

A Treasure of Their Own

The Treasure Series

Smashwords Version

Published by Henry Givens

Copyright 2012 by Henry Givens

Revised 2014

Cover Art by Henry Givens

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

A Treasure of Their Own is a work of fiction. Though some actual towns, cities, and locations may be mentioned, they are used in a fictitious manner and the events and occurrences were invented in the mind and imagination of the author. Any similarities of characters or names used within to any person past, present, or future is coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author. Brief quotations may be embodied in critical articles or reviews.

# Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six: Arthur

Chapter Seven: Arthur

Chapter Eight: Marci

Chapter Nine: Marci

Chapter Ten: Marci

Chapter Eleven: Marci

Chapter Twelve: Taylor and Ramon

Chapter Thirteen: Taylor and Ramon

Chapter Fourteen: Taylor and Ramon

Chapter Fifteen: Arthur

Chapter Sixteen: Arthur

Chapter Seventeen: Marci

Chapter Eighteen: Taylor and Ramon

Chapter Nineteen: Taylor and Ramon

Chapter Twenty: Arthur

Chapter Twenty One: Arthur

Chapter Twenty Two: Marci

Chapter Twenty Three: Marci

Chapter Twenty Four: Taylor and Ramon

Chapter Twenty Five: Taylor and Ramon

Chapter Twenty Six: Taylor and Ramon

Chapter Twenty Seven: Marci and Arthur

Chapter Twenty Eight: Marci and Arthur

Chapter Twenty Nine: Marci and Arthur

Chapter Thirty: Marci and Arthur

# Chapter One

It was a beautiful Saturday morning. For the fifth day of June, it wasn't too hot. A nice breeze was blowing. There was just a little bit of cloud cover. Not one drop of rain was in the forecast. All in all, it seemed like a great day to be out of doors in Elmhurst, Georgia. The park should have been full. The boat ramp at the river should have been clogged with boats and fishermen. The ball parks should have been alive with people shouting and pitching and batting and running. But it was pretty quiet for a Saturday.

However, things were really buzzing at Elmhurst Christian Church. It wasn't Sunday and it wasn't even 10 o'clock in the morning but already the parking lot was full. Tents had been set up on the church's baseball field. Marco had gathered every available speaker, every speaker stand and several miles of speaker cable. There were amplifiers pushing amplifiers and he personally monitored every one of them to make sure that the sound was......what? Did he say that his job was to make the sound.......loud enough?

That was the command from the pastor himself. Wasn't there an ordinance in the town, though? Yep! And you had better believe that the mayor AND the city council AND the Elmhurst Police Department AND the county Sheriff's Department were very well aware of it.

They had to be. They were all planning on being there. Were their guns drawn? Nope, but most of them had their hankies at the ready.

Ian, Aaron and Jake, the worship team on the stage inside the church, were banging some hot licks on their drums, lead guitar and bass guitar, respectively. Those that called themselves Christians weren't sure if it was 'There's Power in the Blood,' or 'When We All Get to Heaven.' Those that had not made a habit of going to church were torn between 'Whiskey River' and 'Me and Bobby McGee.'

Oh, coincidentally, they finished at 9:58. Ain't that funny? They finished at the same time that the choir began to hurriedly fill the stage. The normal 25 member choir had doubled to 50 with the addition of 25 hand-picked choir members from the Assembly of God church on Bentley Avenue. Five of them brought their tambourines. Elmhurst Christian Church would probably never be the same.

At precisely 10:00 a.m., Ian raised his drum sticks and gave four clicks. The worship team thumped out an intro to 'Oh, Happy Day,' the Edwin Hawkins Singers version. Those tambourine players were a WELCOME addition to the music of the hour. Without being asked, the entire congregation rose in celebration. Staunch and laid-backed Christians shook out their starch and began clapping their hands in time with the music. Oh, yeah. Some of them began to sweat, too.

Near the end of the song, Aaron turned to the choir and raised his hand in the customary signal to stop at the end of the chorus. On the last measure, he swung around toward Ian and Jake and pumped his fist in time with the rhythm. As the choir stopped, Ian and Jake continued thumping. Aaron broke into something that sounded like a wild Jimmy Hendrix solo.

The teens and the young adults went wild and began clapping their hands in time with the music. Alas, the old fogies just looked around. The realization began to set in that they had lost control. However, for today, I don't think a whole lot of them minded.

Aaron reached a stopping point in the solo but motioned for Jake and Ian to keep thumping. He took a moment to wipe the sweat off his forehead with his index finger. That little 'I've got something up my sleeve,' look on his face made some of them break out into an applause.

He smiled as he scanned the front row seats until he caught site of where Arthur, Marci, Ramon and Taylor were sitting. As they made eye contact, Aaron pointed at them and winked as he broke into a swinging version of 'Power in the Blood.'

Did I say swinging? Oh, I should have said bluesy-swinging. Well, it bordered more on the blues than swing and then at times drifting into a little jazzy-bluesy-thingy. Ok....it was the band's own style.

But that's what the mentor of the youth group had ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS taught them to do. Go with the gift God gave you. Obviously, He gave it to you for a reason. Folks, that mentor was what this bodacious service was all about.

The choir joined Aaron on the chorus. The choir and the congregation sang the rest of the song with him. Yes.....jazz, blues and all. If you ask me, more people enjoyed it than would admit it. Starchy Christians are like that.

When the song finally came to an end, Pastor Jim Wallace came up from the congregation and took center stage. "Folks, all of us know why we're here today. We are here to celebrate......the.....uh...home going....of..." He already had his handkerchief in his hand and began to wipe a tear from his eye as he looked over at Arthur and the group. "I knew I couldn't do it," he said as he tried to chuckle. He looked up at the sound booth and said in a broken voice, "Show it, Charlie."

On the video screens that were on either side of the podium, there appeared one of the last photos of the town's most beloved hero, Tom Dandridge. Underneath his picture were the dates, 'July 28, 1923-May 29, 2010.' Underneath that was one of his statements that were supposed to rule the day. "I ain't crying right now and I don't want you to either. I am probably singing and shouting the victory. If you want to do something in my memory, join me. Let's all sing and shout for a while."

Pastor Jim leaned into the microphone and spoke softly with as much decorum as he could muster. "I'm going to try to get through this," he said with a faint smile. "Tom didn't want anybody getting up to say anything about him. And so," he said as he took a deep breath, "this worship team and this mixed choir have their orders from the man himself."

Then as he chuckled and looked down into his handkerchief, "He knew......that.., uh.... we would all get each other to crying. All except those Assembly of God folks." There was a ripple of laughter and some applause. "Remember when he went over there to give his testimony. Whoo-boy! They got to shoutin'. Tom got to shoutin'." There was a short pause before he continued, "I got to shoutin' but I'm not worried about my job here."

He waited for a few chuckles and cat-calls to die down. Then, he leaned into the microphone and said with a grin, "I also know a couple of the elders who were there. And, they got to shoutin', too. So, I'm safe. At least, I admit it." Then, he stepped off the stage and motioned to the worship team.

As he took his seat, several men and women stood up, clapped and whistled. Yep, you guessed it. They were from the Assembly of God. However, before the applause died down, Arthur and his group stood up, hooted and gave their pastor a "thumbs up" approval.

The worship team brought everything back into perspective as they led the congregation in stirring versions of some of Tom's favorites. 'All Hail the Power of Jesus Name', 'O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing', 'It Is Well With My Soul', 'The Solid Rock' and 'Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone' were done in their standard style.

Then, in accordance to the order of service that Tom had requested, they went into some contemporary worship. 'Revival', from the album Belfast Revival was first, followed by 'Ancient of Days'.

For the better part of an hour, the worship team and choir went from one worship song to another without a break. The congregation freely rose to their feet and sat down as they chose to. There were tears of joy and tears of sadness. Some knelt at their seats for as long as they wished. Nobody frowned on anybody's expression of worship.

When they finally stopped, Aaron pulled out a handwritten piece of paper from among all the sheet music on his music stand. He turned it around so everybody could see. He said, "Only a few of you might recognize this. But, this is a copy of the original song list that Grandpa ...uh, Tom Dandrige, left with Pastor Jim." He held it up high enough to make his point, and continued, "Now, if you will notice, this is JUST a list of songs. Nowhere on this piece of paper or any of the other copies does it say HOW they are supposed to be sung......or played. As some of y'all might have noticed by that screaming hot intro I did to 'Power in the Blood."

O-o-o-o-ps, he got interrupted by a round of applause and a few hoots from Arthur's direction. "Thank you, I am sure I deserve that and more," he quipped. More laughter ensued. All that knew Aaron knew that he had more tease in him than ego. "Those of us who have sat under this great mentor always remember that he told us to go with the talents that God has given us and go just as hard as we could go. I would do disgrace to his memory if I did not recognize the God-given singing ability of three of our choir members. I am going to ask Shelly, Susan and Henry to come around and sing a couple from this list..........accapella. How 'bout it?" He lifted his hands in the air and led the congregation in applause as he turned to watch the three of them make their way to center stage.

Aaron strummed a G chord for them as they picked up their microphones. Delicately and in perfect three-part harmony, the trio sang 'Amazing Love' and then went into 'How Great Thou Art'. As they poured out their souls in song, the presence of the Lord dealt with the crowd, both inside and out. Hearts were melted.

As the final chord died down, Aaron came back to center stage and said, "We have one last worship song to do. After that, you can make your way out or just fellowship as long as you want. If this song gets to you as it gets to me.....well, a lot of us...then just find an altar where ever you are. It's too crowded up around the stage to suggest that you come forward. But...." His voice softened as he looked over to Arthur as he continued, "if there ever was a chorus that Tom used to challenge us all with......this was it."

Aaron started the introductory riff and Arthur knew immediately what it was. Marci did, too. She slipped her arm into his and leaned her head on his shoulder. Ramon and Taylor placed their arms around each other also, as they recognized the melody of 'God of This City'.

Indelibly emblazoned in their memories were the words of the song that Tom would pray over and over, "God, do greater things in our lives so we can do greater things in this city for you."

Marci swung her arm through Ramon's and the four of them wept and swayed back and forth as they tried to sing the song. The compelling passion with which Tom sang those words echoed through their hearts.

Arthur felt like he needed to be at an altar somewhere but every available space was taken up with chairs. Through his tears he noticed a figure moving on his left. It was Pastor Jim. With nowhere else to kneel, the only place left was the stage. He was followed quickly by his wife and then his eleven-year-old son.

Arthur thought about pulling away from Marci to join Pastor Jim on the stage. However, the other three had the same idea and together they made their way around the maze of mike stands and speakers until each one had their own altar space. That day, God settled His calling in their hearts. At the end of one era, God was beginning several others.

The church was almost empty when the four of them got off their knees. They locked themselves in each other's arms for a couple of more moments before any of them could speak. Taylor spoke first, "I don't about you guys, but I sense that something's going on. I don't know how to describe what I felt today. All I know definitely is God's stirring something deep inside me."

"Me, too," Ramon agreed. "I got the idea that changes are coming for me and that I need to be ready. It's kinda like I'm fixing to start a new job or adventure or something. Know what I mean?"

Eddy spotted them from the back of the church and began to make his way to the platform. Eddy graduated with Marci, Taylor and Ramon. His father had built a bakery many years ago. After he graduated, his father turned the business over to him. During the past year, Eddy had gradually been adding a list of hamburgers, fries and chili until he changed the name of the business from Ed's Bakery to Eddy's Hamburger Emporium. If you think the name sounds outrageous, wait until you see the list of burgers on the menu.

As they came off the platform, Eddy gave Arthur a big hug and said with a smile, "I guess I need to say 'Congratulations' instead of 'I'm sorry,' huh?"

Arthur replied with an equally big smile, "Yeah, I reckon. 'Cause you know if Grandpa WAS listening from up there, he'd be right back down here in a heartbeat to correct you."

Eddy held up two fingers as he replied emphatically, "I wouldn't want him to do that for two reasons. Number one, I don't want him to come away from where he is. And the BIG number two is I don't want to be corrected by Tom Dandridge, ever again. Four times in the past six years is enough for me. I would much rather take a lickin' from my pa than to have him stand there and talk to me." His voice toned down about three notches as he added, "I'm sure gonna miss him."

Marci agreed with him, "All of us will. I don't know about the others but this service seemed to....I don't know, inflame the desire I had to serve Jesus. It's like I got a green light to go, but I....don't really know where." She laughed at the seeming nonsense of her statement.

Taylor piped up, "Hey, that's EXACTLY what I felt like as I prayed." She reached over to backhand Ramon in the chest and continued, "Yeah, it's like I got that green light but I don't know where I'm supposed to go."

They all laughed as Ramon had to admit, "I don't know how much better it could be said, but that's about the same way I felt." Then as the laughter died down and they all looked at each other, he continued, "Hey, guys. God's starting something. I know it."

Eddy took a deep breath and exhaled loudly as he said, "Wow!! That makes what I have to say to you guys easier than what I thought."

The foursome glanced at each other and then back to Eddy as he began by saying, "Guys, now don't laugh at me, 'cause I can remember Tom saying to us one time, that God speaks to everybody different according to how they can understand stuff. I specifically remember him saying that God might speak to one guy in King James and somebody else in slang. Well, I thought He spoke to me in slang when He told me to invite you guys to the Emporium and treat you to a last supper. You know, like the disciples and Jesus before the crucifixion only nobody is gonna die or nothing. Y'all just might not see each other for a while, that's all. Whatcha' say? My treat? Huh?"

A rather stunned foursome stood looking at each other with smiles that soon turned to laughter until Arthur finally said, "Guys, I'm not sure what God wants me to do in the next few years, or months even. I don't think any of us do. However, I do believe I know what He wants us to do right this minute."

Ramon butted in as he slapped his hands together and quipped, "Yeah, pig-out at the Emporium." As everybody started laughing, he held up his hand toward Eddy and said, "I was just joking, man. It was too good of a line to pass up."

As Eddy tried to go from laughing to his 'angry' face he pointed his finger at Ramon, "If you DON'T pig-out, I'm going to do the most dastardly thing I could think of to you." A bona fide giggle broke his 'angry' face look.

Ramon smiled one of his one-sided grins and asked, "OK, what's that?"

Eddy answered, "I'm gonna tell Wendy Hollis that you're the meanest thing in the whole wide world and she shouldn't marry somebody like you."

Ramon grabbed his chest like he was having a heart attack and faked his shock, "Oh, no. Not the darling of my life. You wouldn't dare. How can I go on........?"

He was stopped abruptly by Taylor's usual back-slap in the gut.

Yep. Ramon would get out of hand and Taylor would have to bring him back the same way every time. She had a pretty good back hand, too.

But, Ramon loved it. Most of the time when he saw that he might have the opportunity to go into one of his 'goofy and embarrassing' scenes, he would make sure that he was standing within striking distance of Taylor. Well, you just had to watch the two of them for a while before you could realize what I mean.

While everybody laughed, Eddy gave some last requests, "Guys, just do me a favor. Take your time getting to the Emporium. I wanna get a table cleared for you in the back by the picture window. And, I'll get the guys started cooking some extra burgers. But, then, you never know. We might be busier than ever right now." Then, as he began to exit the church he reminded them, "Remember. Take it slow getting there."

Arthur just shook his head as the four of them watched him make his way out of the church. Then in as calm and as normal a voice as he could muster he said, "You know. I'm just gonna hate this, every delicious minute of it. Just hate, hate, hate, hate."

"I just bet you will," Marci declared. Now, Marci didn't back slap. She elbowed. And, she knew Arthur's tender spot. But, when she drew back to elbow him, he covered his side with both hands, turned his head and flinched. Marci seized the opportunity and pinched an inch of fat just under his rib cage and twisted.

Well, Mr. Five-summers-in-the-Philippines-studying-martial-arts let out a squeal. Not a yell, mind you, a squeal that got the attention of everyone that was still standing around and talking in the church. Everyone knew that these two had been best of friends ever since Marci's great-grandmother Maybelle died. As a matter of fact, they had been pretty much inseparable through the past six years. So-o-o-o, hearing a squeal, looking around to see an embarrassed Arthur and Marci with her arms folded and smiling-----they put two and two together. Then, they chuckled and went back to talking. Nothing strange going on here.

Ramon grabbed Arthur by the arm and pulled him toward the rear exit and said, "I think we had better leave while we are still in one piece my compadre."

As he stepped towards the door with Ramon, Arthur answered, "Sounds like a mighty good idea to me. Let's go."

Half way to the exit, Arthur heard Marci call, "Arthur?"

He stopped and turned to look at her. The smile was gone and an almost forgotten look was on her face. It was somewhere between uncertainty and fear. It was the kind of look she used to get just before she would start crying. Arthur had seen it all too often the first year and a half after her great-grandmother died. Back then, he had learned that the best thing to do was to act like that look wasn't there.

"Yeah, Sweets, what's up?" was the best he could think of on the spur of the moment.

She turned toward the street entrance of the church, held her hand out to him and asked, "Walk me through the park on the way to Eddy's, will you? I want to talk to you for a few minutes."

"Sure thing, girl. Anything you ask," he replied as he took her hand and began walking with her.

Ramon turned around but at the sound in Marci's voice, he chose not to look at her. He looked straight at Taylor with his eyes raised as if to ask, "Do you have any idea what's going on?" However, the look on Taylor's face showed she was equally puzzled.

To keep an "awkward silence" thing from happening, Taylor quickly caught up with Ramon, spun him around, put her arm in his and began leading him briskly toward the rear exit as she quipped, "C'mon, Ramon, can't you see?" Then in a fake, sultry actress voice she continued, "They want to be alone, Dah-h-ling."

"Oh, really?" Ramon caught on. "I thought it was more of a you-can-eat-my-hamburger-if-I'm-not-there-when-they-come-to-the-table thing."

Just as they were going through the rear door, Taylor could be heard to say, "You know, what? You're almost brilliant for a goober-head. You know it? You're still ugly, but a brilliant goober-head."

That did it. The last comment was such a Taylorism that Marci just had to giggle at it. And just in time, too. They were just passing a group of folks that were standing at the door trying to say 'Good-bye' to each other. One of the gentlemen opened the door for them and everyone spoke. Most offered a word of condolence at their loss, but one in the crowd remarked, "What an adorable couple."

Marci just raised her eyebrows, looked at them out of the corner of her eyes and said in a terse, lilting voice, "Thank you." And, that was not really her answer of "Thanks." It was her way of giving her, "Just because we're holding hands, it does not mean that we're a 'couple', thank you" answer.

AND, everyone in that particular group knew it. Most of them had watched both Marci and Arthur grow up in the church. There had always been a deep-seated love for them. Then, Tom Dandridge came along and began to take them, and several other teenagers, under his wing. It was like watching an artist forming a work of art out of a lump of clay. One of the things that Tom pounded into his teens was that young men and young ladies never had to be embarrassed about being seen together. He taught them to develop deep friendships regardless of who He brought into their lives. One of his favorite lines was, "God is plenty God enough to tell you Himself who your spouse is when His time gets here. So, relax, have fun, and make plenty of friends." And, many of the teens began to live that way.

# Chapter Two

The park was only a couple of blocks away from the church. The two of them walked hand-in-hand in silence. Arthur had learned through the years that Marci would speak when she was ready. She was always one who wanted to get her thoughts straight before she started talking. He knew better than to interrupt her, also. She would give you that calm stare, then she would STATE matter-of-factly, "As I was saying," and start al-l-l-l over. When Arthur was with Marci, he knew when to be the man, and he knew when to be the mouse. Right now, he was the mouse.

When she was about ready, Marci started slowing down her pace. They were already holding hands, so she took her other hand and held on to his arm. Then she leaned her head on his shoulder and after a few more steps, she stopped and faced him. "Arthur," she said in a flat, no-nonsense tone, "you've got a problem."

Out of all the things that were running around in Arthur's head that she might have on her mind, that was not one of them. Oh, he had even taken the time it took them to walk to the park to prepare to answer some of the things that he thought might be bothering her. But, that statement wasn't even on his radar screen. After the initial shock, he stammered, "I....uh....Marci...."

She cut him off by putting her hand over his mouth and looking directly into his dark, black eyes. Something was going on with her best friend that he was not aware of. It dawned on her during prayer that it could very well wind up being dangerous to him for some reason. She had to face him with it, "Arthur, your face is an open book."

"Wh-a-a-a-t?" Arthur answered in disbelief and tried to chuckle but failed. "You wanted to talk to me about my.....I mean the way that......"

She crossed her arms and stared blankly at him, "What's up? Ever since you got that phone call from Uncle Pedro, your face has been telling me that you're scared of something. That call was more than JUST finalizing the airplane connections. Your mother noticed it at the same time that I did. We made an agreement to find out BEFORE you left for Manila to get the truth out of you, one way or another."

Arthur looked down at the ground. He had been betrayed by his own actions. He had learned to dance around his mother. But, he couldn't get around his prayer partner. Quickly he assessed how much he should tell her. Then, he decided that he had to tell her all. If his face was an open book, she would be able to tell, not only if he was truthful, but, also if he was holding anything back.

"OK, here goes," he started as he, too, looked into her eyes. He had to. She always made him do it. But, this time, there was a different kind of connection. Something happened within him as he held her gaze. Talk quick, Arthur and don't get side tracked.

He took a deep breath and said, "Uncle Pedro was telling me that there was a new terrorist group operating in the mountains around Manila."

"Terrorist group?" Marci raised her voice in disbelief. "You told me that it was a revival."

"That was just code talk for terrorist activity," Arthur began. He spoke his words very deliberately, "You have to swear that you won't tell anyone what I'm gonna tell you. And, should we ever talk on the phone, you should never, ever say anything about a revival or terrorist. Do you understand?"

Marci couldn't speak so she just shook her head and remained as calm as she could. Her heart began racing when Arthur asked the next question, "Using your peripheral vision and not turning your head, do you see any stranger? Especially, do you see one with a cell phone or other contraption up to his ear as if they were listening to it?"

Arthur waited as Marci's eyes darted left and right before she answered softly, "No."

Arthur continued, "Last year, Uncle Pedro told me that, for ten years, he had been involved in a secret organization that had been tracking terrorists that might be infiltrating the Philippines. He thinks that the terrorists MIGHT have infiltrated their organization so everyone has to be careful. He did tell me that they were very well organized and beginning to be expert in all means of communication. So, we have to be careful when we talk on the phone. He has asked me to take a trip up into the mountain village where my grandfather had been just to check up on them. You know, act like it was a mission's trip. I've been up there a couple of years in a row so, possibly, no one would suspect anything. Actually, some of the people going with us will be carrying radio equipment to help scan for any terrorist communication. We'll have some weapons with us but they will be well hidden."

Marci turned away from Arthur, crossed her arms and looked at the ground for a moment. She was at a loss for words and struggled to maintain her composure. All she wanted was a simple answer. The only thing she could think of to say without falling to pieces was, "Does your mom know?"

"I can't bring myself to tell her," Arthur answered. "She would fall all to pieces and do her best to keep me from going. Uncle Pedro's group has ties to the State Department. Depending on how things go, and........if it is absolutely necessary, someone will come to see her and dad. But, that's not all."

Marci turned back to face him and saw that Arthur's countenance had changed. She had never seen this kind of look on his face. "When we make our journey, all of our identification will have to be locked up in a safe place until we return. If anything should happen to us, terrorists would have a field day. Everything from our finances to our families would be at risk. You would not believe what they have already done."

Marci put her face in her hands and managed to get out, "I don't want to know. Don't tell me anything else. I.......I already know more than I should."

Arthur grabbed her hands and held them to his. With his index finger he raised her head until her eyes met his. He went on, "Marci, you know me better than anyone else. I don't have a prayer partner that knows how to pray for me like you do. Here's the tricky part that I NEED to tell you, but only share it with my mother and father if you HAVE to."

He took a deep breath before he began. "Pedro is not quite sure if they are monitoring our cell phone and computer activity just like we do theirs. So, my cell phone will be turned off and left at Pedro's house in case they can track it. Someone will be sending e-mails to everyone to throw the terrorists off in case they ARE monitoring us. So, even though I am in the jungle, you and Mom will be getting e-mails from me but it won't be from me. I will probably take a lot of pictures and some videos in advance so that it will look like I am still in Manila. When I leave to go up to the village, I will send you a picture of me posing with my fists clenched. You know, one of those manly poses that are supposed to show off my muscles."

He tried to chuckle but Marci wasn't in the mood. So, he continued, "When I get back safely, the first e-mail that I send you will be of a picture of me holding up the two fingers of my right hand and giving the 'V' sign for victory. Does that make......any sense?"

She winced and cocked her head to the side, "When you get back safely?" She pulled her hands from his, folded her arms and walked over to the closest tree and leaned up against it. She heard Arthur walk up behind her. Fighting back tears and the fear that tried to envelop her she asked, "You mean if you get back safely at all?"

"Marci," Arthur started with an assurance in his voice that she had never heard before, "up at the altar, the compelling compassion of Jesus Christ was so prevalent, that I look forward to going. I know that there is God-thing for me to do. Fear no longer grips my soul. God is God enough to handle anything He leads us into. That's what Grandpa always taught, wasn't it?"

When she looked up at him, her face turned from fear to consternation as she said, "Well, Arthur Hollis, my urgent request to you is to take that 'book' off of your face." Then she softened her tone and continued, "If your mom and I can spot it, someone who is trained in the art of reading faces will surely be able to read your 'book,' and........"

He smiled as he asked, "And what?"

"And you come back home in ONE piece, you big dope," she demanded with a smile.

For the past few weeks, Arthur had been waiting for just the right time to open his heart to Marci. When she looked at him and smiled, that strange tingly feeling went off inside of him and he knew that the time had to be now. He slipped his hands to her waist and pulled her to him. The expression on her face told him that his face indeed was an open book, at least to her.

She resisted only slightly but relented and slipped her arms around his torso. She avoided a kiss by putting her cheek next his. Yes, she avoided his kiss but she made sure that her lips brushed the side of his neck as she said in broken tones, "Maybe I can read you like a book.......but...... Oh, Arthur.... I just....didn't.....want.....to read that chapter."

She pulled back from him to look him in the eyes. Two tears raced each other down her cheeks as she continued, "At least................not yet. And, Arthur, I don't know if I'll ever be ready to be someone's wife. I made the decision this morning to go back to college in time to take the summer classes that they offer. The...uh....what did you call it, compelling compassion of Jesus Christ hit me, too. It's like He said to get on with the work. Like the desire that must be in you, He planted a stronger desire get this medical career up and going. What was line in the song, 'There is still more work to be done,'? It's ringing stronger and stronger now."

"I see," he answered as he let her go. Instead of kissing her like he had wanted to, he took her hand and they walked slowly toward the Emporium. It was a tense few moments before Arthur spoke again. This time, his voice had softened, "So, God's call on your life is for a nursing career."

She slipped her arm under his and around his waist and of course, his went around her shoulders. She affirmed, "Now more than ever, God has me focused on it, just like you must be called to the Philippines. And, I don't know if I'm to stop at just being a nurse or go on to discover new medicines......I just don't know."

"I understand," Arthur said. "You know, I had almost had the thought that maybe......," he started but didn't finish.

"We would be mates," Marci finished him. Then she looked up and smiled at him. "Your book is still open."

"Marci," Arthur said as he shook his head and grinned, "you are not fair. You are just not fair."

As she reached for the door handle to the Emporium, she looked back and grinned at him as she said, "I know it."

Arthur put his hand on the door to keep her from opening it and said, "If God has somebody for me that is better than you, she must be one fantastic mate."

Marci turned and looked into the eyes of the little kid that had kept her from slipping into the abyss of despair after her granny had died and said with a smile, "If I'm not. Then God has one that will be everything you deserve, my brother."

Arthur opened the door for Marci and stepped to the side to let her through. From behind him came a familiar voice, "Hey! Hold that door open, Fella." They both looked around and saw Olivia, Arthur's mom, coming toward them. Of course, Olivia was not alone. Olivia was HARDLY EVER alone. Her red-haired, seven-year-old shadow was right beside her.....as always.

Oh, well, the shadow broke away and ran toward them yelling, "Marci, Marci! We saw you and Arthur in the park hugging." Let's see if we can make a connection here. Arthur is the eighteen-year-old child of the married couple, Olivia and Ryan Hollis. AND, Wendy is the nine-year-old sister who is the center of attention of said marriage. Just in case you're not paying a whole lot of attention, that means that Wendy is Arthur's baby sister, and only girl in the family. For those of you older brothers who have younger sisters, you know exactly what I'm saying without putting it in print.

Marci stooped down intending on scooping the little munchkin up in her arms. However, Wendy stopped just in front of her. She popped her hands on her hips, tilted her head to one side and asked in a suspicious tone, "And, just what were you and my brother talking so-o-o-o-o seriously about over there in the park?"

Marci stood back up, glanced at Arthur and they both looked at Olivia as she finally caught up with her daughter. Hey! Have you ever heard of the phrase "The Cat that Ate the Canary?" If not, then Google it and you'll find a perfect picture of Arthur's mom.

Olivia managed a very weak, "Hi, guys." But, for those of you who can read faces, like Marci read Arthur's, Olivia's face said, "I have no idea what made her say that. I could have sworn I only made only 8 or 10 comments about it."

Have you ever heard of an awkward silence situation? Well, this was one of them. Arthur, evermore the southern gentleman that he was, ended the uneasy silence by slipping his left arm over Marci's shoulder and said (believe it or not) with a straight face, "Mom,.......Wendy......Marci and I were........ discussing," he looked at Marci as he finished, "our future." After which, he gave Marci a visible squeeze.

Olivia put her hand over her mouth. Her eyes widened as she let out a surprised gasp. Little Wendy glanced up at her mother and began to jump up and down.

Ve-e-r-r-y deliberately, Marci slipped her right arm around Arthur's waist and looked wistfully into his eyes. Then, in a true Scarlet O'Hara fashion, she breathed, "He's.......going to be a missionary to the Philippines and........I shall be a doctor striving to discover cures for all of mankind's ills." Then she looked back at Olivia with big puppy dog eyes, batted her eyelids and finished by saying, ".....Aunt Liv."

If Olivia had had a set of false teeth, they would have fallen out right then. "But......Aunt Liv? Not.....but you didn't say Mom. You did say Aunt Liv, right?" she stumbled through. OMG. She so-o-o-o-o much wanted to hear Marci call her 'Mom.' For the past three years, she had been praying, hinting, arranging and setting things up in hopes that...........but, no. It's still Aunt Liv.

Marci's fake southern belle look turned to a look of loving apology as she answered, "No, ma'am. It's still, Aunt Liv." Marci and Arthur could not help but chuckle at each other for their little impromptu gag.

Olivia gave each of them a "you-two-are-hopeless" glance and declared, "If Tom Dandridge and Maybelle Hensley are looking down from Heaven right now, and I bet they're giving each other high fives. Now, be the gentleman and open the door for your.....aging mother with no hope of grandchildren in sight."

Arthur obliged and his exasperated mother started through the door while attempting to glare at them in mock disappointment. She stopped in front of Marci and shook her finger in her face and said with a smile, "But, you are STILL my pick, young lady."

Marci bent over and gave her a quick peck on the cheek before she pulled away and replied with a smile, "I know it, Aunt Liv." Then she gestured toward the crowd inside and continued, "And, so do they."

Everyone in town had figured those two would get married someday. They figured Ramon and Taylor would, too. That is, if Taylor ever resigned from the Elmhurst Men-hater's Club. So, when people saw Marci and Arthur walking alone in the park, AND THEN saw them stop at the door, AND THEN saw Olivia come up, AND THEN saw her put her hand over her mouth, AND THEN saw her hug Marci BEFORE coming inside, they automatically thought...... which, by the way, was ALL they were doing at the time.

The place was crowded. With that many people, you would have expected a high volume of noise, and laughter, and dishes clanking. You should have heard hustling and bustling. But.....you didn't. Every eye was focused on the door. The bus boys were still. Customers in the back of the room were standing to get a good look and maybe a hint of some news. Did I tell you that Elmhurst was a small town? Yeah, it is.

Olivia realized that every eye in the place was trained on her. She could tell that every ear was anxious to gobble up the expected announcement. The showman that was handed down to her from her grandfather, Tom, began to rise to the top. She hooked her thumbs into her jeans and did a John Wayne saunter up to the bread counter. She stopped, faced the crowd, crossed her arms and made the announcement, "Folks.....I'm still......," with a glassy-eyed stare toward Marci and Arthur, "Aunt Liv."

As Marci and Arthur sheepishly shrugged their shoulders and glanced at the customers, a collective, "A-w-w-w-w-w," of apparent sympathy for Olivia was heard. There was a small applause. But, as it died down, a voice from the back called out, "Keep a-runnin', Arthur. It looked like she had done caught you for a minute."

"Oh, you shush, Jeb Beauregard," Olivia shot back. That brought a round of laughter from the diners and set them back into their own conversations.

A youthful figure with shoulder-length and wavy, auburn hair appeared beside Marci. As he noisily cleared his throat to announce his presence, Marci jumped and chuckled, "Oh, jeesh, Jake. You scared the puddin' out of me."

"Great music today, Jakester," Olivia said. Then with an all-knowing look on her face, Olivia continued, "Of course, ev-er-y one knows that it was your magnificent artistry on the bass guitar that set the tone for the group's success."

He brought the palms of his hands together and held them to his chest, bowed his head in gracious thanks and said, "Mrs. Hollis, I have always admired your impeccable taste in music."

With head bowed, he opened his eyes menacingly in Wendy's direction as he shaped his hands like claws. Then, in his best Bela Lugosi imitation he threatened, "I have orders from my master to whisk away any and all red-headed nine-year-old girls and take them to her secret lair."

Arthur cocked his head to one side and asked, "Jake, do you do everything Taylor tells you?" The clan giggled and watched Jake for his answer.

At first, Jake frowned and pointed his right index finger towards Arthur as if he was going to tell him off. However, the clan began to smile as the Jakester slowly pulled his finger toward his chin and, at the same time, slowly turn his head toward the ceiling as if looking at the closest lighting fixture. His finger wrapped around his chin and his eyes began to get bigger and bigger. The whole thing took about 15 seconds. It was enough time for everyone to start snickering. He held the pose for five seconds and then snapped out of it and said with a smile, "Pretty much. Tsho-o-ot!! I'd probably marry her if she told me to."

As everyone standing in earshot either chuckled or laughed, Olivia caught the truth in Jake's eyes. As Jake laughed and looked from on to another, his eyes met hers and he suddenly realized that his secret of four years had escaped. Olivia wrinkled her nose and shook her head "no" ever so slightly and looked away. Jake knew that his secret was safe.

Jake assumed the Bela Lugosi pose and spoke in character, "And, now I must obey my master." He slowly bent down with his arms extended and continued, "My-y-y-y-y-y ma-a-a-s-s-ster wants to seepa you blo-o-o-d."

Wendy started shaking her head and backing up as she said, "Oh, yeah? Well, you gotta catch me first."

As she was speaking, the sound of chairs scooting on the floor could be heard. She looked up and several fingers pointed in the direction of the room Eddy had reserved for them. One kind gentleman even opened the folding curtain wide enough for Taylor and Ramon to be seen.

"Munchkin," yelled Ramon.

"Save me, save me," screamed Wendy as she ran toward the back room and jumped into Ramon's waiting arms.

The crowd burst into applause as Jake bowed most graciously several times. "Thank you, thank you. Your applause is wonderful and I deserve every bit of it as usual. And, don't forget Act II which will begin......just as soon as I make it up." Then Jake turned to Arthur and Marci and said, "Hey, you almost weds, skedaddle to the room. Aaron's waiting for you."

There was more applause as Marci and Arthur headed toward the room to join Ramon and Taylor. "Are you coming, Mom?" Arthur asked.

Olivia scrunched her face and said, "Of course not. You guys need your time together before you split up. Send Wendy out in five minutes or so." She looked at Marci with 'that question' look on her face.

Marci nodded and answered, "Yes, ma'am. It's OK. I'll call you later."

Olivia smiled her reply as she thought to herself, 'Merciful goodness. She would have made a great daughter-in-law. Well, maybe that's why God doesn't want....Aw, who knows? Yes, He does and He'll tell us when He's good and ready. But....there's not another one like my Marci.' She let out a deep sigh and then seated herself at the counter.

Big Ed, Eddie's father and previous owner came over and leaned against the other side of the counter from her. "Hey," he said to her as he touched her arm, "that look on somebody's face when I was tending bar meant they were an easy sale for a double, huh?"

"Then make me a double, Big Ed," Olivia said as she slowly shook her head. "Two milk shakes with two squirts of Dr. Pepper in them, please."

"E-w-w-w-w, Liv. Are you sure? That much sugar will put you way up or way down one," he warned.

She smiled as she countered, "Naw. Only one's for me. The other one is for Wendy. It's the only way to bribe her away from that gang that dotes on her like they do."

"You got a good point there."

"You know Arthur and Marci are both leaving this weekend. That will leave Taylor and Ramon to keep her entertained," Olivia pointed out.

Big Ed nodded in agreement, "Yep, and if they left, that little red head would be the little lost puppy of Elmhurst."

"Probably," Olivia stated.

**********************

Somewhat apprehensively, Matt walked into a sleazy little dive off of Roxas Boulevard just two blocks away from the Philippine General Hospital in Manila. He was very grateful that it was still daylight outside. From what he had been told, at sundown, the place filled up with all kinds of unsavory characters. Even though he was looking for some action to be involved in, he would much rather it would be action of his own choosing.

One of the 'regular' girls saw him and got up from her stool to walk his way. He scanned the room for a man in an orange tie, found him and waved her off by pointing to him. She knew immediately that his visit here was not a social one.

The mousy looking Filipino wore larger than normal sunglasses. Why would be anybody's guess.

As Matt approached, the Filipino pushed the chair across from him with his foot. He took the offer and sat down as he quickly made a second scan of the area.

The Filipino said in perfect English, "The Lord likes your qualifications. And, even though he's still checking out your police record, blah, blah, blah, he has decided to put you on the parole." He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a small business card and handed it to him as he spoke, "You are to take this card to our business in Quezon City. Take your belongings with you. Ask for Edmund. You will live at the business and train to fight. As you need to know more, more will be told you."

Matt took the card from his hand, turned and left without speaking. It was good to be accepted.

# Chapter Three

As they made their way to the back room that Eddy had prepared for them, Arthur and Marci were stopped by well-wishers. Many of them offered condolences. More tears were shed by people whose lives were made richer just by the fellowship of one man. Tom never preached behind a pulpit but the life he lived was a sermon 24/7/365, if you know what I mean.

When they opened the folding curtain, Aaron was showing his neat little boo-boo. He was standing with his foot on a chair and his pants leg pulled up. And, there it was, a nifty looking bandage that took up about half of his left calf. "Holey-moley," Arthur exclaimed. "What happened to you?" But, before Aaron could answer, he guessed, "Oh, no. That could only mean that you must have dumped your bike."

Marci stepped over to take a look and grimaced at the size of the bandage that wrapped completely around his calf, "Good grief, Aaron. How many stitches did it take?"

He took his foot off the chair and then gently stomped it on the floor to shake his pants leg down. His eyes widened as he painfully declared, "A-h-h-h. I should have known better than to do that. Oh, my gosh. That hurt."

The gang didn't laugh at him, they laughed with him. As he regained his composure, he answered Marci's question, "It took only eight stitches but there's some real good road rash with it." His big grin brought some knowing chuckles from Arthur and Ramon.

Ramon asked, "How about the bike?"

Aaron just shrugged his shoulder with a smile, "It's gone, man. Me and Jake were crusin' that gravel road up on Lonesome Ridge. We were riding up to the top when a guy in a truck took Horseshoe Curve a little too fast as he was coming down. When I braked and swerved to avoid him, it slid out from under me. I had enough smarts to let it go completely. Jake was far enough behind me to be able to stop safely."

Arthur guessed, "Please don't tell me it went off into the ravine."

Aaron opened his eyes real wide as if he was about to reveal a deep, dark secret, "W-e-e-l-l-l-l, let's say that it would have made a real neat video if we would have had a camera. It did two end over end flips before it hit that old Ford Bronco that ran off the road five years ago."

A collective groan went up from the group as he continued with a shrug of his shoulders, "So, I guess I'll just have to ride buddy seat behind Jake for a while until I can scrape up some cash to get another one. That could take a while."

An idea hit Arthur. As he took a set of keys out of his pocket he said, "Here, why don't you take mine."

"No, no," Aaron objected, "I couldn't do that. Old Blue is your pride and joy."

"Yeah, you can," Arthur replied as he tossed the keys to him. He reached for his wallet and continued, "Here, let me sign the title over to you, and..........when.......I come back, whenever that may be, and you have a set of wheels.....sign it back over to me. That way, you'll be covered by your insurance and all that legal mumbo-jumbo stuff. It doesn't need to be just sitting. It needs to be ridden."

As Aaron opened his mouth to argue, Arthur stopped him, "And, you and the rest of the bikers don't need to miss that bike rally up in Durmaville three weeks from now. Remember, greater things are still to be done in this city."

As Arthur sat down and took out a pen to sign the title over to him, Aaron remembered Tom's challenging worship song that they finished the memorial service with. "You got me," he agreed as he took the title in his hand and looked at it. Aaron started to say that he would sign the title back to him when he got back from the Philippines.

Arthur beat him to the punch as he said while looking around at the group, "I don't know when I'm coming back. And, maybe I won't." He and Marci exchanged glances and for once he didn't care whether she read his 'book' or not. He was still stinging from their conversation in the park. Everyone in the room noticed the change in his tone of voice, although they had no clue to its meaning. While he had his wallet still open, he took out three dollars and held it out toward Aaron and continued, "Wendy, Mom said that you need to scoot so the four of us can say our good-byes and pray for a while, OK? So, go with Uncle Aaron and get you whatever kind of shake you want."

Aaron refused the money as he opened up his arms and walked in a slow and animated fashion toward Wendy. "No, no, I can't take any money," he argued as he opened his eyes real wide and looked at Miss Giggle box. Then in a sing-song style he reasoned, "Because,..........if I take your money," one step, "that means we would have to order from the menu," another step and another giggle, "and that would mean that I couldn't make that shake with..............ev-er-y thing my sweet Wendy-poo wanted."

With a big cheesy grin, she said her good-bye's to everyone as she jumped down off of Ramon's lap and skipped over to Aaron. As she took his hand, she looked over at Arthur.

Before she could ask, Arthur answered her, "I'll come in and wake you up before I go."

"OK," she smiled and pulled Aaron out the door. The feigned look of helplessness on Aaron's face as he waved to the guys brought a laugh to the group.

Arthur took his seat next to Marci. Again they exchanged glances. She knew that she had hurt him and wished now that she hadn't said what she said. Well, maybe she could have said it in a different way. But, at the spur of the moment, her words came out like they did.

She had often thought of her and Arthur as possible mates for life. In all actuality, she couldn't think of anyone else that she would rather spend her life with except him. He had been so much a part of her life in the past several years, until........ Well, it could be over, now.

That thought began to gnaw at her as she looked at him and wished there was some way he could read her heart. Since her granny had passed away Arthur Hollis was the most precious part of her life. But, for whatever reason, she couldn't find the words to tell him. She didn't know how. Maybe she wasn't supposed to. Maybe she didn't even know herself.

Arthur knew, too, that he had said those words out of the hurt of his heart. His great-grandfather had warned him about such things. Don't talk with anger, jealousy or hatred in your heart. That's what he tried to pound into them. He encouraged them all to wait and speak when your heart is full of the love and passion of Jesus. He realized that his attitude had caused some difficult feelings between the two of them and he just couldn't let it lay. He reached over and squeezed her hand gently. When she looked at him, he whispered, "I'm sorry."

She refused to let his hand go. She held it tight as she looked into his eyes and whispered back, "No you're not. You're wonderful." Her smile was all that he needed to know that everything was OK between them.

Taylor opened up with, "What time do you have to leave in the morning?"

"Dad has to get me to the airport in Atlanta by 7 a.m. so that we will have plenty of time to catch the plane," Arthur answered.

"I thought you weren't supposed to leave for a couple of more days," Ramon said.

Arthur looked up at them and paused before he explained, "Uncle Pedro called yesterday and shared some dire information with me."

Realizing that there couldn't possibly be anyone around that could overhear their conversation, he began to explain. "There is a new type of terrorist group roaming around the mountain villages near where Grandpa was and where Uncle Pedro was raised. He still has relatives that live there. Anyway, this new terrorist group comes into the villages and demands that the villagers adhere to some strange belief or face death. They leave the village but then wait in hiding until some of them venture out to hunt or make trips to the valley for food. When the villagers are confronted and refuse to convert, they are caned to death. Sometimes they just kill the adults and take the children. There have been instances where up to thirty or so terrorists will storm into a village and beat people randomly with canes while two or three of them snatch up the babies."

"Dear Lord in Heaven, that's awful," Taylor said in revulsion.

Ramon asked, "Doesn't the government do anything about it?"

Arthur asked the group in an almost flat voice, "First of all, can somebody tell me how many islands are in the Philippine group?"

"Fifty?" asked Taylor.

"How about five hundred?" Ramon suggested with a chuckle.

Marci spoke, "There are over seven thousand."

"Wow," was all that Taylor could say.

"I had no idea," Ramon added.

Marci looked at Arthur. She read the unspoken question and answered without him asking, "Your mother and I looked up a lot of facts the other day." Their eyes locked and a lot was said between them in just five seconds.

Ramon and Taylor exchanged glances. Obviously, there was a lot that their two friends hadn't shared with them. They knew the hearts of their prayer partners and trusted them to provide whatever info they felt they needed to share. They, also, gave them the respect to hold back whatever information they didn't feel like sharing.

Arthur looked from one set of inquisitive eyes to another as he continued, "There are many different factions of terrorist groups in the Philippines. Sad to say that the Philippines have almost been hailed as the breeding ground for a couple of the major terrorist groups that we know of. And, where the major groups are, splinter groups are bound to form. There are members of the government and the armed forces that are on the side of the various terrorist groups. They can't make a clear decision because they are too divided on what to do. When they do send the Army into the mountains, the terrorists know exactly when and where the Army will strike. They are very sophisticated in how they run their operations. Pedro says that they have spies in every office of the government."

Taylor probed, "Is that why you've been a bit distant lately?"

Arthur and Marci looked at each other for a moment.

Taylor was quick to pick up on the look and tried to lighten up the subject by suggesting with a smile, "O-o-o-o-h, w-e-e-l-l-l, w-e-e-e don't need to go there now do we? The park thing, huh?"

While Ramon just covered his face and turned away from Marci and Arthur to try to stifle his laughter, Marci returned fire by saying with an embarrassing grin, "Yes, we did approach that subject."

She lost her smile as she hesitated for a moment before continuing, "In short, no phones and no text messages because it might leave a GPS footprint." She looked at Arthur to make sure she was getting it straight, "And, someone else will be sending e-mails with photos to us while they are in the jungle. He's going to have a lot of pictures and videos taken before they go in. He'll send one picture of a specific pose when he goes into the jungle and a different specific pose when he comes out. That is, IF they make it out."

Taylor and Ramon looked over at Arthur to see if he was going to refute anything she said. He looked at them with a small smile and admitted, "There is that possibility. Uncle Pedro said that he had no idea what we would come up against. For right now, that's the best information that I have to offer. That's all that was given to me. Guys, just don't forget to pray for us."

All Ramon and Taylor could do was just look at each other. This was the first real heavy thing that had come up in the group. Man oh man; it was heavier than anything that they had ever figured.

"You got mine, little brother," Taylor said solemnly.

"Mine too," echoed Ramon. "I wish I could go with you my friend. I'd be there shoulder to shoulder, man."

"Thanks, guys," Arthur replied, "I know you would." He looked at Marci and asked, "Have you told them, yet?"

She raised her eyebrows and answered, "Nope, net yet. I guess right now is about as good a time as any." She turned toward them and said, "I had been thinking about taking a summer course at med school and get a jump on graduation. Also, I need to start solidifying my specialty. This morning kind of capped it for me. I'll be leaving in a couple of days myself. That leaves you two to yourselves. What are y'all going to do?"

Taylor and Ramon looked at each other and grinned. Taylor finally said, "I don't know. Beat each other up, I suppose."

Ramon snickered as he turned toward Marci and Arthur, "That's about all there is to do around here."

Arthur asked, "Are y'all still interested in going on active duty instead of staying in the reserves? I thought y'all were looking into becoming snipers."

Taylor answered first, "Yeah, we made the circuit of all the recruiters around town and even went over toward Durmaville to see if anybody would give us any different answers."

Ramon continued, "Yeah, the answers were all the same. Yes, men could but women couldn't. And, even if women could be a sniper nobody could guarantee that we would be stationed together. But, boy oh boy, could they ever put up a big talk."

Taylor conceded, "It really, really wanted to make me reinvent the Elmhurst Man-Haters Club. Those clowns they called recruiters danced all around the subject. They went from money to patriotism to educational benefits to pride and the whole nine yards."

Ramon laughed as he added, "You should have seen Taylor. Holy cow was she ever great. Me, I just let them babble on and when they blow out their steam I can just get up and leave. But, not old nail-their-hides-to-the-wall Taylor. She would not let them have the last say. She would listen for a bit and be real patient. Let me tell you, I figured her out. As soon as she got tired of their song and dance, she would lean back in her chair, cross her arms and then keep nodding her head. When she had had enough, she would tilt her head down and hold up her index finger and they would stop. Then she would light into them like a hound after chickens. And, they would start cackling like an old hen would."

Taylor had already started laughing before he finished. She added, "And I haven't had that much fun in a long time. Man that felt good to put a guy in his place, especially one who was putting the schmooze on you."

"So what are you going to do now?" Marci asked

"We don't know," Taylor answered. "I guess we'll just keep working with Mama Tish over at the Elmhurst Grocery until they run us off I suppose. You guys get all the glamorous jobs and we get to be boring and normal, I reckon."

Marci laughed, "You, Taylor Sanders, boring and normal? There is no such description that comes to my mind about you two that could be classified as either boring or normal."

Aaron opened the door, "Hey guys, can I introduce you to my newest friend?

"Hey, sure."

"You bet."

"Yeah, bring him in."

Aaron stepped aside and ushered in a tall and lanky Spanish looking young man. He looked quickly at them and nodded. Then, he looked up at Aaron as if for approval. Aaron smiled down at him. It was evident that they had formed a strong friendship already. Aaron introduced him, "This is Roberto but prefers to be called 'Berto. He is fourteen years old. He's not officially hired here because the Emporium doesn't make enough money, yet. But he came in the other day with an offer we could not turn down. He asked if he could work enough hours on Saturday to get a meal for him and his mother. Now, they are not destitute or broke or nothing like that. But, get this. He wanted to treat his mother to a meal because he appreciates all that she does for him. Now, tell me how are we going to turn down a request like that? Jake and me ain't."

Marci smiled and started to tear up as she declared, "That is one of the sweetest things........."

"I'll split tips with him and Jake'll spot him some funds, too," Aaron began.

"No, no," 'Berto interjected, "I just want to treat my mom to something she doesn't have to fix or clean up. That's all, honest."

Aaron maintained, "We'll see what happens, big boy. Anyway, he'll be coming by to check on you from time to time to see if you need anything, fill your tea or coke, and take dirty dishes and all that stuff like that there. OK?"

"Great."

"Sounds super to me."

Ramon asked, "Hola, amigo? De donde es usted?

Berto perked up as he heard his home language. "Naci en New York. Mi madre es originaria de Cuba," he answered with a big smile. "Nacio en los Estados Unidos?"

"No. Naci en la Ciudad de Mexico," Ramon answered.

"Alright, alright," Taylor interrupted playfully, "what did y'all say. A little bit of English here, por favor."

Before Ramon could say anything, Berto spoke up, "He asked me what I thought of his girlfriend and I said that I thought she was the sweetest thing this side of Heaven." His eyes got big as he realized what just came out of his mouth and he took a small step behind Aaron and then blushed.

For once........did you hear me....I said once.........and ask anybody in Elmhurst if you think I'm not telling the truth. For once....Taylor Sanders was completely and utterly.......silent. Her mouth was opened in shock at what he said. What he said was so cute and then when he shyly hid behind Aaron........it just blew her mind. She couldn't do anything but hold her mouth open and look at her friends in astonishment. Everyone watched as red first appeared at her Adam's apple and then rose up until it covered her whole face.

After five seconds of silence, Berto said quietly with a shy smile, "I lied. We just talked about where we were born."

The room burst into laughter. Taylor tried to explain, "I kinda figured that. But, you were so darned cute and so fast with that comeback..............I......I.......man, I don't know."

Ramon finally slowed down enough to rise from his chair and hold out his hand to Berto and say, "Amigo. No one on God's green earth has EVER gotten one on her, much less left her speechless. Congrats, my friend."

Berto stepped out from behind Aaron, shook his hand and said with a big grin said, "Gracias, amigo."

Ramon held onto Berto's hand and said to Taylor, "I got him for you, Taylor."

As Berto tried to pull his hand back from Ramon's firm grasp, he looked up at Aaron real wide-eyed. Aaron just stood there laughing, held his hands out palm up and shrugged his shoulders in the typical 'I don't know' sign.

"Aw, let him go................amigo," Taylor quipped. "I'm gonna catch him in here one day in front of his mama and sneak up and kiss his whole face." Then she winked at him.

As Ramon let his hand go, he again took a half step behind Aaron before he answered, "If I had known that, I would have brought her with me today." Then with a quick look of approval he said, "I will go clean tables now." Poof! He was out the door before you could blink.

Laughter came instantly. Taylor was all aglow as she beamed, "Gosh that guy is so darned cute. Who did you say he was, Aaron?"

Aaron peeked out of the folding curtain and looked at the crowd before he closed it. He stepped to the table and leaned over so he could talk where no one could hear him. "I got the scoop on him from one of his teachers that was in here the other day. They're from New York City. It was what she said about his circumstances that really got me. His mother's name is Maria....something."

He took a deep breath before he continued, "His mother became pregnant with him because of a gang instigated rape when she was sixteen. The father left the country for some reason. A few months later, Maria's family left for New Jersey."

Taylor groaned, "Dear God, that's terrible."

"How did she wind up here?" Ramón asked.

Aaron continued, "She frowned on the idea of going on welfare, so after he was born, she took jobs cleaning houses here and there. She finally became a live-in nanny for Herman and Kitty McClain that retired couple who lives out on Gruber Road."

Arthur said, "Hey, Ramon, that's that executive dude that rode bikes with us to Atlanta and back two summers ago. He had that copper colored Gold Wing you were so hepped up about."

"Oh, yeah," he exclaimed as his memory was stirred. "That thing was decked out with every cool gadget that there was to have. He was a pretty neat guy."

"Yeah," Aaron replied, "When he retired and moved to Elmhurst a few years ago, he made sure that Maria and Berto came with them. She makes enough to live off of and, like I said, Berto just wanted to do something for his mama to show his love for her. You know, one of those, 'something I did by myself' things. There's no way me and Jake could turn that guy down. I mean, besides the neat story, you could see that the guy has a personality that doesn't need to go to waste. It's like Tom always taught us. People come into our lives for a reason. Hang around long enough to find out. So, here we are, hangin' around and findin' out."

Marci said, "He is such a neat little guy. I wish I hadn't made plans to leave now. I would like to get to know his mom."

Aaron pointed towards Arthur, "My mom is getting with his mom Monday morning and making a plan. They're gonna get down to Tom's treasure business."

"'Nuff said," Ramon chimed in, "Case closed when Olivia Hollis sets her mind to something."

Arthur sneaked a glance at Marci, "Accept one thing."

Marci smiled, "You don't know until one day God................"

"Well, my bet's on Olivia, girl," Taylor added with a nod of her head.

Aaron looked back and forth at them and discerned a hidden meaning. "On that note that I'm not quite sure how it reads, there's some dining room duties that I need to take care of so........Jake will be here in a minute to take your orders. They will all be custom made by the head chef himself so he wanted to get all the specifics down pat." He opened the door and backed out as he was talking.

On the other side of the curtain, they heard him say, "Oops. Oh, my gosh, Tish, I'm so sorry. I didn't know you were standing out here."

"Oh, no, Aaron, we just got here. That's perfectly alright. Uh, Taylor's in there isn't she?"

"Yeah, she is. Y'all go right on in."

Tish was not Taylor's mamma. They just had that kind of relationship. As she stepped toward the folding curtain to open it she said, "Mama Tish is that you? Of course you can come in." She pulled the curtain open for her.

Tish was everybody's favorite person. She was always so bubbly and happy. They all loved to be around her. She was also Taylor and Ramon's boss. She owned and managed the Elmhurst Grocery Store.

All eyes were on the door as Taylor pulled it open. They saw her smile fade quickly as she looked at the person behind Tish. "Come in, Mom," was all she could manage to mumble.

**************************

Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen, we have some late breaking news from the province of Quirino in the Philippines. We go now to our Eyewitness News reporter, Don Gonzales. Don, what can you tell us about this missing tribe?

Don: Well, right now, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of details, Frank. But, it seems as if a whole village has disappeared from the Quirino province. A United States aid agency that makes regular visits to the area has brought back reports from this remote mountain region that one of the villages they visit every other month appears to have been deserted. For right now, they have ruled out the possibility that this could be terrorist related. The closest reports of any terrorist activity have been sixty to seventy-five miles away from this remote village. The village was found to be intact and no signs of a struggle were found anywhere. The only clue that the aid agency found was a newly well-worn path that looked like the whole tribe just got up and wandered deeper into the jungle. Authorities here are sending in a team of investigators but the unofficial word from a government spokesman said that these remote tribes preferred to live quiet and peaceable lives. The prevailing thought is that they just decided to pick up and move. We'll keep you posted as this story unfolds. Back to you Frank.

Announcer: Thanks, Don. Turning to events a little closer to home............

# Chapter Four

Taylor stepped back and stared at the doorway. Ramon watched her open and close her fist. It was a sure sign that she had gotten nervous real quick. His gut tightened as he looked toward the door. Had her drunken father come back again? That was usually his style. Leave for several months and then come back to try to beat everybody up.

As Tish came through the door, she noticed the look on Taylor's face. She was quick to try to calm her. Although she wasn't her natural mother, Tish and Taylor had a great relationship. Right now, Tish was counting on it.

"Taylor, it's OK," she started, "Pastor Jim and I have been talking with this gentleman ever since y'all left to come over here." With tears in her eyes and a smile on her face she pulled Taylor to her for one of their famous bear hugs.

As bubbly as anything Taylor had ever heard, Tish continued to explain, "Oh, Taylor, he's got one of the greatest ideas.....and I can't tell you because he wants to.....but it's a great idea......and something you'll be interested in because we've talked......." She was so excited that she could hardly contain herself. Tish knew that she was about to spill the beans so she abruptly stated, "I-I-I-I-I-I've got to shut up right now."

She released Taylor and pulled out her chair and began giving orders, "Now, everybody just sit. And, I'm going to sit by Taylor, if that's OK?" She looked for approval from the gentleman. "Oh, I'm sorry," she gushed as she rose from her chair and stepped back to the door. With a short laugh at her own nervous faux pas, she grabbed his arm and pulled him in and added, "And he's going to introduce himself in a special way or something. Did I do OK?"

"Yes, ma'am," he chuckled as he came through the door and into their line of sight for the first time. It was evident that Taylor was more curious than she was nervous. No one at the table had expected to receive a visit from such a distinguished member of the Armed Forces. His warm smile was as genuine as can be. Yet, there was something in his demeanor that called for a great deal of respect. The guys recognized his rank as being a Major General. Strangely, the left side of his uniform had no ribbons of any sort. His name tag read, 'Bennett.' It was a familiar name to Arthur from somewhere.

They all stood up as he entered the room. He took a couple of steps toward them until he was directly in the center. His smile widened as he pointed to Taylor and replied, "Your name is easy, young lady. It must be Taylor."

There was something about this guy that you just couldn't help but like, she smiled and replied, "Yes, sir."

He raised his finger and pointed to each one in line. "And you must be Ramon, you must be Marci, and that leaves you to be Arthur," he finished.

After they all replied in the affirmative with accompanying smiles, Arthur opened with, "And you are?"

His smile grew a bit as he reached inside his uniform and pulled out a 4 x 6 glossy photograph. He looked at all of them but let his gaze rest on Arthur as he said, "I have given one of these to your mother as I came into the Emporium. This one is yours to keep. The original is sitting on my mantelpiece at home. I have some very serious business to discuss with Taylor. I have an astounding proposition. It is so astounding, in fact, that I was hoping to have someone here that could vouch for my integrity. Unfortunately, we honored his home going today."

Something tingly went off inside of Arthur. That's where he had heard the name Bennett from. It was from some things that he remembered his great-grandfather and Fred Lee talking about. But, what was it?

The General continued as he held out the picture to Arthur, "So the next best thing that I could ever have to introduce myself is with this picture. You will, perhaps, more readily recognize the man in the middle."

Arthur took the picture out of his hand very tenderly. His eyes widened as he recognized the man in the middle. He showed the other three as he said, "Hey, its grandpa. Look!"

"Wow."

"That's him alright."

"He was so handsome. No wonder your great-grandmother fell for him."

Arthur asked, "How long ago was this taken?"

"Around forty years ago."

They passed the picture back to Arthur. He took a look at the picture and thought out loud, "Hmmmm. The older gentleman is your father. I see the resemblance. Wait, he has on a Marine Corps uniform and you are an Army General." He pulled the photo up a little closer, "Your father was a Brigadier General at the time this..........wait." He looked up, and declared, "Your father is the one they called War Horse. You must be....uh...Charles."

"Absolutely correct," he said as he clicked his heels and snapped a short salute with a smile. "Major General Charles E. Bennett."

Arthur got up from the table, went around it and embraced Tom's friend from the past. "It is certainly a pleasure to meet one of grandpa's longtime friends."

Taylor nudged Ramon and whispered, "A friend of Tom's? He's OK for me." Ramon nodded his agreement.

"No, Arthur," he said, "the pleasure is all mine. Believe me; I owe a deep debt of gratitude to your great-grandfather, for snatching me out of a life of misery." With a raised eyebrow and a couple of nods of his head, he added, "And for straightening out my father who really was an old War Horse and several other things that couldn't be mentioned in mixed company."

"Oh, my gosh," Arthur declared. "Where in the world are our manners? Please, please, have a seat."

"Thank you, Arthur," he said, "I appreciate that." He began talking before they were all completely seated, "Now, Taylor, before I get to the point, I want to tell you WHY I came here to see you."

Everybody looked toward Taylor at the same time. Her face turned red and she started fanning herself nervously. She choked out, "Oh, my gosh. When you said that and called my name, I got this ...goofy feeling. Nervous, excited, scared.....I don't know what." She put her hands up to her face and looked at Tish, "Oh, gosh, Mama Tish, I think I'm.........excited."

Tish clapped her hands several quick times and exclaimed, "Taylor, Oh, just wait 'til you find out. I hope you like it, because I do.....Oh, I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to interrupt."

General Bennett chuckled as he said, "That's perfectly alright. And I do have something important to offer you. First, though, I think I need to tell you why I came to see you."

Everyone seemed to settle down as the General began, "The short story is, that Tom Dandridge's influence kept me from leaving home and becoming .......whatever. He kept me from running away from home long enough to change my dad's view about a lot of things. He taught me a lot about making tough decisions and sticking with them no matter what. Case in point, I joined the Army because I didn't want to ride into the Marine Corps on my father's coat tails. You'd better believe that a Marine Corps brat trying to make it in the Army, I had to work twice as hard."

Everybody chuckled at his remark. He continued, "There were many times I had wanted to quit but I didn't. The hard work ethic and the tenacity that Tom and my dad drilled into me paid off. As sure as I know that my name is Charles E. Bennett, I know that Tom has drilled the same get-it-done attitude inside every one of you here at this table."

They all looked at one another and shook their heads while Ramon added, "You are so right General. I don't think 'drill' would be the right word. 'Beat' was the right word for me."

"Overtime is another word," Taylor added. "He had his hands full with me, too."

The General agreed, "Yes, then you all admit that Tom, by virtue of his actions, stayed true to his mission even though it was hard. AND, by virtue of completing his mission, he taught each one of you to be faithful to what you know is the right thing to do."

"I've never heard it put quite like that," replied Marci. "But, that does sum it all up in just a few words, General Bennett."

Everyone agreed.

He paused and looked from one to another and said, "You would do me the greatest honor, if you would just call me, Charles. Did you notice that I am not wearing my ribbons?"

Ramón answered first, "Yes, sir. I know you must have a chest full of them."

"You are quite right," he admitted. "There again, our mentor made mention of the fact that it's not the outside that determines a man's character, but the inside. Did he ever use that one on you?"

"Now that you mention it.......Charles, he did say that a few times," Taylor conceded.

"I guess you could say that he taught it to us in everything he did," Arthur added.

Charles was fixing to start his serious talk when Arthur whispered over to Ramon, "Did it just get a lot quieter out there?"

Folks, they should have known that anytime Eddy's Hamburger Emporium gets quiet it is either when it's empty or the Jakester is about to pull one on somebody. And right now it is the latter. He opened the door real quick, yelled, "A-h-h-h!" in mock surprise and closed the doors back. Then he said loud enough for everyone to hear, "You people put your clothes back on. You should be ashamed of yourselves."

The crowd began to laugh as Jake went into his routine. They knew that just about every time he came out into the dining room from the kitchen, he had some diabolically funny stunt to pull. Even knowing there was a general in there he pulled this one. Maybe ESPECIALLY since he knew there was a general in there he pulled this one.

He put a hand on the door, looked at the crowd, and said, "And for my grand finale." He pushed the sliding folding door open for everyone to see and declared with a wave of his hand, "Wah-lah, they are all dressed." Without waiting for any reaction, he began to bow and say, "Thank you, thank you, thank you very much."

Of course, the crowd loved it and gave him his applause. Do you think that people might have been hanging around just to see what the Jakester would do? Yeah, probably.

Once inside, he closed the doors, took one look at Charles and said, "Hello, what is this. Is he.........."

Quickly Marci stopped him before he went any further, "Don't do it, Jake, please."

Knowing Jake had a thing for her, Taylor added, "He's here on official business to talk to me. And, he's a longtime friend of Tom's."

"Well," Jake settled down a bit. He did have a lot of things to do, so he got down to business. He took out his pen and a pad and began, "Ladies and gentlemen, I will be your personal waiter and cook. I want to take your orders myself so I can get your burgers just right for this special occasion." As he smiled at Taylor he added, "Which gets speacialer by the moment." He put his pen to his pad and looked at Arthur.

"I'll take the pizza burger, straight with some curly fries and a Coke."

Marci ordered, "I'll take the Old Goat Special with curly fries and a Dr. Pepper."

Charles interrupted, "Wait. I can figure out the pizza burger, but the Old Goat Special?"

"Yep," Jake answered as he finished writing. "That's because it's my own concoction. Ground beef with onions, Worcestershire sauce, a dash of Texas Pete, oregano and cooked in two quarter pound sections. Just before they are finished, I pile some bleu cheese on one and slap the other one on top. I have a special metal cup I put over the top to let it cook all the way through. It's good."

"Hmmmm, sounds interesting," Charles said. "What are you going to have, Ramon?"

Ramon slapped his hands in anticipation and beamed a smile at Jake as he answered, "I'll have the Volcano Special, curly fries and a Dr. Pepper, please."

Charles' eyes widened as he asked Jake, "Ok, what's that one?"

He answered with a big smile, "My favorite concoction. The same beef as the Old Goat but with double shot of Texas Pete. Instead of bleu cheese, I put in pepper jack. I serve it in a small bowl because I pile my home-made chili on top of it until it looks like a volcano."

"And it tastes like a volcano," Ramon finished for him.

Taylor answered, "That means it is almost red hot. There's so much chili on it, you have to eat it with a fork. Anyway, Jake, I'll take the regular."

"Plain burger, cheddar cheese, doubles lettuce, double tomatoes and vinaigrette instead of mustard, curly fries and a Dr. Pepper."

"You're the best, Jake."

He answered in a straight-faced matter of fact tone, "And as well as being VERY attractive you are a very astute judge of character."

There were chuckles all around the table. Besides Ramon and Arthur, Taylor talked to Jake more than any of the other guys. They just always hit it off.

"Tish?"

"Nothing for me, Jake," she answered as she shook her head. "I've got to go and help with our Saturday afternoon rush."

"Oh, Mom, I forgot all about that," Taylor. "Oh-h-h-h, shoot."

"No, don't worry about it," Tish countered, "I already got some substitutes. I knew it would be best for you and the rest to be together." Then looking up at Jake, she changed her mind, "Yeah, just bring me some......oh yeah....those Cajun fries with the nacho cheese on them and a Coke. "

"You got it, girl," Jake responded with a wink. He turned to Charles and asked, "Do you want me to give you a rundown of what I make?"

"Absolutely not," he said emphatically, "I'll take that volcano special, curly fries and a Pepsi, thank you."

Jake warned him, "That chili is my own recipe and it only comes hot. There's no such thing in my vocabulary as a mild chili."

"I wouldn't want it any other way."

"You got it then. Eddy told us to anticipate the crowd so the burgers are probably almost finished right now. You guys order the same thing all the time so I already had Reggie and Millie fixing them. Five minutes at the most guys." With a wave of his hand, Jake opened the folding curtain and started out. However, he was almost run over by an almost blushing 'Berto.

Excitedly he ran in with a pitcher of water and a cleaning towel in his hand. "Hey, does anybody need......aw, man. Y'all don't even have glasses. Ok. I'll go get you some."

Taylor called to him, "'Berto, hey, hang on just a minute."

"Yes, Ma'am?"

"Come here and let me look at you."

"What?" he asked as he looked down at his clothes.

Ramon spotted it, too. "Hasn't been here five minutes, guys, and already he's got the women swarmin' all over him."

A little flushed, 'Berto shot back, "Aw, no I don't. I swear I don't." As his eyes darted back and forth between the four of them, he shook his head and began, "All except for this old lady out there."

Marci, "Old lady? 'Berto, you've got lipstick all over your cheeks, both of them."

"Aw, man," he said as he began rubbing his cheeks with his cleaning towel, "I should have known. Man, I didn't get through cleaning the second table when she ran up to me and began saying what a handsome young man I was. And, she had her husband take my picture and then pictures of me and her together and she kept on looking at me. Then she kissed me on both my cheeks and then SHE took pictures of me on her phone and was going to send them to......goodness knows who or where."

"Come here, lover boy, I'll help you get it all off," Taylor said as she reached into her pocket book and took out some lotion. Then she put it on 'Berto's cheeks and began cleaning him up.

Just as she was getting finished the door cracked open a bit. It was the elderly lady. "There you are, 'Berto," she said. To the others she apologized, "I'm sorry for barging in but my husband said that we had to get on the road back home. I just wanted to take one more look at this handsome worker y'all have here." She had dark features and a slight Spanish accent herself. She took her sunglasses off and held his face in her hands. Her gaze seemed as if she were trying to memorize every line. "You are such a handsome young man, 'Berto, would you mind if I come back to see you some time?"

With a bashful smile, 'Berto answered, "Thank you for the compliment, Ma'am. And, sure, I would love to see you again."

She almost looked as if she was going to cry when she hastily put her sunglasses on. She bent down and gave him another kiss on the cheek. She chuckled as she said to Taylor, "You missed a spot." As she started toward the door, she said, "Bye 'Berto. And bye, everyone. Thank you for letting me burst in like that."

"That's OK."

"You're welcome."

As she closed the curtain door behind her, everyone looked at 'Berto. He just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. He tried to say something, but he had no idea what to say.

Ramon quipped, "Hey, dude. Pass around some of that after shave you're wearing. Me and Arthur could use some if it brings the chicks running like that."

"Leave him alone," Taylor scolded him playfully. As she cleaned off the last little bit of lipstick she said, "There ya' go, pal. Who was that lady, anyway?"

"I don't know. She said her name but I was so scared I forgot it."

Marci leaned over and asked Taylor, "Was it just me, or did it look like she was studying his face?"

"Yeah, it did kind of look like that. Maybe she thinks she recognizes you from somewhere."

Arthur jumped in, "Guys, the plain fact is, 'Berto is a very distinguished looking gentleman. His body says he's fourteen, but his demeanor says he's about nineteen."

Taylor admitted, "That's about the size of it. You better stay sweet, young man and don't go breaking girls hearts, you hear me."

"Yes, ma'am," he said grinned real big and headed toward the door.

Ramon called after him, "Hey, if you snag a blonde that you don't know what to do with, bring her in to me."

"A blonde?" scoffed Taylor. "You're too much of a Goober-head to know what to do with a blonde."

Ramon looked at Tish and pleaded, "You see the way she treats me. After all I do for her and she calls me a Goober-head."

Before she knew it, Tish blurted out, "Well, just call her a Tater-head like I do."

"MOM!"

"Oh, my gosh. I can't believe I said that."

"Well, I believe you said it, cause I heard it and so did ever body else."

Charles began chuckling and then let it roll on into a full-fledged belly laugh.

"See there," complained Taylor good-naturedly, "now I'll never be able to go into the service."

Charles forced himself to stop laughing long enough to say, "No, no. I'm not laughing at you. Well, I am, but you just don't know." Everyone had to wait until his next wave of laughter subsided. They could only chuckle and smile at something he knew to be hilarious. "Tater-head is, I can only reckon, the first nickname my daddy ever had." Another wave of laughter hit the Charles E. Bennett shore.

"You've got to be kidding me," Marci said, "a Marine Corps general with a nickname like Tater-head?" I can understand War Horse but not Tater-head."

As he pulled out his handkerchief to wipe the tears out of his eyes he explained, "I'll tell you one thing. It sure wasn't his subordinates that dared give him that nickname. He got that one when he was in basic training. The guy that was cutting his hair noticed a couple of bumps on his head that he had to be careful of cutting around. It was him who brought it to the attention of Dad's drill instructor by saying, "Looky hear, Sarge. Looks like you got a tater-head for a recruit." All through basic, that name stuck. But, he only took it from the Drill Sergeants. He SURE didn't take it from any of the recruits. BUT, by his own admission, that's where his attitude came from that earned him the nickname I gave him, War Horse."

The curtain opened and in waltzed Jake's Aunt Millie, "Ok, everybody. It's din-din time," she sang. She brought in a tray with the drinks and served everybody without asking which one belonged to whom. She had been through this drill long enough with this group. And she presumed that the extra must belong to the general by default.

Behind her was Uncle Reggie pushing a cart with their burger plates. He, too, knew the routine. He grabbed Ramon's and Marci's. With his back to the curtain, he looked at Taylor and mouthed the words, "'Berto wanted to bring yours to you himself."

Taylor grinned and looked over at Marci. She had understood what Uncle Reggie mouthed and giggled. This 'Berto kid was becoming something else.

As Uncle Reggie picked up Arthur's plate, he stepped around to the other side of the table and, thus, made room for 'Berto to come in.

The little gentleman came in holding Taylor's in his hands. As their eyes met, he broke out into an embarrassing little smile and gently set hers down in front of her. Taylor pulled him over to her and gave him a little kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry I don't have any lipstick on, 'Berto," she giggled.

"That's OK, Ma'am," he replied as he handed her some silverware. "I can come back for seconds. That'll give you a chance to get ready for me, Babe." And, with a wide grin, he quickly vanished though the curtain leaving the others to their laughter.

# Chapter Five

As the laughter and the comments died down, Jake entered the room carrying the general's volcano burger like it was a coronation crown. Very gently, he set it down in front of the general. "Here ya go your majesty," he quipped. "Now if Master Arthur would do the honors of blessing this delicious repast, I would like to stay long enough to see what you think. BECAUSE, my dear general, me thinks thee to be of the culinary persuasion. Could I be right?"

A sly grin came across the general's face as he answered, "Oh, a little."

"And, I can also tell that you don't play poker."

"Oh, yeah? How's that?"

"You came in here with your clothes on."

The general laughed as much as everybody else did and then asked, "Have you ever thought about going into the service?"

"Not with you in it, Charlie my boy. Now Arthur, pray." Jake commanded as he stuck his hands out. Everybody followed suit and joined hands.

Arthur prayed, "Father, we are so grateful to have this time of fellowship with each other and with You. We thank You for this food You have supplied for us to eat. We ask that You sanctify it to the nourishment of our bodies. Bless the hands that prepared it and us to Your service in Jesus name we pray, Amen."

Instead of digging in to their own meals, everyone's eyes were on the general and Jake. Aunt Millie commented, "General you know that you are the one that is at center stage at this very moment, don't you?"

"Yes, Ma'am, I most certainly do," he answered her politely. He looked at Jake and declared with a big grin, "And I am particularly confounded as to how you knew that I cooked."

Reggie reminded him, "I'm retired from the service myself, sir. You know as well as I do that servicemen can recognize each other even if they are in civilian clothes and walking through an unfamiliar town. It seems to me that cooks can do the same thing."

The general nodded and agreed, "I guess you're right."

"And besides that, Jake wants to see if you can guess the secret ingredient. So far, no cook in Elmhurst has been able to," commented Aunt Millie.

The general looked up at Jake. All Jake did was rock back and forth on his heels and snicker in defiance. "Nobody." he repeated his Aunt Millie.

The general gave him one of those we'll- see-about-that looks. With a little fanfare he leaned over, closed his eyes and inhaled the aroma. "You obviously use the same hamburger recipe with the addition of.......garlic......ketchup.....tomatoes, with the Jalapenos. I can see those of course."

"Of course," echoed Jake.

"A-a-a-a-a-nd......" the general looked up at him and said, "grape jelly."

"U-u-u-u-h, that's one no and two left to go."

"Does he always change the rules as he goes along?"

"Yes," quoted the seven piece ensemble.

"H-m-m-m-m," the general stated, "that means I need to engage the use of my taste buds." He gently plied a couple of beans along with a smidgeon of the broth and pulled it to his lips.

"Engage away, my friend," Jake boasted.

The general gently chewed the beans and swallowed. He furrowed his eyebrows and shot Jake a this-is-harder-than-I-thought look. With his spoon, he carefully moved the beans away and scooped up a spoonful of broth. He first brought it to his nose for a whiff and gently sipped half of it and swallowed. His eyes widened with another guess but decided that he needed a full spoonful to make sure. He swished the small amount just a bit before swallowing. Then, like a chess player about to declare 'check mate,' he put the spoon down, folded his hands and looked at his competitor. Very deliberately, he uttered the words, "Bay leaf."

Jake rolled his eyes upward and grinned real big. He put one of his hands on his hip and raised the index finger of his other hand as he declared, "If that secret leaves this room, I'll haunt you the rest of your life."

"He's right?" Taylor asked with a wide-eyed stare.

"He can't be right. Tell me you're joking, Jake," added Ramon.

Aunt Millie fessed up, "Nope, he got it right. I've been right there every day for the past couple of weeks helping him fix it. And, he is so secretive about it that he turns his back to the kitchen door as he adds the bay leaves in there."

"Jake, you may as well go to Albuquerque with us at the end of the summer. Those folks out there can show you lots of good stuff to make out of their green chilies. These folks back east would never guess," suggested Uncle Reggie.

"I....I....." stuttered Jake.

"All's not lost," Charles said as he raised his hand to stop everybody, "there is still a secret to be had. The only way I figured it out was because I used to help my grandmother cook. When I was going to grade school and junior high, I would spend my summer vacations with her. She lived in the mountains of Tennessee and loved to cook on an old wood stove she had behind her house. Except for the bay leaves, you practically copied her recipe."

Like a poker player who got the fourth ace on his one card draw, the general leaned toward Jake and almost declared defiantly, "There was one secret that she let me in on. Everybody ranted about the way she cooked her pinto beans. She confessed to me one day she had accidentally scorched the beans a little bit. Well, everybody made such a fuss about them; she kept scorching them just a tad every time she cooked them. And, she used the same pot. She called it her bean pot. She wouldn't cook anything else in it just beans."

Aunt Millie jumped in, "You know, my mama always used the same pot to cook grits in every morning. Come to think of it, I don't remember her cooking anything else in that pot either. How about that? That's one secret she didn't pass down to me."

"That's just it," replied Charles. "Most great cooks would rather take their secret to their grave instead of giving it out. It's not the first time it's happened."

"So, what you're telling me is that to give my special chili a taste...NO ONE...could copy, I need to scorch them a little bit every day," surmised Jake.

"Honey Bun, me and you got our work cut out for us," added Aunt Millie with a devious chuckle.

Uncle Reggie warned, "You've got to the end of August to get it done, my darling. That motor home pulls out of Elmhurst on the thirty-first and heads for New Mexico. There is no way that yours truly is going to miss that Balloon Fiesta in October. And, I got plenty more sites to see before we get back home."

Aunt Millie walked around to her Jake and put her arm through his and said, "Don't worry about that, Sugar. By the time me and Reggie leave, me and you will have that recipe down pat."

Jake snuggled up real close to her and said, "That's my Aunt Millie for ya. Cain't nobody beat her."

"The only thing that Granny's chili had over this that I doubt you could copy is that hickory smoke flavor. She only cooked with hickory wood and always left the top off of the pot so the smoke flavor could get in there," Charles added.

Jake snapped his finger and said, "Y'all just start enjoying your burgers before they get cold and I'll be right back." He darted through the door before anyone could say anything else.

Millie said to Reggie, "C'mon. We'd better go watch what that little bugger is up to." They left right behind him.

"Let's see how much he is up to a challenge," Charles said.

Arthur replied, "I don't know, Charles. Jake's pretty sharp. I'd say from the look on his face when he left that he's got a pretty good idea brewing in that noggin of his."

Taylor added, "Arthur's right. One thing I've learned about him. You just don't challenge Jake. It will eat him inside and out until he gets an answer. You watch."

Then she looked at Charles and said, "He'll come close to the taste somehow, you just wait and see."

Ramon had already dug into his with a vengeance. He boldly declared, "I don't know if I could ever like it if he changed it. This right here is exactly what I want."

"Yes," agreed Charles, "This is absolutely delicious. I couldn't ask for anything better."

Taylor plopped her burger down in a huff as she looked over at Arthur, "Arthur, I meant to ask you when we got on those nick-names but I got side tracked."

Arthur had just taken a bite out of his pizza burger and was trying to break the trail of melted mozzarella cheese in some gracious manner. He couldn't do it. It broke and flopped down on his chin. "What is it, Taylor?" he asked as he tried to gentlemanly stuff it in his mouth.

"Just what did Grandpa mean when he called me Little Bit?"

Ramon wondered, "Yeah, just what did he mean. There ain't a little bit of anything........"

"That's enough of that, 'Mone" Taylor declared with half a grin.

"Taylo-o-o-o-r," Tish teased with her hand over her mouth.

"Now, Mama, don't you start either," Taylor giggled. "Before you know it you'll be done said something that's downright embarrassing."

With a tell-tale grin on her face, Tish continued, "Why Taylor, all I was going to say was that you had........."

"MAMA!" Taylor wanted to say more but she busted out laughing and turned beet red. She leaned her head on Tish's shoulder and covered her face with her hand. She and Tish started laughing so hard that they had to hold on to each other for support. Obviously, this was a subject they had talked about before.

"Well.....," began Arthur.

"Stay out of it, buddy-boy," Marci chuckled. "But, you know, Grandpa did call her that several times now that I think about it."

Arthur admitted, "You're absolutely right but, I can't remember the circumstances or figure out any correlation to what we were doing at the time."

"Me neither," Ramon added. "It would be different if there was a specific time or something we were doing that would give us a clue. They all seemed to be random times, the best that I can remember."

As she finally made an attempt to calm down, Taylor admitted, "I've tried to wrack my brain to remember specifics as to what and where. I agree. He just called me that sometimes just because he wanted to."

Jake entered the room carrying a small bowl of chili as if it were a diamond. "Try this. I think me and Aunt Millie got it pretty close."

Charles dug his spoon into the dish and brought a spoonful up to his nose for a whiff. His eyes widened and he looked at Jake and gently nodded. He put the spoonful in his mouth, closed his eyes and savored the taste. "Jake," he said as he put the spoon back into its dish, "except for the slight scorch taste, that is the closest to my granny's chili that I have ever tasted since she passed away." He held out his hand to Jake, "Great job. A great, great job."

Jake shook his hand and gave back the compliment, "I couldn't have done it without the challenge, sir. Why don't I take your burger back and let me doctor it up for you."

"U-u-u-u-h, thanks, but no thanks, Jake. I really need to talk to Taylor and the group very seriously," Charles answered.

"I-I-I-I-I-I-I tell you what. We've got a 'Do Not Disturb' sign to put outside the door that we use for occasions like this," Jake suggested.

"I would appreciate it," Charles said.

Jake left and they could hear him stacking chairs in front of the curtain to further indicate that no one was to enter.

Taylor had finished her burger already and was munching on her fries. Charles took a spoonful out of his volcano burger and chewed on it for a moment before he began. "Taylor, the Army is looking for some special people for a special assignment. Oh, before I go on, I am going to trust that what is discussed in this room will stay here, no matter what decisions are made. OK?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"The powers above have given us orders to get a group of snipers together. I've looked at your Army Reserve records and you fit the pattern of soldier that we're looking for. Your marksmanship is excellent. Your physical conditioning exceeds our requirements. You would have to go through six weeks of sniper training and do exceptionally well to nail down the assignment that I need you for. I can't guarantee that you will get it. That will be up to you and how hard you compete for it. Another stipulation is that you'll have to be on active duty for the remainder of your enlistment. Do you have any questions so far?"

Taylor didn't hesitate, "What's the assignment you're asking us to go for?"

Charles continued, "In areas such as the Air Combat Engineers, there is a strong requirement for expert marksmen to operate as what they call 'security.' Their job is basically the same as a sniper. As the Combat Engineers move into an area to clear a field or construct something, drones and ground intelligence scan the area for possible enemy action. We place our 'security' forces between our Engineers and the reported enemy advance. Their job, of course, is to be undetectable to the enemy and take them out before they can do any damage to our mission. There wouldn't necessarily be a whole lot of overnight surveillance."

Taylor leaned forward and put her elbows on the table, "What's the assignment?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"First, you have to perform to the standards that we think this job demands. As we watch you perform through the six weeks, we'll make our decision. This particular job is so critical that we might not even make a decision until the last day. On the other hand, there's a time window that we're working with. Taylor, that's all I can tell you," he told her in a firm voice.

After a moment of serious reflection she asked, "When do I have to report to Ft. Bragg?"

Half of a smile played across his lips, "You won't be going to Ft. Bragg. You are going to an area of the United States that most resembles an area in Afghanistan. That's all I can say."

She exchanged looks with Ramon. Both of them were unsettled about the lack of information they had received so far. But the challenge was intriguing and taunted at her.

"How much time do I have?" she asked in her stone faced manner.

Charles looked at his watch and answered with no emotion, "To get a vehicle here in time to get you to the appointed place at the appointed time," he reached into suit pocket and pulled out a set of orders and answered, "I would need your signature on these orders within thirty minutes. You would have to be picked up by car at 6.p.m. today and put on a chartered jet to get you to Kirtland Air Force Base so you can site in your weapons. Then we'll go by helicopter to the sniper training area before supper. That way you can get acquainted with everybody and get a good night's sleep."

Everybody's eyes were turned toward Taylor. She looked at Marci and nodded her head ever so slightly. You would have thought that fear would be making an appearance, but it was nowhere to be found. Ramon, who had been with her more than anyone else, noticed her jaw jutting out just a bit. She cut her eyes at him. They both smiled. He knew she was going to go for it.

"Who's going to be my spotter?"

"I haven't picked anyone right at this point in time. I have a couple of ladies that I thought might make good........"

He stopped talking as Taylor raised her hand and shook her head. She leaned back and folded her arms and declared, "No deal unless Ramon goes with me to be my spotter. I don't feel comfortable with anyone else. No matter what my scores are that you saw, I couldn't have done it without Ramon being there. This mission sounds........."

Charles raised his right hand to stop HER, this time. He straightened up, reached into his pocket again and pulled out another set of orders. As he tossed it down in front of Ramon, he said with a sly smile, "We now only have 28 minutes before I have to make a call." Now it was his turn to lean back and cross his arms.

"You snake in the grass," Taylor said as she opened up her set of orders to look them over. "It's absolutely obvious that you have spent way too much time with Tom Dandridge."

"And, that's all bad?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Not as far as I'm concerned," Arthur answered with a chuckle of his own.

Marci just shook her head in disbelief, "I'm going to have to have some more Dr. Pepper on that one."

Tish said as she leaned over to give Taylor a big hug, "I'll go tell Romeo....I mean 'Berto to bring refills all the way around. It's time for me to go. You two come by to see me and get your final checks. Oh, no....I'll pay you cash. Sure can't cash a check before 6 p.m. this afternoon can you?"

As she rose to go, Taylor said, "Hey, if we go, that's going to leave you short-handed. Who will you get to take our place?"

She got one of those I-beat-you-to-the-punch looks and replied, "I'm going to interview your replacement right now as a matter of fact. And he'll be in with your drinks as soon as I get through with him, thank you very much." She blew the others a kiss and said, "See me" to Taylor before she turned and left.

Marci sat up a little straighter, "Did I just.......Hey.......God had this all planned out didn't He?"

"Wow. How right you are," Arthur agreed. "Grandpa told. He told us time and time again."

Charles pulled a pen out of his pocket and held it up. "Which one of you wants to go first?"

"I will," Taylor answered quickly as she reached for the pen. When she finished she handed it to Ramon. He signed his orders, collected Taylor's from her and handed them to the general.

As he accepted the orders from Ramon, he commented, "Ramon, I've seen your scores, also. You'd make a great officer in the intelligence department, you know."

"As soon as I get back from this mission, I'll give it some thought," he replied.

Charles pulled out his phone and began to send a text message to get the Army in gear. "You know that you two are going to take a lot of guff from some of the guys. That I know you can handle. But, there is the possibility that you two will be alone together for hours at a time, all night, maybe. Before those days come, you need to make up your minds how you'll deal with it. In hostile territory, you can't separate for a moment. You very well could be stalked by the enemy."

Charles looked at Ramon until their eyes met. "That's where I'm counting on you the most, Ramon. Taylor's best at the technical aspect of sniping. You're best with your intuition. We saw it in your cognitive aptitude scores. You are going to have to hone your abilities to the max during your training. From your very first day, look for things that don't look exactly right. Don't say anything about it to anyone. Just keep them in the back of your mind. Start learning to take notice of things without letting anyone know that you noticed."

"Just what are y'all looking for?" Ramon prodded.

Charles was careful about the way he answered that question, "Let's just say that we're not just looking for sharpshooters. We are looking for...........sharp......snipers. Everyone that passes the course will have a specific assignment to do. But, keep in mind that there's a particularly dangerous assignment that we are looking for one team to go on."

He took a deep breath before he went on, "Now, if you get into the school and you begin to have some doubts about whether you want to go on, by all means, find a way to flunk out. Nobody will think any less of you. There are 23 teams being assembled right now. None of them will know as much as you do. But, all of them will be told the very same thing. There's no disgrace in flunking out."

Ramon looked at Taylor with raised eyebrows and asked, "Whatcha think, soldier?"

Taylor gave one of those crooked smiles and answered, "I think I can't wait to get there."

Ramon dropped his smile and got a worried look on his face. He hesitated slightly and spoke to the general, "I....I just have one more question, sir?"

"What's that?"

He bent forward and began to reach for the general's burger, "Are you finished with that volcano burger?"

"As you were, soldier," Charles tried to sound gruffly official. He dug his spoon into the chili portion of his burger and reminded him, "The Army travels on its stomach, you know."

Laughter broke the tension and no more was mentioned about their assignment until they got up to leave. The general reminded them of their departure times, what to bring and what to leave home.

Prayers, hugs and kisses were given for quite some time. Yes, tears were shed, too. The four of them were venturing off on treasure hunts of their own. Very soon, the lessons Tom Dandridge taught them will become more a part of their future than they thought.

******************

It didn't take long for Matt to realize that he had joined the right martial arts group. Each one of the people he came in contact with had a deep, abiding hatred for the United States. Everyone trained hard. Some had a 'knack' for becoming a fighter while others had to work at it.

Their two trainers were worse than any Marine Corps drill instructor he had ever seen. Everyone's focus was intense. Everyone there knew there was a purpose for them being there and they were dedicated to that purpose. Yes, sir. He was in the right place, alright. As far as he could see, he was in the right place at the right time. All he needed to do was to show that he had that little 'extra' down inside of him, and he would rise to his destined position.

# Chapter Six

The plane had been circling Manila's Nino Aquino International Airport for fifteen minutes waiting the opportunity to land. Arthur had spent the hours praying about two things. He prayed for God's divine protection and guidance for this mission. There was no doubt that something serious was going on. He had sensed it in prayer a month before Uncle Pedro called him. He still didn't know any specifics to pray about. Right now God was mum on what He wanted Arthur to do.

Grandpa had always told him that God would let him know His will at an appropriate time. If God told us too early, we would have a chance to be afraid and back out. There was no such thing as God telling you too late. Too late was just that, too late.

Sneaking into his reach into God's heart concerning the mission was the scene that had played out in the park. Arthur tried and tried to replay the scene to make some kind of sense out of what Marci had said.

What she had said? More importantly, Arthur was trying to figure out what she had meant. He had wanted to hold her in his arms and tell her how much he loved her. His heart ached to make some kind of stronger connection with his best friend. But, her words seemed to rebuff him.

He tried to settle the question in his heart but it was going to be difficult. For the better part of the last two years, his friendship for her had turned to love. And, like all lovers, he had played out scenarios in his mind. It had become a constant source of joy for him. Now, he had to find something to keep his mind from replaying those good parts. It was rough job.

He was haunted by the idea that maybe she wasn't God's mate for him. She was pretty well convinced that God was urgently pushing her toward being a doctor. Maybe He was calling her into the research field. Maybe He was.

One thing he knew for sure, this airplane was circling over the area where he KNEW that God was calling him to. He wasn't sure why and he wasn't exactly sure what. But it was definately settled in his heart that this group of islands was his mission field alright.

As he silently prayed and recommitted his heart to God's purpose, the calming love of the Lord began to settle inside of him. Arthur knew that God had a mate for him that would share God's calling. He dropped the question of IF Marci was his mate or not. God was well able to let him know who and when.

Arthur looked out the window of the plane as it taxied toward Gate 12. The scenes had become quite familiar to him now. This was his sixth trip to Manila to spend the summer with his Uncle Pedro.

It was a peculiar coincidence that Pedro's son had one of the foremost martial arts studios in Manila. Then again, all of the martial arts studios in Manila thought they were the best. Believe you me, it made for some very, very interesting tournaments. The American World Series and Super Bowl had nothing on them.

Arthur looked out the window of the plane and saw one of his favorite gentlemen, Bull. He was the guy who drove the baggage train. He got that nickname by the way he drove the train on the tarmac. He was a pretty big dude. He was over 6 foot tall and had to tip the scales at 275 at least. His belly almost looked abnormally jello-like as the train bounced and jostled its way toward the plane.

Yep, he still had the Atlanta Braves baseball hat Arthur gave to him three years ago. For a short moment, Arthur wondered if Bull was just wearing the hat to impress him because he knew he was coming. However, when he got a good look at the hat and saw how worn it was, he dismissed that thought altogether. As a matter of fact, as worn as it looked, Arthur figured that it's about time for another one.

Man, that guy had one of the biggest smiles that Arthur had ever seen. Look at him. He was waving the hat back and forth at the plane and shouting, "Hey, Arthur." All the while he was scanning the plane looking for their familiar faces. Arthur grinned and waved back at the off chance that Bull could see him.

Arthur's smile disappeared and a little tear began to find its way down his cheek. 'Dear God,' Arthur thought, 'how in the world am I going to tell him about Grandpa?' He rested his head on the window of the plane and shook it back and forth.

"Sir, are you all right?" the flight attendant asked.

Arthur looked up and saw the stewardess leaning over towards him with a concerned look on her face. A quick scan of the plane told him that he was about the only one left. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said as he scooped up his stuff. "I...uh...this is the... the first flight without my great-grandfather."

The stewardess looked at him for a moment before she asked, "Then, this is not your first trip?"

"No, Ma'am," he replied, "it's my sixth, actually."

She slapped her hands to her face, "Weren't you eleven when you made your first trip?"

Arthur looked at her with a surprised smile, "Why, yes, I was."

"This just can't be," she exclaimed as she put one hand on her hip and rested her other arm on the back of a seat. "And your great-grandfather always sat up real straight, had a head full of solid white hair and you were so-o-o-o-o excited about learning to be a Ninja."

A big, embarrassed grin blossomed on his face as he asked, "You remembered all of that?"

The stewardess started helping Arthur collect his things as she babbled on, "You remember me? I was the one who served the meals and the snacks on your first two flights." She waved her free hand toward her hair and continued, "Of course, my hair was a different color, and, she patted her hip, "I have added a little more ballast---just so I'll be evenly balanced don't you know."

As she started down the aisle with some of Arthur's stuff, she leaned to one side. "See what I mean?" she quipped with a giggle. Of course, that brought out one of those Arthur Hollis giggles that he was so famous for.

When they stepped off the plane and started walking down the ramp, she commandeered a small cart and plopped his stuff on it. Over his objections she took command and gave him the VIP service by guiding him through several short cuts. They zipped past the concourse and on toward the baggage area. She had cut off at least twenty minutes and probably a mile of walking.

"Holey moley," Arthur exclaimed as he hurried to keep up, "you sure know your way around."

"It's part of being a stewardess," she answered. "Sometimes they only give you a few minutes to catch the next....uh, oh, what's this?" She slowed down as she looked ahead.

Arthur turned his attention from looking at her to the commotion in front of them. About half way to the baggage claim area, Bull's hulking figure was draped around Pedro and his son Diego. The three of them were in tears. Bull's sobs could be heard above the rumble of the baggage belt. When he looked up for a moment to catch his breath, he caught site of Arthur.

"Arthur!" He cried out as he hobbled his huge frame in their direction. "Bull sorry, Arthur. Bull hurt bad inside for his friend, Tom." He was crying so hard that Pedro and Diego had to help him walk. Bull's father was one of the younger boys that his great-grandfather had befriended in the mountains of Luzon during the war. Bull's limp and slow mental capacity were due to complications that his mother had during childbirth. However, what he lacked in his emotional stability he overcame by his big, loving heart.

Arthur hurried over to him and the stewardess went on to get his bags. They all cried and consoled each other. People walked by. Some shook their heads. Some patted one or two of them on the back.

The stewardess came back about the time everyone started settling down. As she set Arthur's bags down, she walked up to Bull and threw an arm around the big man's shoulder. "Bull, are you OK?" she asked.

As he finished wiping his eyes, he breathed a deep sigh and answered, "Yes, Missy Bea. Bull hurt deep but glad to know good friend Tom go be with Jesus."

She hugged his shoulders and assured him, "He's much happier now and he would want us to be happy with him, now wouldn't he?"

Bull's eyes widened at the thought. "Yes. Yes! Bull will be happy WITH Tom. Oh, oh, oh, oh. Tonight is church. Bull tell song leader only sing fast happy songs of heaven. Turn up music. Maybe Tom will hear." His laughter at his own idea almost filled the entire airport. He turned and walked back to work as he sang.........something.

Bea, Pedro and Diego all chuckled as they watched him walk away. Arthur chuckled also but not quite as free as the others. Maybe it was the jet lag, maybe the letdown of leaving his best friends. A good part of it was his talk with Marci. He chastised himself, 'Arthur, snatch that thought out of your mind and throw it away. God's mate in God's time. Settle it.'

"Well, I'm glad to see a smile come to that plastic face of yours, Sweetie," Bea scolded as she stepped in front of him with her arms folded. "Here I am the most beautiful female around and all you can do is look at the floor and mope. You hadn't made a pass at me or an off-color joke. I suppose you're waiting for me to turn into a cougar and chase you around the baggage claim area, huh?"

Pedro added with a grin, "If you took a look at his laptop, you could see why. It's filled with pictures of him and a certain lovely lady."

"O-o-o-o-o-o-o, no wonder," Bea said with a wink in his direction.

Diego spoke to Bea but playfully looked at Arthur, "However, on Mayumi's laptop, she doesn't have as many pictures of our guest."

Arthur smiled and looked away.

Diego continued, "That's because she doesn't allow pictures of Arthur and you-know-who."

Bea raised her eyebrows and shook her head as she rubbed it in, "O-o-o-o, a little rivalry, huh, Mr. Studly?"

"Marci wants to be a doctor and do research stuff and Mayumi's just fourteen," Arthur protested uselessly.

"You haven't seen her in nine months, my boy," Pedro declared in a disdaining fatherly tone. "She hit a growth spurt like you couldn't imagine. You DID notice that she hasn't sent you any pictures, lately, huh?"

Diego agreed, "Oh, yeah."

"Well, I..." Arthur stammered.

Bea interrupted and said, "Folks, I gotta go get ready for my next flight." She reached down and grabbed one of Arthur's bags. She handed it to Pedro and said, "Here, Bo Bo, take this bag for your grandson-in-law."

"Hey, I'm not..." Arthur tried to protest.

"The name is Pedro," came the playful protest.

"Oh, did I say Bo Bo? I meant to say Boo Boo. That's more appropriate," Bea asserted as she tilted her head to the side just a bit.

Pedro stepped over to her and slipped his finger under her chin. "You are the only one I would let call me that."

"I know it," she said very sweetly.

Arthur thought the touching of her face, and the almost demure answer was a tad bit strange. Then, Pedro leaned over and kissed her RIGHT ON THE LIPS.

For the moment, Arthur was speechless. He looked at Diego and he was looking the other way. Arthur busied himself with fiddling with one of his bags in hopes they didn't see him watching them.

After Pedro's quick peck, Bea stepped beside Arthur and pressed her cheek against his and said, "Bye-bye, lover boy."

She began to walk away, but Arthur stopped her, "Bea, could you come back here for a minute?"

She turned around and returned to her original spot side by side with him. He felt his face getting warm as he asked with a grin, "Would you mind if I get another smell of your perfume?"

She was pleasantly surprised and asked, "My perfume?"

"Yeah, it smells....like.......vanilla....or almonds," he answered. "I...really like it."

"O-o-o-k-a-a-y. I'll stand still and you can sniff away, Sugar."

Arthur wasn't timid. He stepped up, put his hand on her shoulder and sniffed right behind her ear. He leaned back for a moment but didn't let her go. He smiled and leaned in for one more sniff. Finally he declared, "That is the most fantastic perfume I have ever smelled. What's the name of it, if you don't mind me asking, that is?"

"Not at all, Sugar," she said. With a sweet smile she continued, "The name of it is Mahal Tunog. That's Filipino for Love Sound. It's manufactured and sold only here on the island." She cocked her head sideways and offered, "If you'll have dinner with me sometime, I'll......tell you how you can get some of it."

A big smile came across Arthur's reddening face as Pedro pulled him away, and said, "Later, Bea. We're lucky Mayumi hasn't called me already."

Before she turned to leave, she reached down and squeezed Arthur's hand. Arthur wasn't as good as Marci at reading people's faces, but there was something ......kind of.......sad....maybe in the last fleeting look she gave. As she walked away with her head down, she reached up and wiped something from her eye. Was it a tear? It could have been some dust an eyelash or anything.

Without hesitation, Pedro and Diego grabbed a bag and headed for the entrance. Arthur picked up his back pack and his laptop and followed them. It seemed like Diego couldn't keep his eyes off of the women. Funny he never noticed that before. But, that was Diego's business and none of Arthur's.

Once outside, the three of them wasted no time in breaking into a sweat. It didn't take much. The three o'clock temperature had already reached 85 degrees. The almost daily afternoon rains had left it muggy as usual. The three of them walked briskly into the parking lot and over to Pedro's car.

"Let's see if we can put these bags into the trunk," Pedro suggested. He popped open the lid to reveal a completely empty trunk with the exception of a tire jack and a small tool box.

Arthur was about to comment on the empty trunk when Pedro looked at him sternly and pursed his lips as if to say, "Sh-h-h-h-h."

Diego commented, "I don't know, Dad. We might just have to put one in the back seat with Arthur."

Arthur looked at Diego with a half-smile expecting some kind of joke.

Diego cut his eyes toward him without moving his head and almost imperceptibly shook his head.

Pedro continued, "No, no. I think we can get them all in here. We just have to arrange them carefully. He placed the bag he was carrying into the trunk one way, ran his hands over it as if he was smoothing it out. He looked at Diego and said, "No, I think we would have more room if we put it like this." He flipped it over and, again, smoothed it out. "Now, let me see something," he said as he turned it sideways and tucked it into the back of the trunk. Before he took his hand off of it, he turned it for the two others to see. There was a small trickle of blood coming from his index finger.

Diego admitted as he placed the bag he was carrying into the trunk, "You are absolutely correct, Dad. We've got plenty of room."

Something was up and Arthur had no idea what it was. So, without comment he placed his back pack and laptop in the trunk. Pedro closed it and they took their seats in the car.

As Pedro pulled out of the parking space, Diego took out an old CD of a group called Petra. When the music came on, he cranked the base just a little bit more than normal and then adjusted the sound to where it only came through the rear speakers. It dawned on Arthur that, somehow, his baggage had been bugged. That explained the blood on Pedro's finger when he got through 'smoothing out' Arthur's baggage.

Diego turned around in his seat until he was almost facing Arthur. He put a pad of paper on his lap and began to write on it as he smiled real big and confided in Arthur, "Look, Pal, we'll talk to you in earnest after we get home. For right now just play along, make gestures, shake your head and so forth as if we're having a conversation."

Diego himself had become animated. He pointed out the window, laughed in the middle of a sentence and patted Pedro on the shoulder. Pedro shook his head and laughed, too.

"Hang on. I'm going to make a right turn onto the freeway," Pedro stated.

"I gotcha," replied Diego. As the car sped up, he continued to animatedly talk as he wrote on the pad of paper. "A blue Toyota sedan...a white panel van with the words.............uh, name ByMoust Construction. The sedan is passing us. I'll put a letter 'P' beside that one. ByMoust is fixing to pass us, too. Coupla guys with turbans. Watch out they don't cut us off."

The white panel van sped by and pulled back in Pedro's lane but at a safe distance. Pedro said, "Double plate, STD 814." The van slowly pulled away from them.

Diego continued, "Black Beamer coming up close behind us. Red Landrover behind him followed by-y-y-y ....a white Lamborghini, my friend."

"That's Ok, Diego. I've got them in my sights, now. Thanks."

They rode along in silence for about ten minutes. He heard Pedro whistle softly. He looked up and Pedro nodded for him to come closer. As Arthur sat up between the two front seats, Pedro began, "As you can see, Arthur, things have heated up pretty quickly. Oh, back out of my rear view mirror a little, will you." Arthur shifted to the right about six inches.

"Perfect," Pedro continued. "Their technology has taken a couple of quantum leaps here in the past year, 'til we're not too sure how top tech they've gotten. As you can tell by the prick on my finger, they bugged your baggage while it was being carried from Bull's shuttle to the baggage claim area. We have a pretty good idea who they are, and I am afraid that they are getting a pretty good idea of who we are."

Diego chimed in, "I could tell you were watching me ogle the women. That was the only way that I could get a decent look at the groups of men that have been hanging out around there lately without being noticed. I've come to recognize about three of them as regulars, even when they try to disguise themselves."

Pedro shook his head and added, "It's heating up, son. It is really heating up. Our intelligence has advised us that they think something will go down at our village within the next two months."

"Unc. That's in the middle of the rainy season," Arthur noted.

"Yeah. The better to hide their tracks and the least likely that patrols will be out unless it's an emergency," Pedro answered dully.

"Guess we're going in, huh?" Arthur surmised.

"Yep. But we just don't know when," Pedro answered as his hands gripped and ungripped the steering wheel. "They had terrorized several of the neighboring villages two months ago. It looked like they were poised to head straight for it, but they just stopped for some reason. We've got a band of guys standing by just in case something starts up again. Our spies tell us they have set up camp about five miles away as if they were gonna stay for a while. Maybe they are going to establish some kind of headquarters in that part of the jungle. We just don't know. Nobody can quite put their finger on it. It's like they are waiting for something to trigger their next move."

"So we can't make a move until they do, is that right?" Arthur asked.

Diego added, "They could be waiting to infiltrate our network and surprise us somehow. They could also be looking for a target to kidnap for ransom. The worst part is we found out last month that the latest martial arts center to spring up in Manila is nothing but a training camp for the terrorists. They've got a great training set up, alright. However, the funny thing is, none of their clients are from around here. We sent one of our guys over there to try to register for their classes. They told him they were all booked up for the next two years."

"That's sounds like a blatant give away to me," Arthur replied. "Have you tried to find out anything about their students?"

Pedro answered, "Sure have. Fifteen out of the twenty have ties to the same terrorist organization. The guess is that the other five do also."

Diego continued, "That's where we would like for you to volunteer for us."

"Sure. Anything you need."

"We've set up a round robin tournament with the eight top martial arts studios in the area. We don't necessarily expect to win. We just want to get a better look at their group without having to be at their studio and act like we're snooping," Diego said.

Pedro cautioned, "We know that it could also be a two-edged sword. They would be around us and could ask a whole lot of questions. As a matter of fact, that's just what we hope they'll do."

"Feed them some mis-information, huh?"

Pedro looked at him via the rear-view mirror and added with a smile, "We already have. You dislocated your left shoulder and it still bothers you. However, being the trooper that you are, you TRY not to let it show."

"What?" Arthur laughed. "You can't be serious. There's nothing wrong with my shoulder. They would figure that out in no time. Hey, I've been told twice in the past three days that my face is an open book. Anyone can take one look and tell what's going on."

"Precisely what we're counting on," Pedro continued. "That's why we've got a lot of work cut out for us in the next two weeks before the tournament. Diego, himself is going to work with you at his house. We've built you a room just behind his so you won't have to be traveling back and forth from mine."

"That's awful convenient," Arthur said with a smile. "Do I have any input into this?"

Diego turned to face him. Not even a hint of a smile was visible. "Think of it, Arthur," his voice close to ominous. "If they do know who we are like we suspicion, what would be our.......my worst fear. What could virtually paralyze us?"

A cold chill ran over Arthur as the unthinkable shook his heart. "Mayumi," he almost whispered. His eyes became a blank stare and he was no longer interested in talk.

Diego turned around and watched the road. The three of them had spent a lot of time and prayer together. They knew each other's hearts by now. Nothing else needed to be said.

# Chapter Seven

They were only one mile from Diego's house when his cell phone rang. He flipped it open, saw who it was and began speaking, "Yes, he's here in the car with me. Yes, he's in great shape. Yes, we'll be there in a minute. Yes, I'm sure he'll be as glad to see you as you are to see him. Now that I've probably guessed all of your questions, what did you want?"

He winked at Arthur as he spoke into the phone, "Uh-huh. Yeah. OK, OK. For crying out......OK. If that's the way you want it, tell you brothers I said so, Ok? Arthur, she loves you. Grandpa, she loves you. Hey........hey. How do you like that?" He closed the phone and continued with mock antagonism, "She loves everybody but her very own daddy. And, I brought her into this world. This is the thanks I get. Just for that Dad, drive around for another half an hour and make her wait. That'll teach her."

Arthur was laughing in the back seat as Pedro chuckled out his answer, "No way. Don't get me involved in this. She's my only granddaughter and you know how much she reminds me about that. I'm not about to get in dutch with her. The boys I can wrestle and almost whip them. But, she's my pet and boy does she know it."

Arthur chimed in, "Trouble is, everybody who sees you two together knows it."

"Aw-w-w, I ain't that bad."

"Dad, you ain't that good, either. One little look and a tilt of her head and you don't even wait for her to ask. You go ahead and start suggesting stuff you'd be willing to get for her."

"I do not," Pedro tried to defend himself. However, the big smile on his face admitted what they already knew.

"What about that ice cream store?"

"We were at an ice cream store for crying out loud. What was I going to suggest?"

Diego looked at Arthur to plead his case, "Arthur, we were at Palacio's Steak House and we weren't even half-way through with our steaks and he started asking her what she wanted. And when she told him, he kept on suggesting all the other different flavors until she changed her mind three times. What does that sound like to you?"

"Truce guys. Let's have a truce, will ya," begged Arthur who was lying over in the seat almost doubled over with laughter. "We're only two blocks from the house and I've got to straighten up. If she sees me laughing like this she'll keep after me until I tell her everything you guys said."

Diego turned back and looked at him as he argued, "Yeah. And you probably won't give in until she asks you the first time, will you?"

His face turned from laughter to that of a proud papa as he said in a normal voice, "My baby's growing up, Arthur. She's growing up before my eyes." He looked over at his dad.

Pedro pulled into the driveway and put the car in park. He, too, turned around to look at Arthur eye-to-eye, and said, "With the boys, we didn't have that much of a problem." He and Diego locked eyes for a moment and said with an embarrassing smile, "Our little girl is becoming quite a young lady, and we don't know how to deal with it."

"Not at all," Diego confessed.

Just then, the front door to the house opened and there she stood. She was dressed in a denim skirt and a royal blue blouse. (Arthur's favorite color, of course.) There were no more straight lines to indicate that she was a little girl. She had an eighteen-year-old's set of curves on her fourteen-year-old body. Her thick, black hair flowed in perfect waves until they covered her shoulders. Her laughing dark eyes betrayed the joy that was overflowing inside of her right now. What color was that mascara? Royal Blue, of course. And, she wore just a hint of dark pink lipstick.

Gorgeous would be one word to describe her. Precious would be the one that Arthur would pick. That best described their relationship over the past six years. A chill ran up his spine as he recalled their conversation in the car. 'Mayumi kidnapped? 'Not if I can help it. God talk to me. Tell me.....show us all what to do,' he prayed in his heart.

Dads can be...........you know,......dads. So, when Diego stepped out of the car he gave a loud whistle. Instantly, the front yard was filled with young boys. Actually there were only four and they were Mayumi's older brothers. But, the way they yelled and ran around you would have thought there was a yard full of them. They all ran around to Arthur to give him hugs and welcomed him back to the Philippines. A-a-a-n-d, they wanted to poke fun at their little sister, too.

Mayumi stomped her foot and tried to look mad as she said, "D-a-a-d. I wanted to spend some time with Turo first. I told you that on the phone." She smiled as she walked up to her father, threw her arms around him and gave him a big kiss. "That wasn't too much to ask, was it?"

She looked over at Arthur. Oh, how she wanted to go running over to him and jump into his arms as she used to do. However, the growth spurt she just went through made her just a little bit self-conscious.

Diego put on a look of mock surprise as he answered, "Oh, Princess, you misunderstand my reasoning. I wanted to get the boys busy taking his bags and stuff to his new home so he could spend some alone time with you. That's all."

"Um-hmm. Like I'm going to believe that?"

"Why sure, Angel, watch this," he said as he walked around the car to the opened trunk. "Three here and two small ones in the back seat. Phillipe, I want you to take the big one as soon as Dad gets through...uh, taking it out of the trunk."

Pedro held the duffel bag at arm's length and carefully searched it with his eyes until he spotted the bulge. Gently he pulled at a silver looking object that resembled a small battery with a straight pin attached. He held it toward Diego as he handed the bag to Phillipe. He mouthed the words, "Put it next to some continuous noise. TV?"

Diego carefully took it from him with one hand and looked at his watch on his other arm. Without uttering a sound, he mouthed, "Soap Operas. It'll drive them nuts." Diego smiled broadly at Arthur as he turned around and went into the house.

Pedro turned and went through the garage to the room they built for Arthur. He would supervise the boys and get them to put Arthur's things away for him. It would be quite some time before any of them went to bed.

Phillipe and Barto (short for Bartholomew) were 22 and 20 respectively. They were interested in chess and politics. Both of them could whip Arthur at chess and they relished it. However, Arthur did not like to discuss politics. He would much rather talk about the Atlanta Braves. And, that was almost a foreign language to them.

The other two, Riz (Rizal) and Max (Maximilian), 18 and 16, were more interested in taking Arthur down, martial arts speaking of course. Since their father owned one of the best martial arts studios in Manila, it was only natural that all of the boys be trained to the utmost. But, they could NOT take Arthur down.

Phillipe and Barto had stopped trying and gone to chess where they could beat the socks off of him. But, Riz and Max were too young, too hard-headed, too.......something to quit trying. No matter how they tried, it took both of them to bring him down. And, that was only when one of them sneaked up on his blind side. Which, by the way, was getting smaller and smaller the more they fought.

What was Arthur's secret? Why, Ramon Rodriguez of course. Ramon was raised in Mexico. Four families shared the house where he lived. He was the youngest child in the group and the thirteenth. Everyone claimed that he was bad luck. When they went out to play, who do you reckon got beat up on, whipped, shoved and generally pestered beyond imagination? Yep, Ramon. In self-defense, he learned to run faster, dodge quicker and make slick fake-outs that would give him any kind of advantage. He taught Arthur everything he knew. And, it just drove Riz and Max crazy.

Finally, Arthur and Mayumi were alone in the garage. They looked and grinned at each other for a second. Then the little girl on the other side of the car raised her hands above her head and let out a play yard squeal as she ran into Arthur's arms. She slipped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his shoulder for a moment. Arthur held on to her gently and patted her back as he felt a few sobs shake her just a bit.

When she finally looked up, she smiled through a couple of tears. "Oh, Turo, I missed you so much. Look at me. I'm crying," she said as she pulled away and took out a small hanky that she conveniently had slipped into the back pocket of her denim skirt. She blew her nose very lady-like and continued, "I knew I would do that. I'm supposed to cry while you're gone not when you get here. Am I backwards or something?"

"No, not at all. You're female. Go with it," Arthur maintained.

She threw her arms around his middle and commanded, "Hug me again."

Arthur was going to say 'no', right?

She got close to his face and teased, "I can 'bonk' your nose with my forehead, can't I?"

Arthur admitted, "Yes, you sure can. Nine months ago you could just barely 'bonk' my Adam's apple. Now look at you."

She looked down and commented, "And, nine months ago I could stand a little closer to you, too. Now, look at me." She realized what she had said and looked at him wide-eyed with embarrassment, "NO! Don't you dare." She turned around real quickly and folded her arms in a vain effort to hide...herself and continued, "I get real embarrassed sometimes, Turo. Guys stare at me and make jokes. I can't help the way I am."

Her back was to Arthur and he gently held her shoulders as he said, "Your grandfather must have told you some of the things that my great-grandfather passed down to us. You'll never go any farther in your life until you accept yourself for who you are and accept where the Lord has put you. He created all of us different for a reason and it's His reason."

She admitted, "Yes, I do remember Grandpa saying things like that. But, it's hard, sometimes. You know?"

Arthur turned her around to face him and looked into her eyes. "Mayumi, God doesn't make mistakes. Sometimes we don't understand what He does. Somewhere down the road we might understand more. But, until we do understand more, it would help our journey if we would just admit that God was smarter that we were and enjoy Him being our Lord."

That simple explanation turned a light on inside of her. The little girl went away and the young lady spoke, "That makes perfect sense to me. You know, I remember Dad and Grandpa saying things almost that way. But, there's just something about the way you said it that made it all become clearer."

She stood up on her tip-toes and kissed him on the cheek. She couldn't help it. The little girl came back and nibbled on the side of his neck right under his ear.

That was only one of Arthur's ticklish spots and she knew it from wrestling with him in the years past. As Arthur instinctively pulled away from her, he marveled at how quickly she went from little girl to young lady and back again.

"Angel," crackled her cell phone.

"Yes, Dad?"

"Why don't you and Arthur walk down the street for a few minutes? I'll send Riz and Max on their motorbikes. They'll have the camera and we'll start taking a lot of shots of the two of you to have just in case we need them. You and Arthur tussle and play around with the boys. You know, be normal."

"'Cause they're going to be normally obnoxious, aren't they?" she asked in her I'm-the-only-daughter-you-have tone of voice. But, she knew Diego loved it.

"If they don't, I'll whip them all soundly and put them to bed. How about that?"

"Not until Max cooks the hamburgers. Then send HIM to bed without his supper. No, wait. Make him watch us eat and then send him to bed without his supper." She laughed at her digs at her brothers. Of course they had their shots at her, also. Now, it was even more so when Arthur was around because it usually led to a wrestling match.

"Negative on the Max and the hamburgers. Mom's taking that chore and they are hitting the grill as we speak."

"Memaw bringing the baked beans?"

Arthur begged, "Oh, please, please, please, please, please."

"Only if Arthur will promise to be nice and dance with her."

"My arms await the moment."

"Dad, he means his stomach awaits the beans."

Diego could hear they're laughter in the back yard without the aid of the cell phone. His command was clear, "You miscreants start walking and await your punishment. Riz and Max are already planning your demise."

"Bring 'em on. My Turo will keep me safe," Mayumi goaded as she grabbed Arthur's hand and began walking down the driveway.

As they walked toward the road, Arthur pulled his hand away from her and put it around her shoulder. Instinctively she put hers around his waist. He pulled her tight against himself for a moment of unspoken endearment. She laid her head on his shoulder for a moment and then giggled. She covered her mouth in embarrassment and he smiled at her.

They had walked arm in arm before, but that was when she was a little girl. Right now, Arthur was wondering what it would take to bring the young lady out to talk to. They had both changed quite a bit in the past nine months.

Holding on to each other felt good for both of them. For Arthur, holding this young lady in his arms was a comfort to him. Like the movie, each person has a scent. Would it be goofy to say that Arthur enjoyed her scent?

For Mayumi, she enjoyed the physical touch of the one she admired so much. She could be as close to her Turo as she wanted to be. His touch was reassuring. She was comfortable and calm. They could respond to each other and not feel like they were crossing some forbidden line.

She opened the stew pot with, "What would Marci think if she saw us walking together like this?"

Arthur smiled as he wondered, which one asked the question. Was it the girl or the lady? He took a deep breath and looked at the pavement as they walked. "She's more interested in her medical studies. I believe that she would like to eventually be one of those doctors who constantly look for cures and stuff. Me, I feel like my calling is to help the mountain people over here. I just don't know how, yet. We talked before I left."

He shrugged his shoulders and tried to look off at the mountains as he concluded, "I guess God's taking us separate ways." He turned and tried to smile at her but he knew she could see through it.

"God's working on somebody especially for you. That's what I've always been taught. Weren't you taught that also?" she asked as she bent her head down to catch his attention.

Arthur looked at the young lady who was waiting for an answer. "And might that special someone be you?" he asked almost embarrassed by his boldness.

"Might," she answered. "I guess we'll know when God lets us in on His plans for us, huh?" She stopped and faced him and hugged him again. She rested her head on his shoulder so that her lips would barely touch his neck as she spoke, "But, right now, I say let's just enjoy being friends without worrying about who we're gonna marry. I've heard it said that marriage could ruin a good friendship."

"I've heard that before," Arthur agreed. Why, oh why did he do it? God only knows. He bent his head down and playfully gnawed on her neck while growling like a dog.

Guess who had a ticklish spot on her neck, also? It was the little girl. She let out a scream that caused a few of the neighbors to look up. Arthur quickly stood up real straight and she fell on his shoulder. They both laughed so hard that they had to hold each other up.

The neighbors realized that summer had begun in earnest because Turo was back. Yes, it could get a little noisier around here for the next three months just like it had every summer for the last six years.

Diego and his family lived at the end of a cul-de-sac so there was not a whole lot of through traffic. That was a pretty good thing, too. The five boys and sometimes Diego would be charging up and down the quarter mile asphalt on skateboards, bicycles and now motor bikes.

None of the bikes were more than 50ccs and not very loud. The "loud" came from the cowboys and Indian type games they played up and down the street. Now that Turo was back, it would probably be an everyday occurrence.

All in all, it wasn't a very crowded street. Each house had a good sized yard to it. But, when they heard the motors rev and the yells come, they moved their lawn chairs out to the edge of their front yards. Inevitably, a camera will come out from somewhere.

Riz and Max made it to them but neither one was carrying a camera. Of course, they circled the hapless couple and began with their war hoops and plenty of "bang-bangs."

Turo and Mayumi stood back to back and drew out their six shooters to return fire. "Hey, Indians aren't supposed to have guns," yelled Arthur.

Riz answered between bangs, "We bought them from Sears and Roebucks and we don't read the white man's phony novels."

One set of neighbors, Steve and Terri Givens, started laughing so hard that they dropped their camera. Terri picked it up and handed it to Steve and told him, "I'm going to go in and get us a glass of tea. Get down there real close to them so we can get all of the action. This one already sounds like it is going to be a classic."

The hams of the Philippines heard her and the four of them picked up the banter.

Mayumi yelled between shots, "Hey, you guys are imposters. Indians didn't speak English that good."

Riz answered as he continued to circle them, "Humph. We learned good English from the missionaries. We had them for supper last night. They were delicious. I'm wearing his clothes for good luck."

Max fluffed his hair with a free hand and added in a falsetto voice, "And, I'm wearing hers." Then, he put his hand over his mouth and pretend giggled real loud.

Terri dropped the glasses of tea and stumbled back into the house for some new ones. Steve set the camera on the mail box to keep it steady. Being the trooper that he was, his finger never left the record button, bless his heart.

A new war hoop was heard as Phillipe and Barto were seen tearing out from their driveway. Steve aimed the camera at them. Barto held his camera high in the air and waved it back and forth. Knowing him, he had already flipped the switch to make it record continuously. He fancied himself the camera guy of the family. And, since he wasn't too shoddy at it, they let him have the privilege.

In mock fear, Mayumi shouted loud enough to be heard on Barto's camera, "Oh, my goodness. Renegade reinforcements are storming towards us. Whatever shall we do?"

Arthur spoke in a lowered voice, "Have no fear, my dear Princess Lea, we shall defeat the Empire because............the force is with us." He scooted around to where their backs were together. Mayumi caught on and they made their elbows touch. They pointed their forearms straight ahead and moved their arms forward and back like the canons on the x-wing fighters. Then, they started turning around and around and going, "Tsh-sh-sh-sh, Tsh-sh-sh-sh-sh, Tsh-sh-sh-sh-sh."

Philippe, Max and Riz tried a variety of sounds. But, they couldn't come up with anything that would top "Tsh-sh-sh-sh." They did the only thing that honorable Empire Sith warriors could do. They dismounted their war horses, held their hands in front of them and said, "Bzzrrrt!"

Arthur and Muyami stopped and brought out their own light sabers. Of course, Arthur brought out two because there were three Siths to fight. Barto was busy manning the camera.

As they stood still for a moment, Arthur realized that Barto wasn't moving around and around as the group of 'fighters' were. It suddenly dawned on him that there was a white panel van parked outside the empty house on the corner less than half a block away. Or was there? He started fighting and began edging his way around until the van came into view. That put a whole new slant on the events of the day.

They turned in a circle until Arthur was facing Barto. He said lowly, "Guys, Mayumi and I are going to pull away from each other and y'all play along. Barto, don't just stand in one place. They might catch on." He saw Barto nod slowly. He increased his sword play and yelled, "Take that and that, you evil, evil Siths."

Riz yelled, "Luke, I am your father."

Phillipe yelled, "Luke, don't listen to him. I am your father. I was there. I remember."

Mayumi yelled, "Luke, I am your twin sister."

Max yelled in falsetto, "No, Luke, I am your sister."

Barto yelled, "Memaw," and pointed to the car coming toward them.

Filming was over. They dropped their weapons and pulled the bikes out of the way so she could come through. She rolled down her window and said to them as she passed by. "Get to the house and get washed up. I'm starved."

No one needed to be told twice. Barto looked at the camera as he walked over to Turo and said, "Say, uh ...how's your left shoulder? Everybody heard you dislocated it. If that is who we think it is in the van. It might be a good thing to rub it and act like you're talking about it."

"Good thinking," said Arthur as he moved his shoulder a bit and rubbed it. Mayumi pretended to rub it a little as Arthur went through a little pantomime of telling how he fell and hurt it. He hoped he did a good job of selling it.

Little did Arthur know how important it was for him to give that sales pitch.

For the next two weeks, Arthur was up at 4 a.m. to get in some prayer and Bible study time. At 5:30, there was a small snack and a couple of hours of personal tutoring from Diego. They worked on perfecting his technique. They worked on him keeping a look on his face that would fool his opponent. They worked on him faking pain in his left shoulder. Half of the time, they would tie his left arm to his chest to force him to use his right arm with greater dexterity. They worked on the style of martial arts that the new school taught. They worked on Arthur being able to read his opponents face. They worked on Arthur expecting something other than what was on his opponent's face. To put it plainly, they really worked Arthur.

Two hours of Diego, shower, breakfast and then he went to Diego's studio to help teach. At least one hour of the morning was devoted to sparring with every student close to his age or over. Then a shower and a great meal back at the house.

The afternoon and sometimes the evenings belonged to him and Mayumi. They went everywhere together. They took tons of pictures the first week. They tried to take pictures the second week also.

However, as the second week got closer to the round robin tournament, Mayumi could not hide the apprehension in her eyes. Her face would smile but her eyes showed fear. I guess the news of terrorist interference in the mountain villages didn't help either. She knew that Arthur and her grandfather would be leaving, soon.

# Chapter Eight

Marci's first two weeks at M. V. Preston Nursing College had been rather hectic. She got to the school on a Monday afternoon and had a class that night at 7 p.m. Her roommates, Roberta and Sheila helped her get everything up to their third floor dorm room in time for her to get a bite to eat before class. Everything wasn't in its proper place but it was all in her room. That much was a blessing.

Almost every available hour of the first two days was spent with counselors and a big notebook. She carried that notebook everywhere. It was like her second brain. When questions would pop into her head that she needed an answer to, into the notebook it went. There was no such thing as a preposterous question. Every question got written down. Every question got asked to at least one counselor.

What she was most eager to find out was which med school was the best to launch her career into research. Most of the counselors agreed that the University Of Maryland School Of Medicine was the choice for her.

The answers she got from the counselors were all categorized and put into another notebook. With this notebook in hand she spent the next two days in the main library down town. And, that is where she met Brian.

She was carrying several books and was trying to maneuver her way through the crowd. Although the concrete steps leading into the library were more than adequate for the library, the amount of students lounging around made it difficult to get from one place to another. One of the books slipped off the top of the stack and Brian just happened to be there pick it up for her. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she apologized with a small smile.

"That's quite alright," he answered quite cheerfully. He took another couple off of her stack and put them in one hand. Then, he held her elbow with the other and half-way commanded those sitting in the way, "Excuse us, please?" The three-piece suit, hair slicked back attractive gentleman stretched his patent leather size twelves forward. And, the Red Sea parted, saints of God. Brian escorted Marci safely to the bottom of the steps.

As he turned to face her with a confident smile, she admitted, "To turn a well-worn phrase, you sure know you're way around, don't you?"

"And to add to the well-worn phrase, a well-worn situation," Brian asserted. "This is the place in the movie where the handsome guy picks up a book for a very attractive young lady. They have lunch. They fall deeply in love, get married and live happily ever after."

"Well, SIR, I'm not into movies," she announced as she tried to hold her hand out for her books.

He pointed to the college just six blocks away and suggested, "It's just a few blocks away, and it would be no trouble......."

"For me to carry all of the books myself if they were properly balanced in my arms," she demanded of him as she snapped her fingers with a smile.

Instead, Brian again took her elbow in his hand and walked her toward the college. After they were away from anyone who might be able to hear them, he opened up, "I have an urgent need to talk to you, Marci Hensley."

Marci was stunned that a total stranger knew her name. She stopped and pulled her arm away from his grasp and demanded in a low tone, "How do you know my name?"

"Deborah McDonald used you as a personal reference when she enlisted in the Air Force. She has applied for a security clearance and it is just normal policy for us to locate the references and ask questions somewhat face-to-face. For one thing, I've got to be able to document that there IS a female named Marci Hensley, that she DOES know the applicant and that neither one of them look like they are subversives."

Marci chuckled out loud with relief as well as how he made it sound. "OK, you have five more blocks......Mr.........?" her voice trailed off in an obvious question.

He answered very quietly and she couldn't help but notice his quick glances at the people nearby, "My name is Brian Roberts. An-n-n-d, as far as the comment about the movie line goes it was just a conversation starter. At my current salary and the amount of time I spend traveling, I am nowhere close to thinking about settling down."

They turned to go to the dorm. "O-h-h-h," Marci wondered, "and just who did you get that line from, Humphrey Bogart, Rock Hudson.......Bela Lugosi?"

An outclassed Brian lost his suave and cool demeanor as Marci began to laugh at her own joke. He admitted, "You see? That's exactly why I can't even think about being serious about dating. You are so quick with your questions and I just open my mouth and insert my foot. I am a natural at it."

All the way to the dorm, Marci was relentless about throwing Brian on the defensive. No matter how he tried to explain to her his real intensions, she found some way to embarrass him. They were still laughing at his mistake as they approached the dorm.

Marci let him off the hook by saying, "Brian, I am just focused on my dreams and I guess I've built up a natural defense against anything that sounded like a come-on."

Brian admitted, "The honest answer is, I don't have the income and I am actively pursuing my career, also. Maybe when I make it to Washington, D.C. and you make it to the University of Maryland, you can drive thirty minutes south and I can drive thirty minutes north and we could have a go at it."

"Well, now that's a possibility," she said. As they got to the entrance of the dorm, they stopped at the call box. With a twinkle in her eye, she looked at Brian and asked, "Would you like to meet a couple of girls that are .........., shall we say, not as focused as I am." She couldn't help but giggle at the idea. "These two are borderline space cadets when it comes to guys. Why don't I tell them that we're on the way up and you're helping me carry my books? And, then while we're in there, you can ask me where we want to go eat. Dear God I sound more like Tom Dandridge every day. Oh, and I can pay for my own meal."

"Oh, no, no. This is a business lunch, remember? The government has given me an expense account for these things. And, who is Tom Dandridge?"

"I'll tell you over lunch. Now, let's see if they are even there," she said as she pushed the button underneath the number 304.

A voice came through the speaker, "Hello?"

Marci tried to speak without giggling, "Hey, Bert? Are you and Sheila decent? I've got a guy with me who is helping me carry a load of books. Is it OK if he comes up?"

They heard some thumping and shuffling noises as Roberta stuttered, "Uh, uh, yeah, sure Marci. We're dressed and everything, uh but take the stairs, I think the elevator gets stuck between floors, OK?"

"Sure thing, Bert. We'll be up in a jiffy."

"Ok."

Marci turned to Brian and asked, "Do you mind taking the stairs? It sounds like the ladies are anything but appropriate right now."

"I understand," Brian said as they headed for the stairs. "I was in the service. There were four of us to a room. Wow! I never thought that one place could stink so badly for six days and then smell good on inspection Friday. I am so very glad they didn't throw any surprise inspections. We would have been on KP for the next twenty six years."

They both laughed as they walked steadily up the three flights of stairs. Brian asked, "So are you seriously think about enrolling in the University of Maryland?"

"Yep. I believe I'm going to go for it."

"Do you mind me asking why? That's a pretty tough AND a prestigious college. They put out some good brains but at a GOOD price, also."

"I took care of my great-grandmother when I was twelve through fourteen years old. She died of a degenerative disease. As I watched her go downhill, I kept wondering if they would ever come out with something that could add some years to her life or at least make her last few months easier."

"I can understand."

"When she passed, we found out that she had left practically everything to me in her will. She declared that her house was to be rented and the money be put into an account to fund my college desires. My Uncle Preston was a very shrewd investor and the money grew by leaps and bounds. There is more than enough for any university, even if I have to go overseas, like to Germany. I've already applied for a visa." She sighed and continued, "That's why I'm so focused. I'm not about to let my granny down."

"I surely can't fault you for that. Uh......I do have a business acquaintance at the college. One of the professors has.......how can I say it....had need of my services. I would be glad to speak to him if you would like. I don't know what he could or couldn't do. But, he could at least come up with some good advice."

As they came up to the door, she acknowledged, "Brian, that would be great, but don't go out of your way.....or I wouldn't want to....."

"Marci, I have an appointment with him tomorrow. And I have to report to him every so often. As much as he likes to brag on himself, I bet he would bend over backwards to help you just so he could brag about it. This guy is a serious case I'm here to tell you," he argued.

Marci knocked on the door as she said, "Thanks" to Brian.

"Marci?"

"It's me, Bert. Is it OK to come in?"

"Sure thing, we're just studying. Nothing going on."

As Marci slowly inserted the key into the door she mouthed, "I'll bet." She opened the door and they entered the room.

Bert and Sheila just happened to be sitting on the same couch at the same time. It just so happened that the couch is on the left side of the living room. You know. When the door opens it's the first thing you see. Or, should I say that whenever the door opens, anyone who is sitting on the couch can get a good look at whoever is coming through the door?

There they were the very epitome of studious young ladies. Books and papers were spread out on the coffee table somewhat profusely. However, Bert had her Gastrointestinal System text book open on the coffee table while she had her Brain and Behavior workbook in her hands.

Brian choked back a chuckle. Sheila was sitting at the other end of the couch with her left hand hanging off the end for some odd reason. She couldn't hide from Marci. She had a camera in her hand and skullduggery on her mind.

As they entered the room, the girls looked up expecting to see one of the guys that normally hang around the downtown library with only one thing in mind. However, what they saw was a clean cut, handsome young man in a three piece business suit and patent leather shoes.

Marci announced, "Ladies, this is Brian Roberts, who was kind enough to help me carry this armload of books from the library. Brian, the one with the book in her hand is Roberta Driggers."

"Hi."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Driggers."

Marci continued, "And, the one with the camera in her hand is Sheila Walker."

Before a word came out of his mouth, Sheila was quick to say, "The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Roberts. Now, hold still this won't hurt a bit." She held up the camera, held down the automatic button and clicked off five shots in a heartbeat. As she scrolled through them, she jokingly commented, "Now, let's see. Which one or two shall I send to......Arthur?" She looked up quickly to catch Marci's reaction.

The smile was gone and an ashen blank stare was in its place.

Everyone noticed it. Sheila sensed that her joke had crossed a line with Marci so she was quick to apologize, "Marci, I don't have his e-mail address and neither of us has messed with your laptop. I sware to you, I was only joking. Really."

Marci breathed a sigh of relief. She managed a shy smile as she said, "You just took me by surprise that's all." She looked at Brian as she tried to explain, "Arthur's been my best friend in the whole world. He was with me when my granny died. And, he promised me a few days later that he was going to be my number one best friend. True to his word, whenever he saw me going into the doldrums about my granny, he would do something funny and pull me out. He IS my number one best friend. Nobody even comes second. But, he feels like he needs to minister to the mountain folks in the Philippines and I feel like I need to press forward in the medical profession."

Brian furrowed his eyebrows as he asked, "The mountains of the Philippines, you say?" He had their undivided attention the way he said it. He looked at Sheila and Roberta and continued, "By the way Marci reacted, I guess she knows. The mountains of the Philippines have been the center of terrorist training for the past six years or so. Arthur very well could be walking into one of the most dangerous places on earth."

He and Marci exchanged glances. "I still have some military contacts. I'll see if any have some info that I can share with you if you'd like."

"I don't know," smiled Marci. "I guess it depends on if it's good news or bad news."

Brian smiled back, "You've got a good point there. I'll edit the news for you if I can even get any."

"Thanks," she said. "He's talked a little about it and to be honest with you, what little he told me was more than I needed to hear. You'd better believe that his safety is on the top of my prayer list."

"I'll add it to mine, too," Brian said.

"Mine, too," Roberta offered. Sheila gave her one of those looks. "I mean ...uh...ours. Mine and Sheila. You know, when we pray together and all that stuff."

With a completely confused look on her face, Sheila said, "Oh, yeah."

With a beginning of a smile on her face, Marci excused herself by saying, "Brian, just place those books on my stack and I'll take them to my room. And......just have a seat and let me go freshen up before we leave, OK?"

"Sure, Marci," he said as he handed her the books. With the beginnings of a smile on his face, he added, "And, that'll give me more of a chance to get acquainted with your charming friends."

Sheila looked at Roberta and said, "Didja hear that Bert? We're Marci's charming friends. We need to remind her of that from time to time."

"Yeah," answered Bert, "like when she's in one of those moods." Then to Brian she waved her hand and said, "You know."

Marci called out from her bedroom, "Ooops, I got an e-mail from Arthur with a video attachment. Hang on."

Bert looked at Brian and cracked, "I hope you've got an hour to spare."

A cackle of laughter came from her room as Marci cried out, "Those guys are nuts. I mean complete bonkers. Oh, my gosh, the neighbor's taking pictures." The rest was garbled in laughter. She took the laptop into the living room and set it down on the coffee table and said, "Start that video all over and watch it. Brian, come over here and sit between them if you can control yourself," she said with a wink as she walked into the bathroom and shut the door.

"I'll try," he sighed as he scooted past Sheila and sat down between them.

Roberta turned toward him and propped her arm on his shoulder as she said to Sheila, "Sheila, you start the video and I'll try to start The Hunk."

Sheila started the video over and pushed play. The scene started with Phillipe and Barto just getting to the cowboy and Indian fight. As he made his first round, Barto stopped right in front of Steve, who was filming the whole event from the side lines. He stopped his motor bike and began to film Steve who was filming him. With the background noise of Indian war whoops and cowboy banter, they began to walk around each other with their cameras focusing and unfocusing according to their demand. A scream was heard from the direction of the Givens home. Both cameras whirled toward the sound of the noise. There was Terri holding on to her stomach and several glasses of tea spread all over the place.

As the cameramen began to advance she warned, "Steve Alan Givens, if you take one more step closer to me with that camera....."

Barto caught Steve's immediate 180 and you could hear him say, "Barto, look. They must have gone through a time warp. They're morphing into Star Wars."

There was a blur in the action as Barto's camera once again auto-focused on the warriors. Arthur and Mayumi had just gotten back to back and began their arm swings. As the banter went on there was some light laughter. However, when Max gave his line in falsetto that he was Lea, Sheila lost every cool she had.

From that moment until the video was over, she became the main attraction. Marci had come out of the bathroom and just stared at her. She had never seen Sheila this borderline hysterical over anything before. The common question being asked by everyone was, "Just what was so funny?"

She tried to talk but deluges of laughter kept her in a constant state of unintelligible gibberish. The only word that was recognizable was, "Who?" She finally got a hold of herself to complete a sentence, "Who is that and how old is he?"

Marci answered, "His name is Max and he is somewhere between the ages of sixteen and twenty-two. I'm not sure."

"Perfect. I'll take him. Tell Arthur to bring him home when he comes home." She got up quickly and announced, "Whew. I've got to go to the bathroom. Excuse me." On her way, she got accosted by a new round of laughter which heightened greatly after she shut the door.

Brian couldn't help but laugh at the way that Sheila was laughing. He looked at Marci and asked, "Are you ready to go?"

"I guess I am," Marci answered. "Where are we going?"

"I don't know. What would you like to eat?"

"It's only three o'clock and I'm not that hungry. How about some soup and sandwiches? We could go to McGurty's and then walk a couple of blocks to a real nice park. There are always plenty of shady places to talk."

"Oh, talk," Roberta mimicked as she mindlessly looked at her fingernails. She yelled at Sheila, "Hey Sheila, they're just going to go talk in the park."

That's all Sheila needed to tip her giggle cart over again. She did manage to say, "Have a nice time. We're really going to miss you." And the laughter started all over.

Marci smiled real big and shook her head as she suggested, "Let's go. We won't get anywhere hanging around here, that's for sure."

As the turned to go, Brian asked her, "Do you need to put your computer up?"

Marci's eyes showed him a look somewhere between fear and despair as she told him, "The e-mails are not from Arthur. Anything sent to that e-mail address won't get to him either."

"Aha, that is perfect. Then, let's go. Roberta, I hope to see you again," he said.

"I certainly hope so, and under.........different circumstances, maybe?" she asked with a hopeful smile.

"You never can tell," was his answer.

As they walked down the stairs, he asked, "I bet there's never a dull moment when those two are together."

"You think so, huh? That WAS a dull moment for that floor. When the girls from across the hall come over it is better than any comedy club I've ever heard about. But, when everybody goes to their own rooms, they have laughed so hard that it is easy to go to sleep."

"Can you get me an invitation to that gaggle?"

************

Monique looked out the kitchen window as Dan backed the car out to go to work. She rinsed the dishes and slid them into the dishwasher. A tear began to trickle down her cheek as her anger and disgust began to replace every feeling she had ever had for him.

She had run with him from town to town as he played his helpful professor facade from college to college recruiting prostitutes for the gang out in Vegas. Slipping the girls a date rape drug and then photographing them in promiscuous positions to con them was bad enough.

Now, his new contact in the Middle East wanted a Christian virgin to use as a play toy. Dan said that Mustafa was willing to pay plenty. She had had enough. Dan had no intentions on marrying her. She had no real ties to him. She dried her hands and picked up her cell phone to send Brian a text. She was going to take Brian up on his offer. She'd go anywhere and do anything he asked just to get away from this........monster.

# Chapter Nine

As they stepped away from the dorm, Brian asked, "How far away is this McGurdy's?"

"It's about ten blocks down, turn left and six blocks on the right hand side. You can't miss it. And from their dining room window you have a great view of the park. The big trees, the fountain, children's play area and the outdoor amphitheater," Marci answered. She looked at him with a wistful smile and continued, "Kinda reminds me of Elmhurst."

"Wait a minute," Brian said as he stopped in his tracks. He fished his phone out, selected an app and pressed a button. "I'm not about to walk sixteen blocks. Hello, I need a taxi at the corner of Second Avenue and Elizabeth Street. Thanks."

"Wuss," Marci accused with a smile.

"Your point is?" Brian replied with a high-browed look and an arching voice inflection.

"You're ashamed to be seen with me out in public?" she jabbed.

He raised one eyebrow and countered, "My Darling, I just can't wait to get you into the back seat of a car. So, I figured that a taxi would be the best way. Have you fallen madly in love with me yet?"

"You know the two words in that last sentence that describe you best are 'fallen' and 'madly'."

"You're just saying that because it's true. And besides," he looked up at the windows on the third floor. "Roberta and Sheila might be watching."

"Nope, the window doesn't face the street."

"Drat."

"They're standing in the lobby of the dorm, pressed up against a wall thinking they can't be seen."

Brian turned to look at his watch to check on the time. He purposely faced the dorm. As he looked up through the tops of his eyebrows, he spotted them. He chuckled as he turned away to keep his face from being seen by them. "How long have you known those two?" he asked.

"We had a lot of classes together last year. This year we got to be roomies. Fortune smiles on us lovely people."

Brian could not let that one pass. "The word in that last sentence that best describes you is 'lovely'. My word for you is 'very.' I heard that somewhere."

"Uh-huh."

The cab pulled up and Brian opened the door for her. Before she got in she picked at him again, "What happened to your........focus?" She stepped in and slid to the opposite side as she flashed a 'gotcha' smile.

He stepped in and shot back as he closed the door, "I guess I've had a change of scenery, that...uh....caused me to see a bigger picture."

With the same smile she slapped her pocketbook in between them as a statement and shook her head ever so slightly.

Brian said to the driver, "Sir, could you take us to McGurdy's?"

"Sure thing," he answered.

It was all quiet in the back seat for the ride to the little cafe. The closest they got to conversation was a few quaint little smiles that broke into snickers and wound up being laughter the last four blocks of their journey. Brian paid the cabbie and they walked into the cafe.

"Hey, Marci," the waitress called out from the kitchen. "I'll be with you in a minute."

"That's fine, Louisa. We're going to take a table in the back corner."

Brian said, "I thought you liked to look out the picture window."

"I do, but I thought you wanted to talk."

"We can do that in the park. Let's sit by the window and make fun of the people that go by."

Marci called to Louisa, "We changed our mind. We're going to the window."

"Same spot?" called the voice.

"Yes, Ma'am."

They slid into the booth by the window. The bus boy brought them some silverware and two menus. "What would you care to drink?" he asked.

"I'll take sweetened tea," answered Marci.

"I'll have the same, please."

"Two teas coming right up," the busboy repeated as he walked toward the kitchen.

"Now tell me about this Tom Danfield that you've been imitating," Brian opened up.

Marci smiled real big and corrected him, "It's Dandridge and he's Arthur's great-grandfather. He was my great-granny's school chum and the greatest practical joker you have ever seen. He was an absolute rascal. He would plan a stunt for weeks and then pull it off without anybody ever guessing what was going on."

Louisa came with their teas and asked Brian, "Are you ready to order or would you like for me to come back?" She nodded towards Marci and said with a sarcastic smile, "I already know what she wants. I can't even PAY her to try anything else."

Marci shrugged her shoulders and explained, "When you've found something that you like and enjoy, you just stick with it."

Brian looked up from the menu, turned his head to the side and said with a smile, "You know, I was thinking the same thing myself."

Marci plopped her open palm down on the table and said, "Don't go there." But, then she chuckled at him and sat back against the seat, crossed her arms and just shook her head.

Louisa looked from one to another and began to fan herself with Marci's menu as she said, "You know, I'm knocking 50 and maybe I'm having a hot flash. Does it seem kinda warm in here to you guys?"

Brian sighed as he smiled at Marci and said, "I don't know. I think the temperature just dropped about ten degrees myself."

Without blinking or changing her facial expression, Marci corrected him, "Twen-ty."

"By the way, what is she having?"

"She's having a BLT with pepper jack cheese and a bowl of tomato soup."

"I'll have the same then, but may I have cheddar cheese instead?"

"Comin' right up."

Brian started in again, "OK. So what is Arthur doing in the Philippines?"

Marci could tell by the look on his face and the tone of his voice, that he was truly interested. Maybe he knew something. "It goes way back to WWII when Tom enlisted in the Army. His outfit eventually became known as the 6th Ranger Battalion."

His face brightened as he interjected, "Then he originally enlisted as a mule skinner, correct?"

"Yes," Marci replied in surprise.

"And, they went on to be part of the spearhead that liberated the Philippines?"

"You must know your history real well."

"I was in the Rangers myself and you'd better believe that the creation of those first battalions was drilled into us again and again and again."

Marci's face softened a bit, "Two things. Tom never got tired of telling us some of those stories." She chuckled and shook her head as she stared down at the table, "And, we never got tired of hearing them, either."

Brian got the message, "How long ago?"

Without looking up or changing her expression she answered, "We had his home going two days before I left to come here. Arthur left for the Philippines the same day I left. The day before we left, the Army sent around a patrol car to whisk Ramon and Taylor off to sniper school and possibly to Afghanistan."

"You've had quite a rough couple of weeks then haven't you?" Brian said.

Without looking up, Marci answered, "Yeah, you might say that. And as the rush and adrenaline wears off," she looked up with a straight face and said, "I wonder if I can take it when I hit the bottom. Reality will eventually set in and Arthur's not here to be my stabilizer. I guess it's time to grow up and be on my own."

"As much as you'll let me be, I'll be here for you. There's Bert and Sheila and you've mentioned the girls across the hall." He waited for a moment before he asked, "You never did say how Arthur got to the Philippines."

Louisa came with their soup and sandwiches, re-filled their tea glasses, asked if there was anything else right then and returned to the kitchen. She could tell by their expressions that it was not the right time for idle chit-chat.

"It's a long and involved story," she started as she mindlessly stirred her tomato soup. "I'll hit the highlights and let you ask any questions that you want filled in."

"OK," he answered as he bit into his sandwich.

"You probably know about the raid on Cabanatuan," she started. "Tom and two others volunteered to blow up an ammo shed. Things went wrong; the ammo shed blew up with Tom in it. Some of the guerrillas got him to the safety of the mountains because they weren't sure how the fight was going. When he woke up, he had amnesia and didn't want to be taken to the Americans. He wanted to stay with the pastor of the village. His legs were really messed up. He started dealing with the orphaned children of the village and became close friends with Pedro and his sister Tala.

"Eight years passed and the pastor died. The trauma made his memory come back. Because he couldn't walk very well, Pedro and a couple of other guys made the forty mile trip to bring the Army to him. When he got back to the states, he found out that his wife had remarried and her new husband was good man and just wonderful with his son. He was still crippled from the many operations that he felt it would be wrong to try to come back into their lives.

"The Army, of course, had to give him a new identity. He spent his years being a friend to troubled teens until they came into a loving relationship with Jesus. Then, at the age of eighty, he felt he needed to go back to his home town to see what's what. He met his great-grandson, Arthur who, at the age of eleven, decided he wanted to be a Ninja.

"Pedro, meanwhile had entered the Marine Corps and, supposedly had retired. His son, Diego had a martial arts studio in Manila. When he heard that Tom had been reunited with his family and that Arthur wanted to be a Ninja, he brought them to his home in the Philippines every summer. Arthur took lessons for free, and fell in love with Pedro, Diego and his family. They always made trips back into the mountains. And, that's the short version. Now it's your turn to talk while I eat," she said as she finished rather unceremoniously.

Brian had finished his BLT and had started on his soup. "That is some story, alright," he said. It was his turn to fiddle with his soup and he thought carefully how to progress. Finally, he started out by saying, "I do have some friends who have their.......fingers in the goings on in the Philippines. It is possible that I could find out something. Uh.....but tell me if you can, is Arthur in any secret group or anything?"

Marci chuckled, "Not him. I think Pedro and his son Diego are. The last time I saw him, all he told me was that the terrorists could be moving in the direction of Pedro's old mountain village and that they would probably go up there to try to bring some of the folks out. And, it's possible that the village might come under some kind of attack. He was going to take a lot of pictures before leaving to go to the mountains so that they could possibly fool anyone monitoring his e-mails. He told me how he would pose when he left to go up and how he would pose to let me know when he got back safely. And, that's all I know."

"I take it that the village is somewhere near Cabanatuan?"

"Yes, it's not too far from Aurora National Park, something or other."

"I know where that's at," Brian replied. He noticed the faraway look that seemed to envelop her at the moment and suggested in as upbeat a voice as he could, "Well, if you're finished, then why don't we go for that stroll in the park?"

Marci realized that she had been staring and apologized as she stood up to leave, "I'm sorry that I haven't been good company. It's just that he's my prayer partner as well as the best friend I have ever had. Nothing like this has ever come up before and I am at a bit of a loss as to how to handle it."

Brian paid the cashier and walked her out the door. "Isn't that what life is all about? Facing stuff we've never been through before? I know that I need to be closer to the Lord, and maybe meeting you made me realize how much I should depend on Him. Depend on Him? What am I saying? You know how much I've looked to God for guidance? Zero. Zip. Nada. It's a wonder that when I do talk to Him he doesn't interrupt me by saying, 'Brian who?"

Marci chuckled at him as she led him to one of her favorite spots in front of the fountain. "This is where I like to sit. Sometimes, I just close my eyes and listen to the water splash. It seems to help," she explained. As they got comfortable on the park bench, she asked, "Now, what was it that you needed to know about Debbie?"

Brian didn't answer immediately. He was wrestling with something. He looked at his shoes and then the fountain. He watched the people coming from one direction and then his shoes again. He thought about the text he had gotten that morning. He wondered if he would be able to get Marci to come one board.

After two agonizing minutes, he finally turned to Marci and said, "Marci, I'm not here to talk to you just on behalf of the Air Force. I'm here to talk to you because I'm with the  
DOJ. I'm working on a case that involves human trafficking."

They talked, they walked, Marci cried, Brian consoled, they ate supper, went for another walk, they went to Brighton's Ice Cream Parlor and then got home by 10 p.m. Marci was grateful that she came into an empty dorm room. She went to her room, got ready for bed, opened her Bible to a scripture she had been meditating on for a couple of weeks and cried some more.

Brian went to Washington D.C. on DOJ business, made a few contacts for Marci and came back on Friday. Marci found herself anxiously waiting to see him again. She felt like God had given her an answer. Tom had always taught them that when God answered your question you would be at peace. If you continue to struggle with something then you don't have an answer, yet. This morning was the first time in several weeks that she woke up and faced the day with peace. All the statistics weren't worked out, but she knew she had God's direction.

Later on that day-----

"She does," Roberta said firmly.

"She does not," Sheila replied in an almost pleading voice. "What makes you so sure?"

"Sheila, I've watched her," answered Roberta.

"But, Roberta, I've been around her almost as much as you have and I haven't noticed anything," declared Sheila.

"How can you not see it?"

"See what?"

"Her smiles?"

"Smiles? Everybody smiles. We even smile when we're talking to her. Your reasoning is totally bogus. Totally, totally bogus, Bert," Sheila protested.

"Totally?"

"Totally!"

"The totality that it is...is...it's totally scientific," Roberta stated firmly.

"Scientific?" Sheila argued. "There's not a scientific bone in your body. If I hadn't helped you cram the week before entrance exams, which, by the way, I NEVER got paid for...."

"You'll get your pistachio and butterscotch double dip, don't worry."

"...you would have never made it in to nursing school," Sheila finished. She paused and thought real hard before she asked, "Wait a minute. Just what kind of scientific experiment....uh, test, whatever, Ok. What did you do to form your hypothesis?"

"Hypothesis," Roberta objected. "It's NOT a hypothesis. It's a statement of fact."

"Wha-a-a-a-t fact?" Sheila demanded.

Roberta looked at Sheila with an I-can't-believe-you're-asking- me-that look and declared emphatically, "She-e-e-ila, Marci loves Arthur more than she does Brian or any other guy."

Sheila dropped her head into her hands for a few seconds before she looked up at Roberta and stressed each word of her question, "What.. facts do...you... have...for... making... that... statement?

Roberta sat up straight, turned her head to the right and while looking at Sheila from the left corner of her eyes, said resolutely, "Her smiles."

Sheila's mouth dropped open for a few seconds before she slowly started laughing, "How in the blue perfect world can her smiles tell you anything about her heart?"

Bert shrugged her shoulders, "It's easy. She smiles more and longer when she talks about Arthur than when she talks about Brian."

"Get outa here, Bert," Sheila snorted. Then she began mocking her by saying, "Whadja do? Break out a stop watch and say, 'Hey, Marci, talk about Arthur for a while. Click. Ok. Click. Now talk about Brian for a while. Click. OK. Click. There we go. Study done. Marci, you scientifically love Arthur more. Case closed."

"Oh, yuckitty, yuck, yuck, to you Miss Know-it-all," Roberta slammed back. "For your information, I DID do a scientific study. Give me a break and an open mind for just a moment and I'll explain it all to you."

Sheila leaned back in her chair, crossed her legs and then her arms and demanded, "Alrighty, then. I'll listen. But, don't expect me to take notes."

Roberta started, "Now keep an open mind and understand that I had to develop a way of testing that I could do to keep her from thinking that I was testing her." She stopped as if waiting for an answer from Sheila.

Sheila obliged by only opening her eyes real wide and shaking her head 'yes' as if the say 'Go on.'

"Well, when we would be together just chit-chatting, I would break out my laptop as if I were going to e-mail or something," she began. "That way she doesn't suspect anything. I would open up a blank page. Then, I would type the letter 'B' and put my finger over the letter 's'. I would ask her something about Brian. If she smiled, I would hold down the letter 's' on the keyboard and let it type 's' as long as she smiled. Then, I would type the letter 'A', hold my finger over the letter 's' and ask her a question about Arthur. AND, if at any time, she broke out into a bigger smile than normal, I would switch on the Caps key."

Sheila just stared at her.

"What?" asked Bert.

Sheila leaned forward with a concerned look on her face and asked, "That's a scientific test? Where did you get that cockamamie idea from?"

Bert defended herself, "It's the best I could come up with at the time. But, Sheila, I did it three different times and it came out the same way. Arthur twice as long as Brian and Brian got no caps. Sheila, Brian got NO caps."

"Bert, you gotta be kidding me."

Bert reached for her laptop and argued, "No, I'm not. I saved them in My Documents file and everything."

"I don't want to see them...."

They both stopped and listened to the sound of Marci's footsteps coming down the hall. Bert pointed at Sheila's laptop and whispered, "Hey, you do the A's and I'll do the B's."

Sheila leaned over and whispered back, "What? Do you think I'm crazy?"

Bert frowned at her and as Marci opened the door she mouthed the words, 'Two double dips'.

Sheila answered out loud as if Marci were coming in right in the middle of a conversation, "Tomorrow and Sunday will be fine with me." She nonchalantly reached for her laptop and flipped it on.

"Agreed," Bert answered. "Hi Marci, how was your afternoon with Brian?" As she waited for Marci to answer, she raised her pointy finger of her right hand and in a downward, swirling motion, put it on the 's' key ready for her answer. She looked over at Sheila and grinned.

Marci turned around and was about to answer when Sheila stood up abruptly and shouted, "Oh, my gosh...Marci," and then pointed in Marci's direction.

Marci's first reaction was that some kind of bug must have been on her somewhere. "What? Where?" she asked as she frantically looked over her blouse and brushed her shoulders.

Sheila stood up and sent her laptop skidding across the floor and almost screamed one of those girly screams, "O-o-o-o-o-o-o, Marci! You got your ears pierced."

Ear piercing? That's what I would have called the screams that those gawking young ladies started doing. You would have thought that Santa Claus had just come down the chimney and had brought the two of them every high-priced piece of merchandise he could find. It was so loud that one of the girls from the next room came over to see what the commotion was all about.

Small town girl, Marci found herself surrounded by three screaming, hand clapping, jumping up and down females all jostling for a look and a touch. I would say that it was almost reminiscent of when the Beatles came to America but I would be telling my age. So, I won't.

As the ladies began to settle down, the next door roomie picked Bert's laptop off the floor and returned it to the coffee table. She looked at the screen for a minute and then glanced at Sheila's before she asked, "So, Bert, how's the testing going?"

Bert opened her eyes real wide as she tried to pretend she didn't understand the question. "Uh-h-h-h, what test would that be, Fred?"

"Fred?" Marci wondered. "Is that short for....."

"Nope, it's just Fred," she answered. "My momma wanted a boy so bad that she named me Fred, and my daddy knew better than to argue."

"I like your dad, already," Sheila said.

"Thanks. How 'bout it Bert?" Fred asked again with a big grin. Fred was a no-nonsense, get right to the point and cut them off at the knees kind of lady. She could say things in such a way that people just couldn't get made at her, no matter how it nailed their hide to the wall.

Marci looked at Bert with a sly smile and continued the quiz, "You know, Bert, the 'which one does Marci love most' test."

Bert's mouth dropped open, "But how did you know?"

"You left the page open the other day when you went to Wal-Mart with Sheila. And, since when does my love life become the center of everybody's conversation?" she asked as she rubbed on her ear.

Fred came over and knelt down by Marci and said, "Here let me see if I can get them to be more comfortable." She reached up and loosened them a little. "Well, no wonder. These things are heavy."

"Onyx and 14k gold."

"Just loosen them every now and then when you twist them. If you've never had earrings before, they'll just bother the daylights out of you until you get used to them," Fred said. She got up and walked to the rocker by the front door and asked Bert, "So, Bert, are going to tell Marci why her love life is so important?"

"Not if I don't have to," started Bert. "But, it just doesn't seem fair that you have two fellas and we don't have any. In algebra it would be plus two equals minus six."

Sheila looked at her in amazement and asked, "Say, what?"

Bert explained, "Well she has two fellas and we each have two less than she does so that makes it plus two equals minus six."

It was Fred's turn to look at her in amazement, "Jiminy Christmas, Bert, how did you ever pass you entrance exam?"

She raised her hands, shrugged her shoulders and confessed, "I cheated, how else?"

Fred stated, "Now that makes sense. But, the real reason your love life is our main interest is the two hour conversation we had about which one of us was going to get the one you dumped."

Marci sat up in the recliner and asked, "What? Two hours?"

Sheila said with a big grin, "Well, it took us that long because we took turns telling what we would do to heal the wounded heart and make him irrevocably ours. Bert had a good idea."

Bert was quick to add with a big smile, "Which we don't need to get into right now."

Marci announced, "Well ladies, I might have solved your problems about an hour ago. Beside pretty women and free beer, what attracts men the most?"

Sheila answered first, "Food."

"Exactly," stated Marci. "Mrs. Piatrowski stopped me in the hallway after class and asked me if I was interested in opening up the grill down the street. She also asked me if I knew of three other ladies that would volunteer to help. The pay? Not only the meal you would, of course, eat, but free room and keep all the tips."

"I'll agree to do all the cooking as long as we can go to your hometown and glean some ideas from that crazy chef," declared Fred. "I love to cook."

"Good," said Bert, "that will leave me and Sheila to.........uh take a few orders from the guys, huh?"

You don't want to hear the rest of the conversation.

# Chapter Ten

By 8 a.m. on a bright and shiny Saturday morning, it almost looked like the proverbial "clown car routine" at the circus. Four young ladies were putting four suitcases in the trunk of Marci's Honda Civic. Can somebody tell me why they have to have at least two changes of clothes to go to Elmhurst, Georgia and back the same day? I don't know. It must be a girl thing.

They were just about to toss a coin to decide the seating arrangements, when Marci's phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and smiled. It was Brian. She greeted him by saying, "Well, did you finally decide to get out of bed? We've been up since 6."

"We?" asked the voice at the other end.

"Yes, the ladies and I have taken up Mrs. Piatrowski's offer of free room rent for running the little cafe down the street from the dorm. We were just about to squeeze into my Honda Civic and slide on down to Elmhurst for the day." She noticed Bert making fun of the smile on her face and playfully slapped at her. The others couldn't help but laugh.

"What's Elmhurst got to do with opening a small cafe?"

"Eddy's Hamburger Emporium, that's what. We decided to make it a hamburger and chili parlor because that's what the guys always like to eat. AND, one of my high school chums has a list of distinguished hamburgers that just might make the cafe the hot spot on campus. A-n-n-d, having a bunch of guys fumbling around at your feet might just cure some of the hangovers these girls have got, if you know what I mean."

"Y-y-y-e-s-s!" shouted Fred as she raised her fist in the air.

"Why don't I come over and pick y'all up and drive you there and back in my Ford Explorer. That'll give everybody plenty of room. I'll take care of the gas. Now, before you start saying that I don't need to do that, I have wanted to get a chance to talk with Arthur's parents. I've got some information to share with them plus a couple of secure web sites and a phone number. For me it would be a business trip.......... as well as getting a chance to be with you."

Marci turned away from the girls to try to hide her smile. Why was she smiling? And why did she turn her head? Doesn't she know that that was just an admission of guilt?

Sheila said out loud, "She's smiling, Brian. She tried to hide it from us but we know she is. Her hair is peaking in the back of her head."

Oh, what a shriek of laughter. Brian had to hear that. The people at the bus stop two blocks away heard it. Marci turned around and demanded, "Alright that does it." She walked around to the driver's side of the car, reached in and popped the trunk. She was half-way laughing when she began, "I am not about to cart you giggling bunch of monsters to my home town. They'd never me let back in."

She started laughing but they already knew something was up. "Brian's gonna take us in his Explorer. He wants to talk to Arthur's parents anyway," she explained.

Roberta looked at the other two girls as she said in a sing-song manner, "O-o-o-o-o-o-o. He's gonna ask for her hand in marriage, how sweet."

"Now stop it," demanded Marci but the smile never left her face.

Brian offered, "Well, I didn't think it was such a bad idea."

Marci snapped back, "Oh, now, don't you start or even dare try anything like that. Olivia Hollis would tear you......she......the FBI wouldn't be able to find you. All of the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Brian Roberts back together again."

"Whoa, looks like I need to take along an employment application and pick me up a partner. Well, let me get off the phone and get going. I'll be there in about thirty minutes. I'll gas up before come over."

He hesitated a second and then asked in a much softer tone, "How are the earrings doing?"

Marci put on a smile as she answered, "Oh, they're fine. You should have heard the girls when they saw them. They went nuts. They're still a little bit heavy, but I'll get used to them."

"Have you found a hiding place for their box?"

"Oh, yeah. That's.......uh....I did that yesterday."

"OK, then. Why not put them in their box and I'll bring you a starter pair of earrings that won't be so conspicuous. I don't need those to accidentally get lost and they need to rest and recharge, anyway."

Marci had to quickly think of something to say to tell Brian that she understood and to give the girls a reason for why he's bringing the new ones. She responded, "Oh, Brian, that's so sweet of you, but you don't have to. It's not like their tearing my ears off or anything. I've just never had any. Bu-u-u-t, you know, since we're going to be around Arthur's mom that would probably be a good idea. She's going to wonder any way. Let me let you go and we'll get a pry bar and get everyone's bags out of that tiny trunk and be waiting in the parking lot for you."

Well, it was the female thing to do, I suppose. Four overnight bags were snatched from the meager Honda Civic trunk and carted back to room 304 of the ladies' dorm. Since they were going to be able to ride in a Ford Explorer, that meant they could take at least one more change of clothes for the trip.

As they got ready to go down stairs, Roberta looked at Sheila and Fred and asked, "Do you girls mind going on down ahead of us? I need to ask Marci something."

Fred opened the door and responded, "Marci, don't give her any edge over which one of the guys.......you know." Then she and Sheila left the room laughing. It was going to be one of those days.

Roberta put her bag down and looked at Marci without smiling. Marci had never seen this look from Roberta before. It seemed that she was sad and somewhat apprehensive about something. Was Roberta in some kind of trouble? Whatever it was, Marci was ready to listen. She, too, put her bag down and asked solemnly, "What is it Bert? Are you OK?"

She started off rather timidly but with a resoluteness in her voice that meant she expected a straight answer, "I don't want to talk about me. I want to talk about you."

That was a shock. Marci couldn't help but stammer, "Me? Bert, what do....have.......have I done something wrong? Have I done something to offend you?"

She looked as if she were on the verge of tears as she started, "The others are waiting so I need to cut to the chase. Last night, I came into the living room to get my glasses. I knew where they were so I turned my bedroom light out before I opened the door so I wouldn't disturb you or Sheila. I heard you........crying last night." Before she finished, a tear slid down her cheek, "And, girl, don't lie to me... I...want to know for real. But, if it's none of my business.......but, it is."

'Oh, my gosh,' thought Marci, 'how can I get around this. I can't lie to her. No matter what.' She started to say something.

"Wait a minute," Roberta stopped her. "Before you get mad at me, I've got to tell you that I also looked into your room this morning while you were taking your shower. I saw your Bible open on your bed where you left it. It was opened to Psalm 37 and I saw a few tear stains at the bottom of the page. You had underlined verse five that says to commit your way to the Lord and trust Him. I know I don't act like it sometimes.......well most of the time I know I don't act like it. But I used to teach Sunday School and I know what that scripture is all about. Especially when I hear my best friend crying and I see tears in her Bible. Marci what's this all about?"

Bert wasn't in hysterics but she was on the verge of blubbering. Marci stepped toward her to give her a hug to console her but found out that it was she that needed a hug and some reassurance, also. A tear or two found their way out of their hiding place as she rested her head on Bert's shoulder.

She pulled herself together, pulled away from Bert to look her in the eye and explained, "Brian and I have made a few decisions that have been pretty tough to make. And, they are decisions that for sure, we can't back out of. I can't tell you about them right now. And, then we've been discussing our futures, and there's more decisions, more choices, more planning. And, it's just a bit overwhelming that's all." It wasn't all of the truth but none of it was a lie, either. Some things just couldn't be said right now.

"Honest, Marci, everything's OK?"

"I didn't say that, Bert, but I can say that God is working on it," she said. She stepped to the coffee table and snatched up a couple of tissues for Bert and herself and continued, "I trust this means that I have another prayer partner that I can count on. That would mean a whole lot to me right now."

"You'd better believe it. And.....and whatever you want to share with me doesn't go anywhere else," she assured her. "You can trust me."

"I know it won't, Bert. I believe I can trust you. When anything DOES come up, I'm glad to know that I have somebody close by that I can call on. Right now, we'd better bust it on down to the parking lot before they get too suspicious and start asking questions."

"You betcha," agreed Bert. "You know, Marci, now that I'm away from home for the first time, I was ready to go out and just 'do my own thing'. You know? But, hangin' with you kinda helps me to tough things out with Jesus."

"That's what prayer partners are for," Marci replied. Then she thought to herself, 'Tom always told us that life would bring us around some treasure that Jesus would want us to help Him polish. Guess I've found mine. Father, help me to be faithful.

They grabbed their bags and headed on down to the parking lot. Brian had just gotten there and Sheila and Fred had already loaded up and claimed their riding places. Fred took the back seat so she could lie down and snooze on the three hour trip. Sheila took the captain's chair behind Marci and before Marci could say anything, Roberta called for the captain's chair behind Brian.

Sheila commented, "Yeah, we know that Marci would much rather sit up front." There were giggles all around.

To throw fuel on the fire, Brian reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out the starter set of earrings. Have you ever heard of the lull before the storm? Well, that's how quiet it got when they saw Brian hand Marci a black box.

As he handed it to Marci, he suddenly realized how awkwardly funny the situation was. He put his other hand over his mouth and tried to look out the window to keep from laughing.

Marci just held the little black box in her hand and looked toward the back and tried to explain, "It's just a starter set of earrings, girls. Jeesh." She opened the box and took one out and said, "See?"

Fred eased between Bert and Sheila and asked, "Did some solution come with those?"

Brian said, "Oh, yes it did." He reached into his brief case and pulled it out and handed it to Marci. "Here you go. I didn't even think about it." He looked at the girls in the back as he tried to explain, "I don't usually go around buying earrings for young ladies."

"Uh-huh," came the twittered reply from the back.

Fred suggested, "Marci, would you mind if I help you with those? Before that hole heals real well, you might just scratch your earlobe up by trying to put them in. It takes a little getting used to."

"Good idea," Marci replied as she opened her door to step out.

Fred stepped past Sheila and out into the parking lot and did her matronly duties as Marci held the implements in her hand like it was a dressing table. Fred busied herself cleaning the rings and Marci's ear lobes like she was Marci's own private nursemaid. That was Fred for you. She was always fastidious. There was always a way to do things and the way she did things was always the 'right' way. Know what I mean?

Marci could see it coming as she looked at Bert. First of all, her eyes gave her away. Then it spread to that cheeky little grin. Then a hand came up to cover her mouth. "You may as well say it before you explode, Bert," she finally suggested. "You're dying to say it whatever it is."

At Marci's encouragement, Bert finally exploded, "I've heard of engagement rings but this is the first time I've heard of a set of engagement earrings."

It was the biggest laugh any of them had ever heard come from Bert. They laughed more at her than they did at her line. Brian even doubled over the steering wheel as he did his dead level best to stifle the laugh.

Fred stumbled into her Explorer cave in the back seat while Marci climbed back into the front seat with just a glimmer of a smile. That sent a new wave of laughter through the vehicle. She looked at Brian and calmly said, "You couldn't have chosen a more opportune time to give these to me, could you?"

Brian just stumbled, "I didn't mean.....I just....I just," and continued laughing.

Marci crossed her arms and looked at him with that same faint little smile. She glanced at the back as everyone finally calmed down. As she buckled up, she made the following declaration, "OK, ladies and gentleman, we have a ground rule to cover as we get started on our way. If you have any more cracks you want to make about me and Brian, get them over with right now. Because, when this vehicle stops in Elmhurst, I want nothing in anyone's conversation to even hint at our relationship.

"You'd better believe that Arthur's parents are going to be at the Emporium. As you would expect, his mother has been planning, praying, hinting, believing and whatever else-ing that Arthur and I get married."

She turned around to face them and held up one finger for emphasis as she demanded, "If ONE WORD is said that would cause a hint of a tear to come to that precious lady, I'm gonna be on you like white on rice."

As Brian pulled the Explorer out of the parking lot and out onto the highway, he mockingly agreed, "My little Marci is right, y'all. Why, our relationship and what we mean to each other is no one else's business, is it, Honey?"

"And that goes for you, too, you hateful little bozo," she said as she poked that very same finger into his ribs. "Let me tell you. Any of those rednecks in Elmhurst has got a piece of chain or rope in the back of their pick-up trucks. Any of them would gladly let me hold a piece of one to drag a mangy 'furener' out of town with." She topped off her comments with a couple of wags of her head.

The girls giggled about it of course. Brian caught Roberta's eye in the rear view mirror and made a face as if he was terrified. Roberta laughed out loud and immediately covered her mouth as she looked back in the mirror at him. He looked back at her for a moment and she saw the cutest twinkle in his eyes. No wonder Marci......just what was it between these two?

Bert sat there and thought about it for a moment. They didn't act all lovey-dovey like you would expect sweethearts to do. Yet, Marci wasn't the typical guy-crazy college girl either. They had a great relationship with each other. It was fun to watch them kid around.

She watched him in the mirror. He was a pretty handsome guy to look at. He glanced up and caught her watching him, so he looked back and smiled. She quickly looked down and put her hands over her eyes. Playfully she spread her fingers until she could peek through. He had been watching and winked at her. Her hand slid down over her mouth to cover her giggle.

Most of the conversation on the way to Elmhurst was just chit-chat. Since she was going to be the main cook, Fred was eager to learn about all of the different types of burgers that they served at the Emporium.

However, she was more than perplexed when Marci described her favorite, the old goat burger. This is a burger that Jake stuffs with bleu cheese. Now, in case you don't know, bleu cheese comes from a cow. Feta cheese comes from a goat. Fred went on and on about how much it doesn't make sense to name it the old goat burger. Marci just let her go off on him for a while. When Fred finally stopped, Marci told her that that was Jake's peculiar brand of humor. He loved to do and say things that just did not make sense. You know, kinda like off the wall humor.

"Do they have any normally-named hamburgers?" Fred asked a little frustrated. "I'm more of a by-the-book type chef. You know, steps 1, 2 and 3 then cook and eat. This figure it out as you go along thing is new to me."

Marci chuckled as she gave her answer, "Yeah, they have the volcano burger."

Sheila playfully tapped Marci on the shoulder as she said, "I'll ask, Marci. What is a volcano burger?"

Marci was trying to keep from full-blown laughter as she replied, "It's a burger stuffed with pepper jack cheese, served in a bowl with hot chili on top of it to look like a volcano. Jake has a special chili recipe that really brings in the business. He puts on the menu that hot chili is the only kind that he serves on the volcano burger. Tough guys and tough guy wannabees never fail to order it."

"And all he's got to do is say that hot chili is the only thing that they will serve it with?" Fred asked.

"Works like a charm. It's like when you tell a kid, don't touch that. You'd better believe that it's the first thing they are going to do when your back is turned," Marci explained.

Fred crossed her arms and legs, leaned back in her seat, and passed judgment, "It's definitely a man thing." Then with a look at the rear view mirror, she added sullenly, "Sorry, Brian."

Brian testified, "It's true. I've got to admit, my love of hot chili makes that one that I would like to taste."

Marci offered, "They also have the pizza burger and the taco burger, and they taste just like they sound."

"That's a relief," Fred replied somewhat tongue-in-cheek. "It would be interesting to find out just how he gets a hamburger to taste.......oh, wait a minute. The pizza burger. He makes a cheese topping. Melted mozzarella, tomato sauce, pepperoni, maybe olives." The light was beginning to come on. Her brain began to pull in combinations of ingredients that contained endless possibilities.

She unfolded her arms and legs and leaned forward as she continued her conversation with Marci. "What about the taco burger? How does he make a topping that tastes like taco and gets it to stay on top of the burger?"

"I don't know," Marci answered. "You'll have to ask him that when we get there. He said that he would be glad to share all of his secrets except one."

Uh-oh. Was that a gauntlet I just heard being thrown down? Fred had a smidgeon of a smile playing on her lips as she began to rub her hands together. Brian shifted his eyes to the mirror and caught it. As if she were favoring a choice cut of rib-eye steak she asked in a very devious voice, "Which one is that?"

"The chili," Marci answered. "Before we left, he was playing with a bacon stuffed burger and one with french fries in the middle but he never got around to naming them."

"Ah, french fries in the middle, sounds yummy to me," Sheila commented. "I'll take that one no matter what he calls it."

Fred got focused. She crossed her arms and legs and leaned back in her seat again. A crooked little smile played across her face. She caught the movement of Brian's head. He was looking at her through the rear-view mirror. Her smile broadened as she nodded her head slowly and methodically.

Brian thought to himself, 'This is going to be one fun afternoon. Oh, to be a fly on the wall of that kitchen when Fred gets there.'

# Chapter Eleven

When they finally made it to Eddy's Hamburger Emporium in Elmhurst, it was hard for Brian to find a place to park. Ryan, Arthur's dad, had conveniently parked his car across the street and waived Brian down when he came back by so they could switch places. Ryan drove the four blocks to his house and trotted back in a hurry.

Aaron, Eddy and Aunt Millie filed out of the Emporium and began waiving as Brian parked the Explorer. Aaron picked up Wendy so she could be seen better of course. The question Aunt Millie and Olivia were asking each other concerned the male behind the steering wheel.

Sheila noticed Wendy first and said, "Look, Fred, there's your little sister. She's got red hair just like yours."

Fred replied emphatically, "I should say she does. Who is she, Marci?"

"That's Arthur's sister," she answered. "You'll find out really quickly that she is a little girl with a big personality, just like her momma. But, she's got quickness about her wits that she could have only gotten by being around her great-grandpa Tom. You wait 'til you get to know her. And, by the way, you'll get to know her pretty quick. She'll see to that."

"A real handful, huh?" asked Bert.

A little more softly Marci answered, "Yes, Bert, but she is a very pleasant handful, I would have to say."

They exited the Explorer and walked across the street. Marci introduced the nursing crew to the Elmhurst crew but purposely left Brian out. Under the watchful eyes of Olivia and Aunt Millie, she pulled him to the center and said, "Last but not least, this is Brian, a very good friend of mine."

Then, looking at Olivia with only a faint smile she added, "He asked if he could come with us today. He has some things he wants to talk with you and Uncle Ryan about." Without hesitation she looked at Eddy and asked, "Can they use the room?"

Eddy was caught a little off guard by the drama of the situation but answered, "Why, sure they can. Y'all just follow me. And you lovely ladies, I have a table for you up close to the kitchen. I understand you might have some questions about our menu." He stepped over to the door and opened it for them and said, "Please, come in and make yourselves at home. And, on your way in, the first thing on the right hand side is the drink dispenser. Go ahead and get the drink of your choice so you can be sipping on something while your order comes. Refills are always free."

They all said, "Thanks," and made their way inside. Once inside, Marci introduced them to the crowd, "Folks, I would like you to meet some of my friends from the college." She pointed to each of them as she called out their names, "This is Sheila, Roberta and Fred."

From out of the kitchen a male voice called out, "Red head Fred."

With the exception of Bert, Sheila and Fred, everyone else recognized the voice. However, Fred turned around and saw no one at the order window. Fred could not let it rest. Without asking permission, she marched herself into the kitchen and looked around. Aunt Millie and Uncle Reggie just smiled and shrugged their shoulders and went back to work prepping food. Jake came out of the cold storage room carrying two trays of pre-patted out hamburger patties. "Don't look at me I didn't say it," he said as he made no attempt to disguise his voice.

"You got something against red heads?" she asked as she crossed her arms and cocked her head to one side.

"Au contraire, mein schatzi," he joked as he began the task of pre-heating the patties. A little bit louder so that Wendy could hear him, "As a matter of fact, I love ladies with red hair don't I Wendy?"

Wendy was sitting in Marci's lap, of course, and enjoying being the middle of everyone's conversation. At Jake's question, she vigorously nodded her head and answered, "Yep. And after I marry Ramon, I'm going to marry you."

This brought a rousing round of laughter from the group but not from Fred. Her arms were still crossed and her head was still cocked. "You're an A-number-one fruitcake, you know it?"

"I'm always at my best when I'm with you, Sugar."

Aunt Millie snickered and went into the cooler to get some more vegetables to prepare. Fred was not sure whether she had met her match or not but, decided to join the others and think about it for a minute. She marched herself through the double swinging doors of the kitchen and walked toward the table.

From the direction of the kitchen came an, "Eyow-w-w!" Everyone looked up to see Jake vigorously shaking his hand and then stepping out to the drink dispenser to get some ice. He flashed a goofy smile and said, "Burned my hand," and headed back to the kitchen.

Fred was right behind him and was quick to ask as she reached for his hand to check it out, "How did you do that?" While she waited for him to answer, she found a plastic bag and put the ice in it. She held his left hand carefully and placed the bag of ice on the reddened part of his palm.

Jake let a bit of a smile creep across his face as he didn't offer to hold the bag in place. Fred saw his smile and plied a sly one of her own as she tilted her head to the left and threw him a questioning glance. This time in a slightly testy voice she asked again, "And... just HOW did you do that?"

Jake was very correct in assuming that smile was not one of those shy and demure type girly smiles. It was more of an 'I'm-gonna-get-you-big-time-if-you-don't-answer' smile. There was something in her light green eyes that he had never seen before in a young lady. And, it was pretty darned unnerving to him right now. He looked at his Aunt Millie for help but she just unashamedly chuckled again as Jake tried to explain, "Uh.... you see,......I....uh,.......I liked the way you walked out of here so much that I wanted to watch you walk through the dining room. I guess I leaned a little too close to the grill."

With her smile firmly in place she tilted her head a little more to the left and opened her eyes wide to accentuate the question, "Watch me walk? What's so....special about the way I walk?" To aid in prying an answer from him, she added a little pressure to the iced bag.

Jake inhaled just a bit as he explained, "You've got a cute little hitch in your get-along." He bobbed his head as he threw at her the rest of his reasoning, "Since you don't look at it like I can, you probably won't notice it like I did." He tried to look nonchalant, but his face got so red that it gave him away.

"Hey, Jake," Eddy yelled back to the kitchen. "Step out here for a moment if you can. We're going to lay out our plan."

"Sure thing, Chief," Jake took his hand and the ice bag away from Fred and, like a swashbuckling pirate; he jauntily strolled into the dining room.

Fred put her hands on her hips and shook her head as she watched him walk out. Aunt Millie stepped up beside her and they exchanged glances and then chuckled. Millie recognized the look in her eye. She had had it herself once upon a time.

Fred put one fist on top of the other and raised them over her head. Millie watched and wondered. She swung them in front of her like.........like she was casting a lure into a pond. She looked at Aunt Millie with a smile and slowly nodded her head as she jerked her air fishing rod as if setting the hook in the mouth of a large mouth bass. She struggled with the rod a couple of times and then pretended to reel him in. She grinned at Aunt Millie and nodded a few more times to reiterate her decision.

Aunt Millie looked her question toward Fred and pointed toward Jake. Fred, spread her feet apart, crossed her arms and nodded a great big 'Yes.' Millie mouthed the words, "Want some help?" When Fred gave her the wide-eyed answer, Millie took her by the arm to the back of the kitchen.

Aunt Millie pulled her over to the stove in the back where they prepared the chili and the sauces. She pointed to an 8 quart stainless steel stock pot that had seen its better days, just to look at it. She reached underneath the counter and pulled out a newer one. "Here's the secret to his spectacular chili. I'm serious. No one around here can touch it," she declared. She poured the content s of the really used pot into the newer one then went over to the sink and rinsed it out. "This is the only pot he cooks the chili in. The secret is, he lets it scorch for about three minutes day after day after day, and it seems like the pot builds up a flavor in the chili."

"Really?" Fred asked with look of consternation on her face. "I've never read that any book."

Millie stuck a ladle in the chili and brought her out a taste. "See for yourself."

As Fred took a taste of the chili, she admitted, "I could almost tell you everything he has in there........down to the hickory smoke. You are right. There is one indescribable taste in there."

As Millie leaned a little closer to Fred she whispered, "Now, when I get a chance, I'm going to sneak over to Brian, get his keys and lock this pot in his SUV."

"Why?"

"So you can take it back to college with you."

"Why would I want to do that?"

Now it was Aunt Millie's turn to cock her head to the side as she said with a smile, "So Jake will have to come to check on it and his star pupil. Now, whether he takes it back or not is entirely up to you."

One of those female 'So-it's-up-to-me' looks came across her face as she sweetly murmured, "O-o-o-h-h-h-h, is it now?"

Meanwhile, in the dining room, Aaron stepped up to the table and announced their plans. "Eddy, Jake and I came up with an idea. Why don't we make five of our bestselling burgers and cut them into quarters. That way all of you could taste several of them. How does that sound?"

"Great, but what burgers will that be?" asked Sheila.

Aaron answered, "We figured," as he looked at Marci, "the old goat burger for one."

"Excellent choice," Marci declared.

He continued, "And, we figured that the pizza burger and the taco burger would probably be favorites."

Bert agreed, "Oh, yeah, the guys would love those."

"And, Jake has finally named the other two, Marci," he went on. "The bacon one he calls the double cross, because of the way he puts the strips of bacon in it, and the other one he calls," he wrinkled up his nose, "the tick burger."

Sheila cried out, "The tick burger? What on earth would possess him to do that?"

"He puts Cajun fries in it and he says that the little dangly things sticking out of the side of the burger makes it look like a tick," replied Aaron.

"That all makes sense, but it still sounds so gross," said Sheila as she shivered.

Marci offered, "We could call it the paramecium burger."

Wendy let out her own unique brand of giggle as she nestled her head into Marci's neck and looked at Sheila and Bert. Bert furrowed her eyebrows, lowered her head and looked out of the tops of her eyes as she asked her, "Don't tell me you like the 'tick' burger?"

She laughed as she nodded her head and responded, "I tell Jake to put ketchup in the middle and then I bite off its legs and it looks like it's bleeding to death."

As ladies would normally do at a time like this, there was a collective, "E-e-e-e-w-w-w!"

Bert reached over and took Wendy out of Marci's arms and declared as she laughed, "Gracious, I can't stand it anymore. I've got to hold that precious jewel for a little while. Come here, you ragamuffin. I wanna kiss your whole face."

Olivia, Ryan and Brian came out of the room to join them about that time. They were greeted at the table by screams of laughter from the nine-year-old and a chorus of laughter from everyone within three tables of them. An innocent child's laughter is always as contagious as it is pleasant to the heart.

As Wendy was sprawled all over Bert's lap, her mother asked mockingly, "Awe does the poor helpless baby need Mommy's help?"

She answered in classic Wendy, "No Ma'am. I'm just going to lay here and let her tickle me until she's all wore out. Then, I'll go sit in Marci's lap for a while."

Marci's only reply was to Bert and Sheila, "Did I tell you the truth?"

As Bert breathlessly relinquished her hold, she said, "Yeah, well you've done a good job of wearing me out, kid. Scram."

As Wendy climbed back onto Marci's lap she asked Sheila, "Do you want a turn?"

She answered, "Maybe after we get through eating."

Fred stepped up to the order window and commented, "Speaking of eating. If the chef doesn't get in here to tutor his student, no one's going to get anything to eat."

As he sauntered back into the kitchen, he addressed Fred with, "Just couldn't do without me, could you?"

Fred bantered back, "I see you came when I called, didn't you." With a serious look on her face, she held up her hands and declared, "Truce. Truce. I came here to learn from you, so let's quit with the cutsies, OK? I love to cook and I do well. BUT, I have to go strictly by the book." She began to smile as she confessed, "I do NOT know how to think out of the box. I honestly need your help."

Jake got control of himself and started into a teaching mode. Their banter had put the orders behind just a bit so he suggested that they share the grill and double-time the orders. "When orders start coming in hot and heavy, you learn to think out of the box pretty quickly," he stated. He started to ask Aunt Millie for an apron but one whizzed by him on its way into Fred's waiting hands before he even turned around. He gave her a spatula, put an order in front of her and class began.

Fred was intent on learning how to make those special types of burgers. Jake was intent on teaching her all he knew about the art. He was so intent that he never noticed his Aunt Millie sneak out to the dining room and whisper in Brian's ear.

Word got around that Marci had come back to town and people began to come in. Orders increased and it was just about all that the two of them could do to keep up. It was normal for Jake but it was a new adventure for Fred. The two of them were having so much fun.

Aunt Millie and Uncle Reggie kept the fries hot and tasty and all the fixins cut, sliced and diced. After thirty minutes of almost non-stop action, you can say that Fred had become quite accomplished on the grill.

The three ladies were almost through with their burgers, so Aaron and Eddy shooed the two of them out of the kitchen and into the dining room to join the rest of them while they manned the grill. Fred declared as she sat down, "Wow. I never knew that cooking could be so much fun."

Sheila asked, "Did you learn a lot?"

Jake answered for her, "Are you kidding? After thirty minutes in there she had everything down pat. She's got a photographic memory or something. By the end of the session, she was showing me some things."

"Oh, it was just a whole lot of fun," Fred replied.

Eddy peeked through the order window and asked, "Fred, Jake, Brian, Olivia and Ryan, what do y'all want?"

Jake ordered for him and Fred, "Make that two double-cross, paramecium burgers. Mine with a shot of hot and Fred's with a shot of molasses."

Roberta asked, "What?"

Fred answered, "Yeah. Jake's got a great idea. You make these different flavored sauces to squirt on the burgers while their cooking and you can make the same burger taste a little different."

"Yeah," Jake continued, "People here are already used to it. I've got a hot sauce, molasses sauce, sausage sauce, Italian sauce and a sweet and sour sauce. That's molasses with a little bit of pickle juice. For, example someone who likes their burgers a little hotter will call for a burger hot. If they want it hotter than that, they ask for a specific burger hot, hot. It all depends on how many squirts they want on it. And, they basically get individualized service. That makes them feel special."

Marci declared, "That's a great idea. So, they keep coming back. That's one of the main things that we need to hit on first is repeat business. Oh, my gosh. That keeps the cost of condiments down, too."

"Exactly," Eddy said as he brought out their burgers. "Repeat business, lower overhead, and," he patted on Jake's shoulder, "a show every now and then. Jake's always got some kind of banter going on. I have actually had people come in and make sure that Jake is here before they sit down. Imagine that."

"I do what I can," he said as humbly as he could.

Eddy looked out the kitchen window at Olivia and Ryan and asked, "Liv, Ryan, what would you like. It's on the house. All of this is by the way."

Liv and Ryan looked at each other and said, "Just a plate of those Cajun fries with melted pepper jack cheese is fine with us."

"Sure?"

"Yep."

Ryan volunteered, "I'll get us some Cokes."

"Thanks, Hun," Olivia said as she smiled at him.

Bert gushed, "Oh, that is so swe-e-e-t." She turned to Brian to crack a joke and almost got cracked herself when she said, "See, Brian when you marr-y-y-y.....me that's exactly the way I expect you to treat me." She finished with a silly giggle.

The other girls tried to laugh enough to pass it off as a joke. Everyone sneaked a glance at Olivia to see if she suspected anything. She too was glancing from face to face to see if she could detect what was going on.

Maria appeared at the door dressed in a fashionable pair of jeans and a western shirt. She motioned for Olivia to come outside. As she got up out of her chair and walked to the door she said, "Well, don't you look nice. I think that's the first time I've ever seen you in jeans before. You look great."

"Thanks," Maria said with a big smile.

As the two of them walked around the side of the building, Eddy called out, "Brian, what would you like?"

The four ladies said in unison, "The volcano burger." That brought some much needed smiles to the table. Hopefully the little standoff was over with.

"Volcano burger," Jake said resolutely as he stood up. "That's my specialty. I'll take care of that one myself." Off he went to the kitchen.

Fred grimaced, held her finger to her lips, got up quietly and sneaked into the kitchen behind him. Aunt Millie quickly grabbed a bowl, put a burger in it and stepped over to meet Jake at the chili pot. The closer he got to the chili pot, the slower he walked until he stood directly in front of it. In measured tones he asked, "And... just...where.....is....my chili pot?"

Fred took two more quiet steps toward him, reached out and pinched his butt and said quickly, "Aunt Millie gave it to me." Then, she turned around and raced back to the table with everyone wondering what was going on.

Poor Jake, he was so preoccupied with his missing pot that he had no idea that she had sneaked up behind him. The pinch scared him so bad, that he jumped and yelled "Jesus!" He looked around in time to see a giggling Fred running the slalom through the kitchen and into the dining room. Realizing his last expletive could be construed as taking the name of his Lord in vain, he faced the crowd, extended his arms and sang in his best baritone, "Saves.......Jesus saves." To which he received a polite applause and an abundance of laughter.

Aunt Millie looked at him and said, "Here, Sugar. Aunt Millie will help you." She quickly grabbed a ladle and heaped up some chili on the burger. Like a great half-back, she sidestepped Jake and grabbed a heaping handful of pepper jack cheese on her way to the dining room. She put the volcano burger in front of Brian and gently piled the cheese and said to him, "It's OK. I washed my hands yesterday."

As Jake ceremoniously opened the kitchen door and stood there with one hand on the door and one hand on his hip, Brian chuckled as he said to Millie, "I don't think I'm going to worry about your hands at a time like this."

Needless to say there was some snickering going on as Jake crossed his arms and walked stealthily up to the table. Fred hung her arm over the back of her chair and slid down in it just a little. She looked all cheery-eyed at the approaching Jake and batted her eyes at him a little. A 'what's up' kind of smile played on her lips as she gave him a small finger wave.

Aunt Millie stood to her left and smiled. Brian was seated to Fred's left and snickered along with the rest of the gang. Eddy, Aaron and Uncle Reggie were standing in the kitchen watching from the order window like they were in the outfield bleachers at a baseball game.

Jake stopped in front of Fred, who was patiently waiting to hear whatever he had on his mind. He sounded like a prosecuting attorney as he addressed her, "So, you not only stole my chili pot with the help of my ex-Aunt Millie, but then you had the audacity of pinching my butt."

Brian couldn't even think about starting on his volcano burger. His head was cradled in his hands as he refused to look up. His shoulders were shaking and his neck was red. All the ladies, with the exception of Fred and Aunt Millie were trying to cover their mouths to stifle their snickers. Ryan was trying to keep Wendy from interrupting the proceedings.

Fred smiled up at Jake and said so very, very sweetly, "I'll let you give me a reciprocal pinch but I never let a guy pinch me on the first date. And this is not a date." She fluttered her eyes at him again.

"Wha..." was all Jake could say before Eddy chimed in.

"You can have every other Saturday off, Jake. We can handle things here for one day."

"I..." Jake started.

"See, you'll have to take a trip to the college and check on your student to make sure she cooks up to your standards," Aunt Millie added.

Roberta jumped in, "Yeah, you can come and give her an exam."

Fred sat up straight and looked wide-eyed at her, "What?"

The whole crowd realized what Bert said before she did. "Oh, I meant a cooking exam." It was too late the laughter had already begun.

Poor Jake. He was pretty well stunned. As the laughter somewhat subsided, he held arms out and started to ask, "Can somebody tell me where I..."

Fred answered him very calmly, "You never had control.......Stud." She reached behind him and gave him another pinch. "There, that's two you owe me." After a short pause, she announced, "But, I only allow one per date."

I don't know what was the loudest, the laughter or the hoots. A smiling and embarrassed Jake kept his arms outstretched in the I-don't-know position and walked back into the kitchen. His voice was almost pleading as he said to his best friends, "Can anyone explain to me what just happened out there?"

Amid all the laughter, Uncle Reggie offered, "My boy, let me go buy you a good cup of coffee and you and Uncle Reggie will sit down and have a long talk."

Olivia came back in side and had her handkerchief in her hand. Her eyes were reddened but she was grinning from ear to ear. As she sat down in her chair beside her hubby, she held on to his arm real tight and said to him, "Have I ever got a story to tell you some time."

"Really?" Ryan asked. "Is it something about Maria and 'Berto?"

She opened her eyes real wide and answered, "Yes, but I don't know if she wants me to tell anyone, yet."

Marci was next, "Well, when can you tell?"

"Sh-h-h-h. Here she comes."

Maria came in through the door and came over to the table. The two ladies rejoiced in their secret as they looked at each other. It was the first time that anyone had seen Maria smile that big and for so long.

She walked up to Olivia and handed her a pager. She said, "When 'Berto comes in, hit that button on the pager." She held her hands in front of her face and clapped them together. She looked at the group and excitedly said to Olivia, "Go ahead and tell them. Pretty soon, everybody will know anyway. But, hurry. 'Berto will be here in about 10 minutes."

Maria walked to the other end of the dining room and sat in the corner table that she and 'Berto had been sharing the past two Saturday afternoons at 3:10. Olivia stood up and motioned for the guys in the kitchen to come around the table. Once everyone was there, she lowered her voice and told the story.

"We all thought that Maria had been raped and that's how 'Berto got here. She just let us think that to keep us from asking stuff. The truth is that one of the notorious gangs in New York City forced her and Juan, 'Berto's father, to have sex in front of them just so they could take pictures and make fun of them."

Fred was astounded, "Good gosh, that's cruel. What gives them the right to do that?"

Brian answered matter-of-factly, "I've had occasion to deal with those gangs and that is nothing compared to what they do when they get mad. It never makes the papers and there is a real reason for it." The ominous tone in his voice was enough let the folks around the table not ask any more questions.

"Anyway, up to that time, they had never known each other. But, Juan began coming around to see Maria and wanted to marry her when they got out of school and he could get a job. Maria didn't know if he was suggesting that out of pity for her, shame, or whether he was for real. The experience really shook her and she really didn't know what to think.

"Two weeks later, Juan told her that he had to leave the next day to go down to Chile. His uncle had just had a heart attack and needed him to come help him run their ranch until he was well enough to get back on his feet. Everybody told Maria that he was just making excuses and really didn't want her. Three months later, her family moved out of state. She said that she prayed to God that if Juan was the right man for her that God would bring him to her somehow.

"Juan was gone for six months. He tried to find her but nobody would tell him where she moved to. He told all of his friends that it was the right thing for him to do to marry her and that somehow he would find her. They all laughed and made fun of him. But, he swore up and down that he would find her no matter what it took."

'Berto came through the door, right on time. Since everybody was right there at the front table, he came in gave hugs and greetings to all and then went back to sit with his mother. Olivia held the pager up where Maria could see it. As she hugged her son, Maria smiled and gave Olivia the thumbs up sign.

The light came on inside Jake's head. His eyes got real wide and he fell on his knees beside Olivia so he could ask quietly, "That elderly lady....."

Olivia grinned and nodded her head as an interruption.

A muffled gasp went up from several at the table. Uncle Reggie was the first to speak. Almost under her breath he said, "Jake, you and you alone take a gander at who's getting out of that semi parked in the back lot.

Jake turned to look out the back window and caught a glimpse of the fellow just before he got to the edge of the picture window. To keep from being seen by the 'Berto and Maria, he gently laid his head on Olivia's shoulder and said through his sobs, "Oh, Sweet Jesus, I know You're good."

Olivia threw her arm around his neck and put her head down on his and joined him tear for tear. The others wanted to look but were frozen in their positions.

They heard the door open and Maria's excited voice tell her son, "There's someone here to see you."

They looked up and saw a 6' 5" man that could have been an exact duplicate of 'Berto, only fourteen years older. He wore an outfit that matched Maria's. Hung over his left arm was a pair of jeans and a shirt somewhat like his own. In his left hand, he held a pair of cowboy boots that were definitely 'Berto's size. Tears as big as he was flowed freely down his face as he looked at his son for the first time. He tried his best to smile but his eyes displayed his apprehension he felt. What would 'Berto do? How would he react?

"Who?" 'Berto asked.

"Well, just turn around and see," she told him.

Everyone saw 'Berto's double take when he first saw his father. He stared at him for a few seconds and then slid out of the cubicle. Without taking his eyes off of the tall gentleman just 20 feet away from him, he asked his mother in a faint voice, "Is that.....?" He was afraid to finish the question.

Maria's voice trembled as she answered the obvious, "He..... is your father."

"My Daddy?"

"Yours and nobody else's, my baby boy."

"My Daddy," 'Berto said as he started walking toward the big man. After three steps, his pace quickened and he said it louder, "My Daddy."

Everybody in the building was on their feet and clapping their hands. Olivia and Jake were having to hold themselves up as they sobbed out their joy for their best friend. There was not a dry eye in the house.

Juan dropped the clothes and boots on the floor as he knelt down to embrace his son. "Roberto. At last. At last. God has brought us together. At last. At long, long, long last. Praise God. Praise God!"

Maria had come up behind them and carefully picked up 'Berto's clothes and shoes. Though tears flowed down her cheeks, her face radiated a joy that only God could give.

Juan stood up and 'Berto was able to address the crowd. "My dad, guys. God finally sent him." He looked at his momma and declared, "My momma always said that God would bring us together."

Juan looked at his watch and said in his fatherly voice, "Yes, and if you don't hurry and get dressed, I'll be late for my appointment. Hugs and kisses later. A man of honor is never late when he gives his word. Now scoot."

Maria held his clothes and boots out to him. As 'Berto held them up in front of his friends he said, "Wow, guys. Get a load of these threads." Without waiting for any comments, he sprinted toward the bathroom.

Everyone came around and shook hands, hugged necks, introduced themselves, cried, laughed and hurriedly tried to talk almost all at the same time.

Maria took the center stage as she stood beside Juan and slipped her arm inside of his. "Real quickly, Juan has always been a trucker because he was so determined to run down every lead he had to find us. His truck has always been his home. On the weekends, he goes to the rodeos. That's where we are off to now. He's one of the main attractions."

Juan held his hand up to keep the questions down, "I was born and raised in Chile. Every child grows into manhood on top of a horse. It's like you Americans play baseball. Showmanship on a horse just helps me stay in shape for the inevitable. My uncle will someday pass from this world and I am his only heir. His other children have shown no interest in the ranch. So, I must keep up the practice."

'Berto sprinted out of the bathroom with his new duds on. He did look just like his dad. He gave quick hugs and kisses to as many as he could get his hands on and then ran for the door. As laughter filled the place he looked back at his father and prodded, "Now, look at who's going to make us late?"

There were cheers and laughter from everyone as the trio made their way out to the semi. They watched them get in, crank up and pull out. What Juan didn't tell them is that his uncle's ranch was 10,000 acres on which 5,000 head prime cattle graze. But, I'm sure he'll get around to it in due time.

# Chapter Twelve

It was the afternoon of Tom's home going celebration. At precisely 6 p.m., a car pulled up in front of Eddy's Hamburger Emporium. A crowd of well-wishers was on hand to send Taylor and Ramon off into the next chapter of their lives. Prayers had been prayed, tears had been cried, hugs had been given, so all that was left was for the two of them to throw their ONE overnight bag into the car's trunk and they were off.

Their order from the general was to pack just two changes of clothes. Their uniforms would be hung up and ready for them when they got to the training sight. For right now, they were allowed to take their cell phones and laptops. They would be allowed to use them between the 1800 hours (6 p.m.) and 2100 hours (9 p.m.) only. Between 2100 hours and 2200 hours, they were commanded to shower and get ready for lights out. Lights would come back on at 0545 and at 0600 they would assemble for thirty minutes of strong PT after which they would have thirty minutes to go to the latrine and shave. At 0700 they would have breakfast, lunch would be at 1200, and supper would be at 1700, maybe.

As soon as the car pulled away from the curb, the passenger turned around and gave the introductions, "Your driver is Sgt. Hutchins."

Sgt. Hutchins interrupted as he looked at them through the rear view mirror, "That's Sergeant first class flunky to you two guys. And don't you forget it, either."

"And, I'm Sergeant First Class.........Bennett," the passenger said with a smile.

Taylor couldn't resist, "Dear God in heaven. Just how many of you Bennetts are there in this man's army?"

Sgt. Bennett answered with a chuckle, "Dad and I are the only two as far as I know."

"Then, how did Ramon and I get to be so blessed as to have the privilege to meet both of you? And, in the same day, even," Taylor continued.

"Just lucky, I guess," was his reply.

Sgt. Hutchins jumped in, "You guys are supposed to be good Christians aren't you?" Without waiting for a reply he cracked, "Then you gotta understand that God must be pretty mad at you. Y'all must have done something stinkingly awful to tick Him off that bad."

"The stinkingly awful junk is having to put up with a wacko driver like you," Sgt. Bennett shot at him.

The friendly banter between the two of them belied a strong connection that obviously existed. Ramon could tell it in the way that they looked at each other. He noticed their voice inflections as they spoke. The years he had spent growing up among the gangs in Mexico City had taught him a lot.

Ramon didn't detect any super-duper secret messages they were passing back and forth, but they were having a lot of fun talking to each other right now. Maybe it was because they were away from the brass or the higher echelon non-coms and they could talk a little bit freer. He would have to pay more attention to their mannerisms. Repeated mannerisms were often a giveaway.

In Mexico City, he was too young to actually join the gangs. They would use him every now and again for some small part of some action. The pay would be good for an eight-year-old. But, even sitting in the shadows when something big was going down, he saw enough to fill a life time of memories. He had seen gangs fight, people killed in cold blood, he watched for the police while people exchanged money for drugs, and 'accidentally' get in the way when some gang members were chased by police.

Even though he wasn't old enough or big enough to join either of the gangs that ruled the city, he began to get a reputation as a good helper in tight situations. At least two out of the three gangs had made comments like, "Hey. When you get sixteen........."

Being smaller, he was able to watch them without being watched himself. And, what do you think his favorite reason for spying was? He watched them carefully to see what kind of signs they were giving each other and tried to figure out what they meant. He got to be pretty good at it, too.

His 'spying' among the gangs taught him a lot about human nature, too. He could recognize when someone was putting on a show and when they were for real. Very seldom did he get fooled. And never did anyone fool him twice.

He tried to put that all behind him when his family moved to the United States. By the time he was about fifteen, he had almost decided to make himself stop watching people. Then one Saturday night, the kids were sitting around the campfire at Tom Dandridge's house. Tom began to teach from the scripture in 1 Corinthians 9:22 which read, "I am become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some." Tom was talking about developing different ways of reaching different types of people.

It dawned on Ramon that the more he could learn about individuals the more that God would be able to use him. That's when he began to ask the Holy Spirit to help him develop his gift. And, that's just what He did, too. Searching a person out became second nature to him. It helped immensely when it came time to talk to someone about the Lord.

He looked over at Taylor. She had her head laid back and her eyes closed. She had become real special to him over the years. He stopped short of telling himself that he was in love with her, although, down deep inside he knew that he probably was. At times it was more evident than others. Right now was one of those times. They were fast approaching some kind of crossroads. He had no idea what they were but he knew they were imminent.

When she got in one of her moods, she would talk about the way her dad treated her and her mom. Every time she talked about him she would get that hard and far-off distant stare. He knew when she was close to finishing. Even though she would not be looking at him, he could still see the tears begin to well up in her eyes.

She would end her little session with a statement like, "I tried for ten hard years to be the boy he always wanted, but I was never good enough for him." Ramon often wondered what would happen if she would just go ahead and cry it out for a while. But, that's her decision and not his to make.

He kept looking at her and somehow she knew it. How she could tell with her eyes closed was beyond him, but she knew he was looking at her. She turned her head without lifting it up off of the back of the seat, wrinkled her nose like Olivia usually does and shook her head 'no.' That meant that she was not in the mood to talk, whatsoever. Period. End of sentence. She closed her eyes and turned her head back to its original position. He noticed her lips moving a bit and figured she was praying.

He was right.

"God, thanks for allowing Mom and I some time together before I left. It was good to get some of those things off my chest. Thanks for helping me to keep my cool. I have had so much trouble with my anger. It's a lot better than what it was but I've still got a long way to go. It's a good thing you are into that 'Grace' bit. I've needed it more than most. Especially with my dad. U-u-u-u-g-g-h-h-h! I hate him. I hate him and I know I can't hide it from you. As you know very well, I've tried and tried but I just can't shake it. Do what you can with me, God. I know that I love You and You know that I love You. You know that I mean well, but it's ......I can't help it. I know that I'm supposed to be able to.....but I, I don't know. I'm just not strong enough. It's like I'm in this glass cage, God and I can't get out. I see the Christian woman that I want to be standing on the other side. She looks like she's so happy and peaceful and I noticed the wedding ring on her hand. She looks like me but she can't be. I'm in this cage and I can't get out of it. Why can't I let go of it, God? Why?

"And there's Ramon. Thank you for Ramon. I would have gone bananas if it weren't for him. He has been so patient with me, so kind and so much fun. He's been my sounding board, and the best friend I've ever had. I couldn't ask for anyone any better than he is. It sure was a funny way that you had of bringing us together. You certainly created a good man when you created Ramon Rodriguez. He deserves a good woman. But, don't bring her to him until after we finish this job of whatever You've got for us in Afghanistan. Without him as my spotter, I wouldn't be worth a hoot and You know that. I would be so nervous around any other male and you know that, too. Oh, well. Whatever you've got for us, bring us into it gently. Nudge us like Tom used to say You would. Bless all of those in authority over us with wisdom to know the right thing to do. And, whatever you do, help me to put up with overbearing males in authority. Oh, well, the way I figure it, You're gonna put one over me so they can pound this stuff into my head. Make me more like a pliable lump of clay than this old hard headed rock that I am. In Jesus Name, Amen."

The two sergeants were having a great time reminiscing about this, that and the other thing. Ramon enjoyed listening to them but began making mental notes of how they talked and the things they talked about. He noticed a pattern. He couldn't quite catch it..........yet. Things weren't exactly like they made them out to be. He could sense it. But, what was it? Ramon could bet his next month's pay that Sgt. Bennett was really an officer. Wisely, he listened without acting like he was.

Finally, he decided to stir the pot a little as he asked, "Sgt. Bennett, why aren't you an officer. Your father and grandfather were."

He turned around and slung his elbow on the back of the seat so he could look at Ramon who was sitting behind him. His face was glowing as if he had been waiting for just this question. "Well, for one thing, Dad didn't join the same branch of the service as Grandfather did and I decided not to climb up the ladder the same way Dad did. Like my Dad I didn't want to ride in on anyone's coattails." He looked over at Taylor and winked.

"You've got that look in your eye like the devil pushed you into something. What was it?" she asked as she leaned toward him.

He laid his chin on his elbow, squinted his eyes and furrowed his brow as he answered, "Ev-er-y time my grandfather and my father got together to just shoot the breeze, they conversation ALWAYS turned to some top kick that became a pain in their posterior. They would rave on and on about the outrageous things they would do. It was always 'This one whipped me on this point' or 'That one went behind my back' or some such nonsense. And, then, they would finish the story with something like, 'I never want to admit it in front of them, but they were right.' THAT'S why I chose the non-com route. I knew I couldn't be the warrior like them. That's because I'm too cute and cuddly like my momma."

Sergeant Hutchins let out a spit spewing bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha that got the best of Taylor. She curled up in her corner of the car and held her hands over her face to try to keep her laughter down. But, it was no use. Sgt. Hutchins let out another one and she about went into stitches.

Sgt. Bennett chuckled as he looked at a smiling Ramon and finished, "As I was alluding to in my previous statement, my temperament is more..........refined than that of a yelling, screaming, bull-headed general. Let's say that I wanted to be the sergeant that told the generals what to do. That is my way of saying 'gotcha' to my predecessor." To prove that he was more of the 'gotcha' type, he finished with a Cheshire cat grin aimed at the sergeant as he politely uttered the name, "Alice."

His opponent sobered as he declared, "A-w-w-w, now you've quit preaching and gone to meddling."

"I take it you still haven't told her."

"You got that right."

"Or showed her the dress."

"Buster Brown, you've hit that nail on the head. I look better in that dress than my old lady does."

O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o, it got real quiet in the car. Ramon and Taylor looked at each other with crooked smiles. The rest of this story was bound to be a hoot.

He looked into the mirror at his two minions and declared, "It's not what you think at all."

Taylor proved she was definitely the female in the car when she purred, "Why, sergeant, your personal preferences are absolutely none of our business, now are they?" The little snickering laugh at the end was just as funny as her line.

He tried to get out of it, "Hey, I lost a bet and had to go to a Christmas party with Captain.........Crunch Berry here, dressed in a very stunning outfit even if I do say so myself."

'H-m-m-m-m. Captain? Crunch Berry? Sounds like there's another story here to me,' thought Ramon.

As Ramon watched, Sgt. Bennett pulled his left ear lobe as he and Sgt. Hutchins exchanged glances. Sgt. Bennett opened his brief case and took out two pamphlets. They were about the size of a 5 x 8 index card and looked to be home made. Without fanfare, he tossed one to each of them, and then took out another one that had all kinds of notes on it. He reached back into the brief case and pulled out two red pens and tossed those back at them, also.

As he opened up his pamphlet, he said, "While we still have some daylight left, let me go over some things that you will need to know. Taylor, we already know about your marksmanship." With a smile he continued, "AND, we also know that the reason you're not the top marksman in the country is because you haven't shot against HIM, yet."

'We? What does he mean.....We?' Ramon wondered.

Taylor returned the smile as she suggested, "So you're going to set me up with a match with him so I can make him look like a little kid with a Nerf gun?"

There was a pause as Sgt. Bennett's smile disappeared. The tone of his voice changed the course of the conversation for the evening. "What I'm telling you.."

'He is an officer.' Ramon affirmed to himself.

"...is, that I need you to drop your 'I've got to show every man how good I am' attitude. These guys are your teammates, just like the football team you were on. Everybody has a job to do and we're there to help each other. I need you to be a part of every man and every woman there. And, they have been told the same thing.

"You and the others of this group are going into at least two weeks of intensive, and I do mean, intensive training. After two weeks, we could send you home or on assignment and continue training. We have a very small time window to operate in. You won't fully understand it until and 'if' you go on assignment. Not only is there a mission that is in danger.......there are lives at stake here. Am I making any sense?"

"Yes, sir," Taylor answered. Then, looking at Ramon she continued her answer, "Just as long as I have my team captain with me. He keeps me level."

Sgt. Bennett smiled at Ramon as he said, "That's what we're counting on." He held up the little pamphlet and continued, "Here are the facts and figures that you'll need to memorize.....no, check that...you'll have to make a part of your every waking moment thought pattern. It has everything in it from the earth's rotation to the velocity and drop of every type of shell you'll possibly fire. It's a cheat sheet on every weapon you might get your hands on and every piece of equipment you might be called upon to use."

Sgt. Bennett paused for a moment. Taylor took the opportunity and began quoting statistics that she had already committed to memory. Not only did she rattle off the rotation speed of the earth's rotation, but she cited the speed and drop characteristics of the two most widely used shells.

"Very impressive," Sgt. Hutchins offered. Then, looking at his partner he continued, "I'd say she's pretty well up to speed with those who have already been through the first two weeks of training."

"Sorry, Sarge," Taylor said as she shook her head. "I can rattle it off but it's up to Ramon to put it together for me. I DO have a photographic memory in the things that I want to remember, but I don't know how to put it all together like he does."

"That's what we're counting on," Sgt. Bennett replied. "We've heard some pretty good compliments on the way you two get along and work together. You're a good team." He paused for a moment and looked out the window before he continued, "But, we've lost some pretty good teams lately. That's what this 'crash course', if you'll excuse the expression is all about. Which, by the way, as Sgt. Hutchins alluded to, these folks you'll meet in a few hours have already been at this stuff for a couple of weeks. They have been told that you two have been in training somewhere else. And, you have, you've been training in the National Guard, so we're not fibbing all that much. However, when you're asked, and we know that some of them will make it their business to ask and some of them don't care, just tell them that you are not at liberty to discuss where you've been. When you tell them, just look at them as if you have just come from a funeral."

"That won't be too hard, will it Taylor?"

"Not for me."

"I'm sorry, guys," Sgt. Bennett said in an apologetic tone. I totally forgot where you...."

Taylor interrupted, "Please, say no more, Sergeant. That man that we honored today is the one that instilled in us the desire to serve our country to the utmost. His lifestyle of serving Jesus while serving his country is the highest mark that we could ever set for our lives."

"That's right, Sir," Ramon reiterated. "Through the things that Tom Dandridge taught us about life and the way God arranges things, Taylor and I believe that God could have very well used our football playing days as a six-year training program to get us ready for His mission. If that's what He has in store for us, I mean."

"That's just what my dad and my grandfather would have said about him. And, that Godly training and commitment is the very reason my dad jumped over seventeen other teams to give you a shot at it. If you qualify for the mission, you two could very well succeed where several teams have failed. Dad's counting on you.........and so are we," he finished quietly.

After thirty seconds of silence, Sgt. Hutchins sounded a warning, "You'd better tell them about the greatest hazard they'll face BEFORE going into any war zone."

"You mean, Sgt. Givens?"

"The one and only, thank God."

"I knew it. Somehow I just knew God would put some overbearing male as my instructor," Taylor said with a grin. Then, as she thought about what she said and who was in the car she tried to back-pedal, "I'm sorry guys......I..."

"No apologies necessary, young lady," Sgt. Hutchins corrected her. "We are the ones that should be apologizing to you for bringing you here. Wait 'til you're around him for a while, you'll definitely take your apology back," he chuckled.

"An-n-n-d, we should also mention that he is from the old school," Sgt. Bennett added. "He's especially adamant about women in combat. So, that should serve as a fair warning for you. We have already warned the four females you'll be joining. He's hit them hard and heavy since training started two weeks ago."

Sgt. Hutchins glanced back at Ramon as he continued the warning, "He doesn't spare the men. He plays on their emotions just as hard as he does the ladies. I expect the ladies to buckle, though, before the men do. But, then........you never know."

Ramon wondered, "The teams that have been lost lately, how many were his men?"

The Sergeants exchanged glances but remained silent. Ramon ventured, "It's like putting two and two together, gentlemen. Your silence gives me everything but the final numbers."

Sgt. Bennett let out a long, deep sigh as he admitted, "Three out of the last five. There's got to be an infiltrator somewhere. We've changed personnel with the exception of Givens and ourselves and gone to this location in order to see if our own 'conspiracy theory' is correct."

Taylor looked over at Ramon, and held her arm next to his. Together, they looked at the goose bumps that had covered them. With a knowing look, Taylor calmly quoted from the book of Esther, "For such a time as this, my brother, for such a time as this."

Sgt. Bennett echoed her choice of words, "Grandfather had often talked about how Tom seemed to know things before they would happen. His insight into hard situations raised Granddaddy's eyebrows on many occasions. Ramon, if you've got that special 'something' also,......then, be at your best, my friend. You have no idea how many people are counting on you."

A strong sense of destiny enveloped the four of them as they drove into Atlanta International Airport. The weight of God's mantle descended on Ramon. He sensed a special presence of the Lord. For the first time in his life, he felt God speak to him personally inside. But, what He said was foreboding and encouraging at the same time. He felt God say to him, "Taylor is going to be alright. She is going to be more than alright."

# Chapter Thirteen

They boarded a small chartered jet at 9:35 p.m. and landed at Kirtland, AFB, in Albuquerque, NM at precisely 12:00 a.m. The four of them went straight to one of the TDY hotels close by and got to the firing range at 0700 hrs.

The range safety officer met them at the entrance to the firing range and escorted them to their pre-arranged spot. He had reserved them a spot close to the outer perimeter of the range that allowed targets as far away as 1,500 meters. This part of the range was mostly used by those serious marksmen that wanted to hone their skills or bragging rights.

As they all exited their vehicles, they gathered around the safety officer's truck, with the exception of Sgt. Hutchins. He opened the trunk of the car and began gathering the boxes of ammunition and carrying them over to the firing line. The safety officer announced as he put his hand on the two boxes, "Here, gentlemen, is what you asked for, an M24 and the new Win-Mag .300. Sgt. Bennett, take your choice, choose both if you'd like, but bring me the appropriate documents to keep on file."

"It'll be my pleasure, sir," he answered as he shook the officer's hand. Then he turned to Taylor, folded his arms and said with a little bit louder voice, "Sgt. Sanders, you and Sgt. Rodriquez step forward and grab a weapon."

"Sergeant?"

"Wow! You can hear when you want to, young lady. You might say that when my father pulls rank.....he PULLS rank. It's basically a field promotion," he answered as a way of explanation. Then, he got serious, "Like I've said before, Dad's counting on you two a lot. Something is not as it should be and we can't put our fingers on it."

Ramon spoke for them both as he answered, "We won't hold back one iota, sir. You have our word on it."

"Thanks, Ramon," he said. He looked at Taylor and pointed to the first box and stated, "This one is the M24 SWS. It's a modified version of the one you used in the Guard." He reached over and opened up the other one for them to see as he continued, "But, this one is the latest thing to hit the market, the XM2010. Some call it the Win-Mag .300. It's a revamped M24 with a sound suppressor and muzzle brake. It reduces the recoil and the audible and visible signature of the weapon. It can shoot farther and shoot THROUGH more than the M24. The scope compensates for bullet drop and can be fitted for night vision, should you ever need it. And, if you're chosen for this assignment, you will most definitely need it. Whether you're accepted or not, you would be best advised to learn about it, play with it and become completely at ease with it. It could be your best friend someday. Or, should I say, some night."

Taylor stepped over to the XM2010 and took it out of its case. "Mercy, this looks and feels like a formidable weapon, Sergeant," she commented as she looked it over. "How long has this thing been out?"

Sgt. Hutchins answered, "It's not."

Taylor and Ramon looked at him simultaneously.

"Not officially," he continued. "We're hoping to get full implementation by the end of this year, maybe early next year. It'll be a real boost for us in our efforts in Afghanistan."

As Taylor looked at Sgt. Bennett to ask him a question, he anticipated it by answering, "We want you two to do two things for us right now. First of all, zero the M24 in and get some practice up to 1500 yards. Then, let's see what you can do with the XM2010. Basically, give us your evaluation of it. You'll be the first female to handle it so far and we would be interested in how you can handle it."

And you could ask him at any time you want, but this non-com-poop had to ruin a good conversation. He smiled at her as he finished by saying, "Little Bit."

"Hey, Bennett, you said the wrong.......," but Sgt. Hutchins didn't get a chance to finish.

Taylor pushed the weapon into his gut and with an astonished look on her face demanded, "Where did you get that name from?"

His face turned crimson as he looked for words, "I don't know ...it seemed ......"

She had a smile but the look on her face and the tone of her voice told everyone in ear shot that a volcano was beginning to erupt. "Boy, your dad's got a big mouth, you know it." She stepped over and picked up the M24 and turned to face him again. "I can understand 'Tater-head' from Tish. That's a play on my name. I DON'T understand 'Little Bit' from Tom Dandridge. Look at me. Does ANYTHING look like a little bit?" She reached over and pinched a pretty big inch of his stomach.

As a surprised "Ooopf" escaped out of his mouth, she stepped closer and got into his face as she demanded, "Don't answer that and keep your eyes on the target, not on me ...sport." As she turned to walk toward the ammo table, she gave Ramon his orders, "C'mon, 'Mone. You men are all alike. Including you. I'm sure you've called me a couple of adjectives, too."

He answered with a smile, "I'll be right there, Precious."

Without looking back, Taylor looked at the ground as she walked and shook her head. Sgt. Hutchins was right behind her with several boxes of cartridges.

Ramon smiled at a chuckling Sgt. Bennett and said, "If you're gonna be around her a lot, let me give you some advice. Either lose some of that gut or stand more than an arm's length away from her........Sir."

The range safety officer chuckled as he got back into his truck, "Bennett, I don't think that I am needed here anymore. I'll just mosey on back to the office. Stop by on your way out."

"Thanks, Jack, I'll do that."

Ramon trotted up to Taylor and threw his arm around her shoulders. She put the weapon in her other hand and put her arm around his waist. They exchanged glances and chuckles. Everything was OK. She was just in her 'Taylor' form. He knew that she was feeling more at ease with Sgt. Bennett. AND, the fact that she took the liberty to pop off at him was a good sign that she had accepted him as an 'OK' human being even if he was a man. If a guy got under her skin enough to get her quiet and make her face turn red, HE was about to assume the prone position.

As Taylor and Ramon went about the task of sighting-in the M24, Sgt. Hutchins began filling up the 5 round magazines. Taylor got down into the prone position and began stabilizing the M24 for sighting-in. Ramon reached into his home-made ruck sack and pulled out a small plastic gizmo with Velcro straps and a pen hanging from it. He strapped the gizmo to his leg, slid a small booklet of paper into it and sat down cross legged by Taylor. He reached into the sack again and brought out a pair of binoculars.

The two sergeants watched each movement with interest. There was little talk between Taylor and Ramon. Both of them acted like they had played out this routine hundreds of times. An airman arrived in a pretty beat-up looking golf cart loaded down with paper targets. He handed Sgt. Hutchins a Nextel looking phone. "Three at 100," he told the airman.

"Yes, sir," was the reply and the airman drove off. After he placed the targets firmly in their places, he drove the cart to a sheltered spot and waited further orders. Conveniently, he had brought his CD player, headphones, a lunch and a thermos of coffee. He'd done this before, obviously.

Ramon took notes after each shot was fired. He let the first three go without much adjusting. After the third shot was fired, he reached over and adjusted her scope a couple of clicks. Two more shots and she had to change the magazine. After she settled back in, he adjusted for wind age. After she squeezed off a couple of shots, he said, "Run it to the right like it was toilet paper."

The sergeants were standing behind them with their own sets of binoculars. They would hear the shots, see where it hit and hear Taylor giggle. Each shot was one to two inches away from the previous one and she WAS perforating it like a piece of toilet paper.

"Go to the next one," Ramon said, "and pull a Daniel Boone."

"You got it, Gooberhead."

The Sergeants watched as she hit the little black dot with shot after shot. "That's enough," Sgt. Bennett shouted out. He whispered into Sgt. Hutchins ear and he stepped out of earshot to give the airman in the golf cart his assignment. As the airman set out on his errand, Sgt. Bennett pulled a laser range finder out of his briefcase. "Have you ever used one of these?" he asked Ramon.

"Not one that fancy, sir," he answered as he took it out of the sergeant's hands.

Sgt. Bennett took a few moments to get him familiar what the range finder and then turned him loose. "I've told the airman to put several of those targets at random spots and different angles. We're going to put the two of you to the test."

Ramon looked at Taylor. She just shrugged her shoulders. He looked back and said, "OK."

"Before you get back to shooting, let me ask you something. Why did you adjust the sights for Taylor?"

"I'm better at it than she is and we can get a weapon sighted faster. Also, the thought occurred to us that in a real-life situation, she could keep her eyes on the target better if I adjust it for her. It was just a thought."

The two sergeants looked at each other until Sgt. Hutchins finally commented, "I've never seen it done that way, but I've got to admit, it does make some kind of sense. And, in a real-life-and-death situation, you know ...it just might have its merits. BUT, getting it to fly by Sgt. Givens is another war."

They were all surprised at Taylor's answer, "We're not here to fight Sgt. Givens, Sir. I don't want to do anything to step in front of our opportunity to go on this mission. But, when we're out there against the enemy, whatever it takes to get the job done, that's what we'll do."

Sgt. Bennett looked at his training partner and said, "You can't ask for anything better than that."

"Nope, you sure can't."

Sgt. Bennett waived at the targets and ordered, "OK you two. Let's see what you can do. Start at the left and work your way to the right. Put three shots into each target until I tell you to stop."

As they started to get back into their positions, they heard one more command, "Take your time, we've only got one hour." A couple of snickers were heard. Taylor looked at Ramon and replied, "You men are such boring creatures."

They got settled down and went to work. On the first two targets, it took Taylor five rounds to get three hits on the target. However, Ramon settled into a groove of finding the range and adjusting her scope fairly quickly. Then, it was three shots and move to the next; three shots and move to the next. Even the ones that were turned a little to the side got their one-two-three shots.

"That's enough," Sgt. Bennett said. "Now, let's see what you can do with the XM2010."

Taylor's eyes lit up like it was Christmas. She was off the ground and weapon in her hand in the blink of an eye. She smiled at Sgt. Hutchins as he waited for her at the table. He picked up the XM2010 as she carefully placed the M24 back in its case.

Before he handed her the weapon, he said, "I took the liberty last week to sight this baby in for you. You'll have to tweak it.....well I guess, Ramon will." He handed it to her as you would have handed a new born baby to its mother. As they walked toward the firing line, he put his hand on her shoulder and began to tell her about the differences in the two weapons, "This one has that sound suppressor so it only sounds like a glorified .22 round going off. And that, muzzle break, it keeps the flash down to where it's hard for the enemy to see. And the .300 Winchester Magnum, it'll rip through stuff the M118LR will just bounce off of. Just wait 'til you get used to it. You'll love it so much that you'll want to sleep with it at night."

Sgt. Bennett leaned over and whispered to Ramon, "Like a dad handing over the keys to the family car, ain't it?"

"Yeah," Ramon chuckled.

Taylor thought to herself, 'What is it about this guy? I'm hanging on every word he says. It's like I don't want him to quit talking to me. God........why couldn't my dad be like this guy? But, I've got Ramon. Ramon.......? Yeah...Ramon has always been there for me. How come I didn't notice it before? He's always been there..............for me.'

Sgt. Hutchins came and stood in front of Sgt. Bennett. He crossed his arms and said in a low voice as a tear dribbled down his cheek, "You know my oldest girl turned 16 last week. I'm going to try my darndest to get her to go to college. I think I'm going for some coffee, want some?"

Hutchins started to walk away, but Bennett put his hand on his shoulder to hold him. "You both would be happier if you just loved on her like you always do and let her make her own decision. Neither of you would be happy if you made the decision for her, now would you?"

"You're right."

"Bring a couple of Dr. Peppers for our kids," Bennett added. His mind wandered to his own sons aged 14 and 18.

Taylor walked over to the firing line and Ramon joined her. She just stood there for a minute gazing at the weapon. "Taylor?" Ramon asked. "Is anything wrong?"

She looked up at him with a puzzled look and replied, "He acted like he really cared whether I lived or died. He didn't patronize me." She paused before continuing, "It was like we were best friends and he was giving me directions to his favorite fishing spot."

She paused again. "Ramon?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you laugh at me if I told you I almost felt like calling him, Dad?" her voice almost cracked before she caught herself and continued, "Ain't that a laugh?" She knelt down to get into her firing position.

"No, not really. As a matter of fact, it's probably a normal reaction to a guy like Sgt. Hutchins. Remember the time when I called the Algebra teacher Uncle? Some folks are just like that to us," Ramon assured her.

She looked up at him with a thoughtful grin, "Feels good to trust a man in authority. I didn't know I could do it. Reckon God's finally doing something to me?"

"After all those nights I prayed for you, I'd say He's probably right on time," Ramon answered. "Both of us are going to have to pay attention to those who have walked this path before us. You know, I haven't always been the best at listening to people either."

"Yeah," she agreed, "you never listened to me when I told you to get out of my life."

"Case in point. Now, get down there and let's sight this weapon in, Sergeant. It looks like it's a dandy."

"Yes, sir, your sergeantship, sir."

"Just Your Royal Highness will be sufficient."

"Yeah, like that's ever going to happen."

Taylor fired the first shot to warm up the barrel. Ramon got back into his cross-legged position, flipped to a new page in his pad and slipped it back into its gizmo. The sergeants liked his gizmo. He peered through his binoculars and reported, "Your first one was high and to the left a bit. Aim at the same spot and let's see where a warm barrel puts it."

"I aimed at dead center, but remember that a more powerful bullet will rise a little at close range," she suggested.

Ramon located the second hit. "It was down some but it still shot to the left. Let me give it a few clicks and we'll try one close to 500 meters," he said.

"That's a big jump from 100 to 500 meters."

"Yeah, but if my guess is right, you'll hit the bull's eye but just a tad to the left." As he surveyed the field and pointed the range finder, he said, "The third one to the right reads 537 meters. Take that one, the one that's a little crooked."

"Third one to the right and a little crooked it is," echoed Taylor as she put in a fresh 5 round magazine. She squeezed off the shot. "To the left again?" she asked.

"Yep, looks like it," Ramon said as added a couple of clicks to the scope. "Try it again."

The next one hit the bull's eye. It wasn't dead center but it was on the black. To prove it wasn't a fluke, she put three more only an inch apart.

The familiar voice of Sgt. Bennett rang out, "Good stuff, Sanders. Try the last one to the right, the one that's partly obscured by the target next to it. It looks to be 900 meters or so."

"Range finder says 875 meters."

"That's good enough. Don't hit the civilian standing to the left of it."

"He hasn't asked ME anything hard to do," declared Taylor as she adjusted her scope for the distance. She took a breath, let it out and squeezed the trigger. Through the scope, she could see that it hit the outer edge of the black. Breath, exhale, and squeeze. Breath, exhale and squeeze. Two big ol' shiners slapped into the black. She sat up on her left elbow and asked, "How's that?"

"Taylor, you just don't take second place, do you?" Sgt. Bennett stated as his cohort came up beside him with a carry-out tray loaded with two coffees, and two Dr. Peppers. "Time for a break, isn't it?"

Ramon helped Taylor up and took the weapon for her. She brushed herself off as she walked over to the ammo table. Hutchins handed her the Dr. Pepper which she opened and took a couple of gulps. She lifted her can in salute and said, "Thanks, Dad. I needed that."

A somewhat surprised Sgt. Hutchins lifted his in return and declared with a big smile, "Gotta keep my girl happy."

Bennett lifted the Nextel up, pressed the 'call' button and ordered, "Okay, cowboy, round 'em up. We're through. Put that golf cart through its paces."

The airman came out of his hiding place and systematically began to take the targets down and place them in the back of the golf cart. Everybody watched as the almost dilapidated machine lurched its way back and forth across the firing lane. At every bounce, they could see the fenders shake as if they were barely bolted on.

He put the last 100 meter target in the back of the cart and looked at Sgt. Bennett. Sgt. Bennett lifted his hand over his head and made a circular motion. At the same time, Sgt. Hutchins got into their car and headed out toward him. The airman stopped the cart, took his personal items out of it, attached a rod to the steering wheel to stabilize it, then reached in and locked the accelerator. The cart started lumbering in a circular path. The airman grabbed up his goodies and got into the car with Sgt. Hutchins. Curiously, he made a long loop of getting back to the shed.

Taylor and Ramon had no idea what was going on until Sgt. Bennett picked up the XM2010 and handed it to Taylor. He put a box of magnums and several 5 round magazines on the table in front of Ramon. "That's your next target. There are times when you will need to hit a moving target. I want you to disable that garbage can as soon as possible. Use the table if you need to steady your aim."

"Oh, yeah," she said with a smile, "That's different alright."

Ramon swapped magazines to make sure she had a full one to start with. "You're approximately 100 meters away so aim low to compensate. Aim for the sides and the back to get to the battery. When the front comes around, aim for the wheels to disable it, and then you'll have a stationary target."

Taylor squeezed off a couple of shots but only saw dirt fly. Quickly she set the weapon on the table to get it more stable. After another worm-killer, she started hitting the cart. On the second circle, she got one of the steering arms and the cart curled to a halt. However, the rear wheels kept spinning and caused it to wobble back in forth. She picked a previous bullet hole and began to hammer away at it. Her second shot at it brought a puff of smoke and the wheels stopped turning.

"That's what you've got to do when you have a vehicle with terrorists in it" Sgt. Bennett started to explain. "Disable it completely and then eliminate the ones that climb out of the vehicle. Of course, in real life, you MIGHT have some grenades to help you out. I said might."

Ramon answered for the both of them, "We understand, sir."

"I know you do, Ramon," Sgt. Bennett said as he patted shoulder. "I've seen enough from the both of you to know that dad made a good choice. Now, enough of this rah-rah stuff, we've got to get going."

They got into the car and headed to Jack's office. Sgt. Bennett got out and took the signed paperwork inside. Once back into the car he became his sergeant-type self. "For the record, I signed both weapons out to you, Taylor. I knew you would appreciate that."

She looked at him for a moment without saying a word.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Sgt. Bennett," she started in an official tone. "I would like a transfer into whatever it is you do besides aggravate women of the female species. I can't wait to see the day when you get enough vinegar in you to tear into a general. I really would like to see that."

Sgt. Bennett tried to act as if he was surprised to hear her talk like that. Sgt. Hutchins just snickered and looked at her through the rear view mirror. "You misunderstand my intentions and I would like to take this opportunity to say just how hurt I am."

"My left toe knuckle."

"There is a rational explanation for my actions."

"Your wife's left toe knuckle."

That did it. Sgt. Hutchins and Ramon could no longer hold back the laughter. Bennett was digging himself deeper and deeper and Taylor was shoveling it in on him. Ramon realized that she had accepted these two as friends and not mortal men-enemies. God was doing something in her alright and she was beginning to have the time of her life.

"Just give me a moment, please," he asked more than demanded. In a more serious tone he began, "All kidding aside for right now, OK? I've seen your physical abilities, yes. But, there are other cognitive things that I would like to see from you. Those abilities will be tested in the next couple of weeks. If you're the prime ones that we're looking for, the XM2010 is yours. If not, we have several other places that we need valuable teams like you two."

"OK. That's fair."

"Rest assured, folks, I would NEVER put you into a dangerous situation that I didn't think you could handle," he promised. "But, for now, we'll take you to your rooms. You have a uniform laid out for you to wear now and five sets in your duffel bags plus three sets of boots. Place your civvies in the bag you brought and leave it on the bed. We'll send those back home. You won't need them for a while. We'll eat in the NCO club and then take a helicopter to the training facilities, somewhere in the American wilderness."

# Chapter Fourteen

Have you ever watched any episodes of M.A.S.H. where the helicopter lands on a flat spot on a little hill about a hundred yards away from the camp? That's about what it was like landing at LA----Little Afghanistan, that is.

However, there was one exception. There were no trees or grass, just rocks and dust. And, there were no tents. How they got those three modular buildings out there is anybody's guess. There was one for the ladies, one for the men and the big one that served as a classroom, a chow hall, and individual rooms for the three instructors.

Since a lot of their off-duty time was spent in it, they called it the Sniper's Den. Portable generators furnished all the electricity that was needed. Every week, supplies came in via convoy from somewhere. If need be, a helicopter was always available.

About fifty yards away was a pretty good looking style Afghanistan canyon. And when you climbed down into the canyon and looked up, you saw a good resemblance of the Afghanistan Mountains. Well, it is a good resemblance until you get to the real Afghanistan and then you begin to see the differences.

The sun was to their left, so Ramon figured they must be flying toward Colorado. Not that it mattered which state they were in. The noise of the helicopter made conversation almost impossible. Everyone was left to their own thoughts. That could be good and that could be bad.

Ramon and Taylor hadn't had much private time to theorize about what may or may not happen and where they may or may not go. That was an area that they left up to God. They knew that in His perfect plan for them, He would reveal that step when He thought best.

Was it the uniforms? Was it the talk about the mission? Was it everybody calling each other Sergeant? Who knows for sure? A lot of things began to hit home to Taylor. Ramon noticed that she stared at the floor for a longer time than normal. Her expression? Doubt? Fear? No, not entirely. Was she having regrets?

A tell-tale tear trickled down her cheek and still she stared. He placed his hand on her knee to get her attention. She took her finger and wrote 'T O M' on the back of his hand. She leaned forward, placed her elbows on her knees and rested her face in her hands. Ramon pulled his handkerchief out and tucked it into her fingers. She pulled it into the palms of her hands and just rested there.

Bennett and Hutchins looked at Ramon. He mouthed the name "Tom" and they nodded. Down inside, Sgt. Bennett hoped and prayed she could pull herself together before Sgt. Givens saw her crying.

If the flight had been about ten minutes longer, it might have happened. But, as they landed, she was still wiping the tears from her eyes. She still had the handkerchief in her hands when it came time to disembark the copter. Everyone had assembled on the copter pad to welcome them. And, who was there to make the welcoming speech? Why none other than Sgt. Givens. And he wasted no time in living up to his legend.

"Well, Sanders and Rodriguez, how nice of you to join us," he snarled to them in his usual sarcastic voice. "You're only two weeks late. Just how do you expect to catch up to the rest of us?"

Sgt. Bennett led the way out from under the copter blades. He held up two pouches. "Here's their records, their levels of training and their marksmanship scores. I believe you'll find everything in order. You have a full report on their whereabouts from HQ. ALL that you need to know is in here."

He slapped the pouches against the sergeant's chest and looked at Taylor and Ramon. "Follow me, I'll show you to your quarters where you can shower and get ready for chow."

As they walked away, Sgt. Givens yelled at them, "Do these records tell me why Sgt. Sanders walks around with a hanky in her hand? Does she miss her Mommy? Leave her teddy boo at home?"

Taylor stopped in her tracks causing Ramon to stop with her. He looked at her and saw a rage that he had never seen before. He put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Taylor, calm down. Don't let......"

She looked him straight in the eye, shook his hand off and said in a strained quiet tone, "Leave me alone." She turned on her heal and walked resolutely toward Sgt. Givens who was grinning like a possum.

Sgt. Bennett heard and turned to follow her. Ramon grabbed his arm as he went by and said softly, "Better let her alone, Sergeant. She has to face this demon herself. Not him, but the one inside of her. If she blows it for us, it is better that she blows it before we get too involved in the mission."

"You're right," Sgt. Bennett sighed. "You're right. Then again, this might just mold her some."

"I'm all for that."

She didn't stop until she was just inches away from Givens' face. She didn't shout. Her voice was stable. It never quivered. With calm deliberation she started, "For your information......Sergeant. Rodriguez and I were at the bedside of a dying vet who served his country with all of his heart in WWII. He was trained by Colonel Henry Mucci himself. He sustained severe injuries by being blown out of an ammo shed while rescuing 525 American prisoners of war at Cabanatuan in the Philippines. We felt ourselves to be honored to stay with him in his last few days and see to it that he was given a funeral worthy of his service to the United States of America. Tom Dandridge yanked my skinny butt out of the ugly teenage crap I was in WITHOUT raising his voice or casting aspersions as to my character. THEREFORE, I will be glad AND eager to take instruction from you but I DON'T have to take your harassment. Excuse me, Sergeant, it's been a long journey and I need to use the latrine."

With that she turned around a walked resolutely back to Sgt. Bennett. As she walked past him she said, "Get me away from him." The tears were streaming down her face.

Sgt. Bennett turned and escorted her to the ladies' barracks. Ramon caught the eye of one of the ladies and nodded his head toward Taylor. She tapped the arm of her friend and they hustled after her.

Sgt. Givens called to Taylor as she got to the door of the barracks, "Your lessons start at 0800 in the morning. I've got two weeks of Sgt. Givens I'm gonna cram into you and your boyfriend to get you caught up with the rest of this bunch."

Taylor straightened up her face into an absolute dead pan and turned slowly to face him. His arms were folded and he was rocking back and forth on his heels. An intimidating grin showed the arrogance that went along with his words. As she looked at him she tilted her head down slightly and raised her left eyebrow. The smile that pulled at her lips looked more like a sneer.

Ramon stood expressionless as he watched her act the very way they had talked about. He relaxed on the inside as he knew that she was in control of herself and not belittled by the bellowing sergeant. In sweet, Southern charm, the cat meowed, "My momma always said that it's a poor game that two can't play. Get you some rest, Sergeant, I hope you learn your lessons as fast as I learn mine." Without giving him a chance to reply she vanished inside the ladies' barracks and was followed quickly by Rose and Florida.

She saw a bunk to the left that had her name on it and made her way quickly to it. She let her bags drop unceremoniously to the floor and sat down abruptly on her bunk. Another torrent of tears flooded her face as she buried it in Ramon's handkerchief and began to sob. Her roommates sat on either side and put their arms around her.

"Hey, Taylor, I'm Rose and she's Florida and, Honey, don't let him get to you that way. He's been grousing at everybody. And, he does seem to pick on us ladies a little bit more than the men," she rattled off as she tried to calm Taylor down.

Florida added, "Yeah, we just kinda blow it off when we can. He can get pretty crusty at times." After a few second's pause, she added, "Make that most of the time."

Taylor brought her face up out of the handkerchief and chuckled at the last remark, "Ladies, if I can put up with my mangy excuse for a father for 20 years, I can put up with an old blowhard for four weeks. Ramon and I have a plan. He's just like a terrorist. The main thing they want to do is instill fear inside of a person. So, we decided to react to his tirade in a cool deadpan."

"Deadpan? Why not a laugh?"

"Because a cool, steely-eyed deadpan tells them that you've got something up your sleeve whether you do or not. If you force yourself to deadpan, you're nerves calm down and you can actually think rationally, which is what you want and what the terrorists fear," Taylor explained. "Smart warriors look into their opponents eyes if they can. A pupil dilation, a wince, a hard blink would usually indicate they are fixing to make some kind of blow to you. Again, a deadpan makes THEM worry instead of you."

Florida replied, "That makes sense. Hey, Rose, we need to pass that info around to the other girls. That bozo has already had a couple of us in tears."

"Yeah, he even thinks he got to me. But, I'll fix him later. I'm sure he'll give me ample opportunity," Taylor added.

Rose asked, "Were you really held up by a funeral?"

As Taylor remembered Tom, she smiled and answered through her tears, "The greatest man I ever met. He always said that he wasn't, but he was a war hero through and through. You'd better believe that mine and Ramon's lives were changed because of him."

Meanwhile, Ramon faced Sgt. Givens and corrected him, "Sgt. Givens, Taylor and I aren't romantically involved, Sir."

"You're not fooling me, Rodriguez. A male and a female working side by side and you don't jump each other's bones every now and then?" he bellowed with his hands on his hips. "What kind of fool do you think I am?"

"That, sir, is not the topic of our discussion," Ramon deadpanned to the snickers of the surrounding troops. In a cool, matter-of-fact tone he continued, "We happen to be two stalwart Christians who consider that act to be fornication. Slander as defined in the dictionary is an oral statement that is malicious, false and defamatory. AND, it is punishable in any court of law in any state or federal court in these United States. And, YOU, sir, swore by your oath upon entering this man's Army that you would protect and defend that law. My strong suggestion to you, Sergeant is that you refrain from further comment about our relationship unless you can prove otherwise." He immediately turned around and headed for the men's barracks.

"You march yourself back here soldier or I'll have this copter carry your mangy carcass out of here. I didn't dismiss you."

Without stopping, Ramon kept walking but said loud enough for everyone to hear, "We were not in a military formation. You were not giving any orders. You were not giving any instruction." As he stepped up to the door and put his hand on the door knob, he turned and said clearly, "But you were breaking the law and bringing a reproach on the good names of two American soldiers. From that I do not need your permission to leave. You should thank me that I have not chosen to press charges against you." He looked at the group of men that heard every word and finished, "And I have plenty of witnesses." He turned the door handle and entered the barracks to the applause of three of the men who had already preceded him inside.

"Why, you snotty-nosed......"

"Stow it, Gary," came the order from Sgt. Bennett. "He's right, and he does have witnesses." With that, he stepped over to the Sniper's Den for a much needed cup of coffee. Sgt. Givens stood in the middle of the compound as the men went off in different directions. After a minute or so to reflect on the recent happenings, he walked to his private quarters at the back of the Den.

Taylor got the shower as hot as she could stand it. After a quick rinse, she put her hands against the shower wall and looked at the floor. The hot, relaxing stream of liquid against the back of her head helped her get the remainder of her grief out of her system, for now, at least.

Danielle and Benita came in while she was regrouping her forces. The four ladies kept looking at Taylor as she showered. No, they were not those kinds of ladies. There focus was on the definition of her arms and her shoulders. "I can bench press 150, but, dear God, that girl's bound to be pushing 200," Benita said.

"No, way," Rose countered.

"I don't know, but if you ask me, she could probably tie ol' Givens up into a pretzel and walk away and let him squirm on the ground," commented Florida with a laugh.

The three others joined her and were cracking other remarks when Taylor turned off the shower and reached for the towel. When she looked their way and saw them all smiling at her, she stopped drying herself and asked, "What?"

Florida cracked, "Oh, us four lezzies enjoy seeing the naked body of our newest groupie. We shoulda had our camera rolling, huh, girls?"

As they continued to laugh, Benita said, "That's not true. I started it by noticing the definition of your arms, shoulders and backs. I told 'em that you could probably bench press close to 200."

Taylor continued drying off as she chuckled and said, "I popped off 225 one time before Ramon decided to be my big brother and took the bars away from me."

"For real?"

"Get outa here."

As she began to dress she replied, "Got some weights? I'll show ya. Just don't tell my big brother."

"He really your brother?"

"Nah, just a very good friend."

"How good is very good?" Rose asked with a sly giggle.

Her question caused Taylor to stop, look at her and then smile. "Just to clarify things. This ol' girl has no plans at getting married... EVER. So, if any of you ladies have got hormones for Ramons, go for it. Ramon is a good man. You know he has to be to put up with me for six years. He deserves a good wife."

She finished lacing her boots and added, "But, mess with him the wrong way and I might have to come at you. He means a lot to me. I won't marry him or any man but he means a lot to me."

Florida kept the red in Rose's face by saying, "There ya' go, girl. The door's open."

"I'll introduce you to him at supper if you want," Taylor offered as they all got up to exit the barracks.

Rose weaseled, "Well, if you ever get a chance. You know, some of the guys might monopolize your time now that you've faced down Sarge."

"I can dig it," Taylor responded as they all left to go to the Den.

Several of the guys were standing in the middle of the compound talking to Ramon. General guy laughter was heard and the typical quieting of male voices as females approached.

"Winner and still....well current champion, Sgt. Taylor Sanders," one guy called out. He stuck out his hand to Taylor, "They call me Duke."

"Hey, Duke."

The next guy's hand went out, "They only do that because it's his last name. Mine's Sandusky. Call me Sandy if you'd like. Nobody else does."

"That's because nobody else wants to talk to him. I'm Peterson."

"I'm Mowzzer."

Handshakes done, Taylor acknowledged, "It's a pleasure to meet you gentlemen."

"Gentlemen?"

"She only said that because she hasn't been around us for more than five minutes. Then, she'll call us what we really are."

Danielle jumped in on the comedy routine, "Well, we have and we've got a few adjectives for you that we'd rather not use."

"Because, we're ladies," Florida added in her haughtiest tone.

Benita jumped in just as Mowzzer was opening his mouth to say something, "Don't go there."

It was one of those moments where everybody kinda knew what was fixing to be said. A good shot of laughter ran through them all. After the laughter died down, Peterson asked the inevitable, "So you two....aren't together?"

"Marriage and relationships are just not for me," Taylor admitted to everyone. "Bad experience with a bum of a father. He always hated it because I was a girl and not a boy. I don't want to take a chance on marrying one like him or becoming one like him. If God wants to get my attention to get married, He'll have to drop a bomb on me." She thought about what she just said and added, "Well, I guess I could have said that a little differently, huh?"

Duke answered, "Yeah, we know what you mean. But, just as a precaution, Sarge has put the law down that there will be no shows of physical affection while in training."

Just then, the doors to the Den opened and a cook shouted out, "OK. Burgers and dogs with all the fixin's."

As they began entering the chow hall, Duke commented, "Sunday's are always burgers and dogs. I wait all week for this feast."

At the front of the serving line was Sgt. Bennett. He was just putting the third burger together. He handed it to another sergeant and said, "Take this to Gary, will you?" As he turned to watch him deliver the goods, he saw Taylor and Ramon. "Sgt. Lem," he called after him, "I want you to meet Sergeants Sanders and Rodriguez."

The tall soldier spoke as he walked past, "I'll be right back to talk to you after I make this delivery."

Sgt. Bennett came up to them as they started to form a line to the burgers. "Sgt. Lem is our munitions expert. You'll get to know him plenty in the next few weeks. He'll work with you and your weapon, how to take it apart and put it together and all that. He knows weapons inside and out. We currently have him experimenting with different loads in different shells. That's why you'll see some powder residue on his hands. As much as he handles gunpowder, it's hard for him to get it all off."

"We'll look forward to it," Ramon answered for him and Taylor. They busied themselves fixing their plates and getting their drinks.

When they were ready to sit down and eat, everyone motioned for them to sit at the center table of the Den. Everybody was eager to hear what they could tell them about Col. Henry Mucci and the formation of the 6th Ranger Battalion and about the battle of Cabanatuan.

Sgt. Lem came back quickly and joined the group. Taylor and Ramon waited until everybody was ready before they started relating the things they knew. They had heard Tom tell the stories so many times that they could fill in the gaps that the other one left out. Of course, they couldn't help but bring up some of the practical jokes Tom was so famous for doing. It was a great evening.

After chow, everyone started going their separate ways, some in small groups, some alone. Everyone went to what Winnie-the-Pooh would call their 'thinking spot' to try to get mentally prepared for the next day. Taylor and Ramon were no exception. They found a quiet spot on a couple of rocks about 50 yards away from the compound. There they went over the day's happenings. Taylor was a lot calmer now that she got a lot of her grieving out.

"What's your take on the day, Ramon?" she asked.

"I've got more questions than I do answers," he answered.

"How so?"

Ramon stared off into the canyon before he began to cite his observations, "For one thing, you never saw Sgt. Bennett and Sgt. Givens together except for that short time we were all at the helicopter. Sgt. Bennett sat over in the corner watching all of us like he might be taking mental notes. Which, if I was in his shoes, I would probably want to hear what people talked about when their hair was down, also. Might give you a clue as to what they were really like."

"Could be," Taylor agreed. "I remember him saying that things weren't quite right or something like that. He said he really couldn't put his finger on it."

"Yeah, but Sgt. Givens came in twice for a cup of coffee and except for a casual glance, they made no move to start a conversation with each other. That's unusual for two head honchos in a place not to sit down together and talk."

"But, did you see the way he slapped our paperwork into Givens' chest? Maybe they don't see eye to eye and would just as soon not talk to each other if they didn't have to."

"Good point, Taylor, but I think there's something more than that going on between them. Whatcha think about Sgt. Lem?"

"He seemed like a jolly kind of fellow. He laughed a lot. Maybe he's high strung. Sgt. Bennett seems to think a lot of him."

"I noticed his eyes. I learned that in Mexico City. They stayed dilated like he was on drugs, nervous, afraid or lying. But, then again, that's the first time I've been around him and maybe that's just the way that he is."

"Hey, did you see the change that came over him when Sgt. Bennett left and told him to come and get his gun tomorrow afternoon. What was that look on his face all about."

Ramon chuckled, "I heard the guys talking about it before you came out of the barracks. Sgt. Bennett has this WWII Colt 45 that was handed down from his grandfather and father to him. Of course, you know it's his pride and joy. He goes out and practices with it every Monday. Sgt. Lem makes cartridges for him, cleans it and makes sure it's in A-1 shape."

Taylor answered with a chuckle, "If I was Sgt. Lem, and I was in charge of a prized possession like that, I'd be a little skittish, too."

Ramon chuckled at his suspicious thoughts, "I guess you're right. But, just in case, I'll keep those things in my memory bank to see if anything else pans out." He looked at his watch and said, "We've only got thirty minutes before they expect us to be in bed. Let's pray before we go, huh?"

"Yeah, but let's don't hold hands like we normally do. That would be kind of suspicious to old eagle eye, now wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right. You wanna start?"

"May as well."

As was their routine, when they prayed together, they poured their hearts out to the Lord. They prayed for Marci and Arthur as well as each other. They prayed for wisdom not only for themselves but also for those that God had put in authority over them. Taylor, especially, asked for grace to deal with Sgt. Givens. When their hearts were clear, they walked back to their barracks to prepare for the next day.

**************

Monique read Brian's text message over and over again. "Monique, all is going according to my plan. The ruse worked better than I thought it would. Our trophy swallowed the story hook, line and sinker and has become a willing participant. In a couple of days, your name will be changed and your new life will begin. As always, Brian."

# Chapter Fifteen

Arthur stared at Marci's e-mail for a while. It was mostly about Brian, who he was and what they were doing. Of course, his mother's e-mail arrived two days ago. It shouldn't have bothered him because Marci's usual every other day e-mail had quickly turned into once a week three-liners. Both ladies described the expedition to Elmhurst. Marci was fact, fact, fact while his mother spoke of the long glances and the "when you marry" faux paux by Roberta. Marci was distant and his mother was distraught.

That made two of them. Arthur couldn't help but remember the times that he thought she was sending him 'love' signals. She would squeeze his hand and then smile at him when he looked at her. When they talked in private her voice became softer and her words seemed sweeter. The two years she had been away at college hadn't changed her. When she came back for the summer, she took up right where she left off. Arthur wondered about her change.

Grandpa had always said that when your life is given over to Jesus, strange things could happen. A sincere Christian had to be pliable to God's will. After all, God was looking down the road a lot farther than we were. He said to always be aware that God could bring people into our lives and out of our lives for His reasons. And, when he takes good friends out, He does it for His purpose in both lives. A Christian has to learn to accept it and go on. Instead of moaning over the loss, rejoice with the ones that remain. He would always end that teaching with the admonition—it is easier said than done.

A whiff of perfume slipped through the sides of his closed door. Mayumi was there. Before she knocked, Arthur said with a smile, "Come in, my lovely."

She turned the door knob and entered with a not so puzzled look on her face. She smiled as she conceded, "I swear I'm not using as much as I used to."

Arthur teased, "My heart demands my nose to be super-sensitive at your approach."

"It does not, you silly goose," she said as she playfully took a swat at his shoulder. She glanced at Marci's e-mail on the monitor. "Oh," she tried to be coy, "am I interrupting something? I guess I should be going. Don't want to horn in, you know."

As she acted like she was about to get up, her impish grin gave her away. "Stop it, stop it, stop it," Arthur chided. "You know I have no secrets with you. Besides, you can read it. It's all about Brian."

She looked at his eyes still gazing at the e-mail and apologized, "I'm sorry...I didn't mean anything by it."

Arthur was quiet for a moment and then he looked at her very seriously and said, "Who God puts with who is His business. I want Marci to be happy for the rest of her life. Goodness knows she's had enough unhappiness, not having a father around and all. If God says that Brian is the one, then I bid them God-speed. Do you remember what Grandpa said about times like these?"

Mayumi offered, "Don't pout over the ones that leave, rejoice over the ones that stay, or something like that?"

He looked into her eyes and said with a smile, "That's close enough to whatever it was. The meaning is the same." He turned to the computer and shut down Windows. He opened up the control panel and changed the desktop from a picture of Marci to a picture of the Pacific Ocean they had taken a couple of years ago.

She cleared her throat and hinted so gracefully, "You know...you could put MY picture on there if you weren't ashamed if me."

Arthur smiled as he teased, "Well, I'm not."

She knew him too well and crossed her arms and asked, "And, why not?"

"Because my, dear Muyami, I don't have a very good picture of you."

"Turo," she corrected, "I've sent you hundreds of pictures through the years."

He picked up her left hand with his right hand and held it a few brief seconds. As he looked into those dark eyes of hers he said, "Those are pictures of an adolescent. I want a picture of this lovely young lady I have the privilege of escorting around town this morning."

Her dark Filipino skin reddened as she dropped her eyes to ask the obvious question, "But Arthur, are you sure you're not...."

"On the rebound?" he finished for her.

As she squeezed his hand in hope she continued, "Well, it seems that you and Marci just broke up. And now it seems like..."

"There might have never been anything between us at all," Arthur answered. "It all might have just been my imagination. She never said she loved me. I never asked her. I've been her best friend and comforter since her granny died. Now it looks like she has possibly walked into the next chapter of her life. And, besides, I have always told you that you were beautiful, that you were sweet, that you were special. Tell me what I just said or did that has been different from the past. YOU are the one that's different. You are sensing things from the young lady point of view and not the little girl point of view."

Arthur's eyes got wide as he mouthed to her, "Your brother is at the door." He got up and quietly walked around to be behind the door when it opened. He motioned for her to get to the other side of the room and act like they were smooching. She stepped over to where she would be the first thing her brother saw when he came through the door. "Oh, Turo, please, please, I need you more than ever....."

Riz burst through the door and yelled, "Aha!"

Arthur stepped from behind the door and yelled, "Good morning!"

It scared Riz so bad that he stepped backwards and almost fell back down the stairs. As he grabbed his chest and laughed he complained, "Darn it. I can never sneak up on you."

Arthur escorted Mayumi outside and admitted, "There's nothing you have come up with so far that neither me nor my great-grandfather hasn't done. When you think of something new, you'll probably get me."

"Why don't I just give up and save myself years of trouble, then."

"It's up to you, little brother." As they walked into the kitchen, Arthur wondered just how far on the rebound he was. How right was Mayumi to be skeptical of his comments? It was hard for him to sort it out himself. He had grown up with both girls, uh....young ladies and was pretty well attached to both. Yes, Marci seemed like she was launching out in a direction of her own that very well could be God's plan for her.

He had to settle that question in his heart once and for all. He resolved not to pout over the past. From now on, he was going to enjoy being with the friends that God had placed him with and seek Him for guidance into his unknown future.

***************

Matt slung his sparring partner face forward into the turnbuckles of the ring. Before his opponent had time to recover, he raced toward him and placed a well-timed kick between his shoulder blades. The helpless opponent fell gasping for breath as trainers ran over to help him. Matt wearily walked over to his corner, threw his arms over the ring ropes and rested his head on the turnbuckle while trying to catch his breath himself. It was a hard fight. His sparring partner almost got the best of him, but the foot to the back had stopped him just like it had done the last three sparring opponents. Down inside, Matt hoped he had taken enough off of the kick to keep from cracking the guy's vertebra. They said the last guy might not regain use of his right arm. Matt was having a rough time dealing with that.

***************

While they were eating breakfast, Diego outlined their plans for the day. He was going to meet with the other three martial arts studios that would be involved in the tournament. Each studio would send two trainees. The tournament would be single elimination. Each contestant was allowed only one loss. Tomorrow there would be four matches, two in the morning and two in the afternoon. The next day, the four winners would face off, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The two final contestants would meet the third day at noon to determine the winner of the tournament.

Diego didn't schedule any sparring for Arthur. He wanted him to rest. That gave the gang plenty of time to take a lot of pictures of Arthur and whomever, mostly Mayumi. Hopefully, when Arthur, Pedro, Diego and company went up to the mountain village to check on them, Mayumi could send a couple of pictures at a time and describe the activities to Marci and Olivia. If the terrorists were intercepting their e-mails, the hope was that it would throw them off as to his whereabouts. Of course to make the ruse more effective, they each took five different colored shirts along.

The morning was spent goofing off around the house. They took pictures of Arthur and everybody doing the stuff you would normally think guys, and a gal, would be doing. They got shots of everybody playing basketball, chess, pool, and of course, riding the bikes.

Around 11 a.m., Diego called them inside for an early lunch before sending them into the city of Manila with orders to take about two months of pictures in one afternoon. As the youngsters began clambering into Diego's van, Terri Givens was watching from her living room window. She called to her husband, "Steve, if you're going to take that banana pudding over to Diego, you'd better hurry. They're all outside at the moment."

"OK," Steve replied. He had just taken two steaks off the grill and he gingerly put them onto two awaiting plates on the patio table. He quickly turned the grill off and stepped into the kitchen and got out the banana pudding he had made the night before. "Boy, howdy, that sure looks good." He stepped to the front door and opened it just in time to see the van coming out of the driveway. With an overblown wave of his hand, he tried to show the van load of hooligans the present he had for them. In their haste to get away from the house, they just thought he was waiving 'goodbye' to them. So they blew the horn and went on.

He looked toward their house and Diego and his wife were still on the front steps watching the kids drive off. He whistled and got Diego's attention. "Diego," he yelled, "meet me half-way. I've got a present for you."

When Diego turned around, he saw Steve waving the banana pudding in the air. "Bless his heart, liver and soul," he said as he rubbed his hands together. "My good neighbor, Steve, has made another banana pudding for us. And, the guys just passed him as he was bringing it to us. God has smiled upon us again, my Dear." He leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek. "I'll be right back."

"And I'll get out the bowls," she added. "If we're going to have any of it at all, we'd better get some of it now while those vultures are gone."

As the neighbors walked toward each other, Diego called to him, "Steve, you are the best neighbor in this hood, man."

"Flattery will get you everywhere, my brother," he shot back. As they got closer, he continued in a lower tone of voice, "This one has got a little surprise in the middle."

"Oh?"

"Yes, sir," Steve said as he placed the dish in Diego's waiting hands. "There's a dvd wrapped in a sandwich Ziploc baggie in the middle of it. I set up my own surveillance camera and got some great stills and videos of the vacant house next door that seems to be being renovated. You need to see this."

Diego was about to question Steve, when they heard Terri yelling at their dog, "Emma! Emma! Stop that! Don't you......."

Steve watched in disbelief as Terri's cute little beagle headed towards the woods with a juicy steak flopping in her mouth. Steve hung his head and sighed. After ten agonizing seconds of silence, he finally asked in flat even tones, "Diego, do you happen to have an extra bowl at your house and would you mind inviting me over?"

Diego chuckled within himself and said, "Sure I do, my friend. C'mon, let's share some while the kids aren't here to hog it all. That way we can discuss the prize in the middle."

Steve walked with Diego to his house without looking back while Terri looked on and just giggled.

# Chapter Sixteen

The tournament was held in one of the local boxing arenas. It was neutral territory for all of the contestants and it had a big enough seating capacity for all who wanted to watch. All in all about five hundred people showed up. That was enough to fill about half of the arena. A few newspaper reporters were there, of course. The martial arts studio that Pedro and Diego supposed was a terrorist plant had insisted that no cameras be allowed inside. Since it was not an officially sanctioned tournament, they agreed. The fact that the question was asked, only solidified their suspicions about them.

Arthur didn't have much trouble dispatching his opponent. It was mostly a dress rehearsal for a future bout, hopefully against an opponent from the suspected terrorist camp. He took his time and favored his left shoulder like he had practiced. Knowing that his every move was being scrutinized, he purposely dropped his guard and never even hinted at his strongest offensive moves. This was, also, a good time to test his stamina. He had to be prepared for anything.

As he shuffled around the ring, he couldn't help but notice three guys sitting together on the front row. Each of them had a pad of paper and a pencil in their hands. They wore 'Press' badges on them but none of them looked like they worked for any newspaper. Rather, they were all built for fighting. Of course, Arthur couldn't complain. He knew his uncle Pedro had a video camera imbedded in the top of the fake ball point pen he kept stuck underneath his arm. Everywhere he faced was being recorded.....somewhere.

The next day proved to be noticeably harder. Arthur was hard pressed not to use the full strength of his left arm. Several times he backed pedaled away from his opponent and rubbed his shoulder to add validity to the claim that it had been dislocated. He would need every edge he could possibly get ahold of to defeat his opponent in the final match. After thirty five agonizing minutes, Arthur finally got him in a submission hold to win the match. As he stepped out of the ring, Diego brought out a bag of ice and secured it to his shoulder with an Ace bandage before journeying to the dressing room.

As they sat in the dressing room, they were able to watch the last match of the day on the monitor. Pedro had found out that the terrorists' contestant's name was Matt. The rumor around town was that he was a disgruntled ex-GI who was hell-bent on taking apart the U.S. one person at a time if he had to. Arthur had to admit, he did have the look of an ex-GI. He wore his hair in the short-cropped style of the Marines. His stocky frame belied the quickness of his moves. Every move he made was well-timed and seemed to be part of a script that his opponent was an unwilling part of.

Arthur's stomach knotted as he watched his next opponent in action for the first time. As Matt wore the guy down, he began to stalk him as if he was just waiting for the coup de grace. At precisely fifteen minutes into the match, he found the opening he had been waiting for. He flung the unwilling warrior into the turnbuckle and planted the match winning kick directly in the middle of his shoulder blades. As his trainers rushed into the ring and stopped the fight, they were hard pressed to get their man to breathing correctly. He could hardly catch his breath and was totally unable to communicate. Hurriedly, they called for an ambulance to take him to the hospital for observation.

Matt left the ring without the usual show of bravado. His trainers followed him as he went toward his dressing room. His was two doors past Arthur's and he had intended on stopping by just to intimidate him a little. However, Arthur was face down on the massage table and he could be heard groaning loudly as Diego was working on his left shoulder. Matt just shook his head, smiled and walked on by.

The next day at noon, Arthur felt he was as fit as he was going to be. If he lost this match it wouldn't be the end of his life. Matt was a worthy and almost vicious opponent. His stare was enough to unnerve you. Of course, Arthur knew full well that the stare was meant to unnerve so he was prepared not to be bothered.

He would concentrate on the 'tells' that he had seen Matt show. There were certain nods of his head and flinches the precluded certain moves. Through their stolen video, Pedro was able to document several series of moves that Matt made over and over again.

Earlier that morning Diego and Arthur walked through those moves and developed some counter moves. The only thing that Arthur wasn't sure about was how long he could keep up his ruse about his left shoulder. If the match got too heavy for him he would have to let out all stops, which included the use of his left arm.

As the match began, both fighters began feeling out each other. How quick were each other's reactions? Arthur figured that Matt's trainers had videoed him, too. More than likely, the three press pretend guys had written down what they had seen. Either way, Matt, just like Arthur was able to tell that secrets were out.

After three minutes, Matt scored a vicious take down that let Arthur know that play time was over. Arthur knew by Matt's 'tells' that he was beginning to go into his routine. For the most part he played the script as if he was an unwilling participant. He acted like he was winded and began to gasp for breath. He let his mouth hang open instead of forcing himself to breath out of his nose. Finally, he let his arm hang down as if it hurt too much to lift it. He let Matt herd him into position. Just like he had done the day before, Matt took the bait and grabbed Arthur's left arm and swung him into the turnbuckle.

Arthur knew what was coming and made up his mind to squat down and do a reverse summersault and hopefully land behind or on top of Matt. However, as he jumped back up, Matt's kick landed on his left shoulder. As Arthur sprung up, it threw an already overbalanced Matt face first onto the canvas. Arthur was able to recover his aborted attempt at a reverse summersault and land on his feet.

When he looked around at Matt, his trainers had already crawled through the bottom ring ropes. Matt was almost motionless except for his heavy breathing. As they turned him over on his back, it was plain to see that he had landed squarely on the left side of his face. It had already started swelling and he was bleeding at the corner of his left eye and his nose. His eyes were glassy but were darting back and forth. His right arm and right leg were twitching a bit.

Arthur's hand was raised in victory and Diego's studio was declared the winner of the tournament. There was applause and many words of congratulations as he tried to make his way back to his dressing room. Once there, Pedro threw his clothes to him and barked, "No time for a shower. Let's get back to the house to make sure everyone is OK. If I know these guys correctly, they will be quick about planning some retaliation."

Meanwhile, back in his dressing room, Matt was just beginning to gain his senses. As one of the trainers held an ice pack to the side of his face, he looked at Yasser and said, "Tell the Lord that I would like to have the honor of killing Arthur, TONIGHT. Just get me a gun and he will no longer be a threat to anybody's plans. Get me a camcorder and I will film the whole thing. I know I'll want to watch it again and again myself."

Yasser nodded as he spoke, "Your desire sounds like a good one. I believe the Lord will be pleased with your voluntary service." He left to make a phone call.

As Diego sped towards home as fast as he dared to, Pedro called the house and told them what had happened. When he finished the conversation and hung up the phone, Diego handed him his cell phone. "Dad, look through my contacts and find Steve's number," he said. "He's a retired Navy guy who lives next to the house the terrorists are renovating. He's got some surveillance gear pointed at the house and might be able to pick up some info for us."

When they got to Diego's house, everyone was dressed up except the three guys. Maria herded them to showers that had already been prepared for them all the way down to the clothes they were to wear. She had declared that they all would have a big feast together to celebrate Arthur's victory. Juanita, Pedro's wife had already picked out one of everybody's favorite restaurants and was busy reserving a table for them all.

And, what an evening it was, too. After a fantastic dinner, they all made their way to the Manila Ocean Park where they spent the rest of the daylight hours. After watching the sun drop over the mountains, they stopped by their favorite ice cream parlor and pigged out. On the way home, everybody got a little quieter than normal.

Tomorrow would be spent getting ready for a trip into the mountains. Getting ready for a martial arts tournament was rough enough. However, no one knew exactly how to prepare for...something unknown. How much food do you take? How many and what kind of weapons do you take? How long will you be gone? Will you ever come back? They had more questions than they had answers.

They pulled into the driveway at 9:10 p.m. Arthur was totally exhausted after the entire day's events so he gave his hugs and goodnights in the driveway and walked around to his home away from home to settle down for the evening. Wearily he unlocked the door and walked into the dark room. He reached up to find the string that turned on the overhead light. As he searched for it, he wondered what that blue light was on the shelf across the room. He didn't remember any clock of any sort being on that shelf, just books. When he flipped the light on he felt a sting in his butt and heard the door slam.

He turned around and saw the bruised face of Matt as he laughed and held up a hypodermic needle in his face. "Good night, pretty boy, for good," he growled.

Arthur tried to cry out for help but the fast acting serum immobilized him. He sank to the floor as Matt pulled out the 9mm from the back of his belt. He stepped over to the bed, jerked off a pillow and held the gun and the pillow up to the camera. "Nice and quiet like, Master Arthur. And you'll find this quite painless, seeing you can't feel a thing anyway. And, you won't be thrashing about and making more noise than you should."

He knelt down, placed the pillow and pulled the trigger. With a satisfied grin on his face, he held up the bloody remnants of the pillow for the camera to see. Every bit of the scenario had been broadcast to a remote part of the jungle where the one that called himself Jah Shaphatga'el was eagerly watching.

Their revelry was short lived as Matt heard a voice from outside. "Dad, I heard a gunshot coming from Arthur's room." A door opened and shut as an astonished Matt grabbed the camera and ran out of the room. He headed in the direction of the renovated house on the corner. Before he got half-way across the yard, a shot rang out and he stumbled to a halt. Diego and Pedro ran to him. Several lights in the neighborhood came on. People began pouring out of their houses, including the one at the corner.

Mayumi bolted out of the house and was the first to enter Arthur's room. With a scream that woke up the rest of the neighborhood, she yelled his name over and over as she sobbed uncontrollably. Her brothers, too, broke into tears as they first tried to pull her away from the scene but realized they could only try to console her. It was more than they could handle.

As a horrified crowd gathered, Pedro and Diego stood guard over Matt's body. Diego and his father were both armed. Diego warned in a wavering voice, "Everybody stay away. This is a crime scene. The police have been called and they will investigate fully. Until then, I will politely ask you to stay off of my property."

One of the turbaned ones stepped forward and offered, "I am a doctor, and perhaps I could be of some service to the young man."

Pedro leveled his M9 at him and responded as he wiped his eyes with his handkerchief, "I've spent 40 years in the United States Marines and I know a dead man when I see one. And, I'll be looking at another one if you dare step on my property before the police get here."

Steve and Terri held onto each other as they tried to comprehend what had just happened. It seemed totally foreign to them that the guy they had watched for six summers could have just been taken from this life. Steve called over to Diego, "Hey, Diego, would it do any good for us to go over and try to calm Mayumi down?"

Mayumi's screams and sobs of anguish had never subsided and it had a wearing effect on her father. Diego's voice softened immensely as he answered, "Knowing my daughter as I do and the way she loved her Turo, I would say that nothing short of a sedative shot from the EMT's could help her right now. But, thanks anyway, my brother."

Everyone heard the sirens and saw the lights as three police vehicles and two emergency vehicles sped their way down the cul-de-sac. They all backed way off the road to give them free access to the area. The first police car slid to a stop at the very end just past Diego's driveway. Three men in blue rushed out to insure that the crowd was far enough away from the house for the emergency vehicles to enter. The other two patrol cars drove on to the property and turned in a manner so that their lights shone on Matt's body.

The policemen got out and approached Diego and Pedro. The two gentlemen surrendered their weapons and pulled their gun permits out of their wallets. As the policemen took the permits and weapons, Diego and Pedro walked over to the emergency vehicle that was backing toward the room addition.

A tearful Pedro turned to the crowd, waved and said, "Thank you so very much." Many waved back and called out words of comfort and prayers.

As the rear lights of the emergency vehicle shone on the room, everyone standing at the corner of their property had a clear view of what was going on. However, no one was prepared for what happened next.

As Mayumi's dad stepped into the room followed by the two EMT's, Mayumi stopped her sobbing. Her dad spoke to her. She screamed louder than before, "No! No, you can't take my Turo. Don't take him from me. Don't take him from me."

They could hear her father and mother trying to talk to her and then the sound of scuffling feet as she screamed, "No, you can't take him. You can't take my Turo. Daddy ple-e-e-a-se, ple-e-e-a-se."

Diego and one of the EMT's were physically pulling a totally out of control Mayumi from the room. Even from as far away as the road, the glare of the lights showed everyone that the front of her clothes and one side of her face were covered in blood.

Once out of the room the EMT that was holding on to her nodded his head at the other one. The other one pulled a hypodermic needle from his bag and headed her way. Before he got there she screamed one last time and then passed out. Nervously her mother and brothers gathered her up and hustled her into the house to tend to her. They were followed quickly by one of the EMT's.

The police took photos of both crime scenes. The bodies were bagged up and carried away in speeding vehicles. Pedro and Diego went with the police to fill out all the mounds of paper work that was bound to be necessary. They left behind two patrolmen to guard the crime scene until the next morning.

In Elmhurst, Georgia, two security vehicles pulled into the driveway at the Hollis residence and whisked his parents and sister away. But, nobody read about it in the papers and it never made it to the TV stations. Certain groups in the Philippines had stopped every piece of information that had tried to get out.

# Chapter Seventeen

The Campus Café, for lack of a better name, was due to open at 6 p.m. The ladies had the place tidy and everything in the kitchen was prepped and ready for the first order. This was their second full week in business. The waitresses had their little spiels memorized and Fred had meticulously organized the kitchen.

Sheila had bought this book about upselling and had quite a line-up of things to say to the customers tonight. Roberta, on the other hand loved to talk and carry on with the customers. Fred called it 'flirting.' Roberta declared it to be her own brand of 'up-selling'. Whatever you call it, the customers almost automatically added stuff to their orders.

It was now 5:30. In essence, they had 25 minutes of free time. Everybody got their laptops and picked a table. They had 25 big ones to get some last minute texting done. Of course, it was always Roberta that laughed and giggled as she typed. No one even dared to look over her shoulder.

Marci turned hers on and pulled up Facebook. She had no messages from Arthur so she 'searched' for him to see if he had put something up that she missed. There was nothing there, either. She stared at her main page for a moment almost as if she was trying to wish a message to appear. The more she thought about what she had said to him in the park that day, the more she wished she hadn't said it.

The trip to Elmhurst and the introduction of Brian to Arthur's parents was probably a bit unsettling, too. Her last hurried and feeble text to him wound up being a lot colder than she would have liked it to be. But, she had never been faced with that kind of situation before. She wished she had the opportunity to do it over.

Things with Brian were heating up a bit. He had started holding her hand as they walked. Although she knew that was not the real makings of a torrid love affair, she felt like he was sending her a message. He kept talking about moving to D.C. and her moving to Maryland. He talked about it as if it were a done deal. Marci had never been around anyone like that. He would begin talking about it and it all made such good sense that she didn't have much of a way to tell him 'No.' It all seemed to fit into the overall scheme of things that she had felt that God had wanted her to do. No, she didn't feel like God was telling her TO do it but she didn't feel like He was tell her NOT to do it either.

Then it happened. In the top left hand corner a little red dot appeared showing that she had a friend request. She clicked on it to see who it was. For a few moments, she just stared at the face of one of the cutest, freckle-faced little boys she had ever seen. He had a big smile and, of course, his two front teeth were missing. Suddenly, her smile vanished and she sat up real straight as she read the question under his picture, "Are you my sister?"

Bert caught the uncharacteristic move of her prayer partner out of the corner of her eyes. She saw the most confused look on her face. She also saw a tiny bit of....fear? "What is it, Marci? Bad news from Arthur?" she asked loud enough to where she got everyone else's attention. As she got out of her chair and came over to her, Fred and Sheila slid out of their booth and met her behind Marci.

Marci just looked at them with queerest look before she began to giggle. She explained as she pointed to her laptop, "He asked me if I was his sister."

That statement made them quicken their steps until they swarmed behind her in a flash. Sheila was the first to comment, "A-w-w-w, he is a darling, Marci. Is he your brother, for real?"

Bert followed, "If you don't want him, then I'll take him for a brother. Look at that smile. Shoot, if he was just somewhere between eighteen and twenty-two, I'd marry him if he would just smile that way at me every day."

Fred commented rather dryly, "You mean sixteen to thirty-five, don't ya Bert?"

The two looked at each other. Bert started to say something but they both broke out into laughter.

Fred leaned in just a bit and asked, "His name is Dennis Barton. I thought your last name was Hensley?"

"My mother and my biological father never married," she answered as she stared at the picture. "He was too busy trying to make it on the racing circuit. He never seemed to have what it took. Mom waited for him for three years, then gave up and married my step-father."

Fred apologized, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

Marci shrugged her shoulders and said, "Stuff is stuff, Fred. Everybody has to face stuff sometime."

Sheila offered, "Go ahead and accept him as a friend and let's see."

Marci looked at her and then at Bert and Fred. They were all standing around like vultures over carrion waiting for her to hit the 'accept' button.

Fred stated, "You can always unfriend him if you want."

"Yeah, right after you tell him that I'm his REAL sister," Bert added with a snicker.

"He is cute, isn't he," Marci said with a bit of a smile. "In a way, I kinda hope that he is." She accepted his friend request with the message, 'If your father's first name is Sanders we might be.'

They all watched the screen for a moment. Marci got up and said, "Well, maybe and maybe not. I've got to count the register. I think I'll leave the laptop open for a while just in case."

The others straggled back to their laptops and finished what they were doing. The café was opening in five minutes and there were people already standing at the door and taunting the girls. Amidst all of the clamor, they heard a solid knock on the door and a familiar voice say, "Ladies, you have only three minutes left before me and this thronging hoard will come bursting through."

Sheila loudly whispered, "It's Mrs. Piatrowski." She and the girls scrambled to get their stuff put away and the café ready for business.

As Bert stepped over to get Marci's laptop she noticed the red dot that meant someone had answered her comment. "Hey, Marci, you got a reply."

Marci looked up from counting and said, "Read it to me, Bert."

Bert clicked on the dot and read a little bit. She began, "Wow, look at this book that little guy wrote." She paused and continued in a little more subdued tone, "Uh, that's not him typing, Marci." She picked up the laptop and walked past Marci and sat the laptop down on the desk in the office. When she came back out, she gently grabbed Marci's arm.

With a quiver in her voice she whispered to her, "You grandmother is doing the typing now and you need to get in that room and read it." As a tear trickled down her cheek she finished, "And stay in there until you're ready to come out. No matter how long it takes. We'll cover for you. If we get swamped, I'll get Mrs. P to help. She'll understand."

Marci was taken aback by Roberta's boldness. She had never talked to anyone as seriously as she just spoke. She could tell by the look in her eyes that it was something serious. As she tried to scan Bert's face for some hint for her actions, Marci replied, "OK, Bert. Let them in. But, tell her just as soon as she gets in, OK?"

"Got it."

Marci was more than anxious to read the comment. She was surprised when it started out:

"Hi, Marci, this is your grandmother, Annette Barton. I am so sorry to have to meet you under these circumstances. I had always hoped that we could have gotten together years before this, but I just did not know how we would be received. I'm afraid I have a little bad news. Your father got killed in a racing accident two weeks ago. I know that you're not that much attached to him and he's never been around for you and all that. But, Dennis is having a hard time, right now. We've had to put his mother in the hospital. I can't tell you why at the moment. He's been with me since his father died. He wanted to play on the computer so I set him up a Facebook page and you can guess the rest. He's reaching out right now trying to cope with things that a little boy has no business coping with. But, if you would be so kind as to spend some time with him on Facebook, maybe he'll be able to get along a little better. I don't blame you if you're too busy or if you feel like you shouldn't. I hope and pray for the best for you and yours. Love, Grandma Annette."

Marci didn't know what to think. She never was around her dad at all. Since he has passed from this life, there's nothing she could do for him, anyway. But, all of a sudden she has a grandmother again. Then, it hit her like a ton of bricks. The words echoed through her soul like a shout in a five mile long cave. She had a brother. Not only that, but she had a brother who was hurting.

She was overwhelmed with feelings that she had never experienced. It was hard for her to explain, but all she wanted to do was to hold that little fellow in her arms and love him until he quit hurting, and the sooner the better. Hurriedly, she typed her phone number in the comment box and wrote, 'Call me now.'

With trembling hands she pulled out her phone and just looked at it. As she waited for the call she hoped would be coming momentarily, Mrs. Piatrowski opened the door to the office and peeked in. Marci looked up with tear-filled eyes, lifted the phone up and hoarsely uttered, "Mrs. P, I have a little brother....and...a grandmother...and she might call..."

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out. Mrs. Piatrowski stopped her, "You take as much time as you need young lady, I used to sling hash at a local diner to work my way through college. And, I think I'm gonna have me some fun waitressing these young studs coming in. You do Mrs. P a favor and take a-l-l-l the time you need."

She stepped back out into the kitchen and shut the door. She stood still for a moment as she realized what she just said. "I know I love that gal a lot," she admitted to herself, "but did I have to lie to her like that? Oh, well, a little OJT never hurt anyone, especially me."

As she stepped into the dining room she said to Bert, "She's gonna be busy for a while so give me a crash course on your menu."

Bert looked wide-eyed at her for a moment, and then picked up a single sheet of laminated plastic. With a crooked little smile she told her, "Here ya go. We only have ten items to choose from and they are all described on the menu. If some smarty pants asks you, what's on one of the burgers, just pop back at them, 'Whatsa matter college student, cantcha read?' They'll laugh and you'll laugh and then you just take you pencil out and point to each item and read it to them. They'll catch on."

Mrs. Piatrowski looked at her real slyly as she asked, "Are they really that way or are they just fooling around to get on your good side."

Sheila offered, "Why don't you find out for yourself? Ben and Tommy just sat down at the corner table and haven't been waited on. So far, they've been the biggest flirts. Why don't you go have some fun with them and give them back some of their guff?"

Mrs. P picked up a pencil and an order pad and smiled. As she tapped Sheila on the shoulder with the pad she bantered, "Sheila Walker, I like you more and more as the seconds pass. Let me at those heathens and see if I can handle them."

As she stepped toward the far corner of the room, she called out loud enough for everyone to hear, "Benny and Tommy, guess who gets to be your waitress for tonight?"

Ben eyes opened wide as he saw her approach, "Mrs. P, I didn't know you worked here, too."

As she sashayed up to their table with a gigantic smile she said, "I don't, but I am in charge of making sure that everything goes well here in the new Campus Café. So, tell me gents, how goes it here? How do you like the place?"

Tommy joined in, "We love it. They've got some neat stuff on the menu and the prices are real good, too."

"Oh, really" she asked in real coy voice. "What seems to be your favorite?"

"Mine?" Tommy asked. "That's easy, the tick burger. They take the French fries and stick them into the burger somehow. And, the girls were telling me this little girl from Marci's home town asks for a lot of ketchup on the inside, too. That way when she bites off a French fry it looks like it's bleeding. Yeah, sounds gross I know but it sure is delicious."

She played dumb and innocent and she started writing on the pad, "That's all I have to write is tick burger?"

Tommy took the bait, "Yeah, let me show you," he said as he took the pad from her and wrote down what he wanted. He showed it to her and continued, "See, put down tick burger, one s s, and Coke."

Although Marci had gone over everything on the menu with her several times, Mrs. P just could not help playing dumb. She took a menu from Tommy's hands and asked, "What's an s s?"

"That's a squirt of sweet and sour sauce," he answered. "It gives the burger a real neat flavor."

"Oh."

It was Ben's turn. He took the pad from Tommy and said, "I'll write mine out for you, Mrs. P." He scribbled his order and handed the pad back to her with a grin."

She read it, put her hand on her hip, screwed up her face, turned to the girls and said above the noise of the café, "Hey, nobody told me y'all were going to sell tamales."

Ben quickly grabbed her arm to get her attention, "Oh, no. That's just the name of it. It's a hot tamale burger."

Mrs. P did a wonderful job of playing little miss innocent. She read Ben's scribbling loud enough for everyone to hear, "Hot tamale burger, fries, Dr. Pepper, two s h? S h?"

"Yeah," Ben answered with a big smile. "The hot tamale burger has pepper jack cheese and four sliced jalapeno peppers inside it."

"Two s h?"

"Oh, yeah," he continued, "that's for two shots of hot sauce stuff whatever."

Mrs. P took another look at what the guys had written on the pad as if she didn't understand it and left with an, "OK, gents."

On the way to the kitchen, Leo Schwartz leaned back in his chair and drawled, "You can take my order if you want to. I've made up my mind, Mrs. P."

"Sure, Leo, what'll you have?" she asked as she flipped to the next page in her pad.

In his slow and southern accent he ordered, "Just write these words down." It seemed like the guys were having a great time trying to confuse her and she was playing it for all it was worth. He ordered, "Triple Mr. Dunavant, pepper jack, hot." He folded his arms, leaned on the table and chuckled at his order.

She played dumb and acted like she was scouring the menu for a 'Mr. Dunavant burger.'

Leo drawled again, "That's the 'You Name It burger.' It's a sandwich with three slices of bologna with pepper jack cheese between them and heated in the microwave."

She looked at him with a surprised look on her face and asked, "Bologna? Mr. Dunavant? You Name It burger? I get it now. He must have done something to ya', huh?"

"I guess you could say that. He said, in class, in front of everybody that if I operated on my patients like I talked, half of them wouldn't make it through the operation. Then he said that it's a good thing that I'm not a brain surgeon," he finished with a laugh. He did admit, "I know I talk slow but he didn't have to make fun of me in front of the whole class. I guess ordering a bologna sandwich with his name on it in front of a crowded café is kinda like payback."

There was a lot of giggling and chuckling going on as everyone listened while Leo talked. You would have to be a terribly evil person to dislike Leo. That southern drawl of his always brought at least a smile from those who listened to him. He had light blonde hair, dark blue eyes and many of the young ladies were fascinated with his gentlemanly manners and sweet southern ways.

But what brought the group to tears of laughter was his final statement. He leaned back in his chair once more, pointed his boney finger at Mrs. Piatrowski and declared, "And, you can tell him I said so, too, if'n you want to."

Mrs. P waited for everyone to calm down before she announced, "The unwritten rule for this café is just like they say about Las Vegas. What's said in the cafe stays in the café. As a matter fact, as the official guardian of this place, I'm going to do some official guardian stuff. I'll make a three foot by five foot banner with those very words on it and have it up on the wall. How about it?"

As the crowd applauded their appreciation, she walked toward Sheila and Bert with a 'how about that' look on her face. The ladies put their hands together, held them under their chins and bowed as they declared in unison, "Unworthy, we are unworthy."

Marci came out of the door with a big smile on her face. Before anyone can ask anything, she announced, "This Saturday, my grandmother and baby brother are going to come to see me."

That is, if she was still around on Saturday. Tomorrow evening she had an appointment to be at Dan and Monique's house.

# Chapter Eighteen

In thirty minutes the trucks would be pulling around to take them to the practice site again. They had made it through two weeks of training and Sgt. Givens. The borderline harassment was taking its toll on both of them. So far, Taylor had lasted longer than what Sgt. Givens had predicted. He picked on her more than he did the others. Some thought it might be because of the wiseacre way she greeted him. Ramon had shoved some of it his way, too. But, there was just something about the way that he talked to her that let everybody know that he was bound and determined to make her crack.

If Sgt. Givens was beginning to take his toll on her, she never showed it. She faced his jabs with a calm and somewhat icy gaze. It was like she was telling him that his day was coming and that she would be the one standing over him. Lately, she would just fold her arms, place her feet shoulder length apart and look at him with a soft little smile.

Some of the guys seemed to think that she was doing it just to get under his skin. Ramon thought differently. He knew her better than anybody. She was fixing to knock the thunder out of him. That little smile was her playing that picture over and over and over in her mind until she was convinced that she would do it. She would wind up with a dishonorable discharge and some jail time but she figured that it would be worth it.

However, today, she threw Ramon a big curve. They were the last ones to start their way to the pickup point when she asked him, "Ramon, have you had any of those gooshy feelings yet?"

"Gooshy?"

"You know, like the kind Tom said he always got when God pointed someone out to him that He wanted him to work with. Lead them to the Lord kind of thing."

"Uh.....now that you mention it, no."

"I just thought that when you and Rosie started talking every night last week, that maybe she was the one you needed to be talking to or something."

"Not to my knowledge. I was able to give her some advice and pray with her but there wasn't one of those strong urgings."

"I'm just trying to check up on myself. As hard as I try to listen, I don't feel like talking to anyone about their soul. Is that bad?"

"Is your heart and mind set on this sniping business?"

"Practically 24/7. I do feel that the Lord has me focused on it."

"Me, too. Only thing I figure is that we ought to keep doing what we're doing until we know that He's telling us to do something otherwise."

"You don't feel that you were supposed to talk to Rosie?"

"Well, she asked me for some advice about her relationship with her fiancé back home but I can't say that I had an unction from the Holy Spirit about it or anything. I gave her Biblical advice, some personal observations, shared stuff that Tom taught and we had prayer and that was it."

They shrugged their shoulders, and got in line behind Duke. As he stood there fumbling with his bags, Taylor just couldn't help but remark, "Duke, what's taking you so long? Benita told me you were fast, or something like that. Isn't that what you said, Benita?"

"Almost got it right," she quipped right along with Taylor. "But, you know me. I was just repeating the gossip I heard from Sandusky about him. Just what did you mean, Mr. Sandy Wandy?"

Mowzzer got in, "Sandy Wandy? There hasn't been any hanky panky have we now?"

Sandusky shot back with a straight face, "We? Not since WE broke up two months ago. And, I mean it this time stud."

And the conversation degenerated from there. And all Taylor did was make one smart remark to the right person in the right company. She was tops at doing it, always had been. She and Ramon just sat back and let the conversation take its course and laugh at what was happening. They didn't have to say another word.

The conversation finally turned to the sniper site. Everybody knew that there had been a couple of squads from Kirtland Air Force Base out at the site on the weekend. Their time was spent reworking the site to Sgt. Givens specifications. He had told them last Friday that they were going to enter into a new phase of training in an effort to bring them up to speed on the way the enemy had changed their tactics in the past few months.

He met them at the site with ten other non-coms walking around and talking. As the trucks ground to a halt everyone began to bail out and step into a loose formation. The non-coms stepped behind Sgt. Givens. As he was about to speak, a jeep made its way to the edge of the area. Sgt. Bennett and Sgt. Lem got out, walked over to the two story observation shed and sat down at the picnic tables in the shade.

Sgt. Givens acknowledged them with a nod of the head as he spoke, "Alright, I told you that you would have a new area to learn in and you do. Some of you will be able to tell the difference and some of you won't. The most visible difference from the last two weeks is in the area that you will be shooting from. We have tried our best to make little cubicles for each team to stay in and shoot from. These areas are made to resemble the terrain of Afghanistan. As you can see they are spread about fifty yards apart.

"Here's what we're going to do. We have five teams. I am going to assign two non-coms to each shooting area. One will be standing on a box behind you with a pair of binoculars to check your hits. The other one has one command for you and that is 'Go.' When the team to the right of you has made its shot and left its area and you have made your shot, you will be commanded to go. You will gather your equipment ONLY after he tells you to and not before. Get your equipment and run to the next shooting area to your right, set up, follow procedures and shoot. Then, again, wait for the order to go. When you get to the shooting area that is all the way to your right and you hear your command to go, you are to run to the shooting area all the way to your left, set up, follow procedures and shoot. You will do that until you hear that ungodly foghorn blow. Do you understand?"

There was a loud "Yes, sir." from the group.

"You've drawn numbers for your positions. You know where to go. Get there and get set up. When I see five spotters' hands, I'll give a command over the loudspeakers to begin the exercise."

He turned to the non-coms and told them, "Y'all go with them and get ready. Make sure you recognize each team, each shooter, what they hit and what they don't hit. I'm not that rough on exact procedure, I want to drill speed and site comprehension in these guys. Got it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Get going then. We'll have a break when the coffee wagon gets here."

Everybody went to their assigned posts. Taylor and Ramon picked position three and hurried to the site and got ready. When everybody was ready, Sgt. Givens gave the command over the loudspeaker. Within seconds, weapons were firing and teams were scrambling.

After Taylor's shot was fired, they heard their man say, "Go." Even though Taylor was to his left and they had to run right, she almost ran over him getting to the next shooting area. As she set up for her shot, she cracked at him, "Hey, Goober, can't you run any faster than that?"

"You just can't lose can you? From the big rock in the middle, three feet left, black turban under the overhang."

"Like I always said, second place is really first last place. I am looking from the big rock in the middle, three fee left, black turban under the overhang. I have the target in sight."

"Take it."

Her shot hit the metal stand the turban was affixed to and it let the non-com know that it was a clean hit. They snugged their equipment in their arms and at the word 'Go' they sprinted the fifty yards to the shooting area farthest to the right. They were faster this time as their old football teamwork began to help them anticipate each other's moves. They got a clean shot and were given the command to go.

This time it was more like a two hundred and fifty yard sprint to their left. As they began to set up, Ramon spoke up, "Taylor on the way here, I began to get an alarm going off inside me."

"Oh, yeah, what kind of alarm?"

"Like I used to get in Mexico City when I instinctively knew something was going wrong. That was why the gangs like to have me around. I could smell out trouble. When we got here I got it real heavy. I need to......wait. That's it over there. I bet this is what they've been waiting for someone to find."

"What, where?" Taylor asked as she snuggled herself into a comfortable position.

Without saying anything, he made the sign of the cross on her right shoulder with the cross piece being along her collar bone. This made four quadrants. He put his finger in the center of the cross, and started to describe the mark.

Taylor had him in the sights already and said, "White bobbing up and down."

Ramon tapped the center of the cross three times to indicate 'yes.' He carefully placed a finger in the northwest quadrant a bit higher than the center one, and a finger in the northeast quadrant but a good bit higher. "Different colored rocks. Take them without waiting."

"Gotcha," she replied. After sizing up the shots she squeezed three in rapid succession. Three dings rang out.

Ramon patted her on the shoulder and began to gather their gear for the next run.

However, the non-com with the binoculars jumped down from his box, blew his whistle and waved his arms toward the observation shed. The foghorn sounded and shouts went up from every site for the shooters to cease fire. Over the loudspeaker came the voice of Sgt. Givens, "All teams report to the observation shed on the double."

Ramon said to Taylor as they were walking toward the shed, "Something else is going on, Taylor. I don't know just what it is, but things aren't what they are supposed to be. I know Sgt. Givens is going to bark at us, but that's no big deal. Something else is up. My insides have perked up. Someone is in danger."

"I know who's in danger," Taylor snorted, "It's that dadblamed Sgt. Givens. Today's the day me bucko. He hands me too much today and he will be toast, I promise."

"Taylor, now keep your cool. Someone else is in danger I can feel it. We're not the ones in danger," Ramon said as he tried to calm her down. It was just about too late. Her face had already turned red and Ramon couldn't tell if it was from exertion or anger.

That was not his biggest worry right now. Something else was going down. Something was tugging on him to be vigilant and watch everybody. He just couldn't shake it.

# Chapter Nineteen

Rose and Florida looked at them as they came up. Both teams shrugged their shoulders at each other to acknowledge that none of them had a clue. Sure enough, Sgt. Givens bellowed out, "Sanders and Rodriguez come here. Sgt. Andrews what do you have to report?"

Sgt. Andrews handed him a piece of paper with the team's info on it. Givens looked at it and roared at Ramon, "Sergeant, did you give Sanders the go ahead to fire three shots?"

"Yes, sir," Ramon replied, "There were..."

"Just who gave you the command to shoot three times?"

Ramon answered, "The enemy sir, I saw three targets, two of which were fake...."

"Nobody told you to take three shots at any time at any place, Rodriguez. You went too far...."

That was more than enough for Taylor, she grabbed Sgt. Givens by the arm and spun him around to face her and began her tirade, "You're nothing but a big, fat, blowhard liar, Givens. There was NO order as to how many shots to fire or not to fire. You do not have one credible witness..."

The two red faces were squared off at each other. As Sgt. Givens began his explosion, he accentuated it with three jabs of his right index finger to Taylor's left shoulder on every other sentence just like clockwork. "Just who do you think are, grabbing me and spinning me around like.....

"You're the biggest blowhard God ever let live...."

"Young lady I've a good mind to have your carcass...."

"If you had a good mind you'd recognize a good sniper.....

"Women will never make good snipers while I'm...."

"I'll haul you mangy hide before a court martial hearing for ...."

"You won't get the chance Miss Civilian...."

"Miss Civilian, you ain't got the facts or the guts..."

It wasn't going to calm down any time soon so Ramon stepped behind the sergeant where he could be seen by Taylor, took one hand, grabbed his other wrist and lifted it above his head as if he were stretching.

Taylor saw it and was more than ready for the hint. She waited for his timely jabs to her left shoulder. Right on time for the third jab, she rolled her shoulder. His jab struck her left breast. She shouted, "How dare you."

With her left hand she grabbed his right wrist and lifted it straight up. She immediately jammed the palm of her right hand just below his arm pit and knocked the wind out of him. In a well-practiced move she swung her right leg behind his and laid him flat on the ground. Her right knee went to his stomach and her right hand grabbed for his throat. Everybody took a step forward but nobody made a move to intervene. They had no idea what was on Taylor's mind.

Sgt. Bennett watched the whole scene unfold. Givens had told him that he had every intention of breaking her today but he had no idea how he was going to do it. As the scene began to heat up, Sgt. Bennett slowly began to position himself so he could see all that was going on. He was sure that he would have to be a witness for one of them, but who and for what?

Sgt. Lem asked rather tentatively, "Don't you think you should break this thing up?"

"Let it play out, first. We've got to let it play out," he answered as he took a couple of steps forward.

When he saw Taylor take him down and get into the kill position he didn't know if Taylor was too mad to restrain herself or not. Maybe Givens had broken her the wrong way. "Stop, stop. Somebody break them up," he cried out as ran toward the fight.

Everybody heard the shouts and turned to see who was coming. Duke and Mowzzer went over to pull Taylor off of him. As Ramon looked to see Sgt. Bennett approaching, he noticed that Sgt. Lem had stayed behind and was reaching for something in his shirt pocket. Ramon wasn't sure but it looked like a cell phone. Sgt. Lem held it in front of him and began to push on its face and.... Dear God, it looked like he was scrolling through a list of numbers. He had to turn sideways to get the face of the cell phone in the shadow so he could see the numbers clearly. Ramon watched as he punched one of the buttons and then began to retreat to the back of the jeep.

"He's running for cover," Ramon said under his breath. It all came together. The reason that Sgt. Givens and Sgt. Bennett were never together was to keep down the possibility of both of them being killed at the same time. Without knowing it Ramon and Taylor had been an accessory to an assassination attempt. Sgt. Bennett's gun must have been rigged to explode by a call from a cell phone.

He yelled as he ran toward the sergeant, "Sgt. Bennett, your gun's a bomb. Lem rigged it. Everybody get down." He tackled the sergeant and ripped the gun from its holster. He stood and threw it as hard as he could in the direction of Sgt. Lem who was running down the graveled path back to the camp.

The gun fell about twenty feet in front of him. He tried to stop but his feet scooted out from underneath him in. The gun exploded almost upon impact and sprayed Sgt. Lem with rocks and hot metal. His legs took the brunt of the impact. He tried in vain to get up but one look at his kneecap told him it was no use. He lay down and waited for the inevitable.

Ramon barked out orders, "He detonated it with a small black cell phone. See if we can find it between us and him. Sandusky and Peterson, get all of the weapons in a safe place. They might have already been implanted with detonation devices."

Rose and Danielle checked out Lem while Florida and Benita began looking for the cell phone on the path. Rose called out to Sgt. Bennett, "It looks like his knee cap has been knocked out of place. He can't move on his own. He also has a wound to his abdomen as well as several to his legs."

Sgt. Bennett came over to inspect his wounds. One glance was all that it took. "You're right, Rose," he concurred. He looked for his men and called out, "Duke, Mowzzer, get that stretcher out of the observation shed and let's get him immobilized. The ride down the path is going to be bad enough. Bring all the medical supplies you can find."

He threw his mobile phone to Sgt. Andrews and said, "Call down to the Den, tell them what happened and have them get the 'copter ready. We have a wounded man who needs to get to Kirtland a.s.a.p."

When Duke and Mowzzer arrived with the stretcher, Duke had the medical kit in his free hand. Before he could hand it to Sgt. Bennett, another non-com took it from him and said to him, "I'm a trained EMT, Bennett, let me get him ready for transport, if you don't mind."

"Gladly," he replied as he stepped out of the way. As the non-com began to clean the wound and immobilize the leg for transport, Sgt. Bennett took a moment to address Sgt. Lem. He placed his hand very gently on his shoulder and said calmly, "Everything is going to be OK. We're going to take care of you. But, it's going to be at least an hour's ride to Kirtland. I'll have the EMT give you something for pain."

Sgt. Lem looked into the Bennett's eyes and saw no condescending scowl in them. Sgt. Bennett consoled him, "I understand that a subject of Allah is required to be a subject of Allah above all other loyalties. The United States of America allows Muslims to practice their religion. But, the United States of America arrests and punishes ALL who are guilty of attempted murder no matter what religion they serve."

As a final command to those around Sgt. Lem, he said, "See if you can pack something under him so he won't be bouncing on the bed of that truck, will you? And drive as slowly as you can."

"Yes, sir," came the reply.

Sandusky and Peterson had gathered all the weapons and had placed them neatly on the picnic tables in front of the observation shed. Florida and Benita had found the cell phone and brought it to Sgt. Bennett. Together with several non-coms they all went to check out their weapons.

Ramon looked around for Taylor. He saw her kneeling behind Sgt. Givens and examining a bloody wound. As he approached she quipped, "I really wanted to kill him but all I could do was barely break his skin. I must be losing my touch." She reached for the medical bag the EMT gave her and broke out some gauze and some hydrogen peroxide to clean the wound with.

"I told her the next time she wanted to kill me, to use the gun. It won't hurt half as much," he shot back with a smile.

Ramon's heart was doing flip-flops to hear Taylor actually getting along with a crusty old master sergeant. He would have never thought that possible. God is still in the miracle business.

She caught his look and smile on his face and asserted, "His approach to 'breaking' me was not what we thought at all."

Givens continued for her, "That's right. I had to bring her to the point of breaking that non-action barrier that holds most snipers back. I told her that when she gets out on the battlefield, she's going to have to be ready to pull the trigger and don't hesitate. She had to see the difference in action and non-action. After all, I don't know of any of our enemies that are shy about pulling the trigger."

"And, I understand perfectly, now," she added as she put the gauze and peroxide away and went around in front of Sgt. Givens to help him up.

As he took the offer from Taylor, he smiled and said, "Thank you, sergeant."

"You're welcome, sir."

Givens put his arms around Taylor and Ramon, cleared his throat and called out, "Ladies and gentlemen, if you will all gather around, I have a few comments to make about this morning's activities."

Sgt. Bennett led them over and they formed a semi-circle around the three of them. Sgt. Givens started off by clearing up a point, "As you all remember, I gave no limit as to the amount of shots that could be taken. I don't remember anyone but Sgts. Sanders and Rodriguez taking more than one shot. We purposely created a couple of the sniper scenarios where there COULD BE more than one target. I wanted to see who was thinking on their own. I probably already know the answer to this question, but Sgt. Rodriguez, what made you THINK that there was more than one target in that farthest scenario?"

Ramon replied, "The best that I can say is, that way back when I was a kid and hanging around with some of the gangs in Mexico City, I used to get premonitions. When the police were going to come down on us or some gang was hiding and waiting to waylay us, I always knew something was up. But, that's just my gift. Everybody has some sort of special gift inside of them that they got when they were born. Mine, I just realize that it was given to me by the Lord for some reason and I just ask Him to teach me how to use it."

"So, how did you know something was up at that target area?"

"On the run down there, I got this funny feeling like I needed to be on guard for something. I told Taylor...uh, Sgt. Sanders when we got there. As she was getting set up, I scanned the area for the least likely thing that could be a fake. Then, to me, it was obvious. It was the rocks. They were not quite the same color as the others and shaped a bit differently than the ones that surrounded them. The more I looked around, the more something inside told me that we needed to take the three of them out at the same time. If it was the enemy and we took out the obvious without looking for the possible, we would have been caught in a crossfire that would have been impossible to escape from. If I was wrong, we just wasted two rounds, that's all. I used a set of hand signals that we used back in our football days to show Taylor where I suspected them to be. We had developed a pattern of hand signals that we could use that would let us communicate something to each other even if we were talking about something else."

"And that's what the most successful teams do," Sgt. Givens added. "They learn how to communicate without the enemy knowing it. And for that reason, and a host of others, I am going to suggest whole-heartedly, that Sgts. Sanders and Rodriguez be sent on that special assignment to ....hmm almost gave it away, an engineering battalion in Afghanistan. That is if you will sign the orders stating so......Major Bennett."

Ramon cried out, "I knew it. I told you Taylor."

Taylor walked away from the two men a couple of steps, put her hands on her hips, turned around to face them and said to Ramon, "Ye-e-es, you did and I know you're not going to let me live that...... what did you say? The special assignment?"

It finally hit the other ladies, too. They all squealed and gathered around her for a group hug. You would have thought she had been voted cheer leader of the year or something.

The guys were a tad more dignified. After a big 'OORAH,' they backed out of the way and let a very grateful Major Bennett be the first to shake their hands. He started off by saying, "First of all, from here until you get back to the states, no more saluting to any officer. Just like in Nam, it's a sure-fire giveaway to the enemy. And, from a thousand yards away, you would have just given a sniper a clear choice for a target. That being said, Ramon, thanks for possibly saving several lives or....a bunch of carnage....whatever might have happened. I believe that I can speak for Gary as well as myself, the word had been put out that the terrorists were trying to take us both out at the same time. They were looking for a trophy, or bragging rights, somewhat like 9/11. It's a smarter enemy out there and in some ways they have us buffaloed at the moment.

"We need a brave couple with savvy and........all the inward intuition that you've got to help us re-gain our advantage. This little trick with Sgt. Lem was totally unexpected, it shows how far they have advanced, not only in their thinking but, also, in their technology. Hopefully his computers can shed some light on their plans and we can cut them off."

Sgt. Givens added, "And then, we stay on the lookout for the next sneak attack."

"Correct."

Sgt. Givens looked towards the sound of the approaching vehicle and announced, "OK, I'm buying the first two rounds of coffee for everybody. And, while you're drinking my free coffee, find your weapon and take it completely apart. I want every weapon checked thoroughly."

A loud chorus of 'boos' echoed from the group as they all saw the coffee truck coming up for their scheduled ten o'clock break. To everybody's surprise and especially her own, Taylor slipped her arm around Sgt. Givens waist and said, "It seems they don't understand a good offer when they hear one. You can buy me as many as you want, soldier."

As they started walking toward the shed she got a little dig in at him as she winked at the ladies, "Then you can start by telling me how lonely it is at the top."

Yes, sir, the hoots went up on that one. Sandusky made a try at a comment, "You never made ME and offer like that."

She answered in her finest, sultry Scarlet O'Hara impersonation, "I make that offer to all the REAL MEN I see."

Score one more for Taylor as she and Sgt. Givens walked on arm in arm. Sandusky wasn't going to live that one down for a long time. As the others started talking and ambling towards the observation shed, Ramon stepped up beside Maj. Bennett and said in a low voice, "Now that's a picture I thought I would never see."

Maj. Bennett smiled and said, "Me neither. That just proves that there is a God."

# Chapter Twenty

Arthur began to come around. He heard voices and noises but his mind was too groggy to recognize any of them. He couldn't open his eyes. His hands and arms were virtually immobile. He was flat on his back with his wrists and ankles firmly restrained. As his memory began to clear, he remembered Matt and the hypodermic needle just before passing out. The musty smell and unintelligible voices told him he must have been captured. He quit trying to move and decided to wait until all of his senses came around before letting anyone know that the knock-out shot was wearing off.

He thought he heard the sound of someone moving toward him. Whoever it was seemed only inches away. A feminine hand covered his mouth and caused him to flinch involuntarily. He kept his eyes shut. Slowly a slim body lay down on top of him. A soft cheek brushed his and brought with it the familiar scent of vanilla.

"Arthur," she said, "this is Bea and you have to be very quiet right now. Do you understand?"

Arthur shook his head 'yes' and tried to open his eyes, but couldn't quite do it. He felt her loosening the restraints to his wrists and ankles. She came cheek to cheek again and whispered, "Remember, you've got to keep quiet. We're monitoring the terrorist's communications and sometimes the reception fades in and out. They're going mobile sometime today and we've got to get a handle on where they're going, how many and what weapons."

Arthur shook his head 'yes' and smiled weakly. Slowly he twisted his wrists and ankles to help drive the ache away from them. Bea rose up but didn't move away from him.

As the serum began to wear off, he was able to open his eyes. He looked at her but couldn't focus his eyes real well. The feeling over the rest of his body was beginning to come around. That's when the truth dawned on him. His eyes shot open and he looked at Bea as his vision was clearing.

She smiled and knew that he finally realized that he didn't have any pants on. Back down cheek-to-cheek she went, "It's a bad side effect of the serum. You lose control of bladder and bowel movements. Don't worry. I wasn't the one who cleaned you up. It was the male EMT's. You couldn't wear your civilian clothes where we are about to go, anyway. This is something you'll have to get used to from now until we return to from our mission. There is no modesty in a combat situation. We don't know what or who we'll see or what kind of condition any of us will be in at any given time. Steel yourself to that thought from here on out. OK?"

He found his voice, "OK."

As she slid off of him quietly, she looked him in the face to get his attention. She held up a pair of pants that they had placed on top of his groin and turned her head to the side as if to ask, 'Do you understand.'

He shook his head, 'Yes' again and relaxed to let the serum finish releasing its hold on him. As he closed his eyes, he detected Diego's voice, someone who was familiar and another almost familiar voice. Bea sat down on the floor at the foot of his cot and laid her hand on his arm to comfort him.

"Communication has stopped," Diego said to the man beside him. "Let's compare notes."

As the two slid next to each other, a tall, familiar looking Filipino got up from the third chair and looked over the shoulders of the other two. The strange American man beside Diego pulled out a folder full of papers and began looking through them as they went through the transcript of the terrorist's communication.

Bea got up, grabbed a pad of paper and a pen and stood behind Diego. "I'm ready if you need me," she said.

"Thanks, Bea," he answered. "Just stay ready." Diego took out a ruler and slowly slid it down the transcript. "How about that?' he asked.

The American rifled through the papers, pulled one out. He pointed to one of them and said with a groan, "O-o-o-h, no. It looks like they started yesterday."

Diego pointed at another line, "This scripture verse he quoted is bogus. There's only one chapter to Jude. He cites Jude 27:104."

The American answered, "You're right. Let's look at this sheet that has coordinates and locations on it. It should give us a clue." He pulled out what looked to be a sheet of logistics and ran his finger down one of the columns and stopped at a figure. "That's it," he declared. "Section 27, hill 104."

The three of them looked up at the map of the area. Diego was the first to recognize it. "Good grief, that's only two mountains away from our village. And, they are headed straight for it," he agonized as he looked back at Bea and the Filipino.

Arthur had stood up to put on the pants they had for him. Rather, he tried to stand up. The serum still had him a little woozy and he fell back down on the cot. Everyone turned around when they heard the noise.

For the first time, he was able to see everyone's faces. And, they saw him, too. He was sitting on the edge of the cot but leaning back against the wall. His head was still spinning as he attempted to get up. Indeed, he did sit up straight but fell over sideways on the cot as he tried his best to pull his pants the rest of the way up.

Bea turned around and giggled, "Bull, will you go help our guest, please."

"Sure, Hon," he answered as he stepped behind everybody to get to Arthur.

Arthur's eyes were glued to him as he tried again to stand up but failed. He had no option but to just stare at this tall, muscular, physically fit person that Bea just called Bull. "Bull?" he asked. "You're Bull?"

Bull helped him to his feet. "Steady, Arthur, steady. Give that stuff time to wear off."

"But you're..."

"It was all a costume and an act so that I could be better able to infiltrate those who were trying to infiltrate us," Bull began. "But, a week ago, a couple of guys had found me out and tried to take me apart with a Bowie knife. One swish at my fake belly and my whole stomach gushed out."

As Bull helped Arthur stand up to finish putting on his pants, Arthur asked, "How did you get away from them?"

"With these," Bull answered as he held up the palms of his hands.

As Arthur felt the edges of the palms of his hands he realized the seriousness of Bull's statement. "Holey-moley, you've worked long and hard to get them like that," he said.

"About fifteen years all together," he answered.

Bea stepped up and put her elbow on Bull's shoulder as she added, "His feet are the same way. Like Barney on Mayberry, his whole body is a lethal weapon."

His ever clearing gaze fell on Bea. Her bosom and her ballast had shrunk and she had cut her hair pretty short. Everybody noticed his stare.

They all chuckled, as Bea continued, "Yeah, I've lost some weight since the last time we were together. That was all costume, too. Notice that I gave you a sideways hug? My front and back were listening devices that we used to scan conversations for terrorist communications on board the plane. In seven years, and on the different flights I went on, we were able to stop some attacks."

She paused and sighed real deeply before she continued, "I guess we need to introduce ourselves before we get ready to go. Maybe that will clear up a few things, like when you saw Pedro kissing me on the lips at the airport."

Arthur smiled real big, "Well, if there was something to it, I figured....."

She interrupted, "Pedro is my father-in-law."

Arthur's smile vanished as a solemn fact began to play in his head.

Bea's smile was gone too, as she explained, "I was married to his son, Ramil. He was killed by the terrorists a couple of years ago. That's when I joined Pedro's band of merry men. Like Pedro, Diego and Bull, I have a vested interest in the lives of the people in the village."

She smiled as she nodded to the American and smiled, "But, Matt, on the other hand was sent to us by the CIA, or so he says. Let's hope he knows more about Central Intelligence than he does fighting."

Matt stood up so Arthur could see him in the dim light of the room. He pointed to the bruise on the side of his face. "Thanks for the memory, pal," he said with a smile.

Arthur stammered as he fought for words, "I'm sorry. I... I... didn't..."

Diego explained, "Matt was a successful plant that we had made into the terrorist organization. He was able to find out a lot of valuable info for us. For example, he found out that the leader was preparing for a strong and sudden move on the day of the final fight." He held up the papers they had written the communications on and continued,

Diego continued, "Apparently that was correct. Matt was just supposed to stun you and then we would rush in to tell you to act passed out and unable to move. They wanted you out of commission in the worst way. But, I guess you had a different plan in mind."

"I had seen him do that move before and figured that ducking and flipping over behind him was the safest thing, that's all," Arthur commented. Then he questioned, "Why would they want me out of commission?"

Diego answered him, "Because you were Tom's great-grandson. When he came back several years ago, he was able to strengthen the villager's faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The villagers have always believed that when a man dies, his sons, or in this case, his great-grandson would step in and take over where he left off. The villagers are comfortable enough with you and the things that you helped Tom to do to accept you as his replacement."

Arthur looked around at the troubled faces and knew that something ominous was about to be revealed. Diego took a deep breath before he continued, "The latest terrorist threat that is beginning to sweep the mountain villages of Manila is led by a false prophet who calls himself, Jah Shaphatga'el, which means the lord judge and the avenger of blood. He claims to be the returning Lord Jesus who is building his army to bring God's vengeance on the earth. He uses several Old Testament scriptures to prove his point. There's not a whole lot of explaining of scripture going on. Before people get a chance to question his theology, he declares that he is there to bring blood vengeance on all who do not bow. At his command, he and his gang of thugs begin to beat all those that do not bow with canes in the still legal fashion of canning. The false prophet has the most lethal rod. It is laced with razor blades and he declares it to be the 'rod of iron' that the returning one will rule by."

"Oh, dear God," Arthur exclaimed, "that's awful."

Matt added soberly, "The main idea is to beat the village elders to death in front of everybody. If there is a pastor or a Christian leader in the crowd that refuses to worship him, he has them and their family brought to the middle of the village where he slices them to death with his rod. I heard one of his broadcasts where he bragged about opening up the pastor's entire midsection with one swipe. As the pastor bled to death, he ordered three of his henchmen to beat his wife to death as they shouted 'Jah Shaphatga'el ay diyos'. In other words, Jah Shaphatga'el is god. Their five small children were just sliced on their legs to where they could hardly walk. Then they marched the rest of the villagers away from the area to a slave encampment while the children were left screaming and helpless in the middle of the camp. To say the least, they were easy prey for any predators or vultures."

"And the government can't stop them," Arthur moaned lowly.

Diego spoke up, "The villages are so far away from any means of communication. The raids come so fast that by the time help arrives, the people are gone and there's nothing left but carcasses."

All eyes were looking to him and waiting for the inevitable. He looked at his watch and finally spoke the words, "You have fifteen minutes to prepare yourself to go in there. I have no idea what we'll face or whether any of us will return. But, I'm not going to stand still while my loved ones get slaughtered or are forced to serve some heathen. When you hear the truck pull up, you'll have the choice to walk out that door or stay here. No one will blame anyone for staying. If in fifteen minutes your heart does not command you to go, then God needs you here and you will be a hindrance to those who want to go. No hard feelings either way."

Diego went back to his chair and sat with his head in his hands. Without waiting to see what the others were going to do, Arthur turned his face to the wall, raised both of his hands and leaned against it. He prayed for wisdom and strength for the journey. He prayed for protection. He prayed for Godly wisdom to fight if they were forced to. He prayed for protection for the villagers. He prayed for confusion in the camp of the enemy.

When they heard the truck pull up out front, no one looked around to see who was going to be the first one to move. They all quickly made their way to the door and filed out without a word spoken between them.

They climbed into the back of a transport truck. There were five piles of weapons, clothing and supplies. There was a piece of paper attached to each stack. The initial on each piece of paper identified whose stack it was. With no modesty, they silently began undressing and donning their war clothes.

As they got closer to the bottom of the stack, and differing articles began to appear, Diego began giving orders as to what part each person would play in this engagement.

The truck stopped on the back side of the International Airport. A lonely helicopter cranked up and they all climbed aboard. After a thirty minute ride, they found themselves on the outskirts of Cabanatuan where they once again climbed aboard another transport truck and headed for the bottom of the first mountain they would have to climb to reach their final destination.

# Chapter Twenty One

It was a tedious three hour climb up the well-worn path to the village. The normal two o'clock downpour left them soaked to the skin but they never slacked their pace. By four o'clock in the afternoon, they were about a half a mile away from the camp. You should have been able to hear some kind of noise coming from the camp, but all was silent. Diego and Bull looked for the normal sentry posts but all of them were empty.

Diego raised his hand in the customary signal to stop. He put his finger to his lips and his hand to his ear to tell everyone to listen intently. After a few moments, they all looked at each other and shook their heads 'No.' Bull mouthed the words, "Even the animals are silent."

Diego whispered, "Either they have just left within the last ten to fifteen minutes or they are still hiding in the brush somewhere. However, none of our intelligence has said anything about them setting a trap. They normally do their damage and herd the rest away."

Arthur reminded them in another whisper," I say let's do like David and run toward Goliath. But, in this case, let's walk very carefully."

The group began to walk slowly toward the village. Every nerve within them strained at detecting a tell-tale sound or movement. As they neared the edge of the village, Bea whispered, "The birds are singing again. Maybe they're gone."

A couple of goats wandered out to greet them and nuzzled them for hand-outs. The only sounds they heard were the clucking of the chickens and the grunting of the pigs in their cages. Diego said lowly, "Looks like they might have all gone. Let's go on in and see what kind of damage they have done."

As they entered the silent village, all they saw were lifeless bodies. Bull spoke first, "I'd say that from the looks of the marks on their bodies, they were caned to death. It must have happened yesterday. Look at the swelling around the neck and the head. Dear Jesus, I know that must have been painful."

Bea knelt down beside the body of what looked like a six-year-old boy. "Look at the massive cuts on his legs. They had to be made by something larger than a razor blade," she observed. "And the other leg is pushed down in the ground as well as cut like he was trying to amputate it."

Diego stood at the opposite side of the village and added, "He must have figured out how to do it, because this poor guy had his arm and his leg severed."

Bea stood back up to survey the whole scene and said, "I hope that most of them were dead already before he tried cutting on them. And he calls himself some kind of God, huh?"

Diego wandered back to the group as he replied, "All kinds of false messiahs have risen up since the resurrection of the real one.

Arthur had never seen destruction like this before. "Do you know any of these, Diego?" he asked.

"I might not be able to tell you all of their names, but I recognize about all of them," he answered.

A faint cry rose up from the edge of the jungle. Bea looked at Arthur and asked him, "Did you hear that?"

"I thought I did."

"Where did it come from?"

"I think it came from this side of that thorn-bush thicket," Arthur said. "I think I'll go take a look."

The other four were more preoccupied with the horror before them that they only half-way acknowledged Arthur. Bea, Diego and Bull wanted to know but didn't want to know if some of their relatives were in the mass. Matt was busy studying the indentions in the skulls of a couple of the elders. He couldn't quite get the grasp of how one stalk of cane could have crushed a skull in what appeared to be one blow.

Arthur cautiously neared the thicket on the edge of the village. The villagers had allowed the thorn-bushes to grow profusely in that area for some reason. About thirty yards away he thought he caught a glimpse some colorful fabric often worn by the Aeta women. As he got closer, he saw the legs of what he presumed to be an adult woman sticking out onto the pathway and her body in the thorn-bush thicket. He hurried to see if she might be the lone remaining survivor of the massacre.

As he quickened his pace, a little head with curly black hair lifted up on the other side of her. He could just see her eye above the body of what must have been her mother. He heard another soft moan and then the eye closed and disappeared. He jogged the rest of the way.

The mother, indeed, was dead. Her head smashed almost beyond recognition like some of the others at the village. Arthur got within ten feet and slowed to cautious walk. The little girl came in view and was laying there with her eyes closed. As he quietly knelt beside her, he wasn't quite sure if she was breathing. Gently, he laid his hand on her chest. Through her sweat drenched and tattered dress he felt the short rise and fall of a shallow breathing. How close to death she was he didn't know.

Her body had become entangled in the thicket so bad that she could hardly move. There didn't seem to be any cane marks on her, but her body was scratched pretty badly from her struggles with the thicket. As he reached around for his water bottle he noticed a pretty severe gash on her right leg. It was swollen and red from infection. Insects crawled around on it.

He could clean her up later. Right now he had to get her re-hydrated from the loss of fluids. He popped the top of the bottle spout and carefully squeezed a couple of drops onto her lips. She licked them up. That was a good sign. He squeezed a couple of more drops. He didn't dare try to force too much into her while she was on her back. She feebly tried to open her eyes. Her mouth opened a bit as if asking for more water. Gently, he squeezed a few drops in at a time and gave her enough time to swallow it. She opened her eyes and looked at him. As her eyes focused she looked beyond him and screamed.

He immediately thought, 'Jah. The razor edged rod.' He heard a grunt and knew that he must be swinging the rod at him. In one swift move, he scooted the girl with his right hand and tried to tilt his body away from the swinging arc of the rod. He barely made it as the blade raked a gash from shoulder to shoulder just one inch below his neck.

As the girl continued to scream, Arthur tried to get to his attacker before he could get another swing. Before he could grab his attacker's legs, Jah swung the bottom of the cane and caught Arthur on his right jaw bone and ear. His mind went numb for a moment and he fell flat on the ground. His chest hit a tree root and a God idea manifested.

From the village came a call, "Lord, we have them surrounded and they are weaponless." Arthur was stunned. Somehow the horror of the moment had caused them to let their guards down and now they were all helpless. That is, helpless unless Arthur could carry out the God idea. He quickly put it into action.

With short snorts and gasps, he acted like his breath had been knocked out of him. He got back up on his hands and knees but wobbled as if he wasn't in full control of his physical abilities. Like a dazed man, he held his eyes wide open without blinking. His head shook at odd intervals. Although he kept Jah within his peripheral vision, he acted as if he did not know where he was.

Aha! Jah was wearing a long purple sash that hung from his right shoulder down to below his left hip. It entered Arthur's mind that as Jah swung the rod down, his purple sash would come within a foot of the ground at least. The God plan made sense now.

Jah answered his men with a laugh, "Just play with them as a cat would torture a mouse before the kill. I will dispose of this Christian menace once and for all. Too bad he is already beyond hope, I would have enjoyed hearing him cry. But, when I am finished with him, I will let each one of you take practice swings with my new rod."

Arthur heard a cry of victory from the captors and surmised that there must be more than twenty men. However, he had to throw all of his effort and God's wisdom into this battle if they were to win. If he could defeat their lord, the sheep would lose heart and scatter.

As Arthur watched him through his peripheral vision, Jah lifted the rod high in the air. As Arthur figured it, Jah winced and grunted the split second before he brought the rod down. Arthur collapsed his right shoulder and rolled to his right and out of the way of Jah's sharp-edged rod. Just as Arthur figured, the rod's steel blade caught firmly in the root of the tree making it virtually immovable.

Arthur rolled to his right and swung his left arm in circles in the air hoping to get a good hold on the sash somehow. Good deal, he got two loops of sash. His right hand grabbed hold of his left as an astonished Jah let go of his rod to try to fall back and pull his sash away from Arthur.

Of course, Arthur realized that he had to hold on literally for dear life. He spun around on his butt until he faced Jah, brought his knees up to his chest, jammed his feet into the ground and fell backwards. The sudden thrust was too much for Jah and he began to fall toward Arthur. As Arthur's back hit the ground, he pulled his knees up again and caught Jah right in the hips. As Jah passed the apex of his fall, Arthur kicked with all of his might and flipped him about five feet behind himself into the middle of the thorn-bush thicket. Arthur tried to disentangle himself from the sash but, to his amazement, it slipped easily over Jah's shoulder and remained firmly in Arthur's grasp.

He got up off the ground to gain an advantage over his adversary while he was entangled in the thicket. Before he got straightened up, he heard and "Oomph," and the sickening sound of a body hitting hard against rocks. He stood up to see where Jah should have been only to find a hole in the thorn-bush thicket. Cautiously, he stepped over to the hole and saw the reason the villagers had let the thorn-bush grow so profusely.

On the other side of the thicket was about a thirty foot deep rock-strewn ravine. As he stepped closer to the hole in the wall, he saw Jah's still body in a grotesque posture at the bottom of the ravine. His head was at an awkward position and blood was coming out of his ears and mouth.

He looked up and saw that some of Jah's followers had ventured about half-way to the thicket to watch the fight. Now they stood there staring at Arthur. Without a leader, they had no direction and Arthur figured they had no courage. He stepped to the rod that was stuck in the tree root and pulled it out. He held it up in his right hand and waived the sash with his left. He stepped hurriedly toward them and shouted in anger, "Your god is dead and you will join him. I'll kill you with the very rod that he used on innocent Christians."

As Arthur broke into a trot, he slung the sash over his shoulders and hefted the rod on his right shoulder as if he was going to throw it. Jah's astonished followers began to back away from their prisoners. Their leader had been killed and his instruments of leadership were now in the hands of the enemy. They didn't have a clue as to what they should do now except drop their weapons and run. And, they did that very well.

When Arthur saw them scurry away, he dropped the rod and ran back for the girl. The frantic fight had loosened the thorn-bush's hold on her and she had crawled part of the way upon her mother's body. Her droopy eyes showed how frail she still was. She reached her hand toward him and pulled her fingers to her palms pleading for him to come back.

Arthur skidded to a stop on his knees and began to gently pull her legs away from the thorn-bush. As she watched him, she wearily laid her head on her mother's arm and said, "Mama ng patay." (Filipino for Mama's dead.)

"Alam ko (I know)," Arthur answered. He carefully slid her foot out from underneath the last tangle and pulled her close to him.

Bea brought the first aid kit and dropped down on her knees next him. "Dear God you're back looks awful. I need to put a compress, maybe two on it," she said.

He turned the girl around so that her legs faced Bea and countered, "She's in worse shape than I am. Clean her wounds first, especially that bad cut. It's got all kinds of junk in it. Then, work on me while I give her some water. She's awful weak from this heat."

The little girl was too tired to fuss about what they did to her. But, when Bea began cleaning the wound on her leg she began to cry from the pain. Arthur held her head close to his chest as he said, "Ito ay ang OK. Lamang ng isang maliit na bit higit pa. (It's OK. Just a little bit more.)"

As Bea was as gentle as she could be, Arthur asked, "Where's the guys?"

"They're checking out the trail to make sure they're gone and not doubling back."

"Oh, good idea."

Bea put some triple antibiotic ointment on the cut and wound plenty of gauze around it. Arthur sat down on the ground in front of her so she could work on the cut on his back. He reached for his water bottle and started giving the little girl some small sips.

"E-w-w, this needs stitches. It's going to take every bit of gauze and tape I've got to get this thing closed to the elements we're going to face going down the mountain."

Arthur suggested, "Why not just lay something across it and wrap the little girl up in my left arm with that purple sash over there?"

"As much as I hate to say it that sounds like the only plausible idea," she agreed. "It's going to be hard enough to carry a sick little girl with everything else we'll have to take with us. Let me go get something out of my other back pack."

As Bea sprinted back to the village, Diego came back in from the other side. He opened up with, "It looks like for right now they're pretty well scattered throughout the jungle. I don't believe for a minute that they have all gone. Some of them could very well be hiding to ambush us."

"Yeah? Well, Arthur's got a pretty bad gash across his shoulders that will require several stitches I know," Bea stated.

"We don't have but about an hour of daylight left," Diego anxiously remarked. "We've got to get out of here because this is not a safe place to spend the night."

"I know."

"I'm going to find Bull," Diego decided. "I hope I have a plan. If Matt gets back before I do, tell him to round up and tether all the goats he can and see if he can bag some chickens as they go to roost. Tell him to take a dress or shirt off of one of the bodies if he has to. Bull can't be too far away. I'll be back in a few."

"OK," Bea responded, "I'm going to see what I can do for Arthur. And, I want to take a peek at Jah to see if he really is dead like Arthur said. It would be terrible if he was only stunned."

They looked at each other for a long moment. Diego finally, "That's a scary thought. While you're over there keep an ear out for anything that sounds like someone moving in the brush."

"Got it," Bea answered as she got up. Diego went off after Bull. She thought for a moment before she left. Then, she reached into her back pack and pulled out the extra t-shirt she had packed. "I knew this would come in handy. It's a good thing I have a little bit of vanity left in me."

As she walked back toward Arthur, she continued to talk to herself. "Well, I did pack it to be worn on the trip back down the mountain but I didn't suspect it would be this way."

Arthur had been giving the little girl some slow sips of water. He could tell she was reviving. She never took her eyes off of his face and he wondered what could be going on in that little mind. He couldn't imagine the terror that she had lived through. When he thought about her possibly being in her mother's arms when she was struck down by one of them, he shuddered.

Another thought hit him. Was it a God thing again? It could have been. He remembered the story that his mama had told him. When kids got sick in her grandma's day and couldn't keep any solids on their stomachs, they would chew up some food for them and feed it to them with the edge of their finger. To someone in modern day America that would probably sound gross. But, right now as he looked into the eyes of this dark eyed, dark haired, dark skinned little angel, he knew it was her only hope if she was going to make this journey.

While cradling her safely in his left arm, he reached into his pants pocket and found a piece of beef jerky that he hadn't opened, yet. Little Angel watched his every move. He tore the end of the package with his teeth and managed to rip the wrapper down on one side. Carefully, he bit off a piece and began to chew it.

Bea had watched him as she came up. "Fixing to feed her?" she asked as she knelt back down behind him. As she saw the surprised look on his face she explained, "That's just normal for the villagers here. That's how they wean their children off the breast." She looked at Little Angel and smiled, "Gutom? (Hungry?)"

A weak smile played across her face as she shyly turned her head into Arthur's chest. Briefly, she shook her head 'yes' and tried to brush away an insect that was making its way toward her eye.

As Arthur spit a little of the juice on his finger and put it on her lips, she gratefully accepted the offering and looked to see if more was coming. Bea took the blood soaked gauze off of Arthur's back and tried to wipe up any excess that had dripped down his back. When she threw it into the brush, Little Angel saw it and frantically asked, "Saktan? (Hurt?)"

Bea tried to calm her by saying, "Lamang ng kaunti. (Only a little.)"

Arthur gave her another finger load and calmed her by saying, "Hindi ko ay mamatay. Nangangako ako. (I won't die. I promise.)"

Even though Bea was trying to clean the wound and it felt terrible, he managed a smile that seemed as if it calmed her. Still she was a bit apprehensive.

Bea rolled up her t-shirt and placed it across his back as she noted, "The bleeding has just about stopped and that's a good thing. Now let me get that sash and find a way to bind you and her together." When she picked up the sash, she looked at it and then swung it back and forth for a moment. "Hm-m-m. It looks like he had this thing weighted on the bottom."

Arthur watched her for a moment and then said, "Let me see that for a moment."

She held the weighted end of it in front of him and Arthur felt the hem where several bulges were. He fiddled with it for a moment and then looked at her with a smile and declared, "Those aren't just weights. Those are computer memory sticks. It feels like three of them at least."

Diego came striding to them and asked, "Dear God, Arthur, that's a nasty gash."

"I've got the bleeding just about stopped," Bea stated as she pulled up the 'weighted' end of the sash and cut it open with her knife. When she pulled out the memory sticks, she held them out for Diego to see as if they were pieces of gold. And, indeed, they very well could have been. "Look what Jah left us as a present," she boasted.

Diego took them out of her hand and exclaimed, "This could be the break we've been waiting for. I can't wait to get them to a computer. First, we have to get off this mountain safely. Bull and I have found an entrance to one of the underground caves the Japanese dug. We used to play in it all the time when Dad brought us up for a visit. It goes all the way down to the bottom of the mountain. There are several spots to stop and rest, and a couple of pools of water."

"Great," Arthur said as he continued to feed his charge.

"Where did Jah land?" Diego asked.

Arthur stood up under Bea's protest but he stated, "I saw how he landed and I can tell if he has moved or not."

She relented and the four of them went to the edge of the drop off. The waning sun had put the entire ravine in the shadows, but Arthur was sure that he hadn't moved. Diego couldn't remember whether there was any way to get to that ledge or not. The villagers had always used that spot as a junk pit.

As they came back from the ledge, Bea told Diego, "I was just beginning to wrap the baby up in Arthur's left arm and bind his wounds as well."

Diego looked at Arthur and said, "Well, I guess that's why God had me practice taping your arm to your chest as we practiced for the fight."

The light came on in Arthur's eyes as he concurred, "You know, you're probably right."

Diego took command, "Let's get out of these shadows and get you ready to go. Bea, help Matt catch a few chickens will you?"

"Chickens?" she asked. "Are we going to camp out in the tunnels for the night?"

"Of course, not," Diego chuckled. "If he's still alive, there's an old Japanese hold out from WWII living in those caves. It wouldn't be right if we wandered through his domain and didn't bring him a few presents now would it?"

# Chapter Twenty Two

Marci noticed her hand was shaking a bit when she reached out to ring the doorbell. 'Dear God, I've got to stop that,' she thought. 'I've got to keep it together if I'm going to pass this test. God, you've got to help me. My future depends on it.'

The door opened and Marci was greeted by a curvy blonde with a big smile. It seemed to Marci as if it was a little bit too big. She bubbled, "You must be Marci."

"Yes, ma'am."

As she stepped aside to let her in she said, "Please, no sir or ma'am here. We're just Monique and Dan. Dan's in the living room getting the books and tables ready and I'm off to the kitchen to bring you some snacks."

Dan poked his head around the corner and bantered, "Marci, come on in to the living room and I'm not professor anything here at the house. Please call me Dan, I get so tired of hearing people yell out 'Professor, Professor' all day long."

Marci smiled as she stepped toward the living room and replied, "OK, if you insist. But, I'm one of those that are bound by a habit and I'll probably slip up a time or two. Uh-h, Dan, I really appreciate you taking some time to help me get through this Chemistry exam. I've gotten something crossed in my mind and I can't seem to get past it."

As she entered the room, she saw that he had arranged it so that two sofas faced each other with a long coffee table between them. Each sofa had its own snack tray already set up. Dan's was closest to the foyer and Marci's was the farthest away. Dan had his books at one end of the coffee table and it was obvious that she was to use the other end. It all looked to be on the up and up.

Dan tried his best to calm her a little bit by saying, "I've helped several students and we work and work until we find one little hiccough. We get that cleared up then the rest takes care of itself. You wait and see."

Monique came in with a couple of bowls of chips and set them on the appropriate snack trays. She asked Marci, "Dan prefers to work with iced tea, Marci, would you care for a glass?"

"Iced tea will be just fine with me, if it's no trouble," Marci replied.

"It'll take me a moment to make a couple of glasses," she answered. "Now before you say 'Don't do it' let me explain that Dan likes his iced tea brewed just one glass at a time. That way it's always fresh. It'll only take a few minutes."

"U-h-h, sure."

After Marci took her seat on the couch, she set her books on her end of the coffee table. She began to explain, "It all started somewhere in chapter four. I stumbled on some things and now by chapter six not a whole lot is making sense."

"OK, then let's start at chapter four and see if we can find the glitch," Dan started as he opened the Chemistry textbook. "Now let me ask you a few questions just to see what you know and don't know."

The back and forth dialog began. It was Dan's question and Marci's answer for several minutes. Then as he got deeper into the fourth chapter of her Chemistry book, Marci began to falter and Dan went into his teaching mode.

Monique was busy acting like she was making the tea when she felt her cell phone vibrate. She quietly stepped out the sliding glass doors to the deck outside. "Brian? Yeah, she's here. I'm about to bring in the tea. The mouse has no idea that a trap is being sprung. Yeah. Yeah, that's when I come in. I've got it." She hung up the phone and walked back into the kitchen but left the sliding glass doors open about two inches. Brian had everything figured out to the smallest detail.

Dan always put the date rape drug in the tea himself. He carefully measured each of his victim's doses depending on how long he wanted them to be out and what he wanted to film doing with them. Dan's tea glass always had a big 'D' on it just to make sure there were no mistakes.

Many, many times she wanted to switch glasses and run away after he passed out. But, he had all the money tied up. She had none. What could she do and where could she go? Until now, her hands had been tied, so to speak. Now, she had Brian, and in a few minutes, she'll be on her way to a new life.

She made a big deal out of stirring the tea, put the ice in the glasses, put on a big smile and served the guest first and then put the big 'D' glass on Dan's tray just like always. "There we go," she said trying to sound real perky, "and when that's finished let me know and I'll have a couple of more ready to make."

"Thanks, Hon," Dan said as he took a sip of his.

"Wow," Marci said as she took her glass in her hand, "I was about ready for that. All of those potato chips I ate were beginning to dry me out." She drank about half of the glass before she put it down. Then it was back to the questions and answers.

Monique and Dan exchanged glances. This wasn't going to take as long as either one figured. When Monique entered the kitchen and got out of sight from the living room, she held up her open hand to the figure at the door and mouthed, "Five minutes."

Dan began to throw questions at Marci to get her talking. After a few minutes her speech started slurring and her head began to hang down a little. Then she stopped talking altogether and stared at him with her mouth wide open.

"Are you feeling OK?" he asked. "Why don't you lie down on the couch for a moment?"

Before he got her head on one of the sofa pillows she was out. He grabbed ahold of her legs and swung them up on the couch. He shook her and got no response. Then, he got a piece of ice from his glass of tea and put it on her cheek and she didn't flinch.

He chuckled as he said, "She is out, and we are on our way to a cool half a million dollars." As he stood at her feet and looked at her for a moment, he commented, "She looks like she hasn't spent much time in the sun. The sheik might even pay more for a tan-less American girl. I'll see if I can put the bite on him."

He called out to the kitchen, "Monique, bring the camera in here for a moment. I want you to film me taking her clothes off." He stepped from side to side looking for the best camera angle. "What we need to do is show the sheik just how white she is. He's just got to have a white Christian American girl. We get the right shots, tantalize the old geezer and raise the price."

Monique picked up the camera from off the counter, nodded her head at the figure on the back porch and walked into the living room. "Where do you want me to start first?" she asked as she waited nervously for Brian's move.

Dan started, "Why don't you....."

His sentence was interrupted by the sound of metal banging on the sliding glass door in the kitchen. It scared Dan and he almost fell over one of the snack tables. Monique yelled out, "Come in."

Dan glared at her and shouted, "What are you doing?"

Monique backed up against the foyer wall as a sea of blue uniforms with guns drawn filed past her and into the living room from both the front and back entrances. Dan had no opportunity whatsoever to escape.

In desperation, he tried to bluff his way out of the situation, "What's the meaning of this? You can't come barging into my home like this."

Brian came through the sliding glass doors and strolled into the living room followed by two EMTs with medical bags in their hands. The blue sea parted as he stood behind the sofa where Marci was lying. Knowing what was expected of them; they slipped around him also and went to work on her.

"Are you in charge of this...." Dan started.

Brian put his hand up to stop his protest. "Sgt. Devlin, have you got the video ready?" he asked.

A man holding a laptop came in from the kitchen and stood beside Brian. Dan's eyes expanded to twice their size and his mouth dropped open as he saw himself on the laptop's screen in a freeze frame. Sgt. Devlin said, "When you press enter, it will start playing from where he says, 'Monique, bring the camera in here for a moment."

Brian reached into his coat pocket and pulled out an envelope. "I have a search warrant," he stated. He reached down with his other hand and touched one of the onyx-looking earrings that Marci was wearing and continued, "And, everything you said and did has been videoed for evidence. I have the paperwork for that if you would like to see it."

"Never mind," Dan said dejectedly as he hung his head and put his hands behind his back. Just a few moments ago he was savoring the thought of more money than he had ever imagined having. His mind had been reeling with the half a million guarantee. Now his mind was just reeling. His future was no longer his to plan. 'Oh, my gosh. Jail. Cell mates. I've heard of what they do.......'he thought in disgust.

As the officer cuffed him and recited to him his rites, he looked at Monique as if to plead with her. "I have nothing to say to you, Dan," she said as she folded her arms and coldly stared at him. "I don't even want to waste my time saying good bye to you. Five years together and all you thanked me for was for being a great photographer. Oh, yeah, you must have thought that I really enjoyed filming you with those girls. And, I had to pry the words 'I love you' out of your mouth and even then I knew you didn't mean it. Marriage was never an option, was it?" There was a lot more she wanted to say but she finished by telling him, "Today, I'm free from your prison sentence and you're just beginning yours. I just hope they find every one of those girls you sold to pimps and free them, too."

She looked at Brian and said, "If someone will follow me, I'll show you his computer and I'll show you all of his hiding spots that I have found so far. You'll find old computers, memory sticks, ledgers for the past five years and all of his banking records. You'll find more names and addresses than you can handle for a while. This guy was meticulous in his records keeping. Now, you'll have more work than you bargained for. The best thing to do is tear this place apart. As sneaky as he was, there's no telling where he's hid his stuff."

One of the investigators followed her around the house to write down all of her information. When she got back into the living room the EMT's had gotten Marci on a gurney and fixed a saline solution to it. Brian was standing right next to her watching everything they were doing.

As they started wheeling her out, the EMT told him, "We took a blood sample when we came in and we will take another one when we get to the observation room. Then, we'll check the levels of the drug in her system and should be able to give you an approximate time as to when she will start coming around. Dr. Philmore will be the physician in charge and should give you an approximate time for her release. She'll be groggy for a while. He'll tell you that rest and clear liquids and good food are the best way to recover. AND....good company to help pass the time away. I'll see you, sir."

Monique came into the living room just as they were wheeling her out the door and into the waiting emergency vehicle. Brian asked her, "What's your guess, about three to four hours?"

"That's about right," she answered. "Dan would only put in enough to knock them out for a couple of hours. He couldn't have them hanging around here all night." She looked around somewhat nervously before Brian asked the question for her.

"What's next?" he opened with a disarming smile.

She nervously smiled back and admitted, "Well, yeah. Are you.....going to take me in...arrest me..."

He put her at ease, "No, Monique, you have already given us a statement and we have made an agreement with you. In a little while, someone will take you to a safe location, although Dan will NOT be released on bond. We've frozen his assets and with the contacts that we know he has he will be considered as 'likely to flee.' For right now, I need to know some things from you."

"OK."

"Since you lived with him as man and wife for five years, there are legal footholds that would make some of the furnishings of this house as well as his liquid assets partly yours. The question right now is do you want any of the furniture and stuff?"

She looked around and answered negatively, "Not really. It will all remind me of him. I would like to have my clothes, though. I was able to buy some nice outfits with what little bit he doled out to me. And, I have a few personal things I would like to take with me if I could."

"Certainly, I've got a policewoman coming in a few moments. She will have several suitcases and as many cardboard boxes as you might need. So far as I am concerned you can pack up anything you want as long as it's not evidence. The only stipulation is that our officer HAS to inspect every piece of clothing and every item you take out tonight. Once it has her approval and gets out the front door, it's yours to do with as you please. You'll have a few days to hang around so we can ask you any question that might come up. This weekend, we will take you to your new home and you start your new job Monday morning."

A relaxed smile broke across her face as she said, "Thanks." After a moment's hesitation she looked at him and shook her head.

"What?" he asked with a smile of his own.

"Just how did you talk her into being the bait? What did you promise her?"

"I didn't," was his surprising answer. "She is the one that talked me into letting her be the bait. She said she felt like it was something that the Lord wanted her to do. I asked her at several stages of the game if she wanted out and she always said, 'No'. She felt as if it was something that she had to do. She said that Jesus would have done the same thing."

"H-m-m-m," was Monique's only reply.

Around 2:30 the next morning, Marci began to groggily become aware of where she was. Or should I say where she wasn't. This wasn't her bed or her room. She half-way tried to sit up but her arms wouldn't quite cooperate.

A nurse came through the door. "Miss Hensley, it's OK. You're in a hospital," she began as she came to her bedside.

"O-h-h-h," she groaned as she fell back on her pillow. She managed a weak smile as she asked, "Am I OK? I....no, that's not right. Wait a minute......did?"

The nurse patted her on the shoulder, "Miss Hensley, the best thing for you to do is get some rest and let that stuff wear off. We've had an IV going, so you might have to go to the restroom. Would you like for me to help you?"

Marci shook her head a little to try to clear the cobwebs. She stared at the nurse for a minute to try to focus her eyes. Then it hit her. "Oh. OH! Oh, yes, I need your help to get to the restroom."

As Marci struggled to get up fairly quickly, the nurse hurriedly threw Marci's arm over her shoulder and they half-way ran and half-way stumbled into the restroom. The nurse closed the door and said, "I'm going to the nurse's station to get you some aspirin. Will you be OK for a few minutes?"

She heard a groan from inside the bathroom that sounded vaguely like a yes. Just to be sure, she listened quietly at the door for a moment before proceeding to the nurse's station. She was back in less than two minutes. She called out to Marci, "Miss Hensley, this is Janet, your nurse, are you OK?"

"Yeah, I believe so," Marci wearily answered. "But, please, don't go anywhere. I need to ask you some questions."

"I'll be right here, Miss Hensley," Janet assured her. "I have been assigned as your private nurse while you're here. I'm going to straighten you bed, but just give me a call if you need any help."

"OK."

After a few more minutes, Marci finally stepped out of the bathroom. Janet came over to help her to her bed. She slowly made her way to the bed and gently sat down on the edge of it. "Oh, my God," she moaned, "I am so glad that I don't drink. They said that the after effects of the drug would be a hangover. U-g-g-g. Why do people drink if they know they are going to feel this way in the morning? O-o-o-o-o, people are so-o-o-o shtupid.....uh stupid."

Janet smiled at her and said as she went to get her a glass of water to take the aspirin with, "You're having a rough time, aren't you. That was a mighty brave thing that you did, young lady."

Marci started to cry and Janet sat down on the bed beside her and held her again. "That's OK, just let it all out if you need to. Sometimes that's part of the after effects."

"No, no, it's not just that," Marci said as laid her weary head on Janet's shoulder, "it's just those poor helpless girls that that......" she spat the word out, "ungodly jerk practically destroyed their lives in just a moment of time." She sobbed as she went on, "One minute.....their hopes are getting higher that....(sob) they might be able to pass a college course, and...and then they wake up sold to some pimp with a handful of embarrassing pictures and their lives almost in ruins."

All Janet could do was to let her have a good cry. At times like this, after what Marci had gone through, a good cry was better than any aspirin. After five minutes, it was pretty well over. Marci admitted that her nerves were bungled but that she felt like she could go back to sleep pretty easily now.

Janet got up to leave but stopped as she got to the door. "Oh, I forgot to tell you," she said, "Brian said that he had to go up to Washington to be in on the 'sweep' and he said you would know what he meant. Why he said that, I don't know. The word is already out and newspaper people are looking for the 'hero.' Nobody's telling, though. He said to remind you of your supper date Saturday night and that he'll text you about it. Now get some sleep."

As the door closed behind her, Marci was disappointed that Brian wasn't going to be around. After all that had happened, she could have used his companionship. However, worry didn't stop the weariness that enveloped her again and brought her into a deep, restful sleep.

# Chapter Twenty Three

It was after 11:00 a.m. when she opened her eyes again. This time her head was a lot clearer. She remembered where she was and all the events leading up to the tea. As sleep was oozing away from her mind, she remembered Janet and their conversation. Oh, yeah. She remembered why Brian wasn't going to be there, too.

A somewhat familiar voice asked with a chuckle, "Well, are you finally awake, Sleeping Beauty?" A very prim older lady got up from the arm chair on the other side of the room and made her way to her. In a matter of fact manner she said, "I apologize for being here unannounced, but they let me in when I told them that I was your grandmother. I hope you don't mind."

Marci's eyes widened and she sat up quickly as she asked excitedly, "Grandmother Barton? Is that you?" Without waiting for an answer, she began to swing her legs off the bed in an attempt to stand up.

Annette rushed over and cautioned her, "No, no, no. Don't try to get up right now. Give yourself some time to wake up." As she got close to Marci, she couldn't help but cry. As they embraced she declared, "Oh, my sweetheart, my sweetheart. I have always dreamed of meeting you one day." She suddenly leaned back from their embrace and grinned real big before saying, "But I never thought it would be under these circumstances."

Quickly she gave Marci and extra precious hug before completely letting her go and admitting, "Then again, it doesn't really matter at all. I get to see you is....I get to see you."

A few tears had stolen their way down Marci's cheeks also. She agreed, "Yep, I get to see you is I get to see you. After all these years, God let our paths cross." The expression left her face immediately as she continued, "Although the circumstances aren't the best in the world."

"Yes, it would have been better if you had ever known your father before......the crash," Annette began as she looked down at the floor. "But, then again, maybe not."

Marci looked at her grandmother with a surprised look on her face as she asked, "Uh....how did you know I was in here?"

Annette twirled her finger in the air as she tried to pronounce the name, "Mrs. Pretrodu.. uhm..Peterski...what's her name?"

"Mrs. Piatrowski?"

"Yes," she answered, "her." Annette looked her in the eyes and Marci knew that something heavy was weighing on her heart. "I called to talk to you privately about a couple of things that I didn't want Dennis to hear when we come down to see you this Saturday. When I called the college someone put me through to her. She told me about the brave thing you did yesterday and she told me your room number."

"Miss Hensley?" spoke a voice from the door.

"Come in."

Janet peeked through the door and said to Annette, "She finally woke up, huh?" Then to Marci she asked, "Are you ready for something to eat? I can bring you breakfast or lunch, either one."

"I'm not exactly hungry right now," Marci answered. "But I could use a good cup of coffee. Grandmother, would you like something?"

"Coffee would suit me just fine."

"Coming right up, then."

Marci suggested, "Why don't we drag those arm chairs closer so I can get out of this bed. Too much sleeping has made me stiff."

"I can understand that," Annette replied while helping Marci get her chair situated.

Janet surprised them as she returned in less than two minutes with two coffees, the sugar and the cream.

Annette was quick to notice, "That's the fastest service I have ever seen in a hospital. And, I've worked in several in my lifetime."

"Oh, really," Janet asked as she set a small table between them, "how long?"

"A little over thirty years, young lady, I'm a retired RN." Annette answered with a chuckle.

"Wow. I'll be you've got a lifetime of stories you could tell, huh?" Janet asked on her way out. "Call me if you need me."

Annette took a good sip of hers before she started, "That's one of the things I wanted to talk to you about, Marci."

"About being a nurse?"

"No, not exactly," she started. "After your mother broke off her engagement to Sanders, I did a lot of praying. I've never been one for going to church all the time and I guess I should have, but I thought I had a good reason not to." She took another sip and continued, "When I retired several years ago, I had a lot of time to just think and pray. We-e-l-l-l, how do I get started saying what I want to say."

Marci looked at the face of her grandmother and could tell something was weighing very heavy on her heart. It would have been the wrong thing to interrupt her thought process by asking her anything. The best she could do was sit quietly and let her grandmother sort it out.

Annette looked up and said with a smile, "I guess the shortest way to say this is that I whole-heartedly believe that my son never had what it took to be a good husband or a good father." She watched Marci's face to see if anything sank in.

Marci shook her head and said, "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."

Annette sighed deeply and explained, "I had high hopes for his marriage to Leslie. Yes, she was younger than he was but she worked for the racing team that Sanders drove for. It sounded like a good idea. Naturally, since they worked together, they would have more time to spend together. But, even with that, Sanders hardly paid any attention to her. We had all hoped that when little Dennis came around things would change but they didn't.

"Now, I'm not the best Christian in the world, but I began to ask the Lord for a few answers. One day, it all came to me. The truth is we trained Sanders to be the way that he was. You see, Jack, my late husband, was on the road every week as a truck driver. I was an RN when we married, so I worked for the local hospital. He got all wrapped up in his truck on the weekends and I thought that every person close to death in that hospital needed my personal attention. When Sanders came along, he should have been the focal point of our lives. Instead, he became more of a distraction. But, we had money and we could afford all kinds of day care for him. We bought him everything he wanted but gave him none of what he really needed. What he really needed was a momma and a daddy that showed how much they cared.

"I can only guess how he treated your mother by the way he treated Leslie. It wasn't until their marriage was falling apart that I finally realized that he was treating her the same way that Jack and I treated each other. Then it dawned on me that we had raised him to be that way."

Annette reached over and squeezed Marci's hand. When Marci looked up she saw that she was crying, "Oh, Grandmother, please don't cry. It's alright." Annette held her hand tightly as she sobbed softly.

Without loosening her grip she managed to say to Marci, "No, it's not alright, Honey. If Jack and I had spent more time with him as a mother and a father," she lifted her head up to look at Marci with a sweet smile, "I could have spent my days spoiling one of the prettiest granddaughters a gal could ever have."

Marci couldn't hold it back. She lifted her grandmother's hand to her lips and kissed it gently before holding it to her cheek. Silently they sobbed together for a few moments. Something in Marci stirred and a love bond was being cemented into her life. She knew that she would have to keep in touch with Grandmother Barton from now on. More importantly, her insides told her that she needed to be the proper sister to her little brother.

She had always envisioned herself as the white-frocked doctor in some chemistry lab. There she would be meticulously searching for the life-secrets that would help others live out their days a little healthier. But, her grandmother's confession, 'I thought that every person close to death in that hospital needed my personal attention' hit home to her. In a moment of time, her heart longed to spend time with her grandmother. Even greater than that was the responsibility she now sensed toward her little brother.

The thought suddenly hammered into her spirit, 'Oh, my gosh, I have a little brother.' His profile picture on Facebook suddenly popped into her mind. His freckles and disarming smile with his two front teeth missing brought a sudden giggle that came within an ace of startling Annette for a moment.

Marci's face lit up as she gushed, "It's hitting home to me, Grandmother. Just when I thought I was alone, God has enriched my life with you......and one of the cutest little brothers in the world." She giggled a little louder as she apologized, "I'm sorry. It's just the joy....well... way down inside just....oops, is it wrong to say that he's the cutest little brother.....ever?"

Annette chuckled at her as she answered, "Honey, he is cuter in person than he is in that picture. Just wait 'til you see him. But watch out. He is a charmer. He's bound to wrap you around his little finger."

Marci was still wide-eyed at the thought as she stated, "I don't know...I guess I'll just have to wait and probably.......just let him do it."

They were laughing at their own silliness when Janet came in with Marci's lunch tray and apologized, "Oops. Hope I'm not disturbing anything. Here's your din-din." She put the tray on the table and quickly left.

Annette looked at her watch, "Oh, my goodness. I've got to go so I can pick up Dennis from school. It's a two hour drive, you know. But, before I go, you need to know something else." Without waiting for a response, she continued, "Leslie and Sanders had been dabbling in drugs just like the others in their crowd. When Sanders got killed a couple of weeks ago, she began to hit them hard and heavy. A-a-a-n-n-d, she took a bad combination and is now in a hospital for God knows how long. Health and Human Services has put Dennis in my custody since she is unable to care for him."

She looked at her straight in the eyes as she finished, "But he's six and I'm sixty-eight. When he's eighteen, I'll be eighty. I'm really wrestling about putting him up for adoption to some nice, Christian couple. He doesn't need an old lady to raise him, not that I wouldn't do everything I could. I would most certainly give him all the love and attention I could. But, Marci, he needs more than that. He needs a Godly daddy to show him how to treat a Godly momma right. And, I can't do that by myself. Honey, I need all the prayers you can send up for me right now."

They stood up to hug their good-byes. "I will Grandmother," Marci promised as she gave her one last hug. "Are you still bringing my baby brother to see me Saturday?"

"I sure am."

"Well, I've got your number and I'll text you with the address."

With a mischievous twinkle in her eye she asked as she headed for the door, "Why? I spent two years there many moons ago on my way to becoming an RN. Mrs. Petro......Mrs. P told me that nothing has changed on that part of the campus. I'll find you."

"OK, then I'll see you Saturday."

"We'll probably get there about two o'clock," her grandmother said as she he walked out and closed the door firmly behind her. Marci sat back in her chair and thought for a moment. The faint fragrance of her grandmother's perfume still lingered in the air. What her grandmother had said was etching its way onto her heart. There was so much truth to what she said.

The more she thought about what her grandmother had said, the more the truth began to feed another starving part of her soul. He needs a Godly daddy to show him how to treat a Godly momma right. She began to see her life in a different context. She was so glad that she was in a quiet hospital while God was dealing with her. If she had been at the crazy dorm right now, God wouldn't stand a chance of talking to her like this. It all helped her to know that God's timing is ALWAYS impeccable.

# Chapter Twenty Four

The plane made one last turn before it began its approach to the runway. Ramon had been by the window during the flight. Now, Taylor was leaning over him to get a good view of Afghanistan. Finally she admitted, "I didn't think that this place could look any bleaker than the practice area back in the states, but it certainly does. That place was a rose garden compared to this."

"I know what you mean," Ramon agreed. "Is it me or do the rocks look dryer?"

A captain who was flying with them explained, "After the plane finishes its maneuver, you might be able to see the reason. A dust storm just traveled through the area. When you disembark, you'll find a layer of fine, powdery dust almost an inch thick over just about everything. Look, there it is now, straight ahead of us."

Taylor and Ramon almost became contortionists trying to catch a glimpse of the fast moving storm. Ramon conjectured, "It must be a half a mile high. Look at those plumes of dust. It must be really whipping around down there."

Taylor offered, "My guess is that there's no way to avoid being in one."

"That's right," the captain agreed. "No matter what you try to do or where you try to go to get out of one's path, you're going to get stranded right in the middle of one at some point in time. Most of the guys learn to just hunker down and wait 'til it's over."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Ramon said."

After the plane came to a stop, everyone got out of their seats and began getting their carry-ons ready. The captain reminded everyone before the door was opened, "For those of you who are new here, don't forget. There are no officers here so there will be no saluting, period. Everyone's insignia is sewn into their uniforms. There is nothing shiny to be worn by anybody at any time. To a sniper a couple of hundred yards away, shiny means officer. And, it also means death." As they started out of the plane he continued, "And, for God's sake none of this 'Yes, SIR' stuff. Send your 'Sirs' back home. To an infiltrator who doesn't know insignia a sir means sick 'em."

As they walked down the steps to the ground, a captain with a corporal on each side met them. Without being asked, they gave their briefcases to the captain and set their bags down for the corporals to handle. The captain shook their hands and said, "Welcome to Afghanistan. Major Bennett has spoken highly of you two." As he looked at Taylor he smiled broadly and added, "Sgt. Givens had several words about you, also, Sanders."

Taylor tried to keep a giggle at bay but it was no use. The way the captain said it and the amused look on his face was too much. She snickered, "I just bet he did."

He continued, "I just wish someone could have had a camera to record that, I know about ten officers that would have LOVED to have a copy."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, s-s.... uh, sorry."

"We're counting on you, also, Rodriguez," he said as he looked Ramon in the eyes. "All the gifts you have will be put to the test." His voice thinned and lowered as he finished by saying, "We've lost too many men out there." As he turned to leave, he looked at the ground and repeated, "Way too many."

An extended cab truck pulled up beside them with their bags wrapped up in a tarp and sitting in the bed of the truck. The two corporals were sitting in the front seat. They climbed into the back and saw their weapons and ammo belts on the seat. Before they could get their doors shut the truck spun off toward the Afghan mountains and the one in the passenger seat took out a pair of binoculars. The driver said as he sped away from the tarmac, "The plane was about fifteen minutes late so we're going to have to lay on the gas a bit to catch up with the convoy. A single vehicle can be an inviting target, if you know what I mean. Corporal Jennings will try to watch out for possible roadside bombs and terrorist looking individuals. If you would keep your weapons ready that would be just wonderful. As for me, I will keep the pedal to the metal and my fingers in the rear window buttons.......just in case."

As the truck jostled its way out of the city, Taylor and Ramon readied their weapons. Ramon caught Taylor's eye and asked her quietly, "Are you scared?"

She answered in like manner, "No, but ever since we got off the plane, I've got this funny feeling. It's not fear, really, it's more of an oppressive.......force that keeps hammering away at me. Know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I felt it too."

"What is it?"

"My guess is that it's the prevailing belief in Islam of the people," he offered. "You know, like when you go into some churches and you can sense the Lord's presence almost immediately because everybody there has a deep abiding love for Him."

"Oh, yeah, that's right," she admitted. "Are you scared?"

"Fear did try to take hold of me for a moment."

"A moment?"

"Yeah," he explained. "I remembered something Tom taught us about the letters 'o' and 'f.' He said that we should let oppression open the doors of our faith and let fear sharpen our faith in Him and our actions to be vigilant."

She remembered the lesson he taught so often and added, "That was when he was teaching about us walking 'through' the valley of the shadow of death wasn't it? Boy, I sure enjoyed that teaching. It meant a lot to me then." She hesitated before adding, "It looks like I'll be using it now."

Ramon lingered a little bit longer on the thought. He looked at Taylor. She was looking out her window. He touched her knee with his hand and she looked at him. He could tell that there was a struggle going on in her. He added, "Tom also said that if God called us to a job, he had already qualified us for that job and he had already concluded that job for us. We just have to put our trust in Him and walk one step at a time by faith."

She reached over and grabbed his hand. As her eyes reddened she asked, "Pray with me 'Mone?"

They bowed their heads and leaned against each other. The two corporals heard the rustle of their uniforms against the seat and looked at them then looked at each other. No one was going to begrudge anyone for praying. Not in a place like this and going through what every one of them was going through.

As Ramon led in prayer, Taylor prayed in her heart, "Lord, I thank you for my partner...' She meant to say 'prayer partner' like she always did but when she just prayed the word 'partner' a shockwave shook her soul. She lifted her head and couldn't help but stare at Ramon holding her hand and praying quietly. Surely she had seen that look hundreds of times before, but right now and in this situation......something was different. Something she hadn't sensed before was unfolding in her heart. It was brand new to her and she didn't quite know what it was or how to deal with it. "Give me Your wisdom, God," she prayed out loud, "Give me Your wisdom."

They headed toward the northwest corner of Afghanistan where it borders Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. There were no military bases in that area at that point in time. However, they had information that there was quite a bit of Taliban movement going on. The deploying of an engineering battalion was just as much of an information gathering ploy as it was anything else.

In the past months, terrorist sniper activity had increased. Army intelligence had intercepted several communiques that seemed to indicate that some kind of full offensive was about to take place. So far, nobody could figure out what it possibly could be. The snipers on day shift would hardly see a thing. It was the ones that were stationed around the perimeter at night that took the hits.

The battalion had twice as many snipers assigned to it than they normally would have. Every sniper wore an open mike that communicated all of their conversations to a double staffed command post. AH-64 Apache helicopters were manned and ready 24/7 and could be at the attacked position in a matter of minutes.

However, the attacks came undetected. Despite all of their vigilance, each attack was a complete surprise. There would be a series of explosions presumably from rocket propelled grenades, a hail of gunfire that would last only one minute and two dead snipers who never had a chance.

Where did they come from and where did they go? No one had a clue. There was constant surveillance during the night. Only twice did they capture what happened on film. It looked like the terrorists crawled out from underneath the rocks, did their job and crawled back underneath the rocks. However, a full inspection of the area during the next day showed no caves or any possible way that a sneak attack could have happened.

Taylor and Ramon spent the rest of the day drinking coffee and listening to everyone talk about their experiences since coming to the region. Each individual had their own slant on the problem. Many ideas were tossed around. In the end, no one could come up with a firm and plausible idea as to why they were stalemated by the enemy.

When the talk subsided for a moment, Sgt. Rivera, the head NCO asked Ramon, "So I hear that you have some kind of special intuition that not everyone has. Where did you get it from? Did GOD give it to you?" He chuckled at his own remarks and several others joined him.

Ramon was a little amused at the question but didn't back down one iota, "You might say that He did. Then again you might say that life itself did. I believe that God is the author of all things that come into my life. He brought me through various sets of circumstances that none of you have gone through. You might call it a special training course that just might be useful for what we are going through right now."

As he quickly scanned the faces of all who were at the table, he knew that he had pushed several buttons. Leisurely, he took a sip of his coffee and waited for the next question.

Sgt. Rivera bought it by asking, "How so?"

Ramon looked around the room before answering, "I was born and raised in the slums of Mexico City. Four families lived in our modest three room home. That's not all that unusual for that part of the country. I was the thirteenth child born in that household and everyone considered me the unlucky devil child. The other twelve children considered it their Catholic duty to beat up on me every chance they got. It didn't take me very long to become suspicious of doorways, alleyways, the corner of the house, chairs pulled out farther than they were supposed to be and things like that. I also developed a style of running, dodging and hand-slapping to keep from being grabbed. So, yes, the things that God brought me through heightened my intuition probably more than the next guy. I personally don't think that it's anything special. If any of you had gone through what I went through when you grew up, you'd probably develop the same kind of intuition. You learn a different meaning of 'thinking out of the box."

No one at the table snickered as they heard his story. Lt. Pierce spoke up, "I can see what you mean, now. And, if that's the case, you might just be able to pick up on the obvious that we can't come up with........yet."

A lot of the heads nodded in affirmation of the lieutenant's statement. Sgt. Rivera spoke up, "I suggest then, that we all break for chow and get to know each other. Then a couple of you guys take them on a tour of the facility and especially show them the ambush sites. Hopefully, you can find some things that all of the rest of us have missed."

Thirty minutes after sunrise, Taylor and Ramon found themselves bouncing along the rough Afghanistan terrain with Jeep and Hedgeway. The two snipers showed them some of their sentry spots that overlooked the valley and the subsequent mountain terrain on the other side of it. To say that it was rugged would be an understatement.

When they stopped at the second sentry point about a mile away from camp, Ramon spoke up, "Good golly, where in the world do you begin to look for hiding places on a mountain like that? Every place you look has the possibility of being a cave covered by rocks. Look at how several of the rock formations look like a pyramid. That would be a fantastic way to hide the mouth of a cave. This mountain is at least fifty feet higher than anything around it. Notice how it seems like a ledge of rocks run to the left? That could be the way they get into and out of the cave at a run. And, possibly they could use it as cover to ambush someone from."

Jeep and Hedgeway looked at each other. Jeep spoke up, "You know, I never thought of it just that way before but you've got a good point. However, we would have to watch them pour out of it or run back into it to give us a reason to call a strike."

"Yep," Hedgeway interjected, "rules is rules."

"I know," Ramon answered, "but just keep that thought alive in the back of your head. You never can tell when something will add up once we get the pieces to the puzzle together."

As they walked back to their Humvee, Taylor asked, "Are we very far away from one of the places that they ambushed?"

Jeep answered as he climbed into the driver's seat, "That just happens to be our next stop. We weren't going to go there right away but we will now. That thought in the back of my head is beating my brains out," he said as he threw a smile in their direction. "Let's get over there and look back towards this point and see if anything will add up. We used this point up until a few days ago. I do not know how it happened but a couple of rocket propelled grenades went off and blew the snipers to kingdom come. There was no gunfire, no yelling, no noise or anything. All we heard at the command center was Les and Jimmy talking. Then there was this 'towsh-sh, towsh-sh, towsh-sh' and three explosions. The sentries at the base turned just in time to see the explosions but had no idea from which direction they came. Les and Jimmy had no idea. And to be honest with you none of us have any idea. "

They made a slight left turn and went another half a mile before they came to a fifty foot rise. Hedgeway pointed out, "All of us thought that a sniper's nest up there would be safe enough and would give us a good lookout advantage of the valley. It gives us a good lookout but for whatever reason it is not a safe place."

They parked the vehicle and got out. "Hedgeway, stay here and cover for us, will you?"

"Gotcha."

They had to climb about twenty-five feet to get to the lookout point. Not a real exasperating climb but enough of one that you took had to take your hands off of your weapon. Every one of them knew that even a two second delay in getting your weapon ready was more than enough time for the enemy to get the upper hand. A couple of crows were pecking on the remnants of something at the back corner of the snipers nest. The reluctantly flew away as the three of them began to walk around.

Jeep offered as he kept his binoculars to his eyes, "I'll watch the area as you two look around. I've seen it enough myself."

"Gotcha," Ramon replied.

He and Taylor began to look around the sight. "What are we looking for?" Taylor asked

"The abnormal among the normal," he answered.

"Say, what?" she asked.

"Find something normal and examine it to see if there's anything different about it. A lot of times we just look at the same thing day in and day out and don't notice its peculiarities," he explained.

"Like one of those Where's Waldo pictures?"

"Pretty much."

Everyone was occupied by their own actions and thoughts for a few minutes. A hungry crow came back and perched on a nearby rock. When he saw that no one was paying any attention to him, he hopped back to his dinner. Out of the corner of his eye Ramon caught the unusual. The crow picked up something. Ramon glanced over, saw what it was and quickly threw some gravel toward him. The crow dropped its prize and flew away in a dither.

Ramon muttered, "I bet that's it." He stepped over and stooped down to investigate.

"What is it, 'Mone?"

He reached for a thin piece of leather that had been entangled in the remains of a rat. As he lifted it up he said, "Here it is, the abnormal among the normal."

Jeep and Taylor both watched as he gently pulled the strap up from among the torn pieces of rat that obviously met its fate the same night the snipers did. "There it is," he said with a smile as he lifted the strap up for all to look at.

As they all stared at the small object attached to the leather strap, Jeep declared, "Oh, my gosh! That's an American made GPS device."

"Correct," Ramon answered. "The same kind you can get off the internet and put on your pooch to keep track of him. My guess is that the corner over there was where the guys go to take their dump. The rats get trained to eat human waste and get brought out here to scavenge."

Jeep continued for him, "So they track the rat until he stops to eat. Then they triangulate that point by three experts with RPGs and they don't have to get that close. The locals know more about the lay of this land than we could ever figure out. It wouldn't be too hard for them to know exactly where to shoot even in the dark."

"Precisely," Ramon answered. "Let's get back to Lt. Pierce and start making plans on ruining their party."

On the way back to camp, Jeep posed the question to Ramon. "We've solved the problem of how they could pinpoint our sniper's nests. How could they get so close without being detected?" he asked.

The question had already come up in Ramon's mind and he had already placed it before the Lord. He knew that if he strained at the problem with his own reasoning, God's answer would never come.

Instead, he let his mind be at ease and worshipped God in his heart. Hearing from God in His time meant to dwell on Him during times of stress. He always had His answer. The problem was that mankind was not always in a position to hear Him when He was ready to speak.

Ramon answered, "First of all let's consider the obvious." As he talked, he sensed the answer coming. "How did they scan the area for enemy movement during the night?" As he mouthed the question to Jeep, it seemed as if God planted the answer in his heart. To him the answer was now obvious.

Jeep answered, "Just like we always do, with infrared binoculars. Your body heat is a tell-tale sign."

"Then," Ramon went on, "if they were looking for an infrared sign and didn't get one that must mean that they were cloaked with something that blocked their body heat. That must NOW be the obvious as to how they could get so close and be undetected."

"That's not possible," Taylor insisted.

"How do the pizza companies keep the pizzas hot so they can deliver them to you?"

Hedgeway answered, "Oh, my gosh. With a thermal lined pouch."

Ramon continued, "And, what did they teach us in sniper school about our ghillie suits?"

"You're kiddin'."

"Think about it. We would use thermal hoodies to hide our face signatures at night wouldn't we?" Ramon asked. "What if you had one strapped to your ankles and your wrists, a hump on your back and you crawled on all fours. Your weapon could be strung to your neck and your waist and dangle beneath you as you crawled. Little peep holes could be cut. You would look like a rock. You've got all night so you could crawl as slow as you needed to. Someone watching the snipers could tell from their infrared signature when they were looking your way. You could stop."

"And all the time we're looking for a two-legged soldier to creep up on us, we don't pay attention to a rock," Jeep admitted. "That's it! Ramon, you're right. It is the obvious."

Hedgeway shook his head as he admitted, "I read last year that the Japanese had already perfected a cloth that would do that but didn't think anything about it until just now. And, if it could be copied or stolen, you'd better believe our enemies probably have a bunch of them right now. Oh, my God, it's a different war."

"With different rules," added Ramon. "Gents, it's up to us to change the rules in our favor. Listen to this plan."

# Chapter Twenty Five

The plan was to build a sniper's nest in plain sight of the enemy. They chose a very vulnerable spot about two miles away from the main camp. In Ramon's estimation, the area that they could observe would be the most likely spot for some kind of a hidden cave. After scouting the area that afternoon, Lt. Pierce and Sgt. Rivera agreed.

The next morning, two front end loaders went out to the area and began building their nest. They scooped up enough dirt and rocks to build a ten foot high berm. Next they collected all sizes of rocks to fortify the nest with. On the pretext of lifting the rocks to be in place, the front end loaders lifted their buckets to the top of the berm. Several men took turns taking rocks out and others put rocks back in. They knew they were being watched so they had to be careful. While they were putting on their little charade, a couple of their co-workers were busy digging a four foot wide tunnel down the back of the nest for a hasty retreat when the need arose. And, all of them brought samples of their last 'dumps' to be placed at the back of the nest right next to the four foot wide tunnel. It was hoped that the smell would begin wafting over the area and that the rats would take advantage of extra wide back door.

After they got through building their masterpiece, they all stood back and looked at the mound of dirt they had built. Each front end loader had brought more rocks than what was needed. They just dumped the extra rocks in piles not too far away from the nest as if they were through with their project. Actually, that was part of the plan.

At dusk that same day, two trucks made a run out to the nest on the pretext of taking Ramon and Taylor to their assigned station. The two drivers, along with the two snipers busied themselves carrying equipment up to the top of the nest. Of course, everything in the backs of their trucks had been covered in heavy tarps to keep everything from getting gritty in the Afghan dust. As they pulled the tarps back from the material, they let them hang over the driver's side of the trucks. That allowed the other two snipers that had been roped to the side of the vehicles to cut themselves loose and make their way undetected to their mounds of extra rock. Taylor and Ramon would not be alone during the night. They would have two extra sets of eyes with pre-assigned areas to scan.

By the time the drivers left, darkness had pretty much settled in. Taylor and Ramon had settled in to their lookout positions. They had built fake ghillie heads to try to fool the Taliban into thinking they were always at the front of the barricade. Actually a couple of hidden scupper holes had been built by the engineers at various locations along the bottom of the barricade so they could watch the horizon without being vulnerable to a head shot. A lot of planning had gone into this gimmick. But if that was a master cave entrance like they thought it was, it could be the key to stopping the terrorist activity throughout an extremely large region.

A couple of hours had passed and there was nothing sited, yet. The communications room had always had the practice of talking to the snipers. It gave the guys back at the base some kind of feeling for what was going on in the snipers' heads and it helped keep them awake. Knowing that the enemy could very well be listening in on the conversation, Ramon had suggested a little code talk. Considering the nest to be the middle of a clock and the tallest rock on the pyramid of rocks across the way to be 12, if any of them spotted any kind of movement they would say something with a number in it. The number would indicate the hour of the clock that they spotted any movement. Movement? The last warning before departing was to watch for moving rocks and not just infrared images.

Taylor and Ramon were lying flat on their stomachs and were scanning the terrain through the scupper holes the engineers made for them. Something brushed against her foot and she almost sat up in reaction to it. Ramon flashed his black light on long enough to see two beady eyes staring back at him. He ran the thin light down the creatures head and found the GPS emitter strapped to it. He turned the light off and whispered to Taylor, "The next sound you hear will probably be that varmint trap so get ready for it."

He looked at her silhouette just a few feet away and tried to think of something to say to calm her down. He quickly got back into his lookout position and once again pulled the binoculars to his eyes. The greedy varmint stepped a little too close to the trap and it snapped shut with a 'clank.'

Ramon jumped while Taylor just giggled at him. She whispered back, "And I thought I was scared." She turned back to her lookout position.

Ramon would have loved to be anywhere else with Taylor right now. All he wanted to do was just hold her in his arms, tell her how sweet she was and how much he loved her. His heart had been longing for her for years. And, tonight with both of their futures up for grabs, if something did happen to one of them he wanted her to know just how he felt.

She had softened some in the past month or so. He settled himself down as he remembered the fact that God had a plan, a plan to do them both good. His job was not to do the planning just the following. He turned back to his scupper hole just in time.

Lester's voice came over the communicator, "You know, I could use two big fat burritos right now. No, make that four. Well, I wish I had a platter full."

Skidrow came in right behind him, "Is that all you can think about is food. Nighttime is time to think about women. I've whittled my list of women down from twelve to seven. Seven women, mmm, mmm, mmm. One for every night of the week. Come to me baby. Don't be shy. There's plenty of Skidrow to go around."

Back at the base, two AH-4 Apaches cranked, their crew strapped themselves in and checked their weapons. Lt. Pierce ordered a drone into the air immediately while the Apaches were warming up. Every available man grabbed their weapons, their ammo belts and headed for a waiting Humvee. The medics had already loaded their trucks and were the first ones to crank. Orders were to mount up, warm up but keep the lights off until they were ordered. It was evident from the conversation heard over the comm system that Ramon had been right about a massive cave in the area.

Ramon began to sweat as his grip on his weapon tightened. Lester and Skidrow were keeping up some kind of banter in hopes that their attackers would not know they were being watched. They had to wait for the last possible second in the hopes they could catch as many off guard as they could.

He glanced over at Taylor and she was twitching her nose and licking her lips, a sure sign that she was nervous. She looked at him for some kind of sign. He flattened his hand and motioned for her to get ready to slide down the escape hole. Two 'rocks' had moved directly in front of the nest. "Getting ready to dive," he whispered into his comm mike.

Lt. Rivera spoke, "Get a mark on that cave and be ready to seal it on my order."

Ramon whispered, "What if more come out when the fighting starts, or what if a team could roll down the cave? What could we find?"

"Good thought, but my call."

"Lollipop," someone whispered. There was a barrel beginning to creep out from underneath one of the 'rocks.'

Ramon's adrenaline was pumping as he kept his eyes on the 'rock' right in front of him. His attention was focused only on what was unfolding in front of him, so it was only natural for him to let down his guard in other areas. As the terrorist with the RPG began to stand up he whispered sharply, "Dive, Honey."

She looked at him and hesitated as she wondered if she heard him right. He was not sure himself so he repeated what he meant to say a little more harshly, "Dive!" As she slid down the escape hole, Ramon stood and gave a five round burst from his M110 semi-automatic.

The terrorist jerked as the rounds went right threw him. His involuntary movement caused the grenade launcher to fire. The RPG landed between Lester's position and the nest.

An explosion of voices and sounds filled everyone's earpieces. "Game on." "Roll, Roll, Roll, and get a video of that cave, NOW!" "Hang on and make your weapons hot." "Medics, third in line and don't lag." "Lights on everything. Make it daylight out there."

As the RPG exploded amid all the voices, a scream was heard. With one step, Ramon reached the escape hole and yelled, "Taylor" as he slid down. She was curled up on her right side and holding a bloody left side.

"Let me see," he commanded. Without waiting he jerked her over onto her back. Both hands were covering the wound and blood was oozing through her fingers.

"It hit my breast and I think there is something still in there. My God, Ramon, it's burning, it's burning," she moaned as she tried to rock back and forth. She kept raising her right knee and putting it down.

Ramon pulled at her hands and told her again, "Let me see. I've got to see if there is a fragment." As she relinquished her hold, half of her shirt was stuck to her hand and pulled away from her body revealing a big, bloody gash on her left breast. Tenderly Ramon touched the edge of the gash and felt something hard. "Hold on and let me see if I can get this thing out."

"Don't, 'Mone, it hurts when.......oh, my God...it hurts."

Ramon heard a barrage of RPG's as they hit the front of the nest and threw dirt and stones all over the place. He bent over Taylor to keep anything from getting into the wound.

Voices, sounds and vehicle noises were screaming through his earpiece. Right now he wanted to jerk it out but that was out of the question. If they were going to make it out of there he had to be able to hear what was going on, no matter how loud it was.

He looked down at her as he waited for the falling debris to stop. Her face was contorted with pain. "I can't put any pressure on that wound to stop the bleeding with that piece in there. Let me see if I can wiggle it out. It's just gonna have to hurt," he tried to persuade her.

Without waiting for her permission, he gently squeezed the wound with his left hand. As the wound opened a bit, blood began to flow. He pulled gently on the piece of shrapnel with the thumb and forefinger of his right hand. It moved just a bit.

She arched her back and moaned in pain, "Hurry. I don't feel it pulling on anything. Oh, get it out... get it out, ple-e-a-se."

Ramon pulled a little bit harder and it slid right out followed by a gush of fresh blood. "Is that better?" he asked.

"Yeah, much better," she sighed as she tried to sit up to look at it.

Ramon got to his knees and began taking off his shirt as he explained, "I'm going to roll up my shirt and tie it around you by the arms in an effort to make a compress to stop the bleeding. The whole left side of your shirt is torn off. Now just sit still."

A couple of rounds struck the rocks around them. Taylor screamed for the first time since she was a little girl. "Aw, shoot," she moaned, "why did I do that for?"

Ramon bent back down and slid his rolled up shirt behind her. Their faces were not very far apart. He stopped and looked her in the eyes and answered her in a firm voice, "You did it because you're a female. That's the way you were born. Just because your daddy didn't appreciate you being born a boy doesn't mean that everybody else feels the same way."

He pulled her up for just a minute and placed his shirt where it would be the best compress until the medics got there. Then he tied the arms together as tight as he felt he should. He reached for his weapon and his ammo belt and continued, "And I, for one, am VERY glad you're a female."

He wanted to say more but a spray of bullets interrupted him. He bent over her quickly to protect her and finished by saying, "And I'm not going to let ANYTHING happen to you. I need you to count with me. I've got three more five shot sprays in this magazine. Have a magazine ready to throw to me, will ya'? Those Apaches are coming in and some of these bozos will be trying to pull them down."

He stood up, readied his M110 and declared, "And I intend to interrupt the peewaddling snot out of as many as I can."

She shook her head 'yes' as she pulled the ammo belt to her and pulled a magazine out of its strap. Out of all the noise that was going on around her, her own thoughts were the loudest. 'Dive, Honey. That's what he said. He said 'Dive, Honey'. He just can't love me. I'm not the type to love. But, he called me Honey.'

Ramon shouldered his weapon and stepped out from behind the nest. As the Apaches approached and started spraying the open area between the nest and the mountain, Ramon decided to try knocking out some of the guys that had taken cover in the rocks. His untried theory was to sight down the barrel with both eyes open so he could watch bigger area with his peripheral vision. Hopefully he could catch someone taking aim at him and avoid being shot. Each spray would be a diagonal line toward his target. He knew he might waste a couple of sprays until he zeroed in on his target. Instead of lying down, he stood up sideways and walked with uneven steps toward his left to create as thin a silhouette as he could. Those that he couldn't take out, he wanted to keep them guessing so they couldn't get a good bead on the Apaches overhead.

His first spray was too high. In the confusion of the moment, he forgot that the powerful M110 shot high at close range. The second spray found its mark and in the daylight of the Apache's lighting system, he saw a weapon fall down the front of the rocks. He crab-walked back toward Taylor and chose his next target. His last spray sent a shower of sparks and rocks down on the shooter. He quickly ejected the magazine and Taylor threw him another. As he slammed it into his weapon, he again began to crab-walk back to his left to keep from being a still target.

A bullet ripped a path to his right. He turned to see a standing shooter ready for a second shot. A quick burst took care of him. The Apaches were making mincemeat out of the terrorists in the open. The lights from the approaching Humvees bouncing their way to the ruckus caused a hasty retreat toward the cave. The Taliban snipers on the mountain began shooting in haste to help their comrades make it back safely. Lester and Skidrow got up and began to copy Ramon's style of shooting at the marksmen on the mountain.

Each pass the Apaches made caused the mountain to light up with sparks. For the moment, they were pinned down. If Ramon and company could keep this up, it would be a great break for the US Army.

Humvees with their machine guns blazing were screeching to a halt all over the place. He could hear orders being shouted through his earpiece as well as on the ground. Lt. Pierce had given the order to try to corral the Taliban as close to the cave as possible and then the men in the Apaches were to spray the area with concussion grenades in the hope of shaking the enemy to their knees.

As he used us his last spray, Ramon began to yell, "Medic, medic, behind the nest, man down behind the nest."

"On the way. On the way."

His last spray hit their target. That made six kills out of eight sprays. He ejected his magazine and side-stepped to Taylor. As she lifted the magazine toward him, the shirt compress rubbed into the wound and caused her to wince and drop the magazine on her stomach. He leaned over on his right leg to pick it up intending to ask her if she was OK. His mistake was that he had stood still for too long. A sniper found his mark.

The shot hit the upper inside part of Ramon's thigh. It barely grazed the bone but tore through his artery. The force of the shot flipped him to the other side of Taylor. She watched him in slow motion. His helmet flew off his head. She saw a splash of blood from somewhere. His butt hit first, then like a whip lash, he head hit. But it didn't hit the rock. It couldn't have hit the rock. As his arms finally hit the ground, his head turned eerily toward her. One eye was closed and the other rolled back in his head.

Somewhere, a long ways away, a woman was screaming but it couldn't have been her. Men came up to her. Men stepped between her and Ramon. Men began pulling on her. She could no longer see....would someone shut that woman up.

"Put her under, she's becoming unstable."

# Chapter Twenty Six

Taylor had faded in and out of consciousness for a several hours. Every time she would begin to come around, the shock and stress would send her blood pressure out of sight. She would have to be sedated again.

Due to hers and Ramon's delicate situation, the decision was made to send them both immediately to the Army Medical Center in Germany. As she came out from under the sedative she realized she was in a room with a lot of people in it.

"Sgt. Sanders? Can you hear me," a voice asked.

"Yeah," she hoarsely replied as she tried to focus her sight, "but, where am I?"

"You're in a pre-op staging area in a hospital and you're going to be OK. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Are you thirsty?"

"A little."

"That's good because a little is all you can have."

"OK."

"Bring him over here."

"Huh?"

"I was talking to the orderlies, Sgt. Sanders. There's somebody here that's been asking for you. I thought you might want to see him before the anesthesia takes him all the way under."

Taylor shook her head to clear the cobwebs and tried to sit up. An orderly laid her back down and pressed the button to raise her half-way up. When the gurney rolled up next to her she could see a very familiar face but with a big bruise on the side of his head.

"O-o-o-o, 'Mone," she chided, "that's a pretty big knot on the side of your head."

Ramon was just about under the anesthesia when he tried to answer, "Ha...gone' tell 'body that you.......hit ......me."

Before they could stop her, she reached through the two gurneys and grabbed his hand squeezed it and said on the verge of tears, "You'd better come through this, you hear. Me and you, we gotta talk. Ramon, do you hear me." A faint squeeze of the hand and half a smile let her know that he heard her.

The nurse smiled at her and told the orderlies to take him on in to the operating room. She stepped over to Taylor's gurney and answered before she asked, "Now, you just relax and I won't beat around the bush. Sgt. Rodriguez will PROBABLY be OK. He lost a lot of blood. He might not be running a marathon right off the bat but I believe he'll recover extremely well."

"That's great news," Taylor said as she began to weep.

The nurse continued, "And as for you, that's the most stable I've seen your blood pressure since you came in here. So, it's time for you to go under now. We've got a busy schedule." The nurse shrugged her shoulders and smiled as she added, "Besides, you two will want to be talking to each other as soon as possible. Isn't that what you said?"

Hoarsely, Taylor answered, "You'd better believe it." She laid back and stretched her arms by her side and said, "Alright, let's do it. I've got a whole lifetime waiting on me."

As Taylor started coming out from under the anesthesia, she heard some male voices and smelled....coffee? As she began to look around, two figures came up to her bedside. A familiar voice quipped, "Well, I do believe in the resurrection of the dead."

Nobody had a voice like that. She giggled from still being a little light-headed as she answered his quip, "Well, if it ain't my daddy and his sidekick the sergeant major." She laughed one of those silly, giggly laughs and then apologized, "I'm sorry. Whatever they gave me left me out in right field. "

The fog hadn't lifted yet and she asked, "Wait a minute. How long have I been out? Am I back in the states already? And, can somebody raise me up to a sitting position?"

Major Bennett answered as he pressed the button to make her body raise up, "No, they flew you and Ramon to Germany. When we got word of the incident we wanted to talk to everyone involved in the operation so we can make plans for our next sniper school. You and Ramon have made a big difference in those guys from what I understand. But, Gary and I told them that our first priority was to check on the heroes, first." He held his finger up and corrected himself, "A more correct statement would be that Gary TOLD them and I stood there and listened with a smile."

They all laughed and Taylor bragged, "That's my daddy." She looked at him as any proud daughter would and held her hand out.

Sgt. Givens was quick to step over and hold her hand in both of his and spoke a little softer than normal, "Are they treating my baby alright."

Taylor put on a fake pout, squeezed his hands and shook them a couple of times before she complained, "No, Daddy, they're not. I've been awake a whole two minutes and they haven't brought Ramon to see me. You will do something about that for me won't you?"

With equally false consternation, Sgt. Givens declared, "Yes, I will. You just wait right here and I'll shake up this crew. Daddy's not going to let them treat his baby like this." He set her hand down nice and easy then patted it before he almost broke into a trot out the door.

"Dear God in Heaven," Major Bennett declared, "where is a camera when you need it. On second thought, people would declare that it was trick photography anyway."

As they both chuckled at Gary's antics, he said to Taylor, "What happened out there? And I'm not talking about the fighting with the Taliban. I'm talking about you. What happened to Taylor that brought that different kind of smile on your face?"

She looked at him for a moment before she answered, "Long story short, I finally figured out that I was a woman and not my real dad's idea of a failed man." Major Bennett stood quietly and let her sort out her thoughts. "All these years, I've made life pure hell for some of those around me, Ramon especially. Shucks, what am I talking about? I made life pure living hell on myself because I didn't measure up to one disillusioned man's idea of who I should be. When I got hit by that grenade fragment my hero down the hall made a statement that brought me to my senses. He said.......no, I guess I should say that by the tone of his voice, he scolded me and told me that God made me a woman and not a man. He reminded me that there was only one person in the whole world that was upset that I wasn't a man."

She looked down at her fingernails as she finished, "Then, my hero said that he was glad that I was a woman." She looked back at Major Bennett as a small tear tried to escape down her cheek, "No one had ever said anything like that to me. The whole world changed in that instant. It was the same place, same war, and same people but it was like.....somebody changed the channel on the TV. Something went all through me and I was different." She paused a moment and looked back at her fingernails, "And, the different me saw a different Ramon."

Major Bennett commented, "Dad always made sure we went to church whether he was there with us or not. There was one particular sermon that I remember that had a dramatic effect on me and my faith in God. The pastor was preaching on Psalm 139 about how we were formed in our mother's womb and He knew everything about us the very moment we were conceived. I remember the pastor told us that, from that moment in her womb, God started making plans for our lives the way that He knew that we were supposed to be. He went on to say that there would be times when we would stray from the way He meant for us to be but that He was always putting things before us specifically designed to bring us back to what HE wanted us to be."

"Yes, sir," she admitted, "I can see that now. Detour signs; is that what you would call them?"

"Probably."

"That's what I've heard them called," she continued. "I can think of several big ones he put in my path but I just ran right over them. But, you know, the other night when I accepted who and what I was, my whole thinking process changed. I mean it changed almost immediately. And now that it has had some time to sink in I realize what a real dork I was. How did y'all," she hesitated for a moment, "and.......how did Ramon put with me?" She looked him in the eyes and reiterated, "It took a special, special man to put up with me for six long years."

"Are you trying to say something?" Major Bennett asked with raised eyebrows.

Before she could answer, they heard two male voices and the sound of a gurney being rolled outside her door. "Knock, knock," called Sgt. Givens.

Without waiting for an answer, he opened the door for a nurse to push in an almost prone patient. Ramon's torso was only slightly elevated. Major Bennett stepped to the other side of the room so that the two could be side by side but facing each other. The nurse smiled but said in as stern a voice as she could muster, "Now, the doctor's orders are for Sgt. Rodriguez to remain as prone as possible. He has lost quite a bit of blood and he has to be careful about moving his leg until the artery heals a little better." With a wink at Taylor she added, "And his suggestion is to keep his blood pressure down as much as possible."

Sgt. Givens and Major Bennett chuckled as they looked at Taylor as if to ask, 'Did you hear what she said?'

Taylor blushed as she innocently asked, "Who.....me-e-e-e-e?" Then she looked at Ramon and became concerned. She asked, "Are you alright? You look a little bit pale." As the nurse turned to leave she called out to her, "Hey, you're not going to leave him like that are you. He doesn't look like he's feeling good. No offense Ramon."

With a bigger smile the nurse said to her, "It's from.......loss of blood. We gave him a pint but we need his body to pitch in and do what it's supposed to. Don't worry, his handsome looks and vitality will return in due time." Without another word, she stepped out the door and closed it behind her.

Ramon calmed her by admitting, "I'm fine, Taylor. I'm a little weak, a lot tired and a lot sore but I feel OK. I've just got to be still and keep my leg straight so it doesn't bust a stitch on the inside or out." He quipped, "I guess if they had given me any more blood, I would have been tempted to roller blade up and down the hall."

Sgt. Givens jumped in, "All I know is that I had to run that pretty little orderly away from him." He put his hand to the side of his mouth and pretended to whisper, "Just between you and me, I think he was ogling her."

"I was not," Ramon quietly said with a small grin.

"Oh, he was, was he?" Taylor asked with one of those 'ha-I-gotcha' attitudes. She crossed her arms, looked at Ramon and declared, "Well, if that's the case then, since Daddy Givens and an officer of the U.S. Army are standing here, I guess I'll have to press charges that you fondled me during the course of the battle."

"Taylor," Ramon protested, "I did no....."

She looked at Sgt. Givens and said, "Daddy, he tore my shirt and exposed my......private part."

"Taylor, the shrapnel had already torn your shirt and the blood....."

Like someone spreading wild gossip, she grinned real big and continued, "And, not only that, he placed both hands on that one private part and then he grabbed it with one hand and shook it with the other."

"I had to open the wound a bit and wiggle the shrapnel to get it to come out. And, then..."

"As the ranking officer in this court, I would presume that to be an admission of guilt," proclaimed Major Bennett in a solemn voice.

"Works for me," Sgt. Givens added. He looked at Taylor and suggested, "Sgt. Sanders, will you accept some kind of plea bargain from.......Corporal Rodriguez?"

"Corporal?" Ramon questioned as he furrowed his eyes.

Being the shrewd southern belle that she was, Taylor looked at her finger nails and purred, "Well, I think that since we are ALL God-fearing, Bible believing soldiers that we ought to accept his approval of the Biblical remedy for this situation. I believe that SERGEANT Rodriguez should be obliged to marry me, since he has humbled this poor and innocent handmaid. And, Daddy, keep the sergeant. I want to be supported in the manner to which I would like to be accustomed." She grinned at Sgt. Givens like a Cheshire cat.

Ramon smiled real big as he said, "I thought you would never ask."

A nurse came in with some orange juice and pain meds for Ramon. As she stepped beside him and handed him his goodies she asked, "Is there anything I can do for either of you?"

Taylor answered, "Yes, Ma'am, you can show these two guys how to get these gurneys closer together so my fiancé and I can hold hands."

"Fiancé?" she asked. "Well, let's see what we can do." Within two seconds she had the adjoining sides down and stepped from in between the beds. "Do you reckon you guys can release the brakes on these things and motor-vate them a little bit closer. I need to step around and adjust the bride-to-be's robe so she can sit up as much as she needs to."

She stepped around to tie Taylor's gown and said, "Let me take a peek at that, young lady, if you don't mind." She opened the gown a few inches and checked the drainage of the bandage. With a hopeful look, she declared as she stepped over to tie Taylor's gown together, "You have very little drainage which means you're healing really well. However, if you two are in a hurry to get married I'll have to warn you that it'll be a while before we could make you a matched set."

Ramon's eyes never left Taylor as he declared, "She's fine just like she is. I'm not in love with her because of her hardware. I love her because of who she is on the inside. She's the best friend I ever had."

"A-w-w-w, that's so sweet," Taylor blushed. Then it hit her. Her eyes got big and her face looked solemn for a moment. A bit of a smile played on her face as she looked at the two soldiers standing on her left. She put both hands over her face as she fell back on her pillow and laughed.

Ramon knew and chuckled with her.

Major Bennett asked with a chuckle, "What are we all laughing at?"

Ramon asked Taylor, "Do you want to tell them or do you want me to."

Her face was as red as a beet as she pulled the sheet over her head and guffawed as she said, "You do it."

Ramon looked at the guys, grinned and said, "Now we know why Tom Dandridge named her 'Little Bit' seven years ago."

Taylor's hysterical laughter could be heard throughout the whole floor. The head nurse had to come in to make sure it wasn't some strange reaction. Really she just wanted to know what was so funny. Ramon relaxed and was content for the first time in years. God reminded him of His promise to him that Taylor would be more than alright. God was certainly true to his word.

# Chapter Twenty Seven

Even though they didn't normally open until 10 a.m. Marci had bribed the manager of the local Verizon store on the campus to open up for her at 9 o'clock. It was easy. All she had to say was, "Free volcano burger" and he was putty in her hands. In the melee a couple of nights ago, someone stepped on her purse and unfortunately broke her phone. All day yesterday was spent in the hospital and she had no idea how many phone calls she had missed. She was about to find out, though.

The manager had just put the sim card in the new phone and closed it when it began to ring. He quickly showed her how to answer it and handed it to her. She held out her Visa card to him and he just waived it off and went to unlock the door for her.

"That's two burgers for you and thanks," she said as she slid her finger across the face of the phone and lifted it to her ear. "Hello," she said as she unlocked her car to get in.

"Hello? Marci, is that you," asked a voice on the other end.

"Aunt Liv, it's you. I'm so sorry. I just got out of the phone store with my new phone. I was involved in a little ruckus the night before last and someone stepped on my phone," she apologized.

"Oh, gosh, are you alright?"

"Yes, Ma'am, I had to spend the day in the hospital yesterday just for observation. You know how that goes. But, I'm fine and rushed around as usual. It's a Saturday and the café opens at 10 o'clock. I'm sure we'll have a crowd today," she continued as she walked across the street.

"Oh........shoot. I want to know what's happened so bad......but I just don't have the time. Let me fill you in quickly. I've been trying to get to you since yesterday. Arthur and Diego have been trying to call you, too," Olivia said.

In the background she heard a voice say, "Mr. and Mrs. Hollis, the cars are here and we're ready whenever you are."

"Okay, thanks," Olivia said away from the phone. "All the bags are packed and are on the beds. Would you...."

The voice said, "Just point to what goes Ma'am and we'll carry them for you."

Marci heard Ryan say, "I'll take care of this stuff, you just talk to Marci and take it easy, Honey, everything is going to be OK."

Marci could tell that she was a bit frazzled. "What's up? Is everything alright?"

"Well, yes and no," Olivia sputtered into the phone. "Yes, everybody is OK, including Arthur. Well, no he's not OK but he's probably on his way to see you, right now."

A whole new set of mixed feelings came over Marci as she walked into the parking lot across from the cafe. It was Marci's turn to sputter, "You mean....he's away from the Philippines...in the... on his way to here? You mean here to your home or here to the college?"

Olivia's voice went up a pitch or two as she began to explain, "Arthur got into some kind of fight with this Taliban chief named Jah something or other and he got a pretty bad gash on his back." In the background Marci could hear Ryan trying to calm his wife down but it was to no avail. "We saw a film of it on Skype last night. Oh, my God, it looks horrible. This doctor that was taking care of him didn't have the stuff to take care of him with. Oh, it was so gross. Diego had to hurry and get Arthur out of the country so he could get some proper medical attention. Terrorists have infiltrated so much of that area that they have no idea who's on their side anymore and they didn't want to take a chance at the hospital."

Marci walked through the back door of the café and wrote a note to Sheila that read 'Get my computer for me RIGHT NOW.' Sheila took one look at the ashen color in Marci's face and didn't dare stop to ask why. The other girls started toward her but she waived them off for the time being, stepped into the office and closed the door.

Olivia continued, "He's on his way to you right now and he needs medical attention pretty quickly. He can't go to a regular hospital because they will want to know what happened to him and that just can't be explained to the news media at all."

After a pause to catch her breath, Olivia pleaded, "I know that you've probably made up your mind about Arthur and that's your business, but could you please get him some attention and not let anybody know about it? If the word gets out, it could endanger a lot of lives over here in the U.S. as well as what they are doing in the Philippines. Don't worry about what it costs. We'll be glad to pay for it."

"Absolutely, Aunt Liv," Marci stated emphatically. "Do you know when he'll be here? I'll have some of my trusted friends take care of him. And, there will be no cost, Aunt Liv. A couple of the professors are close friends of mine and we will take care of him in a way that no one will know. I promise you."

Olivia talked quickly, "Call Diego at his number and get him to Skype with you and they'll show you his back. But, hold on to yourself, it is gross and the primitive way that they had to do it.....oh, my God...it makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it. Anyway, were moving in the car going back to Elmhurst so I'm sure we'll hit a dead spot. Tell him to behave and don't let him drive his motorcycle if he's too woozy or something. Oh, yeah, I forgot. Tom had ordered him a new one just before he died. It came while Arthur was away."

Marci didn't know how to take so much news at one time so she just answered, "Well..., OK Aunt Liv." She paused a second before saying, "and, I'll take pictures to send to you on my new phone. And.....before he leaves...I'll ..... uh... make sure that BOTH of us talk to you. OK?"

"Both......" was all that Marci heard before the connection fell apart.

She looked at the new phone and smiled. Sheila came bounding in with Marci's computer under her arm. "Here it is. What's wrong? You look like you're scared to death."

Marci looked at her friend and said almost blankly, "I... I don't know if I'm scared or somewhat excited." She wrote Diego's Skype info and gave it to her and said, "Give this and the computer to Fred and tell her to pull him up. I'll be in there in just a minute."

Sheila left her alone in the office without asking questions. With shaky hands, Marci punched her phone for Mrs. Piatrowski. "Hello, Marci are you feeling well enough to be at the café?" she asked.

Marci blurted out, "Well, I was until a few minutes ago. I just got an urgent call from Arthur's Mom. Arthur is back in the states and is heading here. I can't go into all the details but he was hurt on a secret mission of some sort over in the Philippines and they had to get him out of there rather quickly. From what his mother said, they only patched him up and he needs to get some proper medical attention and not let anyone know. She said his back was cut up pretty bad. I'm connecting to the Philippines right now and they're going to be sending me some pictures of it so we'll know what to do? Could you please, please help him? I'll pay anything it costs."

What a load of information all in one minute. Even though she had a thousand questions, Mrs. P figured that the first thing on the agenda was to calm Marci down. The poor girl had been through enough already. "OK," she started, "just calm down. I'll make a few confidential calls and have a couple of people over there in a minute. We'll bring everything necessary and not a word of it will get out. Make sure you get those pictures and save them to your computer so we can have some idea of what we will be up against. I'll make the calls and be over there in five minutes."

When she hung up the phone, Mrs. P said to herself, "Now why did I say that? I haven't got a clue.......oh, yes I do." With a smile on her face she punched up her favorite co-hort. With just a hint of mischief she said, "Mr. Dunavant, I have got a top secret project for you, and I am really serious. Something has come up. Please, without asking questions could you bring some emergency medical supplies to the café? Make sure you have what it takes to sew up a bad cut. Don't ask me now; I'll explain it all later. And get a hold of Leo Schwartz and have him meet us there."

The voice on the other end of the phone asked, "Are you serious?"

"Jim, can you just trust me on this? I don't know the answer to any question you will ask. I have to go to the café and find out for myself."

"O-o-o-o-o-o-kay. But Leo?"

"From the little bit I know of the situation. I think Leo will be great."

"Leo it is then, if I can wake him."

"OK, bye."

Marci walked into the dining room and saw the girls gathered around her computer. Fred said, "OK Mayumi, here comes Marci now." She got out of the chair and let Marci slide in.

When Marci saw the look on Mayumi's face she knew that this session was going to be tough. Her face was swollen where she had been crying. She started by saying, "I wish they had chosen someone else to talk you through what you are about to see. Both of us have the same........interest......in the subject. Dad's away at some urgent meeting and Riz and Max are busy running the equipment that it takes to show this to you. So, by default, I have been chosen to be your emcee." She tried to force a weak smile at her little joke.

All the girls had been standing around Marci out of curiosity. They had seen the look on Marci's face when she first came in. There was the closed door phone call. They knew it had something to do with Arthur. They surmised that something was wrong. All of which was true. When they saw the look on Mayumi's face and heard the tone of her voice, they figured that it might be better for all concerned if they at least disappeared from behind Marci. They didn't want to hinder Mayumi from saying what she felt she needed to say.

Mayumi went on, "First of all, this video was shot at a make shift clinic in the mountains close to where my grandpa Pedro was born. It was the only thing close by and it is very, very primitive as you will soon see. The little girl you will see Arthur holding is a young Aete child. She told us she is four years old and I know she doesn't look much older than two. That's because the Aete people are small like the Australian pygmies. A real tall Aete man will be only five feet tall.

"Now, at the beginning of the video, she will be screaming for the first few minutes while they are cleaning a really bad cut on her leg, so you might want to turn your volume down some. I thought about getting my brother Max to edit it some but you would miss Arthur's reaction," she smiled as called his name.

She continued, "But, Marci," then in a little louder voice, "and the rest of you ladies that are just off the screen," she lowered her voice again, "Arthur's reaction is so precious that..." She looked down for a moment or two to gain her composure. Her face was absolutely beaming as she went on, "Words can't describe it. This video was meant to show you Arthur's wounds so you'll know what to expect."

She shook her head as she said, "You're going to see so much more. They're going to speak in Tagalog and I'll interpret for you. Oh, before we start, I need to explain to the ladies that are still hiding that we have a nickname for Arthur. His 9-12 year old students call him Turo. It's a combination of Arthur and the word 'guro' which is Tagalog for teacher. No one close to him calls him Arthur. Alright, Max is going to get the camera situated in front of the computer screen and then he will start the video."

Marci had to coax the ladies back around the computer as Max got everything ready. The picture on the screen was paused. It was a close-up of a little girl in Arthur's arms. Indeed, she looked like she couldn't be the four-year-old she claimed to be. She had very dark skin and long curly hair that looked like it might not have ever been brushed. But, with curls like she had there would not have been a need to brush it. What shocked them the most was the look of sheer terror on her face and the tears in her eyes.

Both Arthur and the little girl were dirty and blood-stained. Arthur had turned sideways so the doctor could see the girl's leg better. A lady was holding a makeshift spotlight on the injured leg. The doctor looked like he was digging at something inside the wound with the pointed end of a knife.

Fred was the first to notice. "Look at the back of his shirt. I almost thought it had been torn but it has been cut," she said as she pointed to the shirt on the screen of the laptop. She then pointed to a spot on his pants just above his knees and continued, "And, look at that. From his knee down his pants are a lighter shade. Could he have bled that much that it ran that far down his leg?"

Mayumi answered, "Dad said that he was cut almost from one shoulder to another by a razor sharp piece of steel on the end of a pole of some sort. They patched him as best as they could but they had to walk about three hours through an underground cave to get to safety. As they wound some cloth around Arthur as a make shift compress, they secured the girl to his left arm."

Max was set and pushed the play button on the computer. The first thing they heard was an ear piercing scream. She screamed something in Tagalog that started with Turo. Mayumi interpreted, "She's saying 'Turo, Turo it hurts. Make them stop. It hurts' and you will hear Turo say in Tagalog, 'It's OK, I'm here.' Then he says 'Just a little more and they will stop.'

The little girl seemed to calm down a little but kept looking up at Arthur and then she would glance over at the doctor. After a few glances back and forth she asked, "Walang higit pa?"

Mayumi interpreted, "No more?"

Turo looked down at her and said with a smile, "Walang higit pa."

She giggled up at him. The doctor got up and another lady stepped into the picture. She held her hands out to the little girl and said something in Tagalog that caused the girl's smile to vanish.

Mayumi's voice again, "She said to her, 'Come with me and let's get washed and dressed'. Arthur appeals to her feminine side by saying, 'Yeah, go get pretty for me.' And like the typical little girl she falls for it. There are probably no females watching this that would have ever done that, right?" After a moment's hesitation, she dug in, "He wouldn't have to tell me that twice."

The ladies heard some noise at the front door of the café and then a small knock. Fred went over to see who it was. When she saw Mrs. Piatrowski she opened the door. "Hey Fred, how are you?"

"I'm doing well Mrs. P how are you?"

Mrs. P answered as she looked down the street, "I am doing well, also. Fred, Mr. Dunavant is just now driving up and it looks like he has Leo with him. Will you stay here and let them in and then lock the door behind them, please?"

"Sure thing, Mrs. P."

Marci, of course, was seated at the table in front of the laptop. Sheila and Roberta had taken up kneeling positions on either side. Fred had been standing directly behind her. Sheila got up and slid a chair beside Marci for Mrs. P to sit in. Roberta stood up to let Marci scoot over a little so that Mrs. P could get a good view. Marci began to bring her up to speed. "This is a Skype of a video on one of their computers. They haven't shown a good shot of Arthur's back yet. They have been taking care of this little native girl that is just as cute as she can be."

Mayumi's voice came over, "She'll be back in just a little bit and I hope you have plenty of napkins and hankies. This little girl IS as cute as anything I have ever seen. Her conversation with Turo is.......well, I'm going to get Max to make a copy of that part so I can cry on demand any time I want too." She giggled at the end at her own silliness. She asked, "Is that a doctor you're talking to?"

Mrs. P answered just as Fred was letting Mr. Dunavant and Leo in the front door. "No, sweetie, I'm an RN but I am a professor here at the college. But, just coming in is a doctor and one of his best students. Do I understand correctly that Arthur is on his way here?"

"I hope so," Mayumi answered. "Because of the primitive conditions at this outpost, he is going to need some quality care immediately. Uh....for security reasons we had to get him out of the country VERY quickly. He left her just over 24 hours ago and we haven't heard from him at all."

A stunned Marci looked at Mrs. P and then to the ladies. She was shaking as she got up out of her chair so Mr. Dunavant could sit close to the computer. Bert saw the anguish that was beginning to creep into her face and embraced her for a moment. "Are you OK?" Bert whispered.

With her hand over her mouth and tears forming in her eyes, all Marci could do was shake her head. The past two weeks had been hard enough on her. Although she had heard it a couple of times, the news about her best friend was just beginning to sink in. Greedily her face sought the solace of Bert's shoulder and a deluge of tears poured from her eyes. Bert held on to her for dear life as Sheila and Fred became part of the consoling huddle.

It was hard for Mrs. P to watch one of her prize pupils face a moment no one should have to face. She looked at Mr. Dunavant with an obvious question. He whispered back, "She's got to go through it as it unfolds. As hard as it seems, this is the easiest way for her to handle the information."

Mrs. P raised her eyebrows in answer to him.

"Mayumi, I'm going to pause it before they start showing his back. Tell them to let me know when everybody is ready," they heard a voice from the computer.

"Did you hear what Max said?" Mayumi asked.

"Yes we did sweetie," answered Mrs. P. Leo pulled up another chair for Marci to sit in when she was ready and stepped in behind it. "Just call me Mrs. P, the doctor's name is Jim and his helper is Leo. I am going to ask Leo not to say anything, so if you hear a man's voice it is the doctor talking. Is that OK?"

"Yes, Ma'am," she answered.

"We can zoom also," Max suggested. "Tell me when you're ready."

"Marci?" Jim asked.

"W-w-wait a m-minute and....and let me call Arthur," she said as she pulled out her phone with one hand and wiped the tears from her eyes with the other. "Or, maybe I can call Olivia....if I can't g-get...oh, Jesus....how can I do this."

Fred stepped in and gently took the phone from her shaking hands. "Sweetheart, you can't even see to find his name right now," she said softly. Then with a weak smile she continued, "Let me do it for you. Bert you stay here with her and Sheila we need to get some prep work done. We open in twenty minutes and I see Ben and Tommy peeking through the curtain already."

As she wiped a tear away from her own eyes, she looked steadfastly at Marci and reminded her, "Honey, you're going to have to get a hold of yourself and face this situation the best way you can. You've taught us that God doesn't put more on us than we can stand. As our teacher, God's called you to lead us by your example. We're all right here walking through this thing with you. When I find something out, I'll let you know."

To the surprise of everyone, Fred leaned over and gave her a little kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back in a minute," she finished as she walked toward the kitchen.

Leo held out the chair for her and she nodded thanks to him. Bert suggested, "I'm gonna get you a couple of clean dish towels in case.....you know."

As she stepped away, Marci and Mrs. P smiled at each other. Marci whispered, "That's my Bert, the gal with the big heart."

Mrs. P whispered back "Yeah, I guess so." She looked at the computer and said, "OK, we're about as ready as we'll ever be. You may as well push play and let's have a look at what's coming our way."

Jim leaned back to Leo and whispered, "Quick. Get me and you something to write on and let's get an idea of what else we might need besides the stuff I brought."

Bert heard him and stopped Leo by saying, "Our order pads. Wait a minute." She stepped over to the cash register and picked up a couple of pads and pens and handed them to him.

As Leo passed a set to Jim, he looked at Bert and smiled his thanks.

# Chapter Twenty Eight

When Max pushed play, the camera went behind a sitting Arthur and gave everyone their first look at Arthur's back. At first everyone grimaced as they saw a bloody cut that reached almost from shoulder to shoulder.

They heard a male voice say something in Tagalog and Arthur stood up. Off camera, Mayumi interpreted, "He said that Arthur needed to take his clothes off and they needed to go outside so that they could wash the wound outside." Arthur stood up and unbuttoned his shirt but had to have a little help in taking it off. A lady came into camera range with a shirt and a pair of pants and walked out the door. Arthur followed her outside.

Jim said, "I noticed he doesn't seem to have lost a whole lot of mobility. He raised, lowered and twisted his arms with what I would say was the normal amount of pain that would come with a cut like that. And, that's a good sign."

"I agree," concurred Mrs. P.

The man with the camera sat it down on something that was about waist high and left it recording. As he stepped from behind the camera, he seemed to be no more than a teenager. He began helping the doctor bring some supplies into view and they began to arrange them on a counter.

"O-o-o-o-h, my gosh, that looks more like a kitchen than a doctor's office," Sheila said.

Mayumi answered, "That's all that the outpost clinics are in those areas. All the doctors have to live and work with is donations from churches and that varies from season to season. Other than that the seriously injured have a five hour walk to the nearest government run hospital. U-u-hm, we-e-e-e had to take Arthur to this hole-in-the wall place for security reasons. And we had to hurry and get him out of the country for the same reasons. He-e-e-e might want to explain that when he gets there. By the way, has anyone heard from him?"

Fred spoke up, "I did get in touch with his mother and she was going to try to call him. I called his cell phone and left a message. If he's traveling on a motorcycle, he's probably not able to hear it."

"That's true," Mrs. P added. "I guess we'll just have to sit back and wait."

Sheila asked, "It's ten o'clock and we have folks outside. What are we going to do?"

"Sheila, check in that back closet between the office and the back door. See if we have some 'to go' boxes," Mrs. P proposed.

"We do," Fred stated. "We have forty-two of them to be exact."

Mrs. P quipped to Jim, "I like that girl."

"She got an A in Algebra, that's for sure," he cracked back.

Mrs. P took charge, "Bert, take some pads, pencils and menus out to Ben and Tommy. Give them some OJT on taking orders. Tell them that it's all going to be to-go business today. Tell them we are going to have a surprise disaster preparedness drill today."

"What?" the girls asked simultaneously.

Mrs. P continued, "Fred, get a roll of craft paper out of the storage closet and round up some magic markers. Leo and Jim put about three tables together and then cover it with a sheet of that craft paper. Somebody with a good hand writing write the words "Disaster Preparedness Drill" on it and put it up at the window. But, make sure you paper the whole window. I don't mind them seeing you put paper on the tables. That will make them think we really are having a drill. We just don't need anyone to see the real operation. Got it?"

Fred answered on her way to the storage room, "Got it."

Jim and Leo slid four tables together and pushed the chairs up against the picture window. Leo waived at some of the guys standing there watching and shrugged his shoulders before he started rolling out the craft paper on the tables. Bert and Sheila took care of the sign duties and Fred went back to the kitchen to finish the prep and get started on the grill.

Jim and Mrs. P left the work up to the youngsters and got back to watching the laptop screen. There was some Tagalog chit-chat as Arthur came in. His hair was still wet but he was pretty well cleaned up. To no one's surprise, Mayumi explained that the nurse had given Arthur an impromptu bath as well as clean his wounds.

Bert questioned, "She gave him a bath?"

Mayumi half-way scolded and half-way mocked her as she replied, "She IS a nurse. Besides, he's going to be flying about 15 hours and really doesn't need to be seen with blood all over him and stinking to high heavens."

Marci asked, "Mayumi, do you have any idea about when he was supposed to arrive in Georgia and where?"

There was a little bit of a bite in the tone of her voice as she answered Marci, "All Dad could tell me was that he had to hop Arthur around on some military planes to keep Arthur from being seen in public." He voice softened as she added, "I'm sorry, Marci. My nerves are just as frayed..... And...I didn't get to see him before he left."

Off camera they could hear her sniffle a bit and knew that she was trying to pull herself together. Marci looked at Mrs. P, and mouthed the words so Mayumi couldn't hear, "I can't even imagine what that would be like."

Finally Mayumi cleared her throat and began again, "The last I heard from Dad, he hadn't finished lining up the planes, yet. He also had to arrange for some protection for Arthur on his trip."

"Protection?" Marci asked, "What would......"

"You'll just have to ask him when he gets there, I can't say any more during this transmission," Mayumi interrupted. "Besides the doctor is about to start showing the gash and describe what he is doing."

Arthur turned the chair around and sat down backwards in it so the camera could get a good shot of his back. The doctor spoke in fairly good English and began to point out the particulars about the gash. Jim and Leo feverishly took down their own notes.

As the cameraman came in for a close up, the nurse turned on the makeshift spot light. The doctor began, "As you can see, we have cleaned the cut as best as we can. Whatever made the cut had to have a very sharp edge to it. The wound is a clean cut. There are no rips in the flesh. We have no more money for the proper medicines so we have to revert back to some mountain medicine. Before tacking the two sides together, I am going to stuff some crushed guava leaves in the wound. That will act as an antiseptic and it will ease the pain. After that, I will apply a paste made out of crushed ampalaya seed. Then, I will wrap him in plenty of gauze to last him until he can get some proper medical help. Again, I apologize that I don't have the proper small needles or thread. There again, I am only going to tack the wound together in a couple of places. Actually, that will probably be the most beneficial thing to do. It would allow it to drain if necessary."

Arthur put his forearms on the table and straightened his back like the doctor directed him to. A noise at the door made him look up. A lady was coming in with a smiling little girl in her arms. She pointed at him and giggled, "Turo." It was all that the lady could do to keep the girl from crawling out of her arms.

Mayumi's voice was heard again, "Alright, here's the part I told you about. I HAVE to interpret everything that was said. Max you might have to pause it if I start losing it."

Max's voice quivered a bit as he stated, "Who's going to help me if I start losing it? Y'all better get your hankies."

Very gently the lady stepped over to the table and slid the little girl on her back between Arthur's two arms. Her bright eyes sparkled as she was able to look up and see him again.

"Oh, my gosh," Bert exclaimed. "Look at the way she is looking at him.

Fred added, "And that smile, wow! It's almost as big as she is."

"Maybe bigger," Mrs. P stated.

Sheila corrected them, "No, look at Arthur."

Marci looked at Arthur. Something rang in her heart.

They heard the doctor say, "Put that camera down, son, they've seen enough of his wound. I need you to help me hold the cut closed while tack it in about four or five places."

The camera moved, blurred and then re-focused as he put it at the other end of the table. "Hang on just a second as I get this shot set up," the boy said. "This will probably be a whole lot more interesting than anything they have seen so far. Dad, that little girl is so-o-o photogenic"

They heard the dad clear his throat and say, "Now if my son the movie producer will be kind enough to assist me, we will finish this job. I am sure they will be here any moment to whisk you out of here."

After a short pause, he continued, "Arthur, I am sorry that I don't have anything to give you for a local anesthetic. This big needle is going to hurt. But, it's the best I can do."

As Arthur stared into the eyes of the angel on the table in front of him he answered, "That's OK. I've got some antiseptic here right in front of me."

There was a collective "Aw-w-w-e" from the group as Bert gently punched Marci on the shoulder.

Marci looked up at her best friend with a weak smile and said, "That's Arthur. Wait 'til you meet him." She started to say something else but changed her mind and repeated her last line, "Just wait 'til you meet him."

"Amen," came a soft voice from the laptop.

They saw Arthur flinch and squint his eyes just a bit but he maintained his smile at the precious bundle between his arms. She reached up and patted his face as she sang, "Turo, Turo, Turo, Turo," in little girl fashion.

"Listen to that happy little bundle," Mrs. P beamed. "I do believe she's found her hero."

Arthur relaxed a bit and asked, "Ano ang iyong pangalan sa aking maliit na anghel?"

Mayumi, "What is your name my little angel?"

"Liwayway," she answered.

Mayumi, "Liwayway is Tagalog for "the dawn."

Arthur began to sing her name in the same tones she sang his, "Liwayway, Liwayway, Liwayway, Liwayway."

Mrs. P got up abruptly but was stopped when Marci held up one of the towels Bert had brought for her. "Thanks," she said quickly. Mr. Dunavant and Leo exchanged smiles and shakes of their heads. Mrs. P batted him playfully with her towel before she sat down.

All of a sudden, Arthur's facial expression changed as he uttered a loud, "A-a-a-h-h!" His eyes closed and his head hung down from the pain.

"I'm sorry, Arthur. I really am," the doctor apologized. "It's the best I can do. Hold on while I pull the thread through. I'll try not to go so deep next time."

"That's fine," Arthur groaned. He tried to turn his head away from the camera and from Liwayway but she had already seen his expression.

The horror she lived through was probably playing through her mind as she grabbed his face and screamed, "Turo, Turo, hindi mamatay, hindi mamatay."

Mayumi, "Don't die. Don't die."

Arthur finally exhaled as the thread had obviously been pulled through. Breathing deeply, he scooped her up in his arms and brought her face close to his without having to move his back. One by one, he kissed each tear that had been falling down her face as he said in Tagalog, "Hindi ako pagpunta sa mamatay.Ito lamang nasaktan ng kaunti, na ang lahat."

Mayumi, "I'm not going to die. It just hurt a little, that's all."

As she held his face tightly between her two tiny hands she sobbed, "Kapag ang aking ina nasaktan, siya namatay."

Mayumi, "When my mother hurt, she died."

Arthur answered, "Alam ko, Syota."

Mayumi, "I know, Sweetheart."

Liwayway continued, "Kapag ang aking tatay nasasaktan, siya ay namatay."

Mayumi, "When my daddy hurt, he died."

Arthur answered again, "Alam ko, Syota. Ngunit, ako dito mismo sa iyo at hindi ako pagpunta sa mamatay."

Mayumi said quickly, "I know, Sweetheart. But, I'm right here with you and I'm not going to die."

She smiled and pulled her cheek close to his before she fell back into her arms. Arthur smiled real big. With a little effort, he bent down and they rubbed noses Eskimo style. She giggled and patted the side of his cheek again. This time Leo reached for his hanky. He slowly drawled, "Y'all can turn that stuff off any time you want to."

For about a minute and a half, they watched the two of them at play. Liwayway touched his nose and Arthur growled and pretended to bite it. Amid giggles that led to laughter, she touched his cheek, then his chin, and then his nose with the same results.

"Look at the way those two play," Mrs. P remarked.

Bert sniffed as she replied, "It's hard to tell which one of them is having the most fun."

Mr. Dunavant agreed with a chuckle, "Brings back memories of when my kids were that age."

After five seconds of silence, Sheila's voice quivered as she declared, "You can have your old Brian if you want to. I'll take Arthur. That's the kind of man I want to father my children." She softly blew her nose and added, "We can have twelve of them if he wants."

Marci stared at Sheila as she whispered Sheila's words, "Father of my children." Her grandmother's words pounded their way into her heart. 'He needs a Godly daddy to show him how to treat a Godly mama.'

Everyone got quiet as Marci slowly looked at everyone in the room while she mouthed her words again and again. She was bewildered. Her eyes looked as if they were trying to focus on something a million miles away. She began to shake her head slowly as if she was trying to make any kind of sense out of a deep, dark mystery. Arthur had been God's choice for her all along but she had never seen her mother loved by a Godly man. She had no Godly example to follow. Therefore, she was choosing her husband by a blank set of rules.

It was a good thing that Mayumi was behind her computer and couldn't see Marci as she turned from Bert to Sheila to Mrs. P and back again. With the most confused look on her face she kept mouthing the words, "I can't marry Brian. I love Arthur" over and over to them.

A softly speaking Mayumi interrupted her, "Here we go."

Liwayway's giggling stopped and they saw two small dark eyes earnestly look up at a pair of adult dark eyes before saying his name as a question, "Tu-u-r-o-o?"

He looked at her and imitated her question, "Liwaywa-a-y?"

Something was on her mind. She looked at her little hands as she toyed with the front of her little shirt. Finally she looked up at Arthur with a smile and asked, "Turo, ikaw ang aking tatay?"

Marci's heart jumped when she heard her say tatay. She remembered that name from Arthur's great-grandfather Tom Dandridge.

Mayumi could hardly get it out, "She just asked Arthur if he would be her daddy."

"Oh......my.....gosh." Bert gushed.

"That's so sweet," Sheila said almost in a whisper.

"I could almost figure that was coming," Mrs. P said.

"You're right," Mr. Dunavant agreed, "But how can he say yes?"

"Don't worry about my Arthur," Marci stated matter-of-factly as she stared at the computer screen and wiped a tear from her eye. "He'll wind up doing whatever he says that he will do and not one thing will stand in his way. He got that from his great-grandfather."

On Marci's words, 'my Arthur', the crowd gave each other short glances. Several smiles were exchanged that Marci never saw, including a couple between Mrs. P and Mr. Dunavant.

On the computer, they heard a couple of vehicles drive up and a couple of doors open and shut. As everyone watched the computer monitor they saw Diego and Bea enter the room. Arthur lifted his head and said to them, "Just a minute."

The nurse stepped over and whispered to them what had happened. They looked at each other with a bit of apprehension.

Arthur looked at the precious bundle of joy and said, "Oo, nais kong ibigin na ang iyong tatay."

Mayumi interpreted, "Yes, I would love to be your daddy."

Liwayway's face lit up and she clapped her hands together. Then Arthur said, "Pero."

The smile left her face until Arthur took a few minutes explaining to her that she would have to go to a little children's hospital and he would have to go to a big people's hospital because he couldn't sleep in a little people's bed. That brought a contented look to her but she still questioned, "Gaano katagal?"

Mayumi, "How long?"

With as big a smile as he could muster he told her, "Hangga't hindi mo pagalingin at ako pagalingin."

Mayumi, "Until you heal and I heal."

Liwayway was pretty much satisfied with that. Arthur explained to her that he had to go with Uncle Diego and she had to go with Aunt Bea. When she heard the terms 'uncle' and 'aunt' she knew that Bea must be family. Eagerly she held her hands up for Aunt Bea to take her and began babbling to her in Tagalog.

The video froze and Mayumi came back into view. "Has anyone heard from Arthur?"

Everybody looked at Fred, "He texted that he stopped at a rest area and that he should be here in half an hour or so."

Mayumi looked from one person to another and said with a weak smile, "That's good. It looks like he's going to be in good hands."

Her voice quivered as she continued, "You guys take good care of my Turo, will you? He means..... a lot to me."

"We will, Sweetheart, I promise you we will" Mr. Dunavant declared as he stood up. "Leo I think we've got a pretty good idea of what we need to do. Let's make sure that we brought the right supplies."

"Alright."

Mrs. P got the girl's attention to become scarce while Marci and Mayumi have some time to end their conversation.

Marci looked at the laptop screen and saw Mayumi looking at her with already reddening eyes. Marci softly asked, "What number do you want Arthur to call you at when he gets here?"

Blandly she answered, "He has me on speed-dial. It's my personal phone. And, I know you've seen pictures of me and Arthur kissing and holding on to one another."

"You take a very lovely picture Mayumi," was all that Marci could come up with at the moment. Mayumi needed to say something to her and Marci did not want to side track her thoughts in any way.

Mayumi looked down at her hands for a moment as she began. A tear fell as she started, "You know...as well as I do that those pictures meant more to me than they did Arthur."

When she looked back up into the camera, it wasn't hard to tell that the dam was about to break. "We've talked about the possibility of him waiting for me until I'm eighteen and out of school. And, I'm trying hard to set that conversation aside. If anything ever did happen like that, I know that I would always be Number Two. But, if he ever gave me that chance, I swear to you that I would love him so hard that he would forget who Number One was."

Without waiting for an answer, she stood and was heard to say, "You can turn the camera off now, Max." A door slammed.

# Chapter Twenty Nine

Mr. Dunavant had Fred get as many pots and bowls together as possible. Like any good kitchen they had plenty of hot water. Fred and Tommy were going to be the ones to keep Mr. Dunavant and Leo supplied.

Ben, Sheila and Roberta were sent about the task of finding every available towel and getting them rolled up and available for use. Leo came up with the idea of fashioning a pillow out of a couple of large towels. That way he wouldn't have to lay on his own arms. That could get quite painful in itself if it took them very long to clean and re-stitch those wounds.

Ben and Tommy agreed to be "take out" specialists for the paltry sum of a hamburger a day for a week. Bert and Mrs. P set them up with their own table outside, a handful of menus plus a couple of order pads. The most urgent order came from Mr. Dunavant. If a guy comes up riding a dark blue motorcycle, get him inside as soon as possible. They had no idea what kind of condition he might be in.

Everything went well for the first fifteen minutes, at least. Most of the folks already knew what they wanted, anyway. And, since the guys had already tried everything on the café's limited menu, their job was not so hard at all.

Inside the café everything went like clockwork. Since Sheila and Roberta didn't have to take orders, they were free to help prepare the meals and pack them in 'to go' boxes. The team had done a good job of covering the picture window and the front door to keep prying eyes from peeking in. Whenever Arthur got there, they had to make sure that they had as much privacy as possible. They were still not sure what all the secrecy was about but they figured Arthur would tell them when he got there.

After they finished securing the café, they got themselves a drink and sat down at the table nearest the door. Mrs. P asked the obvious question, "So, Marci, do I understand that you're going to have Brian and Arthur here at the same time?"

Marci closed her eyes and answered with a weary smile, "I......I.... guess so. If I was ever going to plan something I sure wouldn't have planned it this way."

"Did I hear one of the girls say that Brian might propose to you tonight?" she continued.

"That was probably going to be the plan, but......" Marci finished her sentence with a shrug of her shoulders.

The front door barely opened and a small voice asked, "Marci? We got here a little early. Is that Ok?"

Her eyes brightened and her mouth dropped open for a second. She got up, hurriedly went to the door and pulled it the rest of the way open. "Dennis. Grandmother Barton," she exclaimed. "Come on in." She reached over to give Annette a quick peck on the cheek and then knelt down in front of Dennis.

His big grin betrayed his missing two front teeth and his freckles looked even bigger in person. "Dear God in Heaven," she proclaimed, "you are cuter in person than you are on Facebook. Give me a big hug you little ragamuffin you."

He eagerly threw his arms around her neck and gave her the biggest hug of his life. As he grinned at the people standing behind Marci, he proudly declared, "This is my sister."

"We see that," answered Mrs. P with a big grin of her own.

With a grunt Marci picked him up in her arms and paraded him to meet the crew. Since they were all standing in a line she introduced them as they walked by. "This is Bert, this is Sheila, this is Fred, and this is Mrs. P."

Each one of the ladies had to take their turn kissing him on the cheek as they greeted him. Of course, Mrs. P made the biggest show with a resounding smack. Dennis gave the typical six-year-old response of wiping the kisses off and saying with a big smile, "Golly, you ladies sure do kiss a lot." Of course, the ladies thought that that was the cutest thing that they had ever heard.

Mr. Dunavant stepped up to rescue the young lad by sticking out his hand and saying, "Master Dennis, it is a pleasure to meet you, sir. My name is Mr. Dunavant and this is my star pupil Leo."

Dennis shook his hand and then leaned over to shake Leo's hand and said to both of them, "Pleased to meetcha."

Marci sat down pulled him onto her lap. "Oh, my gosh you can get heavy in a minute can't you?"

He giggled.

"Now, it's my turn to give you a kiss," she said as she held his face in his hands and planted one right on his lips. With a non-menacing smile she warned, "And, you'd better not try to wipe that one off if you know what's good for you, Sport."

"No way, Jose," he answered. He put his arm around her neck and held his cheek to hers as he continued, "Besides that you're my sister and you're beautiful."

Bert put her hand on her hip and pretended to be huffy, "And just what are we, chopped liver?"

Everybody laughed as poor little Dennis was caught by his words. His eyes got bigger and bigger and his face got redder and redder as he looked from Marci to the ladies and back. Finally he shook his free hand in anxiety as he whispered out loud to Marci, "Help me," and tried to hide his face on her shoulder.

Fred answered for the ladies, "Don't you dare help him, Marci, we love the little dickens just the way he is, sweet and sassy. Now you tell Aunt Fred what you want to eat and I'll fix it for you."

He looked at his grandmother and asked with toothless smile, "Can I Grandma?"

"Sure you can, Sweetie," she answered. "And they even have a hamburger with your favorite food, chili. It's called the volcano burger."

"Volcano burger," he exclaimed. He looked at Marci and asked, "Why do y'all call it a volcano burger?"

She replied, "Well, it's because we pile the chili on top of the hamburger like a volcano mountain. And....it's just a little hot. But we can tone it down for you."

"Oh, no," he shot back, "I like it hot, don't I Grandma?"

"Yes, indeed he does," she answered, "but start him off with your mild version and bring the bottle of hot sauce over just in case."

"OK!" he almost exploded with excitement. In a flash, he was down from Marci's lap and slid into a chair at an adjoining table. He patted the table at the place next to him and said, "Come on, Sis. Let's eat together."

Sheila and Bert rushed over and sat down at the other two chairs before Marci ever got out of hers. Sheila patted the place opposite her and said, "Yeah, come on over, Sis, and sit at the family table."

Dennis sat back in his chair, looked at both of them shyly warned with a smile, "OK, y'all can sit with us, but no kissing."

As if it was planned that way, Ben brought in four orders and handed them to Bert, "Four hot ones to go, ol' Berty Bert."

"Alrighty," she replied as she took the orders from him, "guess we're in high demand, Sheila, let's go."

As the girls got up to go, Ben said to Dennis, "Hey, fella. You wanna come outside and hang around with the men?"

He looked up at him, started swinging his legs back and forth and simply said, "Nope."

As everyone else snickered, Mr. Dunavant quipped, "Looks like your reputation has inched its way into the surrounding community."

Annette quickly added, "As far as two hours away."

Ben raised his finger as he started to say something but thought better of it, "I.......think I'll go outside and get some fresh air." He spun on his heels and exited the café shaking his head.

Jim quipped as he watched Ben go through the door, "I wish he would catch on to his Chemistry that fast."

Everyone chuckled at the joke while Marci pulled up a chair and sat down next to her brother. While they were waiting for his volcano burger, the two of them got lost in conversation, Marci with her questions and Dennis with his answers. Even when Sheila placed the bowl in front of him, he barely interrupted what he was saying to tell her 'thanks.'

It was very hard to tell which one was the most fascinated. They looked at each other as if there was no one else in the room. Annette hadn't seen a smile on her grandson that big in a long time. She knew that he could rattle on a little bit but he was building up a greater head of steam than she had heard from him in a long time. The only time he stopped was when he took a bite of chili and chewed it.

That's when Marci had a chance to rattle a little herself. No one in the room had ever heard Marci laugh as hard as she did while she was listening to him. It wasn't like they had just met. It was like they had known each other for years and were catching up on their latest news.

Marci couldn't take her eyes off of him for a second and the only time Dennis wasn't looking at her was when he was finding the next spot in his volcano burger to dig into.

Annette spilled an obvious secret to everyone that would bring almost an avalanche of chuckles and laughter. Whenever Dennis would begin to talk, he would kick his legs back and forth under his chair. When he would eat and listen to Marci, he would stop and hook them on the chair legs.

Orders had started coming in and Sheila, Fred and Bert were moving. There was a crowd of people outside the door. Ben was popping in and out with regularity. Mrs. P was thinking about getting up to help. But, for Dennis and Marci the café was a million miles away.

Ben stuck his head in the door, looked at Marci and said, "U-h-h-h, Brian is out here and he wants to see you outside for a moment. He said it's very important." Without waiting for an answer he shut the door.

Marci could feel her heart beating in her temples as she stared at Ben. She looked at Grandmother Barton for a moment before she got up from their table. "Dennis, Sissy will be right back. I....have to go see somebody, Ok?"

"Ok," he said with a smile, "I won't let nobody get your seat."

Marci chuckled and kissed him on the forehead as she stepped toward the door. When she opened it, she found out that Ben and Tommy were standing in front of it dutifully keeping anyone from trying to enter.

Brian was standing just a few feet away. He showed only a faint smile as he held his hand out to her and nodded toward the parking lot across the street.

She took a deep breath and reached for his hand. He tenderly took it. Instead of insisting on interlocking their fingers as he normally did, he just held three of her fingers loosely in his grip.

He was silent until they got far enough away from the crowd that no one could hear them. Still, he spoke softly, "How long before Arthur gets here?"

"How did you know?"

"My State Department contact in the Philippines gave me a pieced together account," he answered without a smile. This was the most serious look she had seen from Brian. "They're sending a man over to film Arthur giving his account of the incident. And, he'll probably have...God only knows how many questions that will require answering. I have orders to be with him while he's here and listen to everything he says. I don't really think Arthur would say anything he wasn't supposed to. It's just a precaution because of the possibility of how he might react to whatever anesthesia they might use."

She answered, "I understand. And so will Mr. Dunavant and Leo."

"Answer me this," he asked as he pointed to the sign in the window. "Why did they put up the sign Disaster Preparedness Drill?"

"They were looking for a good reason to block off the windows while they cleaned Arthur's wounds. They didn't want anybody to know the real reason Arthur was coming here," she answered.

He finally smiled as he commented, "That's a brilliant idea. I can flash my badge and go in to watch as if I was judging their performance. When the State Department guy gets here we'll make it seem like he's filming a preparedness lesson or something."

Their eyes met for a brief moment. Marci looked away quickly under the pretense of looking for Arthur. He chuckled, "You finally admitted to yourself that you love him, didn't you?"

She looked at the ground before looking back at him. "You knew?" she asked.

He chuckled again as he answered her softly and very sweetly, "It's a beautiful thing to see a woman so very deeply in love with someone. I just wish that that someone could have been me."

"Brian...."

"Is Bert free for the evening?"

It was her turn to chuckle as she jabbed at him, "You bounced back pretty quickly, didn't you?"

"Sweetheart," he answered with a wide grin, "I dropped a hundred dollars apiece on these dinner theater tickets. This is my money. It doesn't come out of an expense account."

Marci smiled and promised him, "She'll be ready by 6 p.m. I promise. And, you'll have a great time. She's a lot of fun to be with."

The sound of a motorcycle coming toward them brought their conversation to a close.

# Chapter Thirty

Brian and Marci stood where they were and watched Arthur pull into the parking lot across the street. He put his hand over his mouth and asked quietly. "Who all knows the truth?"

"Everyone in the cafe," she responded as she looked at the pavement. She scurried over to Arthur.

Arthur turned off the ignition and let out a heavy sigh as he sat real still for a moment. He lowered his head and was breathing so hard that he almost seemed like he was gasping for breath. He feebly lifted his hand to his chin strap and popped it off. Then he groaned as he forced himself to remove his helmet.

Marci saw a look of pain on his face that she had never seen before and started to panic. "Are you alright? Arthur?" She reached out to touch his shoulder.

Instinctively he raised his voice and said "Don't!" He apologized with more of a groan than he did his normal voice. "Sweets, I'm sorry but I'm in a lot of pain from my neck all the way down to my waist."

Marci's quivering voice snapped the men out of their conversation. "Bri-i-a-a-n, Ben, Tommy..... Somebody come here quick."

Brian rushed to the other side of the Harley and started giving orders, "Marci, you probably need to ask your Grandmother and your brother to leave. I don't believe this is going to be a pretty sight."

"Ok," she answered as she looked at Arthur, "but be careful with him." She scampered back to the cafe.

"Tommy, go to the door and keep it shut until we get there," Brian directed. "Arthur, give me and Ben your hands. We'll hold you steady while you get off your bike. Ben, there's no way that we need to even touch his back. So, Arthur, if we hold to you by your outstretched arms will you be able to make it across the street?"

Arthur held out his arms to the guys and groaned his answer, "I'll make it. Just keep me balanced. I haven't slept much in the past 36 hours and my adrenaline rush gave out a long time ago."

"I gothca man," Brian sympathized as he and Ben gingerly began walking him across the street to the cafe. "I've been on some tough cases with the DOJ and I know just what you're talking about. Ben, walk ahead, we'll turn him sideways as we walk through the door."

Marci, Grandmother Barton and Dennis were standing just inside the door. "Arthur, this is my Grandmother Barton and my little brother Dennis."

Brian and Ben were still on either side of him holding him up. He managed a smile as he told them, "It's a pleasure to meet you, both."

Grandmother Barton apologized, "I promised Dennis that I would get him some ice cream so we need to scoot."

As they walked out the door, Marci instructed her, "McGurdy's has the best ice cream and it's right across the street from the park."

Marci shut and locked the door and turned back around to Arthur. She began unbuttoning his shirt while Ben and Brian were helping him step out of his leathers. She slipped her hands between his chest and his shirt. "It's stuck, isn't it?" she asked as she looked into his eyes.

"They didn't have any gauze to wrap....."

Before he could finish, Marci slipped her hands up to the back of his neck and pulled him to her for a kiss. The room got quiet. Marci released his lips just enough to tell him, "That's my answer to the question in your eyes last month. And this is my statement to you that has been a long time in coming." She pulled him back and wrapped her arms around his neck this time with no intention of letting go for a while."

In his slow southern drawl, Leo suggested, "That's right, Marci. Hold him real still just like that while we take his shirt off of him. Somebody bring me a wet towel to dampen his shirt with. But take your time. He ain't goin' no where for a few minutes."

That brought enough giggles from everyone that Marci had to relinquish her hold. While Leo and Mr. Dunavant worked on his shirt, Marci fixed her eyes on him. There were no tears and no quiver in her voice. It was just a matter of fact statement. "Arthur Hollis, you will NEVER go anywhere else without me by your side. EVER!"

A smile played on her lips as she added, "Do you hear me?"

"I hear you loud and clear, Honey," he said to her softly. "I've waited a long time to hear you say something like that."

"I know it and I'm sorry it took so long for me to get my head straight," Marci agreed as she reached for her phone. "And, I know someone else who's waited a long time to hear me say something, too. And I promised I would call her when you got here anyway."

Before she hit the speed dial number for Olivia, she looked at her friends and said, "I'm going to put this on speaker phone so in case she screams like I think she will it won't bust my eardrums."

The phone rang a time or two before a female voice answered, "Marci, Marci....is Arthur Ok?"

She paused before she answered, "He's going to be just fine.........Mom."

The End

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