Tess Awakening (42 page)

Syria was now engulfed in a terrible war, the
government dropping bombs and chemicals on the general population
of the rebel-held areas. What started out as a civil protest now
had degenerated into various factions fighting Assad’s regime. Most
of the turmoil had to do with the ham-fisted response of the Syrian
government toward the legitimate demands of mostly moderate
sections of Syrian society. Now they had a full-fledged civil war
in their hands, the north of the country having been taken over by
Islamic extremists.

The President of the United States was
reluctant to become involved in Syria. Assad was never a friend; in
fact, the Syrians were known to sponsor terrorism. To intervene, it
would have meant putting troops on the ground and getting involved
in another quagmire like Iraq and Afghanistan. The other problem
had to do with the various rebel groups outside of Damascus. Which
ones were moderates and which were radical Islamists? This question
became more troublesome as time went by. The primary consideration
was that the U. S. could not possibly consider doing anything that
would help Assad’s government. In the meantime, radical Islamists
started to spill over in Northern Iraq.

Complicating matters was the deteriorating
relationship between the U. S. and the Iraqi government. The
American offered to keep some troops in Iraq but demanded that they
would not be subject to Iraqi law. The Iraqi Prime Minister did not
agree with this, so the American troops were withdrawn, leaving
just a token force to complete the training of the troops. Later it
was revealed that the top Iraqi leadership had made a deal with
Shiite Iran for military assistance against the Sunni insurgents.
Iran demanded the departure of the American troops as the price of
their involvement and that is exactly what happened.

A key mission for U. S. forces, before they
left Iraq in 2011, was the training of the Iraqi Army and other
security forces. The United States spent about $25 billion to train
and equip Iraq’s security forces and provide suitable
installations. Iraq spent additional billions of its own money to
acquire or order F-16 fighter jets, M-1 battle tanks, Apache
helicopter gunships, Hellfire missiles and other sophisticated
weapons.

Jake and Tess saw that continuing to work in
Iraq would no longer make sense. This decision was based on Jake’s
assessment that chaos would increase due to the failure of the
Iraqi government to develop Iraq’s armed forces into an effective
organization. A significant source of concern was that many of the
experienced Sunni officers, having been denied commissions in the
new army, had started to join the various insurgent groups. The
impact of their participation was felt by the Americans as well.
Well-organized operations by properly led insurgents now became
more deadly. The antiaircraft fire directed by disenfranchised
leaders became more accurate, forcing Coalition choppers to adopt
even more defensive measures.

Jake concluded that the chaos in Syria and in
Iraq would only intensify because the insurgent leadership was now
relatively cohesive and committed to bringing the fight to the
Iraqi government forces, who were still weak and poorly led. The
morale of the troops was still low, and the level of training and
organization had gradually declined. Much of the expensive and
sophisticated American equipment acquired by Iraq, M1 tanks,
helicopters and armored personnel carriers started to break down
due to poor maintenance. The insurgents now increased the use of
effective Russian-made antitank weapons which pierced the armor of
tanks committed to battle. Instead of adjusting their tactics, it
now appeared that many of the Iraqis became reluctant to use the
hardware.

Jake and Tess decided to withdraw their team
from further training projects and over a period of a month, all of
them were repatriated.

Chapter 72

Amir managed to keep a low profile for a
while. He joined Fadime in Buenos Aires, licked his wounds and
visited doctors who continued to work on his scarred face. It took
almost a year, at the end of which plastic surgery mostly restored
his previous good looks. He still sported a few scars, but he no
longer cared. He was now working toward new objectives, first of
all, to relentlessly harass Tess in court for custody of his
son.

Initially, it seemed that he might not be
able to enter the United States due to his being sought by Iraqi
authorities that wanted him to answer for his aborted takeover. His
lawyers argued that the actions of the Iraqi government were
political in nature and that it was essential for Amir to attend
court dates on his son’s custody case.

Eventually, he was cleared to enter the
country and he went to testify in Family Court accompanied by his
lawyers. Tess was already sitting at a table with her legal team.
Jake was behind her.

Tess and Amir looked at each other, their
mutual hatred evident. The case had progressed to the point that it
was necessary for the principals to testify in front of the judge.
Amir was called first. After the usual swearing in procedures,
Amir’s lawyer started to ask him questions.

“General al-Saadi, we have already
established that you and Ms. Tess Turner had a relationship that
eventually produced a child. It has also been proved that you are
the biological father of the child. Your relationship with Ms.
Turner ended. Previous testimony indicated that Ms. Turner advised
you of the birth of your son after the fact and that you were able
to see the child only once during a visit to Ms. Turner’s apartment
in New York. During that visit, Ms. Turner indicated that she
intended to retain custody of the child and that you, as the
biological father, would not be allowed to see or interact with
your son from that point forward.”

“That is correct,” Amir stated.

“Further, you now allege that the child is in
physical jeopardy due to Ms. Turner’s violent disposition and for
that reason, you seek to remove the child from her custody. Would
you please explain your contention that the child would be in
mortal danger if he remains with his mother?”

Tess had resolved to stay cool, calm and
collected during the proceedings, but the outrageous allegations
sorely tested her patience. She glared at Amir, who smiled at her
as if nothing of import was happening. Immaculately groomed,
wearing a tailored suit and a very expensive watch, he looked like
the epitome of a reputable gentleman.

The lawyer continued. “General al-Saadi,
would you please tell us why you are concerned about the child’s
safety?”

Amir looked deep in thought, and the lawyer
had to prod him. Finally, he spoke. “Ms. Turner is a violent,
vicious soldier with extraordinary martial arts skills. Her
inability to control her temper makes her very dangerous,
particularly when she is around defenseless young children.”

The lawyer followed up. “What evidence can
you provide that what you said about her violent temperament is of
concern?”

“I met with her in Iraq to discuss amenable
custody arrangements that would be acceptable to both of us. Not
only she refused to discuss the matter, but she viciously attacked
me. She ruined my face and almost killed me. It took over a year
and several surgeries to restore the left side of my face to a
semblance of what it was before. I still bear the scars as you can
well see.”

“Based on what happened to you, you are
alleging that it is only a matter of time for Ms. Turner to lose
her temper and grievously hurt your son?”

Amir affected an exemplary show of concern.
“I am absolutely convinced that my son is in mortal peril because
Ms. Turner has trouble controlling her anger. Sooner or later, she
will snap and endanger my child.”

June Winters, one of Tess’s lawyers, firmly
held her hand under the table. The last thing they needed was for
Tess to explode and go for Amir’s throat.

Jackson Davis, Tess’s lead attorney, got to
cross-examine Amir.

“Mr. al-Saadi, is it true that you are no
longer an Iraqi General? Isn’t it true that you are a fugitive for
having attempted to organize a revolt against the legitimate
government?”

“Objection!” Amir’s lawyer stood up in anger.
“The question is not only insulting, but irrelevant.”

The judge saw that this was going to a rough
day. “Mr. Davis, I am inclined to sustain the objection. I don’t
see your point.”

“Your Honor,” Davis said, “I am merely trying
to establish the plaintiff’s character and ethics. Mr. al-Saadi is
no longer a General because he is now considered a criminal in his
home country. This bears directly on the case because establishing
a parent’s ethical behavior is crucial and directly relevant to
determining his suitability of a parent. “

The Judge seemed to agree. “Objection
disallowed.”

The lawyer resumed his questioning. “Mr.
al-Saadi, why should Ms. Turner trust you with the welfare of her
child? You are a wanted criminal as far as we can see.”

Amir affected outrage. “The charges from the
Iraqi government are political. It’s a known fact that they have
systematically discharged competent Sunni officers and replaced
them with unqualified Shiites. The accusations against me are a
means to deflect blame from their own incompetence. I tried to
build up a modern army but ran into resistance from a corrupt
government. There is significant evidence that I was correct in my
emphasis on enhancing the capabilities of the armed forces. The
government prevented the achievement of this goal by engaging in
tribal preferences and nepotism. As a result, the Iraqi army is now
fundamentally ineffective. Because of this fact, the army has been
repeatedly defeated by a much smaller contingent of
insurgents.”

Amir’s lawyer looked incensed. “You honor, I
submit that this line of questioning is still not appropriate to
the proceedings.”

“The judge sighed. “Proceed.”

Tess’s lawyer continued. “Mr. al-Saadi, you
claim that Ms. Turner inflicted grievous bodily harm on you. Isn’t
it true that you had taken her son, Morgan Turner and illegally
spirited him out of the country, and that your confrontation
occurred when she demanded information on where you were keeping
the child?”

“That is an absolute lie,” Amir reacted.
“There is no evidence whatsoever that I placed my son in jeopardy
at any time.”

Davis zeroed in. “Are you saying that you did
not seize the child and imprisoned him in Italy with the complicity
of your sister Fadime?”

“Objection!”

“Sustained,” said the judge.

Davis continued. “You are aware that several
employees of Ms. Turner helped her retrieve her son who was being
held by your sister in Sorrento, Italy? We can have them
testify.”

“Objection!”

The judge was losing his patience.
“Overruled. Please continue, Mr. Davis.”

Amir talked without being asked. “The people
employed by Tess Turner will say what she wants them to say. If
brought in front of the court, all they can do is lie so they can
keep their jobs.”

Tess’s lawyer now objected to the remark.

The Judge ordered a recess.

Tess, Jake, and the attorneys went to lunch.
Davis tried to understand what information could or could not be
revealed. He knew that much occurred at the CIA black site and that
the detention of Amir had not been sanctioned by the agency.

“This is going to be tricky,” Davis said.
“Both sides have engaged in illegal actions; al-Saadi kidnapped
your son, and in turn you seized him back. In the process, you shot
down an Iraqi helicopter and wounded a few Iraqi soldiers. You
tortured al-Saadi at a covert base and came very close to killing
him. Furthermore, you broke his sister’s arm when you retrieved the
child. To complicate things further, Fadime is now in Argentina and
refuses to testify, ostensibly because she is concerned about her
safety. There isn’t much that we discuss in court without opening a
Pandora box of potential charges against you for breaking the laws
of at least three nations. There is no way to bring the real truth
to bear in this case without unleashing unpleasant
consequences.”

Tess interjected. “When the time comes for me
to testify, I will clear things up; everyone will see Amir for what
he is — a monster.”

“If I were in your place Tess, I would be
very careful. You could incriminate yourself by having to admit
that you beat the living hell of Amir and Fadime. It would confirm
their allegations that you are violent, dangerous and unsuitable to
raise a child.”

“There is no way that Amir can survive more
scrutiny about his past behavior,” said Jake.”

“Perhaps,” said Davis, “but the Judge has to
decide what’s best for the child. Both Tess and Amir have a lot of
baggage, plus neither can reveal what actually happened in Iraq,
Turkey, and Italy; both of them could end up in jail. This can
quite easily transform into an international criminal case.”

Tess was clearly frustrated. “Where do we go
from here?”

“At this time, I think that a negotiated
joint custody agreement is the safest way to go. I am sure that
al-Saadi does not want to disclose his unsavory actions either. It
would be preferable to find a way to get along for the sake of the
child.”

“Amir would insist on taking the child with
him overseas.”

“No, joint custody requires both parents to
live in the same general area.”

“Great, so now we have Amir around on a
regular basis. Perhaps we should invite him for dinner or organize
a picnic,” Tess could not help being sarcastic. “In any case, how
can we prevent Amir from kidnapping the baby again?”

“Obviously, there would have to be
safeguards,” said Davis.

“I don’t see how we can prevent Amir from
absconding with the baby if he wants to,” said Tess. “Then we have
to start chasing him all over again.”