B.B.U.S.A. (Buying Back the United States of America) (11 page)

She paused for a second and then continued, “I’m really worried, Dad. I’ve never seen Leo act this way. He is paranoid. He is like a cornered lion. I don’t know what he would do if they could not come to an agreement.” Trying hard not to cry, she dabbed at her eyes with the back of her hand. “Dad, I have sensed something went wrong last night. I fear that Leo got hurt. I could feel it. He is supposed to call me here tonight. I don’t even know if he can.” Sarah wiped at tears streaming from her eyes.

Alex reached over and placed his rough hand on her shoulder, trying to sooth his daughter. “Honey, if all of this is true, let’s just call the cops, or the FBI, or whoever might handle this sort of thing.”

“That’s just it, Dad; we have no proof. The whole story sounds like such a whack job. The authorities would think we were just a couple of fruit cakes.” Sarah glanced at the pool again and hoped her sons did not notice her crying. She took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Leo was adamant about not involving anyone till we either worked it out with the B.B.U.S.A. or could crack the password and have proof to take to the authorities. Tim told us the agency was sanctioned by our government and to be very careful who we trusted. Leo planned on recording his conversation with Bob, the agency leader at dinner last night, but of course I have not yet heard from him so I really don’t know the outcome. For all I know it could have been settled and Leo might just show up here tonight with news that it has all been worked out and we have nothing further to worry about. I guess that is the optimist in me, but truly, my senses tell me things went very wrong and Leo is hurt.” She paused, reached up and patted her dad’s hand, glanced at the swimming pool and noticed both boys were standing next to the pool drying off. “I’m sure in a few days everything will be all right.”

Alex removed his hand from Sarah’s shoulder, smiled at her and stood up on somewhat wobbly legs to address his grandsons. “As soon as you guys are dry come in the house and we’ll get you a sandwich, chips and Dr. Pepper.”

“Thanks, Grandpa; that sounds awesome! We’ll be there in a second,” Traykie hollered back.

Sarah and Alex walked inside to prepare the snacks. Sarah again got an uneasy feeling watching her father move on somewhat wobbly legs. Something wasn’t right.

“Where is the flash drive now?” Alex inquired while preparing sandwiches.

“Leo mailed it to his best friend who is a Major in the Army, stationed in Colorado. He has a plush job investigating fraud in the Army. He is very good with computers and used to work in the intelligence department. He hoped that his friend Doug would be able to break the encrypted password.”

Alex laughed. “There’s a new one, an Intelligence Officer investigating fraud using government computers to break your password. That should go over well, don’t you think, honey?”

“Dad, lately I have not had an abundance of time to think things over. It all happened so fast. I’m sure Leo does not intend for his friend to use the government computers to help break the password, just to use his skills and knowledge,” Sarah retorted.

“Well, you know you are most welcome to hang out here as long as you need to.”

“I know Dad, but I am not sure how safe it will be if things really went wrong. I surely don’t want to involve you in this matter.”

Alex smiled. “Remember Sarah, no matter how old you are, your business and safety is my business also. I’m friends with a pretty good investigative reporter at the Austin Daily Herald. Perhaps we should give him a call and start a little media attention.”

“Thanks Dad, but no thanks. Not until we have some proof to take to the media, however that is our exact intention when the time is right.”

Sarah and Alex had just placed the sandwiches on the table as the boys burst in for their snacks. The four of them sat at the table sipping soda, snacking on chips and sandwiches, and catching up on old times. Alex was particularly interested in his grandson’s school, sports activities, Traykie’s modeling and martial arts training, and whether or not either of them had a girlfriend as of yet. Alex joked and teased his grandsons while they devoured anything edible on the table, including the tray of grapes Alex had put out after seeing how quickly the sandwiches disappeared.

The boys received permission from their grandpa to relax in the family room in front of the big screen TV and watch a movie on HBO.

Alex and Sarah cleaned up the kitchen and stacked the few used dishes in the dishwasher. When finished, she turned and faced her father. “Dad, we already purchased tickets to Africa.”

“Africa? What in God’s name did you do that for?” Alex questioned.

“Remember Dad, I told you a few years ago that Leo’s mother returned to Namibia? She took back her half of a business she owned twenty years ago, and then bought out her partner. I told you that Leo had spent many years in Africa when he was growing up. He still speaks Afrikaans, Dutch, and German today.”

“Yes, I vaguely remember something about it, but you really think you will be safer in Africa with elephants, lions, and poisonous snakes than here with me?”

Sarah smiled at her Dad’s concern. It hadn’t always been that easy growing up with him as her father. Alex had always been a perfectionist and had extremely high expectations of his children and wife alike. She was pleased to hear the genuine concern in his voice. “Dad, from what I understand it’s not all that bad in Swakopmund. I’m positive that there are no elephants, lions or poisonous snakes in the town. Swakopmund has about twenty-five thousand people and has all the modern conveniences you would expect in a city of comparable size here in the U.S.”

“Okay, but what about the political situation? You know that country has been in a political uproar from the time they changed from apartheid to democracy and elected Mandela. The value of the South African rand just continues to plummet. People of all races are nearly up in arms due to the corruption, and the state of the roads and infrastructure. Many big foreign firms have pulled out of the country. AIDS is currently rampant and devastating the country. I recently read that the life expectancy in neighboring Botswana was 33 years of age. I really hate for you to go there right now. The country is going wild over the upcoming FIFA World Cup Soccer Championship held in Johannesburg. Security is on heightened alert. Rioting is taking place in outlining areas claiming that all the tax money is just being spent on the upcoming World Cup, and everything else is being ignored. I’ll truly fear for your safety if you are adamant about going there.”

Alex surfaced for air, but just as Sarah thought she might get a word in edge wise he started up again. “You know how it works in those third world countries. First it starts with rebellion and peaceful marches, and then it escalates into rioting, and looting, and then they get organized into a revolution or civil war, followed by chaos, unspeakable atrocities, and finally tyranny.”

“Whoa there, Dad; you are getting a little far out now. We are going to peaceful Namibia, not Soweto. Leo said that most of the riots were in the poorer neighborhoods and old townships, not in well-populated big cities. He also said security in Southern Africa is vamped up way above what we have here, and if anything starts it is quickly squelched. We really should not have any problems. Namibia is a separate country. It is no longer an apartheid government and they are not experiencing any unrest at this time.

As a matter of fact, Joyce’s last letter stated that Namibia’s economy was thriving and had been for many years. She said that even Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie felt Swakopmund was so safe that Angelina gave birth to her first child in The Cottage Hospital in Swakopmund, and named their daughter Shiloh, meaning ‘The Peaceful One,’ after the calm, peaceful, relaxing environment.”

Alex was staring at his daughter in near disbelief. When had she become so knowledgeable? He thought he was the only one that read and retained interesting obscure bits of information about far away people and places. He had to admit that his daughter had lodged a sensible and articulate rebuttal. He smiled at her and then attempted a little humor. “Great. My daughter and my two grandsons are moving to Namibia, to go live in a grass hut with dirt floors in the middle of the bushveld to avoid the B.B.U.S.A.”

“No,” Sarah lamented, and then realized she had already convinced her father and he was just teasing her now. “Dad, Joyce said that Namibia had actually strengthened their economy by increasing imports and exports, while neighboring South Africa struggled with unrest. And no, we won’t need to stay in a grass hut. Joyce owns a small hotel and restaurant. She said there is plenty of room, as she has nine individual rooms and six apartments, as well as the restaurant which has a day room, and two large night time dining rooms. I have seen pictures of JJ’s and it is pretty nice. The style of the buildings in the pictures Joyce sent us were that of gorgeous authentic turn of the century German architecture. In a way I’m kind of looking forward to seeing it first hand, and I’m sure Chris and Traykie will have a blast exploring JJ’s and the surrounding city. Leo has told me so much about Swakopmund; I’ll finally be able to fully relate to what he says about his upbringing. Don’t you worry, Dad, we will be fine.”

“Oh I know Honey. I’m pulling your leg a bit. It just bothers me knowing that soon we may be an ocean apart, with you on a different continent of which I obviously don’t know enough about yet.”

“Relax Dad. Perhaps Leo will call tonight and have worked everything out, and there will be no need to leave.” Sarah wished desperately that her expressed statement could be true. The fear of not knowing how her husband was and anxiously awaiting his call was literally causing her stomach to burn. She exhaled, trying to calm herself, knowing it would still be several hours before she could even expect to hear from him. She turned to her father. “Well, Dad, what do you say we go for a swim? I need to work on my tan anyway.”

Alex agreed and they both went to their separate rooms to retrieve their swimsuits. Sarah needed a distraction in order to get her father to confide in her what was physically going on with him. She sensed it was serious.

Leo felt an overwhelming need to get out of the city. He knew that his false leads would not go undiscovered forever. He had learned early in life not to underestimate an opponent. As a slightly overweight boy of twelve, his mother, who had just divorced his father and had custody of him, thought that it would be a good idea to enroll him in a martial arts class. Leo had been excited about enrolling at the local dojo that was teaching Tension Khan Karate. It was during the first week of training that he learned to respect any opponent.

He had come home four out of five nights with a taste of blood in his mouth, all inflicted by his sparring partner, a mere girl of twelve who had only been taking lessons for four months. She had been the only child close to his age for a sparring partner, and had recently achieved her yellow belt. She was assigned to teach him the basic eight man kata defense techniques while the Sensei worked primarily with the more advanced students. He supposed that she was the one to thank for the lesson of not judging a book by its cover.

He respected the little girl who used to beat him time and time again. She had attained her orange belt by the time he achieved his yellow belt. He had trimmed down, gained experience, and practiced hard in his spare time, learning to do a variety of katas with expertise. The day they both achieved their green belts, he had been proud of the little girl who had blossomed into a fine young woman. Leo respected his Sensei, as he did not just award belt levels every few months to satisfy parents, like some of the American dojos; he waited till one grew both in skill and maturity. It took Leo well over two years to achieve his green belt. He absently wondered what became of his original sparring partner and hoped life had been kind to her.

She had been replaced when Leo returned to the states by a young man named Doug. He’d sparred with Leo at the YMCA in high school and again in college while taking Judo. He did remarkably well considering he was always trying to fight back epileptic seizures. In school, at times, he appeared partially drugged. His movements and speech patterns were sometimes sluggish and deliberate due to the heavy doses of daily medications required to prevent him from having seizures.

He trained right alongside Leo. They both did a year of wrestling in high school, but switched to running and martial arts. Doug far surpassed Leo’s abilities in wrestling while Leo excelled in running. Doug only once placed in the top three positions of a running race in the Treasure Valley, but what he lacked in speed he made up for in feats of strength and endurance despite his presumed handicap. Doug definitely had determination and grit. It was no wonder that he did so well in the United States Army. It had taken four years of persistent doctor’s evaluations and statements to convince the military to accept the fact that he no longer suffered from seizures as an adult and no longer required any medication.

During the four-year struggle to get into the Army, Doug graduated from Boise State University with a degree in Computer Science. Leo recalled the celebration the two of them had the night of their joint graduation ceremonies. His college degree allowed Doug to join the Army as an officer. Lieutenant Corrigan served in Desert Storm/Desert Shield, and when he returned to Iraq in Operation Desert Thunder he was Captain Corrigan. At the completion of his fifth and final tour during Operation Iraqi Freedom and his reassignment to Colorado, he became Major Corrigan. Leo was extremely proud of his best friend and his military accomplishments.