Chapter 48
The march of the American military across the world ended with the same suddenness as it had begun. With the fall of Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Somalia there just weren't any more major countries left to fight. The Europeans had been trying to deal with Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria. That ended when the Americans gave the British a half of a million Pigeons. The conflict came to a very decisive end.
The South America countries were predominately Catholic. Having seen the destruction that resulted when the Americans took care of the problem of Islamic fascists, the governments there went after the Muslim enclaves. Many politicians in Central and South America discovered that the support they had been getting from some very wealthy people had dried up. A lot of anti-American rhetoric tapered off to nothing.
With the fighting at an end, the Americans packed up and left the areas they had conquered. They left behind minimal forces to protect the oil facilities and a few lightly staffed military bases. It wasn't quite clear who they were protecting the oil fields from, but no one wanted to tempt fate by trying to take an oil field. The oil was flowing just as it had been before the Americans had started their march across the Muslim world. The price of oil had even stabilized now that threats to the supply had ended.
The troops returned home to muted celebrations. The country was proud of the men and women who had achieved victory, but the pride was tinged with a small seed of shame. There had been a lot of death and no one really knew how to deal with the national guilt of having killed so many people.
That uncertainty was reflected in the primaries. The candidates for President who won their parties primaries were very moderate across all of the political issues. It looked like the fight for President was going to be less divisive, but more closely contested. The two men had different philosophies on how to go about resolving the major issues, but they basically agreed on what the issues were and what a successful resolution would require.
The American electorate had changed significantly over the past eight years. It had learned from experience that the men and women elected to lead the country had a real effect on their day to day lives. No one could forget the fear that had been present when terrorists had been running around the country killing at will.
The lesson that what occurred in other countries could affect life in America had also been ingrained into the average American. People watched and discussed international news with the kind of passion that had once been given to professional sports. The cable services now carried television channels from just about every country in the world.
One surprising consequence was the number of people who were learning foreign languages so that they could watch the news without having to read the subtitles. Although people were learning foreign languages in greater numbers than ever in the past, the only language heard in public was English. Even speaking Spanish could trigger a very negative reaction from others. The exception was when someone wanted to insult a foreign country. At those times, they would use the appropriate language to make sure that anyone of that country knew they were being insulted.
President Archer made a visit to the General Assembly of the United Nations accompanied by the two candidates for President. In a speech that was broadcast around the world, he announced the end of America's involvement in the war on terror. He was moving into the third phase of his plan to make the world safe for Americans.
He then laid out what he called the Archer Doctrine. Within it was a four point plan for the future of American relations with the rest of the world. He warned those in attendance that they would not like the Archer Doctrine. Based on his reputation, everyone in the audience braced for the worst.
The first point of his plan stunned everyone including the translators. The United States was going to withdraw as a member nation. This was effectively the death knell for the United Nations. He also said that the United Nations was no longer welcome in New York. President Archer waited until there was some sort of reaction from those in attendance. Once he was sure that he had their attention, he said that the United Nations, if it was going to continue to exist, had until the end of his term to leave the country.
The second point to his plan convinced everyone gathered in the General Assembly room that the United States was turning completely isolationist. He said that all embassies and consulates in the United States were going to be closed. It was his contention that having foreign agents running loose inside the country was foolish from a security perspective. As was the case with the United Nations, they had until the end of his term to vacate the country. The practice of state visits could continue, but they would require significant lead time to arrange.
All American Embassies overseas were going to close as well. He argued that with telephones, video conference capabilities, and news services that the old practices of having physical representation within another country had outlived its usefulness. He stated that within a month all embassies and consulates would be emptied of all American personnel.
Part of his plan was the establishment of an international complex in which ambassadors of every country could meet. It was already being built in Mexico, a country that was now an American Protectorate. Centralized meeting facilities would be constructed and managed by the United States, but that was as far as the country was willing to go. Countries would be given land and could build whatever living and meeting facilities they wanted on that land. Any signs of weapons entering or exiting those facilities would be viewed as an act of war.
The third point of his plan was that the American border of the country proper was going to remain closed to everyone until one of his successors opened it. Most of the terrorists had entered the United States through legitimate means. Some came as immigrants while others came as tourists and businessmen. Until a means of protecting the country from individuals who meant it harm had been put into place, America was not accepting the huddled masses cast off by other countries.
He also argued that countries needed to start taking better care of its citizens. There was no reason why so many should want to flee their country of origin. If people wanted to come to the United States because of the opportunities it provided, then why weren't the opportunities available where they originated? Too much of America's problem with immigration was actually a symptom of problems in other countries. He demanded that the other countries take care of their problems first before expecting the United States to open its arms to their citizens.
Until the borders were opened, all trade with America was going to have to flow through Mexico. All products being shipped to the United States would have to pass through one of three major ports of Mexico. Once goods reached the port, the final leg of transportation would have to be performed by an American shipping company. Representatives of foreign companies would have to meet in Mexico to arrange contracts with America firms. International companies would have to have their headquarters in Mexico and would not be allowed to have managers with foreign citizenship inside the United States.
The fourth point of his plan was that America was not going to provide any economic, technical, or political aid to any nation in the world until the world came up with a new model for international relations. He stressed that this model would have to assure that the situation that had led to the war on terrorism would never occur again. He warned them that whatever model was adopted would have to be acceptable to the United States and that it would no longer accept any treaty that was detrimental to the security of the country.
In a very forceful manner, he said that the United States would not accept a world government. There was no way that the country would accept being an equal partner with third world nations that couldn't handle their own problems. There was no way that the country would accept dictators who stepped into power through force of arms as having any voice in what happened inside America. Too many countries in the United Nations had actively worked to destroy America as a superpower rather than try to improve their own countries to the same level.
He also accepted that not giving those countries a voice would return the world to a state of tension equal to, or worse than, what had triggered the latest upheaval. The model for international relations would have to give those countries choices with which they could live. The days of throwing money at problems had to come to an end.
He pointed to the two candidates for his office and identified that it would be up to one of them to direct America's contribution to the development of that model. He warned the representatives that America had a very powerful weapon in its political war chest. If the next President was not satisfied with the progress being made towards establishing a realistic model for international relations, they could always cut off the supply of oil to the rest of the world.
Mike watched the speech with a smile on his face. The first point of Archer Doctrine was long overdue. He felt that the inability of the United Nations to solve any real international problems had led directly to the war on terror. How many resolutions did it take before the United Nations would enforce one? How could they put a nation that had more human rights violations than any other country in charge of human rights? How many times had the United Nations stood by and watched a country kill off its own people in bloodbaths? As far as Mike was concerned, the United Nations was a useless organization. Like the old League of Nations, the United Nations didn't deserve to remain functioning.
There was one area where the United Nations had been effective and that was in the area of disease. The United Nations had stamped out smallpox. Mike had talked with President Archer and the two candidates about the need to continue the World Health Organization. His argument had won the day and it was the one UN organization that the country would continue to support. He had accepted that it could be headquartered in Mexico just as easily as in New York.
Mike felt that the second point should have been implemented early in the war on terror. Although President Archer had closed the borders to all visas, he had reopened the border for diplomats. Each country was granted fifty diplomatic visas. Now he was closing the border to even the diplomats. Homeland Security had found that many of the individuals sent over were trying to re- establish the spy networks that had been closed when so many people had been arrested as a result of the work of the Intelligence 100.
Mike believed that closing embassies and consulates would actually have a much broader and positive effect than most people would expect. For impoverished countries, the cost of establishing quality communications was a lot less than staffing embassies in every country in the world. They would also be able to save the cost of hosting embassies. He wasn't sure how much countries like Moldova had to spend every year, but he was sure that it was a pretty significant amount. With the United States as an example, he expected that most countries would chose to close their offices in other countries as well.
The idea of using Mexico as a buffer zone between the United States and the rest of the world had come out of left field. Mike had no idea who had suggested that little idea, but someone in the State Department deserved a raise for it. One of the arguments for keeping the United Nations alive was that the world needed a place where representatives could meet to discuss problems of mutual interest and resolve conflicts. The International Complex in Mexico would serve that purpose. It did so without creating a bureaucracy that would eventually become corrupt.
Watching the news with Mike, Cathy had listened to the Archer Doctrine trying to comprehend the full consequences of it. Shaking her head, she said, "I think we live in interesting times."
"I disagree with you on that. I think that the interesting times have come to an end. I imagine that the next few years are going to be very boring," Mike said.
"You might be right," Cathy said watching the interviews with various diplomats after the speech. She gestured to the television and said, "The Secretary General looks like he swallowed a lemon."
Mike laughed and said, "Someone should point out that he gets the unique opportunity to be the last Secretary General of the United Nations. I'm sure that would cheer him up a little."
Cathy looked at him out of the corner of her eye and asked, "Has anyone ever told you that you can be a ruthless bastard on occasion?"
Mike laughed at the question and said, "President Archer says that to me just about every time we meet. In fact, that seems to be a general consensus among Presidents."
"Okay, I was just checking," Cathy replied with a smile.
The tone of the interviews seemed to change a little as the points of the Archer Doctrine sank in. After a representative from Paraguay suggested that maybe the Americans had a point, Mike said, "I think they are beginning to realize that President Archer did not cut diplomatic relations with anyone. He just changed the nature of those relations."
"I wonder how many people studying international relations in college are pulling their hair out right about now," Cathy said.
Although the sale of the house had not yet been completed, Mike handed the keys for the house to Bob. Gesturing to his house, he said, "I hope you enjoy living here as much as I did."
"I'm sure I'll enjoy it," Bob said. He had gone on the inspection walkthrough of the house. The inspector had been very impressed with the quality of the work in the house. Everything was well above code. Bob was sure that he'd be able to live there for a long time without having to perform repairs.
"Let me tell you a little about the neighborhood before we go. The neighbors over there are pretty nice, but I understand they're moving," Mike said pointing over to Bob's house.
Bob laughed when Mike had pointed to his house. Pointing to his house, he said, "I heard the people who live there are an old pair of fuddy-duddies."
"They'll surprise you," Mike said with a wink.
"We're going to miss having you for neighbors," Bob said looking down at the grass. If asked, he'd be hard pressed to say why he liked Mike so much from the first time he had met him. He recalled getting asked about Mike by the FBI agent when Mike had first moved into the neighborhood. After living with loud neighbors, his first reaction was to worry, but Mike's casual acceptance had relieved any concerns.
"You've been a very good neighbor. I owe you a lot of thanks for all the things you've done for me," Mike said.
"It is going to be boring around here with you gone," Bob said with a grin.
Looking over at the car where Cathy and Kim waited for him, Mike said, "I guess I had better go before Kim starts yelling at me."
Bob chuckled at the reference to who ruled Mike's house. He held out a hand and said, "I wish you a safe trip."
"Thanks." Mike shook Bob's hand and said, "Goodbye, Bob."
"Take care of yourself, Mike," Bob said watching Mike walk over to his car. Mike was the most capable person of taking care of himself and his family that he knew.
Mike realized that he had made a mistake in planning the route by which they were driving to Texas as soon as they hit Tennessee. Until that time everything had gone perfectly. The plan was to drive four hundred miles the first day, four hundred miles the second day, and the remainder of the twelve hundred mile trip the third day.
They could have made the trip in two days, but he didn't want to kill himself with driving ten or more hours a day. After discussing the matter with Cathy, they had agreed that shorter seven hour segments would be much better. They could sleep late, have breakfast and leave at a reasonable hour. They could stop and have long relaxing lunches at nice places. They would be able to spend a late evening by the pool or at the bar having drinks.
To help pass the time, Mike and Cathy were playing a little game making up sentences out of the letters on license plates. Cathy pointed to a car with the license plate, 'WER 897.' She said, "Women enjoy romance."
"I never would have guessed that," Mike said with a wink. A car pulled in front of them with the license plate, 'CLA 329.' Mike pointed at it and said, "Cathy loves anal."
Cathy laughed and said, "I don't know which Cathy you're talking about, but I guarantee you that it isn't the same one sitting in the car with you."
"Aw," Mike said just in time to see a large sign by the side of the highway. Mike pointed to it and said, "Welcome to Tennessee."
That was the moment when Mike's travels plan were thrown out the window. A quiet little voice rose from the back seat and spoke one word that sent chills down Mike's spine. "Elvis."
Cathy glanced at Mike and giggled at the look on his face. She knew how it was going to turn out and wondered if Mike was going to give in easily or go down fighting. Instead of saying anything, Mike kept his eyes on the road trying to pretend that he hadn't heard anything. A little louder, Kim said, "Elvis."
Mike turned up the radio and continued driving. He knew the battle was over when Kim tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Elvis. We go see Elvis."
"You mean Graceland?" Mike asked.
"Yes. I go see his home," Kim said. She looked at him with a hopeful smile.
"We'll get to Memphis too late tomorrow to see Graceland," Mike said gently. He hoped that by not exactly saying no to her that he could cut off the discussion. It was a slim chance and he knew it.
Seated in the backseat of the car, Kim had spent most of day looking over the map. She said, "No. I work it out on the map. We drive a little longer today and get closer to Memphis. We leave tomorrow very early and get there by noon. I get to see Elvis."
Mike looked over at Cathy to see what she thought of the idea. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "We can relax by the pool while she goes to Graceland."
"Okay," Mike said knowing that he wasn't going to win this one. Thinking that his plans for a leisurely trip had just gone out the window, he said, "Alright. Where do we stop for the night?"
Mike pulled into Memphis feeling tired and irritable. Cathy wasn't in much better shape. As soon as they had checked into the hotel, Kim was in a taxi and on her way to Graceland. Shaking his head, Mike had watched her go off. He said, "I never would have pegged her as an Elvis fan."
"She's a surprising woman at times," Cathy said. Once Mike had agreed to adjust the schedule so that Kim could visit Graceland, Kim had regaled them with little details about the life of Elvis.
"Yes," Mike said. He looked over at the chain restaurant next to the hotel. He was hungry and didn't want to spend the time to look for a better place to eat. He asked, "How about a little lunch over at that place there?"
"I'll eat anything," Cathy said. The convenience store breakfast hadn't been all that good or filling.
"After we get something to eat, would you like to take a nap?"
"You bet," Cathy said. Getting up at five in the morning so that they could reach Memphis by noon was not her idea of a nice leisurely drive.
As they walked over to the restaurant, Mike said, "This is not how I planned the trip."
"I know, but visiting Graceland means so much to Kim," Cathy said.
"I know. If I had known that she wanted to see Graceland, I would have added a day to our travel time," Mike said.
Cathy looked over at Mike realizing that he would have done exactly that. She wrapped an arm around his and said, "Yes, but I don't think she realized that we would be driving through Memphis until we hit the road."
"Right," Mike said holding the door of the restaurant open for Cathy.
She passed through the doorway thinking that she was lucky to have married a man who still held the door open for women. He even held the chair out for her when they were led to the table. More than one woman watched with envy. Once Mike had taken his seat, Cathy said, "Thank you."
"For what?" Mike asked puzzled.
"For being so considerate. You make me feel so special. Half of the women in this place wish they were me," Cathy said looking around the room.
"It is just how I was raised," Mike said.
"Thank you, any way," Cathy said.
After the waitress took their orders, Mike said, "I can't wait to get to Texas. I feel like we are starting all over again."
"Same here," Cathy said.
Looking around nervously, Mike broached a topic that they had been avoiding. He asked, "What do you think about having a child or two when we get settled into our new house?"
"I like the idea. I like it a lot," Cathy said. She'd been worried about how she was going to raise the subject.
"Good. Me, too," Mike said smiling broadly.
Cathy looked across the table at Mike feeling more in love with him than ever. She leaned across the table and, in a voice that wouldn't carry beyond him, said, "I love you Mike Bowman."
"I love you, Cathy Bowman," Mike replied.
The visit to Graceland had affected Kim far more than she had thought it would. It had been a bittersweet experience. Listening to the music during the tour had brought back many memories of her days as a younger woman. They had just crossed into Texas from Arkansas when Kim realized that she hadn't thanked Mike for going out of the way so that she could visit Graceland. She tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Thank you so much for letting me see Elvis."
"It was no problem. I'm glad that you got a chance to see it," Mike said. After their nap the previous afternoon, Cathy and he had repeated major parts of their honeymoon. It had turned into a pleasant stay at the hotel.
Kim had been very quiet after her visit to Graceland. She hadn't really said more than three words since breakfast. Pleased to see her starting to talk again, Cathy turned in her seat and asked, "How did you get so interested in Elvis?"
Kim stared out the window for a minute with a frown. She wanted to answer the question, but believed that having Mike and Cathy learn the truth about her would turn them against her. She answered, "You won't like me any more if I tell you."
"There's nothing that you can say that will make us not like you," Cathy said.
Nodding his head, Mike said, "I am rather curious about that myself. How did you get so interested in Elvis?"
With her past touching her present so strongly, Kim was unable to resist the desire to talk about it. Hoping that Teva would take her in once Mike and Cathy chased her away, Kim said, "When I was little girl, I was sold by my father. The man who bought me sent me to a brothel in Bangkok. While there, I listened to American music because many of customers were Americans. I liked the music sung by Elvis the most. Sometimes while listening to it I could imagine that I wasn't a whore."
Stunned, Cathy said, "That's horrible."
"My God," Mike said griping the steering wheel with white knuckles. He wanted a few minutes with Kim's father. After Mike was done with him, he would never sell another person ever again.
Expecting their wrath upon learning that they had a whore living with them, Kim cowered in the backseat. Voice quivering, she said, "You think I'm a horrible person. Now that you know what I am, you send me away. I don't blame you."
Angry at what he heard, Mike said, "We're not going to send you away."
Feeling a little angry herself, Cathy said, "I don't think you're horrible. How could any father sell his child? That's the most terrible thing I've ever heard."
"I was girl child. Girl child not worth anything," Kim said with tears rolling down her cheeks.
"That's bullshit," Mike said, "Every child is worth the world. Nothing is more valuable than a child."
"You can say that again," Cathy said nodding her head. She growled, "Any man who would sell his child should be hung by the balls and beaten like a piñata."
"That's right," Mike said glancing in the mirror at Kim sobbing in the backseat. He tapped Cathy on the thigh and gestured to the backseat with his thumb while he pulled off of the highway. His gesture was out of sight of Kim.
Cathy gave an appreciative nod to Mike and got out of the car once it came to a stop. She got in the backseat with Kim and hugged the woman. Kim was sobbing uncontrollably. As Cathy patted Kim on the back, she said, "Now, now. We're going to take care of you. Everything is going to be all right."
Mike pulled back onto the highway thinking that the last two hours of the drive were going to be the longest of the entire trip. He kept glancing in the mirror to see how things were going with Kim. Although she had long been a major presence in the house, he decided that it was time that Kim became a real member of the family.
He looked at the countryside around him. It was nowhere near as crowded as the area from which they had moved. He noticed a man driving a tractor across a field and was struck by the idea that as he was rushing past at nearly seventy miles per hour, the guy on the tractor was moving at less than ten. Maybe it was time for him to slow down and take life a little easier.
Glancing in the mirror, he said, "All of us are starting a new life
with this move."