The Three Day Pass

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. As fiction, the characters are not bound by the usual dictates of modern society. Unsafe sexual practices can be undertaken with impunity only in the world of fantasy. In reality, it is both your obligation and your right to play safely, sanely and healthily. I hope you enjoy my work, and if you have any comments, or ideas that may inspire new work, please feel free to contact me - all e-mails will be answered to the best of my ability.

End of Chapter 44

"I was serious when I told you I wanted to become a good Muslim. Being a good Muslim requires that you submit to the will of Allah and his appointed teachers. This I intend to try to do. Now, get the hell out of here before I press the service button and have the steward come in and forcibly remove you!"

*

"But!" Allie said as he started to move toward Joseph.

"Stop right there," Joseph warned as he picked up the buzzer and placed his thumb on the button. "Take one more step and I'll press this and have the security people throw you out of the plane over the ocean. I'm told that was one of my late father's favorite methods of disposing of his ex-lovers."

"You wouldn't do that," said Allie with a smirk on his face, but, never the less, he stopped in his tracks. "Would you?"

"Just try me!" Joseph said his blue eyes staring into Allie's now frightened eyes, "You know what they say, 'like father, like son'."

"OK, I'll leave, but this is not the last you will see of me." Allie whispered and dropped his hands, turned, opened the door a bit to check that there was no one in the aisle and then left the room.

After Allie left Joseph summoned the Steward and asked if he knew who the visitor was that had just left his room.

"Yes, I do, sir," he said. "Is there anything wrong?"

"He is to remain confined in the crew area for the remainder of the flight, even if you have to handcuff him. You may release him once we get off the plane. Do I make myself clear?

"Yes sir, I'm sorry that happened. He told us you knew him, that you were good friends and he wanted to surprise you. I will take care of the problem and see to it that you will not be disturbed again."

Joseph relaxed and locked the door and returned to his bed, lay down and was soon asleep. He woke up many hours later and again rang for the steward.

There was a knock on the door and a voice said, "Steward here, sir. May I be of assistance?"

Joseph got off the bed and opened the door and seeing it was the steward, he asked him in. "Steward, how much longer until we land."

"About three hours. We are making good time. I was just about to wake you and ask if perhaps you would like something to eat now. I have just received a message from His Eminence detailing your welcoming at the airport. He has quite a ceremony set up."

"Oh, he need not have gone to any trouble. I hope I will not embarrass either him or myself."

"I'm sure you won't, sir. And just to make sure that all goes well; after you eat I can go over the arrangements and prep the three of you for the event. I'm sure you and the Worthingtons will do just fine. We will be landing and then we will taxi to a private V.I.P. area where the Emir and our President will be waiting to welcome you to Syria in the name of our people. The whole thing should not take too long."

"The President?" Joseph said. "My, I guess we must be important."

"I guess you are. The other passengers are also getting ready for dinner. We were just getting ready to serve them in about twenty minutes in the main stateroom. Would you like to join them now?"

"Yes, that would be nice. I will wash-up, change my clothes and join them in a few minutes. What is the weather like in Damascus?"

"This time of year; hot, very hot! I would wear something light. Are you sure you will be ready in twenty minutes?"

"I should be."

"Very well then, sir. Dinner in twenty minutes."

Joseph washed and joined the others at the table where a nice meal was served. "This is not your usual airline food," Richard said. "I could even get used to this."

"Yes, it is rather good. The steward was telling me that when we land there is to be a formal welcoming ceremony," Joseph said. "It appears that we are to get the 'Red Carpet' treatment." Then, seeing the look of anxiety on the faces of Sara and Richard, he added, "but we are not to worry because after we finish dinner, the steward will take us through the process step by step and prepare us."

After dinner was finished and cleared away, the steward returned holding a small gift-wrapped box, which he placed on the table in front of himself. He then described how the plane would land and taxi up to a fenced-in area. "After the landing and taxi, the door will open and Joseph followed by the Worthingtons will alight the steps to the tarmac, where three children will present each of you with welcoming flowers. The Emir will then welcome you and introduce you to the President. The Emir's wife will then welcome Mr. and Mrs. Worthington and escort the two of you to one of the waiting air-conditioned limousines. Joseph will then be asked to review the Honor Guard after which the President will say a few parting words. He will then leave and Joseph and the Emir will travel together in his limo while the Worthingtons will travel in his wife's limo to His Eminence's home. That's all there is to it. Are there any questions?"

They looked at each other and shook their heads indicating that they understood.

"It sounds simple enough," Joseph said. "Is there anything else?"

"Yes, one more thing. A rather delicate matter." The steward said shyly, as he picked up the box and handed it to Sara. "The wife of the Emir has asked me to present this welcoming gift to you. She picked it out herself. It is a black scarf and most married women in our country wear it in public. She wanted me to stress that this was not required but that she would like you to wear it over your hair, but only if it pleases you to do it."

Sara opened the box and removed the sheer black lace scarf. "Oh! It's beautiful; I shall be pleased to wear it. Is this made in Syria? I would love to buy some more to give as gifts to my friends back home."

The steward, smiling and heaving a sigh of relief said, "Yes ma'am, I think the Emir's wife had a shopping tour planned for you and you can ask her. I am sure she will be pleased to see that you not only like her gift, but are gracious enough to honor our customs."

After they sat down in their seats, Joseph leaned over to Sara and whispered that she had handled her first test very diplomatically. "Now all I have to do is to get through the rest of the day without any problems."

"I am sure you will do fine. Just be relaxed and be yourself. They will love you just as we do," she said. "Oh! Look out the window. I think the sun is coming up. In a few hours we will be on the ground and the welcome will be over and past us."

Light as a feather the plane touched down and taxied to the gate. Joseph, looking out could see the welcoming committee. They were all standing under a canvas tarp, which made it look like a Bedouin encampment. The door opened and Joseph started down the steps and turned to assist Sara who was wearing the lace scarf with the ends flipped over her shoulders. Richard brought up the rear. When they were all on the tarmac, three girls came forward and presented each of them with flowers. Joseph bent his head to the girl and took the flowers with his left hand as she said in slightly accented English, "Welcome to Syria". Then taking her right hand in his, he lifted it to his lips and kissed it.

The girl giggled and smiled and Joseph noticed a very pretty face, with the darkest brown eyes and whitest teeth he had seen in a long time. It reminded him of that first Friday in Fazzi's home when he had looked into the eyes of Fazzi's daughter. "What a lovely way to be welcomed." Joseph said and added, "Your English is excellent. Thank you my dear, we are very glad to be here." The girl bowed her head and moved to the side as the Emir came up and threw his arms around Joseph and welcomed him in true Arab style by kissing him on both cheeks. Joseph introduced the Worthingtons to the Emir and he, in turn, introduced the three of them to the President. After all the introductions were over, Joseph was asked to review the Honor Guard while Sara and Richard were taken over to an air conditioned limousine where they waited for the formal welcoming to end. After inspecting the Guard, the President said his goodbyes and The Emir and Joseph got into their limo and drove off followed by the other limo.

"Most impressive, but totally unnecessary." Joseph said." You make me feel like I am a big shot or something."

"Well, Yussef you are, as you say, 'a big shot'", the Emir said and asked, "I hope your flight was comfortable? Is there anything in particular you would like to see while you are here? Yussef, I do have a big tour planned but if there is something in particular you would like to see, just let me know and I will arrange it for you."

"Jamaal," Joseph said using the Emir's name, "There is something that I would like to do first off, before we even go to your home--- if I can and it is not too much trouble for you."

"And what might that be?"

"I would like to visit my father's grave. These flowers that were given to me, I would like to place them on his grave and let him know that I have fulfilled one of his last wishes by coming to his country and also pay my respects to him." Joseph requested.

The Emir tried almost unsuccessfully to choke back his tears... "Yes, my son, that would be a most fitting way for you to begin your trip," he said as he reached for the inter-com phone and directed his driver to change course and also to inform the other limo of the change in plans. "I hope the Worthingtons will understand this side trip?"

"Oh, they most likely will. Have you forgotten that they both knew and respected Fazzi almost as much as I did? I am sure they will want to pay their respects as much as I do. I hope this is not a problem for you."

"No, no problem at all," said the Emir. "By the way, how did you like the girl that presented you with the flowers."

"She was very beautiful and poised." Joseph said a bit warily. "A most lovely way to be greeted."

"I'm glad you think so. She is my granddaughter, your future wife. I wanted you to meet her and see if you like her. I think she was taken with you. I could see the light in her eyes when you kissed her hand." The Emir said. "The other two were also my granddaughters. If she does not please you, perhaps one of the others will."

"You swindling, devious and treacherous old goat," Joseph said shaking his finger at the old man, "if I wasn't so pleased with the prospect of taking that lovely creature to my bed when she becomes a woman, I would take you over my knee and spank you."

"I take it then that you will accept her as your wife and are not angry with me for my deception?"

"No, I am not angry at you for that, but I am very displeased with you for something else you seem to have done."

"What is that? Tell me and I will make it right!" The Emir said placing his right hand over his heart. "I want no barriers between you and me."

"It is this problem with Allie and me." Joseph said and he then told him about the incident on the plane.

"That idiot! I did not know that he had stowed away on the plane. Yussef, my son I will confess to you, we have a problem with Allie. I say we because it is a problem, which you will have to help me solve. Your father, Fazzi, made all kinds of promises of advancement to him when he took him on as an assistant. And to tell the truth, I too, might have compounded the problem. As a result of these promises he has developed these delusions of grandeur and has developed hopes of replacing me as Emir someday. I assure you that there was not and never will be any chance of that! The man never had the tact or brains for that to ever become a possibility. However since you have entered the picture, he has become very jealous and downright dangerous. He has become what you could call 'a young Turk' and has attracted a small but strong following. It appears that it has now developed to a point where even I must be careful not to hurt his feelings. It would appear that his feelings for you have always been strong. Stronger than either Fazzi or I could have thought. They have taken over his mind and, for the time being, there are things that I must do in order to control him. That is where you come in," the Emir said as they passed through the gates of the cemetery. "Ahhhhh, here we are. We are approaching your father's grave now. We will talk of this privately later at home when we have more time."

The cars stopped and they got out and approached the gravesite on foot. It was a beautiful site with a marble stone containing Fazzi's name, along with his rank and listed his service to the nation. Joseph and the Worthingtons placed their flowers on the grave and Joseph stepped back a bit and gave the grave a snappy military salute and said in Arabic, "I'm sorry I'm not in uniform, I know how you loved to see me that way Dad, but I am no longer in the service and my civilian clothes will have to do." He stood there at attention for a few moments and then did a snappy about face and walked back to the car.

"That was very respectful of you Yussef. I am sure that Fazzi returned your salute." The Emir said with tears in his eyes as he closed the door and ordered the driver to continue on to the residence.

Later, after the visitors had settled themselves in their rooms, the Emir took the time to continue his discussion about Allie.

"Allie thinks he has me in a corner. And for now, that is how I want him to feel," the Emir stated. "I know I told you that you were not to continue your liaisons with him. I said it because that first night when I stayed at your home I suspected, for some reason, that you did not like having these relationships with him. It appeared to me that you were only looking for a valid reason to stop them anyway. And I was only too happy to provide you with one. Was I right in this assumption?"

"Was it that apparent? I did not know it showed that much," said Joseph. "Yes, by then I had realized that our affair was a mistake right from the beginning."

"Anyway, I knew you wanted to be a proper Muslim so I provided you with this chance and you proved your fidelity by kicking him out. However, he has now threatened to do damage to me by joining with others and he would like to force me to announce him as my successor. This, I cannot permit. If ever there was anyone so totally unfit to take my place, it is Allie. After much debate, he reluctantly agreed to bow to my will on this but he has named his price for his continuing his support of me. That price is, to put it disgustingly, your body. For now he must be contained. I will not force you to do this. Do you think you can help me? Will you help me?"

"If you want me to sleep with him again—the answer is no!" Joseph said. "Like I said before, he caught me at a bad time, right after Fazzi's death. I made a mistake then and I'm not going to do it again."

"Not even if I ask you to do it for my sake?"

"I would do anything for you, Jamaal, but this is too much to ask of me...."

"Then, Yussef, you leave me with only one option and that is to have him killed and I don't want to do that if I don't have to," the Emir said. "The man has rendered useful service to both me and our cause and I would not want his blood on my hands. Perhaps you could pretend to like him, at least until you are married and have given me a legitimate heir. By then our people will have gotten to know you and both you and your offspring will be viewed as my rightful and legitimate replacement and heir. As such, he will have no choice but to recognize you as Emir."

"There is one other solution, if you want to keep your hands free of his blood --- I could do it for you." Joseph whispered.

The Emir was shocked. "You would do that for me?"

"Well, if there is no other way."

"It may come to that but if it does, I will be the one that does it, not you. I don't want you to enter as Emir with blood on your hands. In any event, for now we must refrain from such extreme means."

"So, for now, you are telling me to pretend to love him? You want me to lower myself to be a male prostitute for you."

"How crude! But yes, and not only will he be controlled, but as an added benefit, as his confidant, you will then be in a position to learn all his plans and report them to me. I'm sure you will find the means to entice them out of him."

"Jamaal, you are a sneaky old goat," Joseph laughed, "you would sell your own flesh and blood for power."

"Not only for power but just for the fun of it, to say nothing about the possibility of making a profit also. After all, I'm an Arab! That is the way we do things and if you are to be a member of this family, you had better get used to it my boy."

"Jedi (my Grandfather), I love you. Your will is my will! Your command is my order! This is really going too far, however, for you and for the sake of our family and the new Caliphate I will have to find some way to do this and keep my honor at the same time."

"I love the way your are now thinking of yourself as part of my family. I'm sure you will find a way, but again, don't concern yourself too much with your honor---learn to be an Arab."

For the next two weeks Joseph and the Worthingtons traveled all over the Middle East, visiting hospitals, refugee camps, schools and the homes of both rich and poor people. Joseph asked and was asked lots of questions. While he could see that the need was very great, Joseph could also see that the means of alleviating much, if not all, of the problems was right there in the area. There was really no need to collect all that money from the poor people in Paterson and distribute it here. There is money and wealth locally right here in overabundance. However, the rich refused to share their wealth or to help those less fortunate then themselves. Instead, they chose to throw away their prosperity in the gambling and whorehouses of Europe, while keeping the poor at home in very horrid conditions and situations. Food, water and sanitary conditions were beyond belief. Alongside these miserable humans lived people who just didn't care or else used them to fill their own pockets with money made from the resale of food and supplies of donated medical equipment. Even the UN was involved. Joseph was told, over and over about how one after another of the UN's officials were lining their pockets with graft. How some of the UN soldiers gave arms and aid to the Hezbollah and other terrorists. Even the Secretary General's family was involved.

The last week of their visit, Joseph asked Sara and Richard if they thought there was any hope for these people. "Yes there is hope but it is fast becoming a quagmire. Education would help, but as soon as they graduate, they leave the area for Europe or America." Richard said sadly. "I have seen more hope among the untouchables of India than I see here. At least there most of the people in power are interested in helping the poor. Here they are just using them to ferment more problems and sickness. Here, rather than statesmen, we have political troublemakers in charge. They do not care if their people survive or not. In fact, I think they would rather they didn't. These poor people are their means of staying in power and if they could retain that power without them, they would be glad to sell them out. The social and religious factors are stacked against them. Perhaps a complete social and religious revolution will help change the situation, but I still doubt it will help.'