Chapter 50

Steve Stone woke up at 7:00 local time. He got out of bed, put on his robe, walked into the bathroom, shaved and took a nice hot shower which refreshed him. He then went back into his room, picked up one of his briefing books, and carried it down to the kitchen.

Maria Velazquez would be arriving at 11:00. She was to fly in to the ranch on a Mexican government owned helicopter, which would enable her to avoid going through either U.S. or Mexican customs and raising anyone's suspicions. Arrangements had been made with the pilot as to exactly where he would cross the border and what course he would use. It was agreed that he would be picked up by a U.S. Army helicopter three miles over onto the U.S. side of the border, who would then escort Maria to John Stone's ranch. They had agreed on the frequencies and the code words they would use to communicate with each other.

There was a wide open, flat field next to the horse pen that would be used as the landing site. Upon her arrival, Steve would introduce her as Maria Rojas, her pseudonym for the trip, then she and Steve would catch up on what each had been doing, have lunch, then begin their private negotiations.

Meanwhile, Steve scanned his briefing books to make sure he remembered each point he needed to make with Maria. He wondered how everything would work out. He remembered what Kathy had told him about how important this meeting was for the future of U.S.-Mexican relations. Whatever he did, Steve did not want to let his fiancee down. Somehow, there had to be some common ground that would enable them to a mutually advantageous solution to their problems. But, Steve reminded himself, it would not be easy.

John Stone came into the kitchen at 8:30 and sat down across from his son.

"Good morning, Steve. Didn't you sleep well? I didn't expect you up this early."

"I slept like a baby. I guess I'm still on Eastern time. Back there, it would be 10:30, and most of the morning would be gone."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. When I travel, it usually takes me two or three days to get used to the different time zones. What are you reading?"

"Oh, some things about economics and stuff. I figure that if my wife is the President, and one of the most important things she has to do is fix the economy, I should at least be able to be conversant with her."

"That seems to be some heavy reading for such an early hour. It wouldn't happen to have anything to do with your friend visiting, would it?"

"Dad, can we go to your office for a minute?"

"Sure, Son. Why?"

"I'd like to talk with you for a moment in a place where we won't have anyone walking in on us."

"Okay. Let me get a pot of coffee to take with us first."

John Stone picked up a coffee pot, filled it from the large brewer that was purring away in the kitchen, grabbed a large coffee mug, and then led Steve to his private office. They went into the office, John poured first Steve and then himself a cup of coffee, while Steve closed the door, then they sat down.

"What's on your mind?"

"Dad, what I have to tell you is Top Secret, and must remain that way. If the slightest inkling of what I'm about to tell you gets out, hundreds, if not thousands of people could die, and it could really fuck things up for Kathy. Do you promise not to even breathe a word of what I'm about to say to anyone, not even Aunt Peggy or the Martinezes?"

Now John Stone's curiosity was really piqued.

"I swear on your Mother's and my parents' graves that I will not say a word about what you are about to tell me to a living soul."

"Okay."

Steve paused for a moment, considering how he would tell his Father one of the most closely held secrets in the United States.

"When I told you yesterday that if any suspicion was aroused among the wrong people that my friend Maria was coming here to meet me, that her life would be endangered. That is very true. And if the wrong people happen to find out while she was here, we would all be endangered. I am in the middle of a very high stakes gamble that could very well decide the course of U.S. Mexican relations for the next twenty years."

"Jesus Christ, Steve, why didn't you say something to me about this before?" demanded John Stone, angry now at his son for not confiding in him.

"Dad, I'm very sorry that I didn't confide in you and I'm sorry that I'm using you like this. But I didn't have a real big choice."

"What do you mean you didn't have a choice!?" roared John.

"Let me try to explain the whole situation to you and try to give you the big picture, then I hope you will understand a little bit better." Steve paused.

"Go on," said John.

"I'm sure that you have been hearing how badly we're doing in the war in Europe?"

"Yes, I've heard the reports on the news and read about the war in the papers."

"Well, we are actually doing worse than what has been reported. The Ayatollah Makhtol has come frighteningly close to capturing some of our nuclear weapons in Turkey, Greece, Italy and Spain. We were able to get them out just in time, sometimes within just hours before their locations were overrun. We have to stop Makhtol before he captures much more territory, because we may not be so lucky next time."

"I can understand that."

"Good. Now, one of the things I will be talking to Maria about is how we can reduce tensions between her country and ours. Since the Revolution, Kathy has been forced to deploy nearly half a million troops along our border with Mexico because of the rabid anti-American sentiments of the most radical segments in Mexico who have threatened to conduct cross border raids all along the border. There have already been several incidents, but they have been fairly minor, and word of those has pretty much gotten lost among all of the other things happening."

"If we can ease tensions, we can then withdraw the majority of these forces from border patrol duty and send them to Europe to reinforce our troops there and stop Makhtol."

"I can understand that."

"Now, as I'm sure you know, the Mexican default set in motion a whole chain of events that resulted in the collapse of the international economic system. Kathy has had me sitting in on some of her meetings with her top economic advisers, primarily because of my knowledge of Mexico and because while I was there, I worked very closely with some of the people who are now running Mexico. Several weeks ago, shortly before you contacted me, as a matter of fact, Kathy, her top economic advisers, and I sat down and brainstormed for a while about how we could resolve the problems we have with Mexico as an important step in rebuilding the international economic system."

"We all agreed that it would be impossible for any of the top Mexican officials that I was on good terms with to come to Washington to meet with the President," continued Steve. "It would have been too much of a risk to have one of them in Washington, because that would have jeopardized their position because of the strong influence of the radicals in the revolutionary government there. When you suggested that I come visit you here, we figured that this would be the perfect place for a meeting that we could keep completely secret. That is why I asked if I could have a friend visit me here. We figured that this was a place that we could keep secure with a relatively small force that would not attract any undue attention. If anyone asked anything, your son, the fiancé of the President, was visiting you. Hopefully no one would try to delve any deeper."

"Okay, Steve, I can understand a bit better why you tried to keep this secret from me," said a calmer John Stone, as he poured them each more coffee. "One thing I would like to know is, just who is this friend of yours?"

"She is a very high ranking member of the revolutionary government in Mexico. As a matter of fact, today you can't get a whole lot higher rank in Mexico beyond her. Kathy and I have both worked with her when we were in Mexico and Kathy had organized fund raising events for Maria's organization to help the poor. I was working in the barrios providing medical care to the poor under the auspices of her program."

"But, if her presence here was discovered by any of her enemies, it could jeopardize her life," John stated.

"Exactly," answered Steve. "Not only that, but she has the influence that has so far been able to keep some of the more radical factions in check. If the fact that she was talking to me became known, it would strengthen the hand of the radicals and could lead to the ouster of the other moderates in the revolutionary government. Their hold on power right now is tenuous, and I cannot do anything that might jeopardize that. If the radicals come to power, it could set back our relations with Mexico for twenty years or more. And I'm not exaggerating one bit."

"I believe you," said John. "It seems as if you have your work cut out for you."

"Why do you think I was quickly reviewing my briefing books? I've been studying them for weeks now."

"How long is your friend planning to stay?"

"Probably just until tomorrow. It depends on how things go."

"Okay. Have you eaten yet?"

"No. All I've had so far is some toast. I was waiting for you and Aunt Peggy to come down before I ate."

"Well, let's go back and get some breakfast, then I'll leave you alone so you can study. Don't worry, I'll keep Peggy busy so she won't interrupt you."

"Thanks, Dad. I appreciate it."

John picked up the empty coffee pot, then the two men went back to the kitchen to have some breakfast. After breakfast, Steve went back to one of the offices to study for the last hour before Maria was scheduled to arrive.

At five minutes before eleven o'clock, Steve could hear the distant sound of helicopters approaching the ranch. He put his briefing books away and went out to the yard, where he watched a helicopter as it approached the field before touching down. Looking up in the air, he could see an army helicopter hovering in position, watching to make sure that everything was going according to plan. Once the helicopter landed, it shut down its engines, and while the propellers were slowing, the door opened and two large, armed men stepped out, followed by a short, slender, very attractive woman, who walked over toward Steve.

"Hello, I understand congratulations are in order," said Maria Velazquez, a.k.a. Maria Rojas, in Spanish as she gave Steve a hug followed by a kiss on the cheek. "How is Kathy doing?"

"She's doing okay, but I think she would be doing a lot better if some that she thinks of as friends would be a bit more cooperative and helpful," answered Steve in the same language.

"It is precisely because I consider her my friend that I am here. If someone else was in the White House, this meeting or any meeting like it would not be taking place."

"Okay. I want you to know that I appreciate the risks you are taking to be here, and I know that Kathy does as well. Kathy and I consider you and Jorge to be friends, but like many such relationships, our friendship has been a little strained lately because of some misunderstandings. Kathy and I hope that we can clear up the misunderstandings that now come between us so that we can once again be friends."

"Jorge and I hope we can too. Our friendship is too important to just throw away, as some on both sides would like."

"I agree completely. Come here, I would like to introduce you to several people. I will introduce you under the name we agreed on."

"Fine."

Steve escorted Maria over to his Father. "Maria Rojas, I would like to introduce you to my Father, John Stone. Dad, I would like you to meet my friend, Maria Rojas."

"Señor Stone, I would like to thank you for your kindness and your hospitality in allowing me to come visit your ranch. I hope you will pardon my speaking Spanish most of the time, but Steve's Spanish is a lot better than my English, and most times it is easier for me to speak in Spanish and have Steve translate."

"Señorita Rojas, it is indeed my pleasure to have you here, replied John Stone, taking Maria's hand within his own. "If Steve had told me before how attractive and charming you were, I would have insisted that you come earlier to see how hospitable we can be with our friends. As for the Spanish, I don't mind. I understand a little bit, and I'm sure that Steve will be able to fill me in on what I miss."

Steve and Maria then turned to Peggy Whitney. "Maria, I would like to introduce you to my Aunt Peggy Whitney, who is visiting here from her home in Ohio. Aunt Peggy, I'd like you to meet Maria Rojas."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Señorita Rojas," said Peggy, shaking Maria's hand.

"Señorita Rojas," said John, "let me have Antonio here take your bags, and Steve, Peggy and I will show you around."

"Please, Señor Stone, and you too Señora Whitney, please just call me Maria. That is what all of my friends call me."

"Okay, Maria. Please call me John."

"And call me Peggy," added Steve's aunt.

"Now that that's settled," said John with a sile on his face, "would you like to start the tour with the house or out here?"

"Well, since we're out here now, and it's such a beautiful day, why don't we start out here and you can show me the house later."

"Sounds good." The four of them went on the tour that John had taken Steve on the day before, showing Maria the methane converter, the water treatment plant, composting facility and the greenhouse. John also showed her the tractor and the jeep he had converted to run on the methane he had produced. Maria was very impressed with what John had accomplished, and asked him a number of questions about it.

"Would this type of setup be practical on a larger scale?"

"I don't see why not. There are not a lot of moving parts in the whole system. It pretty much just uses the natural processes but captures the byproducts, especially the methane, then filters it so that it can then be used to provide fuel. I use the treated water to irrigate the fields when they need it and to water whatever I have growing in the greenhouse. I use the compost that results as a natural fertilizer so I don't have to use any chemical fertilizers. The whole system is environmentally friendly and the cost to build it was fairly low."

She then asked about the cost, and John told her. She was surprised that he had the whole system built for such a low amount.

Maria then said, "As you probably know, we have some very serious pollution problems in Mexico, especially in Mexico City. Do you think this type of system would work there?"

"For organic waste, I don't see why it wouldn't, but if you have toxic wastes included, there would have to be a more complicated, and therefore costly system. I would have to think about how I would address the problems of what toxic wastes would be present and how to remove them before I could design an adequate system. Some of these toxic chemicals are pretty nasty and real tough to separate from regular organic waste that would otherwise decompose. I'll have to think more about how I would deal with that before I could give you an answer about its feasibility and possible costs."

"That sounds fair. Let me know when you have a better idea of what would be involved in such a system, including what all you would need to build such a system and the costs."

"Okay."

They then walked over to the pen holding the horses. John called the horses over.

"Oh, what beautiful horses!" exclaimed Maria.

"Do you like to ride?" asked Peggy.

"I love to, but I haven't had much time to ride lately. I've been very busy."

"What do you do?" asked Peggy.

"I'm involved with a group that helps the poorest of the poor people in the barrios of Mexico City. That is where I met Steve and Kathy. Steve provided medical care that most of the people he saw would otherwise not have received, including vaccinations and treating problems such as dysentery and malnutrition, treating injuries so they wouldn't get infected, and generally being a doctor for people who desperately needed one. Kathy, your new President, helped us set up schools and taught people how to read and write, and helped us set up an education system in the barrios to fight against the illiteracy that was holding back so many of these people and preventing them from improving their lives. Kathy also helped raise money for us to help even more people."

"Steve and Kathy are both really good people and they both have a lot of friends in Mexico because of what they did," Maria continued. "They didn't come in like a lot of charities do and just give the people food and clothing, while taking away their pride. They tried to give them some of the tools they would need so they would be able to help themselves. This helped them keep their pride and actually increased it because they were now able to accomplish more things on their own. That is the mark of a true friend."

Maria looked at Steve as she said that, and his look back at her told Maria that he got the message she was trying to give him.

Peggy said, "Steve, I didn't know you and Kathy had been involved in all of those types of things. I'm very proud of you."

Steve blushed. Maria said, "Steve is very modest. He doesn't go around bragging about all of the things he does. That's one of the things I like about him." She put her arm around him.

"Did Steve ever tell you what he did during the revolution?" asked Maria.

"No," answered Peggy, looking at Steve. "As a matter of fact, I didn't even know you were still in Mexico during the revolution."

"Yeah, I wasn't able to get out of the country until a couple of days after it happened," replied Steve.

"I didn't hear about all of this until a few days after it all happened, but I was told a number of stories by various people who kept talking about the tall gringo doctor who risked his life to help treat people who were wounded during the uprising. Bullets and shrapnel were flying everywhere and Steve pulled wounded people out of the line of fire, then treated their wounds, before moving on to the next injured person. Many more people would have died at the Zoccolo that day if it had not been for Steve. A number of Mexican people owe Steve their lives."

"Steve, why didn't you tell us any of this?" asked his Father.

"I don't know. I guess I just didn't have the chance," he answered.

"I think it's probably more because he's so modest about what he does," said Maria. "I bet he didn't say anything about what he did at Teotihuacan that evening either."

"No. What did you do in Teotihuacan?" asked Peggy, enthralled by the stories that Maria was telling.

"The night of the uprising, some misguided man tried to assassinate Jorge Guerrillero, the leader of our revolution. Steve was near the man, and helped another man disarm him, then treated the people who were nearby who were wounded, including this one man who would have lost his leg, and possibly his life if Steve had not been there. Steve stayed with the seriously wounded man until an ambulance was able to make its way through the crowd, then he went to the hospital with him and helped operate on him. I was told just the other day that he is up and walking around now."

"That's great! I'm really glad to hear that," said Steve. "By the way, I was not the one who disarmed the man. There was this huge guy who happened to see him lifting his gun to shoot Jorge who broke the man's wrist shaking the gun lose from his hand. He is the one who deserves the credit for disarming him, not me."

"Whatever. The story that has been told is that you not only saved the man with the wounded leg, but that you helped disarm the assassin as well."

"If you could correct that part of the story, I would appreciate it."

"I will try, but I don't think I will be successful. Too many people already believe that you were the one."

Steve shook his head. "Oh well, what can you do?"

"You must face the fact Steve, that you are already a near legend among many of the people of the barrios because of what you have done for them. You are better known to them than Kathy, and she is thought of very highly as well. But you are the one who stopped them from hurting physically. You are the one who vaccinated their children to keep them from coming down with diseases. You are the one who stopped their children's dysentery, which was making them waste away. These people do not forget such things. They're thrilled that you and Kathy are getting married, because they feel that you will somehow be able to help them."

"I don't know how much I can help them as Kathy's husband. She is now the President of the United States, but they have to keep in mind that her primary responsibility is to the people of the United States. I am sure that she would love to be able to help the people in the barrios, but in order to do that without raising a firestorm of protest, she will have to get something in return. After all, two days ago, we elected a new Congress which will be sworn in within the next couple of weeks. She has a very full agenda of problems facing the United States and our people that she has to address first, and which she will have to get through Congress. If she acts to help the poor in the barrios without being able to show how it is in the best interests of the United States, like by getting something in return from the Mexican government, Congress will be able to hold up her whole legislative agenda."

"I understand. Maybe we can talk about all of this later, especially since it seems we're ignoring your Father and aunt," suggested Maria.

"I think that would be a good idea," replied Steve.

Maria was scanning the surrounding countryside. "Oh look," she said pointing at a deer that was up on a nearby hill. "What a beautiful animal! I didn't know deer lived in the desert!"

"Oh, we have deer around here," answered John. "We might not have as many here as they have in the east, but we definitely have them here."

"It looks so graceful and sleek."

"That it does," agreed Peggy.

Peggy looked up in the air. "Oh, look over there! There's a hawk just soaring in the air!"

Maria asked, "Where?"

"Over there," answered Peggy, pointing to the graceful hawk. "Oh, look! It's diving for something!"

They watched the hawk plummet toward the earth and watched it pull up at the last second, snatching a rabbit in its talons and lifting it into the air.

"Wow! What skill! What power!" exclaimed Peggy.

After they watched the hawk fly off with its lunch, John turned to see Antonio walking rapidly toward them. "Yes Antonio?"

"I wanted to let you know that lunch is almost ready. Perhaps you would like to go in and wash."

"Thank you, Antonio. That sounds good. I'm starving." John turned to the others. "Are you ready for lunch?"

"Definitely."

"Okay, let's go."

They all walked toward the house, and once they had entered, John told Maria where she could get cleaned up for lunch. After that, they all got washed and had a scrumptious lunch that left them all very satisfied.

After they had finished, John asked Maria if she would like the tour of the house. She agreed, but Peggy begged off, saying that she would like to lie down for a while. John showed Maria the house, including where her room would be and where Steve's was. Steve stopped in his room to pick up his briefcase before rejoining his Father and Maria. The tour ended in the new wing where he had his suite of offices.

"Maria, I understand that you and Steve need to discuss some things in private."

"Yes."