by Andres Mann
He arranged for the best available pilots in the country’s air force to receive training in the United States and worked with American Army trainers to help increase the effectiveness of the troops. Apparently, money was no object. There seemed to be an unending supply of weapons and equipment that the Americans were willing to provide: tanks, helicopters, rockets, tons of ammunition, Humvees and even fighter jets. It seemed that all they wanted is to stabilize things and get out of the mess they created.
***
He was able to take some time to go to visit his ancestral home out in the country. When he arrived, it was easy to see that it had been looted. Some of the outbuildings were burned or destroyed. Trash and debris all over the yard were evidence that the site had been the center of significant fighting. He went to the front door and was welcomed by his caretaker. The man apologized for the condition of the premises, him being the only one available to take care of things.
Walking into the interior, much of the furniture had been stolen or damaged. Only his desk and a few chairs remained. The plush bedrooms had been ransacked; only the bed frame remained and all of the beautiful women’s clothes, perfumes and mirrors were long gone.
Amir did not really care about what happened to the house, but he remembered it as the place when he first met Tess: the beautiful warrior that defied and hurt him, then escaped. She also had changed him.
His thoughts turned to Kejal, the Kurdish captive who overtly hated him and had chosen to resist him with every fiber of her being. He had found her shell-shocked in the middle of a battle with the Iranians. Her large house was in ruins; her husband and two children were dead, victims of a gas attack on the town. He saw that she possessed great beauty. He could not abandon her in a town that was contaminated, with the dead strewn everywhere. She would have wanted to go to her family, and would have died as well.
Amir brought her to his house and had his doctors bring her back to health. He became infatuated with the tall, dark eyed beauty and kept her at his house. She did not have anywhere to go. He soon found out that Kejal blamed him for the death of her family and the destruction of her house and village. He could not get her to accept that this was the unfortunate consequence of an awful war. She refused to believe him and kept trying to escape. Finally, Amir decided to take her as his slave. He was confident that after she experienced the pleasure that his sexual prowess could bring her, she would become willingly available to him.
He forced her into his bed and made love to her, fully expecting results. Kejal resisted him; Amir was facing a woman whose hostility to him was so strong that she did not succumb to his skill.
Initially, he sadistically took pleasure subduing her, but she never welcomed his possession of her body, remaining cold and passive throughout the abuse—her way only way to resist. Amir made it his business to break her will. He wanted to make her want him. He had always reveled in his power to overcome a woman’s reticence, to use his talents to have her implore him to possess her and give her pleasure. Yet Kejal kept defying him.
He kept on breaking her like a horse. He thought of tying her naked to the bed, arms and legs apart; perhaps helplessness would break her resistance. He dropped the bondage idea; it was not worthy of a great lover.
He then proceeded to use every technique in his vast erotic repertoire to force repeated orgasms on the desperate woman; she remained passive and did not respond. Finally, he changed his approach. He made love to her gently and with affection; when he detected a response, he penetrated her, finally feeling her spasm inside, revealing that she finally was going to climax. He thrust into her, sensing her contractions and the thrill of her orgasm. He involuntarily climaxed deep inside her.
Amir rarely spent his seed inside his women; rather, he withdrew at the last moment spilling his pleasure on their bellies and breasts. He was very much aware that some women would want to become pregnant by him to benefit from his wealth. His more important consideration however, was one of lineage. He would have a child only with a woman that he thought would be worthy of him and his heritage.
Kejal became pregnant. When the child Aara was born, he accepted that she was the fruit of his body, a fine offspring. He developed increasing affection for the child and came to love her.
Kejal still hated him and wanted to remove the child from his influence. That is why she betrayed him by helping Tess escape, in return asking her to try to get the child away from him. This promise compelled Tess to come into his orbit; he cynically used his daughter to lure her to him, not expecting that such deceit would lead to her leaving him forever.
“Forgive me, Kejal.”
He would never return to this house. He gave some money to the caretaker and returned to Baghdad.
Chapter 36
Back to the Living
Jake was working hard in physical therapy. Slowly walking on a treadmill, he still hurt like hell all over. His leg gave him fits, occasional stabs of pain reminding him that he had a way to go before returning to health. His ribs were on their way to healing, and his lung had slowly recovered from the bullet wound.
Tess walked in the room. Jake felt like the sun had risen. She signaled the therapist not to stop supervising the workout. She gave Jack a peck on the cheek. “How are we doing, champ?”
“Hi, Tess; I will live.”
“Good to know.”
“Tess, are you taking care of yourself? Are you careful out there? They tell me there is still a lot of shooting going on.”
“Yeah, there are still a lot of bad guys out there. Al-Qaeda is cheerfully massacring as many of the locals as they can, for no discernible reason other than to create chaos, I guess. Most what we do now is to try to find them and neutralize them.”
“They have a lot of RPGs, you know.”
“I sure do, but as long as I don’t lose more than one chopper every two weeks, I come out a winner.”
“Tess, how long are you going to be able to do this? I really would like to see you around, and not in a box.”
“It’s what I do, Jake. In any case, you also have some explaining to do. Was it worth getting shot for nothing?”
“What do you mean?”
“Everyone knows what you tried to do, but so far, nothing has happened to the corrupt bastard that got you shot.”
Jake stopped walking, visibly upset. “Interesting; I will talk to my chief.”
“You do that. I will come to see you as often as I can. I want to make sure that they are patching you up properly. I got to go.” She gave him a slight kiss on the mouth.
***
Jake savored the thrill of touching her lips. It reinforced his will to get better. He desperately wanted to be with Tess again.
Paul Saunders, the CIA chief, came to see Jake in the cafeteria. They found a table and Paul updated him on recent news: nothing much other than business as usual — shooting, bombing, and death.
Jake cut to the chase. “Paul, what’s happening with the corruption case? Why didn’t they arrest the bastard yet? What the hell are they waiting for?
“I am sorry to tell you that nothing will happen, Jake.”
“Are you kidding me? I collected irrefutable evidence of corruption, not to mention it was our money that he handed over to Al-Qaeda.”
“The problem is that the Iraqi government will not pursue this, and Washington agrees. The guy is a top minister in the local government. He used the money to ransom another minister held by the terrorists. There is no evidence that he kept the money for himself.”
“Are you going to tell me that the Iraqis were in on this?”
“It’s murky, but the problem goes much deeper than this. Many government officials are dipping into the ton of cash that the U. S. provides. If they convict one of them, the rest would be subject to prosecution. The sad fact is that the culture of bribery and corruption is still alive and well.”
“Paul, are they going to do something about this guy’s thugs shooting me?”
�
�I am afraid not, Jake. Their position is that you were trying to trespass, and they were just defending the premises. They also made a big deal that you and Harvey shot their men.”
“Did you say that the U. S. is going along with this? That we are condoning corruption with our money?”
“I am afraid so. Now more than ever we need people to work with us to help us out of a quagmire. The fact that we are aiding and abetting corruption to achieve national priorities is nothing new. We are faced with hard choices, none of them good.”
“So, we are going to keep our own soldiers in harm’s way, and for what? How are you going to explain this to the families of the dead and wounded? I got myself shot for God and country, and the woman I love could get killed any day. In the meantime, the people at the top keep making appallingly cynical decisions while dining on filet and lobster. They have contempt for the troops, using them as cannon fodder. They apparently subscribe to the medieval notion that soldiers are expendable, because they are so stupid that they buy into the idea that they should be willing to die or be maimed for the good of the country.”
Paul remained silent for a moment. “I am sorry about all this, Jake. I will do everything I can to make sure you are going to be well taken care of you. They are going to send you to the military hospital in Germany; what happens after that is up to you. Goodbye.”
Jake remained seated, appalled about the cynical power plays carried out by people with no real skin in the game. What worried him most was that he would have to leave the theater of war, but Tess would remain, facing increasing danger. He could not contemplate living a life without her.
Chapter 37
Connecting Again
Amir and two of his officers boarded a Black Hawk and shook hands with an American officer inside.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, General Collins. I am anxious to see what you brought us.”
The chopper lifted off and headed toward the staging area when the U. S. Army had lined up weapons and vehicles for turnover to the Iraqis.
Tess and Carmen had been assigned to fly the helicopter, and they saw the flight as routine. When she saw Amir boarding the craft, all of the anger and heartache of their past confrontations came to her consciousness. She was wearing a flight helmet that partially concealed her face. Amir was busy talking to the American General and did not even glance at the pilots.
Tess landed the chopper at the site, and the passengers debarked. The group started to walk past the vast inventory of war equipment. General Collins showed Amir the material that had been prepared for turnover. It was a large assortment of tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles, artillery pieces, Humvees, machine guns, rifles still in the box and tons of ammunition.
General Collins explained as they walked to inspect the equipment, “As we worked it out, this equipment mainly outfits several brigades, General. Everything has been properly serviced and ready to be used.”
Amir inspected some of the tanks and heavy weapons. He had been training new recruits and was getting close to assigning the hardware to the various units so that they could begin proficiency trails on the use of the equipment. After that, he planned a large mobile exercise before deploying the newly qualified units in the field.
Tess and her crew had jumped out of the aircraft to escape the searing heat. The group of officers walked back to the chopper. Amir saw Tess. His heart skipped a beat. There she was, standing straight and confident, woman as the warrior. He excused himself and asked for a moment to talk with Major Turner, a good friend, he said.
General Collins went to her. “Major Turner, General al-Saadi said he is a friend of yours and would like a few minutes to talk privately.”
Tess didn’t really want to talk, but agreed to do so when she realized that a lot of eyes had focused on her.
Tess walked toward Amir and saluted. Amir returned the salute and smiled. “How nice to see you, Major Turner; how have you been?”
“I am fine, General; and you?”
“I am much better now that I see you that you are well.”
“How is Aara?”
“She is fine but sad all the time. She misses you.”
“Please tell her that I miss her too and that I love her.”
Amir could not stand the formality of their conversation. “Tess, is there a chance we could talk some more once we get back to Baghdad? We could have dinner together. There is much that I would like to discuss.”
“I don’t see the point of meeting again, Amir. I am still trying to recover from what you did to me. I need to forget if it is at all possible.”
“Do you really need to forget everything, Tess? I recall our wonderful experiences together. I can’t forget having loved you. I still love you.”
“Amir, the people are starting to get impatient. We need to go.”
“Can I see you again Tess? I will do anything you want to earn your forgiveness.”
“We need to go, Amir.” Tess started to work toward the chopper. She boarded the craft and Carmen started the engines. The passengers on board, they rapidly returned to Baghdad.
Walking back to the barracks, Carmen could not resist digging for the juicy details.
“Tess, I got to give it to you. The guy is gorgeous! Are you going to see him again?”
“No, Carmen, I am not. You know what he did to me. I will never forgive him.”
“Never is a condition that changes over time. It’s obvious that he still adores – no, worships you. Yes, he deceived you by not telling early on that the girl was his daughter, but he did it so he could have you. Most women would be flattered by a man going stupid for love.”
“I will never forget his manipulating me. I need to trust the man that I choose to be my mate for life. He is not it — Jake is.”
“Isn’t Jake leaving for Germany soon?”
“Yes, he needs to finish his rehab there. I plan to be with him. My tour of duty here is almost over.”
“It’s your life, hon. I hope that you are making the right decision.”
***
Lying on her bunk at night, Tess could not sleep. Face to face on the tarmac, she had felt Amir’s sexual intensity boring though her body. The pulsing sensation in her womb had surfaced again, intensifying a craving to have Amir invade her body. Her resentment about his deceit still loomed large in her mind, but she despaired that her need for him was overcoming her principles.
“Damn you, Amir!”
She spent the night fitfully until she fell asleep. Her recurring dream came back: babies playing with puppies. The next morning, her stomach acted funny again.
Chapter 38
Adieu
Jake opted out of boarding the ambulance and had Tess drive him to the airport. He still had a severe limp that needed medical attention but at this point he didn’t care. He did not want to be away from Tess, and he worried about her safety.
While waiting for the plane, she told him the good news: Her deployment was almost over. She could leave Iraq in two weeks. Jake was overjoyed.
“Jake, I would like to clear the air before you go. I want to be with you, but I need to know how you feel about our problem. I don’t wish to live under a cloud. I have deceived you, and I am sorry about it, but I don’t want your resentment to surface the next time we have a fight.”
Jake stayed silent for a moment. “Tess, I can’t lie and tell you that it no longer matters. On the other hand, I have done a lot of thinking, and I understand that you went to Amir in pursuit of a noble cause. When you try to fulfill an obligation, I know that there is nothing that stands in the way; it’s who you are. I now understand this. The fact that you made love to Amir and enjoyed it still drives me nuts with jealousy. I want to eviscerate him for violating the only person in the world i want to be with.
“That said, I now remember what my mom told me when I last met her. One should allow a person you love to harbor some secrets. Secrets are necessary because sometimes they protect the other person from knowing thi
ngs that will hurt him or her. I violated that rule. I demanded a response to my question; you were honest, told the truth, and I did get grievously hurt. I went through hell afterward, agonizing over my loss and punishing myself for not allowing you to keep hidden what should remain hidden. But what I came to realize through the pain is that what really counts is the privilege and joy to have you back with me. I love you Tess, and I want to be with you forever.”
Tess was moved by Jake’s baring of his soul and felt redeemed. She embraced him and gave him a long, lingering kiss.
***
On the way back, Tess purchased a pregnancy kit. At the Officer’s quarters, Carmen was reading a book and raised her eyebrows when she saw her open the package.
“Okay, Carmen, your nagging worked. I am going to do this and then, maybe, you will shut up.”
“You won’t get away that easy, kid. I want to witness the proceedings.”
“Shut up. I will pee on this thing and finally put your mind at rest.”
“You do that. I can’t wait to see what color you get.”
Tess sported an exasperated look and opened the door to the bathroom.
A few minutes later, Carmen entered the bathroom uninvited. “Okay, I read the package, and it’s easy to figure out; two lines means you’re pregnant and one line means you’re in the clear. You get results in about three minutes and the test is over 99% accurate.”
Tess, still sitting on the toilet, held the testing strip between two fingers and stared at it. Carmen wanted to see. “So, what do we have here? Oh my God, two lines.”
Tess kept looking at the strip. “It can’t be. I don’t believe it!”
“Believe it, hon; that’s what happens when you have too good of a time with two sexy guys.” Carmen immediately recognized that perhaps she should have exercised a little more tact. “Congratulations, you are going to be a mommy,” she added.
Tess stood up and propped herself on the sink cabinet. “I think I am going to be sick.”