Tess Awakening (27 page)

“You told me that at the very least, we would
be lovers.”

“I changed my mind; it’s a woman’s
prerogative.”

“The child is mine, Tess and so are you. I
will stop at nothing to get you both back.”

“Amir, please leave now.”

“I am not done, Tess. I will have my son and
you as well.”

Chapter 42

At dinner, Tess told Jake what had
transpired.

Jake was clearly annoyed. “Tess, perhaps we
should have talked about this before deciding unilaterally to meet
with Amir and tell him that he has a son. In his culture, having a
male heir is a big deal. You might have been better off not saying
anything, let alone showing Morgan to him. It does not surprise me
at all that he went ballistic.”

“I didn’t feel right withholding the news of
Morgan’s birth from him. In any case, he had now experienced the
same shock I suffered when he lied to me about Aara. Now he knows
what it feels like to want a child you can’t have.”

“Congratulations; you have your revenge.
Unfortunately, now we have a powerful man that is hell bent on
getting his son away from you. With his resources, he can unleash a
platoon of expensive lawyers on us. Are you ready for this?”

“I am Morgan’s mother; he cannot take him
away from me.”

“It depends. He can allege that you are not a
good mother, that you deceived him, that you kept the fact of his
birth secret and so on. Tess, we might have a real problem, all
because you couldn’t resist your compulsion to always tell the
truth, no matter what. This is a time when moral certitude could
result in disaster.”

Jake, I did what I think was right. If Amir
makes trouble, we will deal with it. In any case, I don’t think he
has a chance to get what he wants.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure Tess; money
talks.”

***

Amir broke the news to his sister Fadime who
was in New York on a shopping trip. He met her for dinner at a
fancy restaurant. Fadime had never seen him so agitated.

“This will not stand, Fadime. I have been
betrayed and humiliated. I can’t possibly allow her to take my
son.”

“Amir, she gave birth to him, remember? I
can’t see how she would willingly turn him over to you.”

“I will hire the best lawyers in America, and
they will make her life miserable until she turns over the child to
me where he belongs.”

“You don’t know women as well as you think,
Amir. Don’t forget that she is tough and made a living by killing
people from a helicopter gunship. Fighting against her will not be
easy, especially since you still have your hands full in Iraq.”

“I will find a way to get my son!” Amir
stormed out of the restaurant.

Fadime stayed behind to finish her lunch. She
didn’t get a chance to express once more her disappointment over
his destroying the videos she had made of his lovemaking with Tess.
She complained every time she saw him; in fact it didn’t matter;
she never disclosed to him that she had made a copy, now stored in
a safe place.

***

Jake and Tess retired to the bedroom and
went to bed. Jake started to touch and kiss her. Normally, they
liked to play, but this time, Tess just wanted for him to move on
top of her. Jake kissed her and nuzzled her breasts. Tess opened
her mouth to allow his tongue to explore her. She spread her legs
and Jake felt the moistness, ready to accept him. He inserted his
tip into her delicious, warm center, but Tess stopped him.

“Jake, I want something from you.”

“Yes, my love.”

“I want you to give me your baby.”

Jake corrected her, “Our baby.” He smiled and
lovingly submerged into her.

Chapter 43

After a meeting with his high-priced lawyers
in New York, General Amir al-Saadi flew back to Iraq. He spent the
first few days with his staff reviewing the training of the troops
and planned military exercises.

After work, he summoned his long-term agent
Kemal, whom he had recently promoted to Colonel.

“Kemal, there is something I need to get
done. This will require extreme discretion and I will hold you
responsible to make sure that the operation is successful.”

“You know that you can always rely on me to
do you bidding, General.”

“I want you to select men that are
experienced in making things look like an accident. They must be
willing to sacrifice their life if necessary. Also, they must speak
English and know how to operate in the United States.”

“There are many men that we could tap for
such a job, General. The economic conditions today have driven some
to desperation. We may be able to get what we want in exchange for
money and a guarantee that their families would be taken care
of.”

“Kemal, it is not we that will engineer such
an operation. I don’t even want you to get directly involved. You
need to work through intermediaries to recruit the proper people. I
don’t wish to implicate either of us.”

“Of course General.”

“Very well, work on this and come back with a
plan.”

***

Amir’s lawyers in New York did not waste any
time. They filed suit against Tess Turner, with Amir seeking sole
custody of baby Morgan. The allegations stated that both parties
had conceived the child during a consensual relationship. Tess has
concealed her pregnancy from him, and it was only after Amir’s
insisted on making contact with her that Tess disclosed the birth
of his son. Thrown into the bucket were allegations of Tess being
“unfit” to raise their child, unable to care for him properly and
subjecting him to domestic violence, abuse, and neglect.

Tess and her husband Jake Vickers had a
conference with their lawyers, Jackson Davis, Esquire and his team.
Davis laid out how he saw the case. He started out by pointing out
that anyone seeking to win sole custody of a child faces a high
burden of proof. There is a principle called the “better parent”
that the courts consider when awarding sole custody. Most judges
are reluctant to keep either parent from having regular access to
their child. The assumption is that taking care of a child is a
task that should involve both parents.

Because of this, any parent seeking sole
custody must be able to demonstrate that he or she can raise the
child properly, with or without the assistance of the other
parent.

Considerations relevant to a sole custody
petition include the physical well-being of the child with evidence
of the parent’s ability to manage a healthy lifestyle for the
child.

Another consideration is the psychological
well-being of the child, particularly making sure that the other
parent is allowed liberal visitations with the child. Judges tend
to favor parents who openly support the child’s ongoing
relationship with the other parent.

The Better Parent Standard says that a court
of law will probably choose the better parent for the child in
question.

The courts also favor communication between
parents, even if one of them wins a child custody battle; there is
a preference for both parents to try to get along. Ultimately, the
court determines who will win the child custody battle based on the
child’s best interests.

The lawyer also advised that if Amir is not
granted primary custody during a child custody battle, he is likely
to be entitled to generous visitation rights.

Tess asked, “Many of the allegations are
lies, pure and simple. How do they expect to prove abuse and
neglect?”

Davis shrugged his shoulders. “All they have
to do is allege unsavory actions in an attempt to smear the image
of the parent currently having custody. We would have to disprove
all of the allegations, one by one. It can be done, of course, but
it would lead to protracted and expensive proceedings.”

One of the lawyers asked if it would be
acceptable to work out joint custody with Amir. Tess shook her
head. “You are dealing with a man who is used to circumvent the law
to suit his ends. Furthermore, he lives overseas. He could take the
baby during a visitation and force us to battle him in foreign
courts. This man can be maniacal when he wants something. I can’t
risk that.”

Jackson Davis concluded the meeting. “All
right, we have our marching orders.”

Back in the car, Tess was visibly upset. “You
were right, Jake. I should have kept my damn mouth shut with
Amir.”

To her true delight, Tess was now pregnant
with Jake’s child, a girl.

Chapter 44

Tess looked stunning, the stage lights
shining on her gorgeous blonde hair. Her athletic body was
enveloped by a long, body-hugging gown that made her look like a
queen. She was playing Beethoven’s Appassionata sonata on a
Steinway concert grand piano. The theater audience was mesmerized.
Her fingers kept flying over the keyboard, rapidly reaching the
conclusion of one of greatest and most technically challenging
piano sonatas. She hammered the keys, charging through the
tempestuous music, creating a near-perpetual motion that climaxed
with a faster coda introducing a new theme which in turn led into
an extended final cadence. The end of the music suggested
tragedy.

The passionate and skillful performance
stunned the audience. After the last note, they seemed to catch
their breath for a minute then stood up, loudly clapping their
hands in a tremendous ovation. Cries of “Brava!” were repeated
until Tess had to return to the stage and take another bow. A
little girl presented her with a bouquet of roses.

As a good member of the community, Tess had
agreed to play at a benefits concert attended by a fancy crowd of
bejeweled women accompanied by tuxedoed men. The patrons felt noble
and generous when they donated to such events, usually not
expecting much excitement from the efforts of local volunteer
talent. Tess’s incredible performance was a delightful surprise and
the donors felt that this time their investment was worthwhile.

After the concert, Tess and Jake escaped to
their favorite restaurant in the little town of Sleepy Hollow and
had a light meal. “Tess, when I hear you play the piano like that,
I can hardly believe that you chose a military career instead of
studying at the Conservatory. You could have been a world-class
pianist.”

Tess shook her head. “I like to play the
piano, but I don’t like to do so in front of an audience. When you
play classical music in public, there is always a pedantic critic
that follows each note you play with a score in his hands. You must
still perform extremely difficult pieces and be perfect every
time.”

Jake had an eidetic memory and knew every
note of the Beethoven sonata. “Tess, your performance was flawless.
The audience went wild. I believe that you missed your
calling.”

“I only like to play for you and the people I
love, and I want to keep it that way.” When Tess made up her mind,
it was almost impossible for her to change.

They relaxed and talked about the pleasure of
living in such a pleasant and gracious environment, but also
recognized that it wasn’t enough to keep them interested full time.
They realized that a bucolic full-time existence would not work
long term. They were financially secure, but they were too driven,
too dynamic to retire from the real world. They started to think
about what they could do to capitalize on their mutual
strengths.

They talked about doing good things to help
people and save the world. They examined business opportunities
leveraging Jake’s financial resources; they also looked at the
chaotic state of the world: terrorism, wars, regional conflicts,
ethnic cleansing, corrupt governments and an increasingly assertive
Russia. Its leaders were determined to erase the humiliation of the
collapse of the Soviet Union. President Vladimir Putin had started
to use the might of his motherland against rebellious Chechens and
former Balkan states that had acquired independence from Russia. He
was also planning to slice off a portion of Ukrainian territory. He
just could not accept that Ukraine, perhaps the most important part
of historical Russia, was now independent.

Jake and Tess evaluated what expertise they
could leverage to develop a business. Jake had a keen intellect and
analytical ability that enabled him to address faulty strategies
and political failures. He also had contacts worldwide that could
be brought to bear on a range of issues. Both had significant
knowledge of the military not only that of the U. S. but several
foreign countries.

Besides her skill as a pilot on different
aircraft, Tess had been schooled in strategy and tactics as well as
counterinsurgency. Both were disillusioned by the disastrous
consequences of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The U. S. had
sacrificed thousands of soldiers and forced the taxpayers to pay
billions of dollars in the hopeless task of nation building at the
expense of other domestic needs.

With General Turner’s financial backing,
contacts, and experience, they finally established a business whose
core mission was to provide expertise to governments of developing
nations that needed efficient government and defense
infrastructures. They called their company Strategic Resource
Development, Inc. The short term they used was SRD.

After hiring a dozen of highly qualified and
experienced key members of the team, all veterans, they drew
initial contracts with South American and African countries
struggling to contain corruption and tribal conflicts. They
arranged for training of government officials and top military
officers, creating policies and procedures to prevent corruption in
government and advising their armed forces in the procurement of
military hardware appropriate to their needs and resources. These
countries did not need the latest fighter jets that cost millions
of dollars. They just needed cost-effective planes, weapons and
related training appropriate for the challenges in their
region.