The War of the Americas - Chapter VI

Dom opened his eyes and for a moment he thought he was in his own bed. He rolled over expecting to see his wife Sylvia lying next to him. Instead he saw a man in dress uniform looking down at him. Suddenly his memories rushed back and he recalled the dizzying events of the the past day. The US bombing of Mexico, the arrest order for all US citizens living in Mexico, Sylvia's calling her new employers for help, the arrival of the SEAL team, the death of his two beloved dogs, his wife's decision to stay behind, and his own decision to lie to the SEALs and say she had been killed. He winced as he recalled the gruesome death of the young Mexican soldier only inches from his own face. His mind replayed the moment when his head broke into pieces from the impact of a SEAL sniper round. He put his hand to his own face expecting the blood and bone chips to still be there, but they had all been wiped away and he was clean, though he desperately needed a shave. It had been a long while since he had any time to even think about grooming. His long, wavy black hair must look like a bees nest he thought before chastising himself for worrying about his appearance at a time like this. The last thing he remembered was the sands of the beach exploding all around as he and the SEAL team boarded the small RIB and raced north as quickly as they were able. He managed to prop himself up onto one elbow just as the man standing next to his bed spoke "Dr. Platt, How are you feeling? My name is Lieutenant Tim Stephens, medical officer aboard the USS Jack H. Lucas, but everyone calls her the Luke or Cool Hand Luke for short. On behalf of the Navy I would like to officially welcome you aboard and express my sincerest sympathies at the death of your wife. We are now officially at war with Mexico and sadly she will not be the last American to die I'm afraid." He paused there. Dom had heard the genuine sadness in the young Lieutenants voice, and it was reflected in his dark brown eyes. He was grateful for the expression of sympathy, even if it was misplaced. His wife was not dead. His dogs however, were, and his emotional reaction to that terrible news once again played to his advantage as tears came to his eyes almost immediately as he thought of them. Lieutenant Stephens of course thought they were for his wife and continued to stand silently over him waiting patiently for Dom to get his emotions under control some until saying anything more. Before he could speak again there was a banging at the door of the small medical room where Dom had been brought to rest and recover. It swung open and two men in suits and wearing dark sunglasses strode into the room. One of them spoke "Lieutenant Stephens you are dismissed, we need to speak with Dr. Platt, now." It was strange to see two men who appeared to be civilians summarily dismiss a Navy officer and Dom fully expected some protest from the Lieutenant, but instead he simply nodded his head and quickly moved out of the room, shutting the door behind him as he went.

The two men approached and the one who had dismissed Lieutenant Stephens spoke to him now as the other stood silently by his side. "We know your wife is not dead Dr. Platt, but what we do not know, is why she is not with you. Please enlighten us." They had not bothered to introduce themselves, or say anything about who they represented, but Dom had guessed they were company men based on their appearance and after seeing the reaction of Lieutenant Stephens. Dom briefly considered making things difficult, he did not care for the tone the men had taken with the young Navy officer whom he had instantly taken a liking to or their cocky attitudes, but he quickly decided against that approach. In his experience, CIA agents typically reacted very badly to non cooperative subjects, and they were an enemy he did not need to make, especially with his wife now an employee. He chose a direct approach instead and replied "She insisted on staying behind. She said she thought she could help other Americans who were being arrested. That she could be much more helpful to the war effort from behind enemy lines than safe with me in the States." He stopped there. The other agent who had remained silent until then spoke up saying "She is likely correct in her assessment, and her intentions were good, but she may have a difficult time explaining to the Mexicans why exactly a US Navy SEAL team was at her house when they attempted to arrest you both. No doubt they will suspect she must be at the very least a high level US government employee to warrant that significant a rescue effort." Dom shared those fears, but he knew his wife was clever to say the least, and he was sure she had considered that problem when she made her decision to stay behind. If she did not believe she could talk her way out of it somehow she surely would have left with him when she had the chance. "I am sure she had a plan for that. She never acts without one, or usually one plus several backups just in case. If you know her at all, you have to know that." The two CIA agents stood silently for a moment, staring down at him. Those damn sunglasses made it impossible to know what they were thinking. That was sort of the point Dom thought to himself. "We do know her Dr. Platt. As well as anyone but you perhaps. And you are no doubt correct that she has a plan, or likely many plans, however, in times of war even the best laid plans have a way of falling apart." Dom nodded though he had confidence that his wife would find a way. He decided to change the subject and asked "How did you know she was not dead?" He guessed they had implanted her with some sort of biometric chip but was not aware that such technology existed outside of the movies. "The CIA knows many things, and most of them we cannot and do not tell to anyone. This is one of those things Dr. Platt. Suffice to say we do know she survived the day yesterday, and is still alive and well. We also know exactly where she is and have guessed at where she is being taken. We have satellites tracking her and the convoy of US prisoners she is with." Dom picked that moment to try and get a little payback for their dismissive treatment of Lieutenant Stephens and asked in a tone exactly like the one the agents had initially taken with him when they first entered the room, "Care to enlighten me?" The agent who had done most of the talking replied with zero emotion. "No. Dr Platt, we do not."