Cathy and Mike were at his house watching an old black and white movie relaxing after a busy week at the Internet Cafe. It was a Charlie Chan film and the great detective had just solved the case despite the help of his number one son. The world presented in it was so much simpler than the world in which they lived. As the film came to an end, Cathy asked, "Was life ever that simple?"
"I doubt it," Mike answered.
"You're probably right," Cathy said.
After a moment of silence, Mike asked, "How are the plans for the wedding going?"
"Good. I thought it was going to be real stressful, but your mother and mother-in-law have been great," Cathy answered glancing down at the diamond engagement ring that Mike had given her. She had been very fearful of meeting Mike's in-laws, but they had embraced her like a daughter.
"That's good," Mike said. Knowing that one of the more stressful activities of a bride was finding a wedding dress, he asked, "Have you gotten a dress yet?"
"Louise and I went shopping and found one. I know it'll be ready in time for the ceremony since Kim is doing the tailoring," Cathy answered. Despite the rushed nature of the wedding, most of the arrangements were complete. The church had been finalized, the reception hall reserved, and the flowers ordered. They were still working with the caterer on the menu.
"Sanjay told me that they received their invitation," Mike said.
"Sally took care of that. She's a wonder when it comes to those kinds of details," Cathy said. Her mother was taking care of the food and band. Mike's mother was dealing with the church and the reception hall.
"It's nice that everyone is working together so well," Mike said.
"Yes," Cathy answered. She had watched a couple of shows about planning weddings and had nightmares about it for a week. After a short conversation with Kim, she had come to the conclusion that so long as she was the center of attention that the wedding would be a success. Everything else was just for show and didn't have to be perfect. Kim had joked that the bride's name had to be spelled correctly on the wedding invitation, but it didn't matter how they spelled the groom's name. No one read the invitation beyond the bride's name. The conversation had actually relieved a lot of the stress.
"It is in two months," Mike said feeling like the event was rushing at him at the speed of light.
"We're supposed to be moving in four months," Cathy said. Every time the moving date had approached, it had been pushed back because of the events occurring in the Middle East. They were scheduled to go visit Texas the next week to look for a house and to check out the facilities. She was looking forward to the trip.
Kim entered the living room and looked at the pair on the couch. Shaking her head, she said, "You two are pathetic. What are you doing sitting here talking about this and that like complete strangers? Go in the bedroom and engage in pillow talk like young lovers should."
Cathy laughed at the shocked expression on Mike's face and said, "She's right."
With the Americans moving through the Middle East like a hot knife through butter, the situation in Europe had taken a turn for the worse. At first, the radical Muslim elements located in Europe were divided in what should be done. Some wanted to return to the Middle East to fight the Americans, but the majority recognized the futility of doing that. There was no one to fight in the Middle East except for bombs that dropped from the sky.
The more reasoned option was to turn Europe into the new Middle East and use that new base as a foundation from which to strike out at the United States. After a great debate over the internet, that is what the radical elements decided to do. The Americans had intercepted the discussion and forwarded a warning to the leadership of Europe. The Europeans actually believed the warning for a change.
Across Europe the reaction to the warning was the same. National leaders sought out moderate Muslims to establish a dialog about how tensions could be reduced. The unfortunate thing was that the moderate Muslims had little or no influence over their radical brethren. As the talks progressed, the radicals prepared for war.
The war for Europe started with simple riots, but quickly escalated into armed battles in the street. Years of allowing individuals to preach hate within Mosques had produced a bitter fruit. Tens of thousands of men and women attacked the West without regard for their own life. Having been taught from birth that Allah would reward them in the afterlife for bringing Jihad against the infidels, the terrorists were fearless.
Buildings that had stood for four and five centuries burned to the ground. In Paris, the Cathedral of Notre Dame was firebombed. The stone of the cathedral was undamaged, but the interior was destroyed. This was the event that turned the French against the Muslims to a point beyond any chance of forgiveness. Parisians, who prided themselves on their sophistication and diplomatic skills, literally beat Muslims to death in the street with their bare fists.
A number of European countries found that they were on the verge of losing the battle against the fundamentalists. They had underestimated the ruthlessness with which the terrorists fought. They turned to each other for aid, but there was very little that the countries could do for each other. The situation quickly spiraled out of control. Families were getting killed in their homes. Desperate, governments turned to the United States for help.
The United States provided a handful of advisors and some out of date weapons in the form of rifles. The rifles meant that men needed to fight men. The advisors just repeated the same advice over and over  kill the terrorists without remorse. Across Europe, men found they were fighting radical men, women, and children in brutal combat. Psychologically, the European soldiers were not prepared for that kind of engagement.
After three months of half measures, the leadership accepted the facts about the enemy they faced. This was an enemy that fought without rules. It was a trained army that didn't fight as an army. Truces were used by the enemy as a means to regroup and attack with renewed vigor. Following the pattern established by the Americans, missiles and bombs replaced bullets and entire neighborhoods of Muslims were destroyed.
By the time the fighting wound down, the face of Europe was forever changed. Buildings that had withstood World War II now were in ruins. In places, the citizens had gone well beyond excess in their response. Few people felt they could hold the moral high ground and criticism of the United States for its actions in dealing with the terrorists ended.
Lisa looked at Mike with a studied expression. Concerned, she said, "You seem a little concerned about the wedding."
Mike bit his lower lip for a second and then said, "I've been having nightmares."
"Would you tell me about them?" Lisa asked.
Mike answered, "I'm back at the parking lot of the mall and the victims of the poison gas attack are on the ground in the going to die section of the triage area. I look around at all of the people there. I'm surrounded by everyone that I know. Karen is there and I'm holding her hand. This time, Cathy is there, Kim, Sanjay, Teva, Bob, Ellen, and... well every one."
"How does it make you feel?" Lisa asked.
"Empty," Mike answered. Shaking his head, he said, "I feel like my ability to care has been sucked out of me."
Lisa wrote some notes on her pad and asked, "Is this a recent feeling?"
"Yes," Mike answered.
She waited to see if he would volunteer some more information. After a few seconds, she asked, "When did it start?"
"I don't know exactly. I guess it was when we were advancing on Iran and they were sending the women and children out to die. I kept watching the kids, some of them only eight or nine years of age, running forwards shouting, Allah Akbar, over and over. I was thinking that these kids should be playing with toy cars, not sacrificing their lives," Mike answered.
Lisa scratched some notes into her pad and then said, "You've been involved in the war in a very direct manner. Are you afraid that your involvement in it is killing your ability to feel?"
"This war has taught me to feel things that I never thought I'd feel. I hate this war. I hate what it is doing to me. I hate what it is doing to this country," Mike answered.
"How does that make you feel?" Lisa asked.
"I hate it," Mike answered with a snort.
Deciding that she had focused too long on the negative emotions he was feeling, Lisa asked, "Do you love Cathy?"
Mike was silent for a moment and then nodded his head. He answered, "I do."
"Then concentrate on your love for her. Concentrate on your love for your friends. I think that will help the hate that you feel abate," Lisa said.
President Archer's announcement that he was not running for a second term shocked the nation. Members of his party were furious, but President Archer was unmovable on the subject. He recommended a far more moderate candidate than the Republican Committee had even considered.
After several brutal meetings with the committee members, he called Mike over for a private lunch in the White House dining room. Although Mike's recommendation that he not run for a second term had rankled, a little thought had convinced him that Mike had been right. The fact was that he trusted Mike's advice.
Tony looked across the table at Mike after the soup course had been served. In a serious voice, he said, "I need to convince the party to run a moderate candidate. They want to run a candidate who will continue as I have done."
"I was afraid of that," Mike said. He had listened to conservative news analysts talk about the need to clean up South America and Africa. It was as though the country had begun to think about world domination.
"What can I do?"
Mike ate a little of his soup while thinking about the question. His thoughts turned his stomach and he pushed the bowl of soup away. In a tired voice, he said, "They see your legacy as being pretty good. You've defeated terrorism at home. The war overseas is going very well. From their perspective, they want to build on that legacy."
"I know."
Mike said, "So show them the flip side of your legacy."
"What do you mean?"
Mike said, "Show them the death and destruction that we've created in fighting this war. Force them to face the reality of what we've done. Convince them that the man they need after The Great Destroyer is The Great Constructor."
"I suppose that I can show them some declassified film," President Archer said thoughtfully.
"I'm not talking about film. I'm talking about taking them into Baghdad and Tehran," Mike said.
"There's nothing there," President Archer said. His eyes widened when he realized what Mike was telling him.
"That's right. Show them the destroyed buildings that have buried the dead bodies. Let them smell the air and throw up when they realize that the stench is rotting human flesh. They need to know that is what you've done as President," Mike said.
"I can't get them to go there like that," President Archer said.
"You're going to be right there with them pointing out what has to be done to fix what we've wrought," Mike said looking the man in the eye.
"You can be a pretty fucking brutal man. Has anyone ever told you that?" President Archer asked.
"Yes," Mike answered.
President Archer pushed away his bowl of soup and said, "I've lost my appetite."
Mike sighed and said, "I'm a Marine. My father is a Marine. My Grandfather, God rest his soul, was a Marine. Marines get the tough jobs that have to be done and we do them. We pay the price so that others don't have to. I fight for this country. I want to know that after the fight is over that my country remains as good and strong as it was before the fight. I think that as Commander in Chief that you should have the same desire to make sure that this country is as good and strong as it was before this war."
Anthony Archer looked down at the table and swallowed. In a soft voice, he said, "You're right. I'll take them on a tour."
"Take the Democrats, too," Mike said confident that Tony would object.
Tony was about to reject the suggestion out of hand, but held his tongue. He sat back and thought about it. Both sides of the race needed to understand what was really at stake. Nodding his head, he said, "I agree on one condition."
Surprised with the ease with which the President had capitulated, Mike asked, "What?"
"You go with us and explain it to them," Anthony answered. He needed someone along who could be brutal with the truth.
"Yes, sir," Mike said. He looked down at his soup and muttered, "Semper Fi."
The Mexican Army along with Iranian forces crossed the American border at three separate places at four o'clock in the morning. They managed to make it one hundred yards before death rained down on them from above. There weren't many survivors and those who did survive would never be the same.
Forty minutes later, destruction came to the handful of military bases across Mexico. Within ten minutes, there was no sign that the Iranian base had ever existed. The destruction was absolute and total. America was not going to fight a war on two fronts and did not waste any time taking care of the threat south of the border.
The government of Mexico collapsed within hours. American forces moved in and took control of the country. It was not a minimal projection of force. Seven hundred thousand troops moved into the country along with tank and air support. After seeing what the Americans were capable of doing if one of its citizens were killed, the Mexican populace walked softly out of fear of triggering a massive response.
A week later, the engineers moved into Mexico along with their plans for the reconstruction of the country. Trucks with heavy equipment started rolling into Mexico City. Construction materials appeared almost by magic. Once word had spread, thousands of Mexicans lined up to work. There was a real sense that things were about to change in a country in which the majority of residents had only known abject poverty.
An old chapter in American-Mexican relations had been closed and a new chapter was about to begin. It didn't necessarily mean that the new chapter was going to be peaceful. There were still hundreds of Muslim enclaves scattered across Central and South America that had to be addressed. On the plus side, the southern border of the United States had shrunk significantly. It was now around seven hundred and fifty miles.
The civil war in Damascus ended with the wrong side winning. The radicals were better armed and better trained. Nearly two thirds of the population had been killed in the fighting. The atrocities committed during the fight made those watching sick to their stomach.
On seeing the outcome, the Army aimed their rail guns at Damascus. At midnight, the guns started firing and continued for the next forty-eight hours. There was nothing but a pile of rubble left when the guns finally went silent.
As they had discovered after the fall of Bagdad, the fact that the city was leveled did not mean that the terrorists had died. It only meant that they had gone underground. After the guns quieted down, the Army sent in the Giant Spiders. These were larger versions of the spiders used in the caves of Afghanistan to clear the area of terrorists. The Giant Spiders would dig through the rubble seeking entrances to underground structures.
The level of Damascus had settled four feet when the underground structures were destroyed. That still did not mean that the terrorists had been stamped out. Many escaped before the structures settled to the ground. Those who managed to escape were taken down by the flock of Pigeons circling over the city.
A week after the first shot had been fired from the rail gun, the Proxy-Soldiers moved into the ruins. They were still shot at by a handful of survivors. The Proxy Soldiers left the city. A laser perimeter was established around the ruined city and Wasps put into place to kill anything that broke the beam. Pigeons flew over the city looking for anything that moved.
The Army passed around the villages and towns that had surrendered to engage the towns that hadn't. Syria fell and the destruction moved into Lebanon and Jordan.
After nine months of leading the American forces through Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, General Bowman turned over command to another General. It was difficult to characterize his leadership. Very few Americans had died in the campaign. On the other hand, his campaign had killed more people than any other campaign in history. Sherman's March to the Sea now looked like Sherman's stroll through the park.
On the afternoon Robert was due to arrive home, Mike and Cathy waited at the airport with Louise for his arrival. Mike was the first to spot his father and was shocked at how much he had aged in the time since he had left. His father looked and moved like a tired old man.
Cathy squeezed Mike's hand out of nervousness. She hadn't met Mike's father and was very worried about how he would like her. Mike looked over at her and said, "Don't worry, he'll love you."
"You're a darling young woman. You'll have him wrapped around your finger in no time," Louise added with a smile.
Robert walked over to his wife and hugged her. It was a long hug that held a hint of desperation about it. After an awkwardly long time, he released her and said, "I really missed you."
Louise looked in his eyes and saw nothing but pain. In a soft voice, she said, "I missed you too. I'm glad to have you at home."
"It is good to be home," Robert said. Looking over at Mike, Robert said, "It's good to see you, son."
"It's good to see you, General," Mike answered. There were wrinkles around his father's eyes that had never been there. His hair had turned gray. It seemed to Mike that the sparkle in his father's eye had disappeared.
In a very tired voice, Robert said, "Son, never call me General again."
Having an idea of the kinds of things that his father had seen, Mike understood. He couldn't imagine living with the consequences of the orders that his father had to give. Nodding his head, Mike said, "Yes, Dad."
Robert smiled at Mike and gave him an approving nod. Looking over at Cathy, Robert said, "You must be Cathy."
"Yes, sir. It's very nice to meet you," Cathy said.
"Call me Dad. You're family now," Robert said with a smile.
"Thank you," Cathy said relaxing a little.
Seeing his father rub his stomach, Mike asked, "Would you like to get something to eat?"
"That would be nice. I could use a good meal that didn't come out of a plastic wrapper," Robert answered referring to the modern MRE. He looked around the airport and said, "I have to wait for my duffle bag."
"Stay here, Dad. I'll take care of it," Mike said looking for the sign for the luggage area.
"My aide is taking care of it," Robert said. He sighed and said, "I'm going to miss having him around when I retire. I think that is all that I'm going to miss."
Mike and Cathy were seated in the first class section on a flight to Dallas, Texas. So far, it had been a relatively smooth flight despite a few storms between Dulles and DFW Airport. Patting Cathy's hand, Mike said, "The last time I had to fly somewhere, I was required to take a military flight rather than a civilian one. It was felt that a civilian flight was too dangerous."
"I guess things have changed a little," Cathy said. This was her first flight and she had been scared to death of flying. Three glasses of wine had eased a little of the terror, but she had squeezed Mike's hand through the take off and first thirty minutes of the flight. Fortunately, it was Mike's good hand that she held.
"They've changed a lot since then," Mike said.
"What do you think was the biggest change?" Cathy asked.
"I fell in love," Mike answered. He took her hand and kissed it.
"You say the nicest things to me," Cathy said with a dismissive laugh. She said, "I'm serious. What is the biggest change since then?"
Mike said, "I am being serious. For a long time I felt that I would never feel love again."
Cathy's eyes misted and she said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to laugh at you."
"Don't apologize."
Cathy turned to face Mike. After licking her lips, she said, "You still love Karen. You miss her and Robert, don't you?"
Mike took a sip of his scotch. They had never talked about his feelings towards Karen and Robert. He had never brought the subject up out of fear that Cathy would insist that he forget them. Nodding his head, he answered, "Yes. I miss them very much."
"I'm glad to hear that," Cathy said.
Surprised by her reaction, Mike asked, "Why?"
Cathy gave him a small smile and then leaned over to kiss him. She answered, "I don't think I would like loving a man who could put his feelings for his late wife and son on a shelf like some sort of used toy. I want a man who loves with honesty. I want a man who loves forever."
"I thought you would be jealous," Mike said.
"I couldn't be jealous of her. If she were still alive, I would probably envy her for having found you first," Cathy said.
Lazlo Zalzac