Wednesday evening
December 15 – 7:17 p.m. AFT
Bagram Air Base, Kabul, Afghanistan
Alex opened her eyes. She was lying in a hospital bed. The babies were in a large double incubator next to her bed. She sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed to look at them.
“They’re sleeping,” a man said.
Alex had to force her eyes away to see who was talking. Dr. Sumit Roy sat in a chair in the corner of the room. He smiled at her.
“That’s some scar,” Alex gestured to the line she’d once created across his forehead. “Sorry.”
“Actually, I should thank you,” Sumit said. “This scar has allowed me to leave my old life and pursue this one.”
He got up and came to the bed.
“They are quite safe,” Sumit said. “Let me help you.”
He helped her back under the covers. He checked her IV lines before sitting down again.
“You’re out of intelligence?” Alex asked.
“I’m obviously in enough to gain access to the base and this hospital,” Sumit smiled. “But yes. I am out, mostly. When I came home, after our little adventure, Dalal asked me if we could go back to the life we’d had when we were first married. We waited until our second left for college. The younger two were excited for a change of scenery, so we left.”
Alex smiled.
“You knew that,” Sumit said.
“It’s in your file,” Alex said.
“It’s a funny thing,” Sumit said. “As a parent, you do things because you want your kids to have everything you didn’t have, everything they desire, and most of all, a chance to live in a safer world. Of course, all they want is you – your time, your love, your wisdom, if only to ignore it. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined my spoiled-rotten, London-raised children would be happy here, but they love it.”
Alex smiled. She turned her head to see the babies.
“I tell you this as you are a parent now,” Sumit said.
“I am?” Alex asked. “What about Nazo’s family?”
“The Taliban killed the entire village. No survivors. They burned the houses to the ground,” Sumit said. “We didn’t tell Nazo and Felicia, because they were in such bad shape.”
“And Felicia?” Alex asked.
“Heartbroken; angry,” he said. “She will return to America now. They were truly a beautiful family.”
“So brutal, even for the Taliban,” Alex said. “Any idea why?”
“Felicia said they were looking for Americans – CIA spies,” Sumit said.
“How did they know?” Alex asked. “Nazo kept saying that. How did they know?”
“I’m out of that business,” Sumit shook his head. “But I know you’ll figure it out.”
“How do you like being a doctor again?” Alex asked.
“I love it,” Sumit said. “I love being this kind of doctor – no magic pills that are supposed to cure everything, no insurance companies or government service to beg services from, nothing but straight forward, basic medicine. It’s wonderful. Dalal is in heaven. Once in a while, the Medecins Sans Frontières come through to remind me that I don’t want to return to my old life.”
“I know that feeling,” Alex smiled.
“Yes,” Sumit said. “I bet you do.”
“How are Sher and his bride?” Alex asked.
“I don’t think Khudija has taken her eyes off Dalal even for a moment,” Sumit smiled. “And Sher is smart, motivated, and dedicated to his people. They remind me Dalal and I when we were first married. They are just learning about each other, excited to be in the world, and scared to death. I think they’ll be happy, and we’ll enjoy having them.”
“Well, thank you,” Alex said.
“Actually, thank you. We can use the help,” he smiled. “I should let you rest. Before I go, let me tell you about your son and daughter.”
“They are mine?” Alex asked.
“I’ll let your team tell you about that,” he said.
She nodded.
“The only question is about their lungs. They are on oxygen for now,” Sumit said. “The boy is a tiny bit stronger than the girl, but she is gaining fast. They will need to stay under the lights for maybe a month; maybe longer. It depends on how they do. They aren’t able to eat yet, but that’s fairly normal for a premature birth. For what they have been through, they are shockingly healthy.”
He smiled.
“You are also shockingly healthy,” he said.
“I remember passing out,” Alex said.
“The body blow knocked your stitches loose,” he said. “They operated to be sure they didn’t miss anything. You’ve been out since the surgery.”
“I feel nauseous, like I usually do after surgery,” Alex said.
“By all means vomit,” Sumit said. “Don’t let me stop you.”
She smiled, took the nearby bowl, and put it on her lap.
“Don’t let me stop you,” Sumit said. “I’ve seen plenty of vomit in my life, and you’ve seen plenty of mine.”
Alex threw up into the bowl. He took the bowl and dumped it in the bathroom. He returned with a towel.
“I’ll see myself out,” Sumit said.
“Any idea what the ‘joke’s on you’ means?” Alex asked.
“Besides the obvious?” Sumit asked.
Alex nodded.
“A long time ago – gosh, maybe even thirty years ago – there was this conversation that went something like: ‘What if there is nothing else?’ ‘What if there’s no answer to your questions?’ Another way of saying that is: ‘if you believe there’s a system to all of this, then the joke’s on you.’”
“Chaos Theory?” Alex asked.
“Sure,” Sumit said. “Individual particles or beings long for order. This order is created out of chaos. Yet the slightest change will send everything back to chaos. We humans like to believe there is a greater plan or system underlying everything, when in truth, chaos is the basis of everything.”
“There is no deeper meaning or system to life,” Alex said.
“Right,” Sumit said. “Because the foundation of everything is chaos, the smallest change in any condition can result in vast differences in the final outcome.”
“The Butterfly effect – butterfly flaps its wings here, and there’s a Tsunami there,” Alex said.
“Sure, a bad example, I think, but sure,” Sumit nodded. “People talked about it a lot more in the 1980s and 90s, before the radical and religious became so loud.”
“If you believe in God or order . . . ,” she started.
“The joke’s on you,” Sumit said. “Exactly. There were a couple of groups who were big proponents of creating little incidents to destabilize the whole.”
“Terrorists,” Alex said.
“We called them militant groups then,” Sumit said. “But you’re right, terrorism is based in chaos theory. Create a small action in a public place; say, for example, kill five people in a marketplace, and the market will die because people are too afraid to go.”
“With technology, you terrify people who weren’t anywhere near your action,” Alex nodded.
“That’s exactly right.”
“‘The joke’s on you’ is about believing in larger systems,” Alex said.
“The stability of larger systems,” Sumit said. “But I’ll tell you, for all of the ‘there is no God or system, only chaos,’ life is remarkably stable. Change happens slowly, over a long period of time. Even major changes, such as cell phones or the effects of global warming, took hold over the course of twenty or thirty years.”
“So, the whole thing is kind of the joke,” Alex said.
“You’re right. It is circular,” Sumit said. “Believing there is no stable system is in fact the joke.”
“Huh,” Alex said. “Thanks.”
“Truth of the matter is that little butterfly wings make storms, but they don’t change the nature of the weather itself,” Sumit said.
“We can weather storms,” Alex nodded.
“You should ask your dad about this. He’s had a lot of experience dealing with the little gnats who think they can disrupt the larger whole.”
“And he’s weathered a lot of storms,” Alex said.
“That is true,” Sumit said. “You should be resting. You’re the mother of two little ones now. You’ll need your strength. They will take the babies back to the nursery soon.”
“Thanks Sumit,” Alex said.
He turned to leave.
“You would never imagine how many times I’ve been grateful you didn’t kill me in that clearing,” Alex said.
Sumit turned to look at her.
“You would never imagine how many times I’ve been grateful you scratched this line in my forehead. It was enough to get me out of the game,” Sumit smiled. “You saved me in Abu Ghraib and again in that clearing. I owe you my life, and more importantly I owe you for saving everything that matters in my life.”
“The feeling is mutual,” Alex said.
Sumit gave her a little nod and left the room. The door closed, and she counted. One, two, three, four, five. Nothing. She was about to get up when Joseph came in the door.
“Fooled you,” he said.
She smiled.
“What’s the plan?” Alex asked.
“John, Max, and Raz are in the air,” Joseph said. “They’ll be here in twelve hours. They chartered a private jet so that you can take your children home when you’re able to.”
“What’s that look like?” Alex asked.
“Farooq and Nazo filled out the right paperwork,” Joseph said. “They wanted you and John to care for their children in the event that something happened to them. According to their lawyer, they’d planned on letting you know when the children were born. The lawyer is working with the authorities here. We’ll know more tomorrow.”
“Was John mad?” Alex asked. “We’d just decided on a surrogate.”
“I don’t know. Matthew spoke with him,” Joseph said. “I think he was all business. ‘Where do we need to go?’ ‘When do we need to be there?’ ‘Visas?’ I guess Max had already told him something was up.”
“Of course,” Alex said. “Is it safe for Max and Raz to travel?”
“You’d have to kill them to keep them home,” Joseph said. “They’re your family; they need to be here. They will only be here long enough to finalize the adoption, and then you will return home together. Controlled situations, not hopping from refugee camp to refugee camp.”
“Among the great unwashed,” Alex said.
“Exactly,” Joseph nodded.
“Matthew and I have decided to send MJ, Troy, and White Boy to escort Jack to the Federal Medical Center,” Joseph said.
“When will they leave?” Alex asked.
“Tomorrow or the next day,” Joseph said. “Jack is here getting a bunch of medical tests.”
“He had no memory of his life,” Alex said.
“Nothing,” Joseph said. “We’re sure he had another life?”
“Good question,” Alex snorted.
“And the answer?”
“We’re sure as we can be,” Alex said. “Eoin remembers Neev and Jack being together as kids. He said that when they met, Jack fell to his knees and said something simple like, ‘I’ve been looking for you all my life.’”
“They were ten?” Joseph asked.
“Yep,” Alex said. “There are also a lot of photographs, financial docs, five kids, and grandkids. Plus, if you look at his left hand, there’s an indent from a long-worn ring. Of course, it’s always possible that the entire thing is a detailed cover, and they’re good actors. It’s more likely that he had a full life and was programmed to forget the whole thing.”
“They can do that?” Joseph asked.
“Why do you think so few people remember that they were involved in the mind control studies?” Alex shrugged.
“Well, we didn’t remind him of his old life,” Joseph said.
Alex nodded.
“Dusty and Royce have completed your application for foreign adoption,” Joseph said. “Of course, it’s pretty easy since everyone in your household already had a detailed background check. Cian, Fionn, and the Draysons are going to escort Social Services through your house. Your house check should be done and signed off . . . tomorrow, I think.”
“How . . . ?” Alex asked.
“Nancy,” Joseph smiled. “We went through it for our Alex so we know what has to happen.”
“What about a room for the babies and . . . ,” Alex asked. “We thought we had nine months or more.”
“John called your contractor,” Joseph said. “He’s already working on creating a nursery in your bedroom, and one in Max’s for when you’re away and John is working. By the time you and the babies get home, the nurseries will be ready. The rooms are too small for five-year-olds, but they’ll be perfect until then.”
“Wow,” Alex said. “Everything is worked out.
“The team wanted to do this to thank you for everything you’ve done for them,” Joseph said.
Alex’s eyes welled with tears. She nodded.
“We’re excited for you,” Joseph said. “I’m excited for you. Having kids . . . Well, you know it changed my life. I know you’ll just . . .”
He smiled.
“I’m excited for you,” he said.
“I feel . . . ,” Alex touched her heart and looked at the babies. “. . . so much.”
Joseph nodded.
“Nazo?” Alex asked.
“Her funeral is tomorrow,” Joseph said. “We went to her village and found Farooq. They will be buried together.”
“And Felicia?” Alex asked.
“I should let her tell you, but she’d like to come to Denver with you,” Joseph said. “As you know, her family disowned her when she converted to marry Emal. She wants to be a part of the babies’ lives. She’s offered to be their nanny. I told her it was up to you and John.”
“Would be nice to have a nanny who can shoot,” Alex nodded.
“I thought the same thing,” Joseph said.
“How is she?” Alex asked.
“Angry,” Joseph said. “She’s down the hall for the night. I think her anger keeps her from her grief.”
“They tried for years to have kids,” Alex said. “She had a number of miscarriages. They were so excited when she got pregnant after Nazo.”
“Dalal thinks the baby would have made it to full-term,” Joseph said. “The trauma of seeing Emal killed and the walk to Kabul is the most likely cause of his death.”
“Him?” Alex asked.
“He’ll be buried with Emal tomorrow,” Joseph nodded.
“Poor Felicia,” Alex said.
“A spokesman for the Taliban has said they were not involved,” Joseph said.
“Oh?”
“They are saying the village was destroyed over opium,” Joseph said.
“They grew watermelon and tomatoes in that valley for . . . ,” Alex shook her head.
“A century,” Joseph said. “Yes, I know.”
“That day – you know, their wedding – it was such a beautiful day,” Alex said.
“Overlooking the sunflowers,” Joseph smiled. “Yes, it was.”
“That’s right,” Alex said. “Nazo and Emal’s parents grew sunflowers.”
Joseph nodded.
“Do you think they are a part of all of this?” Alex asked.
“Who knows?” Joseph shrugged. “We met them a long time before the bee crisis, before everyone died.”
“They have a gazebo, don’t they?”
“The wedding was held in a gazebo overlooking the sunflower fields,” Joseph said. “Why?”
“I had a dream that Charlie and I talked in a gazebo like that,” Alex said. “Did they burn the house and gazebo, too?”
“Everything,” Joseph said. “The land will revert to the tribe.”
“I guess they can plant opium now,” Alex said.
“That would make it about drugs,” Joseph nodded.
“Hmm,” Alex gave him a skeptical look, and he smiled.
The nurse stuck her head in. She fussed over Alex for a moment and wheeled the babies back to the nursery.
“I’ll stay here with you until everything is resolved,” Joseph said. “With luck, that will be tomorrow. The team will return home on Friday.”
“Thank you,” Alex said. “For everything.”
“I wonder sometimes if you would have been better off taking the assignment in Central America and not with us,” Joseph said.
“Never,” Alex said. “We belonged together.”
He gave her a quick smile and left the room. Alex lay back and slept. A few hours later, the nurse woke her to tell her that the babies were off their respirators. She could hold her babies. Between getting her bandages changed and holding the babies, the hours seemed to spin past. The next time she looked up, John, Max, and Raz were standing in the doorway to her room.
“The nurse said we could feed them,” Alex looked up from the tiny baby boy she was holding. Alex smiled. “She’ll be here in a moment with bottles. Would you like to?”
Alex set the boy in Max’s arms and pressed her forehead to his. When she looked up, John was holding the girl. His head hovered over her face. She saw tears form in his eyes.
“Fáilte a chur roimh mo iníon,” he said to welcome his daughter in Irish Gaelic.
The child opened her eyes and smiled at him. Raz put his arm around Alex and she smiled. She glanced at Max. He was equally fixated on the boy twin.
“They were very nervous,” Raz said in a private tone. “Climbing out of their skins with worry. Of course, I was . . .”
“Pensive?” Alex asked.
He chuckled.
“And now?” Alex asked.
“It was meant to be,” Raz said.
“You must meet her,” John said. “She’s absolutely perfect.”
John held out the girl twin. Raz took the baby from him. Alex watched Raz’s face break into a broad smile. John turned to meet the boy. Max set the child in John’s arms. John welcomed the child as his son. Max put his arm around Alex. They leaned in to each other.
“You did really good,” Max smiled. “Really good.”
Alex smiled. Hearing the door open, she looked up to see Wyatt come in the room. John set the boy in the crook of Wyatt’s left arm.
“Oh wow,” Wyatt said. “He’s . . .”
There wasn’t a dry eye in the room.
F