Yield

To my wife and children, may you inspire the world just as you
’
ve inspired me.

P
art
O
ne
:
I
gnorance

“
It is only the dead who have seen the end of war.
”

- PLATO

6:12 A.M. - PORTLAND, OREGON

Abd Al-Aziiz plunges his hands into the cool water basin, wringing them three times as he prays quietly to his God. He splashes the purifying liquid up onto his face. Harsh lines cut across its shadows, creating heavy sockets with only hints of white. Abd blinks back the tears in his eyes before closing them tightly again. Arabic words roll mechanically from his lips, the creases around his eyes deepening in concentrated peace.

Candles burn all around his kneeling body. Their black smoke curls up along walls stained by years of the uncaring and busy. Behind him, in the living room of his bleak downtown apartment, a television is on professing truth to an empty room. The news anchor
’
s lilting foreign accent somehow makes the tragic events on screen seem cheerful.

“
International support for the U.S. anti-terrorism initiative has been diminishing in recent years,
”
she states,
“
with
fewer
countries to help strengthen the U.S.-led effort militarily.
”

Hand-held video shows a frightened journalist cowering behind two soldiers. The image suddenly lights up when the group is obliterated by mortar fire. One of the Marines
’
blackened helmets shatters the camera lens, throwing the photographer backward onto the bloody sand. The silhouettes of the dead fade to more explosions. Huge clouds of fire and dust are launched into the sky.

“
French and German troops are now among a growing list of those who have left the Mideast, with several other countries also approaching their time frames for total withdrawal. Additional U.S. peace-keeping forces are still being deployed throughout the region, dramatically shrinking the available reserves of every military branch.

“
Our talk-back question for today
…
With U.S. armed forces still overextended and military budgets on the chopping block, do you think America
’
s security is at risk? Post your response now at CNN.com
…
”

Abd cocks his head toward the TV. He smiles at the loaded question with a mouth full of crooked and decaying teeth. Letting the water drip freely from his face, the Arab man
’
s closely-groomed beard glistens in the candlelight. He lowers his head to the floor, eyes shut fast.

The cadence and verses of his morning prayer are burned into his mind. Those blessed words roll from his lips, just as they
’
ve done countless times before.
“
I bear witness that there is no God but Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah
…
”

*  *  *

The rising sun is quickly engulfed by the all-too-familiar clouds hanging low over the city. Pockets of rain pierce the reflected blues and greens of the Willamette River. Light blooming off rows of windows along the east-facing structures downtown fades as the clouds continue to darken. Cherry trees lining the streets billow in the breeze, their blossoms falling around the growing crowds of people just below.

Cars fill the freeways. Massed commuters board the buses and light-rail trains, preparing for another day within the bustling city of Portland. Dressed for business, they move with determination under the thickening rain.

*  *  *

“
…
All U.S. embassies have been placed on high alert after the bombing attempts last week. The latest video from the terrorist group believed responsible promised more severe attacks closer to home. Terrorism expert
,
retired Brigadier General Jacob Leder at our Seattle bureau, disagrees. Jacob?
”

The ABC news anchor on-set in New York tosses via satellite to a 57-year-old man with a military crew cut back at the KOMO 4 News set in Seattle. His suit pressed to perfection, Jacob sits at attention in front of a Seattle skyline graphic. He glances from the preview monitor up to the high-definition camera lens pointed at him. The scuffed tally light above turns blood-red as he hears a producer cue barked into his right earpiece.

“
I believe America
’
s foreign policy has alienated itself from much of the world,
”
Jacob says. His booming voice echoes around the large studio.
“
With our incursions into countries we have no business crossing into
—
without cause and without reason
—
we are now as unpopular within the world at large as we have ever been.
”
Jacob looks down at his clenched hands, gradually relaxing their nervous grip. He nods at another trite, rhetorical question from the overpaid anchor coming through his wireless IFB.

Jacob smooths out a slight crease in his blue tie, casually tucking it back into his charcoal suit. He begins to fidget impatiently in his chair as the talking head drones on. Jacob finally just cuts him off.
“
Well, America has a lot of enemies out there, and despite what our politicians would have us believe, they are not all Islamic extremists.

“
We need to open our eyes. Much of this country is ignorant to what
’
s really happening outside our borders.
”
He hesitates on his last point, looking at the slick anchor in his ten-thousand-dollar suit on the preview monitor.
“
Puppeteering within our media outlets has only compounded the problem.
”

Instantly confrontational, the news anchor leans forward.
“
Hold on now. Do you really believe the leaders of our country are misleading the public through the media?
”

Jacob smiles at the anchor
’
s reddening face. Veins along the man
’
s temples surge with hostility.
“
All I
’
m saying is that if these anti-American groups ever figure out they all have a common enemy, we could be in real trouble.
”

*  *  *

“
Come to prayer. Come to the good,
”
Abd says, finishing the ritual of Salah.
“
Allah is most great.
”

He sits up slowly and pushes the sides of a blanketing, off-white robe away from his sandal-clad feet. The Arab draws air deep into his lungs as he stands, ready to do what he must.
“
Allah is most great
…
”

*  *  *

A homeless man sitting in a doorway along Portland
’
s busy Morrison Avenue holds his cup out to people walking by. Several drop their change into his tattered container, but most just move on without slowing. His filthy hands hold a sign limply upon his lap.

VETERAN.

GOD BLESS U.S.A.

PLEASE HELP!

The broken man looks up with meek eyes, willing donations from passers-by with pity, but receiving none. He turns to look at several pigeons fighting viciously for a scrap of food nearby.

A bright blue Seattle Mariners jersey stands out inside the crowd of monochromatic pedestrians. The color slows, dropping a five-dollar bill into the man
’
s offering cup. The ex-vet
’
s eyes go wide. He glances up into the face of a bearded Mid-Easterner before taking the bill out and stuffing it into a torn inside pocket. The homeless man looks back up to thank him, but Abd is already gone, continuing into the rain along the Rose City
’
s streets.

Finally, the Arab reaches his crowded transit stop. He watches the blooming white letters of the train
’
s signage approach with growing apprehension. A faceless cluster of people rush onto the airport-bound light-rail train before moving silently to their seats. Abd takes his by the window next to a woman in a gray dress holding her bastard child. With a slight sneer, he turns and looks out at the urban landscape zooming by the glass.

*  *  *

6:45 A.M. - PSU CAMPUS

A raven flock flies over the Portland State University campus, crying out their piercing song across the stone commons. Scattered students and teachers walk briskly to their early classes. They shield bags and backpacks with a rainbow of umbrellas moving through the rain. Lining the brick pathways, dense rows of trees try feebly to block the storm. Both of nature
’
s gifts show no signs of breaking. The touch of thick, Pacific Northwest droplets eat through jackets and optimism in the cold morning air.