Templar Dawn

Henry Hamilton stopped at the gates and put the transmission in neutral and kept his foot on the brake. The incline was slight but the Explorer would roll backward if he didn't stay on the brake.

Putting the fence where the hill starts down makes sense. Giving me a look over before they open it.

The gate opened and he eased forward far enough for it to close behind him. Three men were approaching from the left and in his peripheral vision he spotted another group on the right. He lowered the window as they arrived. Make that a woman and two men.

"Welcome to Saint Michael's," the woman said. "If you'll take me aboard I'll direct you to your destination."

Henry pushed the unlock button and heard the locks click open. She opened the front passenger door and got in.

Trusting. Or there's more than that many guns on me. And I'm all alone."

That bothered him just a little. He'd gone into the lair of the enemy alone but then he knew it was all enemies around him. Among friends there could be traitors. But he trusted Gordon Williams as much as any man and they would know where he was. As long as at least one of the tracking devices remained active.

"Sarah Hensley," she said. "Straight ahead and take the third right."

The pavement began at the gate and all looked fairly new. Since he had first heard of St. Michaels about a year ago it was probably something new. He stole a glance at his guide.

Thirties maybe. Hard to say these days but probably early thirties. Height a couple of inches above average for a woman. Willowy figure. Like those.

The third right wasn't far away and led into a square about two hundred yards on a side. Center empty and most of the buildings on one side. A very large building dominated that side, four floors at least. Several smaller ones on either side. A few vehicles parked along the street.

"Park in front of the big doors," Sarah said.

There was enough room for him to leave a couple of spaces between his vehicle and the nearest one. One of several dark crew cab pickups. No markings but seemingly part of a fleet. For most cars were a mix of what people could find and keep running. Some factories were running but production was nothing like it was before the wars. Not that it had recovered much in between. The Freeholds had reconditioning facilities that turned out fleets of older cars all of the same year and model and provided stocks of spare parts. The Explorer was one of those - they had a dozen or so of them in the motor pool.

Henry killed the engine and opened the dooor as Sarah got out on her side. In the fading light he could see that she was wearing dark BDUs with a light jacket. Dark beret with some kind of insignia, pistol in a crossdraw holster. He wondered if she was concerned in how he might be armed.

Probably not. Got me checked out six ways from Sunday and it isn't like I don't have something of a reputation already. And it's me all alone and no threat.

The entrance to the big building was just thirty yards away and neither spoke as they walked. Four guards manned the doors and two of them opened them. Four more on the inide. Plain BDUs and combat boots.

He accompanied Sarah to a pair of elevators and she punched the fourth floor button and turned to smile at him. It was one of those smiles, one you can kind of figure maybe or maybe not. Confident but friendly and welcoming.

"Conrad wanted to see you as soon as you arrived," she said. "Until you meet him you don't need me or anyone else influencing you."

The doors opened and they entered. When the elevator stopped they exited into a wide corridor with a stone floor and walls painted in medium neutral colors. No gray walls or floors or furnishings here as one might find in a military installation. And the Templars were a military organization, no matter what else they might be.

But Templars aren't women. Or weren't.

The corridor terminated at a pair of doors, dark wood and new looking, as if in an office building. Sarah stood to one side.

"Go in," she said. "I'll see you later."

Henry pushed the doors open and entered. The room was big and well lighted. Most of the opposite wall was windows. The man at the desk was rising to greet him. He didn't extend a hand and Henry didn't expect it - the practice had largely fallen out of favor in most places he had been in for the past few years.

"Welcome to Warington Keep," the man said. "You know my name but very little about me - I know somewhat more about you but not much. The briefing you received yesterday didn't tell you much more."

Henry nodded. The photos he had seen showed a man of middle age and just over average height but photos hadn't prepared him. Conrad Lawrence moved with the easy grace of a martial artist and had a suggestion of a brooding look. He was dressed in a dark olive uniform with minimal insignia and decorations. A shield over the right breast pocket and two rows of ribbons over the left pocket. Henry had never known much about military decorations even when he had worn them except that they were an annoying part of a dress uniform. Perhaps the Templars didn't much much stock in them either.

"Your... emissary told me only that a Templar lord wished to see me," Henry replied. "Colonel Williams had me meet him in his office and said that I should go. How much he knows I have no idea."

"Gordon and I are acquainted," Conrad said, "from some years back. We talk regularly and when a certain subject came up he said I might want to see you. I'm aware of you by reputation only but it is an impressive reputation."

"I get around some," said Henry. "What was the certain subject?"

"Operation Lightning Seraphim."

"That's old news," Henry said. "Unless I missed something."

"Lightning Seraphim was the beginning of it," said Conrad. "Knocking out the keystone one might say."

"Yeah, it was kind of the beginning of the end. I became involved in some other things."

"You're aware of the developments, where the situation stands and how it arrived there?"

"Pretty much."

"In that case I'll start in the present," Conrad said. "The situation is stable all over. A few dozen small cells remain active - we suspect at least half of being operated by foreign players - but it's essentially a done deal. The new constitution was ratified - almost perfunctorily - and aside from the aforementioned malcontents it's pretty much over. The one variable - one that the government doesn't seem to be thinking about just now - is the Templars."

"Where do they fit in?" asked Henry.

"How much do you know?" Conrad asked.

"The official history, some of the apocryphal stuff. Rumor is that most of that is... not relevant."

"In the historical context," Conrad said, "the history has some relevance. It will help you understand how the present situation came to be. Not many know that we exist. I'll fill you in as we go along."

"I didn't know there were Templar women," Henry said.

"The most Templar thing about us is the name," said Conrad. "You don't believe the orginal Templars were celibate, do you?"

"About as much as I believe priests today are celibate."

"I imagine that many of the old ones were true believers," Conrad said. "But men are men. I said the name was about the only link to the original Templars but there is another, more important one. I'll get to it in a bit. Let me show you something."

He turned to his desk and picked up a remote control, pressed a couple of buttons. A large screen on a wall came to life. A video appeared, showing a line of posts about ten feet apart. It reminded Henry of an execution site.

I've seen this before, or something like it."

A bus and several trucks arrived and passengers began disembarking from the bus. Some walked willingly, a couple were forced by guards holding their arms. One fell on the ground and refused to move and was dragged. Eventually all were tied to the posts and targets affixed to their chests. The camera panned back to reveal a row of platforms. Each had a device that Henry knew held two machine guns, securely fastened to allow them to fire repeatedly without moving off target.

With the subjects secured to the posts the personnel moved away and stood near the vehicles. Several conferred briefly before one spoke on a phone. Seconds later each of the twenty guns fired five rounds. The subjects sagged as much as their bonds allowed.

Not the same one I saw but done the same way. Wonder how many people got it that way.

"We believe that there were something over two thousand executions," said Conrad.

He read minds?

"Something over twenty thousand people have been sentenced to prison, some for life and many for long terms. It seems the trials are over and any future ones will be for fugitives who are captured.

"How widely is that known?" asked Henry.

"It's known by enough people that it will soon be common knowledge," Conrad replied. He clicked the remote again.

The new video showed a young woman in her late twenties or early thirties. She was wearing a prison jumpsuit and had no makeup but Henry could see that she was naturally attractive. She looked familiar.

Something on TV. One of those news channels. What they called them anyway.

"This is the one that wouldn't walk," Conrad said. "Roxanne Harris, hosted a show on a couple of cable channels before going to AAMTV. Unofficially a state channel. She was on the air until the end. When DC was taken they scooped up everyone that had stayed. She had a house in Chappaqua worth a couple million, a place in Connecticut, salary of three million or so a year at her last gig."

"Prison must have been quite a shock," said Henry.

"Probably. Some of them were smart enough to sell out right away, turn state's evidence, try to mitigate their punishment. She wasn't very bright - IQ 106 - but had decent looks and the ability to recite a script. They weren't looking for much more. Perhaps she had started to believe what she was reading, or maybe she thought there was a way out, who knows. Her fate was sealed in any case."

"The death penalty for propaganda?"

"The Nuremberg Tribunal sent Streicher to the gallows," Conrad said, "and if they had caught Goebbels would have hanged him too. The Brits executed a guy for doing radio broadcasts that annoyed them. Not that the trials and executions had the desired deterrent effect - Stalin and Mao did worse than the Nazis ever thought about as far as volume is concerned. Little monsters like Pol Pot weren't deterred. But a lot of innocent people died - not just in the wars but the times before and between. Extrajudicial mass killings sanctioned by the government but the news media lied about them and covered them up as best they could. They incited violence against dissenters. They were responsible for a lot of death."

"I don't disagree."

"You can watch some of the trials if you like," said Conrad. "The Harris trial is in there. She never seemed to accept the reality even when the sentence was pronounced. Wept profusely and just went limp and stayed that way. There were a couple of perfunctory reviews and then it was off to await execution. The most fight she had was at the end that that may have been panic and despair. Did I mention that most of the political offenders were women? By a slight margin. Most of those executed were men because so many were military and law enforcement but again just slightly more."

We don't want to kill women for any reason. No matter how much they deserve it. But some judges had the balls to do it. I don't know if I would have.

"I can see that. The news media was dominated by women and on the political side was heavy with them."

"In some ways," Conrad said, "women are worse than men in those situations. Given power with no accountability. And because at least in the media side looks were important there were a lot of attractive women. And when you put one in the dock and bring the charges and you know that most will die or spend a long time in prison some people hesitate."

"Good looking women are a dime a dozen," said Henry. "And I've found few where the character matched the looks."

"Same here. And when you do find one you do your best to keep her around. But some of the most evil people I've ever met were beautiful women. And some could fake the personality pretty well."

"Yeah, for a while."

"The mask will crack eventually," Conrad agreed. "Marlene Knox?"

"She fooled a lot of us," Henry replied. "She was slick and had a lot of practice."

And was a seriously good-looking woman.

"You didn't hesitate to shoot her."

"Not that I had time to consider anything other than that she had shot one of my best friends but she was a nasty snake from way back and had been responsible for a lot more deaths."

"A snap shot at thirty feet or so through the spine. Impressive. If she had lived to be tried would you have wanted her executed?"

A mischievous grin had accompanied the remark. Maybe Templars weren't completely humorless.

"Probably."

"Would you have pulled the trigger, pushed the button, whatever in a judicial execution?"

Where is he going with this? Would he do it?

"I don't know."

"Gordon said you were brutally honest," said Conrad. "Please pardon my manners - would you like a drink?"

"Don't mind if I do."

"Do you know what time it is?"

"Elevenish I suppose," Henry replied without bothering to look as his watch.

"I suppose eleven-sixteeen qualifies," Conrad said. "Let's take a break. This way."

There was a door at each end of the room and he followed Conrad to one.

The small room had a table and eight chairs, suitable for a small meetings. A couple of computers and four screens mounted on the walls. And a wet bar at one end.

I could get on with the Templars if they don't do any of the weird stuff.

Conrad took a bottle of black label Evan Williams and poured three fingers into each of two glasses and followed it with four of Coke, then spooned in four ice cubes. He set the glasses on the table.

Exactly they way I do it. There's Turkey and Beam and other high-dollar stuff in there. Somebody is seriously interested in me. Not that quite a few people aren't but these are supposed to be friendlies.

"We try to be as accommodating as possible," Conrad said. "I'm sure your people have a dossier on me as comprehensive as the one we have on you. Whether or not Gordon saw fit to advise you I don't know."

"He didn't, but this was pretty short notice."

"Indeed. There is some urgency. To continue our discussion of the tribunals - what do you think? We left at the matter of carrying out executions. Killing an enemy combatant is easy enough - easier to do that not - and you have more experience than I. But that same enemy, your Marlene Knox, responsible for many deaths. If you had her a prisoner you might turn over to the proper authorities knowing she might be put death but would you want to carry out the sentence with our own hand?"

"As I said, I don't know. I understand the necessity but wouldn't want to be the executioner."

"Neither would I. So we turn it over to the authorities. Even then it's not pleasant for anyone. The execution machines were devised to remove as much as possible... guilt on the part of those who had every right to do it. The closest anyone came to causing the deaths of the condemned were those who tied them to the posts. When that was done a signal was sent by three personnel simultaneously turning keys. Seconds later the guns fired and the deed was done.

"It seems that no matter how thoroughly justified those with the most justification, indeed obligation, to carry out the sentence... it is difficult to do."

"Yeah. It may be their job is harder than ours. Killing in self-defense - or defense of others - is easy enough. I wonder how many of the judges at Nuremberg had seen combat."

"Few or none," Conrad replied. "Some had military experience but were military lawyers. But they believed that executing some of the worst offenders was necessary if only for deterrence. The Republic tribunals were rather mechanical - courts set up specifically to process the accused. Strict rules and procedures, little wiggle room. Even the sentencing judges had little - here and there whether to give death or life in prison but little else. And all agreed that the death sentences were necessary. As were the life sentences - twenty, thirty, forty years from now there will be people in prison for their crimes under the old regime. Perhaps it will help to maintain order."

"Maybe. I suspect the new constitution will be a bigger factor."

"Probably," Conrad said. "It does have some safeguards that will be harder to corrupt. But eternal vigilance will be necessary and we saw how that failed. That is where the Templars come in."

"In what way?"

"We believe the domestic situation to be sorted out pretty well before long," said Conrad. "Between the demographic situation being adjusted and the reforms there - the elimination of the welfare state mainly - it looks good. Riots, starvation and disease decimated the larger cesspools of the parasite class and most of the smaller ones as well. The prohibition against forcing a citizen to pay for the subsistence of another has had a positive effect. The truly poor and helpless were cared for mostly by charities but if that failed government assistance was available but freeloaders soon found that paying their own way was more pleasant. The smaller minority population was less useful for politicians anyway.

"The Muslims are no longer a threat?" Henry asked.

"None I suspect," Conrad replied. "Their enclaves were hit as hard as most others and they had never grown here they way they had in Europe. Of those that remain the new government knows who and where they are. With no central direction - the Islamic power centers are in pretty bad shape - and no incoming those that are here will be absorbed. The old generations may not but the younger ones will - we've seen how quickly Muslims go wild when not under the supervision of their masters."

"I hope you're right."

"The Templar plan is to - as much as possible - thwart attempts to subvert the new Republic. Are you familiar with the Weapons Makers? Some science fiction books from back in the 1940s?"

"Can't say I am."

"The premise - not an uncommon one in speculative fiction - is of an element in a society that is more powerful than any government but chooses not to interfere in it's normal course unless absolutely necessary."

"A nice position to be in," Henry said.

"The U.S.A. of the early part of the century, up through 2025 or so, actually had something like that but it wasn't quite mature. It did - by about ten years ago - coalesce into something like that and elected to use that power."

"The League."

"Correct. The League of Freeholds had grown from a loose group of prepper outfits in the 1990s into a formidable force by 2020 or so. It had the ability to topple the existing regime by then, if its resources were properly focused. The problem was what to replace it with."

"The problem from whose point of view?"

"Revolutionaries rarely think ahead that far," Conrad said. "What would have happened if we hadn't.... become involved is anyone's guess. But we did."

"The League took down the regime and you were in on it?"

"Pretty much. They had help - a lot of unassociated organizations waiting for a chance to strike took the opportunity. The League used them for a lot of operations - taking down infrastructure especially and a few assassinations. The League provided equipment and logistical support and intelligence and aimed them at the targets. When the president and cabinet fled to the presidential retreat at Carver's Point it was General Anthony - chairman of the Joint Chiefs - who engineered the coup. He had enough contacts in command positions to make it happen - the commander of the Sixth Infantry was one. Anthony suggested to the president that he ask for a brigade or so to seal off the point and the Sixth was tasked. They were bottled up there - believing that they were protected but actually prisoners - while a small force was landed on the point. Security neutralized the president was informed of his predicament and given the choice of ending the war of favorable terms or having the destruction continue. He got the picture and cooperated."

"The old vegetable got off easy," said Henry. "He was a puppet of evil for seventy years and ended up looking like a hero to some people because he did something he had no choice in."

"The price we pay sometimes," Conrad said. "He deserved to be shot as much as any of them and more than most."

"Seems his mind went right afterwards," Henry said.

"Yeah, fortunately he lasted long enough for our purposes and didn't live to enjoy it."

"You and the League were working together. How deep were you in?"

"We contacted the large ones, the ones with seats on the Council. We provided air support - transporting personnel and suplies and equipment - and intelligence. They might have pulled it off without us but it would likely have taken longer. We have a formal relationship with them now - our North American Council meets regularly with the League Council to keep us on the same page."

"North American Council?"

"North America, as in the U.S.A.," Conrad replied, "is our main interest but Atlantis has other interests."

"Atlantis?"

"You're not aware of the relationship?"

"I barely know what Atlantis is," said Henry. "Assuming you're referring to the big island that showed up in the middle of all this."

"A very big island," Conrad said. "The mainland is the size of Australia and the islands add considerably to its size."

"Appearing as it did, when it did," Henry said, "I haven't had much time to look in to it. There were these wars..."

"Understandable," said Conrad. "The Templars are part of Atlantis from the beginning. When there's time you can learn how they uncovered the history of Atlantis - this was the original Templars - and calculated the time and place where it would rise again. Quite accurately by the way. The Templars are the main way Atlantis interacts with the rest of the world and when the American Civil Wars began they took an interest early."

"Got it. And you continue to have an interest."

"The U.S.A. continues to be the most important nation on the planet," Conrad said. "Even in its present state - without it the rest of the world is in chaos. For now inertia prevails in most places but that can't continue. Having the U.S.A. back in a coherent state - ideally without some of its former problems - should help calm things."

"A coherent state being somewhere it's hopefully headed to now?"

"Hopefully. For better or worse - and often worse - the U.S.A. has affected events pretty much everywhere. Even its adversaries - Russia and China and the smaller aggressors - had to take it into consideration. If they remained on the sidelines for much longer things could get ugly in some parts of the world."

"They're pretty ugly in this part of the world," Henry observerd.

"Indeed. We hope that will be changing soon. If so - actually whatever happens - Atlantis will be acting through the Templars to guide events here."

"Where do I fit in?"

"Remember the Weapons Makers?"

"I remember you mentioning them."

"As I said the idea was to have a force inside the country - in this case the new republic - capable of exerting force when and where necessary and in - ideally - the right manner and place and time. There were many times during the past two centuries when things went off course and there was no correction. Destructive - and unconsitutional - Supreme Court rulings that stood for decades eating away at the underpinnings. Administrations that massively expanded the welfare state and there was never any significant rollback. We were close to the point at which the Republic couldn't function any longer."

"We were there," Henry said.

"A case could be made," said Conrad. "I agree but whatever the case we have a chance. Do you want to be part of the alternative?"

Something they already know about me. Gordon too. Of course I do."

"Do you need to ask?"

Conrad took a sip of his drink. Henry did the same, realizing that their drinks had been sitting there untouched.

"Smoke?" Conrad asked, offering a cigar case.

"Don't mind if I do."

They lit the cigarillos and sipped their drinks for a few minutes.

"I expected you to be interested," Conrad said after a while. "Even not having the entire picture. You seem to be at least somewhat attracted to the Turannistic philosophy. It's one of several layers of the foundation of the Templars."

"Could you Give me the Cliff's notes."

"Sure," Conrad said with a smile. "I'm a man of two worlds - maybe more than two - but like you I'm an American by birth and understand that world. The Turannistic view of the world is not that uncommon - ninety percent of the population is in one way or another unqualified to run a society beyond the most basic level - a village or a small confederacy of villages at best. Neolithic or somewhere in there. Technology - the inevitable result of civilization - requires a more complex arrangement."

"Yeah. We found out the hard way."

"As do most," Conrad replied. "The founding fathers of the U.S.A. did about as well as could be expected. Better actually. Those were some intellectual giants. But perfection is hard to find, if in fact it exists."

"It doesn't," Henry said. "Anyone knows that."

"True. Obviously true. But how do you prevent the inevitable breakdown?"

"The other force?"

"Indeed. But go back to the executions. If before those people could do their evil deeds someone stopped them...."

"Prior restraint?"

"Something like that," Conrad replied. "Identifying and neutralizing threats before they become serious. Difficult to do in the free and open society that exists here. To be effective would require violation of the principles of that society to at least some degree. But not doing it eventually exacts a higher price."

"Agreed. That's the way it looked from where I was sitting. You have any ideas?"

Conrad sipped his drink and took a pull on his cigar before replying.

"Playing God is what some people call it," he said. "That's a pretty serious thing to be doing. And always wondering whether to act or wait until the situation worsens."

"What does Atlantis think? That's the important thing, isn't it?"

"Probably. We... the ones in Atlantis who decide these things.... believe that we must intervene when necessary. But there will almost certainly be conflicts there."

"No doubt. I'll leave it there for now. You were prepared to stay a while?"

"Couple of days."

"We have quarters prepared for you. There's a computer and all you need if you want to work, do some research. I'll have Sarah show you around. She'll be joining us for lunch and it's about time."

Lunch was a simple affair but high quality. Salad and baked beans with french fries with a pile of pork chops and fresh rolls. A pair of teenagers - a boy and girl about fifteen - rolled in a cart with drinks and dessert. They looked enough alike to be siblings.

"I told Henry you'd give him a tour," Conrad said. "His luggage should be in his quarters."

Sarah was still in the outfit she had been wearing when arrived, minus the jacket. She tossed her beret on a side table and he didn't get a chance to see what the badge was. She had a shield over her right shirt pocket as well. A Mike Charlie shield - something the League of Freeholds used.

"It is," Sarah replied. "The appropriate refreshments are present as well."

Bottle of whiskey and cigars?

"You seem to have good food suppliers," Henry said, taking a bite of a pork chop. "Free-range?"

"Of course," Conrad replied. "Probably the same place you get yours. The Cripple Creek folks seem to supply a lot of places around here."

"Thought it might be," said Henry. "They're pretty big. Big fish farm too."

"Their catfish are pretty popular here," Conrad said. "We have quite a few here who aren't from the south."

"Most of you from other parts?"

"Most," replied Conrad. "A few from Atlantis and some from other parts of the country. A few southerners though."

The meal complete they returned to Conrad's office briefly before he left with Sarah. There wasn't much to see - the place was about a dozen acres on a flattened hilltop.

"We have a force of forty regulars here," Sarah said, indicating a row of buildings. "Each man has a small apartment. They mainly provide security but are available for other missions. We have about two dozen other people - the ones you met at lunch are two of them - that provide various services. Versatility is important."

"They looked related," Henry said.

"Mark and Marie Taylor," Sarah replied. "Twins, their father is an aide to Conrad. The motor pool is over there. We have a half dozen or so mechanics that keep things going. Your quarters are this way."

He followed her to one of several small buildings behind the big one where he had met Conrad. A small common room with a doorway on either side, like a hotel suite. Sarah opened one of the doors.

"Your luggage," she said. "The computers have the passwords saved - they're firewalled off from the outside. Your gateway is the data center here. And refreshments."

Sure enough, Evan Williams small batch and some Coke. Ice in the fridge.

"If you need anything just call," Sarah said. "I may drop by later."

OK.

She did. He had logged in to one of the computers and inserted a USB stick with credentials to his private network. Nothing new on the news and he looked around at the local net. Knock on the door.

Sarah. Wearing a robe and it looked like there wasn't much if anything underneath.

"We're sharing a bath," she said. "Want to take a shower?"

Somehow I don't think she lives here. I smell a setup. I think I like it.

---

His phone vibrated and chimed and picked it up. 0723. Sarah was asleep. He decided not to wake her. He dozed again and was again awakened by a phone. Sarah picked up her phone and looked at it.

"Time to get up," Sarah said. "Conrad wants to see us at 1100. We're on our own for breakfast."

Pop-Tarts and coffee is all I see. Frosted cherry. They're thorough.

Sarah slid off the bed and stood up, not bothering to put on her robe. Henry briefly admired the body that had been wrapped around him for a couple of hours earlier and wished they had the day to themselves. No such luck, he got up and followed her into the bathroom. They brushed their teeth and showered and returned to their bedchambers to dress.

Henry made coffee and unwrapped a pair of Pop-Tarts and dropped them in the toaster. When Sarah returned he pushed down the slide.

"Black?" he asked.

"Of course," Sarah replied with a smile. "Know anyone who doesn't?"

"Can't say as I do."

The toaster popped and he put the pastries on a plate.

"More than one?" he asked.

"One's good. Have to watch my weight."

"You seem to be doing pretty well."

Sarah was wearing a fresh uniform. She had her hair in a ponytail and looked sexier than she had naked. She sipped coffee and smiled.

"I'm Conrad's chief of staff," she said. "Which means I have about a dozen clerks and gofers to manage. What I do when I'm not on duty Conrad may know but doesn't care. Pretty much everyone in our positions knows everything about everyone else unless we choose not to."

"Pretty much," Henry said. "You don't live here."

"No. I set it up to stay in the next room while you're here."

"Pretty sure of me."

"Like you said, we all pretty much know everything there is to know about everything that matters about everyone that matters. We've been through a war and it's been a lot of loving the one you're with most of the time. Not knowing if you'll meet again or if one or both of you will survive."

"Yeah."

There were some special women in his life, special in different ways sometimes. Sarah might become another if they spent a lot of time together. Someday when it was all over would they get back to normal relationships? Would it ever be over? He suspected another phase was beginning - not of a war but something else.

"If I knew you had someone..." Sarah said.

"Nothing exclusive. You know how it is."

"Yeah."

---