by DiMirra
"Now, let's address your ongoing problems. Why can't you bring your countries under control?"
The French General spoke up, "Gianni, we have six pockets of hardened resistance. We are trying to keep civilian casualties to a minimum so it's house-to-house fighting and the Army is taking heavy casualties."
I said, "Francois, several hundred thousand French people are dying everyday because of lack of food, water, power and medical attention. What the fuck are you thinking? Where's your inner Napoleon when you need him? What you just said is the type of thinking that got you into this whole mess.
"We'll give them a 'whiff of the grape' tonight. We have the areas under satellite surveillance so we have the coordinates. Pull your forces. At 18:00 hours today, I will have three Spectre II gunships over those targets. All that real estate will be yours in the morning.
"Who else has a problem?"
The British general spoke up, "Johnny, we have the same issues with heavy resistance in the immigrant communities, only on a larger scale."
"General, what would Churchill be doing? I'll tell you what he would say, 'A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity. An optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.' What don't you understand this -- these people are the fucking enemies of freedom. Give me the coordinates. We'll refuel and rearm at Rhein-Main Air Force Base and be over your targets at 22:00 hours."
"If you don't have the guts to do what needs to be done surgically, I have the USS Connecticut standing offshore, to do so with brute force. General Hamilton and I are sharing assets at the moment."
I think this surprised the Hell out of them. Their shock was written unmistakably upon their faces.
I concluded with, "Gentlemen, lunch will be served in a few minutes, I think you'll enjoy it. I'll be back in an hour for your decision."
With that, I went to my office for some private time. Ana lunched with me and her tousled, after-sex appearance was exquisite. We had a divine Veal Francese, with a side of angel hair pasta, accompanied with a delicious white wine from the Languedoc region of France.
I initiated a videoconference with Uwishun and Ali in Taroudant.
"Hi guys. Bring me up to date."
Ali sputtered, "Mother? I thought you were in Chile."
Ana retorted, "I was missing your Father." She added a wink. Ali groaned and Uwishun grinned.
"Baba, we had an excellent night. Our allies hit over 140 concentrated extremist positions. The BDA this morning was very positive. Nothing was moving. We took down 27 dissident Clerics in Saudi, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Palestine, Iraq, and Yemen.
"We have two teams trapped at the moment, taking heavy fire. One team is stuck in Palestine. The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) are trying to extract them on our behalf. The other team is near Mosul. The Peshmerga and a platoon of Army Rangers are working their way in to reinforce them.
"Uwishun developed a wonderful plan for the South American operation. Since the drug lords have infiltrated the governments and subordinated many top officials, the assassinations will be laid at their feet. Cousin Guzman will orchestrate, through his contacts, the campaign to be executed in two days time. The local press, at our urging, will have a fun with this one. The gentleman from Venezuela will have a 'helicopter accident' this week.
"Everything else is more or less the same as it was eight hours ago. Sydney is recovering nicely from his wounds and wants to be back on the job."
"Ali, that's your call," I said. "Make sure we don't have any assets in France or Great Britain near the hotspots for which you'll be receiving coordinates shortly for Specter gunships to strike tonight.
"Thank you both and we'll speak again later."
I was intentionally twenty minutes late going back to the dining room. I asked Giuseppe to bring me a double espresso and my cigarettes. Everyone was seated and uncomfortable with what had transpired so far. I took my time made a show of lighting a cigarette and drinking my espresso.
"Ok Gentlemen, have you come to a decision?"
Ernst said, "Gianni, with the exception Britain, continental Europe will agree to your plan of operations. France will cede her weapons immediately."
I looked at Francois and he nodded his head in agreement.
"Furthermore," Ernst continued, "Norway and Sweden have asked for our help. We would like you to intervene. We will issue the targeting data by nightfall."
I raised Ali on a videoconference and introduced him to those who did not know him. I asked him to send three senior commanders to General Schonheim immediately.
Ali said, "Father, I want you to see who Miche has sent to Taroudant. Let me introduce you to Gianni Castillo de Medici.
"Hi Gianni, it's great to see you looking so well."
The generals looked from the screen to me and back to the screen. My face was blank. I was thinking, "So this is what Miche has been up to these last years. He had advanced the Chinese cloning model using our Cellbot technology."
"Hi Johnny. I will be here for a couple of days. Please hold the fort," I said.
"Ali, please coordinate with the other members of the United World on our actions today. I'll be in touch."
"Swahilison, please come here with your Brother."
They advanced until they were right behind me. I instructed them to take off their veils and shed their Jellabas. The generals were astounded.
"Gentlemen, while you were busy with your political correctness bullshit and losing your countries, we and China moved into the future. Behold the most formidable fighting men in the world."
Then I teased them with, "I'm actually a clone, myself, and have no idea where the original Gianni is at this time."
"But enough of this. My security staff will see you all to the airport immediately. I need to have a word with General Abercrombie and François about their nuclear programs. They will follow up with you shortly."
I went to the door to see the generals on their way and to reassure them they had made the right decision. Abercrombie started to leave but the Guardians gently blocked his way. Seeing no way out, he made the right decision. He sat down again at the table.
I walked back into the dinning room, shaking my head, and said, "Abercrombie, I don't know what happened to you Brits. You've just gone to waste. I will see to it that you don't bring your country down. After our conversation, you're heading to Arabia to spend the rest of your shitty life in a special solitary confinement prison."
I could see abject fear in his eyes. The man was coward. He would have put Neville Chamberlain to shame.
"The good news is, you're flying Royal Class on the Saudi Embassy jet.
"Tonight at 18:30 hours, the Connecticut will light up your nuclear arsenals, following shortly thereafter, twenty TLAM-D cruise missiles, containing 166 sub-munitions each, will break the opposition's spirit in your no-go zones. We have a targeting satellite moving into position now. General Hamilton has cut your access to all satellites and intel. You're finished, Soldier!
"Swahilison, get this coward out of my sight and don't let him leave yours. If he is the least bit uncooperative, break his fucking neck.
"Francois, who do you know in the British Command who has the balls and ability to lead Great Britain in this fight for life?"
"I was hoping you would ask me, Gianni. I know exactly the man. He is Major General Robert Bruce, in charge of the UK Special Forces."
I called Ali and asked him to coordinate an immediate videoconference with General Hamilton.
"Good afternoon Ham. If my reports are right, you're kicking ass and taking names."
"Johnny, I think were finally turning the corner on this thing. I want to thank you for the vaccines, were getting regular shipments and it's making the difference. What can I do for you today?"
"The EU is onboard with the exception of Britain. I want you to cut off all contact and intel until they see things my way. General Babineaux has recommended Major General Bruce to take over. He's junior, so it will ruff
le some feathers. You know how those Limey Bastards can be."
"Hello Francois, good to see you. Johnny, I'll cut the feeds after this conference and send a message, 'Nothing more, until General Robert Bruce is promoted and put in overall command.' How's that sound?"
"That'll work, General. The Brits are getting their proverbial asses kicked in the projects. I'm going to give General Bruce a leg up tonight with a strike from the Connecticut."
"Make it so, Johnny."
Ham cut the transmission and we all went back to work. Ana walked in wearing a low cut, form-fitting emerald green cocktail dress with a 100 karat emerald necklace falling just above her cleavage. We both nearly fell over.
"Francois! I thought I heard your voice. Won't you stay for dinner?"
He was out of his chair in an instant, kissing her hand and showering her with praises. We had first met Francois when I was Ambassador to France almost twenty years ago. He was a young Brigadier General and looked dashing in his uniform. He reminded me of Capitan Renault in Casablanca. He was always after Ana but she would have none of it, which made her all the more desirable.
Ana and Francois headed for the private dinning room while I excused myself. I met with Berberson and instructed him to take his Brother and Abercrombie to our hanger at the Lugano airport. I told them that the Saudi Diplomatic jet would be parked in front and to take Abercrombie and put him aboard. There could be no loose ends with this one.
I told Berberson, "After Abercrombie is buckled into his seat, look him in the eyes and tell him, 'This is for Britain' and break his fucking neck slowly, one vertebrae at a time.
Dinner with Francois was, as always, delightful and amusing. Neither Francois nor I could take our eyes from either her eyes, or her breasts. This gave me the opportunity to curse in French, which feels so smooth it almost sounds like a prayer. I could tell Francois was intrigued by the clone issue of a few hours earlier.
"Gianni, tell me is if this is you here now, or are you the clone?"
"My dear Francois, you are looking at the original. However if I understand my Fathers' science correctly, neither of us would be able to tell the difference."
"This is disturbing on so many levels," Francois said.
I knew he was thinking of an Ana clone. I could see it in his eyes and as he gazed at her when he was getting ready to leave. I made a mental note.
We saw Francois off to the airport and went to the master bedroom, reclining in front of the fireplace as sparks flew from the flames. We spent a night of passion in one sweet embrace after another . . .
Chapter 36
Lugano: 06:00, January 27th
Ana was still sleeping as I was already in my office, having my first double espresso and a cigarette of the morning, deep in thought. The snow had stopped. A light dusting lay on the lawn like a lace tablecloth.
I was mildly disturbed that Miche had blindsided me with, well -- me.
Of course, I also wanted to know more about the Coherent Harmonics dark energy breakthrough and everything else they were doing. I especially wanted to know if we had anything to do with the weaponized Ebola. I decided to accompany Ana back to Chile. From there, I would hop over to Bariloche to meet with Grandfather and Miche where they had ensconced themselves in our new facilities.
Ali had given Francois limited access to our network. He initiated a videoconference. The screen filled with a steady stream of raging fire from darkened skies, raining down death and destruction upon the would-be, but now hapless, jihadists. I could tell there were two Specter Gunships targeting this location.
Francois began to narrate, "Mon Dieu, Gianni, I have never seen such a sight! It must be terrifying to be on the ground. This is the biggest and most brutal concentration in Marseilles."
"Not any more my dear friend. It is supposed to be terrifying. By the way, this is the bunch that annihilated your battalion of Marines from Toulon."
From the current video, it appeared that Specters moved northwest and were working over the 13th Arrondissement.
"Francois, if I were you, I would send in ground troops at first light to take control of the real estate. Word will travel fast, 'We're done screwing around.' So I believe a warning will suffice to the balance of the smaller hot areas.
"My advice is to round up the survivors and place them on sea transport awaiting deportation to North Africa. Now is the time to clean up your country and take it back. Let me know if you need another suppression mission.
"Ali, do you have the video of London and surrounding areas?"
"Going to split screen Baba. These will be mid-altitude and then closer shots for BDA. By the way, I just got word from General Bruce that he is now in command."
We watched the cruise missiles come into the picture and disperse their munitions over an area that would cover nearly a square mile and then a bright flash filled the screen. This was repeated nearly a dozen times throughout Great Britain.
"Ali, advise General Bruce that we are standing by for another round if necessary."
"Roger that, Baba."
"Francois, the sooner you and Ernst get control of Europe, the sooner you will have a seat at the table, is that clear?"
"Gianni, clear as the heart of the Virgin Mary."
I cut the transmission and went to rouse Ana as we had a long day ahead. But she had other plans . . .
We ate breakfast and loaded into the Land Rovers for the trip to Lugano airport, which included the Guardians. They were now my personal security. My Gulfstream was ready and catered. We boarded and lined up for take off. Our first stop would be Marrakesh for lunch with the family and grandchildren.
While we were having lunch, the crew topped off the fuel. We had a 14-hour flight in front us. We dined at the International in Amanjena, arguably the best restaurant in Morocco.
I always enjoyed seeing Ali interact with his Mother. It was such a tender scene. The children were raucous, but it was a joyful sound to my ears.
My thoughts drifted to why the Universe picked me for this role that was beginning to weigh heavily on my shoulders. I suppose Ana must have seen my 'middle-distance stare.' She came to my rescue. Her hot breath in my ear brought me back to reality.
The men moved to the hookah room for coffees and a smoke.
"Ali, I want you to start negotiations with your contacts in India about disarmament in return for our help to eradicate the contagion. Let them know they will not have a seat at the table but we will champion their cause with China when necessary. It will be a bitter pill to swallow, but swallow it they must."
"Will do, Baba. The Taliban overran Kabul in the three days since the Marine Division left for Iran. I spoke with General Hamilton to let him know. I also informed him about the origin of the Ebola crisis and that what's left of Pakistani Taliban has gone to ground in the caves. He has authorized a thousand-megaton ICBM strike to cover Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
"There will be an additional 500 megaton strike with nuclear bunker-busters delivered by B-52's. This should be sufficient to close the Khyber Pass forever and take out most of the remaining Taliban and Haqqani network. No loose ends.
"Tonight's strikes will take out the remaining bigger targets of jihadists and the rest of the Clerics on the original list. We're making progress. I've been touch with General Sloan. They encountered some light resistance in the field and incurred minor casualties while wiping out the Guard units. He indicates both armies will engage the Republican Guard the morning of the 29th.
"Reza is in Iran. He raised two divisions of regular Army that have defected. They will be attacking Guard positions in Tehran from the west and south. Essentially, the Guard is surrounded.
"The really good news is that your new daughter, Bao, is en route and will land in Colombia tonight."
"My God Ali! This is all brilliant. My dreams told me 'everything will be coming our way.'
"Ana and I need to be on our journey, so let's round everyone up and head out."
It was a s
ubdued farewell, given the Berbers are stoic people, believing whatever will be, will be. They are happy in the moment.
Once in the air, we settled into the bedroom and continued where we left off earlier that morning. The landing at the Estancia in Chile was smooth as silk. We have always employed the very best pilots. The Estancia was set in an idyllic valley with towering mountains, rushing rivers, and centuries-old stands of fir trees.
There were not many landings at this field. Truckloads of people in new Toyotas could be seen speeding to the airfield to greet whomever was arriving. Such is the Latin joy of life -- completely different from the family we had just left in Morocco.
I knew Ali and Uwishun were on top of what needed to be done. So we enjoyed an Argentinian barbeque with all manner of fresh meats and fruits from the Estancia, washed down with copious varietal wines. Since we were in full summer below the equator, Ana and I decided to fly fish in some of the quiet pools along the river in the spirit of living the moment. She was working the opposite bank and the action was hot.
I stopped to rest for a moment and have a smoke and I wondered, "If I were to die today, would my clone know it? Would I live onward through him without interruption? Would my loved ones love me as a clone? Would we have all the same thoughts and memories?" These were questions I would ask my clone and Miche on the morrow.
Ana's scream jolted me back. In delight, she had hooked a 32 inch brownie that was giving her the fight of her life. She landed the fish expertly, removed the hook, and gently revived her catch. The fish took off like a shot when she loosened her grip.
Here in this paradise, it seemed as if we lived in another world, some parallel universe or other dimension. I felt like our scientists were getting ever closer to answering these dimensional questions, which I fully expected to lead to additional mysteries that were even more profound.