Mike was back at the hospital to have the stitches removed from the shrapnel wounds. He waited in the waiting room listening to the activities taking place around him and watching the news on the television in the room. The news covered a forest fire that was burning out of control in Arkansas, an interview with the Secretary of State, and a speech by the Prime Minister of Great Britain.
He had been waiting for half an hour when he realized something important. The news wasn't filled with stories about suicide bombers, sabotage, or other terrorist activities. There were a few instances in which terrorists had surprised people with suicide bombings, but they were becoming much rarer and isolated to the urban areas where there were still major populations of Muslims. The hospital was dealing with normal kinds of emergencies rather than injuries due to terrorist explosions and poisonings. Life in America was returning to normal.
His name was called and he followed the nurse to one of the examination rooms. He removed his shirt and pants to give access to his wounds. He put on the little paper gown that he had come to hate. The nurse came in and took his vital signs making appropriate marks on his charts. He watched the process with the kind of boredom that came from experience.
It was a few minutes later when a doctor came into the room. Bustling over to the examination table, the doctor started examining the wounds without any small talk. Mike looked away as the doctor examined his hand. For some reason, he didn't want to look at the wound.
Pleased with what he had seen, the doctor said, "The small wounds look to be healing well, but your finger still needs to remain under a bandage. I'll take out the stitches and send you on your way."
Getting the stitches removed wasn't a particularly painful process, but it wasn't pleasant by any stretch of the imagination. While the doctor worked, Mike asked, "So, will I be able to fish?"
"You won't be able to hold the pole with your left hand, but you can crank the reel with it," the doctor answered with a smile, "There for a second I was wondering if you going to ask if you'd be able to play the violin. That, I fear will never be possible."
There were a lot of little things that Mike was finding difficult. Tying his shoelaces was nearly impossible with the bandages and he imagined that it would always be a problem. Even the workouts in the gym illustrated that he could not perform many of the exercises. All of the machines for upper body development assumed the use of two hands. Mike nodded his head and said, "I know."
The doctor said, "At least you have partial use of the hand."
"There is that," Mike said thinking that he could use the one good finger of his left hand to ring the door bell when he visited someone.
Finished removing the stitches, the doctor rewrapped the left hand. As he worked, he said, "You can start taking full showers and baths now so long as you keep your left hand dry. I bet that will feel good."
"Yes, it will," Mike said. He was tired of taking sponge baths and couldn't wait to take a shower.
The doctor finished and said, "Come back in three weeks and I'll check out your hand. Other than that, you're in pretty good shape. I suggest that you continue your exercise program."
Watching television at home one night, Mike happened to catch a very chilling speech by Muhammad bin Laden taken from an Arabic station and carried on the Wolf News Channel. It wasn't so much what the man was threatening that made the speech so evil. The speech was nothing more than an order to attack American Women. He described them as worse than the whores of Babylon. He based that claim on the clothes they wore, the lifestyles they lived, and the self-reliant attitudes they had. With their bare arms, painted faces, and tight clothes, American Women were bent on tempting all good men to hell.
He explained how such Godless women should be treated by good Muslim men. Since American Women were whores, they were to be treated as whores. A Muslim man could take his pleasure from an American woman without sin or remorse. If she remained unrepentant, then death was mandated. In essence, Muhammad bin Laden had given Muslim men carte blanche to rape and kill American Women.
Listening to the man ramble on about the evils of American Women, Mike said, "One of these days I'm going to catch you and you're going to regret every word you've ever said."
Standing behind Mike, Kim Sung had listened to a portion of the broadcast. Shaking her head, she said, "That is a very evil man."
"The people who follow him are evil. He goes beyond that," Mike said.
Mohammed bin Laden ended his speech with a discussion of how little infants are corrupted by the evil of their mother's milk. The female children were fated to be whores while the male children would never be able to take Allah into their hearts. Good Muslim men would not have to worry that their actions might harm the innocent; Allah was all powerful and would protect those who would embrace his word. Listening to the translator, Kim asked, "Is he saying that even infants can be raped and killed?"
"Yes," Mike answered.
Mike walked out the backdoor of his house for the first time in nearly five months. The change was impressive. What had been a plain patio had been transformed into a little slice of heaven on Earth. Sun Yung stood to the side with a proud little smile on his face knowing that he had created something special.
The bathing pond had a natural look to it as if it had been carved by falling water for thousands of years. The small waterfall that fed it was made of real rock with exotic plants growing in some of the spaces between rocks. Surrounding the pond were hundreds of ferns that ranged from small little plants tucked to large tree ferns.
Mike had assumed that the floor would be standard decking. Instead, it was rough hewn stone that carried the natural feel of the pond through the rest of the area. Additional plants filled the edges of the patio making it feel like a hidden grotto in some tropical paradise. There were four chairs and a table made of bamboo tucked away in the corner opposite of the bathing pond.
Mike went to the sliding door and saw that the look of the patio had actually extended beyond that patio. The Waterfall feature was backed by a rock garden that looked natural. Ground cover had replaced grass through most of the yard. There were bushes that in summer would be very lush and green.
Turning to Sun Yung, Mike said, "I've very impressed."
"Does this make you happy?" Sun Yung asked.
"Yes," Mike answered.
Sun Yung gave Mike a half bow and said, "Good. My job is done. I come back for two hours a week to keep garden nice. Now, I go make garden for Teva. Good bye."
Mike stared at the retreating back of Sun Yung. He couldn't believe that the man would show off the garden and then leave like that. Turning to Kim Sung, he said, "I think I've only seen him four times since he started this job."
"Four times too many if you ask me," Kim said.
"Okay," Mike said wondering what the problem was between Kim and Sun.
Kim pointed to the bathing pond and said, "Now you try pond."
"I don't know if I have a swim suit," Mike said.
"No need. You have nothing I haven't seen thousands of times," Kim said.
Mike undressed in the enclosed patio. The air temperature was perfect for being naked. He entered the water making sure that he kept his bandaged left hand out of it. The water was just warm enough to be relaxing without being too hot to limit his time in the pond. He discovered that there were seats along the edge of the pond and sat down. The water came to below his nipples when he sat up straight.
Pointing to the opposite end of the bathing pool, Kim said, "There is better spot for you on the other side. The seat is a little lower."
Mike moved across the pond and found that the water level was just right. Laying his left hand across the rocks, he laid his head back finding that it fit nicely into a depression of the rock. He sighed in satisfaction and closed his eyes.
The sound of someone else entering the pond grabbed his attention. Opening his eyes, he saw Kim Sung entering the pool. She was naked and slid into the spot he had tried first. The water came to just over her bare breasts. She sighed and said, "I hate old man, but he does good work."
"Yes, he does," Mike agreed. His lower region reacted to her naked body, but he did his best to ignore it. He closed his eyes and leaned back enjoying the water.
He had nearly fallen asleep when he felt a hand stroking his cock. Opening his eyes, he found Kim staring intently at him while she aroused his member. She said, "You need me to do this. Close your eyes and relax."
It wasn't 'the voice, ' but he obeyed anyway. A moment later he felt her climb on him; his cock slipping into her. Despite the fact that his heart was screaming no, his body reacted automatically to the sensations. She brought him to a very nice climax. She eased off his cock and said, "You needed that. It has been too long since you have had woman and that is not good. It is not healthy. A man needs real sex to keep balanced."
"Thank you," Mike said thinking back to the advice he had been given by Larry. The guilt at cheating on Karen was diminished somewhat by the advice of his parents, her parents, and Larry.
Kim climbed out of the pond and said, "There is no need to thank me. I am your housekeeper. It is my job to keep you healthy."
Mike left the quarterly meeting of the Oversight Committee of Domestic Intelligence with a headache. One would think that three former Presidents and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court would be reasonable men who carefully considered the issues. Mike was a little overwhelmed by the Office of President, but he was rapidly losing respect for the men who held it in the past.
It didn't matter what subject was discussed in any given meeting, there were five very different and mutually exclusive opinions. The five of them couldn't agree on a single issue. Nothing was ever resolved in any of the meetings and Mike was pretty sure that it was not a good thing. Several surveillance operations had been canceled because the group couldn't agree what could be done, but they all agreed that how it was being done was wrong.
The meeting that day focused on the use of high tech surveillance equipment that had been developed to acquire intelligence information within houses inside the Muslim enclaves. Sending a cockroach sized mobile surveillance camera into someone's house was pretty intrusive and raised significant privacy issues. The Founding Fathers could never have imagined the existence of such a device.
Mike had argued for an area-wide form of warrant. He felt that if there was sufficient evidence that law enforcement officials would be attacked by an entire neighborhood when attempting to enter the area, that an appropriate level of prior surveillance was necessary to protect law enforcement while they were attempting to enforce the law of the land. He thought that an area-wide form of warrant based on clear criteria could serve as an appropriate vehicle to protect people's rights.
One former President kept repeating that appropriate legislation would make the question moot. The right bill would allow the President to make the final decision about such matters. It was his opinion that the current President was following a reasonable strategy for eliminating the terrorist threats on the domestic front.
The second former President felt that there had to be an individual warrant for each and every household. He didn't care that it might require as many as ten thousand individual warrants. The individual and property had to be named on the warrant.
The third former President felt that legislation would be required to set up a special court to oversee the issuance of appropriate search warrants on a case by case basis. Anyone arrested could appeal the case through the legal system until an authoritative ruling was made by the Supreme Court.
The Chief Justice said that it would depend on the circumstances, but that he wouldn't be comfortable arguing hypothetical situations. He required concrete situations against which to apply the constitution. His role with respect to the law was to refine the rough edges of how the constitution was interpreted.
Mike left the meeting knowing that he was going to have to deliver the order to cancel more than twenty surveillance operations. The only good thing that came out of the meeting was the decision that they could use them to look through windows. Once bullets were flying then using the high tech devices to search houses from which weapons fire was suspected of emerging was legal.
Under the guidance of President Anthony Archer, the spiral into social anarchy was halted. The number of deaths per week due to terrorist activities dropped to single digits for the first time since the New Years Massacre. It wasn't due to a lack of effort on the part of the terrorists. Their efforts were being thwarted before they could be effective. Enrollments in colleges rose for the first time since the mass murder rampages by terrorists on campuses had nearly destroyed higher education.
The Muslim population in the country was decreasing at an impressive rate. Each month, thousands of individuals with visa problems were deported with the stern warning that they were not to ever return or attempt to harm America. The military encounters with enclaves further reduced the population. Moderate Muslims fled the country knowing that they would be trapped between their radical brethren and very angry Americans.
It was virtually impossible for conservative Muslims to move around America without being observed. One word of Arabic was sufficient to rouse suspicions. A woman wearing a Burka was sufficient to identify the entire party as Muslim. People pointed to them as they moved from one place to another. Cops followed their cars just waiting for an excuse to stop them. Sanctuary cities stopped existing.
The Muslims weren't the only ones to suffer increased public scrutiny. All foreigners were watched with suspicion. Protests that profiling was illegal fell on deaf ears. It was hard to condemn profiling when everyone on the street looked at foreigners with the same level of distrust with which law enforcement had been accused.
The liberals who had been a major enabler for terrorism had lost power. Celebrities who had been too vocal with regard to liberal matters found their careers were dead. Arguments that America had to understand what motivated the terrorists to kill Americans were ignored. Who cared why someone was trying to kill you? When someone threatened to blow their self up in a crowd, it became kill or be killed. Americans were tired of being killed.
Although the price of oil had risen to over two hundred dollars a barrel, the economy didn't take the nosedive that many predicted. At four dollars a gallon, gasoline remained relatively cheap since alternative fuel sources had finally come of age. One of the surprises had been the development of a process for creating fuel from Kudzu, the plant that ate the south, and hemp. This process had actually relieved some of the price pressure on food that had resulted from using corn as a fuel source.
The Islamic world outside of American borders watched the trend with dismay. The superpower was not weakening like they thought it would. In fact, it appeared that it was getting stronger. The decadence that had fueled much of their anger appeared to be waning. Their anger turned to the local rulers in the belief that they were somehow supporting America. Political regimes all over the Middle East were toppled and replaced by Islamic radicals. Country after country declared war on the United States, but the oceans made the declarations meaningless.
Hidden alliances that had worked to keep America from exercising its real power were falling apart. China discovered that it was much more dependant on the American dollar than it had realized. Countries that had been manufacturing goods were dismayed as companies in the United States returned to local manufacturing. With the dangers of traveling overseas, tourism dollars from the United States dried up. That was a major hit to European economies.
The hemorrhage of money in research and engineering activities had stopped. Projects that would have once taken forever were being finished early and well under budget. A common phrase that was being increasingly heard in business was, "American ingenuity requires Americans, not Chinese or Indians." It was an unfair sentiment, but one that was being widely accepted.
As terrorism in other parts of the world rose, the attention of groups that had been highly critical of the United States turned to protecting their own citizens. Paris nearly exploded when the Muslim population staged a protest in which cars were burned, store windows were smashed, and the police were assaulted with Molotov Cocktails. That is not to say that Europe embraced America. Europe blamed America for creating the problem and then exporting it to them.
It was in this political environment that President Anthony Archer announced that America was ready to enter phase two of his war on terror. He demanded that foreign governments hunt down and kill terrorists living within their borders that had attacked American property and taken American lives. He warned that if those countries didn't take actions against the terrorists, that America would act.
President Archer justified his position by using an analogy based on a neighbor having a den of poisonous snakes in their backyard. He argued that if the neighbor wouldn't take care of the problem and the legal authorities were unwilling to act, then it was necessary to take care of the problem oneself. This was particularly true if the snakes were killing family members. It became a matter of self-defense.
He concluded his announcement by giving a list of countries that he expected to comply immediately with his demands. It was an announcement that rocked the world; particularly since the first two countries on the list were Canada and Mexico. Canadians were furious at the charge that they were supporting terrorism.
While tying the boat to the dock, Tim Brown glanced over at the miserable expressions on Mike's and Sanjay's faces. Laughing, he said, "The two of you are worthless."
"Hey, I'm working one handed over here," Mike complained while manhandling a rope with a single hand. His left hand was still bandaged, but he didn't think that removing the bandage would have improved the situation any.
Sanjay stood on crutches looking down at the boat seriously concerned that he wouldn't be able to get into it. With visions of ending up in the river with water over his head, he said, "This doesn't look good. I'm going to drown."
Tim laughed and said, "Don't worry about it. I'll take care of the boat. You two need to figure out how Sanjay is going to get into the boat."
It took fifteen minutes for them to get Sanjay in the boat, but soon thereafter they were headed down the river to one of Sanjay's favorite fishing spots. Sanjay was at the wheel piloting the boat. Tim was seated in the middle of the boat with Mike at the rear. Tim had suggested that seating arrangement so that he would be in a position to help the two cripples. While the boat was moving there wasn't much of a chance to talk. The noise from the engine overpowered human lungs.
The sudden quiet when Sanjay reached the destination was a blessing. The boat drifted with the current until Sanjay engaged the trolling motor. It took them a few minutes to organize themselves for fishing. Much to his chagrin, Mike had to have Tim attach the lure to his line. Sanjay didn't laugh at his friend's obvious frustration knowing that the minute he caught a fish that Tim was going to have to handle the net.
Mike cast his lure out towards the shore and started cranking it back. Smiling, he said, "Now that is more like it."
Although he appreciated having been asked to join them on the river, Tim was curious about why they had chosen him to join them. As far as he knew, neither one of them knew that he enjoyed fishing. He asked, "So why did you two decide to ask me to come fishing with you?"
"Sanjay and I were sitting around trying to figure out how we were going to get any time fishing this summer. I remembered that when you first approached me about joining the Intelligence 100 that you used going fishing as an excuse," Mike answered.
"I forgot about that," Tim said although he wasn't surprised by Mike's ability to recall little facts like that. It was one of the things that made Mike such a good analyst. He said, "I do appreciate the invitation. The past few years have kept me from doing things like this. Fighting cancer took a lot out of me. Add long working hours on top of that and I was more than happy to spend my time off asleep in bed."
"I know what you mean," Mike said casting again towards the shore.
Tim opened the bag he had brought with him and pulled out a thermos. Holding it up, he asked, "Coffee anyone?"
Thinking about the kind of juggling that drinking a coffee and a fishing pole would require, Mike answered, "Maybe a little later."
"I'll take some," Sanjay said bobbling his head.
Tim poured out two cups of coffee and handed one to Sanjay. After taking a sip of his coffee, Tim said, "Being out here lets me think that life is returning to normal."
"It is a little better," Sanjay said. He was wearing his jacket with an American flag on the shoulders. He had bought it in the hope that people wouldn't look at him with so much hostility, but it hadn't worked. The fact was that things had eased off a little over the past month or so as more terrorists died without killing Americans.
"We'll see what happens when we bomb Toronto," Tim said.
Mike and Sanjay both turned to look at Tim. Mike asked, "We're going to bomb Toronto?"
"I gave the GPS coordinates of the homes of five major terrorist leaders to the Air Force yesterday. These terrorists have been operating out of Toronto. They have been coordinating the smuggling of military supplies across our border. They were responsible for some of the most devastating attacks against us," Tim answered.
"Wow," Sanjay said. He was very surprised that President Archer would actually make good on his threats.
"Yes, wow," Tim said chuckling. Shaking his head, he said, "We have asked Canadian officials to take these guys into custody over a dozen times, but they refused each time. They said that the men had not been observed breaking Canadian law and that Canada didn't want to get dragged into America's problems. The real problem is that they don't want to extradite them to us because we'll put them to death."
"Shit," Mike said.
"Hey, they have a huge Muslim population that has been acquiring political power there. The leadership doesn't want to rock the boat," Tim said shrugging his shoulders. He understood their attitude, but knew that it was a strategy that was doomed to failure in the long run.
"The terrorists are losing the war here, but winning it everywhere else," Sanjay said shaking his head.
"I wonder if President Archer understands the full consequences of his actions. Does he think that if we blow up terrorists in other countries that the leadership of those countries will blame us publicly even while covertly supporting our actions," Mike said.
Tim said, "I'm not so sure that he does understand. I'd be really pissed if the Canadian government bombed someplace here in America regardless of their reason. I'm sure the average Canadian feels the same way about us bombing them."
"That is too true," Sanjay said bobbling his head.
"Oh shit! I caught one!" Mike said trying to set the hook and reel in the fish.
Although his left hand slipped off the handle a few times, Mike managed to bring the fish up to the boat. Tim was ready with the net but Mike lifted the fish out of the water with the pole. It was probably the smallest bass that Mike had ever caught in his life. It was almost five inches long. Looking at it, he asked, "Isn't that a monster?"
Tim grabbed the fish and removed it from the hook. He held it up and asked, "Is it a keeper?"
"A fish that large should be mounted on the wall of your house," Sanjay said laughing.
Tim released the fish and said, "He'll grow up to be a monster one of these days. He's learned a lesson from this."
The Wolf News Channel, over that weekend, carried a report about a protest that was taking place outside of what had once been a New York strip club. The club had been burned to the ground earlier that week by a Muslim man. The man had been caught while trying to rape one of the strippers after starting the fire.
Mike watched as a stripper was being interviewed outside the burned out shell that had once been the place of her employment. The stripper was giving the interview topless and for a change the image of her breasts was not being pixilated out. Behind her, another half dozen women, all of whom were topless, were standing around carrying signs that read, 'Down with Islam, ' 'Proud to be an American Woman, ' and 'I Will Never Wear A Burka.'
Not believing his eyes, Mike listened as the reporter asked, "Why are you topless?"
"The terrorists hate American women for being proud of the fact that we're women," the stripper answered. Pointing to her breasts, she stared at the camera and said, "I'm a woman and I'm proud of it. I'm showing off my breasts to make a point."
The reporter asked, "What point?"
"The terrorists aren't going to force me to wear a tent that covers me from head to toe. I'm doing exactly the opposite of what they want. I'm not wearing a top until those <bleep> are wiped off the face of this planet," the stripper answered.
Taking the interview as a joke, Mike chuckled and said, "That's one
way of showing those bastards."