Chapter 25
TWENTY-FIVE
“It seems you were quite busy when I was taking naps as a child, Father.”
Samawah
Al Muthanna Governorate, Iraq
The prime minister and the president, both wearing suits and forgoing their headdresses in their effort to showcase casual wealth and welcome, eyed the quartet of fools with open disdain before sending them away to better compose themselves.
If I believed in reputation alone, the four were a breath from escorting themselves to their execution rather than change their clothes and make themselves respectable.
They’d already cleaned themselves up, but they’d put on casual apparel.
I almost pitied the men, but I made certain to show no emotion while they departed.
Both the prime minister and president held the reins to small, elegant horses I recognized to be Arabian of some sort, although they were unlike others of the breed I had seen. The ghost of the extreme dishing in modern Arabians pointed at the horses as perhaps a predecessor of the breed.
The animals were bay, and one of them, the larger of the two, stared at me with interest, both ears pricked forward with its head held high while the animal’s nostrils flared, as though attempting to learn about me from my scent.
The president, who held the horse’s line, reached up, unclipped the lead, and spoke a few words before saying something else to my father.
The horse pranced my way, lowering its head to greet me and bannering its tail.
While I had not been around horses often, I’d been taught how to hold my hand out, fingers flat and close together, so the animal could catch my scent. As that part went well, I rubbed the horse’s soft, velvety nose, careful to avoid the leather halter.
My father chuckled. “His name is Ameer, which translates roughly to Prince. He is a Saklawi stallion, which is one of several breeds used to create Arabian horses.”
“He’s beautiful,” I replied, smiling. Unable to resist the urge, I gave the stallion a kiss on his nose. “He’s so gentle.”
The president once again spoke to my father, and my father replied, making a welcoming gesture.
I could only assume my father gave him permission to speak with me.
“I am Anas. Your father has asked that we be more informal today, as he has raised you without the unnecessarily frivolous trappings of certain elements of society.”
I giggled at the president’s comment, and I patted Ameer’s neck, settling in to shower the horse with attention.
“It’s true. I decided I would be a cop from an early age because I like helping people, and after I retired from the force, I went into forensic accounting. That’s not precisely glamorous.”
“But it is honorable,” President Anas replied, and he bowed to me.
“I would be honored to offer Ameer and Rukia to you and your betrothed, in part to make up for your poor reception in our nation and in part to celebrate your union. I offer my deepest apologies; you should have been treated with honor and respect rather than scorn. Being friends with your father and your mother has been one of the greatest gifts I have received in my life. Your father has brokered many an important deal on behalf of my country, and while he was offered fair compensation for his work, we still owe him a debt that can never be repaid. When I heard of you a week ago, I knew these two horses would be the perfect present to welcome you to our world.”
I eyed my father, who shrugged. “It seems you were quite busy when I was taking naps as a child, Father.”
“There were times I wish I could have shown you off sooner, but it is for the best you were given time to grow and shine on your own. Anas, as my daughter wishes to go to Europe and pursue a trafficking situation, I was hoping we might be able to request some assistance from Iraq.”
“Prime Minister Ihsan may be in a better position for that. Ihsan?”
“What do you need of us?”
“Should we need to remove these children and young adults from Europe, a place for them to stay until we can return them to the United States will be needed. Those in Europe won’t expect Iraq to assist with such a matter,” my father stated, and he came to my side, offering his hand to Ameer before petting the stallion.
“I honestly don’t know what we will find, but I want to be able to move if needed, and all we know is that these were children who had been taken away from their parents.
Unfortunately, we have evidence that the parents may not have been upstanding individuals, so it might be a case of kidnapping them to save them. That’s what we are uncertain of.”
The president and the prime minister exchanged long looks, and both wore dark expressions.
“Can you elaborate?” President Anas asked.
My parents exchanged looks, and after a few moments, my father wrinkled his nose. “My wife is probably the best to explain it. I am at the stage I’ll lose my temper talking about it.”
Uh oh. What had I missed? While my father became angry at times and loved to posture with my mother in public, I’d never seen him have a significant outburst that I could recall.
My mother patted my father’s shoulder. “It’s simple.
A mercury dragon clan went mad, and in an attempt to raise the clan leader’s husband and son from the dead, they targeted small families nobody knew very well, often killed all members of the family, and rarely sold children, mostly girls, overseas.
He’s sensitive about the situation because our little girl was caught up in it during the investigation into attacks on brothel women in the Dragon Heights area.
We have found records of some girls and boys being sent to boarding schools in Europe.
We’re delaying our trip to Europe to give international law enforcement a chance to do some investigations before we show up for a closer look at the places.
We’ll be briefed before touring the schools. ”
“We can provide housing for any in need of a safe haven on the way back to the United States,” Prime Minister Ihsan promised. “This is a small matter. If you need a place to refuel your planes, consider our airports yours to use. We will pray for them. And these brothel women?”
“They were injured but most survived. A learning necromancer was harvesting their pain and fear. Women they believed wouldn’t be missed were being taken and killed—or we suspect they were being killed. We’ve found many bodies.”
The pair of Iraqi men exchanged long looks, their expressions pained.
Finally, after murmuring what I assumed was a prayer, President Anas said, “And your reasons for purchasing Uruk?”
My father relaxed. “My daughter has been charmed by Sumeria’s rich history and the mysteries of the city.
She wants to see the ruins excavated and given a chance to return to its former glory.
Our plan for a section of the resort is to rebuild Uruk as a community project.
We will do this on a site to the south, following the river’s original track.
Importing sufficient water to make the land viable will be a challenge, although we will use magic as well to assist with the process.
But we will be creating an archaeological museum and attempting to rebuild Uruk using the same methods from its day.
We will have modern resorts as well, but we will be offering programs for fledgling archaeologists to excavate the site, working with universities around the world to give interested students and the public a chance to help uncover history.
Anything we unearth will be used in the museum; no pieces shall be sold, although we may loan or rent some things to museums around the world.
Should we offer rentals, the income will be used to pay for future excavations.
We will be fully funding the project, and once the resort is open, earnings will be poured back into the resort’s infrastructure.
We will, of course, have work opportunities for locals, although we will ask that the purchased land be exempt from religious rules. ”
“Easily granted,” Prime Minister Ihsan stated. “We do have some rules we wish foreigners to abide by, but if the resort is fully enclosed and meant to bring tourism to Iraq, we can make exemptions for the area. We cannot make exemptions for any tourists who opt to leave the resort, however.”
“Those who come into Iraq through the resort’s airport will sign a document making it clear that the resort is not responsible if they choose to leave the complex and venture into Iraq. We will be utilizing a walled garden to prevent any accidental travel.”
“A walled garden?” President Anas asked, raising a brow.
“A nod to the wonder that was Babylon. You have been careful with Babylon, and it is a shame what has befallen Uruk. I can do the most good at this site.” My father gestured in the direction of the ruined city. “May the desert once again host life.”
President Anas inclined his head. “A worthy cause. Prime Minister, how quickly do you think you can bring this to the parliament? They will require a great many permits and the approval of environmental agencies. This has the potential to completely change our landscape.”
No kidding. Once we returned the girl to her proper resting place, I foresaw the land undergoing a rapid rebirth.
Or so I hoped.
Oh, how I hoped.
“They are currently in session, and I could have this put up for a vote immediately. We do not have the resources to raise Uruk from her sandy tomb. It will be simple enough to convince them of the good custodianship our heritage site will be put under. There is the issue of the war,” the prime minister said, his tone turning to one of despair.
“We fear there are thousands of unexploded mines in the region.”