I have kept y’all waiting long enough! Welcome to Part III of True Diplomacy: The Story of a Feminine Heroine. This is the next part of a series about Janelle, a diplomat who is trying to facilitate peace negotiations and also be a single mom. If you want to catch up, here are Part I and Part II.
https://steemit.com/ecotrain/@solarsupermama/true-diplomacy-the-story-of-a-feminine-heroine
https://steemit.com/ecotrain/@solarsupermama/true-diplomacy-the-story-of-a-feminine-heroine-part-2
When Janelle woke up, the day was almost gone. She awoke to an oh so familiar sound - the sound of bickering children. Lena was also clearly near the end of her rope. This was a stressful situation and location, and Janelle knew she needed to get the kids out and fast. As soon as Lena saw Janelle’s eyes flutter open, she shifted her frustration and guilted the kids into quieting down and being nice. Janelle was exhausted but patient, and she lovingly grabbed all their hands.
“My dears, I am so sorry about landing us in this oh so shitty situation. I know everyone is tired and scared. We’ve lost almost all the few things we actually had. You all know I believe so strongly in what I’m doing, in helping facilitate a more peaceful world for all of us, but it seems not everyone wants that. So here we are, and as bad as it is, it could potentially be a lot worse. We are in danger here, and clearly being cooped up underground isn’t working out so well for y’all either.”
At this point Shemaya walked in. She had clearly heard at least the last part. “Mama’s right. You must get out of here and soon. We can’t afford to lose this location. We’ve already had to set up 5 times in the last 2 years. They’re searching hard for you, and they’ll find you without a doubt. It’s only a matter of time, and depending on who finds you, a wide variety of people’s lives could become a nightmare, particularly all of yours. As I told you this morning, Janelle. I believe your own people are after you. We need to send you to a safe space. Quickly. Is there anywhere you can think of that they’d be unlikely to trace you to?”
Lena took a deep breath and looked at the floor. She mumbled something no one, not even Janelle, could decipher, but when she looked at the color of her face, she knew what Lena had said.
“Oh, love.” began Janelle. “Do you really think that’s a good idea?”
“Look, Janelle. He’s remote. He’s trustworthy. And almost no one knows about my interactions with him. Not to mention he’s got shit tons of money and wouldn’t think twice of supporting us, particularly considering the work you’ve been doing. For the love of God he’s probably got private nurses that will come to the house. I knew we needed to get out. I've been thinking about this all day.”
“But, Lena. I mean, really. That’s gonna be so uncomfortable for you. Honestly, honey. We can find another situation.”
Janelle continued to fight Lena for the next 10 minutes, but she would not be dissuaded, and Janelle could not think of any other options.
Lena met Jeff when Janelle was on her first real negotiation job. He was independently wealthy, handsome, and charming. He had semi retired from the business he founded at the age of 26. He lived a fairly quiet and private life for someone with that kind of wealth. He was also crazy smart, and Lena had fallen quickly. He also had the attention span of a squirrel and lost interest in Lena when she wasn't right in front of him, but he seemed to have a soft spot for her and periodically contacted her. Most importantly, almost no one other than Janelle knew they had dated.
Shemaya was able to get Lena a secure line to contact him. She looked a bit flustered after the conversation, but he had agreed easily. He had seen the news and was terribly worried. They also contacted their parents but made them promise to tell no one they had heard from them. Janelle also refused to tell them where she, Lena, and the kids were going. She promised they would be safe and stay hidden. They refused to believe the US government was involved. They were like that.
Arrangements would be challenging, and Janelle was so hesitant to put others lives at risk. In the end Shemaya convinced her that everyone involved was willing to risk their lives to further the cause. They would leave at night with as much of their bodies covered as possible. The car would take them to the edge of town. Once in a less crowded area, they would switch to a different car and go across the border in a remote, unguarded spot. There Jeff would meet them in his helicopter. He could make up business plans in Saudi Arabia easily and would just say he had had mechanical troubles and had to stop briefly. They would helicopter back to Saudi Arabia and then fly straight to his home in Guinea where there would, indeed, be a nurse waiting to care for Janelle. Jeff was super strict about his privacy, so they knew they could trust anyone he hired.
Shemaya insisted Janelle should stay one more night before attempting to travel. Without a doubt, she was still quite sore and exhausted. Once arrangements were made and her dressings were changed, a healer came to do some powerful energy work on her, and she fell back asleep almost immediately. The next morning she felt tremendous improvement. She was less sore and had significantly more energy.
Shemaya arrived early with a host of women from the peace group. They didn't want to push Janelle too hard, but the benefits of one more meeting before her departure held a lot of sway. They were basically having to start over. The country had descended back into total chaos after Janelle's disappearance. They watched a little of the footage, but it was overwhelming, not to mention most journalists are so disgustingly orgasmic about war, suffering and violence. Their glorification made all the women slightly ill.
They all believed strongly in the efforts to educate and inspire young women and of course the hospital and clinics. They needed to continue to support those efforts. However, the country was once again on the brink of civil war. They needed a strategy to stop the fighting. Janelle began to question why she had ever tried to negotiate with politicians or generals. They decided the best route was to get at the root. Most negotiations, no matter how well intentioned, were little more than band-aids. So they discussed to try to figure out the root of the problems. It is always easy to point a finger at religion. For sure it doesn't help, but they all felt there were issues underneath.
They decided to look at who was fighting and who was making money. Those doing the fighting were desperate. They often struggled to meet their basic needs. Those benefiting were wealthy contractors and big businessmen, mostly weapons, security, oil, and infrastructure, as well as politicians. That second crew didn't give two shits about those fighting or their struggles. They talked a good game, but their beliefs were clear enough. The women decided that convincing someone to give a shit was an uphill battle. They needed to help those doing the fighting. They agreed to write on how that could be done and share in two weeks time. Janelle was hoping Jeff would be able to figure out how that could happen.
As evening approached, Janelle got more and more anxious. The escape would be stressful. She had tried to nap, but that was a no-go. She tried to look calm and confident for the kids. They were too smart for that of course. They were feeling anxious too. They wrapped scarves on their heads and put on gloves to hide as much dark skin and hair as possible. They went up through something like a dumb waiter one at a time. Janelle hurt being crunched up like that, but they kept giving her that tea, and she kept feeling stronger and stronger. They came out on the other side in a second floor apartment. It was very plain looking and seemed to only be occupied by some kind of security force. The largest of the men stood waiting at the door while Janelle said goodbye to Shemaya. He walked out ahead of them, and another man walked behind them.
They did their best to look normal for the 20 steps from the door to the car. Their hearts pounded, and they were certain neon signs flashed above their heads, but no one took any notice of them. There was a civil war going on, and everyone was too busy watching their own backs to worry about anyone else. Just as they got to the car, a bomb exploded close by. The men threw them into the car and sped off. Janelle turned around to see people with frighteningly large guns at the door of the building they had just left. Once again Janelle had barely escaped only to leave the people behind her in danger. Then she noticed both kids were sobbing on the verge of anxiety attack. She curled her body around them and did the best she could to reassure them.
The rest of the journey was pretty quiet. Once out of town, they moved from the black windowed SUV to something that looked like a cross between a car and a dune buggy. They sped across the desert with ease and crossed a border marked only by a barbed wire fence with some wire cutters and little trouble. Janelle noticed Lena looking anxiously at the sky. Airspace violations in these parts could turn ugly quickly. They arrived at the meeting spot and hid the vehicle in some bushes. Jeff arrived shortly and greeted Janelle and the children sweetly. Lena tried to hold herself together. Janelle could tell, but she just couldn't help it. She melted. She had been holding it together for Janelle and the kids for too long. She nearly collapsed. He more or less carried her to the helicopter kissing her head with tears streaming down his own cheeks. The kids were excited in spite of it all. Helicopters are cool. Janelle noticed she felt a little weak and also that she had bled through several layers of clothes and bandages. She put another layer on and decided everyone else could be spared that bit of info. Lena was almost asleep. Jayden and Alice were still geeking out over the copter and watching the nighttime scenery float beneath them. Mostly desert, though. They landed at a small airstrip in a remote part of Saudi Arabia. As they moved from the helicopter to Jeff’s jet, he noticed the blood spreading across Janelle's shirt. She was right in the middle of explaining she was fine when she passed out.
She awoke soon after on the jet with a nurse tending to her wound. “You're supposed to be resting, you know. You'll be quite lucky if this isn't infected after all you've put yourself through. Good thing Jeff decided to fly me here to meet you. You would have been a mess by the time you got to Guinea.
“Well, resting is on my list of things to do.”
The children were watching out the windows. Desert then water then more desert. Seeing the pyramids was exciting, but then it was desert and more desert, and they all fell asleep.
It was still dark when they landed at Jeff’s place, but light would be breaking soon. They were surrounded by beautiful mountains with deep green forests. It was stunning. The house was beautiful but not ostentatious. It looked to be some kind of earthen building and blended beautifully with the surroundings. There wasn't another person, house, or even road in sight. It seemed he came in and out on this tiny airstrip. They would be safe. Janelle lay in the bed and finally let herself cry. Her children were safe. Her sister was safe. She could rest and heal.
Stay tuned! I really thought this would be the last one, but it just keeps coming! Let me know what you think!
Much love, y’all!
As always, all pics are mine or pixabay unless otherwise noted.
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