Looking again at his watch, Fritz said, “It can’t be much longer. I wonder what she’s doing.” He called to Colonel Mitchell, who came over. Fritz said, “The president said you know what the major is doing. Are we going to need to do anything different when she comes back?”
“Different?” said the colonel. “No. Unless you didn’t have your fingers crossed.”
For the final time, the door opened. Fritz ran to hold the door. Ashley moved to where he could see. Explosions in the distance jarred the door as the soldiers moved through. A number of the uniforms were bloody.
Ashley directed, Linda counted, Fritz watched. Finally, the major, the last one through, came into the hallway and fell into Ashley’s arms. He looked down at her, put his arms around her, and feeling moist warmth, looked over her shoulder. “Medic!” he shouted. Her team carried her to the waiting gurney as a doctor and nurse came into the hall. They laid her on her stomach, cut away her shirt to expose a six-inch wound gushing blood, and then they wheeled her into the hospital room. Ash stared at his cherry-colored hands, extended out, palms up in plaintive search for the luck he was seldom granted. Please not again.
The mission now finished, Fritz shut the door.
Fritz answered his phone and said, “It’s over, Mr. President. The major is wounded. Should we start moving everyone out?”
“No. I want to hear how the Narians respond. One of the explosions took down a lot of their communications networks. We may have to wait for a public statement. Once again, Fritz, thank you so much. We’ll talk more later. Let me speak to the colonel, please.”
The colonel took the phone. “Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. President.” He switched the phone to his other ear. “I’ll pass on the message. I don’t know how badly. Yes, sir, we’ll wait until we hear from you. Thank you, sir.” He handed the phone back. “We’ll wait until he calls again.” Captain Burnett joined them, and the officers shook hands with the civilians. “Folks, you really made it easier for us to do what we came here for,” said Colonel Mitchell.
“Good job,” said Captain Burnett. “Ma’am, I hope your husband will be fine.”
Thank you, Captain,” said Lois. “I think this was a little more than he anticipated. You will be sure to clean up for him?”
“Yes, ma’am. Clean up and repair crews are already outside.”
“Do you think you can get rid of the smell, too? Gunpowder would be hard to explain.”
“By the morning, it’ll be like we were never here,” said the colonel.
For the first time since he arrived, Fritz had a brief moment to stop and think. He was used to activity in the hallway. But this was different. He saw relieved soldiers, some packing the nuke suits, others checking their gear. A few were sitting on the floor, waiting. Down the hall, soldiers hugged and high-fived. The quiet of anticipation and noise of action were both gone. The hall had become a place of loud chatter. They were done, the mission a success. Then Fritz had a light-bulb moment. They were all so young.
Chapter 11
AS THE COLONEL organized his men for the departure, Lois and Ashley went to the hospital room and Fritz and Linda walked outside. “Fritz, I’ve been standing for an hour. I need to sit down. Let’s go to the car.” Fritz had parked at the front to be out of the way of any traffic. Linda tried to rub her back, but grimaced when she reached too far. He took her hand as they walked across the parking lot. A few stars were visible through the mostly cloudy night. He opened the door, and she sat sideways on the passenger seat, her feet almost on the ground.
“Better?” Fritz asked.
“Uh-huh. Now it is.” He waited for her to express her worries, but they were interrupted by the arrival of Tom Andrews and James Williams.
James said, “Are you all right, Linda?”
She replied, “You got it right this time.”
“I’ve been practicing,” he grinned.
“I feel kind of like a full sink after you pull the stopper,” said Fritz. “Like all the energy is draining out my toes. Is that what you guys go through?”
Tom said, “That’s normal. You’ll be better soon. Take this,” and he handed Fritz a chocolate bar. “It really helps.”
“Are you Professor Lupin in disguise?”
Linda saw that Tom didn’t understand. “It’s a scene from Harry Potter, Tom.”
“Sorry, didn’t read it. But you should have some, Linda.” She took the chocolate from Fritz, opened it, and broke off a piece.
“What happens now?” asked Fritz, looking at the crowded but quiet parking lot. As Tom started to explain, a police car at the other side of the lot crawled toward them.
“Everything will be organized inside, so when they leave it will be like a wave. They’ll load up and leave as each bus fills. We’re just waiting for word to go.”
“Will they take the major to the hospital?” Linda asked.
“No, we’ll take her with us. She’s not actually hurt that badly, but she has lost a lot of blood. The docs will patch her up here. They’ll take her to the hospital at the airport.”
The police car pulled up. “Everything go okay?” asked Jim Shaw, climbing from the car. “Can I do anything?”
“Everything’s under control. Thanks for your help,” said Tom, running his hand over his crew cut. “We’ll be gone soon.” James walked over to Jim, and they had a quiet conversation.
“Lin, I’ve got to go back in and get our stuff. Do you want to stay here?”
“I’ll come with you. The chocolate helped a lot. Tom, are you sure this isn’t some new drug?”
“No ma’am, but it is imported.” That might have been the first time they had seen him look happy.
Inside, the teams were forming to leave. The remaining heaps of gear somehow managed to look neat. The buses and trucks were lining up to be loaded. Colonel Mitchell stood in the middle of the corridor with Captain Burnett, who held a clipboard, a pencil stuck behind his ear. Fritz stopped to speak with the colonel while Linda went into the hospital room.
“Mr. Russell, we’ve been hearing from the guys that they all were amazed at how precise their entries were,” said the colonel. “Sometime, if you don’t mind, I’d love to talk to you about how it works.”
“Sure, Colonel. It surprised me, too, when it first happened. I still have important questions about how it works. And new ones after the past few days.”
“We’re almost done here, I think. We’re waiting on the president. My guess is they want to see any reactions and maybe see if they can contact people on the ground, in case we need to go in again. But if we were right, most of their sat-com system is gone.”
“Group six? So they didn’t go after the nukes?” Fritz asked. The colonel nodded but said he didn’t know how much he could say. “Sorry, Mr. Russell. I’m sure the president will tell you when he’s got all the reports.”
Tony Almeida had packed up his gear and wandered over. Fritz shook his hand. “No problems?”
“Nope. My little doorknob cover worked. It kept the current consistent. Of course, I had a little extra power too,” he said, pointing to the five generators.
Fritz asked, “Tony, I have a project in mind for one of my classes. Do you think you might be able to come and talk to them? I’ll tell you more later.”
“If it’s okay with the boss I’d be glad to.”
“Thanks. Maybe we can talk about this whole energy thing. It’s pretty interesting.” Tony agreed, ready to say more, but they were distracted when a phone rang, chiming out Anchors Aweigh. Captain Burnett took his phone from his pocket. “Yes, sir?” The captain listened, said, “yes, sir,” and handed the phone to Colonel Mitchell.
“Mr. President, we’re ready to leave whenever you say. Yes, sir. Then I’ll load up. Right here, sir.” He handed the phone to Fritz, “He wants to speak to you.”
“Yes, Mr. President,” said Fritz.
“Fritz, it’s too early to know for sure, but I’m optimistic. We’ll have more information by
morning, but it looks like we completely incapacitated their program. We’ll get out and let you go home. I’ll talk to you later if I can. I need to talk to the Israelis. They face possible retaliation. Thanks again.”
“It seems you wrecked their program. He sounds pretty happy.” Fritz handed the phone back to Captain Burnett.
“We’re done here then, Mr. Russell. Thanks again,” said Colonel Mitchell.
As the exit began, Fritz watched a well-oiled machine in motion. Soldiers lined up with packs and equipment, exited the hallway, and climbed aboard the buses. He went into the hospital room. George relaxed in a chair, eating chocolate.
“How are you, George?” asked Fritz.
“I’m fine. I just got a little dizzy when the soldier knocked me down. I bumped my head, so no serious damage.”
Fritz found it ironic that George discovered a sense of humor in the surrounding chaos. Rather than mention it, he addressed the current activity. “They’re starting to leave. They have a cleanup and repair crew waiting to come in. School will be normal in the morning.” He looked at Ashley. “How’s the major?”
Ashley said, “She’s good. She’s getting dressed.” He motioned to a curtain at the rear of the room. “Apparently she got grabbed from behind. The guy slashed her. He won’t be bothering anyone again.”
“Do you know where she went?”
“Not really. They blew up a government building. I’m guessing they were after the Narian president.”
“They weren’t,” replied Fritz. “Colonel Mitchell told me. The president said he’d call soon.”
Major Barclay came out from behind the curtain wearing a surgical blouse and joined them. Around her, the medical team began to break down the room. The wounded lieutenant, their only remaining patient, thanked the nurse who helped him put on his shirt. The major looked over and asked, “Are you okay?”
“Yes, ma’am, a little sore, but I’ll be fine,” he said. “Just a scratch.” They had removed a bullet fragment from his shoulder.
“Glad to hear it.” She returned to the civilians. “Thank you all for your help.”
“We were trying to find your phone number,” said Ashley. “We were really cutting it close on the timing.”
“Intentional,” she replied. “The intel warned that the technicians could alert the other sites when we got in, and they would probably draw in the military. We briefed everyone that we had to get out quickly. We didn’t want to waste time in firefights if we could avoid it.”
Ashley said, “One group came out, in fact, so did you, while explosions were already going off.”
“We didn’t want them to have time to disarm the charges.” She looked around. “Is everyone else okay?”
Ashley answered, “Yeah, except for George here, the lieutenant, and the Narian who got through the portal. And you.”
“Ashley went in to get your guys out before the explosions,” added Linda.
“Really?” She looked at him, curiously, as if for the first time.
Colonel Mitchell came in as the medical team emptied the room. “Major, we’re done here. The buses are leaving, and the cleanup crews are coming in. Are you ready to go?”
“Just about. I need to get the maps.”
Fritz said, “Tony put them in your satchel when he took down the generators.”
“Colonel, I’ll be right there.” As the colonel headed out, she reached her left arm around Ashley’s neck and kissed him. “I’ll talk to you soon,” she whispered. “Thanks again, everyone.”
It looked like a stunned Ashley’s jaw had become unhinged. Lois patted his cheek. “All’s well that ends well. That’s Shakespeare, Ashley. Let’s go.”
The cleanup crew passed as they walked toward the exit. George stopped and said, “Don’t forget to clean the bathrooms around the corner,” motioning a left turn at the end of the hall. “The kids will be here in the morning.” Everyone laughed. George was back.
The parking lot was empty except for their cars. Fritz looked at his watch. A smidge past ten. He said, “Well, this has certainly been an entertaining first week of school, and tomorrow’s a school day.”
Chapter 12
ONCE AGAIN, THE irritating smell of fresh paint struck Fritz’s nostrils like bullets hitting the wall. George and Ashley were talking at his door. Ashley asked if he had seen the news. He said he had overslept and hadn’t turned on the TV or seen a newspaper. But he had some idea of what had happened because a half hour after arriving home, the president had called to thank them all for their help and told him that Israel had been attacked after the first explosions in Naria.
The attacks had come from Eledoria. Extensive damage had been deflected by the Iron Dome, and the Israelis had scrambled planes and mobilized ground forces immediately in the event they needed to do more. Although the tension and the damage they had experienced the previous night were fading, and unsurprised by the news, all three knew that their lives had changed. “It seems we’ve started a war,” George said. He waved his hand toward the wall. “They certainly did a good job cleaning up and fixing everything.”
“George, the president didn’t say anything to me, but I think you need to expect that the portal may be used again soon. This isn’t over.”
“Did we get all the nukes?” asked Ashley.
“He didn’t say, Ash,” said Fritz. “He was a little busy. I think the Eledorian involvement upset him. He needed to make calls, so he got off.”
George said, “Well, at least, we’re back to normal here.”
“There is no normal here, George,” Ashley said. “And if Fritz is right, last night could become routine in a New York minute.” Fritz agreed.
“Well, I hope not.” George said. “I can’t stand the smell of that paint.”
“It is a little strong. I wonder if they did that to cover the gunpowder smell,” said Fritz. Looking out his window, he could see students beginning to arrive. “Let’s talk later.”
As active as the previous night had been, he expected as much from his classes. He reviewed his notes for the first four periods just to refocus. His thoughts were interrupted by images of the hallway filled with soldiers. He had a tough day ahead. During morning announcements, George apologized for the smell of the paint and asked all the teachers to open their windows. Fritz walked to the windows. That’s probably a good idea, but I wish he hadn’t brought attention to it. That just makes the kids ask questions.
Fritz planned to go further with the Middle Ages when first period began. Once the class was seated, AJ asked, “Mr. Russell, do you think there’s going to be another war?”
“Why do you think that, A J?”
“Well, I saw on the news this morning about explosions in Naria and Israel sending troops somewhere. I just wondered.”
“Class, let’s talk about this for a minute. It’s not what I wanted to discuss, but let’s see if we can find a thread. Okay?”
Brandy Levine raised her hand and said, “Why is there always war around Israel, Mr. Russell?”
“Brandy, that’s a good question. Anyone have an answer?” No hands went up. “Let’s talk about it. Israel became a country in 1948, but Israel is an old civilization. It goes back to Biblical times. You’ve all heard it called the Holy Land. Can anyone tell me why?”
Tom O’Brien said, “The Jews, Christ, and Mohammed all lived there. So all the religions want to own the land.”
“And the Muslims don’t like the Jews or Christians,” Roger Carpenter said.
“Let’s look at this analytically,” said Fritz, pointing to his world map. “First, Mohammed never lived in the Holy Land. He lived on the Arabian Peninsula, in what is now Saudi Arabia, in the city of Mecca. According to Islamic tradition, he journeyed to Jerusalem with the angel Gabriel one night, and Muslims believe that he ascended to heaven from the site of the Dome of the Rock Mosque, which is in Jerusalem.” He pointed on the map. “For the Jewish people, Jerusalem is the site of the First and Second Temples, both
of which were destroyed by invaders. You’ve heard of the Wailing Wall? It’s the remains of the western wall of the Second Temple.
“Jesus is said to have spent time in and around Jerusalem, as well as other parts of Israel. He was born in Bethlehem, which is in the part of Palestine called the West Bank, and he was Jewish. He grew up in Nazareth. The Sermon on the Mount took place somewhere in the area around the Sea of Galilee, and he was crucified in Jerusalem on a hill called Golgotha. So for these three great religions, Jerusalem is very important. And it’s in modern-day Israel. Roger, Moses and Jesus are both considered important prophets in Islam. Like most religions, Islam includes a range of thinkers with various beliefs and interpretations. Some, but certainly not all, are inclined to be warlike.”
Mary Anne asked, “Is it those that are fighting the Israelis today?”
“Good question, Mary Anne. I think we need to look at the difference between politics today and in Biblical times. Today’s struggle does have some roots in the Bible and Koran. But I think it’s also about economics, politics, and power. Can you tell me when this all started?” Fritz looked at the class, which again had no response. “C’mon guys. Anyone? No. Alan Goodman, take a crack.” Alan never volunteered, but almost always had a comment worth hearing.
“I guess it started when Israel became a country and had to fight the Arabs.”
“Any time before that?”
“Well, weren’t Jews there before Israel became a country?”
“Yes, Alan. Good, but I’m thinking of something else. Anyone?”
Jim Kane raised his hand. “What about the Crusades?”
“What about them, Jim?”
“We just read about them, Mr. Russell.”
“And?”
“I don’t remember the years, but there were wars between Christians and Muslims who were in Jerusalem, and the Muslims kicked out the Christians and took over. So the kings in Europe went to Jerusalem and fought to get Jerusalem back.”
“Good start, Jim. Anyone else?”
Joan Dark said, “Mr. Russell, wasn’t a Pope involved somewhere?”
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