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“Hello Mr. Stone. President O’Connor is ready for you. You may go right inside,” her receptionist stated.
Bennett nodded and we went into the office. Reesa was on the phone. “I know. It’s hard, but what choice do you have?” she paused. “You do what you need to. I’ll see you when you get home. I love you.” Then she ended the call and turned her attention to us. “Hello Bennett. Nice to see you again.” Then she got up and extended her hand to me. “You must be Ryker. I’ve heard so much about you.”
And I, on the other hand, have heard nothing.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, President O’Connor.”
“Please, call me Reesa while we’re here. This is a very informal meeting,” she said and sat back down. “I’m happy that you even agreed to come meet with me while you’re here on vacation. I truly feel horrible about pulling you away from the beach.”
“No problem. I’m not allowed to enjoy it any longer.”
She looked at the side of my head. “I heard about your accident. How are you feeling? Are you up for this meeting?”
“Yes. Since Bennett seems to have removed all fun activities from this trip, I look forward to doing something I enjoy. Marketing.”
Reesa smiled. “I thought I was the only one who loved what they did. Of course, I’m not sure if I’ll be doing it for another five years. Things are changing in Tabiq. People have come to think of their future differently. That's a good thing, and yet, a bad thing.”
“How so,” I questioned.
“It means that they are forgetting the mistakes from our past. And when you do that, you risk making them again.”
That had me puzzled and she opened it up for me to ask. “What kind of mistakes?”
Bennett interjected, “We don’t need to get into that. Why don’t you talk about what you want the people to know and why you are running for re-election.”
Well, that wasn’t very subtle. Obviously, there was something he didn’t want me to know. Didn’t he know that it was only going to make me more inquisitive? Maybe the time had fogged his memory and it had been so long since we’d been together. It was like he didn’t know me at all.The little pesty brother who hated secrets and wanted to know everything.
“To me, it sounds like she is running on the platform of that past that Tabiq can’t afford to revisit. And the only way to ensure that is by addressing it,” I stated. Turning my attention back to Reesa, I said, “Just an overview is fine.”I can dig for the details once I know what I’m looking for.
“Bennett, it’s fine. He’s your brother. I’m sure he wouldn’t be here if you didn’t trust him, am I right?” I turned and looked at Bennett who was staring at me. Finally, he nodded.Had me worried for a minute there brother. If you don’t trust me, we have bigger problems than I thought.Reesa continued, “Good. Then let’s catch him up to date as to where we are now.”
“I think I’ll let you do that talking,” Bennett said to Reesa.
“That’s probably the best. Now I just need to think about where to start. Bennett, have you told Ryker anything about Tabiq?” she asked.
“No,” he replied.
Not that I haven’t tried to get you to open up.I was glad he admitted it.
“Okay. Well let me start by telling you, it’s ugly. There are things in our past that we never let outsiders find out. And for good reason too. It wouldn’t help. If anything, it would bring more pain and suffering to my people. I can’t risk that. So before I tell you anything, you must agree to keep everything you learn about Tabiq, to yourself. It is not to be discussed outside of this room.”
“I have no issue with that.” That was true. My only interest in Tabiq was to understand my brother better.
“Good. This started before I was even born. More than fifty years ago. My country was suffering great poverty, and the people in charge were desperate. Unfortunately, not to save everyone, but to make themselves rich and powerful. They looked to the most convenient commodity they could find to sell. The women.” My expression must have given away my shock. She continued, “You heard correctly. It’s disgusting that the people who were sworn to protect the people inflicted so much fear and anguish.”
It was odd that if this was happening here, why hadn’t the rest of the world known anything about it? “I cannot even imagine what it was like. How long did that last?” Surely if it was that long, someone, like the US, would’ve picked up on what was happening and stepped in and put a stop to it. It’s not like the US hadn’t done so in other countries, so why not here?
“Unfortunately, it took place for many years. The men who had created the opportunity for such things to happen in my country died. But the behavior and pattern continued even after their deaths. It only stopped around ten years ago. And even then, it has been a slow process,” she stated.
“What stopped it?” I asked.
She looked at Bennett again, before answering. “Overthrowing a government takes brave men who are willing to do what they must, including risking their own lives. It was a bloodbath, and no one knew what to expect, but they were victorious, and we thank God for what those men did every day.”
I turned briefly to Bennett.Men like you and your team.The timing sounded right. Had he come here as a mercenary to fight for the Tabiqian people? If they were that poor, they never would’ve had the money to hire Bennett and his team. And as far as I knew, that wasn’t the kind of work they did. Since leaving the Marines, I thought he did high-level security. Overthrowing a corrupt government didn’t seem to fit.
“How did they know your country needed help?” I asked.
“I do not have the details of what happened back then. It was very hushed, and who exactly led the mission and was involved is still a mystery. I have my suspicions.” I didn’t miss her brief look at Bennett out of the corner of her eye. “But the who doesn’t matter as much as the what. They are the reason I am president today. Not that they elected me, but there were no elections for many years before. If there had been, then people would’ve had a chance to change things themselves. But instead, the government and law enforcement took lethal action against anyone who protested or tried to stand between them and their rule.”
