Chapter 31
"Remind me again why we decided to wait until we were eighteen?" Brian sighed as we wiped his juices off of my lower back and pulled his softening cock out from between my butt cheeks where he'd carefully placed it earlier, doing his best to resist the urge to go all the way. Over the past few years we'd come close several times to breaking our self-made promise. So far, we'd kept it though.
"Let's see, someone went to that MCC service downtown and said they wanted to have a religious ceremony when we were eighteen." I said playfully. "Then someone thought it would be great if we waited to go the final step until the night of the ceremony, like a heterosexual couple and that we could always use that to make us look better in the eyes of the media."
"Blame it on me, yep, always blame it on me." Brian said with a laugh as he collapsed back on top of me and nibbled my ear from behind. "Was that your orgasm I noticed earlier or did you just writhe for my enjoyment?"
"I came." I said with a little shyness.
"I told you that you were going to be a total bottom by the time I got done with you." Brian said with a deep chuckle that sent shivers down my spine. "But you said we were going to be versatile."
"We will be… you'll just never know when I decide it's my turn." I whispered into the pillow and he chuckled again. When he rolled off of me a few minutes later, I missed his weight, but then he pulled me against his chest. I let out a sigh of contentment and reflected on just how much we had changed since our sixteenth birthdays.
In October of 1985, we had won our court case against the Modesto City Schools Board of Governors, only to have the decision immediately stayed while it was appealed to a 3-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. While our friends and family were overwhelmingly chagrined, we had sighed with relief. It was our big secret that we enjoyed the courses too much at Stockdale Academy to want to go back to Downey right now, even if it meant we could play football again.
In November, the recall against the Board members who had voted to expel Brian and I was successful, and six new members joined the board, all of them parents of students who had participated or led the recall effort. It made national news, and we'd even done a few interviews from here in Washington to show our pleasure at the change.
The first thing the new board planned to do was lift our expulsion and invite us back, offering to pay for tuition cost while we were expelled, dropping their appeal if we'd waive damages. Naturally, that would have been fine, but we didn't necessarily want to go back and we also wanted the case to proceed on through the appeal process. Two other schools over the previous spring had kicked out students just because they were gay and posed a 'disruption' of the normal school environment. Our case was much further along than theirs and would reach the Supreme Court first, most likely. A solution to this quandary was reached by devious means, though.
The daughter of a new school board member was eating lunch in the Downey cafeteria when Trevor, Brandon, and Sean sat down at a table right behind her and began talking about a phone call from us. They made the point about the other schools and how the case could really make a difference nationwide. Our friends also mentioned that we'd already decided to never collect the cash award we'd been given by the court; rather we'd sign it back over to the district in exchange for their naming a building after us on one of their campuses.
The board decided to not reverse their position on the lawsuit because it would cost the district several million dollars. They also voted to fire the high-priced attorney the previous board had hired for the appeal and instructed the district's regular attorney to 'do his best' while working within a very minimal budget. The budget happened to be our tuition costs for the year, part of the settlement that had been ordered but stayed.
It was a year later, in 1986, a mid-term election year in which the Democrats kicked butt on the religious conservative push for candidates, that the Supreme Court heard arguments on our case and decided clearly in our favor. It was also the year of the first major event I remembered in history being radically changed (at least not having to do with the Soviet Union or International Politics or my families lives). In 1986, originally, the case of Bowers vs. Hardwick was the seminal case on gay rights of the 1980's, and gays lost it big time. The court had decided that Georgia's sodomy laws were valid, and that the state did have a right to regulate private, consensual sex between adults. It wasn't until 2002, and Lawrence v Texas that Bowers was changed and the sodomy laws still in place were struck down.
In this 1986, the Supreme Court had two cases on gay rights. Modesto City Schools vs. Breckenridge/Jones et al. and Bowers vs. Hardwick. Both cases were surprisingly settled by a 6-3 vote instead of a 5-4 vote, and gay Americans won in both cases. Every morning for a month I had to wake up and kiss Brian's feet, as the bet we'd made on the Bowers case. What was the difference for the Justices? Well, it was Sandra Day O'Connor, writing for the majority who said:
"This Court cannot on the one hand say that a local government cannot actively discriminate against two youth who identify themselves as homosexuals and make no active effort to otherwise disrupt their school's operations, while on the other say that two legal adults cannot practice the physical acts associated with being homosexual while in the privacy of their own home without fear of arrest."
In the election cycle that year, the religious conservatives had mounted a major push within the Republican primary season and gotten most of their candidates into the Republican nominee slots across the nation. They hammered and hammered gays across the board for most of the summer and into the fall, showing every picture of every drag queen, guy in leather with a whip, or of men being arrested in parks, and they made it the prime issue of the campaign season.
After the Supreme Court decision, Brian and I had fulfilled our secret promise, signing over the money award from the case back to the District, and our attorney did the same with her 20%. Then we regretfully informed our friends that we'd been gone too long from Downey, and that all of the courses we were taking this last year just weren't offered at our old school. We'd be returning to Stockdale for our Senior year, with regrets since a public school just didn't offer the courses we needed to graduate.
It was shortly before summer in 1985 that I was surprised on a visit to the White House by the delivery of an ultimatum from the government. The predictions of General O'Kieffe and others came true that day and I was given a choice in how I'd officially serve in the US government from that day forward. With my decision to continue schooling in Washington D.C., they felt that it was now possible to have me officially work for the government without raising too many alarms if the press found out.
Out of the choices they provided, Brian and I decided I'd accept an appointment to the Naval Academy at Annapolis. After spending a few weeks at home in Modesto, we flew back to Washington and I was officially inducted into the Naval Academy as a part-time student and cadet. That first summer, I spent three weeks with other cadets going through orientation before heading back to the Stockdale Academy.
After that, my cycle of classes and learning was quite intense. Through the Stockdale Academy, I took advanced courses in English, Mathematics, German, and Russian. During the afternoons, I took one-on-one studies at the Pentagon before returning to Stockdale Academy for dinner.
Over the last few years, I'd shown myself to have good analytical skills when it came to interpreting data and satellite photographs. From the time I started to take the one-on-one training sessions at the Pentagon, I also learned that I was pretty darn good at tactical scenarios. In my former life, I'd played a lot of naval simulators, and those experiences were proving to be extremely helpful, especially those I'd played on-line against actual former-Soviet officers.
The Navy had graciously accepted my word on what college courses I'd taken in my previous life, giving me credits for both upper and lower division course work I hadn't taken this time around. It had only taken minor arguments to keep them from shipping me off to Annapolis right away. When I graduated from Stockdale Academy, I'd finish two more years as a full-time student at Annapolis before being commissioned.
Brian's plans were to go to Harvard for a Business degree. With the way things were working out, our one-time goal of being International Business Attorneys didn't look all that possible. His plans were to start up a business once he'd completed school, using our joint funds for the start-up. Then he could work on that business from wherever I was at the time, most likely Washington D.C. for my required six-year hitch with the Navy. After that hitch, I was assured I could go on to a Reserve status, working mostly in Intelligence and doing much the same work I'd been doing the last few years.
My stint in uniform was born out of a desire by the military leadership to have me under their thumb. If I was in uniform, I wasn't a rogue factor, I was under control and they felt they could predict what I'd do in any given circumstance. The nice thing for me was that they really did intend for me to be a 'real' officer when it was all done. My courses and training covered much of the same material regular academy cadets got, except mine was all one-on-one instruction or practical instruction in the Pentagon. Two weekends a month I went to the Academy itself and took part in other activities there on campus, getting to know many of the cadets in my 'year-group'.
In early-1986, a very good investigative reporter from the Washington Post got wind of my trips to the Naval Academy and after a lot of digging, hit pay dirt.
Naturally, the pay dirt was the cover story for the real reasons why I'd been involved with the government for several years now. The story started with an explanation of how I'd tested very high on certain tests in High School, garnering the interest of several government agencies, including the Navy. After I started attending the Stockdale Academy, I expressed an interest in the Naval Academy (partly out of having been a member of the NJROTC). After some testing, the Navy realized I was fully qualified for immediate admittance. However, I didn't want to leave Brian at Stockdale alone, so we'd worked out a part-time program. On paper, my education program was impressive but in reality, it was even more intense than anything I'd done before. I really found myself being challenged intellectually and physically.
Brian wasn't having it any easier either. He'd managed to enroll himself in some early courses through Georgetown. From those, he'd get credits at Harvard that would enable him to graduate almost a full year earlier. Also, through our political connections he managed to get an internship at the Department of the Treasury and at the Commerce Department.
After the Navy and Army had trotted out three more students my age who were being given similar treatment thanks to high test scores and intelligence (all three were real cases, not made up), the reporter lost interest in his story as front-page news. Instead, it became a special-interest story on military recruitment of the smartest young people in America and I was just one part of the story. That managed to work out just fine for everyone involved.
During the fall of 1986, Brian and I went to work making some fifteen advertisements for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. The ads were all non-partisan, but were direct attacks on those candidates attacking us as part of their campaign. Three of the ads were voted as some of the most effective of the entire year, and as a result, nearly sixty percent of the Republican candidates lost their races.
President Reagan was pissed at us, and called me into the White House the Saturday after the election, and demanded to know why I'd made his last two years in office a living hell with a Democrat major in both the House (63%) and the Senate (61%). I just laughed at him and he soon joined me in laughing.
It had been his idea for the commercials, but he'd take that secret to the grave and so would we.
The ad credited with being the most effective had also been the simplest to shoot and design. It had started with a voice-over saying "Some would have you believe that all gay people are like this." As the voice spoke, the pictures used by the Republican candidates and issue commercials were shown, and then the screen went blank for a moment while the voice spoke again. "In all honestly, some gay people are like this, but when these people say they must protect Americans from gays, what they don't want you to see is this." Then the screen had switched to man in his thirties and he'd looked at the camera to say "I'm an American, and I'm gay." Then it had switched to a blond bombshell of a woman who said the same except she said 'lesbian' instead of gay. It went through four more people, including an Asian, a Black, and a Hispanic, and then Brian and I had appeared, standing with Brian behind me and his arms around my waist with his head on my shoulders while we stood on the steps of the Lincoln Monument and we'd said in unison, "Yeah, we're gay too."
The political fallout within the Republican Party was that the 'fiscal' conservatives now held the reins of the party while the 'social' conservatives were on the fringe, licking their wounds and wondering just what the hell had happened and why God hadn't struck down their enemies. Any first-year college student could have told them trying to portray a group of people as evil incarnate, when that group can counter with ads showing normal, regular-looking people, and two blond teenagers, is doomed to create a vicious backlash.
I had come back in time before the end of the 2004 election, but I remembered early polls showing a backlash because of the whole gay marriage thing. It was my opinion that pushing for too much, and with an uncoordinated strategy would likely have doomed the gay community to a big backlash from the voters. Here, now, there was a big sentiment in the gay community for coordinated efforts, and the limited, clandestine, support from the White House kept the community's goals within what voters would support. The key was to push for equality without letting the religious leaders paint the effort as a push for 'special' rights.
One thing for sure, the election had made the meeting on the hill yesterday morning much easier to handle.
Events in the Middle East had been heating up for the last six months, and the newly-elected congressional leadership had essentially demanded a full briefing on why the President was making the moves that he set in motion. Since the full explanation, the only explanation that would completely satisfy them required the revelation of someone's knowledge of the future, I had been sent up there with a four-star general and a four-star admiral to explain things in detail. It was only the presence of the two officers that had convinced the four leading democrats (two senators and two congressmen), that the President wasn't playing a big joke on them.
"Well at least you've used your knowledge to help Democrats as well as Republicans." Congressman Gephardt had said with sarcasm.
"Actually Congressman, I've not used any knowledge of specific future events to further any political party." I said firmly. "I'll freely admit to using knowledge of tactics that worked or didn't work in a few issues, but most of my knowledge of specific events has all changed, and almost all of my work has focused on international relations and issues, specifically countering the threat posed by the Soviet Union making use of a similar resource. That's why this Middle East situation is so critical."
"I'm still not seeing the connection." Senator Sam Nunn had said with a deep frown.
"Senator, Saddam Hussein is a megalomaniac whose only two goals are to maintain the power he has now while increasing his power over more people and regions." I had responded carefully. "Iran is a theocracy whose goals are the exact same. They've been at war for six years, and should be at war for two more, but they've now declared a cease-fire. This came after extensive talks with the Soviet ambassadors in both countries and now there's extensive dialogue between Tehran, Baghdad, and Moscow. We have also received confirmation that the Soviets have sold four Krivak III frigates, six Osa II, and eight Grisha light frigates to Iran, along with two full squadrons of Mig-29 aircraft. To Iraq they have sold four Grisha frigates, and six Osa II missile corvettes. Iraq has also taken receipt of a squadron of Mig-29 aircraft, two squadrons of Mig-21's, and another dozen Mi-24 helicopters. They've also placed an order with the French for another full squadron of Mirage III fighters and thirty-six Exocet missiles. Despite our objections, the French sold the weapons and delivered them over Christmas.
"Now, the Mig's are lesser threats at this point in time." I continued. "They require more extensive training by all the pilots involved and their ground crews. Iraq has more pilots trained on the Mirage than it has planes, even with the new order. The naval ships are also not an immediate threat because both navies will require extensive training. The problem is that they do not appear to be rearming to face each other again, but someone else. Combine that with the increased dialogue with Moscow, and it's obvious who those weapons will be pointing at."
"It seems more like fear-mongering than fortune-telling." Senator Nunn said disparagingly. I remembered the man's outspoken dislike of gays in 1993 and wondered if that might have something to do with his not liking me.
"Senator Nunn, in the original 1986, Iran began to suffer economic hardships because of the war with Iraq and the relatively low price of oil." I explained carefully. "They began attacking Kuwaiti oil ships, and mining the Straits of Hormuz in an attempt to slow down the traffic of oil. The United States re-flagged those tankers as American and ordered our Navy to defend them. Saddam Hussein, who thinks of Kuwait as legitimately being his, objected to that. When his objections were ignored, an Iraqi Mirage III fighter launched two exocet anti-ship missiles that hit the USS Stark, killing 39 crewmembers and nearly sinking the ship. One of the missiles did not explode, the only thing that kept the ship from going to the bottom with most of her crew.
"In the months that followed, Iran began attacking the tankers in earnest, and several gun battles erupted between US Naval Forces and Iranian Naval Forces. In those battles, several tankers were moderately damaged, several US ships received light damage, the frigate Samuel B. Roberts struck a mine and had to be towed to dry dock for extensive repairs, and several Iranian corvettes, frigates, and gunboats were sunk. These fights continued sporadically through 1986, 1987, and 1988, when the USS Vincennes shot down an Iranian passenger plane by mistake."
"Holy shit." Congressman Gephardt breathed with wide eyes.
"Yeah, that's what a lot of people said." I told him with a sour grimace. "I was in the navy myself at the time, and assigned to a swift patrol boat outside of Bahrain."
"In what year?" Senator Nunn demanded.
"Oh, sorry, 1988, Senator, was the year I was assigned there. I joined about two months from now after dropping out of high school." I answered and he nodded before looking back at a file in his lap. "In 1990, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and was poised to invade Saudi Arabia. The United States mounted a huge multi-national effort to stop him, and we managed to free Kuwait in early 1991. Saddam Hussein was forced to disarm heavily, and was embargoed until his country was again invaded in 2003 by the United States for the sole purpose of removing him from office. After that invasion, Iran was viewed as being one of the greatest threats to this country."
"What does that have to do with the here and now?" Senator Nunn demanded again.
"Senator, everything I told just now, Alexei Shevrenadze knows as well. Imagine if he told Saddam Hussein the United States plans to take him out in a decade. He only has to have basic proof, not something a skeptic would even come close to accepting, and Saddam Hussein is going to believe him. The Iranian mullahs don't even need that much. Then, we add in the final ingredient, the economic status of the Soviet Union.
"The goal of Alexei Shevrenadze in funding the time-travel experiment that brought us both back in time was to prevent the collapse of the Soviet Union in December of 1991. They have taken steps, many steps, to prevent that from happening. Even without treaties in place, they have drastically cut back on their nuclear forces while increasing the operational readiness and force levels of their conventional forces. They have implemented multiple reforms of their economy while refraining from the policies of glasnost and perestroika that resulted in increased demands for western freedoms and western luxuries. The fact remains though that a communist economy cannot compete with western-style capitalism, and cannot maintain the armed forces necessary to compete with our nation. Within another decade, they will collapse, and all Alexei will have accomplished is to delay the collapse of the Soviet Union."
"In another decade our own economy will be collapsed if we keep spending like this." Congressman Gephardt muttered darkly.
"Congressman, there you underestimate our own country." I said firmly. "In the next decade, technologies you can barely dream of right now are going to change how we think, how we do business, and will re-vitalize the shaken economy we will experience beginning next year and through 1992. By 1996, we will have entirely new lexicons in our dictionary, and the economic focus in this country will shift dramatically into jobs that are barely being imagined now, much less the hub of our industry. The Russians know this, and they know there is only one way to really stop that from happening, and that is to collapse our economy now, in 1987 or 1988, before theirs collapse. What better way to do this, than to drive up the price of oil with conflicts between us and two Gulf States?"
"So what you're saying is we are facing a proxy war to ruin our economy, and the President's build-up in that region is to win it decisively?" Senator Nunn asked carefully.
"Senator, that is exactly what we are doing." I said confidently. "If Iraq or Iran makes aggressive moves, we have already insured our strategic partners in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Oman will assist us in defeating their movements. A worst-case scenario would be an overland march by Iraq into Kuwait and/or Saudi Arabia with an Iranian amphibious invasion of the U.A.E. and/or Oman. CIA and DoD believe that won't happen. I mention it because it's a remote possibility in my sole opinion. Something that all analysts believe IS in the works is a much more aggressive version of the original efforts to block the Straits of Hormuz and to constrict the flow of oil by attacking or seizing tankers in that region. They only have to sink four or five supertankers in order to raise the price of oil by two to three times current price levels. It will take two to three years for those prices to go down and during that time, our economy will suffer, buying the Soviets more breathing room."
"How long before these new weapons they are getting will be ready for use?" Senator Nunn asked and it was the Admiral with me who answered.
"Our best analysts say six to twelve months at least, if not more." Admiral Johnson said with certainty. "Mr. Jones here has posited the idea that the Soviets may choose to man these ships themselves under Iranian flag, but we believe that is unlikely."
"If it were to happen?" Senator Kennedy said, speaking for the first time.
"They could be ready right now, Senator." The admiral admitted after staring at the man for a moment. "But, again, they would be foolish to allow their men to fight and die under the flag of another nation."
"So we have several months and up to a year to prepare, which is what is happening right now." Senator Nunn broke in with a firm glance toward Senator Kennedy. "Thanks for your time, gentlemen."
I had left the hill, breathing a little easier and headed back the Stockdale Academy.
"What are you thinking about?" Brian asked me, drawing me back to the present time.
"Oh, the briefing yesterday." I said with a shrug. I looked over at the clock. It was nearly time for us to get up and take a shower before breakfast.
"You still think your idea about the Russians manning the ships is right?" Brian asked me softly and I just nodded. He let out a sigh. "C'mon, stud, let's get a shower and then breakfast."
"You got it, stud." I said back to him and climbed out of the joined beds. We padded carefully down the hallway to the showers, which were all but empty this early in the morning. Most of our fellow Seniors were quite happy sleeping in until they almost missed breakfast, but Brian and I enjoyed our morning sex too much to waste the time by sleeping.
"Hey guys." Harry said as we entered. He'd only grown a little in the last year and I had been very happy when he'd stopped trying to get me into his bed. Now he was a good friend, something we had missed since leaving Brandon and Trevor behind in Modesto.
"Hey Harry." Brian greeted him with a grin while I nodded and let out a grunt. My back was sticky and I wanted to get clean.
"So, what's up with your classes this semester?" Harry asked as we began our morning shower ritual of soaping up and washing ourselves.
"What do you mean?" Brian asked him.
"It's like neither of you are on campus for more than three classes." Harry said with what sounded like disappointment.
"Oh, we both finished our other coursework last summer." Brian explained. It was true, we had done that and it had been tough as hell since we were both taking other, more advanced courses. "The Headmaster let us pick internships for the rest of the courses instead of keeping us in make-work classes. I'm at the Department of the Treasury and Davey's at the Pentagon."
"Figures he'd be there, Mr. Superspy." Harry said, carrying on a joke that he'd been teasing me with for two years now. No one believed it seriously, which made the fact that it was kind of true all the more amusing.
"Someone must keep an eye on the Russians!" I exclaimed, feeling a little better and both of them laughed, as did the other senior in the shower room.
"Well, see you at breakfast." Harry said as he turned off his shower.
"Think you should tell him you got into Harvard?" I asked Brian and he just shook his head. Poor Harry had been fretting about going to Harvard without anyone from our school also going there (most were heading to MIT, Notre Dame, or Yale). He'd be happy to know he wouldn't be alone there next year.
Our plans for attending UCSF or some other UC school had changed like so much over the last two years. As predicted by Master Chief Cole, General O'Keefe, and a few others, the government was not going to let me go anytime soon. I was just glad they hadn't tried to force us into Georgetown for undergraduate school. Last month, a Navy Admiral had threatened to kidnap me and put me in Annapolis, and I still wasn't sure if he'd been joking or not since he'd managed to force me into a few military courses on Naval Tactics during the evening and summer training time.
After finishing our showers, we went back to the room where we dressed in gray slacks, blue blazers with the school crest, white shirts, and ties, all of which made up the school uniform. I don't think I even noticed the dress shoes we wore as any difference to the sneakers we had worn at public school. They were very expensive shoes, and had a far better level of comfort than most dress shoes I'd worn in the past, or future, or whatever it had been.
We headed down to breakfast where we sat at our usual table, in our usual spots with most of the room not yet occupied. The food here was good, although not anywhere near as good as Tyatya's cooking. We'd only been home for two weeks total this last summer and it had not been nearly enough. Harry joined us at the table with his current roommate, James Marsten, III. They had Tom Bradshaw with them and we talked about classes, and the game I hated most, cricket, while eating our food. I was so busy paying attention to their conversation I didn't notice the person coming into the room and the silence that followed his entrance until he stood over Harry, who was sitting across from me.
"Mr. Jones, did you forget your appointment this morning?" Paul Chapel, the current head of my security detail said calmly. It was a code phrase that meant something was happening and I was needed somewhere.
"Yeah, he forgot his dentist's appointment." Brian said with a laugh that sounded very real. He was getting damn good at lying like this. I knew he picked dentist because I'd had my braces removed a year ago, but still bitched about them all the time.
"You would make me remember that appointment." I groused at Brian while Paul just nodded. I stood from the table, socked Brian in the shoulder since a hug would be frowned on here and followed my agent out of the school and into a waiting Secret Service car. When we were seated and the vehicle moving, I turned to Paul and sought the real reason for the call.
"I don't know anymore than you do right now." Paul said with a shake of his head.
"You know where we are going." I stated.
"True, the White House, and specifically the Situation Room is your destination." Paul admitted and I just nodded at him. Unless the Soviet Union was launching a surprise attack, or something was happening in the Middle East, I couldn't think of anything that would require me to be summoned to the White House like this.
Less than fifteen minutes later I knew what the problem was. Manuel Noriega and Panama had been taken care of in 1990 by an invasion ordered by then President Bush. My small boat unit had actually been a part of that operation, and my first taste of combat. Seven months later, our work there had resulted in us being the first small boat unit deployed for Operation Desert Shield, the defense of Kuwait.
"You sure didn't see this one coming, David." Vice-President Bush said with a slightly condescending tone as I got up to speed in the White House Situation Room. My relationship with him had never been quite close, but neither had it been openly hostile. However, this current situation was a sore spot for him after the Iran-Contra debacle a few years ago.
Thanks to my early warning, most of the operation was shut down before Congress got a whiff of it happening. The major side-effect was that operations using Noriega had been curtailed and the CIA had halted all cooperation with him following my reports of the 1990 invasion of Panama, and subsequent arrest of Noriega on drug charges. Noriega had still turned to the drug dealers, and was now using the Panama navy to run drugs past the US naval blockade. At this moment, a US Perry-class frigate had tracked an airdrop from a Columbian drug plane. The drop had been visually spotted, as was a Panamanian corvette that was picking them up out of the floatation devices on the ocean surface.
The corvette had refused to accept signals from the Hawes and then ordered the American ship to leave the area by blinker light. The US frigate was currently hanging back, just over the horizon while its helicopter kept the Panamanian ship in visual contact range. Another radar contact had been heading for the corvette, this one a small speed boat usually used by drug runners. A helicopter from the nearby destroyer USS Spruance was tracking that boat.
"Mr. Vice-President, I wrote an essay in 1985 warning that Panama may resort to more open use of the drug trade after the CIA funds dried up." I said as respectfully as I could.
"He did, George. I'm looking at it right now." The President said sternly from the other side of the table, holding up my report. "It also says here you gave the order as President to invade that country and arrest him. He was tried and convicted on drug charges and as of the time David came back, was still living in an American prison. The question is, how do we handle what's going on now?"
"Mr. President, why don't we just let the boat go, but track it on radar. When it transfers its cargo, we can get long-range surveillance photos to document what's happening." I suggested quietly, wondering why I had to reiterate something I'd put in writing four months ago. Okay, I knew why, but I didn't want to admit that I was being used as a political pawn, even when everyone involved knew I was. "Once we have that, we can get the DOJ and DEA more heavily involved in tracking military running of drug cargo and use that to justify an invasion. I'm sure the generals in this room can give you an idea of exactly what is needed, but we can rotate fresh troops in without rotating troops out. That will build up troop levels to what we need to storm the government. Insert some special forces with the invasion, and maybe a few Tomahawks as well and we can swarm over them just like we did in 1990. I would also recommend using some Sea Cobra helicopters from an Amphibious ship, with more marine troops ready to go in if we need them."
"Here's the operational plan to do just that, Mr. President." General Hoarwell said with a smug smile after I finished. He even gave me a nod of approval. "There's no need to wait for 1990 to do this, and it will be an excellent way to test our command and control for a seaborne invasion with bases in the area."
"It also has the benefit of sending a clear signal to Moscow that the Monroe Doctrine is still in full force and effect." The Secretary of Defense added. "They've been trying to destabilize more governments lately and this will severely undermine their effectiveness."
"I think this is just an overreaction." George H. W. Bush said with a frown. "But, if you decide to do this, then you'll have my full support."
"I know you want to take him out under your watch, George, but I promise to leave Saddam Hussein for you." President Reagan said and that got a few chuckles from around the room. He picked up the file from the General and read the summary page very quickly. "Gentlemen, Operation Enduring Freedom is hereby authorized for implementation. I see here we estimate it will be three months before we invade. Let's keep it under wraps, monitor every drug deal with their armed forces and keep it documented for the press briefings we'll hold then. David, if anyone asks afterwards, you were involved in low-level planning consistent with your studies at Annapolis. Now, gentlemen, let's discuss the specifics of the plan."
I was very familiar with the plan. It had come from several long days of discussion back when I'd first been 'discovered'. My knowledge of the invasion of Panama was quite extensive. That had been the first time I'd ever seen combat, and for years afterwards I'd gone to great lengths to study whatever I could on the subject. For the most part, it had gone well, but there had been complications. Several Special Forces units had been badly hurt or lost due to bad planning and communications. Nearly a thousand civilian casualties had been incurred in the early fighting due to general confusion, and we wanted to avoid all these things. Part of it would be done by having a marine amphibious unit standing by with helicopters, troops, and more importantly an extensive forward command and control system. The radios, jammers, and other equipment would prove extremely invaluable to overcoming the problems I remembered from the first invasion.
The President left after two hours, and the meeting was transferred over to the Pentagon, where I accompanied the more senior officers. I was still dressed in my school uniform, so I felt slightly out of place, but also felt honored that these senior officers considered what I thought of things important enough to include me. I got home late that night and Brian was only slightly miffed at me when I told him I couldn't talk about what had happened.
For the next three months, my days were quite hectic. I was pushed to the limit on time management in order to get my homework done amidst all the planning I was involved in for the upcoming invasion of Panama. With great reluctance, I was forced to admit that I couldn't afford the time to play on the baseball team with Brian, and he was quite upset about that.
"Davey, is this what the rest of our life is going to be like?" Brian groused on a late February night as we lay in bed together. I'd missed the game, not even able to watch Brian play with our schoolmates, and had not gotten back to the school until nearly ten p.m.
"For a little while, Brian." I admitted with a frustrated sigh. "I don't necessarily like being away from you so much, you know."
"I know, but that's probably the only thing you don't like about all this." Brian said sourly, hitting the nail on the head.
"I'm sorry." I said softly and he nudged me with his elbow.
"Don't apologize." Brian ordered sternly. "You love this, I can tell. Davey, you love me, I know that, but you also love this work. I think that being involved in military operations, being on officer is something you always dreamed about doing and now that you have a chance to do that, you really want to do it, don't you?"
"Yes." I admitted softly, my breath hitching slightly.
"So, am I doomed to be an officer's wife?" Brian asked melodramatically, putting his free hand to his forehead and speaking in a falsetto voice.
"Maybe, how do you feel about it?" I asked him cautiously.
"Dude, fucking go for it!" Brian surprised me with a light tone and laughter. "I love you, Davey, and if this is what you want to do, I'll support you in it. This separation thing I don't like, but I can deal with it because I know you'll always come home to me. Do you think you'll make a career of this?"
"Hell no." I said firmly. It was the truth as well. "Maybe for six or ten years, I'll do this, but then it'll be time for something else, something we can do together. Brian, I never even realized how much I wanted something like this, and I'm not going to lie: I enjoy doing this stuff."
"As long as we're being honest with each other, I can live with this." Brian said firmly, his arms wrapping me in a hug to him. His eyebrows weren't furrowed, and he was giving me a gentle smile. "Besides, that gives me just enough time to finish my doctorate as well as a Master's degree."
"Okay." I agreed with a chuckle as he kissed me on the lips.
After that, we developed a routine of talking each night we were together. On the weekends, I was gone almost the entire time, locked away in the Pentagon office that was coordinating the upcoming invasion. It was going to be a vicious onslaught from the beginning, and was extremely complicated. The more complicated a plan, the more that could go wrong, and the Pentagon was doing everything it could to keep things from being too complicated.
In early April, the time for the attack happened. By happenstance, it was scheduled during the school's Easter Break, so I didn't even miss any classes after I was attached to the USS Blue Ridge. The Blue Ridge was a command ship, designed just for this type of operation and took up station about thirty miles off of the Panamanian coast. With her were six more ships: two helicopter carriers and four escorts.
At two in the morning, the attacks took place, taking the Panamanian Defense Forces by complete surprise. Harrier jump jets from the helicopter carriers, along with Cobra gun ships, swarmed across the Panama City defenses, destroying key radar installations, communication centers, and their few air defenses. Helicopters carried SEAL teams to disable or capture the few Panamanian gunboats that could threaten our ships while Army Rangers and Marine Recon troops were flown in to secure the airport and several other key facilities.
From the U.S. bases in that country, troops and tanks swarmed out, securing key highways and streets. Two special commando teams were sent in by helicopter and both of them managed to secure the target, Manuel Noriega within an hour. His entire squad of bodyguards was killed in the attack, while we lost only one Army Ranger.
Unlike the first invasion, this one went off almost flawlessly. I couldn't believe it as I watched from General Schwarzkopf's side. Every Panamanian base was secured and no pitched battles took place except with Noriega's bodyguards. Within twenty hours, our troops were pulling back to base, and an interim government was set in place. I'd flown with the General into town to speak with some government representatives about re-establishing order and was surprised again at how… calm things felt. There were no dead bodies to be picked up, only three civilians had been killed when they ran a roadblock, and we'd found a large stash of drugs in their car.
With a promise to not get involved in Panamanian affairs like this again, a multi-million dollar debt-forgiveness package, and a secured promise to work with us on stopping the flow of drugs from their country, the new Panamanian leaders took office and our troops pulled out, less than a week after we'd begun the operation. I flew back to Washington with a big pat on the back for my work in planning the operation, and showed up Monday morning just in time for my Russian language class.
All that meant I missed the strong anti-American riots that shook Panama that day. They lasted for about two weeks, but died down fairly quickly when the new government began televising military trials of various Panamanian military officers. For clemency, they all admitted to hauling drugs for the Colombian cartels with the money going directly into the pocket of Manuel Noriega. The United States was able to seize most of the funds, and sent them back to Panama's government as a gesture of good will. Panama's leaders in a stroke of brilliance not usually seen by greedy Central American leaders, poured the money into building new schools or reconstructing several run-down schools. When they were done, more of their schools had computers than California's schools did, a fact they made sure every citizen of their country knew about.
In a private White House ceremony attended only by Brian and a few officer friends, I was presented with the Navy Achievement Medal. I also qualified for the Joint Meritorious Unit Award and the Joint Service Achievement Medal. All of them were quite important awards for an officer's career, although I wouldn't be allowed to wear them until I was commissioned as an officer.
Brian had spent the holidays back at home, watching the news reports with his parents. I'd finally been allowed to tell him what was going to happen about a month beforehand, and he'd waited until the night the invasion was to begin before telling his parents. They sat up with him all night, watching the television and waited until it broke on the news story before calling any of our other friends. I'd even managed to call them briefly from the ship to tell them that I was just fine; two days after everything had started.
As April turned into May, the situation in the Persian Gulf became even more intense for the United States. Iran and Iraq, two countries that had been at war since 1980, were quickly becoming best friends under Soviet guidance. At the quarterly OPEC meeting, both countries floated a proposal to cut back production, something that would raise gas prices. Luckily, US allies Saudi Arabia and Kuwait were able to muster enough support to defeat the proposal after threatening to INCREASE their own production if the rest of the oil-producing Arabic world cut theirs. They were joined by Bahrain, which had essentially run out of oil but still had a voice on OPEC, as well as the United Arab Emirates and Oman in the south of the gulf.
Those countries represented most of the countries in the region that did not have religious-backed or dictatorial governments. Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia had monarchies in charge while Oman and the U.A.E. had a 'council' made up of tribal chiefs leading them. Among their peers, they were often considered 'liberal' and 'westernized'. Two of them even allowed the sale and consumption of alcohol within their kingdoms.
In late May, everyone sat on edge while Iran and Iraq performed 'joint' operations along a border they had fought over for the better part of a decade. At sea, both countries used their new ships, with Soviet advisors helping, in complicated exercises that included a mock amphibious landing. Our allies in that area grew extremely nervous when the exercises happened without any incidents. Their demand for an increased US presence was immediately met by a very nervous Reagan administration. Six US ships were permanently assigned to Bahrain's port. They'd be rotated, but there would always be six ships there while the USS LaSalle, a converted amphibious assault ship stayed there as a permanent command and control ship. An airbase was expanded in Saudi Arabia to include four squadrons of fighters with support crews and well-supplied bomb bunkers full of all the ammunition they might need. Kuwait received a light-armored division of troops that would also be rotated through over six-month deployments. The U.A.E. in the southern gulf became the home of two frigates and two minesweepers. In any conflict, Iran would seek to mine the entrance to the gulf and these ships would be the front-line on making sure oil could flow in and out of the region. Oman, on the southern tip of the peninsula and facing the Indian Ocean, was the site of the major re-supplies point for US forces in the region. Their island, Jaziraat al-Masirah had long supported an airstrip and harbor for US forces to re-supply in the northern gulf, and that base was now expanded with Patriot air defense batteries plus a squadron of F-15 fighters and other improvements that were less visible.
As June came around, no fighting had started and with the heat of summer coming up, it was unlikely anything would be started. Instead, something very major was happening for me, something that I'd never, ever done before. It was time for graduation from high school.
In my first life, I'd never graduated from high school, taking the GED instead. The only graduation ceremonies I'd ever been a participant of had been my boot camp graduation and my graduation from the Navy's "A" school. As we prepared for the actual ceremony, and our families and friends arrived, I grew more and more nervous. Brian laughed at my nervousness as we dressed in our suits and covered them with the black robes our school wore for this. He even had to put the flat cap on my head because my hands were shaking so bad.
"I can't believe you." Brian whispered as we sat on the stage and listened to the school's Principal and Headmaster give their speeches. He was quite good at this, speaking without his lips moving and so softly I doubted those next to us could hear. "You help plan the invasion of a country but when it comes to a stupid ceremony, you freak out."
"Shut up." I whispered back and saw him smile out of the corner of
his eyes. Our ceremony was actually taking place after our old high school's
ceremony. That meant Trevor, Brandon, and Sean had all been able to attend,
as well as their families. I was pleasantly surprised to find my Aunt Bev had
come, along with Grandma Jones. My mom's parents were also there, another pleasant
surprise. They'd actually arrived two days ago, having been on a cross-country
drive in their new motor home. Nanny and I had finally patched up most of our
differences, although she didn't even talk to Brian during dinner last night.
I was pretty sure she had decided to just ignore everything to do with that
part of my life. Papa had been a little different, actually seeming to be proud
that I'd been admitted to the Naval Academy.
"Your dad's out there." Brian whispered and I had to focus on the
section where our family was sitting again. Sure enough, Dad was sitting next
Grandma and had a neutral expression on his face. Part of me was happy to see
him there, he was my father after all, and another part was furious. We still
had not spoken since that night at the Rush's several years ago, and I knew
I had not forgiven him yet for his actions in the past.
"…and so it is my great honor to present our keynote speaker, the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan!" The Headmaster finished and I joined the rest of the graduates and most of the audience in standing and applauding. I had actually had nothing to do with him being here, at least directly. The Headmaster had sent the White House an invitation, and since Ron and Nancy had planned to attend as my guests anyway, the President had decided to accept the invitation to speak.
"Thank you Doctor Bryer, members of the Stockdale faculty, parents of the students, their family, and of course our graduates." President Reagan said in that gentle voice of his, a strong flavor of friendliness and humor audible as he spoke. "I'm honored to be here today, addressing the young men who are graduating into the world of adults. I am confident that they are well prepared for their futures, and I'm given to understand that all of them will be heading on to university from here. I have been honored over the past two years to meet several of them through two of my good friends who are also graduating here today.
"As the recent events down in Panama have shown, we face a world of growing tensions, where the United States must take the lead in world matters, where we must show the rest of the world the way to encourage liberty and democracy while hindering tyranny. The young men who today will receive their diplomas are the faces of the future. In the future, they will be the ones to take over the mantle of leadership, to guide our country and the rest of the world down the paths we, their elders have created."
He continued on like that for some time and I lost track of what he was saying as I looked at the young men around Brian and I. Six years ago I had come back in time, an adult in a child's body. For several years, and in some ways until today, I had been able to experience a second childhood. The last remnants of that second childhood were essentially gone now, replaced by not only the responsibilities of an adult, but someone intimately involved in the affairs of government and world politics. It was a sobering thought for me, and I had to reach over and squeeze Brian's hand as the President finished speaking, to a great deal of applause.
Twenty minutes later, I had crossed the platform and taken my diploma from the Headmaster. It was my actual diploma, unlike how most public schools gave a simple piece of paper. After we'd been dismissed from the platform, Brian and I gave each other a hug and kiss before going to meet our family.
Thanks to the Secret Service, it was no real problem getting everyone together. Grandma and Dad had not met the President and Mrs. Reagan yet and it was almost worth everything to see how nervous Dad looked as he shook the President's hand. I knew he was expecting a scathing lecture from the President, but what he got was worse. Ronald Reagan essentially ignored Dad after shaking his hand.
Naturally, we had to say goodbye to our schoolmates before we left. Brian would be seeing Harry again after the summer when they started Harvard. I wouldn't be seeing any of them for some time, since none were going to the Naval Academy. I might see a few of them years down the road, especially since most of their parents were involved in government or the defense industry, or were military officers. However, I'd been so busy over the last year that I'd really gotten to know very few of them. By the time we'd made all the small talk and farewells we had planned, our combined families split into various groups for the drive to a local steak house.
The entire steak house had been reserved for just our party. Brian's grandparents were there, as were several of his aunts and uncles who would be joining us. The President was also joining us, which was largely why the entire restaurant had been reserved just for us. Brian was planning on driving his parents in his car, and I had planned to ride with Aunt Bev as well as my cousin Michele and Uncle Ron, but Dad managed to change that. Almost with deference, he asked if we might go to the restaurant together. For a moment I considered telling him no, but instead turned to my current Secret Service Agent-in-Charge and told him I'd be driving my father to the restaurant in my car. Twenty minutes later I pulled out and took a place in the motorcade three vehicles back from the President's limousine.
"This is a nice car." Dad said quietly as we drove down the streets at a relatively sedate pace.
"Brian bought it for me." I said simply, not sure why I'd agreed to this. It was strangely reminiscent of my first time around, when I'd come out to him while he was driving us to a Black Angus restaurant in Modesto. I'd just come home from the Navy back then, and on Grandma's birthday, we talked about me not liking girls.
"He sure has grown up." Dad stated nervously. It was true. Brian and I were now both six foot-three, and both weighed around two hundred pounds. It was all muscle, as well. While my hair was now a brownish-blond, Brian's was still pale blond, and his eyebrows were as dark as ever.
"We both have." I allowed, following the motorcade as we turned right, running through an intersection of cars waiting for the motorcade to pass.
"I'm sorry." Dad's voice was almost too soft to hear and I had to concentrate to keep from jerking the wheel. "I'm sorry I reacted so badly to things years ago. Sometimes I wonder if your mom and Jenny might still be alive if I'd reacted differently. I love you, Davey, and… well, those other things just don't seem so important any more. I've missed you, missed being a part of your life."
"Do you really mean that or are you just saying that because of what I've accomplished without you?" I demanded harshly, and he winced visibly.
"I won't deny being proud of you." He said softly. "You somehow managed to convince the entire Congress to change the law, letting… people like you serve in the military, and you got in to Annapolis. I can't help but feel some pride in that."
"It wasn't just me that convinced Congress to change their minds." I said softly, not sure what to say now.
"I know, but you were a major force in that." Dad asserted. "I wonder if you realize just how many people don't like you, because of that. You've made a lot of enemies, and they are all older and more experienced than you. You should know, I've talked to several of them over the years. They are… rethinking their strategies, and they are keeping an eye on you and… Brian."
"Just hoping we'll break up or cheat on each other or something else they can use while they re-tool their message to a softer approach." I said with a sigh. He wasn't telling me anything I didn't already know, or at least guess. "Any breakup between Brian and I, or infidelity will be used to show how gay couples can't last. Meanwhile, they start preaching to hate the sin, not the sinner. Then they can soft-sell their approach while not seeming to really hate gay people. It's not something unexpected, Dad."
"It figures you'd already be thinking about stuff like that." Dad said with a wry chuckle. For the first time I took a good look at him. He'd lost a lot of weight, and while his hair was definitely going grey, he looked a lot healthier than I could ever remember him looking.
"One thing I wasn't raised to be was stupid." I said firmly and he returned my look steadily until I turned back to watch where I was driving.
"Well you've done plenty of things you weren't raised to do." Dad said sourly and the wall that had started to go down between us went back up full force.
"Yeah, well, children aren't their parents." I said just as sourly and we finished the drive in silence. Nothing had really changed, except he had reached out a little.
"Look, Davey, I know it's too late to go back to the way things were." Dad said as we sat in the car while everyone else was getting out of their vehicles and heading inside. I could see Brian standing near the restaurant entrance, his gaze fixed on us. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm not going to do anything more to hurt you or Brian, and that I really do wish you both the best of luck. I love you, son, and I'm proud of you."
"I love you too, Dad." I said after a moment of silence, letting out a deep breath and biting back some tears. "I'm sorry I'm not what you expected, but I'm happy with what I'm doing. Thank you for being here."
"Thank you, son." Dad said softly, opening his door and looking back at me before getting out of the car. "I think your man is waiting for us."
What else could I do but follow him into the restaurant and into Brian's welcoming arms.
As with all my stories, E provides immeasurable input, grammar checking, and all those other lovely editing thingies that make the story so much better!
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