The Krakow Klub (56 page)

The shooting war had been brief, and the
casualties were small compared to any previous war. But John Scott
was still distraught.

There had been fifty US military casualties
at Scott Key and another sixty-two in Washington, DC, around the
White House.

One hundred and twelve innocent young men had
died thinking that they were serving their country.

One hundred
thirty-seven
politicians
were killed
at the Greenbrier.

Another two hundred
ninety-eight
members of the Scorpion Battalion had died
as well, but John managed to accept their loss as totally
necessary, even desirable. It was all those others that weighed so
heavily on his heart.
It did not ease his pain one
iota when Jim Slater commented, “This will doubtlessly go down in
history as the only war ever fought in which politician casualties
outnumbered those of ordinary soldiers. That is if we don’t count
the Scorpion Battalion.”

For John Scott, all joy of victory was washed
away by the blood of those lost in attaining it. He may have saved
the United
States from the Krakow Klub,
but he
paid a high price for it, at least in his mind. The spilling of
blood was innately heinous to him. And, to know that so much of it
had been innocent young men simply seeking a start in life made it
all the more horrible.

But, of course, the tragic deaths of so many
members of Congress had been the one that made all the headlines
and stirred up the most public outrage. The losses of CSF635 and
the brigade in Washington, DC, barely made page two or three of the
papers and were a mere footnote on most newscasts.

The attempted assassination of the president
and the killing of VIPs at the Greenbrier had been all that the
media wanted to report,
analyze,
and
reanalyze.

Ordinary
servicemen,
it
would seem, were expected to die in battle.

****

It was just past daybreak on Saturday. John
walked alone on the beach. The final shots had
been
silenced
for almost thirty-six hours. But the sounds of
gunfire still reverberated in his mind. Those sounds caused pains
that pierced not only his consciousness but his heart as well.

There was no solace in victory.

Just then, he noticed something partially
covered in the sand. He reached down and brushed the sand aside to
reveal a large conch shell. It had obviously just
been deposited
with the last tide and was completely
undamaged. The soft pink and coral colors inside the shell were
like the soft rays of sunrise. Its natural beauty brought the first
tiny feelings of peace to him. He would
heal,
but it would take time. He continued to study the beauty of this,
one of God’s masterpieces, for several minutes and then decided to
take it to Julia. She loved all things from the sea and had a
treasured collection of shells from around the world. This perfect
creation would join them in a simple display of exquisite natural
beauty.

Thank God for Julia.

He ran his fingers along the surface of the
shell and looked out over the sea. “Julia, I could never have made
it through this without you.”

With that thought in mind, he turned from the
sea and trudged back towards the house. Others would be waking up
soon. And he did not want to miss a moment of their company.

He thought, “Life with those
you
love is very precious.”

He vowed
never to waste
a
moment of it for the remainder of his life.

For the first time since he was a young
child, John Scott felt that he had a family. He truly belonged. He
had loved his biological
family,
but he had
always been different and never felt he was a true part of it. For
years, he had reconciled himself to a lonely existence, but now he
had people who cared for
him,
and he returned
those feelings without hesitation. Jim Slater had been his first
true
friend,
and now he was more like a
son.

Finally, Julia had
come
into his life. She made him feel human again. For the first time in
his
life,
he could love without restraint.

Even Maxx had been unable to provide
consolation. He assured John that there had been no possible way to
predict those last few minutes that led up to the slaughter at the
Greenbrier. Maxxine reacted
quickly,
and many
had
been saved
from
certain
death,
but that wasn’t
enough to bring John any comfort.

Maxx spoke in a kind voice, “You will begin
to heal with time. Be patient. You saved your government and
eliminated the Krakow Klub. The death toll could have been far, far
higher.”

John continued to suffer remorse and internal
pain. Nothing anyone said gave him any relief from his suffering.
Julia tried but soon realized that the best thing would be
to simply be
there for him, love him, but let
him work it out within himself.

John clutched the conch shell gently and
turned to face the villa. The rising sun almost blinded
him,
and he could hardly see the outline of the house. As
he
approached
and entered the shadow of the
house,
he began to see clearly again. Standing
at the entrance was Julia, waiting for him.

For the first time in several days John
smiled. He was looking at his
future,
and it
was a truly beautiful and inspiring sight.

He would survive and thrive. The remainder of
his life would
be devoted
to loving her.

Julia deserved nothing less.

Somewhere far, far out in space, a voice
could be heard saying, “Yes, indeed, I did select her well. One
day, they will thank me.”

“More than most, I know the
pain of surviving.”
-
Ann Aguirre
,
Aftermath

President Wilkinson, now firmly back in
charge at the White House, immediately named Dr. James R. Slater as
his chief policy advisor. Jim said his goodbyes at Scott Key and
returned to Washington, DC, at once. The challenges there seemed
insurmountable. Many government officials were dead, the military
was in disarray, and the public was reeling from the disaster.

Cool heads and calm thinkers were needed to
bring things under
control,
and Jim Slater
fitted the bill perfectly. He
was installed
in
an office in the West Wing and plunged into his duties.

The president and his loyal staff worked
night and day to restore order. Soon, the military was under
control,
and those officers associated with
the Krakow Klub were arrested and incarcerated. A few, realizing
their fate, had committed suicide rather than face trial. It was
entirely possible that some others had escaped detection and
disappeared into the bowels of the
military
hierarchy.

Now the nation had to cope with an
unprecedented problem. How could the courts handle such a massive
number of trials? Who would defend those charged with such heinous
offenses?
Everything must be done according to the
rule of law
. That would take much time and effort.

****

On Scott Key, things gradually returned to
normal. John’s wounds began to heal
slowly,
and he began to focus on the job at hand. He would go to
Washington, DC, from time to time and spend the day with Jim
Slater. They began the process of reorganizing the government. He
refused to stay overnight; from now on, and for the rest of his
life, nights were for Julia.

Soon it was Sylvia’s turn to leave. She
packed her bag and headed back to London to finalize the bullion
vault acquisition. Her negotiating skills proved to be
impressive,
and she closed the deal at a price that
shocked John. He immediately awarded her a sizable bonus from the
considerable amount he saved over his initial planned offer.

While in London, she stayed with her parents
in their flat. Their reunion was a happy
occasion,
but her parents were stunned that she had
been involved
in the American crisis. They
were proud of their daughter and thrilled that she and Jim Slater
had finally reunited. Sylvia was surprised to learn that her
parents had always admired Jim Slater.

They wanted to give her a wedding that would
be rivaled by the
royals,
but she declined.
After
all
the recent tragedy, she had no
desire for pomp and circumstance. She insisted on a quiet and
intimate ceremony that would be a deeply personal experience, not
some media splash. But she did agree to have it at their ancestral
home in Scotland.

****

John and Jim Slater began their intense
discussions about the changes that
were needed
in the government and how to accomplish those changes properly. It
was a daunting process and at the end of each day, they were
exhausted.

They soon realized
that
even with enormous powers, changing a massive bureaucracy would be
an almost impossible task.

Many sectors of government had grown into
behemoths. How could agencies be resized, eliminated, or improved?
How could efficiencies be achieved?

If agencies
were
eliminated
, how would the former employees be handled? Could
they be retrained and placed in other jobs?

Surely, with the remote craft and Maxxine’s
powers, conflicts could be avoided. But then, how could the
military be downsized without harming the economy?

The problems seemed
insurmountable,
and they hadn’t even begun to address
social issues.

After a particularly
contentious session that produced sparks between John’s insistence
on changes and Jim’s insistence on caution, they were about to
leave the room when they heard a deep sigh and then a familiar
voice from far outer space.

“My primitive friends, you have opened
Pandora’s box. For every solution you suggest, there are untold
consequences. The problem is one of human
nature,
and you just can’t change it quickly. However,
you can easily erase the board, so to speak, and start over.

“My cloning program for Mylea is going very
well. I will soon have a planet full of young and vibrant Myleans.
Their future is very bright.

“I think that you could just simplify the
whole matter on Earth if you let me take over.

“Why don’t I just come up with a dandy little
plague? Some nice little virus would be just fine. Of course, it
would be deadly with no possible cure. After a few weeks, your
planet would be left with no human life. Poof! Your problems are
solved.

“Then, I could provide you with samples of
Mylean DNA to start a cloning program of your own. I’ve already
been determining how to take the best characteristics of both races
and combine them into a nearly perfect new species.

“I’ve already programmed Maxxine with the
capability of creating DNA artificially on your space station. I
have to admit that I consider this program to be my crowning
achievement.

“Think of it, in a relatively short
period
, you would have a people who are
technologically oriented and do not have those destructive urges of
your current population.

“My solution is far easier and far more
positive than anything you’ve
considered,
and
it would take much less time to implement.”

John and Jim looked at each other in
shock.

Then, there was total silence in the
room.

“No one saves us but
ourselves. No one can and no one may.
We ourselves
must walk the
path.”
-
Gautama Buddha
,
Sayings Of Buddha

Henry Wilkinson would serve out his term and
choose not to run for a second term. His presidential years were
some of the most turbulent in
history,
but the
country began to heal and grow. Many were already praising his
presidency for the integrity, strength, and monumental changes that
it brought to the nation.

His legacy would be that of a beloved
president,
who had successfully steered the
ship of state through many dangerous situations. By the end of his
tenure, many wrongs had already been
corrected,
and the government was making slow but steady
progress in its efforts to return to its constitutional basis.

Of course, behind the scenes, Jim Slater
worked diligently to achieve many of John Scott’s goals. They,
supported by Maxxine, provided constant advice and resources for
the many changes that were required to return the ship of state to
smooth sailing.

Jim Slater and Sylvia McDonald built a strong
relationship forged on trust and faith in each other. They were
married quietly at the McDonald ancestral home in Scotland with
close friends and family in attendance.

It was no surprise that the list
of
close friends included President Wilkinson and John
Scott, along with
their wives. They traveled,
in secret, on John’s remote craft and arrived shortly before the
traditional ceremony was to begin. Two Secret Service agents, Lucas
Siegel
and Jonathon
Gordon,
were also in attendance, as a token gesture to
appease the Secret Service.

Immediately following the traditional
ceremony, the president and first lady returned to Washington,
leaving the wedding party to celebrate for days. John and Julia
stayed until the last bottle of scotch was emptied, and the last
bagpipe silenced. The celebration was finally over.