Chapter 4

In the middle of the night, Oscar drove the car across the Iran-Iraq border. They passed the border checkpoint without stopping. It was as if the border guards could not see the white Mercedes. After they had driven a mile past the border, Georgia let out the breath she had been holding and then said, “That was strange. Why didn’t they stop us?”

“The Powers That Be do not recognize the borders imposed by men,” Oscar answered. National boundaries were a construct of men, not Gods.

“You’re saying that the Gods and Goddesses intervened,” Georgia said turning to look back down the road towards the border.

“Perhaps it was Allah. I’m here to visit Mosques,” Oscar said gesturing to the rode ahead of them.

“Haven’t you already delivered your message?” Georgia asked.

“No, I was just accepted by the Powers That Be,” Oscar said. The next phase of visits was going to be even more dangerous.

“What do we do now?” Georgia asked. They weren’t going to be able to check into a hotel.

“We’ll find a reasonable place to pull over and then get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day,” Oscar said.

“So where are we going?” Georgia asked frustrated by the fact that Oscar had been so closed mouthed about his plans.

“Everywhere,” Oscar answered earning a small punch on the shoulder from Georgia.

“I’m serious. If you don’t start telling me what is going on, I’m going to Israel to stay with Debbie,” Georgia threatened.

“We are going to travel across Iran to Pakistan. From there, we’ll swing through Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey, and then Syria. We’ll take a short vacation with Debbie before beginning the next round of visits,” Oscar said.

“That’s going to take forever,” Georgia said missing Debbie.

“We could ask Debbie to fly into Afghanistan. She’s always been a little jealous of the time that we spent together there. I think she would appreciate being there with us on this pass through the area,” Oscar said.

“You’re so sweet,” Debbie said.

Peering through the dark, Oscar spotted a nice flat area beside the road. Pulling the car over, he said, “This looks like a good place for us to stop for the night.”

“Tent?”

“The weather is nice. We’ll just spread our sleeping bags on the ground and enjoy the night sky,” Oscar said.

“You really know how to show a girl a good time,” Georgia said with a smile. She knew that most women would have run off at the idea of sleeping under the stars. She wasn’t like most women.

“I do my best,” Oscar said turning off the motor.

She looked over at the road for a second and then asked, “Am I going to have to sleep in the burka?”

“Yes, although having you in a burka defeats the purpose for women wearing them. You are just too sexy in it,” Oscar said trying to take some of the sting out of his words.

“I’m serious. I’d hate to get killed by someone passing by because I’m not wearing a burka,” Georgia said. Being in a Muslim country was a whole lot easier when she was wearing Army fatigues and carrying a rifle.

“Don’t worry about it,” Oscar said getting out of the car. Georgia climbed out her side and went around to the back of the car. Oscar opened the trunk and pulled out their sleeping bags. He put them down on the ground so that the car was between them and the road. He said, “We’ll be up at dawn.”

“So what are we going to do about food?” Georgia asked.

The trunk of the car was loaded with MREs and she knew it. Oscar paused to look at her and then asked, “What’s the matter, Georgia?”

“I’m afraid,” Georgia answered looking away from Oscar.

There were so many responses to that statement, but Oscar knew what was bothering her. He said, “You’re afraid that George is returning now that you are back in this part of the world.”

Barely able to answer, Georgia said, “Yes. No. I don’t know. Last night really scared me.”

“Don’t be afraid of that. What we are doing here is very dangerous. You are reacting to that danger by being tough. Last night, you wanted to know that I was as tough as you,” Oscar said.

“I don’t think so,” Georgia said thoughtfully.

She recalled her demands for violence without understanding what was driving her to it. She had bullied him into performing rough and brutal sex. Such brutality wasn’t really in his nature. Thinking about it, she realized that she had forced him into taking her with that level of violence. After a minute she said, “Maybe I wanted to know that I could survive being raped.”

“What?” Oscar was shocked by her statement.

“If you get killed, then I’ll be left alone in the middle of nowhere. Whoever kills you will probably rape me before killing me. I think that maybe last night I wanted it as rough as you could make it so that I would know that I’d be able to take being raped,” Georgia answered.

“Can you?”

“I don’t know,” Georgia answered with tears welling up in her eyes. It hadn’t been a fair test. She loved Oscar too much.

Oscar moved over to Georgia and put his arms around her. It would have been nice if she’d been able to rest her head on his shoulder, but he was too short for that to work. He rubbed her back and said, “I can see the future and I will use that to keep you safe.”

“I’ll try to be strong,” Georgia said.

While helping her settle on the sleeping bags, Oscar said, “Don’t worry. You’ll see that things will be okay.”

“My sister said that things were nearing an explosive point. She’s put the troops on high alert all over the world,” Georgia said.

Nodding his head, Oscar said, “I know. She’s right in her assessment, but things will improve soon.”

“I don’t see how,” she said.

“Tomorrow. You’ll see tomorrow,” Oscar said thinking about what was going to happen.

Georgia sat in the car watching Oscar walk to the door of the Mosque. He rapped on the side of the door with his staff. The result was a boom that echoed over the whole area. The men who had been following him stared at him with violence in their eyes. Oscar turned and looked over the men. From within the Mosque, a loud voice called out, “I bid you enter, Druid Oscar Meyers.”

Removing his shoes, Oscar stepped into the Mosque. Those outside followed him into the large room that was lit by a golden glow. They found the Imam in charge of the Mosque on the floor trembling in fear.

Taking in the scene around him, Oscar said, “I have come to learn of your message of peace.”

“The senseless killing must stop. I will not tolerate any man declaring Jihad by the Sword in my name,” echoed the voice. The men in the room reacted in shock at the message. Outside in the street a riot nearly broke out.

“I shall spread that message,” Oscar said. His voice carried through the door to all of those gathered outside. He repeated the message, “The senseless killing must stop. Allah will not tolerate any man declaring Jihad by the Sword in his name.”

“Go in peace, Oscar Meyers.”

Oscar stepped out of the Mosque and paused to replace his sandals. A man stepped up with a gun and aimed it at him. At that moment a lightning bolt arced from the dome of the Mosque and killed the man. His voice echoing across the town, Oscar said, “The senseless killing must stop. Allah will not tolerate any man declaring Jihad by the Sword in his name.”

Georgia had watched the episode at the door terrified that she was going to be lost and alone in Iran. The bolt of lightning had cut off the scream that was beginning to boil out from her. She stared in shock at the dead body lying at Oscar’s feet.

After slipping on his sandals, Oscar stepped around the dead man lying on the ground. He made his way to the car at a normal walk. It seemed much further away than he remembered.

Men, who had gathered around the Mosque to stop him, stepped out of the way. They looked at him with a mixture of fear and hate. Fear was the most dominate emotion. They had heard the voice echoing from within the Mosque, but many of them had doubted it was really Allah. The bolt of lightning had chased away their doubts, but not their hate for the messenger.

Oscar entered the car and drove off without saying a word. He didn’t trust himself to speak. Only when they had reached the town limits did he speak. “That was rather surprising.”

“Did you know that was going to happen?” Georgia asked looking at Oscar in wonder.

“No,” Oscar answered. He hadn’t known what Allah was going to say to him although he’d had a pretty good idea. He hadn’t known that the assassin would be killed.

“No more Jihad,” she said shaking her head. It was an incredible idea.

“Allah did not end Jihad. He ended Jihad by the Sword,” Oscar said while steering the car around a rough patch in the road. He had expected the infrastructure to be in a little better shape.

“What does that mean?”

“It means that they can not make war against men or nations as a means of spreading Islam,” Oscar answered.

“That’s big,” Georgia said.

“Yes, it is,” Oscar said. Seeing a little of the future, he pulled off the road and parked the car. Taking advantage of the short break, he turned to face Georgia.