The Forgiven The Fallen The Forsaken (50 page)

"Agreed,"
said the other four women in unison. 

FLAGSTAFF

The entire
village met back at the Paradise Village site, which was now mostly a large
crater, except for one large tent a hundred meters away from where they stood. 
There was no sign that anyone had ever lived there.  Even the runways were
pulverized.  Zach was filming the event.

"Thank you
for coming," said Jim.  "I wanted the chance to say goodbye to those
we've lost.  I miss Jake, Angie, Frank, Rita, Stewart, and Kathy deeply and
keep waiting for them to show up at a meeting one of these mornings.  I would give
anything to hear Rita telling me how far up my ass my head is today." 
Many of them laughed remembering Rita's obnoxious wit. 

"I can't
stand that half the children of the village perished at the hands of the most evil
of the fallen because we couldn't identify him in time, even when he was right
under our noses."  He waved to Zach to stop filming.   

"Rob is
bringing around photos that we will be burning after everyone who wishes gets a
chance to see them.  These show the man who killed our friends and family.  Understand
that you can never discuss this after today." 

Rob passed
around one set of pictures of Larson in the hospital bed and the group was
silent until all of them saw the pictures.  Rob then lit a match to the
pictures and let them burn completely. 

 "As you see,
justice has been done and will continue for some time."

Once the
pictures were burned, Samantha started snapping away with her camera and Zach
resumed filming.  It was strangely comforting. 

"All of
you have been on the front line at the most important of times.  You have changed
the entire course of human history.  You've made me proud and you've served
your country well.  Our friends were part of that fight and they deserve to rest
with honor.

"There
will never be another Paradise Village.  Today we mourn our own.  They gave
everything to the cause of rebuilding, just as all of us have, yet somehow did
not survive to stand with us today.  Part of us died here as well, and part of
our souls will always remain here.  Sometimes I suspect that the best of us did
not leave here."

There were
tears all around.  Even Julio was crying. Pia and Rebecca hugged each other. 
Julie hugged Dave, who was crying silently.  Angie had remained in the village only
because he always came back there and he knew that was the only reason she was
there that day.

"We
couldn't mourn properly when it happened, but I felt that our absent companions
deserved the best."

From behind the
bus that had brought them came the sound of drums as the Marine Corps band marched
out.  They began playing Amazing Grace and anyone who was not already tearing
up started.  Several were sobbing.

Busses pulled
up behind them and began unloading congressmen, senators, VIP's, and everyday
citizens. 

Jim said,
"I'm afraid that our private ceremony is over and the groundbreaking on
the new Whitehouse is beginning.  I can't think of a more fitting beginning for
the new capitol.  This is for Angie, Jake, Frank, Rita, Stewart, Kathy, and the
children of the village, Frank Jr., Cynthia, Sue, and Barbara." 

The band began
playing The Battle Hymn of the Republic.  "Welcome to the new America. 
Welcome to the return to the origin of America.  Thank you for everything you
have done," said Jim, "and never forget what we have lost."

The first
shovelful of dirt removed from the new Whitehouse site was removed by Ann.  Rob
insisted because, "Justin Wang is the only one not mentioned today, and
he's the one who not only provided the vaccine, he discovered the plot to
release the virus in the first place."

The choice of
Ann for that honor was never publicly explained and would be debated by
historians for centuries, but everyone who knew the story understood it had
been the only choice.

LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, ARIZONA

JUNE 1
^st

Rob sat in a
private room at the officer's club, sipping scotch and enjoying cigars with
General Whitman.  "Well, the country is on its way.  I think we've done
it, Rob.  I have to ask, did you really think you could pull it off back in the
beginning?"

Rob looked up from
his drink and said, "Not a chance in hell."

Whitman laughed
loudly for a long time.  Once he stopped and caught his breath, he said,
"You know that everyone has bought your bullshit that I was the mastermind
of this operation?  You set up almost every play from the beginning to the end
and I'm the one going into the history books as a genius while you duck pretty
much all of the limelight.  Now that's ironic."

Rob half smiled
and said, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"I'm just
glad Jim stuck you with the VP slot so you didn't get away scot free." 
Whitman took another drink out of the tumbler.  "Do you ever think he'll
figure it all out?"

"With all
the politicians we had to eliminate to clear the path for him?  Jesus, I hope
not." 

"Here's to
him," said Whitman, holding his glass up high.

"May the
gullible son of a bitch always steer the moral path," answered Rob as the
clinked glasses.  "And God help us if he does figure it out."

"He'll
never hear it from me," said Whitman.

"That's
good, because we'd both have to move to another continent, and I'm crazy about
my daughter in law."

Whitman
toasted, "To our daughter in laws."

Rob raised his
glass.  "How the hell did we ever get so lucky?" 

"Lord
knows it wasn't good breeding," said Whitman.

This time Rob
was the one laughing uncontrollably.

When Rob
regained control, the general commented, "You know, I'm kind of surprised
the conspiracy didn't try to recruit you."

"I would
have just used it as an opportunity to manipulate things so we could kill off
all of their leadership and put our own people in place."

Whitman sat
back with his mouth open and a look of shock on his face as the pieces came
together for him.   "You son of a bitch…"

Rob peered into
his glass and said, "I just wish I had been able to do something to
actually prepare the nation and save more lives.  It didn't need to be as bad
as it was, but I couldn't do more in the early days without getting myself
killed."

"You
knew!"

"Not about
Walker and Larson and the missiles.  I wish I'd have uncovered that sooner.  
The
Organization
was too compartmentalized and I never got anyone into
that section."

"Jesus,
Rob!"

"At least I
was able to give the future a fighting chance."  He held up his glass and
said, "To the future." 

After a moment
Whitman shook his head and lifted his glass.  "To the most manipulative
forsaken
son of a bitch I've ever met."

Rob smiled. 
"I'll drink to that."

BRAZIL ISLAND

JUNE 2
^nd

Kemp steered
the trawler yacht into the island's harbor and docked her next to The Slippery
Slope.  It was raining cats and dogs, but it was a smooth docking just the
same.

He was never in
his life so happy as to see his women running to the dock in the rain, waving
and yelling.  They were safe and they were happy.  Nothing in the world could
please him more.

They hugged and
laughed and cried.  It was exactly the homecoming he had dreamed about since he
had left.  He didn't deserve them, but he would treasure all of them just the
same.

His life had
become something that he never could have imagined, yet it was far better than
anything he would have believed.  This was a life worth living and he would
live it to the fullest, no matter what difficulties the future brought.

Jim wasn't
thrilled with the prospect of serving four more years, but had been left with
little choice as no one sensible was willing to run if he refused.  Rob had
ducked out of the VP office saying, "Not only no, but hell no!"  Jim
told him he was grateful for the two years he had put into the office and
thanked him.

Jim pulled his
vice president from Helen's recommendation of a politician from a small town in
Costa Rica who was extremely popular in the new southern states.   Decades
later, historians would mark it as a turning point in world history.  It was
the beginning of the power of a continent being channeled for the good of the
entire planet.

Throughout the
nation, control of sacred Indian lands was being given back to the tribes.  All
of the tribes together were grouped into a piecemeal state that had its own
seats in the senate and congress.   Jim rammed it through congress with the
help of the new southern states.  He was convinced that it was the right thing
to do, even if it did cost him politically.

Jim told all of
those who had been with him from the beginning that the start of the second
term would complete the transition to rule of law and that any unfinished
business would have to be wrapped up prior to that.

The inner
circle took it to heart, and Ann took great pleasure in dumping a now blind,
deaf, dumb, and unrecognizable Senator Larson in a private hospital they had
set up for him in Thailand.  The doctors and nurses were given a solid
understanding that they would be paid very well for as long as their patient
remained alive and all measures were to be taken to keep him that way, short of
transferring him elsewhere.  He would live that way for over a decade and a
half.

On the day of
the start of Jim's new term, Helen and Julie turned almost all of their shares
of stock in most of their Kunoichi companies over to be evenly divided among
the workers, with the condition that the stock could only be sold back to the
individual companies themselves.  They kept only one share apiece in most of
their companies, though they kept all of their shares in Kunoichi Import/Export,
and Kunoichi Technologies.  Richards told them they both were nuts, but kept
them on as permanent consultants to Kunoichi Corporation.

Central America
was anything but calm, but things were gradually falling into place.  The only
thing that the people of the new states agreed on was adoration of Julie and
Helen.  The two carried on with their work to make the new territories completely
functional without completely losing the many cultures that made the region
interesting.  Most of all, they genuinely cared about the people and the people
understood.

Luke and Jamie
continued their private education and never bothered to officially attend a
university.  They invested much of their fortune in Latin America, Africa, and
Asia, using their investments to drive new, more sustainable technologies and
to improve the lives of people throughout the world, always more interested in
average people than in the elites.  They also invested heavily in Native
American communities, never forgetting their friends there.

They continued
to do runs for Kunoichi Shipping from time to time.  Eventually, etiquette
developed without any formal policy.  The dispatchers would write them in as a
corporate inspection team and would double up a couple of drivers so no one
lost pay.  The drivers considered it a blessing to be in a convoy with Luke and
Jamie and it was a matter of pride to have been treated as an equal by the
pair.

They decided
not to marry until the press was no longer watching.   It took a while. 

Most important
to Luke, he never killed again.  Of all of his accomplishments, this was the
one of which he was the most proud.