Authors’ Note: Part of the dialogue in this segment takes place in deep East Texas, where the stereotypical Texas drawl is the norm. We have attempted to convey that drawl by use of phonetic spellings. We beg your indulgence – and your sense of humour – in our efforts. Reagan and Diana

29 September 2005

TERRY

We were on the parade ground at 0600 with Gunny, waiting for the rest of the group as they straggled out. He had joined us outside – Max, Dino, Tony, and me – after the first five miles. We were warmed up and ready to roll. When we’d finished our first five, and whilst Tony had walked back to the barracks to take a piss, the three of us had a little chat with Gunny. I took the lead.

“Gunny, we’ll attend the morning session, but after that we’re out. Morning sessions are general; yours get very specific. We need to do our own session in private. We came very close yesterday to breaching security. Much of what we still need to work through concerns those issues, and we can’t get into any of it with anyone else about.” He nodded. Given his own background, we’d been sure he’d work with us. “We’ll be here overnight and attend the closing session tomorrow morning, but this afternoon, we’ve having a little private session down at the lake.” I looked around and saw Tony walking back toward us as Gunny spoke.

“I’ll take care of your absence. You three did some good work yesterday. I’m trusting you to continue it.” We all snapped to and saluted him; he laughed, and we joined him. “We will, Gunny. You have my oath on it.”

The run went pretty much as the one the preceding morning, and we hit the showers and chow line on schedule. Morning session went as expected, and after lunch, we grabbed a case of water and hiked to the lake, setting up shop at one of the picnic tables. We made sure there were a couple of trees close by to give us a bit of shade, yet with enough open space to be sure no one walked up on us without our constant scanning picking up their arrival. We also picked a spot a good distance from where swimming was allowed. This was the first opportunity since the session yesterday afternoon that we’d had the chance to get down to business …the bit about our lack of trust with our reincarnation. Mate, when something that phenomenal happens to you, it just rattles your entire centre of being. It shakes your trust in reality, in those you used to trust, and makes it damned near impossible to trust that you’re going to wake up the next morning. That was our agenda for the afternoon, and I suspected our session would be far more intense than anything Gunny’s group got into back at the barracks. Trust Dino to break the ice.

“What do you think those women of yours are up to this afternoon?” If he could ask that in all earnestness, we were making headway. I shook my head as Max responded.

“I am not sure that I wish to know. Given Reagan’s perversity and Diana’s wit, we will be lucky if we are not required to post bail for them before the weekend is out.” That was a disturbing bit of information that made me realise I still had a lot to learn about Diana. They looked at me; apparently, I was expected to respond.

“Well, that’s possible, but whatever they get up to, I suspect they’re smart enough not to get nabbed …or, if they do, we’ll never know about it.”


“Max, you figured out our origins before Dino and I did. Talk us through how you did that.”

“As you know, I awoke in a field with no remnant of my former life other than my gladius. I was in modern clothing, though I have no knowledge of how that change occurred. I discovered that I could speak languages that had not existed in my former life. I found employment as a night security guard; it was all that was open to me with my lack of documents. It also allowed me to study this new era I found myself in; I read voraciously. My employer was good enough to advance me money for living expenses until my first pay packet. I found a small flat to let in a tenement and discovered television when I saw it through the open door of a neighbour’s flat. The owners of the building provided basic cable and two film stations. I bought a television as soon as I could afford to do so, thinking that watching it would improve my command of my new languages. One night whilst looking for a film to watch, my eye was drawn to a film entitled Gladiator. That was a topic with which I was more than familiar, and out of curiosity, I watched it. You can imagine my response, based on your own when you watched Proof of Life that night in my hotel room. Prior to having contacted the two of you, I had sought out all of Crowe’s films and watched them. I knew of the possibility of your existence long before you every dreamt of mine. Let me tell you of my thoughts from the moment I received your letter inviting me for the interview.” I nodded. I’d long wondered what lead Max to contact us but had never asked.

“When I saw your names on the letterhead, my first thought was that perhaps I was not mad, as I had thought after seeing my own film and even after watching yours and the others’. When you brought me to Dallas for the interview, Dino met me in the hotel’s lobby for the initial introduction and preliminary interview. I knew I had to pass his inspection in order to get to the second interview …to get to you, Terry. After having passed muster with Dino, he indicated that ‘Terry’ – you - would also wish to interview me. At that point I was 85% certain that my experience was not singular. When I met you, that certainty jumped to 100%. Dino and I parted company after the initial meeting. I returned to my room after agreeing to meet the two of you for dinner at eight that evening. I was virtually certain the offer of a position would be extended that night. It did not matter what you offered me in terms of position or wages; I would have accepted under any circumstances, regardless of whether or not you ever knew my true identity. I considered long whether or not I should tell you. If I did, I knew I must have evidence of our realities and decided to gamble. If I told you and you could not believe me, I had lost my opportunity to better my employment position. Further, if you did not believe me, I would spend my life doing security work, as you would undoubtedly blackball me in the kidnap and ransom industry.” I shook my head as he talked. Max had gone through hell in making the decision to open up to us.

“We’re with you so far, Mate. Go on.”

“I met you for dinner. You offered me the position. I accepted.” Dino grinned.

“Yeah, and given that you were supposed to be a negotiator, I was wondering why you didn’t negotiate a better salary. I thought we’d made a bad hire.”

“Mate, you knew your employment was contingent on passing our background check. What the fuck were you planning on doing when we learnt there was no paper trail?” He looked across the lake before answering me.

“I had no secondary plan because I knew I had no documentation. Part of my decision-making process was the gamble that when you saw the films, you would believe me.” I shook my head. I always knew Max had balls, but I’d never realised quite how big they actually were.

“I have to admit that when you invited us back to your room for a nightcap, I had the thought that perhaps we’d made a serious mistake. Blokes don’t generally invite blokes to their rooms for nightcaps.” Max smiled and shrugged.

“If that were the case, then you would be compelled to find out, would you not? I knew you would come with me.” Dino and I exchanged a look, and Irish shook his head. The man never told you everything he knew straight up but always held a bit back for later disclosure. Not a bad tactic at all, particularly in our field. We’d just not picked up on it at the time. Hopefully, he wouldn’t use that particular tactic on Dino and me again.

“I poured drinks for us, then told you I had something I wanted you to see, and put in the DVD of your film.” Dino laughed.

“Damn! When I saw the old man’s mug on the screen, I thought I had it all over him for being sloppy and not sweeping the place for bugs.” I recalled that moment all too well, as well as the look on Dino’s face when the scene shifted to Tecala.

“Mate, when your face popped up, the look was priceless. You thought you knew which whorehouses were bugged, and you were safe in one that wasn’t.” We all laughed as I thought back before continuing.

“For a while there, I was trying to sort out who had us under surveillance. I knew the Frogs were glad for the help with Lenois, but that didn’t mean they wouldn't muck about watching us. I thought the Americans had given up interest in the civil war in Chechnya, and I didn’t think the Russians had anything sophisticated enough to pan the entire battlefield as well as get a close-up on me. What I couldn’t reckon was why they cut to the bloody dogs. If this was intel, they wouldn’t give a fuck about the dogs; anyone who has worked in the field knows that dogs forage. I had assumed Luthan had security cameras everywhere, but filming the debrief in London was more than I’d imagined. You know what really got up my arse? I’ve had families watched …if you want to get to someone, that’s often the only way to do it. But when I saw my son – my only child – on that screen, I was sick to my stomach. I’d never realised just how far over the line that could be.” Dino looked at Max.

“Pretty slick move to stop the DVD just before you had a riot on your hands …can you have a riot with only three people in the room?” Max looked at Dino, then back at me.

“I did not realise at the time that seeing your son upset you so; you hid it well. I should have anticipated and seen it …I recall the pain I felt on seeing my son in my film. I respect you for being able to tell me today. It is good that although we are not in the therapeutic setting, we are nonetheless able to carry the construct with us.” I hadn’t thought about Max’s son when I’d said that …and like him, I should have. Maximus was proving to be a damned good substitute for a facilitator.

“Though you were angry, I continued plying you with liquor until you had watched all of your film as I explained as best I could. At its end, you were still sceptical, as I had anticipated. I had been unwilling to interrupt your film but had done so at your request. I felt that had I not done so when you asked, you would not watch it to the end. If you recall, I assured you that no security agency was good enough to have captured all that you had yet to see. I was willing to stop my own as often as necessary for explanations. I put in my own film and made you watch my truth. You stopped me at the point at which I was cutting away my SPQR tattoo, demanding I show you my scars to prove myself. I removed my shirt and showed you the scars on my arm …the one from the sword wound and the one where the mark of the Empire had been. You probed it, feeling for scar tissue underneath the skin to assure yourself that I had not had cosmetics applied that would deceive you.” I suddenly remembered something else.

“I recall asking you about the wound on your back.” Dino interrupted.

“No, Buddy, that was on his side.” It didn’t matter, and Max continued.

“I recall telling you that you had but to wait, and you would understand that wound.”

I thought for a tic.

“The three of us trusted each other enough by the time your film was over for Dino and me to pass out in your hotel room, Max. When I came to the next morning, Dino and I were on the beds, and you were asleep in a chair. Where the fuck did that trust go off the rails?” He took a deep breath, as though the acknowledgment brought him pain. As it turned out, it was painful for all of us.

“When I brought Reagan into the mix. The two of you did not trust my belief in her not to betray us. I did not trust you to take her at face value and thus delayed telling you of her presence in my life. As our ladies told us, our problems are based in trust …or our lack of it. Hopefully, those issues have now been laid to rest.” Dino had a smart remark, but it did break the tension.

“So we can blame Reags for all of it? Works for me!” Well, we had managed to work through how we became aware of our reincarnations. The next topic was up to someone else.

Dino rested his chin on his hand and looked at Max.

“So you really don’t have any idea how we got here.”

“Do you? Dino, there are things in life that we are not intended to understand. Perhaps this is one of them. What we do not understand, we are at times compelled simply to accept. At the time of Reagan’s interrogation, I told her that men often fear what they do not understand. You did not know her, thus you feared her. A healthy scepticism is well founded; lack of trust in each other is dangerous. We do not understand our transition into this life, thus we fear it …we fear this life will be taken from us. For myself, I can only take each day as it arrives, and pray the gods give me another.”

That likely made more sense than anything I’d thought of and I know as well as any man that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. Perhaps we just needed to accept that we’re here and get on with life the best we can. I looked at the two of them.

“All righty, then. I can accept that we’re here, but the fears are still there. The specific fears are what we need to sort through. We can’t keep our individual fears in our own heads …we need to verbalise them to the other two. We touched on it yesterday. My view is that our fears today are likely the same as any other bloke’s. Max is afraid of disability and not being able to work. I’m afraid of not being good enough. Dino’s afraid that he won’t know how to relate to a good woman and will run her off. Let’s dissect those. It’s a place to begin.” They nodded, and I pushed on.

“I don’t remember this specifically from any of my psych classes at Uni, but here’s an idea I’ve been tossing about. When we’re born – at whatever point in time – we have the opportunity to gradually work through our fears, and you work through them at whatever level of logic you have at the time. If you’re five, it’s falling off your bicycle and having your mates laugh at you. At 13, it’s your voice breaking when you’re trying to ask that cute sheila out for a date. At our age, it’s our fucking mid-life crises. Our problem is that we’re still trying to figure out how to ride the bicycle. It’s a process, and we got tossed out of our films and into the middle of the process. We’re trying to be five, 13, and 41 all at the same time. And that, Mates, is one, fucking, scary proposition.” Max considered what I’d said before speaking.

“Not quite correct, Terry. The man responsible for our being here did the research that gave us full lives in our first incarnations; because of him, we have our history, our memories. He insisted on historical accuracy. He insisted on reality. He demanded that he be allowed to show those things in the films, and the force of his will prevailed. His talent gave us our respective pasts.” Dino shook his head.

“Not mine, Buddy.” Max smiled.

“Yes, Dino, yours as well. The force of his talent enabled Caruso’s performance to be strong enough to bring you life, along with the rest of us.” Max was onto something. I was thinking aloud now.

“We don’t need to rehash our childhoods, we don’t need to go through all that again because we’ve done it. What we have to deal with now is the fact that we’re 41-year-old men, with the same fucking problems as any other 41-year-old walking down the street. If I drove to …Amarillo …tonight and had breakfast at a diner tomorrow and could get the bloke sitting beside me to talk like we have today, he’d have the same fucking problems. We’re no fucking different. The mere fact that we somehow jumped from celluloid to flesh and bone is an aberrant moment in time and has absolutely nothing to do with our lives. We’re no more – and no less – screwed up than the next bloke.” Dino picked up the thought.

“Yeah …we’ve already lived our earlier lives; we don’t have to do it again. We already know how to be men. If we were to talk with other men, they’d say exactly what we have.” Max smiled again. One of these days, I’m going to slap that knowing smile down his throat, or would if he didn’t make so much sense. Guess that’s what a strong philosophical upbringing and education will do for you.

“Precisely. Man is no different today than he was 2,000 years ago. The situations change …men do not. The problems and resulting behaviours are timeless.” Dino nodded.

“Fuckin’ A!”


There was still one thing bothering me. Thus far Max and I had been the ones doing all the talking. We’d spilt our guts about our insecurities, and I realised that Dino had gotten a pass on all of it. Gunny hadn’t pushed him that hard yesterday, and neither Max nor I had this afternoon. I knew there was something Dino’d not told us because there had to be. He was too glib, and as he knew where our skeletons were buried, it was only fair that we knew what he had tucked away. I know better than most when someone is hiding behind a wall, and Dino’s definitely hiding. I looked at him.

“Gunny let you off light yesterday, Dino. Is there some Marine Club Max and I aren’t privy to that allowed you to get a pass? Seems to me you still have a few more rocks to kick over.” He was silent as he turned and looked out over the lake. When he finally looked back at us he nodded at me.

“You’re the boulder, Tio. You want me to tell you about it?”

“I reckon you’d better.”


“From the day I met you, I’ve simultaneously admired you and hated your guts.” Well, now. Can’t put it much clearer than that, can you?

“When I got into Luthan I had to prove myself because I was the Yank in the old boys’ club. They had Wyatt monitoring every fucking move I made. I was just about to make it to sergeant, and you breezed in the door and busted me back to corporal. That’s the resentment. Yeah, they put you with Wyatt for a while, but all he did from the day you started was tell you who to call and look over your fucking memos to tell you how Ian liked them written.

“Then I got a chance to see you in action, both in the field and handling the Saville Row suits. And, Buddy, you had it all. That’s where the admiration comes in. I wanted to be like you …Hell, I wanted to be you, and that was never going to happen. You got the admiration of everyone in the business, and all the best looking girls in every whorehouse in Southeast Asia. Jesus, Man, I got the spillover pussy from you. You’d take off with the cream of the crop, and I’d take what was still sitting at the table. And I couldn’t hold it against you because you had that fucking natural charm that sucked everyone in …that doesn’t happen to me often, and it was pretty hard to swallow for a long time.

“Remember Kashmir? We’d flown in together but on separate cargos. I got stuck up in the highlands, and you came in and saved my ass. I was hoping to God you’d never known how much I resented you because if you had, you had the perfect opportunity not to take the shot, and no one would have known the difference …you’d still have been everyone’s hero. The fact that you took the shot, and we both walked out alive – with the cargoes – balanced the scale on the admiration side.” I took a deep breath …something else I’d not realised about one of my partners. So much for my alleged powers of observation. I use them in the field but don’t seem to do such a good job of observing those closest to me. Reags would likely say most people are like that, and I suspect she’d be right …we only see what we want or expect to see.

“If the positions had been reversed, you’d have taken the shot, too, Dino.”

“Yeah, by that time I would have. Six months earlier, it might have been a different story.”

“Dino …am I going to have to worry about you from moment to moment?” That may be the most difficult question I’ve ever asked anyone in my life. I was asking my mate if I needed to worry that one day, he’d let someone kill me to eliminate the competition.

“No. I’ve grown up a lot since then. I’ve finally come to understand that I’m every bit as good as you are …we just work differently. But Terry, you’re going to have to talk straight to me from here on out.”

“I would think that over the last couple of weeks, you’ve learnt there isn’t that much to admire. And for you and Maximus as well as myself, talking plain is how we’ll play it from here on out.”

DINO

It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you just let down your guard and talk to your buddies. I came into this weekend expecting to be bored shitless and just go through the motions. What I got was a reality check that went a long way toward explaining a lot of what I didn’t understand about myself. I’ve always heard that you can’t understand someone else until you understand yourself; I was just now beginning to realize how true that was. By a quarter after five, we’d gone through the entire case of water – Texas is fucking hot, even in late September – and we were dry.

“Anyone know what the chow hall’s serving for dinner tonight?” Terry shook his head, and Max shrugged. I’d long since learned that Maximus - given some of the slop he ate in his Army days – can and will swallow damned near anything on a plate, but Terry and I are a little more discerning. I didn’t know what the chow line was offering tonight and didn’t care; I had a superior alternative.

“I say we blow off the chow hall and make a run down to Palestine for barbecue. Max? Reags grew up there …what’s she told you about places to eat there?” He frowned for a minute.

“I do recall her having mentioned a restaurant - a barbeque restaurant, to be specific - on the highway going through town from Buffalo …I believe that taking highway 155 into town and turning right on 79 will take us to it. I do not recall the name of the place, but having been to Palestine with her once, I would recognise it. She said it is family-owned and has been there since her late mother was a child.” It would have been easier if he’d known the name of the place; we could have called and had take-out waiting for us, as we’d be coming back up here with it. Still, Tio and Max could drop me off to pick up food while they made a run into town for the requisite beer. I’d be standing by the road when they got back. Life is good. I looked at them.

“Let’s book.” We tossed the last of the empty water bottles into the trash can and made a beeline for Reags’ Jeep. Half an hour later they let me out at Shep’s Bar-B-Que - Max actually spotted the place and recognized it before he passed it - and they headed for the closest liquor store. They rolled up ten minutes later, and I got in, setting the three bags of food on the back seat beside me. If we were lucky, the aroma wouldn’t have us eating it with our fingers out of the bags before we got back to The Barracks. On checking the rear deck, I noted with satisfaction that they had two cases iced down in the cooler we’d brought from Dallas. It should be nice and cold by the time we got the food set up at the lake.


Terry stopped me as I started to take the bags of food out of the Jeep. He was looking at the lake.

“Water looks pretty nice. Another two weeks, and it’ll be too cold for a swim. You two want to join me?” I was hungry, but he was right. The lake did look good. We left the Jeep at the picnic table as there was no reason to run it back and forth. We walked back to the barracks, changed into our trunks, pulled our jeans and shirts on over them, and beat feet back to the lake. The food was in it and safe; if we left food on the tables at the lake, we’d probably come back to find a pack of coyotes enjoying our dinner. Worse, the fire ants might get it. Max was the first one in the water, having made a running leap off the pier and executing a perfect cannonball. He surfaced, shaking his head like one of his and Reags’ dogs. By that time, Tio and I were in, and the water was witch-tit cold but wonderful. I tried to remember the last time I’d been swimming in a lake in the country and couldn’t.

We did laps for probably half-an-hour, long enough to get a little tired, then got out and dried off with the towels we’d grabbed from the showers. It was getting cooler as the sun started to set, and we peeled out of our wet trunks and tossed them into the Jeep, opting for commando when we put our clothes on. Reags had one of those fluorescent lamp thingies in the Jeep, and we got that to put on the table so that we’d be stabbing meat with our forks instead of each other. The beer was more than cold enough, and we downed a few to take the edge off our appetites, finally eating a little after eight.

By nine, we’d tossed the trash and were talking again, this time about decisions we’d made over the years that we might have made differently if we’d had the insight then that we do now. Sometimes we make decisions early in life that put up a barricade to roads we’d like to travel later. I sure as shit fell into that category.

The light was on the table, and there were probably half a dozen empty cans sitting there as we nursed our current brews. Maybe if we hadn’t had the light on, we’d have noticed them earlier. As it was, our first clue was when we saw two patrol cars pull up the road, blue and red lights flashing …no sirens, as if that was a blessing. As the deputies got out of their cars – and both of them were at least as big as the Gunny - I looked at the logo on the side of their cars. Oh, fuuuuccckkkk.

“Whatchu boys doin’?”

*

“You three boys stand up now, nice and slow …hands in the air where I can see ‘em.” We stood. Max looked confused, and I was getting a sucking-on-a-lemon look from Terry. At first I was confused, and then it hit me. State park. Alcohol-free area. East Texas county mounties. We were fucked. I smiled. The first deputy frowned. Words failed me. Terry tried to intervene.

“Evening, Officers. What seems to be the problem?” Why do I get myself into these situations? East Bumfuck with two clowns, both obviously not Texan …worse, they didn’t even have American accents. I was totally screwed. I’d busted people back home for drinking in state parks, and I fucking well knew better. Deputy One had looked Deputy Two as soon as Terry opened his mouth.

“Where you from, Son?”

“Dallas, sir.”

“Before that.”

“Oh, pardon me. Australia …Sydney.” Deputy Two looked at Max.

“How ‘bout you, boy?”

“Most recently Dallas, sir, but I am Spanish, by way of England.” The deputies looked at each other. Deputy One took over again.

“Whatcha doin’ down here in this neck of the woods?” I figured this might go a little smoother if I took over. Being from the Carolinas, I do speak Southern.

“Officers, we’re here for a weekend retreat down at The Barracks. Sessions are over for the day, and we ….” Deputy Two cut me off and looked at Max.

“Whatchu do in Dallas, Boy?” Max cleared his throat, obviously buying time and trying to come up with something these guys would buy.

“The three of us have a firm specialising in risk management, Officers. As my partner indicated, our sessions are done for the day, and we wished to continue our work at introspection.” I rolled my eyes. This had fucking disaster written all over it.

“Uh huh ….” That from Deputy One. “What’s risk management?” Terry stepped in again.

“It’s a form of insurance, gentlemen. We provide corporate and personal protection for businessmen at risk of abduction.” The deputies exchanged a look. Deputy Two stepped up to the plate. Tio had opened the door, and I knew what was coming.

“Ah see. Protection, huh?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You boys carry guns?” They were in the box under the rear deck of Reagan’s Jeep.

“Yes, sir.”

“Got a licence to carry?” Not on me at the moment. Terry nodded.

“Certainly, Officer,” and reached into his hip pocket for his wallet …which, of course, was locked up back in the now-closed for the night office at The Barracks, as were mine and Max’s; we’d left them there with the night clerk before she signed out after we got back from Palestine. “I’m sorry, Officers. I’d forgotten that when we checked in Wednesday night, we placed our wallets and IDs in the safe at the camp’s office for safekeeping. I’m quite sure we can awaken someone and have them for you in a tic.” Too little and way too fucking late.

“Uh huh. All three of you, turn around nice and slow and put your hands behind your backs.” They had the cuffs on us so fast it made my head swim and moved us toward the waiting patrol cars. Terry made one last try.

“Officers, this is a misunderstanding, and if you will ….” Of course, Deputy One cut him off again.

“Son, you boys are in violation of a State law. Here in Texas, we don’t allow possession or drinkin’ of alcoholic beverages in State parks. You just get into the cars nice and slow, and we’ll head on into town. We’ll send a tow back for your Jeep.” Terry looked at me; I looked at Max. We all looked at the deputies and frog-marched to the cars, nice and quiet, just like the officer said.


They had put Max and me in one car and Terry in the second. Guess they figured that putting the two foreigners in the same cage would give them a chance to further their plot to overthrow the United States Government. Half-an-hour later we were in the county lock-up in Palestine. Given that it was now after 2200 hours on Friday night, I was surprised when the top dog walked in just after they tossed us into a cell. Well, of course they called the boss. It isn’t every day you get three gunrunners in your jail and two of them foreigners. We stood there like monkeys at the bars of a cage …hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil, and listened to the conversation.

Sheriff: They wuz just sittin’ there then?

Deputy One: Yeah, but there wuz six empties on the table, and they all had opens. Joe counted eleven more in the garbage can.

Sheriff: They offer any resistance?

Deputy Two: Nope. Jes’ tried to talk their way out. Two of ‘em’s foreigners.

Sheriff: Where from?

Deputy One: Aus-trayl-ya and England …but the one from England says he’s Spanish. He sure don’t look like no Mex’can I’ve ever seen, though. (That got him a glare from the Sheriff.)

Sheriff: Tommy, Mex’cans are from Mex’co. If he’s Spanish, he’s from Spain.

Deputy One: Ohhhh. (The light has dawned.)

The Sheriff walked to the cell and looked at us, shaking his head.

“You boys doin’ okay in there?”

“Yes, sir.” Jesus, we sounded like the fucking Mouseketeers.

“Whatcha doin’ down here …from …Dallas, that right?”

“Yes, sir.” Max kept his mouth shut, and so did I. Terry was the fucking CEO, so I let him walk point.

“Sheriff, my name is Terrence – Terry – Thorne. My partners are Dean O’Reilly and Max Espan. We’re at The Barracks for a weekend retreat.” He waited a second to see if the sheriff was going to say anything, and when he didn’t, Terry continued. “We’ve had a bit of a communications problem in our firm, and it was suggested to us that this weekend and workshops on communications might prove useful.”

“Uh huh.” He turned around and looked at Deputy One – Tommy. “Tommy, that Jeep here yet?”

“Just pulled in, Billy. I called for the tow before we left the lake.” Sheriff Billy turned back to us.

“Who’s got the keys?” Max dug in his pocket and surrendered them.

“Which one are you?”

“Max Espan, Sheriff.”

“Uh huh. You the one from Spain? Or is that England?”

“I was born in Spain, Sir. I moved to England five years ago and to Dallas in 2002.”

“Uh huh.” Deputy Two – Joe – left the room. When he returned, he had fingerprint apparatus with him. Sheriff Billy looked at Deputy Tommy. “Print ‘em.”


Forty-five minutes later, we’d been printed, and the prints scanned into the computer. Who the fuck knew a berg like Palestine, Texas, would be tied into the national databases? They left us to cool our heels; we sat on the bunks and looked at the floor. Another hour-and-a-half passed before anyone came back to talk to us. It was Sheriff Billy, and he looked at me.

“You a Marine, son?”

“I was, sir. I’ve been out a long time.”

“Uh huh.” He looked at Terry and Max. “We’re still looking for a match on you two,” and walked out of the room again. I looked at Tio. “Doesn’t the FBI have prints on you and Max?” He shook his head.

“State Department. Classified. They won’t be able to get into the system to find us.” Oh, shit. Three firearms in Reags’ car and only one of us with prints on file, or so these clowns would think. More time passed; I’d stopped looking at my watch by the time Sheriff Billy came back. He’d been reasonably friendly until now, but this time, he looked pissed.

“We can’t find any record of you boys having bought those guns in your car. Pur-sue-unt to that, I’m charging you with possession of concealed and illegal firearms, as well as violation of the State liquor statute.” We were so fucked. Could this get any worse? Of course it could. Deputy Joe walked in with a piece of paper in his hand and gave it to Sheriff Billy who read it and gave it back to him. “We didn’t charge ‘em with that. Add it to the list.” Terry was beginning to look more worried than pissed.

“Pardon me, Sheriff, with what else are we being charged?”

“Grand theft of an automobile. That car’s registered to a lady in Dallas. You steal it out of her front yard or the parking lot while she was doin’ her grocery shopping?” Max stepped up for his turn at bat …and promptly struck out. Funny. I didn’t know you could strike out after only one swing at the ball.

“Excuse me, Sheriff, but the vehicle is the property of my fiancé. She allowed us to bring it this weekend, rather than bringing our individual cars. Neither Mr. Thorne or Mr. O’Reilly’s vehicles - nor my own - is comfortable for a passenger in the back seat.” The sheriff looked at him.

“I see …and what kinda …ve-hic-uls …might you boys own?” I tried to signal him to tell them anything but the truth.

“Mr. Thorne has a Jaguar (of course, he pronounced it Jag-u-ar), and I have a Bentley. Mr. O’Reilly has a Ferrari. None of them are truly appropriate for use aside from about town.” I sat on one of the bunks and put my head in my hands. At this rate, we’d be in Huntsville and doing hard time by sunrise. I sat there for a couple of minutes and remembered that we were allowed to make a phone call. Technically, each of was allowed one call, but I had the feeling only one of us would be given that privilege. I stood and walked over to Terry and Max, keeping my voice low when I spoke.

“I think we’d better ask for our phone call, but I don’t think we’re going to get more than one. Who’s going to be less pissed? Reags or Dee?” My money was on Reags because she and Max had history now; Terry hadn’t known Dee long enough to spring this on her. They looked at each other and apparently reached the same conclusion without speaking a word. Max walked to the bars of the cell.

“Sheriff? May I have a word with you?” Sheriff Billy turned to look at him and walked to the cell.

“Yeah?”

“Sheriff, I believe we are allowed to make a telephone call. If that is correct, I wish to call my fiancé. I believe she will be able to resolve the misunderstanding regarding the vehicle, as well

the firearms issue.” Sheriff Billy called to his minions.

“Tommy? You and Joe get in here. One of these boys wants to call his girlfriend, and I ain’t openin’ the cell door without you here to cover me.” They walked in, hands on holsters and drew their weapons before the sheriff unlocked the door. “You two (motioning to Terry and me) back up against the wall and put your hands in the air. You (looking at Max) walk out here – real slow – with your hands in the air.” We did as we were told, and he locked the door after Max was out. “Use the phone on the desk. We’ll bill you for the call when you get to court.” Well, of course they would.

REAGAN

It was just after two in the morning when my cell phone rang. Before leaving for Dee’s I’d forwarded the house phone to the cell and kept it on in case of an emergency. I fumbled for the lamp and flipped it on, then picked up the phone, looking at the Caller ID. A 903 area code …East Texas …I recognized the exchange as being one of the two in Palestine. Please, God, don’t let them have had an accident or one of them suddenly taken ill. I steeled myself for the sound of a law enforcement officer or the attending physician in the trauma centre of one of Palestine’s hospitals.

“Hello?”

“Cara.” Thank God!

“Maximus! Are you all right? What’s wrong?” Now that makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it? Ask the man if he’s all right, immediately following the question with what’s wrong.

“I am fine, Cara, as are Terry and Dino.”

“There hasn’t been an accident? No one’s ill or injured?”

“Absolutely nothing is wrong with us; we are quite well.” Quite well. Something is definitely wrong. God, what had they managed to get themselves into in sleepy East Texas?

“Maximus, it’s after two in the morning …you wouldn’t be calling me at this hour if everything was quite well. What’s going on?” There was a pause. You know the one …that thundering silence as a man mulls over how to tell you something he knows you aren’t going to like and is trying to sort out how to say it without upsetting you further and digging himself any deeper into the pit he’s in already.

“There has been a bit of a problem.”

“All right. I sort of figured that one out on my own. What sort of problem?”

“We are in Palestine, ….” I interrupted him.

“Why aren’t you at The Barracks?” Silence, followed by a deep breath.

“Max?” I still use Max when I’m trying to get his attention. I had a sudden, more than a bit disquieting, thought. “Are you guys in jail?” Silence. “Max? Are you there?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, you’re still there, or yes, you’re in jail?

“Yes, I am still here, and yes, we are in jail.”

“WHAT?”

“We are in the Anderson County Jail in Palestine.”

“Did you get arrested? What the hell did you do?” Another deep breath.

“We were sitting at a table by the lake at the retreat. We had finished our meal and were talking …we have accomplished much these last 24 hours, Cara …and were enjoying a small libation.” Oh, shit. They were drinking …in a State park …and that’s illegal in Texas.

“Don’t tell me, let me guess. You guys got caught by Anderson County’s finest with open cans of beer.”

“How did you come to that conclusion?” I almost laughed because it was so obvious.

“Come on, Max …you, Terry, Dino …dinner by the lake …of course you had beer. What did the deputy say when he caught you?” He cleared his throat.

“When they caught us.”

I heard a voice in the background. “Wrap it up, son. Your two minutes are almost up.” That got him into high gear.

“We have been arrested and charged. We are to be arraigned tomorrow morning when the court opens. I do not know what time. We do not know what our bail will be, and our wallets with ID and money are at the camp. Can you and Diana find it in your hearts to come and post our bail so that we need not remain incarcerated until our court date?”

The asshole in the background piped up again. “Thirty seconds.”

“We’ll be there.”

“You will need to come to the Court House and ….” I cut him off.

“I know where it is, Caro. I grew up there. You guys try to get some rest, and we’ll see you in the morning. Ti amo ….” The line went dead; apparently, the deputy had taken the phone away from him and hung up. I sat there for a few minutes, thinking fast. I had no clue as to what their bail would be, and this was Saturday. My debit card wouldn’t let me withdraw more than $500, and I only had about $100 with me. I had cash at the house but not more than a couple of hundred. Knowing Dee as I do, I doubted she had any more cash lying around than I did. We both live and die by our debit cards. I figured their bail would be at least $500 each. We’d have to wait until the banks opened and make cash withdrawals from a teller. Fortunately, the drive-throughs are open at seven. If we were at the bank when they opened, we could be on the road by seven-fifteen. I know the roads to Palestine like the back of my hand and could be there in just over two hours if I didn’t get pulled over for speeding. It was unlikely they would be arraigned before ten-thirty to eleven, and we could be there by then. I looked at my watch …two thirty-three. Might as well wake Dee. She’d kill me if I waited until she got up to feed the horses at six before telling her.

I crawled out of bed and snapped on the hall light as I passed the switch, went through the lounge and padded to her bedroom on the far side. I heard the happy thump of Holly’s tail as I walked in, and, of course, Okie grumbled. “Shut up, you little shit, and move over.” He shocked the hell out of me by hopping off the bed, and that roused Dee. She rolled over and turned on the lamp, looking at me sleepily.

“Reags!” Her eyes shot wide open as she looked at me. “What’s happened …who called?”

“Max.”

“Oh, God!”

“Relax. They’re all right, but they are in jail.”

“In JAIL?” I recounted the sorry tale as I sat on the side of the bed. When I’d finished, we sat there looking at each other for a minute and then burst into laughter. The three most intelligent men we know get busted for drinking in a fucking State park.

*

We were at the bank’s drive-through window when the teller ran up the blinds, and she looked at us as if we’d just dropped in from another planet. She ran the drawer out and I put my check and driver’s licence in it, followed by Dee’s. Two checks made out to cash, for a thousand dollars each. No point in driving all that way and then finding out we didn’t have enough money. Yeah, I could always call Burt Snow, the president of the First National of Palestine if I needed more cash, but I hated to do that. He plays golf on Saturdays, and I didn’t want to bother him. Three minutes later and we were at the entrance ramp for 75 which runs into Interstate 45, headed south to IH 20 and on to Palestine. I’m not comfortable driving Dee’s Tahoe because it’s just so much bigger than my Jeep that I feel like I’m herding elephants or something, but here I was, driving the sucker. Fortunately, I’ve been around horses and their feed long enough now that the pervasive odour no longer bothered me.

“You and Terry can bring this one home. We’ll make Dino sit in the back of the Jeep.” That got her laughing, and I couldn’t stop myself; I joined her. It really was funny, you know? These are the three most law-abiding men I’ve ever known, and they’d pulled an idiot trick and gotten arrested for drinking in a State park. I looked over at her.

“Grab my cell out of my bag, would you?” She did and handed it to me. I dialled information and got the home number of the Anderson County Judge that I knew. There were three now, but if I could get to Bobby Presley, I knew he’d make sure that the guys weren’t arraigned until we got there, irrespective of who was in Court that morning. I plugged the cord into the dash and put it on speaker so Dee could listen. He answered on the fourth ring.

“Bob Presley.”

“Bobby! It’s Reagan Kavanagh …you remember me?”

“Hell, yes. How could I ever fergit the girl I took to homecoming three years runnin’? Whatchu callin’ me for on a Saturday morning, Sweet Thang?” I smiled at the drawl …I’d spent years training it out of my own diction.

“Hey, Honey, my fiancé and a couple of his buddies managed to get themselves hauled in by the county mounties last night for having open cans of beer up at the lake. They’re not from Texas and didn’t realize that’s illegal in our State parks. We’re on our way down to bail them out, but my friend – she’s dating one of the miscreants – lives way the hell on the north side of Dallas, and since Max and Terry were gone for the weekend, we had ourselves a little girls’ night in at her place, and we had to stop by the bank before we headed your way. Think you could make sure the arraignment doesn’t go forward until about eleven?” He laughed.

“I reckon I can do that, since I’m the judge this weekend.”

“Oh, Bobby, I am so in your debt, Darlin’. That will give us time to stop for breakfast so we don’t just flat pass out from hunger before we get there.”

“Where you girls plannin’ on stoppin’?”

“Thought we’d swing into Wills Point and chow down at the Lone Star Café.”

“They’ll do you proud. That’s where I was gonna tell you to stop in case you’d forgot about it.”

“Bobby, my grandparents are buried in the cemetery three blocks from the Lone Star, and I’ll bet Molly still works there. I won’t be forgettin’ that place any time soon.”

“Well, you two jes’ take your time. If you’re runnin’ late, don’t let it bother you. I’ll jes let them boys sweat a mite …probably do ‘em good, and I suspect it won’t be nothin’ compared to what you and your friend will do once you get ‘em home.” I looked across at Dee, and she had her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

“Thanks again, Honey. We’ll be there as soon as we can. You take care, now, you hear?”

“You, too, Sweet Thang. I’ll see ya when ya git here.” I disconnected the phone and looked over at Dee again. She was laughing so hard that tears were rolling down her face, and I lost it. I finally had to pull the car off onto the shoulder because I couldn’t see through the tears of my own laughter. Five minutes later, I was sufficiently under control to resume normal functioning and pulled back on the road. She blew her nose and shook her head.

“I’ve known you for almost five years, and I’ve never heard anything like that come out of your mouth. You sounded as if you just came out of the back woods and into daylight for the first time.” I snorted.

“Dee, I was raised in the back woods, as you call it. If you’re going to get cooperation in a town like that, you’d better sound like them.” I shook my head. “What’s scary is that it was so easy for me to slip back into that dialect …I spent years training myself out of it.” She looked at me again.

“Are we really stopping for breakfast?”

“Hell, yes. Bobby won’t arraign them until we get there, and as he said, it will probably do them good to sweat a mite.” That did it, and we were laughing again. We were still giggling when we pulled into the car park at the Lone Star Café.

*

Dee looked at the menu, then back at me.

“What’s good here?”

“Everything. I’ve been stopping here ever since I learned to drive and with my parents since I was a child. You can’t get into the car park at noon for all the semis …I’ve had to park three blocks away and hike in.” I looked at my watch. “We got here after the breakfast run …that ends about seven.” She gaped at me; there wasn’t an empty table in the place, and we were sitting at the counter. I grinned.

“Between four-thirty when they open and about seven, you’re back to the hiking in bit.”

“Damn. What are you having?” I scanned the menu again …as I said, everything is good and eating here often involved major decision-making for me.

“Ummm …Western omelette, with a side of ham and a short stack.” Her eyes widened.

“I’ve never seen you eat more for breakfast than cereal or peanut butter on toast.” I grinned at her.

“You’ve never seen me eat breakfast here.” She looked back at the menu and closed it as the waitress walked over to us.

“Mornin’, ladies. What can I do ya for?” She finally looked at us and her mouth dropped open. “Reagan Kavanagh! I haven’t seen you in a coon’s age. Where you been, girl?”

“Good to see you, too, Molly. How’re the kids? Sharon in school yet? Been working my ass off.”

“Sharon just started second grade, and the baby’s in pre-school. Tony’s already on my butt wantin’ another one. Men ….” I picked up my napkin, and she grabbed my hand.

“Da-yum, Reagan! Looks like you found yourself a live one.” I grinned.

“I did for a fact. He’s a good lookin’ bastard, too.” I looked at Dee, then back to Molly.

“Molly, ‘scuse my manners. Let me introduce you to my best friend. This is Diana Walker.” Predictably, Dee spoke as she held out her hand.

“Call me Dee.”

“Nice to meetcha, Dee. Any friend of Reagan’s!” We laughed. Molly finally shook her head as she looked at me again.

“You havin’ your usual?”

“You remember what that is after all this time?”

“Western omelette, side of ham, and a short stack. Still drinking milk for that ulcer?”

“Ulcer’s long gone …well, unless I develop one today, and I still drink milk.” Molly turned to Dee.

“How ‘bout you, Honey?”

“I’ll have two eggs over medium, bacon, and a short stack with milk. I may need the sustenance before the today is over.” Molly looked at us.

“What’s goin’ on that’s got you two worried about new ulcers and sustenance?” We looked at each other.

“We got waked up at dark-thirty this morning. My fiancée called to tell us that he, Dee’s man, and a friend got arrested at the lake last night for drinking beer.”

“Oh, shit! Guess they’re not from Texas, are they.” I shook my head.

“Max is from England, Terry – her guy – is from Australia, and the third fool who should have known better is from North Carolina. We’re on our way down to the arraignment so we can bail their sorry asses out of jail.” Molly laughed so hard she cried. Dee looked at us.

“How long have you two known each other …and how well?” Molly managed to gasp out an answer because I was still giggling.

“We grew up together. Reagan was my maid of honour when I married the bubba …my first husband. She used to come home once a month until her dad died; after that, she came home every weekend. She and her mom got on real well. We’d spend a coupla hours together each time she got to the Holy City. Once Tony – he’s the current masochist - and I got married and we moved up here, I only get to see her when she’s on her way home or drivin’ back to Dallas.” Dee looked at us.

“The Holy City?” We laughed again, and Molly answered.

“If you say Palestine with a long ‘i,’ it sounds like the area in the Middle East …so, the Holy City. It’s just a silly joke here in East Texas.” Dee nodded and laughed along with us.

“Well, I better put your orders in. Don’t want you to be late for the judge.” She walked away and Dee looked at me.

“Reagan Alexandra Kavanagh, you have been leading a double life.” We burst into laughter again.


“Clearly, in Molly’s mind, there’s a difference in a good old boy and a bubba. In my mind, they’re the same thing. IS there a difference, and if so, what is it?” I took a deep breath. How does one explain a concept you grew up understanding to someone from an entirely different background?

“Bubba is a red neck, often a trouble maker, considers himself better than others. He’s usually very poorly educated but doesn’t let that stand in the way of his ongoing exposition of any and everything. He looks down on everyone and everything that doesn’t precisely match his own narrow, circumscribed view of the world. He’s a boor and an obnoxious one at that. Molly’s ex was a bubba. She went out with him because she felt sorry for him and kept going out with him for the same reason. He was a good looking SOB but a SOB, nonetheless. When she finally broke up with him, she felt so guilty for having strung him along – her words, not mine – that she had sex with him. When she realised she was pregnant, she didn’t know what else to do, so she told him. This was his opportunity to ‘marry up,’ to improve his social status, and he took it. The interesting thing about the bubbas of the world is that bubbas don’t even like being around other bubbas …they’re social pariahs.” I think she was more interested in this than anything else I’d said the entire time I’ve known her.

“Good old boys are another matter entirely. They may have come from families that were dirt poor, but there is an inherent dignity in them. They know what’s right and wrong and socially acceptable – or not – without ever having been told. The good old boy may never make it any higher up the professional ladder than being a garage mechanic, but you know that he’s a man worth having. Here in East Texas, most of the good old boys these days have degrees …usually from A&M, because we’re deep in the heart of Aggie Land. Palestine probably has more degreed engineers – Masters level and above – that any other town its size in the state of Texas. I can just about promise you that every professional man and woman in town got their undergrad degrees in College Station. If he or she is an attorney, they got their law degree at South Texas College of Law in Houston. If they’re a doctor, they either went to Baylor Med school in Houston or Tulane in New Orleans. They can be tough as nails professionally, but at heart, they are the best people in the world. They are – to a man and woman – truly gentle, good people.” She thought that over for a minute.

“Okay, here’s the definition I was given for bubba the second day I was in Texas. Bubba may or may not have a college education, but they’re smart as a whip at whatever they do. They’ll go out of their way to help you and he – dressed in his Wranglers, boots, and white oxford cloth shirt – is perfectly acceptable anywhere. That sounds like your definition of a good old boy. You’re definition of bubba is what I’ve always called a redneck. Sounds like we have three definitions for two categories of people. As long as neither of us are fighting drunk, we should be able to make the translations back and forth.” I nodded.

“My bubba is a redneck, and your definition of bubba is mine of a good old boy …or girl, as the case may be. In East Texas and around Houston, calling someone bubba is fighting words.”

“It’s lucky I’ve only used bubba in private conversations or thoughts, and never called someone that to their face.”

“You could probably get away with it in Dallas …you’d be in deep shit if you did it in Houston. By the way …did you get a load of the looks we got showing up at the opera with Terry and Maximus in their tuxes and us in long gowns? What the hell was that about? And don’t people in Dallas know how to dress? Or am I showing again that I spent more than a little bit of time in Houston over the years?”

“You’re showing your time in Houston. The only time Dallasites drag out formal dress is for charity events, select private parties, and debutante balls. I probably should have warned you, but I wanted the opportunity for my slit-dress to come out for Terry!”

“Well, hell, there’s no way I’m passing up an opportunity to get Maximus in a tux and get formal myself. Academics just don’t get to dress up that often!”

“And you think people who work around horses do?” We laughed at that because ‘dress up’ wasn’t something either of us did more than once a year, if then.


When we pulled up at the traffic light across the street from the courthouse, the prisoners were being led from the jail across the street to the back door of the court house. Somehow, I hadn’t considered the possibility of what I saw, and I was horrified. My mouth fell open, followed by Dee’s. There were a total of five men, chained together with hand and leg irons, walking in step …and wearing orange jumpsuits with Anderson Country stencilled on the back. Max, Terry, and Dino were in the middle, the other two men on either end of the tether. I heard her sharp intake of breath and felt my gut go into a spasm. I could not even begin to imagine what being chained must have done to the man I loved – the memories it must evoke - and my heart broke as I watched him walk, head held high, his shoulders proudly squared. Our giggles from earlier seemed terribly out of place now. The reality was much worse than either of us had allowed ourselves to imagine.

“Jesus, Reags, this has to be more serious than drinking in a State park.” I nodded and thought for a minute.

“Could be they got nailed for something else, God alone knows what. Their biggest offence is that they’re not from around here, and Max and Terry’s accents won’t help. By local standards, they talk funny, and they’re uppity.” I waited for the light to change and drove past the courthouse.

“Where are you going? They’re back there!” Dee was pointing over her shoulder.

“Hold onto your knickers …something just occurred to me.” I cruised around the corner and then drove down the street behind the sheriff’s office. Sure as shit, my Jeep was in the County’s impound lot, a white tag with a case number on it under the passenger side windshield wiper. Dee saw it about the same time I did.

“That’s your Jeep.”

“Roger that.”

“What’s it doing here?”

“My guess would be that given Max and Terry’s accents, their wallets locked up at the camp office and no ID, the mounties figured they’d stolen the Jeep. Ran the plates as soon as they got it back here, and Bob’s your uncle. Our boys are charged with grand theft auto. The fact that there’s no stolen vehicle report out on it doesn’t mean shit in this neck of the woods. Want to bet I’m wrong?” She shook her head.

“Not in this lifetime.”


I was working overtime not to toss my cookies when we walked into the courtroom. They were seated on the side of the room reserved for defendants and with no counsel. Of course, they had no counsel; no attorney in this town would represent outsiders accused of auto theft and drinking in a State park. I started toward Max – none of them had yet realised that Dee and I had entered the room – but Dee caught my arm, nodding toward the bench as Bobby Presley walked in, and the bailiff announced his presence. When Bobby took the bench and told the rest of us we could be seated, we more or less collapsed on the hard wooden benches. He looked around the room, spotted me and grinned and looked at the prosecutor, a man I didn’t know. Bobby went through the usual drill, telling the defendants to stand and asked if they were represented by counsel. Before they could say anything, I stood and walked to the front of the room, standing just behind and to the side of Maximus.

“Permission to address the Court, your Honour.” Maximus’ head snapped around like an F-18 Hornet doing a snap roll; you could all but hear the vertebrae crack, and his head was followed by Terry’s and Dino’s. At that moment, all the frivolity Dee and I had enjoyed on the way down made me ashamed of myself. We should have driven down before daylight and to hell with stopping at the bank in Dallas. Nancy could have fed the bloody horses. I could have dragged Burt Snow off the golf course to cash a check for me, and he’d have done so without a single word or thought of protest. I know this town and the ethnocentrism of its people; I was born and raised here. The problem is that I’ve been gone so long that I’ve just forgotten how bad it really is to get crossways with the law if you aren’t a local. I felt the tears gathering in my eyes and willed them to stop.

“Your Honour, while I’m not a member of the State Bar of Texas, my prior experience as a law enforcement officer in addition to my graduate education and experience have provided me a good working knowledge of the law and courtroom procedure. Rather than forcing the defendants to go pro se, I beg the indulgence of the Court in permitting me to represent them.” Bobby gave every appearance of giving careful consideration to my request, likely for the benefit of the prosecutor, and agreed ‘if the defendants have no objection.’ They didn’t. The prosecutor was on his feet with an objection before Bobby even finished his ruling.

“Overruled.” Thank you, Bobby!

“Your Honour, request the charges against the accused be read and published to the record.” Bobby nodded to the Court Clerk, who stood and read.

“Charge One – Possession and consumption of alcoholic beverages in a State park, in violation of Title IV, Section 101.33 of the Texas Penal Code.

Charge Two – Unauthorized Use and Theft of a Motor Vehicle, in violation of Title VII, Section 31.07 of the Texas Penal Code.

Charge Three – Unlawful Possession and Concealment of Firearms, in violation of Title X, Sections 46.04 and 46.06of the Texas Penal Code.”

The prosecutor stood and looked at me and the men. “Your Honour, it is also noted that two of the three accused have been unable to provide proof of identity. A computer check of their names – Terrence Thorne and Max Espan – indicated they never entered the United States through any recognized port. Given that one claims to be Australian and the other one English, the State can only surmise that they entered the country illegally.” I looked at him and took a deep breath before opening my mouth.

“Permission to approach, your Honour?” The prosecutor stood.

“Granted.” He motioned me to the bench and shook his head at the prosecutor, effectively telling him to stay where he was. “What’s goin’ on here, Honey? These are damn serious charges.”

“I know, and I need to see you in chambers – without the prosecutor – right now. This is a matter of national security.” Bobby’s eyebrows shot up. He looked around the room and then stood.

“Dr. Kavanagh and I need to have a little private discussion in my chambers. Court’s adjourned for 15 minutes.” I followed him out of the room and down the hall to his office, closing the door behind us after I entered.

“Reagan, Honey, I’ve known you forever. What the hell’s this about.” I took a deep breath, trying to stay just this side of telling my lifelong friend a set of outright lies.

“Bobby, Max Espan – the Brit – is my fiancée. Terrence Thorne – the Australian - and Dean O’Reilly are his partners. They own a small firm in Dallas that specializes in kidnap and ransom …hostage negotiation and retrieval. Their names don’t show on any of the databases that you guys have access to because of the need for them to be able to operate on the fringe when working for the federal government. I can get into the databases because of my connection with the FBI (he knew all about that …I’d been the talk of the town when it broke that I was a federal agent). Their prints are in the databases at the State Department and Department of Defence, but nowhere else. Most of what they do requires deep cover, and if they were ever caught, the government would disavow all knowledge of their existence. You get what I’m telling you, Bobby?”

“I’m beginning to.”

“The Jeep is mine. Why no one at the Sheriff’s Department made the connection with my name and called me when they ran the plates is beyond me. Every man there knows me.”

“Maybe they just never thought you were that Reagan Kavanagh, Honey.”

“Maybe not, but would it have hurt them to have picked up the frigging phone and called to be sure? Jesus, Bobby! The firearms charge is groundless; they all have a federal license to carry. The worst thing they’ve done is drink beer in a State park. They’ll pay the fine on that with no complaint, but the other charges have got to be dropped before their covers are blown because that would put their lives in jeopardy. Help me here, Bobby! What can I do to convince you I’m telling the truth?” He put his arm around my shoulder and hugged me.

“I believe you, Reagan, ‘cuz I know you’d never lie to me. Problem is, I have to hear it from an official source before I can go back out there and pull the prosecutor back here and order him to drop the charges. You know anybody you can call on a Saturday to verify what you’re telling me?” Thank God! I pulled my phone from my pocket and punched up Ted’s direct line at the Bureau. I knew he was working today because we’d exchanged e-mails earlier in the week, and he had complained about having the desk for the weekend. Thank God he did. He answered on the first ring, and I handed the phone to Bobby.

“This is Judge Bob Presley in Palestine, Texas. Who’m I talkin’ to?”

“Special Agent Ted Ackerman, Federal Bureau of Investigation BAU, Quantico. What can I do for you, Judge?”

“Agent Ackerman, I have lady here in my chambers who says she’s a friend of yours …Reagan Kavanagh. That right?”

“Correct, sir. Is she alright?”

“She’s fine, son, but her gentlemen friend and a couple of his buddies got themselves in a mite of trouble last night. Without going into too much detail on this end, what can you tell me about Max Espan, Terrence Thorne, and Dean O’Reilly?”

“I don’t recall specifics, sir, but if you’ll give me a minute to get into the database, I’ll bring you up to speed …yeah, here they are. What did you need to know? Sir, I need your assurance that this will go no farther.”

“No farther than is necessary, which means if I hear what I need to, I’ll tell the prosecutor he has no case and to go find somebody else to pick on. Now, Dr. Kavanagh tells me these three men are acting under auspices of the federal government. Can you confirm that?”

“I can, Judge. When Dr. Kavanagh met Mr. Espan last February, she was a little suspicious because of his reluctance to tell her much about himself. She called me to trace him and his partners. I did. They often do highly classified work for us and other federal agencies and, as such, are in deep cover. Are you at liberty to tell me what charges are pending against them?”

“They got themselves arrested last night for possession of alcohol in a State park, and when the deputies ran a check on the car they were in – Dr. Kavanagh’s Jeep - they assumed it was stolen. They also found the men’s sidearms in the spare tire well and have arrested them on illegal possession and concealment of firearms.” I could actually hear Ted laugh and wanted to strangle him.

“Your Honour, they are licenced to carry those firearms, and I can assure you they didn’t steal the good doctor’s car. Sir, the Bureau as well as the Departments of Defence and State would take it as a great favour if you were to drop all but the alcohol charge. We can’t afford to put three covert operatives in jeopardy by making their identities public. Doing so could – and probably would – cost them their lives.”

“I see …well, when ya put it that way, I don’t see as how I have much choice, now do I? Okay, son, I’ll work with ya. You have a nice weekend now.”

“Same to you, Judge, and thanks. Your government and the Bureau appreciate your cooperation.” Bobby disconnected the call and handed me my phone.

“You got some powerful friends, Reagan. I hope you don’t have to call in another marker anytime soon.” I took my first deep breath since walking into the courtroom.

“Thanks, Bobby.”

“Thank your buddy at the FBI. Now, let’s go drop the charges on your man and his friends.” I gave Bobby a big hug before we left his office.


“Mr. Prosecutor, I’d like to see you in my chambers for a couple of minutes.” The man stood and followed Bobby as I had done a few minutes earlier. I walked to the defence table and sat beside Maximus, taking his hand in mine as I looked into his eyes. Dee was in the front row; she had probably been there since Bobby and I had left the courtroom. Terry was turned around talking to her, their faces inches apart.

“Max …are you alright? Don’t worry about the charges …all but the possession of alcohol is going to be dropped, and we’ll plead it to a misdemeanour because it a first offense. There’s a fine, but no jail time.” His manacled hands took mine and brought them to his lips, kissing them softly.

“I am well as long as you are here. You are not angry with me, with us?” I shook my head.

“No, I’m not angry. I was scared pissless for a while there but not angry. Dino should have known better than to drink in a State Park, but I’ll get the story from him on our way home.” I was vaguely aware that Dee and Terry were talking, and Dino was apologizing to her. I reached across and touched his and Terry’s shoulders.

“You guys hanging in?” They nodded, foregoing speech as Bobby and the prosecutor returned then. The prosecutor looked distinctly unhappy, but there wasn’t a Hell of a lot he could do about it. Bobby rapped his gavel and looked around the room.

“I have been made aware of extenuating circumstances with regard to the auto theft and weapons charges. Pursuant to gaining that information, those charges are hereby dropped, and the prosecutor will not pursue them. The remaining charges of possession and consumption of alcohol in a State park stand. Bail is set at $500 each, and you are released on personal recognizance.” He flipped through his calendar then looked back at them. “In view of the extenuating circumstances, I would imagine the four of us need to negotiate a court date when you three get back to your office and can check your calendars. Give me a call not later than three o’clock on Tuesday, and we’ll set a date for trial. I can count on you boys to be here for that, can’t I?” They all stood as I spoke.

“They’ll be here, your Honour. You have my personal word on that.” Bobby nodded and looked at a deputy I didn’t know who had been in the courtroom throughout the proceedings.

“Deputy, get these men back to the jail and cut ‘em loose.” Five minutes later we were all on our way back to the jail to get the guys out of their shackles and back into their own clothes so we could go home. Dee and I looked at each other. It had been a long, frigging day, and it wasn’t even noon.

Half an hour later, Maximus, Terry, and Dino were back in their own clothes. We’d posted their bail - $500 each – and were on our way back to The Barracks to get their belongings and go home. Max and I were in my Jeep; Dee, Terry and Dino were in her Tahoe. I don’t think Maximus and I said more than five words between town and the camp. He was traumatised, and so was I. Worse, he was embarrassed and seemed deeply ashamed of the entire episode.

DIANA

“Are you sure you won’t let me drive then?” Terry was more than a bit nonplussed.

“My truck, I drive. Besides, this is the start of your punishment.” Dino couldn’t let that opportunity pass.

“Ohhh …can I watch?”

Mutual response. “No.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the two miscreants with me in the Tahoe, but they did need their butts chewed. I’d told Dino to ride with us, as I was pretty sure that manacles bit had traumatised the hell out of Maximus. My philosophy of let-people-make-their-own-mistakes had gone out the door the day Terry Thorne walked into my life. I was involved. I was committed, and from the little I knew of relationships, it was my job to chew on them. And while I might chew on Terry later, I sure as shit wasn’t going to do it in front of Dino. When that did happen, it wouldn’t be a shouting match …no rants would take place this time. I looked at Dino in the rear view mirror.

“Your punishment starts now – riding in my smelly truck. What the hell were you thinking, Dino? Terry at least has the excuse that he doesn’t know Texas laws governing alcohol in State parks.”

“Wait. He’s lived here the same amount of time I have.”

“And this is the first time he’s ever been in a State park. North Carolina probably has the same laws. Both are Southern states, both predominantly Baptist. You know Baptists don’t drink in front of each other. State parks are out of bounds if you’re drinking!”

I looked at Terry. “How drunk were you?”

“We weren’t drunk.”

“Well, crap! If you’re gonna get caught, you could have at least tied one on. Thank God there weren’t any hookers involved. That would have gotten you under the frigging jail. I need specifics …how much did you drink?”

“We each had an open tinnie; the deputies said there were 11 more in the trash bin, and there were several empties on the table. That’s 18 to 20 over a period of about five hours. Not much.”

“Well, not much for you three.” I started to laugh. That got me a couple of nasty looks.

“Well, it is funny, dammit! The three most intelligent men Reags and I know get themselves busted and hauled in for drinking in a State park, and you weren’t even drunk. Think about it! And before I forget it – you three owe Reags and me a weekend at the spa. You kind of interrupted our girls’ weekend. This is another Saturday that we didn’t get to go riding. You know, Terry, rather than sending me to the spa,” I’d reached over and put my hand on his thigh, “Jack and I get a weekend at de Kunffy’s next riding clinic.”

“Done …as long as you don’t throw a tanty at me.”

“No wurries. I promised you that the first time.”

Dino shifted in the back seat before he spoke. “It’s been what, two weeks? Three? You’re already starting to sound like him!”

“Hmm. Guess I have.” Terry and I exchanged glances. Our minds made the quick trip into the gutter, to when we truly had both sounded ‘alike.’

Dino’s curiosity finally got the better of him. “So tell me, Tio. Has Dee moved into town with you, or have you followed Max’s example and become a country gentleman?”

“Couldn’t manage five horses in the flat, Mate. Nothing for them to eat there.”

I was treading water. “Dino, it’s not as if we’re living together.”

Terry looked at me. “What would you call it then?”

My head sank beneath the waves. “Well, all your stuff is still in town. It isn’t living together until you bring all your stuff out and move that in. And you have to sort through which pieces of your furniture to keep and which to store.”

“No problem there …it’s all rented. Adele gets it all back when I leave. All I have to pack is my entertainment system and my clothing.” Going down for the second time …. I needed to stop this trend of conversation right now.

“Dino, we are just seeing each other.”

“Right …every morning when you open your eyes, and every night just before you close them.” Terry snickered, and I wanted to slap him. “Other than the night at the opera, have you two been out of the house? Have you even been out to dinner?”

“YES!” In stereo.

“Movies? Have you actually even had a date? Hell, Terry, at least I took her to dinner.” He leaned forward and spoke directly to me.

“Dee, Honey, the old man can be a real Scrooge – at least make him take you to dinner once a month.”

“Alright …September’s taken care of. DC …Terry, you can take me to dinner while we’re in DC. That’ll do for October.” Dino moved back to domestic arrangements.

“Who’s doing the cooking?”

“Whoever gets hungry first.”

Dino snickered.

“Whatcha hungry for right now, Terry? Want some barbecue? How ‘bout some catfish?” I reached back and tried to slap Dino, but that’s hard to do when you’re driving, particularly when there’s as much maneuvering room as the back seat of my Tahoe allows. Dino was ducking and dodging like a good halfback.

“Two weeks in …Terry, you sent her flowers yet?”

“Did that the day after Labour Day, Mate.” Dino moved back to me.

“Bet he’s got you watching footy.”

“Been watching footy for years, Dino. Terry had nothing to do with that.”

Terry chimed in again. “Yeah, Mate, she’s got Fox Sports on every one of her TV menus …she even has the timer set to pop over to the station when the matches come on. All I have to do is roll over …never mind.”

“A TV in the bedroom? How the mighty have fallen. If you two have a TV in the bedroom, who am I going to live out my sexual fantasies through?” I turned completely around to look at him. Fortunately, Terry kept his own eyes on the road to warn me before I hit a semi head-on.

“You’ve already had your fantasies.” I wanted to carry a grudge against Dino, I really did, and so badly that I could almost taste it, but it just isn’t possible. He really is just so damned cute and funny that you can’t stay mad at the man.

MAXIMUS

I said nothing for a period of many miles; Cassandra was equally silent. I looked across at her and saw tears slipping down her face. My heart broke for the pain and embarrassment my behaviour had visited on her. I reached across and touched her face.

“Cara, I can only apologise for what I have put you through this day. I cannot undo my transgression.” She pulled the car to the side of the road and put on the flashers before turning to face me.

“Is that what you think? That I’m crying because I’m embarrassed or angry?” I looked at her. What else could be the cause?

“Why else would you weep?” She leant across the console and kissed me gently.

“My tears are for you. When I saw you in chains, I almost threw up in the car. I can’t even imagine what that must have been like for you …the last time you were in chains ….” She stopped talking and looked at me. In truth, I had not even thought of that former time. My only thoughts on it earlier in the day had been how seeing me thus would shame her amongst people she had known all her life.

“I did not even think on that time. My concern was that you would be shamed in front of those you have known since childhood …the man you are to marry had been arrested and taken to the place of judgment in chains. It would have been bad enough had you not been forced to come here and pay our bail. To be forced to acknowledge our relationship in front of those who know you because of my behaviour is unconscionable.”

“Maximus, you haven’t shamed me. Yes, I love those people and always will, but they are no longer a significant part of my life. I don’t fucking care what they think. All that matters is that you and Terry and Dino are safe.” Suddenly she laughed. “Have I told you about the night I spent in the Anderson County Jail?” My Cara in jail? No, I had not heard that tale.

DINO

“What the fuck took you two so long to get here?”

“Well, if you will remember, I have horses to feed at six. Then we had to wait until the drive-through at the bank opened at seven. Neither of us routinely keep bail money lying around the house. Is that something that’s going to need to change? Do Reags and I each need to keep enough money in the house to bail all three of you out, just in case one of us is out of pocket? Is $500 each enough, or should we bump it to $1,500 each? Let’s see …that’s $4,500 …better add an extra $500 just to be safe. Five-thousand dollars in my house. I’ll have to install a wall safe. Is this an indication that Terry is moving in?”

“Hold off on the wall safe, Honey. Maybe we should just make sure you and Reags have keys to the office and the combination to the safe there.”

“Dino! That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me. We also had to stop for breakfast. You did not want us to show up to bail you out all hungry-cranky.” Tio had been cat-napping, but at that, he cracked an eye open and spoke.

“Is hungry-cranky worse than your sleep-deprived cranky?”

“In this particular instance, yes, it would have been. Max woke us up just after two. I would have been both sleep-deprived AND hungry if we hadn't stopped. Besides, I didn’t want to get the truck dirty by eating in it on the way down.” I looked down at the MacDonald’s bag in the floor board and picked it up. It was full of wadded up food wrappers, and I started lobbing them over the seat at her.

“Stop that! Besides, we knew you were in no danger.”

Terry and I did the answer-in-stereo thing. “How did you know that?”

“Oh, hell, Reags spent the night there once when she was in high school.” Terry’s eyes were wide open now. I was laughing my ass off. This was just too good to pass up.

“Tell me more!”

“Dino, you’re a bigger gossip that the little old ladies in Palestine. Okay. Reags was in high school and dating Bobby Presley, ….”

“The Judge who arraigned us this morning?”

“Yes. Stop interrupting me. Molly – she’s the waitress from the Lone Star Café where we stopped for breakfast in Wills Point, and she’s from Palestine, too – and Billy ....”

“Sheriff Billy-Bob?”

“Yes. Anyway, before I was so rudely interrupted again, Reags and Bobby and Molly and Billy were all down at the lake – yes, the same one you were at – one Friday night after the football game. Palestine lost, and after the game, Billy swiped a case of beer from his dad’s bar. They loaded it into a cooler and iced it down and took off for the lake. Two hours later and the case almost gone – they were all shit-faced by then – the county mounties drove up. Same basic scenario as what you guys probably experienced. The only difference is that they were all under 18, so there’s no permanent record of their arrest, and they were truly drunk. Unlike you, they did take full advantage of the opportunity. The deputies hauled them back to town and tossed them in jail and called their parents. Molly and Reags were in one cell, Bob and Billy in another. Apparently, all the involved parents were part of the local tough-love group and said let them spend the night because it will teach them a lesson. Reags said the only real lesson she got from that night was not to throw up in her own bunk because then Molly wouldn’t let her share hers. She spent the rest of the night on the floor.” Terry shook his head.

“Prim, proper, and to my knowledge, always socially correct Reags drunk and disorderly? That one’s a story for her and Max to tell their grandkiddies.”

REAGAN

Maximus was wiping tears from his eyes when I stopped talking. I don’t think I’d ever seen him laugh so hard.

“Cara, I cannot conceive of you in such a situation.” I laughed.

“Conceive of it, Caro. In the vernacular of East Texas, I was what is known as knee-walking, potty hugging, crying drunk. It’s a damned good thing the deputies showed up when they did. If any of us had tried to drive home, we’ve have probably run the car in to the lake and drowned before we remembered that we all knew how to swim.” His hand came over to cover my right one on the steering wheel.

“Then I am glad you were embarrassed. I prefer having you alive with a less than pleasant memory than the alternative.”

“Well, it was a pretty difficult memory to deal with for a while there. Our photos made the front page of every paper in East Texas, even the Tyler Morning Telegraph. For months, every place we went, someone would point and laugh at us. That was my first experience with having everyone know your personal business. That’s probably why I’m as circumspect as I am as an adult. It was a hard lesson. Of course, now it’s funny and just one more tale of my misspent youth.” We spent the rest of the ride home laughing as we told each other about the things we’d done as kids, several of which we were lucky to have survived.

DIANA

Terry had drifted off again, and Dino was sitting behind me, leaning forward so that his voice wouldn’t wake Terry. He put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently.

“So, we’re okay then?” I reached back and patted his hand, smiling at him in the rear view mirror.

“We’re okay.”

NOTES

Pro se	to be without an attorney in a legal proceeding and represent oneself
College Station	The location of Texas A and M University
BAU	Behavioural Analysis Unit – the unit at the FBI specialising in constructing the profiles of criminals