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The end of chapter 38
"Why not run it through to the "Boss" and see what he has to say? I'm sure the idea coming from the President would have more impact and I just think he might want the capture of the Caliph as a good-bye trophy to crown his farewell from office this January. Besides, I don't relish the thought of asking Jesse to give up his citizenship to say nothing of his foreskin," the chief said.
Chapter #39
"It's a good idea. I'll bring it up with the President as soon as I can," laughed the Director. "But I really don't expect anything. With all he has to do in the next week, I don't think he will find time before leaving office. However, if he does decide, he can go either way on this. I don't know if he will want to risk the possible consequences of a failure. It might mean he leaves office with another black mark against him. He may not want to act on this alone or, then again; he might want to at least inform the President-elect of the situation. I will bring it up to him, but either way it will be a rough choice. After all, I don't even know if I'll have a job by the end of January. The new boss might just want to clean out the department and fire all of us."
"You don't seriously think that do you? How can he throw out all these years of hard work?"
"He can and he will, if he feels like it. He is going to be our boss and he will want his men in the department... For better or worse - that's the way the system works. Anyhow, I'll contact the President and give him the news but, until the twentieth, he will have the ball in his court and if he's smart I think he will just pass the buck to the new man. Then, whatever happens will be on his watch. I'll let you know what he decides," and he hung up the phone.
The Chief closed his phone and let out a deep sigh as he drove down the road toward town away from the cabin.
Meanwhile up at the cabin, Jess, Ronnie and the Judge had opened the cabin and aired it out. "Jesse, you and Ronnie start a fire in the fireplace to get the chill and mustiness out of here and I'll start supper. After that you can open a bottle of white wine to 'air out'. Then take her around and show her the place while I prepare us a supper. Hey, take her for a boat ride on the lake," he said. "She will enjoy that. The fish might take a while to defrost. It won't be much, all we have is canned vegetables to go with the fish but I'm sure I still remember how to cook up a storm."
Jesse did that and then showed Ronnie around the place. When they reached the rear porch, he offered his hand to her and led her down to the wharf and the boat sitting by the dock. He removed the tarp and after checking the fuel supply he asked her if she would like to take a ride around the lake before supper.
"Yes," she said excitedly and Jesse helped her in and sat down beside her. He turned on the motor and eased the boat away from the dock and then headed for the center of the lake where he stopped the boat and called up Yethro on the ship radio and told him he was taking Ronnie for a tour around the lake. "Great idea, I'll call you when supper is ready¬-should be about an hour. Have fun but be careful there are flotation devices under the seats, just in case."
"I'll be careful - no rough stuff only a slow tour." Then cruising the boat to the far end of the lake, he pulled into a small cove and stopped the engine. There was a small sand beach there and you could look down into the clear water and see beds of mussels and schools of little sunfish swimming around. Up from the beach was a stand of birch trees.
"Isn't it wonderful here?" Jesse sighed. "The quiet is deafening. Sometime the deer come down to the lake for a drink of lake water right there," he said pointing to a little clearing in the woods up from the sand. "Shushhh. Maybe one will come down if we stay still and quiet."
"Ohhh yes!" she gushed. "I know what you mean. It's really so peaceful and beautiful here. It would make a perfect place for another cabin." She held her breath and searched the shoreline looking for animals. After a while she just could not keep quiet any longer and whispered to Jesse, "Rashid tried to describe it to grandma and me but we could not believe him. We kidded him and accused him of being on Hashish. You see, I was born and raised in the city and even before the war it was always dirty and noisy. We never had anything like this near us. It is hard to visualize that places like this even exist. Now, I believe him. He was so right. He tried to tell us how beautiful it was and how rustic at the same time. He said it was like a story from The Thousand and One Nights or a Disney movie fairy tale. We know it really is not real but still, you hope so. You know the ones with the talking birds, the rabbits and deer. So peaceful that you just want to sit and watch the woods and the lake and feel the weight of the world lift from your shoulders. No mater how he described it he did not do it justice. He even used an old Arabic comparison, being in an oasis in the desert after traveling on the back of a camel for days on end without water. He said that it was like entering a different world - a world that was unlike anything he had ever seen. Now that I have seen it for myself, I can fully understand. OHHH Jesse, you must promise that someday we will bring Jidd (Grandma) up here- she will love it," she babbled as Jesse moved closer to her placing his arm around her shoulder and pulling her near him. "She has had so very little beauty in her life, I would love to see her face when she sees it," Her eyes clouded with tears.