that secure area. Even with heavy armor and guards it wasn't safe to move around in Syria. It was actually safer for the NATO troops if they moved in open vehicles, so that everyone could see they were only NATO troops. It made no difference who you were or where you went, if you weren't a member of the NATO troops you could easily become a target. Those who came in to negotiate took great risks just to get there. They normally moved in heavily armed groups until they reached the immediate area. Then NATO would meet them and quickly escort that group inside the secured area. It was very hard to get all of the different groups inside at one time. James arrival had provided no help with that. His first meeting was short two key people, because they were attacked and driven back before they could reach the NATO escort to safety. Still he had six different leaders who made it, including the one who seldom even tried to come.

      Sargon Najjar, known as 'The Lion of Syria', was crucial to any hope of successful negotiations. He had earned the nickname by being ferocious in battle. He controlled a huge part of Syria. He wasn't as strong in Damascus itself, but he was still feared even there. His fighters were among the best armed and best trained in the country. It was in the areas he controlled that Aadila had been able to do the most towards rebuilding. Few of the other factions wanted to risk his anger towards them. The biggest problem with him was that he had no use for anyone outside his small circle of power. He trusted only a few of those people completely and nobody else at all. The people of Syria not only feared him, they respected him. He seldom was involved in battles that caused civilians to be killed or injured. When he was, it was always because he had been attacked first. He was very careful to direct his attacks at only those he wanted to kill. The Lion was also very good at killing when he did attack. He was the last of the six groups to arrive for the first meeting. Including himself he came in with only four men. They were all heavily armed and James had little doubt that all of them were very good with those weapons.

   James had greeted each group as they were escorted into the secured area. Once inside the area each group was taken to a separate room to wait until everyone arrived. Only then would the actual meeting begin. Then a NATO soldier would be sent to each group to inform them of the meeting time and escort only two from each group to the meeting room. Even the smallest detail could cause everything to be a wasted effort and the meeting could dissolve even before it began. The girls hadn't been happy with James over any of his new ideas. James going out to greet each group at the entrance to the secure area wasn't exactly safe. James had just smiled and told the girls they had to trust him first, if they wanted these men to trust him. That hadn't helped their mood any, but it had silenced their complaints. James waited patiently until Sargon and his men arrived. He already knew they would be the last group in today. After greeting them James had moved back into position to wait, just as if the others were still coming.

   That had two purposes. James wanted to see the reaction of the Lion and he also didn't want to give him anything he hadn't given the rest. James got very little in the way of reaction. Sargon did smile slightly as he moved off with the escort to the waiting area. That was enough to convince James that he knew there would be no other groups arriving today. James waited a good amount of time and then he returned to the main building. He told nobody what he thought. This was all new to him and he figured it was best to just let things play out and see what happened. Aadila was relieved to see him return, but Sabella was still ticked about his cavalier attitude. James knew they were both worried about his safety, just in their own ways. He hadn't gone out there because he wanted to go. He had gone to show that he was willing to put his life at risk to meet with these men. He figured until he showed them he was willing to take some risks too; they would never be able to risk truly trusting him.

   Once back at the main building, which was more of a hardened underground bunker than a building, it was time to try and begin the meeting. James took his seat at the table with Aadila on his left and Sabella on the right. Ambassador to Syria, Raffia from the United States and two more U.N. negotiators took up positions on the other end of the table. The remainder of the seating was along the long sides of the table. There were now only six chairs on each side instead of the eight they had hoped to fill. Normally the seating was arranged and marked, but James had asked them to put up no names this time. He wanted to see how the different leaders would arrange themselves. James believed that watching how they handled that minor detail might give him a better idea of what to expect from each of them during the negotiations. That was assuming they managed to make it that far! Up to now the most they had managed to get together and talking was two or three leaders at a time. While that might eventually prove useful, in the short term it was a wasted effort. None of these different groups had enough power to control or even influence any of the others. None of them were willing to give in to another on anything major either; not at the risk of losing what little power they already had. Negotiations had been going on for years with very little to show for it. Occasionally a government was formed, but those seldom proved to be more than a shadow of the U.N. with no real power or influence on the Syrian people or situation as a whole.

Chapter Two - part three

   James sat looking at the sealed packet for a long time. One of the crewmen came by to check on him. After he left James finally opened the packet. They had a long flight ahead of them. James was headed back towards familiar territory. He was headed on a two hop flight to Riyadh. From there he would be going on to Damascus, Syria. The most shocking thing was why he was going. He was going at the request of the U.N. diplomats in Syria. They seemed to think he could help with negotiations among the rival factions in Syria. James had no idea why they would think he could do that. All he knew about Syria was that a day didn't go by without some kind of fighting. The Syrian government was all but powerless. The U.N. had been functioning as the only real authority in Syria for years, and it was starting to lose what little control it had from the using NATO security forces to police things. As he continued to read he found the 'special connections' that Major General Fuller had mentioned. One of them was Captain Aadila Farah, currently assigned to NATO. The other was Captain Sabella Reed.

   James continued to read and soon found out that Sabella had become a key figure in the current negotiations. It seemed she was one of the few people among the U.N. diplomats that all of the Syrian factions trusted. That apparently was due in large part to her connection with Captain Farah. As it turned out Farah had failed to mention that her father was related to the Saudi royal family or that her mother had ties to several major families in Syria. The connection between Aadila and Sabella was what had made possible the first real progress towards any serious negotiations between the factions fighting for control in Syria. James wasn't sure how or why they seemed to think he could help, but they had requested him.  James spent most of the flight trying to figure that out, but he wasn't any closer to that when he landed in Riyadh. He did get a pleasant surprise when he got off the plane though.

   Sabella and Aadila were both there waiting for him. He hadn't expected to see them until he reached Damascus. They greeted him warmly, but gave no indication as to why he was heading on to Damascus with them within the hour. It was still good to see them both again. Sabella looked even more stunning than she had while attending the Academy. Her hair was longer and framed her entire face now. Her eyes looked brighter and her smile was just as mesmerizing. She also moved with such confidence that it was almost a shock to see her rank was only captain. Aadila on the other hand was much as he remembered her. The only real change in her took him a while to figure out. She looked much the same on the outside. Her slightly darker complexion, framed by her dark hair was enough to make a man look again. It was that second look that helped James to see what had changed about her. He saw it when he looked into those deep brown eyes again. There was a calm assurance in them now. James had seen something similar in her eyes before, but this was different. She seemed to be totally at ease, with no doubts of any kind. That was a big change! Aadila had always been timid and a bit unsure of herself, but that was gone now. James wondered what had changed Aadila so much. Whatever it was he was glad to see the changes.

   A small transport left within the hour to take them on to Damascus. Once they were there James was shown to his room. Only then did the girls talk to him about why he was there. It seemed that while Aadila had family ties inside Syria her mother's family had been gone a long time. She didn't seem to have the kind of trust she needed to help Sabella accomplish her goal. That goal was to convince the two main power groups, that weren't totally against any western involvement, to sit down and talk about forming a real government. That was what they wanted James to do, help build that trust. After listening to them James burst into laughter before he asked what he had been wondering all along. "Exactly why and how do you two think I can gain the trust of people who haven't trusted each other since the day they were born? I would really like to know, because the last time I checked they were almost all Muslims and me being a Christian is going to be another big problem for them to deal with. Seriously Sabella, you're not religious at all, you are just Aadila's friend and she is Muslim... and they still don't trust either of you enough to listen! Why would they ever trust me?"

   Now Aadila laughed. She was still grinning as she spoke. "I wish I knew for certain the answer to that, but all that really matters is that they are the ones who asked for you. James, I don't know how they knew so much, but they had heard about you and me being in the Ironman together. They also know what you did in Turkey. You have proven yourself to be both a warrior and a hero to them. I can't explain any of it, but they seem to believe that you can be trusted because of that. At least that is what they say." James had listened carefully. Aadila was serious, so he asked his next question. "Alright, now what do you say? Can we trust them? Why would they think they can trust a stranger when they don't trust people they know?" Now Sabella answered. "I can't tell you if we can trust them. We simply don't know that, not yet. I do know why they wanted you involved. They read the articles about the Ironman. They heard about you taking out five planes in a single fight. They made it very clear that in their eyes you are not just a warrior and hero, but also a man of honor. A man they can and will trust! I don't know why, but you being a man may be just as important to them. They want to trust me and Aadila, but for some reason they just won't take that next step with us. I think that may be because we are women. That is why I asked for you James. They said they could trust you enough to take that step. That is what we need you to do, take that step."

   James shook his head, but then nodded and agreed to do whatever he could. They stayed up late that night going over everything. Sabella had originally been just an aid to the U.N. negotiator in charge, but over time she had managed to connect with the people who came with the people he was actually negotiating with. Eventually she was invited to sit at the table and had been making some progress. That was partly because they had seen her talking with Aadila. Aadila had been helping U.N. to organize and direct the rebuilding of the infrastructure in Syria. She had proven to be very good at finding ways to bring things together. The progress of rebuilding was actually visible for the first time in years. Soon Aadila had been asked to join Sabella in the talks. At first their main focus had been on getting the different factions to agree to stop destroying what Aadila and the engineers were trying to rebuild. Now they were actually hoping they could get a new government in place that the people would be willing to support. No government could last for long without the backing of a majority of the people. Aadila believed that the only way a government could get that support was to show real progress at restoring the broken infrastructure of the nation. She believed that people might put aside many of their long held disputes if they could have a better and safer life.

Chapter Two - part two

   Things seemed to settle down after that. They had no other incidents during the deployment and when it was over they returned home. The Air Force had made other changes in things. After seeing what the F/A-48 could do in actual combat they had decided to make up a full squadron of twenty jets out of those first two flights. The remaining F-35's in Squadron 77 were pulled out of service. Squadron 77 became the first full F/A-48 squadron in the Air Force. They changed the nickname of the squadron to 'Gamblers Ghost'. It seemed fitting since the nickname for an F/A-48 itself was 'The Ghost'. The home base was located at Shaw AFB which also had already received the next full squadron of F/A-48's. They had replaced the jets in the 79th squadron. The 79th squadron now replaced the 77th squadron in Turkey.

   Life was slower and more relaxed for a while. It had been a real shock for James and Sarah when they were both placed in Squadron 77. That wasn't something that the Air Force normally allowed, spouses serving together in the same unit. According to Lt. Colonel Wilson, who was now squadron commander of the 77th the fact that both of them now had the rank of Captain and both were decorated pilots with verified 'kills' had a lot to do with it. They had already proven themselves very capable when in combat situations together. That was the biggest problem for the Air Force, making sure a couple could do their jobs if stationed together. Also they were still nationally known heroes, so nobody wanted to rock the boat by separating them, at least not just because they were married. Marriage might be a dying institution, but a lot of people were still married and married people tended to be voters too. Commanders and politicians might not like marriage in the military, but it would still be suicide in either military or political careers for them to admit that publicly.

   They still spent a lot of time in the air, but nothing like they had been used to before coming home. Now they had other duties to perform. They also had lots more free time to spend together or with family. They did a lot of both. James was shocked at how much things were changing around him. His four years in the Academy had been almost like being isolated from the rest of the world. He had followed that with 18 months of training that required him to be isolated most of the time. Then he had spent a year deployed across the world. It had been almost seven years since he had really lived in the outside world. He still didn't feel like he was in the same world that he had grown up in. The military world was much different, but at least here it was linked with the world outside. At the Academy, during training, and while deployed he had been separated from that outside world. He had been virtually cut off from the world outside far more than he had realized. Now as he adjusted to living and working a more normal life he began to see the outside world differently. The world had changed far faster and more than he would have believed possible before seeing it with his own eyes.

  One of the biggest changes for James was in the attitudes of the people. The military was a world of its own, but he hadn't realized just how much different it was from the rest of the world. Oh he knew it was more regulated and regimented, but it was a lot more than that alone. People outside seemed to have only one real interest, themselves. In the military you were a part of a unit, part of a family. Everyone had to work and live together. Maybe you didn't agree or even like each other, but you still had to learn to live and work together as a unit. That no longer seemed to be the case outside the military. People in the community outside the base seemed to have no interest in anyone or anything if it didn't directly affect them and their lives. In fact most people who didn't have to deal directly with the military seemed to think the military was a waste of funds. Part of that was because many of those people depended on the government for at least part of their financial support. Maybe just a retirement check, but often housing, medical care, and food were being provided by the government as well. All they saw was the military 'wasting' funds that could have been made available to help them live better lives.

   James was just beginning to notice the changes when things changed once again for him, in a major way this time. James was called in to see the base commander. He was given no reason for the summons. James just got an email telling him when to report to the base commander's office. James had met Major General Randall W. Fuller when he had arrived, but he hadn't seen much of him since then. When James arrived at the meeting he was shown in immediately. Fuller greeted James with a smile and a handshake. Then he asked how James was adjusting to life after his exciting deployment. James assured him that he was glad to be home, but ready to go wherever he was needed. That made Fuller laugh long and loud. When he did stop laughing his voice was serious as he replied. "I am glad to hear that, though I doubt you meant it as literally as I am about to take it. Captain Cooper, you are being temporarily reassigned. I am sorry that I can't give you a lot of details, but just trust me when I say that this is an important assignment. It seems that you have some rather special connections and because of those; the Air Force has a special mission for you.   The Vice Commander, Colonel Rogers, is preparing a packet of information for you. You will have to go over it on the flight to your new assignment. That flight leaves in three hours. I suggest you go see your wife and get packed. I had her sent home to wait for you. Tell her I am sorry, but she knows that duty must always come first in the military." A quick dismal followed that shocking news.

    James said nothing; there was nothing to say to that! Just a quick salute and he found himself headed for home. It was only a short drive to base housing, where they stayed. Sarah was waiting and she wasn't happy. All she knew was that James had been reassigned and was leaving in less than three hours. It didn't help when James told her what he had been told. He had no more of an idea about where he was headed or what his new assignment was going to be than she did. All he knew was that he had to go. Sarah managed to put a smile on her face before he left, but James knew it wasn't real. He was no happier than Sarah was about this sudden change in their lives. James had a feeling that a certain senator was going to be getting an ear full from a very upset voter before the day was over. Colonel Rogers showed up to drive James and Sarah to the waiting transport. James was going military air. He just wished he knew his destination. Colonel Rogers handed James a sealed packet when they reached the plane and told him to read it after the plane took off. He told Sarah to say her goodbyes and then get back in the car for a ride home. He would explain as much as he could on the way back home. That didn't help much. Five minutes later it was wheels up and James was on his way, even if he didn't yet know where to.

Chapter Two - part one

Chapter Two

 The 
           Changing                                              World

            The week spent with the Saudi King was interesting to say the least. King Mitab was very impressed with Sarah's courage. That she was a pilot had impressed him, but her going back to fight when she was almost out of fuel had really amazed him. By the end of the week, both Sarah and James had a standing invitation to return to visit him anytime. It seemed that the details of exactly what had happened still weren't known to most of the world. Iran and Iraq didn't really want to talk about it, not after losing so many jets. Turkey had its own internal affairs to deal with. Syria was screaming about being invaded by everyone around them, but nobody was paying much attention to them. The United States was downplaying the incident as much as possible too. Nobody outside of the very highest people in the militaries that were directly involved actually knew most of the details. Those details would get out eventually, but for now other things were getting all of the attention. The big world issue at the moment seemed to be the internal affairs of Turkey.

   One good thing seemed to have developed out of everything. The rebels taking over Izmir had backfired. That had crippled tourism and all the people of Turkey had suffered because of that. The rebels had suddenly made it very apparent how much Turkey really needed westerners to be involved in their affairs. Only a few weeks time without tourism cash flowing freely had crippled the economy. The rebels had tried to make it about the war and say that it would be fine once they were in power.  But all the people knew was that for them, it was suddenly much worse than it had been. It hadn't been easy for many of the people before, but now many more were going hungry.  They blamed that on the rebels and especially on those who wanted Muslim rule and no more westerners allowed. A suddenly growing pro-western movement had become far more outspoken and powerful in just a few weeks time. It might quickly turn back around, but for now the rebels were being pushed aside to make room for those promising a better economy. It looked like Turkey might soon have a two faction government in place. The ruling party in favor of all the western influence they could get inside of Turkey and a smaller party trying to limit that influence without losing out on the benefits it brought.

   James and Sarah made a huge hit when they arrived at his home unannounced. They spent a week there and then flew out to spend a week with her folks. They still couldn't talk about things with his folks, but Sarah's parents were another matter. James took a major butt chewing from Mary on the first day they were there. Sarah thought she had gotten off easy until they were about to head back to Virginia for the last week of leave. Mary had waited until then to unload on her daughter. The yelling and lectures had been much the same ones she had given James. It wasn't until Mary Jane had broken down and bawled her eyes out that it had really gotten to Sarah though. She told James that she had never seen her mom cry like that. It took Sarah most of the next week to get her own emotions back in order. She had finally asked James if he had ever really considered dying in combat. James had just smiled and told her that he thought about that before every single mission, but that once the mission briefings started he stopped thinking about it. James told Sarah that the way he dealt with it was simple. He could think about it until it was time to start the mission, but then he had a job to do. He just focused all his attention on that job and let God handle all the other stuff. James said as long as he did his part, well he just figured God would do His part and bring him home. James didn't tell Sarah that he sometimes wondered which home it would be, the one here or the one in heaven.

   Another week of leave was gone almost before they knew it. It was back to base and back to the air, at least for Sarah. They were a little over halfway done with this deployment. James didn't report back though. It was time for him to be rotated out on his scheduled break. He soon had something else to do anyway. He was called back to Washington, D.C. with Sarah, Major Hawks, and Lt. Colonel Wilson for a ceremony. After a week of news releases, a formal ceremony was held and the four of them were presented with their commendations. It seemed that the politicians had decided America could use some genuine heroes. What could be more heroic than fighter jets on a simple patrol attacked without reason, followed by more pilots and soldiers rushing in to aid and defend one of them who had been forced down in hostile territory. Adding in the fact that those actions took place against two nations that weren't friendly to America only made the story better. The real story though was two young, married, pilots who had been given credit for seven confirmed 'kills' between them in that action. Their story was finally out and it made headlines worldwide.

   James and Sarah spent those two weeks doing interviews about it all. They couldn't discuss details, but they could confirm what had officially been released. Mostly it was about how many aircraft had been involved as well as the restrictions against deadly force that they had to break to survive. The press was very curious as to how they had shot down all of those planes. They tried to get more details, but James and Sarah simply smiled and shook their heads when asked. All they would say was that they had used deadly force, but only under threat of their own death. James did cause one added stir when he had mentioned that Corporal Matthews was his friend from high school. The reporters went nuts when they heard that. They had never bothered to research personal history on everyone else involved and it made a big splash that two young men from the same small town had rushed into danger together. It made an even bigger story when they learned that neither of them was aware the other was involved until the major part of the battle was over. They eventually found out that it was James and Tony who had held the ground forces at bay, with their sharp shooting skills, until more help arrived. James was relieved when the interviews finally came to an end. He was able to spend a couple more weeks with Sarah in Riyadh before returning on his next duty rotation.